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 9th year at Barley Close and I think it's my 21st 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 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 really important to make time to  laugh, smile and have a good time!

  We are lucky enough to have Mrs Selway and Mrs Cornish in class with us as well.  Mrs G will 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 Wednesday. Children wear their PE kit to school (black leggings/jogging bottoms, plain white or house colour t-shirt and Barley Close jumper/hoodie/fleece) - no branded sportswear should be worn. Long hair needs to be tied up and earrings should be removed.

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!

Spellings

Children will be given new spellings every Friday (to be tested the following Friday). These are also displayed below, if spelling books are left in school or lost!

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 2nd May

cemetery

communicate

conscious

dictionary

existence

lightning

prejudice

privilege

rhythm

sufficient

Friday 25th April

It has been a great first week of Term 5! In English and Maths, we have been doing lots of paired revision, to remind ourselves just how much we know about maths, grammar and reading, in preparation for our KS2 tests later this term. We have carried out two Science investigations and played rounders and worked on our exercise stamina in PE.

Congratulations and well done to:

Pupil of the Week: Imogen

Marvellous Mathematician: Elsie

Worldly Wonder: Samiat

Raffle Ticket Winners: Samiat, Seb, Imogen, Phoebe and Archie

Spellings to be tested: Friday 25th April

clearance

guidance

relevance

audience

experience

difference

influence

explanation

interfere

mischievous

Friday 4th April

Term 4 is complete! We have had a fabulous final week of term - on Monday, the children took part in an art workshop and on Tuesday, they were engineers, designing a variety  of bridges using K'nex. Well done to Samiat and Sarim who built the winning design!

   In English, we wrote amazing non-chronological reports about World War 2 and in Maths, we revised our understanding of co-ordinates and reflective and translation symmetry. We also enjoyed our class reward playing outside on the field and had a great time during our final dance lesson of the term.

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Super Scientist: Franck

Technology Wizard: Oscar

Pupil's pupil of the term: Lilly

Adult's pupil of the term: Shelby

Raffle Ticket Winners: Seb, Navayah, Kelsey, Phoebe and Shelby

A reminder that Term 5 begins on Tuesday 22nd April - I hope you all have a fabulous holiday!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 4th April 

urgent

dependent

ancient

hesitant

fragrant

brilliant

observant

individual

profession

immediately

Friday 28th March

Another week achieved! We have been busy as usual... in English, we have completed several writing tasks around the book 'Letters from the Lighthouse', including a story and a formal letter. In Maths, we revised our knowledge of converting metric measurements and finding %s. We completed the last lessons of our work on the Second World War, writing a diary entry as Anne Frank and also learning about how the war came to an end. In PE, we worked on our rugby skills and dance moves again. 

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Adebola

Wonderful Writer: Kaelah

Raffle Ticket Winners: Daisy, Imogen, Navayah, Edward and Lacie

Spellings to be tested: Friday 28th March

delicious

suspicious

spacious

nutritious

ambitious

conscientious

infectious

twelfth

secretary

explanation

Friday 21st March

Yet ANOTHER fabulous week in class! The children have shown off their knowledge fabulously during test week and should feel very proud of themselves.

  In English, they wrote two very different formal letters, one to me, asking me to make their favourite sandwich and one in character as Winston Churchill asking homeowners to take in an evacuated child! In Maths, we concluded our work on Algebra and realised that it wasn't as scary as we thought it would be!

   Our History lessons saw us learning about the role women played in World War 2 and also Anne Frank's life. We had three PE sessions this week - our first rounders game of the year meant we could enjoy the sunshine and on Friday we had coaches in to teach us some rugby and dance skills (although not at the same time!)

 Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Sarim

Creative Champion: Isla

Raffle Ticket Winners: Phoebe, Ashton, Archie, Bella and Felipe

Spellings to be tested: Friday 21st March

their

there

they're

which

witch

two 

to

convenience

equipped

restaurant

Friday 14th March

Giraffe Class constantly make me proud and this week has been no exception! Our work this week has included the following: use of semi-colons and colons and formal language in English, algebra in Maths, the impact on Bristol of World War 2 in History, an investigation in Science and a great Afro beats dance lesson in PE!

