Year 5 Weekly Blog 10.05.24- ' You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’

What a lovely and temperature rising week it has been! This week marked a special week in our liturgical calendar with it being the ‘Ascension of Jesus’. We celebrated this as a whole school at church on Thursday- marking the day Jesus Christ ascended into heaven. The mass was filled with many moments of delight and pride, with members of the public commenting on the children’s excellent behaviour and hymn singing.

In our RE lessons this week, it has been a very personal and reflective focus- with the children understanding what their conscience is and using this to decide moral dilemmas. Ask your child if they can remember any of these dilemmas and discuss what would you would do in that scenario.

What have we been learning this week?

English- And just like that, we have finished the famous ‘Highwayman’ poem. The children loved creating their own version of part 1 and also reading stanza by stanza of part 2 and predicting what happens next. We finished the week by starting our new topic, focusing on non-fiction texts. We discussed what this phrase means and linked our prior learning to retrieve common examples of this.

Maths- There has definitely been a year 6 level of focus and work ethic in our maths this week with the children juggling two different units and linking the methods used from each of them. Our first topic has been focusing on percentages and calculating percentage of amounts. Our new topic has been converting units of measure, with us experimenting with measuring heights and how to convert from m, cm and mm.

History- This week focused on a new method of punishment which was introduced in the 1700’s. A quick discussion into the method of transportation and explaining why as a country we chose to do this. We dived into a famous transportation case, where an 8 year old child was trailed and sentenced for this punishment and the consequences of this.

PE- We are now putting our individual skills together and using these in a real game like situations. The application and development of skills have helped create some fantastic games of cricket- both filled with high quality and competitiveness.

Deeper thinking questions

Every week now, we would like children to explore their weekly learning at home by discussing interesting questions with family members. This may be at the table during dinner, before bedtime or when out for a walk. However you choose to discuss these questions is up to you but this may give you more of an insight into what we have been learning in class.

Have any of your family members been to Australia? What was it like?

Who is the smallest and tallest member of your household? Can you measure them in meters and then convert this to cm and mm.

Let’s Celebrate

• Archie for being a cooperative learner- Working as a team can often be difficult, especially when it is required both in the classroom and out on the pitch. Your teamwork skills stand out in the classroom, in which any changes of learning partners do not change your focus towards your learning. This year I have seen improvements outside on the playground with your teamwork. This is huge as you know the importance of this quality when it comes to team sports.

• Riley for being a resilient learner- Focus is a big goal for you going into the last part of the year, I can see you have been working to improve on this- Keep going! I have also seen your resilience in subjects that you may not class as your favourites. You kept going when playing cricket in PE, having a really good go with the catches and to also not let your head drop when batting. 

• Virtue Butterflies- Our virtues for this half term are learned and wise. Our butterfly goes to Roseanna. You really are one of our role models when it comes to making wise decisions in the hall at lunch and out on the playground. You never put a foot out of line and our a pleasure to be in the company of.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Marvellous Manners- Benjamin

  • Role Model of the Week- Faye

Notices

• Homework- Can all children make sure that they are practicing their spellings and making sure their homework books are back in on Thursdays.

• Football Kits- If you have played for the school football team this year, could you have a look for any kits that you may still have in which they are to be brought back in. This will consists of blue top, blue socks and white socks. This will either be the Our Lady’s kit (with CN Active sponsorship) or the Premier League Primary Stars kit.

• Thursday 16th May- We will be going on a school trip to Lancaster to visit the Castle and the Police Museum to further learn about our crime and punishment unit in History.

  Children are to wear normal school uniform for safety reasons and to all bring a pack lunch on the day. Children are to arrive at school for 8:30am for a 8:45 departure. The coach journey will around 1 hour so any children who require travel sickness bands then please do bring them.

  The payment for the trip is live on parent pay.

• Friday 17th May- This will mark our annual ‘Green Day’ as a part of our eco commitments as a school. Children can bring in £1 to wear green own clothes. The money raised will go towards the children’s eco ideas that were created and voted during our council sessions.

• Swimming Gala 14th June- Due to our longer half term and availability at the YMCA pools, we won’t be able to host a trails morning to take race times in order to pick our swimmers for the gala. Therefore, the children who have registered an interest in taking part are to record their own times for freestyle (front crawl), backstroke and breaststroke. It will just be one length of a regular sized swimming pool (25m). Please can a parent or guardian record these times and then let me know their time either via email or written down and brought into school. Ideally, can these times be completed before half term but anytime over half term is great- allowing us to collect everyone’s times and choose who will be competing.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 3.5.24- ' There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience'

This week in RE, we have taken our discussions of reconciliation and forgiveness further by looking into how we sin and how we use our conscience to make these decisions. The children really reflected on how they use their own conscience and what conversations they have with themselves before making a decision.

We also had our fifth enrichment morning of the school year, with Year 5 taking a trip down to Reception. The class spent the morning with Mrs Hartley for a lesson of German. The children were greeted upon arrival with some traditional German greetings whilst also learning numbers 1-10. They then tested their knowledge via a game of German bingo!

What have we been learning this week?

English- After finishing our independent write up of part 1 of ‘The Highwayman’, we began to dive into part 2. The anticipation has definitely gone up with all the action unfolding- with the children also not knowing what will happen next.

Science- This week, we decided the use our knowledge of the states of matter, including how they change, to practically discover which materials melt and which burn. This led to our discovery of the terminology ‘reversible/irreversible material’ .

History- The deep dive into the history of crime and punishment has taken a gruesome turn as we looked at the period of time when capital punishment was introduced. We examined one of the first hanging cases in England discussed the social and legal protocols behind this type of sentencing.

Deeper thinking questions

Every week now, we would like children to explore their weekly learning at home by discussing interesting questions with family members. This may be at the table during dinner, before bedtime or when out for a walk. However you choose to discuss these questions is up to you but this may give you more of an insight into what we have been learning in class.

Do you think having a jury system is correct? Would you change it?

Has any of your family members/anyone you know been involved in a jury?

Let’s Celebrate

• Rex for being a resilient learner- Even being the speedster that you are on TT Rockstars, multiplication and division in Year 5 is tricky. At first, you let this get to you but you have persevered through hard work and focus and are really showing progress and fluidity during these lessons.

• Niamh for being a creative learner- I never knew how much of a computer whizz you were! You have blown me away with your creativeness and your knowledge around purple mash during our game creating unit (Almost making it impossible for me to complete your game). I can not wait to see what your final game will look like.

