Week Beginning 31st March 2008

Hi everyone and welcome to the summer!!

We love this term, coming to school in the day light and going home while it's still day light it's great!


Remember that the children can come to school in their summer uniforms from Monday.


This half term is 8 weeks long so we really do have a long time in school without a break but on the bright side it means we can get loads done.
On the seventh week of this half term it is SATs, the Year 5's will also be completing their tests this week, it is the week beginning 12th May.
Our Year 6's have been working really hard in preparation for their tests both at school and at home and we really appreciate your support in preparing the children.
Here are some websites that may help you with your preparation.
http://www.icteachers.co.uk/children/children_sats.htm SATs questions, you can choose which subject you want to look at.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/index.shtml our old favourite bbc revisewise.
http://www.yourschoolsite.co.uk/tests/Introduction.html SATS question quiz.
http://www.buzzin.net/revision_tips/revtips.htm revision tips.
http://www.st-josephs-pickering.n-yorks.sch.uk/past_test_papers.htm download SATs papers.
http://www.samlearning.co.uk/primary/index.html revision exercises and SATs questions.
http://www.teachingtreasures.com.au/maths/year_6_maths_true_or_false.htm maths true or false quiz.
http://www.counton.org/games/mathonaire/ who wants to be a mathonaire.
http://www.subtangent.com/maths/games.php lots of maths games to help you revise, I love the Weakest Link.
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/engindex.html reading comprehension practise.
http://www.channel4learning.net/sites/essentials/science/index.shtml choose a science area to revise.
http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/millionscience.html who wants to be a Science Millionaire.

This weeks curriculum...

Literacy

The Year 6's will continue with their final stretch of revision.

The Year 5 children will be moving their unit of work on persuasion to writing a persuasive argument.

This is something the children really love and are usually very good at!

The children will be using the techniques that they have been learning for
persuasive writing in a different context this week. They will be looking at examples of persuasive writing
to present an argument. They will plan and draft their own argument complaining about the cancellation
of children’s television programmes, using the same structure and techniques.

Here are some Key Points to help:-
As you write each point in support of your argument, you need to give some evidence or an
example to back it up and make it more convincing. For example, if you are writing to complain to
the council about some new parking arrangements that you think are dangerous, you could back
up your argument by telling them about any increase in the number of accidents in the area.

Numeracy

Mrs Millington's and Mr Barker's groups will continue with their revision.

Miss Wright's and Mrs Morgan's group will be using this week to go through assessments we completed at the end of last term and going over any subjects that need more teaching and practise.

Science

This week is Science week. In Key Stage 2 we will be concentrating on Electricity and Magnets.

On Friday we will have a Science show on these subjects.

By the end of this week the children should learn that the brightness of bulbs, or speed of motors, in a circuit can be changed, that care needs to be taken when components in a circuit are changed to ensure bulbs/motors do not burn out, that there are conventional symbols for components in circuits and these can be used to draw diagrams of circuits
that circuit diagrams, using these symbols, can be understood by anyone who knows the symbols and can be used for constructing and interpreting circuits, that the brightness of bulbs in a circuit can be changed by changing wires in a circuit, to suggest a question to investigate, to decide what to do and what equipment to use to test this, to make fair comparisons and draw conclusions.

There is a lot to get through in Science week but it is great revision for the Year 6 and for the Year 5 children. As there is so much to get through and it is Science week then topic time this week will also be spent working on these subjects.

Here I Am

These weeks sees the end of our self-giving topic and we will be reviewing out learning from the previous weeks.

That's all for now have a great week.

Year 5/6 Team

p.s remember to put your clocks forward on Sunday.

Week Beginning 17th March 2008

Hi everyone and welcome to the end of the second term!!


There are lots of events happening in school this week to celebrate Easter, we are really looking forward to it.
Tuesday afternoon sees our turn for fundraising and the children have organised their own stalls and ideas to raise money for Nugent Care. They are running the event but I'm sure they would like to go round and join in with other people's stalls so they will need some change on Tuesday.


