Year 5: Blog items

Year 5 - Friday 13th May 2022

Date: 12th May 2022 @ 4:47pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have been working on area and volume. The children have been able to use perimeter measurements to help work out the area.  They have used calculations to do this (length x width) and also drawn the shapes in their maths books and counted squares to check their answers.  They have used cubes to build 3D shapes and counted the cubes to find the volume and then managed to learn the calculation (length x width x height).

In English we have started to examine narrative poetry, specifically The Highwayman and The Owl and the Pussycat.  We have looked at the features of narrative poetry and spent time discussing how to use tone, intonation and pace to get the emotion of the poem across to our audience.  The children each learnt a section of The Highwayman and performed it together. Please see video on St Oswalds TV.

In Science, the children continued with their ‘living things’ topic and investigated different types of pollination.  They watched video clips showing the different types and then went on a nature walk to try and find plants that used the different types of pollination. They have been looking after their plants and we have a number of sunflowers sprouting and our strawberry plants now each have flowers.

In RE the children completed our topic on transformation.  We looked at the scripture of Paul on the road to Damascus in more detail and how he managed to transform the lives of others due to his transformation.  We reflected in a lovely collective worship to celebrate out learning during this topic.

This week in French, we learnt how to pronounce an/am/em/en and read some unknown words correctly. Next we recapped -er verbs with the verb jouer - to play.  We then used an online dictionary to look up some sports words and talked about the advantages and disadvantages of an online dictionary compared with a book. We talked about cognates - words that look the same or very similar to English but are not pronounced the same. Sports words are all cognates so they're easy to learn.

 In Art we sketched portraits of the queen.  The children were all given the same photo of the queen and were asked to sketch a picture of her in this likeness.  They did an amazing job.  They really thought about the placement of her features and sizes.  They were able to use light and shade to really make the portraits come alive.

In PE the children began to practise skills for sport’s day. They practised running races, collecting bean bags in a hoop, sack racing, egg and spoon and quoit throwing.  They had a great time and were all very competitive, I feel we have a great sport’s day ahead (Dates TBC shortly).

In computing the children were able to develop their coding skills using commands and loops.  They really enjoyed the session as the programme used had characters from Minecraft so really engaged the children.  Remember they are able to use the coding programme at home, they will feel like they are playing a game but actually they will be developing computing skills.

DON’T FORGET

Common exception words have been sent home and the final test for these will happen before the end of the summer term.

Online Safety Update

Age ratings can be used by adults to make an informed choice as to whether a game or platform is suitable for their child.

Below you will find our guide with tips on a number of potential risks including inappropriate content, peer pressure and online spending.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 6 and 0.6.  Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6 or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards.  It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it. Help them use bridging where appropriate to count on e.g. 4.8 + 0.2 = 5, then add the other 0.4 to get to 5.4.  This is bridging.

Spellings words containing the letter string ‘ough’ where the sound is /aw. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.  12 spellings this week not 15.

bought fought thought ought thoughtfully sought nought thoughtless brought wrought afterthought thoughtful

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a second sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Easter. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before summer.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to perimeter

Spellings words containing the letter string ‘ough’ where the sound is /aw

Year 5 - Friday 6th May 2022

Date: 6th May 2022 @ 1:13pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have concentrated on properties of shape.  The children have a much deeper understanding of angles within triangles and quadrilaterals. They can find missing angles when given limited information.  They are also able to work out perimeters of shapes that have been made by joining 2 different polygons together.

In English we have finished our book The Adventures of Adolphus Tips.  Again, the children were gripped until the end.  I always enjoy their reactions when final pieces of information are given and they cheer or gasp. They have spent this week finalising their extended written piece, including their exciting part or dilemma and their ending.  They have all worked really well on these and should be very proud.

In Science, this week the children were botanists.  They have been learning lot about asexual and sexual reproduction in plants and this week they were able to facilitate plant reproduction through vegetative propagation.  They took cuttings from two different plants and planted them in compost, they planted seeds and one child brought a runner from their spider plant in and we were able to re-pot that.  The plants and seeds are now all in our school greenhouse, along with some strawberry plants that we will be taking care off and hoping to see runners sprout from them.  Mrs Quilliam, our resident science expert, spoke to the class this week and questioned them on their plant knowledge and she was suitably impressed.

In RE the children continued to look at transformation.  We read and discussed the scripture of Paul on the road to Damascus and how this transformed his life.  We also looked into how he went on to transform the lives of others.

In Geography, this week we continued our topic on the UK.  We looked at old maps of Lancashire and how they were set out and then used DigiMaps online to look at maps from the 1800s, up to present day.  We observed the geographical differences in our local area over this time and were able to locate a number of places we recognised, including Chapel Lane and how it may have been given its name.  They then went on to look at OS symbols and their meanings and used coordinates to locate landmarks.

In PE the children continued to develop their cricket skills.  They split into groups of four and practised batting, bowling, fielding and being backstop.  Then two teams joined together to from four teams that played a tournament to apply these skills.

DON’T FORGET

Common exception words have been sent home and the final test for these will happen before the end of the summer term.

Online Safety Update

Lately, we have seen a huge increase in the number of children accessing the Roblox gaming platform. This includes children in our infant classes. This week's guide dives into what to expect your children to find when they use Roblox including any potential risks they may meet. These risks include in-app purchases and chatting to strangers online.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 0.4. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 0.4s, either forwards or backwards.  It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it. Help them use bridging where appropriate to count on e.g. 4.8 + 0.2 = 5, then add the other 0.2 to get to 5.2.

Spellings words spelled with ’ie’ after c. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

deceive conceive receive perceive receipt protein caffeine seize either neither weird seizure heinous being deceit

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a second sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Easter. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before summer.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to properties of shape

Spellings words spelt with ei and pronounced ee

Year 5 - Friday 29th April 2022

Date: 28th Apr 2022 @ 5:09pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have had a busy week, working hard and trying their best.

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have investigated properties of polygons, both regular and irregular.  We have looked at rules that make them polygons or irregular polygons including length of sides and size of angles.  We have looked at how to work out the size of missing angles when we are given some information.  It is vital that the children are aware of the names of different shapes and their properties.  Please encourage your children to name a range of shapes and their properties e.g. a square is a regular polygon that has 4 equal sides and 4 equal angles, the total of its angles will equal 360° or an irregular hexagon has 6 sides of different lengths and different size angles, the total of all the angles will equal 720°.

In English the children are working hard on an extended piece of work.  They are writing about what happens to Tips when she goes missing.  They have planned their story and have completed their opening and build up and edited them.  They will continue and complete the story next week.  There are some great stories emerging.

In Science, we looked at sexual and asexual reproduction in plants.  We recapped sexual reproduction of plants and how seeds are made. We then went on to look at the life cycle of that plant from germination, to shoot, to an adult plant that is able to reproduce and another seed is formed.  We looked at asexual plants such as daffodils and potatoes and how they reproduce by themselves.  We also dissected fruit and conducted a pattern seeking investigation with the hypothesis, ‘If the fruit is bigger, it will have more seeds.’  We were able to disprove this theory through our investigation.

In RE, we have continued our topic on transformation, around the feast of Pentecost.  The children discussed scripture where Jesus appeared to the disciples and how this made them feel.  We discussed how their energy was transformed by their faith in Jesus and how they went to spread the Good News in order to transform others’ energy also.

This week in French, we practised listening and reading skills. Then we recapped food words with a game of bingo and a song.

In PE, the children completed their train run warm up and then split into groups for cricket skills.  We started developing an overarm throwing technique and catching a small ball.  After this they went on to develop their aim and fielding by either throwing at a wicket or acting as backstop to retrieve the ball and return to the bowler.  They then practised, in rotation, in groups of 4, at bowling, batting, fielding and being backstop.  This then enabled them to join another group for a cricket match.  They showed some great promise, we have some great batters (real sloggers), some amazing throwing and catching and the makings of a great cricket team developing.

 In DT, the children have now completed their design stage of their cams and followers mechanism.  They have work hard on their designs and completed a list of the resources required.  They will have an afternoon in the coming weeks to use their knowledge gained from teaching sessions and making their prototype to make their working mechanisms.

In PSHE, the children looked at different types of drugs in society – socially acceptable drugs (that still have negative effects), prescription drugs, over the counter drugs and illegal drugs.  They were very sensible in the discussion work and were able to ask questions relating to information they had heard that wasn’t necessarily true.  We will continue with this topic this term, looking at healthy habits and how to avoid unhealthy life choices.

DON’T FORGET

Common exception words have been sent home and the final test for these will happen before the end of the summer term.

ONLINE SAFETY UPDATE

This week's Online Safety Update is all about age-appropriate content online. Children can chance upon inappropriate content in various ways, from pop up ads to TikTok or YouTube videos. In this guide you will find tips on a number of potential risks such as social media, gaming and adverts. See link.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of the curriculum.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I would also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week they can count up in 6s and 0.6s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6s or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards.  A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 45 and we are adding 6 we would use 5 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 1.  If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 5 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.

