Learning to Learn

As it is the start of a new academic year, the children have been reminded of the importance of 'Learning to Learn' and learnt much more about how their brain receives information and, more importantly, how our brains form connections to support us in our learning. The children created their own neurons (of which we have 100 billion in our brains!) and we demonstrated as a class, using their own neurons, how connections were formed. We then used string to show how these connections get stronger and stronger the more we use them. The children played different types of games to find out how their brain learnt best and created their own brain craft to show off their new learning. As you can see, at the end of Friday, Year 5 hung up their brains as they definitely deserved a rest! 

Welcome to Cedar Class - Year 5

I hope you have all had a restful summer and are ready for the start of a new year!

Academic Year 2020 - 21

2019 - 20

The end of home learning!

Dear Year 5,

     Can you believe it? This marks the end of your home learning! It has been such a joy to see all the work and activities you have been doing this week and every other so I hope you are feeling proud of yourselves! Thank you also to all the parents who have helped with fractions, story writing, art projects and so much more! Have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

     Take care,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5,

     How are you? What made you happy last week? What made you laugh? It is now the start of Week 5 of Summer 2 and also the final week of home learning. There are, as always, some new activities for you to try. Mrs Mo has yet another music challenge for you so scroll down to find out more. Also, if you have yet to enter Mrs Richard's science competition you can watch this video to find out what it is all about!

     Stay safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 22.06.20)

Dear Year 5,

     Wow! Your art work is amazing! Thank you so much for sending me your work this week, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your English, being amazed by your maths and getting to see your artistic and creative sides. Thank you also for the pictures of bike rides, baking and puppies! You have all continued to work incredibly hard this week, which must have been difficult because it was so hot!

     Have a great weekend!

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5,

     How are you? What did you do last week that you were really proud of? It is now the start of Week 4 of Summer 2 and I imagine that finding the motivation to do school work at home is becoming really difficult. Keep persevering! A little bit of English and maths a day will really help you when you come back to school. Perhaps you do them first thing in the morning then you can have the rest of the day to explore your other interests, especially as it is due to be wonderfully hot this week and I am sure you would like to get your school work out of the way so you can play outside! 

     Very excitingly, Mrs Richards has created a science competition for the year groups currently not at school. If you would like to find out what you need to do then watch this video: Years 2, 3, 4 and 5 - Science Competition

     Also, Mrs Mo has another fantastic music challenge for you to try at home!

     Thank you for all your hard work, you are fantastic!

     Stay safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5 parents/carers,

     I hope you are all well and finding a way to balance some home learning in a way that best suits your family. Below are the suggested home learning activities for this week. They are suggested activities and I hope there is a good mix.

     I just wanted to clarify that you can choose how many or how few of these you do. I wanted to provide lots of ideas for you so you didn't have to spend time researching yourself, as I know your time is precious. The English tasks have multiple activities, it may be that you only have time to do one. The Science work on life cycles involves some writing, so this could be the English task for one day or two days etc. We have done lots of research in school so hopefully your children are able to access this independently. This week, the Computing task is about algorithms (a set of instructions) for making a pizza. However, following any recipe would work just as well. If you're feeling brave, perhaps they could help cook dinner! Or it could be following a set of instructions for a craft kit or building a lego set.

     As I find a lot of activities, there are also a lot of resources. I can't upload them individually onto the Year 5 class page as you would be doing a lot of scrolling, hence the use of zip files. However, I understand this can be difficult to access the work. Therefore, this week underneath the English/Maths resources folders you will see a document labelled, 'Selection of English/Maths'. I have taken a selection of the activities found in the zip files and put them into one PDF to allow easier access. The selection of English tasks all relate to the spelling/grammar work. The writing element of English can be covered when they explain the life cycle of their chosen insect in their Science task or they could write their own set of instructions (linking with their Computing task). Please feel free to be flexible! The PSHE task is one that they can access independently and, after reading the task, doesn't require technology. I will continue to bear in mind activities that promote independence and no tech!

     I hope this helps and thank you for your support,

     Miss Tomlinson

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 15.06.20)

Dear Year 5,

     Thank you for all the home learning that I have continued to be sent this week. I know it is getting really difficult to stay motivated with your home learning, especially as each week goes on, so I just want to say thank you and how proud I am of you. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the emails you have sent me updating me on what you are getting up to and I have loved seeing the cute puppy pictures! 

     Have a great weekend!

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5,

     How are you? Are you ready for Week 3 of Summer 2? This week there are some exciting new learning activities for you. If you scroll down you will see a 'Music' section, where you will find an exciting challenge set for you by Mrs Mo! Mrs Bennett has been hard at work updating the school's science page and there are now many practical investigations on there for you to try at home. To find out more, go to the school's science page. Please note, the maths resources this week have had to split into three different folders in order to get them to upload.

