Thank you also to all the parents, carers and family members who have supported us and the children this year. We have truly appreciated your support and engagement. 

Have a wonderful Summer and we will see you in September! 

Best wishes, 

The Year 5 Team

P.S. Don't forget to check out the Summer Reading Challenge blog below! 

Next year, we really want to boost reading across the school, and this starts over the Summer. The Summer Reading Challenge is simple...read as much as you can in strange and wonderful places. Take a picture, or lots of pictures, and bring them to school in the first week or send them to me: gemma.scarr@uptonjunior.com. We are hoping to share these in assembly when we return and make a fabulous Upton Loves Reading display at school. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Summer. Remember, read lots and read everywhere! 

Miss Scarr 

This week in English, we finished reading ‘Street Child’. The children loved how Jim was saved at the end of the book and were fascinated to find out it was based on a true story. We wrote a newspaper article about the opening of the first Barnardo's children's homes. We also wrote speeches to convince the class that they should vote for us to be their House Captain next year.

Maths

This week in maths, we were converting between units of time and learning to read timetables. We also learnt about volume and capacity using cubes to help us with reasoning questions.  Finally, we consolidated our learning from year 5 with a variety of questions and problem-solving activities.

UBBC

In UBBC this week, we finished making our Mayan worry dolls. This took dexterity, patience and plenty of resilience. We evaluated our finished products and wrapped up our Maya topic with a mini-assessment and clarification session. The children have thoroughly enjoyed this topic and showed they have learnt lots of new facts.

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you to think about next year. What are you looking forward to in year 6? You can show this in any way you choose, for example: through art; as a double page spread; through writing; a PowerPoint. We look forward to seeing your work.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Monday – Wear PE kit to school. Weather permitting, we will go on the inflatables.
• Tuesday - Fun day. Appropriate summer clothes.
• Wednesday – Year 6 production at St. Lawrence College.
• Thursday – Last day of term. 2pm finish.

This week in English, we continued reading ‘Street Child’. Our focus was around diary entries but from different point of views. The first two diary entries were from Rosie and Jim’s (try not to sing) points of view to portray how they saw the same situation differently to each other. We then wrote from Nick and Jim’s points of view. We were horrified to learn how poor children were treated during the Victorian era.

We are looking forward to finishing the book next week.

Maths

This week in maths, we were converting between measurements. This included metric measurements such as: m, km, g, kg, l and ml, as well as imperial measurements, including: pints, inches and pounds. We also answered reasoning and problem-solving questions involving these conversions.

Next week, we will continue our conversions using time.

UBBC

In UBBC this week, we finished looking at the history of the Maya by comparing the key events of the Maya with the key dates of the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. It was interesting to see what was happening in Central America when the Romans were retreating and the Vikings were invading Britain.

For the second part of the week, we designed and started to make our Mayan worry dolls. First, we practised sewing different stitches and made prototypes to ensure our measurements were correct. We used a mixture of patterned pieces, pipe cleaners and lolly sticks, as well as pillow stuffing to create our Mayan dolls. We will be finishing and evaluating them next week.

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you to create a piece that captures your memories of Year 5. You can show this in any way you choose, for example: through art; as a double page spread; through writing; a PowerPoint. We look forward to seeing what your favourite moments from Year 5 were.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Wednesday – 5B and 5G swimming. 5R and 5Y PE. Please ensure swimming kits and PE kits are in school.
• Friday – Sponsored event and Upton’s Got Talent for children.

This week in English, we started our new text 'Street Child' and the children are really enjoying it. We have already read the first few chapters and cannot wait to find out what will happen to Jim. We have been introduced to Mr Spink - the evil landlord! We drew him and collected vocabulary to describe him, we have also written letters from Jim's mum using emotive language. 

Next week, we will be finding out about the workhouse and how the impacts Jim's life. We will be using art as a stimulus and writing detailed accounts of what life is like for Jim in the Workhouse. 

Maths

This week in maths, we have been looking at co-ordinates and solving a range of problems using our knowledge. We have also linked our knowledge to topic and our geographical learning. Next week we will be learning about translation and symmetry. 

UBBC

We continued our great learning about The Maya this week with a history focus. We have found out all about the civilisation of the Ancient Maya and their hierarchy. This week the learning has been really creative with the children creating their own hierarchies out of chalk on the playground and recording key facts on their iPads. 

Next week we will continue to find out about the history of The Maya. 