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Oscar

Reading Ambassador: Lacie

Raffle Ticket Winners: Kelsey, Nancy, Lacie, Adebola and Seb

Spellings to be tested: Friday 14th March

mission

session

admission

obsession

permission

concussion

compassion

vegetable

frequently

curiosity

Friday 7th March

Well the  fabulous behaviour of the class was commented on by visitors to the school 3 times this week and it was thoroughly deserved! They are a brilliant bunch!

   This week in English, we have retold the beginning of the book 'Letters from the Lighthouse' and in Maths, we have been continuing our work on ratio and proportion. In Science, we learnt the symbols for electrical circuits and in History we learnt about life for those children who lived in big cities during World War 2 and the impact it had on daily life. 

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Shelby

Worldly Wonder: Franck

Raffle Ticket Winners: Imogen, Shelby, Oscar, Elsie and Willow.

It's class photo day on Monday and also parent's evening appointments are open for booking!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 7th March

musician

mathematician

politician

optician

magician

beautician

electrician

committee

recommend

sincere

Friday 28th February

It has been great to see everyone back at school this week and we have have been busy as usual! In English, we have been revising our knowledge of modal verbs and adverbs for possibility. In Maths, we have been learning about ratio and proportion. Our History lesson was about The Blitz and in PE, we worked on our rugby skills and our dance moves (but not at the same time!). 

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Edward

Marvellous Mathematician: Jaigen-Joe

Raffle Ticket Winners: Imogen, Samiat, Archie, Shelby and Navayah. 

Friday 14th February

It has been a great final week of Term 3! In English, the children have written fabulous multi-perspective dairy entries as Jack, Beth and Kai from Shadow Jumper and in Maths, we have been looking at the equivalences between fractions, decimals and percentages.

   In Science, we designed posters about animals that use camouflage to survive and in art we created dog sculptures that stand up (most of the time). The children had a great PE lesson today working on paired balances and we also talked about Internet Safety Week.

Congratulations and well done to:

Pupil of the Term: Adebola

Worldly Wonder: Seb

Raffle Ticket Winners: Daisy, Lacie, Aria, Seb and Kaelah.

Have a great half term and I will see you all on Monday 24th February

Spellings to be tested: Friday 14th February

caution

t-shirt

miscalculate

glisten

fluffiest

thistle

well-behaved

misconstrue

information

happiest

Friday 7th February

We have had a busy week! We have completed another set of practise KS2 tests - everyone has tried their very best and it is great to see everyone using all the knowledge they have gained over the last couple of years!

   In English, we have continued to prepare for writing our multi-perspective diary entry next week. In History we learnt about the hardships faced by the children that were evacuated during World War 2 and in Science, we researched animals that use camouflage to keep themselves safe from predators. Our gym lesson involved us improving our jumping skills and we have also been talking about our emotions and how we can look after our mental wellbeing, as this week has been Children's Mental Health week.

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Felipe

Wonderful Writer: Imogen

Technology Wizard: Aria

Raffle Ticket Winners: Kelsey, Ivan, Elsie, Isla and Samiat

Spellings to be tested on Friday 7th February

caution

position

vacation

subtraction

definition

evolution

information

forty

attached

occur

Thursday 30th January

We've packed a lot into our 4 day week! In English, we have been learning about using parenthesis in our writing to add extra information and our Maths lessons have seen us learning how to find the area and volume of shapes. In History, we found out who the main leaders were in World War 2 and in Science, the children carried out a great investigation to see which shape of bird beak would be most successful in eating bird seed, to learn about evolution and adaptation.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Isla

Creative Champion: Daisy

Raffle Ticket Winners: Lacie, Jaigen-Joe, Kennedy, Shelby and Kelsey

Spellings to be tested: Thursday 30th January 

sing-song

part-time

T-shirt

great-aunt

best-selling

well-behaved

full-length

apparent

develop

marvellous

Friday 24th January 2025

We have had another incredible week in Giraffe Class! In English, the children wrote their own version of the first two chapters of the book 'Shadowjumper' and in Maths we have been looking at area and perimeter.

   Our History lesson looked at the reasons why World War 2 was declared on 3rd September 1939 and in Science, we learnt about fossils and family trees. Everyone pushed themselves out of their comfort zone in our PE lesson on cartwheels and Jas and Caitlyn (the PE coaches) were really impressed with the whole class!