     Thank you for all your hard work, you are brilliant!

     Stay safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Year 5, you are so lucky because Mrs Mo has set up a very exciting music challenge. I won't spoil it...just open the document below to find out more!

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 08.06.20)

Dear Year 5,

     Wow! I have been blown away by the fantastic work that I have been sent this week. You are doing such a fantastic job and should be so so proud of all the home learning you are doing. Thank you also for the updates on other activities you have been up to, such as baking, face painting and being able to see horses close up on your walks. It is such a joy to see. I would like to apologise for any mistakes in the answers to any of this week's home learning. As I like to say in class, "...just testing!" 

     Speaking of joy, there have been a few odd occasions this week where I have seen some of you - either in or walking past the school - and it has been so wonderful. I am missing seeing you all and hope that you are also managing to find moments of joy in this very strange time.

     Have a lovely weekend 

     Stay safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5,

     How are you? How was the second week back of Summer 2? Hopefully you got to enjoy the beautiful weather at the start of the week and fingers crossed the sunshine will return soon!

     Thank you for all your continued hard work as you continue to learn from home. You are doing a great job! This week, we finish 'The Machine Gunners' and I've put together a variety of other home learning activities, which you will hopefully enjoy.

     Keep up the great work and keep safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 02.06.20)

Dear Year 5,

     What a brilliant first week back to Summer 2! As always, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the emails that have been sent through to our class email address. Thank you to those of you who completed the Computing task and emailed me directly! It is so hard not to reply to you but please know I have a lot to ask you and chat to you about when we all get back to school. 

     Thank you for the history project I received. I found it fascinating to look through, with the photographs and maps, and it clearly showed a lot of hard work. I have loved hearing about the tadpoles that have been discovered in one of your ponds and did a lot of giggling when reading through some of the simile work, which hopefully wasn't "...as boring as lockdown"! Continuing to hear from you is such a delight and I am so proud of all the work you are doing. I know it's hard to stay motivated at home but keep up the fantastic work!

     Continue to do what works best for you and have a great weekend!

     Stay safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Week beginning - 2nd June 2020

Dear Year 5,

     How are you? I hope you all had a lovely half term and enjoyed the beautiful weather we had. Wasn't it glorious? What did you get up to? As it is the start of a new half term, I have made a short video message for you all, which you can find in the Video Resource Centre if you would like to watch it. It's called 'Start of Summer 2!' and I tell you a little bit about our new topic.

     Thank you for all your hard week whilst you have been learning from home. I have been really pleased with everything that I have seen and have also loved being told about the other activities, that really interest you, that you are getting up to at home. So please keep in touch, via our class email, through this half term as well. I really enjoy hearing from you. 

     Please find below your suggested home learning activities for this week. As we have an INSET day on Monday, our half term starts on Tuesday 2nd so it is a four day week. Therefore, there are four English and maths activities to keep you occupied as well as some other home learning suggestions.

     Keep up the great work and keep safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Summer 2

________________________________________________________

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 18.05.20)

Dear Year 5,

     Thank you for all your hard work this week, and every week that we have not been at school. I am so proud of you, whether I've seen your work and activities in the class email or heard from you otherwise. You have produced some excellent work around our English book, your maths is looking brilliant and you have done amazingly well with your rainbow experiments - mine looked like a swamp! Thank you for sharing all the other activities that you are getting up to at home that interest you, it is such a joy to see. This is a really different way of trying to learn, and it isn't always easy, but thank you for doing your best. Remember, your best will be different to everyone else's. (I am really missing saying that to you in class!). 
    Parents, thank you for all your support with the home learning. I cannot imagine how difficult it is and please remember these are suggested activities for you to fit in as you see best with your family at this uncertain time. 

     I think, Year 5 (and your parents!), you will all be glad to have half term next week! You have thoroughly deserved a break, so enjoy every moment! Fingers crossed the weather will stay as beautiful as it has been this last week. Summer 2 does not start until Tuesday 2nd June, so have a brilliant 10 days of rest!

     Stay safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5,

     I hope you all had a restful weekend and are now ready for the final week of Summer 1. It has been a rather strange half term but I have loved seeing all the excellent work that you have been doing, as well as the fun activities you have been getting up to. Keep up the amazing work!

