Our wonderful students in Year 2 have had a busy and exciting start to the school year. They are to be commended for the maturity they display at school each day, and have quickly established themselves as leaders of the infants’ block.

Our Year 2 classroom is a busy hive of activity. When we aren’t learning about the features of imaginative, informative and persuasive text in English, telling time to the half-hour in Maths, navigating the Bible, searching for microorganisms in Science or planning a cruise that visits every continent and ocean on Earth in our Geography lessons, you will find our room littered with tissue paper as we create collage snakes, transparent moths and upcycled lanterns! We are very pleased to be able to share some of our learning with you this week!

Religious Education
This term in our Religion lessons we have been learning that the Bible is like a library of books. We have been learning to differentiate between the Old and New Testaments, locate stories and identify their geographical and cultural features. 

“There are two parts to the Bible; the longer part is called the Old Testament, and the other one is shorter and called the New Testament. The Old Testament is about God and the New Testament is about Jesus.” William L

Choir and band are also very popular in Year 2! At Whole School Masses, you will find most of the class at the front of the church making beautiful music and representing our school with pride. 

English
Our English lessons are divided into four main parts: Reading Comprehension & Fluency, Spelling, Grammar and Writing. Currently we are learning about different text types (imaginative, informative, persuasive) and their features. We use punctuation to guide us, so that our reading sounds smooth and expressive. We are currently exploring common nouns, proper nouns and pronouns.

“In English, we are learning about persuasive texts. I have learned that we can persuade people with our writing. That means to change their mind. You have to use strong words in bold.” - Sydney N

Mathematics
Do you remember learning how to tell the time? It is certainly something that has stayed in my own memory of childhood. I can clearly remember the ‘ah-ha’ feeling of suddenly understanding how to read an analogue clock. It has been wonderful to witness lots of ‘ah-ha’ moments in the Year 2 classroom lately as the students learn to accurately identify time to the half-hour. Well done Year 2!

“ The hour hand is short and the minute hand is long. When it is half past, the long hand points at the 6, and the short hand will be in the middle of two numbers.” - Camden H

Creative Arts
The students in Year 2 love to create amazing artworks! Our art lesson on Wednesday afternoon is always highly anticipated. At the moment, we are upcycling plastic softdrink bottles into lanterns and pendant lights. The students are using tissuepaper layering techniques to create interesting designs. We are also very excited to welcome Mrs Ellen Shannon to St Mary’s. The students are thoroughly enjoying their Friday drama class!

“We have made jellyfish using coffee filters and different types of ribbons. We have also made self-portraits. First, we coloured the back of a picture of our face, then we traced it and then we coloured it in with pencil. They looked amazing. ” - Maeve M

Science
This term in our biology unit we are learning about ecosystems providing living things with everything they need to live, grow and change. We are learning that animals, including humans, have offspring that look similar to their parents and have looked for microorganisms in a sample of dam water using a microscope. Currently, we are patiently waiting for our Sea Monkeys (brine shrimp) to hatch. Did you know that brine shrimp take just 8 days to reach maturity? Our biology unit will conclude with the student’s sharing a specimen and report they are working on at home. Our families will be invited to visit our classroom to watch us present our findings (Weeks 9 & 10).

“Ecosystems have to have shelter, water, food and air. We have been learning about Sea Monkeys. I learnt that you need to use fresh water (like rain water) because if you don’t they’ll die.” - Rowan W

Geography
So far in Geography, we have learned that our intergalactic address is:

St Mary’s Primary School
40 Queen Street
Moruya
New South Wales 2537
Australia
Planet Earth
The Solar System

 We have been learning about the different continents and oceans, and where they are located. We are now in the process of planning a route for a cruise ship, that must visit every continent and ocean on Earth.

“I have learned that there are 7 continents and Australia is the smallest continent. The biggest continent is Asia.” - Evana P

PDHPE
In Health this term Mr. Hill is teaching the students all about being safe, in and around water. In our Friday sport sessions, we are focussing on gross motor skills. Every 1-2 weeks we focus on a new skill, and have so far covered the side-gallop, hop and skip. Each lesson includes modelling the skill, guided practice and skill development games.

“ Mr. Hill teaches us about being safe around water. He plays games outside with us and they’re really fun.” - Byron S

Mrs Genevieve Schofield
Teacher 2 Blue