Welcome to Year 5 

Eddie Howe is our class hero because he perfectly shows all the values we care about at school. He demonstrates respect by treating players, fans, and opponents kindly, and honesty by always being fair on and off the pitch. He shows teamwork through the way he works with his staff and players to achieve success together, and pride in the way he represents his team and community. Eddie brings happiness by inspiring and motivating others with his positivity, and he shows resilience by never giving up, even when challenges arise. He is a role model who truly reflects the values we strive for every day.

Our Welcome to Year 5:

See Year 5 in action:

January News 

Year 5 have kicked off January with an absolutely fantastic start and a multi-skills win – woo-hoo! The children have worked hard exploring new units and all children have demonstrated Ellington’s School Values.

We have jumped straight into our exciting new Geography topic, ‘Why Do Oceans Matter?’. The children have shown a wonderful interest in learning all about our coral reefs and the impact humans are having on our coral. The children have brought some brilliant facts into the lessons and have shown they can use books, technology and human resources as a method of research. Everyone has created wonderful and very thoughtful reports about the importance of keeping our coral reefs safe – their work is both creative and inspiring!

In Science, our minds have been blown by some incredible facts about planets and the solar system! 

We loved delving deep into our solar system and exploring how the planets orbit the sun. To help us remember the order of the planets, we have (nearly) mastered a catchy mnemonic – try it out and test the children at home! Our new topic is materials, we are testing magnetism, electrical insulators and thermal conductors. 

In English, we’ve been exploring the epic story of Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon legend. We are currently bringing the story to life with a setting description which includes expanded noun phrases and direct speech. 

During reading, we are loving The Nowhere Emporium – we are hooked already! As we read, we’re developing our VIPERS skills (Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval, and Summarising). 

In Maths, we’ve been consolidating our understanding of the four ways (addition, subtraction, division and multiplication) Please continue to support their learning at home with regular practice – it makes such a difference. This week we have moved onto fractions, starting with fractions of amounts and equivalent fractions. 

We’ve started the year with a brilliant mix of Ancient Greek dancing and netball in PE. The children are not only developing their physical skills but also their teamwork, and resilience. 

Well done, Year 5 – keep up the brilliant work! 

February News 

Year 5 have started the wonderful Spring Term 2 brilliantly. They have been working hard on their newly learnt skills, and recapping prior knowledge to build on their learning.

At the end of last term, the children showed off their amazing ‘Pop-Up Books’ to Reception. They worked so hard creating their books, and Reception loved seeing them move – it even inspired them to learn the rhyme ‘Jack and Jill’! It was great to see all those who came to the Valentine Disco; everyone looked superb and there was lots of fun had by all.

We are loving our new English unit, as we are incorporating History into our writing. This piece has allowed us to explore the devastating historic events of the eruption of Pompeii on 24 August AD 79. Can you spot what the ‘Freeze Frames’ show?

Each morning, the children and I are always excited to see what Daniel, Ellie and Mr Silver have been getting up to in The Nowhere Emporium. It has sparked great discussions, especially when we asked: would you give up a piece of your imagination to explore the wonders within the Emporium?

History we are looking at ‘The Terrible Tudors’, we will soon be exploring King Henry VIII and all his wives! The children have a real love for history and it is great to see their enthusiasm when it comes to sharing their ideas with one another. 

In Science, we have jumped straight into Animals Including Humans and Life Cycles. This topic will allow the children to examine the similarities and differences between different animals and their life cycles. We are hoping that our investigations will even lead to us witnessing the life cycle of a butterfly.

The children are always keen to ask questions and further their understanding of the wider world through science, which is always wonderful to see.

Extra Special Days this term:

·         This term, we are excited to be working again with Mr Bailey, especially for a special session on World Book Day.

·         We also have our exciting trip to the Centre for Life approaching. This is a fantastic opportunity to widen our knowledge of space and the solar system. The trip also takes place during British Science Week.

·         This term, we hope to create a musical masterpiece and perform it for the school. It will be a South West and African-based piece as part of our music unit.

·         We will also be celebrating Comic Relief, ensuring the children have a good understanding of why this is such an important charity.

·         Year 5 have their Bikeability sessions starting in March. This is a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn how to stay safe while also having fun when riding.

March News 

Year 5 have been super busy this term! From assessment week to Bikeability, the children have all shown great resilience, pride and happiness. During this week, the children have been out learning how to navigate the roads on their bikes. All of the children were brilliant. The instructors reported that they were extremely kind, great listeners and worked super hard (one of the groups got very, very wet too!).

This term we have had many visitors in. Mr Redford wowed us when he came to help develop our learning in English, sharing his amazing knowledge of volcanoes. We were able to link this learning to our diary entries based on the events of Mount Vesuvius. We couldn’t believe the weight of the volcanic bombs and the colour of the pyroclastic ash! Did you know the best place to shelter during an eruption is under a door frame? We also had a visit from the ‘Bee You’ team, who helped us explore resilience and the importance of our mental wellbeing. For our PSHE Citizenship unit, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Mr Sanderson, who challenged us when learning about his role as a Regional Operations Manager. The children absolutely loved learning about the different roles out there that may be available to them in the future. To kick-start our Citizenship unit, we hosted a mock trial where all of the children took on different courtroom roles, bringing their learning to life in an engaging and memorable way – we saw some very persuasive prosecution lawyers, confident witnesses and a judge who could definitely control a courtroom!

In Science, we are loving our ‘Life Cycles’ unit. We began by exploring the life cycle of a human, learning about fertilisation and each stage, before moving on to the life cycles of vertebrates. We were able to delve deeper into the life cycle of a chicken as we worked with Reception, who have been incubating chicks for the last three weeks. We were able to observe them as eggs and some children even witnessed one hatching! We have since been back to see the chicks at their current stage. The children then took their science work to Reception to share their colour diagrams. Afterwards, they offered to stay and help the Reception children with their daily reading and writing tasks. The Year 5 pupils were super kind, caring and patient – real role models.

In English, we have begun writing our own narratives. We have taken inspiration from our reading stimulus, The Nowhere Emporium, and have planned how we will turn the story into our own. Through our reading lessons, we have been developing our understanding of vocabulary, inference and author choice, which is really helping us to improve our writing. Check out all of our adverts on Dojo! 

We continue to encourage the children to read daily (a minimum of 3 reads each week), as reading opens the door to so many opportunities. It supports their writing, builds vocabulary and helps develop confidence across the curriculum. The children are also encouraged to complete their homework in good time so that they can ask for help if they are unsure.

Myself and Mrs Mallaburn hope you all have a lovely and relaxing Easter break, filled with happiness and time spent with family and friends. Enjoy the chocolate, the sunshine (hopefully!) and a well-deserved rest.

Happy Easter to you all!

Useful links for Year 5: