2OA's Blog

The boys all had a great time competing in Sports Day on Monday.  They really gave it their all and tried their very best!  Thank you for supporting the boys – your encouragement really helped to spur them on!

 

Our recent English lessons have also had a sporting theme.  We developed our researching skills by finding out about Olympic athletes Laura Kenny and Sir Mo Farah.  With the information we found, we composed questions that we could ask them in an interview.  We then took on the roles of both Laura Kenny and Mo Farah and our recorded interviews.  The boys thoroughly enjoyed the activity and the interviews were informative as well as entertaining!

   

It is the countdown to our Year 2 production, “Hats Off”.  Rehearsals are in full swing, props are being made, and all the songs have been learnt.  Thank you for sending in all the costumes.  We’re really looking forward to performing it for you next Monday afternoon.

As the hot weather looks set to continue, please ensure your son has his white sun hat and water bottle in school.

Enjoy the rest of the week in the sunshine!

Mrs O’Brien

 

 

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We have been keeping a close eye on the cress growing experiment we started last week. The cress we gave the optimum growing conditions to did grew as we predicted! The cress without what living things all need didn’t do so well!

What does cress need to grow healthy and well?

We hope you enjoy the photos of us completing our cress diaries.

We were lucky enough to gain some visitors this week!

Five caterpillars have been delivered for us to watch grow and change. Do you know what they will change into? Can you describe the life cycle of a butterfly?

In just 2 days they have really grown quickly!

POLITE REMINDERS:

Next week is Mental Health Week. Please remember to bring in your breakfast to have at school with your friends on Monday morning. Please adhere to the schools allergy policy of no nuts.

Open Classroom will be next Tuesday for Year 2. Please stick to your allotted time if possible to avoid congestion in the classroom and to give your son the space to sit with you as they share their work with you.

Thank you for all the wonderful grid work that you have been doing boys. Some of the bigger pieces have been sent home tonight to make space for the next batch!

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy the sunshine

 

 

 

2OA have had another busy week!

In Science we have planted cress seeds!

We are investigating what they need to grow and will explore optimum growing conditions. We are going to keep a diary to record how the cress grows using drawings and words.

In Art we have been looking at the Japanese artist Hokusai. He is most famous for his work ‘The Great Wave.’ The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai, created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history. The boys used it as inspiration to create their own interpretations of ‘The Great Wave.’

We worked in the medium of pencils.

In Geography we have been finding out about tsunamis. Did you know that in Japanese tsunami means ‘ harbour wave?’ We found out they are caused by underwater earthquakes. The energy and movement builds under the water.

    

Can you remember what the signs of an impending tsunami are?

Can you recall any other facts you learnt?

How would you stay safe during a tsunami?

In Maths we have been exploring fractions.

We have been recognising halves, quarters and thirds. We have then used our understanding and knowledge to create fraction number lines.

How would you write 2 and a quarter?

How would you write 3 and a half?

 

Enjoy the long weekend boys and see you on Tuesday

 

 

 

 

What a busy full week back!

The boys were fortunate enough to have a workshop on Wednesday afternoon. A speaker came in to talk to us about protecting and looking after the oceans and planet. This linked to Earth Day.

The boys listened well and already knew lots of ways that they can help the environment.

Each boy made a decorative fish using materials that would naturally decompose and that had been repurposed.

Both year 2 classes mixed and worked together with each other which was great.

On Friday afternoon we had forest school with Mrs Bedwell. The sun shone and thankfully there was no rain!

The boys learnt how to safely use loppers and explored, dug and climbed in the spring sunshine.

Let’s hope the sun shines for the weekend!

What a fun-filled week it has been!  On Wednesday, we took part in a science workshop where we developed our investigating skills and carried out some fascinating experiments.

