Welcome To Our New Website!
Welcome To Our New Website!
Birchwood Primary School

Juniper 2 2024-25

 
Welcome to Juniper 2!
 
 
2024 - 2025
 
Miss Houghton - Class Teacher
Mrs Faultless/Miss Dow/Mrs Oldham - Teaching Assistants
 
Summer 2
 
Beside the Seaside

Final Post to Year 2 

As we wrap up another amazing year, we want to say a huge thank you to all our wonderful grown-ups for your continued support throughout Year 2. Your encouragement has meant the world. We've made so many special memories together this year — full of learning, laughter, and growth. Each and every child should feel incredibly proud of all they’ve achieved. 

Wishing you all a joyful, restful, and well-deserved summer holiday! We can’t wait to see what adventures lie ahead.

Best Wishes,
Year 2

This half term in DT, Year 2 have been busy making frollies! They’re not quite fruit and not quite lollies – they’re something in between... frollies! We began by tasting lots of different fruits and choosing our favourite flavours. Then we carefully chopped the fruit using the claw and bridge method, mixed it with yoghurt and a little honey, and popped our frollies into the freezer. The best part? Eating them! We all agreed they were absolutely delicious!

A huge well done to all of our amazing Year 2 children for their hard work and creativity this term!

We were blown away by the fantastic LEGO models created for our house competition! Congratulations to our winners for their brilliant designs.

Well done to our dojo stars who showed kindness, teamwork, and a fantastic attitude to learning all term long. You've really earned those points and you should all  be so proud!

Keep up the great work and enjoy a well-deserved summer break!

What a lovely surprise we had when Mr G visited our school in his ice cream van! Every child was treated to a delicious ice cream, and there were smiles all around as we enjoyed our tasty treats. A huge thank you to Mr G for such a kind and thoughtful way to end our school year – what a special memory for us all!

This half term in Computing, Year 2 have become digital artists! We've been exploring different art styles such as Pointillism, Impressionism, and Surrealism, learning how artists express themselves in unique ways. We also looked at the iconic work of artists like William Morris and Piet Mondrian, taking inspiration from their distinctive styles to create our own interpretations. Using Purple Mash’s ‘2Paint a Picture’, the children recreated these styles digitally, producing some truly wonderful masterpieces. We’re so proud of their creativity and how they’ve combined art and technology so brilliantly! Well done, Year 2!

Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Weston! Year 2 had a shell-abration of a day on our beach trip to Weston-super-Mare! We started our day with a visit to the pier-fect Grand Pier, followed by a seaside picnic and a refreshing ice lolly to help us chill out in the sunshine. The beach was our giant sandbox — we dug, built, and played until we were sand-sationally tired. After all that fun, we refueled with some classic seaside chips — yummy! It was a day full of laughs, memories, and a shore-load of fun. We may have said goodbye to the beach, but the sand (and smiles) came home with us!

This week, Year 2 pupils have been busy recalling and consolidating everything we've learned this year about Christianity and Islam. We sorted facts about each faith, deepened our understanding of their key beliefs, symbols, places of worship, and special celebrations. It was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on similarities and differences, and to celebrate the rich diversity of religious traditions around the world. Well done, Year 2 – your thoughtful discussions and brilliant memory skills really shone through.

As part of our exciting DT (Design and Technology) project, this half term, Year 2 have been busy taste testing a variety of delicious fruits in preparation for making our very own fruit lollies – or as we're calling them, Frollies! We explored the flavours, textures, and colours of different fruits and then voted for our favourites. There were lots of thoughtful (and sometimes very funny!) reactions, and everyone took part brilliantly. Next, we’ll be designing our Frollies, writing step-by-step instructions, and then... the best part... making them! We can’t wait to get creative in the kitchen! Stay tuned for updates and fruity fun!

What an amazing day we had! The sun was shining, spirits were high, and every child gave it their all. From sprints to sack races, the energy and enthusiasm were incredible! A huge congratulations to the  classes — you were all winners. Your determination, teamwork, and resilience made us so proud. It was fantastic to see everyone supporting each other and having so much fun along the way.

