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 6th year at Barley Close and I think it's about my 18th 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 classtime 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 Harris, Mrs Gibbs and Miss Wilkins in class with us as well .  Mrs Harris 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, or you can message me via class dojo (if you need me to re-invite you, then let me know).

Miss Beard 

PE

In Term 6, PE will be on a Thursday and a Friday. Remember to wear your PE kit to school! Long hair should be tied back, earrings should be removed and no branded sportswear should be worn. We will be going outside, so make sure you wear something warm!

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. Books will be quarantined for 48 hours, before being cleaned and returned to the shelves for others to borrow them.

 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!

We are no longer using Reading Eggspress as a whole school home learning resource. 

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 and will be expected to complete at least two activities a week. Both of these things will be monitored by me. 

Friday 10th June

Term 6 Week 1 - completed! 

The children have been able to spend lots of time outside this week and there have been some great games of football going on! We've also written non-chronological reports about creatures we designed and explanation texts of beds we invented! We had two visitors on Wednesday who looked at the writing of Year 6 and they were REALLY impressed with the quality of the work - it was great so hear that all the hard work that the children have put into their writing this year has paid off. 

   In Topic, we learnt about the Apartheid System in South Africa and also created patterns based on the colours of the South African flag. In PE, the coaches helped us improve our running skills.

 Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Alfie W and Alfie M

Raffle Ticket Winners: Vinnie, Tailor, DJ, Ashton and Freya.

  Next week, most of us will be at camp having fun and doing lots of great activities. Those children not going on camp will be at school - having fun and doing lots of great activities! Children not going on camp can wear non-school uniform all week!

Friday 27th May

We made it to the end of Term 5!! It might have only been 24 days long, but we packed a lot in!

This week we have completed lots of writing in English and worked on various things in Maths. Everyone enjoyed the Class Reward on Thursday when we used the swimming pool!

Congratulations to:

Raffle Ticket Winners - Vinnie, Tailor, Alfie W, Isabella, Lyla

Pupil of the Term - Kate

Term 6 starts on Monday June 6th - we will be packing even more into that one than we did Term 5!!

Friday 20th May

We have made the most of the sunshine this week and have spent lots of time outside, playing rounders, football and also chilling a bit! We have also worked as well - in English, we have written stories, eye witness reports and setting descriptions. In Maths, we have been looking at calculation and fractions.  On Tuesday, those children who will be going to Downend in Year 7 got to meet one of their new teachers and they were very keen to find out the rules about school uniform, mobiles and where they go to eat!!

   Congratulations to:

    Pupils of the Week - DJ and Kara

    TTRS Rock Legend - Daria

    Raffle Ticket Winners - Charlie M, Daria, Kate, Lily, Freya

 Next week, we will continue to write in lots of different genres in English and in Maths we are going to be looking at fractions and percentages. Our Topic lesson will be about South Africa and we will continue to get outside as much as we can!

For our class reward, the children have chosen a swim session, so they will need to bring their swimming kit on Thursday 26th May. 

Friday 13th May

Giraffe Class are the best!!!!

Everyone who has completed the KS2 tests this week has worked really hard and been really positive. All of the adults at school are incredibly proud of them! As well as completing the tests, we have spent lots of time outside playing rounders and enjoying the sunshine. Today we have said goodbye to Beth and we are going to miss her loads.

  Next week, we return to 'normal' maths and english lessons. We will be doing lots of reading and in Maths we will be looking at % and calculations. Our Topic lesson will be about Nelson Mandela and in PE we will be continuing to work on our rounders skills!

No spellings for next week!

Friday 6th May

Another busy and fabulous week in Giraffe Class! The children that are sitting their SATs tests next week have been busy revising all week and I am SUPER proud of them - they have encouraged and supported each other and shown how much they all know! They have worked really hard and are in a good place to be successful next week. Remember we are serving breakfast from 8.15 - Monday to Thursday. 

