Welcome to Rievaulx Class!

Academic Year 2023 - 2024

This web page is a fantastic way to keep up to date with lessons, activities and events in school.  Please check regularly for exciting updates!

Here is an overview of the topics and themes we will cover this half term. 

To read about them in more detail, please see the newsletter below.

English - Non - chronological reports

Maths - Area, perimeter and volume, statistics

Science - Animals including Humans

Geography - North and South America

Computing - Spreadsheets

Religious Education - What do Christians believe Jesus did to save us?

Physical Education - Hockey

Spanish - Presenting myself

Art - Artist study

PSHE - Economic Well-being

Music - South America

This half term, Rievaulx have been exploring the work of David Hockney, looking specifically at his landscapes of the Yorkshire countryside. We have explored warm and cool colours and complimentary colours, before learning different techniques to develop perspective in a picture.
We are now working to produce small canvases, displaying a piece of art inspired by Hockney’s work. The end results are all unique and reflect different elements of Hockney’s distinctive style.

Year 6 are took part in important Bikeability training this week. Their training began on the school grounds, looking at safety and the Highway Code, before they were taken out onto the minor, and then major roads to learn how to navigate junctions, parked vehicles  and other hazards. All children passed both level 1 and 2 with flying colours 🚲

Rievaulx Class have had another excellent Forset Schools day this term. As well as a range of independent learning tasks, the class were set two team work challenges. The first was to build a raft using a clove hitch knot and the second was to filter water containing many different materials to make it as clean as possible. 

In the fire area today, the class worked in groups to boil water using a ‘Kelly kettle’. They used their water to make hot chocolate drinks and made s’mores on the fire that was used to heat the water.

Rievaulx Class love PE and have particularly enjoyed refreshing their hockey skills this half term. We have focussed on defending and attacking in the first lessons and we have found we have some particularly talented and competitive players!

Rievaulx Class have really enjoyed their DT unit this half term. Our focus was on structures. They were tasked with identifying the key features of a playground, before designing a playground that met their chosen criteria. They then got busy marking out footprint plans and creating their amazing structures.

This half term, our PE lessons will be lead by the specialists from PE Pro. We will be learning about dances from around the world, looking at their key movements and features and performing our compositions.

Rievaulx really enjoyed their second forest school session today. We were challenged to work as a team to light a fire, make a traditional Viking bread dough and then cook it. As well as this, there were lots of themed activities, including some Christmas art opportunities.

Rievaulx Class are incredibly proud of their futuristic art project. They began by looking at examples of ‘retrofuturism’, before experimenting with a range of media.  Ater looking at ‘The Moonwalk’ by Teis Albers, they then created colograph printing plates to create textured backgrounds. To complete their compositions, they tried a range of techniques when creating futuristic images, chose the most effective and combined these with their printed backgrounds. The results are creative and unique and the class are very proud of their outcomes.

Today, Rievaulx learnt about the phases of the moon by making edible diagrams! We can now describe the phases of the moon using amazing technical vocabulary, such as waxing, waning, crescent and gibbous.

To launch our History topic, Rievaulx learnt how to weave like a Viking! 

Rievaulx were lucky enough to take part in the first of their forest schools session this week; a project offered to improve the mental health and well being of all pupils at Wistow School. Our first session begun with den building, after which we evaluated our structures and made improvements. The class were then given time to choose and complete many different activities, including whistle making, fire lighting and painting using natural materials. We can’t wait for the next one!

Academic Year 2022 - 2023

Please see below for details of our units and topics this half term.

English

Our theme this half term is Survivors!  We will be using a range of texts to stimulate our imaginations, including Survivors by David Long and The Explorer by Katherine Rundell.  We will look at a range of true-life stories of survival and work on re-writing those experiences in first person.  Following this, we will look at producing explanations texts as a guide to surviving in a range of harsh environments.

Maths

We will begin this half term by completing the final parts of the Year 6 maths curriculum, including algebra and position and direction, before preparing for our assessment week in May.  Preparations will focus on recapping and revising elements in a range of ways, including games, quizzes and active learning.  Our work will focus on building confidence in key aspects of maths that we hope to master by the end of Year 6 such as written and mental calculations, fractions, decimals and percentages.

Science

In Science this half term, we will be covering a unit on Electricity. After recapping simple series circuits, we will try different components for switches, bulbs, buzzers and motors. The children will learn how to represent a simple circuit in a diagram using recognised symbols and discuss the necessary precautions for working safely with electricity.

Geography

Our Geography this half term will focus on using and reading atlases and maps.  The children will study a range of maps and atlases, including digital maps, and compare their features. The will learn to use the eight compass points to give directions and give 4 and 6 figure grid references to locate places on a map.

R.E

This half term, we will ask the question ‘What would Jesus do? Can we live by the values of Jesus in the 21^st Century?’ This unit will identify the teachings of Jesus and how followers were encouraged to live their lives.  We will look at the impact Jesus’ teachings might have on Christians today and how they can be interpreted in today’s world.

Computing

In Computing, we will be learning about Web Page Creation.  In this unit, pupils will be introduced to creating websites for a chosen purpose. They will identify what makes a good web page and use this information to design and evaluate their own website using Google Sites. They will learn about the importance of copyright, the aesthetics of a website and navigation paths.

