Hi! My name is Mrs Bunn and this is the second year that I have been teaching at St Johns. I am looking forward to this new year now that I’m not the newbie anymore! At St Johns, I am responsible for all the Geography learning that goes on and my favourite topic is in Year 3 when we learn about volcanoes!

In my spare time I enjoy walking my lovely Lakeland terrier Peggy, listening to podcasts and getting outdoors. Another great passion of mine is reading, I love finding out about new books and sharing them with my class!

I can’t wait to get started on this new academic year and see what Bluebirds class can achieve together!

Other staff working in our class are:

Miss Keyes – Teaching assistant

Mrs Wallace – 3rd Teacher

Mrs Sanger – Art and DT teacher fortnightly on Tuesday afternoons

Our Weekly Timetable:

 

Important dates for the diary this term for Bluebird Class:

PE - Every Monday

Ancient Egyptian Experience Day – Friday 13^th February

Our learning this term:

Our learning continues this term with an exciting history topic called ‘Ancient Egypt’. The children will be using a timeline and learning about hieroglyphics, the River Nile and the process of mummification!

 

 

This term in English we will explore a text called ‘The Egyptian Cinderella’.We will be writing our own version of the story by focusing on using different openers for our sentences and continuing to work on using conjunctions, interesting adjectives and prepositions. We will also be writing instructions about how to make a mummy!

 

In maths we will continue develop multiplication and division skills. The children will become more confident in knowing their 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 8X and 10X tables. They will learn how to multiply and divide 2-digit and 1-digit numbers. We will move on to measuring length and calculating perimeters using millimetres, centimetres and metres.

 

 

In science, our topic is ‘Animals including humans’. We will be learning all about the skeleton and muscles. Not only that, we will also be learning about how animals and humans need a specific diet full of vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins and sugar to stay healthy.

 

We will be learning about Sikhism in RE this term. Our big question is ‘What is important for Sikh people?’

The children will continue to develop their German vocabulary including speaking, reading and writing in German. They will learn numbers to 20 as well as the days of the week.

Learning at home for Bluebird Class: 

Children are expected to read every night for at least 15 minutes.  Please spend time each day listening to your child read as it really does have a positive impact on their progress. Remember to sign your child’s reading record book when they have read to you.

When your child has finished an AR book, they can complete the quiz. We are focussing on quizzing accuracy. Your child will receive a raffle ticket if they pass a quiz at 80% or above and will have the chance to win a prize at the end of term!

It is important that reading books and reading record books are in school every day even if your child hasn’t read.

 

 

Please remember that you can access Times Tables Rock Stars (TTRS), Numbots and Spelling Shed from home. There are certificates and a trophy for the winning class and individual certificates for the child that scores the most points each week. Spelling assignments will be given out each week, which support the spelling curriculum that your child will be following in school.

You will find your login details in the front of your child’s reading record book.

 

 

 

 

Be ready for learning!

In Bluebirds Class, your child will need to have these items in school: 

• PE kit (to be worn on PE day) 
• Water bottle with sports cap lid (no squash or juice) 
• Small rucksack (big enough to hold lunchbox and reading books) 
• Wellington boots (to leave in school) 
• Coat (weather appropriate) 

Please don’t bring other items into school, as we do not have space to store them, and it can cause upset if things are lost or damaged. 

 

School uniform checklist:

Please, please, please check that all items of school uniform and PE kit are clearly named, as it can be upsetting for the children and frustrating for parents and teachers when clothes go ‘missing’. Don’t forget to check regularly as names can fade easily in the wash!

Snacks

Please note that in KS2, children do not receive snack for break times.

If your child would like a snack, please feel free to send them in with a piece of fruit in their bag that they can eat in morning break! Grapes should be cut in half lengthways please.

Highlights from Term 2:

In science we were learning about rocks. The children tested rocks to see how hardwearing they were by scratching them, and if they were permeable or impermeable by dropping water on them using a pipette.

We took our learning outside when we made our own volcanoes on the field and made them ‘erupt’ by adding bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, read colouring and washing up liquid. We also looked at the different types of soil that are around our school grounds.

We had a visit from the Kent Road Safety team and practised finding safer places to cross the road. Kingfishers all know that they need to Stop, Look, Listen, Think and Hold Hands with and adult before they cross the road.

In DT lessons we practised our sewing skills. The children looked at existing products before designing and making a Christmas cushion. Their designs were impressive and they showed great skill when using running and backstitch to add decoration to the cushions.

We also had a great time at our Christmas party on the last day of term! We played all the party classics including pass the parcel, musical statues and we even had a dance competition!

Highlights from Term 1

We really enjoyed our Durovernum topic, learning all about why the Romans invaded and how they changed Canterbury. On our Hook Day we all made Roman helmets.

In Science, we learnt about forces and magnets. The children did an experiment to find out which surfaces had more or less friction and had lots of fun investigating how magnets attract and repel.

We took our learning outside for one of our art lessons. The children used viewfinders and sketched trees inspired by the work of Luke Adam Hawker.

We had a great day on our trip. At the Roman Museum the children had a Roman technology workshop, made their own replica Roman coins, used catapults to know down a brick wall and had fun dressing up!

At the Beaney we looked at some real and replica Roman artefacts, sketched them and thought about what they might be used for.