Admirals (Year 5)

Welcome to Year 5

Our class is called Admirals. We are taught by Miss Pott and supported by Miss Hardy.

PE Days

Admiral class will be taught PE on Thursday, for two hours. Children will need to wear their PE kit to school on this day and will remain in them all day. They will not need uniform to change into. Please ensure your child has the correct PE kit so they can participate successfully. 

Library Slot

Your child will get an opportunity to visit the school library on Wednesdays afternoons. Here they will have the chance to borrow a book that they are interested in: a book they will read for pleasure. If they wish to take a book home, this will need to be returned on a Wednesday ready to change.

Home Learning

Reading

In years five and six, children may choose to read independently at home. This should be for at least ten minutes and should be recorded in their reading record daily. Your child's reading record must be handed in every Friday. At Margaret Wix our children are all aiming to be 'Reading Ambassadors' at the end of the year, reading a whopping 275 times.

It is important that you talk to your child about what they have read; you will find some question stems that could be used to support such conversations on our reading star above. Here you will also find a list of recommended texts for Year 5 that are suitably challenging.

Times tables 

Times Tables (and the associated division facts) are a vital part of mathematical knowledge and understanding. It is crucial that your child practises these skills at home by logging onto the Times Table Rockstars website daily, for at least ten minutes. Additionally, there are opportunities to practise maths skills in day-to-day life, such as when measuring ingredients for cooking, or counting change at the shops. You will find this resource on the maths star, which may help you to structure mathematical conversations.

Spelling

In school, we will teach the children spelling patterns and rules. At home, we would like the focus to be on  learning and practising the Year 5/6 National Curriculum words (you can find these by clicking on the spelling star at the top of the page.)

Summer 2 update

It has been a fantastic, final half term in Admirals’ class. I am reminded every day just how special and unique every single one of your children is. Not only this half term, but the whole year, the class have impressed with their determination to succeed and their desire to reach their full potential.
 

The children have shown such maturity in some of the more formal discussions that have taken place this half term. In PSHE in particular, we have had mature discussions revolving around changes in our bodies and the feelings we may experience when moving on to new classes. The children have been able to express their views clearly in whole class discussions and have been able to listen and respond to differing viewpoints. To watch the class mature over the year has been a pleasure. They show kindness and respect towards others and are feeling more and more confident to express their own, well-thought out views.

In religious education, we have delved into the world of commitment and what is the ‘best way’ to show commitment for Christians. We compared our understanding here to the commitment of Sikhs that we studied last term. We discussed why, if you are religious, it is important to show commitment to your faith. We responded to children who needed support when finding it hard to commit to their God, ranked the 10 commandments, wrote out own commitment poems and much more.

In Science, we learnt all about animals including humans. We explored the life cycles of animals, the differing gestation periods of mammals and other classifications, the changes that occur during old age and the different phases of the life cycle. The children demonstrated such curiosity by asking the necessary questions, all be it sometimes embarrassing, to move their learning on further.

In English, we looked closely at authorial tone. We used the text ‘Outer Suburbia’ by Shaun Tan as a vehicle for our learning. We looked at how Shaun Tan creates a clear ‘voice’ for his narrators and decided to imitate his tone by bringing a water buffalo to life (a story present in the book). We used an informal tone to express the buffalo’s feelings and emotions. Additionally, we experimented using dashes for asides and used precise language choices to indicate informality. Furthermore, in English, we explored figurative language; we gave objects and items around the classroom human characteristics to create a poem full of alliteration, similes and personification.

In maths, we have worked extremely hard to overcome the challenges that shape, irregular polygons, statistics and time graphs bring. We showed great self-belief and resilience when tackling these harder concepts. We explored which graphs are most effective when dealing with discrete and continuous data and evaluated different ways to illustrate information. We then moved on to reading timetables and consolidating our understanding of time. I have been so impressed with Admirals’ resilience to succeed this half term and I know they will continue to demonstrate these traits into year 6.

In our Geography learning, we learnt all about rivers and how important they are to our environments. We first studied the River Axe and the different features it possesses. We learnt lots of new tier 3 vocabulary and practised them playing charades, which was great fun! We moved on to a local study of the River Ver and compared similar features. Next, we explored the important role rivers have in the water cycle and later, developed our understanding of the devastating effects that flooding and draughts can have on countries around the world.

