Welcome to Birch class page. We are a class of Reception, Year One and Year Two children who share a great classroom and even better outside space at the back of the school.
The class teacher is Miss Clements and she is supported throughout the week by Miss Tarsky, Mrs. Jeffery and Mrs. Mason.
Mr Tanner (the Trust P.E. lead) teaches P.E. to the class on a Tuesday, we will also have P.E. with Miss Clements on a Wednesday.
Our Curriculum
Our play-based curriculum in Birch is centred around the three characteristics of effective learning; playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically. We aim for a balance of child led, adult initiated and adult lead learning across the week.
Please see our curriculum plans below for details of what your child will be up to this half term in school.
Phonics and Early Reading
Getting your child to read is one of our top priorities in Birch. We use the Phonics Bug scheme to teach the early stages of letter/ sound correspondence.
Please see the below documents to support your understanding of the sounds, images and resources that we will be using in class.
Across the year, children in EYFS will cover Phase 2 and 3. Children in Year 1 will consolidate their previous learning and cover Phase 5. At the end of Year 1, the children will take part in the Year 1 phonics screening check which checks their understanding of these taught phases.
Autumn term - Week 1
It has been brilliant to welcome Birch class back to school with such enthusiasm and excitement for their new school year! This week, we have welcomed our new starters, explored our classroom, talked about our holidays and got creative as part of a whole school art project.
Well done Team Birch!
While Oak Class parents were meeting with Miss Heike this afternoon, the children visited Birch Class to spend some time with their buddies, old and new, and enjoy a story or two together.
Autumn term - Week 2
This week Birch have been very busy getting stuck into their learning. Highlights for me have been re-enacting Guy Fawkes' gunpowder plot, learning about the crazy, vegetable-inspired art of Guiseppe Archimbaldo and continuing to explore our classroom provision which has seen some excellent learning about measuring to the nearest 100ml from both Yr 1 and Yr 2.
Autumn term - Week 3
A snapshot of some of our hard work from the week.
In Literacy this week, KS1 have been learning about adjectives and nouns and Year 2 have been making expanded noun phrases. In maths, we have all been focussing on numbers to 20. The children have really settled well into their new year groups and are working really hard - I hope they're not too tired at home! Another great week - well done everyone.
In Literacy this week, KS1 have been learning about adjectives and nouns and Year 2 have been making expanded noun phrases. In maths, we have all been focussing on numbers to 20. The children have really settled well into their new year groups and are working really hard - I hope they're not too tired at home! Another great week - well done everyone.
Autumn term - Week 4
Roll up! Roll up!
Delicious Birch-made flapjacks available to buy.
When? Tomorrow - Tuesday 24th September between 9am and 10am
Where? Broadhempston Village Hall
Why? To raise money for McMillan's Big Coffee Morning (hosted by Oak)
This week in Birch, we have looked at using numberlines in maths to help us in finding one more and one less. In History, we have studied Marie Curie. We looked at facts about her and reasons why she has become a 'History Maker'. We also have had our first computing lesson where we learnt the different parts of a laptop and tried to use the tricky mousepad to write our names and make a picture.
Autumn term - Week 5
This week in Science, we have been learning about animals and their habitats. We took a quick trip across to the park to look at the animals and plants who are there. The children made sure to observe closely, using magnifying glasses and they recorded their findings by taking photos on the iPads. We found a wide variety of animals and evidence that other animals had been there too!
Autumn term - Week 6
This week has been a busy one in Birch. In Literacy, we have started a new text 'The Three Little Pigs'. We have been role-playing, using puppets to tell the story, looking at onomatopoeia and today we played verb charades! In maths, we have been exploring the composition of numbers when adding. In Computing, the children have all learnt how to log in using their own unique user names and passwords. They are getting much more confident at this, and speedier too!
Autumn term - Week 7
Today Birch class were so fortunate to have had a visit from the author of some of our favourite books - Simon James. He came in to class to talk to us about how he gets the inspiration for his books, read us some stories and demonstrate how he illustrates. The children were utterly enthralled! In the moment, we created our own dog illustrations based on his from 'Mr. Scruff'. The dogs had to look like us and have names that rhymed with ours - some were very creative!
What a glorious Autumnal afternoon we have had. Today, Birch class went apple picking at nearby Sparkwell Orchard. The children picked the apples themselves, while learning about the different varieties for cooking, eating and juicing. They then washed and pressed the apples by hand before pouring the juice into bottles. They were involved in every step of the process. It was an absolute joy to watch the awe and wonder on their faces, the teamwork and the squeals with joy and delight. The children will be making labels for our very own 'Birch-blend' apple juice tomorrow and taking home for you all to try!
