08/11/24

Our first week back after half-term has been jam-packed with learning! Our focus religion in RE this term is Christianity and our big question is 'What would Jesus do?' In order to answer this question, we will be examining the New Testament and exploring some of the teachings of Jesus through his sermons and parables. Some Bible readings we will be looking at are Matthew 7:24-27 and Matthew 5-7.

We had a visit from Kirsty Way on Thursday as part of Sports For Champions UK. Kirsty is an athlete who competes as a double mini-trampolinist. She was so inspirational and spoke with us about trying hard to achieve our goals. We saw all her medals, and then she put us through our paces with a full-on training session in the school hall. It was exhausting but so much fun!

          

11/10/24

On Monday, we had a visit from Earth Energy Education. We discovered all about solar energy and why it is important to harness the power of the sun. We were then able to examine solar-powered circuits. After we learnt how they worked, we began to experiment with solar panels and were able to predict whether we could increase the output of a solar panel by changing the direction and angle the solar panels should face to achieve the highest output. We tested our theories in different parts of the school. 

 

It was lovely to be able to share our learning about food miles with those who were able to attend our Harvest service at Yatton Keynell Village Hall on Wednesday. I am sure you can agree that Eagles Class put so much work into their posters and were able to explain their research clearly and confidently to the audience. 

04/10/24

We began the week by making the most of the apple harvest from our school field. After picking the apples, Eagles Class made a delicious apple crumble with them. While eating our crumble, we listened to a live streamed music concert by Borges Machado. They are André Borges (saxophone) and Fernando Machado (guitar), both Brazilian musicians based in Brighton. We oined them for a musical trip to Brazil and learnt about the vibrant Latin American rhythms of Samba, Baião, Salsa and Ciranda!

  

Gathering the apples from our own school, links well with our learning on food miles as part of Harvest celebrations. We thought about how long it takes to get a pizza delivered to our homes yet how far many of the ingredients in our pizza have to travel to get to us. We discussed the benefits of modern transport that allows us to enjoy a world of food on our doorstep. The downside of this, however, is that much fuel is burned by the food industry, at a cost both to consumers and to the environment. Also, those who are food producers do not always receive fair prices from customers on the other side of the world.

On Thursday, we welcomed 2 PCSOs into school to talk to Y5 & Y6 about what they do and how they help protect us. We learnt about anti-social behaviour and how to seek help if we felt we needed it. I was really impressed by the thoughtful questions and mature attitude shown by Eagles Class during the discussions.

 

27/09/24

On Thursday, By Brook Valley celebrated European Languages Day. We were so lucky to be joined in Eagles Class by Mr Anjos who shared his knowledge of Portugal; Mrs. Patterson who taught us about Czech Republic; Mrs Loubeau who helped us learn about Finnland; Mr Lalanne who told us how many words in common France and Enlish shared and finally, Mrs Henshall who taught us how to greet each other in German. Eagles Class were allocated Norway as our focus European country. We learnt how to greet people in Norweigan and created a poster to share the facts we had learnt about the country, and its culture with the rest of the school. Take a look at what we did:

20/09/24

We have moved onto using the 4 operations to calculate in our maths lessons this week. We began by recapping some vocabulary. Ask one of Eagles Class what a multiple, factor, product or lowest common multiple is. I am sure they will impress you with their knowledge!

Things are getting very exciting in our science lessons - we have split into groups and begun to plan our experiments on the reactivity of metals. Some groups are testing which metal reacts most to a chosen solution. Other groups are testing how one metal reacts to different solutions. One group chose to test how a metal reacts to a solution in different settings (hot, cold, light or dark).

We are going on a trip to Wiltshire and Swindon Heritage Centre in Chippenham on 14th October as part of our geography topic into population change. The sessions we are taking part in will include a ‘behind the scenes’ tour and display of some of the Heritage Centre's ‘treasures’ as well as three different hand’s on activities focusing on population change in the Yatton Keynall/Chippenham area. We need 2 parent helpers for the trip and would appreciate any offers if you are able. We will be leaving school at 8.50 and would return at 12.00 in time for lunch. Please let me know if you could help out.

13/09/24

In maths, we are expanding our place value knowledge by using number lines to explore numbers to 10 million. We have been ordering and comparing integers as well as putting our place value knowledge into practise by solving negative number problems.

The book we are using as a basis for our writing this term is The Arrival, a brilliant graphic novel by Shaun Tan. It has given us lots of opportunity to use our inference skills and to be really creative in our writing.