Spellings words spelled with ’ie’ after c. We will look at these in more detail in school next week. They should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

ancient science species efficient deficient glacier scientists sufficient emergencies inefficient fanciest  conscience society scientifically bounciest

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a second sheet with these words on by now. I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Easter. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before summer.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES. 

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to regular and irregular polygons

Spellings words with ie after c

Year 5 - Friday 22nd April

Date: 22nd Apr 2022 @ 3:43pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have settled back into the summer term and have been working hard this week.

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have been working on equivalent fractions, adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators and converting improper fractions into mixed numbers.  This is a difficult concept for some of the children and will require some practising at home.  We discussed the rules with equivalent fractions – we can only use divide and multiplication and whatever we do to the top we do to the bottom.  When adding and subtracting fractions the denominator needs to be the same and we only add the numerator NOT the denominator. 

In English we are getting towards the end of Adlophus Tips.  Things are now getting a little exciting.  We have been practising different openers this week for our writing.  We have planned an extended piece of writing today that we will develop, edit and complete next week.

In Science, we have started a new topic about living things and their habitat.  We started off looking at plants and how they reproduce.  We looked at botanical illustrations and discussed how these have help botanist understand plants and their reproduction and we were also able to dissect a number of flowers.  We looked inside the flowers and were able to find the male and female parts of the flower.  If you have any old tulips or daffodils that your children can dissect at home, you could ask your children to show you the different parts of the flower and how it reproduces.

In RE, we have started our new topic on transformation, around the feast of Pentecost.  The children first looked at energy and how this can be made and changed.  We then looked at scripture relating to Jesus appearing to the disciples and how this energy affected them.

In French, we started with a quiz. The children had to read some paragraphs in French, trying to get the gist rather than understanding every word, in order to answer some questions. It was tricky, but everything is first time!  Then we recapped some food vocabulary.

In PE, the children ran their orienteering course again, as a warm up and they were able to complete the course in a much better time, due to developing effective techniques.  They then went on to practise skills needed for cricket.  They practised over arm throwing at a target, they practised catching an over arm bowl and then they were able to practise batting, in teams of 4, with 1 being the bowler, 1 the batter, 1 the back stop and 1 the fielder.  They were able to shoe great promise. I hope to see some real skills emerging over the next few weeks.

 In Geography the children developed map reading skills.  They were asked to identify human and physical geographical features within the UK.  They used knowledge of counties and use of the index to find where these landmarks would be and plot a point on a map.  They were very good and worked well in groups to find many locations.

DON’T FORGET

Common exception words have been sent home and the final test for these will happen before the end of the summer term.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week they can count up in 6s and 0.6s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6s or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards.  A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 45 and we are adding 6 we would use 5 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 1.  If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 5 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.

Spellings words Adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words ending in –fer. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

referring preferred transferring reference referee preference transference difference inference conferring offering conference preferable different transferred

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a second sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Easter. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before summer.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to fractions and mixed numbers

Spellings words adding suffixes beginning with vowel letters to words ending in –fer

Year 5 - 1st April 2022

Date: 1st Apr 2022 @ 12:23pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The end of another great term, how time flies!

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have been working on fractions.  The children have been building up their skills on changing improper fractions into mixed numbers and vice versa.  This can prove very tricky at times but they have worked well.  They have also calculated equivalent fractions and finding the lowest possible term. 

In English we have continued with The Amazing Adventures of Adolphus Tips by Michael Murpurgo.  The children have written a persuasive letter using modal verbs and they have written another diary entry but this time from a different characters opinion.  They worked really hard on using various types of sentences and different types of starters.

In RE, we continued with the story of Easter.  The children read scripture about Jesus being condemned to death and the story of the Stations of the Cross.  They reflected on the sacrifice that Jesus made for them and how that made them feel and how this may help Christians live in the way Jesus taught us.

In French, we learnt Easter vocabulary and used this to make a card.  Joyeuses Paques!

In PE, the children took part in a timed orienteering challenge.  They had to follow a map and find 25 different locations around our school grounds.  They worked in pairs and all completed the course.  We will revisit this on their return and see if they can beat their score on a different 25 stations. 

In DT, the children learnt all about different types of cams and how they affect the followers in a mechanism.  They then made a prototype cam and follower mechanism and evaluated the resources they used and how effective they were.  This will then inform their design for their final product that will be made in the new term.

On Tuesday we had a visit from CAFOD where the children learned all about Catholic Social Teaching.  They were very good during the sessions.  They gave very carefully thought out answers and participated really well.  Eileen, who led the workshop, was very impressed with all the work the children put into the session.

The children attended church on Thursday and made little packages for the church community.  They decorated an envelope and then filled it with items for a cup of tea and a biscuit.  This will be passed onto the catechists who will distribute them to members of our Parish.  The children really enjoyed this and saw the good deed that they were doing and how this linked to teachings in RE.

The children have been working hard during the daily mile. We had our sponsored run for Barnardo’s and this has spurred us on to run further.  We have challenged ourselves to run to Madrid before the summer; this is over 900 miles.  So far this term we have run just over 550 miles, this takes just past Nantes in France.  We still have a way to go but I think with the same hard work and dedication they have shown we will make it to Madrid by the summer!

We had a great day on World Book day.  Please see the photo below of all our costumes.  Thank you for your support. 

Have a super Easter Holiday!

Year 5 - Friday 25th March 2022

Date: 24th Mar 2022 @ 5:19pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have worked hard this week shown great enthusiasm. 

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have focused on angles. The children started the week measuring angles using a protractor and drawing their own angles on the desk, they loved this act of rebellion! We then moved onto drawing angles in our books, concentrating on being precise. We then looked at angles on a staright line and learnt how to work out the measurement of an angle without using a protractor.  We finished the week with some reasoning questions relating to angles. A great week.

In English we started a new novel, The Amazing Adventures of Adolphus Tips by Michael Murpurgo.  We started by comparing the different Michael Murpurgo books that we have read and examining the similarities between them, the children were able to recognise quite a number. We then used this knowledge to predict where this book may take us.  Throughout the week we looked at main and subordinate clauses and relative clauses and used these to complete a diary entry in the character of Lily, describing the bombing at the village.

In Science, we investigated irreversible changes. We created our own volcano mixing vinegar and bicarbonate of soda and observed the irreversible change that occurred. Then using our knowledge from the past few weeks, the children had to classify changes into reversible and irreversible changes.

In RE, we read scripture relating to Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.  The children looked at religious artwork depicting the scripture and made links between the two. They then discussed the sacrifice that Jesus knew he was making and how that must have felt.

In French, we recapped how to conjugate an ER verb. This is quite tricky but once we got the hang of how to choose the right ending, we managed really well. Well done Y5.

In PE, we carried out the train run for a warm up and then we moved over to the forest area of the school. The children were given tarpaulins, ropes, pegs, mallets and given access to any wood and natural resources they could find, and asked to firstly build a den that their team could fit inside and then built a teepee for a toy figure.  They worked together so well and made some great structures (see Den Building gallery).

The children have also worked very hard on a certain secret piece that you will see this weekend! They studied light and shade and experimented with a range of media to create a their special piece of art for a very special person in their lives.

The children also completed their common exception word spelling test this week. They have been marked and you will have received a copy of their results in your children’s bags. The words highlighted are the ones they spelled correctly and they should continue to practise the other words including the ones they spelled correctly for the final test at the end of the summer term.

Home Practice relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week they can count up in 6s and 0.6s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6s or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards. A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 45 and we are adding 6 we would use 5 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 1. If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 5 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.

Spellings words with an ‘ant’ sound. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

abundant, brilliant, constant, distant, dominant, elegant, fragrant, ignorant, tolerant, vacant, important, relevant, extravagant, restaurant, defiant.

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child spelled correctly in the spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to angles.

Spellings words ending -ant.

Year 5 - Friday 18th March 2022

Date: 19th Mar 2022 @ 8:46am

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have continued working really hard on coordinates, translations and position of shape.  The children have worked really hard to remember to along the corridor and then up the stairs when using coordinates. They have all shown a great improvement in mathematical ability.

In English we have finished our book. The children have enjoyed this novel and have each produced a fantastic descriptive piece of work.

In Science, this week the children investigated reversible changes.  We carried out an experiment using chocolate using the processes of melting, freezing, evaporation and condensing.  They worked really hard and showed some great scientific skills.

In French, we learnt how to conjugate a regular ER verb in French this week. It's quite tricky but we will practise lots of times in y5 and y6. Bon effort, year 5!

 In Geography, we began our topic on the UK. We looked at the different countries that make up the UK, the counties and cities within the countries, and located a variety of human and physical features. The children have shown good mapping skills, locating different counties within the UK.