P.E

In P.E this half term, our unit will be Hockey.  We will begin with gaining an understanding of the game and grasping basic skills such as how to hold the stick and how to hit the ball before learning more complex skills such as dribbling as well as attacking and defending play.  This will eventually lead on to playing competitive games.

DT

In this unit, we will make links to our Science unit and work on creating Steady Hand Games.  We will begin by exploring and evaluating children’s toys before identifying the components of a 'steady hand game' and designing their own toy, before assembling, testing and evaluating their games.

French

Our French unit for this half term is Destinations.  In this unit, we will learn to name some European countries and shapes in French. The class will explore and name some other French speaking countries in the world, be able to say where they are going on holiday and be able to say their nationality, where they live and the language people speak.

Music

This half term, our unit will introduce the children to the songs and languages from different regions of South and West Africa.  They will begin by learning traditional songs and perform the chords of the song on tuned percussion such as glockenspiels and xylophones.  The will then move on to learn about the djembe drums, looking at rhythms with varying dynamics and tempo. 

PSHE

In PSHE, our new unit is Citizenship.  In this unit, we will discuss what happens when someone breaks the law. We will also gain an understanding of what prejudice and discrimination are and why and how they should be challenged. We will also explore how reducing the use of materials and energy helps the environment, and what individuals can do to support this.

Today, Rievaulx Class were treated to a fantastic day at Ninja Warrior, Leeds. This was to celebrate their efforts and achievements throughout the year and was a well deserved reward. We had a fabulous time! Everybody got stuck in and enjoyed spending time with each other and laughing, a lot!

Today, Rievaulx Class completed their latest DT project: making steady hand games.  This linked in with our Science work on electricity, as we looked at the effect of more batteries (and therefore voltage) could affect the buzzer in our circuit. The class completed research and designed their product before creating them and spending time playing each other’s creations.

Yesterday, Rievaulx Class were welcomed into All Saints Church to take part in a range of activities. Each activity focussed on a different part of the liturgical calendar and identified the different time period between Easter and Advent: Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity and Ordinary Time. We would like to thank all of the volunteers who gave up their time to provide such a lovely afternoon.

Last night, Rievaulx Class took the lead in our summer performance, with Byland Class supporting them. There was singing, dancing, wonderful acting, humour and cake!!

A huge well done to each and every performer. You all shone bright and created an amazing show ⭐️

We have had a fabulous day in Rievaulx Class today, celebrating the coronation of King Charles III.  We had a range of glam outfits and iconic characters in class and enjoyed taking part in a specially created Great British quiz.  We avoided the rain in the afternoon and performed or Queen Medley as part of our school concert, celebration Great British music icons. 

At last the Spring sunshine has begun to shine and we were able to begin our new games unit on the school field. Our first session focussed on safety and allowed the children to become familiar with the equipment before we move on to learn basic skills and techniques.

What a wonderful day at Wistow School with Project: WILD CIC! Each class spent time with Nick through out the day, with a session tailored to their learning. Rievaulx Class linked their discussions to their work on life cycles and adaption. The children were grinning from ear to ear coming out of each session and it was great to see some children (and teachers) combat their fears too!

What a super exciting day in Rievaulx Class! In class, we have a favourite author - Jennifer Killick. The children have been inspired by her books and we have waited patiently for each new release, making sure we had it delivered to school on the day it became available. Today, we got to meet with her over zoom. We spent an hour talking to her, listening to her explain where her ideas come from, asking many questions and even meeting her pet dog Daisy! It was just amazing and we are so grateful to Jennifer for her time.

Today, Rievaulx completed their maths work on a large scale.  We know that to learn a skill, it is important to repeat the task many times in order to improve and become fluent. We covered every table in the class with strips of tape and then we measured, measured and measured again!

Our DT project this half term is Come Dine With Me’. In this unit, we have learnt about different food groups and nutrition, which linked to our PSHE topic of Health and Well Being. In teams, the class were challenged to organise themselves into smaller groups, each responsible for researching, planning and preparing one course of their 3 course meal. It was important to work as a group to ensure each individual course worked well together and made an interesting menu.

The unit finale was our competition day, where the meals were produced, tested and scored. It was a very close competition, with only 1 point separating each team, but the winners were…Team Cookie Crumble! 

This week, the children in Rievaulx Class have begun to immerse themselves in the work of Rudyard Kipling. Today, we read the Just So story 'How the Camel got it's Hump' before taking part in our very own talk show and interviewing the characters to gather their thoughts, feelings and motives.

Learning about the reproduction of plants can be tricky and there’s lots to remember and understand. Today, Rievaulx worked hard to dissect lilies which gave them an opportunity to identify the different parts and understand their role.  I’m sure you’ll agree that our living posters are a fabulous way to show our understanding 🌸

Byland and Rievaulx were excited to be listening to a talk from Holocaust survivor, Peter Lantos, discussing his experiences as a Jewish child during World War II. He read is an extract from his book, ‘The Boy who didn’t want to Die’, and we were keen to hear more.  It’s definitely one we are going to add to our bookshelf as it’s such an important part of history.  As Peter said himself, “even though it was a terrible time, the world cannot forget what happened.” 🌈❤️

Rievaulx Class took the lead in Class assembly today, choosing to share their PSHCE work on Health and Well Being. We have looked at ways to relax our bodies and minds, learnt about the importance of a good night’s sleep and the benefits of embracing failure. They spoke with confidence and sang their chosen song, ‘The Climb’ beautifully. Well done Rievaulx!