There will be no homework this week so the children can spend their time making Easter gardens, we have been overwhelmed this year with the amount of activities Year 5/6 still get involved in, so don't let us down let's see some fantastic gardens.


While we are on the subject of homework we would like to thank those children who complete their homework and hand it in on time every week, this applies to the majority of children so well done. There are a few children that consistently do not complete homework, school policy is that the children receive a 'sad face' when homework has not been completed. We realise that the are the odd exceptions to this when it has not been possible for homework to be completed and we will assess each case individually. Home learning is essential for maximising your child's potential and is also important preparation for them moving up to the high school. If you have a problem with homework and getting it completed on time please see your child's teacher to discuss the matter and we are sure we can come up with some alternative arrangements.



Thank you to all those parents who attended the Year 6 SATs meeting on Tuesday, it is important to us to hear your opinions and thoughts, we hope that this helped you with some ideas on helping your child get through their SATs. If you would like any other information or advise please pop in and see your child's teacher or any member of the 5/6 team.

Have a look at this website about preparing your child for high school, it has some good information and ideas.



http://www.parentscentre.gov.uk/foragegroup/7to11years/movingtosecondaryschool



We would like to thank you also for having a go at the literacy homework this week. We really do think that it is important for you to see all the things your child needs to included to achieve certain levels in writing. It is also important that you and your child are aware of their targets.

Through the diaries and conversations with parents we have received some excellent feedback on this task, we hope to do this more often but realise that it is not practical to do it every week, we would like to do it once every half term, this will help you and your child see whether their writing is progressing.



This weeks curriculum.......
As it is the last week of term this will be our assessment and review week.


Literacy
The Year 5's had great fun last week designing a persuasive advert for a new chocolate bar.
This week they will be planning a radio advert for a competition. They will be advirtising a new film called 'Kung Fu Panda'. As you can imagine the children are really excited about this.

http://www.filmeducation.org/kungfupanda/index.htm Have a look at the website.



Year 6's will continue with their revision programme, they are absolutely working their socks off in school and we are really proud of them, well done guys not long to go now.

At the SATs meeting we said we would but some spelling websites on the blogspot for children to practise on, here you go..
http://www.funbrain.com/spell/ pick the word that is spelt wrong and spell it correctly.
http://www.gamequarium.com/spelling.html lots of different games e.g. hang man
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy.html games and activities provided by Woodlands Junior School.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/spellits/ad_menu_flash.shtml bbc schools spellits, solve mysteries while having spelling practise on the way.
We also have a list of all the spellings that have appeared on previous SATs test which we will print out and send home. It will not help to learn this list but will give you an idea of the types of spellings that come up on the test.

Numeracy
Miss Wright's and Mrs Morgan's groups will be reviewing what they have learned this term, this includes:-
Probability, line graphs, dividing HTU by U, finding percentages, multiplying u.ths x u.
See previous blogspots for websites and remind yourselves of all the things we have covered.

Mrs Millington's and Mr Barker's groups will be continuing with their revision programme.

Science
Year 5's will be continuing with their topic of gases around us, this week
Children should learn:
that soils have air trapped within them
to measure volumes of water carefully
to recognise whether measurements need to be repeated
to use their results to compare the air trapped in different soils

Year 6's will be continuing with their revision programme.

Here I Am
This week will be spent on the true meaning of Easter and looking at the different things that happen in mass which stem from this celebration.
The children will work on dramas and readings which they will perform at the Easter Service. It will take place at 9am on Thursday Morning.
You are welcome to join us but please remember, as always space is limited.

So once again we have reached the end of a very hardworking term and we thank you for your support and the hard work from the children in school and at home.

Have a Happy and Holy Easter and we would also like to wish you Happy St Patrick's Day.

Year 5/6 Team.

Week Beginning 10th March 2008

Hi everyone and welcome to this week’s bog.

We really enjoyed the Year 3/4’s fundraising afternoon on Thursday and we now have lots of ideas for our own event which will take place this Tuesday afternoon. Get thinking children, you have already told us some of your excellent ideas and we can’t wait until the event takes place.