In PE, the children have been working on their health and fitness and have taken part in a healthy exercise unit of work. Mr Stevenson has been hugely impressed with the progress the children have made in their fitness over the half term. He was able to compare the results from a test earlier in the term to now and remarked that they all have made such great progress in becoming fitter! I definitely was a very proud teacher when I watched the children sprinting to the finish line on sports day. Additionally, the children have enjoyed working as a team when playing rounders and learnt the necessary skills needed when batting and fielding.

As the year draws to a close, I am grateful to have got to know such a special bunch of little people. I have enjoyed watching them flourish in confidence and thrive in our little team. Each day, I am reminded how kind-hearted, special and thoughtful they all are. It has been an absolute pleasure to teach your children this term and they are a real credit to you! Moving to a new school is always a bit daunting but your children made me feel extremely comfortable and welcome from day one and we have spent the rest of the year learning whilst having fun! What else could I have asked for? Thank you again for your ongoing support; we really are a partnership! I hope you all have a wonderful summer and I look forward so seeing all those smiley faces around school in the new academic year.

Miss Pott :) 

Summer One Update

Admirals have had an extremely successful and productive half term. The children have worked hard to demonstrate the school values and continue to make me proud of our little Year 5 family. They have shown such perseverance with tricky maths problems, kindness when including each other in their games and self-belief when facing fears at Haberdashers on the climbing wall.

This term has seen so many fantastic opportunities for our class. We were lucky enough to be invited to Haberdashers’ school for a taster session. The children had the chance to take part in multi sports, climbing and swimming. Here, the children demonstrated what great role models and ambassadors they are of the school. I felt immensly proud of the children as they faced the heights of the climbing wall and encouraged each other to overcome their fears. I was also informed by four members of the staff there at just how respectful and lovely the class had been.

In English, this term, we delved straight into the poem ‘The Highwayman.’ This poem offered the children with some fantastic opportunities to practise their speaking and listening skills. We got to know the story well to begin the unit by re telling it with actions, rehearing the story and using drama to explore it a little deeper.

Furthermore, we studied the different grammatical techniques in the poem that make it effective. To finish our unit, we wrote newspaper articles on the laptop, which depicted the story of the Highwayman and Bess the Landlord’s daughter. After having completed this unit, we moved on to study the detrimental effects that single-use plastics have on our environment. We researched facts, studied persuasive techniques and put these into practice through writing a persuasive letter to Boris Johnson, encouraging him to abolish single-use plastic. Fingers crossed for a reply!

In maths, we have worked hard on percentages for the majority of this term. We practised using percentages in context; learnt how to calculate percentages of amounts; and studied the most efficient way when calculating. Once we had mastered these skills, we applied these to more challenging word problems, which tested our understanding. Although we found percentages challenging at first, we all persevered and have mastered it. Following our learning on percentages, we moved onto transformations. Here we focussed closely at translation. We learnt that when translating shapes you cannot squash them, rotate them or change their shape. We began our learning by consolidating prior understanding on coordinates. Once we had mastered that skill, we learnt how to move shapes through given translations. We are now confident with translating shapes through all four quadrants and we are able to describe how shapes have been translated! After we had mastered this skill we moved onto reflection: a skill made easier with the use of mirrors that’s for certain! We learnt how to reflect shapes through horizontal and vertical lines of symmetry.

In science, we delved into the world of the circulatory system. Admirals have learnt the importance of blood and how it travels around our body to keep us alive. We studied the different components of blood and consolidated our learning on this through making models from sweets. We are now able to label the key parts and organs of the circulatory system, including the heart and the lungs. We finished off by carrying out an investigation that tested whether exercise affects our heart rate. We carried out our experiments with the necessary equipment, recorded our data in a table and used a line graph to illustrate our results.

History, this term, has been centred on the Maya Civilisation. We explored how the Maya lived and how this is different from how they may live today. We learnt all about the occupations they carry out and the different types of food and drink they ate. We travelled back in time to look at famous sketches of the different pyramids and temples and wrote diary entries, writing as if we had been an exploring re discovery famous ‘Lost Jungle Cities’

In computing, we have been using micro bits and crumbles. With the help of Townsend, we were able to use sophisticated circuit-making equipment to make complex circuits, which included motors and sparkles. We first learnt how to construct the components together to make a working circuit and then attached these to the computer. It was here were we used the computer software to offer commands to our circuits. With this programme, we were able to make our sparkle light up different colours and our motor move in different directions and at varying speeds. Although challenging and very complex at times, it was so fantastic seeing the children persevere and a pleasure to watch their smiles when they manage to make their circuits light up and move!