Obviously the highlight of the week has been our trip to Borwick Hall. The children had the most amazing day, they really pushed themselves and tried things they never dreamed they could!  The children did a range of activities during the day. These included indoor caving, an assault course, low ropes and zip lines, team building challenges, raft building and the leap of faith. They had their evening meal and then we all made our way down to the water and the children climbed on board the kayak rafts they had built and we paddled down the canal in the evening light. We then stopped to sit in silence for a while and listened to the nature and other sounds around us and observed the change in the light.  We could see the sun was setting and the surroundings were changing in the dusky light, we even saw a couple of bats flying overhead!  We then paddled back to the jetty, in the darkness and alighted the kayaks. It was just the most amazing end to a fantastic day!  Once I have collected all the images taken on the day, I will add a gallery so you can see your children undertaking some of the great activities during the day.

Home Practice

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential.  Remember the aim is for 20 pages a night. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left in the basket or on the desk in Mrs Mulgrew's room)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 0.4. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 0.4s, either forwards or backwards.  It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it. Help them use bridging where appropriate to count on e.g. 4.8 + 0.2 = 5, then add the other 0.2 to get to 5.2.

This week I would like the children to concentrate on their common exception words.  They were sent home around Christmas time.  They will be assessed on these on Monday.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Year 5 Friday 11th March 2022

Date: 11th Mar 2022 @ 12:38pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog.

This week in Year 5:

In Maths, we have been learning how to plot coordinates with simple shapes and how to translate them (move them around the coordinate grid). The children have been remembering to to move along the corridor (x axis) and up the stairs (y axis).

In English we have completed our novel, ‘Why the Wales Came’. The children really enjoyed this book with the main characters learning about trust and friendship. The children have written superb book reviews, which will be sent to Sir Michael Morpurgo.

In Science this week, we have celebrated National Science Week (with the theme being on Growth). We carried out a pattern seeking investigation to test the hypothesis that people with longer legs can jump further. We though we knew the answer already but we had to provide the evidence to prove it. Our scatter graph showed that there is indeed no link between leg length and how far you can jump.

In RE, we have discussed the forty days of Lent and made a Lenten calendar to help us prepare for Easter.

In French, we learnt that there are 3 words for the –le, la or les, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine or plural. We practised choosing the correct form and giving our opinion of different things. We also read some short texts in French and tried to understand them. We realised that you can work out what unknown words mean from the sense of the sentence.

In PE, the children had a very successful hockey session, focusing on how to work as a team when attacking and defending.

DO NOT FORGET

Borwick Hall trip next Friday. A kit list has been explained in detail on the newsletter.

All children need to provide a disposable bag for their packed lunch.

Please meet at school at 7:45am for prompt leave at 8:00am.

We return to school at 9:00pm.

Home Practice

This week’s tasks:

• Read every night for 15-20 minutes
  • Reading is the key to unlock all your learning potential
• Maths
  • Every child knows their tables target so please practise this daily
  • Counting – decimal numbers
    • Start from the number 4, 7, 9 and count up and down in 0.2s, 0.02s and 0.002s. Write them out, just like we do in class.
  • Sumdog
    • Spelling challenge
    • x6 and x12
    • Shapes, translations and angles

Year 5 - Friday 4th March 2022

Date: 3rd Mar 2022 @ 5:25pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

Is it really only week two; we have been so busy!

This week in year 5

In Maths this week we have completed lots of work on decimals. We have been multiplying and dividing decimals by 100 and 1000.  We have also looked at number families and what happens to them if one or two of the numbers in the family are decreased by 10 or 100, how does this affect the other numbers? Really tricky work but they were able to understand and work out a number of calculations.

In English we have made amazing progress in our book, Why the Whales Came, and plan to complete it next week.  We have completed a diary entry as Gracie and edited it. Then we have worked really hard on collecting words to help us write a descriptive piece about either the sudden arrival of the fog or the sighting and discovery of the fire beacon.  They will be publishing these and displaying them in class next week.

In Science, we carried out another investigation.  This time we practised our science skills through investigating reversible changes by separating materials.  They had rice, flour and salt.  We had different combinations to firstly mix together and then reverse the process.  They did this by means of sieving, filtering and evaporation – we will conclude the experiment next week when the water in our salt solution has evaporated.

In RE, the children have begun their Sacrifice topic.  This will take us throughout Lent and help us prepare for Easter.  The children have each made a Lenten Promise and these were offered at Friday’s Golden Assembly.  The children tried to think of something they could give up to show sacrifice or something they would commit to do more to help or affect others in a positive way.

In French, as it was Mardi Gras this week, we had a pancake-themed French lesson. We read a poem about Les Crepes, focussing on correct pronunciation of the sounds ou and oi. Then children practised using all parts of the verb 'aimer' with various pancake fillings. A final treat - we ate Crepes au chocolat!

In PE, we developed our athletics skills.  This consisted of practising the relay including the difficult baton change, speed bounce, standing long jump, vertical jump and the triple jump.  Mrs Cookson and I were extremely impressed with their developing skills. Some children were chosen to represent the school in an Athletics Final next week, however, next year I am certain there will be a huge cohort that will get the opportunity.

In PSHE we carried on our emergency situation sessions.  This week we learnt about what to do if we had a casualty with burns and scalds and also a casualty that was bleeding.  We also linked these to casualties developing shock.  Once again the children were really good and learnt some great skills for life.

Please see the separate gallery from our trip to Judge’s Lodgings.  What a great day out!  The children (and staff) had an amazing experience.  I have added all the photos in the gallery (check out the Victorian Mrs Mulgrew in the background in her fetching mop cap!)

DON’T FORGET

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

Please bring in a cardboard box for DT. (Many thanks to those who already have.)

All reply slips etc to be returned for Borwick Hall.

There is also an amendment to the Borwick trip, details can be found in the newsletter. The children must bring their own packed lunch on this day.

Common exception words will be being tested before the end of term.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week they can count in 10s and 100s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 10s or 100s, this week concentrating on subtractions.  To challenge them give numbers in the higher 1000s.

Spellings words with an ‘or’ sound spelt ‘au’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

pause, cause, sauce, fraud, launch, author, August, applaud, astronaut, restaurant, autograph, cautious, daughter, thesaurus, pauper

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to multiplication and division mentally using known facts.  If 40 divided by 5 = 8 then 400 divided by 5 = 80 and 4000 divided by 5 is 8000.

Spellings words containing ‘or’ spelt ‘au’.

Year 5 - Friday 25th February 2022

Date: 24th Feb 2022 @ 5:57pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 Class Blog

The children have settled back into the school week and worked hard this week.

This week in year 5

We have learnt a lot of maths this week.  We have recapped factors and factor pairs and investigated common factors of two numbers; this also helped us to recap work on prime numbers.  We used a lot of our divisibility facts to help us with this.  We have also managed to spend time working on the grid method.  We have completed 2 digits by 2 digits and even worked on 2 digits by 3 digits.  There are YouTube videos if you aren’t familiar with this method and want to help you child practise at home.  The children also enjoyed 'Twosday' this week and had fun looking at the extraordinary date.

In English we started a new novel, Why the Whales Came by Michael Murpurgo.  We have used reading skills to find characteristics of the Birdman so that we could draw and describe him, we have completed reading comprehensions and used evidence from the text.  We have been given extracts of the book without punctuation and tried to correct it whilst our partner reads the book aloud emphasising the pauses and breaks. Finally, we have written a diary entry as Gracie from the story.

In Science, we investigated substances, whether they were soluble or insoluble.  They carried out a series of experiments and recorded their results.  They wrote fantastic conclusions relating to their findings.

In RE, we have finished our Mission topic.  The children have looked in detail at the work of the diocese, the family, the school community and their own role in helping to share the mission of Jesus.  They finished by writing a prayer for Christian Unity. They have been very respectful and thoughtful.

In French, we looked at the Carnaval de Nice which takes place every year at this time. The theme this year is Animaux. We admired the massive floats and the amazing costumes. Quelle spectacle! We researched some facts about it - we said we'd love to visit one day!

In PE, children worked on their relay skills.  They had to think about how to hold out their hand when receiving the baton, how to place it in their partners hand when passing the baton and where they needed to be looking at all the different stages.  The improvement in just one session was amazing; their speeds increased on each practise.  They then worked on attacking strategies within the game of Handball. Everyone developed considerably during the games and showed their teamwork skills and competitiveness. 

The children have started a new DT project where they will be learning about, planning and making a moving animal in its habitat, using cams and followers. They researched a number of vulnerable or endangered animals, looking at their appearance, habitat and movement.  Then we went on to look at a cam and follower mechanism and how it works.  They really listened carefully and were able to explain how the components work together using rotary and linear motion.  I have asked if they can all try and bring in a box to make their model with. Any box around a shoe box, cereal box or large than a cube tissue box will suffice.

In computing we discussed positive and fun interactions online.  We discussed how we interact with others online when gaming and how this can be kept safe, fun and positive.  We designed our own interactive computer game and had to explain how people could interact in a positive and safe way.

In PSHE we carried on our emergency situation sessions.  This week we learnt about what to do if we found someone choking.  The children practised 5 back slaps in slow motion on one another and felt on their own bodies where they would give 5 tummy thrusts to someone who was choking.