As part of our PSHE unit ‘Health and Well Being’, Rievaulx Class spent this afternoon learning to embrace failure. The children identified feelings they felt when failing to achieve something before being given the task of learning how to juggle. It wasn’t easy but we did feel we were making progress! After the task, we talked about ways we can cope or deal with negative feelings when we experienced failure.

We had a fabulous time with Byland Class today at our Christmas Party. Full of fun, smiles, dancing and some classic party games. Of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without a visit from the man himself. Merry Christmas everyone!!

This half term, we were given the task of recycling clothing in order to make something new.  This linked nicely with our World War 2 topic, and we set about designing and making a cushion that a child could take with them when they were evacuated away from the city.  We conducted research to see what was already on the market, learnt a range of stitches including back stitch and blanket stitch, made templates and cut and sewed our cushions.  The final products are amazing and we were surprised and what you could achieve if you Make Do and Mend!

This week we welcomed Richard from ‘History into Schools’. We had the most amazing day! We begun be learning about life in Britain during the war and were taught the first aid we would need in order to carry out the duties of an Air Raid Warden before putting put fires using buckets of water and pumps.

In the afternoon we found out what life was like on the home front. We took part in basic training, learning military drills, bayonet training and had a chance to practise throwing a grenade!
 

There were so many other things we packed into the day, including learning more about evacuation and rationing during the war.  What was most amazing though was the chance to hold, feel and experience everything first hand. Almost every artefact was a genuine primary source; things that museums allow you to look at but not touch. Today was a fabulous experience.

Rievaulx Class have been enjoying their computing unit this half term. We have learnt what a Vector drawing is and how to create them using different functions such as duplicate, rotate and undo. The class have also learnt how to use short cuts such as ctrl c (copy), ctrl v (paste) and ctrl z (undo).

Today, Byland and Rievaulx Class spent time learning about rationing during and after World War 2. We learnt why rationing was necessary, what was rationed, how much or those items families were allowed to have and why rationing continued long after the war ended inBritain. To get a feeling of what it would be like, the children were given ration to Ken’s and given the chance to purchase items to make a meal. They then enjoyed the chance to tuck into their home made stew. Some groups decided to spend some of their tokens on treats like bread and butter to add to their meal. 

In PE this half term, we are looking at different dance styles of the 1930’s and 40’s.  Our unit began by taking us to pre-war Britain, where learnt about The Charleston.The Charleston became popular in the 1920’s and 30’s and was characterised by it’s fast paced swinging of the legs and big arm movements. We learnt the basic steps before working in pairs or small groups to choreograph our own dances that mirrored the the Charleston style. This video shows a what we have been working on.

Rievaulx Class were given the task this week of finding out about the life of Charles Darwin.  They were asked to look at a range of sources before collating their findings on a giant timeline of his life.  The timelines include information about his childhood and education, his voyage on the HMS Beagle, his time on the Galapagos Islands and the publishing of his book, 'The Origin of the Species'.  The children found out many interesting facts along the way and discovered that Darwin was not the sole creator of the Theory of Evolution; his work build on the findings and theories of others too.

In History, we have been researching what life was like during the Blitz. Following our research, we wrote information texts, ensuring our readers found out the what’s, where’s, why’s, who’s  and how’s. Once our information texts were completed, we used our work to create voice over scripts to create public information films, much like there were in World War 2. We used original footage and added in voice recordings, photographs and transitions to make our films interesting and effective. 

In art this half term, Rievaulx Class are focusing on key skills and developing the use of a sketch book. This week, we have been looking at composition and how to replicate those shapes and colours in our drawings. The end results are so impressive that we are struggling to identify the drawings from the real thing!

Where did the mysterious case come from? Who does it belong to? What is the meaning behind the black and white wedding photograph and the military medal? And what is the significance of the piano music we can hear?
Lots of questions and excellent inference today. Rievaulx Class used clues to make well supported inferences and sensible predictions.

Watch this space for what is bound to be some fabulous writing in the coming weeks.

Rievaulx Class are really enjoying their first computing unit of the year - Computing Systems and Networks. The children were asked to design a toy and identify the input (what makes a event happen) and the output (what happens once the input is programmed in).
Next week, we will be learning more about search engines and the computer systems that make them work.

Academic Year 2021 - 2022

Summer Term 2

And in a flash...we are in the final half term of the year!

This is an important term for our Year 6 pupils.

Please see below for details of our learning and some special events coming up this half term.

English

We will be using our class reader ‘Pig Heart Boy’ by Malorie Blackman as a hook for our writing this half term.  This story contains some very emotive issues surrounding animal rights.  We will be exploring the moral dilemma of the story through balanced arguments and will also revisit some previously covered genres in order to consolidate our skills.

Maths

This half term is all about consolidation and applying mathematical skills across the curriculum.  We will be completing some mathematical projects, as well as calculating our budgets and profits for our upcoming enterprise sale.