This week, Year 2 have been diving into the exciting world of place value with 3-digit numbers! The children used Dienes blocks to explore different ways to partition numbers into hundreds, tens, and ones. Using practical resources really helped the children deepen their understanding and see numbers in new ways. It was wonderful to see such enthusiasm and teamwork as they worked through the challenges. What marvellous mathematics from our budding number experts!

This week, Year 2 began their exciting new English unit based on the stunning wordless picture book Flotsam by David Wiesner. We started by learning the meaning of the word flotsam—objects that are found floating in the sea—and then had the chance to explore our very own trays of flotsam in class! Using their inference skills, the children examined each tray carefully and made thoughtful predictions about who the items might belong to and what stories they could tell. It was wonderful to see such imagination and curiosity at work! We can’t wait to see where this magical book takes us next...

This week, Year 2 have been developing their computational thinking skills using Bee-Bots! First, we predicted which square the Bee-Bot would land on, then used an algorithm to program its route. We even created our own sequences of instructions and learned how to debug them when things didn’t go quite as planned. It was a great way to learn about direction, sequencing, and problem-solving! Amazing coding work, Year 2!

This week, Year 2 have been busy learning how to use an atlas! We started by locating Jamaica on the map and discovered that its capital city is Kingston. After that, we explored both physical features like mountains and beaches, and human features such as cities and ports. The children loved spotting the differences and using map symbols to help their search! Great work, Year 2 geographers.

 
Summer 1
 
Land Ahoy!

This half term in Design and Technology, we’ve had an exciting time exploring the world of moving pictures! After diving into books with interactive elements, we got hands-on and began experimenting with mechanisms ourselves. We started by creating slider mechanisms to recreate a classic scene from The Gingerbread Man – it was a great way to learn how pictures can come to life through simple movement. Next, we moved on to levers and pivots, using them to craft a picture of a ship rocking in the sea. It was fascinating to see how a few simple materials could create such realistic motion! To finish, we let our imaginations set sail and created our own pirate-themed moving pictures. Some featured a mighty kraken rising from the depths, while others showed a hard-working pirate swabbing the deck. What a lot of fun we had while learning about mechanisms and storytelling through movement!

A big well done to all our Dojo and Golden Coin winners! The children were very excited to receive their awards and loved the chance to choose a book from our book vending machine. Keep up the great work, everyone – you should be so proud of yourself.
Year 2 had a fantastic time learning cricket skills this week! The children really enjoyed taking part – and for some, it was their first introduction to the game of cricket. They showed great enthusiasm and teamwork. Well done, Year 2!

Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed taking part in our sponsored walk/run. The children showed great resilience and sportsmanship throughout the event. Well done, Year 2 – you should be so proud of yourself! 

Year 2 began their new learning journey into the world of 3D shapes! We kicked things off by recapping our Year 1 knowledge, confidently naming a range of 3D shapes such as cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones. Next, we took a closer look at the properties of these shapes, including the number of faces, edges, and vertices. The children showed lots of enthusiasm as they deepened their understanding. To finish, we had lots of fun exploring which shapes could be stacked and discovered why some shapes are more stable than others. A fantastic, hands-on start to our 3D shape unit. Well done Year 2!

Year 2 be settin’ sail on a swashbucklin’ adventure in dance this term! The young buccaneers be learnin’ a pirate dance, and they’ve been explorin’ how to make it shipshape by usin’ levels — from low as the ocean floor to high as the crow’s nest! We’ve been movin’, groovin’, and thinkin’ smart about how usin’ different heights can make our routines more excitin’ than a chest o’ treasure! So hoist the sails and keep yer eyes peeled – this crew’s got rhythm, and they be ready to shiver some timbers!

This term in Year 2 PE, we’ve been focusing on developing our throwing techniques in team games. We started by practising both overarm and underarm throws using bean bags and hoops – perfect for building accuracy and coordination. Once we felt confident, we progressed to a new challenge: javelin throwing! Using foam javelins, we learned how to apply the same throwing skills to this exciting activity. The children have shown great improvement and teamwork while having lots of fun along the way! Well done Year 2, fantastic effort from everyone!

