This term, our students have been diving into the wonderful world of quatrain poetry and developing their understanding of an author's message. Through reading, analysing, and creating their own poems, students have demonstrated creativity, imagination, and a growing appreciation for the power of language.

A quatrain is a poem made up of four lines. Students explored how poets use rhyme, rhythm, and descriptive language to create meaning and engage their audience. By examining a variety of quatrain poems, students identified different rhyme patterns and discussed how word choice can influence the mood and imagery of a poem.

As part of their learning, students also focused on understanding the author's message. They learned that authors and poets write with a purpose, whether it is to entertain, inform, persuade, or share a personal feeling or idea. Students practised identifying clues within poems that helped them uncover the message the poet wanted readers to take away.

To apply their learning, students planned and wrote their own quatrain poems on topics that were meaningful to them. They carefully selected vocabulary, experimented with rhyme, and reflected on the message they wanted to communicate to their audience. It was wonderful to see students express themselves through poetry while developing their reading and writing skills.

We encourage families to continue exploring poetry at home by reading poems together and discussing the meaning behind the words. Asking questions such as "What is the poet trying to tell us?" or "How does this poem make you feel?" can help strengthen students' understanding of author's message and foster a lifelong love of literacy.

We are very proud of the enthusiasm and creativity our students have shown throughout this unit and look forward to sharing more of their learning journey with you.

Our Year 2 students have been developing their understanding of multiplication by exploring the concepts of repeated addition and arrays. These important mathematical foundations help students make sense of multiplication in meaningful and visual ways.

Throughout this learning unit, students discovered that multiplication is a quicker and more efficient way of adding equal groups. Using repeated addition, they practised combining the same number several times. For example, instead of calculating 3 + 3 + 3 + 3, students learned that this can be represented as 4 × 3 = 12. This helped them see the connection between addition and multiplication while strengthening their number sense.

Students also explored multiplication through arrays, which are arrangements of objects in equal rows and columns. Using counters, blocks, drawings, and real-world examples, students created arrays to represent multiplication facts. For example, an array with 3 rows of 4 objects helped students understand that 3 × 4 = 12. Arrays supported students in visualising groups and recognising patterns within numbers.

Through engaging hands-on activities, games, and collaborative problem-solving tasks, students practised identifying equal groups, writing multiplication sentences, and explaining their mathematical thinking. These experiences encouraged them to develop confidence and flexibility when working with numbers.

Families can support this learning at home by looking for multiplication in everyday situations. Simple activities such as arranging toys into rows, organising snacks into equal groups, or discussing arrays found in egg cartons and muffin trays can help reinforce these concepts in a fun and practical way.

We are incredibly proud of the perseverance our Year 2 students have shown as they build their multiplication skills. Their growing understanding of repeated addition and arrays is laying a strong foundation for future mathematical learning. We look forward to seeing their confidence continue to grow as they explore new mathematical challenges.

This week, our students have been diving into the wonderful world of cinquain poem and building their understanding of structure and syllables. Through reading, analysing, and creating their own poems, students have demonstrated creativity, imagination, and a growing appreciation for the power of language.

A cinquain is a five-line poem with a specific syllable pattern in each line. Students explored how this structure shapes a poem, learning to carefully count and choose their words to fit within each line. By examining a variety of cinquain poems, students identified the syllable pattern and discussed how sticking to this structure encourages precise and thoughtful word choice.

As part of their learning, students also focused on visualising poems, picturing the images and scenes each poem created in their minds as they read. This helped bring the poems to life and deepened their understanding of the words on the page. Students also made text-to-self connections, linking the ideas and feelings in each poem to their own lives and experiences.

To apply their learning, students planned and wrote their own cinquain poems on topics that were meaningful to them. They carefully counted syllables, worked within the structure, and pictured their poems coming to life as they wrote. It was wonderful to see students express themselves through poetry while developing their reading and writing skills.

