Kestrel Class

Teachers: Mrs Evans (Monday and Tuesday) and Mrs Kendall (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)

Adults in class: Mrs Loveridge, Mr Nsio, Mrs McClusky, Ms Davies, Mrs Lyddon, Mrs Kite, Mrs Smith

Welcome to Kestrel Class. We are a Year 4  and 5 year class and we love learning! Please keep visiting our class website page as we will update it regularly. Our most recent learning will be at the top of our page.

Please see the documents below for our yearly overview and planning pathways.

Kestrel Class Pathway Autumn Term 2024

Kestrel Class Pathway Spring 2025

Kingshill Church School Kestrel Class Yearly Overview 2024 2025

PE Days:

• Tuesday – Gymnastics – indoors
• Friday – Forest School – please ensure your child has suitable footwear, long trousers and a long-sleeved top, as well as waterproofs if it is wet

7.3.25

During our second Forest School session we played ‘Sneak and Peek’, then made homes for Googlies.

Can you spot the swimming pool, the slide and the zip line? We used the bowsaw to cut some of the wood we needed.

3.3.25

On Friday we had our first Forest School session of the term. After we had revisited the rules to keep us safe, we listened to  Great Tit birdsong, and we could hear some singing when we went outside. After a quick game, we headed into the forest to explore. Our task was to make something for Miss Davies. We used amazing teamwork skills, and by the end of the session, she had a bird table, a seesaw, some soup (!) and lots of dens!

26.2.25

Kestrel Class have been very busy!

From next week in English, we will be reading Midas. We will then use our writing skills to craft our own versions of the well-known myth. I wonder where our imaginations will take us. What would your one wish be?

In maths, we are continuing to learn about decimal numbers, working with tenths, hundredths and thousandths. We will be relating the concept to money and measures to make our learning more meaningful. To help at home, you can look at money and how it is written as a decimal. Please also to keep helping your child learn how to tell the time as well as their times tables.

Times tables are so important in maths. Knowing your times tables will help your child in many different areas of maths and beyond:

• confidence
• division
• long multiplication
• word/ real life problems
• area
• fractions
• percentages
• money

Please facilitate your child to go on Times Tables Rock Stars: Play especially GARAGE and SOUNDCHECK modes. We will award weekly certificates for coins earned.

This week, we went on a trip to We The Curious, in Bristol. We had an amazing day. We learned about so many different areas of science, whilst playing and investigating. We loved learning about gravity with the parachutes; surface tension with bubbles; light with mirrors; and how our bodies work to name but a few. We also visited the planetarium. This was brilliant fun. As we swooped through space, we learned more about the Solar System, including its many moons, dwarf planets and the asteroid belt. The children’s behaviour was excellent throughout the whole day; they made the staff feel very proud.

17.1.25

Welcome back! We hope you all had a good break – talking to the children it certainly sounds like it!

We have been very busy in Kestrel class since the start of term.

In English we have been reading the text Lazy Jack, and using lots of our writing skills to change the original story, before writing our own versions next week.

In Maths we are continuing our learning about fractions, including changing mixed numbers to improper fractions, and finding a common denominator, which will help us when we start adding fractions next week.

Our next unit in Maths is Time. Please can you support your child before we begin by practising telling the time on an analogue clock to half past, quarter past and quarter to, as well as looking at 5 minute intervals.

Our topic this term is “Where is our place in space?” and we are really enjoying it. We are looking at the science around space, and also the history of space exploration. We had a visit from ‘Viviani the book smuggler’, who told us about the life of Galileo, and other astronomers and scientists who made amazing discoveries about space and the solar system. We found out about what happened to the people who challenged the accepted ideas about the universe, and how some of them even died for their beliefs. Galileo’s inventions included improving the telescope, using it to find some of the planets in our solar system as well as helping the Navy spot enemy ships when they were a long distance away. He also carried out an experiment to challenge Aristotle’s ideas about what would happen if you drop a 1-pound weight and a 10-pound weight from a tall building. We got the chance to test his theories ourselves, before watching two modern-day versions of this experiments – one was carried out on the moon, using a feather and a hammer, and the other in a vacuum chamber at NASA using feathers and a bowling ball.

6.12.24

Thank you to all the parents and carers who were able to come to our showcase today. We loved sharing some of our learning about rivers with you, and hope you enjoyed your visit.

