SPRING TERM – CLASS 5 NEWSLETTER
CLASS ‘SUCCEED’
Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas holidays – and it is lovely to see the children rested and
ready to learn after their very busy last few weeks of term! Well done to all the pupils in Succeed Class for their
super efforts in making ‘Aladdin’ a success. We were very proud of our budding actors and actresses.
Now that the children have settled into Upper KS2, they will work hard during this Spring Term to
improve their knowledge and understanding in all areas of the curriculum. All pupils will be encouraged to focus
carefully on their own targets and next steps; and to work to the best of their abilities in extending their own
learning. It is very important that any homework or reading tasks are completed at home or in Homework Club to
reinforce what we are learning in class. This is also to show children that they are expected to take some
responsibility for their own learning, in preparation for High School. We are very fortunate to be joined by
Miss S. Lord this half term who will be completing her teaching placement here at OLSA. I am sure all the
children will make her feel welcome.
Diary dates:
26th January – Fire Brigade to visit school
Class Information:
23rd February – Parent Conferencing
Mass – Wednesday at 9.00am
4th March – Young Voices Singing Festival in
Manchester
PE days –
Tuesday – ‘Sports Scool’ lessons
I will also be running Booster Group classes for Y6
pupils on Tuesdays after school from next
Tuesday, 13th January. The Booster session will be
Wednesday – Swimming
from 3.15pm – 4.15pm, snack and drink provided! I
Friday – Dance with Samba Sam
Please ensure that your child brings their PE kit
into school this week.
hope that all the Y6 pupils will be able to attend
and work towards improving maths, grammar,
reading comprehension and writing skills.
Homework Diary:
Homework will be given out on a Friday and will be due back on
the following Wednesday. Homework will include a
topic/science task, maths practice and a piece of literacy.
Spellings will be given out on a Friday for a test the following
Friday.
CURRICULUM INFORMATION
Literacy
Maths
This term we will continue learning about discussion texts and how to write a balanced
argument. We will also be writing for different purposes and audiences – exploring
persuasive writing, instructions and recounts. After half term, we will focus on
historical narrative and explanation texts.
Reading books will be changed every Friday and children will be expected to read and
respond to their books by answering questions about them or by completing a book
review. Please encourage your children to discuss the ‘Think on’ questions in their
books. Comprehension activities may also be sent home to improve reading skills.
We will be working hard to develop mental maths skills, with regular times tables
practice and mental maths activities to help with recall and pace. We will be learning
about fractions and percentages, ratio and proportion, shape, measures and written
methods. Mrs Rainey will continue to teach practical maths on a Wednesday
afternoon.
RE
Our first topic this term is ‘Inspirational People’ and we will be finding out what
makes a true disciple and follower of Jesus Christ. We will continue to explore the ‘5
W’s’. After half term our theme will be Reconciliation, as we prepare for Easter.
Science
We will link our Science and topic work, studying habitats and life cycles as we
discover the delights of Borneo! We are then investigating materials and how we can
change them in different ways. These topics will allow us to immerse ourselves in
practical activities, developing a range of investigative skills.
After our Rainforest/Borneo topic, we will be asking the question ‘What would you do
without your I-Pad?’ For this history topic we will be finding out about leisure and
entertainment in the 20th century, before computer technologies were introduced.
Feel free to dig out those board games!
Topic
ICT
Children continue to develop ICT skills through other subjects. They will create
‘stop- motion’ animations using computer software, I-pads and cameras. We will also
be researching the topical subject of e-safety and learning how to make safe internet
searches.
Art/DT
We will be making bird boxes in DT to link with our topic and science work. After
half term we will be studying fashion and designers from the 20th century.
PSHE
Our PSHE themes this term will be ‘Antibullying’ as well as ‘It’s OK to Tell’. This unit
explores how children feel in different situations and what to do if they feel
uncomfortable or unsafe in a situation.
PE
The ‘Sports Scool’ sessions have been very popular so far, with children enjoying
specialist coaching in skills development. Weekly swimming and dancing with Samba
Sam will also continue this term. Please remember for swimming, children need their
kit in school every Wednesday, including swimming caps. Children may be a few
minutes late returning to school for 3:15pm on swimming day – we are sorry for this
possible inconvenience. Please send a note in if your child is unable to swim for a
medical reason.
We will be finding out about buildings and homes, and how to get to places. We will
develop conversational skills, translation and written work as well as learn through
songs and games.
French