Year 5 Team: Mr J McCabe (Class Teacher) : Blog items
Date: 11th Dec 2024 @ 10:38am
What a brilliant way to wrap up 2024 and celebrate an incredible term with our wonderful Year 5 class!
We have been so impressed with the achievements of the children, week after week. As the term comes to an end, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how far they’ve come. Here’s to an exciting 2025! First though, it’s time for a well-deserved Christmas break filled with laughter, relaxation, and cherished moments with loved ones.
This half term has been packed with highlights, plus plenty of festive fun. Here’s a look back at just some of the magical moments we’ve shared:
- Writing: We completed twisted fairytale stories inspired by our focus text, The Lost Happy Endings;
- Book World Cup: The children explored 32 book titles, front covers, and blurbs, voting round by round until we crowned our new class novel;
- Reading: Our Book World Cup Champion, Time Travelling with a Hamster by Ross Welford, has captivated us, alongside Hansel & Gretel by Neil Gaiman;
- PE: Jenna Rice from LJMU introduced gamification to our lessons, keeping us active and engaged with innovative activities;
- Music: Finlay Gordon from Liverpool Cathedral Choir has been leading our vocal coaching sessions and we have continued developing our Clarinet skills with Mrs McCardle;
- Christmas Carol Service: We brought Christmas cheer to our local community with a beautiful carol service at Halcyon House.
- History: We delved into the fascinating Maya Civilisation, exploring their number system, writing, calendar, and more.
- DT: We investigated motorised products, learned how they work, then designed and created our own Electrical ‘Doodler.’
- Maths: BIG Maths and Arena games on Times Tables Rockstars have sharpened our fluency, with many improved scores—though no one is quicker than their teacher…yet!
- Kindness Project: We spread joy in Formby Village by displaying inspirational posters and messages of kindness around the community.
- Festive Fun: We had a blast filming our Kindness Video, enjoying Party Day, a Santa Dash and celebrating with a Christmas Extravaganza.
With all of this and more—including visits from Christmas Elves—it’s safe to say this term has been unforgettable!
Let’s see what 2025 has in store for us…
Until then, enjoy the holidays and get ready to step into Christmas!
Reminders for next half term:
- There is no set homework or spellings for the Christmas holidays. However, the Year 5 Virtual Classroomhas been updated and attached to this blog. It includes links to websites and resources. Pupils can find their individual passwords on Google Classroom. Don’t forget the Practice section on Mirodo, where children can choose topics to practise in Maths, Reading, SPaG, or Science.
- PE days will remain the same: Wednesday (Swimming)and Thursday.
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Date: 7th Nov 2024 @ 9:19pm
As our Year 5 children returned from a well-deserved week’s rest, we were thrilled to welcome them back and hear all about their family time and activities. As we begin this new half term, we are excited for the many learning opportunities (and Christmas festivities) that await!
Please see our Y5 curriculum map for an overview of what the children will be learning this half-term.
Our current virtual classroom has been attached again to this blog, which includes links to a variety of quality websites, apps and resources to support the children’s learning.
Upcoming Y5 events:
- 27/11 - Tax Workshop (in school)
- 27/11 - Swimming Lessons start at Formby Pool
Please see our ‘Autumn Diary Dates’ for all school events taking place this half-term.
General Reminders for this half-term:
- Spellings, Maths and English homework will now resume until the end of term;
- PE lessons are continuing on a Thursday and Friday this half-term. Please remember that children should not be wearing designer branded PE items of clothing and shorts should be of an appropriate length;
- As of Wednesday 27.11.24, Year 5 PE lessons will be Wednesday (Swimming) and Thursday (school PE);
- A small, healthy snack should be brought to school for the children, if they wish.
Thank you!
Date: 22nd Oct 2024 @ 10:37am
The end of the first half term already! Time has absolutely raced by and it is more than fair to say that Year 5 have worked extremely hard and have already achieved so much.
We have had many highlights so far, including:
- In English, we completed our first Author Book work of this year based on our focus text, ‘Queen of the Falls’;
- We have been reading Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo), Cicada (Shaun Tan), Try (Emma Adams) and With You Every Step (Rob Burrow & Kevin Sinfield);
- Our visit to Jodrell Bank Space Observatory taught us even more incredible facts about the vast universe beyond our planet;
- Sports journalism sessions with journalist, Gareth Walker, from Literacy Kicks;
- Coding our own Space Shooter game with Jam Coding;
- Speed Stacking and Fitness Circuits in PE;
- Learning about ‘retrofuturism’ in our Art lessons and applying our own understanding to a range of pieces;
- Learning about the vast cultural differences and impressive physical geography of South America;
- Our Mathletes vs. Mathemagicians times tables battles
- BIG Maths and other Maths speed games including Blooket, our introduction to ‘Shootout’ and ‘Spin the Wheel’;
- …plus many more!
Let’s see what the next half term brings! In the meantime, enjoy the break, Year 5!
Some reminders for after half term:
- Spellings have been set as usual via Google Classroom and will be tested at the end of the first week back at school after half term.
- There is no set homework for next week, however the Year 5 ‘Virtual Classroom’ has been updated and attached to this blog, which includes links to a variety of websites and resources. All pupils' individual passwords can all be found on Google Classroom. Don't forget, there is also the ‘Practice’ section on Mirodo where the children can choose any topic they wish to practise for Maths, Reading, SpaG or Science.
- PE for Year 5 will remain on Thursdays and Fridays.
