Year 5

Welcome to the Year 5 Swans and Herons Class Page

The Year 5 team

Swans Class

Teacher: Mrs Hykin

                               Teaching Assistant:  Mrs Walker (Mon /Wed/ Fri AM)                             

                             Ms Brock                

Herons Class

Teacher:  Mr Jhangeer

Teaching Assistant: Ms Walker  (Tues/Thurs AM )

Swimming is on Tuesday and children should come to school wearing their PE kit, with the swimming kit (goggles, towel and swimsuit) in a separate bag.

Herons Class - Autumn 1, Spring 1 and Summer 1

Swans Class - Autumn 2, Spring 2 and Summer 2

PE is on a Wednesday and children should come to school wearing their PE kit.

Herons Class - Autumn 2, Spring 2 and Summer 2

Swans Class - Autumn 1, Spring 1 and Summer 1

Summer Term 2

As we reach the final week of term, there is still plenty of learning happening in both Swans and Herons Class! Although we are beginning to wind down and celebrate a fantastic year together, the children have remained focused and enthusiastic in their learning.

As part of our Dimensions Global Warning topic, the children have been using everything they have learned about pollution and caring for our planet to design and create their own educational board games. It has been wonderful to see them applying their knowledge in such creative ways while working collaboratively with their classmates.

We also enjoyed the premiere of our pollution interview films, where the children confidently shared their ideas, opinions and learning. It was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate all they have achieved throughout the topic, and they should be incredibly proud of their hard work.

As we prepare to say goodbye to Year 5, we are looking forward to celebrating a wonderful year together and making some lasting memories during our final few days in Swans and Herons.

Week 5 and 6

What an incredibly hot couple of weeks it has been! With the red weather warning in place, we offered parents the option of collecting their children early on three afternoons during Week 5. Thank you for your support and understanding during the extreme temperatures.

For the children who remained in school, we created a calm and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, keeping cool with plenty of fans, regular water breaks and quieter activities during the hottest parts of the day. Despite the heat, the children have shown fantastic resilience and have continued working hard.

To make the most of the cooler mornings, we have focused on our Maths and English learning before the temperature rose too much. During the afternoons, we have explored our Geography topic on Global Warming, alongside enjoying more practical and active learning opportunities.

As part of our topic work, Swans have been writing and rehearsing a reporter interview script about global warming. This has encouraged the children to investigate the causes and effects of climate change while also dusting off their acting skills! They have worked brilliantly in teams to create informative and engaging performances.

Next week, we will be filming the finished interviews before celebrating all of the children's hard work with a class film premiere at the end of term. We can't wait to see the final productions!

Swimming

Due to the extreme heat, Swans Class unfortunately had to miss our swimming session last week. However, to make up for it, we will be enjoying an additional swimming session during the final week of term.

Throughout the year, the children in Swans Class have made excellent progress in their swimming. It has been wonderful to see their confidence in the water grow, with many children developing their swimming technique, stamina and water safety skills. They have consistently supported and encouraged one another, celebrating each other's achievements and showing great determination to challenge themselves. We are looking forward to ending the year with one final splash!

Water safety 

We were also lucky enough to take part in a whole-school water safety talk. The children learned how to stay safe around water, what to do in an emergency and the importance of making sensible decisions near rivers, lakes and the sea.

Why not ask your child what they learned and see if they can teach you something new? I know us teachers certainly learned a lot too!

English

As we approach our final week together, the children have worked incredibly hard to complete their final Big Write of the year. It has been wonderful to see just how much their writing has developed, with the skills and knowledge they have gained shining through in their finished pieces.

This week, the children have completed a balanced argument on animal captivity, and we are excited for them to bring their finished work home to share with you.

When the children bring home their work, you'll also be able to look through examples of the children's favourite pieces of work from the beginning of the year alongside their most recent writing. We hope you enjoy seeing just how far they have come and feel as proud of their progress as we do. They have all worked incredibly hard and should be very proud of everything they have achieved this year.