DON’T FORGET

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

Please bring in a cardboard box for DT.

All reply slips etc to be returned for both Judges Lodgings and Borwick Hall.

Packed lunch required for Judges Lodgings next week.

There is also an amendment to the Borwick trip, details can be found in the newsletter. The children must bring their own packed lunch on this day.

Common exception words will be being tested before the end of term.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week they can count up in 6s and 0.6s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 6s or 0.6s, either forwards or backwards.  A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 45 and we are adding 6 we would use 5 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 1.  If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 5 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.

Spellings words with an ‘or’ sound. We will look at these in more detail in school next week. They should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

forty, scorch, absorbent, decorate, afford, enormous, category, tornado, accordingly, opportunity, abnormal, before, forgotten, performance, vigorous

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn; these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now. I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. We will be assessing the children on these words before Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to factors and prime numbers.

Spellings words containing ‘or’.

Year 5 - 10th February 2022

Date: 9th Feb 2022 @ 4:58pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

Half term already! The children have completed lots of hard work and their concentration has improved so much.  They are maturing and devloping skills for their next step of getting ready for year 6.

This week in year 5:

In Maths we have been looking at rules of divisibility.  We have been learning rules so we can decide if a number is divisible by 20, 3, 4, 6, or 9.  The children have loved learning the rules and trying them out with 7 digit numbers.  They have also had another look at prime numbers up to 100 and are aiming to be able to remember all the prime numbers up to 19.

In English we finished the novel Street Child.  The children have been so keen to read on and find out the plight of poor Jim Jarvis.  We are now aware of Dr Barnardo and the work that his charity continues to do today.  The children completed the week by writing a review of the novel, and I have been very impressed with their finished products.

In Science, we continued our work of using thermometers and recording results.  We have managed to plot the results on a line graph and interpret these results, a really tricky skill.

In RE, the children had their celebration mass on Monday.  The children really impressed Father Michael and the catechists with their reverence.  The children that put themselves forward to be readers and offertory servers did a great job and were very brave to do something that we haven’t been able to do for a long time.  Thank you to all the family members that came to support the children.

In PE, we practised athletics skills to get them ready for competitions that we will be invited to in the coming terms.  They also got the opportunity to practise their orienteering skills and completed time challenges around the playground.  These times will be sent off to a competition that has been set locally.

The children have taken part in a number of activities for Children’s Mental Health week.  We looked at our feelings and emotions and how, as we get older we can manage them a little better and find ways of helping us cope with things that arise.  The children were able to think back about things that used to worry them, but now seem funny.

The children also completed their sponsored run for Barnardo's.  They managed an impressive 233 and a half miles!  After half term I will be setting them the challenge to vitually run to Madrid Spain and we will track our progress on a map.

DON’T FORGET

Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

Reply slips and payment for Judges Lodgings. 

Medical forms etc. for Extended Activity Day at Borwick Hall.

Home practice is not being officially set, however, the children will all know their times tables targets, they know things that they struggle with and need to practise and they all have the common exception words that will be being assessed again at Easter.  With the children having a week off, we will be hoping that they will all be bringing their reading books back after half term, ready to swap for a new book.

Don’t forget the daily count.  Choose a number and ask the children to count backwards and forwards from that number in any multiple you choose.  Remember the children are capable of counting in tenths (0.1), hundredths (0.01) and thousandths (0.001).

Sumdog challenges

During half term, if your children are bored, why not get them to take the time to complete the Maths and Spelling training on Sumdog.  Once the diagnostic questions are completed, the programme will then generate questions at their individual ability and help them progress and achieve.

The children have had an impressive half term and have lots of achievements to show for it.

Year 5 Friday 4th February 2022

Date: 4th Feb 2022 @ 4:26pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

Year 5 have had a great week, concentrating and practising being a good learner.

This week in year 5

In Maths, we are back on number and place value.  We have learnt many different addition and subtraction strategies.  We have practised them as arithmetic number questions but also as word problems and reasoning.  The children have been focusing on speed and stamina in their arithmetic quizzes and have managed to double the amount of questions they can get through in the past couple of weeks, with increased scores.  This is a real achievement and a credit to them improving their concentration skills.  I am really pleased with their progress. Ask them about their improvements in arithmetic as they are very proud of themselves.

In English we have finished our missing chapter.  The children have worked really hard on their work and editing it.  They were able to think about the different skills we have been practising and put them into their written pieces.  We are almost at the end of Street Child, the children have really enjoyed the novel and remained keen to read it throughout.

In Science, we learnt when and how to draw a line graph to present our results, then practised reading the scale on a thermometer with different temperatures of water. We then drew a line graph of how the temperature of the water changed over time. Great science skills, year 5!

In RE, we have focused on the work of the Bishop’s within the diocese, or in our case the Archbishop within the Archdiocese.  We have learnt what Archbishop Malcolm does and how this is all part of Jesus’ mission.  We also continued to look at our role in helping this mission.

In French, we redrafted our final piece of writing about the planets onto a triorama (the children will explain!) and illustrated it. There are some amazing pieces of French writing and the children are super proud of their work! They are on display in the corridor for all to see.

In PE, half of the class started with hockey skills and played a match to see if they could apply them.  The other half of the class had an orienteering experience.  They learnt about points of the compass and followed compass directions to find different areas in the yard.  A difficult task but they navigated it well.

 In History, this week the children became historical detectives.  We had a range of replica artefacts, loaned from the Lancashire Museums.  The children spent the afternoon, examining the pieces, sometimes trying them on and reading about their uses in Victorian times.  The children were amazed at the differences between clothing, equipment and expectations from the Victorian times to present day.  (Please see the Victorian Artefacts Gallery on the class page)  After the detective work they produced a written piece explaining what artefacts can tell us about the time period.

In PSHE, the children are learning about how to react to medical emergencies.  This week we learnt about what to do if we are the first to a medical situation.  The children learnt about checking the scene for any potential dangers to themselves, what to expect when they call 999 and what information they would need to provide to the operator.  They also learnt about casualty care – keeping them calm and warm and not leaving them until the emergency services arrived.  They were very sensible and listened carefully.

In Golden Assembly this week the children played the glockenspiels along to a jazz song.  They were flawless; the staff and children were amazed!

 The children were also presented with a little gift, from the school to celebrate their Holy Communion this weekend and to thank the children not taking part for their encouragement throughout the process.

DON’T FORGET

Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

First Holy Communions on Saturday.  See separate letter from Father Michael regarding your time (10.30 or 12.30).  Please try and arrive a little earlier so we can start promptly.  I will take some group photos and post a gallery next week.

Celebration Mass for all Year 5 children and parents on Monday at 2.15pm.  If you can’t make it but grandparents etc. want to come instead, this is fine.  Some of the children have opted to read during the mass, it should be a lovely service and allow them to celebrate their Sacramental journey as a whole class.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 0.002s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 0.002s, either forwards or backwards.  It often helps the children if they note down the numbers as they say them, it helps them work out the next number more easily when they can see it.

Spellings words containing silent letters. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

knowledge, knuckle, wriggle, wrongly, knife, whistle, listened, autumn, gnome, whether, honesty, ghostly, fasten, rewrite, hourly

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. Don’t worry if they don’t know many, they can practise them this term and will be assessed again near Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to a range of addition and subtraction problems.  They will need to take their time with these and write some of the calculations down.  These are not speed activities but a chance for them to practise the strategies we have been using this week.

Spellings words containing silent letters.

Year 5 Friday 28th January 2022

Date: 27th Jan 2022 @ 4:40pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The Year 5 class have been working really hard this week to settle in quickly and moving around school in a calmer manner. They have done so well, they have had comments from numerous teachers on how well behaved they have been.  Keep it up Year 5!

This week in year 5

In Maths we finished looking at digital clocks and converting between analogue and digital, then concentrated on the value of numbers and decimals places.  We first looked at the value of numbers up to 3 decimal places; that the 4 in 35.746 has the value of 4 hundredths, the 5 has the value of 5 ones, the 6 has the value of 6 thousandths etc.  They were very good that this.  We moved onto comparing numbers with similar digits, to 3 decimal places e.g. 12.401 and 12.104 and placing them in order.  We finished the week by rounding decimals to the nearest whole number.  We managed to achieve this to 2 decimal places. Some children also worked on reasoning problems to push them further.

In English we have focused on different types of sentences, to help up with an extended writing piece.  We have been practising expanded noun phrases, prepositional phrases and adverbial phrases.  The children have used these to plan, write and edit a missing chapter of Street Child, which tells us what happens to Jim’s sisters.  Incidentally, there is a second book in the Street Child series that tells the sisters story. Many children were keen to read this so I here is the information, should you wish to purchase it -  Berlie Doherty Far From Home.  The Sisters of the Street Child.  There are second-hand copies online for less than £2.