On Tuesday, after school we will be holding a parent’s meeting for the parent’s of our Year 6 children. The meeting’s aim is to give you ideas on how to help your child through their Sates. If you wish to attend the meeting please return your reply slip so we know how many parents to expect, thank you.

This week’s curriculum….
Literacy
The Year 6 children have now started a revision programme in Literacy as well as Numeric and Science. The children have been put into two groups and will spend this time working on reading and writing skills in order to prepare them for their forthcoming Sates.

Our Year 5 children will start a new unit working on Persuasion. We all know how persuasive children can be so we are just really polishing skills that they already have. We will be moving on from ‘Mum can I have a Nintendo Wii because my friend has one?’ and working on the art of persuasion using our writing skills.

The children will be planning, writing and designing their own persuasive advert.
By the end of this unit of work the children will….
Use note making as a way of collecting and organizing their ideas before they write.
Choose words carefully, adding adjectives, adverbs and powerful verbs to help get their
message across.
Compose sentences carefully, choosing whether to use long or short sentences to
make a particular point.
Use paragraphs to organize their ideas in a longer piece of writing.
Check and correct their own spellings.
Edit and re-draft their own writing.
Reflect on their own writing, using a checklist to help them decide whether they have got better.

Literacy homework will take on a different format this week. The children have completed a piece of writing in school. They will bring this writing home on Monday along with some level descriptor sheets. They will use the sheets (with the help of an adult) to determine which level they feel their writing deserves.
They will then use the sheets to give themselves targets i.e. things from the descriptors that they have not used in their writing will become their targets.
The Year 5 children will then re-write the piece of writing using their targets to improve it. We are not going to ask the Year 6 children to re-write their work as they have a lot of other homework, but if they do want to do this it is a very worthwhile exercise.

Numeracy
This week Miss Wright’s and Mrs Morgan’s groups will be looking at Probability and Line Graphs.
They will classify events based on the degrees of likelihood and recognize the distinction between ‘impossible’, ‘unlikely’, ‘likely’, and ‘certain’. They will also draw and interpret line graphs using probability investigations.
Try these websites for a head start…
http://www.e-gfl.org/e-gfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/teacher/other/spark/playcards/gamelaunch.html play your cards right.
http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/resource/prob/spinners.html a spinner exercise where the results are recorded on a graph.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/maven/loudlou/index.htm become the detective in this mystery but you must use probability to help solve it.

Mrs Millington’s and Mr Barker’s groups will continue with their revision programme.

Science
The Year 6 children will continue their revision programme in Science.

The Year 5 children will continue with their topic of gases around us. This week the children should learn that powders and sponges are solid materials with air in the ‘gaps’ in between particles and to make careful observations of materials and to explain these using scientific knowledge and understanding.

Here I Am
This week in Here I Am we will be discussing the Easter Story and performing our own dramas. A selection of the dramas will be performed in the Easter Service which will take place in the last week of term.

Topic
Topic this week will used to plan the charity fund raising afternoon which will take place next Tuesday. The children will have time to plan and design their stalls in order for the fundraising to run smoothly.

That’s all for this week, until the next time,

take care

Year 5/6 Team.

Week Beginning 3rd March 2008

Hi everyone and welcome to this week's blogspot.

Firstly we would like to say thank you to the Year 6 children who were really well behaved on the away day with the staff from St Gregory's, they made a really good first impression. The Year 5's were also really well behaved in school with Miss Wright, thank you children.


This week Mrs Morgan will be on a first aid course on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Mrs Morgan's class will be taught by Mrs Woodcock.


As you are probably aware the children have been fundraising for the past few weeks on behalf of the Nugent Care Society. This week on Thursday the Year 3 and 4 children will be holding a fundraising afternoon on behalf of the charity. The whole school will be able to join in and the children are allowed to bring money on the day to take part in the activities.
There will also be a second hand book sale in school so any old books that you have will be much appreciated.
The Year 5/6 children will be holding their fundraising afternoon in the last week of term, before Easter.


On Tuesday this week the Year 5 children will be making their First Reconciliation. They will spend the day up at church doing activities, there will be a service for the children and their families at 2.30pm. There will be a creche for those parents who have other children at school as we expect the mass to finish at 3.30pm.