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you to create an information piece based what you have learnt so far about the Maya. You need to link this to both history and geography. It could be a poster, double page spread or an informative piece of writing. 

We look forward to seeing the different ways in which you present your work. 

Key Messages and Information:

• Monday – Upton's Got Talent Auditions in the afternoon. 
• Wednesday - Swimming for 5B and 5G. PE kits needed for 5R and 5Y. 
• Friday - Summer Fair and Picnic. Children need to bring in their own bits and pieces for this. 

As the weather gets hotter, please make sure your child has a water bottle in school. Thank you. 

This week in English, we continued our learning on  the classical poem ’The Lady of Shalott'. Over the course of the week, the children learnt about different poetic devices and developed their understanding of different types of figurative language. From this, the children wrote their own figurative language poems using a range of poetic devices. They were brilliant and a pleasure to read. 

Next week, we will be starting our new text Street Child - a brilliant book set in Victorian England! 

Maths

This week in maths, we have been looking at 2-D and 3-D shapes. One of the most important elements to this learning is the understanding of key mathematical vocabulary including sides, corners, edges, vertices and faces. We have looked at the names of a range of shapes and their properties. We have also looked at irregular and regular shapes. Next week, we will continue our learning by looking at symmetry and co=ordinates before moving onto translation.  

UBBC

We kicked off the week with a fantastic start to our new topic 'The Maya'. We took part in a brilliant WOW day which included creating Mayan face masks, creating Mayan music and playing Maya sports. The rest of our learning has been geography based. The children have been finding out about when the Maya lived and what it is like there now in terms of its human and physical characteristics. Next week, the children's learning will be history based with a focus on the culture of this fascinating civilisation. 

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you to create an informative piece about 2-D and 3-D shapes including different shape names and their properties. The key is to use key mathematical vocabulary accurately to describe them. If you really want to impress, you could include reasoning explanations to questions like: Is a square a rectangle? What is the difference between a triangular prism and a triangular based pyramid? 

We look forward to seeing the different ways in which you present your work. 

Key Messages and Information:

• Monday – NO PE. Please do not wear PE kits to school. 
• Wednesday - Swimming for 5B and 5G. PE kits needed for 5R and 5Y. 
• Friday - SPORTS DAY. For year 5 this is in the afternoon. All children need to wear their school sports PE kit that day. 

As the weather gets hotter, please make sure your child has a water bottle in school. Thank you. 

This week in English, we read the classical poem ’The Lady of Shalott'. The children enjoyed the vivid imagery and couldn't wait to find out what would happen in each part. We built towards writing an entwined character and setting description of the Lady of Shalott and Camelot.

Maths

This week in maths, we worked on an enterprise week project. We started by exploring the relationship between area and perimeter as we chose an imaginary allotment plot. We then moved on to work out the costs and potential profits of growing and selling vegetables. The children were quite the entrepreneurs! 

UBBC

In the afternoons this week we learnt about the roles of money in people's lives. We discussed spending and saving and the effect of the pandemic on our shopping habits. The children expressed their ideas and opinions through table-top street art. Yesterday we encouraged the children to be critical consumers, always reading the small print and thinking carefully about the financial choices they make. We finished the week by creating and playing our own board games to learn about loans, interest and debt. 

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you write a speech about the potfuls and pleasures of money. Use all the writing skills you have learnt this year. 

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Tuesday -WOW day – Come dressed in sports kit (doesn't have to be P.E. kit) and Mayan face paint (see parent letter). 
• Wednesday - Swimming for 5B and 5G.
•  

This week in English, we approached the end of our text, ‘When the Mountains Roared’. It was quite a sad week of reading as a leopard was shot, however, Ruby now has the evidence she needs to take down the poachers. For our writing, we imagined that Ruby was now much older and something triggered her to flash back to the moment she confronted the poachers. The children wrote a flashback in past tense focusing on super sentence openers, using ISPACE for inspiration.

Maths

This week in maths, we started our work on measuring angles using protractors. We practised lining up the protractor in the correct place using the cross-hairs, and reading the angle accurately. It was a bit tricky to remember which way to start reading from though. Next week, we will draw angles as accurately as possible.

UBBC

In UBBC this week, we focused mostly on history. We looked at zoos in the past and how they compare to zoos now. We discussed how attitudes towards zoos and animals have changed over time. Most children thought that zoos were still a good idea because of their conservation efforts and the work they do to protect animals. Next, we looked at the history of hunting and debated whether hunting in the past could ever be justified.