 Science

We will be continuing with our ‘Animals including Humans’ topic this half term.  Having learnt about the circulatory and digestive system, we will now look at how our bodies change and develop over time.  This links in with our PSHCE work on   puberty and development.  Year 6 pupils will also take part in the final part of their RSE (relationship and sex education) -further details to follow.

Topic

This half term, we will learn about the geography, religion and daily life of ‘The Shang Dynasty’. We will begin by using a timeline to identify where in history the dynasty belongs in comparison to other historical periods we have studied.  We will then learn about and make comparisons with The Shang Dynasty and other civilizations.

RE

The big question we will be exploring this half term is: ‘What do religions say to us when life gets hard?’  In this unit we will consider how people’s faith can help them understand and deal with times in our lives when things are difficult. We will consider the beliefs of many faiths in this unit, including Muslims, Hindus and people who do not hold religious beliefs.

 Music

We will be continuing to explore our new music scheme in class this half term.  We will be listening to and appraising popular ‘leavers songs’ before working together to write and compose a song of our very own!

 Art

Our art unit will link closely to our topic work this half term.  We will learn about the amazing story of the terracotta army, before using our sculpting skills to recreate a scaled version of the fabulous figures.  We will also look at other patterns and designs that originate from Chinese culture.

PE

In PE this half term, we will be continuing with our swimming lessons, where we will be looking at water safety skills and perfecting all strokes.  We will also be completing an athletics unit that will    consolidate many different skills including throwing, running and jumping.

Computing

We will be consolidating our coding skills using Hour of Code and working with the Scratch program to create moving images.

Class of 2022 - Carpool Karaoke

Enjoy one last little bit of fun, courtesy of Rievaulx Class and all of their willing volunteers!

Goodbye Rievaulx - Class of 2022

What a busy few weeks we have had! We have made sure we have made lots of memories that will stay with us for many years. We went bowling and laser questing as a leavers treat, had a lovely leavers lunch chosen by the class and prepared and served by our amazing lunch time team and rounded it all off with a wonderful leavers assembly in church, with parents watching on.

We have laughed, cried, laughed and cried again, but what a special end to this school year.

Lineham Farm - Year 5 / 6 Residential 2022

Year 5 / 6 spent their last few days of this school year on their residential at Lineham Farm. Lineham Farm was a fabulous venue for this year’s trip and offered us a range of activities and challenges, not least a record breaking heat wave! However, the Wistow children did us proud. Not once did they complain; they simply got on with things and had a fabulous time. Some highlights were bushcraft, meeting Stanley, Farmer Richard’s dog, a very fleshing water fight, orienteering in the woods and film night. So many memories made. We can’t wait until next year!

African Drum and Dance Workshop

This week, Rievaulx and Byland Class worked collaboratively with David from Joliba African Drum and Dance School. We learnt about the different, traditional instruments used be different communities, learnt traditional African songs, danced expressively along to traditional music before putting it all together to create an amazing assembly for our parents. Such a lot to learn about African culture in just one day, but a fabulous experience.

Viking Village

This week we finally got to visit the Murton Park Viking Village, which was delayed from earlier in the year. We had the most amazing day, living like vikings!
We we’re invited to settle within the village by Emma, a Viking settler. However, we had to prove our worth the the Lord and Lady of the village. During the day, we learnt how to make oil lamps, which we then traded with the Lord, ground our own wheat the make corn, made bread on the fire and were trained as Viking guards in order to protect the settlement from Anglo Saxon invasion.

Thank goodness we were trained, as later in the day, an Anglo Saxon spy entered the village! Our newly trained guards acted quickly and the invader was removed.

Sports Week

Last week was Sports Week.  Each day of the week was filled with different sports and activities.  Some we had played before, and some that were totally new to us.  We had the opportunity to take part in cricket sessions, tennis coaching, a skipping workshop and our annual sports day.  This year, we were able to welcome family and friends back into school to cheer us on during sports day and it made such a difference! The atmosphere was exciting, supportive and more importantly, lots of fun.  See below for photographs of our week.

What better way to learn about the features of a river, than to make one! Rievaulx worked tirelessly on these amazing models, making sure the features were all present and labelled. They followed it up with some fantastic information texts which showed just how much they had understood and remembered.

Today, everybody in school celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee. Each class took a decade over which the Queen has reigned and prepared costumes and a performance each to share with the school of a song from their decade. Rievaulx Class we’re given the Swinging Sixties as their decade. They looked amazing in a range of 60’s outfits or red, white and blue. Their performance of Proud Mary was also AMAZING!

This week, Year 6 have completed their SATs tests. Each and every member of the class has blown us away with their maturity, determination and hard work. There were questions that were tricky, some that were not, but not once did anybody give up. During the week, the children have enjoyed a good breakfast in class to set them up properly for the day and on the final day, celebrated the end of the assessments with ice creams and rounders. Amazing work everybody! We are so, so proud of you!

Today, Rievaulx took part in a ‘River Relay’. After learning about the course of a river, they were put to the test. How quickly could they complete the relay and organise the features into the upper, middle and lower courses?

To round off the Spring term, Rievaulx were invited to make a Viking artefact to contribute to a class museum.  As you can see, each and every one of the home projects completed are amazing!

Rievaulx needed no persuasion to revise this important skill today. We got up on our feet, moved around and got busy. Not only was it excellent revision, but also a great excuse to write on the tables!

