Welcome to Year Five

Friday, 13th May 2022

Thank you for bringing it your cardboard, plastic bottles and food labels for our lessons this week. In Geography, we investigated the advantages and disadvantages of hydropower. We also researched the food miles of our food using the labels and located the countries on a map. We have designed our Shakespeare Automata in DT, ready to start making next week!

Home Learning

Maths - Complete pages 46 and 47 (Imperial Units) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions on 'Why Recycle?' on pages 6 & 7. 

Spellings - Learn the meanings and spellings of these words ending in able/ible.

collapsible, invincible, accessible, audible, capable, reasonable, predictable, unmistakeable

Reading - Remember to read at least five times over the week and get your reading record signed. 

Next week: 

In Maths, we will be finishing our sequence of learning on imperial units (inches and pounds), and solving problems involving scaling by fractions. 

In English, we will be using our knowledge of Macbeth to perform with intonation, and write with modal verbs and relative clauses. 

On Tuesday, we will be making our Shakespeare Automata. Please make sure you have brought in your small cardboard box to use. 

Our PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

Have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 6th May 2022

We've had a short but busy week in school. Today we had our Play Leader Training run by the School Sports Partnership. We learned how to plan opportunities for younger children to be active, considering elements of teamwork, before planning and carrying out our activities in groups with KS1. 

Next week we will be carrying out some practical activities related to DT and Geography. Items needed are:

corrugated card, food labels (with country of origin labelled) and plastic milk/juice bottles. If you are able to provide any of these items, please bring them in to school on Monday. 

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete the sheet on Scale Factors that you have been given (a copy is attached below). 

English - Complete pages 46 & 47 (Commas after introductions) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - Learn the meanings and spellings of the following words which have the suffixes -cial and -tial.

official, artificial, crucial, commercial, confidential, residential, potential, substantial

Reading - Remember to read at least five times over the week and get your reading record signed. 

Next week

In Maths, we will be learning to convert metric measures and begin to convert imperial measures. 

In English, we will be learning to write balanced arguments based on Macbeth. 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

Have a great weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 29th April 2022

This week we have been learning about where our power comes from, and have located a range of different power stations in the UK. We have also been learning about why energy prices are increasing and what we can do at school to reduce our energy wastage. In Science, we dissected flowers to identify the male and female parts necessary in the sexual reproduction of plants. We found the filament, anther and even the ovules in some bluebells which helped us to explain pollination. 

Home Learning

Maths - Complete page 26 (Solving calculation problems) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions about 'From a Railway Carriage' on pages 16 & 17 of your reading comprehension book.

Spelling - Learn the meanings and spellings of the following words from the statutory spelling list. When practising, can you put them into sentences about Macbeth?!

sufficient, desperate, mischievous, determined, conscience, opportunity, interfere, thorough

Reading - Please make sure that you are reading at least five times during the week and recording this in your reading record. 

Next week

On Friday, the School Sports Partnership will be coming in to deliver Play Leader Training to Year 5. It is an all-day training session that teaches the children how to set up and carry out a range of sporting and social games for younger children to keep them active. PE Kit will be needed as normal. 

On Thursday school is closed for Polling Day.

Wishing you a wonderful bank holiday weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 22nd April 

It's SO lovely to welcome everyone back, rested and well, after the Easter holidays. We have kicked off the Summer Term well with plenty of exciting activities and delving into our new topics. 

On Wednesday, we took part in the K'NEX challenge in which we were tasked with designing and constructing a moving bridge. We learned about the different types of moving bridges and chose one which we liked and worked in pairs to build it. We had to solve problems along the way and communicate well with each other to complete the bridge. Martha and Sawyer were crowned the winning pair, and their design will go before a judging panel along with entries from the other competing schools. 

Home Learning

Maths - Complete pages 60 & 61 (Angle Rules) in your Maths Workbook. We learned about angles at the end of last term. 

English - Complete pages 72 & 73 (Hyphenating Prefixes) in your SPAG workbook.

Spelling - Learn the meanings and spellings of these hyphenated words (remember you must include then hyphen when writing)

co-operate, co-own, re-enter, re-evaluate, re-energise, de-escalate

Reading - Well done for keeping up with your reading over the Easter holidays. You must be reading (at least) five times each week and keeping a log in your Reading Record. 

Next Week: 

We will be having an outdoor session on Monday, so you may wish to bring trainers/wellies to wear for this. 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

In Maths, we will be continuing to learn to solve division and multiplication problems, including how to draw them and how to give remainders. 

In English, we will be starting a unit of learning based on Macbeth. We will be reading, performing and summarising different versions of the play, as well as interpreting language. 

Wishing you a great weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 1st April 2022

We've had a week filled with Easter celebrations and activities to finish off the term. On Wednesday we had our Easter day which started off with a parade of the fantastic Easter hats that you had all made at home. They were so creative and unique! The children had a lovely time singing with the school on the KS1 playground. We played an Easter Quiz in which the children had to answer questions about the Easter story (some tricky questions!). We decorated Easter biscuits, made Easter cards and had the privilege of watching the Year 3 & 4 Easter play - it was superb!

We completed our Science topic this week with an investigation into oxidation using apples - we even left them out overnight to complete our observations. 