Date: 5th Sep 2024 @ 9:03pm
Welcome to the Year 5 blog for the academic year 2024 – 2025.
Please see our curriculum map for an overview of what the children will be learning this half term.
Our virtual classroom can also be found attached to this blog. The virtual classroom includes links to a variety of quality websites, apps and resources to support the children’s learning.
The Successful Start PowerPoint is also attached. This includes information that all parents should read.
Reminders for this half term:
• PE will take place on Thursdays and Fridays during this half term.
• Homework for Maths and English will be set via Mirodo and this will be introduced to the children in class in the coming weeks. Further information will follow.
• Weekly spellings are accessible via Google Classroom and will be set from 13.9.24.
Date: 19th Jul 2024 @ 2:07pm
That time has come. The end of our Year 5 learning journey. What a time we have had and it has truly been a pleasure to have taught this class throughout this academic year! They have brought so much laughter, creativity, hard-work and kindness, with so many moments that will live long in the memory. Thank you, Year 5! While the summer holidays await, there are just a few more things to first say…
Firstly, thank you for being such excellent babysitters when Myla visited. She loved her time in the class and this is because you were all so nurturing and lovely to her. This led to lots of smiles on her part (and mine) and it was a really proud moment to have introduced you all. Mrs Moran echoes the same feelings about Cole and how mucy he enjoyed his visit too.
Please also accept a heartfelt thank you for the kind messages, cards and gifts that have been gratefully received this week. They are never expected but meant a lot. Thank you.
All that is left to do now is to wish you all an absolutely brilliant summer break! I hope the sun shines as much as you all have throughout this year. Make the most it; create some memories with your family and friends and stay safe.
Over and out, Year 5!
Date: 9th Jul 2024 @ 12:57pm
We hope you enjoyed reading the children’s end of year reports last week!
We can’t quite believe we’re here but the final full school week of Year 5 is now complete. Just four and a half more school days left of this academic year to go…we’ll be sure to make the most of them! For now, here are some highlights from this week…
In English, the children proudly completed their buddy letters! Their letters were so thoughtfully written and contained a wealth of information that covered the role of a buddy; information about our amazing school and also some more information about themselves too. We hope that the families of our buddies enjoy reading them on their child’s first day in September as much as we enjoyed writing them!
We also have been transported back in time to the fascinating Victorian era! Through research and different hands-on activities, the children have delved into the rich history and culture of the 19th century. We explored the daily lives of Victorian children, comparing their education, chores, and leisure activities with those of today. One highlight of our learning has been the exploration of Victorian inventions and their lasting legacy. The children were amazed to discover that many everyday items we take for granted were first invented during this time. We also enjoyed watching part of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, which paid homage to the Industrial Revolution through its representation of the idyllic British countryside being transformed into a bustling industrial landscape.
Another highlight of this week was the opportunity for the children to visit our Nursery classroom on Thursday to meet some of their buddies when they move up to Year 6. It was heartwarming to watch them play and interact with the younger children, creating a truly wholesome and memorable experience for everyone involved!
The children recently enjoyed a visit from Josh from Formby Library who shared all the exciting details about this year's Summer Reading Challenge. There are two ways you can take part in the Summer Reading Challenge:
- You can join at Formby Libraryand take part in person. The librarian will give you a collector folder, stickers, and other special rewards, and help you find books to read.
- Or, take part online by signing up here. Set a reading goal and log your books on your profile. When you reach your goal, you will unlock a virtual badge and certificate.
Please note, the in-person and online challenges are separate. Medals and certificates are only available via the library, for those taking part in the in-person challenge. We hope the children enjoy completing the reading challenge and this will be celebrated when we return to school in September.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Reminders:
-Homework set via Mirodo has finished for this academic year. Though, feel free to extend your learning and complete some extra activities on the virtual classroom to further improve your skills.
-School finishes for this academic year at 1pm on Friday 19th July.
Date: 2nd Jul 2024 @ 12:56pm
Well done to Year 5 for giving your all throughout this week! It has been as busy as ever and the time really is flying by with now just under two weeks of this school year remaining. Here are some highlights from the many different things that we have managed to fit into this week…
Our English lessons this week focused on letter writing. The children were tasked with planning and drafting a letter to their buddy and their families to tell them all about themselves, our school and their new role as a Year 6 buddy in September. The children put such thought and care into this writing and are looking forward to writing up the final versions next week.
The children also enjoyed a visit from Josh from Formby library who informed the children about this year's summer reading challenge. We hope that the children will be able to enjoy the reading challenge over the summer holidays and celebrate this with us when they return to school in September.
Our Maths learning focused on calculating intervals of time and then using these skills to interpret and later create our own TV channel schedules. The children enjoyed this opportunity to take up the role of lead producer of a television channel and having the power to decide which of their favourite shows were on at different times of the day. Next week’s Maths will incorporate a revision of different concepts explored throughout this term. Please see previous blogs for an outline of the different areas that we have been learning in previous weeks.
Even with just two weeks of the school year remaining, there really still is so much more to cram in. We will be sure to make the most of it. Enjoy your weekends and see you on Monday!
Reminders:
-As mentioned in last week’s blog and on Google Classroom, for the remaining weeks of Year 5, the children have been set a spelling challenge. The aim is to learn as many words as they can from a list of common exception words. The list is available on Google Classroom and the children should pick a list that they feel best challenges them.
-The final homework of Year 5 has been set and should be completed on or before Wednesday 10th July.