In Science, the children had a busy lesson, undertaking a comparative test.  We went to the outdoor classroom to investigate carrier bags.  We had a letter from Booths asking us to investigate the best sort of carrier bags.  They wanted a bag that could hold 5kg, didn’t dig into the hand and that was environmentally friendly.  The children carried out investigations using bags, weights, hooks and clay to find these things out.  Finally they made a conclusion and wrote this up, using their findings.  Excellent work! (Photo Gallery on class page)

In RE, the children continued their topic on Mission. We looked at Jesus’ mission and how that is carried on today in many ways. We compared different parts of the scripture and how they are relevant to us today.

In French, we have started to write our own descriptions of the planets in French. The children have done really well so far. Next week, we'll finish and illustrate our work. Wait until you see it - you'll be impressed at how well they've done!

In PE, the children were again split into 2 groups’ one playing hockey and one practising gymnastic techniques.  The children continued to improve their hockey techniques, passing, stopping, dribbling and shooting.  In gymnastics we looked at counter balancing.  The children tried different techniques to counter balance their partner and then made up a routine where they moved into a counter balanced position and out of it again. They really work hard in these sessions and take it very seriously.  Their finished routines are always of a great quality.

In Art the children finished their final piece.  Wow! They have done an amazing job! The children sketched out their cityscape and then used watercolours to add colour.  They were able to use more or less water to create texture and shade to their work.  Many of the children experimented with water washes in the background, where they didn’t want a lot of colour but didn’t want to leave them blank. Again, WOW! (Photos of the children working in gallery - I will post the artwork, once it is displayed)

In computing we continued with our nesting loops topic in coding.  This is a really tricky undertaking and needs resilience.  The children worked really hard on working out the algorithm to make different shapes on the screen in a repeating circle.

DON’T FORGET

Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

I told the children they could keep their Holy Communion folders at home but we are going to use them in the offertory in our class mass. So please could you send them back into class.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 7s and 0.7s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 7s or 0.7s, either forwards or backwards.  A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 46 and we are adding 7 we would use 4 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 3.  If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 6 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 1.

Spellings words ending ‘ably’ and ‘ibly’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

horribly, incredibly, possibly, forcibly, impossibly, responsibly, visibly, arguably, comfortably, considerably, miserably, probably, remarkably, dependably, believably

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. Don’t worry if they don’t know many, they can practise them this term and will be assessed again near Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to number.

Spellings words containing ‘ably’ and ‘ibly’.

The children have produced some outstanding work this week, I have been so impressed.

Year 5 - Friday 20th January 2022

Date: 21st Jan 2022 @ 1:14pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

This week in year 5

In Maths we been studying area. The children really impressed me with their grasp of the area of a rectangle but also estimating the area of an irregular shape. We also have been practising telling the time. This is a really tricky concept, they have done really well and many seem to understand it.  However, it is a skill that needs to be practised over and over.  If you type ‘topmarks clock’ into google you can access an interactive clock that you can set to various times and help your child tell the time. If you concentrate on analogue clock first this practise will really help your child.

In English poor Jim Jarvis has had a bad time in the workhouse but managed to escape. The children wrote a persuasive piece of writing, trying to persuade Jim to either stay at the workhouse or run away. They did a really good job. We also did a lot of work on mapping feelings and thinking about the level of feeling someone is having and words that are appropriate e.g. Is the character really terrified at the moment or is he just anxious? Finally we have started to plan a missing chapter of the book and we will concentrate on this extended piece next week.

In Science, the children had a great lesson with Mrs Quillam. She took them on a material hunt around the school, investigating the different materials objects were made from. She was extremely impressed with the level of work produced in a paragraph to explain their findings. This writing was really excellent, using lots of great science vocabulary. Well done - super scientists!

In RE, the children attended their final church session. This week we concentrated on the importance of the bread and wine and how it helps us remember the last supper.  The children have been so respectful when visiting the church and have often asked insightful questions. I look forward to seeing everyone at the class mass on Sunday and the Communion practise session on Monday evening. You will learn more about what to expect on their Communion day and ask Father any questions you may have.  We have also celebrated Wold Religion Day this week. The children learnt all about Hinduism, listened to the story of Rama and Sita, taking notes and made Rangoli patterns.

In French, the children read and understood some sentences in French about the planets. They will use these next week to help write their own sentences in French. 

In PE, the children practised their hockey skills.  They started in small groups of 8 - 4 attacking and 4 defending. They had to control the ball, pass to their partner, and try and aim effectively. They swapped over so they all had a chance to attack, score goals and defend. Then they made a team of 8 players and played matches against one another. They are concentrating on improving their technique. I am also proud that everyone can control the hockey sticks properly during the drills and games.

In history this week, we looked at the lives of children in the Victorian era. The children looked at photos of poor children and of Queen Victoria’s children and made decisions about the era based on them.  We had some ideas that all children were poor, but realised that some were also wealthy. We then concentrated on the poor children and their lives.  We looked at other sources, such as newspaper cuttings, interviews with mining children and more photographs.  They made enquiries into these, then learnt some facts that help back up their enquiries. Finally they wrote paragraphs about the sources they used and what historical claims it can help us make about the era. Again, I was impressed with their level of ability.

In computing we had a coding lesson. The children had a go at developing code to create a shape and then further developing the code to repeat the shapes at different locations on the screen. Remember if the children want to revisit any of the code lessons, they can access this at home with their passwords (please remind them not to go further than we have in class).

We have also ‘Planted a tree for the Jubilee.’ The children have helped to plant a row of hedges in the school grounds that we hope will be a legacy in years to come.

DON’T FORGET

Class Mass 10.30am on Sunday

Communion Practice on Monday evening at 6.30pm.

Topmarks clock online to practise telling the time.

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

Please can the children bring in a carrier bag for science next week.  We are looking for a range of types of bag e.g. bag for life, thin chip shop bag, bakery bag, paper bag etc.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 8s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 8s, either forwards or backwards.  A strategy we use is bridging e.g. if the number is 46 and we are adding 10 we would use 4 to bridge it to the next 10 first – 50 and then add the remaining 4.  If subtracting we would again subtract to the nearest 10 – this time subtracting 6 to get to 40 and then subtracting the leftover 2.

Spellings words containing ‘ent’ and ‘ence’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

accident, announcement, centre, confident, different, equipment, independent, conscience, difference, excellence, intelligence, science, violence, silence, magnificence

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. Don’t worry if they don’t know many, they can practise them this term and will be assessed again near Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to area and time

Spellings words containing ‘ent’ and ‘ence’.

The children have worked hard this week and produced some great quality work.

Year 5 - 14th January 2022

Date: 13th Jan 2022 @ 5:17pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have had a busy week working hard.

This week in year 5

In Maths we have learnt some new strategies to use when multiplying – the compensation strategy and grid method.  The children enjoyed both and have been using them in their work.  We have also done lots of mental arithmetic this week, deciding whether to work it out in our head, use jottings or a written method.  We have also practised multiplication and division reasoning problems.  These were really tricky and needed lots of concentration. The children have worked really hard.

In English we have continued to read the plight of Jim Jarvis in Street Child; poor Jim has ended up in the workhouse.  The children have written notes (in character), they have written descriptive pieces of Jim’s time in the workhouse and they had to write a persuasive piece, whether Jim should run away from the workhouse or not.

In Science, the children looked at the different sorts of enquiry that we use in Science and came up with potential questions that related to each enquiry.  This was particularly tricky but the children listened well and thought about each enquiry carefully.

In RE, the children attended church and learnt all about the preparations that have to be made for Mass by both the priest and community members that help him.  The children were able to ask questions to Father Michael and Catechists and find out more about being a member of the Parish.

In French, we started a topic on Les planetes. Over the next couple of weeks, the children will build up their space vocabulary in French and learn to construct sentences about the planets. We will finish with a piece of writing about the planets and it will be amazing! Good start, year 5!

In PE, we split into 2 groups. One for learning how to hold the hockey stick safely and then learnt passing and stopping the ball. The other group were inside learning gymnastics.  The children were fantastic.  We were using mirroring and matching poses. They had to pair up and show poses that were first mirroring one another, then matching.  They then paired with another pair and had to teach their pose to one another.  These were then turned into a routine with moves in between the poses.  I really was impressed with their teamwork and skills.

In Art, the children practised sketching cityscapes, using YouTube videos.  They were able to carefully follow the lead of the artist on the screen.  Then they looked back at their inspiration art, from Jo Quigley, and sketched out a plan for their final piece.  They have all focused well and have great ideas to create a cityscape of London. I look forward to sharing their final pieces in a couple of weeks.

In PSHE we focused on money matters.  We looked at the cost of various items a child needs throughout their life and the cost of this.  We discussed budgets and why sometimes grown-ups have to be careful with their money.  We discussed things that are essential that need to be budgeted for first and things that we would like that maybe we have to save up for.

DON’T FORGET

Sacramental folders need returning for church on Monday.

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions.