Ahoy, me hearties! This week in Year 2 Geography, our brave young buccaneers set sail once more across the seven seas! We charted the lands o' the world, recallin’ the mighty continents we learned about in Year 1. Then, with spyglasses in hand, we discovered the five great oceans where many a ship has sailed — and sunk! Our crew dropped anchor at the Caribbean island of Jamaica — aye, the very place where pirates once hid from the long arm o’ the law! From treasure maps to secret coves, the spirit of adventure is strong with this lot! Yo ho ho! What a voyage it’s been!

Ahoy there, me hearties! Year 2 be settin’ sail on a brand new adventure with Sam Silver: Undercover Pirate by Sara Vogler and Jan Burchett! 

This week, we weighed anchor and read the first chapter, right up to the part where young Sam be discoverin’ a mysterious message in a bottle from the legendary Joseph Silver himself! Alongside the note – a gleamin’ golden doubloon! Our young shipmates made their predictions—what be happenin’ if Sam dared rub the shiny coin? With much excitement, we read on and shivered our timbers when we found out Sam had been whisked back in time onto a real pirate ship! We then shared what we’d do if we were thrown back through time and came face to face with a band o’ fearsome pirates! Let’s just say—we’ve got some brave buccaneers aboard this Year 2 crew!

Yo-ho-ho, the adventure's only just begun!

Ahoy, me hearties! Year 2 Be on the Hunt!  

Year 2 have been sharpenin’ their map-makin’ and navigatin’ skills in Geography this week! With a bird’s-eye view treasure map of the school in hand, and their trusty orienteerin’ know-how, these young buccaneers set sail on a grand adventure to hunt down hidden pirate symbols scattered across the land. A fine crew they were — smart, swift, and shipshape! Yo ho ho, what a swashbucklin’ way to learn!

Ahoy there, me hearties! 
Year 2 had an amazing time on our Pirates Day adventure!
We started the day by getting into character — making our very own pirate hats, fearsome hooks, detailed treasure maps, and waving Jolly Roger flags! The classroom was transformed into the high seas, and our little buccaneers were ready for action.
Using Now Press Play, we dove into an immersive pirate story where we became part of the crew — listening, moving, and acting out the tale together. Then we had a pirate dance, and every shipmate joined in with great energy and pirate spirit!
In the afternoon, we went on a thrilling treasure hunt to help the mysterious Captain Silver. We followed clues all around the school until we discovered the hidden treasure... the books we’ll be reading this half term! And what a surprise — the treasure included stories from the Sam Silver series!
To top off our day, we met the authors of the Sam Silver books — Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler! They tested our knowledge of pirates and even gave us a challenge: to write our own pirate stories. The children were truly inspired.
It was a swashbuckling day full of creativity, adventure, and imagination — what an unforgettable way to start our new theme!
 
Spring 2
 
Under the Canopy
An egg-cellent time at the Easter Parade! The kids' dancing was hopping amazing, and their hats were truly egg-stravagant! Huge thanks to the grown-ups for making it all possible — you really cracked it! Congrats to all our egg-citing winners!
As part of Year 2’s rainforest theme, we’ve been exploring Henri Rousseau’s rainforest-inspired artwork. Did you know he never visited a real rainforest? His inspiration came from local botanical gardens! We hope you enjoy our Rousseau-inspired masterpieces.
Huge shout-out to our amazing Dojo winners this half term! Your hard work, kindness, and perseverance has paid off.
Year 2 children had a skipping good time celebrating National Skipping Day! They jumped, skipped, and hopped their way through a day full of fun and fitness, learning new tricks and improving coordination. From individual skips to team challenges, they truly leapt into the spirit of the day! 

This half term, Year 2 children have had a great time in PE, focusing on gymnastics and team games. In gymnastics, they began by learning rolls like pencil, egg, and forward rolls, and this week, they’ve mastered jumps such as straddle, star, and pike jumps.