Because of the Reconciliation Day the first week of booster for Literacy and Science will have to be cancelled as Mrs Millington and Miss Wright will be at church. Numeracy booster will still take place on Wednesday even though Mrs Morgan will not be in school, it will be run by Mrs Harding.


Ready for this weeks curriculum.....?


Literacy
The children did some fantastic work on The Highwayman last week and will be continuing this week.
They wrote letters and did art work for the PAN art project with Mrs Clancy and the finished product was amazing.
This week they will look at Newspaper Reports and will be writing a newspaper report about the death of Bess and The Highway man.
Take a look at these websites on newspaper reports
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/revision_bites/non_fiction1.shtml
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishD9.htm


Numeracy

This week Miss Wright's and Mrs Morgan's group will change over, Miss Wright's group will look at dividing HTU by U and Mrs Morgan's group will be working on percentages.

Mrs Morgan's group will learn how to find 50% 10% and 1% of a number and by using these facts be able to find other percentages of numbers. By the end of the week the children:-
MUST be able to find 50% of a number.
SHOULD be able to find 10% and 1% of a number.
COULD relate these facts to find other percentages of numbers.

Try these websites:-
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/caerphilly/percentages/eng/ explanation of percentages.
http://www.tre.ngfl.gov.uk/server.php?request=cmVzb3VyY2UuZnVsbHZpZXc=&resourceId=11507 scroll down to the Percentimator, it gives questions to practice with.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/percentages/index.htm find percentages in 'real life' situations.

Miss Wright's group will be dividing HTU by U, firstly using informal written methods and then moving on to formal written methods. Remember the key to being able to divide is to know your tables inside out so keep practising.
By the end of the week the children:-
MUST be able to multiply HTU by U using an informal method.
SHOULD be able to multiply HTU by U using a formal written method.
COULD relate division to multiplication and be able to see the links between the two.
Try these websites:-http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/division/mental/flash4.shtml warm up your brain by practising dividing TU xU.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/bingo/bingo1-3.html have some fun playing division bingo.


Mrs Millington's and Mrs Barker's group will continue with their revision programme.

Science
The Year 6 children will continue with their science revision. The Year 5 children will continue their work on gases all around us.
The children will learn:
that air has weight and is all around us and to explain phenomena related to air in terms of scientific knowledge and understanding.
The children often think that air is nothing so they will be thinking of ways to prove that air is all around us e.g. making kites, they will then be testing out their ideas.

There are still some outstanding permission slips for the Year 5 Reconciliation away day. Please ensure your child's slip has been sent into school or we will not be able to take them to church. Thank you

We will be holding a parent's meeting next Tuesday for the parents of our Year 6 children. The purpose of the meeting will be to give you ideas of how you can help your child through their SAT's. If you wish to attend please return the slip so we know how many parents to expect. Thank you.

That's all for this week, take care.

Year 5/6 Team

Week Beginning 25th February 2008

Hi everyone and welcome to the second week of the half term.

The children are really into fundraising for the Good Shepherd at the moment. They have set up stalls at play time and dinner time and are making lots of money for the charity. We are really proud of them for coming up with lots of different ways of making money. They are getting into the spirit of doing something extra for Lent.

This week on Friday our Year 6 children will be going to 'The Foundry' in Widnes for a 'Getting to know you day' with the staff from St Gregory's. The day will be run by Sister Margaret who is the Chaplin at the high school.
The children don't have to wear their uniform on the day, it is advisable for the girls to wear trousers.
They will also need a packed lunch.

