Grange Valley Primary & Nursery School

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Welcome to Year 2 - Mrs Maver's Class 2018-19

Summer 2 2019

What an amazing year we have had! It has been a pleasure to teach the children in Year 2. It has been lovely to see how far they have progressed both academically and emotionally. Thank you for all your support this year. Here is a little overview of our wonderful year!

Autumn Term

What an exciting Year we have had! During the Autumn Term, we found out about our environment. The children discussed the impact of climate change and explored our local environment looking for interesting things to make a collage with. We had a fantastic trip to Sankey Valley where we met some wonderful Rangers, who took us on a local walk to explore different habitats. During the Autumn Term, we had a mysterious egg appear on our playground. This created such a buzz around school and a real love of learning especially when Jam the dinosaur came to visit. This was such a memorable learning experience for the children and inspired lots of writing opportunities. The children used effective sentences to describe the egg, to describe a dinosaur land and they even planned and wrote their own dinosaur story. Later in the term, we worked with Year 1 to perform an amazing Nativity, ‘Born in a Barn’. Our term ended with a visit from Santa and a memorable Christmas party!

 

Spring Term

During the Spring Term, the children continued to impress me with their enthusiasm and perseverance. In Maths, we explored money. The children recognised and ordered coins according to their value. Our money theme developed further when we took part in Money, Money, Money week. The children found the cost of different items and were challenged to make different combinations of the same amount. During this amazing week, we had various visitors come into class to tell the children all about their job. During this term, we also had a visit from the author Tom Palmer. The children loved hearing about how he became an author and how he creates his books. In PE, the children showed great sportsmanship in cricket. They practised their throwing and batting skills as well as working as a team.

Summer Term

We started the summer term looking at maps. We used satellite images to locate human and physical features of our town. The children used maps of the school grounds to follow and drew their own maps plotting features and creating a key, using geographical symbols. During art, the children have been exploring making marks with different media. We used oil pastel, ink, batik, paint and much more to create wonderful masterpieces.  We had a wonderful ‘Harry Potter’ week during the Summer Term. The children found out about owls, took part in Quidditch and enjoyed making new friends when we worked collaboratively with our Partnership school.

 

Have a lovely summer!

Summer 1 2019

This term we have been finding out about Big Cats. The children used books and the internet to research information about the four big cats- tigers, lions, cheetahs and leopard. The children used their research to compare the cats and write a non-chronological report. We have been using rhetorical questions and interesting facts to engage the reader. 

In Maths, we have been looking at 3D shapes. The children have been using their knowledge of 2D shapes to describe the properties. We have been making structures, patterns and used nets to make 3D shapes. 

In Geography, we have been looking at maps. The children have been finding out about the different uses of maps. We planned a simple route in our local area and explored the key symbols found on maps. The children worked hard when looking at aerial photographs to recognise human and physical features. The children have impressed me with their geography questioning skills during this topic. 

In Art, we have been using nature to make observational drawings. Firstly, the children used charcoal and explored using dark and light tones to create definition. Then we explored watercolour using water to blend the colours. After that, we we used ink to print leaves looking at the lines it produced. Later in the week, we found out about the artist Andy Goldsworthy. The children discussed how he created his masterpieces and shared their likes and dislikes about his artwork. We even went into the forest area to create our own masterpieces using nature. Well done year 2!

The children have all worked incredible hard this term and had a well deserved treat to finish the term. Well done Year 2!

Mrs Mavers

Spring 2 2019

What a lovely term it has been! The children have continue to work hard and develop as inquisitive learners. During English this term we have been reading 'The Way Back Home' by Oliver Jeffers. This is a book about a boy who loved adventures. One day he found an aeroplane in his cupboard. He didn't remember leaving it there but he though he would take it out for a ride. At first all went well, he flew higher and higher until suddenly with a splutter, it ran out of petrol. The boy was stuck on the moon and he wasn't alone! The children really enjoyed this story. We looked at similes, onomatopoeia, repetition, adventurous vocabulary and effective sentence openers and much more! The children are all beginning to reflect on their writing especially when looking at the vocabulary they have chosen. Keep up the hard work Year 2!

In History we have been looking at the life and the important work of Florence Nightingale.  The children found out about he changes she made to hospitals . We have compared nurse in the past and present, looked at how hospitals were int he past and found out all about the journey Florence took to Scutari during the Crimea War. The children showcased their knowledge of Florence Nightingale by creating a display to convince the rest of the school that she is the most significant person of the past due to her remarkable work. Each class chose their own significant person which we all had the opportunity to vote for. We will found out which person was voted the most significant person when we return after Easter. 

In RE we have been finding out about the Easter story. We finished this off with a visit to Christ church. This is always a wonderful trip where the children get to listen to the story as there move around to the different stations set out around the church. We took part in some Easter crafts and even had juice and biscuits!

In Maths we have been finding out about time. The children started off by making their own clocks and talking about what they already know. We have been finding out about o'clock, half past, quarter to, quarter past and 5 minute intervals. This can be a tricky concept for children so keep practising at home. 

Have  a wonderful break Everyone!

