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Hello and welcome back to the last part of year 5!!!
I hope you’ve all had a great half term break and are refreshed ready for the last part of the school year. We’ve still got loads of challenges ahead as we prepare for the move up to year 6!
There are lots of additional activities going on throughout the term too including school trips, visitors to school, sporting opportunities and also some events that will not affect us directly but we will be involved in. This will change our timetable slightly at some points but we will try and keep our routines as regular as possible and maintain our expectations as always. Our morning sessions will continue to focus on English and Maths, the afternoons will provide learning through our themes.
For this half term, we will be going on an Amazon Adventure. What is it like in the rainforest? Who and what is in there? What makes the rainforest special? How is the rainforest changing? What impact do we have on the rainforest?
Our science will support this too as we investigate the life cycles of plants and animals including how they adapt to their environment, comparing different animals and their journeys and what could happen to different species in the future.
We also have a DT focus later in the term too where we will be looking at materials and preparing to make a tool belt for an explorer of the Amazon Rainforest!
We have a number of activities planned on top of the curriculum with visits, visitors, sports day, meet the new teacher days which will give lots of opportunities for all of the children. For our visits, we will send information about these in the week leading up to them.
Thank you to everyone who has already responded to the Science Festival Trip on Thursday 27th June 2019.
PE
The children will hopefully have returned to school with their PE kit; and just to inform you that for this half term our PE sessions will be on Tuesday afternoon (when the swimming group go out – to maintain two hours of PE every week) and on Friday afternoons. We are going to focus on the invasion games of netball and tag rugby through these sessions. Please make sure that your child has their full PE kit with them. If your child has pierced ears we request that earrings are removed for PE; this is to ensure the safety of your child. If it is not possible to remove their earrings, then your child needs to cover and protect them with tape or plasters.
The children in the swimming group will continue on Tuesday afternoons until nearly the end of the term.
Reading
Please bring book bags and reading books to school every day. We ask that children read at home every day for 10-15 minutes or more if they wish. Please support us with your child’s learning by signing and dating their reading record and chatting to your child about their reading book. Children do not have to read the whole book all in one go; five to ten pages nightly is sufficient. Children have the reading scheme at school to follow, for some children reading at a deeper level, they can read their own books. Reading at home with your child will greatly improve their written work as they will see how to write imaginatively and how to correctly punctuate sentences. When your child has read, their reading record is signed and is returned to school, they will be able to write their name on a fish and put it in our reading dish. Every Friday a fish is drawn from the dish and that child will win a small prize and be congratulated in Friday Worship.
Homework
The children receive some topic based activities that they can do at home over the course of the half term. We try to make these activities fun and enjoyable to provide opportunity to spend quality time together at home whilst continuing your child’s learning. Topic homework can be recorded in their homework books or brought into school in other forms.
The children will continue with their talk token home learning and their regular home reading. The aim of this is to maintain a consistent approach throughout so that the children are fully aware of the expectations. Please may I ask that this is completed and returned on time as part of the structure of the school timetable for the children. If you have any questions about this, then please come and ask.
Water Bottles
All children are encouraged to bring in a reusable water bottle from home filled with fresh drinking water. It’s hard to listen if you’re dehydrated. Your child will be able to refill this throughout the day. This is even more important as we continue through the summer term and with all of the different activities that the children take part in throughout the day.
On our school website, we have a page that is updated weekly to keep you informed with all that is going on in our class. This will keep you informed with what we have done and what is coming up! http://www.stjameslowerdarwen.co.uk/year-five/
We’ve had a good time so far and the children have made some good progress in their learning. We want this to continue so that they enter year 6 is a positive mindset ready for the next steps on their journey. Should you have any questions about your child, home learning or any other matter, either please make a note in the children’s book or arrange to come and meet with me.
Many thanks.
Mr Mason