A Wonderful Week of Learning in 2C!

This week in 2C has been bursting with exciting learning and memorable moments!

In English, we’ve been getting creative with our very own spooky stories. From eerie haunted houses to mysterious abandoned schools, the children have produced some truly fantastic and imaginative writing. Their enthusiasm and storytelling skills have been a joy to see!

In Maths, we’ve been revisiting key topics and building on what we already know. The children have shown excellent focus and understanding, applying their knowledge confidently and working hard throughout the week.

In PSHE, our focus has been on friendship. We had thoughtful discussions about what makes a good friend and took part in activities to help strengthen the bonds within our class. A particular highlight was making friendship bracelets, which were then gifted to another classmate—spreading smiles all around!

On Wednesday, we had our class photos taken. Keep an eye out for the proofs, which should be coming home soon.

And finally, today has been a day full of excitement, as our Year 2 children found out who their new Year 3 teachers will be! There’s a real buzz in the air as the children begin looking ahead to the next step in their school journey.

Well done, 2C—you’ve had a brilliant week!

What a week it’s been – and what a way to finish it off!

We kicked things off with our Sports Day, and the children were full of energy and enthusiasm. It was brilliant to see them cheering each other on, showing resilience, and celebrating each other’s successes with big smiles and warm encouragement. The Birkdale team spirit was truly shining!

Midweek brought the deliciousness of our International Food Café. Thank you so much to all the families who sent in dishes – from savoury bites to sweet treats, everything was incredible. The children loved trying new foods and sharing tastes from their cultures. It was a real highlight that brought everyone together.

And then today… our big trip to Lotherton Hall – in 30-degree heat! The children were absolute superstars, showing brilliant behaviour, boundless curiosity, and plenty of perseverance as we explored the manor house and met the animals. From shady woodland walks to spotting exotic creatures in the Wildlife World, we made the most of the sunshine (with lots of water breaks and suncream, of course!).

A huge thank you goes to our wonderful parent volunteers who joined us on the trip. Your support made the day run so smoothly – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Exploring How Materials Change 🌟

This week in Science, 2C have been busy exploring how different materials can be changed using force. We’ve been learning some fantastic scientific vocabulary, including:

🔄 Twisting

🔁 Bending

🌀 Rolling

🤏 Squishing

💥 Squashing

To help us investigate, we started with plasticine – a brilliant material that’s soft, mouldable, and perfect for experimenting. The children had so much fun twisting, squashing, and rolling it into all kinds of shapes. We discussed how the material changed and whether those changes could be undone.

Next, we tested a variety of everyday objects to see how they responded to different forces. Could we bend a spoon? What happened when we squashed a sponge? Could we twist a pipe cleaner or roll a marble?

We discovered that some materials can change shape easily, while others are much more rigid. The children thought carefully about why that might be and used brilliant scientific thinking to explain their ideas.

Why not ask your child to show you one of the forces at home using safe objects – maybe they could twist a tea towel or squash a cushion!

We’re so proud of their curiosity and creativity – fantastic work, 2C! 🧪✨

2C’s Final Half-Term Fun! 🌟

Can you believe we’re already in the final half-term of Year 2? It feels like just yesterday we were settling into our classroom, learning new routines and getting to know each other. Now, 2C are confident, curious, and so ready for Year 3!

We’ve got a jam-packed few weeks ahead, and the excitement is building. Sports Day is just around the corner (time to dust off those running shoes!), and we’ve got our big trip to Lotherton Hall coming up too. We’re also buzzing for our International Food Café—get ready for some tasty treats from around the world! And of course, transition days are on the horizon, giving the children a little taste of what life in Year 3 will be like.

In class, we’ve kicked off our new English unit with some spooky fear stories—and wow, the children have loved it. From eerie forests to mysterious shadows, their imaginations have gone wild, and they’ve already written some brilliant first drafts. You might want to keep the lights on when reading a few of them!