   We have also spent lots of time outside playing sports and having extra play and also did some Science on Tuesday. 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Maya and Isabel

TTRS Rock Legend - Alissa

Reading Champion - Charlie M

Raffle Ticket Winners - Maya, Charlie M, Beth, Isabella and Daria

Next week is a big week for those sitting their SATs tests - but I know they are ready and that they will all try their best. We will be doing lots of fun stuff as well as the tests and on Thursday will be swimming in the renovated pool! We also have someone coming in from the Dogs Trust on Friday to talk to us about the work they do. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 6th May

clearance

guidance

relevance

audience

experience

difference

influence

explanation

interfere

mischievous

Friday 29th April

We've crammed a lot into week 1 of Term 5! 

In English, we started looking at our new text 'Journey to Jo'Burg' by Beverley Naidoo, which is set in South Africa. We have been  making predictions about the text and also thinking about what we can learn about the characters. We have also been revising our Grammar and Punctuation knowledge. In Maths, we have been working together to revise our knowledge, ready for the KS2 tests. Our new Topic is South Africa and this week we started it by learning about latitude and longitude. In PE, we have played football and rounders. 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Imogen and Tailor

Reading Champion: Maya

TTRS Rock Legend: Alfie W

Raffle Ticket Winners: Jaedon, Isabella, Alfie W, Alexia, Daria

Next week in English and Maths, we will be continuing to prepare for our KS2 tests. In Science, we will be looking at circuits and in PE we will continue to work on our rounders skills - and the daily mile will also be putting in an appearance! 

Friday 8th April

We have rounded off the term in style! The children wrote incredible formal letters in English and in Maths, we revised our knowledge of finding missing angles and using co-ordinates. We completed our final lesson of our World War 2 topic and we also pitched our ideas for a tuck shop to Mrs Williams! Today we had our final lesson with our dance teachers Rosie and Heidi - both teachers were incredibly complimentary about the children's attitude to learning and their ability to pick up dance steps quickly.

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Mason and Jacob CH

Pupil of the Term - Beth

TTRS Rock Legend - Lily

Reading Ambassador - Isabella

Reading Champion - Charlie M

Raffle Ticket Winners - Isabella, Imogen, Kate, Lily, Lyla

Have a great holiday - see you all on Monday 25th April - our new topic will be South Africa and our English and Maths lessons will be focusing on getting us all SATs ready!!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 8th April

delicious

suspicious

spacious

nutritious

ambitious

conscientious

infectious

twelfth

secretary

explanation

Friday 1st April

Not quite as busy a week this week in Giraffe Class - but we have still got lots done! In English, we have been looking at formal letters and in Maths, we have been getting our heads around ratio and proportion. We all enjoyed our class reward of extra play on Tuesday and we made up our own games in PE.

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Maya and Beth

TTRS Rock Legend: Kate

Reading Champion: Lyla

Raffle Ticket Winners: Rio, Isabella, Kate, Alfie W and Alexia

Next week in English, we continue our work on formal letters and in Maths, we are looking at Geometry and Measurement. We will also finish off our World War 2 topic. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 1st April

their

there

they're

which

witch

two

to

convenience

equipped

restaurant

Friday 25th March

I know I say it regularly.... but this week really has been an amazing time in Giraffe Class! Thank you to everyone who came to our class assembly today, it was a real honour to bring the school community together for the first time in over two years!!!! The children worked really hard writing, rehearsing and performing their assembly; and as we have had a high level of absence this week, they also proved how flexible and versatile they can be! There were lots of nerves before we did it, but they were all superstars - the impromptu dance performance was a real example of how grown up they are becoming and how confident in their abilities they are starting to be! I am super proud of them all and it was great to see the pride on your faces as well!

