It’s been a busy first week back.

Welcome back after the Easter Holidays. We hope you all enjoyed your break and did lots of enjoyable things. The Summer term is always a busy term and there was plenty going on in Year 5 this week.  The first day back was a buzz of excitement for many children taking part in the FOPPS Easter Egg Hunt! 

Year 5 began the first of their sessions with the Mini Police this week which is being run through the Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Mini Police scheme.  Anti-social behaviour, road safety, bullying and cyber safety are some of the focus’ the class will cover during the programme. Mini Police is a fun and interactive programme designed for children aged between 9 and 11. It aims to build trust with communities, promote responsible citizenship and help young people establish an interest and understanding in policing and community safety.  We look forward to our next session with Cheryl and Chris.

In RE the children have been looking at explaining how the Resurrection shows the belief in the divinity of Christ and developing their understanding of the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus.  Thank you to the families who created their Easter gardens …they look lovely -Mrs Heymoz has visited our classroom to admire them.  Click here to see them.

A number of children have been taking part in Bikeability this week.  The feedback from the children has been really positive as Bikeability cycle training equips them with vital life skills. Pupils not only learn to cycle, they gain independence, social skills and a sense of wellbeing. The instructors have been very complimentary about how the children have been great listeners and attentive during the traning…we are so proud of them!  Click here to see some photos of our keen cyclists!

On Wednesday our Year 5 Maths Challenge team took part in the Final.  The team were Elle, Finn, Hebe and Kian.  Out of over 260 schools, we were one of twenty seven schools in the Final.  The rounds were tricky ones and although we were alert and ready for the challenges set, we did not make it to the top four places.  I want to congratulate the team and thank Elle for standing in for Vihaan who was unable to join us.

We have begun our new English unit on Macbeth, which will be our focus for the this half term. The children have been gripped by this tale of a man consumed by ambition to take the Scottish throne.  If your child was at bikeablity, and missed some our lessons, use the following link to watch the story:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks2-macbeth/zdt42sg

In History, we have started our new topic on Ancient Greece. As an introduction, the children created their own timelines of all the time periods they have studied, so that they could see where the Ancient Greek civilisation fit in with this.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs McNamara and Mrs Lines

Home Learning:

Timestable Rockstars – please make sure that you log on each day for 10 minutes to practise your timestables!  Can you beat your personal best?

Spelling: Spellingframe rule 57

History: Create a poster about Ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses. This poster should include:

• At least 3 gods or goddesses.
• What they are the god or goddess of.
• Do they have any special items or powers.
• Who are their parents and siblings?

The deadline for this is Tuesday 3rd May.

 

Year 4 have had a busy last week to the end of the  Spring term and even in my absence, I know that they have worked very hard in class.

In Maths, they completed their fraction learning by applying all that they have learned in problem solving situations, using bar models to help them identify calculations. In English, they have used picture prompts to work on aspects of writing such as using conjunctions, adverbials and speech. In RE, they looked at St Luke’s Gospel and interpreted the meaning of the events of Good Friday whilst also concluding their Lenten reflections.

In Science, they investigated conductors and insulators to ‘fix’ simple series circuits whilst partaking in some fun pre-Easter activities, including card making.

On Tuesday evening, the children sang beautifully during the Stations of the Cross Service, elevating the serene and reverent atmosphere with their voices. A wonderful performance!

On Wednesday, after a lovely guitar concert led by our talented musicians Samuel and Panayiotis, the children received the Sacrament of Reconciliation from Fr Shaun and a visiting priest whilst reflecting on their ‘journeys’ as God’s Children.  Click here for some photo highlights from this week.

I am so proud of the class for their hard work and dedication this Term. They have achieved so many goals and matured even more in their independence and attitude towards their learning. Well done!

Wishing you all a blessed Easter and a well-deserved, restful holiday,

Ms Varga

Please keep up your reading during the holiday and complete your Whole School Home Learning set by Miss Donatantonio (see link below).

220401 Whole-school RE learning letter – Easter Garden

 

The children in Year 4 this week, moved on with their fraction learning in Maths and started working on adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator. In English, they carried on with the publishing process of their Non-chronological reports, as well some basic sentence work to prepare them for the next unit of work. In Science, the class constructed simple series circuits and thought about how to make the shortest and longest functioning loop as well as evaluating circuits for their function and repairing them when necessary. In Geography, they compared the climate in Florida with the UK, looking at climate graphs and interpreting data. In RE, the children reflected on the deeper meaning of the Last Supper according to Luke and drew beliefs from the Gospel relevant to their lives now. They also participated in Mass this morning; well done for Eraldo for his lovely reading.

