Year 5 - Cherry & Lime

Welcome to our final term of Year 5 - Term 6! This term is set to be an exciting journey as we delve into the question, "Why is water so important?". We will become geographers, exploring our local area and investigating how the River Avon has shaped our city. We will have guest speakers from Wessex Water to teach us about the significance of sanitation and water infrastructure, and we will conduct fieldwork to see how these can be improved to best serve our community.

Our book for the term is "The Tree and The River," which is a wordless narrative by Aaron Becker and is a spectacular time-lapse portrait of humankind—and our impact on the natural world.

Here's to a term filled with exploration, learning, and the joy of geography!

Teachers

5 Lime - Miss Fraser

5 Cherry - Miss Haskins

LSA - Miss Pearce

LSA - Miss Scott

LSA - Ms Redfern

PPA will be on Wednesday mornings and will be covered by:

Mrs Fletcher - Science

Mrs H - Art

PE will be on Monday mornings (outdoor) and Thursday mornings (outdoor)

Children will need to come into school wearing their PE kit. This includes:

• Plain white t-shirt
• Black shorts or joggers
• Plain black trainers or daps
• School jumper if needed

Reading

We ask that children read at home 4 times per week, for around 10 minutes each time. This can be signed by an adult in their reading record. Please feel free to ask if you need any support. 

Timestable Rock Stars

Children can use their timestable rock star logins to practise their times tables. We suggest practising around 3 times per week for around 10 minutes. Please speak to a teacher if you need login details.

Spellings

Our spellings for this term recap our spellings over the past few terms. They are as follows:

This week was georgraphy fieldwork week! Y5 were looking at the question "How can we improve the area of the Lloyds Amphitheatre to help the community?" It was hypotheised Y5 would be given £250,000 from Bristol City Council to improve the space. We dicussed our ideas in class and then we walked down to the Lloyds Amphitheatre drew sketches of their predicted project, took measurments of the area and interviewed members of the public to find out their views on the current space. Most members of the public liked the idea of improving the space and lots of them were keen for cafes, green spaces and sports facilities to be built! Year 5 then collected all of their results and created posters which included a pie chart, ariel maps, sketches and much more. They presented their posters in groups to Y4. We also got to watch Y4's presentations and ask them lots of intruiging questions!

This week in Year 5 we were having debates! Each class chose a statement to debate over and we challegned ourselves by adding modal verbs and adverbs of possibility into our dicussions. In maths we have started our new topic which focuses on decimals and in mental maths we are learning how to convert units of measure.

Last Friday, Sue Goodland from Wessex Water  came to visit us to discuss how water is cleaned in order to be reused. We learnt about the different ways that water can be polluted and what a difficult job it is to clean it again! We also learnt how soluble different materials are. We tried tissue paper, paper towels, flushable wet wipes, and normal wet wipes. We actually discovered that even flushable wet wipes are not soluble!

This term, we will be exploring the question, ‘Why is water so important?’

Our book, The Tree and the River by Aaron Becker, examines the natural world over time and the impact humans have had on it. To connect with the story, we visited our local part of the River Avon to see firsthand how human activity has influenced it. We studied historic photographs of various locations around Bristol Harbourside and identified the changes that have occurred since the photos were taken. We discussed the reasons behind these changes and speculated about the future might look like. Following this, we sketched the current landscape and, inspired by our discussions, drew what we imagine the same spot might look like in 100 years.

During our second lesson, we were given the illustrations from our new book, The Tree and the River, in non-chronological order. Using our prediction skills, we placed the illustrations on a large-scale story mountain and discussed what we think the plot of the narrative will be.

Greetings and welcome to term 5 of Year 5! This term, we embark on a journey to delve into the profound question: "Why do people leave their homes?" Inspired by the thought-provoking narratives of "The Island" by Armin Greder and "A Story Like the Wind" by Gill Lewis, we aim to unravel the motivations behind migration, displacement, and the quest for refuge.

Important dates for this term:

• Thursday April 18th - Evacuee Trip to Warwickshire Railway Station
• Thursday 25th April - Trip to Bedminster Library
• Monday 13th May - (5 Lime only) Trip to SS Great Britain

Teachers

5 Lime - Miss Fraser

5 Cherry - Miss Haskins

LSA - Miss Pearce

LSA - Miss Scott

PPA will be on Wednesday mornings and will be covered by:

Mrs Fletcher - Science

Mrs H - Art

PE will be on Monday mornings (indoor) and Thursday mornings (outdoor - Forest School)

Children will need to come into school wearing their PE kit. This includes:

• Plain white t-shirt
• Black shorts or joggers
• Plain black trainers or daps
• School jumper if needed

For Forest School, children will need waterproof shoes, a warm coat, gloves, and scarf as appropriate.