We finished the week with a bit of DT on Friday. The children were introduced to pneumatics and made a plan and prototype for their own pneumatic rainforest animal that they will be making next week.

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you to design your own conservation park. Draw a plan of the park, thinking carefully about the size of the enclosures and which animals you would like to include. Write a paragraph to describe what conservation efforts your park will be a part of and why you have chosen the particular animals you have. Also, include an advert for your conservation park detailing why the public should support your efforts.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Wednesday – Trip to Howletts for all of Year 5. Please be at school for 8.30am. Children to wear school uniform but can wear trainers as an alternative.
• Friday – Last day of term 5. School finishes as usual at 3.15pm.

Please bring in small boxes on Tuesday for DT – pneumatic animals.

English

In English this week, we have been researching and writing our own explanation text on endangered animals. This learning has linked perfectly with our topic learning on deforestation and habitat loss in the afternoons, as well as the journey that Ruby is going on in our text When the Mountains Roared, as she battles to help save the local leopards form poachers and hunters. The children have enjoyed researching and learning about a number of endangered and vulnerable animals, including snow leopards, tigers and pandas. Their writing has been of high quality using a range of technical vocabulary, causal conjunctions and the passive voice. 

Maths

In maths this week, Year 5 have continued their work on decimals, making links with previous learning on multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 and applying this to decimal numbers. In Mr White's group, children have been working on adding and subtracting decimals.

UBBC

Our UBBC learning this week has been dominated by one thing - the ducklings!

The eggs arrived last week as part of our learning on life cycles and spent the first week incubating. Unfortunately, the children missed the hatching process as it happened over the weekend, but it did mean we arrived back to school on Monday to 6 adorable balls of fuzz. Over the week, we have watched them grow in front of our eyes and it has been such a wonderful experience to tie in with our learning on life cycles. 

Also in UBBC this week, we have been looking at deforestation, exploring the causes and consequences of habitat loss in the rainforest. We learnt that the process of deforestation is not quite as clear cut as we first though and debated how logging and deforestation needs to be managed in a sustainable manner.

Home Learning Information

This week in Geography, we created a sketch map of our local area (the Upton school grounds). For your homework task, we would like you to create a sketch map of your local area.

On your map, make sure you identify all the human (buildings, roads, shops etc) and physical features (trees, rivers, fields etc). You can either do this by going out and having a walk around your local area, or using online mapping tools such as Google Earth and Google Maps. 

Use the Sketch Map Checklist below to support.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

Next week:

• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Wednesday – 5R and 5Y swimming. 5B and 5G bring PE kits to school.
• Friday - Dress to Express day to celebrate international diversity day - children to wear clothes that represent them!

Upcoming:

• Wednesday 25th May - Howletts Trip

Please continue to sell the raffle tickets to help raise money for the sensory garden. Some children have taken a sponsor form so that they can run their own sponsored event at home. 

In English this week, our text ‘When the Mountains Roared’ has taken us to a scene where Bella has an intruder; a Bear! The children have loved creating word banks of vocabulary and descriptive sentences which create suspense. They have begun to write their descriptions of these scenes by thinking about the impact of this vocabulary and how the suspense will make the reader feel. 

Maths

In maths this week, Year 5 have continued their working around decimals. They can now understand and solve calculations using whole numbers and decimals. They have applied a range of methods such as column method, number lines and mental calculations to a real life context, and it has been great to see the children draw on additional skills such as converting measurements, before solving a decimal calculation. Next week, Year 5 will finish this unit by multiplying and dividing decimals by 10, 100 and 1000. 

UBBC

This week, Year 5 have been looking at life cycles and reproduction of animals and plants. They can now explain how a plant can reproduce sexually and asexually, and they really enjoy dissecting flowers to  look at the reproductive parts. 

Friday bought us WOW day and the children (and staff) were completely 'wowed' by a visit from 'Jaws and Claws!' The children learnt all about creatures of the rainforest and got to hold snakes, cockroaches, centipedes, spiders, toads and many more. This was followed by  a visit into the woodland area to create environmental art  (of course, this was not before Miss Scarr could be told she could now come out of the bug-free cupboard where she was hiding). 