Thursday was our trip to Hampton Court Palace.  We found our way around the maze, explored Henry VIII’s apartments and kitchens, then took part in a Tudor Times workshop.  We met Lady Alice, who taught us how to greet the king or queen and bow like a Tudor (Mrs Alton was our queen for the afternoon!), we were able to handle and learn about Tudor artefacts, and we even learned a Tudor dance.  The boys behaved beautifully all day and were a credit to the School.  Well done boys!

To finish the week, we all had fun at the PTA Easter Egg Hunt.  Thank you to the parents for arranging this!  No doubt, the boys will enjoy their chocolate eggs this weekend.

After such a busy few days, enjoy a restful weekend and see you next week!

Mrs O’Brien

 

 

 

 

We have had another fun filled week in 2OA.

On Wednesday we had the poetry competition final. Steven and Aarav made it through to the final heat and both performed their poem beautifully. The boys were fantastic and I am not sure that I would have been as confident doing a poem reading in front of an audience. We are very proud boys, well done.

Friday saw the boys dressing up for World Book Day. The effort that they had put into costumes was amazing and it certainly brightened up the day.

History saw us imagining we were a lord of a castle! We explored how he would spend his day, it was very different to our day.

Can you remember how many times a day he would pray?

What did a lord do all day?

English saw the boys exploring poetry to link to the poetry competition. They were read the book ‘J is for Jamaica.’ They then worked on producing their own poem with the title ‘L is for Lochinver.’ They had to think of a sentence for each letter of the alphabet that linked to Lochinver!

Why don’t you ask your parents to come up with a sentence about Lochinver for a letter in the alphabet?

L is for Lochinver House School

 

Maths has seen us continuing to work on money. We have been exploring different ways to make a given amount using notes and coins. We have also looked at change.

Are you able to show your parents how we worked in a logical way to find the different ways?

How many ways can you make £40?

In Geography we designed a pamphlet to promote Jamaica as a holiday destination. The boys did a great job and have made me want to visit!!!

Are you able to describe what makes Jamaica a lovely place to visit?

In Science we have been exploring forces. The boys have planned and carried out an investigation involving ramps and cars. They have had to think about making the test fair.

Boys can you explain what you were investigating and what you learnt?

The photo above should help you describe it.

We hope that you have a lovely weekend.

Don’t forget to spoil your Mums and to give them their envelope on Sunday!

 

 

We hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable half term.

This half term is so short and we have a lot of learning to fit in!

In History we carried on our work about Medieval Castles. The boys have explored the key features of a castle and examined what the purpose  of each part was.

A castle was built to defend and protect the lord, lady, king or queen.

Can you remember and describe wha each part of the castle on the sheet was?

What else have you learnt about castles?

Geography saw us exploring the island of Jamaica. We watched a holiday destination video to get an understanding of the climate, culture and landscape of the island.

We then compared Jamaica with the UK. We looked at how they are similar, what they have in common and explored how each location is different.

Can you name 3 similarities and 3 differences?

 

In PSHE we have been looking at how we know when our bodies are relaxed or not relaxed.

The boys were very good at recognising how we can tell if we are feeling stressed or not relaxed. They even came up with some good ways to relax!

 

Can you share with your family some of the wellbeing things you can do to calm and relax you?

We started our topic of money in maths this week. The boys had to investigate how many ways they could make 10p with a 10p, 5p, 2p and 1p coin.

How many ways could you make 15p using these coins?

Hope you have a relaxing weekend boys.

 

2OA have been incredibly lucky this week and have had a workshop on Chinese New Year and a PERFORM drama workshop on Saving the World to link in with our geography topic of the rainforest.

The mandarin teacher at Lochinver came in to talk to the boys about Chinese New Year. She set up lots of wonderful activities they really enjoyed.

The boys had great fun becoming explorers and expert recyclers in the drama workshop on Thursday.

Melissa led the boys on a journey to the rainforest and taught about how we can look after our world. The boys thought about hydro power, solar power and wind power as healthier alternatives to fossil fuels.