In team games, they’ve worked on improving their attacking and defending skills, and more recently, they’ve been practicing their problem solving skills, whilst working together with their partner. So far, it’s been a fun-filled term of learning new skills, building confidence, and developing teamwork!

What an incredible Year 2 class assembly all about World Book Day! Brilliant acting, stunning singing, and fantastic poem recitals! A big thank you to the parents and carers for providing costumes and helping the children learn their lines. We could not be prouder of them!

To immerse ourselves in our new text ‘There’s a Rangtan in My Bedroom’, Year 2 have been discovering incredible facts about orangutans – and what we’ve learned has truly touched our hearts. These magnificent creatures are in danger, and their homes in the rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate.

We couldn’t just stand by, so we’ve decided to take action! Using the fascinating facts we’ve gathered, we’re creating a non-chronological report to help others understand why orangutans and their rainforest homes need our help.

Our report will share important facts about orangutans, explain the dangers they face, and most importantly, show how we can all make a difference in protecting our planet’s rainforests.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our journey to help save the orangutans!

What super scientists we are! This week, Year 2 have been learning about the “amazing adaptations” animals have made to suit their habitats. The children took part in a fun matching activity, matching clues about animal adaptations to pictures of the animals.
Year 2 had an amazing time on Friday for “The Biggest Ever Football Session!” We loved dressing up in our football kits and sportswear as we joined in the fun. Each class had a 20-minute session with Jack, our PE coach from Aston Villa FC! What a great day FOR ALL! 
What a fun-filled day Year 2 had on World Book Day! We started with a special assembly with Mr. Coleman, joined in “Drop Everything And Read,” and spent the afternoon with Year 4 sharing our poem performances and stories. Our costumes were amazing—thanks to all the grown-ups! We’ve loved exploring our whole school text “My Beautiful Voice” by Paulo Coelho, which told the story of a child unlocking the power of their own voice through poetry.
To kick off our Art theme this half term, Year 2 revisited primary & secondary colours, plus tints & shades! We made it even more exciting with hexagonal thinking—a fun way to explore and connect our knowledge!
This half term in Science, Year 2 are exploring habitats & microhabitats! We've been learning how animals adapt to suit their environments. This week, we worked in groups to sort animals into their correct habitats. What a fun way to recall our knowledge!
Year 2 are diving into the world of spreadsheets in Computing! So far, we’ve learned how to add data, colour cells, and create simple formulas using math symbols. What a fantastic way to combine our maths & computing skills!
This half term in Year 2, we are hopping on a musical journey! The focus is on modes of transport, with a special look at train travel. Children listened to 4 amazing pieces of music, they then drew  the mode of transport that they thought represented the music.
Year 2 had a totally tropical time at Stratford Butterfly Farm! We saw vibrant butterflies, learned fascinating facts, and met Bennie the iguana! We also spotted koi carp, tropical mini beasts, and even held a stick insect! A fun-filled, educational day for all!
To support their understanding of Islam, our Year 2 children had the wonderful opportunity to visit Nuneaton mosque. They impressed our host with their knowledge and explored the main prayer rooms and Wudu wash area. A fantastic learning experience for all!
This half term, Year 2 are embarking on an exciting journey into the heart of the rainforest to discover why orangutans are losing their homes to palm oil plantations. But that’s not all! Inspired by the vibrant and dynamic artwork of Roseau, our children will also be creating their own rain forest masterpiece. They’ll take inspiration from the rich colours and textures of the rainforest to bring the beauty of the rain forest to life through their art.
 
Spring 1
 
Alive and Kicking

A huge round of applause to our incredible Year 2 children who have worked so hard this half term! Your achievements, kindness, and effort have truly shone through, and we couldn’t be prouder of all you've achieved. A special congratulations to our Dojo winners – you’ve gone above and beyond, showing great teamwork, focus, and positivity. You should be so proud of yourselves for all the effort you've put in this Spring1 half term! 

Keep up the amazing work, Year 2!