• Virtue Butterflies- Our virtues for this half term are learned and wise. Our butterfly goes to Ola for being such a learned person. You are learning every day, both academically and personally. You take in and observe others to process what the right and wrong choice is which has led to you always making the right one.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Marvellous Manners- Arthur

  • Role Model of the Week- Ben

Notices

• Bank Holiday Monday- School will be closed this upcoming Monday, so school will be reopen on Tuesday 7th May.

• Homework- Can all children make sure that they are practicing their spellings and making sure their homework books are back in on Thursdays.

• Football Kits- If you have played for the school football team this year, could you have a look for any kits that you may still have in which they are to be brought back in. This will consists of blue top, blue socks and white socks. This will either be the Our Lady’s kit (with CN Active sponsorship) or the Premier League Primary Stars kit.

• Thursday 16th May- We will be going on a school trip to Lancaster to visit the Castle and the Police Museum to further learn about our crime and punishment unit in History. The payment is now live on parent pay.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 26.04.24- ' A true shepherd leads the way and does not simply point the way'

Such a beautiful and heartwarming week for liturgy and celebration this week as we came together for our Father Peter. On Thursday, it marked the 50 year anniversary of Father Peter becoming a priest, in which we celebrated together as the Our Lady family at church to dedicate the mass to him. The children sang Father’s favourite hymns with such love and created such beautiful gifts for him. I hope that the spreading of love and happiness from that mass is spread into your weekend as you read this.

What have we been learning this week?

English- It has been a very independent writing week as the children finished their final drafts of the ‘The Highwayman’ and began to construct their finished piece. You will be amazed with the creativity and imagination that the children have managed to entwine into their writing.

PE- Beautiful weather this week to match up perfectly with our chosen sport for the half term- Cricket. This week it was all things bowling, in which we broke the skill down and focused on the details of the teaching points. We then took this outside and practiced bowling on the right line and length in order to try and hit our wickets.

History- Our dive into crime and punishment from the 15th century onwards has taken us to all things ‘witches’. We discussed as a class what came to mind when we hear the word and if we could make any connections to what we already knew. The shock came to children when they discovered the severity of witchcraft belief back in the 1500’s and the strategies people used to catch and torture them. We then set up our own witch hunt around the classroom, for the children to find the reasons behind the rise of witch hunts during this time.

Deeper thinking questions

Every week now, we would like children to explore their weekly learning at home by discussing interesting questions with family members. This may be at the table during dinner, before bedtime or when out for a walk. However you choose to discuss these questions is up to you but this may give you more of an insight into what we have been learning in class.

Do you think having a jury system is correct? Would you change it?

Has any of your family members/anyone you know been involved in a jury?

Let’s Celebrate

• Gabriella for being a resilient learner- You have really put the work in with your multiplication work and it is paying off. You are more fluent with your independent work and you are gaining more confidence from this- Keep this up!

• Dominic for being an focused learner- I have been super impressed with your attentiveness and your focus during our tutoring lessons. All of your TTRS practice is paying off as you have been able to catch up on all of our multiplication work.

• Virtue Butterflies- Our virtues for this half term are learned and wise. Our butterfly goes to Faye. You really are a role model in terms of your behaviour and how you make wise decisions. This is always seen in class but it is great to see this outside on the playground- as this is a class target of ours.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Marvellous Manners- Elsie

  • Role Model of the Week- Riley

Notices

• Football Kits- If you have played for the school football team this year, could you have a look for any kits that you may still have in which they are to be brought back in. This will consists of blue top, blue socks and white socks. This will either be the Our Lady’s kit (with CN Active sponsorship) or the Premier League Primary Stars kit.

• Thursday 16th May- We will be going on a school trip to Lancaster to visit the Castle and the Police Museum to further learn about our crime and punishment unit in History. A text will be sent out closer to the time in regards to payments

Year 5 Weekly Blog 19.04.24- 'Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future'

What a brilliant week it has been. The warmer weather really does put us in brighter moods and allows us to access our learning in the outdoor environment. As always, we began our week with RE- where we looked at some key words and how some of our inspirational people from the bible have portrayed these such as love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy and justice.

We then ended the week with a trip to Hope Park to check our bulbs out- back when we planted them prior to Christmas. It was a pleasure to see the children’s hard work had paid off and we used the opportunity to have a class council session and also spend our break time.

What have we been learning this week?

English- We have come to the end of part 1 of our poem ‘The Highwayman’. The children have been really inquisitive in learning new vocabulary and making predictions about what happens next. The children feel really comfortable in identifying poetic devices throughout stanzas and love creating their own versions of these.

PE- With the unpredictability of the weather this week, we were lucky for our outdoor PE lesson to fall on a bright sunny day. We were able to use the field to help develop our cricket skills- with us focusing on both fielding and batting. In our indoor topic, our theme in dance is heroes and villains- where the children have been reenacting their chosen heroes via freeze frames to display their characteristics.

Art- The children have been experimenting and developing their portrait skills- partically self portraits- by using different mediums and mixing these together.

Science- It has been very experimental this week with our theme being soluble materials. We discussed the meaning of our new vocabulary and created common examples of this such as sugar and salt. We then experimented with lots of different materials to assess if they were soluble or not. We have also recapped on the states of matter and how they can change between states but also thinking deeply about how the states are different.

Deeper thinking questions

Every week now, we would like children to explore their weekly learning at home by discussing interesting questions with family members. This may be at the table during dinner, before bedtime or when out for a walk. However you choose to discuss these questions is up to you but this may give you more of an insight into what we have been learning in class.

How do you think crime has changed over your lifetime?

Do you think prisons really work?

Let’s Celebrate

• Michael for being a brave learner- Being apart of a school that loves drama, especially with all of our Shakespeare work, is unique so it is brilliant to see children carry on that passion outside of lessons. Choosing to do this at break times offers a different and exciting experience for children, in which it is a brave act to organise on your own. Never be afraid to do what you love and you will reap the benefits.

• Ben for being an determined learner- I have seen this both in and outside the classroom these past few weeks. As competitive as you are, you have put the work in during your SPAG work as you strive for a full house on your grammar check and also earning points for your house in the spelling tests. Your catching and throwing skills have been excellent in PE- where you showed determination when taking those really difficult catches.