     Miss Tomlinson 

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 11.05.20)

To Year 5 and your parents,

     Thank you again for all your emails this week, and sharing with me the work and activities you have been up to! I am so pleased you are enjoying 'The Machine Gunners' and have thought about your own secret hiding places. Thank you for sharing these with me, but I haven't included them in the gallery otherwise they wouldn't be so secret anymore! From the things I am seeing and hearing it seems like you are all doing such a brilliant job! Have a wonderful and restful weekend. 

     Keep safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Dear Year 5,

     I hope you all had a lovely Bank Holiday weekend and managed to rest and relax. It is now our fourth week of the Summer Term and below are some suggested activities to help with your learning.

     Keep up the amazing work!

     Miss Tomlinson 

Music

A message from Mrs Mo:

Choir - There are two new videos on the website with a song for you to learn at home.  Please have a look at the Music section on the Video Resource Centre.  I hope you enjoy singing it!

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 04.05.20)

07.05.20

To Year 5 and your parents,

     Thank you so much for all your emails this week. I love seeing all the work you have been up to but equally I love to see the activities you are doing at home that really interest you. Thank you Lily for your postcard, it sounds like you are keeping very active! To those who have sent me pictures of you and your work for the website, I have put together a collection of these into a gallery below. You should be very proud of all your hard work and you definitely deserve to enjoy the long Bank Holiday weekend!

     Keep safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

06.05.20

     Happy Wednesday! I have been asked about the Newsround clip for this week's suggested Computing task. To clarify, it is any Newsround episode. The focus is on how the sound changes between different news stories, e.g. the main story to a sports story to a feel good piece of news! I hope this helps.

Worship at Home - Joy

I hope you have all had a lovely start to the week, hasn't the weather been a nice surprise! This week's Worship at Home is all about the Christian Value of Joy. The first part is to think of what 'joy' means to you, which is very important at this time. (There is also a bit about baking further down! ) Click on the heading to take you there directly.

Dear Year 5,

     I hope you have had a lovely weekend and are ready for the start of Week 3 of the Summer Term.    

     Please find below the suggested learning activities for this week. There are four activities for Maths and English this week because we have a Bank Holiday on Friday. You can discover more about why this Bank Holiday is special in the history task I have set you. There are videos to accompany most English and Maths task this week, you will find these in the video resource centre. In some cases there is more than one video per task depending on how I've managed to get them to upload. If you would like to keep sending me your work I would love to see it. Please make it clear in the email if you do not want me to share it on the class website.

     Enjoy your week,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 27.04.20)

01.05.20

To Year 5 and your parents,

     Thank you SO much for all your emails this week, it is still the highlight of my day reading every email and piece of work. You are all doing such fantastic things at home (baking, finding treasure in the woods, movie making, designing inventions) so thank you for sharing these with me. Thank you Leo for your email, it was lovely to hear what you have been up to and Ruthie your English work was brilliant! To those who have sent me pictures of you and your work for the website, I have put together a collection of these into a gallery below. I am so highly impressed and proud of you all! You clearly deserve a restful and relaxing weekend!

     Keep safe,

     Miss Tomlinson 

30.04.20

    The video required for today's English task will not upload to the website so I am in contact with technical support. I have copied out the passage that the children will need for the activity. Please find it below. Thank you for your understanding, Miss Tomlinson 

29.04.20

     If you would like to continue an act of weekly worship at home, our school now has a 'Worship at Home' area on the curriculum page of the website. Here activities and thoughts are provided by the Diocese of St Albans Schools Team.

Worship at Home

     Thank you for your patience this week as videos have been uploaded to the website, I hope they are supporting you at home. The spelling activities are on pg 4-5 of the 'English Home Learning' pdf and the answers are in the SPAG Resources folder. I will put them altogether next week.

27.04.20

Good morning, Year 5,

    Welcome to a new week of home learning! I have loved seeing all the work you have been doing so far - you should be very proud of yourselves! If there is any work or other things you've been getting up at home, please email me.

 cedar@hertingfordbury.herts.sch.uk 

     Below are your suggested tasks for this week. You will see that the Maths and English work is slightly different as I have planned five tasks for each, which you can use as a 'one per day' activity if you would like. There will also be some teaching videos from me as well, all explained in the resources below. As always, do what is manageable for you and your family at this time.

Keep safe and have a wonderful week,

Miss Tomlinson 

Gallery of your home learning (W.B. 20.04.20)

24.02.20

To Year 5 and your parents,

     Thank you SO much for all your emails this week, it is without doubt the highlight of my day! Seeing everything you are getting up to, not just school work, but all your creativity, exploration and learning through the activities that interest you fills me with so much joy. Even though I cannot reply to them, please know I read through every single one of them and often verbalise my replies, such as "Wow!", "That work is brilliant!" and "You should be really proud of yourself!" (some of my family think I am going mad talking to myself!) Do not worry if you did not manage as much as you wanted at home this week, everyone has different challenges. Do what is best for you and your family and that is more than enough. 

