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.
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!
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.
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 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!
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.
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!
What a fabulous time we had during Sports Day! The children all did an amazing job competing in their races, showing great determination and skill. There was also a lot of team work and sportsmanship, celebrating each other's achievements, which was lovely to see. Well done Hazel 1!
It has been exciting learning about another artist this half term. We found out that Andy Goldsworthy uses natural materials to create his artwork so headed outside to practice some of his techniques. We then spent some time collecting some natural materials for us to use to create our own artwork inspired by Goldsworthy.
This half term we were challenged to design and make a sandwich for a summer picnic. After exploring and understanding different sandwiches looking at bread types and fillings, we then went about designing our own sandwich. We then made our sandwiches before going out to try them as part of our summer picnic. It was fair to say they went down really well!
This half term Hazel class enjoyed completing their first full Design and Technology project. We were tasked with creating our own flag suitable for the Rio Carnvial. After evaluating current flag designs, thinking about what a good flag needs and practising some joining techniques, we began by making a mock-up design of our flag. From this we were then able to make our final product and test it out in front of an audience consisting of Acorn, Chestnut and Mr Coleman!
This half term it was our turn to show case to the school our assembly focusing on 'People Who Help Us'. We discussed the many different occupations that are there to help us including police, fire, ambulance, hairdressers, vets, dentists, teachers and parents/families to name a few. The children did an amazing job, remembering all of their lines, speaking clearly and impressing with a song and a poem.
Over the Summer term we are exploring a new topic through our science learning focusing on plants. We started our topic by dissecting some plants to look closely at the different parts. We were able to look at leaves, petals, the stem and roots. We couldn't believe how different they looked depending on the type of plant. We then moved on to complete some sorting looking carefully at trees and using our knowledge of deciduous and evergreen.
What a wonderful way to start the half term than with a trip to Twycross Zoo to recap and consolidate some of our learning in Science. We saw lots of different animals and impressed the Education Officer with our knowledge of the different animal groups during our classroom session. We thoroughly enjoyed the Gruffalo Trail putting our knowledge of Julia Donaldson's story to the test! You were amazing on the trip and really made Birchwood proud, well done Hazel!
Hazel 1 have returned to school after the Easter break with a bang! We have met our Reading Target twice in a row, so we were treated to another tea party, this time with Mr Coleman. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to his special story all about his dog Alfie. Well done Hazel!
Hazel class enjoyed visiting the Food Technology Room this week to complete their DT work. We made roasted vegetable pasta salad. We started by remembering our hygiene rules of washing our hands and safety when cooking. We then used the bridge and claw technique to support us with cutting. We really enjoyed mixing the vegetables with the pasta and sauce before eating it at the end.
Hazel 1 have enjoyed completing more gymnastics this half term. We learned all about a variety of different jumps before showcasing them by jumping off a bench. We made sure we were being safe by checking our surroundings, bending our knees and landing safely on the mat.
In Science we have been learning all about animals, including humans. We had a go at sorting a variety of different animals based on their physical characteristics. Our groups included those with a tail, those that can fly, those that live underwater and those that have fur. We were then introduced to the animal group names of 'mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and birds'. We then re-organise them based on our new criteria.
In Music we have been exploring tuned and untuned percussion. We spoke about the different notes found and then looked at playing notes to accompany a line from our Football Chant.
In Design and Technology we were given the challenge of making Baby Bear a new chair. We learned all about structures and how to make them stable by providing them with a strong, wide base. We then got to grips with designing and constructing our chair. We think we did a brilliant job!
Hazel 1 have enjoyed their computing learning this half term focusing on coding and computational thinking. We started the unit by giving verbal instructions when learning about algorithms. We then moved onto picture algorithms and played a game of 'Monster Hop'. The children were really good at looking carefully at the steps and following the algorithm.
Autumn 2
School Days
In Maths this half term we have been continuing our learning around addition and subtraction within 20. We have been thinking about how numbers are made from tens and ones and then comparing two numbers discussing how we know which is a greater amount.
In History, we have been learning about Victorian Times and the difference for life as a Victorian child. To further support our learning, we spent the day as a Victorian school child. We learned that school was very different, we spent the day with no electricity and sat in rows with boys on one side and girls on the other. The teachers were very strict and we had to practise our handwriting as well as recite The Lord's Prayer. In the afternoon, we had a visit from The History Squad who showed us some artefacts linked to the Victorian times. We also spent time discussing rules and punishments that might have taken place before ending the day playing some traditional Victorian games.
