Year 5

Welcome to the Year 5 Swans and Herons Class Page

The Year 5 team

Swans Class

Teacher: Mrs Thijssen-Jones

                               Teaching Assistant:  Mrs Walker (AM)                             

                              Mrs Biles (AM and PM)

Herons Class

Teacher:  Mrs Pearson

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Biles

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

What a week!

It has been a busy week this week, thankfully it has been sunny so they have been enjoying their time outside too.  We have continued our work on volcanoes, exploring where they are in the world and why they are there.  The children have learnt that around 90% of the worlds volcanoes make up the 'Ring of Fire', which can be found around the edge of the Pacific Ocean.  As the weather was so good, the children completed their work outside using atlas' to find the most famous volcanoes in the world and mark them onto a map.

In English, the children have written a Cliffhanger Narrative, based on The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sherlock Holmes), written as though they are Doctor Watson.  Links to the story can be found below (please note that the link will open in YouTube).

First Part 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G042yMgCWYQ

Second Part

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WzdtCdulfE

In art, the children are learning about architecture and have copied pictures of houses, looking carefully at the shapes and proportions.  They chose part of their drawing to enlarge ready to make prints of it in the next lesson.

Volcano art

The children carefully looked at the photos of the volcanoes, to see what lines and shapes they could detect.  Then they carefully sketched their drawings as accurately as possible. We can't wait to see the finished results when they colour them in, using oil crayons to smudge the colours next week.

Science - Puberty 

This half term, our topic in science in puberty. The children are investigating what puberty means,  and learning about both emotional and physical changes during this time.  We have been very impressed with the mature, sensible and curious attitudes of all the children and we have had great conversations in both Year 5 classes.  

We encourage the children to ask lots of questions, and have a question box in the class, in case the children want to ask their questions anonymously.  There are lots of great information books for children available, we have copies of the Usborne books in the class, and highly recommend these. 

Cricket

The children have been enjoying their cricket sessions this term and quite unbelievably, the weather has been perfect with sunshine and blue skies.  So far, the children have worked on their throwing and catching and their batting.  It has been lovely to see so many smiling faces and to hear laughter.  

Volcanoes!

To launch our new topic on the first day of term, the children spent the afternoon making volcanoes out of lemons.  Yes, you read that right...volcanic lemons.  Working in groups, the children followed instructions to add bicarbonate of soda and red food colouring to lemons (with the ends already removed).  They were encouraged to mix the ingredients, to squeeze the lemons and to watch as the froth flowed out of the lemons like lava!  It was great fun and the classrooms smelt lovely and lemony afterwards.  We are now looking forward to finding out even more about volcanoes.

Swans swimming

The Swans are swimming this half term and enjoying their walks to the pool in the sunshine.  They couldn't believe their luck when they spotted the famous black swan! 

Spring Term 2

Welcome to our new term where our topic will be everything to do with volcanoes, please see the knowledge organiser below.  We will be participating in cricket sessions every Tuesday (both classes will need to wear PE kit for this) delivered by qualified cricket coaches.  The Swans class will also swim every Tuesday and the Herons class will need their PE kit on a Wednesday.

Anglo-Saxon Class Assembly

What a fantastic class assembly this morning!  Well done to all the children and a huge thank you to the parents and grandparents who came to watch and supported us by finding costumes and practicing lines.

High School Musical

The Swans were delighted to be invited to Stratford High School, to see their production of the High School Musical.  They had a fantastic time, and showed our values Ready, Respectful and Save at all times.  It was great to catch up with so many former Bridgetown pupils in the production too! 

Bird Hides - Design & Technology Project

The children have been working hard in groups to design and make a bird hide.  Initially, they explored the purpose of bird hides, then used this knowledge to draw and label a design of their choice.  They then spent a whole morning making their bird hide using different materials including wood, glue, cardboard, fabric and lolly sticks.  Each group was given four pieces of wood, each one 60cm long and had to work together to calculate how many pieces of wood they needed to build their structure, how long each piece needed to be and then to mark it accurately.  They were encouraged to "measure twice and cut once"!  Everyone then challenged themselves to use a saw carefully to cut their wood to length and then begin to build the structure and cover it with their chosen materials and designs.  It was a pleasure to watch them working together, problem-solving as they went.  Well done year 5, your bird hides are wonderful!

