Hello!

It is my great pleasure to be the teacher of Giraffe Class again this year and I am very much looking forward to the year ahead! Unbelievably, this is going to be my 8th year at Barley Close and I think it's about my 20th year of teaching. I've taught in every year group during my time as a teacher, but recently, most of my experience has been in Year 5 and 6. 

   It's really important to me that everyone who is in my class enjoys coming to school and thinks that class time is fun. Yes we have lots of learning to do - but when you think about how many hours of our lives we spend at school, it's as important to laugh, smile and have a good time!

  We are lucky enough to have Mrs Selway in class with us as well.  Mrs G will also be teaching you on Monday afternoons. 

  I will post regular updates here, so please check back to see what has been happening in class. I will also post spellings here on a weekly basis. If you need to contact me, please email me on karen.beard@barleyclose.org.uk.

Miss Beard 

PE

In Term 5, PE will be on  a Tuesday and Thursday. Long hair should be tied back, earrings should be removed and no branded sportswear should be worn. 

Reading

Children will be bringing home a school reading book. The reading books will need to be sent into school every Friday, so that they can be changed. 

 Children will also need to bring in their reading records on the same day, as we will be checking that they have read 5 times at home. This expectation is in line with local primary schools and is also good preparation for Year 7 when they will be expected to read regularly. Parents/carers need to sign the reading record 5 times - either to say the child has read to them, or that they have seen the child reading independently. Although children often protest that 'they are too old to read to an adult', they certainly always enjoy it in school and it's a nice calming activity to do together in a busy world!

Maths Homework

All children will be given a TTRS log in, which they can access from either the app or the TTRS website.  The expectation is that children will complete at least 25 minutes a week on TTRS. 

Children will also be given a MyMaths log in and will be expected to complete at least two activities a week. Both of these things will be monitored by me. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 3rd May

aggressive

forty

their

solemn

excited

parliament

forgivable

dishonourable

necessary

dependent

Friday 26th April

Week 2 complete! In English and Maths, we have been continuing with our preparation for the KS2 tests, by revising our knowledge of reading skills, grammar and maths. In Geography, we compared South Africa to the UK and in our Science topic, Evolution and Inheritance, we learnt about family trees and Charles Darwin.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Summer

Marvellous Mathematician: Millie

Raffle Ticket Winners: Millie, Amelia, Tom, Quaid and Finley

Spellings to be tested: Friday 26th April

clearance

guidance

relevance

audience

experience

difference

influence

explanation

interfere

mischievous

Friday 19th April

An AMAZING first week of Term 5 has been accomplished in Giraffe Class! In English, the children have completed a lot of writing, all based around the book 'Letters from the Lighthouse' : an extended story, a formal letter and a balanced discussion. We have started our revision for SATs week in Maths and this week we have covered: %, place value, shape, angles and area & perimeter. 

  In Geography we learnt about longitude and latitude and other geographical terms and in PE, we played benchball and took part in some team building games. We have completed three DT lessons this week as well - the children have worked in groups to design, build and evaluate Ferris Wheels. Everyone worked really well together and the models looked fabulous!

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Corey

Marvellous Mathematician: Tala

Raffle Ticket Winners: Millie, Amina, Essmai, Izabella and James.

Thursday 28th March

A fabulous week to round off an incredible term! This week in English, we have written a story retelling part of 'Letters from the Lighthouse' and also a non-chronological report about World War 2. In Maths, we have revised our understanding of converting measurements, co-ordinates and calculation. Thank you to the people who dressed up today, you looked great!

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Adult Pupil of the Term: Millie

Pupil's Pupil of the Term: Ewan

Raffle Ticket Winners: Finley, Eden, Summer, Cordelle and Tom, 

Term 5 begins on Monday April 15th! 

Spellings to be tested: Thursday 28th March

delicious

suspicious

spacious

nutritious

ambitious

conscientious

infectious

twelfth

secretary

explanation

Friday 22nd March 

Giraffe Class are amazing - but they have surpassed their own high standards this week!! They have approached test week with confidence and have all tried their best. They have written great postcards in English and revisited their knowledge of finding the mean in Maths. They have finished their work on World War 2 by completing a timeline and have also made me a VERY proud teacher by performing the dance routine they have been working on with the dance coaches this term, to a very appreciative Alligator Class!

