Grade 2

What a wonderful term it has been in Grade 2! Our students have been busy learning, exploring and having fun through a range of exciting events. From the much-anticipated Grade 2 Sleepover and our adventure underground at the Central Deborah Mine, to the bright and quirky styles of Crazy Hair Day, this term has been full of memorable moments. Students shone in the Christmas parade and concert, showed their creativity during the Colouring Competition, and put their teamwork to the test in the Grass Guru Challenge. We are so proud of everything they have achieved!

- The Grade 2 Team (Anne, Callum, Kaiden and Beth)

Literacy

What books did we read this term?

This term we read Bendigo Gold by Heather Smith. It is about Gran and Emily who live in Ireland. They go over to Australia to find a nugget of gold and a property called "Rainbow End" because they found a will from Pa Oneil (Gran's long lost father). They meet lots of different people who help and hinder them along their journey.

 - The Grade 2s 

What did we think about the book?

I like how it’s an adventure and they never give up. 

– Tom

I like how you don’t expect things and like I like to point out little easter eggs and surprises in the story. 

– Logan

I like how they went on treasure hunts and kept looking for the gold. 

– Oakley

I like how when they found the diary it taught Emily about a girl called Tessie and how she went around the world and it was sad when she passed away. 

– Aubrey

I like how they invited other people to come and help them and how they learned about different cultures. 

- Thea

I like how it is just a big adventure! 

- Violet

What writing activities did we do this term?

This term during Writing we did lots of activties such as: timelines, narratives with picture prompts and Remembrance Day poems. We had lots of fun doing them!

- The Grade 2s

What was your favourite writing activity?

I liked how when we were writing narratives, we got to choose what we wrote about Bendigo Gold. 

– Bella

I liked doing the timelines because we got to remember things that happened when we were younger. 

– Koby

I liked the Remembrance Day poem because it made our brains think. 

– Poppy

I liked when we had to make a story using a picture and got to put our own characters into the story. 

- Oakley

Here is a collection of some our best work, chosen by us!

What class novels have you read this term?

This term we read Prehistoric Peril (A You Choose Book), Treasure Fever and Pencil of Doom. They were filled with adventure, exciting and funny moments, violence and danger, weirdness and people falling out the window.

- The Grade 2s 

I liked treasure fever because Mr Brainfright fell out the window! 

– Lucy

I liked Treasure Fever because when Mr Brainfright was teaching people how to slide on a banana peel Mrs Cross fell out the window! 

– Jasmine

I liked the You Choose book because we kept getting into trouble and having to go back and make a different choice. 

– Jackson C

I liked Pencil of Doom because the story is mysterious and lots of unexpected things happen. 

– Addi

I liked the You Choose book because it was adventurous and we had to keep making choices where some of them lead to a quick end to the book and others lead to good things happening. 

- Levi

I liked how in Pencil of Doom they played "yes means no and no means yes".

- Josh

I liked the You Choose book because we got to make decisions about the story. 

- Aria

Numeracy

What are some of the maths activities we did this term?

This term in maths we learned some new games like Get Out of My House, 100 or Bust and the Array Game. We had a treasure hunt where we made a map of EPS and had to mark a spot and hide some treasure for our partner to find. We competed in a Ninja Turtles themed Kahoot about fractions. We designed and built playgrounds in a new program called Tinkercad, made a 3D shape book and built 3D objects out of straws. We also made paper planes to see whose could fly the furthest.

- The Grade 2s

What was your favourite activity this term?

I liked when we built 3D objects out of straws because it was a bit challenging and easy at the same time. 

– Ruby

I liked when we made paper planes because it was fun to throw them and see who could throw it the furthest. 

- Chelsea

I liked the scavenger hunt because it was fun and we got to run around. 

– Eh Tha Nyow

I liked how we learned how to use Tinkercad because it was challenging to make our playgrounds out of 3D shapes. 

