This week, we have written our letters from Naledi to Nono explaining why they had to leave and go to Johannesburg. This morning all of year 5 visited reception who shared their stories of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. We've been learning about lifecycles of mammals and how long their gestation periods are. How long is the gestation period of an elephant?
After the excitement of celebrating King Charles III coronation last week, we have continued to learn about coastal features and coastal erosion. This week we used sand trays and water to investigate longshore drift. We are hoping to see examples of how groynes work to help prevent longshore drift on the Isle of Wight. We began our week working with Monty Lynch, building on our cricket throwing and catching skills. Our non-chronological reports, about South Africa, are almost finished and are looking great and full of information. We have practised estimating, measuring and drawing angles in maths. We even included rotation in our gymnastics this week!
This week we concluded our learning on Macbeth, with a visit from Corrine Blair who retold the story to the children. We have turned parts of the narrative into a play script and used our puppets to act them out. In geography, we have learnt about the positive impact that Fairtrade has on businesses around the world as well as understanding what products the UK exports based on our physical and human geography. The children have worked really hard this term and should be proud of all they have achieved. Have a lovely break, and we look forward to seeing you next term.
On Thursday Year 5 took part in an online STEM day run by Smallpeice in partnership with the Royal Airforce Youth Stem. Their task was to design, make and test three gliders to find out which shape wing and tail (empennage) helped the glider to fly the furthest and quickest. We were impressed with the teamwork and patience the children showed towards their peers, whilst completing the task. They also discussed what sustainability is and designed their own sustainable aircraft of the future. We are enjoying a very practical week and have begun to make our Macbeth inspired character puppets. Thank you to the parents who visited today to help with our sewing skills. 
It's been a busy couple of weeks since our return to school. We have been excited to start learning our Djembe rhythms (bass, slap, tone). We have also investigated absorbency of kitchen roll and have been interested to find which countries our food comes from, while learning about global trade. Next time you have your breakfast, think about how far the food on your plate has travelled! In English, we are busy writing newspaper articles linked to Macbeth after finishing our superb soliloquies.
As we reach the end of this half-term, we have enjoyed thinking about our well-being. On Monday, we headed towards the Reception classes and shared information about Antarctica with them. It was lovely to see our Y5 children engaging with their younger peers and siblings! In contrast to the tragedy of Macbeth, our moods were lightened by a visiting storyteller who shared the comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We concluded our learning about the weather in French with a presentation about what the weather is like in different parts of France. We have enjoyed joining in with the daily Taskmaster activities set on the Place 2 Be Website. Take a look at our rainbows from Monday's task! We have been very proud of the children this half-term in all that they have achieved, including their Young Voices concert, two pieces of extended writing linked to Macbeth, concluding our Vikings topic and learning all about States of Matter.
Year 5 had an absolutely amazing time at the Young Voices Concert on Tuesday. We arrived at the O2 at 12:30pm and once we found our block, we ate our lunch. After this, we found our seats which were brilliant - Mrs Boa very much approved! We then spent the next few hours rehearsing and enjoying the experience of being at the O2. Finally, the moment of truth came when the thousands of parents entered and the show started. Our children were amazing! They sang their hearts out and loved very single second of it. We would like to thank those who were able to come and watch - we hope you enjoyed the performance as much as we did!
It has been a very busy end to our Year 5 Autumn Term. The children have made bread, which was delicious! We have rounded off our geography learning about natural disasters by learning about tsunamis and where in the world they occur. We have also finished our writing using Shackleton's Journey as our inspiration and look forward to using Macbeth as a stimulus for some of our writing after Christmas. Additionally, we have been singing our hearts out, preparing for our carol concert and are exciting at the prospect of singing at the O2 in January. Happy Christmas from everybody in Year 5!