-Please also remember that the Year 5 ‘Virtual Classroom’ is always available and has been re-attached to this blog for ease. This includes links to a variety of websites and resources. All pupils' individual passwords can be found on Google Classroom. Don't forget, there is also the ‘Practice’ section on Mirodo where the children can choose any topic they wish to practise for Maths, Reading, SPaG or Science.
Date: 24th Jun 2024 @ 3:14pm
Wow! How we have managed to pack so much into just one school week really is quite incredible and we have an absolute abundance of highlights to share.
Our Maths lessons have involved calculating time intervals. Next week, we will continue this focus and start to build our own TV timetables, applying our mathematical knowledge. Another highlight in Maths this week was our fantastic visit from the Sumdog team, which is a popular Maths practice app we use in school. The assembly celebrated the children's achievements on the app, particularly highlighting that both Year 5 and Year 6 have won regional and national contests this academic year. We also had the chance to take part in our own class contest as well as meeting the actual Sumdog who joined us outside!
Not only that, Sumdog team also introduced us to their sister company, Strawbees, an engineering toolkit aimed at children that enhances problem-solving skills through building, creating and learning. We had the chance to try out some of their materials in a fun workshop with lots of cross-curricular links.
Sports Day also arrived on Wednesday and, in glorious conditions, the children competed brilliantly in the: Flat Sprint, Speed Bounce and Obstacle races. Well done to our race winners as well as each child for having the courage to take part and give their individual best!
We have also been sure to take some pauses throughout this week and have remembered to be mindful and aware of our feelings. This connected to our collective worship of truthfulness in the sense that we remained true to ourselves.
The children also had the opportunity to spend some time with Mr King, their next class teacher, in the Year 6 classroom.
Have a fantastic weekend everyone and well done to the Year 5 children for really giving your all throughout this week!
Date: 18th Jun 2024 @ 10:15am
Another week complete in the Year 5 classroom!
The undoubted highlight of our week had to be our school trip! This time our adventures took us not too far down the road to ‘Go Outside’ in Formby. We had an absolutely brilliant time in a range of survival, adventure and orienteering style activities, with many children commenting how this was their all-time favourite school trip. A particular highlight was the Slip 'N Slide where the change of clothes definitely became a necessity! What a time we had and a really fantastic final Year 5 outdoors adventure.
In our new unit on 'Loss, Death, and Christian Hope', we have delved into different interpretations of God. The students have been introduced to complex theological language, learning terms such as God being supreme, omniscient, and omni-benevolent. This unit has sparked thoughtful discussions and deepened our understanding of these profound concepts.
This week was also National School Sports Week! To mark this event, our Sports Ambassadors helped to ensure that there was a different sport available for the children to play at breaktime and lunchtime. The sports included dodgeball, tennis, rounders and more. Great fun was had as many children got involved with a different sporting activity during their free time.
The week concluded with an exciting Friday involving the school talent show. We were so proud of all children who auditioned in class, simply for having the courage to stand up and showcase their skills in front of others. We were beaming with pride! Well done also to our winning act who performed beautifully in front of the school on Friday. Great entertainment all round!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Reminders:
-Please read the guidance on Google Classroom for a ‘spelling challenge’ that the children have been set for the remainder of this academic year.
-English and Maths homework will continue as normal for the time being on Mirodo as usual.
-Should the warm weather and temperatures continue, please ensure that children apply suncream in preparation.
Date: 10th Jun 2024 @ 10:19am
We can hardly believe it's already Friday; this week has flown by!
On Thursday, we were treated to a fantastic and fun assembly as Jacob from ‘Rocksteady’ Music School visited to tell us about an exciting opportunity coming our way in September. First, he educated us on the different instruments that make up a rock band as well as treating us to lots of classic songs and singalongs. The children were engrossed (as were the adults) and so much fun was had!
Our Maths lessons this week involved recapping our mathematical learning so far this year through some assessments. We are delighted with the children’s positivity, resilience, maturity and overall effort in completing these assessments to the best of their ability. Well done, Year 5! Next week’s Maths lessons will focus on converting measurements (ml to L and g to kg).
In our other learning, we have been developing our tactical awareness in various sports. This week, we applied these skills to a new game for the children, Wazball. It was fantastic to see such competitiveness in PE lessons and a class that works so well as a team. Well done, everyone! We look forward to building on this in our PE lessons next week.
Wishing you all an enjoyable weekend and thank you, Year 5, for all your hard work during this week!
Reminders:
-Weekly spellings have been uploaded to Google Classroom, which will be tested next Friday (21st).
-English and Maths homework will continue as normal for the time being on Mirodo as usual.
-Should the weather warm up (it is June after all), please ensure that children apply suncream in preparation.
-The ‘Go Outside’ Year 5 trip will be on Wednesday 19th June.
Date: 7th Jun 2024 @ 10:12am
We can’t believe it is here already…the FINAL half term of Year 5! Time certainly has raced by up to this point but we are not taking anything for granted as there is still so much left to achieve and plenty more memories to be made. For now, here are some highlights from our week…
In our Collective Worship work, our June monthly value focus is ‘Truthfulness’. In a particular session, we have focused on being true to ourselves by focusing upon our strengths and our uniqueness as individuals. A particular activity involved us “snowballing” each other’s names before each child gave a compliment to the person whose name they retrieved. A lovely activity that brought many a smile!
