Welcome to the Kestrel's class page

Welcome to the Kestrel class! Our teacher, Miss Garrity and our Teaching Assistants, Mrs Abson and Mrs Cannon, make sure we have lots of fun in our lessons, while learning all the things we need to know in Year 5.

Summer 1

Welcome back.  We hope you all had a lovely Easter break.  

This half term we are starting our new text Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.  Our novel study area has been transformed into Dumbledore's study and we are all excited about studying the text during our literacy sessions.  Over this half term we are going to be looking at diary writing, writing a newspaper article all about Gringotts bank break in as well as designing and advertising a wand.

We are all looking forward to our trip to the Harry Potter studio tours on the 22nd April.  Just a reminder that the full payment of £20 should be made by Friday 15th April.  The school have heavily subsidised the cost of this trip and it is part of your child's learning and will benefit their understanding of the text.  Keep an eye out for a letter coming out soon about final arrangements for the trip.

In Maths,  we will be focusing on measuring, shape, data handling, position and direction.  

In Science we are learning about the lifecycles of mammals, amphibians and insects.  We will also be recapping the parts of a flower before learning about the process of pollination and creating a storyboard about it.

Our History topic is about the Mayans.  We will be learning about the culture of the Mayans and their beliefs as well as taste tasting some foods that the Mayans used to farm.  A letter about this will go out towards the end of this half term.

Towards the end of the half term, we will also continue to study how artists create landscapes and we will be focusing on the work of David Hockney producing a landscape of our own using his style.

Our PE sessions will be on a Thursday afternoon and will be outdoors weather permitting.  Please ensure that your child has their PE kit in school. Swimming will remain on a Wednesday afternoon.  Just a reminder that all nail varnish should be removed from all nails prior to swimming and all earrings should also be removed.

Please ensure that your child's home learning pack comes into school each day and that they have their reading book with them daily.  Please listen to your child read at least 3 times a week.  We are aiming for 80% each week in the school reading challenge.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Miss Garrity, Mrs Abson and Mrs Cannon

Spring 2

Welcome back to what will be another short but very busy half term.  

We will be continuing our novel 'Street Child' this half term.  The children have really enjoyed reading the text so far and have developed a good understanding of what life was like in a Victorian workhouse.  Within Literacy, we will be making predictions about whether or not Jim will escape the workhouse and then we will be writing a newspaper report based on what Jim does in the text.  We will be spending a lot of time looking at newspapers and what features writers use in newspapers.  On the 4th March we will also be celebrating World Book Day so keep an eye out for more information to come.

In Maths,  we will be focusing on division, fractions and percentages.  We will also be building on our reasoning and problem solving skills with a Maths themed day on the 2nd March.

In Science we are continuing our work on forces and will be looking specifically at air resistance, water resistance and friction.  We will be doing lots of experiments and having a very practical half term.

In Geography we are continuing to look at geographical features.  We will be focusing on earthquakes and also looking at the different biomes around the world.  As part of this, we will be investigating different biomes and the type of climate and vegetation the biomes have.

This half term, we will also be learning about how artists create landscapes and we will be studying the work of David Hockney.  Over the next 5 weeks, we will look at some of his famous landscapes, have a go at recreating part of one of his landscapes, focusing on the colour techniques that he uses and then having a go at creating our own landscapes by replicating his style.

Our PE sessions will be on a Thursday afternoon and will be indoors.  Please ensure that your child has their PE kit in school. Swimming will remain on a Wednesday afternoon.  Just a reminder that all nail varnish should be removed from all nails prior to swimming and all earrings should also be removed.

Please ensure that your child's home learning pack comes into school each day and that they have their reading book with them daily.  Please listen to your child read at least 3 times a week.  We are aiming for 80% each week in the school reading challenge.

Finally, keep an eye out on the website as over the half term photos of your children learning and the work they have produced will be posted.  I would also like to thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you soon.

Spring 1

Happy New Year!  I hope that you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.

Welcome back to what will be a short but very busy half term.  

Our novel this half term is 'Street Child' by Berlie Doherty.  It is set in the Victorian times and is a real contrast to our previous novel 'George's Secret Key to the Universe.'  During Literacy, we will be making predictions about the novel, writing a diary from the point of view of the main characters, writing a story from Lizzie and Emily's point of view and also creating poetry and carry out some drama.

In Maths,  we will be focusing on data handling, number skills, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  

Our Science this half term is focusing on forces.  Within these sessions we will be making parachutes to test air resistance and we will also be learning about Sir Isaac Newton.

In Geography we are looking at the water cycle, rivers in the UK, mountains around the world, earthquakes and volcanoes.  We are hoping to build our own structures and test if they survive an earthquake using jelly.

Our PE sessions continue to be on a Monday afternoon and will be indoors.  Please ensure that your child has their PE kit in school. Swimming will remain on a Wednesday afternoon and the children are really enjoying the sessions and coming on really well.  Just a reminder that all nail varnish should be removed from all nails prior to swimming and all earrings should also be removed.

Please ensure that your child's home learning pack comes into school each day and that they have their reading book with them daily.  Please listen to your child read at least 3 times a week.  We are aiming for 80% each week in the school reading challenge.

Finally, keep an eye out on the website as over the half term photos of your children learning and the work they have produced will be posted.  I would also like to thank you for your continued support and look forward to seeing you soon.

Autumn 2

This half term we are continuing our novel 'George's Secret Key to the Universe.'  The children are really enjoying this book as are the adults.  In Literacy, we will be writing Non Chronological reports about space linked to the theme of the book, learning how to debate issues and learning how to write persuasively.

In maths, we will be learning about fractions, decimals, 2D and 3D shapes, measures and data handling.

Our topic work is Geography based and we will be looking at map skills to learn about the continents, oceans, lines of latitude and longitude as well as Greenwich Mean Time.

Within art, we will be studying Greek architecture and creating our own buildings using the Greek style.

PE continues to be on a Monday indoors.  Please make sure your child has their PE kit with them every Monday.  Swimming is still on a Wednesday afternoon and I am pleased to hear how well the children are getting on and how much they are enjoying it.  They are always excited about going.

The reading percentage challenge is still an important part of our week.  Please try and listen to your child read at least 3 times a week as a minimum but please don't forget to sign your child's planner to show they have read.  If your child reads 5 times a week every week they will get the chance to work with Peter Baldry on an exciting art project.

Also please ensure that your child's home learning pack comes into school with them everyday.  Homework is normally issued on a Thursday and due in the following Tuesday.  Team points are given to all children who complete their homework on time.

Don't forget it is our class trip on Thursday 26th November to the Space Centre in Leicester.  We can't wait!  We will be taking a tour of the night sky and making a moon phase circle in the workshop as part of our day.  Please don't forget to send in the money and consent form by Friday 20th November.

It was lovely to meet most of you at Parent's Evening and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support so far and to please keep an eye on our class page to see what exciting things your child has been doing in class and around school.