Next term, we will be learning:

Science - Living things and their habitats (life cycles and reproduction)

Geography - Land Use

RE - Gospel (What would Jesus do?)

PSHE - Being my best (keeping healthy, growth mindset, goal setting, achievement)

Computing - Programming

DT - Automata

In the first week back we will be learning strategies to solve division and multiplication problems. In English we will be building vocabulary through illustrations. 

There is no homework set over the holidays, but please do read! 

Wishing you and your families a joyous and restful Easter. 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 25th March 

It finally feels as though Summer might be on its way. We have enjoyed lots of time outside this week, and are now able to play on the field at lunchtimes. Please make sure that you have a water bottle in school so that you can keep hydrated! With only one more week to go until the Easter holidays, we have been finishing off our topics in History and RE. Details of the new topics for the Summer Term will come next week, but can also be found in the Year 5 Overview from the start of the year. 

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete pages 58 & 59 (Angles) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Complete pages 44 & 45 (Commas after Subordinate Clauses) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - Please learn the spellings and meanings of the following homophones (words which sound the same but have different meanings):

draft, draught, steel, steal, aisle, isle, farther, father, profit, prophet

Reading - Make sure that you read at least five times over the week and get your reading record signed. 

Next Week: 

Wednesday (30th) is our Easter Celebration Day. We will have an Easter hat parade, an easter egg hunt and much more! Details can be found in a letter from Mrs Lee sent this week. 

Friday is the last day of term. We will meet at Church in the morning. We won't have PE on this day as we finish early, so please come in school uniform. 

PE on Tuesday remains the same. 

In Maths, we will be learning to idnetify the sizes of missing angles on straight lines and around a point. 

In English, we will be planning, researching and writing reports about games. We are learning to use adverbials and conjunctions for cohesion. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend, and a happy Mothering Sunday, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 18th March 

This week we celebrated Science week by having Mr. Nolepa (a parent in our school community) come in to talk to us about his job as an engineer and set us an engineering challenge. We had to create a bridge (using no more than 3 pieces of a4 paper) that was strong enough to hold up to 100 pennies. We tested each one and had many that could hold the full weight! The theme of Science week is 'Growth'. To celebrate this, the children are coming home with a small selection of sunflower seeds to plant at home!

Today we celebrated Red Nose Day by wearing an item of red clothing and raising money for Comic Relief. Thank you very much for your kind donations! 

Home Learning

Maths - Complete pages 48 and 49 (Perimeter) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions on pages 14 & 15 (Pompeii) in your Reading comprehension book. 

Spellings - Please learn these spellings of singular and plural nouns. We will be learning about possessive apostrophes for plural nouns also. 

knife --> knives; loaf --> loaves, volcano --> volcanoes; hero --> heroes; woman --> women

Reading - Please make sure that you are reading at least five times over the week and getting your reading record signed! 

Next Week: 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

In Maths, we will be learning to describe, measure and draw angles. If you have your own protractor, you may wish to bring it in next week. 

In English, we will be using the book Stone Girl, Bone Girl to write biographies. We will be learning how to use adverbs and conjunctions for cohesion, and using relative clauses in our writing. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 11th March 

We had such an informative and interesting day yesterday for our Viking Workshop. Throughout the day, we learned about the many aspects of Viking life (some very gruesome), and got to experience some typical Viking games and drills. The children all looked fantastic in their Viking-inspired outfits with accompanying props. Thank you for the effort and time that went in to preparing those! The children had a great day and have come away with some wonderful memories, as well as a great deal of knowledge! Photos of the day are below. 

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete pages 56 & 57 (3D Shapes) in your Maths Workbook. 

English - Complete pages 52 & 53 (Brackets for Extra Information) in your SPAG Workbook.

Spellings - Please learn the original and contracted forms of these words, putting the apostrophe in the correct place.
shall not = shan't, will not = won't, I will = I'll, should have = should've, is not = isn't

Reading - You must be reading at least five times over the week and getting your reading record signed. 

Next week: 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 
Monday - we will be having a Forest School session. You may wish to bring in suitable footwear (trainers or wellies). 
Friday - Comic Relief (Red Nose Day) Mufti Day. 

We will be celebrating Science week next week and will be participating in some special activities! 

In Maths, we are learning to reflect shapes in co-ordinate grids. We will also be learning how to calculate the perimeter of rectilinear shapes. 
In English, we are learning how to effectively use dialogue and cohesive devices to write a short narrative. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 4th March 2022

We thoroughly enjoyed World Book Day this week and took part in many different activities. We were fortunate enough to have illustrator Kay Wilson come in and talk to us about how she designs illustrations for book covers. During the workshop, we used shapes to create characters and designed our own books covers in this style. We loved reading with Reception and we worked with them to make bookmarks of the stories we shared. We also had the opportunity to swap old books for a new one that other children had donated. In our assembly, we got to share all of our fantastic costumes with the rest of the school! 

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete pages 42 & 43 (Fraction, Decimal and Percentage Problems) in your workbook

English - Read and answer the questions on 'Poems about Knights' on pages 22 & 23 of your Reading comprehension book. 