Congratulations and well done to:

Pupil of the Week: Anita

Marvellous Mathematician: Charlie

Raffle Ticket Winners: Millie, Tom, Torres, Tala and Cordelle. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 22nd March

their

there

they're

which

witch

two 

to

convenience

equipped

restaurant

Friday 15th March

Well Giraffe Class have been amazing this week - even by their standards!! In English, they wrote FABULOUS formal letters, in character as Winston Churchill and many have mastered the art of using semi-colons and colons accurately. Our Maths lessons centred around ratio and proportion and again, they aced that. In History, they wrote INCREDIBLE diary entries as Anne Frank and in PE, they played great games of benchball and today they wowed the dance coaches with the ease with which they picked up a street-dancing routine that they are working on. I was a very proud teacher!!

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Eden

Marvellous Mathematician: Finley

Raffle Ticket Winners: Millie, James, Thomas, Emre, Eden and Essamai ( I pulled out 6 by mistake!)

Spellings to be tested: Friday 15th March

mission

session

admission

obsession

permission

concussion

compassion

vegetable

frequently

curiosity

Friday 8th March 

Yet another amazing week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have been learning how to use semi-colons and colons accurately, and how to use Standard English. Our Maths work has centred around Algebra, which made our heads hurt, but we did really well! In History, we designed propaganda posters and also learnt about the life of Anne Frank. In PE we worked on our rugby and dance skills (but not at the same time). It was great so see so many people dressed up yesterday for World Book Day - thank you everyone.

Congratulation to:

Pupil of the Week: Tala

Marvellous Mathematician: Quaid

Raffle Ticket Winners: TBA

A reminder that parent's evening is coming up. Tuesday 19th and Thursday 21st March are the dates - you will have been emailed details on how to book your appointment.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 8th March

musician

mathematician

politician

optician

magician

beautician

electrician

committee

recommend

sincere

Friday 1st March

We have had a great week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have written our own version of an air raid from 'Letters from the Lighthouse' and in Maths, we have developed our knowledge of algebra and revised our understanding of % and area. Our History lesson was about the role women played in World War 2 and in Science, we carried out an investigation to find out what happened to the brightness of a bulb when you increased the amount of batteries in the circuit. 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Millie

Marvellous Mathematician: Ray

Raffle Ticket Winners: Cordelle, Eden, Millie, Amelia and Amina

Friday 23rd February

We've had a great first week of Term 4. In English, we have revised our understanding of modal verbs and adverbs for possibility and in Maths, we have been learning about time and fractions. Our History lesson involved looking at Bristol's involvement in World War 2 and in Science, we revised our knowledge of circuit symbols in our new topic 'Electricity'. On Wednesday, we took part in a Climate Change workshop, which was run by Bristol Sustainability Centre. Our PE lessons have involved rugby and dance (but not at the same time!)

Congratulations to: 

Pupil of the Week: Cordelle

Marvellous Mathematician: Amina

Raffle Ticket Winners: Charlie, Millie, Cordelle, Thomas and Essmai. 

Friday 9th February

We have made it to the end of Term 3 and we are now halfway through the school year! Wow!

The final week of this term has been a good one - in English, we wrote diary entries from multi-perspectives and in Maths, we calculated missing angles and worked on our fraction skills. As Tuesday was Internet Safety Day, we looked at how we can keep ourselves safe online and in PE, we rounded off a term of gym with a carousel of activities that showed our new skills. 

Have a lovely half term and I will see everyone on Monday 19th February.

Congratulations to:

Pupil's pupil of the term: Corey

Adult's pupil of the term: Harley

Raffle Ticket Winners: James, Ray, Torres, Cordelle, Finley, Quaid, Millie, Amelia, Harley & Amina

Spellings to be tested: Friday 9th February

caution

position

vacation

subtraction

definition

evolution

information

forty

attached

occur

Friday 2nd February

We've had a great week - we have completed our 3rd  test week of the year and the children have worked incredibly hard and have showed off their many talents! I am very proud of them. In History, we have learnt about life for children that weren't evacuated from the cities during World War 2 and in Science we have classified flowers, learnt about Carl Linnaeus and counted bugs on the field! Our PE lessons involved working on our volleyball skills and also working in pairs to complete balances. 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Isla

Marvellous Mathematician: Amelia

Raffle Ticket Winners: Charlotte, James, Quaid, Cordelle and Ray

Spellings to be tested: Friday 2nd February

sing-song

part-time

T-shirt

great-aunt

best-selling

well-behaved

full-length

apparent

develop

marvellous

Friday 26th January

Yes you've guessed it, we have had a great week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have been revising our knowledge of diary entries and using parenthesis, in preparation for writing multi-perspective diary entries, based on 'Shadowjumper'. Our Maths work has involved lots of fractions! We have been calculating with them, ordering and comparing them AND finding their equivalent decimal and percentages. Our History lesson involved finding out about The Blitz and the Battle of Britain and in PE we worked on our volleyball, circuit training and jumping skills! Yesterday we took part in a second session about exploring our differences. This was run by Futurequest at UWE and the adults were very complementary about the children's behaviour. We have packed a lot into our week!