In Design and Technology we turned our hands to cooking. First, we designed our very own pizzas. We discussed the desirable toppings and came up with a method for the making. Throughout the process we had a focus on key vocabulary. We used these words throughout the making of the pizzas to ensure we completed the method accurately. As well as this we ensured that we stuck to correct hygiene procedures. Once we had had fun making the pizzas and cooking them, we evaluated the taste, texture and appearance. It became very obvious that next time they definitely needed much less salt J I can’t think whose fault that must have been!

In PE, the children have enjoyed playing team building games in their OAA unit of work. Each week, the children were posed with a different challenge to complete. They had to work together to solve the challenge and worked hard to include all members of their team and ensure that everyone felt valued and all voices were heard. Additionally, we mastered our netball skills and practised our attacking and defending skills.

Our PSHE lessons have been focused on positive relationships. We started our topic by thinking about our self and self-esteem. We discussed the importance that before having any positive relationship it is important to have a positive relationship with yourself. Throughout our learning we spoke about the different relationships we have in our lives and what makes them successful. We spoke about the how the relationships with our parents and friends may look different from a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

I hope you have a wonderful half term filled with plenty of Jubilee celebrations. Let’s hope the sunshine makes an appearance too! Admirals, well done for all of your hard work and I look forward to seeing you in a week! Thank you parents and carers for your continued support in helping your children to reach their full potential – it’s always appreciated!

Miss Pott J

Spring 2 update

This half term has continued to provide Admirals with challenges and opportunities to flourish! The children have, once again, impressed with how adaptable and resilient they can be. They continue to work extremely hard to consolidate their number fluency, improve their vocabulary and sentence structures and grow in their curiosity and problem solving skills.

This half term, Admirals have enjoyed exploring a range of texts and completing a variety of genres of writing. We began with a cross-curricular unit of writing based on animal adaptations and used lots of knowledge gained in our science lessons to support us in writing these explanation texts. We revisited a range of grammatical features from previous learning as well as introducing new techniques too; we learned how to use the subjunctive mood to express a hypothetical situation.

After this, we enjoyed everything that Book Week had to offer: we read a wonderful text, ‘Julien is a Mermaid’ that touched upon the important matter of gender expression. The children were passionate about promoting gender equality and diversity and wrote letters to Julien outlining how proud they were of his brave, inclusive message. We also took part in a book tasting in the classroom too. This was a great way to expose ourselves to new texts from different genres and enjoy some juice and croissants whilst we perused what the class library had to offer.

Additionally, we have loved delving into the mythical, mystical world of fantasy with ‘Arthur Spiderwick’s Field guide to the Fantastical World Around You.’ It is an excellent, inspiring text, full of beautiful illustrations of weird and wonderful mythical creatures. There is a report in the field guide about each creature that includes: precise, ambitious vocabulary; a range of sentence structures; hyphenated words; varied pronouns; a combination of active and passive voice; ideas organised into paragraphs; adverbials for cohesion within and across paragraphs; and much more! They were excellent models to base our own writing on. We enjoyed being creative and designing mystical creatures before developing our own reports, trying hard to use all of those ingredients for a fantastic piece of writing.

We’ve continued to work hard in maths this half term, tackling a range of topics. We began our learning with fractions. Although we found this tricky, we continued to persevere and quickly realised they aren’t as challenging as we once thought. We worked hard to find equivalents; add and subtract fractions; convert between mixed numbers and improper fractions and solve fractions of amounts questions. Once we had fully mastered fractions, we moved on to tackle problem solving. We studied how drawing models could help us when solving calculations involving all four operations. We then moved on looking at working backwards and how the inverse can help us whilst solving trickier problems.