This week, Byland and Rievaulx were informed of an exciting enterprise project we will be taking part in. Today, we had to consider which skills we had to offer to our prospective team mates. It can be hard to identify our own skills, so we got a little help from our friends! There was a buzz of positivity when the class were able to see what their peers had written about them.

Rievaulx worked hard to put together their learning in gymnastics today by sequencing balancing, jumps and rolls into seamless sequences. They have worked hard to perfect each movement and improve their posture and performance. Great work.

Rievaulx have loved every minute of our dragon eye art unit and we’re thrilled to reach the end of their learning journey. Today, we brought our images and ideas to life using clay to sculpt the intricate designs needed to create stunning dragon eyes. I am sure you will agree each and every one is unique and simply stunning.

Rievaulx Class have been thoroughly enjoying our Dragon Eye art unit this half term. We began by following a tutorial to draw the basic shape before adding our own intricate designs. Once we had perfected that, we learnt different shading and blending techniques. The results are stunning! What a talented bunch 🌟

Rievaulx and Byland celebrated Chinese New Year today, with their very own Chinese banquet. The children prepared all of the vegetables before enjoying fried rice and a stir fry. Not forgetting the prawn crackers and dips! Kung Hei Fat Choi 🐉

Last week, The Snuggly Snowman Coat Company called on Rievaulx Class to help them with their latest design. They were asked to investigate thermal insulators in order to decide which material should be used in the lining of their products. But which material would keep the snowman the coolest for longest?

The class worked to devise a fair test that would measure how much (or how little) their snowman melted, whilst wrapped in different materials before reporting their findings to the company executives.

Today we began our new Science unit - Properties and Changes of Materials - by exploring the vocabulary we will be using.  After composing definaitions for the many properties of materials, Rievaulx used the app Creative Cloud Express to produce these amazing vocabulary posters which have really enhanced our working wall and will be used as a reference point throughout our unit.  They really do look amazing!

During our PSHCE day this half term we looked at choices we can make that can influence our health and lifestyle.  We asked the question, 'Is it ever right to take a drug?' and realised that there are very good reasons to take a drug or medicine when directed by a doctor or professional.  We also realised that there are times when we have to make choices about our health.  Rievaulx were given the task of finding out the effects of alchol and tobacco on the body and creating life size cut outs showing how our bodies are changed and often damaged by those substances.

This week, we came to the end of our current writing unit.  We have spent time learning about the features of newspaper reports, looking at the difference between reported and direct speech and how to correctly use and punctuate speech in written work.  After working with a model text to learn the vocabulary and structure of a news report, we went on to write our own based on the terrible events that played out in the veggie village square on Christmas Eve 2019 (as seen in the video below).  As you can see from the photographs of the crime scene, the veggies were all in a bit of a 'stew'!

This week, Rievaulx lead our whole school assembly on the theme, 'Jesus is the light of the world'.  They all did an amazing job and wrote and organised the whole assembly as a team.  We heard about different types of lights (warning lights, guiding lights and celebration lights) before looking at how Jesus warned, guided and celebrated the lives of his followers.  In reflection, the class thought about how we could reflect Jesus' light as a community by setting a good example to guide people, sending out warning messages about our environment and climate and celebrating all we have in the world.

It has been Maths Week in school this week and Rievaulx have worked enthusiastically and found that maths is more than a calculation in a book.  We have shared the maths story of 'The Lion's Share', which taught us about halving fractions, before baking the Ant's cake, learnt how to create parabolic curves and taken part in a 'Beat the Teacher' challenge.  Lots of fun and lots of learning!

This week in science, we investigated a different force - friction.  To begin with, we came up with a definition of what friction was and recognised that it was 'the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another.'  We also realised that some surfaces surfaces and objects created more frction than others.  To look further at this, we investigated the force needed to move a weighted basket along different surfaces.

Interactive Factfiles - The Solar System

This half term, Rievaulx have thrown themselves into their cross curricular science and computing project.  During our Science unit, we have researched the different planets and works as a team to create written fact files.  Using our reading skills, we them summarised our findings, before making use of our amazing, new computing equipment.  After some tinkering time (where we learn how to use new apps and programmes), Rievaulx confidently created interactive fact files using Chatterpix and Thinglink.  Scan the QR codes below to view their work.

You can also access your child's work through their Seesaw account.

Last week, the children in Byland and Rievaulx Class took part in a live stream with the author and poet Joseph Coelho as part of our Black History Month celebrations. He shared some fascinating stories about his childhood, his work and his life as an author. Both classes were truely inspired by Joseph and were keen to create their own Abecedarius poems, just like the ones he shared with us. The results were amazing!

This week, Rievaulx Class turned dectective to solve the mystery of the princes in the tower. What happened to them? Why did it happen? And most importantly...who dunnit?? They worked tirelessly; working through the evidence in order to draw their conclusions. Amazing work super sleuths!

Rievaulx have been busy trying to answer the question, 'Does the moon change shape?' today.  After learning about the movement of the Moon in relation to the Earth and Sun, we learnt that whilst the moon appears to change shape throughout the month, these changes are in fact caused by shadows cast on the moon.  To conolodate our learning, we used Oreo cookies to create living diagrams, showing the different moon phases.

