Challenges, Charity and Christmas...

Well here we are at the end of another term - how time has flown! The children have worked so hard over the last term and I’m proud of each of them for their achievements. Below are some of things Year 5 have been doing over the last couple of weeks…

Year 5 concluded their work with Bounce Forward by sharing what they have learnt about being more resilient. Thank you to all families who were able to come and share in the showcase - I hope you’ve all made your positivity glasses and are using them at home to help improve resilience. Year 5 will continue to talk about the resilient moves they make and will use our resilient moves box to make class challenges. What resilient moves will you all make over Christmas?

In Science the children have been investigating the effects of air resistance. The children made parachutes and observed the time taken for different sized parachutes to fall to the ground. Ask your child what they observed and what they now know about air resistance.

To conclude our space topic, the children were challenged to a series of activities which ultimately led them to planning, designing and making a moon buggy. Take a look at what they did...

First the children were challenged to make a simple chassis in 20 minutes. They were given a piece of A3 card, one piece of dowling, 4 wooden wheels and masking tape…

Then the children were split into three different groups and each group were given a challenge:

Challenge 1 - To make a simple frame from wood

Challenge 2 - To make a working chassis from tech card

Challenge 3 - To design and make an outer shell of a buggy

The challenges were a success!

Lastly, the children were issued with their final challenge - to work in groups to plan, design and make a moving moon buggy prototype using all the skills they had learnt from previous challenges. Take a look at our mini NASA engineers at work…

We were so proud of how hard the children worked. They all showed exceptional team work - great cooperation, good speaking and listening, turn taking and compromise when decision making. In particular one team stood out who worked exceptionally well - Team TBLBB ( Joshua, Ella and Fayth)

Our reading champions for this half term are…

At Christmas time it’s always important to think of others and this Christmas Luke’s family have very much been on our minds and in our prayers. Year 5 all took part in the Santa dance off (the Santa dash was rained off) in order to raise money for Luke’s little sister Amy. Thank you so much for all who have helped to raise money for Amy at this difficult time.

Well done to our Golden ticket winners for reading…

Thank you all for your continued support throughout this term. We wish you all a very happy and holy Christmas and we will see you all in the New Year.

Mrs McVey, Miss Evans and Mrs Hodgkiss

Bikeability success!

Well done to the children who took part in Bikeability this week. They passed their level 1 & 2 despite the very cold weather and rain. Congratulations!

The remainder of Year 5 will have the opportunity to take part in Bikeability at the end of Year 5.

Our Resilience showcase/assembly

Soon our Bounce Forward sessions will come to an end and it will be Year 5’s turn to share what they have learnt over the course of the sessions. On the 7th December at 3pm Year 5 will present what they have learnt and we would like to invite parents to join us if they can. Please put it in your diary and come if you can make it!

One of the ideas to promote resilience, that has come from the sessions, was to make a resilient moves box. We have made our box and each of the children has thought of a move that we could all do and put it in our special box. We will pick out resilient moves each week and the class will be challenged to try and do it. It would be lovely if the children could take a photo of them making the resilient move, or any other resilient moves, and bring it in so we can take a copy (or email me at admin@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk ) to be shared in our resilience showcase/assembly. The resilient moves could be anything - spending time with family or friends, having a laugh, eating healthily, taking part in a hobby or sport… Thanks to those children who have already brought in photos of their resilient moves.

Take a look at the Resilience Framework to identify the resilient moves that Year 5 make…

Our trip to Jodrell Bank and team work

The highlight of our week was a trip to Jodrell Bank - the children were impeccably behaved and they showed off their great knowledge and understanding of our Space topic. Here are some photos of our trip...

On Friday the children also continued with their resilience training. This week they worked together as a team to make a pyramid of paper cups... but they weren't allowed to touch the cups directly! The children had to use different materials to help them stack the cups (blue tac, straws, elastic bands and foil). Take a look...

Monday's Bikeability riders...