Spellings -Please learn the meanings and spellings of these words which all contain an unstressed vowel sound:
average, parliament, temperature, vegetable, foreign, probably, signature, desperate

Reading - Make sure that you are reading at least five times over the week and recording this in your reading record. 

Next week

On Thursday we have our Viking workshop in school. You are invited to dress in Viking-themed clothing for a day of fun activities!

Our PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

In Maths, we will be learning about nets of 3D shapes and identifying shapes from their 2D representations. 

In English, we will be reading the book Cloud Tea Monkeys and using expanded noun phrases to write detailed descriptions. 

Wishing you a wonderful and restful weekend. 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 25th February 

It's been great to welcome everyone back after the half term break and get settled into our new learning for the half term (topics outlined below). Some of the children took part in a Maths Challenge this week against other Hertfordshire schools - it certainly tested our knowledge and teamwork skills! We are awaiting the results to find out if we have made it into the final round next term. 

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete pages 40 & 41 (Percentages) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Complete pages 12 & 13 (Pronouns and Relative Pronouns) in your SPAG workbook.

Spelling - Please learn the meanings and spellings of these words which contain 'ough' but make different sounds:
borough, tough, cough, ploughed, thorough, fought, sought, although

Reading - Ensure you read at least five times during the week and get your reading record signed!

Next week: 

In Maths we will be continuing to learn about percentages, including how to convert between fractions, decimals and percentages, how to identify 100% from a part given, and applying these skills to a range of problems. 

In English, we will continue to base our writing around 'Tales from Outer Suburbia' by Shaun Tan. We will be writing descriptions of settings and familiar landscapes using prepositions.

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

Thursday is World Book Day! You are invited to come in dressed as your favourite character from a book, or item related to a book or author. Your could even come in pyjamas ready for a bedtime story! 

Deborah will be leading a service for us on Ash Wednesday next week. 

This half term we will be learning: 

History - The Vikings

Science - Changes of Materials
RE - Salvation
Art - Illustrations
Computing - Flat-file databases

PSHE - Rights and Responsibilities

Have a lovely weekend! See you on Monday. 

Miss Paxton 

Friday, 11th February 2022

What a wonderful end to this half term. We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating our Vision and Values Day on Wednesday, and have some fantastic work to show for it. We had an assembly with Karl who talked to us about courage, we made ink artwork inspired by the book 'The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse', and cycled and scooted around the playground/field. On Thursday we finish our art project by making Anglo-Saxon jewellery (some photos below). They turned out brilliantly and I'm sure you will admire them (along with the crosses) at home. 

There is no homework set over half term, but please continue to keep up with your reading and signing in your reading record. 

The children have been sent home with a World Book Day token today which is valid from the 17th February. 

I hope you have a wonderful half term, and I look forward to seeing you all on the 21st. 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 4th February 2022

We cannot believe there is only one week now until half term. We've had a busy few weeks and are looking forward to wrapping up some of our topics this half term ready for new learning when we return. 

This week in Maths we have been learning to calculate area, and enjoyed measuring and writing on different rectangular items around the classroom to calculate their area. Don't worry - it came off! (Photos below).

In Science we have been learning about the properties of materials and this week tested the absorbency of a range of nappies. We were quite surprised by some of the results. We will be reporting our recommendations based on our findings to Miss Warne and Mrs Pearce next week!

We also had fun today celebrating the NSPCC's Number Day, and enjoyed coming to school in our number outfits. We completed different Maths riddles throughout the day which were brilliantly tricky!

Home Learning

Maths - Please complete pages 50 & 52 (Area) in your Maths book

English - Complete pages 65 & 66 (Paragraphs) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words which end in -ant or -ance.
nuisance, onservant, hindrance, significant, substance, descendant, tolerance, appearance

Reading - It is incredibly important that you are reading regularly. Remember to read at least 5 times over the week and get your reading record signed.

Next Week

We will be making our Anglo-Saxon jewellery on Thursday, so please make sure your cardboard is in school for then. 

On Wednesday we are having our Vision and Values day. Please see the email from Mrs Lee for more details. 

We will also be celebrating Safer Internet Day on Tuesday.

Our PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday.

In Maths we will be learning to estimate and calculate volume. 

In English, we will be concluding our learning on mystery writing with Boy in the Tower by writing the next part of the story. 

Have a great weekend. 

Miss Paxton :)

Friday, 28th January 2022

We had a brilliant day making our Anglo-Saxon crosses on Monday (pictures below). They turned out fanastically well, despite the cardboard being tricky to cut. Before the end of half term we will be making another Anglo-Saxon-inspired art product, so we will be asking for more cardboard again. You might like to start collecting this ready for the final week of the half term. 

We are really enjoying reading 'Boy in the Tower' in English. Each chapter is filled with mysterious happenings and clues about the causes. We love sharing our own theories based on the evidence being revealed. 

Home Learning

Maths - Please complete the worksheet on Converting Units of measure. 

English - Read and answer the questions on 'The Great Fire of London' on pages 10 & 11 of your Reading comprehension book. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words containing -ence/-ent/-ency endings. 

insistent, frequency, sufficient, independent, innocent, emergency, recent, obedient

Reading - Reading Records are checked on a Friday. It should show that you have read at least five times over the week. 