In Maths, we have focused on telling the time. This has involved reading both analogue and digital clocks to the nearest minute and converting between the two. We then extended our learning to the 24-hour clock clock. A particularly fun (and competitive) Maths lesson was our ‘Battle of the Bands’ Times Tables Rockstars lesson! Our class were split into two teams (The Rockers and The Rollers). Each team had to answer as many questions as they could (as accurately as they could) to contribute to their team’s overall final score. A close battle throughout but well done to The Rollers on your victory!
In English, we have been reading ‘The Hunter’ by Paul Geraghty, which is the story of a little girl called Jamina who goes out into the African bush with her grandfather. Her dream is to be a hunter when she is older but, when she is separated from her grandfather, she finds a baby elephant whimpering besides its dead mother. As Jamina bravely helps the little orphaned elephant, we are eager to find out where this journey takes her.
Thank you to Team TSP and all helpers for a fantastic ‘Rainbow Day’ on Friday. We had a great time on the obstacle course, inflatables and there was no better ending than a D-I-S-C-O!
A brilliant week and wishing you all a fantastic weekend. See you all on Monday!
Reminders:
-Brass lessons will continue to take place every Friday throughout this half term.
-Year 5 PE lessons will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week for this half term. Please ensure that your child attends school in their full PE kit on these days.
-Please also note that homework has been uploaded as usual to Mirodo as it will be each Friday throughout this half term. As previously, the homework will be set each Friday and should be completed on or before the following Wednesday.
-Weekly spellings have also been uploaded to Google Classroom, which will be tested next Friday (14th).
Date: 22nd May 2024 @ 1:16pm
How have we reached this point already? The end of the penultimate half term of Year 5! Throughout this half term, we have achieved so much and you have hopefully gained a snapshot of our incredible learning either within this blog or via our class Twitter page. This week was no different in terms of memorable moments in learning with plenty to report…
In our Maths learning, we have been focusing on 3D shapes. Lessons have involved identifying the properties of 3D shapes by building skeleton shapes using blu-tack and art straws. We will continue our 3D shape focus after the half term break as well as exploring 2D shapes and shape nets too.
In our English learning, we have continued our poetry focus using the poem, ‘The Dreadful Menace’, as our inspiration. The language choices from the children were magnificent and they also experimented with a range of impressive poetic devices throughout (including: alliteration, similes, metaphors, personification and onomatopoeia). Year 5 were thoroughly in the zone as they crafted haunting, powerful poems that sent shivers down their teacher’s spines.
We also completed our AR (Augmented Reality) project in Computing. This involved us using our creativity to create our own “scenes” and then bringing them to life through AR within our classroom. The children enjoyed seeing their creations come to life and projecting their scenes and images around the room.
What a week and a fitting way to end this half term. See you all in a week’s time for the FINAL half term of Year 5. We’ll be sure to make it the best yet!
Reminders:
-PE lessons next half term will take place every Tuesday and Thursday.
-There is no set Maths and English homework for next week, however the Year 5 ‘Virtual Classroom’ has been updated and attached to this blog, which includes links to a variety of websites and resources. All pupils' individual passwords can be found on Google Classroom. Don't forget, there is also the ‘Practice’ section on Mirodo where the children can choose any topic they wish to practise for Maths, Reading, SPaG or Science.
-School re-opens on Monday 3rd June.
Date: 14th May 2024 @ 1:09pm
A typically busy week in the Year 5 classroom! Please see just some of our highlights…
In RE, we continued our focus on Women in the Old Testament as we delved into the lives of a range of significant women. The children completed a range of puzzle activities and matched families together too. Then they were tasked with creating profiles about a significant biblical woman, noting her main biblical accomplishments and life lessons.
In Maths, we have continued our focus on translation and extended this to translation involving coordinates and symmetry. Next week’s Maths will move on to 3D shape, reflection and rotation.
In our English learning, we have begun our new writing focus which is centred around poetry. Using a classic BBC advert used for the Winter Olympics titled ‘The Dreadful Menace’, this encapsulating, eerie advert is narrated by a powerful, domineering voice. This ‘Dreadful Menace’ that promises to ‘summon armies of wind and rain and snow' is, in fact, a mountain. The children loved hearing this poem with the accompanying imagery of the advert itself. They also engaged brilliantly with the opportunity to explore the figurative language and poetic devices used throughout. Next, Year 5 will attempt to create haunting poetic versions of their very own!
An excellent week and we hope that the sunshine returns for this weekend!
Reminders:
-Homework will continue to be set via Mirodo (as usual) for this week and spellings will continue to be set via Google Classroom.
-As per previous reminders via School Spider, next week is RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) week across the school.
Date: 10th May 2024 @ 11:30am
A shorter week but still equally full of highlights and achievements for our brilliant Year 5 class! Here are just a few of them…
Our Maths work has focused on plotting coordinates across four quadrants. Alongside games of battleships against our shoulder partners, we also channelled our inner Mondrian as we created our own artwork using coordinate grids in the style of Piet Mondrian’s iconic images. Next week, we will extend our learning onto translation using coordinate grids.
In English, we completed our author book work which was the culmination of our writing from the half term so far. The children were tasked with writing a scathing letter to a local councillor concerning some pollution within the local area. To achieve this, the children had to apply knowledge gained from our lessons on environmental awareness from our focus picturebook, ‘The Paperbag Prince’. The children’s impressive writing was also accompanied by some equally impressive artwork of a toxic wasteland known as the Poison Pool.
In RE, we began our new unit that focused upon ‘Women in the Old Testament’. The aim of this is to widen the children’s knowledge and understanding of the role and significance of women in the Bible and God’s big story. Our first lesson involved us completing some code breaking activities that provided us with the name of a significant female biblical figure and their role. This enabled us to expand our knowledge base.