Home Learning Information

Next week we will be looking at deforestation so please reasearch an endangered animal in India. This could be a Bengal Tiger, Indian Rhino, Lion- Tailed Macaque and many more.  You can present your reasearch in any way you like.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Wednesday – 5R and 5Y swimming. 5B and 5G bring PE kits to school.
• Monday - Thursday- Year 6 SATs week

Please continue to sell the raffle tickets to help raise money for the sensory garden. Some children have taken a sponsor form so that they can run their own sponsored event at home. 

In English this week, our text ‘When the Mountains Roared’ has been getting very exciting! The characters are now deep in the Indian jungle, so we visited our own jungle (the environmental area) to gather vocabulary for a setting description. 

Maths

In maths this week, Year 5 have continued their work around decimals. They can now solve problems involving adding and subtracting decimals. Next week the children will complete calculations involving whole numbers and decimals.

UBBC

This week, we started our new topic, "Walk on the Wild Side" with a focus on art. Inspired by the work of Steven Brown, we explored how texture is created by using different brush strokes and colours.  Year 5 created some stunning artwork full of vibrant colours.

On Monday, we were overwhelmed by the talent of year 5 as we heard from our Speaker Competition class winners. We are immensely proud of the courage every child who entered showed.

Home Learning Information

Our duck eggs are arriving next week! For home learning this week, we would like you to research this question: What came first, the chicken or the egg? You can present your answer in any way you like.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Wednesday – 5R and 5Y swimming. 5B and 5G bring PE kits to school.
• Wednesday - Children in the Young Voices choir to the O2.
• Thursday - Upton The Speaker competition final.
• Wow Day – Friday 6^th May. We invite the children to come dressed as an animal or as a safari guide. If you are struggling to come up with a costume idea, please see your class teacher.

Please continue to sell the raffle tickets to help raise money for the sensory garden. Some children have taken a sponsor form so that they can run their own sponsored event at home. 

In English this week, we started reading our new text ‘When the Mountains Roared’. We have made quite a few inferences already about what has happened and what could happen next. The children are thoroughly enjoying the book so far and have written diary entries and a letter to Ruby’s mum this week.

Maths

In maths this week, Year 5 have continued their work around decimals. They are beginning to add and subtract decimals, as well as finding complements to 1.

UBBC

The afternoons this week have been occupied with PD – Personal Development. This all began on Tuesday, where we had a day dedicated to PD and studied the book ‘Migrants’ by Issa Watanabe. Year 5 created some awesome diversity hearts and discussed some of the difficult challenges that are facing the world today. We are looking forward to beginning our new topic ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ next week

In addition to this, today, the children bravely read their speeches based on the title ‘Is it a Wonderful World?’ and the class heat winners were announced – well done to those who made it through. We look forward to the year group heats on Monday.

Home Learning Information

For home learning this week, we would like you to create your own ‘diversity’ piece of art. This can come in any form you like but try to think outside the box. There are many examples online with a quick Google search. We look forward to seeing your creations on Wednesday.

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• After school sports clubs start next week.
• Monday – PE for all classes. Wear PE kit to school.
• Year group heats for The Speaker Competition will take place on Monday afternoon.
• Wednesday – 5R and 5Y swimming. 5B and 5G bring PE kits to school.
• Wow Day – Friday 6^th May. We invite the children to come dressed as an animal or as a safari guide. If you are struggling to come up with a costume idea, please see your class teacher.

Please continue to sell the raffle tickets to help raise money for the sensory garden. Some children have taken a sponsor form so that they can run their own sponsored event at home. Well done to Max M for raising £200 with a sponsored 5km run.

In English this week, Year 5 have finished reading Cosmic - wow what a ride! We've thoroughly enjoyed this book and created some amazing writing as a result. This week, we wrote emails and diary entries in role as Liam, reflecting back on his time in space.

Maths

In maths this week, year 5 have continued their work on decimals, making links between their fractions knowledge of tenths and hundredths and their understanding of place value. 

UBBC

DT has been fun this week! We've been building moon buggies (straight-line vehicles). Unfortunately, these are unfinished, but as soon as they are we'll have photos to share and children will be able to take some of them home also! Great work year 5 - building a working circuit and a frame and chasis within which to hold it was not easy, but through your perseverance and problem solving you managed it! They look super!

Home Learning Information

Homework for Easter Holidays is the Speaker Competition - which we would like all children to have a go at. Whether you want to present your speech or not, we would still like everyone to have a go at writing one. The theme is:

"Is it a wonderful world?"

You can interpret this title in any way that you want and explore the theme in which ever way interests you. Best of luck! Can't wait to read them all!