Below are some photos of the boys in action!

In Science forces have become our focus. The boys have been exploring the force of ‘push’ and ‘pull.’

In History we started our new and exciting topic of ‘Castles.’ The boys have been finding out about the Battle of Hastings and the types of castles that the Normans built.

Can you remember the 2 types of castles?

What year was the Battle of Hastings?

Geography saw us begin a new unit of work about islands. The boys could give a good definition of what an island was and we named lots!!

After half term we will do a case study on the island of Jamaica looking at how the physical and human features are the same or different. Jamaica is very different compared to the boys local locations.

In preparation for after half term you could look at Jamaica and note some physical features of the island that are different to physical features of your local area.

Are there any similarities between the 2 very different locations?

Maths saw the boys completing their INSIGHT assessments and then running through the questions that had proved more challenging for the boys. Mrs O’Brien was pleased with how hard the boys worked on these.

Our PSHE has got us thinking about being healthy.

What do our bodies need to stay fit and healthy?

Can you draw a picture of a healthy and well balanced meal?

Do we need to exercise?

Well done to Jacen for being this half term’s super learner and to Jacob who takes on the mantle of our Little LEO rep.

Have a lovely half term boys

 

 

 

 

We have had another busy but great week in 2OA.

Maths saw us exploring pictograms. We found out what they are, what they show and how to interpret them.

Boys can you explain to your parents what they are?

Can you draw your own pictograms and write some questions to answer using the information you have gathered?

History saw the boys designing a badge to commemorate Elizabeth II and her life. We looked at her likes and family and what made her special.

In our art lesson we designed a coat of arms to represent us! We thought about family, pets, hobbies and likes and designed a coat of arms on a shield. We worked really hard on our designs.

Enjoy the pictures of them completed below.

In our geography lesson we worked collaboratively to design posters to warn people about the dangers facing rainforests. The boys worked well together and have produced some amazingly colourful posters with strong messages about what we can all do to save rainforests.

They are hanging up in our classroom and look great.

Can you name 3 ways the rainforests are being destroyed?

Science saw us exploring water and the process of evaporation.

We watched a kettle boil noting the steam. We then saw what happened when the steam hit a cold plate. As if by magic the water droplets evaporated and disappeared!

Why did this happen boys?

What is the process called?

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Our class was a sea of red today as we took part in “Go Red for Heart’ which was organised by the British Heart Foundation. This is one of the headboys charities we support.

Have a lovely weekend boys.

 

 

This week in 2OA the boys have been exploring mass in maths. They have looked at the different units we weigh in.

Can you remember how many grams are in a kilogram?

How many in half a kilogram?

They then applied their knowledge to word problems involving mass. This is always challenging and we looked at the language in the problems to help us. For example total needs an adding operation and difference between could need a subtraction sum.

Below is a summary of this weeks work.

In history we looked at life in Victorian times. Queen Victoria was the monarch at this time and she implemented lots of good changes to the lives of people.

Boys can you remember 3 changes she made for the better?

In geography we found out that there are tribes of people living in the rainforest. Some of whom have never had any communication with the world.

Their way of life was very different and just as tricky at times but for different reasons.

What were the differences between their lives and ours?

In science we went to the labs and Mrs Barry carried out some really cool experiments to investigate the effect of heat on materials. We got to see the Bunsen burner in action and it was great fun to watch what happened. We heated marshmallows, chocolate, a metal screw, water and ice.

Can you remember what happened to each object when heat was applied?

Below are some photographs of our exciting lesson.

PSHE saw us working collaboratively in groups to design and make a ‘dream bird’ for the garden. We had to decide in our groups who was doing what and had to communicate clearly with our peers.

These are the finished articles. It was a little challenging at times but we got there in the end by collaborating and persevering. We tried to ensure that everyone in the group had a job to do!

Have a lovely weekend boys.

Don’t forget the Mental Health Breakfast on Monday boys!