Just think of how much we will be able to achieve in five days rather than four next week! Until then…enjoy the weekend!
Date: 30th Apr 2024 @ 9:36am
As another week races by, it is now chance to reflect on just how much we have managed to fit into this time! Once again, the Year 5 children have worked really hard and with excellent resilience, energy and enthusiasm. Well done to them all!
In Maths, we have been focused on finding and calculating angles on a straight line and around a point. We also practised the language of clockwise and anticlockwise as we took part in some drills which involved us following directions to move North, East, South, West and everything in between. Not only that, a Quiz Quiz Trade activity allowed us to cement our angles understanding and apply our knowledge alongside our friends with support and coaching where needed.
In English, we have been exploring environmental awareness using our focus picturebook, ‘The Paperbag Prince’. The children have been using modal verbs and cohesive devices (such as conjunctions and fronted adverbials) as they have written descriptive paragraphs about a toxic wasteland before then progressing on to writing a letter expressing their outrage to the local council.
We are well underway with our brass instrument lessons with Mrs Hughes from Sefton Music Service. Our first few sessions have been familiarising with our new instruments, whether trumpet, baritone or trombone. We have also enjoyed some old favourites including the Forbidden Rhythm game where we all know, “Don’t play this one back!”
Enjoy the bank holiday weekend, Year 5! See you back in class on Tuesday 7th May!
Reminders:
-Homework continues to be set via Mirodo (as usual) for this week and spellings will continue to be set via Google Classroom.
Date: 18th Apr 2024 @ 8:24pm
Welcome to the Summer Term! It was great to welcome back the Year 5 children after very varied and exciting activities during the time off that were great to hear about. This week, we achieved so much and really did pick up where we left off. Here are just a few highlights…
A particularly enjoyable and memorable event this week was the #kNOwKnifeCrime campaign run which took place on Wednesday morning. Schools from across Sefton participated in a relay event from school to school where each were handed the ‘bleed control kit baton’ before taking it to the next school. We were so proud to have runners from Year 5 and Year 6 completing the run from Trinity St. Peter’s to Formby High School and the atmosphere and spirit created by all pupils as Freshfield Primary arrived to TSP with the baton was a joy to see. Well done to all involved – raising much needed funds and awareness for the most worthy of causes!
In English, we have commenced our new focus book for this half term. It is titled ‘The Paperbag Prince’ by Colin Thompson. Before reading even the first page, we did a lot of work exploring the upcoming themes and content of this picturebook. Much of this linked to the environment and the importance of reducing both pollution and waste on our planet. To unpick this further, we watched several videos, including David Attenborough’s Blue Planet, which showed the horrors of plastic waste in the ocean and the detrimental effects that this is having on marine life. This led to many passionate discussions and many thinking skills were used as we reflected using green thinking hats and also completed a Diamond 9 model to help further guide our reasoning. We look forward to getting stuck into this book from next week!
Our Maths work has focused on measuring angles with a protractor and a particularly fun lesson involved measuring and checking different sized angles that we had drawn onto our own tables alongside our shoulder partners. Accuracy was the key and this led to many dojo points being awarded too! Next week’s Maths will further focus on angles, including reflex angles as well as recognising angles on straight lines and angles around a point.
In RE, we have focused on different world religions. Linked to our British Values of mutual respect and tolerance of those of different faiths, we explored the key beliefs and customs of the five major religions in the world. Those being: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. The children enjoyed discussing each religion and further applied their understanding of the values that are most meaningful to their believers.
Have a brilliant weekend, Year 5 - I look forward to seeing you on Monday!
Reminders:
-Year 5 PE lessons will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week for this half term. Please ensure that your child attends school in their full PE kit on these days.
-Please also note that homework has been uploaded as usual to Mirodo as it will be each Friday throughout this term. As previously, the homework will be set each Friday and should be completed on or before the following Wednesday.
-Weekly spellings have also been uploaded to Google Classroom, which will be tested next Friday (26th).
Date: 27th Mar 2024 @ 8:32am
A fun and typically busy (albeit shorter) week to bring an end our Spring Term!
In our English learning, we were extremely proud to write up the “top copy” of our biographies on Commander Chris Hadfield for our Author Books. Accompanied by some watercolour artwork, the children worked hard to present their work in the style of a biography whilst also ensuring that their handwriting was neat and showcased their best. After all the hard work actually writing was complete, the children were able to use their creativity to structure and organise their layout and paragraphs as they thought best. Very impressive - take a look at the picture above if you need further proof! We were also delighted that Chris himself took the time to “like” our work on Twitter/X!
In Maths, we have been focused on arithmetic practice and Easter related problem solving. After half term, we will move onto measuring angles using a protractor before progressing onto coordinates and translation of shapes and points.
The end of the week brought lots of Easter fun as we were paid a visit by the Easter bunny, which included plenty of dancing. We completed some fun Easter artwork too and the children also sang beautifully in the Key Stage 2 Easter Service led by Year 3.
A fitting end to the week with Easter just around the corner! The Year 5 children deserve an enormous amount of credit for all of their efforts throughout this term and we hope they enjoy and make the most of their well-deserved break. Wishing you all a safe and enjoyable time with your families. See you in the summer term!
Reminders:
-PE lessons next half term will take place every Wednesday and Thursday.
