Boynton Primary School

Our teacher is Mrs Edwards and our teaching assistant and HLTA is Mrs Mortimer.

Class Information:

PE: This takes place on a Thursday afternoon. Please send your child into school with their PE kits and remove jewellery if they are unable to remove it themselves. 

Reading: Please remember to keep reading with your child every night. Even if they are able readers please ask them questions and discuss what they are reading. We would like children to read at least 5 times a week. Just a quick note in their reading record book, together with a parent/carer signature, will earn them rewards such as team points.

Maths Homework will be given out on a Thursday to be completed and returned by the following Monday. Please ensure your child completes all of their homework every week. 

Grammar Homework for Y6 is given out on a Monday and is to be completed and returned by Thursday.  Please ensure your child completes all of their homework every week. 

Spelling: Spellings are sent home on a Monday to be learnt for a test on Friday. 

Here is a timetable of a typical week in Class 3 - Spring Timetable 2025 

Our topic this term is the Mayans

Welcome back Class 3 after what I hope has been a relaxing and healthy break over the Christmas holidays.  Spring term is already upon us and we have another busy and exciting term planned in Class 3.  Our first topic of 2025 will be both history and geography based as we look at the fascinating Mayans and the Americas and begin to uncover the mysteries of the Mayan civilisation.  We will explore the Mayan ruins deep in the rainforests of Central America and from there embark on a journey that will help us uncover the life, society and civilisation of both ancient and modern Mayan people. As always, if you have any resources, artefacts or knowledge that you feel you could share with us regarding our topic this term - then please let us know!

Literacy this term will focus around the 'Rain Player' by David Wisniewski.  This story is based on a traditional tale from the Mayan belief and focuses on the main character Pik, who challenges the mighty rain god Chac, to an intense, hazardous contest, with the help of a daring jaguar, a soaring Quetzal and the cenote's water!  This book explores how to be resilient and brave, to face your fears and never give up and most importantly - how teamwork can save the day.  We will look closely at characterisation, plots and settings which provide opportunities for extensive writing alongside group and shared reading. 

As always, our continued emphasis will be grammar, spellings, punctuation and reading through daily practice and weekly guided reading sessions.

Numeracy will address the specified curriculum for Year 5 and 6 children incorporating the units of number and place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, measurements, geometry, statistics, algebra, ratio and proportion. 

History/Geography - with maps at the ready, we will identify where in the world the Maya lived and the modern day countries and cities that are there now.  We will use a wide range of sources to investigate the physical geography of Mesoamerica before exploring what life is like for modern Mayan people and compare this to the life of the Maya in the 1st century.  We will investigate how and when Europeans encountered the Mayans and what has been discovered about their civilisation and way of life including religious rites and rituals, class and society and their number and calendar systems.  Our final investigation will be to discuss the theories behind the decline of the Mayan civilisation.  There will be many opportunities here for research, discussion, map work and hands on learning as we discover more about this fascinating civilisation. 

Art will combine the old and the new as we study inside the Bonampak temple to explore and take inspiration from the famous Bonampak murals painted around the year 800.  Our children will then use digital technology to create their own artwork in the style of the Maya, before etching their design onto polystyrene tiles and printing their intricate designs on fabric.  Keep an eye out for all our art that is displayed in the hall.

Design and Technology Using the Mayan inspired fabric the children have researched, designed and printed on in their art lessons, they will then learn how pattern pieces are made, then used to make fabric pieces which can be joined to make a finished product. They'll then design and mark up their own pattern pieces for a drawstring bag which they'll go on to make, using a sewing machine, and evaluate in subsequent lessons. During this process, they will learn more about how cotton cloth is manufactured, then go on to look at how textiles like this are used to make clothes and other items. 

Science During this term we will investigate 'Changing Circuits' which will consolidate our knowledge of electricity and explore how to change the brightness of a bulb and the speed of a motor.  Through practical tasks and hands on  investigations, we aim to develop our understanding of the physical side of science. We will also study 'Properties and Changes of Materials' which promote practical activities and scientific enquiries that help children understand the differences between a variety of materials, and how materials can be mixed and dissolved, and reversibly and irreversibly changed.

Music will see us continuing to develop our skills of the 5 strands of the 'Model Music Curriculum' which are: performing, listening, composing, the history of music and the inter-related dimensions or elements of music. This term will focus in particular on duration, pitch, structure and timbre as we explore both tuned and untuned percussion instruments in order to play and improvise chords and melodies.  We will also continue to incorporate other musical cultures into our curriculum through our music appreciation assemblies so our pupils learn to respect and value music from all over the world.

Religion and World Views this term will focus on 'Expressions' as we look at how the arts can express beliefs and ideas in religion through the faiths of Christianity and Islam.  We will investigate how people worship and how places of worship are expressions of beliefs themselves before focussing on the Easter period in the latter part of the term .  This unit intends to broaden the understanding of Christian's belief in resurrection and its significance in their lives. 

P.S.H.E over the course of the term is on the theme 'It's Good to be me'.  This unit focuses specifically on feelings and explores feelings in the context of the child as an individual, developing self-awareness and helping them realise that it really is ‘Good to be me'. The theme is about understanding our feelings as well as considering our strengths and weaknesses as learners. It aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of learning: self-awareness, managing feelings and empathy.  Class discussions will also provide children with an opportunity to discuss issues that are important to them and address what constitutes 'British Values' and in particular 'The Rule of Law'. 

At Boynton, we recognise the importance of promoting positive mental health and emotional wellbeing to our students and their families. We aim to create an open culture around the discussion of mental health and wellbeing and to empower our children to be able to regulate their emotions. By implementing the Zones of Regulation curriculum we aim to teach our pupils to identify emotions in themselves and others and provide them with bank of strategies to help regulate their emotions and improve their wellbeing. 

P.E this term will see the children developing and strengthening their skills, coordination and techniques whilst playing tennis and the invasion game of netball in our MUGA and on our field.  By focusing on strength and control - the children will learn to use the equipment safely, work cooperatively and move with pace and confidence to support their health and fitness.

French this term will focus upon the unit of 'French Culture' as the children develop their understanding of the language through speaking, listening, reading and writing.  Through games, activities and role play, the children will also learn about the traditions of France in context of their learning, whilst being introduced to some key grammatical features of French, such as the position of adjectives. They will also spend time corresponding with their French penpals to increase their conversational skills.  

ICT over the course of this term will focus around the skills of 'Coding' as the children learn key concepts such as algorithms, sequences and variables and learn how to code in order to create apps.  We will also develop their digital computing techniques as they use software to design and create their Mayan patterns relating to their artwork, providing a new medium to investigate and create art, craft and design. 

 We really appreciate your support by encouraging your child to read at least 5 times a week, to practice their spellings and to complete their homework and return it back to school on the hand in date.  Many thanks.

Our WWII topic last term was described by the children as being 'incredible', 'fascinating' and 'amazing' and we produced some fantastic work which can be seen in the classroom, the corridors and in our books. Feel free to come and look at our outstanding work!   

Here are a few photos to enjoy from last term...