- Aimee

I liked when we made robots out of shapes and then made them in Tinkercad. 

- Joey

I liked that we got to build our own stuff on Tinkercad because it was fun.

- Finn

Inquiry

What did we learn during Inquiry this term?

This term in inquiry we researched facts about places in Bendigo Gold using Google. We also researched the best way to grow our wheatgrass to win the Grass Gurus challenge. We explored the use of forces like push and pull and made ramps out of everyday objects in the classroom to see whose ramp worked the best when a car is pushed down it.

- The Grade 2s

What was your favourite activity?

I liked how when we did push and pull because we got to build our own ramps and test them. 

– Hamish

I liked learning about gravity because we learnt that Earth is like a big magnet. 

– Emma

I like how when we built our ramps and tested them, some of them worked really well and some didn’t. 

– Liam

I liked how we researched the Bendigo Gold places and we wrote down our information. 

- Charlie

What is something new you learned?

I learned that even though there is a slope, if you put something on a flat surface it won't move unless you push it. 

- Kian

I learned that we would float away if there was no gravity. 

- Jaxson

Technology

What did we do on the laptops this term?

During Technology this term, we learned how to create 3D projects with Tinkercad, coded with Scratch and Code.org, learned about emergencies in Triple Zero Heroes, published our work using Google Docs and Slides and continued to create our class villages in Minecraft.

What is something new you learned on the laptops?

I learned how to print using Google Docs so I can see my work without having to go on the laptop. 

– Mason

I learned how to use Tinkercad and how to make things out of 3D objects. 

– Sienna

I learned how to use Tinkercad and Triple Zero Heroes. 

- Hunter

I learnt how to type using Dance Mat Typing, it was fun!

- Sabrina

I liked how in Scratch you can change your character and change the background. 

- Maxx

I liked Google Slides because we used the search button to use animation.

- Finley

Fun Stuff

Big Events

This term we had lots going on in our classrooms! The long awaited sleepover, our excursion, the Christmas Concert among other things. We've all had a blast!

Grade 2 Sleepover

My favourite part was when we watched the movie in bed because it was crazy. 

- Ollie

My favourite part was free play because I liked going in the mirror maze.

- Scarlett

My favourite part was when we ate pizza because it was really yum. 

- Beau

My favourite part was the planetarium because I like learning about space and stuff. 

-Clayton

I loved going on the Vertical Slide because it was fun.

- Alia

I liked when it was bed time because I was tired. 

- Jensen

I like when we had free play because there was a maze and I kept running into the walls. 

-Archie

Excursion

On the 28th of November, we travelled into town to visit the Central Deborah Mine. Everyone got to go down the mine, take a trip on the Talking Tram and have a go at Gold Panning. When we were finished at the mine, we went to the White Hills Botanical Gardens for lunch and a play on the playground. 

I loved going down the mine because it was creepy and I got to learn facts about the mine and everything was left how it was in the olden days. 

- Finn

I liked going down the mine because we got to see real gold. 

- Summer

I liked going in the mine because there were teddy bears attached to the wall in the elevator shaft. 

- Jack I

My favourite part was the Talking Tram because it was cool how the seats could flip over. 

- Lachlan

I liked the Talking Tram because it told us all about Bendigo. 

- Cruz

Grass Gurus

We spent 3 weeks growing wheatgrass in our classrooms for the Grass Gurus challenge. Grade 2AD decided to plant their seeds so that the grass spelled "2AD" when it grew. Grade 2J did some research and found out that you need to soak the seeds before planting them which... helped us win the competition! 

Crazy Hair Day

On the 13th of November, our school had a Crazy Hair Day for National Diabetes Day. Everyone came to school with colourful and creative hairstyles! At the end of the day we did a "Walk for a Cure" down the bike path.

Christmas Concert

We have been hard at work practicing our songs and dances ready for our Christmas Concert. We are very excited to show you what we have been working on!

Thanks for reading!