    Everyone had a great time at the Lifeskills centre on Tuesday morning and I hope they have shared some of their new knowledge with you.

Well Done and Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Lilly

Super Scientist: Archie 

Raffle Ticket Winners: Archie, Isla, Franck, Felipe and Daisy

Friday 17th January

Week 2 all complete! In English, we have been learning about the importance of using dialogue effectively in stories and in Maths, we have been focusing on calculation strategies. Our History lesson covered the impact that World War 1 had on the world and in PSHE, we set goals that we would like to achieve before we leave and the small steps we need to complete to achieve them. We've also had two great PE lessons - benchball and gym. 

Well Done and Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Kelsey

Super Sportstar: Ashton

Raffle Ticket Winners: Willow, Archie, Daisy, Seb and Jacob

Spellings to be tested: Friday 17th January

happiest

friendliest

earliest

luckiest

fluffiest

busiest

grumpiest

programme

opportunity

especially

Friday 10th January 2025

We have started 2025 very successfully in Giraffe Class! In English, we have been revising our knowledge of grammar and in Maths, we have learnt how to do Long Division! We started our new History topic - the Second World War - which we are very excited about and in PE, we played benchball and worked on our rolls in gym. 

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Franck

Marvellous Mathematician: Nancy

Raffle Ticket Winners: Ivan, Sarim, Seb, Daisy and Ade.

Friday 20th December

Term 2 complete!! We have had a great final week - the children have written great explanation texts in English and in Maths, we revised our understanding of 2d and 3d shapes. In DT, we learnt about the pros and cons of cooking homemade food vs takeaways, made vegetarian chilli, banana and raisin flapjacks and oat and raisin cookies and also evaluated our cooking skills!

     It has been a fabulous term and we have learnt lots and also laughed and smiled.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Term: Nancy

Pupils' Pupil of the Term: Jaigen-Joe

Raffle Ticket Winners: Navayah, Daisy, Imogen, Jaigen-Joe and Ivan

   Have a fabulous holiday and I will see everyone on Monday 6th January!!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 20th December

leisure

muscle

yacht

system

competition

accommodate

temperature

signature

pronunciation

hindrance

Friday 13th Friday

It's been another good week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have started looking at explanation texts; learning about what it takes to be a teacher and a Year 6 pupil! Our Maths work has centred around %, line graphs, bar charts and pie charts. In Geography we have looked at the impact of deforestation on the Amazon Rainforest and in Science, we completed an investigation involving sun loungers and umbrellas!

 Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Samiat

Super Sports person: Navayah

Raffle Ticket Winners: Felipe, Daisy, Samiat, Ivan and Navayah

Spellings to be tested: Friday 13th December

disastrous

interrupt

achieve

stomach

relevant

definite

environment

immediate

necessary

sincerely

Friday 6th December

Well we might have only been in school for 4 days this week, but we still packed a lot in! We have completed our second test week of the school year and I have been really impressed with the effort that all of the children have put in - they are fabulous! In PE, we played benchball and tennis; in Science, we learnt how shadows are formed and why they change size and in Geography we learnt about the indigenous people of the Amazon Rainforest. 

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Seb

Creative Champion: Sarim

Raffle Ticket Winners: Shelby, Seb, Ashton, Archie and Isla

Spellings to be tested: Friday 6th December

desert

dessert

stationary

stationery

complement

compliment

principle

principal

equipment

language

Friday 29th November

We have kept ourselves busy in this final week of November! In English, the children wrote great stories that told the life story of William 'Bill' Lewis and the 27 years he worked tirelessly to free his enslaved family. Our Maths work has centred on x and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 and in Geography we learnt about the different layers of the Amazon Rainforest. In PE, we completed several different team challenges and today we have used a LOT of glitter, making Christmas decorations for the classroom!

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Elsie

Reading Ambassador: Ivan

Raffle Ticket Winners: Elsie, Aria, Samiat, Archie and Isla.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 29th November

disagree

disobey

distrust

disbelieve

dishonest

disadvantage

disappearance

dishonourable

nuisance

awkward

Friday 22nd November 2024

Where did that week go - it flew by!! We have been busy in Giraffe Class (as usual) - in English, we have learnt about William 'Bill' Lewis, an enslaved man who worked hard for 27 years to raise money to free his entire family. Next week, the children will be writing an extended narrative about his life. Our Maths work has largely centred around decimals and place value. In Geography we found out what biomes and climate zones are and in PE we have played lots of games of benchball as it was quite nippy outside!