For more information on the Speaker Comp, see the PowerPoint uploaded below:

Key Messages and Information for Parents:

• PE remains on Monday and children can come in wearing their PE kits on this day.
• Next term, swimming will be on Wednesday for 5R and 5Y.
• Next term, 5B and 5G will need to bring their PE kits on Wednesday to change into at school.

English lessons this week have focused on poetry. Children in year 5 have read two poems, both on the theme of stars and space - "Stars" by Sara Teasdale and "A Love Letter to the Stars" by Ruth Awolola.  We spent time picking apart the poems, understanding their meaning and the structure and language used within them. We then spent some time learning the poems by heart and performing them through "Readers' Theatre" - please see the video of three boys from 5R performing part of their poem:

We then used these poems as inspiration for our own poetry, which we will be writing up in neat and publishing on Monday next week. Being so inspired by our space topic meant that writing poems linked to space and the cosmos was easy for year 5 and a lot of fun.

Maths

In maths this week, year 5 have been working on multiplying fractions by whole numbers, applying their understanding to real life scenarios and problems where possible. Earlier in the week, children got the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding by creating a card game to play with their partners.

 Mr White's learning group has been working on finding fractions of amounts and on Wednesday made a game for their partners to try out - a maze which they had to work their way through by getting to the correct answers. 

UBBC

This week in To Infinity and Beyond, children have been learning about the orbit of our planet, and the orbit of the moon around Earth. We went out onto the playground, with string and chalk, and demonstrate the orbits using ourselves as the planets.

On Thursday and Friday, we created pieces of art work using the artist Peter Thorpe as inspiration. On Thursday, children completed a round-robin activity whereby they moved between classes and teachers, with each teacher demonstrating a different skill and technique. On Friday, the children then combined these techniques into a final piece of artwork. They are still drying today, but children will be able to bring these home next week.

Daisy Mcleod 5Y

Home Learning Information

In celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day 2022, your teachers would like YOU to research an inspirational woman who has made an impact on the world. This could be a woman in science, art, music, technology, sport or fighting equality; it is completely up to you!

You can present your work in any format: through art, poetry, posters, writing or using technology. We are going to display those that make us go WOW in the hall!

Helpful sites:

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/history/general-history/international-womens-day/

https://www.science-sparks.com/wonderful-women-in-stem/

Key Messages and Information for Parents

• Year 5 are very lucky yo have two trainee teachers working within the year group - Miss Franklin has been with us for a couple of weeks now and will be with us until May; Mr Jones will be taking up a more permanent role within the year group after the Easter holidays.
• Next Friday is Red Nose Day - Theme is FUNNY IS POWER! Please dress up and bring in your £1 coin.
• Friday is also the Parent ‘Book Look’ - Parents for children in all years are invited in from 3:15pm to view children's learning.
• Next week, PE will be on Monday and swimming for B&G will be on Tuesday. 

Upcoming dates:

• Parent Teacher Consultations (see previous letter) - Monday 21st March, Tues 22nd March and Weds 23rd March.
• Pupil Council MacMillan Charity Coffee Morning (parents invited) in hall— Thursday 24th March, 9-10am.
• Upton Spring Concert (see latest newsletter), Thursday 24th March.

What a fantastic week we've had in English this week - the peak being the fantastic World Book Day on Thursday. Year 5 took the theme of Wizard of Oz and both children and adults went all out with their outfits. We all had a great day and would like to thank all the parents fort their hard work in sorting costumes over the past few weeks.

In our English lessons, we have continued reading Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and we are all really enjoying it. The book is funny and engaging and we can't wait to see where this story takes us. This week, we learnt that taller than average 12-year-old Liam is lost in space! And, on his first day of school was mistaken for a teacher and found himself on stage delivering an assembly. This inspired us to create our own stories around first day at school mishaps. They have been great fun to write and the writing it incredibly creative. 

Maths

In maths this week, we have continued our work on adding and subtracting fractions. To be successful in this, we have had to combine a range of skills from across our learning on fractions, including mixed numbers, equivalent fractions and simplifying fractions. We are also developing our reasoning and problem-solving skills by applying our knowledge of fractions to real life scenarios. 

UBBC

This week we started our new topic - To Infinity and Beyond - and what better way to start it than with our Wow Day. We started the day with astronaut training! Each child participated in a range of activities to prepare them for launch day. Activities included physical fitness tests, mathematical aptitude assessments and logic and mental agility training. We are pleased to announce that all trainee astronauts passed their assessment and will be lifting off soon.

