Welcome back!
After a very snowy start, it was lovely to see everyone back this week and we enjoyed hearing all about your Christmas holidays.
Our main topic focus will be geography this half term. As geographers we will be exploring the environment and natural disasters. In this topic, we’ll look at the effects of global warming and discuss the use of fossil fuels and renewable energy. We’ll be using digital resources to look at how erosion has taken place over the last 100 years and how sea defences, such as groynes, help to minimise the effects.
In science, we’ll be brightening things up (not literally) as we explore the properties of light.
Our Living and Learning theme this half term is being safe. In the next two weeks, we’ll be discussing some influences associated with drugs and alcohol.
PE days:
56A Monday
56B Monday
56C Wednesday
All year 5 and 6 Thursday
Please read the uniform policy carefully. Children should come to school wearing their PE kit on their PE days
Reading records:
Just a reminder, children in 5/6 are expected to read on a daily basis. They have a reading record to record their responses to each text and a space for parents to sign and add a comment. It is still vital that children read aloud at home. Please continue to make this part of your daily routine.
Science – light
We have started our new science learning this week. We are learning all about light. As physics will be our focus this term, we are being physicists. The children were given their new vocabulary to learn and as a class we rag rated how confident we felt about these words.
In the lesson the children identified different light sources and were able to tell which ones were luminous (emit light) and which were non-luminous (reflect light). They understood that light travels in straight lines and they understood how we see objects.
Help at home: Can you help your child learn their vocabulary? Play some games such as Pictionary.
The Nowhere Emporium
Our class novel is called The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie.
Here’s the blurb to peak your interest:
Merry Christmas
Season’s Greetings from 56C. It’s been a loooong term in which we’ve learned, laughed and listened. Now, it’s time to take a well deserved rest as we look forward to the Spring term.
Drop down morning
This week we had a great morning during ‘Drop Down Morning.’ The children worked through a range of lessons that helped them to recall their previous learning. Geography allowed the children to test their knowledge of capital cities, main cities in the UK and four of the longest rivers. They were able to accurately place these on to their maps. The history sessions helped the children to remember their learning about Ancient Greece and the Romans. Year 6 had to consider arguments for and against the Elgin Marbles being returned to Greece. D&T helped the children to recall their learning they did on sewing and we talked about the design process when designing a new product. It was a very but productive morning.
Art: block printing
In art this week, children have been inspired by the work of William Morris and Orla Kiely. They have produced some prints using a styrofoam block to show a repeated pattern. We looked at adding more detail to our blocks and changing the colour.
PE – gymnastics
We have been thoroughly enjoying gymnastics this term. We have worked on different routines as part of a group that incorporate a range of gymnastic skills. The children began by moving in different ways and then they challenged themselves to add in a balance and a piece of equipment such as a hoop. This week, we’ve been thinking about different jumps. We discussed the importance of landing safely to avoid injury. We practiced different jumps in groups and then attempted to perform jumps in time with each other or in a ‘Mexican wave’ style.
Topic – practical art (printing)
This week, Year 5/6 students have been working hard on creating prints as part of their art topic. In a previous lesson, they designed leaf patterns on polystyrene tiles. This week, the children added more intricate details to their leaf designs, such as veins and blemishes. They also chose different colours to print over their designs. It was important to carefully consider their colour choices. It was lovely to see the students discussing their artwork, sharing ideas, and thinking about how to refine and improve their initial creations.
Help at home by asking your child about the process of creating prints.
Living and Learning: Staying safe online
This week’s Living and Learning lesson was all about online safety. We looked at how apps and online games work like businesses – trying to keep users hooked for as long as they can. They do this by using things like: personalised gameplay, giving out rewards, and having leader boards or other social features to keep people engaged.
To share what we learned, we made posters to help others understand how to make better, safer choices online.
Help at home by talking to your child about how they use the internet and ways they can stay safe online.
Design and Technology: food
Cooking has been on the menu for 5,6 again! The class enjoyed spending time in the hub creating a whole new recipe. This time, they were turning their hand to chickpea curry. All the recipes that the children make are designed to develop food preparation skills, be healthy, reflect seasonality and be easy and practical to try at home. The recipe included ingredients such as chickpeas, onions, mushrooms and curry paste. The children applied skills such as weighing, peeling and using different knife grips such as the claw grip and bridge hold. The children really enjoyed the cooking and enjoyed eating it even more.
Help at home: Follow the recipe with your child at home. Can you make any variations to the recipe to make it even more delicious?