     Please keep the emails coming and I will continue to share the photographs in a gallery at the end of each week. I have (hopefully) uploaded all of your photographs of this week but I don't think they are in any order as the website kept crashing! 

     I was asked a great question this week, in a letter. I will answer it for you this weekend in a video that I will upload onto the Video Resource Centre, although I don't expect you to see it until Monday!!!

Have a fantastic weekend - you deserve it!

Miss Tomlinson 

22.04.20

I have been asked to share some reading recommendations for you, so if you click on the link below you will see me sharing some great reads from a familiar location...

Year 5 Reading Recommendations

Below is a document with the link to a website that has a recommended reading list for Year 5 that I talk about, as well as additional books that I think are fantastic!

20.04.20

Happy Monday, Year 5!

     This week at school you would have been completing your Bikeability qualification. However, why not get out on your bikes at home or try out some of the BMX jumps and tricks you learnt in the autumn BMX Workshop in the garden?

    BBC Bitesize are producing daily lessons to help you learn from home and you may be interested in watching some of their videos and completing their activities. I will put a picture of this weeks timetable below and I have circled a Geography lesson about local area which may link to your half term History project (as it's coming out tomorrow I haven't been able to pre-watch it but hopefully it's good). There are also lots of English and Maths videos which would be great to keep up your skills and revise concepts we've previously looked at. This week for example, there are activities to do with negative numbers and smiles and metaphors - areas you are great at!

BBC Bitesize - Year 5 lessons

     The weather this week is due to be beautiful so why not take your learning outside? You could read, write a letter, play the suggested maths game, sketch for art or do your PE lesson all outdoors in the sunshine! Thank you for all the emails I have received so far. I love seeing what you are up to! Please let me know whether its ok to share your pictures online as I would love to create a gallery each week.

Have a great week!

Miss Tomlinson 

19.04.20

Hi, Year 5!

     How were your Easter holidays? Did you manage to relax and rest? Did you have time to play and have fun? What were the best bits of your holidays? Did you get any Easter eggs? Have you got any left?! I hope you are all really well and managed lots of downtime and family time over the holidays. 

    Below you will find some suggested home learning activities for this week as well as a History project that will last the half term. This week I have introduced something new! On the 'Home Learning' document is a new section called 'Picture of the Week'. Just like in class when I showed a picture on the board for you to discuss, share thoughts and ask questions we can now do the same from home! As always, please do what is manageable for you and your parents.

     If you have any news, pictures, work, interesting facts or thoughts on 'Picture of the Week', that you'd like to share with me then you can always send them to our class email address:

cedar@hertingfordbury.herts.sch.uk

Stay safe,

Miss Tomlinson 

What is coronavirus? Why can't I see my friends or other family members?

To parents,

If you are being asked these questions or others by your children and you're not sure how to explain it, then take at look at the link below. Mrs Richards has made us aware of a children's book that has been created, in a child-friendly format, to help explain what is going on at the present and why.  Coronavirus: A book for children

09.04.20

Good morning Year 5!

     How are you? Are you enjoying the Easter holidays? I hope you're having lots of fun whether that be outside in your gardens, on a walk or relaxing indoors. As it's the holidays, I won't be posting any new home learning until 20th April  So please use this time to rest, relax and recharge!

     I have absolutely loved receiving your emails with the work you've been completing at home. Please scroll down and have a look at what you, or your classmates, have been up to!

     I have uploaded a video into the Video Resource Centre where you can see a little message from me and the first chapter of a book I will be reading. When I am reading, can you spot the word with a silent letter that we learnt in class? Hint: It is a pretty tricky word that means glum or sad.

https://hertingfordbury-cowper-primary-school.primarysite.media 

     Parents, I hope that the home learning put online has been helpful to you. This is a really difficult time for all and I don't want to be adding any pressure to you as you balance many, many plates. My aim is to try and make it as easy as possible for you. Please do not feel obligated to complete every activity I put online but find the balance that works for you and your family. 

     Lastly, I want to wish you all a wonderful Easter break,

     Miss Tomlinson 

Fancy something new to read? Can I interest you in a comic or a myth?

There's two new authors, Amelia and Honour, who's work you definitely need to read 

01.04.20

Hi Year 5!

     I hope you and all your families are well and safe. Hopefully you have managed to get outside once a day for some fresh air and have had fun at home. It is very strange not seeing you all but I've enjoyed uploading the photo's of our Ancient Greek Day onto the school website, just scroll down to find them!