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Ray

Marvellous Mathematician: Charlotte

Raffle Ticket Winners: Torres, Essmai, Millie, Cordelle and Eden

And well done to Essmai for being 2nd in a TTRS competition against the local South Gloucestershire schools - she helped us finish 15th as a class. Lots of other people also played on our behalf - thank you all very much!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 26th January

doubt

island

knight

thistle

solemn

February

glisten

leisure

exaggerate

physical

Friday 19th January

Yet ANOTHER fabulous week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have written our own versions of the beginning of 'Shadow Jumpers' and in Maths, we have been looking at area and perimeter of rectangles and area of parallelograms and triangles. Our History lesson involved learning about evacuation during World War 2 and in PE, we continue to work on our gym skills, with our coaches Jas and Sasha. 

    Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Lifeskills on Tuesday and the children's behaviour was exemplary. More importantly, they also learnt lots of valuable information about how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations. 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Harley

Marvellous Mathematician: Eden

Raffle Ticket Winners: Summer, Tom, Emre, Ben and Millie

Spellings to be tested: Friday 19th January

happiest

friendliest

earliest

luckiest

fluffiest

busiest

grumpiest

programme

opportunity

especially

Friday 12th January

Another brilliant week - in English, we have been learning about dialogue in preparation for re-writing the beginning of 'Shadowjumper' next week and in Maths, we looked at area, perimeter, volume and MORE long division! Our History lesson was looking at the countries in Europe that were involved in World War 2 and in Science, we talked about the classification of animals. Today we have had a great PE session where we working on our handstand skills - everyone was amazing!

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Essmai

Marvellous Mathematician: Cordelle

Raffle Ticket Winners: Amina, Eden, Charlotte, Harley and Essmai.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 12th January

mishear

misread

misbehave

miscount

miscalculate

misconstrue

misdiagnose

vehicle

ancient

rhyme

Friday 5th January

Happy New Year!! 

Although the children have only been back three days, we have kept ourselves busy! In English, we have revised our knowledge of openers and conjunctions and in Maths, we have revised our understanding of multiplying two-digit numbers and division with remainders. Today, we were very resilient when we were faced with long division for the first time! It made our heads hurt a bit, but everyone was willing to give it a go and that's the main thing!

   Our History topic is World War 2 and the children are very enthusiastic about learning about it. We have PE coaches this term and the children had a great lesson today, working on their rolling skills - their good behaviour was also commented on! 

Congratulations:

Pupil of the Week: Quaid

Marvellous Mathematician: Charlie

Raffle Ticket Winners: Ray, Eden, Tom, Amelia and Harley

Friday 15th December

Woo hoo! We made it to the end of Term 2!! We have written explanation texts about Santa in English and in Maths we learnt how to find the mean value of a set of items. We had a double class reward, finished our Geography topic on The Amazon Rainforest and also made fabulous Christmas cards!

Congratulations to:

Adult Pupil of the Term: Finley

Pupil's Pupil of the Term: Hannah

Raffle Ticket Winners: Charlie, Tom, Eden, Thomas, Essmai, Amina, Millie, Harley, Finley and Amelia (a double amount, because we didn't do it last week!)

I hope you all have a fabulous holiday - see you on Wednesday 3rd January 2024!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 15th December

leisure

muscle

yacht

system

competition

accommodate

temperature

signature

pronunciation

hindrance

Friday 8th December

We have had an outstanding week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have been learning about explanation texts and in Maths, we have been looking at statistics and prime numbers. Everyone looked fabulous in their Christmas jumpers yesterday and the children came up with some very imaginative designs when they created their own Christmas jumper.

