Year 5 Weekly Blog wb. 2nd March

We hope you all had a wonderful and restful half-term break. It has been a joy to see the children return with such enthusiasm, ready to dive straight back into their learning. We’ve had a busy first week back, filled with rockstar outfits and some very impressive geographical discoveries!

Our Learning This Week

• TTRS Day & Maths: We kicked off the week in style, celebrating Times Tables Rock Stars Day! The children tackled various maths challenges, including the launch of our new "132" challenges - these are a step up in difficulty from the 144 challenges, and the competitive spirit in the room was electric. In our main sessions, we have continued mastering fractions by converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers.

• English: We have officially begun drafting our five-part stories! Using our class text, Cogheart, as inspiration, the children are weaving together intricate plots filled with mystery and adventure.

• Geography: We’ve started a brand-new unit comparing Peru and Uruguay. The children have already begun identifying the unique landscapes and cultural differences between these two South American nations.

This week, we are starting our new Science topic: Animals Including Humans. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring the human life cycle. Here is a look at what the children will be learning, translated into "parent speak":

• Early Growth: We’ll look at how quickly babies change and grow in those first few stages of life.

• Childhood Skills: We will identify all the amazing physical and mental milestones children hit as they grow up.

• Puberty & Changes: We will use the correct vocabulary to talk about how our bodies change during puberty.

• The Science of Life: We’ll explain how the changes during puberty are a natural part of the human journey toward being able to have a family one day.

• Later Life: We’ll discuss the physical changes that happen as people move into their "golden years" and old age.

Reminders for next week:

• Mon - Parent Pop-ins & WPSA Pre-loved Sale. A great chance to see what we've been up to!

• Tues - Miss Jackson is visiting another school for leadership training. Hazel Class will be in the very capable hands of Miss Longhurst and Mr Towler. Usborne Book Fair: Join us after school in the main hall to purchase some fantastic new reads and use your £1 book token!

• Weds - Cross Country: Good luck to our selected runners! Please check the letter sent home for timings and kit requirements.

• Thurs - World Book Day! We can’t wait to see the children's costumes!

We wanted to take a moment to share a huge thank you to everyone who stepped forward to volunteer for our upcoming trip to Colchester Zoo. For this particular occasion, we have successfully fulfilled all necessary roles using our internal staff members. While we won't require additional volunteer support this time, please know that your willingness to help means the world to us.

Homework and Spellings:

Spellings for next week are words with 'ie' after 'c':

society, deficient, emergencies, sufficient, efficient, glacier, scientists, science, inefficient, species

After a well-deserved break, homework will be set on Google Classroom!

Have a great week! Miss Jackson and Mrs Woods