Year Two Computer Lesson

During their computer lessons, the children created art work in the style of Mondrian and Pointillism using the Purple Mash programme. The effects were stunning!

History in Year Two

During their history lessons the children learnt about two important historical figures. They researched the history of the gunpowder plot and Guy Fawkes and learnt about his association with Bonfire Night.

They also explored the life of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst the British political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. They discussed how and why she fought for fairness for women.

Q&A's for Sarah!

In preparation for Sarah Mtonga's visit, the children wrote some questions to ask her about life in Malawi and the Umoyo Project. They also been wrote letters to the children in Malawi and made pencil cases for Mrs Browning, Mrs Puttock and Mrs Wolfe to take with them when they visit the project during the half term.

In geography they looked at the human and physical features in Malawi in comparison to our own local environment to identify similarities and differences.

African Drumming

We are sure the whole of Riverhead could hear the rhythmic rhythms coming from the school, as the Year Two children took part in the Iroko drumming workshop! The workshop was organised as part of their Amazing Africa topic and the event was based around a traditional African fable. Throughout the day the children took part in drumming, dancing and singing which really brought this subject to life. 

Term One in Year Two

Term One's Year Two topic was "Amazing Africa" and the children learnt about this fascinating continent, discovering the different traditions, music and costumes. They read the book "Anansi and the Turtle" and learnt about the main character Anansi the spider, who is one of the most popular animal tricksters from West African mythology.

During their art lessons they explored different African patterns and experimented with print block effects. They transferred their designs onto their chitenge which are a traditional African cloth.  The results are wonderful.

They learnt the names and where to locate the seven continents of the world and researched the seven oceans around the continents.

The Study of Georgia O'Keeffe

During their art lessons, the children researched the artist Georgia O'Keeffe. They learnt about tertiary colours, mixing one part of a primary colour with half part of another primary. Using this information they complimented and contrasted colours to create some stunning artwork.

Visit to Drusillas

The children took part in a wonderful visit to the Drusillas Animal Park to consolidate their learning in

geography and science.  They explored the zoo and attended a workshop where they learnt more about the animal habitats and adaptations.  

Grandparent's Tea Party

It was wonderful to spend some time with some of the children's grandparents who came in to talk to them about their childhood school experiences. We compared the differences between their school lessons, lunches and rules and ours at Riverhead.

Environments Topic

As part of their "Environments" topic, the children visited the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve. They had a wonderful day pond dipping, bird watching and bug hunting. They found mayfly nymphs and a great diving beetle in the pond, woodlice under the logs and spiders in the bushes and trees.  They wrote an account of their visits when they returned to their classrooms. 

They also visited the meadow as part of their geography learning, for a fieldwork lesson. They compared physical and human features of the environment with those found in the school grounds.

Year Two R.E. Subject

For their R.E. subject - about helping others, the children gave their Teaching Assistants a really wonderful surprise of a delicious tea! They talked about how important our teaching assistants are, and how hard they work, and decided that they all needed a treat! They made their own invitations and bunting to decorate the hall. Best of all was the lovely video they filmed thanking the T.A.'s and telling them how special they are.

Habitats in School

The children have been learning about habitats and micro habitats in science. They explored the school grounds to find different types of habitats and to see which animals live in them. They thought about and discussed the different conditions animals need to survive in their habitats.

Growing and Designing in Year Two

In their science lessons, the Year Two children grew pumpkin seeds. They thought about the best conditions for seeds and plants to germinate and grow healthily and will moved their plants to the kitchen garden when they were big enough.

In D&T they discussed and designed the appropriate materials to use to build a Ferris wheel.   Following their detailed designs, the children constructed their Ferris wheels using lolly sticks, cardboard, skewers, egg boxes and yoghurt cartons. The brief was that the wheel had to rotate and have pods for passengers, which they all successfully achieved.

Something Stirring in the Woods!

Mrs. Wolfe sent a letter to the children asking them to investigate something strange and unusual which had been spotted in the woodlands! After their investigations they decided to write to the local community describing their findings and asking them to keep a look out for strange creature! They also drew pictures of what they thought the creature might look like! 

It's a Wrap!

As part of their healthy eating topic, Year Two thought about healthy diets. They chose the ingredients from different food groups to create a nutritional tasty wrap. Following their research of tasting different food combinations, they made their wraps and took them home for tea!

Year Two Migration Topic

Year Two's topic in Term Four was "Migration". The children started it by looking at the story "Lost and Found" and developed their descriptive sentence writing. They also used their compasses to find different points in the school, so that they didn't get lost!

They also researched the migration journey of the Emperor Penguin.  Using their research they wrote a factual recount of the journey.

Science and Maths in Term Four

In science the chidlren completed their investigation in materials by testing the stretchiness of materials to see which one would be suitable for a new suit for Elastigirl.

In maths they have been learning about fractions of shapes and numbers.

Geography in Year Two

As part of their geography subject, the children took part in a traffic survey to look at the impact humans have on the environment. Following the survey they designed their own posters to show their field work, explaining why cleaner air is essential to our wellbeing and health.

Year Two Science Topic

In science, the children focused on materials and exploring the stability of different structures. Discussing how different materials can be changed. How grouping together the same material can make a strong structure. Ernie in Neptune Class was particularly pleased about how strong the cardboard tubes were when he had to stand on them unaided!

They also found out how shapes of solid materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.

Year Two Superhero Topic

To start their "Superhero" topic, the children read the story of Max by Bob Graham this week. They have retold the story of his proud super heroic legacy thinking about sentence rules and the story sequence.

They learnt about a real superhero, Florence Nightingale.  They discovered why she is a significant person from history.  Found out some interesting facts about the wonderful work she did in the Crimean War and how her courageous actions helped save hundreds of lives.

They also became superheroes when they took part in a First Aid Workshop.  They learnt how to cope in an emergency, when and how to call the emergency services, simple bandaging and the recovery position.

Year Two R.E. Lesson

During their R.E. lessons, the children learnt about the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to Christians. They followed the sequence of pictures giving a brief written description of events to tell the story.

Knole House Visit

The Year Two children visited Knole House as part of their history topic. They enjoyed a lovely walk to the House, where they dressed up in traditional Tudor costumes; were shown the beautiful rooms and courtyards; learnt all about some of the significant events and people related to Knole.  They even had the chance to handle some of the replica artefacts such as the quills, bellows and butter patters. 

They continued their work on Knole House by creating their own posters to describe the different aspects of the visit.

Weaving Kente Cloth

The Year Two children used their designing and paper weaving skills to make Kente cloth which is a traditional Ghanaian textile historically worn in a toga-like fashion by royalty and added black marker to make geometric patterns.

BuckQUEENham Palace

Recently we had the pleasure of welcoming local author David Gamble into school to talk about

a book he had written over lockdown, entitled ‘BuckQUEENham Palace’. The story is a light-hearted and amusing consideration over whether the name of Buckingham Palace should be changed to reflect the fact that Queens have inhabited it for longer than Kings. As a way of commemorating her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. 

He also wanted to commemorate someone else who shared a link to both the book and our school. This is because the cover illustration for BucQUEENham Palace was created by another local resident – Roger Fitzgerald. As well as being the illustrator for this book, Roger was the architect responsible for designing the ‘new’ Riverhead Infants' School that was opened in 2009. 

David Gamble returned to school to judge our "School Building" drawing competition. Congratulations to Ruby in Saturn Class, Samuel in Jupiter Class and Ernie in Neptune Class who amazing pictures won them a certificate and £10 to spend on whatever they like! All of the children were given puzzle square as a "thank you" for their hard work and taking time to enter.