Summer Term 

Week 2

Whilst the others have been at Flatford, we have been very busy too. Look on the Year group page to see what we have been up to. 

Remember to check out the Flatford blog in the Residential section to see what everyone has been doing. 

Friday 25th April

Today, we had an opportunity to listen to Year 5 reading their stories to us. We enjoyed listening to their Portal Stories and we were impressed with their expression and the description of their characters' emotions. We listened really carefully as it will help us with our own story writing. 

Week 1

Even though we only had 4 days at school this week, they have been 4 very busy days! The children have had an excellent start back to Summer Term in Year 5 and we are looking forward to all of our new topics. However, something that tops it all is the fact next week is Flatford!!! There is lots of excited chatter about Flatford and all the activities we will be doing there. 

This week we have also had an action-packed week. We began our Typography topic in Art, creating different letters and words from different shaped pieces of paper. In Science, we have dissected flowers, labelling the different parts and discussing how some plants reproduce sexually whilst others reproduce asexually, making little clones of themselves. We also looked at the results of our 'Rusting' Science experiment (which was set up a week before half term), but we thought we wouldn't disgust you with the pictures of what steel wool placed in milk, oil, pva glue, ketchup, salt water, paint, vinegar and more looked like. We can assure you though, it did not smell nice! We finished the week off by inviting Year 4 to our classes and sharing our Portal Stories with them. We were very proud of our stories and the Year 4s all said how amazing the stories were. 

Spring Term - Week 6 

Today, we published our Nonet poems using Google Slides. We had to consider the audience when using a selection of animations, fonts, backgrounds and images.

Let's go fly a kit

Today, we made our tetrahedron kites! Not only did we have lots of fun and great team work opportunities but...we learnt LOTS about shapes and their properties!!!!  We are now excited to get out in the sunshine and test them out!

Week 5

Today, we took part in National Skipping Day. The children had the chance to spend time outside this morning to practise their skipping. As a school, we had many skipping ropes for the children to use. It was fantastic that so many children brought in their own skipping rope as well! We were amazed at the level of skill some children had - crossed arms, double jumps, double loops and some skipping 3-4 at a time with a long rope! Find more photos of us on the Year Group page.

Week 4

In Maths this week all three classes had fun getting active using the outdoor classroom! Twenty problem solving questions were scattered around the field. We worked in pairs or small groups to solve the questions and took it in turns to take on different roles e.g. reading the question, choosing the appropriate method to solve the question, double checking answers etc. The Year 5 teachers were so impressed with our enthusiasm, behaviour and resilience! We cannot wait to do it again.

Week 4

This week, we had a visit from Safer Essex Roads Partnerships (see Year Group page for photos). They taught us of the importance of being safe when using the roads or paths and reminded us of things that WE should do to keep ourselves safe. After a very informative assembly, we went outside of the school gates and learnt how to spot potential dangers when crossing the roads. 
If you would like more advice on using the roads safely, please visit: Safer Essex Roads Partnership

WEEK 3

This week, we have been working hard writing our portal stories. We are looking forward to reading them to Year 4 once they are completed. We have also been exploring reversible and irreversible changes in Science. We also created posters about Adaptation and Change for British Science Week. We ended the week with an inter-house dodgeball competition. Have a look on the Year group page for some action shots. 

Spring Term 2 Week 2 (3.3.25)

Toucan Class visited Racoon Class to share ghost stories under the light of a torch! It was spooky but great fun as we took a look at what will be expected from us when we are in Year 6.

Spring 2 - Week 1

We had great fun this week when Engineering for Kids came in to visit us for a Lego Robotics session. The children worked in pairs or threes to make a snow vehicle to rescue the polar bears. They used Scratch Icons to code the vehicle to move forwards, backwards, rotate and to make sounds. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning how to code effectively. Thank you Engineering for Kids! 

Spring - Week 6

Ordering decimals to 3 decimal places. 

In Maths this week, we have been looking at the value of each digit in a decimal number. We know the first column after the decimal is called the tenths, the second column is called the hundredths and the third is called the thousandths. We have been comparing and ordering decimals with mixed numbers of decimal places.

Spring Term - Week 5 

Spring Week 4 - Science

In Science this week, we have been looking at dissolving. We investigated which materials are soluble (do dissolve) and which are insoluble (do not dissolve). We planned our investigation carefully to ensure it was a fair test. 