   As well as the excitement of the assembly, it has also been test week - the children are in a really good place for the KS2 tests that will take place next term. They had a great game of benchball on Wednesday and even squeezed in a quick dance lesson on Friday afternoon before their assembly!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Vinnie and Lyla

Reading Champion: DJ

TTRS Rock Legend: Isabella

Raffle Ticket Winners: Isabella, Tailor, Max

Next week in English, we will be writing letters and in Maths, we start learning about ratio and proportion. We will also be talking about autism, as it is autism awareness week and fitting in a class reward that has been earned recently!! We will also fit in another dance lesson, a benchball tournament AND lots more besides!!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 25th March

mission

session

admission

obsession

permission

concussion

compassion

vegetable

frequently

curiosity

Friday 18th March

We have worked hard this week! In English, we have really been focusing on our writing - we have written every day, focusing on our spelling and punctuation. All of our writing was linked to the Second World War - a subject that the children have become very passionate about - and the standard of writing has been very good! In Maths, we continued to make our heads hurt with Algebra and finished the week with lots of calculation practice. 

   Our Topic lesson was all about rationing and in PE, we again got very sweaty playing benchball on Wednesday and today it was another street dance lesson. We have also started to prepare for our class assembly - which will be the first 'live' class assembly at Barley Close for two years!!! 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Isabella and Kate

Reading Champion: Kara

TTRS Rock Legend - Jamie

Raffle Ticket Winners - Isabella, Alfie W, Beth, Alexia and Ruby

Next week in English, we continue to focus on our writing and in Maths, we will look at statistics. Our afternoons will be busy writing and rehearsing the class assembly. It is also test week - the final one before the children sit their KS2 tests in May. Your child would have brought home a letter about them this afternoon and it is also below. Please ask if you have any questions about them. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 18th March

musician

mathematician

politician

optician

magician

beautician

electrician

committee

recommend

sincere

Friday 11th March

We have packed in a lot again this week. In English, the children have written amazing evacuation stories - I'm sure you will enjoy reading them next week at parent's evening! In Maths, we realised that Algebra isn't as scary as we thought it was and in Science, we learnt about where electricity comes from and also about renewable energy. 

   PE was very sweaty - we had lots of games of benchball on Wednesday and today we had another great dance lesson from Rosie!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Rio and Max

Raffle Ticket Winners: Isabella, Kate, Jaedon, Rio and Daria

Reading Champion: Kate

TTRS Rock Legend: Lyla

Next week in Maths, we continue with our work on Algebra and in English, we have a new unit that will focus on editing and improving our work. Our Topic lesson will focus on rationing and we will also start getting ready for our class assembly which is on March 25th.

A reminder that Friday 18th March is Comic Relief Day. Children can wear as much red as they like - no donation is needed. We will still be doing PE, so appropriate clothing should be worn.

Monday 7th March

Celebration Assembly update!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Alexia and Archie

Raffle Ticket Winners - Imogen, Charlie M, Freya, Alexia, Isabella

Spellings to be tested on Friday 11th March

vision

television

decision

confusion

conclusion

discussion

percussion

available

category

occur

Friday 4th March

I know I say it every week, but we have had a fab week in Giraffe Class! In English, we started a new unit about evacuation narratives. In Maths, we revised our knowledge of calculating with fractions and also using time. Our Topic lesson was about the Blitz in World War 2 and in PE we played an enthusiastic game of benchball and on Friday, the children had a 'proper' dance teacher from the Bristol Sport Federation teaching them routines.

  We were unable to have celebration assembly - so we will do it on Monday instead!

Next week, we will be continuing our work on narratives in English, starting work on Algebra in Maths and also starting our Science topic - Electricity.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 4th March

caution

T-Shirt

well-behaved

information

miscalculate

misconstrue

happiest

fluffiest

thistle

glisten

Friday 18th February

Well it was a shorter week than we thought we would have, but we packed a lot in - as usual! In English, the children wrote amazing newspaper reports about the mysterious disappearance of Tristan, from the book 'The Viewer'. In Maths we revised our work on area and perimeter, and calculating with fractions. Our PE lesson was focused on improving our gym skills and in Science, we researched the achievements of a wide range of Scientists.