We started this half term with an Autumn walk to support us with our science learning around seasonal change. Out on our walk we enjoyed spotting the signs of Autumn, these included: leaves changing colour, colder weather and trees with little to no leaves on them. We then enjoyed making it rain autumn leaves. Using our learning from Science, we then worked towards writing our own Autumn acrostic poems. You can see us reciting our poems to the rest of the class in the videos.
Hazel class enjoyed their first Design and Technology lesson of the year by visiting the Food Technology Room to make Mini Pitta Pockets. We practised a range of skills including measuring, mixing, kneading and rolling before baking. We then filled them with ham and cheese before tasting the delicious treat, they definitely went down well!
Hazel class have settled really well into Year 1 life. We have continued to practise our maths skills with our practical Talk Task activities as part of our Maths lessons everyday. We have been consolidating our learning of numbers within 10 as well as addition and subtraction. We have also enjoyed accessing the maths area independently during Activity Time where we have been practising a variety of skills.
In English we have started our learning by exploring the text 'The Story Machine' by Tom McLaughlin. We were delivered a package which we later found out included a typewriter. This brought us onto thinking about our own imagination before we planned and wrote our own creative stories. We thoroughly enjoyed sharing these with our classmates and Mr Coleman who was really impressed with the 30 storytellers in Hazel.
We have since moved onto our next key text which is The Three Little Pigs by Nicola Baxter. We are using Talk for Writing to help us learn the story really well and become great storytellers. We enjoyed getting to know the main parts of the story through freeze-framing the main events. The children enjoyed guessing what their classmates were recreating.
In our Thursday PE sessions focused on Team Games we are developing the skills of rolling, bouncing and catching a ball. We have spoke about the steps needed to successfully complete these actions.
We had the most amazing day out with the animals at Ash End House Children's Farm. We got to stroke a bearded dragon, geckos, cows, sheep, goats, chicks and ducklings to name but a few. The most fun we had was feeding the cheeky goats and Ozzy the duck. We also enjoyed exploring the play areas with our friends. It was a fantastic end to a wonderful year.
We spent a wonderful week learning about worms for our Great Science Share.
Chestnut class have really enjoyed their outdoor learning experiences this half term. They have learned about minibeasts and their habitats, building a bug hotel and spotting minibeasts. We have explored the area and certainly enjoyed the forest swing and roasted marshmallows.
How lucky we are to have such great experiences in school.
We started this half term with a three week talk for writing unit based around the story ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.The children have fully immersed themselves in this learning and not only have they written their own fantastic retelling of the story, but they have also created giants out of construction kits, castle and beanstalks from junk modelling, and found out about plant lifecycles, amongst other things.
Our other theme for this half term is ‘Mad about Minibeasts!’We have begun this learning with some Science, our mission being to discover more about worms.We have set up a wormery in our classroom to help us do this.Come back soon to find out more about what we have discovered about worms and our other minibeast friends.
There has been much excitement in Reception this half term when we had some special visitors.On Tuesday 9th May, the children came into school and were surprised to find there had been a special egg delivery.To their delight, by the end of the day all the eggs had hatched and seven chicks were happily getting used to their new surroundings.They have had the most enjoyable time watching the chicks grow, learning how to care for them and most importantly having a few cuddles.
We have been exploring the story ‘Anna Hibiscus’ Song’.Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa.We discover that in part of the story, Anna’s Aunties are pounding yams.We wanted to find out more about yams, so Mrs Robilliard took a trip to an African supermarket (in England) to buy some yams. We were surprised at how big and heavy they were!After exploring the yams with our senses of sight and touch, we tried cooking them so that we could also discover what they smelt and tasted like too.You can tell by the photographs that some of us liked the taste and some of us didn’t.
Summer 1 will involve transporting children to the continent of Africa where they will be immersed in the vivid colours of artists, traditional food and even regional African dances.They will discover a variety of landscapes by scanning QR codes to access informational videos.With beautifully rich literacy texts such as Anna Hibiscus' story and Handa's Surprise, the children will get to compare their own daily life to that of children across the world.
Animals and all their wonder will also be explored, allowing the children to become familiar with animals we may only see on TV and in books. The sights and sounds of Africa really will be the most amazing adventure for all our reception children!
Spring 2
Dinosaur Stomp
Fostering and nurturing a love of reading, books and the magic of literature is a core principle at Birchwood School. Acorn and Chestnut class were extremely fortunate that teachers didn't want to celebrate just world book day, but engaged in a whole week of celebrating stories, rhymes and books. Children were invited to bring their favourite stories in, dress up, revisit old texts we have engaged in and create their very own puppets for their theatre along with many more fantastic activities. Here are some of the magical moments from this week. What a bunch of budding literary legends in the making.
