Performance poetry and Stomp!

Our literacy topic at the moment is performance poetry. Last week we read and performed a poem called 'Fruit picking.' We worked in groups to establish a steady beat using percussion instruments to help, then we each performed a verse of the poem.

We also enjoyed taking part in the Stomp! workshop. A teacher from the music service came in and taught us all about rhythm and pace in music. We worked as a whole class, using unusual instruments such as trays, bins, tins and lids to create pieces of music.

Multicultural day!

Last week the whole school was involved in a multicultural day. Many different cultures were looked at across the school and in Beech class we learnt about Native Americans.

It was great fun! First we were all put into tribes where we came up with a name and a symbol to represent our group. We learnt about the symbolism of colours and pictures and then used these to design and make a head dress and paint each others faces. It was easy to see who belonged to each tribe!

Later we found out all about 'Gods eyes,' which the Native American people used to make as a symbol of good luck. We all had a go at making one of these. We also listened to some stories and enjoyed reading Brother Eagle, Sister Sky.

The Night Mail

We have been rapping today!
 We used the poem 'The Night Mail' by W H Auden to rehearse and recite the poem.
 We worked really hard to keep to the rhythm and beat.
 Mrs Prior banged the drum to help us. We all did a fantastic job.

 Do you know this poem?

STICKABILITY!

This term we are thinking about STICKABILITY.
When things get tough, we must not give up. They are the times when we should try extra hard and not let things beat us.

Maddi has been working on stickability recently and she wrote a letter to our class...

Dear Beech,
Stickability is important. I have a story about it (this is real by the way).
Everybody knows I cant swim. At school when we go swimming, I'm in the 'almost swimming' part of it but I didn't give up because I go swimming every Saturday. So once when I went I was quite confident. My dad and I had a lot of fun so when I was in the shallow en and my dad was having a shower, I swam to the deep end. It was deep alright!
My dad was happy and cross. He was happy because I didn't stop but he was angry because he couldn't see me. 
So now I can swim. Stickability pays off. 
From Maddi x

Roman Day

We had a great time yesterday during our Roman Day! We all dressed up in Roman clothes - some of us were soldiers, others were Roman goddesses and everyone looked fantastic! We began our day by carefully colouring in some Roman mosaics, then we finished our shields before going outside and getting into the Tortoise formation when we heard the command 'Testudo!" Later, we looked at some examples of Roman mosaics and designed our own. We all enjoyed marching outside wearing our helmets and shields, and having a 'battle' with Oak and Poplar classes. Next was the wax tablets. We melted wax and filled our frames with it on Monday so that they could set. Then we used our tablets to write our name and age using the Latin alphabet and Roman numerals. After lunch it was time to gather in the hall with Oak and Poplar classes to enjoy a Roman banquet! We tried many different types of food such as olives, dates, pitta bread, cheeses, raisins, celery and flamingo tongues (ham!!) We all had a great time travelling back to Roman times.

Our Roman Day

Celebrate and share day - maths

Last Wednesday we had lots of fun playing many different maths games together. We played games with cards, dice, route tiles, board games and some that were online. In the afternoon our parents were invited in to our class so that we could share our games with them and show them how we learn in maths. We hope the adults had just as much fun as we did!

Our trip to Chester

On Monday 16th March we went to Dewa Chester. First we met a Roman lady, she took us inside, there was a wooden boat. She told us the password and we shouted it out. We met a man on the boat, he would beat the drum when he wanted us to change our rowing speed. We were rowing the boat but when we looked at Mrs Gough she was not rowing, luckily she didn't get killed! The lady took us to a door, we went through the door and met another man. He decided if we were friends or enemies. He said we were friends, if we were enemies other soldiers would have come and killed us! We went into a room and the lady told us what the barrels would have been used for, next she chose two volunteers to come up. One of them spread oil on the other one, then scraped all the dirt off them. After lunch we had a walk to a stone circle. At the stone circle we got told how to be scary and how to march. Then Lily came up and the Roman soldier nearly cut her head off! We had a shield and formed the tortoise. Then we walked to an amphitheatre, on the floor it was like sand. The Roman soldier chose Mrs Round to come up, and Mr Morris. They had a battle. The battle was just rock, paper, scissors but Mrs Round won. Mr Morris was going to die but the Emperor put his thumb up so he could live. Then the man talked about the two types of Roman soldiers, one was Samnite, the other was Retiarlus. Then we walked back in the rain. By Isabella

Our 'Go Explore!' session in the Forest Friends area.

At forest friends we planted hedges with Mrs Gough. We also made stick men and ladies with sticks and all sorts of materials.
When we made these there were lots of instructions like : we had to collect sticks for the body. we all thought carefully for the hair some people used daffodils, pine cones , ripped leafs and all sorts. one group used an empty snail shell for a hat!
 Also we used soil to dig up 'Bobby the Beech Tree'. We voted for his name. There was Darwin and Bobby and most people decided on Bobby. We had shovels and we put more mud over the roots of Bobby the Beech. We had to stamp on the soil so that Bobby was stuck in the ground properly.
 When we planted everything we watered the plants so that they wouldn't dry out and could grow.
 By Ella Rose, Maggie, Isabella, Shea and Ruairidh



 

A recipe for a better internet...