As we weren't in today, there was no celebration assembly - but everyone has been fab this week!

Monday 28th February is an INSET Day, so I will see everyone on Tuesday 1st March. I hope you all have an amazing half term!!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 18th February

caution

position

vacation

subtraction

definition

evolution

information

forty

attached

occur

Friday 11th February

Where did that week go? Giraffes have been amazing - they have worked hard in English learning about newspaper reports and in Maths they have amazed themselves with the progress they made learning how to find missing angles. In Topic, we learnt about the evacuation process in World War 2 and we also found time to mark Safer Internet Day and Mental Awareness Week.

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Alissa and Lyla

Raffle Ticket Winners - Isabella, Alfie W, Jamie, Maya and Kate

TTRS Rock Legend - Isabel

Reading Champion - -Alexia

Next week, we will be writing newspaper reports in English, revising our knowledge of area and perimeter in Maths and also learning more about working scientifically in Science,

Spellings to be tested: Friday 11th February

sing-song

part-time

T-shirt

great-aunt

best-selling

well-behaved

full-length

apparent

develop

marvellous

Friday 4th February

Another fab week in Giraffe Class! I have just finished marking the amazing diary entries that were written today in English - the vocabulary that was chosen was truly fabulous! In Maths, we have been revising our knowledge of angles and percentages. Our Science lesson was based about the different skills you need to carry out in Science lessons and in PE, we had a great game of hockey.

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Jaedon and Alexia

TTRS Rock Legend: Charlie M

Reading Champion: Lyla

Raffle Ticket Winners: Daria, Isabella, Oliver, Rio and Ruby

Well done to Tailor and Archie who played in the charity football match after school tonight.

Next week in English, we will starting a new unit about newspaper reports and in Maths, we will be working on finding missing angles. We will continue to learn about the Second World War in Topic and will also return to our gym unit in PE.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 4th February

system

rhythm

lightning

cemetery

embarrass

conscious

communicate

prejudice

privilege

dictionary

Friday 28th January

Well a much more 'normal' week in Giraffe Class, with pretty much everyone back in school! 

In English, we have been working on apostrophes and vocabulary, ready to write diary entries next week. In Maths, we have been revising our knowledge of working with fractions, decimals and percentages. Our Computing lesson was all about understanding how websites are made and in Topic, we learnt which countries in Europe were part of the Allied forces. We have also had two great PE lessons this week; on Wednesday, the focus was putting together a gym routine with jumps, balances, turns and rolls and on Friday, two great hockey matches took place - I was very proud of the teamwork that was displayed in both lessons.

Congratulations to:

Pupil of the Week: Alfie W and Freya

Reading Champion: Jacob P

TTRS Rock Legend: DJ

Raffle Ticket Winners: Tailor, Rio, Vinnie, Lily and Maya

Next week we are writing diary entries in English and in Maths we are working on finding missing angles. Our Science lesson will be about science skills. On Friday, children are allowed to dress up as a rockstar, to tie in with NSPCC Rocks, a TTRS competition that is supporting NSPCC Number Day. 

Spellings to be tested on Friday 28th January

doubt

island

knight

thistle

solemn

February

glisten

leisure

exaggerate

physical

Friday 21st January

Well it has been a very quiet week in Giraffe Class with so many children off ill - we have missed all the poorly Giraffes very much and are looking forward to them returning when they are well!

   In English, we have been revising our knowledge of antonyms, synonyms and apostrophes for contractions. Our Maths work has centred around multiplication and division, area and perimeter. In PE we worked on our rolling skills and played an enthusiastic game of hockey and we have also done some art linked to The Viewer. Everyone really enjoyed the trip to Lifeskills and learnt lots of useful information. 