Circus skills Workshop

As part of the circus skills in our PE topic this term, we booked a circus skills workshop for both classes today.  So much fun was had by all, please ask your child to explain some of the activities they enjoyed today.  There was a great mixture of plate spinning, juggling, diabolos and hula hooping, in all sorts of positions! The talented professionals made the tricks look easy, however, with perseverance and resilience and tonnes of enthusiasm from all children (and teachers!) everyone did brilliantly and managed to master at least a few of these.  Everyone wanted to carry on practising so please don't be surprised if juggling balls or diabolos are on your child's wish list!  Please have a look at the photos below to see what the children got up to. 

Year 5's new topic started with a whole afternoon learning about the Anglo Saxons which the children thoroughly enjoyed.  They learnt lots of new vocabulary linked to the topic, began to understand when in history the Anglo Saxons arrived in Britain, where they came from and why they came.  The children learnt to write their name using Anglo Saxon Runes and learnt to start their writing using an illuminated letter.  Please see some of their work below.

The Swans class have PE lessons this half term, and as part of the gymnastics curriculum, they are focussing on circus skills.  They had great fun in the first lesson, practising 'tight-rope skills' by balancing on the very narrow up-side-down benches.  It was great to see their teamwork, by supporting and encouraging each other.  Today they will learn the first steps of juggling, first of all with scarves, then quickly moving on to tennis balls.  We are very excited that we will consolidate this theme with a circus skill workshop at the end of this month. 

Welcome to Spring 1! 

We are delighted to see that the children have started this half term with huge amounts of enthusiasms and energy! They have delved straight into the Anglo -Saxon topic and have already explored the time line, vocabulary and art of this specific time period.  This week they have also started to learn the story of Beowulf, and during the English lessons we will look at this exciting and gruesome story from different characters' perspectives.  

In Science, the children are studying the human life cycle. As  part of ths, we are researching the changes and development during each of these stages.  We have a great lesson planned and it would be great if you could email us photo of your child, as a baby.  Please could you email these to Year5bps@welearn365.com (with the child's name attached too) before Friday, 17 January.  

Please note that Herons are swimming this half term, and therefore need their PE kit on Tuesdays, and the Swans are having PE lessons on Wednesdays. 

Date for the diary!  The Year 5 class assembly is Thursday, 13 February at 9.15am.  We will send out more information about this in the coming weeks.  

Over the past 4 weeks, the Swans and Herons have been exploring 'retrofuturism' and the space race in art.  They are beginning to understand how people in the 1950/60's imagined what the future might look like and have been imagining themselves, what the future may look like.  As part of the art curriculum, the children created a background on cardboard out of wool, paper towel, straws, material and rice and used this (by painting it) to print a background.  This is the start of a piece of artwork which will be displayed in school and will show what they think the future may look like.

This work fitted well with  our Hot Write this week, when the children planned and wrote a science fiction story based in an imaginary, futuristic setting featuring technological objects, problems and resolutions based in science.  Their stories are amazing!

In PE this term, the Herons have been learning handball and how to work as a team to score goals when they can only hold the ball for a maximum of three seconds, and only move a maximum of three steps.  As a result, their communication skills are improving rapidly every week.  The Swans class have been praised by their swimming teachers for the huge progression they have shown already this term and all Swans are enjoying their Tuesday afternoons at the Leisure Centre.

National Space Centre Trip

On Wednesday 13th November, Year 5 had an amazingly exciting day in Leicester at the Space Centre.  The children represented our school exceptionally well all day and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  As part of the experience, they watched a show in the planetarium, learning about what it takes to become an astronaut - it was truly amazing to watch.

The children enjoyed the freedom of exploring the centre, reading, playing and learning with their friends.  Lots of the children are now very keen to go back with their parents!

