WELCOME TO THE YEAR 5 AND 6 BLOG FOR THE AUTUMN TERM!  

Week beginning 25th September

Another super week of learning in UKS2 this week!

Topaz demonstrated impressive maturity and reflective thinking in today's RE lesson in Mrs Johnson. After taking part in a guided meditation, they creatively expressed their responses to this using art work in order to answer the question: why do you think Buddhists meditate? They then explored nine possible reasons given by Buddhists, which they organised into a diamond 9 formation to express those that they ranked more highly. 

UKS2 have begun their new English unit this week, exploring the beautiful text 'Varmints' by Helen Ward. Have a look at these beautifully presented character descriptions written by Ida, James, Daniel and Ella from Ruby Class! 

Week beginning 18th September

Please have a look below to see some of the excellent learning that has been happening in UKS2 this week!

International Day of Peace - Thursday 21st September

To celebrate the International Day of Peace, Topaz took part in an interesting lesson about identity and diversity in the United Kingdom. We were fascinated to learn that, amongst the UK's 61.4 million population, 87.1% have white skin and 20% live below the poverty line. Topaz took part in a discussion about what this means for them as young people growing up in the UK, and how diversity can be far more visible in different places. At the end of the lesson, we made a list about the benefits of living in a multicultural society. These were some of our ideas:

• You can learn different languages and communicate with more people
• Diversity makes life more interesting
• You grow up respecting different religions
• It teaches you that being unique is special
• We have so many styles of clothing
• We are introduced many types of food from all around the world 
• It encourages us to try new things
• You have a better understanding of other people and their cultures

Miss Kropman was very impressed with Topaz's maturity within this lesson and is looking forward to reading some excellent poems about diversity completed for homework! 

Year 6 Metaphorical Poems - Friday 22nd September

Year 6 have worked extremely hard in their English lessons with Miss Kropman this week in order to complete their poetry unit. After reading and evaluating a number of poems with figurative language, they were suitably inspired to write some INCREDIBLE final pieces! Here are two brilliant examples:

The Wind

As the village sleeps,

the wolf awakes.

Blowing windows, scraping doors.

He trots through the village,

howling and prowling.

Scratching the trees,

the wolf rampages and raids.

But when the sun rises,

then he will moan and yawn.

And then he will wait,

and wait,

and wait,

until he can do it again.

By Max

The Sun

The sun is a flaming lion,

bright and warm.

He blazes in the sky all day.

With his flaming eyes and shaggy jaws,

hour upon hour he roars.

The banging, crackling flames,

and roar, roar, roar, roar.

The giant sun-lion moans,

and when the night wind blows,

a shining smiles looks at us all.

So quiet, so quiet, he softly snores.

By Hannah 

The Darkness

The night is a ravenous panther,

bleak and black.

He consumes everything and only light can push him back.

With his slashing fangs and shaggy paws,

hour by hour he snores.

In the rumbling, stumbling stones,

on bones, bones, bones, bones!

The grumbling panther groans,

licking his greasy jaws.

And when the night wind roars,

and the moon rocks,

he bounds to his feet and then claws.

Scratch, scratch, hiss as he hunts and sniffs,

destroying everything only leaving an eclipse.

Then he'll howl and hollow, long and proud.

But on quiet days of May or June,

play no reedy lines on the hills of old,

and grass and trees have given up.

With his paws creeping you'll have the last sound from his jaw.

He'll lie on the sleek bones of the past,

so quiet, so quiet, he scarcely snores.

By August

Week beginning 11th September

A fun week this week including two key events - our Anglo-Saxon workshop and the election of House Captains!

Report by Olivia T, Turquoise Class

Yesterday, Years 5 and 6 had an amazing Anglo-Saxon workshop! The purpose of our day was to be transported back in time to live like the Saxons, our first history topic of the year. We had to wear Saxon clothes to help us feel more in character, which was very funny!

Once we had all made our way to the hall, we met Saxon Sue. She told us about how she lived in her settlement and the sort of things that she made. When she had finished talking, we looked around the room to see nine tables with adults next to them. Each adult led a different activity. First, I went to Mrs Oakley's table, where I did some sewing and made a bag. We also did tasks such as rune-making, pottery, candle making, ink making and visited the medicine wise woman! 

In the afternoon, we became awesome archaeologists! We used a small brush to dig through a tray of soil. My group found a necklace and a spear, amongst other things. Some were from the modern day; others were from the Dark Ages. 

Finally, Saxon Sue showed us how Anglo-Saxons would melt iron and steel. This seemed to be very dangerous so, instead, she used pewter. Sue created moulds and poured the melted pewter into water, making a huge amount of steam! She then let us keep a pewter Saxon game piece.

I really enjoyed our Anglo-Saxon day!

Year 6 House Captains for 2023/24 - Friday 15th September 

Congratulations to our new House Captains, who were elected by their fellow house members after giving very impressive presentations this morning! 
Air - Ellie and Johnny

Earth - Chloe S and Owen

Fire - Evie and Hunter

Water - Demi and Olivia T

Week beginning 4th September

Welcome back to school! Please scroll up to see some of the lovely things we have been doing this week. 

First Day Back - Tuesday 5th September

Welcome back to school! We have had a great first day getting back into the swing of things! Please see below pictures of Topaz playing some fun games (snowball; ultimate rock, paper, scissors; air hockey and hungry hippos!). Also featured is Turquoise's e-safety lesson, Ruby making their Golden Time labels and Sapphire having the opportunity to ask their teacher anything! 

Year 6's fantastic start to their poetry unit - Friday 8th September

Year 6 worked incredibly hard this morning to creatively tell Miss Kropman what they DIDN'T do during the summer holidays! After discussing features of poetry that they were already familiar with, they were tasked with creating paired comparisons of something extraordinary and something a little more mundane. They were then tasked with arranging their ideas in verses as a fun start to their poetry writing this half-term. Please have a read of these excellent examples!

I didn’t ride an elephant in Thailand,

But I did get to stroke my cousin’s dog.

I didn’t go on safari in Africa,

But I did visit a beautiful beach in Greece.

I didn’t score the winning goal for England,

But I did score a goal for my football team on Saturday.

I didn’t see Taylor Swift sing to screaming fans in a stadium,

But I did hear my brother singing in the shower!

I didn’t see paintings worth millions,

But I did draw a picture for school.

I didn’t see the Seven Wonders of the World,

But I did see the wonder in everything around me.

By Pantelis

I didn’t fly on a private jet around the world,

But my mum did drive me to the Co-op down the road.

I didn’t visit the freezing depths of the Arctic Circle,

But the new air conditioning at my nan’s house was pretty cool.

I didn’t jump out of a moving aeroplane,

But I bounced around on a trampoline for a couple of hours.

I didn’t fight a cage full of tigers with razor-sharp claws,

But I did break up a fight between my cats over a piece of ham.

I didn’t meet kings and queens this summer,

But spending time with my family made me feel like I had.

By Demi