On Tuesday the children will be using the outside area and helping to plant saplings that will grow into a hedge.  Please send in wellies, in a named plastic bag, to save their school shoes getting muddy.  If you don’t have wellies, please send old pumps or trainers that you don’t mind getting muddy.  Please send in a bag so the muddy wellies can be put in a bag and not on the carpet in class.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school.  Practise is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 9s, 0.9 or 0.09. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 9s, 0.9 or 0.09 either forwards or backwards.  A strategy we use is adding 10 and then taking 1 away if counting up, or subtracting 10 and then adding 1 if subtracting.

Spellings words ending ‘ance’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

acceptance, appearance, assistance, balance, distance, ignorance, importance, performance, substance, vengeance, endurance, disappearance, circumstance, extravagance, attendance

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.  You should all have received a sheet with these words on by now, I have highlighted the words that your child wrote correct in a spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering these spellings. Don’t worry if they don’t know many, they can practise them this term and will be assessed again near Easter.

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to multiplication and division strategies. 

Spellings words ending ‘ance’.

The children have had a great week, working hard.

Year 5 Friday 7th January 2022

Date: 6th Jan 2022 @ 5:04pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

Happy New Year to all my Year 5 families. I hope you all had a great break and are ready to go in 2022!

This week in year 5

In Maths we have worked on equivalent fractions.  We have been converting fractions into equivalent fractions with both a higher and lower denominator and looking at finding the lowest term. This is a really tricky skill but the children will need to remember the rules with equivalent fractions – we can only use times and divide when making equivalent fractions and that whatever we do to the top we have to do to the bottom.  This week everyone has worked really hard to grasp the concept.

In English we have started reading Street Child. This book is about a child during the Victorian era who ends up becoming a runaway. The story describes his life on the streets at a difficult time. So far the children have made some predictions, discussed the thoughts and feelings of characters through freeze frame drama and showed scenes from the book and discussed each character.

In RE, the children started their Mission topic.  We have explored what it means to have a mission in life and how different people are called to their mission.  Next week we will be concentrating on our Holy Communion.  Please ensure that all sacramental programme folders are back in school for the church visit on Monday. You had a booklet to complete over the Christmas period that should also be returned.

In French, we learnt about how French people celebrate La fete des Rois - the Feast of the Epiphany. A special cake which contains a lucky charm is shared. Whoever gets the lucky charm in their slice becomes the King or Queen for the day. We then focussed on the phonic sound oi (wa) as in roi, listening to a song with lots of oi words and reading them. Tres bien! Bonne annee!

In PE, the children completed the train run warm up, we have some super runners in Year 5 and they all really trying their hardest.  Due to the cold weather we had to stay inside and had a spirited game of dodgeball and benchball.  Next week even if the weather is cold we will still be doing PE outside, so please send in plain, dark leggings or jogging pants so they can keep warm.  We are also suggesting thin gloves and hats if the children want to wear them. That way we will be able to split the class again and learn 2 different areas of PE each week.

We are studying history again this half term and our topic is the Victorian era. This fits alongside our English novel and will help with their understanding of the story.  We have had an introduction lesson where we looked at the industrial changes that happened and how this prompted migration from the countryside to the cities and the negative consequences this had on people. We discussed the lack of housing, jobs and food and the spread of infection, illness and disease.

In Art, the children returned their focus to the artist Jo Quigley and looked in more detail at the features of her work.  They have written a plan and chosen a specific piece of art for their inspiration and will sketch a rough plan ready for their final piece over the coming weeks.

In Science, the children had a wonderful lesson with Mrs Quillam.  They investigated words that can be used to decribe different materials that they may be working with scientifically. They then went on to write questions that would lead to a fair test and went back through their science books and discussed questions that could have been used for enquiries in their previous topics. Mrs Quilliam was very impressed with their enthusiasm and their ideas. I'm sure this will help the children with their experiments and enquiries in our next topic Properties and Changes of Materials.

DON’T FORGET (see above for further details)

Sacramental folders need returning for church on Monday.

Additional warm clothes for PE sessions required from next week.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a reading journal/diary that must be completed and signed. Some children had a break from reading over the holidays but please ensure this is made a priority now that we are back at school. Practice is vital to improve in all areas of English.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 4s, 0.4 and 0.04. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 4s, 0.4 or 0.04 e.g. 3.2, 3.6, 4 or 1.13, 1.17, 1.21 etc.  This will help the children learn and remember strategies to help them in maths. 

Spellings words containing ‘ant’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

Don’t forget the children have a big list of common exception words to learn. These can be practised each week to push your child further.  You will receive a sheet with these words on over the next few days, I have highlighted the words that your child spelled correctly in the spelling test before Christmas. This will give you an indication of how well they are remembering their spellings. Continue to practice these and will be assessed again near Easter.

antique, assistant, disadvantage, elephant, fantastic, gigantic, radiant, reluctant, want, advantage, ignorant, anticipate, defiant, important, distant

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training. As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to fractions. 

Spellings words containing ‘ant’.

The children have worked hard this week and settled in well.

Online Safety Update

Date: 5th Jan 2022 @ 11:44am

Filters

Filters are amazing and can set healthy, age-appropriate boundaries for free on any device connected to the home WiFi. These can be set through a phone call to any internet provider and updated as children grow. Updates are incredibly important to gradually increase exposure and allow young people to build resilience as they mature. 

Make sure that you are aware that any devices with their own data sets, like phones, will need their filters set separately. And remember that you can set passwords to override the filter system so you don't miss out on any of the film releases that would be less suitable for your 10-year-old.

Safe search engines

For under 10s, setting the homepage to a safe search engine is an excellent way to overcome mishaps. We have all had a seemingly innocent image search go awry, and by using child-friendly sites like Smiggle, YouTube Kids and KidRex, we can reduce that risk substantially. Some large web search providers do have safe search options but, be aware, these are very easy to switch off.

As for older children (year 6), it's all about reinforcing the importance of responsibility. Leaning over a child's shoulder at all times or attempting to monitor their screens using apps is less likely to create a healthy relationship and more likely to teach them how to creatively sneak past you. 

Algorithms

Have you ever bought a pair of jeans and then been bombarded with ads for jeans for the next three months? That's an algorithm. They collect information and send us materials that will make us tick. While this may be great for our wardrobe, it can create problems regarding echo chambers and fake news.

Reinforce the importance of learning about the world from mainstream media channels rather than stories from social media or news suggestions from their phones. This can build a more balanced knowledge of the world within the home and help you recognise when you or your children are straying into conspiracy theories and bias debates, and instead form healthy informational environments.

Social media

Social media is often the centre of a young person's world and while many parents may have a Facebook account, they may be less au fait with the newer, young models.

For younger children, play around on social media sites alongside your child, learn together how to block and apply appropriate privacy settings to form a positive online space.

For older children, reinforce the message of accountability. What happens on the internet can be difficult to erase. Many young people have no interest in "friending" their parents, and respect of space can build trust, but if you have any concerns, ensure that the parents feel they can have an open a supportive dialogue to air out any worries. 

National Online Safety Training Hub

Continue to access all information on the National Online Safety website. You will get access to all videos and guides by clicking the link below and joining free to our school online safety hub.

http://nationalonlinesafety.com/enrol/st-oswald-s-catholic-primary-school-pr45eb

We have set up a watchlist which includes some videos and training we think you will find beneficial.

Year 5 Christmas Blog

Date: 17th Dec 2021 @ 11:57am

What an amazing term Year 5 have had!

I have been blown away by the amazing work produced this term bit also with the enthusiasm the children have shown.

This week the children have enjoyed learning in a fun way.

We have carried on with fractions earlier in the week and then completed some fun maths mysteries later in the week. The children love completing them even though they have to complete a number of difficult challenges to solve the mystery.

We have finished our Christmas Carol topic in English, the children showed great skills whilst reading this book and were able to understand some really tricky words and link certain themes within the book. I was impressed with their comprehension of the book, let's hope they remember it when they move onto high school and study it again!

We have had an arty week, the children have used layered printing, over a number of sessions, to produce some lovely Christmas cards and also used sketching and printing to make seasonal calendars.

The children have done some fabulous research of the planets in science. They were really engaged and couldn't stop informing me of all the different facts they were finding out.

The children completed an outbreak challenge in computing where they have to try and stop a terrible outbreak with the use of face masks, vaccinations etc. They used various coding skills to complete the challenge. They then discussed how real scientists may use these types of skills to help with things like the pandemic. Some children were very keen to work in this field in the future.

We have continued to think about the preparations we are making for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. The children are trying to make a difference to others each day, with kind acts and kind words.

The children had a very spirited dodgeball competition this week. They were so enthusiastic and showed great promise for the dodgeball team next year.

The children have had a lot of festive fun as well this week including the Santa Dash, Carolling in the yard for the parents (thank you so much for such an amazing turnout) and attending the Christmas shop. We have also completed a number of Christmas activities on our last morning such as poetry writing, Santa beetle drive, Christmas cartoon strips and the fantastic Pirate maths game - they would have played it all morning!

Thank you so much for all your support this term.

