Hi, my name is Miss Beamish, and I am the Year 3 Bluebirds teacher. This is my first year teaching at St John’s and I am excited to get going with some amazing learning!

I have spent the last 9 years teaching, mostly in Key Stage 2. I love being inspired by different books and using them to spark ideas for new stories.

At St John’s, I lead Geography. I like to know how the world works and pour over maps to spot rivers, mountains and coasts.

I have a passion for other subjects too! I like History and spend a lot of time listening to podcasts and watching documentaries. In my spare time, I like to get outside and go on long tiring walks!

Other staff working in our class are:

Miss Keyes – Teaching assistant

Miss Braiden – Teaching assistant

Mr Hasker – 3rd Teacher

Mrs Sanger – Art and DT teacher fortnightly on Thursday afternoons

Our Weekly Timetable:

Important dates for the diary this term for Bluebird Class:

8th October – Individual photos

Tuesday 15^th October - Visit to Canterbury Roman Museum and Beaney Museum

PE - Every Monday

Our learning this term:

Our first term begins with an exciting history topic called ‘Durovernum’. We will be learning all about why the Romans came to Canterbury and what happened when they were here. We will be visiting Canterbury Roman Museum and the Beaney Museum (more details to follow).

This term in English we will explore two texts by David Wiesner beginning with ‘Flotsam’. Our learning will concentrate on sentence structure, ensuring we are using capital letters and full stops correctly and learning how we can make our sentences more exciting through adjectives and varied sentence starters.

In maths we will be concentrating on place value of hundreds, tens and ones. We will be using our knowledge of place value to think about how we can recognise and represent numbers in different ways.

In science, we will be exploring forces and magnets and developing our investigation planning skills. We will be doing lots of practical experiments to enhance our scientific knowledge.

 

We will be learning about Christianity in RE this term. Our topic is ‘People of God’ and our big question is ‘What is it like to follow God?’

We will look at different biblical figures including Noah and consider how they shared God’s message.

Now that the children are in Key Stage 2 they will start learning a Modern Foreign Language (MFL). They will begin by learning how to say hello in German.

Learning at home for Bluebird 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. 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 the front of your child’s reading record book.

 

Be ready for learning! In Bluebird Class, your child will need to have these items in school: 

• PE kit (to be worn on PE day) 
• Water bottle with sports cap lid (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 snack for break times.

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