On top of the astronaut training, pupils also experienced space itself though the fabulous visit of the astrodome led by the wonderful Peter Bassett. Children were amazed and awe inspired as they felt themselves fly through the galaxy within the dome, at the same time as learning about our solar system and the stars beyond. Thank you very much Peter and the Astrodome Road Show!

Home Learning Information

Everyone knows about Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first men on the moon. Many have heard of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. But much less is known about some of the women who have played a role in past space missions and women who still play vital roles in space exploration today. For your homework this week, we would like you to complete some research on the women of space exploration.

Your teacher will have provided you with some reading before you went home on Friday (if not, then please ask your teacher on Monday). Please also use the links below to help you in your research. 

How you choose to present your work is up to you. You could create a fact file, a poster or a non-chronological report. It's completely up to you! We can't wait to see what you produce!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/44493391

https://spacecentre.co.uk/blog-post/five-amazing-women-space/

https://www.nasa.gov/stem/womenstem.html

https://www.space.com/16143-women-space-firsts-gallery.html

Don't forget to also be logging in to TTRS, MyMaths and Spelling Shed!

Key Messages and Information for Parents

Next week, PE will be on Monday and swimming for B&G will be on Tuesday. Good luck to all of those taking part in the cross country on Saturday!

A new term means a new text and this term is none other than the amazing Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce. So far, we have only read the first few pages, but we are already hooked! Apparently, our main character Liam has found himself lost in space! And his parents think he was on a camping trip in the Lake District. The class have already been in fits of laughter and we thoroughly look forward to seeing where this cosmic adventure takes us.

"The stars look different from up here..." A quote from Liam which has inspired our writing this week. Using images of nebula, Year 5 have used their skills in figurative language to describe some pretty impressive images of space. We then used this writing to inspire a piece of art. 

Maths

In maths this week we have continued with out learning on adding fractions and mixed numbers and have began looking at subtracting fractions also. To be successful, we have needed to make links with other areas of our maths understanding, including linking to fractions greater than one and our understanding of equivalent fractions. 

As always, keep going with your MyMaths and your TTRS guys! This will really help with your understanding of fractions.

UBBC

As it has been the first week of term, this week we have been focusing on PD (Personal Development). Our lessons have focused on diversity within families, inclusion and stereotyping. Throughout the week, children have written passionate speeches and written powerful poetry to put their thoughts and opinions on these important topics across. On Friday afternoon, we concluded the week by sharing some of these speeches and poems in the hall as a year group. It was wonderful to hear the children speak so thoughtfully and passionately about something so important. 

Next week, we start our new topic - To Infinity and Beyond!

Home Learning Information

As our new topic is To Infinity and Beyond, we would love the children to kick start the topic by getting to know the planets in our solar system. There are many mnemonics out there that help us remember the order of the 8 (used to be 9) planets within our solar system: but can you create your own one?

We would like you this week to create your own mnemonic for naming the planets and create a poster to demonstrate this. How you choose to present this is up to you and if you would also like to include any extra research information then please do!

Don't forget to also be logging in to TTRS, MyMaths and Spelling Shed!

Key Messages and Information for Parents

Next week Wednesday is our Year 5 Wow Day for To Infinity and Beyond. As part of the day, children will be taking part in some physical activities as part of their astronaut training programme, and so we ask them to wear their PE kits on this day. However, if children have any NASA or space themed t-shirts or hoodies which they would like to wear on this day, then they can wear this on top of their PE kit.

On Thursday it is World Book Day and the theme for Year 5 is The Wizard of Oz. We are inviting all children to dress as any character from the book. Dorothy? Lion? Tin man or Scarecrow? Even Toto! The choice is yours! Whilst dressing up is all part of the fun of World Book Day, we understand that some children may not want to; if this is the case, then school uniform is required - this is not a non-uniform day. 

English 

This week in English, we completed our class text – The Firework Maker’s Daughter – and produced a wonderful newspaper report linked the New Year Festival and Firework Competition which happens in the final chapter. We included a range of features including formal language, passive voice and direct and reported speech. 

In reading, we have continued our work on authorial intent and also identified the key themes within the text including friendship and equality. 

Next term, we will start our new book 'Cosmic', a great story set in space which links to our new topic. 