Reading

We ask that children read at home 4 times per week, for around 10 minutes each time. This can be signed by an adult in their reading record. Please feel free to ask if you need any support. 

Timestable Rock Stars

Children can use their timestable rock star logins to practise their times tables. We suggest practising around 3 times per week for around 10 minutes. Please speak to a teacher if you need login details.

Spellings

Our spellings for this term are as follows:

This term, our Year 5 students have been enthusiastically participating in tennis lessons in Victoria Park. Under the expert guidance of Coach James, the children have been developing their skills and love for the game.The children have been learning essential techniques such as serving, volleying, and rallying, along with the importance of sportsmanship and teamwork.

So far this term, Year 5 children have been diving into the world of music by learning how to play the violin! It's been a wonderful journey so far, filled with lots of learning and, of course, fun! Each week, we have been exploring everything from the basics of holding the violin and bow to playing notes. It’s not just about this though; they’re learning discipline, teamwork, and the joy of music, all rolled into one! We’ve seen some amazing progress so far and a shout-out to our fantastic music teacher, Mrs Stevens, whose passion and patience has really allowed us to build our confidence in our violin playing skills.

As part of our WWII topic, Year 5 visited Winchcombe train station so that we could step back in time and experience life as a WWII-era evacuee. We travelled back to 1940 and experienced a steam train journey to the 'safety of the countryside', as well as firefighting practice, an air raid experience inside an air raid shelter, and also had a chance meet our new Headmistress who taught us all about what life was like for a child during the war!

Greetings and welcome to the 4th term of Year 5! This term promises to be an exciting journey as we continue to delve into the historical era of World War II. Our focus will revolve around the question, "How was Bristol affected by the Blitz?"

Our book for the term is the classic, "Rose Blanche" by Ian McEwan and we have some amazing workshops and local walks planned with Historic England in order to deepen our understanding of our knowledge of World War II.

Here's to a term filled with exploration, learning, and the joy of discovering the past!

Teachers

5 Lime - Miss Fraser

5 Cherry - Miss Haskins

LSA - Miss Pearce

PPA will be on Wednesday mornings and will be covered by:

Mrs Fletcher - Science

Mrs H - DT

PE will be on Monday mornings (indoor) and Thursday mornings (outdoor)

Children will need to come into school wearing their PE kit. This includes:

• Plain white t-shirt
• Black shorts or joggers
• Plain black trainers or daps
• School jumper if needed

Reading

We ask that children read at home 4 times per week, for around 10 minutes each time. This can be signed by an adult in their reading record. Please feel free to ask if you need any support. 

Timestable Rock Stars

Children can use their timestable rock star logins to practise their times tables. We suggest practising around 3 times per week for around 10 minutes. Please speak to a teacher if you need login details.

Spellings

Our spellings for this term are as follows

This week, our Year 5 students engaged in an exhilarating STEM day, collaborating with engineers from the University of the West of England (UWE) to delve into the fascinating realm of aerodynamics! With boundless curiosity and hands-on enthusiasm, they ecrafted  their own air-powered vehicles from scratch. Guided by the expertise of the UWE engineers, the children explored the principles of aerodynamics, they developed their understanding of lift, drag, and thrust. This experience not only ignited their passion for science and engineering, but also nurtured their creativity and problem-solving skills!

Another busy week in Year 5! On Monday our Year 5/6 netball team competed at the Bristol Sport Netball Games Tournament. There was some brilliant netball on show and our team managed to come 4th overall and even managed to win one of their games 8-0! In the classroom this week we've had reflection day on Thursday where we spent all day completing various activities surrounding our value of the term, forgiveness. We acted out scenarios where we may need to forgive one another, created a class rainbow through mindful colouring and created poems on forgiveness. Year 5 were super brave and read out their poems to the whole school in celebration assembly. We finished the week by painting our clay tiles, we were inspired by artist, Fashiha Farrukh.

This week, we have embarked on an exhilarating artistic journey, drawing inspiration from the work of artist Farrah Fortnam. Our students created a stunning collection of clay coil tiles, each serving as a unique testament to their creativity!

What a busy week we have had! Y5 have finally moved back into our classrooms and it's so lovely to have newly decorated classrooms. As well as moving, we have also had two local trips. We have had two visits this month from Historian Michael Gorely as part of our English and History learning. Y5 completed a History workshop where they learnt to become aerial archaeologists and analysed maps of Bedminster from the 1940s! Then, Y5 went on a History Walk and explored Bedminster looking at what had changed since WWII, and what had stayed the same.We all learnt lots of new things about our local area and quite a few children were inspired to think about a career in history when they're older!