Next Week: 

In Maths, we will be learning to estimate the area of irregular shapes, and calculate the area of rectangles. 

In English, we will be learning how authors use dialogue to add tension and move on story plots using our book Boy in the Tower. 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

Have a fantastic weekend, 

Miss Paxton. 

Friday, 21st January 2022

Another week has flown by! Thank you very much for all of the cardboard you have sent in. On Monday, we will be making and painting our Anglo-Saxon crosses (we are very excited). We will share photos in next week's update! In Science this week we had fun investigating the strength of different types of paper by seeing how many coins it could hold and recording our observations. In English we have been using the book 'The Watertower' to begin to understand how authors create suspense in writing. Next week we will begin reading 'The Boy in the Tower', so if you have a copy please bring it in with you on Monday. 

Home Learning

Maths - Pages 44 and 45 (Metric Units) of your Maths Book. 

English - Pages 24 & 25 (Prepositions) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of these words containing the -cious or -tious suffix. 
conscious, infectious, suspicious, cautious, gracious, vicious, ambitious, superstitious

Reading - It is so important that you read at least five times over the week and get your reading record signed!

Next Week 

In Maths, we will continue to learn about metric units and how to convert between different units in order to solve problems. 

In English, we will begin reading 'Boy in the Tower' as part of our learning about Mystery and Suspense narratives. We will be making inferences using clues, and considering how to carefully use nouns and pronouns in writing. 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

Wishing you a great weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 14th January 2022

Our first full week back has felt like we've never been away! We've been engrossed in our learning this week, starting many new topics. In Science, we have been learning about thermal conductors and insulators, and we carried out an investigation to find out which of Miss Paxton's (many) coffee cups was the best at keeping coffee hot. The steel cup won! 

On Tuesday, some children in Year 5 took part in an Indoor Athletics competition with Year 6 at Rickmansworth School. The children worked exceptionally well as a team and showed great determination! They performed brilliantly!

In Art we have started a topic on Anglo-Saxon tools. This week we began to design Anglo-Saxon crosses which we will be making in the coming weeks out of cardboard. If you have any cardboard at home that you no longer need, please send it in to school so that we can use it for our art project. We need thick, corrugated cardboard (no cereal boxes please). 

Home Learning 

Maths - Please complete pages 32 & 33 (Multiplying with fractions) 

English - Read and answer the questions on 'A letter from E.B. White' on pages 20 & 21 of your Reading Comprehension book. 

Reading - It is important that you're reading regularly (at least 5 times a week) and recording this in your Reading Record

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words with -ably and -ibly suffixes:

miserably, amicably, arguably, suitably, invisibly, flexibly, incredibly, legibly

Next Week: 

In Maths, we will be learning to solve problems involving fractions (adding, subtracting and multiplying). 

In English, we will be learning about the features of suspense writing using the book 'The Watertower'

Our PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

Have a lovely weekend, see you Monday! 

Miss Paxton

Mrs Bennett here.....

St Mary's have been invited to take part in a School Sports Partnership Athletics Event at Rickmansworth School on Tuesday 11th January from 4 - 6pm. 

I have entered a girl and boy team, each team needs to have a minimum of 9 children taking part for the event to take place. We need 4 more girls and 3 more boys (It is a Y6 event but has been opened up to Y5 children). Children will need to wear their school PE Kit and clean trainers.

If your child would like to take part, please email Mrs Palmer by 10am on Monday. Unfortunately adults are unable to stay and watch.

Friday, 7th January 2022

Happy New Year! We've had an excellent start to the new year and new term. It has been so lovely to welcome you all back into school this week. We've made a fantastic start on our new topics for this term (see details below) and are excited about the learning ahead. Our whole school value this half term is courage, and we have been reflecting on what it means to be courageous (on a small and large scale). 

In the coming weeks, our English topic of Mystery and Suspense will be centred on the book 'Boy in the Tower' by Polly Ho-Yen. You may wish to borrow/purchase a copy of the book to read alongside us in class. 

Home Learning

Maths - Page 10 (Rounding) and page 14 (Mental Adding and Subtracting)

English - In your SPAG book, please complete pages 82 & 83 (Word Endings - able, ible, ably and ibly). 

Reading - Please remember to record in your Reading Record each time you read. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words which contain the suffixes -able or -ible:

possible, considerable, reliable, flexible, permeable, inedible, noticeable, plausible 

Can you remember the meanings of flexible and permeable from Science this week?

Next Week: 

In Maths, we will be learning to multiply fractions by whole numbers. 

In English, we will be using a book of poems called 'Locomotion' to help us write poetry about our experiences, focusing on emotive language. 

PE is on the (new) normal days of Tuesday and Friday. 

What we are learning this half term: 

Science - Properties of materials

History - The Anglo-Saxons

PSHE - Keeping Myself Safe (helpful and harmful habits; risky situations) 

RE - Islam
Art - Anglo-Saxon Tools
Computing - Video-Editing. 

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 17th December 2021

We have been busy opening the remaining presents/doors/envelopes on our many advent calendars this week. We have been unwrapping a character from the Christmas Story each day and have made our own nativity scene in the classroom. We had a very special visit from Father Christmas this week, and received a present each! We have also enjoyed making Christmas Cards, Christmas tree decorations and calendars.
We've had such a busy term full of fantastic learning. You have all worked so hard (even this week!) and I am so proud of you all. 

