Hello, and welcome to the first weekly post of the second half of Year 5! We’ve been treated to the first signs of Spring this week – fingers crossed this will become apparent at the term goes on!

We wanted to extend a massive thank you to those of you who have donated a copy (or copies!) of The Boy At The Back Of The Class to the school – it is hugely appreciated. If you haven’t done this yet and would still like to, it is not too late! Also, please remember that we do not need brand new copies! Places like eBay, Vinted, World of Books and the pre-owned section of Amazon offer reduced prices for second-hand copies and we would be more than happy with that. Thank you again.

This week, your children have been up to the following:

• In literacy, we started reading the aforementioned The Boy At The Back Of The Class, and started to discuss some of vital topics that the book covers, such as the plight of refugees. This work will lead to the children writing a formal letter, which we are planning to send to the King!
• In maths, some children have been working on fractions, while others have been learning to measure angles using a protractor.
• In history, we have started our new topic of the Ancient Maja civilisation. We learned about when and where it existed.
• In science, we conducted an experiment about friction. Which shoe gives us the most amount of grip?
• In PSHE, we discussed the importance of self-respect and practical tips to help when you are feeling low.

Spelling words

This week, we’ve been learning to spell ‘challenge’ words (i.e. words with unusual spelling patterns). They are: ancient, amateur, awkward, criticise, equipment, excellent, foreign, pronunciation, symbol and yacht.

PE

PE will be on Monday and Friday this week, and they will both be outdoors, so please make sure your children wrap up warm on both those days.

We hope you have a lovely weekend, and we will see your children bright and early on Monday morning.

The Year 5 team