Dear Year 5/ Parents/Carers (For those taking part in Bikeability on Monday and Tuesday)

On Monday 26th and Tuesday 27thNovember, you will need to bring with you your bike, cycle helmet, lock and key. The children will need to wear their school PE kit and appropriate trainers for riding their bike.  If the weather is wet, waterproof trousers and coat, if you have them, may be appropriate over the top or to change into. If the weather is really wet, the Bikeability team may choose to cancel that day but it will be entirely their decision.

Once through the school gate, walk your bike round to the KS2 playground (children are not permitted to ride their bike on the playground) and where possible lock your bike to the wooden fencing. After the Bikeability session, bikes will be locked up again where possible, ready to be collected to go home at the end of each day. Please can you ensure that all keys and locks have names on so that they are easily identified. Keys will be collected from the children and stored away safely during the day. If the lock is a combination lock then can I suggest that the combination is written down, placed in a sealed envelope and given to me for safe keeping should your child forget the combination. These will be returned to you at the end of Bikeability - we have had children forget their numbers in the past which has delayed their session while we call parents.

After Monday’s Bikeability session, the children will be informed as to whether they will need their bike for Tuesday - they will need to pass the first stage of the training to be able to proceed to the next stage. The children who are not taking part in Bikeability and anyone who no longer needs their bike will remain in class with me. Due to obvious safety reasons, the Bikeability team will only allow children, who ride their bike with good control, to proceed to the next stage and be taken out onto the roads. All decisions are made by the Bikeability team. 

Before Monday, to avoid disappointment please make one final check that your bike is road worthy and at the correct height for you as the first thing the Bikeability team will do, is assess your bike. Any that fail will mean that you cannot continue with the course.

 Happy riding and good luck everyone!

Thanks for your support

A Comedy of Errors

On Tuesday we were treated to a wonderful performance of ‘A Comedy of Errors’ by the RSC First Encounters tour. During the performance 20 of our talented KS2 children performed an ensemble piece during the opening scene of the play. The children had spent weeks rehearsing for the part and we all agreed that they did an amazing job and we were all so proud of them. Well done to Alana, Ella, Matthew and Mitchell from Year 5 who took part in the performance.

Take a look at the article and more photos which were published in the Blackpool Gazette last week… Gazette article

Year 5 have worked on Shakespeare’s ‘A Comedy of Errors’ for a number of weeks and showed a good understanding of the play. It was a joy to see Year 5’s faces light up when they heard speeches they recognised.

Year 5 recording their reviews of the play in their ‘A Comedy of Errors’ diary.

Reading Champions!

Well done to our Reading Champions for last half term who read regularly and completed their reading bookmarks. Keep up the great reading Year 5 and next half term I’d like to see all of Year 5 do the same.

Well done to Ellie and Ella who won our Golden ticket raffle for great reading.

Fieldwork and fencing

It’s been a busy week in Year 5…

On Tuesday and Wednesday the children undertook fieldwork around the local area to answer some geographical questions we have been discussing in class. The children worked in six groups and on Tuesday they were investigating land use in different residential areas around our school. The children made their own maps and looked at different physical and human features that were in the area. On Wednesday the groups then went to different areas around Squires Gate retail park to look at land use around there and to conduct research through questionnaires. I was very impressed with how well the children worked and particularly impressed with the confident and polite manner at which they approached the general public. Well done Year 5! Now the children will analyse the data they collected in order to answer our geographical questions about the local area. Take a look at the photos…

After our fieldwork on Tuesday the children enjoyed a fencing workshop. The children were shown the basics of fencing and how to score and got to wear the gear. It was so much fun! Take a look…

On 2nd November, straight after school, parents are invited to a presentation in Year 5 with Hannah from Headstart. Hannah is the resilience coach who is delivering the Bounce Forward resilience training to Year 5. At this meeting she will be able to talk you through the programme and answer any questions you may have.

Don’t forget the children break up this Thursday and Parent’s day is Friday. Please make sure you make an appointment so I can update you on how your child is settling into Year 5.

Thank you for all your contributions for Harvest, it is very much appreciated and so important to help our local community’s food bank. If you still haven’t brought in your contribution, then it’s not too late - please bring in on Monday as the food bank will be collecting all contributions then. Thank you!

