Welcome to our class page for Falcon and Kingfisher classes. Here you'll find all the information for homework, newsletters and all of the other amazing things we have been doing in class. Keep a look out for the latest information and keep up to date with any exciting events that have happened at school!
Please do not hesitate to get in contact with any of us if there is anything you need to discuss. Many thanks for your continued support.
Mrs Mehta-Jolliffe - Falcons Class Teacher
Miss James - Kingfisher Class Teacher
Mrs Hughes - Assistant Teacher
Miss Walbridge - Assistant Teacher
Miss Short - Assistant Teacher
2023-24
Sportshall athletics
Last week, a group of Year 6s represented the school at a local athletics competition at Mangotsfield School. During the afternoon, the team took part in a whole host of relays (including the exhausting 6 lap relay!) and a variety of field events too.
They were brilliant, coming either 1st or 2nd in the majority of the activities! They showed great perseverance, determination and teamwork!
Thank you to the staff and parents who gave lifts to and from the event, it’s very much appreciated!
Library visit
Year 6 had a brilliant time at Yate Library, where they met author Polly Ho-Yen! She led a writing workshop and shared stories about her life as an author. The children were issued their library cards and enjoyed exploring the shelves for books to take home!
Making blood!
As part of our Enquiry question, 'How are lives saved?' we used our knowledge of the composition of blood to create our own version of human blood!
2022-2023
Forever Sport Netball School Games
On 19th June, the Year 6 netball team travelled to the Sports Complex at UWE for the Bristol Sport Netball School Games.
The girls played well from the off, showing brilliant teamwork, communication and dedication. They played lots of schools from around the Bristol area, beating Bowsland Green 8 – 0! Some great goals from Ella and Jessica meant that Abbotswood dominated the match from the first whistle.
Grace and Lola demonstrated unbelievable defence skills throughout the group stages, working tirelessly against some tough opponents. The other schools struggled to get goals past them! (A special mention must be made to Jessica, who injured her finger quite badly in game one and went on to score two goals! What a trouper!)
Then came the finals, where we faced Birdwell. Having lost to them during the group stage, we knew that it could be a tall ask to come out on top but the girls saved their best until last. The Amelias were so pacey around the court that they just could not keep up with us! After a series of goals from Ella and Amelia A, Abbotswood took an easy victory of 6-0, coming 3rd place overall!
The progress that they have made as a team this year is undeniable – they showed that hard work absolutely pays off and did not get disheartened during our tougher matches. It was a brilliant morning and a great way to end the Year 6 netball season!
Thank you to the parents who came along to support too!
Year 6 Netball team:
Amelia A (C), Amelia W, Ella, Destiny, Rebekah, Lily, Jessica, Lola, Grace, Leah
Go Team Abbotswood!
Miss Jolliffe and Miss James
Year 6 Quadkids
A group of Year 6s took part in a Quadkids athletics event at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. They took part in four events: 75m sprint, vortex throw, standing long jump and the (dreaded!) 600m.
The team were so enthusiastic and keen to get going, despite the immense heat and threat of thunderstorms overhead!
They were all so supportive of one another and had a great afternoon sampling the different disciplines. They all performed brilliantly in the sprint – a special mention to Ewan, who was just pipped at the post for 2nd place in his heat! Lily and Jacob proved that they are long jump masters – both nearing 200cm for their jump – so springy! Harry was the ultimate vortex thrower, with a few of his flying far past the huge measuring tapes!
Grit, determination and good pacing was required for the 600m. I’m not sure that any of Team Abbotswood were particularly looking forward to this one, but they all gave their absolute best and paced themselves brilliantly, with nobody shooting off and running out of steam by the end! The whole team showed a great sense of pride and worked so well as a team to support each other over the finishing line.
Team Abbotswood finished 3rd overall!
Thank you, as always, to the parents who gave lifts and provided support on the day!
Miss Jolliffe
Year 6 Netball Tournament
On Tuesday, our Year 6 Netball team took part in their first ever round of matches! The girls were all so excited to be taking part at the event at Mangotsfield secondary school which was clear in their attitude and approach to all of their games. They played incredibly well (especially for a team who had never played a single game against another school before!) finishing 3rd in their half of the draw.
A brilliant opening game against Mangotsfield Primary (and a hat trick of goals from Ella) was exactly what they needed to get started. Playing the home team on their court is never easy, but the girls worked together and communicated well to make it look simple.
Next up was St Anne’s, where, despite eventually conceding one goal, Team Abbotswood again played so well. Our defence was strong against a pretty evenly matched side.
They then faced St Stephens, who perform notoriously well in a lot of their sports fixtures. Abbotswood put up an amazing fight to see them to a draw. Lola and Ella defended particularly well against a very experienced side. They were also the eventual winners, so we can take pride in the fact that they didn’t get a goal past us!
Then came our final match against The Tynings to secure 5th or 6th place. As they did throughout the whole event, the girls did not give up the fight with the whole team working hard right up until the final whistle.
Overall results:
Abbotswood 3 - 1 Mangotsfield
Abbotswood 0 - 1 St Anne’s
Abbotswood 0 - 0 St Stephens
Abbotswood 0 - 4 The Tynings
Abbotswood 6th overall
We are incredibly proud of how well the girls came together as a team, showed infectious enthusiasm and great perseverance when faced with more experienced players. Well done Team Abbotswood and let’s hope for even more success in our league games throughout the rest of the year!
Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support!
Luke Hall (MP) visits Year 6!
At the end of last week, Year 6 were really excited to receive a visit from our local MP, Luke Hall. After writing him letters at the end of term 2, we couldn’t wait to meet him in person and have the opportunity to ask him about life as an MP. He very kindly replied to every child’s letter about the issues that they feel most affect Yate. We are very grateful that he took the time out of his busy schedule to not only acknowledge our letters but to come and teach us about the day-to-day life of a member of parliament too. It was a brilliant way to end last term’s enquiry and we look forward to (hopefully!) seeing some of his promises put into action!