-There is no set Maths and English homework for the Easter break, however the Year 5 ‘Virtual Classroom’ has been updated and attached to this blog, which includes links to a variety of websites and resources. All pupils' individual passwords can be found on Google Classroom. Don't forget, there is also the ‘Practice’ section on Mirodo where the children can choose any topic they wish to practise for Maths, Reading, SPaG or Science.
-School re-opens on Monday 15th April.
Date: 19th Mar 2024 @ 1:36pm
Where does the time go? The penultimate week of this half term and the weeks keep on flying!
In Maths, we have been focused on data and statistics. We have had a particular focus on interpreting line graphs and bar charts and have enjoyed practising this via Blooket games too. Next week’s Maths will be Easter themed and will involve plenty of problem solving activities.
In our RE learning, we learned about the ‘Stations of the Cross’ which, traditionally, is fourteen separate pictures which represent Jesus’ last day on earth. This connected well with our Easter focus and the children learned about how the stations serve to represent the footsteps that Jesus had walked. We used this learning to create our own virtual version of the Stations of the Cross using Google Slides.
It was time to begin writing our biographies in our English lessons. We have been busy of researching Chris Hadfield, one of the most accomplished astronauts of all time and the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station. We will add the final touches next week before recording in our Author Books!
An eggcellent end to our week involved the Year 5 & 6 Easter Egg Hunt! The children had to search the school grounds for a ticket to trade for a prize. Great fun was had and two Easter chicks made an appearance too and led a rendition (actually, many renditions) of 'The Birdie Song'!
With that, another week reaches a close. See you after the weekend for the final week of this term!
Reminders:
-The KS2 Easter Service (led by Year 3) will be at St. Peter’s Church at 9:20am on Thursday 28th March.
-Thursday 28th March is the end of term and a 1:00pm finish.
Date: 12th Mar 2024 @ 10:04am
Another brilliant school week is in the bag as this half term continues to tick on by!
As Ramadan (the ninth month of the Islamic calendar) began on Monday, we discussed in class what this means for Muslims, both within this country and across the world. As Ramadan has such special significance in Islam and is a month of fasting, we heard from different children across the UK who will be fasting in school and how their days will be adapted as a result. We also made links to well-known Muslims, such as Mo Salah, who will also be observing Ramadan alongside the job of being a professional footballer. Our Ramadan discussions linked closely to our Collective Worship monthly value of ‘Sacrifice’.
In Maths, we have worked incredibly hard whilst tackling some assessments that will check our understanding of the learning that we have encountered this year so far. Next week, we will move onto statistics and interpreting bar charts, pictograms and tables.
We were also delighted to receive some goodies from Sumdog, a Maths app that the children love to use in school to support and supplement their Maths learning. Following the previous success of the children in the regional Sumdog competition and their engagement with the app, representatives at Sumdog were keen to express their thanks with some merchandise that were gratefully received (as you can tell in the above picture). Thank you to them!
In Science, we have been busy completing various experiments during the last few weeks as we focus on ‘working scientifically’ through exploring ideas and raising different kinds of questions; selecting and planning the most appropriate type of scientific enquiry to use to answer scientific questions; recognising when and how to set up comparative and fair tests and explaining which variables need to be controlled and why. A particularly fun experiment involved investigating the density of different liquids. We learned how liquids float upon liquids of a higher density and sink through liquids of lower density. The children had a great time making their predictions, testing it out and then analysing their results.
So another great week comes to an end and the weekend awaits. See you all on Monday!
Date: 5th Mar 2024 @ 10:53am
What a week we have had!
On Thursday, we had a tremendous World Book Day! The effort put into the children’s creative and varying costumes brought much fun and enjoyment to such a special school day. Our activities were wide-ranging and included an EXTREME reading activity where the children were tasked with getting a photo of themselves reading in strange and wonderful ways. Such efforts included reading whilst doing a headstand; reading in a tree and reading in a wheelbarrow. Many children also used their technology skills in order to ‘Photoshop’ themselves reading in the ocean or in space. We aimed to show how reading can be done anywhere and at any time…well, kind of!
Our fun certainly didn’t stop there as we took part in a ‘Guess the Book quiz’ from a range of picture clues within the classroom. We also took part in a World Book Day class quiz with every question linked to, you guessed it, BOOKS!
Another highlight was our ‘Masked Reader’ activity where the children had to guess both the identity of the staff member as well as the book they were reading. This was made even more of a challenge by the animal mask covering the readers’ faces and the distorted voices to really throw the children off the scent. A great laugh was had and we enjoyed hearing the various discussions and logic for the children’s answers too.
In our Collective Worship work, a new month welcomed in a new monthly value: Sacrifice. We have discussed the meaning of this word and how this also links to our RE unit, ‘Why do Christians believe that Easter is a celebration of victory?’, in the sense that Jesus had to sacrifice himself to bring people closer to God again.
In Maths, we have been tackling percentages and how to find percentages of amounts. Our learning will continue into next week where we will also tackle some assessments that will check our understanding of the Maths that we have encountered this year so far.
A fantastic and ever busy week in Year 5 and a well-deserved weekend awaits. Enjoy!
Reminders
-From next week, the children’s PE days will be Tuesdays (school PE) and Thursdays (school PE).
Date: 27th Feb 2024 @ 10:41am
Yet another busy, busy school week! The Year 5 children continue to give their all and it’s time to share just some of our highlights…
In Maths, we have been practising converting between fractions, decimals and percentages. This has involved plenty of games, using LBQ and lots of hard work. Next week’s Maths will focus on problem solving questions involving the four operations.