There is no home learning set over Christmas, however, please do continue to read over the holidays! The children have also been sent home with their CGP 10 minute Maths book, should you wish to use them. 

Thank you all for your very kind cards, words and generous gifts; they are hugely appreciated and very thoughtful of you all. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all on the 5th January. 

With best wishes, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 10th December 2021

We've had a fantastic Christmas Jumper Day today (pictures below) and a lovely Christmas lunch. The children had crackers, Christmas music, and were served their dinner by the staff! We are certainly feeling very Christmassy now. 

Our rehearsal at Church yesterday was a success, and we are looking forward to performing to the rest of KS2 on 
Tuesday. We will share a recording of the service via Google Drive. We watched Reception's Nativity (a recording of it) and were impressed by their clear and loud voices. 

Home Learning 

Maths - 

Page 29 (Ordering fractions) Questions 2, 3 & 4. 

Page 30 (Adding & subtracting fractions) Question 4. 
Page 31 (Adding & subtracting fractions) Question 5. 

English - Complete pages 18 & 19 (Trickier Relative Clauses) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - These words are from the Y3/4 and Y5/6 spelling lists and can be related to Christmas. Learn the meanings and spellings of these words. Can you use them in a Christmas sentence?
symbol, neighbour, excellent, twelfth, calendar, occasion, marvellous, foreign 

Reading - Please make sure that you are reading regularly and recording this in your reading record. 

Next Week: 

Our PE Days are the normal days of Monday and Tuesday. 

On Tuesday, we are meeting at Church at 9am. Please come dressed in costumes (if any) for the service. Bring your PE Kit to change in to when we are back at school. 

The Year 5/6 Disco is Friday (17th) from 3-4pm. 

Wishing you a restful weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 3rd December 2021

Christmas has arrived in school this week! We have been learning about Advent this week, and have multiple advent calendars that we are opening every day. We are building our own nativity scene using knitted characters that we are opening as presents each day, as well as competing in a Christmas-themed quiz! 

The KS2 Carol Service is on Tuesday, 14th December at St. Mary's Church. The children have been given lines to learn, and we will begin practising next week. Please do read these at home and try to learn them off-by-heart (as much as possible). We have discussed possible outfits/costumes, but if you have any questions please do let me know. We will be having a rehearsal (just Year 5) on Thursday, 9th December at St. Mary's Church. Please drop your children at St. Mary's Church for 9am on this day. 

In Science this week we have been learning why there are different day and night times across the world, and finding countries in different time zones. We explored the question 'Is it always 5 o'clock somewhere on Earth?' 

Home Learning 

Maths - Please complete:

Page 29 (Ordering Fractions) Question 1 only. 
Page 30 (Adding and Subtracting Fractions) Questions 1, 2 & 3 only. 

English - Complete Pages 16 & 17 (Relative Clauses) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of these words ending in -cial or -tial.

confidential, facial, artificial, spatial, partial, crucial, social, racial

Reading - It is really important that you read every day at home. Remember to write in your Reading Record. 

Next Week:

On Tuesday we will be watching Reception's Dress Rehearsal for their Nativity Performance. 

On Thursday, we are rehearsing at Church in the morning. We will be back in school for lunch. Our Learning Showcase is on Thursday afternoon. We will be based in the hall, not the classroom. 

Friday is Christmas Jumper Day and Christmas Lunch! The KS2 Disco is Friday after school. 

PE Days are Monday and Tuesday as normal. 

In Maths, we will be learning to order fractions (by converting them to equivalent fractions with the same denominator), including fractions of amounts. 

In English, we will be writing discussion texts based on the question 'Is it right for countries to spend money on sending people to Space when so many people live in poverty on Earth?'

Don't forget the Christmas Fair run by FoSMS is tomorrow! 

Have a lovely weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 26th November 2021

We have been writing speeches this week based on our book 'Shackleton's Journey' to persuade Ernest Shackleton either to make another journey to Antarctica, or not to. They have been funny, ruthless and incredibly convincing to hear and read. We enjoyed reading them allowed to persuade Shackleton (Miss Paxton), who ultimately decided to make another dangerous journey! We look forward to sharing them with you at the Learning Showcase on the 9th December. 
We have been making Christmas Cards in school this week for vulnerable members of our local community, which we hope they will enjoy. 

Home Learning

Maths - Page 28 (Equivalent Fractions) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions on 'Hiding Out' (pages 26 & 27) in your Reading comprehension book. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of these words ending in -le or -al. 
official, initial, beneficial, essential, muscle, remarkable, meanwhile, reliable

Reading - Make sure you are reading regularly and getting your reading record signed. 

Next Week: 

Christmas arrives in school! We will be making decorations for the St. Mary's Church Christmas Tree Festival. 
Our PE days are Monday and Tuesday. 

In Maths, we will be learning to solve problems with mixed number and improper fractions, begin comparing fractions to 1/2, and build on our knowledge of equivalent fractions. 
In English, we will be beginning a learning sequence on Discussion writing, in which we will be learning about the lives of refugees. 