Over in Maths, we’ve dived into statistics. We’ve been reading tables, using tallies, and even making our own bar charts. The children are picking it up so quickly—some are even starting to link what they’re learning to things they see at home, like football scores and step counts. Love to see it!

It’s been such a joy watching 2C grow this year—both in confidence and independence. Let’s make this last half-term one to remember!

Stay tuned for more updates and (hopefully sunny!) photos soon!

Miss Cooke 😊

This week, the children have finished their hot writes for a monster
description. The children have produced some amazing and very
entertaining writing! Next half-term, we are covering fear stories in
our writing with a focus on setting descriptions.
In maths, the children have now come to the end of their time topic
but there is still time to practise at home! Considering how
challenging it can be, the children have persevered well with this unit
of work. Practising ‘minutes past’ and also ‘minutes to’ at home with
them on an analogue clock would really help them further.
On Thursday, we enjoyed a David Walliams virtual author event.
David shared his life stories, leading to him being an author and
heard about his new book ‘The World’s Worst Superheroes.’
Finally, for Art, the children have finished their fantastic tree watercolour and wax relief paintings.

We’ve had another busy and exciting week in 2C!

In English, the children have completed their “Defeating a Monster” hot write. This is always a fun and thrilling genre, and the class really threw themselves into it with energy and imagination. From bold heroes to terrifying beasts, the children have shown just how far they’ve come as writers since September. It’s a real privilege to witness their growth and creativity shining through their writing!

In Maths, we’ve reached the end of our unit on Time. This can be a tricky topic for Year 2, but the children have shown great perseverance. You can help support this learning at home by practising reading an analogue clock together – whether on the wall, your wrist, or even a toy clock.

In PSHE, we covered an important and sensitive topic: understanding our bodies and the concept of privacy. We used the NSPCC’s “Talk PANTS with Pantosaurus” song to introduce the idea that certain body parts are private and belong only to us. The children responded maturely, and it opened up some thoughtful conversations.

It’s natural for children to have follow-up questions about this topic. If your child brings something up at home and you’re unsure how to answer, please don’t hesitate to speak to us. We’re here to help you navigate these important discussions.

On Thursday, had a wonderful time visiting Moor Allerton Library. During the visit, the children learned important library skills and enjoyed sharing books together, helping to spark their love of reading.

As part of the trip, the pupils also practised their geography skills by mapping their route to the library. Along the way, they identified and recorded both human and physical features on their maps using a key.

It was a fantastic learning experience combining reading, geography, and real-world exploration!

Yesterday in 2C, the children enjoyed learning about VE Day and why we celebrate this important day. It was lovely to see so many pupils dressed in red, white & blue. We also had some Union Jack hair colours!

In English this week, the children have been planning their shared write which is based on the text Jack’s Great Escape. They have been busy using different adjectives (noun phrases) to describe the characters and have changed the monster to a werewolf and their main character to Jill. The children have just started to write their first paragraph and have
made a great start. I am looking forward to reading more of these next week!

In our Maths lessons, we are have come to the end of our learning about fractions. We have now moved onto our next unit of learning all about time. Please practise at home telling the time to o’clock; half past and quarter to / past the hour using an anologue clock.

We have had a great week in 2C and the pupils have managed the warmer climate brilliantly!

In our writing lessons the children have been continuing with looking at detailed character descriptions and how to write them, focusing on the description of the giant in Jack and The Beanstalk. They have

begun to pick it apart and identify what features of the text make it a good character description to include this in their writing next week.

In our Maths lessons, the children have been exploring looking at unit fractions and non-unit fractions this week. They have found the difference between these different types of fractions and have become better at placing numbers accurately in the numerator and denominator section.

In Science last week, the children planted their seeds. We are now monitoring the growth of these seeds weekly and are hoping to see some lovely wildflowers shortly in our area.

This week, we learnt the names of common UK plants and flowers. We then went into the school grounds and identified lots of these. We then carried out observational drawings.

In art, we imitated the work of a local artist & botanist from the 1700’s – James Bolton. We imitated his art work ‘The painted iris & summer snow drop’.