Happy Half Term Y5 23.05.25

It's Friday again which means it must be time for another weekly news. This week seems to have flown by! It must be because we have been so busy doing so many wonderful things. For example, we started the week with a visit to the moss. We have also had Sports Day, and we supported Preschool during their Sports Day too. Gosh, we have done a lot.

Our visit to the moss happened at the very start of the week. The night before, Mrs Tibbetts set up a moth trap, so on our arrival we went to investigate. Luck was on our side as there were several amazing moths and insects to look at. Next, we moved onto land surveys. Using sticks and string, we marked out a square metre, and once this was established, we got to work counting the different types of grass we could see, the percentage of bare earth and the number of wildflowers that were in our patch. After that, we used information about the moss to write poems. It was a lovely way to start off our week.

Sports Day was a highlight of the week. We demonstrated our athletic prowess and team spirit on Monday and Wednesday. On Monday, we enjoyed taking part in field events, and, on Wednesday, we tackled the track events by taking part in the obstacle race, bean bag race, sprint, and relay. Cheering on our teammates, we showcased exceptional sportsmanship and celebrated the achievements of our classmates.

Additionally, we had the privilege of supporting the Preschool's Sports Day, where we cheered on the younger children as they participated in their own races. We helped set up the races and guided the younger children to their starting lines. They ran their hearts out, and we are very proud of them.

When we were in the classroom, we enjoyed our usual set of lessons. In maths this week, we started off the week by learning about 3D shapes. We learnt to identify and describe different 3D shapes, understanding their what 2D shapes are used to create them. We then moved onto the exciting world of coordinates and translation. You explored how to plot points on a graph and move shapes accurately. It's been fantastic to see your problem-solving skills develop as they tackle these mathematical concepts.

In English, we came to the end of our adventurous survival narratives. Your characters have bravely explored the depths of the Amazon rainforest and have encountered some nail-biting challenges along the way. From ferocious animals to treacherous terrains, your stories have truly brought the rainforest to life! I must say, I have been absolutely blown away by the wonderful descriptions you have used in your writing. Your creativity and imagination have shone through in every word, and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of your stories.

This week in French, we learned how to ask for and give directions to places in town. Using a new phrase, "Pour la boulangerie, s'il vous plaît?" (How do I get to the bakery, please?), we practised polite ways to ask for help. We also learned how to use first, second, and third in French to describe which way to go--la première à gauche (the first on the left), la deuxième à droite (the second on the right), and so on. Then, we used a map of Twinklville to practise giving and following directions with a partner. You all did a fantastic job finding your way in French!

In music we revisited our performance plan to ensure we had allocated our roles correctly. We practised our parts in our groups. We recordered two out of our four groups this week.

On Wednesday, we finished our unit on St Paul. In this unit, we explored passages from the bible to see how other people spread the word of Jesus and Christianity. We then considered who had inspired us most from our unit.

In our HeartSmart lesson this week, we finished our 'Fake is a Mistake!' unit by exploring why it's important to tell the truth and be our real selves. We watched a short film and talked about why people sometimes lie and what happens when they do. We learned that when we aren't honest, people can't trust us or truly know us. Then, we shared what we've learned about being truthful. We reflected on how we've grown during this unit and thought about our next steps. We remembered the Bible verse: "Love rejoices over the truth." – 1 Corinthians 13:4-5.

In Science, we recapped what we had planned to do for our solubility experiments and then we had the fun of carrying them out. It was exciting and lots of fun.

In this week's computing lesson, you used all the cool skills you had learned to become a graphic designer! You created your very own vector drawing with a specific purpose in mind, like designing a logo or making an illustration for a project. As you worked, you reflected on the skills you had used, like grouping and duplicating objects, and thought about why those skills were important for making your drawing easier to create. You also explored the world of graphic design, learning what graphic designers do and how they use these tools to create professional designs. To finish, you compared your vector drawings with freehand paint program drawings to see the differences and understand why vector designs are so useful for certain tasks.

Thank you for a fantastic half term, Year 5. I hope you have a fantastic half term holiday.

See you when we get back,

Miss Pennance