In science, we are learning to be chemists! We discovered the Periodic Table and learnt how it organised the elements according to their properties. This will help us make predictions about what will happen when we carry out experiments on the reactivity of metals later on in the term.

06/09/24

It was so wonderful to be together in class after our summer break. We began by appreciating what makes our school such a special place to be and then thought about how we could work together to make By Brook Valley School even more special. I was so impressed by the thoughtful answers given by Eagles Class. We agreed that everyone in school - from the pupils, teaching assistants, teachers, cleaners, office staff and parents - help to make our school a happy and safe place. 

We began our class reading book which is The Boy at the Back of the Class. It would be so helpful if pupils had their own copy to bring into school so they can read along during our whole class reading sessions. If they are able to buy it or borrow a copy from the library, please send it into class.

07/05/24

On Tuesday this week, Eagles Class went on our annual trip to the Junior Good Citizen event in Pottern. Junior Good Citizen is a multi-agency event aimed at equipping young people with the life skills and knowledge to cope in an emergency or a potentially dangerous situation, which could result in them becoming victims of crime and/or sustaining personal injuries. 

We interacted with a number of simulated life-like scenarios during the event, which helped raise our awareness of the contribution we can make in preventing crime and increasing our own safety.  

28/06/24

Eagles Class showcased their artistic talents this week. We used charcoal to create self-portraits which were then mounted on paper we had painted with abstract designs using acrylic paints. Once this was completed, we then added colourful paper with messages we had written about our time at By Brook Valley School.

We also made birds to represent using our wings to fly onto secondary school. We decorated them with individual designs and motivational sentences which will help us in our new adventures.

On Wednesday, Mrs Ware (a secondary school art teacher) came to support us creating sculptures using recycled materials. Eagles Class planned their artwork, sourced their materials then had 1 hour to bring their designs to life. Have a look at some of their brilliant creations....

      

21/06/24

We started our week with Sports Day which was fantastic! The weather was beautiful and I was so impressed with the team spirit displayed by all the members of each house. There was so much support and cheering for the competitors.

On Tuesday, we investigated Shakespeare's enduring influence on the English language. Did you know that his plays contain more than 17,000 individual words, and about ten per cent of those were entirely new words? 'Eyeball', 'puking' and 'hobnob' are all examples.

We ended our week with our second annual By Brook Valley 'Colour Run'. All the children loved going around the course, negotiating the obstacles and getting covered in powder paint.

14/06/24

In maths this week, we have been working on real life money problems. So far, we have worked out the cost to fence a 100m2 garden and challenged ourselves to do it for under £600. We then chose our top 10 chocolate bars and worked out the cost per gram to see which one was the best value for money. Surprisingly, a Double Decker was the best value and Reeces Pieces were the least. 

We really enjoyed our session with Elenor from West End in Schools on Wednesday. The play we acted out was Twelfth Night. It was so useful to examine the language Shakespeare used and to practise acting techniques from a real actor. It will certainly help us in our end of year performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

  

07/06/24

We have had a brilliant start to our final term of Year 6. We continued our learning of Shakespeare and the Tudors by investigating Tudor theatres - specifically, The Globe Theatre in London. 

Eagles began a new topic in science this week. We are answering our big question, 'I want a brighter classroom - what should I do?' We began by learning that the basic elements in a simple electrical circuit are called components and how a complete electrical circuit is made when all the components are connected together correctly with no break in the circuit.

They then learnt the circuit symbols for each component and drew a circuit diagram to represent real life simple circuits.

 

24/05/24

In our PSHE lessons this term, we have been learning about relationships - both with ourselves and with others. We discussed mental health and how we will all encounter challenges in our lives which might disrupt the balance of our mental health. It was useful to us to visualise our mental health as a set of scales which can become unbalanced if we have too many challenges. We thought about things we could do to support our mental health and restore balance to our scales. Eagles Class had some great suggestions including: talking to a trusted adult, doing some exercise, listening to music or reading a book.

On Thursday, we had a discussion about relationships in school and thought about how we could ensure By Brook Valley is a happy and safe place for everyone. I was so impressed by the maturity and thoughtfulness displayed by Eagles Class. They pointed out that we should follow the British Values on display in our classroom and make sure we don't discriminate against anyone.  We talked about how some disabilities were not visible, and we shouldn't judge people by their appearance. It was brilliant to hear everyone list the trusted adults they could go to if they had any worries. Finally, we went over hypothetical situations and discussed what the characters should do and what help we could provide if those situations happened in our school. 