Space Topic

Our new Topic for this term is Space and to 'launch' it, we started the new term with a whole day exploring Space.  The children enjoyed testing themselves to see if they had the skills needed to be an astronaut by testing their memory, their teamworking and their communication skills.  The children enjoyed stacking cups only using string and elastic bands, buildings rockets to launch in the playground and testing their observation and memory skills by looking at differences in robots.  We had a blast!

ROAR Project

Last term, Year 5 took part in the Lions Club ROAR project which was great fun!  Members of the local Lions Club came into school to launch this exciting project which challenged the pupils to invent something that will help a problem currently in existence in the world.  The children worked on the project for a whole week, starting with exploring ideas, then making a prototype and finally designing a poster and slogan designed to advertise the invention.  Their last task was to come up with a presentation ready for the judges on the last day of term.  It was a fantastic week; working with friends collaboratively enhanced their team working skills, their communication and their ability to compromise.  They thoroughly enjoyed it and invented some wonderful models.

Autumn 2 - Space  

The topic this half term is Space, and we will cover this in both Topic and Science lessons.  To get fully immersed into this topic, we are excited that we are going to the Space Centre in Leicester on Wednesday, 13 November. Please note the earlier start today, the children should be in for the register at 8.30am prompt.  

PE / Swimming   

The Swans are going swimming this half term, so the children need to bring their swimming kit on Tuesdays and come to school wearing their PE kit to change easily at the swimming pool.   Please remember coats as we are walking, no matter the weather! 

The Herons will have PE on Wednesday so please remember to wear PE kit that day. 

Up-thrust Science Experiment

As part of our topic in science exploring forces, the children worked in groups to explore the forces of gravity and up-thrust.  Gravity works hard to push everything down onto the earth, whilst up-thrust, a force only present with liquids, tries to push objects upwards in water.  The children built boats out of tin foil, set them afloat in a tray of water and carefully added weights to the boat to explore at what point gravity would take over and the boat would sink.  As a class, we looked at the boats and noticed that the boats with a bigger surface area were able to carry more weight.  So the children built a new boat, with a bigger surface area and methodically added weights.  All groups were able to build boats that carried more and more weight until eventually gravity took over and they sank.  It was great fun!

Science experiment - air resistance

As part of our topic Forces, the children investigated the effects of air resistance. As a class, they made 6 parachutes of different sizes, keeping everything else the same to ensure they carried out a 'fair test'. 

They then dropped the parachutes out of the top windows to see which one took the longest time to land.  Luckily their prediction was correct, and the parachute with the BIGGEST surface area landed last, as the air resistance was BIGGER.  

School trip -  Tourists in Stratford Wednesday 3 October, 2024

Stratford Tourist School Trip 

The year 5s had a fantastic day on Wednesday when they were exploring what it would be like to be a tourist in Stratford upon Avon. They started off at the Tourist information, where they had a great discussion with the people there, and asked some intelligent questions.  After that, both classes covered many streets and observed fabulous statues, famous buildings as well as a visit to the Holy Trinity Church where they had an interesting tour to Shakespeare's grave. 

They were very lucky with the weather as it stayed mainly dry throughout the day.  And as proper tourists, they finished the trip with a well deserved ice-cream and good run around at the playground. 

As teachers, we are incredibly proud of all the children, as they showed impeccable behaviour and represented Bridgetown beautifully.  We also want to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who supported us, we couldn't do it without you. 

Best wishes, 

Mrs Thijssen-Jones and Mrs Pearson 

Autumn 1

A very warm welcome to Year 5, 2024-25.  We are very excited to start our topic with a local emphasis - Stratford upon Avon, what is it like to live in a tourist town? We will be researching and discussing both advantages and disadvantages of living in a tourist town.  We will also look at what sustainable tourism is, why this is so important.  Please see the knowledge organiser below.

School trips

To really understand this topic, we will actually become tourists for the day, and visit the Tourist Information as well as walk around our local area to identify all those famous and impressive buildings and statues in our town.  You can't be a tourist without suitable treats, so we are very excited that we will be visiting our local ice-cream parlour Hoorays for a well deserved ice-cream. This school trip is booked for Wednesday, 2 October. 