  Congratulations to:

   Pupils of the Week: Charlie M and Daria

   Raffle Ticket Winners: Alissa, Isabella, Charlie M, DJ and Rio

   Reading Champion: Alfie W

   TTRS Rock Legend: Daria

Next week, we are hoping that all the Giraffes are back to work on writing a diary entry in English; the relationship between fractions, decimals and percentages in Maths; the declaration of World War 2 in Topic and we will continue to work on our gym and teamwork skills in PE. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday January 21st

happiest

friendliest

earliest

luckiest

fluffiest

busiest

grumpiest

programme

opportunity

especially

Friday 14th January

Another busy week in Giraffe Class! As well as our usual lessons, some people from UWE came in to share a drama workshop with us on Tuesday and on Monday, lots of people helped to run the Infant Agility classes. 

    In English, we concentrated on using ambitious vocabulary and then put this to good use in the stories we wrote about Tristan from 'The Viewer' visiting his local junkyard. In Maths, we have revised our knowledge on area and perimeter and today we made our heads ache working on %! In Science, we learnt about the 6 different enquiry approaches there are and in Art we learnt about the work of Wassily Kandinsky. 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Ruby and Ashton

TTRS Rock Legend: Maya

Reading Champion: Beth

Raffle Ticket Winners: Charlie M, Isabel, Beth, Maya and Kate

Next week in Maths, we are continuing our work on Area and Perimeter and in English, we will be starting a new unit - writing a diary entry. Our Topic lesson will be based around the declaration of World War 2 and in PE, we will continue to work on our gym and netball skills. 

On Tuesday morning, we are due to visit the Life Skills centre - which is always an amazing trip!!

Spellings to be tested: Friday 14th January

mishear

misread

misbehave

miscount

miscalculate

misconstrue

misdiagnose

vehicle

ancient

rhyme

Friday 7th January

Happy New Year!!

It has been a great first week back and the children have excelled themselves with the hard work and effort they have put into their learning! In English, we have started looking at a new text 'The Viewer' by Gary Crew and Shaun Tan. The book has amazing pictures and we have been kept very busy trying to spot all of the amazing details. In Maths, we have been multiplying and dividing 2 digit numbers. There were lots of cries of 'this is fun' - which is always good to hear! 

   In Topic, we looked at the causes of World War 2 - this the the topic we will be looking at for the next two terms. In RE we looked at rules and codes for living and in PE, we got the apparatus out!

Congratulations to:
Pupils of the Week: Imogen and Rio

TTRS Rock Legend: Imogen

Reading Champion: Ruby

Raffle Ticket Winners: Archie, Alfie M, Lyla, Charlie M and Jacob CH.

Next week in English, we will be rewriting the opening of The Viewer. In Maths, we will be revising our knowledge of area and perimeter and in Science, we will be learning about the different types of experiments you can do. 

Thursday 16th December

We've had a great final week of Term 2! We've written explanation texts in English and revisited calculation in Maths. Everyone seemed to enjoy the class reward on Tuesday and we were busy today making cards and calendars. 

Congratulations to: 

Pupil of the Term: Charlie M

Raffle Ticket Winners: Isabella, Beth, Jamie, Rio, Maya

Reading Ambassador: Tailor

I hope you all have a fabulous holiday - see you on Tuesday 4th January at 8.45!!

Friday 10th December

I know I say it every Friday, but we have had another great week in Giraffe Class!! 

In English, we started our unit on explanation texts and today, the children wrote the introduction to an explanation text about something linked to Christmas. In Maths, we have been looking at statistics - line, graphs, pie charts and finding the mean. Our Topic work taught us about the Underground Railroad - a series of safe houses where enslaved Africans could find safety on the way to freedom. The children also braved the cold on Wednesday to play some great hockey matches.

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Freya and Kara

Raffle Ticket Winners - Jaedon, Jacob CH, Daria, Maya and Rio

TTRS Rock Legend - Jacob CH

Reading Champion - Ashton

Next week, we will be writing a Christmas themed explanation text in English and in Maths we will be revising our calculation skills. In Topic, we will be finding how the Atlantic Slave trade has affected life now and we will also be playing outdoor games on Tuesday afternoon - children need old, warm clothes and old shoes that can get muddy!!