Math

The children have worked hard to develop their understanding of metric and imperial units of measurement. Although this has been a challenging topic at times, they have shown fantastic perseverance and resilience, even in the heat, and have continued to deepen their understanding through converting and comparing different units.

Week 3 

What an exciting and memorable week it has been in Year 5!

This week, the children have taken part in a range of engaging activities alongside their usual lessons. As part of our Science and Geography learning, we investigated air pollution around the school grounds. The children worked scientifically to collect evidence, analyse their findings and discuss the impact pollution can have on our local environment.

We were also fortunate to welcome Severn Trent Water into school. Through a series of interactive activities, the children developed their understanding of the water cycle, where our water comes from and the importance of conserving this valuable resource. They impressed our visitors with their thoughtful questions and enthusiasm for learning.

To finish the week, we enjoyed a fantastic Sports Day. The children demonstrated excellent sportsmanship, determination and teamwork throughout the events. It was wonderful to see them encouraging one another and celebrating each other's achievements.

Despite the excitement of these additional activities, the children have continued to work hard in all areas of the curriculum. We are incredibly proud of the maturity, effort and enthusiasm they have shown throughout the week. Well done, Year 5!

Sports day fun. 

Water experiments with Severn Trent Water.

Welcome back to our final Summer Term.

Week 1 and 2 

As we begin our final Summer Term in Year 5, we would like to reflect on some important changes within our team. Last term, we said a fond farewell to Mrs Pearson and thanked her for all of her hard work and dedication. We were also delighted to welcome Mr Jangheer to the Year 5 team. He has settled into his role exceptionally well and has quickly become a firm favourite with the children—especially after treating the Herons to a pizza party! We are looking forward to an exciting and successful final term together.

Last term, we focused not only on our academic achievements but also on adding a creative flair to our learning through music and drama lessons. These opportunities allowed the children to develop their confidence, creativity and teamwork skills while exploring new ways to express themselves.

Golf sessions 

This term, we were fortunate enough to enjoy a golf lesson delivered by a professional coach. The whole class enthusiastically joined in as we practised our golfing skills, and a few children even managed to score a hole in one!

Experiencing a variety of sports is not only great fun, but it also provides opportunities for hidden talents to shine. It was fantastic to see the children's confidence, determination and teamwork on display throughout the session.

Well done, Year 5! We look forward to seeing some of you competing in the Masters in years to come!

Assessments

As we move into our assessment weeks, the children are taking everything in their stride. They have remained calm and confident, showing great resilience and determination by always trying their best. We are incredibly proud of the positive attitude they have shown towards their learning and the effort they continue to put into all areas of school life. Keep up the fantastic work, Year 5!

Dimensions Curriculum

Our exciting new Dimensions topic this term is Global Warning, where we are exploring the important issues of climate change, pollution and their impact on our world. The children have already contributed some fantastic ideas and shown great enthusiasm for the topic. To enhance our learning, we will be welcoming a visitor from Severn Trent on Tuesday to discuss the wonderful world of water with us. They will explain the water cycle and how clean water is treated and delivered to our taps.

English

In English, we have entered the fascinating world of Kong. The children are developing their writing skills by creating dilemma narratives and using ambitious vocabulary and similes to bring their monsters to life. They have worked exceptionally hard to develop their creativity, acting out scenes and taking on the roles of different characters from the story to help inspire and improve their writing. It has been wonderful to see their confidence and imagination grow as they immerse themselves in the text.

Maths

In Maths, we have been focusing on place value. It has been amazing to see how quickly Year 5 have grasped this concept and applied their understanding to a range of challenges. We are incredibly impressed by their determination and positive attitude towards learning, especially as we approach the end of the term. The children continue to work hard, show resilience and strive to do their very best in every lesson.

Summer Term

Week 3 & 4

The weeks are rushing by this term and soon it will be Easter!  The pupils have been busy completing their Spring Term assessments; they worked really hard and we are very proud of them all for their efforts.  