• Virtue Butterflies- Our virtues for this half term are learned and wise. Our butterfly goes to Sophia. You do so much for the kitchen staff during lunchtimes in which they massively appreciate. Your manners are impeccable and really do light up the teachers day.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Marvellous Manners- Pippa

  • Role Model of the Week- Michael

Notices

• Boys Football Tournaments- There will be a tournament after school for both the A and B boys football teams this upcoming week. They will both take place at Lytham St Annes High School (LSA) and this will be after school from 3:30pm-5:00pm

  • A Team- Monday 22nd April

  • B Team - Thursday 25th April

    CAN WE HAVE ANY SCHOOL FOOTBALL KITS BACK IN ON MONDAY PLEASE

• Thursday 16th May- We will be going on a school trip to Lancaster to visit the Castle and the Police Museum to further learn about our crime and punishment unit in History. A text will be sent out closer to the time in regards to payments

Year 5 Weekly Blog 12.04.24- ' You are free to choose but you are not free from the consequence'

This week we have reflected on how our actions, regardless of their nature, have a consequence. We discussed what the ‘ripple effect’ is and how our actions can create a series of knock on effects- which is why we should always stick to our class targets of ‘being kind’ and ‘treating others how you would like to be treated’. We referred this to the Bible in how Mary is the untangler of knots- emphaising the importance of forgiveness and making the right choices.

And just like that, we are underway into our third and final term of the year! A mixture of nerves and excitement have been present in the children. Excited for the summer term, the nicer weather and closer to the six week break but also nervous of edging closer to their final year of primary school. The children’s focus, determination and resilience has remained on a high- even after the Easter break- allowing us to really get into our learning for the half term!

What have we been learning this week?

English- We have began our new poetry topic where we have began to investigate and read the opening of ‘The Highwayman’. The children have created a toolkit of their poetic devices and have been able to identify these in our poem. I have been super impressed with the children’s imagery and creative thinking- especially today when they were creating their own metaphors based from stanza one.

Maths- After two weeks of getting stuck into our long multiplication method, the children were amazed to discover ‘short multiplication’- a more effective way of using the same method but to answer bigger multiplication problems. The children have been able to use their times table knowledge to speedily answer difficult calculations- something they should be really proud of.

History- We have started our new topic- Crime and Punishment. This unit has hooked the children instantly, in which they have recognised the significance of the topic and understand the maturity that comes with learning it. We discussed about any crimes that we know of already and analysed these to rank them in order of seriousness. We then have been looking at what Crime was like in the 17th century- to understand why certain crimes were higher and what type of punishments were used.

Science- For this half term, our focus will be all things materials. We kicked the week off with looking at the different properties that a material can have and understanding what the vocabulary means. We have then experimented with different classroom materials to test which properties that have/don’t have.

Deeper thinking questions

Every week now, we would like children to explore their weekly learning at home by discussing interesting questions with family members. This may be at the table during dinner, before bedtime or when out for a walk. However you choose to discuss these questions is up to you but this may give you more of an insight into what we have been learning in class.

How do you think crime has changed over your lifetime?

Do you think prisons really work?

Let’s Celebrate

• Arthur for being a focused learner- You have come back after the Easter holidays and got stuck straight into your learning. Your eyes and body posture has been centered towards the teacher which shows that you are ready to learn and you have been able to answer all questions when chosen straight away. Keep this up for the rest of the year!

• Ruby for being an enthusiastic learner- I have loved your enthusiasm towards poetry and how you have just fully emerged yourself into it. You have enjoyed spotting our poetic devices in our new class poem and you have even been creating your own poems in your free time- which have been a delight to read.

  Excellent work!

• Virtue Butterflies- Our virtues for this half term are learned and wise. Our butterfly goes to Liam- you make such wise decisions both in and out of the classroom which really shows your maturity. You never let a game of football and the emotions get the better of you. Inside the classroom, even when you are sat with friends and they are not making the right choice, you still remain on task regardless of distractions.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Marvellous Manners- Rex

  • Role Model of the Week- Ruby

Notices

• Eco Trip- We will be going to Hope Park on Friday to check now our bulbs have grown after we planted them before Christmas. We will be going from 12:30-2:00. This will be weather dependant so make sure to check the forecast in the lead up.

• Netball Tournament- Mrs Gregan will be taking one team to the tournament on Thursday 18th April. Please check the sports page to see if your child has been chosen.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 287.03.24- ' Into your hands Lord, I commend my spirit'

Wow! What an emotional yet exhilarating final week of the term- where we all came together as one to witness Holy Week. Each day, we came into the hall in silence and reflection as we relived the story of Jesus’s death and resurrection. Wednesday was our big day as the children had the biggest of tasks of recreating the Crucifixion of Jesus. The children were fantastic in their character roles, their emotive behaviour and their delivery of prayer and scripture.

With the end of our Holy Week in school, Year 6 closed us out with a beautiful portray of the resurrection which was followed by celebrations of an Easter Egg Hunt! With a surprise visit from our Easter bunny, they had hidden an egg for each child around the gardens of the school. The children’s quick-witted investigating skills came in handy as they all found their eggs!

Let’s Celebrate

With it being the end of a term, the certificates were chosen by the children themselves- with the theme being a reflective learner'. Our winners for this term are;

Michael: You have been chosen by your classmates for:

• Being an excellent learning partner

• Putting lots of work into your handwriting practice

• Pushing through till the end when things get tough

• Taking every word from the teacher and wanting the improve

Elsie: You have been chosen by your classmates for:

• High focus during independent tasks to make sure your work is your best

• Pushing through till the end when things get tough

• You like receiving feedback because it gives you a chance to improve

• Always being kind to everyone and reflect how other people are feeling

Virtue Butterflies: Our butterfly this week goes to Ruby. You live and breath kindness and you are so respectful to all members of staff. You don’t just treat your closest friends with love and compassion but everyone you come across.

Notices

• Homework for half term: Spellings will be the same as last weeks due to not having a spelling test this week. Any missed IXL’s or Art homework from last week needs to be completed. Lots of reading and times tables practice over the Easter break.

• School will reopen on Monday 8th April

Year 5 Weekly Blog 22.03.24- ' Give me your strength when I am discouraged and not to stay crushed by my sadness'

As we approach holy week, we have been balancing our in classroom workload along with our Easter preparations. The children have been brilliant in transition by constantly needing to switching their focus based on the busy schedule.

We have spent the last two science lessons experimenting with shadows by using different types of objects to create different shades of shadows. We were then able to change the size of shadows depending on the distance from the light source to our object.

In Maths, we have began our big topic of multiplication. We have been looking at larger multiplication calculations that are much harder to do mentally- in which we have been partioning our biggest number. We then applied these skills into our new tidy method called ‘Long Multiplication’ or ‘Column Multiplication’.