Have a great weekend - stay warm! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 19th November 2021

To say we've had a busy week would be an understatement! On Tuesday, we went on our class trip to The Royal Observatory to learn more about our science topic 'Earth and Space'. We took part in a workshop about the Moon and Eclipses, and learned more about how day and night are created. We also had an incredible session in the Planetarium where we visited Space! We explore different planets, constellations and learned about spaghettification! The children showed excellent behaviour during the journey there and back on the underground, and great enthusiasm during our time at the Observatory. I have to extend a huge thank you to our parent helpers, without whom the trip would not have been possible!

On Thursday, we watched the Pantomime of Cinderella from FoSMs. It was an incredibly fun morning with lots of singin and dancing! In the afternoon, we attended the Year 5 Fun Run against local primary schools. The class ran with great resilience and positivity, showing care and encouragement to eachother. Our Elite team performed spectacularly, winning both the Boys Team race and Girls Team race. 

Home Learning

Maths - Page 25 (Written Division) in your Maths Workbook. 

English - Pages 8 & 9 (Adjectives and Adverbs) in your Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar book. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words which contain ei:

deceive, receipt, either, seize, protein, deceit, neighbour, weight

Reading - Please sign your reading record to show that you have read at least 5 times this week. 

Next Week: 

PE days are the (new) normal days of Monday and Tuesday. 

In Maths, we will be consolidating our learning of short division (including expressing remainders as decimals and fractions). We will also be learning to recognise equivalent fractions, and read and write mixed number and improper fractions. 

In English, we will be using our skills of debating and persuasion to write a speech based on Ernest Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 12th November 2021

This week we had a visitor (a friend of Mrs Lee) come in to speak to us about the Muslim faith. The children asked lots of interesting questions and showed great curiosity. We will learn about Islam in greater detail later on in the year. In Science this week we learned about the planets in our solar system and made mini plasticine models of this. We've been talking about Remembrance this week and recalling the different ways in which people choose to show respect to those who serve and sacrifice for us. We held our two-minute silence in class, and some of us read out our Remembrance Cinquain poems in Collective Worship. 

Home Learning

Maths - Please complete page 24 (Written Multiplication) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the comprehension questions about 'The Iron Man' on pages 12 & 13 of your reading comprehension book 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words (words with a 'soft' c):

bicycle, exercise, receive, ancient, nuisance, medicine, necessary, sacrifice

Reading - Please remember to bring your reading record into school everyday. It must be in school on a Friday to be signed. 

Next Week:

In Maths, we will be learning to use the formal method for short division (sometimes referred to as 'the bus stop' method), and how to write remainders as fractions. 

In English,  we will continue to use our book 'Shackleton's Journey' to learn about the famous Endurance expedition, and describe the crew members, their qualities, skills, and emotions during the trip. 

Tuesday - We are on our trip to the Royal Observatory. We are meeting at Rickmansworth Station at 8.40am. Children need to wear school uniform, but may wear trainers. Children should be collected from Rickmansworth Station at 3.45pm. 

On Thursday, we will be watching the Pantomime of Cinderella in the morning. The Year 5 Fun Run is in the afternoon. PE Kit is required.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Paxton

Friday, 5th November 2021

It has been lovely to welcome everyone back to school after the half term break looking refreshed and ready for Autumn 2. We have begun many new topics this week, including Earth and Space (Science), Mapping Europe (Geography), Valuing Difference (PSHE), Seasonal Food (DT) and Vector Drawings (Computing). We enjoyed a Basketball session run by the School Sports Partnership this week, where we learned some key skills around dribbling and control before playing in some small matches.

It was so lovely to speak to and see so many of you during Parent Consultations this week and share the wonderful efforts that your children have been making. We are hopeful that we will be able to hold another Learning Showcase towards the end of this term to welcome you in to look at books again, restrictions allowing. 

Home Learning

Maths - Pages 12 & 13 (Written Adding and Subtracting) in your Maths Workbook. 

English - Complete pages 56, 57, 58 & 59 (Apostrophes for Missing Letters, Apostrophes for single possession, Apostrophes for Plural Possession and Its and It's) in your SPAG workbook. 

Spellings - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words which contain double consonants: 

appear, excellent, interrupt, marvellous, opposite, possible, suggest, suppose

Reading - It is important that you are reading regularly. Please remember to sign and bring in your Reading Record. 

Next Week: 

In Maths, we will be learning to use the formal method for long multiplication, and practising this in a range of contexts. 

In English, we will be using the book 'Shackleton's Journey' to learn about the life and journeys of the explorer Ernest Shackleton, and write recounts of his experiences. 

We are having an RE visitor on Tuesday to talk to us about Islam. 

You will have received an email today informing you that PE days are permanently changing to a Monday and Tuesday (beginning next week). Hopefully this will eliminate any need to change days each week. 

Have a great (bonfire) weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 22nd October 2021

We are at the end of our first half term already! It was so lovely to welcome so many of you into the school on Thursday for our Learning Showcase. I know that many of you will not have been into Key Stage 2 before, for lots of you it will have been years since you have been into the classrooms, and for some of you it will have been a first to be in the school building, so we are very pleased that you had that opportunity. We hope that you enjoyed looking at your children's work, and I look forward to discussing this at our Parent Consultations when we return after the half term break. 

