Year 5

WELCOME TO YEAR 5

Mrs Callaghan and I hope you all have a restful half term. You have some English and maths homework to complete and your new spellings. The vast majority of you manage to complete this every week and I would like to say a big thank you for this. You are showing that you are very well prepared for year 6, where the expectation for homework will be raised in line with your developing independence and maturity.

Keep going with your reading. So many of you are in line for your gold award.

Well done to all the children who completed their project homework on time. As usual the standard was high and your presentations are becoming better and better each half term.

Some of the pictures below show the class being led in a drama workshop by Miss Farnhill from St Anne's Catholic Secondary School.

See you all in June.

I can't believe how quickly this year is going and how your children have matured and developed into much more independent learners who are showing perseverance and resilience. Our Ancient Greece topic is enthusing everyone and the work the children are producing is very high quality. They are working in pairs and are researching the information they are interested in and presenting it in the way they want. They are very motivated by the independence this type of research allows them.

We will be making cushions after half term and doing some clay work based on Grecian pottery.

We have been very fortunate this half term as a drama teacher from St Anne's Secondary School (Miss Farnhill) has been leading the children in Shakespearean workshops, So far, they have had the opportunity of studying and acting sections from The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. She will be visiting once more after half term.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say a big well done to all the children who are keeping up so well with the reading challenge. Nearly half the class is on track to receive their silver certificate soon and if they keep reading regularly they will reach gold by the end of this academic year.

Thank you to all the parents who were able to share Year 5's Holy Week Liturgy with the school. I'm sure you were as proud of them as me and Mrs Callaghan were. Many staff members and children came up to me afterwards to say how moved they were by the whole experience. They had really understood how Jesus must have felt in The Garden before his arrest, as He struggled to come to terms with what he was about to endure. I'm sorry if you weren't able to make it as you would have been extremely proud.

Thank you for your support.

A very warm welcome back to school and a Happy New Year to you all. Mrs Callaghan and I hope you had a merry and restful Christmas and New Year.

Apologies for not putting the island painting photos on before now, but I forgot to take my camera home over the holiday period. There are some photos of children giving their homework presentations, also. Unfortunately, my skills of photography are not that marvellous, so I have had to delete some pictures. If you don't see a picture of your child, be rest assured that we listened to the presentation and I did take a photo.

The new year has started brilliantly. Your children have worked extremely hard over the first 2 days and are concentrating on their learning well. Most of the children have kept up their reading magnificently and are well on the way to their bronze award already. Thank you for your support.

PE day change - Please note PE will be on Tuesday and Thursday this term (not Friday as last term).

We will not be doing Forest School this term, so no need for extra clothes on Friday.

Here are the island painting photos.

Here are the latest pictures of Forest School and cooking, plus the photos of the Island making.

Many thanks to all the parents, grandparents and relatives who were able to make it - I hope you had fun.

Painting and decorating is on Tuesday 6th December in the morning. If you've signed up to come to the Nethercott meeting as well, that's fine because you can go to that before you come to the class. Please remember to wear something paint-friendly.

If you can't make the Island painting activity I will put the pictures up as soon as possible so you can see how your child's creation has turned out.

Monday 26th September

I would like to say a big thank you to those 12 children who remembered to bring in their reading log today and well done to the 15 children who remembered their spelling book.

These books are supposed to be in school every day. I and Mrs Callaghan remind the children at least 5 times a day - once, just before they go home. It is very important that year 5 children become increasingly responsible for remembering the books they need at school so that it becomes a good habit to continue throughout their school life.

Lots of children did very well with their spelling test on Friday, so well done for learning them. However, it is becoming obvious that children are not looking up what the words mean when they write their sentences. One example this week was:

'I've got a bough on my head.' Now, unless the poor character in the sentence had been squashed by a large tree, it's very unlikely that this would be the case. As I have indicated on the inside cover of the spelling book, it is no use knowing how to spell a word correctly if you don't know how to use it correctly in a sentence. Please, please encourage your children to find out what the words mean before they use them and please help them get into a routine of checking that they have all their books with them before they leave home in the morning.

I will attach a copy of this week's spellings under the homework tab.

Thank you for your support.

Mrs McKnight

A big thank you to all the parents, relatives and friends who came to share with year 5's liturgy yesterday. Your children did remarkably well, despite the fact that we had so little time to rehearse. For those of you who couldn't make it because of work commitments, I just want to et you know that your children did you proud. They spoke loudly and clearly and the two actors, Frances and Liliella, took on their roles confidently. The children told the story of the Prodigal Son and linked the love of his father to the love of all parents for their children and also the love God has for all of us. Knowing that no matter what we do or how many times we fail God will always be there loving us. It is a great comfort.

Welcome to year 5's web page.

Your children have made a fantastic start to school. They look very smart and they are being really positive and enthusiastic about their learning. We have been spending some time in the first 2 days finding out about a 'Growth Mindset'. The children have been hearing about how the brain works when we are thinking hard about something that is difficult and that actually our brain grows during that time of mistake making and we learn more through that frustrating period. We will be doing much more work on this theme, so ask your children about it and celebrate any mistakes they (or you) make because you will have learned something because of it.

If you hear your child say, "I can't do it." add the word "Yet".

Our first date for you is our class liturgy which is going to be held on Thursday 22nd September at 2.30pm in the school hall. The children will be bringing home invitations tomorrow (9th Sept). Please join us if you can.

We've got a really exciting year ahead and both Mrs Callaghan and myself are really looking forward to getting to know you and your children and working with them throughout the year.

Please come and speak with us if you have any questions.

Best wishes

Mrs McKnight and Mrs Callaghan