In English, we have been touching over lots of SPAG skills that we have learnt this year and applying these to grammatically correct examples of work and to break sentences down into different clauses.

In PE, Mr Murray and Mr Holford took the class on an orenteering session, where the class hid objects around the school grounds and the children used maps to locate the hidden objects.

Let’s Celebrate

• Isaac for being a co-operative learner: You really do make mine and Mrs Mather’s life easier when it comes to group activities. You are so adaptive in working alongside anyone and your calming mature approach really makes you a good teammate. Whether it  is a classroom activity or a PE task, you always treat your group in the right manner.
  

• Cora for being an enthusiastic learner: Your focus and attention to detail throughout our assembly practices have been excellent Cora. This is clearly evident by your characterisation and the commitment to your role- you are always staying in character. Great work!

• Virtue Butterflies: Our butterfly this week goes to Pippa for being loving and compassionate. You are not just loving and compassionate towards your friends, which is seen by the teachers everyday on the playground, you are also so kind and respectful towards our members of staff. This really doesn’t go unnoticed.
  

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Esther

  • Marvelous Manners- Rafe

Notices

• Easter Assembly- Our focus in the lead up to Easter will be the Crucifixion, which will take place on Wednesday 27th March at 9:15am.

• Easter Holidays- School will close for Easter on Thursday 28th March at 2pm

Year 5 Weekly Blog 15.03.24' Help me carry the weight of the great and small sufferings in my life'

What an exciting week it has been! It’s not often that the first thing on a Monday morning is full of excitement and something new but this week it was as we carried out our fourth enrichment session. This time, the children were in Year 1 with Miss Drummond where they took part in some science experiments involving food. I’m not too sure what they were creating but it looked delicious.

The focus of the week was starting our Easter assembly preparations, in which we handed out scripts and also completed our first stage practice. With less than two weeks until the assembly, it is vital that all children learn their lines and when they come in.

In Maths, the children started their new topic with Mrs Gregan and focused on volume- looking at how we use this in everyday practices and the relationships it has with other units of maths. In my maths topic, we have come to the end of division as we look to start multiplication next week. I have never taught a class that enjoys the bus stop method so much and I think that comes from their confidence in understanding the method.

In English, we have discussed, researched and independently written up our first discussion text from scratch which is ‘Should all children learn how to swim?’. The children have loved sharing their points of view and also look at ways to counter argue points previously made.

Let’s Celebrate

• Pippa for being a co-operative learner: Such a friendly and caring member of the class. This makes you a brilliant learning partner as you are not concerned with who you are sat with- you still give it 100%. You treat all of your classmates the same, making them feel valued and apart of the team.

• Sophia for being an enthusiastic learner: I really could not tell what your favourite or least favourite subject is because you have the same high level of enthusiasm throughout every lesson. You give everything a go and your sole focus is to learn and to tackle any learning task in front of you. A real mature and positive way of approaching the entire curriculum- Keep it up!

• Virtue Butterflies: Our butterfly this week goes to Millie for being loving and compassionate. Your manners are impeccable- you always say please and thank you towards all members of staff and children.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Ella

  • Marvelous Manners- Cora

Notices

• Parents Evening Appointments- Next week will be the second half of the appointments, 2:00pm-5:30pm Wednesday 20th March.

Please book your appointments on Mrs Gregan’s blog.

• Easter Assembly- Our focus in the lead up to Easter will be the Crucifixion, which will take place on Wednesday 27th March at 9:15am.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 8.3.24- ' A book is a dream that you hold in your hands'

It is truly one of the most special days in the school calendar! World Book Day brings an opportunity to express themselves through costume and bringing imagination to life via storytelling. Thank you to all of you hard working parents for your help in prepping these costumes and for making the children’s days so special.

We began our day with looking into the ‘Greatest Book in the World’- The Holy Bible. As a class, we discussed some of the most common stories from the bible, in which we retold these stories by designing posters. The children then began to describe their magical object and create description from this- these objects would then play a part in their own story that they created.

After we had finished our story, we created some artwork so reflect our magical object and we paired up with our buddy class to share what we had created. Year 2 also presented a class story that they had created- in which every character of the child’s costume was present in the live retell of the story.

Other than the fun of World Book Day, other aspects of our learning has continued to grow. In Maths, we have continued the hard work with short division and the use of the bus stop method. In English, we have spent the week putting our ideas and developments into formally written paragraphs as a part of our discussion texts.

Let’s Celebrate

• Ola for being a focused learner: You display this learning characteristic in every single lesson Ola. Even when you have missed a day of school, you don’t use it as an opportunity to get out of learning, you are so keen to catch up on any work.

• Elsie for being an inquisitive learner: I love your curiosity to develop your vocabulary! You are always asking for the meaning of new words and looking for ways to expand your range of exciting vocabulary.

• Virtue Butterflies: Our butterfly this week goes to Niamh for being loving and compassionate. You are never one to cause an argument, fall out with anyone or hold a grudge because you handle every social situation with love and kindness.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Bella

  • Marvelous Manners- Rose

Notices

• Parents Evening Appointments- This will take place between 2:00pm-5:30pm over the course of two days, which are Wednesday 13th March and Wednesday 20th.

  Please book your appointments on Mrs Gregan’s blog.

• Easter Assembly- Our focus in the lead up to Easter will be the Crucifixion, which will take place on Wednesday 27th March at 9:15am.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 01.03.24- ' Be the reason that someone smiles'

There is no better feeling than doing something for someone- in which they appreciate it. Sometimes we have to give up a bit of our time to help others. Some people choose to do this for others- making a sacrifice. We have looked at how Jesus sacrificed himself when he died for us on the cross. We explored his journey from his sentencing right until his final breath. The children have been able to recall Jesus’ journey and recall the loved ones that joined him on this journey. We used this lesson to then reflect on what sacrifices are we going to make in order to make someone else happy.

In English, we have continued to delve into some intriguing children based discussion topics and create arguments to both propose the motion and to oppose it. We have also trialed out a new style of debating called ‘boxing debating’. This is done to promote rapid reasoning, teamwork and confidence in public speaking. The children have been able to apply some of their persuasive devices into their writing and speaking which has helped boost their arguments.

Short division, or more commonly known as the ‘bus stop method’ has taken over our maths lessons this week- in which the children have been smashing through their work. The confidence the children have taken from all of their times tables work has been applied into this- giving them the best chance of succeeding.