  Our trip was amazing and their behaviour was commented on by staff 'some of the nIcest children I've ever met' was one comment! They coped really well with the long coach trip and were polite and courteous to everyone. When our technical difficulties at school are sorted, I will upload some photos! 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: James

Marvellous Mathematician: Corey

Raffle Ticket Winners: TBA

TRIP REMINDER

Please visit parentpay to give your consent/pay for the Rainforest trip, if you haven't already done so. We leave school at 9am promptly and hope to be back about 4pm. Children need to wear school uniform and bring a packed lunch and a full water bottle. They should wear their school uniform and have a waterproof coat with them.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 8th December

desert

dessert

stationary

stationery

complement

compliment

principle

principal

profit

prophet

Thursday 30th November

A shorter week, but we have packed a lot in! It has been test week and the children have really impressed me with their positive attitudes and resilience - they are amazing! In the only English lesson of the week, we got into the Christmas spirit by writing a setting description based on a John Lewis Christmas advert. Our Science lesson involved looking at pattern making when carrying out an investigation and in Humanities, we looked at deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest. 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week - Charlotte

Marvellous Mathematician - Thomas

Raffle Ticket Winners - Corey, Thomas, Essmai, Cordelle and Tom

Spellings to be tested: Thursday 30th November

equip

interrupt

achieve

stomach

relevant

definite

environment

immediate

necessary

sincerely

Friday 24th November

We have ended the week on a real high - we've had lots of smiles and laughter in class today, which has been lovely to be part of. This week, we have written extended narratives about William 'bill' Lewis and in maths, we have looked at number and place value and long multiplication. In Science we carried out an investigation to find out the best place to put a parasol when you are sunbathing and in Geography we compared the lives of the indigenous people of the Amazon Rainforest with the people of Bristol. We've had another great session with the Health Squad and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the class reward on Wednesday afternoon. 

   We have talked a lot in class this week about kindness and thinking of others, in order to make the classroom, school and world a better place!

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Amina

Marvellous Mathematician: Hannah

Raffle Ticket Winners: Charlotte, Torres, Amelia, Eden and Tom.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 24th November

disagree

disobey

distrust

disallow

disbelieve

dishonest

disadvantage

disappearance

dissimilar

dishonourable

Friday 17th November

Where did that week go? Giraffe Class have been keeping themselves busy by: revising our knowledge of verb tenses in English; looking at converting measurements in Maths; learning about the different layers of the rainforest in Geography and continuing out topic on Light in Science, by looking at how shadows are formed. 

   We have enjoyed some more lessons from the Bristol Flyers Health Squad and also earned our second class reward of the school year! Very impressive! (The class have chosen to have forest schools time on Wednesday 22nd November - children will need spare shoes and warm clothes that they don't mind getting muddy).

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Charlie

Marvellous Mathematician: Emre

Raffle Ticket Winners: Cordelle, Ray, Eden, Millie and Amelia

Spellings to be tested: Friday 17th November

physical

accompany

variety

amateur

autograph

autocue

autopilot

automatic

autonomous

autobiography

Friday 10th November

Twice this week, Giraffe Class have been described by outside sports coaches as 'one of the best Year 6 classes I've taught', which made me super proud on both occasions!! 

    We've packed a lot into our week. In English, we planned and wrote diary entries in character as Henry 'Box' Brown and in Maths we developed our knowledge of finding % and also using place value to x and divide by 10, 100 and 1000. In Science, we learnt how our eyes work and carried out an investigation to further our knowledge (thank you for sending in shoe boxes) and in our Health Squad lessons, we learnt about basketball and also how our brain works.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Tom

Marvellous Mathematician: Anita

Raffle Ticket Winners: Tom, Thomas, Cordelle, Isla and Corey

Spellings to be tested: Friday 10th November

according

average

achieve

symbol

excellent

community

guarantee

neighbour

sacrifice

soldier

Friday 3rd November

We have had a great first week of Term 2! In English, we read the story of Henry 'Box' Brown and revised our knowledge of fronted adverbials, in preparation for writing a diary entry next week. Our Maths lessons revised our knowledge of fractions and decimals and in Geography, we started our Amazon Rainforest topic. In Science, we carried out an investigation to prove that light travels in straight lines.

This term we have the Bristol Sport Foundation's Health Squad in with us every Wednesday morning - they deliver a 60 minute PE session and a 60 minute classroom based lesson, where the children about the benefits of following a healthy lifestyle. 

Congratulations to:

Marvellous Mathematician: Ewan

Pupil of the Week: Emre

Raffle Ticket Winners: Tala, Amina, Thomas, Ewan and Charlotte

Friday 20th October

Well what an amazing term 1 we have had! We've learnt lots about the Atlantic Slave Trade, the circulatory system, fractions, the book Holes and lots more besides. We've all got to know each other better and we've worked hard and smiled and laughed. It's been a great 7 weeks!

