Performance reads, bookmarks and ‘Los tres cerditos’

March 14, 2020 Mrs Trickett Leave a comment

It was wonderful to welcome many parents, grandparents and other family members to end our world book day celebrations. Each class nominated a representative who performed a reading. The focus was on volume, intonation, expression and fluency.

It was incredible to see the confidence and passion from all of our readers in front of a packed hall. We also announced the winners of the book mark competition; welcome done to Lois (Yr6), Amelia (Yr1) and Aaron (Rec). The assembly ended with a fantastic performance of ‘Los tres cerditos’ (The Three Little Pigs in Spanish) from Year 4, 5 & 6.

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Keep up the passion for reading everyone.

Making justified inferences

January 29, 2020 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

This week, Year 5 have begun a new text in Literacy, ‘Escape from Pompeii’. We began with a small image, where two children were staring fearfully at something, from which we had to draw justified inferences. The quality of response was incredible.

“They must be looking at something bright because of the shadow that has been cast across their bodies.”

“They would have slightly different feelings as the older child would need to hold in their fear to protect the younger one.”

Then, the whole image was revealed and the children could see the erupting volcano. From this, we continued to make inferences using all the clues available to us. We dramatised and wrote the conversation between the two children. The writing was excellent with children dropping in information about their characters’ emotions throughout the conversation. During the drama, the children had carefully considered who needed to speak first to best represent the emotions and how to show an emotion through conversation.

Careers’ Fair

January 29, 2020 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Yesterday, Year 5 and Year 6 were invited to a careers’ fair at the Reach Free school. Before we went, the children decided which stalls they would like to visit and some key questions to ask. The children thought deeply about what they needed to know.

“What subjects do I need to study?”

“How much pressure is there?”

“How does it affect your mental health to work with sick people?”

The actual event was excellent with the children visiting all the stalls that were important to them and talking to the adults about the careers. They came away full of aspiration for their future and excited about the possibilities ahead of them.

Alien Writing

January 14, 2020January 14, 2020 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Year 5 have begun writing about aliens! We started by learning about each planet before designing an alien that we thought would be well suited to the environment on a particular planet. Each alien had to have three adaptations to ensure it could survive on its planet. Some aliens inhaled hydrogen and used it to power their hoverboard legs to remain above the surface on a gas planet with a hydrogen based atmosphere. Some aliens were furry to keep them warm. Some aliens used their tentacles to propel them above the surface. Some had huge eyes to help them see through the storms. I was amazed by the thought that went into them. We have now begun using language creatively to describe the aliens. The children are choosing and placing words and phrases to ensure their reader is either disgusted, scared or intrigued by their alien.

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Three Decimal Places…

January 14, 2020 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Year 5 were presented with a joke and a code. To work out the answer to the joke, they had to crack the code. This involved some complex ordering of numbers with up to three decimal places and the careful positioning of them on number lines. We tried different methods for ordering numbers and the children then used which one they found the most useful. They were extremely resilient with some returning again and again to questions to get the positioning on the number line as accurate as possible.

The Imaginary

January 14, 2020 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

This afternoon, the new class reader for Year 5 was revealed. The children were allowed to explore the front and back cover and the blurb. From this, they were asked to observe closely and comment on the things they noticed. We then tried to work out which fiction genre it could be. I was blown away by the depth of discussion that occurred and how closely and carefully they observed.

“The boy is hanging on the branch while the girl is hanging on a snake-like branch. This could mean that the girl creates the boy from her imagination as she is hanging onto something that can’t be there.”

“The girl on the back is see through. You can just about see the man through her. She must need him to exist. The cloud of smoke above them could be the energy she requires to be imagined.”

“The images on his shirt and shorts are reversed. Perhaps he isn’t what he seems.”
“The boy is running. I wonder if he is running from something or to something.”

Double Page Spread

January 14, 2020 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Following their trip to the Royal Observatory and their learning on Space, Year 5 have been presenting their learning as a double page spread. They had to use full sentences but other than that, they could be as creative as they liked. They took so much time and care to really value this learning and that is reflected in the outcomes.

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Royal Observatory

December 17, 2019December 17, 2019 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Yesterday, Year 5 had a brilliant visit to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. The journey itself was an adventure eliciting gasps of amazement as we exited the tube at Canary Wharf and headed over the Thames on the Docklands Light Railway. After a steep climb up to the Observatory, we were rewarded with an incredible view of London. The children explored the museum hunting for facts that no-one else would notice. Did you know that when you look in space, you are looking into the past? Did you know that Jupiter has a hurricane twice the size of Earth that has been raging for 350 years? After our fact finding mission, we were treated to a journey through our universe at the planetarium. It was filled with incredible visuals to help us understand space. We then stood on the meridian line before heading up a narrow, spiral staircase and into the observatory dome where the huge telescope was waiting. It was a brilliant trip where our children represented our school beautifully and they have come back filled with information. Today, Year 5 have begun presenting their findings.

The Watercress Pioneer

November 19, 2019 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Year 5 were lucky enough to have a visit from an artist, Emily Compton, who shared her story of The Watercress Pioneer. This was a man, William Bradbury, who came from Maple Cross and was the first person to grow and sell watercress, which was transported to London on The Watercress Express! Year 5 used local, natural resources as the characters in their stories, who became pioneers to solve problems we experience in our community. The stories are only in the early stages but the creative thinking that took place was incredible!

The Tempest

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 Mrs Fawcett Leave a comment

Wow! What an incredible performance Year 5 produced of The Tempest! Each member of the cast worked so hard to learn their lines, develop their character and improve their voice. I was blown away with how confidently they performed. The class worked beautifully together supporting each other to develop a brilliant overall performance. Well done Year 5.