This half term, Year 2 has been diving into the world of telling the time, and they’ve been having so much fun along the way! The children made their own clocks, getting hands-on and learning how the hour and minute hands work. Then, to really strengthen their time-telling skills, they played exciting games using their clocks! From matching times to racing to set the time correctly – they’ve been practising in the most creative ways! We’re so proud of how much progress they’ve made! Keep up the fantastic work, Year 2 – you’re all becoming time-telling experts!

Year 2 took part in a very important lesson for NSPCC Online Safety Day! We discussed how to stay safe online and learned that sometimes things we see online can be “too good to be true.” We read the brilliant story “Once Upon a time Online” to help us understand the importance of making safe choices when we’re online. We also sang the catchy Online Safety Song, which helped us remember some key tips for staying safe. To wrap it all up, we played a fun game where we identified what is personal and not personal information using picture cards. We are now much more aware of how to protect our privacy online!

A big well done to all Year 2 for being so thoughtful and responsible during our online safety discussions! Keep sharing those safety tips with your families!

This week in Year 2, PE has been so much fun! Last week, we explored the emotion of sadness through dance, but this week we've been focusing on happiness. We created our own motifs to express this emotion, thinking carefully about our starting and finishing positions. In addition to our dance, we’ve also been working on improving our ball control skills during team games. We practiced techniques for both attacking and defending, getting even better at working together as a team. It's been a week full of energy, teamwork, and creativity—can't wait for more fun next week!

What a numberific day Year 2 had for NSPCC Number Day! We kicked off the fun by creating equations using the numbers on our clothes—who knew dressing up could be so mathematical?! Then, we took a look at the money our class had contributed towards the NSPCC, and we had a great time sorting it into groups by shape, size, value, and color. It was a brilliant way to get creative with counting and classifying! Our maths learning was inspired by the story of The Jolly Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. We helped the Jolly Postman in all sorts of ways! 

  • We worked out time problems 
  • We sorted letters by their number value 
  • We coloured his path using our 2, 5, and 10 times tables 
  • And we weighed items to see what was more than and less than 100 grams 

What a fantastic day of problem-solving and number fun! Well done Year 2 for your incredible teamwork and enthusiasm.

What an unforgettable experience for our Year 2 children! We had the amazing opportunity to take part in a Zoom session with the talented author, Joseph Coelho. Joseph read his wonderful book Our Tower to us, and together, we were transported into a magical world full of adventure! Along the way, there were plenty of exciting stops where the children came up with their own ideas for a story. Joseph’s creativity and passion truly inspired our Year 2 authors to start writing their very own magical tales. So, get your pencils ready, Year 2! We can’t wait to read the magical stories you come up with!

Today, our Year 2 artists had an amazing time exploring tints and shades! By adding white to their colours, they created beautiful tints, and by adding black, they made rich, moody shades. It was fantastic to watch their creativity flourish as they experimented with these techniques. Some of their works are truly impressive, showing how well they've grasped these colour concepts. What wonderful artists!

Year 2 children have been having a fantastic time in PE this week! 

In our team games, they’ve been working hard to improve their ball control skills while attacking and defending goals.  Their focus on controlling the ball has really paid off! 

In dance, the children explored emotions through movement, focusing on portraying sadness. They worked together to create a powerful motif, considering levels, starting and finishing positions, and how their bodies can express emotion. Lots of imagination and thoughtfulness was used to create our motifs!

Great progress and lots of fun all around! 

Year 2 children have been fully immersing themselves in The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde! We created a “Conscience Alley” where children took turns convincing the Giant to open up his garden again. 

The children, tried to persuade the Giant with kindness and reasons, and practiced empathy and persuasion skills, considering the feelings and motivations of the giant. 

Afterward, we role-played scenes where each child took on the role of a child speaking directly to the Giant, showing incredible creativity and understanding of the story’s message about kindness and sharing. 

Such a wonderful way to bring the story to life and explore the characters' emotions!