Autumn term - Week 8
Week 8 - well technically week 7 and a half, but wow - what a long half term.
We have crammed so much in to their first half term and there is so much that the children should be proud of. To round off the half term and to celebrate their successes, we took ourselves up to forest school where Miss Tarsky organised a range of activities to support the children's exploration and understanding of the forest. This time we...
- went minibeast hunting
- located birch, oak and sycamore trees and took leaf rubbings
- made dens
- carved wooden mice
- made nature flags
Time to rest before the next half term...which already looks set to be a busy one!
Autumn term 2 - Week 1
The children came back to school this week full of life and (I'm not sure how this can possibly be) but with more energy than before! On Monday, we took a trip over to the church library. The children explored the selection before choosing one to take home.
Autumn term 2 - Week 2
Look at our marvellous mathematicians!
This week, Birch have moved on to looking at place value in numbers bigger than 20. We used the Base 10 equipment and practiced counting in 10s and 1s.
Autumn term 2 - Week 3
Snow! Broadhempston village was treated to an unexpected flurry of magical snow so we downed tools to make the most of the experience. We decided to make an ice palace, check our thermometer, catch snowflakes on our tongues, dance in the snow and generally get very cold! After which we came inside to learn about why it snows - linking it to our Geography question 'How does the weather affect our lives?'
Forest School - Autumn 2
After England spat out some of it's wettest and coldest weather at the beginning of the week, we weren't sure if Forest School was a going to be a good idea. However, the ice melted, the sun came out, the rain held off and the children were their best, most resilient selves. We got stuck in to a jam-packed day of Christmas tree weaving, wooden decoration carving, tree climbing, nature treasure hunting, hot chocolate warming, cinnamon roll making and of course...mud jumping! I think we managed to leave some mud in the forest!
Autumn term 2 - Week 4
Today in Literacy, Birch were learning about command sentences and what better way to do it than to follow some instructions! We worked together to read the instructions (identifying the command verbs) and followed them to make our own biscuits. Yum!
Autumn term 2 - Week 4
This half term, Birch have been learning simple sewing stitches, to make their own puppets in DT.
For their final make, they worked independently to embellish and turn it into a character of our choice!
Autumn term 2 - Week 5
Aside from being extremely busy with our Nativity rehearsals, this week the children in Birch have been looking at the meaning of Advent for Christians in the lead up to Christmas. We learnt about the use of advent calendars, candles and wreaths and had a go at making wreaths of our own.
The Nativity!
Calling all little angels...come and put on the best Christmas show! Well, safe to say, they smashed it! The children have worked so hard over the past few weeks to learn lines, learn songs, learn how to play a kazoo, learn how to play a glockenspiel and dance their little socks off! Well done Birch - 10/10!
Christmas has well and truly arrived in Birch class this week. After a busy week of rehearsing and finally putting on our Nativity, Birch finally celebrated their successes with a well deserved afternoon of Christmas crafts, decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music and telling Christmas stories.
Autumn term 2 - Week 6
A great shape investigation! This week the children have been learning about shape in maths and have been getting very hands on with lots of practical work. The children in Year 1 have been looking at naming and sorting 2D and 3D shapes. We have also learnt the names of some more 4 sided shapes including trapeziums, kites and parallelograms. Year 2 have been looking at vertices, drawing 2D shapes using rulers on squared paper and lines of symmetry.
Gardening
This week, the children have been busy weeding and preparing the flower beds in the back playground for some last minute planting of some Spring bulbs. They have planted a selection of daffodils, alliums and dwarf irises - keep your eyes peeled as the weather warms for a (hopefully) delightful, colourful display!
Autumn term 2 - Week 7
Gymnastics Showcase! The children have worked incredibly hard during their gymnastics lessons with Mr. Tanner this half term and ended on a high with a showcase to parents. Each and every one of the children did themselves proud, remembering their routine, holding their balances and working with their team to co-ordinate their movements - a really great performance. Well done!
Spring term 1 - Week 1
The children in Birch have come back to school this week with their usual energy and excitement to learn. This week we have started learning how to draw using paint on a computer - the children are working really hard to use the key board to log in using their usernames and passwords. In maths, Year 2 have started a new unit on money and have been counting in pounds and pence. Elsewhere in Discovery time, we have all very much enjoyed discovering the magic of ice hiding all around our outside classroom and have been linking the weather changes to the learning we did last term in Geography. A great start the new year!
