Welcome to Juniper 2!
2026 – 2027
Miss Smith/Miss Lowe - Class Teachers
Mrs Skelton/Mrs Peet - Teaching Assistants
Autumn 2
Significant People
Autumn 1
Bright Lights, Big City
Juniper enjoying their library time
We have loved enjoying our final library session of the half term! The children visit Birchwood’s library each week, and here are some lovely snapshots of them enjoying their reading time.
We love seeing the children explore their love of books, discover new stories and share their favourite reads with their friends. There is nothing better than seeing a love of reading grow!
Our Year 2s have been enjoying their music lessons this week!
Juniper Class have been busy learning the song Tony Chestnut in music! We began with echo singing warm-ups, including name chants and noisy finger drawings, before learning the song with actions. We then explored playing the notes on the xylophone. The children thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with sounds and practising the techniques needed to play tuned percussion instruments.
We are so proud of their enthusiasm and musicality!
Well done, Year 2! We have been busy making bread, just like the bread Paddington uses to make his delicious sandwiches!
The children carefully weighed the flour and added yeast to help our bread rise. We also added a little salt, sugar and lukewarm water before mixing all the ingredients together. Everyone enjoyed kneading the dough before leaving it to rest and then baking it in the oven.
Alongside our baking, we have been learning where flour comes from. The children discovered that wheat grows in the fields and that each ear of wheat contains around 40 grains. The wheat is taken to a mill, where it is ground into flour. We learned that flour is used to make lots of different foods, including bread, cakes and biscuits.
What a wonderful way to combine our learning with some hands-on fun! I wonder what Paddington would think of our delicious creations!
Our Year 2 children have been working incredibly hard on their Design and Technology project!
We have been testing fixed and free-moving axles and wheels in preparation for building a vehicle for Paddington. The children did a fantastic job of experimenting with both types and thinking carefully about which would work best for their own designs.
We are so proud of their enthusiasm and determination and can’t wait to see their finished vehicles next week!
A huge well done to our Year 2 children for their fabulous home learning!
They have loved sharing all their wonderful creations, from autumn-inspired artwork and history quizzes about the Great Fire of London to flags of the United Kingdom inspired by our geography lessons.
We are so proud of the effort, creativity and enthusiasm shown in their home learning. Well done, Year 2!
Year 2 have been learning all about what life was like in 1666, when the Great Fire of London happened.
We looked carefully at a range of images and worked together to sort them into those showing life in 1666 and those showing life today. The children were surprised by some of the differences, including the lack of electricity, modern devices and flushing toilets!
The children did a fantastic job of spotting the differences and using their historical thinking skills to imagine what everyday life might have been like over 350 years ago. Well done, Year 2!
A huge well done to two of our Year 2 children for their fabulous home learning this week!
One child created a beautiful piece of artwork using natural materials, including bark and leaves. She confidently shared her work with the class and explained the different materials she had used to create it.
Another child baked homemade shortbread and kindly brought it in to share with the class. The shortbread was absolutely delicious and was enjoyed by everyone who tasted it!
We are so proud of the effort, creativity and enthusiasm shown in their home learning. Well done!
To celebrate National Poetry Day, Year 2 have been learning and reciting the wonderful poem The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear.
We also learned some Makaton signs for key words from the poem, which helped us to remember the words and made our performance even more fun!
Mr Coleman came to watch our performance and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were very proud of ourselves for remembering the poem and performing it so confidently.
Well done, Year 2! What a fantastic performance!
In Computing, Year 2 have been investigating Information Technology (IT) and discovering how it is used all around us.
This week, we learned how barcodes work. We discovered that a scanner reads the barcode and that the scanner is a piece of IT because it is connected to a computer. The computer follows an algorithm to find the item linked to the barcode and then matches it to the correct price.
We then had lots of fun role-playing a shop! One child chose items while their partner acted as the till, using the barcode information to find the prices. We even challenged our partners’ maths skills by choosing more than one item and asking them to work out the total.
Well done, Year 2! You were fantastic at combining your computing and maths skills!
What a wonderful outdoor adventure Year 2 had at Rosliston Forestry Centre!
The children had a fantastic time exploring the beautiful woodland and taking part in a range of exciting activities.
Juniper class started off their day exploring Rosliston’s many wonderful trees. The children impressed us with their knowledge from Year 1 of evergreen and deciduous trees. They also had the opportunity to create their own bark rubbings, discovering the different textures and patterns found in the nature around us.
After some well-earned lunch together, we headed to the park for some fun and relaxation. It was great to see the children playing together and making the most of the forestry centre’s wonderful facilities.
In the afternoon Juniper class enjoyed building cosy dens for some cuddly forest friends. They worked brilliantly in their teams to create a sturdy and waterproof shelter out of the natural forest resources.
We had such a fantastic day filled with adventure, discovery, and learning. What a beautiful place Rosliston Forestry Centre is! Thank you for having us!
This week, Year 2 have been learning about the difference between safe and unsafe secrets. We discussed how a safe secret usually has a happy outcome, such as keeping a surprise birthday party a secret, while an unsafe secret can make us feel unhappy, worried or uncomfortable.
The children were given a variety of different scenarios to discuss and sort into safe and unsafe secrets. These included keeping a surprise birthday party secret and a babysitter allowing them to stay up late but telling them not to tell anyone. Year 2 did a fantastic job of explaining their thinking and recognising when a secret should be shared with a trusted adult.
This week Juniper Class have been enjoying the beautiful autumn sunshine on the trim trail! The children had lots of fun climbing, balancing and challenging themselves while showing great consideration and respect for one another. It was lovely to see them encouraging their friends, taking turns and enjoying the outdoor space together. Well done, Year 2!
Our Year 2 children have made a fantastic start to Maths this year!
We have begun our learning with place value, exploring the value of numbers using a range of maths manipulatives and practical resources. The children have enjoyed developing their understanding through hands-on learning.
We were also introduced to Tiny the Turtle, our new maths companion! Tiny is a determined little turtle who knows that making mistakes is part of learning. He reminds us every day that mistakes help us grow and that we should never give up when things feel challenging.
Well done, Year 2!
What a lovely Monday treat!
To start our week, we were visited by the local ice cream man, Mr G. The children enjoyed a delicious ice cream, and there were smiles all around!
It was a wonderful way to celebrate such a fantastic start to the school year and create some special memories together.
Thank you, Mr G – they were delicious.
What a superb start to Year 2!
The children have settled into their new classroom brilliantly and have impressed us with their positive attitudes, excellent listening and enthusiasm for learning.
We are incredibly proud of how well they have started the year and are looking forward to an exciting year of learning and success together.
Great job Juniper Class!
Last week in Year 2 we explored non-fiction books.
Working together, we investigated the key features that help readers find and understand information, including contents pages, titles, headings, glossaries and indexes. We identified each feature and discussed its purpose within a non-fiction text.
The children showed fantastic enthusiasm and curiosity throughout the lesson.
Well done, Year 2!
We began the week using our inference skills after discovering a mysterious suitcase containing a marmalade-covered invitation for Paddington to attend a very special tea party. Some of the words were covered in marmalade, so we had to use the clues in the suitcase to work out where the tea party would be held.
Inside, we found a toy black London taxi, a red double-decker bus, a train ticket, a Union Jack flag and two postcards – one of Buckingham Palace and one of Tower Bridge. We carefully examined the clues, shared our ideas with our talk partners and explained our reasoning.
After lots of thoughtful discussion, we decided that the tea party must be held at Buckingham Palace!
What a fantastic start to our learning!