Exploring Chatterpix

Today, we used our computing 'tinkering time' to get to know an app that we will be using to enhance and present our learning in science and history this half term.  Chatterpix allows you to animate any object and give it a voice!  Below are some examples of our work.

Today, Rievaulx launched their new Earth and Space topic with a STEM activity.  The teams were tasked initially with using any prior knowledge they had to label the fruits with the names of the 8 planets in our solar system.  They were instructed to consider the size of each planet before making their decisions.  After a few tries (and a lot of shuffling around) the teams managed to complete the first part of the task.  After that, they were given other tasks such as ordering the planets using a small number of clues, working out which of their fruit planets match which diameter and labeling their distance from the Sun.  An amazing, memorable start to our topic.

This week, the children in Year 6 were presented with their leaver’s hoodies. The children were all thrilled with their new uniform. However, with this privilege comes great responsibility!  As the head of the school, Rievaulx Class are role models to all and it is expected that they follow the school rules at all times in order to continue wearing their hoodies throughout the year.

Academic Year 2020 - 2021

Year 6 Leaver's Treat

After a challenging year, Year 6 were taken for a game of bowling and lazer quest at Selby Superbowl.  They have all worked so hard and shown so much resilience throughout their time at Wistow School and their treat was very well deserved.

The lazer quest game did not end without controvesy though, as Mrs Cox felt there may have been some problem with her equipment following a disapointing total score!

Robinwood - July 2021

After a long wait, we finally made it!  We all had the most amazing time, laughing with our friends, taking on new challenges, pushing ourselves to the limit and having so much fun.  There wasn't a minute to spare, with every day packed with tasks and activities both at the centre and within the beautiful North Yorkshire Moors that surrounded us.  We have many, many photographs and will keep adding to the galleries below.

The Maya Society

Today we discussed how in Britain today, we live in a constitutional monarchy, which means we have a King or Queen that reigns over our country and a goverment that makes the decisions and rules the country.  But how does this compare to the Ancient Maya?

The Ancient Maya lived in city states, each of which had it's own king.  The societies living within the city states had a heirarchy, with Kings at the top and labourers and slaves at the bottom.  You were positioned in society depending on your job and your wealth.  We spent the afternoon investigating the roles the people in each section of society had and what kind of life they lived before creating a giant pyramid to show our findings.

Andy Warhol - Blotted Line Technique

This week we have learnt a printing technique used by Andy Warhol.  It invloves using tracing paper to produce a line drawing on, before using black paint to create a fine outline.  By completing the outline a small bit at a time, you can then fold the paper over and print it on to the other side, ready to paint with watercolours.  Some of Riexvaulx used templates for their firat attempt whilst others created their own images and outlines.  The results were amazing!

Bird Beak Investigation

As part of our topic on Evolution and Inheritance, today we conducted an experiment to find out how and why bird's beaks have evolved and adapted in the way they have.  We have observed that different birds all have different beaks.  Why is this?  We tested a number of 'beaks' along with different foods (including seeds, squishy bugs and worms) to see which beak shape was best adapted to survive in its enviroment.  The results were sometimes surprising!

Walk for Well-Being

Today the whole school took part in our sponsored 'Walk for Well-being'.  The sun shone and as a class we completed an amazing 633 laps, totalling 264,594 steps! Amazing work everyone.

Survivors!

Today, we spent the morning in the Peace Garden getting into the role od real life survivors.  To begin with, Mrs Storey set the scene and talked the class throught the events.  What the class did not know was the story they were listening to, about an air accident and survival in the rainforest, was a true story of survival.

As they listened, the class imagined the sights, smells and emotions they would have experienced if they were living this nightmare, before being challenged to build dens and survive for 9 nights in the Amazon Rainforest.

All of this discussion and drama has lead to some amazong recount writing, telling the story of Juliane Koepcke, also known as The Girl Who Fell From The Sky.

Easter Celebrations in Rievaulx Class

We have had a lovely day in Rievaulx with lots of Easter celebrations in our bubble.  We have made some beautiful Easter cards for our families, had some amazing entries in the Easter garden competition and had fun taking part in an Easter egg hunt.

How do flowering plants reproduce?

Today we spent some time revising the names of the parts of a flower before learning about the role each part plays in the reproduction of flowering plants.  In order to get a better understanding of flowers and their indiviual parts, we dissected lilys before creating living fact files.

Investigating Cams

After spending some time learning about cam mechanisms and how they create movement, Rievaulx were then tasked with investigating the movememnts that different shaped cams created.  This was a really important investigation as once we know how the shape of the cam effects the movements of an object, we can design and make our animal automators.

World Book Day 2021

We have had a brilliant day in Rievaulx Class celebrating Worls Book Day.  As you can see, our outfits were amazing with some very creative choices!  We have taken part in whole school competitions, completed a class quiz in teams (including a nail-biting tie breaker for the runner up place) and held our very own Spelling Bee. 

Fairtrade Fortnight

For the next two weeks we will be celebrating Fairtrade Fortnight.  Buying fairtrade products improves the lives of farmers and their families around the world.  We began by identifying the countries of the world that produce the most fairtrade products.  As you can see, Rievaulx went about this task in many different and creative ways.

The Life of Sir David Attenborough

Following on from our work on Rainforests and our science lessons with the conservation team at the North York Moors, this week we have started collecting information about the life of Sir David Attenborough.  To help us write a biography that tell his life story chronologically, we have worked at collating our research and creating timelines.