     Very excitingly, we now have a class email address,  

cedar@hertingfordbury.herts.sch.uk

where your parents can send me any examples of work, interesting facts or photos of activities that you have done and would like me to see. Just put your name on the email and let me know if you would or would not like it to feature on the school website. Mrs Richards has explained a little more about this in her newsletter, 'The Heart of Hertingfordbury Cowper' which was sent out via email on Friday. I cannot wait to see what you have been up to!

Choir

A message from Mrs Mo to all members of the KS2 Choir:

Please check the Choir section in School Clubs on the website where you can find suggestions for things to be doing at home.

https://www.hertingfordbury.herts.sch.uk/choir/

Stay safe,

Miss Tomlinson 

I hope you all managed to spend time with your families and out in the beautiful sunshine last week. Below are some suggested activities to help you with your home learning.

Miss Tomlinson 

I hope that during this unexpected time away from school you are able to make some special memories with your loved ones by having fun and playing, whilst following the government guidelines.

To help with home schooling, please find below some suggested activities for learning. I will endeavour to update the Maths and English learning on a regular basis and will give you a variety of activities to choose from. To parents, I have tried to give more rather than less so that you have a 'bank of information and resources' to draw upon and therefore this should, hopefully, be one less thing for you to worry about. 

Wishing you all well at this uncertain time.

Stay safe and I hope to see you all again soon,

Miss Tomlinson 

Good morning Year 5!

Please find below the answers to last week's homework, as promised. You'll see your homework sheet first but keep scrolling down and then you'll see the answers.

Well done everyone! 

Prior to Ancient Greek day, Year 5 had been learning about persuasive writing in their English lessons. They had specifically been looking at manifestos and the techniques that campaigners would use to convince voters. Every child in the class imagined that were an Ancient Athenian and thought of an issue or injustice that they believed should be taken to the Ekklesia (government) and voted into law. They then performed their manifesto to the rest of class showing off their fantastic public speaking skills!

A banquet fit for royalty

Year 5 were introduced to their new Science unit on materials by being given a muddled mess of materials. The problem was...each teacher wanted their materials back exactly as they had lent them! The children started to discuss how to separate their mixture using the limited resources provided to them: a cup, a paper bowl, a spoon, tweezers, filter paper, a magnet and a piece of silver netting. Before they could start their investigation, tt got worse. Their mixtures were covered in water! 

As you can see, the children did a fantastic job of separating the mixtures with the only two materials not pictured being the sand and the salt. The class decided the sand needed to dry on the radiator (as Nursery would not want the wet, clumped sand back) and the salty solution left is also by the radiator so that the water can evaporate leaving salt crystals behind. We're excited to see the results after the weekend!

WOW!

The children of Year 5 should be so incredibly proud of their finished pieces of abstract space art inspired by the work of Peter Thorpe.

Day and Night

As part of our Science learning about Space, the children were today investigating what a day is. Using globes, torches and a small stick in blue tac, they demonstrated the Earth's rotation in relation to the sun in order to investigate when and how night and day occurs. They also discussed the position of the sun in the sky across the day and how this affects shadows.

Galaxy Art

In Art, the children have been developing their blending and shading skills with dry media. They were tasked with creating their own imaginary galaxy from a selection of media resources, with the only criteria being there had to be some evidence of blending and shading on their planets. After a quick practise, the children produced some beautiful and colourful art that makes an area of our classroom look like an exciting galaxy!

Orbits of the planets

The children have just started their new topic - Space! They have learnt the names of the planets in the solar system and the order of the planets from the sun. In order to investigate the concept of a year, the children were tasked with creating the orbits of all planets in the solar system! Using the playground as the universe, the children decided how to mark out each orbit and which planet to start with. Following the construction, the children then played the roles of the planets whilst the rest of the children counted to ensure the orbits were going at the same speed. This allowed the children to clearly see the longest and shortest orbit and relate it to distance from the sun. Further research, revealed the shortest orbit round the sun is 88 days and the longest is 165 years! Do you know which planets these orbits relate to?

Learning to Learn

Our first week back at school has been an excellent opportunity to remind ourselves, and learn a little bit more about learning to learn. We discovered that there were many different parts of our brain, and that each part had a different purpose to help our body work. We learnt that our brains are each filled with 100 billion neurons that are continually helping us to live, grow and learn. Every time that we learn something new, our neurons make a connection (called a synapse) and over time, as we re-cap learning, re-call information and repeat actions the connections created between our neurons get stronger and stronger. To discover more about different types of learning we played lots of different activities: Where's Wally, Kim's Game, a listening game, learning to count to ten in Japanese, Boggle. This helped us to figure out what type of learner we are through which activities we found easier and why this was. To help with our learning we made fun brains containing (lots, but not all!) our neurons. Can you spot the synapses? 

