Term 3

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, Year 2 students explored the idea that different situations can affect how we feel and may cause us to move between the Zones of Regulation. Students learned that while everyone experiences a range of emotions, the situations that trigger these feelings can be different for each person.

A key focus was understanding what a trigger is. Students learned that a trigger is something that causes us to move out of the Green Zone, where we feel calm, focused and ready to learn. Through discussions and literature, students recognised that common triggers might include making a mistake, being told "no", losing a game, friendship challenges, or not getting a turn.

Students also explored how our bodies often give us clues when a trigger affects us. They identified signs such as feeling tense, frustrated, worried, upset, or finding it harder to concentrate. Recognising these early warning signs helps students become more aware of their emotions and make positive choices before their feelings become overwhelming.

An important part of the learning was understanding that everyone has different triggers and that all feelings are valid. Students discussed the importance of showing empathy towards others, as what may not bother one person could be challenging for someone else.

By developing an awareness of their triggers and emotional responses, students are building important self-regulation skills that support positive relationships, resilience, wellbeing and successful learning both at school and at home.

Conversation starter: Ask your child, "What are some things that can move people out of the Green Zone, and what can we do when we notice those feelings?"