15.11.24

Children in Need

Today we did some fundraising maths problems, designed Pudsey T-shirts, and coloured in Pudsey Bear.

w/c 11.11.24

Anti Bullying week

This week we are thinking about being safe. We have come to school in our odd socks to demonstrate that everyone is different and unique – there were some fabulous combinations! We have also taken part in our annual NSPCC Speak out, Stay Safe assembly and lessons. We have learned about types of child abuse (including bullying) and thought carefully about our trusted adults. We also learned about Childline, the work they do and of course their free phone number 08001111.

We had a workshop on cyber safety from our local PCSO, and learned how we can keep ourselves safe online. We created made up social media profiles, and found out how easy it could be to find someone if you know their name, age, hobbies and where they live. We were also very surprised to find out that even if you delete something from a social media website it can still be possible for someone to find it and use it.

We have been practising our writing based on the story of The Hobyahs, focussing on using speech punctuation correctly, and using amazing, creative, well-crafted expanded noun phrases which make our writing more interesting to read.

In maths we are working on our multiplication skills, including multiplying 3 numbers together, and finding out what happens to a number if you multiply it by 1 or by 0.

We are learning a song in our Music lessons, and have been practising singing it in 2 parts. This has been tricky, but we are improving every time we practice!

11.11.24

Remembrance

We have had a wonderful start to term 2. We began by working within our Community Groups to discuss remembrance and to work collaboratively to create some artwork. This was a lovely experience and we created some lovely pieces. Later in the week, we held our school Remembrance Service, which was attended by some of our wider school community.

This week, we have visited Argentum Lodge. It was some children’s first time. We had a wonderful time. The children were really well behaved and everyone had fun colouring, talking to new people and playing games with some of the residents. Some children even played draughts with a resident who is 100-years-old! Thank you to the parents who came along with us.

25.10.24

End of Term 1 Round up

We have had a wonderful first term together in Kestrel Class; the children have really risen to the challenges of being in Year 4 and 5. We have learned so much already!

In English, we have worked really hard to write non-chronological reports about imaginary aquatic animals. Our handwriting has really improved. We have been focussing on crafting sentences which make sense and flow. Next term, we will start by creating a new story based on the Hobyahs. We have also read lots of engaging texts, including information about food waste.

In Maths, we have been learning about place value, addition and subtraction. We have also been working hard learning out times tables. Next term, we will start by applying these multiplication facts to formal written multiplication methods.

In PE, we have completed our swimming sessions. We have also been creating dances based on a samba carnival. We will continue this into term 2.

In our wider curriculum, we have been learning about the world around us as we have scientifically investigated the processes and states of matter involved in the Water Cycle. We have also really enjoyed creating our own water cycle in Geography, whilst we are learning about rivers and mountains. We are looking forward to learning even more about rivers and mountains as we progress through term 2.

Thank you to all parents who came to talk to us in the recent parents’ evening sessions; if you did not manage to meet with us, please contact the office to arrange an appointment.

24.9.24

Cadbury Camp

Kestrel Class had a wonderful hike to Cadbury Camp. We went as part of our geography project this term – Rivers and Mountains. We looked at and crossed the local rivers including the Land Yeo; we were amazed how fast they were flowing due to recent rain. We also crossed the Moorend Spout and loved looking at the water cascading down the waterfall.

Next we walked through the valley and towards up to Cadbury Camp. It was a challenging walk, but we all persevered and were helped along by our friends. Once at the top, we were amazed by the beautiful views of the Quantocks and out to the River Severn. We also admired the nature around us and even spotted several kestrels! We had a wonderful day out.

23.9.24

We are Scientists!

In science we have been continuing to investigate the 3 states of matter. We have learned about the properties of and some examples of solids, liquids and gases. Now we are moving onto learning about the processes that allow matter to change from one state to another. This week we have been investigating MELTING. We have carried out an investigation to discover How does temperature affect the rate of melting?

We used thermometers and close observation to monitor our results. We discovered that , yes! the temperature speeds up the rate of melting as the liquid reached melting point more quickly.

12.9.24

Welcome to Kestrel Class

We have had a wonderful start to Kestrel Class. In our Mark Making week, we designed and drew some beautiful kestrels. We also started learning a poem about kestrels, which we will perform to the school.

In English, we have started learning our story ‘The Magic Paintbrush’. We are starting by crafting expert sentences, then we will move onto innovating the story with our own ideas.

We have started our science topic on the States of Matter. We worked as teams to classify different materials. We will continue the unit looking at the 3 stated more closely. You can continue this learning at home by talking about everyday materials and thinking about which state they are: solid, liquid or gas.

Where does the water go from a puddle?

Why is there water on the mirror after a bath?

How long does it take to freeze a lolly?