There is no Homework set over half term, but please do continue to read often and widely! 

When we return to school: 

PE days will be Tuesday and Wednesday (2nd & 3rd November) 

Parent Consultations are taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday evening via the Parents Evening website. 

In Maths, we will be revising the methods of column addition and subtraction, and applying these to a range of problems. We will also revise the method for short multiplication (multiplying by a 1-digit number). 

In English, we will learning the features of Cinquain poems and writing our own on the theme of Remembrance.

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable week! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 15th October 2021

Thank you very much for collecting and bringing in your recyclables for our DT project. This week we made our prototype vehicles and will be evaluating them next week. 

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the Learning Showcase next Thursday afternoon where you will be able to see our work from this half term. 

Our trip to Legoland today was fantastic! In our workshop, we were able to construct our own rollercoasters using Lego and test out their efficiency. The children were beautifully behaved and represented our school well. A huge thank you to our parent helpers! Photos will follow next week. 

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete pages 36 & 37 (Rounding Decimals) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions about 'The Word Party' on pages 2 & 3 of your Reading comprehension book. 

Spelling - We will be learning how to add the suffix -ing to multi-syllabic words. Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words:

forgetting, beginning, referring, limiting, controlling, occurring, upsetting, worrying. 

Reading - Make sure that you are reading at least five times over the week. Please have your Reading Record in school every day. 

Next week:

In Maths, we will be learning a range of strategies to add and subtract. Some of these include using place value columns, equal sum and equal difference, and estimating by rounding. 

In English, we will be completing our Explorer's Guides (explanation texts) using expanded noun phrases and subordinating conjunctions. We will also evaluate and improve our writing from feedback. 

Deborah will lead our re-dedication service in the hall on Tuesday afternoon. 

We have individual photos on Wednesday. 

The Learning Showcase will be on Thursday afternoon. 

PE days will be Monday and Tuesday. 

Have a good weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday 8th October 2021

It's been such an exciting week as we have had a visitor and a trip. On Wednesday, Mrs Lee invited a friend from Church, Clive, to speak to us about the importance of singing as an act of worship and why Christians choose to worship through song. We then continued discussing this in our RE lesson and looked at the lyrics of some songs and working out what the artists are trying to say. Today we had our trip to Merchant Taylor's School to take part in a Harry Potter themed day. We had such a wonderful time! We were able to make our own wands and hats in the DT workshop, make potions in Chemistry, and play Quidditch in the Sports Hall. Photos to follow!

Home Learning 

Maths - Complete page 20 (Factors and Primes) and page 23 (Mental Multiplying and Dividing). 

English - Please complete pages 30 & 31 (Present Tense and Past Tense & Verbs with 'ing') in your SPAG workbook.

Spelling - Please learn the meanings and spellings of these words which are in word families (come from the same root word): 

recognise, unrecognisable, recognition, complete, incomplete, completely, appreciation, unappreciated

Reading - Please remember to read at least five times over the week and get your reading record signed. 

Next Week: 

In Maths, we will be continuing to learn strategies to solve calculations mentally (such as doubling and halving), and learning how to solve a wider range of problems by working backwards and identifying starting points. 

In English we will be learning to use modal verbs to indicate possibility through the use of our book 'How to be a world explorer', and planning our own Explanation texts in the form of an Explorer's Guide. 

Our PE Days are the normal days of Tuesday and Thursday. 

We have our trip to Legoland on Friday! Please bring a packed lunch. Children must wear school uniform, but may wear trainers. 

Have a great weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 1st October 2021

We enjoyed our Harvest Service at Church on Thursday where we we gave thanks for God's creation. In Science we have been learning about Forces and this week we carried out an investigation into gravity using parachutes. We made them out of a range of materials, such as felt and hessian, and timed their descent. In DT, we have been researching vehicles that are suitable for extreme terrains. Next week, we will begin to create a prototype of our own vehicle designs. Please collect and bring in any recyclables that you would like to use (e.g. egg cartons, cereal boxes, yoghurt pots etc) for Monday 11th October.
Today in Maths we learned about the properties of Prime Numbers and listened to a (very cactchy) song to help us remember them. You may like to listen to it at home to help you with your homework this week. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnKsxokB-Hw (type 'Prime Song' in Youtube).

Home Learning 

Maths - Pages 18 & 19 (Multiples & Factors and Primes) in your Workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions on 'An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth' on pages 4&5 of your Reading Comprehension book. 

Spelling - Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words which contain various prefixes and suffixes: 

reactive, fossilise, purify, aggressive, appreciated, unnecessary, irreplaceable

Reading - Please read at least five times and get your reading record signed. 

Next Week

Our PE days will be Monday and Tuesday next week. 

In Maths we will be continuing to secure our knowledge of prime and composite numbers, and using a range of mental strategies to solve calculations. 

In English we will be reading and writing animal poems, learning how to use effective vocabulary and performing our poems!

We are having a visitor on Wednesday (jointly with Y2) to talk to us about the significance of sung worship to support our learning in RE. 
A letter was sent out today regarding a last minute trip that we have been invited on by Merchant Taylors School to participate in a Harry Potter day next Friday 8th October. Lunch is provided.  

