Welcome to Kestrel class! 

PE days are a Monday (year 1) and Tuesday (Year 2) - please come into school in PE kit, weather appropriate. 

 

Autumn 2

Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

 

 

 

 

 Please click the link to see the year 2 homework for this half term - a paper copy has also been sent home with the children.  

 /docs/Kestrels_2024-2025/Homework_Autumn_2.docx

 

 

Autumn 1

 Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

/docs/Kestrels_2024-2025/MTP_Planning.docx

Please click on link to see Kestrel's homework. 

/docs/Kestrels_2024-2025/Homework_Autumn_1.docx

Please click on the link to see a timetable for the year 1's. 

/docs/Kestrels_2024-2025/Year_1_timetable_Kestrels.docx

 

 

  

 

 Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

Planning 

Homework 

English

Our English focus for this half term is writing to entertain. The children will be writing their own short stories based on the whole school focus book 'Leaf' written by Sandra Dieckmann. We will be using descriptive language such as adjectives and adverbs to write setting and character descriptions. Towards the end of the term, the children will be writing recounts from the bears point of view. 

Maths

In maths the children will be learning about fractions. They will learn what a fraction is, equal and unequal parts, finding 1/2, 1/4, 1/3, 3/4 and finding the equivalent. They will be looking at unit and non unit fractions and finding fractions of amounts. Towards the end of the term the children will be learning about capacity, mass and temperature. 

History 

Our humanities this term is History focused with the topic 'The titanic'. The children will look at the Titanic in detail and investigate what is was like to be on board and why it is a significant event. 

DT

In DT, the children will be making free standing structures in the form of light houses. They will look at different free standing structures and work out what will be the best way to create their lighthouses to they stand.  

 

 

Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

/docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/MTP_Planning__1_.docx 

 /docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/Homework_Spring_2.docx

English 

Our English focus this term is recounts in the form of a diary. The purpose of this writing is to inform. We will be using our class text, 'The Sandman and the Turtles' by Michael Morpurgo to write a diary from one of the characters' point of view. We will be focusing on the key features of a diary including past tense and first person as our spag focus as well as apostrophes and commas. We will be planning, drafting and editing our diaries before publishing them. 

Maths 

To start this term, we will be focusing on multiplication and division. 

Year 3

- dividing with exchanging and with remainders before moving onto scaling and looking for how many different ways to solve a problem. Year 3's will then move onto length and perimeter before moving on to fractions - see planning for more detail. 

Year 2

- To begin with, year 2's will be focusing on what is multiplication, the link with repeated addition before learning the 2, 5 and 10 times table. Next, they will be learning measurement (length and height) before moving onto mass, capacity and temperature.  

Science 

Year 2 - Animals including humans. 

Year 3 - plants. 

Geography 

This term our Geography focus is maps. The children will be learning how to use a key to identify specific places on a map as well as learning how to use a compass. They will end this unit creating a map of the school. 

 

Spring 1

 Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

 /docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/MTP_Planning.docx

 /docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/Homework_Spring.docx

 Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

/docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/Planning_2.docx

/docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/Homework_2.docx

English

This term in English we are continuing to write to entertain. Our focus book is The Storm Whale by Benji Davies. We will be using the book to plan, draft and edit our own short stories. The children will be creating and describing characters and settings using a variety of descriptive language. Our SPaG focus will be conjunctions - coordinating and subordinating and using the past and present tense correctly. 

Maths 

This term in maths we will be continuing with addition and subtraction. Year 2's will focus on 2 digit numbers and year 3's will focus on 3 digit numbers. We will be looking at bridging 10 and finding methods to help us with this. Towards the end of the term year 3's will be moving onto multiplication and division and year 2's will be learning about shape. 

Science 

This term year 2's are learning about living things and their habitats where they will identify and compare living things, understand and describe their basic needs including their habitats and they are suited to their habitat. 

Year 3's are learning about light where they will be investigating shadows and how they are formed as well as how to protects themselves from sunlight.  

Geography

In Geography, we will be looking at different types of natural disasters and the effects of natural disasters. We will be looking at how volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis are formed and where they are based. The children will be using a map to identify the equator, northern/southern hemispheres and the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. 

 

Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. 

 

Autumn 1 

Please click on the link to see what we will be learning this term. /docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/Planning.docx

PE days are a Monday- please come into school in PE kit, weather appropriate. 

 Please click the link below for this half term's homework. 

 /docs/Kestrels_2023-2024/Homework.docx

English 

In English we will be writing our own stories based on an historical signification nurse such as Florence Nightingale. We will be creating characters and settings. We will be using adjectives to make our writing descriptive. We will be reading stories about Mary Seacole as well as Florence Nightingale. 