Spring Term Week 3 (20 - 24.1.25)

Today, we escaped! We took our handwriting pens, a pencil (but tried not to use it) and our homemade sketchbooks and ventured to the path at the back of the school. Using the handwriting pens, we sketched the path and any foliage that we thought was interesting - we even attempted to use one-point perspective!

Spring Term Week 2 (13 - 17.1.25)

English - Presenting Explanation Texts

We have worked so hard in English this week writing imaginative explanation texts. On Friday afternoon, we used our poster diagrams to present our texts to the class. We were confident, clear and expressive! Well done Toucans! Such a lovely way to end the week.

Spring Term Week 1 (6 - 10.1.25)

ART - Mixed Media - Land and Cityscapes

As part of our Art topic, we have looked at several artists who use the outdoors to make sketches in preparation for the production of their final pieces. We then created a sketch book, using a variety of paper types, which we will use when we go outdoors, within the locality, to sketch.  

Science - Properties of Materials 

In Science this week, we have been exploring thermal insulators as part of our properties of materials topic. We investigated which materials would keep Mrs Greely's coffee the warmest when she is on playground duty. In groups, we chose different materials to wrap coffee cups with and recorded the temperature of the water every 5 minutes using a thermometer. We thought of lots of variables to keep the same to make it a fair test e.g. the amount of water used, the number of layers of material used to wrap the cup. We found that the bubble wrap and tin foil were both great at keeping coffee warm!

Well done Toucans for an amazing Autumn Term! All the adults are very proud of what you have achieved this term and are excited to see what 2025 brings. 

We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas and a Happy New Year. Stay safe and see you in 2025!

Take a look at our year group page to see some pictures of our Christmas Event.

History

This week, we began to understand the chronology and change of rule (in England) during the Anglo-Saxon and Viking era. It was really interesting to see how many times the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings came to rule after King Alfred the Great and his descendants paved the way for a united England. We created a timeline and decided whether or not each king was good at their job. We decided that Athelred the Unready was not very good and that his poor choices put a Viking on the throne!!!

But..who did we think were more effective in the struggle for England - the Anglo-Saxons or the Vikings?

Daily TOPS Time Celebration

This week, we have shared a selection of card games where we have focused on a whole range of skills. Through the playing of 'pairs' and '21' we used the following skills: turn taking, fair play, memory, adding but most of all - how to have FUN! If you have a spare twenty minutes, grab a pack of cards and have fun with someone at home.

Odd Sock Day

The objective of Anti-Bullying Week 2024 is to raise awareness of bullying and to encourage actions to prevent it

During our lesson, we identified what respect is and how we can show respect to our peers and people that we meet.

Respect – to have due regard for (someone’s feelings, wishes, or rights)

We used role play scenarios to find respectful ways of dealing with situations and avoid conflict (a serious disagreement or argument).

Respectful Conflict Tools

• Stay calm and listen to the other person
• Use kind and respectful language
• Try and understand the other person's point of view
• Suggest a compromise or find a solution together
• If needed, ask for help from an adult

How to enjoy narrative poetry

During our writing unit, we have learnt how to enjoy narrative poetry (poems that tell stories). We have looked at their features, identified what we like/dislike about the poems and learnt strategies for retelling the poems from memory. To learn the poems, we drew picture journeys to remind us of the key events and words. We used these to help read aloud the poems. 
It was great fun! Have a look and see how well we did.

Using Art to explore global issues

Our polar bears are finished and we are SO proud of the end result!

Not only do they look amazing but they are our contribution to promoting the need to recycle. Recycling will help maintain our amazing planet and the wonderful animals (including the polar bears) that live on it! Our climate is changing. The ice caps are melting. Animals are dying. Act now - start recycling and you WILL make a difference!

Speech Day!

Our English unit required us to write and present a persuasive speech. After two weeks of identifying the features of  persuasion (AFOREST), choosing a topic to focus on, planning, writing and then turning our writing into notes - on note cards, we finally got to present our speech to the class. 

Although we were nervous, we had lots of fun and listened really well to our peers. We used lots of skills that make a speech engaging, e.g. a clear and loud voice, expression and intonation, eye contact, body posture and varied pace. 

Team work makes the dream work!

In History this week, we discussed the social hierarchy of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. We established the roles of the King, Thegns, Ceorls, peasants, slaves and women, along with their position in society. We enjoyed working as part of a group.