In Science, we have been experimenting all things light and how it travels. After discussing how it travels in straight lines, we tested this by darkening the room and using simple resources to physically see the the light travel.

In French, we looked at ‘French around the world’- in which we analysed the 14 countries in the world that speak french. Using their geography skills, the children used the atlas’ to locate these countries on a map.

Let’s Celebrate

Riley for being an enthusiastic learner: You have taken to short division like a duck to water Riley. Your focus throughout the teacher input (along with your excellent times table knowledge) has helped you grasp the method straight away. This has given you massive confidence to tackle every division problem and to show what you can do.

Archie for being a enthusiastic learner: I had a feeling that you would enjoy our discussion and debating topic and you have certainly shown this these past few weeks. You have been eager to share your persuasive devices during our lessons and also to help your teammates in the debating- even when it isn’t your turn yet.

Virtue Butterflies: Our butterfly this week goes to Michael. You display our virtues of love and compassion in everything you do. No matter how small of a decision, you make every decision with lots of love and compassion, in which you take everyone’s feelings into consideration.

Lunchtime Certificates

• Role Model of the Week-

• Marvelous Manners-

Notices

• Monday 4th March Year 5 Book Look- This will start at 9am and is a chance for the children to share with you some of the work that they have done and are proud of.

• Thursday 7th March World Book Day- Please check to homework blog for more information about this.

• Parents Evening Appointments- This will take place between 2:00pm-5:30pm over the course of two days, which are Wednesday 13th March and Wednesday 20th.

  Please book your appointments on Mrs Gregan’s blog.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 23.3.23- 'Lent is a new beginning, a path leading towards God'

We started the week as a whole school- coming together to celebrate the beginning of lent and to reflect on the importance of this. We then looked at this further in our RE lesson of how Catholics prepare for lent. Our week also finished with a lent celebration as we exchanged Lenten boxes with our Year 2 partners. It was lovely to see the creativity and commitment into making these boxes- which really lit up our younger pupils faces.

In English, we have started our new topic of discussion texts and debating. We discussed the differences and similarities between an argument, discussion and a debate and also shared our points on some interesting school based motions such as, ‘Should homework be doubled or banned’ and 'Should we keep wearing school uniforms’.

In Maths, we have finished mulitplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000- in which the children have been excellent in using their place value charts to understand the shifting of digits. We have now began looking at our big division topic and using methods to work out calculations that cannot be done mentally.

In PE, we have started our new indoor and outdoor topics for the half term. We are currently working on our team building skills in OAA to help solve problems in fun based games. It has been brilliant to see all of the children working together really well and encouraging fellow classmates throughout the games. In our indoor topic, we have started our first dance unit of the year, where the theme is ‘Heroes and Villains’. The children worked in groups to discuss different types of superheroes and the qualities they possess that make them heroic. The children then had to reenact these via freeze frames and different movements.

In French, our topic is ‘French around the World’, in which we have been looking at french directions on a compass. We have then used these directions to help guide us through a treasure map to find the gold!

Let’s Celebrate

• Faye for being an enthusiastic learner- Regardless if you’re sat at the front or back and regardless of what subject it is- your enthusiasm to learn and to grow is excellent. You never get yourself down, even if you are struggling- you always power through.

• Niamh for being a focused and creative learner- In every manner throughout the classroom, you are always setting the right example Niamh. I feel like I don’t praise you enough for this but it is simply because you portray this behaviour every single day. You also apply these positive choices into your learning by always listening to instructions  to get the most out of your work.

• Virtue Butterflies- Our new virtues for this half term are love and compassion. Today, we had an earlier break out with the infants and I saw lots of children playing with their younger siblings- in particular Archie and Ben. The way you played with our younger children was delightful to see and how caring and considerate you were towards them. You really made their day.

• Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Benjamin

  • Marvelous Manners- Archie

Notices

• Monday 4th March Year 5 Book Look- This will start at 9am and is a chance for the children to share with you some of the work that they have done and are proud of.

• Thursday 7th March World Book Day- The children can dress up as a character from a book and they can also bring in a ‘magical object’, which they’ll use for a storytelling activity. This object could be as simple as a feather, shell, pebble or stick- They will use their imagination to create a story including this item.

• Parents Evening Appointments- This will take place between 2:00pm-5:30pm over the course of two days, which are Wednesday 13th March and Wednesday 20th.

• Extra-Curricular Timetable- This is now available on the sports page of the website, which includes the times and dates of the upcoming sports activities for before and after school. The children have also been given a copy of this.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 09.02.24- It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light'

And just like that, we have reached halfway! It is crazy to think that we are already halfway through to the year-with the focus on Easter after half term which will then take us into summer. It has been a huge week of reflection as we celebrated both ‘Internet Safety Day’ and ‘Children’s Mental Health Week’. On Tuesday, we joined in with the rest of the country for a BBC live lesson which focused on the use of AI and what it is used for in daily life. We then looked at social media and compared each app to its age restriction- in which we discussed why this is and dangers that can arise from using social media.

On Wednesday, we opened the discussion about mental health and talked about what this means and how it is different from your physical health. The children then shared their own strategies which they use to help cope with stress in their life- no matter how big or small. On Wednesday, we also had the luxury of the afternoon out at St Bedes- in which we watched a pupil production of ‘The Lion King’. I was pleased to see the children take inspiration of the talent and hard work on show from the high school pupils.

On Monday afternoon, Year 5 took part in another enrichment afternoon- where they were learning the art of ballroom and Latin dancing with Mrs Harrison. This was a brilliant chance for children to show what they could do and also try out something completely new. Mrs Harrison could not compliment the children enough on their attitude and behaviour throughout the lesson.

In English, there has been lots of independent writing going on as the children finished their sci-fi story plans and completed their own story. In Maths, we touched base again with multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000- where children have understood the relationship between the place values when doing this. After half term, we will be moving to the right by dividing by 10, 100 and 1000.

In PE, it was promised that if our gymnastic sequences were to be completed and recorded by last week, then the most excitable ‘apparatus’ lesson would happen this week. The famous primary school climbing frame and ropes appeared for the first time this year as the children got to try out their balancing skills using some equipment and also test themselves on the ropes. It is fair to say they enjoyed this one.

Let’s Celebrate

With it being the end of a half term, the children have again voted for the certificate winners this week. To mark the halfway point of the school year, the theme has been progress. Who has made the most improvements this year from September- based on our learning characters. Here is who the children voted for and why:

• Layla- Your classmates have noticed your focus, enthusiasm and determination throughout your work in the classroom. You don’t just sit back and act passively during our lessons- you’re always engaged.