 

I hope you have a lovely and sunny weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day with your families,

Ms Varga

Home Learning

Your Home Learning this week is to learn the lyrics of our Stations of the Cross Service hymns. The children had opportunity to practise them in class and in the hall this week, as well as at the Church but it was evident that they need more time to learn them by heart.

We will have a practice again on Monday, before the Service on Tuesday.

 

 

   

It has been another busy week in Year 4 with Science week and St Patrick’s day just to mention a few.

In English, the class started their final writing pieces of non-chronological reports and wrote lengthy paragraphs based on their plant and animal species. They will write further paragraphs next week about their inhabitants and a conclusion before publishing their reports with diagrams, maps and keys using a book proforma. In Maths, the children investigated equivalent fractions; ordered and compared fractions and applied their understanding when solving one and multi-step problems using bar-models.

In Science this week, following the theme of British Science Week- Growth, we looked at some important questions, like what would happen if we stopped planting trees. We also participated in a school challenge of growing the tallest sunflower simultaneously investigating conditions attributed to plant growth such as temperature. The class discussed ideas then designed individually possible animal species that could live and grow on Mars whilst also completing observations around the school grounds. We tidied our class gardens as well and planting tulips as an addition to our already blooming flower bed.

On St. Patrick’s day we had the chance to applaud our fantastic talents who  performed amazing routines of Irish dancing. It has been a real pleasure watching them in their elements!

In RE, we read Luke’s Gospel of Palm Sunday and drew beliefs from the Scripture whilst in PE we carried on with our Roman themed dance choreography.

Next week, Mrs Carrey and myself would like to lead a crystal growing workshop in class. To support this, please may you send a clean, small (300ml or 500ml) plastic bottle in, labelled.  Thank you for your support with this.

Have a safe and lovely weekend;I hope you can enjoy the sunshine with your families!

Ms Varga

Please see your Home Learning below:

Home Learning	Due by Tuesday, 22nd March 2022
Spelling	Spelling Rule 20 – Possessive apostrophe with plural words https://spellingframe.co.uk/ Please practice this week’s spelling words before testing yourselves on them.
Reading	https://readtheory.org/auth/login Please log onto Read Theory and complete two activities. Please update your reading log and be ready to p[resent it on Wednesday.
Multiplication	https://ttrockstars.com/ Please log onto your account and spend time practicing your mixed facts. Well done for Eliana, our overall leader! Also well done for everyone who improved on their scores and the number of days played. We shall check again on Tuesday!
Study Ladder	https://www.studyladder.co.uk/ Please complete the activities assigned to your pod. They consolidate our learning of mixed factions and equivalent fraction.

Please also practise the songs for the Way of the Cross Service, by clicking here.

The children in Year 4 had opportunities this week to live out their Mission statement of using their talents to the full. During Tuesday’s music concert, they showed off their beautiful skills playing the piano or the violin. Well done!

The class carried on extending their understanding of fractions in Maths calculating unit and non-unit fractions of different wholes, whilst in English they learnt to apply a specific set of conjunctions, openers and expanded noun phrases to use in their non-chronological reports. In Science, they evaluated common appliances to see what electricity generates/changes in them (like sound, heat, light or movement). In RE, we looked at symbols, words and actions that show we are a Catholic school and linked it with why we Pray the Stations of the Cross today. The children also discussed the third Lenten picture, titled the Dignity of Human Life. They then wrote heartfelt prayers to offer for the people of Ukraine. In D&T, the class painted their shells in preparation for next week’s task- building the simple series circuit.

Today the class took part in an exciting science workshop!

 

Have a lovely and safe weekend,

Ms Varga

See your Home Learning below:

Home Learning	Due by Tuesday, 15th March 2022
Spelling	Spelling Rule 19 – Words with the /eɪ/ sound spelt ei, eigh, or ey (e.g. eight, they… etc.) https://spellingframe.co.uk/ Please practice this week’s spelling words before testing yourselves on them.
Reading	https://readtheory.org/auth/login Please log onto Read Theory and complete 2 activities.
Multiplication	https://ttrockstars.com/ Please log onto your account and practice your allocated tables. Based on your test results from Thursday, your account will change and new/different tables might appear.
Study Ladder	https://www.studyladder.co.uk/ Please log onto Study Ladder and complete the activities in your assigned pod. They are all tasks that will help you consolidate your fraction learning so far.