Tuesday was 'Safer Internet Day,' and in our class we thought all about how we can make sure that we stay safe whilst using the internet. 'We all made our own recipe!' Here are just a few

Safer internet day 2015

Tomorrow is Safer Internet Day. We will be doing some work on this in class and thinking about how we can stay safe on the internet. Look out for some of our work later this week!

Maddi's 100wc

It was a grey, miserable day. It was lunchtime at the Smith's house. Maddi, Paul and the rest of the family were very hungry (including Rufus, the pet hyena.) "Mummy, Daddy, which wall are we going to climb on today?" asked Maddi. "The middle one," replied Mum. "But you need to eat your sandwich first," but in Dad. "Ok then," moaned Maddi as she nibbled her sandwich, one crumb at a time. "Hurry up!" said her Mother hurrying Maddi, "Come on!" Shouted her father rudely. "Attitude," muttered Maddi crossly to herself. Half an hour later Maddi had finished her sandwich...

Ella-Rose 100 wc

One sunset morning I was in my room watching the Lion King. The tv went pitch black. A grey portal was in my carpet, I jumped in... I found myself in a world with stone age people, their was a hyena drawn on a stone wall. The portal started spinning, someone else came it was my friend Maddi, she was half way through eating a sandwich. She was really miserable because she was having a picnic with her mum and dad. The portal started to spin with Maddi's mum and dad and the picnic! We all climbed up a hill and finished our picnic. "Climb! Climb! and end it with a picnic," I said "This is so much more special because my best friend is here too."

Shea's 100wc

One day a miserable hyena saw a sandwich, it was grey and mouldy. The hyena went over to it and gobbled it up in a second, greedily. He was hungry for more, the hyena looked around for food but couldn't find any. Some people went over to the hyena and it said "I'm hungry," so the people said "go climb up that mountain and you won't feel hungry at all." So the hyena climbed the mountain and he wasn't hungry. He said "the humans were right, I'm not hungry." Then he went to sit down slowly.

Poppy's 100wc

It was a normal day, I was walking along the African plain and I was eating a sandwich. The sky was getting dark and grey. I was walking along by a cliff. I could see something climb up. I couldn't see what it was, maybe it was an alien?! I said, "I don't care what you are, you might be miserable or hungry, so I'm going to run!" I started to run, I saw a hyena chasing after me. I warned everyone. We ran to the airport and my family went to England, our home, and it was over, phew.

Isabella's 100wc

In the woods I walked down silently to a tree. I stood on a twig, snap!! It broke...Suddenly the woods turned dark, I could barely see a thing. Frightened, scared, shocked, a light shot diagonally, and as I looked towards the light there was a person holding a pin. As he walked forwards, POW, it shot into me. What was that I could feel? Scared, frightened, terrified,I felt I grew some hair. No, not just hair, a horn and a tail. I felt as worried as a bug as I turned fully into a monster, I couldn't turn back!!

Christopher's 100wc

In the mouth of the cave a small slug slipped down into the pool. An oyster dropped off the roof of the cave. It couldn't get any better. Soon I would have to slip past the endless perils that awaited me. Scared, terrified, alone, I stepped in to face the bear. Suddenly I felt a rope tighten around my neck. Someone laughed behind me. It was too late, he'd already got here... I hoped Bale or Asterif made it out of the ice mountain and would be able to help me. But they didn't. I felt a hand try to free me. I knew it would be Asterif. After he freed me I said "Where's Bale?" "Dead," said Asterif sadly.

Maggie's 100wc

What was that I could feel? I slowly emerged from the tent, I was transforming into a monster! Suddenly, slowly, fiercely, I was turning into a tiger!I really wanted to tell someone. I could hear a faint voice calling. Was it me or could I see another tiger? Aaargh my father had died because of a tiger! Oh wait, I was a tiger. "Hi," I called "G,day," the voice grumbled. "Show yourself again," "ok" As he stepped out I gasped, he was beautiful. "Will you marry me?" "Yes!" I shouted. We kissed and transformed into humans.

Freya's 100 wc

I was standing in my room looking around. What was that I could feel? I felt something on my back. I was growing something! I didn't know what it was. Then I knew, I was growing wings. Terrified, worried, scared I didn't know what was going on. I didn't want to tell anybody that I had wings so I stayed in my room forever. I felt something else growing on my finger nails, they grew longer. It was bedtime, I couldn't get to sleep because I was worried something else was going to happen. Have you ever felt like you are growing something strange? I went downstairs for the first time. "Hi mum, hi Dad, how are you?" "Ok thank you," Luckily my mum and dad didn't see my wings and my long finger nails. Then I grew a cloak, I knew I was magnificent.