Spellings to be tested on Friday 10th December

desert

dessert

stationary

stationery

complement

compliment

principle

principal

profit

prophet

Friday 3rd December

I'm not sure where this week has gone! In English, the children have written amazing stories, retelling the life of Henry 'box' Brown, who was an enslaved African, who mailed himself across America to find freedom. In Maths, we have revisited our understanding of rounding numbers, negative numbers and multiplying 2 digit numbers. In Science, we learnt the different parts of the eye (and made up some great raps) and in Topic, the children learnt about Harriet Tubman. They were also lucky enough to take part in an online Science lesson yesterday, where they devised a pulley system for Santa to move presents around!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Isabel and Ashton

Raffle Ticket Winners - Isabella, Charlie C, Imogen, Rio, Ruby

Reading Champion - Isabel

TTRS Rock Legend - Beth

Spellings to be tested: Friday 3rd December

equip

interrupt

achieve

stomach

relevant

definite

environment

immediate

necessary

sincerely

Friday 26th November

Term 2 test week complete!!! Every single child has worked really hard and should feel very proud of themselves! I will use the information from the tests to plan work for next term and also look at whether anyone needs to have some extra support. After a broken Year 4 and Year 5 because of Covid, there will be gaps in everyone's learning, but we will make sure we fill as many of those gaps as possible!

    In PE we worked on our hockey skills (our netball lesson today got rained off) and in Topic, we learnt about what life was like for the enslaved Africans, living on a plantation.

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Isabella and Tailor

TTRS Rock Legend - Archie

Reading Champion - Jamie

Raffle Ticket Winners - Alfie W, Kate, Isabella, Isabel and Tailor

Next week, we will be retelling the story of Henry 'box' Brown, who escaped from a life of enslavement by mailing himself across America in a large box and in Maths, we will be revisiting work on place value and multiplying 2 digit numbers. We are taking part in an online Science activity on Thursday and on Monday, we will be taking part in a food tasting workshop led by UWE.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 26th November

disagree

disobey

distrust

disallow

disbelieve

dishonest

disadvantage

disappearance

dissimilar

dishonourable

Friday 19th November

Yet another lush week in Giraffe Class! We have written stories in English and made our brains ache converting measurements in Maths. In Science we carried out an investigation that proved light travels in straight lines and in PE, we polished our hockey and netball skills. Everyone enjoyed the trip to the cinema on Tuesday and some people even fell asleep!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Jamie and Maya

TTRS Rock Legend - Oliver

Reading Champion - Charlie M

Raffle Ticket Winners - Lyla, Alfie W, Beth, Charlie M and Kate

Next week, we will be completing our first set of 'proper' mock KS2 tests and in English, we will be retelling the story of Henry 'Box' Brown. Our Maths work will be about calculations.

Spellings to be tested: Friday 19th November

physical

accompany

variety

amateur

autograph

autocue

autopilot

automatic

autonomous

autobiography

Friday 12th November

An amazing week in Giraffe Class! In English, the children have written fabulous diary entries as enslaved Africans - the vocabulary they chose was incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. In Maths, we have made our heads hurt learning how to find % of numbers - but everyone definitely knows more today than they did on Monday! Our PE lessons have been netball and hockey and in Topic, we learnt what a slave auction involved. 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Alfie M and Mason

TTRS Rock Legend - Ashton

Reading Champion - Charlie M

Raffle Ticket Winners - Jaedon, Maya, Rio, Alfie W, Kara and Jacob P (I did 6 by mistake!)