We are delighted that we have a second school trip booked this year, as we have been invited to have a day out on Bell- Boats!  This is booked for Wednesday, 9 October. Please make sure that all children wear their PE kit on this day, including a waterproof coat.   

A letter with more information about both trips has been emailed on 10 September.  There is only a small fee to pay for the ice-cream as we have decided to use the PE Grant for the costs of the Bell Boating experience. Please make sure that all children wear their PE kit for this day, including a waterproof coat.   

Please let us know if you are able to volunteer for either of those trips by emailing the office.  

PE/Swimming 

In Year 5, the children receive swimming lessons. This half term, the Herons have started and go swimming on Tuesdays.  This means the Herons need to wear their PE kit on Tuesdays and bring their swimming kit with them.  Please ensure your child has a waterproof coat as well, as we walk to the swimming pool, no matter the weather! 

The Swans have their PE lesson on Wednesdays, so they need to wear their PE kit on Wednesday during this half term.  

Mrs Thijssen-Jones & Mrs Walker (Swans Class) and Mrs Pearson & Mrs Biles (Herons Class)

Summer 1

The children have had a very busy start to the Summer term.  They are thoroughly enjoying the Ancient Greek topic and we after exploring and studying many Greek myths, including the Gods, heroes / heroines and mythical creatures, the children are gearing up to write their own Greek myths and legends next week. 

We are planning a Greek Day on Tuesday, 21st May where the children will travel back in time.  We have many activities organised for them, including preparing a Greek feast for all to enjoy in the afternoon.  We would be grateful for any volunteers in the morning to help with the food preparation, please email the office if you are available to help.  We also ask for a voluntary donation of £2.50 to help with the costs, to be paid by Monday 13th May. We would love the children to dress up in Greek outfits, but there is no need to buy expensive costumes.  Some bed sheets or last year’s Roman costumes will be perfect for the occasion! 

In Science we are looking at the different life cycles, so thank you to all of those that brought in flowers for the children to dissect, it was great fun! 

The Swans class have swimming lessons this half term, and the Herons have PE on Thursdays. On Monday, 29 April the children need to bring some clothes to swimming lessons as well as their swimming costumes. Shorts and T-shirts or pyjamas are best for this activity.

We are very excited that both classes also have cricket lessons on Tuesdays, so please make sure the children wear their PE kit on those days. 

As always, please don't hesitate to ask us any information and thank you for your ongoing support. 

Miss Thijssen and Mrs Pearson

Spring 2 

It is lovely to see all the children back in school after the half term holiday.  Our topic is Volcanoes, and the children have already had a go at 'erupting' lemons with bicarb and food colouring, which was great fun.  Later in the term, they will have go at erupting volcanoes made of modroc! We will post the photos here on the website for you all to see. 

As always, we have many exciting things planned.  The first date to remember is World Book Day, March 7th. We will celebrate reading, books and bed time stories by coming to school in pyjamas. Please remember sensible footwear (no slippers) as we still make time for the Daily Mile and playtime outside.  

We are currently finalising a day of activities with the RSC during Shakespeare Week (19 March) and will update you as soon as we know more about this. 

Please remember that this half term, the Herons have swimming on Mondays (please wear PE kit) and the Swans have their PE lessons on Thursdays. 

Best wishes, 

The Year 5 Team 

Spring Term 

The Year 5s are thoroughly enjoying their new topic the Anglo-Saxon, it is hard to believe we are nearly half way through!  They are working hard on the class assembly and we are looking forward to invite you on Thursday 8th February, to see the assembly at 9.15am. Thank you for taking the time to organise the costumes and props that are coming in already.  Can we ask to have the costumes in school by Monday 5th February at the very latest so that we can have a dress rehearsal in costumes before the day. 

This half term is the turn for the Swans to go swimming and the Herons have PE lessons on Thursdays, this will swap again after February half term.  

Many thanks for your support with the reading and weekly homework. Please remind the children that the homework needs to be in on Thursdays, in order for us to be able to send out the new homework on Friday. 

If you have any questions, we are always happy to talk to you so please catch us at the end of the day at the playground or email the office to make an appointment.

