Autumn 2 is a very busy half-term with lots of exciting learning and extra-curricular activities taking place. To kick off the children's return, our first week back was STEM week.  During this week children participate in activities that are based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

      

In Year 5, our theme was space. We designed and created our own moving mechanism cam toys. We started by experimenting with the different types of cams and followers. To create our mechanisms, we used shoe boxes, wooden dowels and cams for the structure. For our toy model, we used cardboard and a range of decorative materials and paints. The mechanisms were very successful. They worked well and looked great!

"I enjoyed building our mechanism, it was challenging but enjoyable to decorate our shoes boxes"

After STEM week, we started new topics in all of our lessons. The children were extremely excited to learn even more about Earth and Space during our Science unit. In English, we wrote a balanced argument on whether school uniform improves pupil experiences at school. Some of the children in Year 5 were even so passionate about it that they had a discussion with Miss Smith! 

In Maths we have been looking at fractions. We have been adding, subtracting and converting between improper and mixed number fractions. We have also been learning about Hinduism and Humanism (RE), gymnastics (PE), pets (French). We enjoyed learning all about valuing differences and creating our 'honesty' values board for this half term. 

                  

"I have enjoyed Maths and Science. I like converting between improper and mixed number fractions." 

"I love my English lessons. Writing about 'The Snowman' story has been fun and very Christmassy!"

                            

"I loved learning about Space. It is fascinating!"

                         

We have had some close competitions between the classes on TTRockstars. The children with the fastest speed were: Lisander, Ridham and Ali.

The children have been completing their accelerated reader quizzes each week. The children with the highest word count in each class are: Lisander,  Sukhmani and Sid.

Well done to all of these children!

We were privileged to have a lantern making workshop which the children attended in their classrooms. Children used bamboo sticks, a strong tissue paper and various materials for sticking and decorating to create their lanterns. Many of the lanterns made were used at the Hounslow Winter Lights lantern parade. 

To mark the start of the start of the World Cup, we had an assembly and also watched the England vs Iran game in our Year groups. There were also a range of World cup activities for the children to complete during this time. It was a very intense match and nerves were high! The outcome was definitely worth it with England winning the game.

"I enjoyed watching the England vs Iran match with my class."

Our Christmas Fayre took place in December with lots of fun activities such as face painting, a Christmas crafts, games and Santa's grotto. The children getting in the Christmas spirit! Our Christmas concert also took place this month. All of the children performed brilliantly and enjoyed singing the Christmas songs. During the last week of the term the children completed some fun Christmas activities. In Year 5, we wrote a letter to some of the residents of Vicarage Farm Care Home. We also made our own snow globe decorations. They looked absolutely amazing!

           

"I really enjoyed the pantomime. It made me laugh and was fun."

"I felt happy at the Christmas concert because we practised so much!"

                                                           

 

The children had a fantastic start to their Spring term, and we can't wait to share with you what they have been up to!

In History, Year 5 have been exploring the lives and times of some of Britain’s early people; looking at the reasons why the Vikings, the Angles and the Saxons came to this island and the lives and customs they built for themselves across Britain. We all thoroughly enjoyed our fantastic experiences with the Anglo-Saxon workshop where we learnt about whom the Angles and Saxons were, why they first came to England and the legacy they left for future generations. This opportunity allowed our children the chance to consolidate the learning on Anglo-Saxon life that they have engaged with in class. Everyone was invited to dress up for the workshop, and it was wonderful to see the whole year group enjoying their learning so much. 

   

“The Anglo-Saxon workshop was amazing! We learnt so much, I hope we get to do more workshops.”

“I really enjoyed learning about the Anglo-Saxons. I really liked learning about their laws and Crimes and Punishment - it was really harsh”

“I’ve learnt so much about the Anglo-Saxons now. And we learnt to play Fox and Geese which is a great board game they invented. I never knew Anglo-Saxons had board games.”

In Science this half-term, Year 5 have been investigating Properties and Changes in Materials.  They have explored which properties (for example whether it is magnetic, transparent, absorbent etc) are held by different materials and have also looked at whether all or only some substances dissolve. They have built on their knowledge of scientific concepts and expanded their scientific vocabulary through planning and performing their own experiments - feel free to ask them which parts of their experiments were the solute, solvent or solution. 

“I loved doing Science experiments. Everyone gets really interested in what’s happening.”

“We had to make our own experiment when we were looking at solutes and solvents. We were surprised the gravy granules took so long to dissolve.”

This half-term in Geography, our Year 5 classes have been investigating different aspects of Scandinavia.  Through these lessons they have explored Sweden’s climate, and the area’s human and natural geography and have used a variety of sources to research the similarities and differences between Stockholm and London.

“Sweden looks really beautiful. I definitely want to go there one day.”

“I love it when we do geography. Learning about the world and other places is always fun and makes me want to go there.”

English has been very interesting this half-term. We have  been exploring the book ‘Coming To England’ by Floella Benjamin. This has led us to learn about Trinidad and Tobago. We have learnt about life for people who had to travel from abroad and find jobs and settle in England. We found this true story inspiring and wanted to learn more about Floella’s life.

 ‘It was amazing that she finally got to meet her idol - The Queen!. This just shows that dreams can come true!’

Coming to England Please take your time to watch it and listen to it. 

 

In Computing, we learnt how to use formulae in spreadsheets to convert measurements of length and distance? We created a formula in a spreadsheet to convert m to cm, then applied this to create a spreadsheet that converts miles to km and vice versa.

We also used the ‘count tool’ in Purple Mash to test and investigate a hypothesis about which letters are most commonly used in the English language. 

This is the SMART poster we use to learn the rules on how to keep us safe when we are online. Do you know all the rules?