What wonderful ‘master chefs’ you are Year 2! Have you eaten your 5 a day? In DT we made a fantastic ‘Jumping Bean Salad’ which included lots of fruit and vegetables.  We used the claw and bridge cutting technique when preparing our salad and garnished it with parsley!
Year 2 have been enjoying creating their own abstract art.  They have been creating ‘colour fields’ in the style of Mark Rothko.  We have also been exploring Piet Mondrian, who was another abstract artist.  
Year 2 have been learning about multiplication and division.  This week we have been using what we have learned to ‘crack the code’.  We had lots of fun working with our partner, solving various multiplication and division equations to find the hidden words.
On Wednesday, some Year 2 children took part in the Infant Agility sports competition at Polesworth High School. Birchwood put forth an outstanding performance, and we are thrilled to share that they secured an impressive 2nd place out of 12 competing schools!  Our young athletes showcased their skills through various engaging activities, including long jump, throwing for distance, throwing for accuracy, stepper, and running. What made the day even more special was the remarkable sportsmanship displayed by all participants, as they clapped and encouraged their fellow teams. Congratulations to our Year 2 children for their incredible effort and team spirit! We are incredibly proud of you!
Year 2 have been learning all about how germs are spread and what can be done to stop the spread of germs.  We put glitter on our hands (the glitter represented germs), and we saw how easy the germs were transferred onto everything we touched.  Then we put pepper into a bowl of water.  This time, the pepper represented the germs. When we dipped our finger in soap and then into the water and pepper mix, the pepper instantly moved away from the soap
This half term , Year 2, are going ”really wild” (just like the conservationist we have been learning about - Chris Packham).  We have been hunting for micro habitats.  We looked all around our outdoor areas, including our wooded area, on our playground and in our kitchen garden.  We found lots of micro habitats belonging to mini beasts, under logs, under leaves and on plants.  
 
Emilia said, 'I think the slug is living there so that it has shelter'
and Albie said, 'I think they are living under the log, so they do not get trodden on'.
In writing, this week, Year 2 were immersed into their new book “The Wolf’s Story” by Toby Forward.  We learned there are two sides to every story and that maybe the wolf was not as bad as he seemed in the story of “Little Red Riding Hood”. With our partner we used role play to immerse ourselves further into our new text.  We played a news reporter and our partner was the wolf!  We asked questions such as, Did you really mean to scare Little Red?' And Why were you visiting Grandma? We had lots of fun acting out each part.
This half term, in PE, Year 2 are focusing on team games and dance.  We have been learning strategies of attacking and defending our goal area in team games.  We started our dance theme by identifying how different types of music can make us feel different emotions, and how different emotions can make us move in different ways.
 
Autumn 2
 
Significant People
Wishing all our families a magical Christmas and a wonderful New Year from Juniper class.
What a scrumdiddlyumptious Christmas lunch we had! – full of festive flavours, laughter with friends, and our favourite Christmas tunes to sing along to. Our tables were brimming with Christmas cheer!  Lots of happy memories made.
Juniper class enjoyed an afternoon walking to Polesworth Library. On our walk, we looked for features of our village and when we returned to class, we discussed what we had noticed. When we arrived at the library we were welcomed by the staff, we spent some time exploring and sharing books. We chose the book we wanted to borrow then walked back to school. What a fun afternoon!
Year 2  loved the live read with Santa! It got us into the Christmas spirit. Thank you Santa, for reading ‘Twas the Night before Christmas’ to us, answering lots of questions and singing along to our favourite Christmas tunes. 
Year 2 had a magical time watching the panto of Beauty and the Beast! “Oh yes they did!!”
 
Laughter, fun, and unforgettable memories made! 
Year 2 were so excited to receive their winter books from Team Birchwood!  We would like to say a huge thank you to TBPS for our wonderful books.  We have enjoyed spending time looking at them and sharing them with our friends.  What a magical afternoon it was! 
What a truly wonderful afternoon we spent with Mrs Smith, learning how to use a bow saw during our forest school afternoon!  For being so sensible, listening well and using team work, we were allowed to explore the forest school area, light a fire and have lots of fun making winter potions in the outdoor kitchen!
Year 2 have been applying skills, such as changing direction, defending and attacking in our small group team game activities.
Today, we have had fun dressing in traffic light colours to support our road safety message that, at night, we have to be bright to be seen by motorists.  We also designed a bright outfit for Warwick Bear to wear.
Year 2 had lots of fun today wearing odd socks to celebrate our individuality and uniqueness.  We also enjoyed joining in with the ‘Odd Socks’ song!
What an exciting week we had during Maths Week 2024 in Year 2! We kicked off our mathematical journey with an exciting investigation inspired by our class text, 'Stuck'. Floyd noticed twelve legs up a tree but was baffled about their owners. We dived into discovering different combinations to work out who it could be up there!
 