Please make sure children log on to Spelling Shed and read regularly at home. We should be seeing reading records at least 3 times a week!

Maths

This week, we have continued to look at fractions. The focus has been on ordering and comparing fractions linking back to the first term when using the less than, greater than and equal to symbols. We also used the knowledge we had acquired the previous week about improper and mixed number fractions and ordered and compared these as well. 

Please ensure that children are completing the MyMaths homework set and are regularly practising TTRS.

UBBC

Our UBBC lessons this week have been focused on Ming vases and creating our own printing pattern to put on them. Previously, we had found out about the importance of Ming vases within Chinese culture and what they were used for. After designing our own patterns to print, we created our own printing block and then printed using traditional colours - blue and white. The outcomes were sensational! 

Next term we will start our new space themed topic: To Infinity and Beyond!'

Home Learning Information

From 2022, rockets will be launching into space from UK spaceports for the very first time. Design a logo to go on these rockets which will circle the Earth and collect data about climate change. 

Your logo needs to let people know about the satellite’s important mission of taking important measurements and collecting data that can be used to help protect our planet from climate change.

 It can be anything from a painting, drawing, collage or a design on a computer. 

Once you have completed your logo, write an explanation about why you have designed it in such a way. 

Key Messages and Information for Parents

Term 4 commences on Tuesday 22nd February. 

Swimming will be back to the usual day of Tuesday for the B's and G's. 

As we will be using the field more often at break and lunch times, it is a good idea for the children to have a spare pair of trainers in their lockers to change into to avoid trailing mud through the school.

World Book Day is on Thursday 3rd March! The theme for year 5 is The Wizard of Oz; we cannot wait to see the costumes -the adults in year 5 will be dressing up as well! 

Wednesday 2nd March is our WOW day to introduce our space topic! As children will be taking part in some physical fitness activities as part of the astronaut training, we ask that children come in to school on this day in their PE kits. However, if children have a NASA t-shirt, hoody or something similar, they can wear this on top of their PE kits. This is not however a non-uniform or dress-up day, as the following day is World Book Day,

We all hope you have a lovely half-term!

Thank you for reading!

This week, year 5 have enjoyed continuing with our book, The Firework Maker's Daughter by Phillip Pullman. We have enjoyed lots of writing this week. We began by describing a setting from the book; a setting we had made a diorama for last Friday (see an example from 5Y below).

Towards the end of the week, we began looking at different ways to start stories, focusing on different skills each time. We wrote the first story opening with a focus on setting description, the second with a focus on dialogue and the third with a focus on action. They were really enjoyable to write and the creativity and variety within the classes was fantastic. 

In our reading sessions, we have been sharpening up our reciprocal reading skills of Questioning and Predicting. In PaG sessions, our focus has been on finding different ways to open our sentences; we have looked at using fronted adverbials, starting sentences with similes, starting sentences with prepositional phrases and starting with -ing words. Our spelling focus this week as been words ending -ant and -ance (Spelling Shed homework is focused on the same).

Maths

In maths this week we have concluded our unit on Multiplication and Division by focusing on division. We have looked at a variety of methods for division, including chunking and the short method of division (often called the bus stop method). Those with a strong understanding of their times tables found this week incredibly satisfying as they were able to make links between division and known multiplication facts. Keep practising your tables on TTRS guys!

Next week, we'll be moving on to look at fractions. This unit will take us up to the half-term break and beyond.

UBBC

This week was a really exciting week in UBBC as Upton children 'received a letter from a school pupil in China'. We were fascinated reading about their daily life and finding out how many differences and similarities our lives had. We then wrote a reply letter, comparing our lives to theirs. 

We finished the week by looking at Ming pottery, looking at why china porcelain is so culturally important and significant to China. In our sketch books, we then began to plan designs for our own Ming vase, which we'll be painting in the coming weeks.  

Next week, we'll be celebrating Chinese New Year on Tuesday 1st February and towards the end of the week we'll be cooking our own Chinese spring rolls. A great week to look forward to!

Home Learning Information

This week, we have been looking at the "Three Perfections" of Chinese art and culture. Calligraphy and painting were two - and we have covered these in class - the third is poetry. For your homework this week, we would like you to write a poem. 

Chinese poems were often linked to nature; trees and plants; rivers and mountains; birds, animals and nature. Try to link your poem to nature. Also, Chinese poems often combined the other of the "Three Perfections" (calligraphy and painting) and were often beautifully written and illustrated (see examples below). Try to do the same with your poem. We can't wait to see what you produce! Good luck!!

