Year 5

What a busy and exciting week we have had in Year 5! We have been working incredibly hard and have loved exploring our new topics together.

In English, we have continued our work on Flotsam, writing descriptive paragraphs inspired by the mysterious underwater world. This week, we have been developing our writing by using fronted adverbials and expanded noun phrases to add detail and bring our descriptions to life.

In maths, we started by revisiting our knowledge of Roman numerals before moving on to exploring the value of digits in much larger numbers. We have been building on our understanding of place value and working with numbers up to 1,000,000. 

We have had lots of fun getting to know our new classes during PE! This week, we have been practising our striking skills, working together to keep balloons off the ground, before finishing with some very exciting games of GaGa ball. Last week, we had great fun hopping and jumping our way across the ‘lava’!

Our new drawing topic in art has got off to a fantastic start. We have practised drawing fruit from observation and have been inspired by the colourful artwork of Fernando Botero, particularly his unusual perspectives and use of colour.

In geography, we have been using atlases and compass directions to locate Richmond and explore its position in relation to other London boroughs and UK cities. 

Meanwhile, in science, we have been busy testing and grouping materials by their properties. We can't wait to investigate electrical conductors next week!

                                

                                

 

Key messages from the Year 5 team: 

• Whilst we would like the Year 5 children to take responsibility for their own homework, in these first few weeks, please prompt them to get their maths homework, spelling practice and reading records done on time. All are due on Mondays. 

• If you have recycling materials (small yoghurt pots/ containers) or crafting materials at home that you are happy to donate, please send your child in with them on Tuesday 22nd September so we can use them for our next piece of writing. 

• We will be monitoring the children’s uniform regularly. Please ensure they are wearing the correct footwear and PE kit on the right days. 

 

Key dates (year group specific):

• Friday 2nd October - Deadline for completed residential consent form (but ASAP would be brilliant!)

• Wednesday 7th October - Y5 workshop at school: Space Dome

 

Useful links: 

• This half term’s learning bulletin which contains the knowledge and skills that your child is being taught, key vocabulary and suggested activities/reads. 

 

 

Year 6

A huge welcome back to everyone! It has been wonderful to get up and running again, and we have certainly jumped straight into action. The children have returned with fantastic enthusiasm and have already shown us just how ready they are for the exciting year ahead.

In English, we have explored our new whole-school picture book, Flotsam. Taking inspiration from its beautiful and mysterious illustrations, the children have been creating a two-part setting description, giving them an early opportunity to show off their excellent writing skills and creativity.

In maths, we have delved deeper into place value, using both number sense and reasoning to develop our understanding of the composition of large numbers, including negative numbers. The children have been encouraged not just to find answers, but to explain their thinking and make connections between numbers.

Reading has truly sparked curiosity as we began our first class novel, Holes. The children have loved predicting who the characters are and how the story will play out. Who is Stanley Yelnats and why does his family have such terrible luck? Why has he been sent to Camp Green Lake? And just who is the mysterious Warden? There are already plenty of theories!

Our wider curriculum has linked together beautifully, with our learning about Brazil, living things and landscape collage all giving the children opportunities to develop their understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

Coming up:

The children will share more about themselves as we explore autobiographical writing. In maths, we will move on to complex calculations, developing efficient methods for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. There is certainly plenty to look forward to!

   

 

Key messages from the Year 6 team: 

• Whilst we would like the Year 6 children to take responsibility for their own homework, in these first few weeks, please prompt them to get their maths homework, spelling practice and reading records done on time. 

• If you have any spare colourful magazines at home, please send your child in with them so we can use them for our collages in art. 

• We will be monitoring the children’s uniform regularly. Please ensure they are wearing the correct footwear and PE kit on the right days. 

 

Key dates (year group specific):

• Monday 5th October - Y6 workshop at school: Mr. Moore’s Bizarre Secret Society

• Wednesday 7th October - Y6 theatre trip: Mr. Moore’s Bizarre Secret Society                                             

 

Useful links: 

• This half term’s learning bulletin which contains the knowledge and skills that your child is being taught, key vocabulary and suggested activities/reads.