• Rose- Your classmates have noticed your determination throughout your maths lessons and have spotted how hard you have been working. Your focus has improved but more importantly your self-belief that you can do it!

• Virtue Butterflies- Our butterfly this week goes to Sophia. You are very truthful in your actions in that you are always there comfort those who need it. You have brought such calmness to the classroom since you have been back and your approach to learning is so eloquent.

• Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Millie

  • Marvelous Manners- Jacob

Notices

• Lenten Boxes- Please check the homework blog to see more information about this.

• World Book Day- Will be on Thursday 7th March. The children can dress up as a character from a book and they can also bring in a ‘magical object’, which they’ll use for a storytelling activity. This object could be as simple as a feather, shell, pebble or stick- They will use their imagination to create a story including this item.

• Parents Evening Appointments- This will take place between 2:00pm-5:30pm over the course of two days, which are Wednesday 13th March and Wednesday 20th.

• Extra-Curricular Timetable- This is now available on the sports page of the website, which includes the times and dates of the upcoming sports activities for before and after school. The children have also been given a copy of this.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 02.02.23- ‘ If January is the first month of change, then February is the month of lasting change’

As we approach the end of another half term, we also come to an end of our first month of the new year. Although it is our shortest half term of the school year, in Year 5 it is an significant one as the change of maturity becomes more visible while we enter the halfway mark of the year. Routines and expectations are fully settled in and the children understand the importance of the work.

In English, we are coming to the end of our sci-fi writing unit and we have began to plan for our own independent sci-fi novel. The children have been eager to do this as they can put their own spin on some already famous sci-fi novels and to apply their descriptive skills such as extended noun phrases, personification, relative clauses and similes.

In Maths, we have finished our topic of factors, multiples and primes and have began to introduce our multiplication topic- starting with multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000. Our focus for after half term will be to multiply larger numbers together that are not in our normal times tables such as ‘63 x 8’.

In Science, we have started our planets project by collecting research about all 8 planets in our solar system- including the moon and sun. We will then finish our project next week by adding decoration and making a fan fact file out of these.

In RHE, began to touch base with a continued topic of bullying. This is to retrieve on knowledge that we know and to prepare us for safer internet day- which is next Tuesday. The session focused on social dilemmas that discussed the difference between ‘bullying and banter’ and how the terms ‘rude’ and ‘mean’ are different.

In RE, we have been looking into some inspirational people within the catholic faith who live within the beatitudes and how their actions portray this. This week we looked a Father Damien who later became St Damien after he was beatified.

In Geography, we have looked deeper into some of the bigger countries of North America and found their capital cities. We used statistics to compare these cities based on population and land area.

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Let’s Celebrate

• Luke for being a reflective learner: Over the past two weeks, we have seen such a big shift in your attitude towards your learning and how you conduct yourself in the classroom. You have taken ownership over your learning by increasing your focus to give yourself the best chance to learn. Keep this up!

• Liam for being a co-operative learner: This week I have seen you be very adaptive. You have worked alongside various people this week and yet your attitude and work ethic is just as high- no matter your learning partner. An excellent learning quality to have.

• Virtue Butterflies- Our butterfly this week goes to Ruby for being so eloquent around the classroom. You have been going the extra mile in making sure the classroom is in the right condition and you are always helping to tidy the classroom even if it is not yours to clean.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Layla

  • Marvelous Manners- Erin

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Notices

• World Book Day- This is fast approaching us and this will take place during the first week of March, giving us plenty of time to think about your costumes.

• Enrichment Afternoon- Our third enrichment will be on Monday in which the children will be ballroom dancing with Mrs Harrison. If you would like to wear your PE kits on Monday then feel free.

• Eco Trip-We will be on Tuesday 6th February. We will be going to the sand dunes to plant Christmas trees so the children will require old but warm clothes that they don’t mind getting muddy, including a coat and gloves. For those parents who have volunteered to come, we will be leaving at 9:15am.

• Trip to St Bedes- We will be going to St Bedes on Wednesday 7th February. We are going to watch a performance of ‘The Lion King’. This will be in the afternoon and we will be back at school between 3:15-3:30. There is a £2 fee to cover the travel costs which is live on parent pay.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 26.01.24-'Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God’

As we are coming to the halfway mark of Year 5, the children’s focus, reflection and attitude has really been visible this week in the expectations of upper juniors. We have been using various creative writing techniques in our sci-fi topic to create description such as extended noun phrases, modifying nouns/verbs and personification. In Maths, we have been looking at prime numbers in link to our factors topic and have recapped square numbers to link with our mulitples.

The wonderful Miss Neves came to us with another Art/DT competition- in which each year group was given a different inspirational artist. We had to create a piece of original artwork based on the ideas and techniques used by the set artist.

In RE, we have finished all eight of our beatitudes- the ways in which Jesus wants us to live- in which we reflected on these on how inspirational people in our lives live within these beatitudes. The children were then tasked with the job of creating their own beatitudes and how they want people to live in our world.

We have picked up our French topic again which has been all things space. This links perfectly with our science topic as children are going into the lesson with so much knowledge. We have recently been comparing planets using French adjectives and how to construct this within a French sentence.

In Science, our focus for this week has been the moon. We started the lesson with some commonly asked questions about the moon- in which the children collected research to find the answers. We then looked at the eight different phases of the moon and how these look and transfer from one to another.

In PE, we introduced dribbling to go along with our passing and controlling skills in Hockey- with a little bit of shooting practice to end the session. In gymnastics, we have reverted back to our balancing and transition sequences but with the addition of cannoning movements to go along with our unison sequence.

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Let’s Celebrate

• Rose for being a determined learner: Me and Mrs Mather have been so impressed with your determination in your maths lessons. Regardless of it not being your favourite subject, you get your head down and focus really hard on wanting to achieve each task and improve your skills.

• Rafe for being a focused and creative learner: In every manner throughout the classroom, you are always setting the right example Rafe. I feel like I don’t praise you enough for this but it is simply because you portray this behaviour every single day. You also apply these positive choices into your learning by using the resources available to get the most out of your learning.

• Virtue Butterflies: Our butterfly this week goes to Esther and Isaac for representing our school so well at the RSC storytelling event this week. Your eloquence towards your learning really helps with your creative writing and how you apply yourself towards all aspects of learning.