Welcome to Cedar - Year 5!

2019-20

WWW Games

To conclude their topic work on local history, Year 5 have been looking at very local artefacts...old log books, map and records of the school. They were presented with the Hertingfordbury School chest and had to guess at what would be inside before being allowed to handle, inspect and investigate the items. The children greatly enjoyed finding out about old pupils, the number of children in the school and reading the regular updates from the headteacher. 

Who's Charlie Hickman though? Well, ask anyone in Year 5 and they'll be sure to tell you a few tales!

On Tuesday 14th May, Year 5 went on an exciting visit to the local town of Hertford in order to find out more about its history. The children started the day with a walk across Hartham Common and looked for different views of landscapes, which fits in with art work this half term. After they walked across to the museum and were treated to a workshop entitled 'Hertford's Home Front'. It gave the children a fantastic opportunity to handle, look at and be curious about artefacts from the war, including clothing, gas masks and food items. They were then tasked with thinking about which groups of people would have use of the artefacts and conducted an historical enquiry into a set of photographs from the time. Following this, the children were led on a tour of the town where they got to stop and look at buildings that they have often seen before but from a different viewpoint. Who knew there was an Anglo-Saxon cemetery under part of the town centre? How many rivers meet in Hertford? Have you heard the story about the handbag factory?

Thank you to all the parents who helped transport the children to and from our trip, your support is greatly appreciated.

In English, the children have been studying a novel of literary heritage; 'The Railway Children' by E. Nesbit. As part of their exploration of the characters (and their perspectives), the children were asked to think of questions for different characters in the story. They could ask them anything they were curious about, and use all their knowledge they had gained from the first four chapters. A big well done to: Ruth, Mother, Peter, Phyllis, Roberta and the Old Gentleman who took on their character roles with great gusto!

The children have concluded their R.E. topic, 'What did Jesus do to save human beings?' by discussing the importance of different statements. They have thought and shared their ideas about which statements are the most and least important in regards to our enquiry question. Statements included: 'He took on himself the punishment that people deserved' and 'He performed miracles'. 

Finishing our work at the pottery

The children's clay pots have all dried and are ready for the finishing touches. Firstly, the children made a terracotta colour to cover their creation. Whilst they waited for this to dry they played the traditional Greek game of knucklebones. After, the children were able to add the decoration to their pot using a very fine paintbrush and black paint.

The Olympic Games

To warm up for the Olympics, the children learnt a Greek dance called the Hasapiko. This was practised quite a few times to get the steps as throughout the dance the repetition of the steps got faster and faster! Thoroughly warmed up, the children were now ready for the Olympics. The first event was the same as the very first event in the Ancient Greek Olympics - the 200m dash. This was followed by the javelin and to round up our games, the children were split into teams and competed in the race of amour.

Greek Banquet

Ready to refuel after the competition, the children were ready for their banquet. There was a selection of Greek food to try, including: Greek salad, feta cheese, olives, grapes, hummus, taramasalata, tzatziki, pitta bread, potatoes and stuffed vine leaves. The children were served their meal by "slaves", and took turns offering the food to their classmates. To end the meal, the children ate a Greek yoghurt and honey dessert that they had each made themselves earlier that day.

Performing their manifestos

After lunch, the children played a game of 'Medusa' where children were turned to stone if Medusa caught them. The children have since adapted this game to add in other Greek characters, such as Zeus, and this is so lovely to see. There was also time to complete in a treasure hunt around the playground where children had to solve clues that helped to consolidate their Greek learning from this term. Finally, the children went out to the performance area in the music garden and performed their manifestos to the electorate. The ideas presented included: giving women the right to vote, giving women the right to compete in the Olympic games, giving slaves a day off each week, changing the rules of an Ostracism, holding a prisoner Olympic games and giving Gods the opportunity to retire.

Greek Museum

At the very end of the day the children held a 'Greek Museum' where they displayed all their history work from this half term for their parents to see. It was a great success and well done Year 5 for all your hard work!

In RE the children have been investigating the question, 'What did Jesus do to save human beings?' 

Looking at the image of a Japanese cross, the children were asked to consider what the image was telling us. They discussed the suffering of Jesus on the cross (Good Friday) but also that he is no longer there (instead there being an almost ghost-like shape) to indicate he is alive again (the empty cross on Easter morning).

The children used watercolours to create the background for their Japanese cross artwork ready for the cross that they will be creating next week.