No challenges have been set for the break but Sumdog will have the tailored challenges available for the children to access at any time. Also feel free to practise any times tables, number facts or mixed fraction to improper fraction games ( 3 ½  = 7/2 seven halves).

We would like to wish you all a very Happy and Holy Christmas, I hope you all get a good rest and have some peaceful times. I look forward to seeing you all back in January and send you all the best wishes for the New Year.

Tiny Tim said it best, "God bless us, everyone."

Year 5 - Friday 10th December 2021

Date: 10th Dec 2021 @ 8:42am

 Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have had another busy week, working hard and learning new skills and knowledge.

This week in year 5

In Maths we have introduced mixed numbers and improper fractions and the children have completed 2 papers to show off everything they have learnt this term.  I am very pleased with their focus and hard work with some tricky questions.

In English we have started reading A Christmas Carol.  The children have been thinking about the words used and what they mean, many are not used very much today.  They have written comparative descriptions of characters, used evidence from the text to draw conclusions about the story and they are really keen to find out what happens next.  We are hoping to find a suitable version of the film to watch next week to compare to the book.

In RE, the children continued to discuss the preparations we make in the wait for the coming of Jesus at Christmastime and the hope this brings to people.  We have created an advent calendar of kind deeds we can carry out for the remainder of Advent.

In French, the children read a story about how some aliens saved Christmas after Pere Noel's sleigh broke.  They lent him their space ship to deliver presents so all was well! They then started to write their own version of the story in French - hopefully they will finish them next week and the children will be super proud of their stories! Joyeux Noel et  bonne annee tout le monde!

In PE, the children did both activities this week.  Due to the colder weather we have spilt the time so they are not outside and feeling the cold for too long.  The tag rugby session was very competitive and the children showed off the skills they have learnt this term.  In the hall, we really focused on moving in time with one another.  We started by moving across the hall in small groups, first walking in time together and developing into running, jumping and hopping.  They discussed items we would put in a time capsule and created an 8 count dance for the item.  Next week they will teach the class their small group dances and we will create an ensemble piece.

In Geography the children loved researching different areas of North America.  They looked at where on the map the place was located, where this was in relation to lines of latitude and how this may affect the climate.  They then each made a fact file for their choice, many children asked to take pictures and titles home so they could make more.  They used National Geographic Kids for research.

In Art, the children planned and practised their Christmas cards.  We got very messy!  They used a range of printing resources to see which effect they preferred and made decisions for their cards.  Next week you will see their final pieces, they will be creating layered printing over a number of days to create their cards.

The children completing their Holy Communion next year, have been sent home with their folders and a workbook.  This is to be completed over the Christmas break and returned to school in the first week back.  We will begin our sessions in church in the second week to prepare for the sacrament.

It was lovely to see the children in their festive wear on Friday, we had a jolly day with Christmas Carols, festive lunchtime and Christmas post alongside our regular lessons.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.

Maths – please ask your child what their times tables target is and help them practise this in order for them to progress.

I’d also encourage you to do a daily count with your child.  This week we are counting up in 9s. Give the children a number to start from and they must continue to count from that number in 9s e.g. 37, 46, 55.  This will help the children learn and remember strategies to help them in maths.  For 9s we add 10 and then take 1 away to help us count on faster.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

 Spellings words ending ‘cial’ and ‘tial’. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday.  After a vowel ‘cial’ is most common (special) and after a consonant ‘tial’ (confidential).

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.

Some children have been told to complete a different number of spellings, please check with your child.

official, special, social, artificial, facial, commercial, crucial, confidential, potential, initial, essential, partial, attached, available, average

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Please encourage your child to complete the Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.  Many children have still not completed the diagnostic section.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to fractions. 

Spellings words ending ‘cial’ and ‘tial’.

Only one more week to go and the children are still working hard.

Friday 3rd December 2021 - Year 5

Date: 3rd Dec 2021 @ 1:01pm

 Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

What a busy week it has been and the children have been fantastic!

This week in year 5

We started the week with our Reconciliation day.  The children were so well behaved, enthusiastic and respectful all day.  They appeared to have an enjoyable day and all felt happy at the end of the sacrament.  I have posted a separate blog with photos in the gallery.

On Tuesday we had our trip to the Vehicle Museum, what a day!  The children had an absolute action packed day, we stayed an extra 30 minutes, we were having so much fun!  They children impressed Rob, our guide for the day, with their knowledge on forces, friction and resistance. They had to order the vehicles on age and again on horse power and then looked at links.  Later in the morning the children made rubber band powered cars and were challenged to make their car travel the furthest.  This was lots of fun.  After lunch, the children had 4 activities, these were designing their own truck, finding badges on the vehicles and completing the sketches, designing their own logo to hand paint on a vehicle and finally free time in the museum to use the interactive truck, change tyres, get into some of the vehicles and look at the amazing vehicles on display.  It really was a great day!

In Maths we have continued our focus on division.  This week we have used the chunking method.  The week started off with some challenging questions but they have used their strategies well to help them solve these.  We finished the week being able to solve 3 digit division problems with remainders. I have been impressed with their resilience in a tricky topic.

In English we finally finished Room 13, what an exciting story!  The children have been so engaged with ideas and links throughout the book.  This week the children have spent time writing an alternative ending to the book and editing it.  They have focussed on adding fronted adverbials, powerful verbs and including descriptions relating to senses to create suspense.  They have done a marvellous job.

In RE the children have been looking at how the coming of Jesus at Christmas can provide hope to a lot of people that are unhappy.  We discussed and wrote about how we could be like Jesus and bring hope to others will small deeds.

The children also did some work on money in PHSE.  We looked at and discussed the right and wrong thing to do when we find money and then they had to shop for 2 people for 3 days on a budget.  They were very careful with their money, shopped for essentials only and had £5 left over.  We discussed how asking for treats is not always the best thing to do as parents can be on a budget and they could see how one or two treats can send you over the budget and you wouldn’t have enough money for essentials.

On Thursday the children watched the pantomime Dick Whittington.

 “Oh No they didn’t!” “Oh yes they did!”

They had a great time shouting to the cast, laughing, cheering and enjoying the show!

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Spellings words ending cious and common exception words. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.

Some children have been told to complete a different number of spellings, please check with your child.

conscious      ferocious      gracious        precious        suspicious     spaciousness

spacious        accommodate         accompany  according     achieve

aggressive    amateur        ancient          apparent

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Last week introduced Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set more activities relating to multiplication and division.  They will need to use their multiplication and division knowledge and learnt in recent weeks, to work out the answers.  They may need to do jottings.

Spellings words ending cious and common exception words.

The children have had another great week in school.

Year 5 - Friday 26th November 2021

Date: 25th Nov 2021 @ 5:03pm

Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children are working hard and developing their skills in many different areas.

This week in year 5

In Maths we have been focused on division.  We started using arrays to work out division problems and by the end of the week we had moved onto chunking.  Many children we able to move onto and solve division word problems.

In English we are very close to the end of the book.  Before we find out what happens we have made our own predictions and are in the process of writing our own final chapter of the book.  The suspense that the children are creating is great to see.  We are trying to make our work more interesting by using fronted adverbials in some of our sentences.

In RE the children completed their Life Choices topic with a calm Collective Worship, where many of them read beautifully.  We then moved onto our new topic of Hope, where we will discuss and explain reasons why we wait, and the most important time of waiting, during Advent.

In PE, the children completed one of two activities. Firstly all the children practised baton passing.  They learnt the techniques needed to make it as swift and smooth as possible.  The tag rugby session with Mrs Cookson started with a practise tag game, dodging the other team trying to get to the semi-circle without losing their tags. Afterwards they moved onto passing the ball along the line and then running back to the start. The dance session with Mrs Nuttall was another success.  The children split into teams and had to become tableaus of space related words e.g. a rocket, the Moon, a satellite.  Then they had to create a story, in their groups, by creating 4 tableaus with a movement in between.  They were extremely creative. We have the explosion of a star, a rocket going to Mars and the formation of Earth.  Photos have been added to the gallery.

In Geography we continued our work on longitude and latitude but focused on North America and the different states and how the lines of latitude affect the climate.  We looked at a number of states in detail and will use this information to complete more work on them, in future sessions.

In Art, the children are looking at the artist Jo Quigley from the UK.  They have looked at her artwork and that of her influences and made links between the two.  They will be planning and creating their own cityscape piece of artwork, inspired by Jo Quigley in the coming weeks.

The children have been sent home with a small 2 sided booklet about Reconciliation.  Please look through this, with your child to prepare them further for their sacrament on Monday. You are invited to join them in Church at 2.30pm on Monday.  Don’t forget the year 5 family mass on Sunday at Church, details in the newsletter.

Also don’t forget the rearranged trip on Tuesday to the Leyland Museum, all children will need a disposable lunch.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

 Spellings words ending ious. We will look at these in more detail in school next week. They should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.

