Let’s Animate!

As part of our topic work this term we are going to create an animation all about the Moon Landing in 1969.

It is the first time using the iMotion app so we needed to have an experiment with it to be able to work out the different settings and see what works for our team and what doesn’t.

Today we had a trial run so we are ready to start our Moon animations tomorrow. We had to work as a team to assign different job roles. Some people were in charge of capturing the images, some people had the object movement role and some people were the producers who helped to tell us if the shot was clear to take.

At times it was really challenging to make sure we only moved the object a small amount and not to knock anything when we were doing it. It took perseverance but we got there in the end and really enjoyed animating. We didn’t want to stop! Luckily we are continuing tomorrow.

Hopefully you’ll be able to see our Moon Landing Animations at parents evening in a couple of weeks.

Measuring investigation

Last week Year 2 completed a measuring investigation on the yard.

The question to investigate was…

‘Do taller children always have the largest shoe size?’

Not only did they have to try and answer the question but they had to prove it too.

Year 2 were provided with a chart to record, a tape measure and some chalk. They had to work with a partner to carry out the challenge.

Year 2 showed excellent core values such as teamwork, respect and commitment to learning. I was so impressed with their outstanding attitude and how much enjoyment came from the lesson.

Comment below with your answers to the investigation question!

Go Run For Fun!

Yesterday Year 2 took part in the Newcastle Schools Sporting event Go Run For Fun at Paddy Freeman’s Park.

The event took place all morning and we were given a race t-shirt and race number to take part in.

There were lots of other schools there with children aged between 5 and 11. Before the race we took part in a giant Mexican wave and then everyone joined in with the warm up which was lead by the GO ambassador. The warm up had moves like the the dab dance move, the Mobot jump and Usain Bolt’s signature move.

Once we had all warmed up with moved to the start line. It was a staggered start because there was so many children. Once we set off, we had to remember to pace ourselves because it was a mile long run. We all wanted to have enough energy to complete a sprint finish through the inflatable!

A Great British Marathon Runner attended the event and after the run has finished we got to think of some questions for her as a class. Luckily, Charley and Ruby were chosen to ask her our question which was, ‘What is your best running time?’

Mr Hovells even managed to get a sneaky photo with her too at the very end!

It was a great morning which we thoroughly enjoyed!

Year 2 showed real commitment and perseverance to complete the run and their behaviour on the trip was impeccable!

A day out at Alnwick Castle

Last Tuesday we enjoyed a great trip out to Alnwick Castle with Year 1 and the ARC.

It was a long coach journey but when we saw the castle we couldn’t believe how grand it was!

We took part in a Harry Hotspur workshop. Harry Hotspur told us he loved ‘Bishy, Bashy, Boshy’!

 

 

We got to look at armour and the weapons Harry Hotspur would have used. We even saw an arrow similar to the one Harry would have been shot in the eye with! Alan was the model for the morning. Miss Collins and Miss Gangel were even about to go to battle with the swords!

Then we went to play in the Knight’s Quest. We dressed up as knights and princesses and played games. It was a lot of fun! The Dragon’s Quest came next. We were really brave and supported one another to make our way through the quest to reach the terrifying dragon at the end! Even Miss Collins jumped!

After lunch we looked around the castle state rooms. They were magnificent! Did you know? One of the state room ceilings took 12 years to create! We also took a walk around the castle grounds and went to walk along the ramparts. The views were amazing.

Before we headed back to school we looked at the canons, we imagined they would really help to defend Alnwick Castle back in the middle ages!

Queen’s Birthday Parade

As the Queen turned 90 last Thursday, Year 2 celebrated with a birthday crown competition and a parade.

Can you believe that the Queen is 90 years old and is the longest reigning British monarch!

The competition was to design a crown for the Queen to wear on her birthday. We showed off our perseverance skills to take our time and create beautiful pieces of work that were well designed. We tested our fine motor skills using scissors too. After making a headband, Miss Collins and Miss Gangel helped us to attach our crowns so we could wear them in the parade.

We paraded in the yard and the competition was to find the best Queen crown and best King crown!

Lady Halliford came along and judged the competition!

The winners were…

Well done to the winners and to everyone in Year 2! They were all super!

Tynemouth Priory Castle

Last week we went on a trip to Tynemouth Priory Castle. Year 1 and 2 went together as part of our Castles, Knights and Dragons topic. Even though it was very cold at the coast we had a fun morning and spotted lots of castle features.

Can you spot any features in the photographs below?

Try looking for the portcullis, gatehouse, curtain wall and the moat?

Following on from the trip we wrote a trip recount. Miss Collins thought they were brilliant. We created a text map to plan the key events of the trip then we used the plan to help us write independently.

Did you know?

Recounts are written in the past tense which tells us an event has already happened!

Fitness Experts in Year 2!

We have such enthusiasm in PE that we have really been challenging ourselves to learn the names of the muscles in our bodies and the exercises we can do to make sure we warm these muscles up correctly. We can identify and use stretches to warm up our hamstrings, calves, quads and glutes! I’m sure lots of the parents have seen us cooling down as well after a Tuesday outdoor PE session.

We have all been very determined to find out more about our bodies when we exercise and so we have begun to learn about the cardiovascular system!

As it was a lovely sunny day, we went outside and worked on the yard to complete learning. We used chalk and images to complete the cardiovascular diagram! Our fitness leaders led the groups and we worked together very well. There was lots of think, pair, share going on and we really took on the teacher role! Take a look at the pictures below!

Year 2, can you comment below to explain the cardiovascular system?

Estimation

This week in Maths we have been looking at estimating.

We have carried out lots of different estimation investigations but our favourite was Weeto Hands!

First, we had to draw around our hands. Then we had to estimate how many weetos we thought it would take to fill our hand.

After recording our estimates, we then had to systematically fill our hand print with weetos. Once our hand prints were full we had to accurately count to find out what the actual total was.

Miss Collins even let us have a cheeky few weetos to eat once we were finished! We were all really engaged in this task as you can see in the photos.

Bonus dojo point to anyone in Year 2 who can comment to tell me what estimate and accurate mean!

KS1 Homework Project

In Key Stage One we have changed how we do homework and we send home projects instead.

They projects are usually linked to our topic work and have a design and technology focus. Children usually have to plan out their ideas first and then create their plan using a range of different materials.

As our topic is currently Castles, Knights and Dragons the last few projects have been to design and build a castle and a dragon egg project.

The dragon egg project started with designing your very own dragon egg. The following week an egg was sent home with a collection of materials for the children to create their egg design. Not long after that the eggs hatched and the children then had to follow a set of instructions to draw their dragon.

In Year 2 we then used our dragon homework project to complete some writing all about How to wash your baby dragon! The writing was outstanding. A brilliant effort by Year 2.

You have all shown real dedication and commitment to your homework projects, I can’t wait to get the next ones in.

Great Gymnastics!

In Year 2, Miss Horne has been coaching us to develop our gymnastic skills. We have shown great determination and perseverance to tackle something that we have all found tricky…jumping over the horse box and securing an effective land.
Take a look at these super action shots!