This week, we also visited St Mary Redcliffe Church to learn about some history about the building - did you know that the oldest part of the church was built in around 1185?! We had fun exploring all the different parts and trying to find the whale bone, and as well as the statue which commemorates when Queen Elizabeth 1st visited in 1574.

What an exciting start to the term! Year 5 jumped into their Histroy learning this week creating WWII silhouette paintings, drama scences based off of our new English book Rose Blanche and we even had a briliant visitor named Micheal Gorley who impressed us with his historic knowledge of Bristol during his history workshop. He also taught us how to be aerial arceologists and we used our skills to analyse maps of Bedminster from the 1940s!  In science this week we were exploring the force friction and in maths we have started a new topic which focuses on decimals and percentages.

Welcome back to Year 5 in Term 3! This term we will be learning all about WWII. Our main question is, "What was life like for evacuees?". Our book this term is the children's classic, Goodnight Mister Tom and we will be using this book as inspiration for our own writing in the form of diary writing, setting descriptions and persuasive arguments. 

Teachers

5 Lime - Miss Fraser

5 Cherry - Miss Haskins

LSA - Miss Pearce

PPA will be on Wednesday mornings and will be covered by:

Mrs Fletcher - Science

Mrs H - Art/DT

PE will be on Monday mornings (indoor) and Thursday mornings (outdoor)

Children will need to come into school wearing their PE kit. This includes:

• Plain white t-shirt
• Black shorts or joggers
• Plain black trainers or daps
• School jumper if needed

Reading

We ask that children read at home 4 times per week, for around 10 minutes each time. This can be signed by an adult in their reading record. Please feel free to ask if you need any support. 

Timestable Rock Stars

Children can use their timestable rock star logins to practise their times tables. We suggest practising around 3 times per week for around 10 minutes. Please speak to a teacher if you need login details.

Spellings

Our spellings for this term are as follows

This term in RE, we have been exploring the fascinating question of why people do, or do not believe in a god. We've been learning about the different reasons that might inspire such beliefs and discussing how people feel about the world around them. By understanding these different ideas and beliefs, we've gained a better understanding of the ways in which faith can be meaningful to different people. This has not only deepened our own knowledge, but has also encouraged us to appreciate the diverse ways people find meaning and connection in their lives. We have explored the meanings of the words theist, atheist and agnostic, and learnt about what Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Humanitarians think about how the universe was created. 

This week we had History Day on Thursday and NSPCC Number Day on Friday. What a busy week! It was great to see lots of Year 5s costumes. We had evacuees, soldiers, land women, even Wiston Churchill. During History Day we continued learning about WW2 and reveiwed all the information we've learnt this term. We finished the day with a parade and looked at all of the amazing costumes from Y1-6. This week in English we started writing our persuasive letters as to why children should or shouldn't be evacuated from their homes. In maths we began thinking about mutiplying fractions and mixed numbers!

This week, our students delved into a unique and immersive learning experience by exploring World War II ration recipes. It was a hands-on opportunity for them to understand the challenges people faced during wartime and how rationing impacted daily life. We looked at how rationing books were used and how rationing still impacts Britons today. Did you know that Cheddar became the most popular cheese in Briton because of rationing? Previously, 70% of cheese was imported but then the government changed regulations so that only Cheddar was to be sold as it could travel easily and didn't mould quickly! We then looked at a real-life WWII mock recipe for egg salad. We created our own mock eggs by using mashed potato and mashed carrot! 

In our English sessions this week, Year 5 embarked on a creative journey as they stepped into the shoes of characters from World War II by writing diary entries. Imagining themselves as the characters Tom or Willie, students brought the past to life through their reflective and emotive narratives, providing a unique perspective on the historical era. Some children even chose to write in a West Country or South London accent in order to bring the voice of the character to life!

This week we had our Times Table Rocktar day! Year 5 battled in the SMRP rockstar challenge. Can you spot your rockstar name in the school leadership board? In English/, Year 5 described a photo of a living room in London during WW2. They have created some brilliant, gruesome setting descriptions that have included expanded noun phrases and adverbials. Alongside TTR, in maths we have been focusing on multiplication using the area model and long multiplication. In science, we have started this terms topic - Forces! We have discussed the Earth's gravity and even conducted our own experiment!

What an amazing start to our term! We have really got stuck in with our learning in history and have already learned so much! We were very lucky to examine some primary sources which were brought in by some students, plus we got to watch a video of 104 year old Mary who told us all about her experience of working through WWII!