We were so excited to take part in the 'Big Bounce' at school this week. To celebrate By Brook Valley School's 25th year, all the children were sponsored to jump 25 times on the trampoline. Eagles Class had a brilliant time! Thanmks so much to FOBBVs for organising it.

  

17/05/24

Eagles Class completed their SATs assessments this week and I couldn't have been more proud of them! They began each day with a delicious breakfast in class to ensure their brains were fully fuelled. Everyone tried their very best and, no matter the score, they should feel a great sense of achievement. 

In the afternoons this week, Eagles created memory boxes which they filled with artistic representations of their time at By Brook Valley School. They showcased art skills they had learnt during their time at BBV. They made clay sculptures, watercolour landscapes, sketches, charcoal portraits and acrylic painting on found materials. Mrs. Pugh (our resident artist) was so impressed - take a look at their wonderful creations! 

      

At the end of such a busy week, we celebrated with a well deserved post-SATs party. Thank you to Mrs. Holcombe who went shopping with a list of savoury goodies requested by Eagles Class. We created a party music playlist and ate the sweet treats Eagles parents provided from home. We all had a fabulous time!

   

10/05/24

We have followed the circulatory system in science this week. Matthew was our willing volunteer, and after we drew around him, we added the vital organs and tracked the circulatory system's path around his body. 

Last week in history, we discovered what life was like in Tudor London. This week, we travelled to Shakespeare's Stratford-Upon-Avon. We also went on a virtual tour of Shakespeare's childhood home and were shocked to discover he had to sleep in a single bed with his 2 brothers! We also felt very sorry for him as his school day began at 6am and ended at 5.30pm. Although his home was quite luxurious compared to some (there was a posh bed in the parlour for guests), they could only afford glass in one or two windows. The rest of the windows were covered by wooden shutters. Eagles Class learnt about Tudor society and how the class system was structured. Did you know that Shakespeare's family came from the 'Middling Sort'? This group included tradesmen, lawyers, merchants, teachers and their families. Shakespeare's father was a glove maker.

19/04/24

We began our history topic on Shakespeare and the Tudors by writing a factfile on Shakespeare. After carrying out research using iPads, Eagles were amazed by some of the facts they discovered, such as Shakespeare got married at 18 and by the time he was 21, he had 3 children! He grew up on a farm and wrote 38 plays although this is disputed. Some people claim he wrote 40 plays but 2 didn't survive the passage of time. 

In our whole class reading sessions, we are reading A Midsummer Night's Dream and, in English, we are basing our writing on The Tempest. 

We were lucky enough to be visited by 2 traffic officers this week who shared what it is like to do their job. Eagles  Class looked at photographs from traffic incidents and were able to ask lots of questions. We asked the officers lots of questions and were even allowed to sit in their patrol vehicle!

  

27/03/24

To consolidate our biology learning about classification of organisms in science and our geography learning about the impact of people on the planet, we visited Lower Moor which run by The Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. We were able to pond dip in one of their three lakes, two brooks, ponds and wetland scrapes. We used classification keys to identify the many animals we discovered living in the water. We then explored the woodland and meadows hunting for and classifying animals in both dark and light habitats. We discovered great crested newts, otters, herons, toads and many other organisms. There were also hides dotted around Lower Moor where we could watch the animals through binoculars. 

        

In DT this term, we have been designing a 3-course menu. We had 'hero' ingredients which we had to include, which were peppers for the starter, salmon for the main and pineapple for the desert. We created storyboards to illustrate our hero ingredients' journey from farm to fork. After researching recipes in small groups using the internet, each group wrote out instructions for how to make each dish. We then learnt how to bind the illustrated recipes into individual books which Eagles each took home to share with their families.

 

08/03/24

It has been World Book Week at Bybrook Valley School and we have carried out reading related activities every day this week. We kicked things off on Monday with a whole school assembly led by Mrs Henshall. All the adults in the school brought in props related to a book and we shared these in the assembly for the children to guess which book the props came from. Here are the props from the adults in Eagles and Kites Classes. Can you guess the books?

It was great to have family members join Eagles Class for a Linger & Learn session with a reading comprehension focus on Tuesday. We shared a poem and then wrote our thoughts about its meaning. On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, the teachers swapped classes to read a story to a different year group. It was a wonderful chance to share stories and brought the whole school closer together over a love of reading. Eagles Class joined their Falcons Class reading buddies on Wednesday to share books together. On Thursday, all children brought their home-made story hats to school. I was so impressed with the creativity and artistic flair! Please take a look and see if you can work out which book they children chose to represent.

