On Tuesday our school is came together in a sea of green for Wear It Green Day! By wearing our favourite green clothes and accessories, we are helping us shine a bright light on mental health and show everyone in our community that their wellbeing matters. Green is the international symbol for mental health awareness, representing hope, growth, and the fresh starts we can create together.

Last week in Science we planned an investigation to see what would happen to plants if they did not get water or sunlight. We talked about how we need to make it a fair test by keeping some things the same such as the type of plant and having them all in the same soil. We made predictions about what we thought would happen to each plant and why. Today we had a look at how each plant was doing so far. Plant A has been outside in the sunlight with water. Plant B has been put into the cupboard and has on’y been getting watered. Plant C has been on the windowsill so that it was still in the light but got no water. Finally plant D has been in the cupboard with no light and no water. We are going to leave the plants for another week then record our results and see if our predictions were correct.

In our Art, we have been looking at the painting called ‘Painted Iris and Summer Snowdrop’ by James Bolton. James Bolton was born in 1735 near Halifax in West Yorkshire. As well as being an artist he was also a botanist (someone who studies plants.) During the lesson we imitated the painting by James Bolton, using a pencil to sketch the outlines of the flowers and leaves. Come back soon to see what we will do next!

Today in our Science lesson, we became plant explorers! We went outside into the school grounds to look closely at the different plants growing around us. The children were very excited to discover how many plants we could find in different areas.

As we walked around, we spotted a variety of plants including dandelions, daisies, bluebells, clover and tulips. We stopped to carefully observe each one, thinking about what made them similar and what made them different. The children noticed things like the colours of the petals, the shapes of the leaves and where each plant was growing.

We also had an important discussion about what plants need to grow. The children shared fantastic ideas, explaining that plants need sunlight, water, air and space. We then started to think more deeply: why are plants growing in certain places? For example, we saw many plants growing in grassy areas and near flower beds, but not as many on hard surfaces.

This led us to an interesting question: would a plant grow in the middle of the playground? The children thought carefully and decided that it would be very difficult. They explained that the playground doesn’t have soil, and plants wouldn’t be able to get the water and nutrients they need. They also mentioned that people walking over the area could damage any plants trying to grow there.

After our exploration, the children completed four observational drawings of different plants they had seen. They took great care to include details and then labelled each drawing with the correct plant name. It was wonderful to see their focus and enthusiasm.

We had a fantastic time learning outdoors today, and the children did an excellent job thinking like scientists—observing, questioning and explaining their ideas!

This week in 2CN we had an exciting start to our new science topic all about plants!

We began our lesson by learning what plants need to grow strong and healthy. Then it was time to get our hands a little messy… we planted our very own bean seeds! We carefully filled our pots with soil, made a small hole, placed our bean inside, and gently covered it up before giving it some water.

After planting, we became sequencing experts! We worked together to put the instructions for planting a bean into the correct order. This helped us understand each step and why it is important to follow instructions carefully.

We are very excited to watch our beans grow over the next few weeks. We will be observing any changes and learning even more about how plants grow.

We can’t wait to see whose bean will sprout first! 

On Monday 2CN had another exciting Grow to Schools session, and it was full of fun, learning, and fresh air!

We began by using our science knowledge from this half term to create our very own Eatwell Plates. Instead of drawing or using paper, we collected natural materials from outside—such as leaves, sticks, flowers, and seeds—to represent the different food groups. It was a creative way to show what we have learned about healthy eating while enjoying nature at the same time.

Next, we went on a lovely spring nature trail around the school grounds. We spotted signs of the new season, including budding plants, blooming flowers, and busy insects. The children were fantastic at observing and talking about what they could see, hear, and smell.

After our walk, we visited the garden beds that we had planted earlier in the year. It was exciting to see how much everything had grown! We even harvested some fresh lettuce, which the children were very proud of. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the results of our hard work and learn more about where our food comes from.

Overall, it was a brilliant session filled with hands-on learning, teamwork, and outdoor exploration. Well done 2CN!

This week 2CN had lots of fun taking part in a ukulele workshop! First we learned about the different parts of the ukulele and what they are called including the head, neck, body, sound hole and strings. To help us remember the letter names of the strings, we learned a rhyme: “Good Children Eat Apples.” It really helped us!

After that, we got to have a go at strumming the ukulele. We listened carefully and practised playing the strings. Then we learned some chords so that we could play along to songs. We tried playing along with We Will Rock You and Songbird, which was very exciting!

We all enjoyed making music together and can’t wait to play the ukulele again next week!

This week, we had a very exciting visit from the York Bird of Prey Centre! In our assembly, we learned all about owls and saw three different types. One of the owls was a beautiful 10-year-old barn owl called Angel. We learned lots of interesting facts about how owls hunt, what they eat, and how their amazing wings help them fly so quietly. We were also given the opportunity to ask questions and find out even more about these amazing birds.

After the assembly, we went in smaller groups to meet the owls up close. We were even given the chance to hold them! We had to wear a special glove to keep our hands safe while the owls perched on them. It was an amazing experience and we loved seeing the owls so closely.

We had a fantastic time and learned so much about these wonderful birds of prey. Thank you to the York Bird of Prey Centre for visiting us!

In our computing lesson this week, Year 2 had lots of fun learning how to program our Bee-Bots. First, we talked about what an algorithm is and how it means giving clear instructions for something to follow.

We worked in small groups to plan a route for the Bee-Bots across the mat. We had to think carefully about which buttons to press to make the Bee-Bot move forwards, backwards, and turn left or right. Sometimes our Bee-Bot did not go where we expected, so we had to debug our program and try again.

We loved testing our ideas and helping each other solve problems. By the end of the lesson, we were much better at giving clear instructions and thinking like programmers!