Hi, I'm Teacher Sample (they/them) and I teach Year 5 Kestrels. I'm so excited to be a part of this school for a third year.

I have lived and worked in Germany and China prior to working at St John's. This year, I have taken on the role of MFL lead as I have a passion for learning languages. I can speak German, Chinese and Spanish. I'm looking forward to teaching German as our school's MFL and to teach my class some Spanish during our South America topic.

As well as being a teacher, I like coffee, Lego, and dinosaurs! 

 

Other staff working in our class are:

Mrs Miller (Tuesday-Friday), Miss Walker (Mon-Thurs), Mrs Bates (Monday)

 

Important dates

PE will now take place on a Thursday afternoon. Please send your child to school in school PE kit.

9.6.26: Cathedral trip

23.6.26: Mosque trip

17.7.26: Last day of term

Our learning this term:

English: We are reading The Boy at the Back of the Class, a story about a refugee moving to England and creating friendships. 

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Maths: We are learning about decimals, negative numbers and converting units of measure. 

Science: We are learning about Animals (including humans) 

Topic: We are starting a Geography topic called "Mapping the World", which includes field work. 

RE: We are continuing our two-term unit on Islam and answering the question: What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today? 

German: We are learning consolidating all our German learning and creating an "About Me" poster for our Year 6 teacher! 

Learning at home for Kestrel Class :

• Reading AR books 

• Spelling shed 

• TTS Rockstars 

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Be ready for learning! In Kestrels, your child will need to have these items in school: 

• water bottle (no squash or juice) 
• small rucksack (big enough to hold lunch box and reading books) 
• wellington boots (to leave in school) 
• coat (weather appropriate) 

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

 

Term 5 

Although it has only been a 5 week term, we have managed to fit in a lot of learning! We were also attendance winners 3 weeks in a row!

Viking Hook afternoon: To kickstart our Viking topic this term, we travelled from Scandanavia by longship (upside-down tables!) to Anglo-Saxon England; choosing our own Viking names in runes, decorating shields and making bread in the same way the Vikings did! We then spent the term learning about the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle in order to answer the question: Vicious invaders or peaceful settlers? 

Science experiments: To support our Science learning about Forces, the children took part in several practical experiments, including: testing te weight and mass of various classroom objects with a Newton meter, testing air resistance by making parachutes and dropping them from different heights, testing buoyancy and water resistance by creating different shapes out of blu-tac and dropping them in water.

 

Maths problem solving: This term’s Maths lessons have mostly focussed on decimals, so we used this as an opportunity to have a go at some read world Maths using money. The children also played games related to adding and subtracting decimals.

Computing: This term, the children learned how to use GarageBand to create beats and instrumental music. They then tried their hand at writing their own raps about their lives. It was such a fun experience and the children really threw themselves into it!

Portuguese lesson: As well as continuing to learn German, this term Kestrels had a Portuguese lesson led by Teacher Sample and a parent. The children learned how to introduce themselves, say colours and count to 10. The children used this knowledge to count 4 steady beats in our samba drumming for carnival!

Carnival: Kestrels spent this term’s Art lessons preparing for our wonderful whole school carnival! They made headdresses and wings to wear during the parade and sewed felt symbols of Brazil, which were then attached to our amazing banner. We recapped our samba drumming from term 3 so that we could perform this to the whole school. Thank you to those parents who came to help with our sewing lesson!

Term 4

What a busy term we have had in Kestrels, full of trips, performances, outdoor activities and more trips!

CNY assembly: We started the term by sharing our learning about Chinese New Year with Key Stage 2 in our own assembly. We acted out the story of The Great Race with masks that we had made. We showed off our Chinese calligraphy and some words we had learned and wished everyone 新年快乐!

The Light Jar: This term’s book was The Light Jar and to kick off the term, the children made their own light jars, which we then used to create a chilled-out atmosphere when reading the novel together.

 

Pond dipping: Kestrels went to the field to do pond dipping; looking especially for frog spawn as part of their Science topic about life cycles of different types of animals.

Philharmonia visit and Marlowe trip: We were lucky enough to be visited by members of the Philharmonia Orchestra, who performed snippets of classical music pieces and taught the children about the orchestra itself and the many instruments include. Following this, all of Key Stage 2 went to the Marlowe Theatre to watch a whole orchestra performance, including performing a song they had learned with the orchestra accompaniment. Kestrels participated beautifully and had rehearsed the song to perfection!

World Book Day: We were pleased to see so many members of our class dressing up for World Book Day, ranging from Minions to Powerpuff Girls and even Super Mario himself!

World Maths Day: St John’s was very excited to take part in an international Maths competition for World Maths Day. The children took part in a series of online games against children all around the world!

Cyanotype workshop: Another trip we went on this term was to Rock, Paper, Scissors, an art studio, to take part in a cyanotype workshop, in which the children made cyanotype prints of Canterbury Cathedral or The Crooked House. We hope to get these prints back after half term for the children to bring home.