Key Messages and Information for Parents

Next week, Year 5 will need their swimming kits on Wednesday, not on Tuesday. This is because we want to spend Tuesday afternoon celebrating Chinese New Year, which falls this year on Tuesday 1st February. 

On Friday, children will be cooking in school, but they do not need to bring anything in for this.

Upton have been chosen to be part of an excellent pilot programme offering free Maths and English study support at home for our pupils

This term, Invicta National Academy are offering online support sessions via zoom. This support takes the form of live interactive lessons with qualified staff who are available to help children with their homework or indeed any other area of English or Maths they are stuck on.
Specific support for Maths and for English is available twice a week from tutors and children can join as and when they feel they need extra help.

If you feel your child would benefit from extra academic support in this way then please follow the instructions below to get involved. This really is an excellent opportunity for our pupils.

Throughout the day, we took part in a range of different activities. In the morning, we read a traditional Chinese folk story - The Magic Paintbrush - and then used this story as inspiration for our own art and accompanying story. We were then treated to the delights of a Chinese workshop led by Dance Days, including using traditional Chinese parasols and a Chinese dragon. In the afternoon, we enjoyed having a go at some Chinese calligraphy and also made our own Chinese dragons. It was a fantastic day of activities and a great way to start our new topic. 

So this week, we would love you to take this opportunity to learn something new about this fascinating country. You can use books and the Internet for your research and can present your research in any way you like. You could write a fact file, create a flyer or poster, or perhaps something more creative. It really is up to you!

In your research, try to learn something which we won't be covering in class this term. Maybe look into the history of some of China's famous dynasties. Who built the Great Wall of China and why? Or perhaps you could investigate some of the animals and the habitats within China. Why is the panda so commonly associated with China? 

Kiddle (link below) is a great, child friendly place to begin your research. But websites such as History for Kids and National Geographic Kids are fantastic resources too. 

https://www.kiddle.co/ 

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

https://www.historyforkids.net/ancient-china.html

Best of luck! We can't wait to see the work you produce!

Later in the week, we moved on to a debate, as the father tells his daughter that she can't be a firework maker as she's a girl. This sparked a furious debate within the class with girls and boys in equal uproar as to the unfairness of such a statement. The class then wrote some very persuasive arguments on the subject. 

English lessons have been great fun this week! Very well done 5Y!

Greetings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyicdRl3ULg 

Looking for more? Want a challenge? Why not learn how to spell your name using the BSL alphabet 

BSL alphabet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clPTV1wq8Jw

Don't worry if you don't have access to YouTube - use the PDF posters I've attached below.

We can't wait to see what you've learnt. We'll be using the greetings for the rest of the term for our morning and afternoon register - so be ready. 

A busy week but an excellent one!!

Firstly, it has been great to see all of the children this week. Well done to Leo for being our first Pupil of the Week for Term 3.

Yesterday, we travelled to Margate by train to receive a rail safety talk. We had a fabulous morning learning all about how to stay safe when travelling by train and when crossing train tracks - which should only be done at the site of a level crossing. The children also looked at (and felt how heavy!) different materials and tools used on the railways. Well done to the children for participating well and behaving superbly. Their positive behaviour and politeness was commented on by the staff running the workshop - well done 5B!!

Have a wonderful weekend.

For your homework task this week, we'd like you to investigate the perimeter (and area if you feel confident enough) of items without your homes.

What is the perimeter of your TV? What is the perimeter of your dining room table? A book? Your rug? Your bed? Your dog's basket?

To complete this task, you will need a tape measure (ask your parents if you could borrow one of these) or ruler. Draw a simple outline of the objects you measure into your book and annotate (label) the lengths and show your working out to calculate the perimeter.

WARNING - please take care when measuring items (especially fragile items such as TVs) not to scratch or break them.

Year 5 are putting together a new display in school to demonstrate how much children in year 5 love to read! To do this, we need your contributions. We would like photos of you reading your favourite books, but reading them in unusual places - the more creative the better!

In your homework books, we would also like you to write a short book review of your favourite book. Why do you enjoy that book/author/series so much and why would you recommend it to others in the year group?

Every member of 5R showed amazing teamwork, communicated effectively and used a range of problem solving skills! 

Best of luck and we can't wait to see your designs! When you're finished, bring them into school and we'll be putting them on display in the year 5 area.