Congratulations and Well Done to:

Pupil of the Week: Kaelah

Worldly wonder: Felipe

Raffle Ticket Winners: Archie, Aria, Jaigen-Joe, Samiat and Ivan

Spellings to be tested on: Friday 22nd November

according

average

equip

symbol

excellent

community

guarantee

neighbour

sacrifice

soldier

Friday 15th November

Another amazing week in Giraffe Class has come to an end! In English, the children have written amazing diary entries in character as Henry 'Box' Brown, an enslaved man who went to extraordinary lengths to gain his freedom. Our Maths lessons covered rounding numbers, working with negative numbers and dividing fractions. In Geography, we learnt about longitude and latitude and in Science, we learnt how our eyes work. Our PE lessons involved team building games and benchball.

Congratulations and well done to:

Pupil of the Week: Jacob

Super Scientist: Ade

Raffle Ticket Winners: Kelsey, Seb, Archie, Samiat, Lilly and Phoebe

Spellings to be tested: Friday 15th November

physical

accompany

variety

amateur

autograph

autocue

autopilot

automatic

autonomous

autobiography

Friday 8th November

It has been a very positive and busy start to Term 2! In English, we have read about Henry 'Box' Brown in preparation for writing a diary entry next week. Our Maths lessons have centred around dividing fractions and number and place value work. We started our geography topic 'Amazon Rainforest' and in our Science lesson, we started our topic on light by completing an investigation that showed that light only travels in straight lines. 

Congratulations and well done to:

Pupil of the Week: Kennedy

Marvellous Mathematician: Kelsey

Raffle Ticket Winners: Daisy, Ade, Nancy, Isla and Jaigen-Joe

Spellings to be tested: Friday 8th November

special

partial

essential

torrential

artificial

substantial

confidential

influential

conscience

thorough

Friday 25th October 2024

Term 1 complete!! What a fabulous term it has been! Giraffe Class have been amazing and we have already achieved so much!

  This week in English, we wrote balanced discussions about whether Camp Green Lake should be closed and in Maths, we looked at +/- with fractions, prime numbers, squared and cubed numbers and common factors and multiples. Our final Science lesson of the term involved learning about why water is so important for our bodies and we also finished our amazing artwork. 

Congratulations to:

Pupils' pupil of the term - Daisy

Adults' pupil of the term - Lilly

Raffle Ticket Winners - Navayah, Isla, Lacie, Aria and Daisy.

Have a great half term and I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday 4th November.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 25th October

precious

delicious

atrocious

suspicious

ambitious

cautious

nutritious

conscientious

familiar

recognise

Friday 18th October

Giraffe Class have been very busy this week, completing their first set of mock KS2 tests. They have all smashed it and I am very proud of them. They have been enthusiastic about trying their best and I think lots of them feel a lot less worried about what will happen in May, now that they know the sort of questions they will be answering!

   We have also concluded our history topic on the Atlantic Slave Trade and also our Activism Art topic - the artwork is of a great standard and the children are rightly proud of their accomplishments!

 Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Jaigen-Joe

Wicked Writer: Bella

Raffle Ticket Winners: Kelsey, Nancy, Ivan, Daisy and Isla

Spellings to be tested: Friday 18th October

refer

prefer

referred

preferred

transferred

referral

reference

parliament

suggest

shoulder

Thursday 10th October

Only a four day week for Giraffe Class but we have packed a lot in! We began a new English unit ' balanced discussions' and so have been looking at the sentence openers and conjunctions we need to use. Our Maths lessons have centred around calculating missing angles and % and in History, we learnt about the inspirational life of Harriet Tubman. In Science, we talked about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and we played some great games of benchball in PE.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Archie

Creative Champion: Jacob

Raffle Ticket Winners: Jacob, Nancy, Navayah, Willow and Ivan

Spellings to be tested: Thursday 10th October

horrible

terrible

possible

sensible

adorable

forgivable

valuable

disposable

committee

government

Friday 4th October

It's been another monumentally fabulous week in Giraffe Class - it is very hard to choose Groovy Giraffe and Pupil of the Week at the moment!