Have a great half term and see you on Tuesday October 31st.

Congratulations:

Pupils of the Term; Summer and Cordelle

Raffle Ticket Winners: Summer, Amelia, Essmai, Tala and James.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 20th October

suggest

similar

familiar

recognise

thorough

nuisance

awkward

disastrous

equipment

language

Friday 13th October

Yet another busy week in Giraffe Class! We have completed our first set of practise KS2 tests and the children were amazing - everyone approached them in an enthusiastic and positive manner and I was very proud of them all. In English, we have started looking at balanced discussions and in Maths we looked at calculating with money. Our History lesson was all about Harriet Tubman, who lived a very full and rewarding life and in Science, we talked about the importance of looking after our bodies.

   We finished the week with our first class reward of the year - an afternoon of hide and seek tag in the forest schools area. Everyone had a great time running around and hiding in the bushes and they didn't even complain when it started raining!!

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Ewan

Marvellous Mathematician: Izabella

Raffle Ticket Winners: Emre, Tala, Tom B, Charlotte and Amelia.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 13th October

precious

delicious

atrocious

suspicious

spacious

ambitious

infectious

cautious

nutritious

conscientious

Friday 6th October

We have spent the first few days of October being very busy! In English, we have written non-chronological reports about yellow-spotted lizards and in Maths, we have been looking at symmetry and co-ordinates. Our Science lesson involved making 'blood' from syrup, marshmallows and smarties and in Humanities, we learnt about the auctions where the enslaved Africans would be sold. We've had a great swimming lesson today and also had some very competitive games of benchball earlier in the week.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Finley I

Marvellous Mathematician: Harley

Raffle Ticket Winners: Ray, Millie, Charlotte, Amelia and Tom 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 6th October

refer

prefer

transfer

referred

preferred

transferred

transferring

referral

preference

reference

Friday 29th September

Can you believe we are over halfway through Term 1?! We have had another busy week; in English, we have been learning about yellow-spotted lizards and embedded clauses and in Maths, we have been revising our knowledge of shape and multiplication. Our History lesson was all about the barbaric conditions the enslaved Africans lived in, when they crossed the Atlantic Ocean and in Science, we did an investigation about our heart rates. 

   Lots of people are going out of their way to be kind to others and it is great to see!

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Isla

Marvellous Mathematician: Torres

Raffle Ticket Winners: Emre, Cordelle, Summer, Tom and Amelia

Spellings to be tested: Friday 29th September

horrible

terrible

possible

edible

sensible

adorable

forgivable

valuable

identifiable

disposable

Spellings to be tested: Friday 22nd September

bargain

persuade

embarrass

criticise

correspond

appreciate

committee

government

parliament

conscience

Friday 15th September

The second week of Year 6 has been great. In English, we have been revising our knowledge of expanded noun phrases, adverbial phrases and prepositional phrases. Our Maths work has centred around Number and Place Value and in Humanities, we learnt about why the Atlantic Slave Trade began. We worked on our tennis skills and swimming in PE.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Thomas

Marvellous Mathematician: Summer

Raffle Ticket Winners: Millie, Essmai, Cordelle, Thomas and Ray.

We need empty, clean glass jars for Science on Thursday - please bring one before then. Thanks! 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 15th September

bruise

occupy

queue

desperate

harass

identity

aggressive

controversy

determined

foreign

Friday 8th September

It's been an amazing first week in Giraffe Class and I have really enjoyed getting to know everyone. In English, we have been reminding ourselves of all the punctuation we have to use. In Maths, we have been looking at place value and in Humanities we reminded ourselves about the continents and oceans of the world. Our Science lesson involved learning the different parts of the heart and we had two very sweaty PE lessons, where we worked on our tennis skills and also played dodgeball to work on our teamworking skills. 

 Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Hannah

Marvellous Mathematician: Essmai

Raffle Ticket Winners: Thomas D, Millie, Charlie, Amelia and Tala.

Meet the teacher is on Wednesday 13th September at 3.30. We will meet in the classroom. 

Every child has been given a reading book and spellings to learn  and also their log in details for MyMaths and TTRS, so they have plenty of homework to keep them busy. 

Friday 1st September

The classroom is ready and I am very much looking forward to welcoming all the new Giraffes to class on Monday!

Date for your diary

Meet the teacher is on Wednesday 13th September between 3.30 and 4.30. Please come along to the classroom to say hello and ask any questions you may have.