All classes decorated their door in the style of a book. We chose to recreate 'Letters from the Lighthouse', a book we really enjoyed this year. Everyone in Eagles Class helped to paint or draw parts so it was a real collective effort! I hope you are as impressed as I was with their hard work. 

01/03/24

To conclude our topic in Geography, we had a climate change debate. After splitting into small groups, Eagles took on the role of different characters and researched their views on climate change. The characters were: 

• International climate leader
• Head of a renewable energy company 
• Person affected by extreme weather
• Head of an oil and gas company
• UK Prime Minister
• Head of a large international company
• Green school ambassador 
• Climate scientist

I was so impressed with the respectful way each group argued their case and then listened to the arguments of the other characters. Some groups even made a commitment to work together to tackle some of the environmental issues.

23/02/24

This is our first week back after half term and Eagles Class have started some exciting new topics. In English, we have been analysing poems. The first poem we looked at was a Classic poem from William Blake, The Tyger (1794). We investigated the deeper meaning behind Blake's words and identified the techniques he used. The next poem we read was Clever Trevor (1994) by Benjamin Zephaniah. This is a perfomance poem and we loved the rhythm and rhyme of it.

09/02/24

Eagles Class have been listening to some really inspiring climate change speeches in English lessons this term. They have learned the techniques used to write successful persuasive speeches and have applied these techniques when writing their climate change speeches this week. They then performed their speeches to Kites Class who gave Eagles Class wonderfully constructive feedback. 

02/02/24

In our last Forest School session of the term, we made keyrings from wood. Mr. Summers demonstrated how to use the saw safely and we then cut disks of wood from a branch. Once we had cut the disk, we used a hand drill to make a hole. Finally, we threaded a metal loop through the hole and decorated our keychains.

  

In art this week, we used the knowledge we had gained in geography about different climates. After examining collaging techniques used by artists such as Matisse and Malivich, we each selected a climate zone and planned our climate landscape collages. We used natural materials and patterns found around the school in our designs.

  

26/01/24

There has been some deep thinking going on in Eagles Class this week. In PSHE, we have been investigating global issues and talking about how they make us feel. We have used our geography skills to plot where events are happening on maps and then used our creative writing skills to write a poem about the issues effecting the planet. Here is a sample of our poems...

In RE, we have been thinking about theories of creation and if the Bible and science theories are conflicting or complementary. Last week, we looked at Genesis in the Bible and this week we learnt about the Big Bang Theory and evolution. To show they understood the theories, Eagles Class draw diagrams to explain both scientific theories...

19/01/24

Eagles Class have been exploring calculating with decimals during our maths lessons this week. We have been adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimal numbers, then using our skills to answer word problems. It has been challenging, but I have been so impressed by the perseverance shown in class.

We have learnt how to use colons and semicolons when writing and have incorporated them into our biographies of Greta Thunberg. In computing, we have been looking at managing online information. We were shocked by the subtle persuasion techniques used by advertisers and how they target adds to influence us to buy their products. This week, we learnt about 'fake news' and even wrote our own fake news stories to try to trick each other. We found that the best fake news stories had some elements of truth in them!

12/01/24

Happy New Year! We have had a great start to the new term. We are linking our geography topic, investigating the impact people have on the planet, with our English focus of biographies by writing a biography of Greta Thunberg. Eagles Class independently researched Greta online using their computing skills to visit reliable websites and fact-check information. 

We are so pleased to be joined by the team from Up & Under this term. They are teaching us basketball skills and, through their Impact Project, helping us explore mental health. We also had our first session of Forest School today with Mr. Summers. We built bug hotels. Some were extremely fancy with spa areas and grand entrance halls! Take a look...

  

 

15/12/23

The topic based non-fiction books we ordered with the money raised from Eagles Class cake sale arrived this week. Thank you to all the people who supported us by helping run the stall or by buying the cakes. We can't wait to get stuck into the books! Take a look at how beautiful they are...

We are starting to feel very festive in Eagles Class because it was our Christmas lunch day on Thursday this week. We wore Christmas jumpers and made cards to thank all the people who have helped us in school this year including: the cleaners, the cooks, the office staff and the people who come into school and listen to us read.

   

08/12/23

We had our last visit of 2023 from Mr. Lister who has been teaching us French. Mr Lister teaches languages at Sheldon Secondary School in Chippenham and we have been lucky enough to have him join Kites and Eagles Class this term to help us during our French lessons. Mr Lister brought us French food to taste and we were able to both order what we wanted to eat and to give our opinion on the food in French.