Maths 

We will be learning about place value. Recognising numbers up to 100 (y2) and up to 1000 (y3). We will be finding 10 more and ten less of a given number before moving onto addition and subtraction. 

Science 

In year 2, we will be learring about every day materials. 

In year 3 we will be learning about forces such as friction. 

History 

In History we will be learning about the similarities and differences to nurses. We will be looking at significant historical nurses such as Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. 

 

PE day is a Monday:) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A Year in Kestrel Class...

/Kestrel-Class-2022-2023/Summer_2/Kestrels_Class_2022-23.mp4

 When I grow up....

Every year I have asked the children what they would like to be when they grow up and below is their answers. The future is bright for these little superstars - keep on shining!

/Kestrel-Class-2022-2023/Summer_2/When_I_Grow_up.mp4

 

Outdoor Maths - Positional Language

W/b - 26/06/2023  

This week we headed outside to do some Maths, the children were asked to work in partners to practise using their positional language to describe where their partner should be. The children then took photos of their partner following their instructions. They had a brilliant time and it was lovely to hear them work together as teams, find creative ways to show positional language and have lots of fun! Some of them were actually surprised that we had been doing Maths. Here are some photos of them at work!

Our Class Trip to the SS Great Britain

We had an amazing time on our trip to the SS Great Britain and the children behaved brilliantly! It was lovely to see a real life piece of history, especially one which we were able to explore. The children thoroughly enjoyed exploring the ship and learning more about what it would have been like on the SS Great Britain. They were intrigued by the mannequins and the outfits they were wearing. We also got to have a really good look at the screw propeller which Brunel used on the ship and was one of the first of it`s kind.

 

The children really liked the workshop we did where we learned more about Brunel`s life and his engineering projects. Kestrels were able to answer all the questions the lady leading the workshop asked us and also were able to share all the information they had learned over the last few weeks. The children had a go at joining two piece of 'iron' together using rivets and were amazed at how many rivets were actually used in the making of the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After all that hard work it was party time and we had a fantastic time dressing up in traditional Victorian clothing and gathered up our Union Jacks ready for the launch of the SS Great Britain.

 It was a wonderful way to finish off our term learning all about Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the children have once again surprised us with their thirst for knowledge and the facts they have remembered!

Computing

This half term in Kestrels we are using the programme Scratch Junior on the iPads to explore how to create animations using algorithms. The children have been enjoying working in partners to problem solve how to use the app as well as finding new ways to complete the task. In our second session we asked the children to create an animation where they had to make an animal move around in the way they thought that animal would. It was great to see brilliant teamwork and the best part of the lesson was when the children moved around and shared their work with someone else. They learned lots from other pairs which can then be used next week to improve their programming skills further. 

Marvellous Maths

This week we enjoyed a really fun whole class session exploring practically how to complete a subtraction when you need to exchange a ten. It was a really great way for us to practise the skill and worked all together to support each other with remembering all the steps to successfully completing the activity. 

           

 

 Mechanical Mayhem

Our theme this half term is Mechanical Mayhem and in the coming weeks we are going to be exploring the life and work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We will also be looking at the different ways in which bridges can be built and designing our own to match a given design brief. I look forward to sharing some images of our work as we go through the term.

CARNIVAL TIME!

Over the last few weeks we have been busy designing, making and decorating our carnival carts. The children have been using the wood saws and hot glue gun to help them create their designs, it was great to see them use them so sensibly and carefully! They were incredibly creative and imaginative with the children supporting each other to develop their designs and create some really amazing pieces of work. 

 

Henry the Hedgehog goes missing!

Our Trip to Carymoor

This Thursday (10th November) we headed to Carymoor for our class trip with Kingfisher Class. There was much excitement before even getting onto the coach and the children were looking forward to returning to Carymoor after previous visits. On arrival at Carymoor we learned that their resident hedgehog, Henry, had disappeared! We were tasked with collecting evidence to help us to find Henry so we set off on a walk through the woodland looking out for clues of where animals might have been. We found deer footprints, feathers and a bit of badger poo but no sign of Henry. In the woodland area we discovered a letter from Henry telling us that the other woodland friends had been calling him names like Henry Hedge-pig as he had been eating lots of food. He also told us that they had been playing Hide and Squeak when he had gone missing. We were asked to use a map to discover whether Henry had hidden in any other of the woodland animals homes, the children were brilliant at using the maps to navigate around the woodland area as well as reading the signs which taught us the names of where the animals lived. 

       

                         

After this we then headed back up through the woods to look at the evidence the 'police' had collected for us to examine. We used identification sheets to identify which animal had left each piece of evidence, but again no signs of Henry.

