This week in maths, 2CN have been busy exploring multiplication in a very hands-on way! We used practical objects like counters and cubes to make equal groups, helping us really see what multiplication means.

First, we built groups and counted them using repeated addition (for example: 4 + 4 + 4). Then we learned how this can be written as a multiplication number sentence (3 × 4). The children did a fantastic job explaining their thinking and making the links between grouping, adding, and multiplying.

Well done, 2CN — great teamwork and brilliant maths thinking!

2CN had a fantastic time visiting the Space Dome this morning! We travelled through space without even leaving school.

We learned about the space race and how countries worked hard to be first in space. We saw the moon landing and were amazed that astronauts walked on the Moon. We also learned about the International Space Station, where astronauts live and work together high above Earth. We finished by learning about Artemis, NASA’s new spaceship, which will help astronauts go back to the Moon.

We finished our session with the children asking some really insightful questions about all the things that we had been told about during our time in the space dome. 🌙✨

This week, 2CN has started an exciting new DT project: designing and making our very own moon buggies! We talked about how astronauts need special vehicles to travel across the Moon and discovered that wheels and axles are an important mechanism that helps vehicles move smoothly.

Today, the children became designers. They sketched their moon buggy ideas, carefully labelled the parts, and listed the materials they think they will need to build them. We talked about how the wheels must turn freely on the axle so the buggy can roll across the Moon’s surface. There were lots of creative ideas and some brilliant thinking already!

We can’t wait to start making our moon buggies and testing how well our wheels and axles work. Watch this space for our next steps! 🌟🛠️

2CN have had a truly fantastic Arts Fortnight. A huge thank you to all the parents who joined us for today’s celebration, we hope the children wowed you with their dance performance and the incredible artwork they created. Please do take a look at the ACE Art blog for a more detailed post about everything we have been exploring in the studio over the past two weeks.

2CN have had a wonderfully creative start to the first week of their Arts Fortnight, with a special focus on fantasy maps and expressing imagination through art, geography and design.

We began the week by creating heart maps, a thoughtful and personal activity that encouraged the children to reflect on what brings them happiness. Using watercolours, the children carefully painted their hearts before filling the lines inside with words representing things they love, such as family, friends and school. The results were both beautiful and meaningful, giving everyone a chance to share a little of what matters most to them.

The children then moved on to exploring maps on a larger scale by creating a world map of the continents. Instead of cutting, we ripped the paper to form each land mass, helping the children notice that ripping creates no straight lines, just like real coastlines. This led to great discussions about why maps look the way they do and how natural features are formed.

As our focus shifted to fantasy maps, the children learned how to draw and use symbols, thinking carefully about both physical features (such as mountains, rivers and forests) and human features (like towns, bridges and roads). We talked about where these features might appear on a map and why, encouraging the children to explain their choices and think like real map makers.

To end the week, 2CN began constructing a 3D relief map, using paper and tape to build up the landscape. Next week, we will take this even further by covering the models with Mod Roc to create a hard surface that can be painted and detailed, bringing their fantasy worlds fully to life.

Alongside our art work, the children have also enjoyed learning a new dance with Mrs Fox, showing great enthusiasm and teamwork. In addition, they took part in some cooking with Mrs Elliott in the café, where they learned how to make delicious croutons and cheese straws – a big hit with everyone!

It has been an exciting, busy and creative first week of Arts Fortnight, and we are very much looking forward to seeing how the children’s ideas continue to grow and develop next week.

We were so excited to finish the Autumn term with a trip to the playhouse last week to see Stick Man. We love Julia Donaldson stories and it was great to see how this story was brought to life on stage in the show which starred just three actors. They used instruments, props, costumes and music to retell the story and the children were absolutely mesmerised the whole time. A big thank you to Mrs Stott and Miss Cooke for providing and organising such a great opportunity for the children.

In DT this week, we have been comparing Leeds Bridge and the Howrah Bridge in India, looking at the similarities and differences. We talked about why we need bridges, what the bridges are made out of and why those materials are chosen. The children were then asked to build bridges using just scrap paper, scissors and glue and their bridge needed to be able to hold the weight of a toy car. We had very mixed results so talked about how we could improve and strengthen our bridges when we design and build them next week.

Today it was 2CN’s turn to contribute to our whole-school Advent display in the hall and their special line was the beautiful message from the Angel Gabriel: “Do not be afraid, Mary.” Luke 1:30

We talked about how Mary might have felt when the angel appeared; surprised, curious, maybe even a little worried, and how Gabriel brought a message of peace and reassurance. The children thought about what it means to be calm and brave, especially when something unexpected happens.

After our discussion, the class created wonderful drawings showing the moment Gabriel visited Mary. Some of their artwork will be displayed with the rest of the school’s Advent pieces, reminding us all of the importance of hope, courage, and trust as we journey toward Christmas.

This half term in our music lessons we have been learning all about body percussion. We started by watching a video of an amazing choir who were on America’s Got Talent. They recreated the sound of rain by using different parts of their body to make sounds. For example, they clicked their fingers for quieter rain, tapped their knees as the rain got louder and jumped to represent the sound of thunder. We then composed our own rain piece using body percussion to make monsoon rain inspired by our work on India. The children used notation to easily write down their pieces in pairs before we went to to create one as a whole class. Notation in music is when we use signs or symbols to show a particular sound. We hope you like it!

This week we had a chilly but really fun time doing some outdoor learning linked to our science. We looked at different items outside and sorted them into two groups, dead or have never been alive. We were working with organiser ‘Grow to School’ and also spent time observing whether any of the vegetables that had been planted had grown. We saw fantastic collaboration between the children, ignoring the cold and working really well together.