In science, we built upon last half term’s learning when finding out about living things and their habitats. We found out how living things are sorted by observable characteristics and that scientists all over the world use the Linnaeun System to group and classify animals. We enjoyed creating our own classification keys to classify… Liquorice Alllsorts! We discussed various yes/no questions that would lead to each sweet being classified. Some of us even came up with Latin names for each sweet found in the bag! We then applied this learning to classifying leaves and more unusual living things.

Our geography topic this term has seen us exploring South America and we have found out lots of interesting facts. We learned about the location and countries of South America and the climate. We also enjoyed making miniature mountains and writing a range of facts on them about the mountains of South America. We've learned a lot about the human and physical geography of the continent that will be interesting to compare to next term's learning, which will include developing knowledge of Central America, when we delve into the fascinating world of the Ancient Maya.

In computing, this half term, we have learned about flat-file databases. We first created paper databases before moving to online databases. We learned about records and fields and how to sort data and search within a database. Finally, we found out how databases are used in real life.

In Design and Technology, we have been exploring the use of electronic items and have been exploring the components needed to complete a full circuit of electricity. Admirals explored what to do if their circuit did not work and how to use process of elimination to find the faulty part. The children can confidently create circuits that employ a number of components (such as LEDs, resistors, transistors and chips) including a switch.

In Art, Admirals have completed pastel mermaid drawings on brown paper linked to their World Book Week book (Julien is a mermaid), the final pieces were put together for a class display in the library. We then went onto explore the resistance of oil based pens with paper batik linked to our Science topic of Living Things and their Habitat. We then discussed the different ways art can provide a resistance to colour by using glass paints to create stain glass windows.

In PE, Admirals class have tackled hockey with ease. They have developed their control with the ball and practised their skills in a real game set up. The children have really impressed me with their self-belief in their swimming lessons. I was particularly pleased with their determination during their sponsored swim; I was lucky enough to watch them in this event and felt immensely proud.

In RE, this half term, we have been learning about sources of wisdom, prayer and reflection. We have focused on this in relation to Buddhism and Christianity in particular and found out what meditation and mindfulness are, as well as the ways in which Buddhists and Christians pray and meditate. We developed our understanding of what an offering is and how we can transfer this to our own lives. Finally, we learned about karma and thought about whose actions and consequences we are responsible for.

Our PSHE lessons have been focused on the topic ‘Healthy Me’. We have learned about the risks and effects of smoking and alcohol on our bodies. I was extremely impressed with the considered discussion and thoughtfulness surrounding these mature themes. The children enjoyed learning and putting into practice basic emergency aid procedures – we even used our own Anni to practise on. In addition, we have had some extremely thoughtful discussions about body image. We learnt how important it is to show kindness when talking to or about others. We looked at celebrity pictures that have been altered by the media and the effects these could have on young children today.

As you can see, Admirals have had a full on half term and have continued to show just how resilient they can be. They have shown kindness, demonstrated self-belief and worked hard to reach their full potential. As always, thank you for your continued support too. I hope that everyone has a restful and enjoyable break and has some cheeky chocolate too!

How can you support your child at home with preparation for Year 6?

Since we are fast approaching year 6, I am becoming increasingly aware of the need to prepare the children for this. Please look at the list below, which outlines non-negotiables for your child’s learning. These are key skills that MUST be rehearsed and practised at home.  

1)   Times tables – these feed into every aspect to maths learning and are a crucial skill in everyday life. Please practise times tables every day on times table rockstars website or the below link. 

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/477/Multiplication-Tables-Check 

2)   Telling the time – in the age of the digital clock, we are becoming more and more aware that our children cannot tell the time on an analogue watch. Ask your child what the time is at every opportunity e.g: It’s dinner time, what time is it? How long is it until your bedtime? What time is it now? Etc. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?q=telling+time

3)   The use of four operations (addition, multiplication, subtraction and division). These methods should be practised and rehearsed daily. Use this website to guide you on the sorts of questions. 

https://myminimaths.co.uk/year-6-arithmetic-practice-papers/ 

 

4)   Reading – please encourage your child to read every day and/or read with them. This is so vital in ensuring your children are exposed to a variety of different text types as well as ambitious vocabulary.  

Your children practise these skills daily in morning work and daily fluency sessions, however we need your support to ensure your children reach their full potential. Please come and talk to me if you would like any support with this; my door is always open.  

