Welcome to Otter Class!
Otter Class is taught by Miss Broadribb with Miss Wolny as the Learning Support Assistant. Other staff members working with the class include Mr Frisby for Music on a Wednesday and Mr Bourne for PE on a Friday.
Updates throughout the year can be found on both this Class Page and on our School Twitter page. Below you will find a gallery of all the exciting learning activities that have taken place in Otter Class this year.
Looking at Kingfisher’s Energy Use
Year 3 were fortunate enough to have a visit with Richard who was looking at our energy usage at Kingfisher. He brought with him a thermal imaging camera which the children were ecstatic to have a go with and he answered lots of useful questions about how to reduce energy. Thank you for your time and enthusiasm Richard, the children really enjoyed your visit. Well done, Otters for asking such insightful questions!
Investigating Light and Shadows
This term, we are learning all about Light and Shadows in Science. The children have been doing a brilliant job when investigating the different shadows created by different objects and developing their knowledge of opaque, transparent and translucent materials. It has been lovely to see such brilliant teamwork. Well done, Otter Class!
Practising Sewing Skills
This term, we are working hard on developing our sewing skills with the aim to make our own pencil cases. The children are working hard at experimenting with different types of stitches and building resilience and concentration when threading needles. Well done, Otter Class!
World Book Day
The children loved dressing up as their favourite fairy tale characters for World Book Day. They also became authors in the morning and wrote their own stories inspired by the clip MegaCity. It was wonderful to see the children so passionate and enthused about reading and writing their own stories as authors. We had a brilliant day!
Thank you to the parents who attended the Rock Up and Read session too- it was lovely to see you all.
Collaging
This term, we are focusing on the work of Tom Eckersley and developing our collaging skills. It has been wonderful to see the children working so hard on developing their collaging techniques.
Understanding of 3D Shapes
The children have worked hard this week developing their understanding of the properties of 3D shapes. They also spent some time making them with Miss Scott to help develop their understanding. Great work, Otters!
DT- Anglo-Saxon Stew and Seasonality
The children have loved learning all about seasonality this term and linking this to our Anglo-Saxon unit when making an Anglo-Saxon Stew. The children have learned all about seasonality and the times of the year which different vegetables can be harvested. The children have researched, planned, made and evaluated their products which has been amazing to see! The children have then practised their peeling and cutting skills when preparing a vegetable based Anglo-Saxon Stew. It was lovely to see the children helping prepare the vegetables and taste their creations even if the stew received mixed reviews! Well done, Otters!
Safer Internet Day 2023
Inspired by the work of Greta Thunberg, the children have taken an active role in understanding the need to be safe online for Safer Internet Day and have written some fantastic speeches today! The children loved sharing some of their speeches with the class and felt very passionately about the subject. It was wonderful to read their thoughts and to see their brilliant work. In the afternoon, the children loved working with some of the Year 5s and 6s in completing an activity whereby they tried to list the good uses of the internet for each letter of the alphabet. The children worked brilliantly and it was great to see them collaborating with each other and the older children too! Well done, Otter Class.
Developing Painting Skills
Otter Class have worked incredibly hard when developing their painting skills this term and looking at the work of Brazilian painter Beatriz Milhazes. The children have loved experimenting with bright colours and looking at developing their brush control too. They are doing some brilliant work and are incredibly proud of it.
Anglo-Saxon Workshop at the Museum of Somerset
Otter Class had a fantastic time visiting the Museum of Somerset as part of their Anglo-Saxon topic. The children had a brilliant time learning about the story of King Alfred the Great, recreating the King Alfred Jewel and learning how to write in Anglo-Saxon runes. It was brilliant to see the children working so hard on understanding the late Anglo-Saxon era and engaging actively in the storytelling. The children also enjoyed exploring the Museum and looking at all the different artefacts, including finding some otter teeth from 80,000 years ago! An amazing day was had by all. Thank you to Claire at the Museum of Somerset for her brilliant workshop.
International Day of Education
Otter Class had some brilliant ideas when we focussed on the International Day of Education and the lives of children in Djibouti. The children had a found appreciation for how lucky and fortunate they are to receive the education which they do and wrote some fantastic letters to the Government of Djibouti urging them to start their children in school earlier and highlighting the importance of Early opportunities on their development. It was great to see so many rhetorical questions being used in their writing too and lovely, as always, to see them all dressed in bright colours to symbolise the Djibouti flag. Well done, Otter Class!
Meet the Brain - Coram Life Visit
Otter Class had a fantastic time during our Coram Life Visit, learning all about Harold and how our brains send signals around our bodies and ways to keep healthy. The children had some brilliant ideas about the ways in which Harold could solve disputes with his friends and asked lots of interesting questions about how to keep themselves healthy. It was lovely for them to see, using a 3D t-shirt, the ways in which our bodies work and how our heart controls the blood flow around our bodies too! Well done for excellent listening today, Otter Class!
A Great Start to the Spring Term
Otter Class have had a brilliant start to the Spring Term and have written some wonderful recounts of their Christmas break. This term, they are also looking forward to swimming, learning all about the Anglo-Saxons in History, continuing to develop their painting skills and learning all about Plants in Science. We're excited to start a busy term and welcome Miss Scott to the class who is completing a placement with us as a trainee teacher! It's lovely to have you all back, Otters!
