Greek Day
On Tuesday Year 5 took part in a Greek day to celebrate the end of this term's topic:
'It's All Greek To Me'.
We went swimming as normal but the instructors included some lovely 'Olympic' events for the children to take part in to start our day off.
When we got back to school we learnt about Greek food and the children made some Greek bread. This was meant to be pitta bread but they come out more like rolls. The children really enjoyed this activity and it was lovely to see them showing fantastic team work and sharing skills when cooking.
Next we took part in a mini Olympics. We split into 5 states - Athens, Spartan, Corinth, Thebes and Delphi and made our own flags and team chant. We had an opening ceremony and then competed in 7 different events: short distance running, discus, chariot racing, long jump, fire pit sacrifice, javelin and relay race. The overall champions were Delphi!!
Since we were exhausted after our Olympics, it seemed like a good time to taste our bread. We had some different Greek inspired dips to try them with as well. It was a great day.
Chichester Festival Theatre - Shakespeare Workshop
On Monday 24th May, Year 5 took part in a workshop based on Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'. This was facilitated by a volunteer from Chichester Festival Theatre.
The children thoroughly enjoyed the visit and it was brilliant to see them all getting stuck into the scenes. There was some fantastic acting going on and I could definitely some future stars in the making.
Outdoor Learning Day
On Monday 17th May we enjoyed an outdoor learning day. We decided to link our day to our science learning on living things and their habitats. The children spent the day thinking about the question:
What if I woke up as a bee?
First we investigated our local environment to see what other living things we might come into contact with. The children were really excited when we found a lizard (or maybe a newt) in the pond area.
Next we thought about what things might look like if we were the size of a bee and took some perspective photographs using the ipads.
Finally we learnt about the life cycle of a plant and why bees are so important. We then had the chance to dissect some flowers to see if we could find all the key parts.
Summer Term 2021
The children have had a great first week back at school. Monday was an active maths day and we spent a lot of our day outside doing maths. The children were superstars and I am already so impressed with their attitude to maths this term.
On Tuesday we were so pleased to FINALLY be able to start our swimming lessons. The children walked really well to the swimming pool and we very excited to be there.
Please see this term's newsletter for details about this terms topics and any important information.
Mrs Olliver
Year 5 were so pleased to be able to finally start their swimming lessons.
Home Learning Spring 2021
All your home learning activities for this term will be posted on Seesaw. You have been using Seesaw since the first lockdown and are very used to this system. Please check on there everyday for your new activities. If you would like to do more learning during lockdown, please check out the termly overview for an idea of our topics this term.
Tips for home learning:
- Try to set and keep to a timetable each day.
- Take brain breaks in between your activities.
- Complete the work to the best of your ability.
- Remember I am here if you need any help, so please do send me a message on Seesaw if you are unsure about any of the activities.
Lime Class Autumn Term Virtual Assembly
Take a look at our virtual assembly below.
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Science Day - Monday 16th November 2020
For science day today, Lime Class have been investigating the craters on Mars and thinking about how the size and shape of these could be different depending on the object that has caused it or the distance it has travelled. We carried out two investigations based around this using flour as the surface of Mars.
For the last part of the day the children had a go at explaining how we get night and day using torches to represent the sun. I was really impressed with how they were able to discuss the earths rotation and the part it plays in night and day.
Today was also the day we were supposed to be going on our trip to the planetarium. Unfortunately that was cancelled due to lockdown so at the end of the day we turned our classroom into a mini planetarium. It was lovely to see how excited the children were looking at the stars on the ceiling. I really hope we are able to visit the real planetarium in the new year.
Year 5 had a fantastic day and children thoroughly enjoyed investigating all things space today.
Space
Lime Class had a fantastic first day back to this half term. We have begun to think about our new topic - space - and the children investigated the size, shape and distance of the Moon, Earth and Sun in relation to each other. It is safe to say the children couldn't believe how small the Earth is in comparison to the Sun. We found out that if the Sun was the size of a gym ball then the Earth would only be the size of a peppercorn and the Moon would be the size of a coriander seed. We then went outside to try to estimate how far away the objects would need to be from each other.
During our PE sessions with Mrs Barlow we are using our understanding of planets and their orbits to create space inspired dances.
I am so pleased with how enthusiastic and eager the children were with this new topic and I am looking forward to seeing what we learn this half term.
The children found out that if the Sun was the size of a gym ball, then the Earth would be 35 metres away from it.
Maths Week
During maths week, Lime class investigated 3D shapes and learnt how to measure area and perimeter by building pyramids from different materials.
Ancient Egypt Learning Journey
This half term the children have been learning all about life in Ancient Egypt. They have really enjoyed learning all the gruesome facts about mummification and have produced some fantastic pieces of work about life along the river Nile. Additionally, they brushed up on their art skills by creating their own Egyptian self portraits using oil based pastels. In English our writing focus has been writing to explain and the children have produced some fantastic explanation/instructional texts about mummification. They also enjoyed mummifying Elliot in class too. Here are some of the things the children had to say about our learning this half term:
"I really enjoyed learning how to mummify someone because it was really weird and was different to what I expected. I also liked learning how they lived in Ancient Egypt and all about the river Nile." (Leo)
"My favourite part of learning about Egypt was building a pyramid. I also really liked mummifying Elliot because it was really gruesome which was fun." (Alice J)
Welcome Back Lime Class
It has been so lovely to welcome the children back to school and it is fantastic to see how well they have settled in to year 5 already. They have shown great working with others skills during the first couple of weeks at school and I am looking forward to seeing even more Team Bartons spirit as the term goes on.
Reading in Year 5
Developing a love of reading for children is so important, particularly in UKS2 where the children will have to develop a greater stamina for reading longer or more challenging texts.
We work hard at school to provide the children with a wide range of books to enjoy both in library and within our classrooms. In order to help children to continue to challenge themselves and to encourage them to read a wider range of texts, Mr Hayne has put together a recommended reading list of 50 books to read in Year 5 which I have shared below. Some of the these texts are available to borrow from school.
How many will you get through this year?
Lime Class - Year 5 Key information
PE
Our PE days are Wednesday and Thursday and children are expected to take part in all PE lessons. They should come to school in PE kit on these days.
Water Bottles
The water fountains are out of use at the moment so please make sure that your child comes to school with a named water bottle.
Homework
Homework will be set via Seesaw on a Friday and unless specified, will be due in the following Wednesday. Your child should upload their homework to Seesaw by this day. Additionally, Children are expected to read either to an adult at home or to themselves for at least 15 minutes a day. Their reading record should be signed every time they read so that we can keep a track at school. If your child reads competently to themselves, ask them some questions about the book so that you can see if they have understood what they have read. Discussing different texts with your children will help them to develop their own love of reading. Maths homework is often set via MyMaths (https://www.mymaths.co.uk/) which the children have a logon for stuck inside their homework book.