Year 2 Spotlight

Ready for Term 4!

The Year 2 students have settled in well after the holidays. They are looking forward to a number of experiences this term such as the Junior Maths Incursion, the Edendale Farm Excursion, and the Junior School House Sports Day.

Read on to find out about what they have been participating in so far this term.

Cyber Safety Talk 

Students enjoyed learning about how to stay safe online during a session presented by a visiting police officer. Here are some reflections on what they learnt:

I knew that you should ask an adult for permission.

I learned that you should not tell people your school.  

~ Roy, 2B

I knew that you shouldn’t tell them personal information like your address.

I learned that you shouldn’t tell them your school name. 

~ Lina, 2B

I knew that you do not tell people where you go to school.

I learned that you should ask somebody that you trust if you can play online. 

~ Matilda, 2B

Maths 

Students have been learning how to identify halves, quarters, and eighths through using ‘hands on’ materials such as paper folding and play dough (manipulatives) to create these fractions. They have also explored placing fractions on a number line.

Here are some paper folding samples:

Here are some examples of creating fractions using play dough. Students were asked to divide up a worm so that different numbers of kookaburras could share equal parts of it.

Share one worm between two hungry kookaburras.

One whole shared between 2, gives half each.

One worm shared between four hungry kookaburras, gives one quarter each.

Students explored which items were heaviest or lightest as part of their lessons in mass, using balance scales.

Students from 2A and 2B worked together to estimate, and compare the mass of three objects and then recorded their information. They then used weights to actually determine the mass of the objects.

Writing – Narratives

This term, all students have enjoyed listening to, and reading fictional stories to learn about the structure of narratives to support their story writing. 

Here is a sample of their first attempts at short stories which was inspired by the picture storybook, ‘Ralph Tells a Story’, by Abby Hanlon.

When My Mum Gave Me the Wrong Size Underwear

One day when I went to school I felt something at the bottom of my feet. ‘What is that?’, I thought to myself. I tried to walk it off but I tripped into a huuuge pile of mud, and I had mud all over my face. 

I got home and looked at my underwear and it was a size XXL. I told mum, and asked her did she mix up my underwear and give me dad’s by mistake.

~ By Tom W, 2A

The Bathroom Emergency

I needed to use the bathroom. I asked my teacher if I could go but he said 'No'. I was in my P.E. lesson. I asked again however he still said 'No', and demanded that I do 20 push-ups.

Then I had to go to Drama class. I asked my drama teacher, and she finally said I could go.

I rushed and rushed to the toilet but sadly I didn’t make it. I had an accident in my pants. I was sooo upset and embarrassed that when I went home I told my mum.

She demanded to speak to the P.E. teacher. She told him to do 300 push-ups. Which he did do, and is still doing to this day. (It’s been a week).

~ By Jessie B,  2A

When My Mum Gave Me the Wrong Size Underwear

One day my mum took me to the underwear store and I told her that she was buying me the wrong size underwear. 

“This is not the wrong size!” she snapped.

We soon drove back home. When we arrived, I jumped out of the car and quickly ran upstairs and tried on my new underwear.

“They’re the wrong size!” I yelled.

I ran downstairs to the kitchen where mum was getting dinner ready, and I walked in and told her.

“Well they fit now, mum!!” I giggled.

Mum turned around and saw that my underwear was sitting on my head and she just laughed and laughed.

~ By Reggie H, 2A

The Shampoo Mystery 

Guess what? I haven’t gone to school since last week because of my weird shampoo mystery. Okay, here’s what happened. One Sunday morning I went to have a shower. I saw rainbow dye on the floor. I thought my sister dyed her hair so then I started washing my hair but when I was doing my skincare I saw my hair was rainbow. I screamed so loud I think Asia and Africa could hear me. 

My sister ran up the stairs and said, “Is there a daddy-long legs in the shower?” I said, “No” loudly! My parents said, “What happened to your hair?” I screamed, “there was rainbow dye in the shampoo bottle!” My mum said nervously, “okay, time to get ready for soccer.” I said, “No, I can’t go to soccer looking like this!” Mum said, “Okay, but you at least have to practice soccer outside.” 

… “ok fine.” 

The next day. 

My mum said if I stayed at home I have to pay her $2 and that’s a bargain. I started my daily schedule. I worked out. I played a little bit of soccer and five video games. 

On Tuesday. 

I decided to bleach my hair but the first time I could still see the rainbow. So I did it two more times. You could still see it a teensie bit but it was fine because I was going to dye it brown anyway…

So I have more news. I dyed my hair brown and it looks exactly how it used to look. My friends won’t even notice that my hair was rainbow.

~ By Indi and Kirralee, 2D

Food Production Inquiry

Since the beginning of term students have been investigating our Inquiry topic, Food Design and Technology, with a focus on food production and how humans and food are connected. They have looked at native ingredients, such as bunya nuts and thought about how dairy products are produced. They will be working towards designing food trucks with healthy menus that reflect their learning throughout the unit.

(The top one is Tom 2C) (The bottom one is Sienna and Rae 2C)

Year 2 teachers (Michele, Elise, Brendan & Emily) and students