Next week in English, we will be starting a unit about writing a narrative of the enslaved African Henry Brown and in Maths, we are revising our knowledge of converting measurements. We will be starting our Science topic, light and will also be continuing to find out the best way to research things on the internet in Computing. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 12th November

according

average

achieve

symbol

excellent

community

guarantee

neighbour

sacrifice

soldier

Friday 5th November

The children have had a great first week back. In English, we have learnt the story of Henry Brown, who escaped from a life of slavery by mailing himself across America in a large parcel! We have also refreshed our understanding of fronted adverbials. In Maths, we have been revising our knowledge of fractions and have also tackled multiplying and dividing decimals. Our Topic lesson was about life on board a slave ship and in Computing we learnt how search engines work (and that there was life before the internet!!!)

Congratulations to:

  Pupils of the Week - DJ and Ruby

  TTRS Rock Legend - Alfie W

  Reading Champion - Alissa

  Raffle Ticket Winners - Mason, Alfie W, Isabel, Isabella, Imogen

Next week, we will be writing diary entries in English, looking at % in Maths and also starting our Science Topic for this term, which is Light and Sound. In PE, we will be outside (Wednesday and Friday) so children should make sure they are going to be warm enough!

Friday 22nd October

Term 1 complete!!!!!!! It has been a long one - 7 weeks - but your children have been absolutely fabulous. Already I can see how much they have grown in confidence and resilience and they have all worked really hard. They definitely deserve their half term break!!

   We have had a great week, writing balanced arguments in English, calculating with fractions in Maths and talking about our identities in RE. Today we have had great fun doing silly challenges and lots of the children impressed themselves with their abilities - it was also great to see them cheering each other on and celebrating successes!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Jacob P and Tailor

TTRS Rock Legend - Ruby

Raffle Ticket Winners - Alfie W, Oliver, Alissa, Rio and Isabella

Special congratulations to:

Reading Ambassador - Rio

Pupil of the Term - Lyla

Have a fabulous half term and I'll see all the children on Monday 1st November!

Spellings to be tested on Friday 22nd October

suggest

shoulder

familiar

recognise

thorough

nuisance

awkward

disastrous

equipment

language

Friday 15th October

Yet again, it has been a fab week in Giraffe Class! The children have been amazing - it was our first 'Test Week' of the year and they have all tried their very best and worked very hard! The tests give us a clear picture of where gaps in learning are and also prepare everyone for what 'SATS week' might look like in May. The KS2 tests that we sit in May are taken by all schools in England - they are commonly referred to as 'SATS'. 

   In PE we enjoyed getting the large apparatus out again and in Science, we talked about how the heart works. We also took advantage of the good weather and snuck in some extra playtime!!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Beth and Alfie W

TTRS Rock Legend: Alissa

Reading Champion: Isabella

Raffle Ticket Winners: Archie, Maya, Jacob CH, Alfie W and Alissa

Next week in English, we will be writing a balanced argument. Our lessons in Maths will be centred around calculation and in Topic,, we will continue our work on the Atlantic Slave Trade. 

Spellings to be tested Friday 15th October

precious

delicious

atrocious

suspicious

spacious

ambitious

infectious

cautious

nutritious

conscientious

Friday 8th October

Week 5 completed! We have been busy again - in English, we have started looking at balanced arguments, focusing on sentence starters and how to write the introduction. In Maths, we have learnt about reflective and translation symmetry and coordinates. All three subjects made the childrens' heads ache, but most of them realised that they actually knew more than they thought!! In Topic, we learnt about the Atlantic Slave Trade triangle and in PE we got the large apparatus out again! 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Charlie M and Jacob CH

Reading Star - Archie

Raffle Ticket Winners - Lily, Kate, Freya, Rio and Alexia

TTRS Rock Legend - Mason

Next week in English, we will be writing a balanced argument and in Maths we will be looking at multiplication and division. In Computing, we will be looking at how to search effectively on the internet and in Science, we will be continuing our work on Living Things. 