Mrs Mavers

 

Spring 1 2019

This term the children have continued to impress me with their enthusiasm and perseverance. In Maths, we have been exploring money. The children recognised and ordered coins according to their value. We have also been using coins to make given amounts. The children noticed that we don’t have a 3p or a 6p and need to use coins to make these amounts. Our money theme developed further when we took part in Money, Money, Money week. The children found the cost of different items and were challenged to make different combinations of the same amount. When looking at total cost we used the method to help use. The children worked hard to look at the proportions of the bars. Later in the week we explored change and what this meant. The children discovered that they could also use the bar method to solve change. During this amazing week we had various visitors come into class to tell the children all about their job. We had a person from cabin crew, a parent that worked in health, a sports coach and a talk from Willowbrook. The children were all intrigued about their jobs and asked some interesting questions. During this week we talked about our aspirations and how we can achieve our goals.

To inspire reading, we had a visit from the author Tom Palmer. The children loved hearing about how he became an author and how he creates his books. The children have been working hard to develop our new reading area too! They have sorted the books, drew their favourite book characters and enjoyed sharing books on our new reading bench! We can’t wait for World Book Day!

During English, we have been reading the Crow’s Tale. In the dark depths of winter, snow is falling and the animals are freezing and famished. Brave Crow sets out on a dangerous journey to find the Sun, and beg for warmth. Crow succeeded but lost his beautiful, colourful feathers. This is a wonderful book that demonstrated to the children that it doesn’t matter what you look like, its on the inside that counts. This inspired the children to all write their own stories based on Rainbow Crow. Later in the term, we found out about one of my favourite authors ‘Julia Donaldson’ The children particularly enjoyed reading ‘The Snail and the Whale’. They discussed whether the snail should have gone on the journey or not. The children had a wonderful debate. We also worked in role as the snail and thanked the Whale for the wonderful journey around the vast world.

In PE, the children have shown great sportsmanship in cricket. They have been practising their throwing and batting skills as well as working as a team. The children have thoroughly enjoyed their cricket sessions this term. In dance, the children have been linking movements to create short dance performances with a group. They have also been using ribbons.

It was lovely to see the children finish the term with a wonderful Valentines disco. Lots of happy children and fantastic dance moves!

Have a lovely half term!

Mrs Mavers

Autumn 2 2018

What a lovely term we have had! The children started this half term with a lovely trip to Sankey Valley. The children found out about how climate change has effected when different plants grow. We also visited the duck pond where the children fed the ducks. The children also had a game of hoopla using hoops made from willow tree. The fun didn’t stop there as we went further down to the stream to have a Pooh stick race and the winners were….the girls! The children had a lovely time at Sankey Valley and the Rangers were very impressed with their knowledge and behaviour.

During our English we have been reading ‘The Building Boy’ we have used this book to help use with our sentence stacking. The children have really impressed me with their writing this term. We have enjoyed looking at the progress we have all made. The children are really start to improve the vocabulary they are using and are beginning to see the importance of choosing the effective vocabulary for their sentences. I have also been very impressed with the children’s handwriting and the pride that they take in their work. Towards the end of this term we have been using Paddington’s Christmas Avert to inspire our writing. The children have been using precise verbs and a range of punctuation and sentence types to make their writing sparkle. Well done year 2!

In Maths we have been working on our times table and division. The children have been practising their 2, 5, 1 and 3 times tables. We have using these to help us with our division too! Please continue to practise these times tables at home. The children have been using a range of methods to solve different calculations.

I think you would agree that the children put on a fantastic nativity ‘Wriggly Nativity’ They had clear, loud voices and beautiful singing.

I would like to say a big thank you for all your support over the last term and a I can’t wait to see the progress the children make next term. Lots of exciting things to look forward to!

Have a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year

Mrs Mavers

Autumn 1 2018

What a fantastic start to the year we have had in Year 2!

The children have worked hard on developing their vocabulary to support their reading and Writing. We started the term using the short film ‘Rooted’ to write a recount of Man Tree and Lady Tree’s friendship. The children, were all engrossed in the short animation and used it effectively to write effective sentences. We discussed the meaning of new vocabulary and the impact the use of effective vocabulary has on our writing. We are collecting all our effective vocabulary linked the FANTASTICs in our wonderful reading area.

This term we had a mysterious egg appear on our playground. This created such a buzz around school and a real love of learning especially when Jam the dinosaur came to visit. This has been such a memorable learning experience for all the children and inspired lots of writing opportunities. The children used effective sentences to describe the egg, to describe a dinosaur land and planned their own dinosaur story. The children showed great enthusiasm to write during this week. During Science, we looked at carnivores, herbivores and omnivores and created a fact file for a chosen dinosaur. The children enjoyed researching using non-fiction books and iPads. In Art, we looked at the patterns of reptile skin and created some lovely blocking printing. We also used salt dough to create our very own fossils. What a creative week!

In Topic, the children have been finding out about The Great Fire of London. To further inspire a love of reading, we have linked this to our class novel- The Baker’s Boy. This topic has encouraged the children to be inquisitive and develop their higher order thinking skills. We have been very lucky to have a visit from a local Fire Engine. During this visit the Firemen talked to the children about keeping safe during Bonfire Night. 

There has been lots of focus on Reading this term. The children all enjoyed a visit from an author and the star of his books ‘Monty the dog’. The children listened to one of his stories and found out more about the job of an author. We also had a visit from the Reading Bus.

Mrs Mavers

Year 2 2018-19
Year 2 2018-19

Year 2 Notice Board