Where does the word alphabet come from? 

Well, from the Ancient Greek word alphabetos!

This week the children of Year 5 have been learning how to read and write in Ancient Greek. They have looked at the similarities between the Ancient Greek alphabet and the modern one used today, especially when it comes to writing their name! Then each child chose a fact that they had learnt so far in their History lessons and translated it into Ancient Greek. Can you work them out?

Oh no, lots of different materials in the science cupboard have all mixed together to form a mixture! 

The children were tasked with separating all the different ingredients (flour, dried peas, pasta, pencil shavings, sugar, paperclips and rice) so they could be put back into the science cupboard correctly. However, they were unable to use sieves because they were being used by another class...how were they going to solve this problem?

Which solid is the hardest?

First of all children were asked to consider the question, 'Is a solid always hard?'

They were then given a selection of solids (bread, toast, dry pasta, cooked pasta, a marshmallow, a chocolate button, a jelly bean and butter) and had to predict which one was the hardest. Following their prediction they had to devise an experiment to test the question of which solid is hardest.

On their first day back at school the children were greeted by a suitcase in the classroom. There was no label or information about where it had come from. All the children could use to identify the owner were the clues inside.

At the end of the lesson, the children were introduced to our fantastic new book 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan. 

In our English lessons the children have begun to look at the short story 'Alien Landing'. In the story, two boys are fishing at night when they are suddenly mesmerised by silvery light. It is an alien space ship!

"Out of the dark interior a shadow began to move..."

The story then jumps to 24 hours later, where the main characters are suffering from amnesia and cannot recall anything that has happened since they initially saw the spaceship. The Year 5 children then explored the story through drama by creating freeze frames. As the week progresses they will be planning and writing the missing 24 hours of the story!

In their Art lessons, the children have been studying the abstract artist Peter Thorpe. He creates paintings using left over paint colours and themes them around his passion - space! The children have looked carefully at a variety of his different paintings and have begun to design their own piece of abstract space art using Peter Thorpe's work as inspiration. Previously the children were given an opportunity to experiment with different colours and painting techniques, using tools such as paintbrushes, sponges, cardboard and straws. They have used the knowledge they gained from this to decide on a final design. The children had a lot of fun being abstract artists and creating the background for their piece of art!

During their gymnastics lessons, the children have been developing their flexibility, strength, control and balance skills. They have been practising techniques on how to mount and dis-mount apparatus safely. This has involved the children jumping off apparatus of different heights using various types of jump. For example: half turn, full turn, half turn tuck and full turn tuck. During a recent lesson, the children were able to practise these skills whilst also building up their upper body strength.

Year 5 were incredibly excited to start shared reading with the children in Reception. Each Reception child chose a book for their Year 5 reading partner to read to them, and they all listened fantastically well. There was time after reading the story to talk about their favourite parts of the book and what they found funny, and it was wonderful to see the interaction and excitement between all the children. Cedar Class were so enthusiastic about sharing this time and being given the responsibility to help younger children fall in love with reading, that they described it as "an absolute joy!" We cannot wait until our next shared reading time Oak Class!

Welcome to Cedar class, Year 5!

Cultural Day

Year 5 had a great Cultural Day today. We focused on Australia and learnt lots about ancient and modern Australian life. The day started with a look at the geographical features of the country and how life in Australia started many years ago. We then had a go at speaking in Australian lingo, before playing the traditional aboriginal ball game, Boogalah (we had to substitute the kangaroo skin ball with a football!). The afternoon was spent creating some beautiful Aboriginal pieces of artwork. 

We were fortunate enough to welcome Sasha's Mum and Ruva's Dad into the classroom to teach us all about growing up in Slovakia and Zimbabwe. It was an absolute privilege having you in the classroom- thank you so so much!

Hertford Class Trip

To finish off our local study on Hertford, we went on a trip to the historic town and learnt lots about its history.

We went on a guided tour around the town, learning lots about the buildings and what lies beneath our feet (some of us found it pretty cool that we were standing on an Anglo-Saxon cemetery!); we then explored ordinary life in Hertford during the Second World War, looking at authentic and replica objects, documents and photographs; we finished off the day by having a picnic at Hartham Common and enjoyed the sunshine! 

Outdoor Day

Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed Outdoor Day- it was great being out all day in our beautiful school grounds. We started off the day by playing active games about decimal numbers; we then used our drama techniques to think about what we would do if we were deserted in Hertford to help with our Explorer's Guide explanation text; and we finished off the day by using the music garden with Mrs Mo. Fantastic day had by all! 