Friday, 24th September 2021

Another week has flown by in Year 5! We have been learning about Forces in Science, and this week we have been learning about friction. We conducted an investigation to find out what surface creates the most friction by dragging a shoe across a range of surfaces using a Newton Metre. We then used our results to explain what kind of terrain we should avoid when travelling across the globe! 

We are thoroughly enjoying 'The Monsterology Handbook' in English and have been reading about some fascinating (and gruesome) creatures.

Home Learning 

Maths - Pages 21 & 22 (Multiplying & Dividing by 10, 100 and 1000) in your Maths Workbook. 

English - Pages 21 & 22 in your SPAG book (Co-ordinating Conjunction & Subordinating Conjunctions)

Spellings - We will be learning how to add a range of vowel letter suffixes (including -ed, -ing, -er, -est and -y). Please learn the spellings and meanings of the following words: 

forgetting, beginning, preferred, dropping, replying, sturdiest, promised, driest) 

Reading - Please read at least five times and get your reading record signed. 

Next Week: 

On Thursday morning we have our Harvest Service at Church at 9am. Please go straight there. 

Our PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Thursday. 

In Maths we will be learning to identify multiples, factors and prime numbers. 

In English, we will be learning to add detail using adverbials and prepositions in our writing. We will then be planning, drafting and editing a non-chronological text about a new creature!

Enjoy your weekend! 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 17th September 2021

It's hard to believe it's only the second full week back in school - we have been so busy! We finished writing our short stories 'The Elephants in the Walls' this week and they have been so cleverly written. The humour that the children have included is brilliant and they have subtly woven in details which appear throughout. 

This week the children put themselves forward for the various council roles. I was so impressed with the time and effort that they all put into nominating themselves - we had everything from speeches to videos! The children have been told their roles (details of which are in the newsletter) and given their badges (Reading Ambassador badges will arrive in the next couple of weeks).

It was lovely to see and speak to so many of you at the Meet the Teacher presentation on Tuesday. If you missed it and would like the recording, please contact Mrs Palmer in the school office. All information shared and discussed can be found further down this page. 

Home Learning

Maths - Complete pages 6 & 7 (Counting Backwards Through Zero & Place Value in Big Numbers) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Read and answer the questions on 'Wolves in the UK' on pages 28 & 29 of your Reading Comprehension book. 

Spellings - We will be learning how to add suffixes that start with consonants to root words. Please learn the meanings and spellings of the following words:

embarrassment, thoroughly, environment, beautiful, useless, seriousness, sincerely, hopeful

Reading - Make sure that you read at least five times over the next week and get your reading record signed!

Next week: 

In Maths, we will continue to learn about decimals (how to order and round numbers with up to 3 decimal places). We will also begin to learn how to multiply and divide by 10, 100 and 1000. 

In English, we are going to be learning how to construct multi-clause sentences using subordinating conjunctions using our book 'The Monsterology Handbook'. 

PE days are the normal days of Tuesday and Thursday. 

Thank you for a wonderful week! Have a brilliant weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 10th September 2021

We've enjoyed all of the seasons in our first full week back this week it seems! At our Start of Term Service at Church on Tuesday, the children showed exceptional attitudes and maturity, and thoroughly enjoyed walking back to school with Year 2. We have begun learning about our new topics this term, such as Forces (in Science) and Mountains (in Geography). Our theme for learning this term is 'Around the World in 80 days'. Detailed information will be uploaded to the class page on Monday, alongside the Meet the Teacher Presentation for you to view ahead of the Meet the Teacher Meeting on Tuesday, 14th September. 

Home Learning 

Maths - Please complete Pages 8 & 9 (Ordering and Comparing Big Numbers and Counting in Powers of 10) in your Maths workbook. 

English - Complete pages 4 & 5 (Nouns & Verbs) in your Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling book. 

Spellings - century, centuries, halves, wolves, potatoes, dwarves, libraries (we will be learning rules for a range of plural suffixes next week)

Reading - Please read at least 5 times this week (it can be a variety of books) and sign your reading record. 

Next Week: 

In Maths, we will be learning to calculate with negative numbers, and with number with up to 3 decimal places.

In English, we will be writing a sequel to a narrative, focusing on varied sentence length. 

PE days next week will be Monday and Tuesday. They will return to the normal days of Tuesday and Thursday the following week (w/c 20th September). 

Have a lovely weekend, 

Miss Paxton

Friday, 3rd September 2021

It has been such a pleasure to welcome Year 5 back this week. They have settled in seamlessly this week and are already demonstrating such fantastic attitudes towards their learning. I hope that you all had a restful break over the Summer. 

This page will be updated weekly to share what we have been learning and doing in school, as well as key information for upcoming weeks. Next week, information on the curriculum will be uploaded ahead of the Meet the Teacher meeting on Tuesday 14th September. 

There is no homework this week. All of the children have been given their Reading Records and will have been issued reading books by the end of next week. We have also had a trip to the Library, so they may have brought a book from there home. Please read this week and sign in the reading records. 

Our PE days are Tuesday and Thursday - please come to school in PE kit. 

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Miss Paxton