Year 6’s Wapley visit
To kick start our latest enquiry, ‘Linnaeus and Darwin – What connects them?’ Year 6 took a very muddy and soggy trip to Wapley Woods on Tuesday to search for eye catching leaves and foliage. On our return to school, we identified what we had found and created labelled specimen boxes of our favourites for display. Using any leftover finds, we made collages to show how nature can be used to create art.
We have been really keen to create some art, this term, so we jumped at the chance to use watercolours to recreate the houses of parliament. I think you’ll agree that they look really effective!
Letters to our MP
Term 2's Enquiry has focussed on democracy and how our parliament was formed. We have been learning about the Ancient Greeks and how they influenced our society today. With that in mind, as part of our most recent English unit, we have written to our local MP, Luke Hall. We have considered issues in and around the local area and have asked for change. Some of our ideas include: implementing a lollipop person on Kelston Close, installing more recycling bins around Yate, having more CCTV at the Abbotswood shops and ensuring the safety of homeless people. We have sent our letters to Luke Hall’s office and are awaiting his reply. He will also be visiting Year 6 in early January, so we are looking forward to discussing our issues face to face.
Year 6 Athletics
Last week, a group of Year 6s took part in a Sportshall Athletics competition at Mangotsfield secondary school. The group showed great determination and teamwork across a whole range of events, including a variety of relays, jumping events and throwing events. The children’s behaviour, as always, was exceptional and they listened and followed instructions (in the very loud hall!) brilliantly. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support and offer lifts, we really couldn’t have done it without you!
Fundraising
This week, Year 6 have given up their break times to run a cake sale to raise money towards Year 6 camp later in the year. Their bakes were unbelievable and their generosity in giving up their own time was extremely responsible. Thank you to all parents for donating so many brilliant bakes! Due to their hard work in running (and supplying!) the cake sale, they have raised an amazing total of £602.94!
Our end of Enquiry challenge was to present our own TED talks answering the question 'How are lives saved?' in any way that we liked. We had such inventive ideas and demonstrated a massively wide range of topics. We researched and created Powerpoint presentations in small groups or individually. We then presented our findings to both classes. Every single person (staff included!) learned something new. The Year 6 Team were amazed with our confidence and passion when presenting.
RE investigation
As part of RE this term, which focuses on the overarching question of 'Why do some people believe God exists?' we have been exploring how Christians may answer this. We were lucky enough to have a visit from Reverend Wanda from the local parish to talk to Year 6 about Christians' beliefs in God. She spoke to the classes about what it means to be a Reverend, including sharing and discussing some of the outfits that she wears for particular ceremonies, as well as detailing the importance of God to Christians. The children were given the chance to ask her some questions - they asked brilliantly insightful ones!
What does blood contain?
As part of our term 1 enquiry (How Are Lives Saved?) we have become Scientists by exploring the composition of blood. We have learned all about the role of red and white blood cells, as well as platelets and plasma. We recreated this using various cereals, liquids and food colouring.
How Are Lives Saved?
To start of this term's enquiry, we have been learning about the function of the heart. We are able to identify and label the parts of the human heart, as well as describe the journey that blood takes as it passes through the heart, onto the lungs and towards the rest of the body. We have also been thinking about how we, as individuals, have a responsibility to take care of our bodies by promoting healthy lifestyles.
Morfa Bay - Day 4.
On the final day of activities Mr Jelf's group were up early for a busy day of physical challenges: abseiling, assault course and orienteering. The group were brilliant and all of the children went down the abseiling wall, using the rope to control their descent. They then moved onto the assault course. The assault course is a timed challenge and the fasted team gets a prize! Mr Jelf has never been one for speed and instead challenged his group to be the muddiest - a challenge they grabbed with both hands. The photos almost don't quite do it justice - I have been doing camp for many years and I can categorically say that they were the muddiest group I have ever seen!
Miss Jolliffe's group and Miss James's group began the day in the sea in much improved weather! They went bodyboarding and played games and all of the children loved it! Miss Jolliffe's group then headed to the mountain biking track and the archery arena! They finished the day on the climbing wall and all of the children had a go. Miss James's group headed back down to the beach immediately for the Rocky Shore Study and finished their week of activities on the mountain bike trail!
Once dinner was finished and the plates were tidied away, all of the children headed up to the hall to participate in the legendary Morfa Bay Disco! A huge shout out to Oscar, Caleb, Harley and Harry who did not stop dancing!
There may also be a few sneaky pictures of some children asleep on the bus ride home!
Morfa Bay - Day 3.
On Wednesday, Mr Jelf's group kicked off the day with a double header of mountain biking and archery. Scarlett proved to be the group's best archer and even got a few 10's! They then moved onto the climbing wall after lunch and all of the children reached their goals and many made it to the top of the tower (including Mr Jelf)! They finished the day back down on the beach looking at some of the creatures that can be found in the rockpools.
Miss Jolliffe's group began the day on the tower with abseiling. Many children went off the top and, using the rope to control them, lowered their way back to the bottom. They then shared bushcraft session with Miss James's group and learnt how to create sparks from batteries, how to build a shelter from natural resources and how to filter water using charcoal. They finished the day doing orienteering in the woods and ended up with some of the fastest times of the week.
Miss James's group began the day on the assault course - getting extremely muddy in the process! They then moved into the bushcraft area with Miss Jolliffe's group and finished the day entering the cave. Miss James was incredibly proud of her group - all of whom made it into the second chamber and could answer questions about the cave.