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Summercroft

Primary School

Achieving through care, challenge and creativity

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Year 5 - Hazel & Sycamore

Welcome to Year 5!

31st January 2025

The Adventure Continues...

 

Over the past two weeks, the children of Sycamore and Hazel Classes have found themselves dancing along to the musical groove of Adele. Using glockenspiels and their lovely vocals, they've been working hard to learn the iconic song, 'Make You Feel My Love'. Mrs McCann has been absolutely delighted with their ongoing determination and relentless hard work as they continue to practise their musical rendition for their end-of-unit concert in a couple of weeks. Mr Wilson, Mr Webb, and all the adults in Year 5 CANNOT WAIT to see the end result!

 

Meanwhile, in our Greek mythology unit for English, the children have become completely enthralled with the exciting, yet grim, Adventures of Odysseus. This week, they travelled alongside Odysseus and his men into the depths of the Land of the Dead. There, they encountered the blind prophet Tiresius, who shared some rather ominous prophecies with our hero. In response, our pupils wrote and presented poems from the perspectives of both Tiresius and Odysseus himself. They've truly gone above and beyond with their writing throughout this unit, and we are all so proud of their enthusiasm and growing love for writing. Keep up the fantastic work, everyone!

 

17th January 2025

An Excellent Start to the New Term

The children have settled back into their routines beautifully and have shown great excitement about the term ahead. It’s wonderful to see their curiosity shine as we explore new topics and activities together.

 

From Savannas to Skyscrapers!

This term, we have begun our exciting new topic on Africa: Past and Present, which integrates history and geography. To launch the topic, we explored the rich diversity of Africa by identifying different countries on the continent. The children have also been learning about traditional tribal masks, discovering the unique styles and purposes they serve across different cultures. As part of this project, the children have started designing their own masks, drawing inspiration from what they’ve learned. We are so impressed by their creativity and look forward to seeing the final pieces!

 

Stirring Up Some Kindness

As part of our DT curriculum, the children have been busy preparing food for a local shelter. They have been reminded about the importance of hygiene when preparing food, as well as learning new skills like the 'bridge cut' and 'claw cut'. This activity has been a wonderful way for them to practise teamwork, develop new skills, and learn about the importance of giving back. Their hard work and thoughtfulness have been heartwarming, and we are so proud of their efforts. We are also incredibly grateful for all of the donations which have made this possible.

 

20th December 2024

Our Seal of Approval

Our Year 5 pupils have been unearthing fascinating facts about the Indus Valley Civilisation. From studying ancient seals to marvelling at their clever drainage systems, our young historians have gained an understanding of this ancient world. They even built their own Indus Valley town models, complete with citadels, houses and ships to assist trade.

 

Talking Like a River

In English, pupils have been exploring the heartfelt narrative, I Talk Like a River. The story’s perspective of a boy struggling with his speech encouraged our pupils to reflect on their own moments of anxiety, embarrassment or regret. With maturity and empathy, they have penned their own tides of emotion for a class anthology, Stories That Make Us Human. We can’t wait to share these beautiful creations, which promote our pupils’ understanding and kindness.

 

A Well-earned Break

As the term comes to a close, we’d like to say a massive well done and thank you to our Year 5 pupils for their hard work, positive attitudes, and support for one another. We hope everyone enjoys a wonderful festive holiday with loved ones and comes back refreshed for a new year in January!

 

6th December 2024

Jumping Into Our New Unit

 

This week in Sycamore and Hazel Classes, we embarked on a creative journey exploring our new unit, centred around the book, I Talk Like a River, by Jordan Scott. The children engaged deeply with the themes of self-expression, voice, and nature, empathising with the main character who struggles to communicate. Through thoughtful discussions and activities, we explored how language can reflect our emotions and experiences, and build an understanding as to how some people have difficulties when articulating their thoughts and feelings.