Some children have been told to complete a different number of spellings, please check with your child.

ambitious, cautious, curious, delicious glorious, obvious, previous, religious, various, mysterious, previously, furiously, seriously, victorious, vicious

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

This week we would like to introduce Maths and Spelling Training.  As you know, we set weekly challenges that are linked to the learning that takes place in school.  As an extra feature, the maths and spelling training sections will provide a tailored challenge for your child to practise skills, facts and words they find difficult.  Once the diagnostic challenges have been completed Sumdog will set challenges to aid improvement and development in the appropriate areas for your child.  Once you have completed the class challenges, please use this feature for extra challenge in both maths and spelling. Your tailored training is available in your tasks tab.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to multiplication and division.  They will need to use their multiplication and division knowledge and learnt this week, to work out the answers.  They may need to do jottings.

Spellings words ending ious.

The children have had another great week in school.

Year 5 - Friday 19th November 2021

Date: 18th Nov 2021 @ 4:58pm

 Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have had a good week in school, working hard and trying their best.

This week in year 5

In Maths, we have been looking at multiplication and division.  We have focused a lot on factors and factor pairs but also investigated prime numbers and how to find them.  It was a tricky start to the week but with hard work and perseverance the children were able to grasp the concept and ended up enjoying the topic.

In English, things are really getting exciting with Room 13.  The children are making fantastic links between things that happen at the beginning of the book, pictures they have looked at on various editions of front covers and what is happening as we read on.  We have recapped 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd person when writing and completed a diary enter for the main character Fliss on her first night at the Crow’s Nest Hotel.

In RE, the children had another visit to church and discussed our relationship with God and different types of prayer. In school we have studied the sacrament of Marriage and the symbols associated with that.

In PE, again, the children did one of two activities. The tag rugby session with Mrs Cookson was a muddy one!  The children started with a practise tag game, dodging the other team trying to get to the semi-circle without losing their tags.  Afterwards they moved onto the field for a game of tag rugby; they had a great time.  The dance session with Mrs Nuttall went very well.  The children split into teams and had to become tableaus of space related words e.g. a rocket, the Moon, a satellite.  Then they had to create a story, in their groups, by creating 4 tableaus with a movement in between.  They were extremely creative. We have the birth of the sun, rocks connecting to form a planet and a rocket moving through the solar system.  Photos have been added to the gallery.

In Geography, we learnt about lines of longitude and latitude, including the equator, tropic of Cancer and Capricorn and Greenwich Meriden. They learnt a song to help them understand that the invisible lines help us find where on the globe a location is.  They then had to plot different places on a World map using longitude and latitude coordinates.

Finally, on Friday we took part in Children in Need in our spotty outfits and we discussed bullying as part of anti-bullying week.  We discussed how one kind word, the theme this year, can make a big different to others.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Spellings words containing over. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Friday. 

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.

Some children have been told to complete a different number of spellings, please check with your child.

covered, discover, government, undercover, overnight, uncover, overjoyed, recovery, overcome, overheat, overreacting, uncovered, overheard, recover, discoveries

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets.  If the children complete the challenges they can push themselves by accessing multiplication challenges on Sumdog.

Maths the children have been set activities relating to factors and factor pairs.  They will need to use their multiplication knowledge and the knowledge learnt this week to work out the answers.  They may need to do jottings.

Spellings words containing over.

The children have had another great week in school.

Year 5 Sacramental Programme15th November 2021

Date: 15th Nov 2021 @ 5:04pm

The children have had another lovely session in church to help in preparation for their Sacrament or to support their friends on their journey.

This week Father discussed with them their relationship with God. He discussed the different types of prayer that there are e.g. speaking, singing, thinking and the different things that we can pray for - in November we pray for those that have died in conflict.

The children discussed with Father where they personally pray, what they pray for, when they pray and if they pray together as a family.

Father explained to them that prayer strengthens their relationship with God and that praying together can help bring families togther to celebrate things they are thankful for or share worries they need help with.

There is a Gospel reading from St Luke on the children's worksheet that we encourage you to read together, about the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. In church Father asked the children if they could think of a prayer it reminded them of and the children made links to the Our Father. Father then went on to discuss the Our Father with the children and broke it down into separate parts so that the children could have a greater understanding.of the words they are saying to God when they use it during prayer times.

The children then went on to discuss how Mass is the most perfect form of prayer and they talked about the different parts of the service and the order in which they come.  The children have been given some Mass sheets from Father from this weekend to discuss with you at home.

On the final page of the worksheet is an activity to carry out at home, where the children can write a prayer of choice. In church they were shown how they can use each finger of their hand to pray for different people and they completed a sheet with their hand drawn on with five prayer suggestions to help them.

Year 5 - Friday 12th November 2021

Date: 11th Nov 2021 @ 3:43pm

 Welcome to this week’s Year 5 class blog

The children have worked well this week despite the disappointment of the cancelled trip.  As soon as a new date is confirmed we will let you know.

This week in year 5

In Maths we have completed perimeter for this half term, and moved onto statistics.  The children have worked really hard trying to read and interpret data from a graph.  It has been a tricky skill and they have concentrated and shown determination in gaining the skills needed.

In English we have continued with Room 13.  There is a lot of gasping as the children make links between things mentioned at the start of the book and things that transpire as we read on.  We have looked at letter writing and the features of a letter this week, alongside using our inference and retrieval skills to find evidence in the book to support answers to questions set.

In RE the children had their second visit to church and learnt about the different statues and paintings around the church and their significance.  They also discussed the meaning and significance of their name.  Finally in school we have studied Judaism and the festival of Passover.  We read the story of Moses, the 10 plagues and how he helped set the Israelites free.  We also discussed the Seder Plate and the significance of different foods during the Passover meal.

In PE the children did one of two activities, the opposite one from last week.  Half of the class took part in a tag rugby session with Mrs Cookson.  They worked really hard on throwing and passing the ball and trying to score a try.  The other half of the class started the dance unit called ‘Earthlings!’ with Mrs Nuttall.  They created their own movements for 16 counts that expressed who they were and then collaborated with a partner and performed for the class.  They then went on to create a 16 count dance to represent one of the planets in the solar system.  Again, they were very creative.

We read, understood and performed a poem called Braves Soldats in French. We came up with actions to fit the text to make our performance more exciting. Well done, year 5. 

The children started their Geography topic on North America this week.  We started by recapping some of the foundations including the continents and the oceans.  We examined the use of a compass and used the cardinal directions, alongside an atlas, to describe the locations of the oceans in relation to the continents.  This again was a tricky concept and they worked really hard to understand it. Finally we used an atlas to examine the equator and discuss which continents were in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Finally on Friday we took part in the school’s ‘Go Green Day’.  We spent the day using as little electricity as possible, we discussed Climate Change and how we can help the planet.  The children made posters to show what they want for our world and how they could help make it happen.

Home Practice all relates to this week's learning - These are the tasks to be completed.

Reading - You all have a Home Reading book for year 5 so reading every night for 15-20 mins is essential. You also have a Reading Journal/Diary that must be completed and signed.

You can change your reading book on any school day (book bags to be left on Mrs Mulgrew's desk)

Spellings prefix re or pre. We will look at these in more detail in school next week, they should be practised at home, ready for the test on Thursday. 

Don’t forget the children have a big list of Common Exception words to learn, these can be practised each week to push your child further.

Some children have been told to complete a different number of spellings, please check with your child.

readjust, reaffirm, reappear, rearrangement, redecorate, reinvent, reload, repayment, prejudice, premature, preoccupied, prefix, preposition, prefer, preparation

Sumdog challenges

PLEASE ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILDREN TO COMPLETE THE SUMDOG CHALLENGES, MANY CHILDREN ARE STILL NOT ACCESSING SUMDOG. ONCE YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE SET CHALLENGES, ACCESS THE MATHS TRAINING WHERE CHALLENGES WILL BE TAILORED FOR EVERY CHILD.

Times tables have been set to reflect class targets

Maths the children have been set activities relating to reading and interpreting graphs.  Some children found this very difficult so may need support with this.  If they have spent time with you trying to work it out and cannot complete all the questions, this is ok.  They just need to have a chance to practise outside of the class time to help embed these skills.

Spellings with the prefix re or pre.

The children have had another great week in school.

Year 5 Sacramental Programme 8th November 2021

Date: 9th Nov 2021 @ 12:20pm

The children had another successful session in the church this week, once again they were thoughtful and respectful and showed enthusiasm throughout.

This week Father Michael asked the children about their names. He asked them to have a chat with their parents about why they have the name they have. Father Michael discussed that his family have a tradition of naming their children after a Saint that has their feast day in that month.  Father Michael was born in September and it is the feast of St Michael on 29th September. Have a chat with your child about how you chose their name, perhaps a family tradition, a family name or someone you admired. 

The children had a worksheet to complete in church. They also took part in treasure hunt this week looking at all the statues, memorials and paintings and learning about their significance. They also created an acrostic poem using their name and features/traits that they have.  Please have a look at the sheets that they brought home. There is an activity to complete together on the acrostic page and some discussions to have on the double page worksheet. 

We appreciate your time and support in helping your children understand the significance of the work they are completing as part of their Faith Journey.