Dress to Express

As part of Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, Rievaulx were given the theme of 'Dress to Express'.  These amazing videos really capture the personalities of those who created them.  Simply brilliant.

Sculpting Flowers

This week Rievaulx were challenged to sculpt flowers using different materials.  We experimented with wire and paper, learning how to bend and fold the materials into these amazing creations.

It's Snow Time!

What better week for the snow to arrive than Children's Mental Health Awareness Week.  Fun in the snow was just what we all needed, wether at home or in school.

Getting to know the Rainforest

Rievaulx have been completing a number of creative tasks whilst learning about the layers and inhabitants of the rainforest.  Here is a collection of the work completed at home and in school.  You can see how creative the children have been, all selecting different tasks to keep themselves excited, enthused and engaged in their learning.  Amazing work!

Curious Creatures

As part of our work on grouping and classifying animals, Rievaulx were asked to create a new creature with the characteristics of their chosen animal group (mammal, fish, bird, reptile, amphibian, insect, arachnid, annelid, mollisc, crustacean or echinoderms).  Can you guess which group these creatures belong in using the features they have been given?

Rainforest Climate

This week in Geography, Rievaulx were asked to create a weather report for an area of the rainforest.  They were asked to be creative and produce this in any way they chose.  We have had some excellent work sent in.  Well done Rievaulx!

Buzz Wire Games

To finish off our Electricity unit, Rievaulx were challenged to use their knowledge of circuits and conductors to create a steady hand game.  They had to design a circuit in which a buzzer would sound if the loop touched the the wire.  They all worked really hard and by the end of the day, we had lots of games to share with our friends. 

This half term, Rievaulx will be getting into the wartime spitit by making something new out of something old.  Our task is to design, make and evaluate a cushion a child could take with them when they were evacuated from their homes.

Today, we learnt how to do running and back stitch and how to attach a button.

Academic Year 2019 - 2020

What can we learn from Viking poo??!!

We often ask how we know about the past if people who lived during that period are not alive today.  This is often down to the work of archaeologists who unearth preserved clues to the past.  Today, Rievaulx were given the chance to investigate what the Vikings ate by looking at their poo!  There were some interesting finds including fish bones and stones!

Diocesan Day 2020

Rievaulx were privileged to spend the day at York Minster today.  We had our very own tour guide for the day and were shown and told about many aspects of the Mister's long and detailed history.  We learnt about its Anglo-Saxon origins, the three fires that threatened to destroy the building, the stories behind the magnificent stained glass windows and even got to see what lies beneath the floor of the Minster.  Rievaulx were in awe and asked many interesting questions and showed their excellent knowledge when answering questions.

Measuring Angles

Mixed Up Materials

Open Maths Lesson

Thermal insulators and conductors

PSHCE Day - Keeping Myself Safe

We focused on two different areas of this theme during our PSHCE day this half term.  We began with looking at what we should do if we are the 1st, first-aider at the scene of an accident or injury.  We discussed how important it was to keep ourselves safe as the person helping is the most important (if they are injured, they cannot help).  We also talked about how and where to find help and ways to stay calm until that help arrives.

We then looked at risk taking behaviours in relation to drugs, alcohol and tobacco.  We discussed the choices involved in those behaviours and how difficult those behaviours can be to change due to them becoming a habit or even an addiction.  We looked at the effects of substances on our body, sticking post it notes on different areas effected.  We finished with a role play exercise to highlight how difficult it can be to say no, especially to our peers, even though we think the decision could be risky or dangerous.

Kevin the Carrot faces the Leafy Blinders

Catapult Competition - Let the games begin!

Gladiators...Ready!

The Dreadful Menace

Rumble down, tumble down!

Project Wild

Thank you FOWSA!

PSHCE Day - Me and My Relationships

During our PSHCE day, we focused on friendships and especially how many friendships are developed and maintained online in our digital age.  We talked about the meaning of the word 'conflict' and how conflict face to face and conflict online might differ.  The children talked sensibly about how messages are easy to write and send but cannot be retrieved.  They also talked about how it's harder to walk away from conflict when it is online, as turning a device off doesn't mean a message won't be there when you go back.  We then looked at different text message scenarios and gave advice to both recipients.

We then conducted an experiment.  We took two identical apples but treated them differently.  We paid one apple lots of compliments and we were particularly unkind about the other, making comments about its appearance and its taste etc.  Every time we were unkind to the apple, we dropped it on the floor.  Both apples still looked the same until they were sliced open.  Once inside, we could see the brown bruises within the apple we were unkind to.  These bruises were not visible from the outside but were deep inside, hidden away.  This sent a powerful message to us about relationships and how our actions impact others.

To finish off the day, we took some time to think about all of the wonderful things our friendships give us, creating friendship blackout poetry to give to those were cared about the most.

Charanga

Celebrating Black History Month

Phases of the moon - more foody science!

Caythorpe Court - September 2019

Writing that is 'out of this world!'

Creating models of the Solar System

Rievaulx have had an amazing start to our science topic this half term.  We are working on gaining enough knowledge in order to create documentaries to rival that of Professor Brian Cox and his Stargazing series.

This week we used a range of fruits and other objects to make scale models of the Solar System. 

