This week, our focus in football was teamwork and strategy.

This week, we were also visited by the NSPCC. They spoke to the class about different types of abuse and discussed who to speak to if they are ever worried about anything. The children were incredibly mature and listened beautifully.

On Thursday, we visited Pizza Express and the children each made their own Pizza. They enjoyed a tour of the kitchen and freezer and were excited to take their Pizzas back to school for lunch. It took a lot of self control for them to not open them up on the coach journey back! They smelt amazing! Once back at school, we discussed if Pizzas were healthy. A lot of good points were made for both sides.

In English, the situation has become very desperate for the main character in our book. The children have now planned the next chapter of the story, filled with more tension and ending in suspense. They will bring these plans to life next week and I look forward to reading them.

In maths, we have continued to solve problems, this time focussing on the strategy of working backwards.

In science, we have begun learning about the life cycles of mammals. The children have created life cycle wheels about a certain type of mammal and next week they will share their knowledge with each other.

In R.E we have continued to learn about Passover, focusing on what beliefs the story teaches us. It was wonderful to hear the children felt it taught them about having trust in God. I also enjoyed reading about when they have used this belief in their everyday lives.

Have a great weekend

Mrs Lines

Home Learning:

Maths- Mathletics

English- Inspired by our trip to Pizza Express and our discussions about it at school, I have asked the children to write a recipe for a Pizza. I have given the children the list of SPAG elements I would like them to include. Our spellings remain the same this week and the children will be tested on Tuesday.

Football Coach

This week, we were fortunate to be visited by a coach from the Arsenal ‘In the Community’ scheme. He taught us all about the ABCS of football- agility, balance, coordination and speed. The children threw themselves into every challenge and really gave their all. I was proud to see how determined they were to improve their personal scores. We have 4 more of these sessions and look forward to seeing the children develop their skills and teamwork.

 Curriculum 

We have continued with our theme of suspense and mystery in English and began a new class text ‘The Boy in the Tower’ by Polly Ho-Yen. We have been exploring the characters and the relationships between them.

In science, we have been building up our knowledge of life cycles of birds and amphibians. By using sources of information on the internet, we discovered more about migration, moulting, incubation and metamorphosis.

Our focus in computing this week was debugging. The children were able to identify 2 bugs in an algorithm and fix them to create beautiful spirals.

During R.E lessons, we have begun learning about the epic story of Exodus. The children have looked at the story in the context of place and time as well as sequencing the main events.

In maths, we have been focusing on using the short method to solve division. I was really impressed to see how quickly Year 5 learnt to express remainders as fractions and decimals.

We ended the week with a visit from our new classmate, Annabel. It was wonderful to have her with us today and all of Year 5 were extremely excited to meet her. We all look forward to Annabel starting at Pope Paul next week.
Have a great weekend

Mrs Lines

Home Learning

English: Complete the next skills test in the book. Reading comprehension and spellings.

absent

magnificent

confident

dependent

different

decent

frequent

efficient

innocent

intelligent

obedient

ancient

Maths: Mathletics.

Readtheory is, as always, optional. The children have really enjoyed doing this and many are earning over 50 Dojos a week for their efforts. Keep it up year 5.

Happy New Year!

It has been great to catch up with the children and hear about their exiting break. It seems many of them enjoyed their Christmas lunches and ate all of their vegetables! The Dojo count is really climbing!

In our first two days back, we focused on the Epiphany. We have reflected on its significance and thought about what gift we will bring to our school and homes this year. We have also compared our traditions with Scripture.

In maths, we started to look at formal written methods for addition and subtraction. We used this knowledge to solve missing number calculations and some cryptarithms. The children really enjoyed doing these and it was lovely to see them buzzing with excitement so early in the term!

In science, we began our new unit on living things, with particular focus on life cycles. The children have identified key vocabulary and have considered what they already know and what they would like to find out.

This week, there is no home learning. However, I have signed the children up to a reading comprehension site. As this is optional, there is no minimum or maximum number of activities they need to complete. To encourage the children to participate, they will earn a Dojo for each one they do. The link is below and usernames and passwords were given in class today.

www.readtheory.org

Have a great weekend

Mrs Lines

As we will be at the Pantomine on Friday, Home Learning has been given today.

Maths:

Book 4- Mental Multiplying and Dividing- pg 23

Book 5- Mental Multiplying and Dividing- pg 23

English:

SPAG.COM

Comprehension

Spellings:

bustle

castle

fasten

glisten

jostle

hustle

nestle

listen

rustle

soften

whistle

thistle

wrestle

Children will be tested on these on Tuesday.

In maths this week, we have been building on our factor and multiple knowledge to mentally multiply and divide. We have used a range of strategies to do this, such as regrouping, doubling, halving and using known facts.  The children were surprised to see how easily and efficiently they could calculate using large numbers and decimals. Well done Year 5!

In science, we investigated friction. Year 5 put their shoes to the test to find out which ones had greater friction and thought about why. To measure, we learnt how to use a Newton meter.

Year 5 really are a talented bunch, and on Thursday we had the chance to watch them in their music concert. It was clear how hard they practise at home. I was proud of how well they performed and the confidence they showed.

This week, it was national tree week. We celebrated this by weaving using natural materials from the trees in our school environment. Before heading out to gather our resources we discussed how weaving was the method the Saxons would have used to create their clothes. Once we collected what we needed, we headed back inside to weave so that our fingers were not too numb to work!

In assembly this morning, Year 5 placed their Advent Angels alongside the rest of the school in the hall. They have thought about how they will be more helpful and supportive of others during this time. Many have said they will be helping out at home- I’m sure you will look forward to this, parents!

I have been told many of you plan to hang your decorations this weekend. I hope you have a wonderful time doing this and of course enjoy attending the Christmas Fayre.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Lines

Home Learning

In order to be fully prepared for the advent service, home learning this week is to learn the words to our songs. I have sent a copy home with each child.

I have also asked the children to complete a piece of science home learning. This is due on Tuesday 12^th December. I would like the children to choose a key scientist in the area of forces and create a poster/report/fact file on them. The scientists and a link to some information can be found below.

Key Scientists

Sir Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) – Formulated the laws of motion – http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/newton_isaac.shtml

Christopher Cockerell (1910- 1999) – Inventor of the hovercraft – http://www.design-technology.info/inventors/page11.htm

Archimedes (c.287 – c.212 BC) – Greek inventor – http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/archimedes.shtml