Hi! My name is Miss Collingwood and I have taught at St John's since it first opened. I started my teaching career 42 years ago and have taught children from nursery age right up to year 6. I am also a qualified Reading Recovery teacher. The teaching profession has seen many changes over the years but my passion for helping children to learn is as strong as ever.

In my spare time I enjoy curling up on the sofa with a good book, playing the piano (wearing headphones so nobody else can hear!) and spending time in my garden. I have a handsome black Labrador called Arthur and we love going for walks along the beach together.

I spent the first 18 years of my teaching life at a school in South East London. Patrick Okogwu, one of my ex-pupils, went on to win two Brit Awards and performed at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games – he is now better known as Tinie Tempah!

Who knows what great things the children in Kingfisher Class will achieve if they work hard and aim high!

Other staff working in our class are:

   Mrs Jones – 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 Kingfisher Class:

PE – Change of day - Every Friday
River Stour Walk – Date TBC
Our learning this term:

This term we are learning all about ‘The Journey of a River’. The children will be finding out about different rivers around the UK and working on their map-reading skills in order to locate them. We will also be making observations of the River Stour which runs alongside the school!

This term in English we will explore ‘The Wind in the Willows’ by Kenneth Graham. We will be writing character descriptions using a range of adjectives and adverbs to create effect. We will also be writing letters from the points of view of different characters and developing our knowledge of paragraphs to structure our writing clearly. 

 

In maths we will further our learning about fractions by adding and subtracting fractions and finding fractions of amounts. The children will learn about reading the time on analogue and digital clocks to five minutes. Maybe you could practise telling the time using real clocks at home! We will then move on to looking at different units of time, including, days of week, months and years.

 

In science, our topic is ‘Plants. We will be learning about the functions of different parts of a plant; roots, stem and leaves. We will take our learning outside when we observe roots and stems of plants growing in our school field and we will be carrying out an experiment to find out how water is transported around a plant.

In R.E we will be learning more about Christianity and ‘The Kingdom of God’. We will explore our big question:

When Jesus left, what was the impact of Pentecost?

 

The children will continue to develop their German vocabulary including speaking, reading and writing in German. They will learn how to name different body parts, starting with learning the song ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’ in German! They will practise having conversations about things that they like and dislike.

Learning at home for Kingfisher 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 your child’s reading record book. 

Be ready for learning!

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

• PE kit (to be worn on PE day – Friday) 
• Water bottle with sports cap lid (filled with fresh water each day, 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 a snack for break times.

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

Highlights from Term 4

 

We started off our term by becoming investigative journalists tasked with travelling to Egypt to find out about Howard Carter’s amazing discovery. We had to decipher hieroglyphics and dig for clues to uncover the facts of the case.

In D.T. we were really excited to create our own coil pots and enjoyed learning how to use a scratch and slip technique to make sure that they all stayed together when they dried. We then carved into the leather hard clay to create patterns and texture before painting our pots when they were dry.

In Science, when learning about shadows, we loved creating our own shadow puppets and observing how they changed size depending on where the light source was.

Another highlight was our Egyptian exhibition! We were so happy to see so many of our adults there to see all the amazing things that we had learnt about Ancient Egypt.  

We ended term 4 with our Easter Bonnet parade and all enjoyed looking at the fantastic hats that children had created at home.

 

 

 

 

 

Highlights from Term 3

We really enjoyed creating our impressionist art paintings inspired by Claude Monet. It was wonderful to see so many parents/carers at the KS2 Art Exhibition.

In science we were learning about animals including humans. The children investigated how leg length correlated with distance that they could jump and enjoyed learning about the skeleton and how our muscles work!

Another highlight was our Egyptian day! We were able to make our very own crowns and collars so that we really looked the part.

Of course, we also enjoyed our King’s breakfast trip! The King’s School staff complemented the children on their good manners and behaviour – well done Kingfishers!

Our Fantastic Friday maths problem solving lessons have been great success. The children have enjoyed working practically and collaborating with others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 and made them ‘erupt’ by adding bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, red food 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.