Well done to all our award winners this week…

Golden award - Riley J

Last week’s Maths award - Mitchell

Last week’s Minificate winner - Kyle M

This week’s Minificate winner will be drawn on Monday

A Comedy of Errors and more...

This week Year 5 finished writing their free verse poems about the classroom. Through use of poetic techniques and inclusion of similes and metaphors they’ve been able to build vivid images of a classroom at the end of a day. Poems are not the easiest to write but Year 5 worked very hard and I’ve been very impressed with their efforts - they should all be really pleased with themselves!

In English we are now studying Shakespeare’s “A Comedy of Errors”. We are very lucky to have been given special diaries from the Grand Theatre and the RSC, where the children will be able to record their learning journey of the play. Through active approaches we intend to explore the play and we will use this work to develop our own writing. Today the children took part in a Whoosh activity to get to know the story of the play. Take a look…

On November 6th the RSC are bringing their First Encounters with Shakespeare Tour of Comedy of Errors to our school to perform for the children in the afternoon and then again in the evening for the local community. Talented children from our school will also be performing a scene alongside the RSC actors and I’m very proud to say that Alana, Ella, Matthew and Mitchell from our class will be performing too. Tickets for this performance have now gone on sale at the Grand Theatre so get your tickets before they sell out!

Our Bounce Forward workshop this afternoon was all about identifying our strengths to get us through the tough times. The children made badges to remind the children how their strengths can make them more resilient. Please ask your child which strength they chose and how it makes them more resilient. What resilient moves will you make this week?

Don’t forget that next week we will be on our fieldwork trip.

Well done to all our award winners this week…

Golden award - Fayth

Writing award - Joshua

Last week’s Maths award - Joshua

Minificate winner - To be drawn on Monday

Reading, writing, resilience and awards

Wow! I can’t believe we’re already more than halfway through this half term. The children have made a good start to Year 5 and have been working hard in all their subjects. I’m particularly impressed with the work they’ve been doing in our English work. We’ve been looking at free verse poems and are now writing our own poems about the classroom using poetic techniques such as personification, alliteration, similes and metaphors. I’m really looking forward to reading them when they’re finished.

I’m really pleased to see those children who are reading regularly at home and collecting their bookmark stickers, completing quizzes and earning our golden tickets for reading. At the end of this half term we will pick out our golden ticket winners and reward our reading champions. Please make sure your child is reading regularly at home to ensure they make good progress in this area. Remember Year 5, good readers = good writers!

This week has been the fourth week that our resilience coach, Hannah, has been coming in to class to teach the children about being more resilient - this will continue till December. Soon I’ll be inviting you in to school so that Hannah can talk to you about what she has been teaching the children. Please ask your children about these sessions so that you can support them in their quest to become more resilient - you'll be surprised at how much they know already! Ask them about the special potions and what resilient moves they will be doing this week to improve their resilience.

For more information/support, please see these recommended websites:

HeadStart

Boing Boing  

Well done to all our award winners this week…

Golden award - Jessica

Writing award - Archie

Minificate winner - Natalie

Swimming starts next Tuesday

Yesterday Mrs Ramsden, our new swimming teacher from Palatine, came to meet the children and talk through what they need to know. Swimming will be on Tuesdays (please see letter you received home today) and the children will be accompanied to the pool by Miss Evans and Mrs Hodgkiss. The children will need to come in their school PE kit for the day and will need with them their swimming kit in a separate bag to their school bag. Girls will need a one-piece swimsuit and boys will need swimming trunks (please see photo of acceptable type as baggy swim shorts are not allowed), a towel, swim hat for all girls and boys who have a longer hair style or fringe, and goggles if you return the signed goggles letter. The children will not need shampoo or shower gel as they will only have time to rinse and get dressed quickly ready to return to school. Please can the health forms be returned before Friday so they are ready for collection by the swimming teacher. If your child has asthma, inhalers will be taken to the pool by the teachers so please make sure your child has an up to date inhaler in school as soon as possible.

On PE and swimming days earrings will need to be left at home to avoid losing them as children are not allowed to swim or do PE with them in. 

Thank you. 

