This week we concluded our learning on Macbeth, with a visit from Corrine Blair who retold the story to the children. We have turned parts of the narrative into a play script and used our puppets to act them out. In geography, we have learnt about the positive impact that Fairtrade has on businesses around the world as well as understanding what products the UK exports based on our physical and human geography. The children have worked really hard this term and should be proud of all they have achieved. Have a lovely break, and we look forward to seeing you next term.
On Thursday Year 5 took part in an online STEM day run by Smallpeice in partnership with the Royal Airforce Youth Stem. Their task was to design, make and test three gliders to find out which shape wing and tail (empennage) helped the glider to fly the furthest and quickest. We were impressed with the teamwork and patience the children showed towards their peers, whilst completing the task. They also discussed what sustainability is and designed their own sustainable aircraft of the future. We are enjoying a very practical week and have begun to make our Macbeth inspired character puppets. Thank you to the parents who visited today to help with our sewing skills. 
It's been a busy couple of weeks since our return to school. We have been excited to start learning our Djembe rhythms (bass, slap, tone). We have also investigated absorbency of kitchen roll and have been interested to find which countries our food comes from, while learning about global trade. Next time you have your breakfast, think about how far the food on your plate has travelled! In English, we are busy writing newspaper articles linked to Macbeth after finishing our superb soliloquies.
As we reach the end of this half-term, we have enjoyed thinking about our well-being. On Monday, we headed towards the Reception classes and shared information about Antarctica with them. It was lovely to see our Y5 children engaging with their younger peers and siblings! In contrast to the tragedy of Macbeth, our moods were lightened by a visiting storyteller who shared the comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We concluded our learning about the weather in French with a presentation about what the weather is like in different parts of France. We have enjoyed joining in with the daily Taskmaster activities set on the Place 2 Be Website. Take a look at our rainbows from Monday's task! We have been very proud of the children this half-term in all that they have achieved, including their Young Voices concert, two pieces of extended writing linked to Macbeth, concluding our Vikings topic and learning all about States of Matter.
Year 5 had an absolutely amazing time at the Young Voices Concert on Tuesday. We arrived at the O2 at 12:30pm and once we found our block, we ate our lunch. After this, we found our seats which were brilliant - Mrs Boa very much approved! We then spent the next few hours rehearsing and enjoying the experience of being at the O2. Finally, the moment of truth came when the thousands of parents entered and the show started. Our children were amazing! They sang their hearts out and loved very single second of it. We would like to thank those who were able to come and watch - we hope you enjoyed the performance as much as we did!
It has been a very busy end to our Year 5 Autumn Term. The children have made bread, which was delicious! We have rounded off our geography learning about natural disasters by learning about tsunamis and where in the world they occur. We have also finished our writing using Shackleton's Journey as our inspiration and look forward to using Macbeth as a stimulus for some of our writing after Christmas. Additionally, we have been singing our hearts out, preparing for our carol concert and are exciting at the prospect of singing at the O2 in January. Happy Christmas from everybody in Year 5!
Year 5 have been super scientists this term. We have completed investigations to test the viscosity of liquids, the effects of water resistance on different shapes and even made parachutes to examine the effects of air resistance. Today we have really enjoyed our STEM day and have used excellent teamwork to produce some fantastically innovative marble runs. We also enjoyed our time in the library this week and have really benefitted from an organised and inviting library space.
Over the last couple of weeks in Year 5, we have been writing a persuasive letter from Ernest Shackleton to a prospective crew member. We have been looking at the writing skills needed to successfully persuade as well as learning how to use relative clauses to create complex sentences. In our science topic 'forces', we have looked at gravity, friction and air resistance. This week we investigated whether the surface area of a parachute had an impact on the air resistance and how quickly the parachute would fall. In maths, we have been multiplying and dividing numbers by 10, 100 and 1000 and continued to consolidate our understanding of the vocabulary linked to multiplication.
This week we have immersed ourselves in our new geography focus about natural disasters. The children have learnt about how and why volcanoes are formed. We have started to read our new core text, Shackleton's Journey, and have used our powers of persuasion to write an advert as if we were Ernest Shackleton recruiting his crew. To put the story into context, we have compared and contrasted the Arctic and Antarctica and recorded this information in a Venn Diagram. We have made links in our learning by applying our understanding of Venn Diagrams in maths to organise multiples and common multiples.
Last week, we enjoyed welcoming a visitor to our school for our Anglo-Saxon day. The day helped to reinforce our learning about what life was like in Anglo-Saxon times. The children took part in many creative activities including: an archaeological dig, illumination writing, making medicines with herbs, candle making, making ink and writing with a quill. Thank you so much to the parent helpers who joined us for this wonderful day.
In maths, we have started our new topic, addition and subtraction. We have been learning how to estimate and approximate answers to calculations by using our understanding of rounding numbers.
We have completed our narrative writing inspired by the Lost Thing and have been really impressed with the imaginative endings the children have written.
In science, we have been learning about the phases of the moon - when you look up in the sky tonight, you should see a waning gibbous!