Spring term - Week 2
This week, the children in Birch have looked at the work of local artist Becky Bettesworth focussing on how she has used colour and form in her prints. They then had a go at exploring colour in their sketchbooks by colour mixing to make different shades. The children also had a go at developing their language to name their colours. I loved 'cherry rose', 'golden set' and 'rusty rose' from Lottie.
Spring term - Week 3
Birch class had a fabulous time at Occombe Farm today. We learnt how wheat is turned into flour, made our own home made pizzas from scratch, added toppings we foraged from the gardens, played on the indoor and outdoor play equipment, fed and held various farm animals. What a great day out!
Spring term - Week 5
This week was Children's Mental Health Week and in school the children took part in a variety of activities aimed at demonstrating how important it is to look after our mental health. The theme this year was 'Know Yourself, Grow Yourself'.
Birch Class had a visitor: we got to see Gabi/Mrs Cannon in her new role as a police woman. She taught us about what we need to do if we need help, talked about what she does, showed us how to use her hand cuffs and even let us sit in her car. It was great fun!
Spring term 1 - Week 6
Check out our future musicians! Yesterday, Birch took part in Devon's Future Musician's project at KEVICC school. As part of the project, they had practiced 2 pieces of music in school over the past half term learning to play on recorders, drums, glockenspiels and ukuleles. For the finale, they met with other schools yesterday to play the pieces altogether as an orchestra. The children were brilliant, not only learning their music, but supporting one another and coming together as a team. Well done Birch!
Birch class have been working hard on their choreography ahead of the end of unit dance performance. This week, they used the new projector which was kindly donated by the PTFA and they were very excited to watch their dancing back on the big screen.
In Art this half term, Birch class have been looking at colour and form to create their own African sunset paintings.
They have explored other Artists work, practiced colour mixing to create the perfect sunset shades, developed their language by giving their shades different names, painting a sunset and adding African animals. Amazing work, well done team!
Forest School - Spring 1
Well...what a morning! Our resilient, young Birch class took on a very wet, very muddy Forest School this morning. We managed to squeeze in some den building, sweetcorn fritter cooking and valentine's love potion making all before a quick lunch around the fire!
Spring term 2 - Week 1
Birch were welcomed back by Frazzie and her 'Frazoo' full of animals! Today we met a royal python, a sand boa, a chameleon, a gecko, a leaf insect, a stick insect and a day old, baby stick insect.
We took time to learn about each animal, asked lots of questions, held them, stroked them and finally wrote about them.
The children were gentle, calm, inquisitive and respectful and it was really great to hear their thoughtful questions.
A great start to the half term!
Spring 2 - Week 1
100 Days of School!
Birch class celebrated 100 days in their respective year groups on Monday and, as promised, they were treated to a party! We made smoothies, ate biscuits, indulged in the spa, danced, played party games and celebrated just how far they've come in just 100 days.
Spring term 2 - Week 2
We were visited today by the MED Theatre and the children all took part in a drama workshop. We learnt all about the magic of the Dartmoor hare and incorporated elements of its movements into storytelling and dance. At the end of the day, we all joined together to showcase our work. Thankyou so much to Broadhempston Primary School PTFA for funding another brilliant opportunity for our children.
Spring term 2 - Week 2
Birch class kicked off Science week with a visit from Devon Science yesterday. We learnt all about motors and friction before making our very own junk-modelled robots! The children were so engaged throughout this session. An excellent, inspirational start to our Science week (next week)!
Spring term 2 - Week 2
Well, to top off a very busy week - it was World Book Day at Broadhempston today!
This year, the theme was 'Little People, Big Dreams' and it was brilliant to see all of our little people dressing us as such inspirational characters. In class we shared our person, took part in a top trumps style character battle, designed new front covers as well as sharing our favourite books, making up and telling new stories and reading with our buddies from Oak and Sycamore.
What a lovely day and a great chance to celebrate books AND inspirational people!
Spring term 2 - Week 3
Science Week in Birch
This week, Birch have enjoyed a variety of science activities and experiments linked to this year's theme of 'Adapt and Change'.
So far we have...changed chalk into chalk paint, learnt about animal adaptations and created our own animal with adaptations to suit our chosen environment and today we looked at seasonal change. We went out into our local environment and looked at how it is changing as we head further into Spring.
Cricket
This week we were visited by Niall (the cricket guy) who took Birch class for an excellent cricket session in the playground. The children practised throwing, catching and bowling skills and then played a series of games.