Year 5

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A very warm welcome to parents and pupils in our 2018-2019 year 5 class!

We have already been busy getting to know each other and settling into upper junior school life. We have an exciting term ahead of us, with lots of learning to do and we will be beginning to think about our annual residential at Kilve Court.

Our year 5 web page will be updated regularly throughout the year, with news and lots of pictures of our events and activities, so keep checking in!

Mrs Willatts

TERM ONE

Click here for Term 1's Curriculum Overview

What Makes Scotland Scottish?

We will be using the continuing debate about Scottish Independence and the recent referendum to think about our own identities and what it means to belong to a community, whether it's a really big one like the United Kingdom, or a small one like year 5! We will think about how belonging brings rights but also responsibilities. Through this topic, we will learn about the development of democracy and how our parliamentary system works. We will also be learning about Scotland's history and geography and dipping into some of its more colourful characters , like Robert the Bruce, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Macbeth!

We have very much enjoyed meeting our buddies as you can see!

Biodiversity Workshop for St Francis' Feast Day

This term Year 5 were very luck to have a visit from Mr Tom and his helpers from Clifton High School who led a workshop about Biodiversity. We learned about the different species of birds and mammals that can be found in the wild and how, due to farming for food, wild mammals now account for just 4% of the total mammals on Earth. We discussed how it is important to look after all of the animals on Earth, not just the ones that we need for food. It was such a thought-provoking afternoon and we really enjoyed ourselves!

As part of our St Francis' Feast Day celebrations, we enjoyed taking part in the whole school trip to Noah's Ark farm. We learned lots of interesting animal facts on our journey around the zoo, as well as discovering which animals were considered 'endangered' in the wild while taking part in a 'Save Our Species' activity. We tested out some of the play equipment and even got a ride on a tractor too!

TERM TWO

Home and Away

Click here for Term 2's Learning Journey

We started Term 2 and our new topic "Home and Away" with a residential trip to Kilve Court in order to explore the Quantocks area. We had a brilliant time building dens, fossil hunting on the beach and challenging ourselves with activities such as climbing, archery, grass sledging and a low ropes course. Often we had to work as a team in order to be successful at our activities, and our communication skills have certainly improved as a result! Here are some highlights of our time at Kilve:

Here are some collages we made with the help of local artist Emmeline Simpson of Kilve Court. We looked closely at the perspective of the building and used her combination of collage and pastel techniques to create an image in her style.

Trip to Parliament

After learning about Parliament and democracy in PSHE and Topic in Term 1, we celebrated Parliament Week on the 15th November. We learned about the Votes for Women movement and held our own referendum on whether the voting age should be lowered. In January we had the privilege of visiting the Houses of Parliament at such a historic time!

I enjoyed going to the Houses of Parliament and seeing the inside. My favourite part was when we got to see the Speaker because he spoke to us and said "Hello, have a nice trip."

Liam

I learned that the Speaker is in charge of the House of Commons and can kick people out!

Jess

I enjoyed going to the Houses of Parliament because it was very interesting and I learned a lot. For example, the Queen can't go into the House of Commons.

Ed

It was very interesting finding out about what they do at the Houses of Parliament and all the laws they are trying to make.

Liam

TERM THREE

Click here for Term 3's Curriculum Overview

Space Invasion!

Year 5 have really enjoyed our topic on Space this term and have worked incredibly hard on their alien invasion stories in particular. We finished our topic with a visit from the Space Dome and here are some of the comments that the children had afterwards:

I enjoyed the Space Dome because I actually felt like I was in space. I learned a lot including how astronauts live, sleep and eat in space.

Matilda

I liked how it showed the inside of a spaceship. You could see all of the controls and out of the window, the images were so beautiful!

Chloe

I enjoyed the Space Dome because it was a once in a lifetime experience! It was fantastic and I have never done anything like it before. I loved it!

Libby

It's really mesmerizing and it's like you're in space!

Luke

I enjoyed the Space Dome because it looked realistic and it answered some of my questions about space. It was a really good experience.

Matilda

We learned that some stars are a lot bigger than the Sun! We also ate astronaut food, the ice cream was a bit powdery but it was nice though.

Jamie

It really felt like I was Tim Peake! I saw Pegasus the Unicorn and Hercules from Greek mythology in the stars.

Francesco

I learned a lot of facts that I didn't know before. It was amazing to see all the stars and planets because it felt like we were actually there. Afterwards, we ate astronaut food and it was actually really nice.

Ava

I enjoyed the Space Dome because I really felt like an astronaut going into space!

Arabella

Peter Thorpe Inspired Art

The children worked incredibly hard this term to make space pictures inspired by the artist Peter Thorpe. The children noted his use of abstract backgrounds and rockets and planets in the foreground, ensuring they had the same elements in their own work. What brilliant results!

Forest School

This term Year 5 have been enjoying weekly Forest School sessions, including den building and hunting for natural "woodland treasures" as well as creating animal habitats and learning how to build a fire. It has been a great opportunity to develop our team work, communication, independence and thinking skills as well as enjoying the wonderful outdoor environment. Ellie said "I like building dens because we work as a team" and Matilda added "it has made our class's teamwork stronger with everyone, not just our friends".

Term 4

Click here for Term 4's Curriculum Overview

World Book Day!

Year 5 had a brilliant World Book Day! They enjoyed dressing up as their favourite characters, writing book reviews, making "favourite read" recommendations to their classmates and reading stories to their Year 2 buddies.

Computer programming
Year Five have been working hard with the kind help of Mr Haworth to make computer programmes for their Year 2 buddies. After a term of preparation, the children shared their programs with their buddies who all enjoyed playing the games or watching the performances that had been designed especially for them!

TERM FIVE

Click here for Term 5's Curriculum Overview

Year Five make the most of the good Spring weather by exploring the great outdoors with their Year One buddies.

Invasion!

We had a lot of fun earlier in the term creating pottage recipes and then trying the recipes out, using all the equipment safely and then tasting the results. Most people agreed that the Anglo-Saxon diet was surprisingly tasty and very nutritious!

Discovering Ancient Egypt

We have really enjoyed learning about Ancient Egypt this term. We discovered replica and original artefacts at the Egyptian exhibition at the Bristol Museum, learned about Howard Carter and his discoveries and created some fantastic displays to share our learning with other children and our parents.

Here we are at our very own St Francis' Egyptian Museum...