As part of our Maths learning (also linking with our Science space topic), we focused on a particular date that only comes around once every four years – leap day! After learning more about exactly why we have leap years and the maths behind it, the children completed a range of problems to determine which years, both past and future, are leap years. There were also additional problems where the children had to apply their reasoning and even more complex maths to calculate their answers. So, a happy 29th February it was and we look forward to the next in four years’ time!
In our English work, we have continued our journey through the picturebook, ‘The Darkest Dark’. We have spent much of the week learning more about the moon landings in 1969 and using our research to build quality sentences including brackets. After finishing the story, the children have correctly predicted that Chris, our main character, is in fact a real astronaut who went on to achieve his childhood ambition of visiting outer space. We look forward to finding out even more about his life next week as we build towards writing a biography!
In RE, we have been focused on our key question linked to Easter, ‘Why do Christians believe that Easter is a celebration of victory?’ We discussed the meaning of this key word and connected various definitions and synonyms to its true meaning. To demonstrate our understanding, we each made a victory collage which included different images and representations of victory and being victorious.
Well done everyone on an another typically excellent week. Enjoy your weekends and see you on Monday!
Reminders:
-World Book Day is on Thursday 7th March. We look forward to an amazing day ahead and already can’t wait to see the different costumes on display!
-The children’s final swimming lesson will take place on Wednesday 6th March. The children will require clothing again for this session to complete their survival swimming assessment. Following this session, the children’s PE days will be Tuesdays (school PE) and Thursdays (school PE).
Date: 20th Feb 2024 @ 10:44am
We welcomed back a well-rested Year 5 on Monday following our half term break and it was great to see them all! As always, we started the week by sharing our experiences during the week off and also familiarising with our new shoulder partners and table partners in class.
Following that, it was business as usual as the children picked up where they left off last half term by working with impressive resilience, effort and enjoyment across so many different subjects.
Our RE journey delved into the key concepts within Christianity. We explored a range of illustrations that represented a different aspect of our religion. The children connected their knowledge brilliantly to interpret what these pictures attempted to represent. After revealing the answers, the children were then tasked with ordering the Christian concepts according to the bigger story of the Bible itself.
In Science, we had a particularly fun and active lesson as we learned all about gears, levers and pulleys. As part of the lesson, we had to search the school hall to find a range of facts, diagrams and examples of different mechanisms to then sort into their correct sections. Great fun was had with excellent teamwork and scientific discussion on display throughout!
In a hard-working week of Maths, we have been practising finding fractions of amounts as well as adding and subtracting fractions. Next week’s lessons will move onto further understanding equivalences between fractions, decimals and percentages.
A really excellent and exciting week to begin this new half term. The weekend now awaits and we will see you all on Monday. Enjoy!
Reminders:
-Year 5 PE lessons will take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays each week for this half term. Please ensure your child attends school in their full PE kit on these days. Swimming sessions will continue each Wednesday for part of this half term with the last session for Year 5 being Wednesday 6th March.
-A polite reminder that the correct PE uniform should be worn: Charcoal ‘V’ neck grey sweat shirt with school logo, charcoal grey jogging pants or black shorts, white T shirt or white polo shirt, black pumps or suitable trainers. Further information regarding uniform can be found on the school website - https://www.trinitystpeters.org/serve_file/8270897
Date: 6th Feb 2024 @ 9:57am
What a fantastic week to end this half term! It has flown by in record time and there is much to be grateful for and to reflect upon.
Our week started with a particularly proud moment as families of the Year 5 children were invited into school on Monday afternoon to watch a clarinet showcase concert. The performance detailed the musical journey that the children have been on since first picking up their clarinets in Year 4. The children had the opportunity to showcase many of the pieces that they have been learning, of varying difficulty and styles, and were met with a well-deserved, rousing round of applause at the end. Well done to them! Thank you also to Mrs McCardle from Sefton Music Service for supporting the children so brilliantly throughout their time learning clarinet. Some of the children are keen to continue their tuition in extra sessions in Year 6 and they will have this opportunity should they wish.
As Safer Internet Day was during this week, we have had a range of different opportunities linked to promoting the safe and positive use of digital technology for children. The children explored their online lives and a range of discussions and online scenarios were presented to them where they had to apply their learning to reach a safe solution. This inspired many conversations about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically, and creatively. A particular highlight of our Safer Internet focus was undoubtedly the chance to delve into the world of ‘Interland’. This Google-produced adventure game enabled the children to become fearless explorers of the online world across a range of islands including: Mindful Mountain, Kind Kingdom, Reality River and Tower of Treasure. Each island linked to a key element of online safety and the children had a blast working their way through each whilst thoroughly enjoying the journey. If you require any further information regarding Online Safety, please visit our Online Safety section on the school’s website.
In RE this week, we completed an evaluation of our learning throughout this half term which was focused around Jesus as a teacher. The children’s responses showed such deep, considered thinking and demonstrated the impressive learning throughout this topic.
In Maths, we focused on fractions and particularly ordering and comparing fractions with different denominators. As with so many aspects of Year 5 Maths, times table knowledge is so key for identifying these patterns quickly and efficiently. Remember, practice makes permanent so the best way to improve multiplication skills is to ensure full confidence in all times tables up to 12x12. After half term, we will continue to focus upon fractions whilst finding equivalences to decimals and percentages too.
Also in Maths, we have been busy participating in the North West Sumdog Contest where the children were challenged to answer 1000 questions before the contest door slammed shut on Thursday evening. The children displayed excellent determination and positivity and the team spirit throughout Year 5 was just amazing to see. We are over the moon to WIN the contest out of all of the schools in the north-west that entered. An amazing achievement!
