Welcome back to school! We hope you had a lovely break!

Staff:

Mrs Caine

Mrs Nightingale

Mrs Higgins

Spring Term 

Our topic for the Spring term is ‘Amazing Africa’ we look at locating countries within Africa, biomes of Africa and how land is used in Africa. We will also look at the Benin Kingdom. 

Religion 

This term in Year 5 Religious Education, we will begin with the unit “Galilee to Jerusalem.” Pupils will explore Jesus’ teachings in the Beatitudes and what they reveal about living a blessed life. They will compare Matthew and Luke’s accounts of the new law and great commandment, linking these to parables and lessons for Christian living today. We will make connections between the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments, and study the Transfiguration, describing what the disciples witnessed and why Moses and Elijah were important. Pupils will also reflect on the meaning of the seven petitions in the Our Father and consider how virtues such as hope or charity relate to Jesus’ teaching. 

The second unit, “Desert to Garden,” focuses on Lent and Easter. Pupils will learn about Ash Wednesday, its Mass, and the symbols and actions used, as well as how Christians respond to God’s call during Lent through prayer and reflection. They will explore Catholic teaching on sin, conscience, and the guidance offered by the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ great commandment. We will also look at Catholic beliefs about the ‘last things’—death, judgment, heaven, and hell—and reflect on St Paul’s words about the Resurrection. Finally, pupils will learn about the Rosary as a prayerful reflection on Christ’s life, focusing on the Sorrowful Mysteries. 

 

English  

During our English lessons this term, we will be basing our writing around our curriculum theme of ‘Amazing Africa;. We will use a variety of texts and film clips as a stimulus to help us engage and immerse in the topic.  We will be writing recounts, diaries, non-chronological reports, play scripts, narratives and poetry.  

Weekly spellings are given out on a Monday morning, and will be tested every 4 weeks. Children are expected to learn their weekly spellings each week. Spelling rules are taken from the National Curriculum spelling lists for Year 5 and 6. We will also revise previous years’ spelling rules throughout Year 5.  

Children will bring their reading books home from school every day. It is expected that children will read daily at home as well as in school. Each child’s reading record contains their login information for the online platforms we have subscribed too.  

Maths 

In Maths this half term we will mainly focus on multiplication and division, fractions and decimals including percentages. It is important that all children in Year 5 know their multiplication facts up to 12×12. We will look at a range a methods for multiplication and division including written methods. We look at fractions and how they relate to decimals, how to add and subtract fractions. We will look at how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers and how to find equivalent fractions. After half term we will link our fraction work to decimals and percentages.  

 

Science 

In science this term we will be learning about; Earth and Space, we will investigate the movement of the earth and other planets relative to the sun and use the idea of the Earth’s rotation to explain day and night and the apparent movement of the sun across the sky. 

PE 

PE will be every Friday afternoon.  Please wear your PE kits (suitable for the weather) to school on Fridays. No branded sportswear is allowed. 

We will continue with our French lessons with Mrs Higgins along with other curriculum areas each afternoon including Computing, Art, Music and DT. We will also be making wider use of our outdoor learning environment. 

If you have any other queries, please speak to Mrs Caine.