Literacy
We started off last week looking at the 'Owl and the Pussycat' which the children really enjoyed and got a lot out of. I am sure you have heard by now that we then went on to study 'The Highway Man' by Alfred Noyes. We studied the poem and the children were excited and intrigued by it, the got a lot out of the story and the language that was used. We are always amazed by how much children love studying classic poems and stories.
We then found a website that had turned the poem into a song, with an animation! This brought the poem alive for them and they were so switched on in their literacy lessons it was an absolute joy to watch!
The children then became language thieves and stole all the language they would want to use again in their own writing from the poem. We discussed each piece of language they stole and why and also which other types of genres we could use the language in.
This is a worthwhile exercise to do if they have a reading book at home that has some particularly excellent language in.
This week will be moving on to looking at some more poems that tell stories and stealing some more language to use eventually when writing our own poem.
Have a look at the website we have used this week. (Parents beware someone has taken it upon themselves to write a poor review of the animation, if you do not scroll down the page you cannot see it but please monitor you child on the computer just in case.)
http://www.machinima.com/film/view&id=1249

We have also monitored the reading diaries for comments this week, the results are as follows:-

Mrs Millington's class 35%
Miss Wright's class 30%
Mrs Morgan's class 33%
This is quite disappointing as we started off the half term over the 60% mark. We know the Year 6 children have lots of homework with their revision, reading is also a part of their revision. Please make comments about your child's reading it really does help to raise standards. Thank you your support.

Numeracy
This week Miss Wright's group will be working on percentages. They will learn how to find 50% 10% and 1% of a number and by using these fact be able to find other percentages of numbers.
By the end of the week the children:-
MUST be able to find 50% of a number.
SHOULD be able to find 10% and 1% of a number.
COULD relate these facts to find other percentages of numbers.
Try these websites:-
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/maths/caerphilly/percentages/eng/ explanation of percentages.
http://www.tre.ngfl.gov.uk/server.php?request=cmVzb3VyY2UuZnVsbHZpZXc=&resourceId=11507 scroll down to the Percentimator, it gives questions to practice with.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/percentages/index.htm find percentages in 'real life' situations.
Mrs Morgan's group will move on from last week's multiplication to looking at dividing HTU x U, firstly using informal written methods and then moving on to formal written methods.
Remember the key to being able to divide is to know your tables inside out so keep practising.
By the end of the week the children:-
MUST be able to multiply HTU x U using an informal method.
SHOULD be able to multiply HTU x U using a formal written method.
COULD relate division to multiplication and be able to see the links between the two.
Try these websites:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/division/mental/flash4.shtml warm up your brain by practising dividing TU xU.
http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/maths/bingo/bingo1-3.html have some fun playing division bingo.

This week Mrs Millington's and Mr Barker's groups will be starting their revision programme.
They will be reviewing everything that has been learned in the last 4 years and concentrating on exam technique and how to tackle questions. They will be using Past SAT papers and questions to prepare the children for their forthcoming tests.
Try these revision sites:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/
http://www.icteachers.co.uk/children/children_sats.htm
http://www.emaths.co.uk/KS2SAT.htm past papers to download

Science
This week the year 5 and 6 children will be splitting up for Science. The year 5 children will be starting a new topic of Gases Around Us. They will begin their topic this week by learning to recognise differences between solids and liquids, and finding out what they already know about solids and liquids and what they want to find out.
Try these websites:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/9_10/gases.shtml
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=changingstate
http://www.coxhoe.durham.sch.uk/Curriculum/Millionaire/scimill1.htm

The year 6 children will be starting a programme of revision in science. They will be reviewing all the topics they have studied over the last 5 years and looking at exam technique and how to tackle the tests.
Try these websites for help with revision:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/index.shtml
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/revision/Science/index.html
http://www.scienceyear.com/wired/index.html?page=/wired/games/index.html

Here I Am
In Here I Am this week we will be continuing with the Relate section of the topic.
The children will relate that their own exploration of THANKSGIVING is enriched by learning about the Eucharist, the great act of thanksgiving; the challenge the Eucharist makes to Christians.

Topic
Some of the Year 5's topic time will now be used for preparing them for their forthcoming First Reconciliation.
The rest of the time will be spent starting out new topic of 'The Victorians'. Mrs Millington will be starting a 'mantle of the expert' programme on 'The Victorians', please see previous blogspots for information on 'the mantle of the expert'.

After school booster clubs will be starting next week. If your child had been selected for one of the booster clubs you will receive a letter this week. We are also hoping to arrange a meeting for parents to help you in preparing your child for their SATs, this is also likely to be next week. Look out for the letter which will go out this week.