Ian Green Wildlife Photography workshop

Year 5 had the fantastic opportunity to work with the professional wildlife photographer, Ian Green. We spent the morning outside in our wonderful grounds, learning how to take interesting, beautiful and captivating pictures. We learnt that, often, the most poignant picture comes from looking at the small details and taken from different and unusual perspectives. Thank you so much Ian, you have really inspired the children. We can't wait to see the pictures!  

The Life Bus

Year 5 had a great opportunity to go into the the Life Bus and explore the concept of friendship and peer pressure; the children investigated different ways to say 'no' and gained an understanding of the correct way in which to do so. Thank you Nancy for, yet again, a fantastic experience on the Life Bus - we look forward to seeing you again soon. 

All Change

The classroom has had a makeover! We have our new Harry Potter-themed reading hub and our walls look a little different too... The children have already immersed themselves into their new topic and are looking forward to all the fantastic new learning in store! 

Fantastic Ancient Greek Projects 

Wow! This half term, the children were asked to create an Ancient Greek artefact as homework, for our Ancient Greek Museum. The children have spent so much time and effort on these amazing pieces of work. I am so incredibly impressed. Well done Year 5! 

Ancient Greek Day

Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed our 'Ancient Greek Day' which finished off our exciting

topic! The morning was filled with Ancient Greek pottery making; then we tucked into our Ancient Greek Feast for lunch (some were more taken with the Mediterranean cuisine than others) and the afternoon was full of Greek dancing, Olympic Games and we finished off the afternoon by welcoming the parents into our classroom to enjoy our Ancient Greek Museum. A great day was had by all! 

Olives, Urns and Olympics

We have started our new exciting topic learning all about the Ancient Greeks. We have transformed our 'reading hub' into the Ancient Greek Parthenon; we have been writing our own 'deathly' versions of Pandora's Box and have taken part in 'Madusa's Maths' - Year 5 have really got into the spirit of things!

Which will fall first, the feather or the apple?

Linking with forces, the children explored the shape and texture of an apple and a feather. Through close observations and careful sketching, the children produced these stunning drawings. Well done Year 5!

Forces 

We have been enjoying our science this term. Year 5 have taken part in numerous (messy) investigations and experiments! What fantastic enquiry skills they have! 

Measuring

In maths, we have been practising  measuring and converting skills before using them to help us with our problem solving skills. Well done for working so hard Year 5; keep it up! 

Manor Adventure

Wow, what a fantastic trip the children had at Manor Adventure. It was a privilege to go with them - the team work, encouragement, kindness and resilience they showed was truly fantastic. Here are some pictures to show what the Year 5's (and 6's) got up to!

Freedom and Justice

In R.E., we have been looking at the question, 'How can following God bring freedom and Justice?'. We have explored the story of Moses and have thought carefully about the themes presented. We have thought closely about what 'justice' means to us personally. The children have created some beautiful phrases illustrating their thoughts about justice, freedom and God, which are displayed in our classroom. 

Growth Mindset

Year 5 have started the first 7 weeks, looking very closely at Growth Mindset; in particular, the many functions of the brain. We have learnt how to look after our brain and keep it healthy. We have been reiterating our class motto, 'You never you can't do something, you just can't do it...yet'. 

Welcome to Year 5!

Recently the whole class took part in an inter-school sports competition at Wodson Park, Ware. The children had the opportunity to try various different sports and did remarkably well, bringing home several medals!

We have been learning about historical places in the county of Hertfordshire. We are focusing on St Albans and Hertford and recently took a trip to visit the St Albans Cathedral and the Verulamium Museum. Both places are built on important historical sites. The cathedral was built on the site where Saint Alban, the first Christian martyr, was killed, and the museum is located where the Roman town of Verulamium was once built.

To link with our RE topic, we learned about the importance of pilgrimages to the shrine of Saint Alban. The children were given roles in which they had to make offerings to the shrine and talk (in role) about what bought them to the Cathedral. Some were giving thanks but others were asking for forgiveness! 

In Year 5 we have been learning about the Ancient Greeks. We took part in a Greek Day where we tried Greek food, listened to Greek music and made Greek puddings!

The class also took part in Greek style games and made some Greek style pottery.

In Year 5 we have been learning about gravity. We tried an experiment to see if we could beat the force of gravity! Could we drop an egg from a height and stop it from breaking? 

Working in teams of four, we used a range of materials to build a contraption that might help the egg float or glide - and something to cushion the impact.

We had seven groups. The egg smashed in five of the groups but two groups managed to successfully protect the egg. We discussed air resistance, parachute designs and cushioning effects. We also thought about whether it would be easier or harder to do this experiment on the moon (less gravity but no air)...