This half term the children in Acorn and Chestnut class have been exploring our new theme 'Dinosaur Stomp'! It has been a mix of anticipation and excitement as the children were welcomed back to school with mysterious foot proints that led to a huge unexplained, abandoned egg. Since then, the children have been looking after it and keeping it warm. Predictions have been made as to whether it will hatch into a snake, lizard, dinosaur or even if it just contains chocolate.
As you can see from the photos the children are fully invested and engaged in this topic.
We had great fun when we went to the Snowdome to experience real snow.
We played around in the snow, slid and spun down the snow slide, climbed and played in the treehouse and threw just a few snowballs at each other and the teachers!
This half term the children have been on an adventure. An adventure through the story of We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen. We use talk for writing to help embed both the story and actions of this adventure over the course of a few weeks. This week we concluded our magnificent adventure by actually going on a bear hunt. With the wonders of Green Screen here are the children in reception retelling this story
We have been learning about the story ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’. In the story the characters encounter lots of obstacles on their journey to the bear’s cave. We went on our own sensory bare foot walk to try and get an idea about what the family might have experienced.
We really enjoyed learning about how people prepare for and celebrate Chinese New Year.We listened to the story of ‘The Great Race’, a story of the Chinese Zodiac.The Jade Emperor named a year in the zodiac after each animal that took part in the race. The children thought the rat was very cheeky as he got a ride on the ox to get to the other side, then jumped over the ox's head and won the race.
Our other learning included; role playing getting ready for Chinese New Year, picking things up with chopsticks, painting and making dragons and trying Chinese food.We even made a giant dragon’s head that we used to try out some dragon dancing.
Brrrr! It may be Winter, but that hasn’t stopped us investigating water and ice to make our own ice lollies – yum!We talked about how to make them and what would happen to the water.
'We need to pour water into a mould and then put it in the freezer to make it solid ice,' Lexi.
'The fridge won’t be cold enough to turn the water into ice,' Paige.
'Put water in the freezer so it goes solid and turns into ice.It’s really cold in the freezer,' Riley.
'We need water because water makes ice.If you put it in the freezer it will turn into ice because the freezer is colder than the fridge.When ice melts it turns into a liquid,' Autumn.
We have come back to school in 2023 ready for our learning and excited to be diving into our next theme Winter Wonderland. Within this theme we will expand our children’s understanding of the world they live in and the wonders that it hides. The children will travel by text and the brilliance of their imaginations to the Polar Regions of the globe, finding out and comparing their landscapes and the animals to those local to the UK. We will explore the qualities of snow, and ice. We will also look at features of the season of winter including the changing weather. Here are some photos of the amazing learning the children across reception have encountered so far:
We had the most enjoyable day out at Conkers Winter Wonderland! Our Christmas adventure started with a ride on the Santa Express which took us to the Elf Village. There, we listened to a story about a robin whilst enjoying a drink and cookie. We then made our very own craft robin to take home. From there we went on a magical wintery walk ending up at Santa's Grotto. Santa asked us what we would like for Christmas, told us all we have been very good this year and gave us a present. We were all very excited! After lunch we enjoyed exploring the enchanted forest before watching a Christmas movie in the 4D cinema. It was such a wonderful day and will leave us with lots of special memories.
We are very proud of all the children in Acorn and Chestnut class for doing such a fabulous job of learning all the songs and lines for their Nativity play. The end performance was amazing. Well done everyone!
Today we had the pleasure of inviting the local Reverend into school to talk to the Reception children about the Christian Faith, her job and how the birth of Jesus is important. The children asked questions, saw props and even sang Nativity songs.
After learning the story ‘Pumpkin Soup’ by Helen Cooper using Talk for Writing, we had the opportunity to go into the Food Tech Room and make our own. We discussed the recipe used in the story and the steps taken and compared it to the recipe we used at school. We got to taste the soup and most of us loved it.
We love exploring maths in many ways and this week we explored games with numbers up to 5. We worked as teams and threw bean bags into the hoops to see how many landed in the hoop and how many missed. This helped us to organise our sentence structures for combining amounts.
Later in the week we all went on a number hunt inside and outside of the school building. We were amazed at how many numbers can be found. Have a look at all our wonderful learning!
Chestnut class really enjoyed their first forest school session. We went on a walk to look for signs of Autumn and talked about the colours of Autumn while on the look out for Autumn treasures. We found different coloured leaves, twigs, acorns and berries. We put all our Autumn objects into a cup to make an Autumn potion.