As part of our learning, we also studied poems by Matt Goodfellow. The children enjoyed analysing his vivid language and the way his poems tell powerful stories. To bring the poems to life, the students worked in small groups to rehearse and perform their chosen pieces. It was fantastic to see the children collaborate, experimenting with tone, gestures, and expression to capture the essence of each poem. The performances were a true celebration of their creativity and confidence in sharing their voices.

 

Sizing Up Our Planet

 

Year 5 have been immersed and excited about our new science unit, Space and Planet Earth. The children have been busy learning about the eight planets in our solar system, researching their unique characteristics, and discovering the vast distances between them.

A highlight of the week was an exciting hands-on activity where the children scaled down the diameters of the planets and represented the planets using compasses and careful calculations. This task allowed them to visually appreciate just how enormous (or small) the planets really are. The students were astounded by the size differences, especially when comparing Earth to giants like Jupiter and Saturn. They were fascinated to see how the planets of our solar system truly vary in size, and this activity sparked lots of engaging discussions about the incredible scale of our universe. Year 5’s curiosity and enthusiasm for space have been inspiring, and we look forward to more stellar learning in the coming weeks!

 

As always, all of the adults in Year 5 have been incredibly proud of Hazel Class and Sycamore Class. The children have persevered through the challenges of new learning, and remained engaged and enthusiastic throughout all our studies. Well done everyone!

 

15th November 2024

The World at War

The past couple of weeks in Year 5 have been an incredible journey back in time as we’ve delved into the history and personal stories of World War I. Your children have truly immersed themselves in this topic, gaining a deeper understanding not just of historical events, but of the emotional impact war has on soldiers and their loved ones.

We were fortunate to take a trip to the Imperial War Museum in London, where pupils explored a rich collection of artefacts and exhibits dedicated to WWI and other conflicts. The experience brought history to life in a way that classroom discussions and books can’t replicate. Standing before real relics from the battlefield, seeing uniforms, letters and photographs, the children gained a profound appreciation for the sacrifices made during that time.

The students also tapped into their creativity by writing poetry from the perspective of soldiers. These poems are thought-provoking and filled with empathy, capturing the fears, hopes and longing of soldiers separated from their families. This activity gave the children a voice to express complex emotions while strengthening their understanding of the human side of war.

 

Art Display at Jackson Square

Over Remembrance Day weekend, we were delighted to have the opportunity to display the children’s artwork and poetry, inspired by their WWI studies, at Jackson Square Shopping Centre. It was a wonderful showcase of their learning and artistic talents. The pieces ranged from portraits to symbolic representations of peace and remembrance. We hope that you were able to see the display over the weekend. The children, and all the adults involved, are extremely proud of all the hard work that has gone into this unit.

 

Special Guest: Mrs. Sampford

A huge thank you to Mrs. Sampford, who generously took the time to visit our class and speak about her experiences as the wife of a British military soldier during the Gulf Conflict. Her personal insights into the life of loved ones back home during wartime helped our pupils connect past and present, understanding that the impact of war extends beyond those on the frontlines. Her stories were eye-opening and gave the children a real sense of the resilience and strength required by those left behind.

 

Thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement. Your children have shown such curiosity and maturity in this topic, and we’re proud of all they’ve accomplished.

 

25th October 2024

As the first half-term comes to a close, Year 5 have been busy completing the finishing touches on our learning sequences. Within our Natural Disasters topic, this meant it was time for our end-of-topic presentation to Year 2. In small groups, the children were assigned a natural disaster to become experts on. Through thoughtful and positive collaboration, as well as a great deal of determination, the children worked together to design and create a display for their chosen natural disaster, one which was both informative and engaging. The children really enjoyed the project, taking ownership over their learning and sharing their understanding in an articulate way. To top it all off, the children surprised the Year 2 classes with a series of volcanic eruptions – an explosive way to culminate an exciting unit of work.