Finally can we say thank you to our Year 6 children for starting their revision homework with such enthusiasm this week, the revision that they have brought in this week was of a good standard. Keep it up children you are preparing yourselves really well. Also a thank you must go to parents for their support in this too.

Have a great week everyone.
Year 5/6 Team

Week Beginning 18th February 2008

Hi everyone and welcome back to a very short but exciting half term.

Let's get straight to it!

Literacy
This week in literacy we will be starting a unit of work on 'The Highway Man.'
The objectives for the first part of the unit are...
Main focus: Identify classic narrative poetry.
1. Tell a story using repetition and humour.
7. Compare different types of narrative texts and identify how they are structured.
9. Experiment with different narrative forms and styles to write their own narrative poems.
This week we will focus on 'The Owl and the Pussycat' as an introduction to narrative classical poems, before we lead on to the Highwayman.


http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/highwayman/index.html read the poem together, with explanations. Don't forget to make a comment on your child's reading in their diary!


Writing
If you feel like having a go at some independent writing at home, here's a couple of titles that you could have a go at this week.

Writing an argument
You read a quote in the newspaper which says: ‘All children are mindless hooligans who watch too much television and have no idea of the way they should behave. If I had my way, they would all be put in the army, as it didn’t do me any harm.’ (Mr D. Green) Write a reply to the editor, arguing against the views in the letter.

Recounting events
Something happened on your way home from school last night. Recount the event to your friend.


Newletters
Your school is organising a sponsored 12 hour dance-athon for charity. Write a newsletter to encourage people to take part in the event.

Science fiction stories
The year is 2134 and the Intergalactic Space Police are on the trail of a master criminal, who has stolen the Life Diamond (the diamond at the centre of the earth, that controls the planet’s temperature.) Write a science fiction story based on this idea.


Stories with a dilemma
Jenny and her friends face a problem. The Lard Street Gang have called them soft because they won’t smoke cigarettes. Jenny doesn’t want to lose face with her friends but she doesn’t want to start smoking either. Write a story about what Jenny decides to do.


Stories with a twist
Ben could hear a noise. It was coming from his cellar. He decides to investigate. What does Ben find in the cellar? Tell the story to the end of his investigation, but try to include a twist at the end.


Fantasy adventures
Blakely has been captured by the evil high lords and put to work as a slave in the salt mine. He escapes and starts a journey back home to Little Hamlet. On his way home, Blakely meets a friendly creature and is nearly captured. Write a fantasy adventure based on this idea.

Numeracy
This week Miss Wright's and Mrs Morgan's groups will be working on their multiplying skills.
They will multiply by 19 and 21 by multiplying by 20 and adjusting. They will also be multiplying U.ths x U using informal written methods and standard written methods.
You really need to be up to speed with your times tables for this topic children so get working on them!
Check out some of these tables games to help you practice.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=Toolkit%20index2a

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/written/flash2.shtml multiply by larger numbers by partioning.

http://www.multiplication.com/interactive/quickflash/flash/index.html

By the end of this week the children...

MUST be able to multiply numbers by 20.

SHOULD be able to multiply by 19 and 21 by multiplying by 20 and adjusting.

COULD multiply U.ths by U.

Mrs Millington's group will be starting their revision programme by doing a past SAT paper and then go through the paper starting to look at exam technique and how to tackle the questions.
If you have a look on previous blogspots there are links to past paper and SATs style questions to have a go at home.


Science
We will rounding off our topic of 'Keeping Healthy' we will be reviewing our learning and remembering what we have done so far.
See previous blogs for websites of things we have covered in this topic.


Here I Am
This week in Here I Am we will be moving onto the Relate section of the topic.
The children will relate that their own exploration of THANKSGIVING is enriched by learning about the Eucharist, the great act of thanksgiving; the challenge the Eucharist makes to Christians.

The Year 5 children will also start to prepare for their First Reconcilliation.



That's all for this week. Have a great week everyone.



Year 5/6 Team.