Here you can see the reception children exploring the learning provision inside and outside. With many celebrations such as Halloween and Bonfire Night already being seen, you can see our children immersed in their learning. Autumn is Mrs Smith and Mrs Robilliard's favourite season with all the beautiful colours and crafts.
We had a great time celebrating National Poetry Day on Thursday 6th October. Everyone looked fantastic dressed up as adjectives. There was a fabulous range including sparkly, intelligent, old, camouflaged, gloomy and angelic. We also enjoyed watching Year 2 perform the poem 'The Owl and the Pussy Cat' to us. We then performed the rhyme 'One, Two Buckle My Shoe' for them.
Tuesday 4th October was a busy day in Reception. We spent the first part of the morning listening to poems from the visiting poet Ash Dickinson, who then helped us to write a class poem. We then spent some of the morning looking at some exciting educational apps on the iPads with Mr Bailey.
We had some very special visitors into school on Friday 14th October as our teddy bears joined us for a teddy bears picnic. We retold the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears that we have been learning, sang teddy bear songs, played games and made our own banana sandwiches to eat. Yummy!
On Thursday 22nd September local Fire Fighters came into school to talk to the reception children about the importance of their role. The children got to practice asking questions about their job and the risks they take, and also got to try on some of their amazing kit.
The children have made an incredible start to their learning journey here at Birchwood Primary School and we are so proud of how quickly they have settled and how positively they have engaged with the learning opportunities. Here are some photographs of them enjoying their first few weeks at school.
1.1. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of the users of our services. Our services include and will hereby be referred to as 'Our Services' (our websites used to promote eSchools services and tutorial resources, specifically
https://www.eschools.co.uk
and https://academy.eschools.co.uk), 'School Websites' ( designed by eSchools and populated by individual schools themselves) and 'Platforms' (individual online services that provide teachers, learners, parents and governors with information, tools and resources) as well as our smartphone app. This policy sets out how we will treat your personal information across these services.
2. Collecting personal information on Our Services
2.1 We may process or temporarily store the following kinds of personal information:
information about your computer and about your visits to and use of Our Services (including but not limited to, your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths)
information contained in or relating to any communications that you send to us or send through our website (including, the communication content) via online forms
any other personal information that you choose to send to us via online forms
manually inputted details of users added to the platform
details of users as integrated by our providers at Wonde via your MIS (if applicable to your package). For further information on integrated data please see our Data Sharing Agreement
2.2 Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person's consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with the terms of this policy.
2.3 eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. For further information on how you can manage and set your cookie preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.
2.4 Information submitted through the online contact form on a school website is processed via eSchools, and passed directly to the school in question. This data is held by eSchools for 30 days (or in the case of failed messages, 90 days) before deletion. Once passed to the school this data is held by them and subject to that school’s privacy policy.
2.5 Schools are also able to add analytics tools and can therefore gather information on visits to and use of their website (including but not limited to, IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths). Individual visitors can manage their preferences through cookie preferences, as mentioned in 2.4.
2.6 Session IP addresses are retained to monitor and safeguard against improper usage of our services.
2.7 Content on the platform (added by staff, governors and students) and website content is added directly by School Users. This information is only used for to display on the platform in the way the user intends and is not used for any other purposes by eSchools. At a time when a school ceases to use our services the content is removed within a 14 day period as detailed in our agreement with the school.
2.8 Some of our services require the school to provide access to information they require for use with those services. For example a school using our communication tool, Letters Home, which enables schools to contact parents by email regarding important school information. In this situation a school will provide eSchools with access to the email address(es) they wish to send their communication to. Schools have granular access to ensure only the required data is shared and accessed by eSchools. The data is frequently updated to ensure that eSchools only retains up-to-date data.
3. Using your personal information
3.1. We may use your personal information to:
administer our services
enable your use of our services
troubleshoot and problem solve
send you email notifications that you have specifically requested. You can manage your preferences at anytime through your eSchools dashboard.
keep our services secure, safeguard against improper use of our services and prevent fraud.
3.1.1. For the purposes of providing you access to your eSchools platform and app (ie. forgotten password/login)
3.1.2. By registering for updates, School Staff/Governors are able to subscribe to our regular communications.
3.1.3. We will use any contact details supplied in an online form for the purposes explicitly detailed in said form. For example troubleshooting and problem solving or the provision of live online training as explicitly requested by you, the user.
3.2. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
3.3. eSchools understands our obligation to be mindful about the data we process and only process data that is required to fulfil our obligations in providing our services; to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user.
3.4. We will not pass your information to third parties; except for the purpose of fulfilling our services to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user or where we are required to do so by law.