  Lunchtime Certificates

  • Role Model of the Week- Ruby

  • Marvelous Manners- Niamh

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Notices

• Eco-Trip 6th February- We will be going down to the sand dunes to plant Christmas trees with the Fylde Rangers. We are still needing one volunteer for our trip to come with us. This will take place in the morning and we will be walking down to the dunes. If you are available and interested, then please let me know via email- c.cornwell@ourladystarofthesea.lancs.sch.uk

Year 5 Weekly Blog 19.01.24- ' Motivation determines what you do, attitude determines how well you do it'

Yet another week has flown by as we are approaching the half way point of this half term! Regardless of the very cold and icy weather conditions, the children have soldiered on and cracked on with their learning as usual.

Landmarks have been the theme in our geography unit as we mainly focused on the famous physical landmarks of North America such as the Rockies, Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, Death Valley and many more.

In English, we have been using our sci-fi nouns to produce extended noun phrases. The children have also been able to link their science knowledge of the solar system into their sci-fi writing to discuss planets, outer space and other outer world objects.

In Maths, we have been looking at the connection between factors and multiples and finding common multiples/factors between two different numbers.

In Science, we looked at how planets move within space through rotation and revolution- depending on your position from the sun.

In RHE, we carried on from last weeks focus of pressure and looked at ‘consent’ and ‘body autonomy- looking at what that means and how that may be portrayed within different social settings.

In RE, we have begun to look at the beatitudes and analyse the key vocabulary in each beatitude to create understanding. We have then been able to link these to our own inspirational people and how people in our lives portray these beatitudes.

In PE, we have started our new outdoor topic which is hockey. We spent the first lesson going over the safety procedures of using the equipment correctly and learning the technique of passing. We have started up our gymnastics topic in our indoor PE lessons in which we have focused on cannoning and unison movements and how that might look on the mat. Lots of our children also got the opportunity to represent our school in the indoor athletics competition this week. These photos are available on the sports page of the website.

Let’s Celebrate!

• Benjamin for being a focused learner: I have been really impressed with your focus these past couple of weeks Benjamin. You want to succeed and complete all of your learning tasks and this is a credit to your focus. Even when you have finished your work, you are always looking for the next learning challenge and to not use that time to mess around or distract others.

  
  

• Ella for being an enthusiastic learner: I have loved your enthusiasm this week Ella! Your hand has been shooting up with you out of your seat trying to answer the question. This has come from you wanting to show your hard work and focus which has been excellent to see. Keep this up!

Lunchtime Certificates

• Role Model of the Week- Gabriella

• Marvelous Manners- Benjamin

  
  

  Notices

• Coats- We still have some children coming into school without a coat on. Especially in these conditions, all children need to have a coat in school.
  
  

• Homework- The homework blog is now live. Please keep on track with homework as our spellings have increased from 10 to 12 words each week and that our multiplication homework is regularly practiced.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 12.01.23- ' Every time you tear a leaf of a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas''

A Happy New Year to you all and it has been a brilliant first school week of 2024. Learning has begun straight from the first minute and has not stopped all week. The children have settled back in really well and have picked the school routines back up very quickly.

We kicked off the week with a Geography themed day with the focus being all things North America. The children used the atlas’ to recap the continents of the world and to also identify the countries of North America. This was then followed by some additional research into the USA and how it is separated into states.

On Tuesday, we began our eagerly anticipated space topic in Science. We discussed what we already knew about space and any curious questions that we want to find out. This was helped by the inflatable planets up in our classroom- which was the focus for lesson as we discussed the planets that make up our solar system and learning the correct order of these.

On Wednesday, we started our new writing topic of Sci-Fi, where we looking at all the different components of sci fi and reenacted a specific sci-fi story. We then looked at how we could improve the writing of this story and how we could add more description. In RHE, we looked at the feeling of ‘under pressure’ and how this might look in different social scenarios. We then used role play to show the different ways of implementing pressure both spoken and unspoken.

The focus for PE this week was to prepare for the upcoming athletics tournament next week. The children had a go at attempting all of the events in the competition and there scores were recorded in order for them to try and beat their best score.

We finished the week off by starting our new class novel- ‘The Windrush Child’. This book is based on the true story of many children a part of the Windrush generation. The book focuses on the struggles of foreign families living abroad and how racism has impacted their lives. The girls football team also got to play their rearranged tournament. The girls battled the cold conditions and played excellently- drawing 1, losing 1 and winning 4 games.

Let’s Celebrate

• Rex for being an enthusiastic learner: Who knew how much you loved space! From the moment we started our new science topic, you have shown such excitement and focus for this area of learning. You have also contributed to our lesson by providing your own knowledge to our discussions. This has been brilliant to see!

• Cora for being a determined learner: It is clear to see that you have been practicing your times tables over the holidays as you have become speedier and more fluent when practicing this week. You have been focusing on those trickier times tables and using what you know to work out what you don’t know. Great Work!

• Virtue Butterflies: Our new virtues for the half term are eloquent and truthful. Our butterfly this week goes to Esther for being so eloquent during our prayer times. You really use this time to reflect and connect with God and you do this in such a peaceful and respectful manner.

  Lunchtime Certificates

• Role Model of the Week- Arthur

• Marvelous Manners- Luke

Notices

• Indoor Athletics Competition- All children taking part have been informed and information regarding this is available on the sports page.

• Telescope- As we’ve started our space topic. Each child will have the opportunity to take our telescope home for a week to explore our universe. The telescope will go out on a Friday and will need to be returned by the following Friday.

• Playground Blogs- Mrs Mather’s lunchtime awards will now go out on the weekly blog along with the playground blog being uploaded half termly.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 21.12.23- ‘The best Christmas gift is to realise what we already have’

We are finally here! Here’s to the end of the final week of our longest half term and also the final school week of 2023! Although it was a shorter week than most, the week was still filled with lots of festive celebrations (with a little bit of work alongside it all). Our week started off with our Christmas concert performance at Church. Anyone who was able to attend any of the performances would sure agree that the children were absolutely fantastic. They blew us all away with their singing and it really was a joy to watch.

On Tuesday, our KS2 Christmas party took place with lots of fun, joy, dancing and laughter. The children’s behaviour and manner throughout the whole party was brilliant which allowed them to really enjoy the moment. We did try and limit the sugar intake throughout the day after the onslaught of cakes after our bake off so I am hoping the children were okay later that evening. On Wednesday, our wonderful catering team put together a fantastic Christmas dinner for us all in which we all enjoyed together.