Week Beginning 4th February 2008

Hi everyone, welcome to the end of another half term!!


What a great week last week was, we would like to thank eveyone who has been to the bookfair so far and we would like to remind you that it is still open until Tuesday so if you haven't been yet please do come along. Thank you also must go to everyone who has donated a book to their child's class, this really is much appreciated.
The children had a fantastic time working with David Horner and produced some excellent tongue twisters.
We were really impressed with the ammount of year 5 and 6 children that came dressed up as a book character on Friday, lots of effort had gone into this and we would like to thank you for entering into the spirit of bookweek.
A big thank you must also go to Mrs Narraway for organising the events during book week.

It is Ash Wednesday on Wednesday this week (I know feels like it was Christmas yesterday!!) we will be holding a service in school at 9am. Please feel free to join us but as usual space is limited. Ashes will be distributed to the adults in the hall after the service, the children will recieve theirs in class afterwards.

On Friday this week we will be having a non-uniform day in aid of Marie Currie. Connor Green one of our year 6 children has organised this event after loosing some family members to cancer. The children will be asked to bring £1 donation for coming in their own clothes. Connor will also be organising a raffle during the week to be drawn on Friday.

The last week of a half term is as always assess and review week.

Literacy

We will be carrying on with our topic of Stories from Other Cultures. We will use this week to assess the children's writing and by the end of the week they will have produced a piece of timed writing to be assessed based around the topic of Stories from Other Cultures.
We will also be assessing comprehension skills and giving the children a story with questions to go with it.

Please remember it is really important to read with your child at home. After half term we will be carrying out the Hertfordshire Reading Test and would love it if all the children's reading ages went up.

Please see previous blogspots for websites on Stories from Other Cultures.

Numeracy

Miss Wright and Mrs Morgan's group will start of the week finishing off their work on fractions and decimals from last week. They have tried really hard and done really well with this but as it is a complecated topic they do need to continue with it until their knowledge is sound.
We will spend the rest of the week reviewing what we have covered in this half term and doing short mini tests on each topic. We will also review the children's ISP targets. They should be aware of where they are with these as they are at different levels, check their diaries to see what their targets are.

Mrs Millington's group will be doing much the same as the other two groups. They will continue with their symmetry topic at the beginning of the week and then move onto reviewing the topics they have covered so far, by completing mini tests.


Please look back over this term's blogs to remind yourself of the work that has been covered so far. There are lots of websites for you to go on to review your knowledge.

Science

This week in Science we will continue our topic of 'Keeping Healthy'. We will be learning that we need exercise to stay healthy and to maintain our muscles and that when we exercise, our muscles work harder. We also be learning about the parts of the body that need to work harder when we exercise.

Try these websites..............
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/fit/work_it_out.html
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=285&id=1448
http://www.learntobehealthy.org/?wt.srch=1&wt.mc_id=GoogleAdwords&wt.mc_n=Healthy_Eating&wt.mc_de=Healthy_Kids&gclid=CMiD48rTpZECFRg1Zwod51ZjZg
http://www.kidshealthandfitness.org.au/
http://www.kidsexercise.co.uk/

Here I Am

This week we will begin our new topic of Thanksgiving.
During this topic the children will:-
RECOGNISE :
That thanks are not always given, know the key words: thanksgiving, appreciate, reject, ungrateful.
REFLECT:
On times when they have given and received thanks and when they have not.
RESPECT:
That the children appreciate the importance of giving thanks.
RELATE:
That the children’s own exploration of THANKSGIVING is enriched by learning about the Eucharist, the great act of thanksgiving; the challenge the Eucharist makes to Christians.
REMEMBER/REJOICE:
That the children recall and review the work explored in the topic and are helped to decide the best way of celebrating “Thanksgiving” and experience a prayerful celebration
REMEMBER:
That the children formulate and record statements of new knowledge and understanding.
RENEW:
That the children find ways of holding onto their new understanding into the future and think about what they can share with their family today.

That's all for this week. Thank you for your support have a happy and safe half term. We will see you at 8.45am on Monday 18th February.

Year 5/6 Team.