We have used calculators (inspired by the great mathematician, Charles Babbage), we have explored shape (in particular, triangles) and we have helped Paddington to solve maths clues to find the royal thief responsible for taking his marmalade sandwich!! 
This week in Year 2 PE, the children continued their exciting journey in team games, building on their skills in coordination and teamwork. They practised rolling a ball to one another using both their feet and hands, developing their control and precision. In addition, they worked on throwing, catching, and dribbling. During gymnastics, the children paired up to explore a variety of balances, encouraging teamwork and supporting one another while improving their core strength and stability. As well as being fun, the children also had lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills while working together as a team.
Year 2 had an exciting visit from the Peel Society, where they learned about the fascinating local history of Tamworth and the important contributions of Sir Robert Peel. The children discovered how Sir Robert Peel founded the first Metropolitan Police Force, shaping modern policing as we know it today. They were also intrigued to learn about the connection between Sir Robert Peel's family and Drayton Manor, exploring how local history has shaped the area. The visit was a wonderful opportunity for the children to connect with their local heritage and understand the lasting impact of figures like Sir Robert Peel on our society.
In Year 2, we explored the meaning of Remembrance Day through the beautiful and thought-provoking BBC Children's animation Poppies. This evocative short film takes a unique perspective on the horrors of World War I by portraying the experiences of animals on the battlefield. The children were captivated by the powerful imagery and the symbolism of the red poppy, learning how it has come to represent remembrance for those who have served in our armed forces. Through discussion, we reflected on the significance of the poppy as a symbol of hope, sacrifice, and peace. It was a moving and insightful way to help our young learners understand the importance of remembering the past and the lessons it teaches us today.
Juniper class have had fun dressing up brightly for Children in Need.  We began our morning thinking about how we could make our 'Life feel Lighter'!
In science, Year 2 have been exploring materials and their properties.  We have been considering why objects are made from particular materials and we have been looking for patterns in an objects job and the material they are made from.  We loved learning the poem “Woolly Saucepan” by Michael Rosen.  We created our own object and material mis-matches then wrote our own version.  Next we will be helping a well known nursery rhyme character to find a waterproof material for climbing up a water spout on a rainy day!
We have started our learning journey in PE this half term by jumping into Gymnastics! We have started by recalling our knowledge from Year 1 by completing a variety of stretches and rolls.  We are looking forward  to developing our learning in the coming weeks by performing a sequence stretches/balances on benches.
Paddington sent a postcard to Year 2, he was feeling very confused.  He wanted to know why there had been so many explosions at night recently!  Even though the explosions were very beautiful and bright, Paddington wanted Year 2 to explain why. Year 2 got to work straight away! We were immersed into the 17th Century and the Gun Powder Plot as we listened to a Now Press Play experience.  During the experience we met Guy Fawkes and learned about his plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
Year 2 are starting their learning journey this half term by exploring significant people in history.  This will take us back to the 17th Century to learn about Guy Fawkes and the Gun Powder Plot.  We will learn how, significant people have shaped the world we live in today, and of course, Paddington will be joining us on our learning journey!
 