DT- Christmas Boxes
It has been lovely to see the children so excited about the lead up to Christmas and continue to work so hard towards the end of this busy term. The children have done a fantastic job when looking at 3D shapes and choosing a shape suitable to hold a mince pie which they made with the help of Miss Wolny. The children have worked incredibly hard on researching different packaging designs and designing and making their own which looked highly effective. Well done, Otter Class, I hope you have a lovely and restful Christmas break.
Making Saltdough Tree Decorations
For the PTA Xmas Bingo Extravaganza, the children have loved making their very own Saltdough decorations to hang on the Christmas tree to aid the PTA with their Christmas fundraising. The children loved cutting the dough, before decorating them and preparing them to be hung on the tree at Christmas times. It was lovely to see such brilliant team work from all the children. Well done, Otter Class!
Trip to St James' Church
Otter Class were privileged enough to join Minnows when visiting St James' Church as part of our RE unit this term. The children loved listening to the Nativity story and seeing the different parts of the church which we had learned about as part of our Christianity topic. The children loved helping the younger children when exploring the church and we had a lovely afternoon with the wonderful Reverend David Keen. Thank you David for your hospitality and lovely activities, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!
Interhouse Football Competition
Otter Class worked hard when teamed up with Year 6s when representing their houses in the inter-house football competition this afternoon. Although it was cold and a bit muddy, the children persevered when representing their teams and all tried their best which was brilliant to see. Thank you to Mr Bourne for organising and Miss Wolny for being our photographer. It was lovely to see the children so engaged in the sport. Well done everyone for participating.
Reading Letters Aloud
It was amazing to hear the children read their letters to Mr Glentworth asking for more technology or better conditions for the school environment. The way their confidence has grown with their writing and speaking and listening in this first term has been incredible. The children were so proud and confident to share their work with their peers which was lovely to see. Keep up the brilliant work Otter Class!
Solving Problems Involving Money
The children in Otter Class thoroughly enjoyed creating their own shops and taking it in turns to be both the customers and shop keepers. The children had to calculate the change and correct amounts mentally, as well as exchange with the bank for more change when they had the incorrect coins. The children enjoyed challenging themselves when choosing their prices for the different items and decide how much change they needed, if any. Excellent practical problem solving today, Otter Class!
Investigating Friction
Otter Class enjoyed investigating the effects of friction on different surfaces for their toy cars on Friday. The children worked brilliantly when experimenting with different materials in their pairs and were able to decide whether their predictions were accurate too. Well done, Otter Class!
Autumn Leaf Clay Pots
Otter Class did a fantastic job painting and completing their autumn leaf clay pots inspired by the work of Georgia O’Keefe this term. Their final products looked fabulous! Well done, Otters!
Performing Play Scripts
Otter Class did a fantastic job performing their play scripts today and demonstrated excellent speaking and listening skills. It was lovely to see them projecting their voices and adding actions to make their performances more entertaining! Well done, Otter Class!
Art- Working with Clay
The children loved exploring their moulding and shaping skills with the clay this afternoon. It was lovely to see them practising their skills before creating their final pieces next week.
Clive Pig Visit- Celts Vs Romans
On Friday 7th October, Otter Class were fortunate enough to have a morning with the incredibly talented story teller- Clive Pig. In this gripping show, the children enjoyed a show from Bran a Celt from the Dumnonni Tribe, based in the South-West, and learnt lots of interesting facts about the Celt and Roman ways of life. They loved looking at all his prop weapons and asking lots of interesting questions. The children also looked fabulous all dressed in yellow for Mental Health Awareness Day too! Well done, Otters!
Showcasing Great Writing
Otter Class have worked incredibly hard with their narrative writing this term and have been working hard to create their own setting descriptions based on the wonderful work by Roald Dahl's BFG. The children have loved learning about Roald Dahl so far this year and have enjoyed exploring his different texts, including designing and creating their own chocolate bars inspired by Willy Wonka and looking at some of his poetry when looking at The Pig poem. The children loved practising their beautiful handwriting and worked incredibly hard when publishing their final pieces onto bordered paper to create these amazing displays. Thank you to Miss Wolny for her talented BFG template for this display in the corridor too! Amazing work done by all.
French Speaking
Otter Class have loved developing their French speaking this term and are becoming more confident with using their French greetings. They can now use different greetings for saying hello and goodbye, say what their name is and say how old they are. Well done, Otters!
Programming
Otter Class have had a brilliant start to Year 3 improving their Programming skills using Scratch. They are also becoming more confident with logging into the laptops and animating their sprite in different ways. It has been wonderful to watch their debugging skills develop over the past few weeks. The children have shown excellent teamwork skills too. Well done, Otter Class!
European Day of Languages Day - German
Otter Class absolutely loved developing their knowledge of German for European Day of Languages. The children all looked brilliant wearing red, yellow and black representing the German flag. Throughout the day, the children located Germany on a map, learned key facts about Germany when creating a fact file, enjoyed trying some German food, practised their German numbers and solved addition problems using their knowledge and learnt some German greetings. It was lovely for the children to be joined by Year 2 in the hall to learn some of their German greetings and taste the yummy food. The children also loved learning how to sing Bruder Jakob on repeat with Miss Broadribb in the afternoon after watching a gripping performance from Tall Tails - where they performed and signed the whole production. Improving their knowledge of sign language too! It was lovely to see the children so immersed in language learning throughout the day. Well done, Otters!
Romulus and Remus
Otter Class have settled in brilliantly to Year 3 and loved starting their Romans topic with learning how Rome developed its name. The children loved retelling the story of Romulus and Remus in a practical way and shared their performances very maturely with the rest of the class. Well done, Otters!