Best wishes, 

Mrs Pearson and Miss Thijssen 

Making and decorating Christmas Cookies  

During the last week of school, both Herons and Swans classes had a special treat and made Christmas cookies. This involved measuring, kneading, rolling, cutting and lots of teamwork!  The next day they could decorate the delicious cookies, before taking them home.  The children worked hard and the cookies looked gorgeous!  We bet they tasted nice too  

Space Trip

On Tuesday 5th December, the Year 5's had a fantastic day, visiting the Space Centre in Leicester.  There was so much to explore, see, investigate, touch, spin and read, time seemed to go by to fast! To top it all, the children were treated to an amazing production in the Planetarium, to feel what it would be really like to be an astronaut.  As always, the children represented our school beautifully, and did Bridgetown proud with their impeccable behaviour.  

Space Assembly

The year 5's were very lucky to have a visit from Anu who works as a director for the UK Space Agency .  It was very interesting and all children and adults were mesmerised! Harrison said, "It was fantastic, we saw a real pressurised space suit and even held rocks from both the Moon and Mars!"  We can't wait for his Anu's second visit in December.

Autumn 2

Year 5 has started this half term with an exciting topic day, where we looked at what skills and characteristics astronauts need to succeed in Space.  We soon realised that communication, determination, team work and positive attitude are a few of the main skills and we filled it with team games, puzzles etc.  We finished this by designing and creating a rocket to see which one could fly the furthest. 

This exciting term has continued with a visit of the director of Space UK, who held a fabulous assembly. He showed us a full presurrised space suit, rocks from the moon and Mars. He explained how all the research and work at the International Space Centre is hugely important to help us look after our own planet, as well as  finding out more Space. We are delighted that he has promised to come to visit for a second assembly, the week before Christmas. 

It is a very busy term, and we are looking forward to our school trip to the Space Centre on Tuesday, 5th December.  Please note the slightly earlier start time, we would like the children to come in to school for 8.30am.  The week after this, we are very lucky to have the chance to go to the theatre in Birmingham to watch The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!  Again, this is an early start on Wednesday 13th December, as the children need to be in school for 8.15am.  

We also have the Christmas Carol service to look forward to, on Thursday 14th of December.  A very busy and exciting half term! 

Thanks again for all your support, 

The Year 5 Team

School Trip - Local Tourists

The Year 5's thoroughly enjoyed being tourists for the day, on Tuesday, 3rd October.  They certainly packed a lot in, from visits to the Tourist Information, admiring that many statues and buildings around town, watching real life performances outside the theatre, visiting Shakespeare's grave to eating a well deserved ice-cream and a lovely play at the playground.  They all had a blast, and not one person complained about the 15,000 steps we did that day!  What made it extra fantastic was that so many people commented on the wonderful behaviour of the children around town. They showed great respect in the church, super manners  in Hoorays, and were a fantastic audience to the impromptu performance outside the theatre. A big thank you to the parent volunteers too! 

Well done Year 5, you made us very proud! 

Miss Thijssen and Mrs Pearson

A very warm welcome to Year 5, 2023-2024!  We are very excited to start our topic with a local emphasis, Stratford upon Avon, What is it like to live in a tourist town? We will be researching and discussing both advantages and disadvantages of living in a tourist town.  We will also look at what sustainable tourism is, and why this is so important.  To really understand this topic, we will actually become tourists for the day, and visit the Tourist Information as well as walk around our local area to identify all those famous and impressive buildings and statues around our town. You can't be a tourist without suitable treats, so we are very excited that we will be visiting our local ice-cream parlour Hoorays for a well earned ice-cream. 

PE / Swimming 

In Year 5, the children will receive swimming lessons.  This half term, the Swans' class will start.  This means that the Swans' class need to wear PE kit to school on a Monday, and bring their swimming kit with them.  Please ensure your child has a coat as well, as we will walk to the leisure centre, whatever the weather! 

The Herons' class will start with PE lessons in school this half term, which means they need to wear their PE kit to school on Thursdays.  We will swap these sessions after half term.