We then had our lunch before a quick run around the field, luckily with no rain in sight! After lunch we were asked to find out more about what animals do as the seasons transition from Autumn to Winter with another treasure hunt. The children worked brilliantly in teams to collect the missing words to finish off sentences. They then played the Woodland Pizza game where the children worked in relay teams to collect a given animals favourite food to top their pizza. The children were definitely not impressed with some of the pizzas, especially the ones topped with slugs, snails and beetles! We then had to take off the tops of the pizza the toppings that the animals would struggle to find in winter, the children were shocked to see that Henry the Hedgehog didn`t have any items left on his pizza. But this clue helped us to unlock the mystery of where Henry had gone, why he was eating lots of food before he went missing and when he might return... he had gone into hibernation! Just before we went to go back to school we spotted Henry tucked up in a big pile of leaves ready for his hibernation through the winter. The children had a brilliant day and enjoyed another visit to Carymoor. 

Marvellous Map work

As part of our Geography theme this term we have been exploring maps of the UK, one of our final activities was to work in pairs to find places within the UK. The children were given a map of the UK with grid reference points to explore, their challenge was to find places within a given grid reference point that began with a specific letter. The children really enjoyed the task and said how fun it was to work together to find places on their maps. They all worked brilliantly in their pairs and showed amazing teamwork, respect, great communication and taking turns to either write the names of the places or read out how the places were spelled. The children were also able to locate the four capital cities on the map and recall which country the capital city belonged to. It was wonderful to see how focussed they were on their task as well as listening to their conversations and pronunciation of place names!

Restart a heart day

On restart a heart day we enjoyed a session with Mrs Rayner who taught us how to stop a significant bleed by applying pressure and using a bandage as well as what to do in a medical emergency. We learned that we needed to know our address so that, if in an emergency at our house, where we needed to call 999 we would be able to let the emergency service know where to go. Mrs Rayner also asked us to find out where our nearest defibrillator was so that we could help someone in an emergency if they had stopped breathing - as well as to carefully listen to the instructions from the call handler and stay as calm as possible. The children particularly enjoyed the chance to use bandages and practise applying pressure to a 'bleeding wound'!

Glorious Geography

This term we have been exploring the United Kingdom, learning the four countries of the UK as well as their capital cities. We have also been exploring maps and how different maps can be used for different purposes. This week we used a map to plan a route around the school in order to find a number of checkpoints. The children worked in small groups to plan their route before they started, they were given an iPad to use to take photos of someone in their group next to each checkpoint. The children had to follow the route that they had chosen and the photos that they had taken were checked once they had finished to ensure they followed their planned route. After everyone had finished we talked about the route the children who had finished first had taken and then compared that to the route the team who finished at the end. We discussed how each team had completed the route and what they thought were the successes and the mistakes of their routes. We are going to have another try next week to see if we can improve on our route development around our local area. 

Staying healthy

In our Science this half term we have been looking at 'Animals including Humans', we have learned about animals and their young, life cycles as well as how to stay healthy. We undertook an investigation this week to find out which exercises impacted the most on our heart rate, we learned how to take our pulse so that we would be able to tell which exercises raised our heart level as well as those exercises that didn`t have a lot of impact. The children had to predict which of the exercises they thought would raise their heart rate the most before we completed 30 seconds of each activity, activities such as tapping their head, jumping on the spot, running on the spot and sitting down and standing up from their chair. We had a lot of fun and the children really enjoyed feeling their pulse, especially after running on the spot!

Harvest Portraits

This week (w/b 03/10) we looked at the artist Guiseppe Arcimboldo, an Italian artist who created our focus portrait this week 'Vertumnus'. 

The children looked at the above portrait as well as some examples of previous pieces of work to get an idea of how Arcimboldo created his artwork. The children then had a chance to create their own work, some examples of which can be seen below;

Portraits

Our art theme this half term has been 'Portraits' so we have been exploring various famous artists and how they have created their portraits. One of the children`s favourite artists we have looked at has been Pablo Picasso. They really enjoyed the abstract nature of his portraits and had lots of fun creating their own. Here are some examples of the artwork they created;

Our first week in Kestrel Class...

We have had a busy first week in Kestrel Class, getting back into the swing of being back at school and learning to work together as a new class. We started off the year with lots of 'getting to know you' activities which included an activity where the children had to find someone who matched the phrase on the sheet. The children really enjoyed talking to their peers to find out whether they walked to school or owned a cat or lived in Keinton. It was a wonderful way for them to interact with each other and learn more about each other. I am really looking forward to sharing with you our class updates across the year  and images of the learning we are undertaking in Kestrel Class!