Beech Tree Class Blog 2023-2024
Beech Tree Blog
Weekly Update-7/9/23
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
Welcome back to Rufford Park and welcome to our weekly class blog where we will share the learning we have undertaken in class. It will be updated every Friday each week of term. What a fabulous start to the year! It has been lovely getting to know the children this week. They have settled in really well and I have been extremely impressed with how positive and enthusiastic they have all been whilst settling into our new classroom and routines. I have had such an enjoyable start to each day because the children have welcomed me every day with such happy beaming smiles despite potentially underlying start of term nerves.
We are very excited to share that we have been able to organise a visit to Murton Park this half term to support us with our new topic about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. Further details regarding the trip have been shared via ParentPay.
It was also lovely to meet so many grown ups this week, either at our class door, or during our Wednesday drop in sessions before and after school.
On our first day back, the children created their own half self portraits and did an absolutely brilliant job with them. They look great and are currently displayed outside the classroom. Below are some lovely examples from the children.
In maths, we have started working on place value, understanding what is, how to identify the value of each digit in a number and also show the value of each digit in a number in a variety different ways. The children have shown great mathematical knowledge and shown a really positive attitude to their learning.
I am here to support both your child and you, so if you have any questions, or are unsure of information we send out, please just let me or the office know (at the class door, via the Beech Tree email address beech@ruffordparkprimary.org.uk or via the Office telephone).
Take care,
Mr Kyriacou :)
Weekly Update-21/7/23
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, the children have done some lovely Stone Henge silhouette art, we have finished reading our class novel (Stig of the Dump) and the children ranked and reviewed our class novels that we have read this year. As a treat, we have also been watching the Stig of the Dump television series, which the children have really been enjoying. The children also edited and published their Haiku poems. It's been a wonderful year together, you're a brilliant class and I will miss you all!
On Tuesday we had an Assembly led by a local Librarian telling us about the Summer Reading challenge. This is run in libraries across the country to encourage children to visit libraries and continue to read throughout the 6-week break from school.
This year's Summer Reading Challenge theme is 'Ready, Set, Read!' and aims to keep children's minds and bodies active over the summer break. Children can read anything they like – stories, poetry, fact books, graphic novels or listen to audiobooks – it’s up to them! The books (physical or digital) can be borrowed from the library, and we recommend reading at least six books over the summer, with a Ready, Set, Read! reward for each of the six books they read. Once they have read their sixth book, they complete the challenge and will be awarded a certificate and medal. And best of all, it’s completely FREE!
Saturday 22nd July is Sign-up Saturday in Leeds, which is a dedicated time in libraries for joining the Summer Reading Challenge. There'll be a real buzz in our buildings on this day, as well as a range of self-serve activities, including a hunt for the Ready, Set, Read! characters among our bookshelves.
Summer Reading Challenge - find out more
I hope you all have a good summer and make sure to stay safe.
Mr Kyriacou :)
Weekly Update - 14/7/23
Mr Kyriacou (n.kyriacou) on: Beech Tree Blog
Hello everyone,
This week, in our writing, we have been focusing on poetry, specifically looking at Haiku poems. The children have been really enthusiastic about it and we've had some lovely discussions. They have learnt about all the rules for Haiku poems and where it originated from and what the themes of Haiku poems usually revolve around. They have been working on their own drafts and I have to say that they were great to read and even greater to listen to the children reading them aloud for the rest of the class. They will edit and publish these next week.
In maths, we have started our work on statistics this week. The children have learnt about what statistics are, what they involve and how to read and analyse data in tables, bar charts and graphs, whilst also asking their own questions based on the information that has been collected and presented.
In science, we have continued our work on plants, and this week we have been focusing on the different parts of a plant and the roles that those have in pollination and fertilisation.
As you know, we have also been growing our own sunflowers and they are growing very well, we now even have some that are beginning to flower, which put a lot of smiles on faces.
In music, we have continued our unit on recorders. This week, we introduced another note (D) alongside the other notes that the children have practised with previously (B, C, A and G) and it has become even more challenging playing all these notes accurately, for the right amount of beats and in tune, together as a class, but the children have been brilliant and have always been willing to put the effort and practice in to play a tune successfully. We even had a pupil be brave enough to come to the front and play a solo, which I thought was fantastic.
The children also took part in sports day, and even though the weather wasn't brilliant, they still had a great time and took part in all the events with a great competitive attitude.
The KS2 science club has also been very popular this half term and the children have really enjoyed all the different sessions, which have allowed them to step in to the role of a young engineer and make a range of great creations and understand the science behind how they work e.g vibrating bugs.