 

A Bittersweet Farewell

 

Our journey alongside the famous Ernest Shackleton has come to an eventful close. After the children spent time debating whether their fearless leader was making the best choice for the explorers, we learned of the crew’s fate while reading about Shackleton’s determined venture across the dangerous waters of Drake’s Passage. Eventually, upon his safe arrival, Shacks and small team hiked across the mountainous region of South Georgia, to finally land in the open arms of a whaling station, one which would end up helping the captain save all of his crew from the icy grips of Antarctica. It has been a fantastic opening English unit for Year 5; the writing has been passionate and adventurous, and the children have really enjoyed learning about one of Britain’s historic heroes. We can’t wait to see what’s to come next!

 

On behalf of the entire Year 5 team, we hope that everyone enjoys a fun-filled half-term break. We have a lot to look forward to when the children return in November, such as our Imperial War Museum trip (6th November), the Remembrance Day Ceremony, and many more exciting opportunities. Congratulations to all of the children in Sycamore and Hazel Class for a great beginning to Year 5; we are all very proud of each and every one of you.

 

11th October 2024

A Dough-lightful Day Out!

Year 5 took a trip to the local Pizza Express store as part of their DT curriculum. Students had the opportunity to make their own pizza whilst learning about food hygiene, the nutritional information of ingredients and even sampling some new toppings! Both classes were brilliantly behaved, inquisitive and wonderful representatives of the school. The trip was a great success, but the highlight of trips were, of course, eating our creations!

 

The Endurance is Lost.

As our adventure into Antarctica continues, our crew are now faced with turmoil and impossible odds of survival. The Endurance is beset in ice and will eventually become lost to the Weddell Sea. Pupils have written thoughtful diary pieces and intriguing logbook entries over the past few weeks, exploring their characters and the rest of the crew’s perspectives towards their unfortunate circumstances. Our English learning came to an inspirational pinnacle when the children roused the crew’s moral with their powerful motivational speeches from the viewpoint of Shackleton himself!

 

A Lightbulb Moment

Pupils closed out their electricity unit by conducting an investigation into how voltage affects the components in a series circuit. We discussed the three types of variables needed in a fair test - independent, dependent and controlled variables - before deciding on what our variables would be for our test. Pupils tested the loudness of buzzers when using different amounts of cells in a circuit, using decibel meters on laptops to measure their results.

 

It has been another exciting and enjoyably busy two weeks. The children have all worked extremely hard and their determination is allowing their learning to flourish. On behalf of all the Year 5 team, we are truly proud of each and every member of Sycamore and Hazel Class, and we can’t wait for the learning and fun that’s to be had in the future. Well done everyone!


The Year 5 team

 

20 September 2024

A Great Beginning

We are thrilled with the start the children have made to Year 5 this year. Pupils have settled in well and have shown positive attitudes, a willingness to work with others and a love for learning which we hope will continue throughout the year!

 

The Start of a Journey

We have launched our English lessons this year with a unit on Shackleton’s Journey, a beautifully illustrated book about Ernest Shackleton’s historic and treacherous voyage on the Endurance in 1914, leading a crew with hopes of becoming the first to cross Antarctica from sea to sea. Pupils have randomly chosen their crew member who they will portray throughout their literary pieces this term, writing journals, letters and ship logs through the viewpoint of their chosen voyager. Ask your child which crew member they are, and stay tuned for their upcoming adventure into the dangers of Antarctica.

 

A Shocking Discovery

Year 5 have started their science curriculum this year consolidating and delving deeper into the studies of electricity that was previously covered in Year 4. Pupils have loved testing existing circuits, constructing their own series circuits and using the scientific symbols to represent these circuits with accurate diagrams. Moving forward, the children of Sycamore and Hazel Class will explore the effect of voltage through designing and carrying their own experiment, while also identifying broken circuits and applying their knowledge to electricity to amend these.

 

On behalf of all the Year 5 team, we want to thank everyone for their support thus far. We are all so excited for everything to come, and we look forward to watching the children of Sycamore and Hazel Class flourish as they experience the wide and adventurous curriculum that we have waiting for them.

 

 

 

 

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