King’s breakfast: Kestrels represented St John’s to well when we went to The King’s School for breakfast. The children displayed wonderful manners and enjoyed eating such a delicious meal together.

Rugby: In PE this term, Kestrels have learned how to play tag rugby and built on their schools each week; ending by playing a whole class tag rugby match. We were so impressed with their resilience, sportsmanship and teamwork skills.

Easter bonnet parade: Term 4 finished with an Easter Bonnet Parade. Mrs Miller and Teacher Sample were so proud that 12 Kestrels had made a bonnet at home and took part in the parade with their amazing confidence – and dancing!

We look forward to another fantastic term. Happy Easter and have a great break!

Term 3

Geography hook afternoon: We started off our South America topic by trying lots of different fruits that grow in South America and deciding which was our favourite. The children were brave to try things they had never eaten before!

Flowers and plants: The children took a hands-on approach in some Science lessons when learning about different parts of plants and how they reproduce, including recreating pollination of flowers which they had made!

Winter writing week: This term’s book was set in the Arctic circle and the children wrote setting descriptions to use in their narrative writing, which were inspired by a chilly experience in the classroom: ice cubes and fake snow!

French: We were lucky enough to be visited by a French teacher, who taught the children how to say which foods they like and dislike. We then watched an episode of Peppa Pig in French and the children were able to follow along by using the vocabulary and sentences they had been taught.

Chinese New Year: As part of our Thrive target to understand what is important to us and to other people, Kestrels spent time learning about Chinese New Year including: the story of the Great Race, customs and traditions of the festival, speaking Chinese and having a go at writing Chinese characters. We are excited to share this with the rest of Key Stage 2 in our assembly in the first week back.

Moses: This term’s RE focussed on the story of Moses and the big question: How can following God bring freedom and justice? Kestrels were very excited to learn about the stories of Moses’ life: the Burning Bush, the 10 Plagues, the Great Rescue and the 10 Commandments. They were also able to discuss issues of injustice around the world and what could be done to help bring people to freedom.

Maths Problem Solving: On Fantastic Fridays, Kestrels have been solving practical problems related to division, perimeter, area time tables and fractions. These lessons have taken a practical approach and the children have really displayed their resilience in the face of some tricky Maths problems!

 

Term 2

Kestrels continued their enthusiastic learning in Term 2 including trips, performances and outdoor learning!

Science experiments: For their Science topic about Properties & Changes of Materials, Kestrels carried out practical investigations about electrical conductors, thermal insulators and separating mixtures.

Mitzvah Day: As part of a whole school community outreach day, Kestrels visited Canterbury Day Nursery to read to and play with the children from the Butterfly Room.

Canterbury Cathedral: Kestrels walked to the cathedral to learn about how Christmas is celebrated by many Christians in Canterbury, after learning about Christian and non-Christian Christmas celebrations around the world.

Stille Nacht: Kestrels learnt, rehearsed, arranged and performed their own rendition of Silent Night...in German! The performance for parents was so successful that we were asked to perform it to the whole school on the last day of term!

Hillforts: In History, Kestrels learned about how people lived in the Iron Age in Britain. In class, they drew and labelled hillforts and then we went to the field to build our own hillfort models!

Clay sculptures: Kestrels created their own clay sculptures inspired by the work of Koike Shoko. These sculptures were glazed and then fired in the kiln at The King's School. These will be on display at the Key Stage 2 Art Exhibition later in the year.

Term 1

Kestrels have had a fantastic start to the year and have been very busy getting enthusiastic with all areas of the curriculum!

Dance routine: In PE, Kestrels learned a group dance to Dua Lipa’s Let’s Get Physical, including choreographing a section of the routine as a class. We hope to show this off in next term’s celebration of learning assembly.

Ukuleles: In only 6 weeks of learning, Kestrels have already learned 2 chords and 2 songs on the ukulele! We hope you enjoyed our performance in assembly and we hope to learn more chords and songs in the next coming terms. Stay tuned!

Outdoor learning: Kestrels have enjoyed learning outdoor in Science and Maths. In Maths, they drew Venn diagrams for common factors and common multiples in chalk on the playground to consolidate their times tables knowledge. In Science, Kestrel class turned themselves into the Solar System to show their understanding of the planets’ positions and orbits around the Sun.

History: After studying the Stone Age all term, Kestrels got excited about their Bronze Age learning ahead of Term 2 by looking at replicas of artefacts from that time, including an axe, an axe head, a bronze pot and a clothes pin.

Teamwork: As one of our schools living values, we have been working on our teamwork skills in PSHE and Thrive time by completing different tasks and playing games together.

Debates and sharing ideas: The children have enjoyed taking part in debates and discussions about a wide range of topics in RE, PSHE and Thrive time. The children have practised sharing their opinions confidently, disagreeing respectfully and reflecting and building on their own views.