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Class 5

Welcome to Class 5

Astor Dance Performance

Today twenty children from James’ Dance Club went to Astor School in Dover to participate in a multi school dance festival. Every one of our girls performed confidently with great stage presence. Thank you to all the parents for providing costumes and for offering help with transport. The children behaved extremely well and were a credit to the school. They should all be very proud of themselves. Thanks James for all your hard work.

WBD Hat Competition

Last week, to celebrate World Book Day, sixty of our children took part in our Hat Competition. It was wonderful to see how much care, time and creativity had gone into each and every hat. The entries showed fantastic effort from the children, with each one designing a unique hat inspired by a favourite story or book character. Today we announced the winners and took time during our celebration worship to recognise and celebrate every single hat. The display was truly breath-

World Book Day

Ducklings and their Year 5 buddies enjoyed a special early morning trip to Waterstones to exchange their book vouchers for a brand new book. There were so many wonderful titles to choose from, and it was delightful listening to the conversations about books as the Year 5s helped their Duckling buddies choose something they would really enjoy. It was also lovely to hear so many children speaking politely with the staff members, remembering their “please” and “thank you” as the

Book Day Costumes

A big thank you to everyone who provided costumes and props for your children on World Book Day.

Reading Escape Room

On World Book Day we were so lucky to take part in a Reading Escape Room! Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 pupils had to escape Crow Castle by working in teams and taking a journey through the rooms via the magic of books. From MacBeth to Charles Dickens, Frankenstein and Sherlock Holmes, the children had to turn detective and search for clues. They had to read, infer, comprehend, spell, scan, skim and riddle their way to freedom, or face the Crow Queen and be trapped in Crow Castle. Duck

Eucharist Service

Our Eucharist service in church this week was led by our worship leaders carrying the cross, with Years 4, 5, and 6 taking part. Pupils who have been confirmed were able to receive Holy Communion. Throughout the service, all pupils showed good behaviour and respect, reflecting our school values. The service began with a hymn, then prayers, an opportunity to say sorry to God for any wrongdoings, an offer of peace to each other, and then remembering the Last Supper as Father Ch

Boogie on down to better health!

We started our assembly with a quiet check-in, thinking about how we were feeling. Lots of us were a little tired as it is our first week back after half-term...mostly the teachers! As we chatted, the hall felt calm and still. So then, it was time to wake up and shake up! The music started, our bodies began moving, and soon we were dancing our hearts out, with some brilliant cheerleaders leading the way at the front. After all that jumping, dancing, and smiling, we checked in

Young Voices 2026

Last week, Years 5 and 6 took part in Young Voices at the O2 Arena in London, along with 9000 other children and what an experience it was! We were lucky enough to have four suites so we really felt like VIPs for the day. We arrived earlier than planned so ate our lunch before being taken to our suites. The children took part in the warm up and rehearsals so they knew what to expect. We also took part in a Wicked Worldwide Singalong which was live streamed across the globe! A

Christmas Tree Trail

Before Christmas, the children took part in a wonderfully creative Artist Day, which blossomed into a truly special festive event for our whole school community. During the day, each class learned about a famous artist, explored their unique style, and used this inspiration to design and create their own beautiful Christmas tree decorations. These unique pieces of artwork were then displayed on Christmas trees throughout the church for our after-school Christmas Tree Trail. S

Tuned Differently!

Have you ever thought about the differences between sounds that musical instruments can make? Some are loud, some are quiet, some are tricky to play, others appear more simple! In our assembly today that's exactly what we did! We had a range of instruments and thought about the sounds these made, were they the same or were they different? After this we played together as a band - our instruments made very different sounds but they worked together. So what was the underlying m

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Class 5 latest blogs

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back to another exciting term! We have a fantastic and engaging half-term planned that will quickly get everyone back into the swing of things.

This term's learning has a focus on nature, sustainability, and survival, stretching from the deserted islands of our class text all the way to how we can build a greener future.

Maths:

In Maths, we continue with the White Rose Maths scheme, moving into our block on Decimals and percentages. We will be building an understanding of these concepts through the following key areas:

Reading, writing, and understanding decimals up to 2 decimal places.
Exploring thousandths as both fractions and decimals.
Ordering and comparing decimal numbers with up to 3 decimal places.
Rounding decimals to the nearest whole number.
Rounding decimals to 1 decimal place.
Understanding percentages and finding equivalent fractions, decimals, and percentages.

English:

In English, our Talk for Writing unit revolves around an 'Island Log'. We will be using Michael Morpurgo’s novel Kensuke's Kingdom as our model text. The children will immerse themselves in the themes of survival and isolation, learning how to write in the first person to convey emotion and detailed observations. We will focus on building atmospheric descriptions, structuring diary-style logs, and capturing a distinct character voice.

Science:

Our Science topic this term is plant reproduction. We will be exploring the life cycle of plants, with a special focus on the crucial role of pollinators. The children will investigate the dangers that pollinators currently face, the importance of seed banks, and the wider conservation efforts needed to protect our ecosystems.

Geography:

Building on last term's work with natural resources, our Geography focus is now on Sustainability. We will investigate our carbon footprints, the importance of using energy wisely, and the global impact of food waste. The children will also explore biodiversity and learn what goes into making cities more sustainable for the future.

Art & Computing:

In Art, we are moving into 3 Dimensions with a focus on Set Design. We will introduce the children to the role of set designers, exploring how they create environments for stories. The children will then plan and build their own model sets, considering scale, composition, and materials.

In Computing, we are levelling up our skills with Python coding. Moving away from block-based coding, the children will be introduced to text-based programming. They will learn to write syntax, manage variables, and create loops to execute specific commands.

The Wider Curriculum

Art: We will be focusing on paint surface texture through the theme of 'Land and Cityscapes'. The children will look at different artists, use their sketchbooks to plan, and engage in mixed media experimentation.
Computing: We are diving into two new units: Databases and Game creator.
Music: The children will be exploring and appraising ‘The Blues’.
RE: Our core learning will centre around Salvation, exploring the question: ‘What did Jesus do to save human beings?’.

MFL (French): We will be expanding our vocabulary and grammar by focusing on ‘Verbs in a week’.

Spellings:

Spellings: We continue with our embedded approach to learning spellings, maintaining the emphasis on independence. The class spelling ‘passport’ remains in use to celebrate progress, whether that is mastering a specific rule or showing consistent improvement in daily work.
Homework: Reading continues to be expected for at least 20 minutes daily, with journals signed where possible. Home Learning Grids will continue to be set to consolidate skills and offer creative challenges.

Homework Grids: The children have received a new homework grid for Term 4. They should choose 1 or 2 activities to complete each week. Please encourage them to choose across a range of activity areas.

Reminders

Please ensure children have their PE kits in school for our scheduled PE Monday and Friday sessions.
As the weather can still be quite unpredictable, please ensure your child has a clearly named coat for break times.

If you have any questions or need further support with your child's learning this term, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Warmly,

Miss Willson and Mr Brinkley