   

01/12/23

By Brook Valley School held our annual Santa Run today. It felt really Christmasy too with lots of frost on the ground. After our run, we had hot chocolate and Christmas biscuits to warm us up. It was so much fun!

We were especially thankful for our treats after the Santa Run because we had been learning about wartime rationing as part of our topic on WWII in History. We showed our knowledge in double-page fact files. Take a look at some examples of our work...

         24/11/23

To prepare for our class assembly on Friday, Eagles have been busy writing reports about our time at PGL. We have been keeping the reader in mind when writing and tried to think about what our audience would like to know. We have used a mix of simple, compound and complex sentences to make our writing flow and to capture our readers' attention. 

In our science lessons on our topic of light this week, we explored the anatomy of the eye. We learnt the parts of the eye and how they all work together to transmit light into electrical signals which pass from the optic nerve into the brain. 

17/11/23

It is Anti-Bullying week, and we kicked things off with Odd-Sock Day on Monday. Take a look at our crazy socks!

It was also World Kindness Day on Monday, which linked perfectly to our school motto of:

Be kind

Be brave

Value everyone

Every class made bees, which will be on display in the corridor. Eagles Class sewed their bees. Take a look...

       

We thought about the difference between 'banter' and bullying. We agreed that sometimes people dismiss mean comments as 'banter' but if the comment upsets the other person, then it is not OK! We also discussed the reason why people become bullies and brainstormed ideas for helping both the bully and the person being bullied. Together, Eagles wrote a poem to record our ideas.

Poem to a bully

I want you to understand how you make people feel
Your excuses for 'banter' have gone too far
Stop hurting people and you will stop hurting yourself
Use your trusted adults to bring you positivity
Don't hurt others, help others
Why do you bully?
Bully, bully, it hurts a lot
Bully, bully, please stop
Bullying is not nice
Your heart is misshapen but your soul is just right

13/10/23

We used Maslow's Triangle this week to think about the difference between our needs and wants. This PSHE lesson linked really well with our Christian Value of the term which is 'Thankfulness'. Our new worship leaders explained that if we felt thankful or saw others being thankful, we could write about it on a leaf shape and hang it on the Worship Tree in the hall.

We completed our RE topic on Islam by answering the big question of 'What is the best way for a Muslim to show commitment to God?' We were able to use our knowledge of the 4 Pillars of Islam to fully answer this question using all the new vocabulary we have discovered this term.

During our lessons in gymnastics this term, Eagles Class learnt how to use their bodies to create different shapes and balances. They have worked hard to move smoothly and fluidly between moves to show a contrast and changes of speed. They showcased their routines this week. I was so impressed with their focus and perseverance! 

29/09/23

We began our new maths focus on the 4 operations this week by playing 4 in a row on hundred squares. Eagles Class displayed some fantastic tactical thinking to prevent their opponent getting 4 numbers in a row. It was very exciting!

Eagles' scientists planned their investigation into the dying process. They thought of their research question, planned the experiment and listed the materials needed. They also made predictions about the final outcome. In preparation, the fabrics were soaked in the mordants and dried ready for the dying experiment next week.

Finally, we put the finishing touches to our watercolour artwork which we can't wait to share with you at our Harvest service on 5th October at Yatton Keynell Church. Eagles class got into groups and each chose one of our Christian values to use as inspiration for their watercolour painting. They then researched Bible quotes to match their value and wrote these onto their artwork. Once we have shared the paintings in the Harvest service, they will be displayed at school for everyone to enjoy.

15/09/23

We have been building on place value knowledge in maths this week by comparing and ordering numbers to 10 million. We have started to examine negative numbers too. 

In science, we thought about the definition of science and how important it is in all aspects of our lives. Our topic this term is chemistry. We are doing a project to investigate the dying process. We thought about the variables which are; different resources we could use to dye materials, the various fabrics we could use and the types of mordant to fix the dye to the material. We then carried out chromatography tests to show that colour is more complex than we thought! We discovered that black dye is actually made from many different colours which separated out on the chromatography paper when it absorbed water.

   

08/09/23

What a fantastic start to Year 6 for Eagles Class! We started to read 'Letters from the Lighthouse' which is the book we are basing our English writing on this term. It is set during WWII so links perfectly to our History topic. To prepare ourselves for our learning on WWII, we discovered what life was like for children in the 1930s. Lots of things shocked us like corporal punishment in schools and using a tin bath in front of the fire at home!

Ms. Davies took use to explore all the new books in our school library. These have been bought with money from FoBBVS and funds raised at events like class cake sales. As weather was so glorious, we took our choice of book from the library to read in our Y5&6 outside area.