Swans class continue to enjoy their sporting Tuesdays as they continue with their swimming lessons, making progress every week, and enjoy their cricket lessons.  Herons class have spent time in PE being circus performers and are now being introduced to the different events in Indoor Sportshall Athletics as well as fully engaging in their cricket lessons.  They are mastering catching and batting as well as beginning to learn the rules of cricket.

This term's Dimensions curriculum focuses on the human lifecycle and the changes humans go through as they get older.  The pupils are now moving on to learn about how to create a healthy lifestyle and the effects of alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and food on their body.  This unit will encourage them to think about their food choices and how they could choose to improve them.

The Swans had a fantastic trip to the Swan Theatre last week to see The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and the Herons are looking forward to their trip.

Week 1 & 2

It has been a busy start to the Spring 2 term with the pupils engaged in a wide range of lessons and activities.  In English the pupils have started to explore The Promise, a picture book about a teenage thief living in a lifeless, depressing city where nothing grows and nobody smiles.  The pupils will be writing a character narrative in the next few days.  Maths continues to look at decimals, fractions and percentages before moving onto area and perimeter and the pupils are enjoying the challenge of learning new mathematical concepts.

Our Dimensions curriculum is covering science units for this term, starting with looking at and understanding the human life cycle.  The pupils had a wonderful time looking at their baby photos and trying to guess whose photo was whose!  The unit moves on to looking at the heart and how diet, exercise, alcohol and cigarettes affects the human body.

Swimming is going well for the Swans class who have enjoyed glorious weather so far on their walk to the Leisure centre.  Both classes have been thoroughly enjoying the cricket lessons, so far learning about catching and batting.  They are beginning to learn some of the rules of the game and are having a great time.

The Herons class were fortunate to have a netball workshop with students from Shottery Girls Grammar School this week.  The students planned and delivered three skills sessions, rotating the pupils through each session. Everyone had a great time and learnt new skills.

The highlight of the week has been World Book Day where pupils have come to school as dreamers or adventurers.  As part of the day, pupils have read with younger pupils in year 2, swapped their teacher with the other class, entered a classroom door decorating competition and enjoyed a picture book called The Journey.

We look forward to welcoming parents into school for our Dimensions afternoon and later in the term for parents evening.

Spring 2

This half term our topic is:

Go with the Flow

Spring 2

As a reminder, pupils will need to wear PE kit on the following days this term:

Herons Class - Tuesday for cricket and Wednesday for PE

Swans Class - Tuesday for cricket and swimming

Week 5 & 6

What a busy two weeks it has been!  

English - the pupils have continued to use The Hound of the Baskervilles as their core text; their first piece of writing was a cliffhanger narrative and this week they have written formal reports to either Sherlock Holmes himself or to Scotland Yard.  The pupils have learnt about the features needed and how important it is to use formal language from the time the story was first written.

Maths - our unit has moved on to decimals with us exploring tenths, hundredths and thousandths and converting these decimals to fractions.  The pupils have realised just how important it is to understand place value!

Science - pupils were tasked with planning an investigation into the properties of cotton wool.  Once planned, they carried out the investigation and then wrote it up.  It was wonderful to listen to their scientific discussions, their teamworking skills and then to see them enjoying  exploring the properties of cotton wool.

Topic - now that we all know where in the world New York and Sydney are....we have learn about immigration, colonisation, indigenous people and so much more.  Pupils have been challenged to show their work in different ways with some choosing writing, some choosing posters and others choosing comic strips.  

PE & swimming - Swans pupils have enjoyed learning circus skills in their PE lessons, whilst Herons pupils have continued to grow in confidence in the water as well as the independence skills needed to get to the pool on time, change and then get back to school before the end of the day.  After half term, the classes will swap and the Herons will learn circus skills as well as have an introduction to sportshall athletics and Swans will take to the water.

Circus skills workshop - this week we had the best Wednesday afternoon ever!  Circus Mash, a circus skills workshop, visited our school and taught us new skills - juggling, hula hooping, diablo, plate spinning and more.  There was laughter, frustration, pride and so many more emotions as we all undertook the challenge of learning new skills.  Perhaps joining the circus could be a career option....

We wish you all a restful half term and look forward to seeing you after the holiday.