Spellings to be tested: Friday 8th October

refer

prefer

transfer

referred

preferred

transferred

transferring

referral

preference

reference

Friday 1st October

Another week has flown by in Giraffe Class! In English, we have written fabulous non-chronological reports about yellow-spotted lizards and in Maths we have been continuing our work on shape - learning the names of the different parts of a circle, building nets of 3d shapes and also comparing shapes. We took part in a live masterclass with a professor from the University of Lancaster this afternoon - he gave us lots of great information about space and space weather! Our PE lesson involved getting the big apparatus out and we also had a great time in the swimming pool on Monday!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week: Lyla and Rio

Reading Star: Daria

TTRS Rock Legend: Tailor

Raffle Ticket Winners: Beth, Archie, Imogen, Jamie and Tailor

Next week in English, we will be looking at argument texts and in Maths, we will be revising our knowledge of symmetry and coordinates. 

Spellings to be tested Friday 1st October

horrible

terrible

possible

edible

sensible

adorable

forgivable

valuable

identifiable

disposable

Friday 24th September

Another fab week in Giraffe Class! In English, we have been learning all about the yellow spotted lizard, in preparation for writing a non-chronological report about it next week. In Maths, we have been revising our knowledge of 2d and 3d shapes and also drawing 3d shapes. Our Topic lesson centred around why the Atlantic Slave Trade developed and in PE we got to use the apparatus for the first time in a long time!!!

Congratulations to:

TTRS Rock Legend - Freya

Pupils of the Week - Oliver and Lily

Raffle Ticket Winners - Kate, Beth, Rio, Daria and Alexia

Spelling Superstar - Isabella

Reading Star - Rio

Next week in English, we will be writing a non-chronological report about the yellow spotted lizard. Our Maths lessons will cover classifying shapes and learning about circles. In computing, we will look at how to search the internet effectively and in PE we are hoping to get the large apparatus out!  

A reminder that the weekly home learning expectations are:

Reading 5 x a week

TTRS - 25 minutes a week

Spelling - 3 x a  week

MyMaths - 2 activities a week. 

Spellings to be tested on Friday 24th September

bargain

persuade

embarrass

criticise

correspond

appreciate

committee

government

parliament

conscience

Friday 17th September

The second week of Term 1 has been even better than week 1!! Everyone is getting into their stride and the children are even getting used to my bad jokes!

 We kicked off the week with time in the swimming pool and ended with extra play in the sunshine - in between that we did lots of work and had some laughs as well. In English, we have continued our work on 'Holes' and have looked at the main character and written a letter home to his Mum. Our Maths work included revising our knowledge of rounding numbers and negative numbers. We successfully got the laptops out in computing and in Topic, we learnt about continents, oceans and countries around the world. 

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Alissa and Vinnie

TTRS Rock Legend - Kara

Raffle Ticket Winners - Charlie C, Jacob CH and Lyla.

Please remember that children are expected to read a minimum of 4 times a week and their reading records need to be signed by a parent to say this has happened. They should be completing 25 minutes of TTRS every week and also completing the two activities on MyMaths that have been set for them.

Next week in English, we will be learning about writing non-chronological reports; in Maths we will be looking at 2d and 3d shapes and in Science, our topic will be living things. 

Spellings to be tested Friday 17th September

bruise

occupy

queue

desperate

harass

identity

aggressive

controversy

determined

foreign

Friday 10th September

Week one complete!! Giraffe Class 2021-22 are all complete superstars and it has been so lovely getting to know them this week! We spent Monday making lots of things like drawer and coat peg labels and getting used to being back at school. Since then we have been reminding ourselves about Number and Place Value in Maths and in English, we have started looking at the book 'Holes' by Louis Sachar. We learnt about in Ecology in Science and today we have had a Music lesson led by Mrs Gilpin from Mangotsfield Secondary school - she was very impressed with everyone's behaviour and enthusiasm!

Congratulations to:

Pupils of the Week - Archie and Kate

Raffle Ticket Winners - Archie, Alfie W and Charlie C

Next week, we will be swimming on Monday morning and in English we will be continuing to focus on descriptive language. Our Maths work will continue to be based around Number and Place Value and in Topic we will begin to look at slavery.