This week, we also received packages from our linked schools which included indentity maps so that we could learn all about the other classes. We loved looking at the similarities and differences between us. 

Welcome back to Year 5 in Term 2! We have a very exciting term planned, we will be learning all about Earth and Space and will be welcoming a planetarium into school very shortly on Friday 1st December.

Teachers

5 Lime - Miss Fraser

5 Cherry - Miss Haskins

LSA - Miss Pearce

PPA will be on Wednesday mornings and will be covered by:

Mrs Fletcher - Science

Mrs H - Art/DT

PE will be on Monday mornings (indoor) and Thursday mornings (outdoor)

Children will need to come into school wearing their PE kit. This includes:

• Plain white t-shirt
• Black shorts or joggers
• Plain black trainers or daps
• School jumper if needed

Reading

We ask that children read at home 4 times per week, for around 10 minutes each time. This can be signed by an adult in their reading record. Please feel free to ask if you need any support. 

Timestable Rock Stars

Children can use their timestable rock star logins to practise their times tables. We suggest practising around 3 times per week for around 10 minutes. Please speak to a teacher if you need login details.

Spellings

Our spellings for this term are as follows

This week Year 5 made some excellent videos as part of their science lessons explaining how all of the plants rotate and orbit around the sun. In maths this week we have focused on adding and subracting fractions within a whole, fractions with a total greater than 1, mixed numbers and fractions with different demoninators. In English this week Year 5 have planned and created their own narratives based on this term's book Cosmic. Year 5 have jumped into Liam's shoes and created detailed stories about going to the shops and ending up in space! Year 5 have edited and revised their narratives and manged to publish them to display the classrooms.

As part of our science topic on Space, we organised an exciting workshop for all the children in Year 5 to take part in. Explorer Dome set up an inflatable planetarium to introduce the children to the earth, moon, sun and stars. Year 5 found out why the sun moves across the sky, looked for different constellations, and discovered more about our solar system! We looked at different nebulas and constellations and we absolutely LOVED it!

This week, we went to Jamia Mosque, where Mohamed, the Imam, spoke to us about the Islamic faith and the role the mosque plays in the community. He explained the role that the 5 pillars play in a Muslim person’s life and we listened to students recite prayers. We also learnt more about Mecca and what it means to a Muslim to make this pilgrimage.

We have also continued with supporting our reading buddies from Y1 this week. Our buddies are making great progress and we're learning more about how to support younger students with their learning!

This week, we visited Windmill Hill City farm and what a blast we had! We learned more about the reproductive cycle of animals and plants and got to try different herbs and fruits. We also had the chance to feed the goats, ducks, and pigs. But, our absolute favourite memory was being able to feed, hold, and stroke the two resident guinea pigs, Zap, and Bolt. 

This week we kicked off our Space topic by becoming composers! First, we explored the different instruments and the sounds they could make. Next, we listened to the different sounds each planet makes and had a go at replicating them. Finally, we watched a short clip of an astronaut lost in space and worked in groups to compose and perform a soundtrack to it.

We were then introduced to our new book ‘Cosmic’ by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, which tells the story of a boy who has found himself in space. Based on the theme of being lost in space, we worked in teams to design our own space shuttles to allow our ‘eggstronauts’ to safely land on Earth…

This week we have been very occupied with continuing to read our book 'High Rise Mystery'! We wrote a diary entry as though we were one of the main characters in order to report on the murder of the beloved Hugo Knightley-Webb (part-time art teacher, full-time good guy). We used short sentences and brackets to add tension and humour.

This week we have also been preparing for Art on the Hill! We imitated the style of local artist, Farrah Fortnum, in order to create tonal patterns on recycled vinyl records!

Well, what a fantastic start to Y5! Despite the last minute changes to our classrooms, we have settled in well and have got stuck in with making year 5 the bets year so far. This week, we have started learning about our new book, 'Undefeated' by Kwame Alexander. The poem picture book tells of all those people throughout history who are undefeated, unafraid, and unforgettable. 

This week we also looked at the painter William Turner. We discussed the romantic style of art and how the colours that he chose evoked emotion in the viewer. We then imitated his style in our own paintings of scenery.

Following on from our learning from last week, we have continued with our book 'The Undefeated'. Borrowing themes of strength and passion from the book, we have written our own poems to encourage others to stand up and remind themselves that they are unstoppable!

This Friday, we took a trek alongside the river to Bristol's MShed museum in order to explore this term's history question, 'Who were the Windrush Generation?'

We learnt more about Princess Campbell (including looking at her real-life uniform!) and also looked at a chronological timeline which showed how different groups of people migrated to Bristol over a period of 1000 years!