Our final day consisted of us coming together one last time for a collective worship and for us to reflect on the journey of advent. After a full class tidy up and a very competitive Christmas quiz, we finished our day with a Christmas film. The Year 5 team wish you all a very happy and merry Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in 2024!

To finish our forces topic off in Science, we looked at the force of ‘upthrust’ and how rockets use this to overcome the power of gravity. We made our own rockets using just elastic bands and kitchen roll tubes and we looked at how we can improve our rocket to allow it to travel faster through the air.

Here our some pictures from the children’s enrichment afternoon last week with Mrs Lyons- in which there was lots of festive baking taking place.

Let’s Celebrate

• Erin and Esther for being learners of the term- You two have really displayed all of our learning characters this year. You both are such lovely girls and you are both so enthusiastic for your learning- which makes you excellent learning partners.

• Bella and Roseanna for being faith-filled and hopeful learners- The way you two conduct yourselves both in and out of the classroom is excellent. You have such a calming and loving character in which you never have any issues out on the playground- but are always solving problems.

Notices

• Homework- Please check the homework blog for tasks to do over the holidays.

• Monday 8th January- School will re-open.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 15.12.23- ' Music is all around us, all we have to do is listen’

Our last full week of 2023 has come to an end and yet it has still been filled with lots of learning opportunities. The focus of the week has been our KS2 nativity practice which has taken place at church- where we have been practicing our songs for the Christmas concert. With the concert taking place this Monday- it is important that we have one final practice over the weekend so we are super confident with all of our songs.

In Maths, we have continued with our money topic and have been looking at tackling real life money problems such as working out change and shopping scenarios. With Mrs Gregan, the children have been linking their angles work to properties of shapes and making connections about what they know about different polygons.

We finished our Geography unit of rivers by learning about erosion and how this takes place in a river. We looked at the four different types of erosion and used sugar cubes and a spatula to show how this happens.

In Science, we have continued with our forces topic- with each week focusing on a different force and how it is seen in everyday life. This week, our focus was water resistance and we looked at how professional swimmers use streamlining to allow them to travel faster through the water (reduce the effects of water resistance). For our experiment, we created different shapes out of playdough and dropped them into some water to test how long it would take to reach the bottom.

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Let’s Celebrate

• Gabriella for being a determined learner: This week you have been trying really hard in your times tables practice and have been so focused in getting through as much work as you can. You have developed strategies to help improve on particular tables that are harder than others (‘Use what you know to work out what you don’t know’). Brilliant work!

• Elsie for being a reflective learner: Your focus and drive to succeed is what helps you make so much progress in your learning Elsie. Your attitude to responding to feedback is excellent and you love to challenge yourself- no matter the task at at hand. Excellent work!

• Sophia for being a faith-filled and hopeful learner: You have been seen countless times helping other children when they have hurt themselves and are always the first to comfort them- regardless of how close of a friend they are to you. You will always choose to spend your own break time to help others rather than to play if they are in need.

• Niamh for being a faith-filled and hopeful learner: You are such as calm and loving member of our class and you have been seen showing this out on the playground to help calm others who are in distress. You never make a big fuss about it- you just help people because it is the kind and loving thing to do. Thank you Niamh!

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Notices

• Monday 18th December- Christmas Concert at Church. This will be performed twice, the first performance at 2pm and the later one at 6pm. Children need to arrive at Church at 5:45pm in their full school uniform.

• Tuesday 19th December- KS2 Christmas Party Day. Children will be partying in the morning followed by a film in the afternoon. Children can come into school in their own clothes. Please make sure that they are wearing appropiate shoes. They can bring in one small fizzy drink and a small party snack (small bag of chocolate or crisps). The children will be intaking lots of sugar so it is vital that they still bring their water bottle in and are drinking plenty of healthy fluids.

• Wednesday 20th December- Christmas Dinner. These will be the hot dinner options for this day, with choice 2 being a vegetarian Christmas dinner.

• Thursday 21st December- School will close at 2pm for the Christmas break.

Year 5 Weekly Blog 8.12.23- ' The true spirit of Christmas lies within your heart'

As we complete our first full week of December, the Christmas spirits have well and truly been present throughout school. On Tuesday morning, the story of our nativity began with our youngest children- who portrayed the story so beautifully. This story will then continue to travel with KS1 next week and then KS2 in Church. Speaking of which, our preparations for our Christmas concert have gone up a notch- with us having our first practice session in church this week.

We finished our week with the much anticipated ‘Our Lady’s Bake Off’. Families across the school have put their baking skills to the test to create some festive bakes. The children were so proud to show off their hard working creations and loved the judging element of the competition (us teachers certainly did). We combined this with a belated Christmas jumper day just to make the day even more festive and exciting for all of the children.

We have used our hetic schedule this week to squeeze in lots of our geography unit of rivers. The children love a no book lesson so we got practical with some chalk to plot the course of a river by separating it into its three courses. We have also been looking at how a waterfall is formed and researching some of the most known waterfalls in the UK/world.

In Maths, the children have been continuing with their angles topic with Mrs Gregan whilst also practicing lots of retrieval with our multiplication and division. This will pay off in abundance after Christmas when we start our multiplication and division topic.

In English, we have come to the end of our legends topic as the children have finished re-writing their own version of the ‘Legend of Gelert’. I have been blown away by the children’s creative thinking and description and how they have put this together as a full story.

Let’s Celebrate

• Arthur for being a reflective learner: This half term you have really taken control over your decision making. You understand when you have made a wrong choice and you have really reflected on how to make the right choices. The shift in your behaviour has been amazing to see. Keep this up!

• Esther for being a creative learner: Your creative thinking and your story writing has really blown me away this half term. This is been seen particularly this week when writing our own legends stories and the description you create through your writing has been amazing.

• Benjamin for being a hopeful and faith-filled learner: You have been a really considerable and careful learning partner this week. To show such patience and care to help your partner is a real sign of maturity and growing up. This was delightful for us teachers to see.

Notices

• Cold Weather- We will be taking regular trips to church to practice our concert so can all children have appropriate clothing such as a big coat, hat and gloves.

• Christmas Concert- Will take place on Monday 18th December. This will take place at church and the children will be performing the concert twice (2pm and 6pm).

• End of Term- School will close for Christmas on Thursday 21st December at 2pm.

• Christmas Dinner- This will be the options for school dinners on Wednesday 20th December. There will be a vegetarian Christmas dinner option for choice 2.