    In English, the children have written amazing non-chronological reports about Yellow Spotted Lizards and in Maths, we have been revising our understanding of % and angles. Our History lesson was all about the auctions that the enslaved Africans were sold at and in Science, we made blood out of Smarties, Golden Syrup and Marshmallows!! PE saw us continuing to work on our tennis skills and we also started our artwork that is linked to our Activism in Art unit. 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Daisy

Reading Ambassador: Franck

Raffle Ticket Winners: Phoebe, Lacey, Shelby, Isla and Jaigen-Joe.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 4th October

deceive

conceive

receive

perceive

ceiling

receipt

conceit

criticise

correspond

appreciate

Friday 27th September

We have reached the halfway point of Term 1! It has been a great week - in English, we have been learning about the deadly yellow-spotted lizard, so that we can write a non-chronological report about them next week. Our Maths work has mainly centred around +,- and x with fractions (lots of us realised it's not as hard as we thought it was) and in History, we learnt about the horrific conditions that enslaved Africans endured on their way across the Atlantic Ocean.

  Our Science work involved completing an investigation to see what happens to our heart rate when we exercise and we also started our Art unit - we looked at how art can be used to share powerful messages.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Aria

Worldly Wonder: Shelby

Raffle Ticket Winners: Seb, Daisy, Lilly, Samiat and Navayah

Spellings to be tested: Friday 27th September,

ought

bought

fought

tough

enough

although

bough

bargain

persuade

embarrass

Friday 20th September

It has been another fabulous week in Giraffe Class! In English, the children have wowed me with their writing skills as they retold the opening of the book Holes. Our Maths lessons have all centred around fractions - we have added with them, found equivalent fractions, put fractions on a number line and ordered them. 

  Our Science lesson involved making a pump to show how the heart pumps blood around our body (thank you for sending in a glass jar) and in History, we learnt about why Bristol was well-placed to be so significant in the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Phoebe

Technology Wizard: Oscar

Raffle Ticket Winners: Elsie, Phoebe, Archie, Jaigen-Joe and Jacob.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 20th September

bruise

occupy

queue

desperate

harass

identity

aggressive

controversy

determined

foreign

Friday 13th September

Week 2 has been even netter than Week 1! In English, we have been revising our knowledge of expanded noun phrases, adverbial phrases and prepositional phrases ready to write a descriptive narrative about the book 'Holes' next week. Our Maths work has been mainly centred around the 4 calculation operations.

   In History, we learnt about the beginnings of the Atlantic Slave Trade and in PSHE, we talked about our worries and what we would like to achieve for the coming year. 

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Nancy

Super Scientist: Seb

Raffle Ticket Winners: Archie, Lilly, Lacie, Shelby and Ivan.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 13th September

believe

different

disappear

favourite

heard

interest

minute

probably

quarter

separate

Friday 7th September

Week 1 complete! Well I hope the children have enjoyed their first week of term as much as I have! It has been great to spend time with them all and I think we are going to have an amazing year. 

   This week in English, we have been revising our understanding of basic punctuation and sentence types. In Maths, we have been looking at reading, writing, ordering and comparing numbers and in Science we learnt about the heart and the different parts of it. Our first humanities lesson of the year was centred around identifying and locating the continents and oceans on a map. The children also took part in their first swimming lesson of the term - we will be swimming every Friday afternoon.

 Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Navayah

Marvellous Mathematician: Lilly

Raffle Ticket Winners: Ade, Phoebe, Imogen, Bella and Isla.

A reminder that 'Meet the teacher' is happening on September 19th and 24th from 3.30 and 4.30 - you don't have to come to both, it is just a chance to meet me, see where you child does their learning and ask any questions about Year 6 that you might have. 

Wednesday 28th August

The classroom is ready and I am very much looking forward to welcoming all the new Giraffes to class on Tuesday 2nd September!

Date for your diary

Meet the teacher is on Thursday 19th September and Tuesday 24th September between 3.30 and 4.30. Please come along to the classroom to say hello and ask any questions you may have.