4. Disclosing personal information
4.1 We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.2 We may disclose your personal information:
to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
in connection with any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings;
in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information;
to the school in the case of improper use on the platform by individuals
4.3 Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your personal information to third parties.
5. International data transfers
5.1. Data directly collected by eSchools may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this policy. Any third party we use is within the EEA or they hold an existing EU SCC, as in line with requirements under the GDPR. No other third party are permitted to access the school’s data.
5.2. Personal information that an individual adds to our websites may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.
6. Retaining personal information
6.1. This section sets out our data retention policies and procedures, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information.
6.2. Personal information that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3. Data collected through analytic cookies will be retained for 26 months. Individual visitors can adapt the data collected through cookie preferences, as mentioned in 2.4.
6.4. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we will retain documents (including electronic documents) containing personal data:
To the extent that we are required to do so by law;
If we believe that the documents may be relevant to any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings; and
In order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk). Data will no longer be kept after the termination of the contract with the school.
7. Security of your personal information
7.1. We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
7.2. We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall-protected) servers. The web service we employ has a broad range of accreditations and certifications and the data centres used ensure the data stays within the EEA.
7.3. eSchools use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which creates a secure connection and uses two keys to encrypt data in transit. Despite this, you acknowledge that the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data.
8. Amendments
8.1. We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
8.2. You should check this page regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes to this policy.
9. Your rights
9.1. You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you.
9.2. We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law.
9.3. You may change your cookie preferences at any time as referenced in 2.4.
9.4. School Staff/Governors who subscribe to our Newsletter may manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
10. Third party websites
10.1 Our websites may include hyperlinks to, and details of, third party websites. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies and practices of third parties.
11. Updating information
We will only provide communication about the eSchools platform to school staff/governors who can manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
Part 2: Cookie Policy
Last Edited: 22nd April 2021
This Cookie Policy explains how eSchools use cookies and similar technologies in our Services. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control their use.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by online service providers in order to (for example) make their websites or services work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information.
Cookies set by the website owner or service provider (in this case, eSchools) are called “first party cookies”. Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third party cookies”. Third party cookies enable third party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website or service you are using (such as advertising, interactive content and analytics). The third parties that set these third party cookies can recognise your computer both when it visits the website or service in question and also when it visits certain other websites or services.
Why do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?
We use first party and third party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Services to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” cookies. Other cookies enable us and the third parties we work with to track and target the interests of visitors to our Services, and we refer to these as “advertising” or “analytical” cookies. For example, the embedding of YouTube and Vimeo videos, as added by individual schools, will require “advertising” cookies to be enabled in order to successfully play them. Schools that, for example, opt to track visitor data using Google Analytics will require “analytical” cookies to be enabled in order to do so. These third party cookies are used to tailor content and information that we may send or display to you and otherwise personalise your experience while interacting with our Services and to otherwise improve the functionality of the Services we provide. We also enable schools to employ cookies and similar tracking technologies in connection with their use of our Services in order to allow them to track visitors to and interactions with their school website.
How eSchools Uses Cookies
eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. The cookies differ depending on the information. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
User Embedded Content
Our Services allows schools to embed code which may potentially contain cookies. Please note embedded content, if displayed on one of our websites, has been added by the school and not by eSchools. The embedded content added by the school may require additional cookies or tracking technologies to be enabled in order to function.
How can I control cookies?
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. Be aware that cookie preferences are set on a per device basis; therefore you may need to set your preferences on each device you use.
Initial cookie pop-up banner: You can exercise preferences about what cookies are served on our Websites by selecting your preference from this modal which appears upon visiting an eSchools website/login screen and dashboard. You can also change your cookie preferences by clicking on the link on the footer of any page. The banner will reappear annually (August 31st to coincide with the academic year) to confirm your settings.
Browser Controls: You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our Websites though your access to some functionality and areas of our Websites may be restricted. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser’s help menu for more information.
Disabling Most Interest Based Advertising: Most advertising networks offer you a way to opt out of Interest Based Advertising. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. If you would like to find out more information, please visit aboutads.info/choices or youronlinechoices.com.
Mobile Advertising: You can opt out of having your mobile advertising identifiers used for certain types of Interest Based Advertising, by accessing the settings on your Apple or Android mobile device and following the most recent published instructions. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
How often will you update this Cookie Statement?
We may update this Cookie Statement from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please therefore re-visit this Cookie Statement regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. The date at the bottom of this Cookie Statement indicates when it was last updated.
Where can I get further information?
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at support@.eschools.co.uk.