Welcome to Year 5

Welcome to Year 5. I trust you have all had a wonderful Summer holiday and are feeling refreshed and ready to start a new school year. I look forward to getting started on our new learning journey together and getting to know all of you better.

Our main topic this term will be Space. We will be exploring Earth and Space through Science  our creative writing will also link in with this topic. I hope to also arrange a Space related school trip later in this term which will be very exciting!

Just to let you know that Year 5 will have PE on Friday afternoons and swimming will take place each Tuesday morning throughout Year 5. The children will have their swimming induction with their swimming teacher in class on the first day back and will start swimming on Tuesday 11th September. Year 5 will be able to come to school on a Tuesday and Friday wearing their full PE kit. Please make sure that your child's PE kit, including jumper, is named to avoid confusion. 

Look at our amazing art work!

Today we had the privilege to have Mrs Williams, Leon's mum and secondary school art teacher, in our class for the whole morning. She came in to teach  art inspired by the work of Dean Crouser, Poul Beckman and Damien Hirst. The children worked really well and used the techniques Mrs Williams taught them to create some amazing art work that they were all really proud of.  Thank you Mrs Williams!

Have a look at what Year 5 produced...

Where is the time going?

I can't believe how quickly the time has gone! We're almost at the end of the year and we're now busy learning about our last few topics in Year 5 before they move onto Year 6.

Year 5 have been studying materials and their properties in science and this week they have investigated irreversible changes - through our experiments we made casein plastic and carbon dioxide. In geography our focus is on North and South America and we have organised an itinerary for a specific group of travellers with particular interests. The children have chosen and located the places on a map and we are now learning about absolute location using latitude and longitude. In English the focus of their writing is play scripts and once they're finished, they'll hopefully get the chance to act them out to help evaluate the effectiveness of their stage directions and speech.

Can I just remind all of Year 5 of the importance to continue with their home reading? Let's see how many more quizzes you can all complete between now and the end of term. We'll continue to check diaries and award golden tickets for their efforts.

Just a few dates for your diary...

Sports Day - Thursday 5th July at approximately 9.30am

Water safety practical lesson - Tuesday 10th July (School swimming lesson) The children will need their usual swimming costume but they will also need a pair of shorts and t-shirt that they can swim in.

Sumdog success!

Well done Year 5 for competing in the Blackpool Sumdog contest, I'm very proud of you all! The children came first place and won a 6 month premium Sumdog maths subscription. 

Well done Year 5 and now make sure you take advantage of this wonderful prize - get on Sumdog as much as you can to have fun and improve your maths!

Reading champions!

Well done to our reading champions for this half term. Keep up the good work Year 5!

Well done to Maysie and Nathan for being our Golden ticket winners for reading...

Pop idol

Congratulations to Eva in Year 5 who represented our school in the Blackpool Music Service Pop Idol competition on Tuesday night at Montgomery High School. Eva auditioned against a number of children in school over the last month and then went on to win our in school semi-final, performing in front of the whole school. The competition at Montgomery on Tuesday was fierce with lots of talented performers across Blackpool. Eva gave the most beautiful and confident performance, singing "Hallelujah", and we're so very proud of her achievements. Eva was presented with a medal from the judges, Radio presenters Ged Mills and Scott Gallagher.  Watch out for Eva in the future, she's going to be a star!

It was so lovely to see so many of Eva's friends and their families who came to support her - Eva certainly had the biggest fan club! Thank you to all of you who came and a special thank you to Jessica for the wonderful banners.

Our Lenten promise fulfilled...

Thank you Year 5 for all your contributions to Barnardos charity as part of our class Lenten promise. Barnardos supports and encourages disadvantaged children to achieve success in their lives.

Year 5 reading champions

Well done to all our reading champions this half term who completed their reading bookmarks for reading at home. Some children even managed to complete two! 

A big congratulations to Daisy and Matthew who were this half term's golden ticket winners for reading. Well done!

We completed our Lenten book challenge!

Monday afternoon Year 5 celebrated finishing their Lenten book challenge. We sat in groups and enjoyed chatting about the book we had read. Well done Year 5!