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), Mrs Gravenor (Wednesday PM)​

Important dates for the diary this term for Kestrel Class:

PE will take place on Tuesday afternoons and we will be playing tag rugby. Please send your child to school in their school PE kit.

March 2nd: Philharmonia workshop

March 9th-12th: Assessment week

March 11th: Marlowe trip

April 3rd: Good Friday (Bank Holiday)

Our learning this term: 

English: We are reading  The Light Jar, a story about a boy who moves house and starts solving clues. Our English lessons will include writing setting descriptions, character descriptions, poetry and narratives.

Maths: We are continuing to learn about Fractions.

Science: We are learning about Living Things and their Habitats, focussing on animals and different types of animals.

Topic: In Term 3 and 4, we will be studying South America and Deforestation as our Geography topic. This term, we will focus on the geography and environment of South America, including learning about the Amazon Rainforest, deforestation, the importance of the rainforest and the water cycle.

RE: We are learning about Salvation and focussing on the question What did Jesus do for human beings? by learning the the Easter story from the Bible.

German: We are revising numbers, colours, greetings and clothes.

Music: We will be learning about orchestras and learning a song in preparation for our Marlowe trip!

 

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 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.