Autumn 1
 
Bright Lights, Big City
What a fantastic end to our first half term in Year 2! We had a brilliant time in DT learning how bread is made, discovering that it all starts with wheat. After making our own delicious bread rolls, we celebrated with a lovely tea party for Paddington!  There were plenty of toppings for our bread including chocolate spread, jam and of course Paddington’s favourite - marmalade. We certainly enjoyed our tea party.  What a wonderful end it was to Year 2’s learning journey this half term! Keep a look out for more yummy adventures soon!
This half term, Year 2 have been practising activities that make up our infant agility programme.  These activities support skills such as coordination and agility, core stability, spatial awareness, and gross motor skills.  
Year 2 had a blast learning about staying safe on bonfire night! We talked about the importance of always wearing gloves when holding a sparkler, keeping a safe distance from the fire and fireworks and very importantly to always hold a trusted grown ups hand! Safety first!
Here is Juniper 2's overall dojo winner for Autumn 1! Well done and good luck everyone collecting dojos next half term!
In music, this half term, Year 2 have learned the song Tony Chestnut and they used actions to demonstrate the play on words. The children learned the melody of the song and how to keep a steady beat whilst they sang it. The children have used pitch pencils to draw the melodic shape for the song Tony Chestnut.
This half term, Year 2 had a fantastic time creating vehicles for Paddington to reach his tea party!! The children have explored the parts of a vehicle including axles, chassis, and wheels.  Their designs were amazing and their creativity shone! The children also had lots of fun testing out their vehicles to help with their evaluations.
Year 2 have been continuing to develop their hand-eye co-ordination and balancing skills during our PE (Team Games) lessons.  Great work Year 2! 
What an amazing opportunity Year 2 had, during their visit to Selly Manor.  We took an enormous step back in time to the 17th Century to find out all about what life was like then and about The Great Fire of London.  We learned lots of new facts, we got to see and hold lots of artefacts and we took part in acting out the events of The Great Fire of London.  We dressed up as key characters such as, Thomas Farriner , Thomas Farriner’s maid, Samuel Pepys, King Charles II and a 17th Century firefighter, whilst the audience waved red, orange and yellow scarves to symbolise the fire.  What a wonderful, fun filled experience we had! 
Year 2 had a wonderful day with Ash (our visiting poet).  Ash showed us how to create an acrostic poem about London.  We thought of lots of adjectives that could be used to make our poem exciting, then we had the opportunity of drafting our own acrostic poem with our partner!  This week, we have also performed the poem “The Owl and the Pussy Cat” by Edward Lear.  We used actions to help remember all the words.  It was lots of fun! Well done Year 2.
Today, in maths, Year 2 have been learning to write numbers from eleven to ninety-nine as words.  We had lots of fun learning this by playing a game of “guess my number”
This week we discussed safe and unsafe secrets in our PSHE lesson.  We discussed how to identify a safe or unsafe secret by thinking about how it makes us feel (for example, if we get our early warning signs by keeping the secret), also considering if it was a nice or sad outcome and the length of time the secret had to be kept.  We then sorted different scenarios into safe and unsafe secrets.
This week, Year 2 have been exploring the atlas to discover the four countries that make up the United Kingdom!  We have been discussing their compass directions in comparison to England and their capital cities.  The children found the capital cities of each country on the map in their atlas.  We really enjoyed exploring the maps.  Super Geography learning Year 2! 
What super mathematicians you are Year 2!  This week, Year 2 have started their maths learning by exploring tens and ones using a place value chart and dienes.  We then moved onto partitioning numbers into tens and ones using a part whole model.  What a lot of careful counting!  
This week, Year 2 have had lots of fun during PE.  We have started practising our infant agility activities.  We started with “bouncer” this involves make as many jumps from side to side as you can in 20 seconds!  In team games we have been practising our eye/hand co-ordination. We started by balancing the ball on our racket, then hitting the ball forwards. What a great start Year 2! 
Year 2 immersed themselves into a Now Press Play experience where they found themselves going on a school trip to Buckingham Palace to meet the King!  The King was behaving strangely and we soon discovered the real King had been locked in the basement.  To save the King we had to go on a trip across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales!
What a fantastic start to the year our children have had!!  We came in on our first day back to discover a mysterious suitcase.  Inside we found a red hat, a jar of marmalade, postcards of London, a London snow globe and an invitation to a tea party at Buckingham Palace for a very special bear called Paddington!