Can you name the planets in the Solar System in order?

Our Class Trip To Eden Camp War Museum

What a superb day Rievaulx have had! Eden Camp Modern History Theme Museum is a large Second World War-related museum near Malton in North Yokrshire and that is where Rievaulx have been on their school trip.

It occupies a former Second World War prisoner-of-war camp of 33 huts. After the prisoners left, the camp was used for storage and then abandoned. Its grounds then became overgrown. As the museum was being set up, much clearing, as well as repair and renovation of the buildings, was required. 

The children all had great fun exploring the museum. The end of the day was made all the more special, as the children got to meet a World War 2 veteran and they all got to have a chat, see his medals and shake him by the hand.

Creative Writing

Rievaulx have been working on their writing and using strange and wonderful images to inspire them. They looked carefully at the scenes and then chose one to write about, using a variety of language and grammatical sentence structures. The aim was to hook the reader in and make the reader want to read on and I think that they have done an amazing job! 

Lights ... Camera ... Action!

Rievaulx class have been in rehearsals today, getting ready for their class production. They have been learning lines, new songs and will be preparing costumes and props over the next few weeks.

Scarecrow Festival Set Up

Rievaulx were ready for action this week, as they set up for the Wistow Scarecrow Festival 2019.

Working together, they created the fantastic ocean scene, made from all the children's recycled art work and displayed the important message of "SAVE OUR PRECIOUS PLANET!"

They then set up Sir David Attenborough, who was filming the scene, making sure that his video camera was in the right place for that perfect shot!

Take a look at them working together and the end result:

Science - Light Kennings

Miss White explained to us all about Kenning poetry, that it is a two word or a metaphorical phrase in place of a one word noun and was used a lot in Anglo-Saxon poetry. She then set the challenge for us to work in groups to describe a light source in the form of a Kenning. Take a look at our Kennings, we were all incredibly pleased with them.

Design Technology and RE

As part of our Religious Education theme 'Salvation', we have discussed the meaning and symbols associated with 'Salvation'. Then we have taken our time to plan a design on dotted paper, which we then transferred onto binca material. We learnt how to use running and cross stitch and some of us are planning to add additional materials on later on in the process.

We also have been learning how to knit. Over the day, Mrs Sampson has worked with us and we have all had a go at knitting a few rows for our Easter scarf that will hang on our Easter cross. It was a busy day for us all, everyone was incredibly focused and you could have heard a 'needle' drop

Crayon Diaries

Rievaulx class have been busy this week writing the diaries of a group of crayons who have decided to quit, due to a variety of amusing but true reasons. They were inspired by the book 'The Day The Crayons Quit' and really enjoyed the sense of humour in the story. We started by working in groups and working together to write a diary and then worked on adding humour to engage the reader. As we shared them, many of us were laughing - objective achieved!

Then we selected our own colour crayon and drafted our own diary, which included a range of disastrous, yet quite amusing situations!

Gas Mask Fun!

We have had a great day today, making our very own gas mask boxes from scratch! We were given some measurements and basic instructions and then we had to take our time to measure, plot and create the basic net of the box. Then we had to cut and build the box slowly, making it sturdy. We followed the steps and the end result was fantastic ... take a look!

World War 2 Assembly

Rievaulx delivered a fantastic assembly this afternoon, based on their topic of World War 2. They shared with parents, teachers and children what they have been learning about. They shared a song sung to lift spirits, talked about the making of different types of air raid shelters, showed Blitz art work, performed a podcast from a script written in literacy and more! 
It was clear from the faces of the audience that this assembly was amazing and the children's passion for their learning shone through! 
 

Bonjour la classe!

Rievaulx have been learning about family in their French lessons. They have worked on their conversational skills and we have to say, they sound fantastique!

We asked each other about names, age and where we lived.  Then we moved on to talking about families. 

We then pretended that we were a member of The Simpson family and spoke and wrote about our family!

The Blitz

As part of our topic we have learnt about the Blitz.

We learnt about how it was dangerous living in a big city during the war. Cities were the target of enemy aircraft that flew over at night and dropped bombs.

At 4:56pm on 7 September 1940, the air raid sirens wailed as the German Air Force, the luftwaffe, launched a massive raid on London. Over 350 bombers flew across the Channel from airfields in France and dropped 300 tonnes of bombs on the docks and streets of the East End of London.

Blitz Art Work

We are now working on some art work in a range of mediums, to recreate the Blitz. To start with we have used water colour paints to create the back ground, then planned and designed a silhouette of the London skyline. After that, we added in the search lights with ready mix and then used felt pens to create the luftwaffe (German planes) beginning their air raid! Take a look: 

CLASS ASSEMBLY - SAVE THE RAIN FORESTS!

Rievaulx shared with the whole school and parents what they have been learning about in topic. The children talked about deforestation, sustainability and gave handy hints on little things we can do to help look after the Earth.

Sports Hall Athletics

Rievaulx all enjoyed taking part in the school's cluster tournament at Selby high School. The children all got turns to try to beat their own personal bests and other pupils from primary schools. They all had a great time!

ART ATTACK!

As part of our display in a day, we all took digital photos of each other and then cut the images in half. We then had to look at proportion and detail in order to draw the missing half of our faces. It was tricky but the results were pleasing!