Welcome to Year 5

Autumn Term 2022

     Miss McArdle, Miss Robinson, Madame Leydon (French teacher) and Miss Donkin (music teacher)

English

This term our writing will centre around the book “Carrie’s War” by Nina Bawden.

During World War II, Carrie and her younger brother Nick are evacuated to Wales and billeted with the fierce old shopkeeper Mr Evans and his mousy sister, Louise. Unhappy in their new home, they are delighted to have the chance to visit fellow evacuee Albert Sandwich at Druid's Bottom, the strange household of Hepzibah Green, who knows magical stories, and Mister Johnny, who speaks a language all his own. But then Carrie makes a mistake - which has terrible, unforseen consequences...

Click on the picture to find out about Carrie's War and activities!

Maths

This term, we will be learning to:  Read and write Roman Numerals up to 1000 Read, write, partition, compare and order numbers to a million Count in powers of 10 Round to the nearest 10, 100, 1000 within 1,000,000 Use mental strategies to add and subtract Add and subtract whole numbers with more than 4 digits Round to check answers and compare calculations Find multiples and common multiples, factors and prime numbers Find square and cube numbers Multiply and divide by 10, 100, 1000 Find equivalent unit and non-unit fractions Compare and order fractions less than 1 Add and subtract fractions

These skills will be extended and applied in forms of reasoning and problem solving. 

http://www.excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk/page/maths-workbooks-for-parents/86832

In maths, mental recall, including times tables, doubling and halving numbers and number bonds is vitally important if children are going to make good progress. Using the internet, games or board games can help reinforce the maths needed for Year 5 in a fun and enjoyable way. Please click on the links below to support both written and mental maths.  Also, at the bottom of this page, you will find a document containing all the mental maths objectives for each year group so that you can suport your child with their mental maths.  

In our geography and history lessons, we will learn about:

• How and why the war started
• Who led Britain through the war
• Countries who were our allies and those who worked against us
• What evacuation was and what it was like for the children of Britain
• Key events that took place such as The Blitz, The Battle of Britain and Dunkirk
• Propaganda
• Food rationing and what it meant for people during the war
• Bletchley Park and code breaking!
• VE day
• A study of Alsager, pre and post war compared to modern day

Also, we are hoping to experience what it was like to be an evacuee during World War II! (Details to follow.) Find out more about World War II by clicking on the link below!

 http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/Britain.html

This term, we will be studying Forces plus Earth and Space. There will be a focus on developing scientific skills through the application of the five types of scientific enquiry:

• Observation over time
• Pattern seeking
• Identifying, classifying and grouping                          
• Comparative and fair testing
• Research using secondary resources

During our Forces topic, we will learn about:

• Gravity
• Air resistance, water resistance and friction
• Pulleys, levers and gears
• Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton

During our Earth and Space topic, we will learn about: 

• The movement of the Earth, and other planets, relative to the Sun.
• The movement of the Moon relative to the Earth.
• That the Sun, Earth and Moon are approximately spherical bodies.
• The Earth's rotation.
• That the Sun is a star and has eight planets.
• That a moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet.

Reminders and Information

Staff in Year 5:

Miss McArdle - Class teacher - Tuesday (am), Wednesday, Thursday

Miss Robinson - Class teacher - Monday, Friday

Madame Leydon – French teacher -Tuesday (pm)

Miss Donkin - Music teacher - Tuesday (pm)

PE

Our regular PE days for this term will be Wednesday and Friday. This year, pupils will bring their PE kits into school and change at school.  Please make sure that your child wears the correct Excalibur PE kit.  A list of the full PE kit is on our website.

http://www.excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk/page/school-uniform/6064

Pupils can wear their tracksuit bottoms for PE if it is ever too cold.  I would be grateful if you could make sure that long hair is tied back and that earrings are removed or covered with micro-pore or similar on PE days. Any earrings will need to be removed for a PE lesson.

Start and Finish Times

The school gates will be opened at 8:50 to all children.   The school day will end at 3:20 pm. 

Snacks

Please could you send your child in with a healthy snack for their midmorning break.

Water Bottles

It is important for children to drink water throughout the day.  Therefore, children may bring in bottles of water each day so long as the bottle has a secure lid. It is also really helpful if every bottle is clearly labelled.  Please can you remind your child to take their bottle home every night for washing and refilling.  

Homework

Every week, your child will be set the following tasks: 

• Maths - This will be a mental maths focus to support learning in class.  The children will be tested weekly on the mental maths focus.  Furthermore, you will find a ‘Workbook for Parents’ for each unit of maths we cover in Year 5 on our homepage under ‘Curriculum’ then ‘Maths’.  
• Reading - questions set from a short text 
• Spellings - either a spelling rule or words from the statutory Y5/6 spelling list

Please log in to Seesaw weekly for a breakdown of tasks and more information.  

             Recommended homework time is half an hour per day for Years 5 and 6.

If you have any queries or questions, please do not hesitate in contacting either Miss McArdle or Miss Robinson through our contact email address (contact@excalibur.cheshire.sch.uk) or you could leave a note in your child's planner.  We look forward to a fabulous term working with you and your child.