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Upton Junior School

Upton Junior School

One Childhood - One Chance

21.11.25 Year 5 Weekly News

Term 2 Week 4

English

This week, we delved into the fascinating world of playscripts, linking our activities to a chapter in the text. The children began by highlighting the key features of a playscript, such as dialogue and stage directions. This foundational understanding set the stage for an engaging activity where they acted out a script. By embodying the characters, they truly grasped the purpose of stage directions, discovering how these cues guide performers in bringing the text to life. It was a delightful experience that fostered both creativity and comprehension! Next week, the children will be writing to persuade.

 

Maths

This week, the children entered the world of short division using bus stop method. They learnt how to regroup using manipulatives and then a formal method alongside.

Linking to our oracy learning, the children also wrote a speech to explain the importance of maths! Have you ever thought about how essential maths is in our daily lives? Learning about short division can be a fun and engaging way to explore this! By using factors to divide, we can simplify complex problems and make calculations easier. Imagine explaining to your friends why maths matters—it’s not just about numbers; it’s about making sense of the world around us. Writing a speech on this topic can help you express your thoughts and inspire others to appreciate the role of maths in everything from budgeting to cooking.

Thematic

This week we have continued our exciting journey into the wonders of space! We kicked off our exploration by diving into the fascinating world of modern-day space tourism. The children were thrilled to create their very own space adverts, showcasing their imaginative ideas about travelling to the stars.

In addition to this creative project, we also delved into the solar system, learning that the sun is the centre of it all. To help them grasp this concept, the children crafted their own planet models, demonstrating how each planet spins around the sun. It was delightful to see their enthusiasm and creativity shine through in both activities.

As we continue our exploration of the cosmos, we look forward to more adventures and discoveries in the coming weeks!

Christmas Art Competition

It’s that wonderful time of year again and what better way to celebrate than with some Christmas creativity!

This year, we’re inviting all pupils to take part in our Christmas Art Competition, with the brief of creating a Christmas decoration inspired by an artist or art style.

Your challenge is to design and make a decoration that shows both the spirit of Christmas and a link to an artist or artistic style. You can use any materials you like — card, paint, collage, recycled objects, fabric, glitter, or anything that makes your decoration shine!

Here are some ideas to inspire you, some of which we will discuss in our Christmas art assembly

  • Pieter Bruegel the Elder – create a cosy winter village scene full of people and snow.

  • Edward Burne-Jones (Pre-Raphaelite) – design a stained-glass-style angel using colour and pattern.

  • Andy Warhol – make a Pop Art decoration with bright colours and repeating Christmas shapes.

  • Yayoi Kusama – cover your bauble or star in dots and patterns like twinkling Christmas lights.

  • Georgia O’Keeffe – take inspiration from nature — holly leaves, snowflakes, pinecones, or stars.

  • Banksy – design something that shares a message of kindness, peace, or togetherness

To Enter:

  1. Create your decoration linked to an artist or style.

  2. Hand it in to Mr Mason or your class teacher, who will pass it on to him.

  3. Make sure to include your name and class somewhere on your work.

  4. Deadline: The last day of this term.

All entries will be displayed on our school Christmas tree art display, so everyone can admire your creativity. There will be prizes for outstanding entries. Winners will be announced in our next Art Assembly!

 

 

Key Dates

Monday 24th November- Parliament Week

Wednesday 3rd December- Open day

Friday 5th December- Pantomime

Monday 8th December- Christmas Concert

Tuesday 9th December- Christmas Concert

Friday 12th December- Christmas fair and Christmas Jumper Day

Tuesday 16th December- Christmas lunch

Wednesday 17th December- Year 5 party

Thursday 18th December- Last day of term. School closes at 2pm.

 

Homework

- Please read with your child at least 3 times a week.

- All children have been given a ZPD to help them identify the correct books for their reading level. Once your child has read their book, they will need to complete a quiz on it before getting a new one. These quizzes can be done either in school or at home on Accelerated Reader using the log-in codes found in their reading records.

Welcome (renaissance-go.com) 

- Children should be playing TTRS at least 3 times a week to build their confidence and fluency with time-tables knowledge.

- Mathletics homework has also been set for the children to complete by next Friday.

- Please see the homework menu attached for our thematic homework. This can be completed in the homework book provided if you wish.

- Please choose ten spellings each week to practice with your child at home. They can use the format shown in the book.

The Year 5 team

Contact Us

Upton Junior School
Edge End Road
Broadstairs
Kent
CT10 2AH

(01843) 861393