In English, you could hear a pin drop in the Year 5 classroom as each child was determined to make their final writing pieces the very best that they could be. We were tasked with writing our own Norse-style myth, using inspiration from our class focus book, Arthur & the Golden Rope. The children also had the task of accompanying their work with some artwork and illustrations. The final versions are impressive and testament to the creativity as well as hard work and effort that the children have showcased throughout this half term.
So that’s that! Another half term passes by and a well-earned rest for this hardworking class of children awaits. Make the most of it everyone and I look forward to seeing you all in a week’s time. Enjoy!
Reminders:
-Weekly spellings have been set as normal and will be tested after the half term break.
-There is no set Maths and English homework for next week, however the Year 5 ‘Virtual Classroom’ has been updated and attached to this blog, which includes links to a variety of websites and resources. All pupils' individual passwords can be found on Google Classroom. Don't forget, there is also the ‘Practice’ section on Mirodo where the children can choose any topic they wish to practise for Maths, Reading, SPaG or Science.
-As per the message on School Spider, the Year 5 children will have their PE sessions after half term on a Tuesday and Wednesday (swimming). Children should come to school in their full PE kit on these days. Swimming will continue for part of the next half term and a message update will follow to confirm the end date when finalised.
Date: 30th Jan 2024 @ 10:28am
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February has arrived and another week flies on by! This week has been typically full of learning and fun opportunities which also coincided with ‘National Storytelling Week’. Here is just a snapshot of some of our learning below…
As it is National Storytelling Week, we explored world building within various book series, video games and films that we love. Many examples included Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Avatar and many more. We considered how the creator would map out various aspects and features of their unique storytelling worlds before the story itself unfolds. Inspired, we created our own storytelling worlds, letting our imaginations take us into these new lands of endless possibilities.
In Collective Worship, we commenced our new monthly value of ‘Love’, which we have connected closely to our school value of Nurture that refers to being kind to ourselves and others. We watched a video titled ‘Love Has No Labels’ which showed us that love exists in so many different ways. The video challenged us to always be open minded and work to stop bias and prejudice in the world around us.
Our main focus in Maths was on converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers. To practise this, we used lots of games including a whole class loop game, Blooket and a version of UK gameshow, ‘Mr and Mrs’ (however retitled as Mr/Miss Improper Fraction/Mixed Number). There was lots of hard work throughout and hopefully the children can apply their understanding within this week’s Mirodo homework too. Next week, we will move onto adding and subtracting fractions.
We completed our class writing focus book, ‘Arthur and the Golden Rope’, this week too. It is fair to say that nearly all the children fell for the twist at the end as our main character was thought to have been gravely injured by Fenrir the wolf before some magic was revealed to have saved the day. We loved reading this picturebook together and exploring the various features and elements of Norse mythology throughout. Our work this week included lots of thinking map work to analyse Arthur’s various quests as well as breaking down the key elements of the story. Next week, we will start to plan a Norse adventure myth of our own!
A fun week and I hope you all have equally fun weekends too. See you Monday!
Reminders:
-A Year 5 Clarinet performance will be taking place on Monday 5th February at 2:30pm in our school hall. The children will showcase a few of the pieces that they have been learning as part of our Music curriculum offer using this instrument. Please enter the hall via the KS1 playground entrance at the front of the school and the children can be picked up and taken home directly following the performance. It will finish in time for normal end of the school day arrangements.
Date: 16th Jan 2024 @ 10:34am
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As temperatures dipped this week, our efforts in class most certainly did not! Here is a snapshot of just some of our many highlights…
Our Maths learning involved visualising and recreating a range of increasingly complex 3D shapes using multilink cubes. Using a 2D image representation as our guide, we had to work together with our shoulder partners to construct as many shapes as possible to earn as many points as we could. Our other Maths lessons built upon our long multiplication learning from the previous week as we were introduced to the column method for long multiplication. After mastering this method, the children will have the luxury of choice in deciding which method they prefer (column or grid multiplication) when tackling such questions.
In English, we began our writing focus text for this half term, which is titled ‘Arthur & the Golden Rope’. We have enjoyed reading the beginning of this rather unusual myth as well as using it as a stimulus to write a short Norse poem containing adventurous noun phrases and linking in relative clauses from last week’s learning too.
In our Collective Worship, we continue to focus on our monthly value of ‘Wisdom’ for January. We explored a variety of different quotes which shared some advice, life tips or could generally be considered wise. A particular favourite was “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” We enjoyed hearing and unpicking these different examples and such quotes as the above encouraged us to be the very best version of ourselves that we can be.
In Science, we continued to learn about forces and focused particularly on air resistance. As part of this lesson, we constructed paper aeroplanes and had to consider the forces acting upon them in flight as well as how to streamline our designs further in order to ensure greater success.
To conclude a busy week, we were visited by the Chinese Confucius Institute from Edge Hill University who led some exciting workshops ahead of Chinese New Year. Yunchen taught us about the origins and the customs of the celebration before we moved onto creating our own Chinese lanterns. The fun didn’t stop there as we were treated to a Dragon Dancing Show in the afternoon alongside our friends in Year 4 and Year 6!
A tremendous week and wishing you all an enjoyable weekend!
Reminders
-Homework for Maths and English continues to be set via Mirodo and should be completed on or before the following Wednesday (24th January).
-Weekly spellings are accessible via Google Classroom.