We encourage families to continue exploring poetry at home by reading poems together and discussing the pictures they create in your mind. Asking questions such as "What do you picture when you hear this poem?" or "Does this remind you of something from your own life?" can help strengthen students' understanding and foster a lifelong love of literacy.

We are very proud of the enthusiasm and creativity our students have shown throughout this unit and look forward to sharing more of their learning journey with you.

In Numeracy we have been learning about multiplication and division strategies to solve equations. Students know that multiplication is the inverse of division. We have been using strategies like repeated subtraction by counting back on a number line to solve division equations. In Number fluencing we are fluent at counting on and backwards by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s from different starting points. 

This fortnight, we have been developing strategies to recognise and manage our emotions and make positive choices. We have explored different coping strategies to help us return to the Green Zone, including strategies for calming down or cheering ourselves up when we experience challenging situations or triggers. We have also discussed feelings such as worry, fear and anxiety and practised ways to manage these emotions through role-play and classroom activities. Another key focus has been our understanding of fairness and recognising that being fair means helping people get what they need so everyone has the opportunity to do their best. These learning experiences are helping us to our build emotional awareness, resilience, empathy, and positive decision-making skills. 

This term in CBL, our Year 2 students have been learning about History and how things change over time while some things stay the same. We have explored the lives of people in the past and compared them with the way we live today.

As part of our learning, students investigated how technology, toys, food and communication have changed over the years. They enjoyed discussing similarities and differences between the past and the present, asking thoughtful questions, and sharing what they discovered through pictures, books and class discussions.

To showcase their learning, students have started creating their own History flip books. Each page explains how one aspect of everyday life has changed over time, using drawings, labels and informative sentences. This activity will help students develop their historical understanding while also practising their research, writing and presentation skills.

We are so proud of the curiosity, creativity and effort our Year 2 students are showing throughout this unit!

In Literacy, we have started our Author’s Purpose Unit. We are reading Polly and Buster by Sally Rippin and exploring the author’s purpose as we read each chapter.

Throughout the unit, we are practising important reading skills such as visualising, predicting and making connections. We are also answering a range of literal and inferential questions to help us think more deeply about the characters, events and ideas in the text. These skills are helping us to strengthen our comprehension and become thoughtful, confident readers.

In writing we are learning to write a narrative. We have talked about character traits, settings, problems and solutions in a story. We have planned our ideas for our own narratives. 

In Numeracy, during Week 4 we wrapped up our Multiplication and Division unit. We have been developing our understanding of equal groups, arrays, sharing and grouping, and making connections between multiplication and division. It has been wonderful to see the confidence growing as we use different strategies and materials to solve problems and explain our mathematical thinking.

In Week 5, we are beginning our new Shape unit. We will explore 2D shapes and their properties, including identifying and describing parallel lines. We will investigate the difference between regular and irregular polygons and learn how shapes can be rotated clockwise and anticlockwise. We will use hands-on activities and mathematical language to describe, compare and investigate different shapes.

In CBL, students have been investigating toys from the past and comparing them with the toys we use today. They explored how toys have changed over time and examined the role technology has played in these developments. Through discussions and hands-on learning experiences, students identified similarities and differences between historical and modern toys, considering how materials, design, and functionality have evolved. They also explored how technological advancements have influenced the tools and technologies we use in our everyday lives. Students enjoyed making connections between the past and present, sharing their own experiences, and reflecting on how innovation continues to shape the way we learn, play, and interact with the world around us.

This term, our Year 2 students have been learning about triggers, emotions and coping strategies.. We have explored how different situations can trigger different feelings and discussed positive strategies to help us manage big emotions, such as deep breathing, taking a break, positive self-talk and asking for help.

We have also been learning to use “I” statements to communicate our feelings respectfully. Students have practised sentences such as, “I feel upset when…” and “I need some space, please.”

Through these lessons, students are developing the skills to recognise their emotions, manage their feelings and communicate respectfully with others.