Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful and restful Spring vacation and were able to enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms while they were in bloom. It has been lovely to hear some of the children sharing what they did during the break. We have now returned to school feeling refreshed and ready for the final term of the school year. There is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks, and we are excited to continue learning together as we head towards the end of the year.
Here is what we have been up to:
Maths
Year 5
| Shape |
| Sum.1.1 – Understand and use degrees |
| Sum.1.2 – Classify angles |
| Sum.1.3 – Estimate angles |
| Sum.1.4 – Measure angles up to 180° |
| Sum.1.5 – Draw lines and angles accurately |
Year 6
| Shape |
| Sum.1.1 – Measure and classify angles |
| Sum.1.2 – Calculate angles |
| Sum.1.3 – Vertically opposite angles |
| Sum.1.4 – Angles in a triangle |
Literacy
In Literacy this week, we began exploring how poetry is sometimes used in advertisements. We looked at how large companies use poetic language in commercials to connect with people and make their messages more memorable. This also led to an interesting discussion about why poetry can be meaningful and why people continue to use it to express ideas and emotions.
As our focus text this term is an adventure story involving a hot air balloon, we watched a short video about the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in the United States, where hundreds of colourful hot air balloons fill the sky. Using this as inspiration, we practised writing descriptive sentences about the views we might see if we were travelling in a hot air balloon. Students were encouraged to use imaginative language and avoid simple descriptions such as “high”, “green” or “good”, instead choosing more vivid vocabulary to bring their ideas to life.
We also began reading our new class text, which introduces one of the main characters, a clever pickpocket named Magpie. The opening chapters have already raised some exciting questions. Will Magpie succeed in completing her mission, or will the boy and his duck manage to stop her? We are looking forward to finding out what happens next as the story unfolds.
We also introduced a new activity in Literacy called Quick Write. In this activity, students respond to a fun or unusual question and simply write their thoughts and opinions. Some of the prompts this week included “Should we be allowed to have a class pet?” and “What if the internet stopped working forever?”
The class has really enjoyed this activity so far. It gives them the opportunity to write freely and creatively without worrying too much about spelling, grammar or punctuation. The aim is simply to get ideas flowing and build confidence with writing. By removing the pressure of getting everything perfect, students are able to focus on expressing their thoughts and turning on that creative part of their brain.
IPC
Students were introduced to the new IPC unit, Space Scientists, by exploring space through a series of NASA virtual tours, which allowed them to see locations such as the International Space Station and other areas connected to space exploration. They also watched a recent video showing the launch of the rocket currently travelling around the Moon, which created a lot of excitement and helped pupils see how space exploration is happening right now.
Later in the week, students took part in an active knowledge harvest activity. Working in small groups, they matched images of space objects such as rockets, astronauts, the Moon, satellites and the International Space Station with their correct labels during a space hunt around the school grounds. After returning to the classroom, the groups discussed a series of True or False statements related to their space objects and shared their ideas with the class. This helped identify students’ prior knowledge about space and encouraged discussion about what they would like to learn during the unit.
In the following lesson, students continued exploring their existing knowledge. They worked in groups to match images of objects found in space, such as the Sun, the International Space Station and black holes, with their correct names. They then read statements about each object and decided whether they were true or false. After discussing the answers together, students wrote down any other facts they already knew about space and added them to a large knowledge harvest display, which is now displayed outside the classroom.
Towards the end of the week, we linked our learning to Geography by thinking about what lies beneath the Earth’s surface. Students predicted what we might find underground and then went outside to dig a small hole in the school grounds. We discovered roots, different coloured soil, rocks, and even a tiny worm and a small grub. Back in the classroom, students also learned about the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, the deepest hole ever dug by humans, and why scientists were unable to dig any deeper due to the extreme heat underground.
It has been a very interesting start to the unit, and we are looking forward to exploring more about space in the coming weeks.
Important Information
Have a lovely weekend! ☺️
Residential Trip
Please take a look at this week’s school newsletter for information about the residential trip. Students in Ms Temple’s class can opt to join the trip or stay in school.
There is an information session for students and parents on Friday 17th April at 2.30pm.
Mr Green