Thank you so much for all of your support,  

Miss Pott  

Spring 1 update

What a fantastic half term we have had in Admirals class! The children have proven once again that they have embraced our Margaret Wix values and are continuously working hard to live by these values in school. They have shown resilience when tackling hard maths challenges; self belief when striving to reach their goals; curiosity in abundance when asking thought-provoking questions across the curriculum; and kindness whilst supporting their friends during new challenges like swimming.

This term has seen so many fantastic opportunities for our class including: meeting local artist, Elspeth Jackson; taking part in a mindfulness yoga session; learning all about caring for dogs through the Dogs Trust workshop; exploring the Tring Natural History Museum for our Science topic; and even trying some new foods!

In English, this term, we began by looking at the text ‘Coming to England’ by Floella Benjamin. A fantastic, true story about a young girl, who travelled to England to rebuild with her family after the Second World War. This book provided excellent links to our prior learning of World War Two and also opened our minds to the struggles of the Windrush generation. The children were then asked to write a recount in role as Floella including key grammatical techniques: show not tell, writing in the 1^st person, a range of sentence structures etc.

Following this unit, we moved on to explore the text Night of the Gargoyles written by Eve Bunting. A foreboding tale following the journey of a lonely watchman experiencing menacing, sinister gargoyles, who mock and taunt him. We were tasked with re writing the story creating a menacing atmosphere throughout. The children used some fantastic, ambitious vocabulary to bring the gargoyles to life and experimented using a range of sentence lengths to build tension and atmosphere.

In maths, we have worked hard on all four operations. We tackled long and short multiplication and are now able to explain the process using key mathematical vocabulary. We then moved onto tackle short division. Although we found this challenging at first, we all persevered and have mastered it. Admirals are now able to express remainders as fractions, decimals and decide which remainder would be most appropriate in different contexts.

In science, we delved into the world of ‘Evolution and Inheritance.’ Admirals learnt all about Charles Darwin and his journey to the Galapagos Island. We explored his justification for natural selection through his study of the finches! We played the well-known game ‘snakes and ladders’ but adaptation style. We chose a species to be and, each time something changed to the environment, or an animal hunted our species, we had to move up or down the board. We played a game using newspaper peppered moths, to find out how adaptive traits are important for species to thrive and reproduce. This taught us how changes in a species environments can cause extinction or decrease in population.

History, this term, has been centred on Tudor Exploration. The children wrote in role as a Tudor Sailor and expressed to the reader what it would have been like on board a Galleon Ship. Admirals also learnt all about Christopher Columbas’ life and role in shaping History and exploration. We had to decide whether we thought he was more a hero or a villain. We then wrote a letter, in a bottle, back to the Queen of Spain explaining what new lands he had discovered.

In computing, we practised numerous skills relating to vector drawing. We learnt how to manipulate shapes, zoom, duplicate, copy and paste, rotate and order in order to produce a range of fun vector drawings.

In Art and Design and Technology we have been combining skills from both subjects to create a compass sketch focusing on adding details to our drawings and surrounding this in a wooden frame that we planned, cut and stuck together by ourselves with a range of tools.

In PE, the children have enjoyed swimming lessons, improving both their technique and stamina. The swimming teachers have been very impressed with the effort and determination to succeed shown in every lesson. I have been particularly impressed with the determination and perseverance shown by all the children! Well done Admirals

Our PSHE lessons have been focused on our dreams and goals. We started our topic by thinking about our long term goals. We discussed that these needed to be realistic and that we would need to work hard to achieve them. As a class, we thought of the logical steps we needed to take in order to reach our potential. We then looked at a range of jobs and salaries and discussed which job profession we felt contributed most to society. We then had to fill out our own job applications for our dream job. As well as our discrete learning in PSHE, we took part in NSPCC number day and Children’s Well-being week!

I hope you have a restful and well-deserved break over the half term, Admirals.  Well done for all of your hard work and I look forward to seeing you in a week! Thank you parents and carers for your continued support in helping your children to reach their full potential – it really is a team effort!

Miss Pott

Autumn 2 update 

Year 5 have had a productive second half to the Autumn Term. We showcased all of this learning during our sharing assembly, which was a great success! We continued our learning on WW2 and wrote some fantastic, sensitive newspaper reports about the holocaust. We have also just completed models of Anderson Shelters using recyclable materials. The children planned their models, collected their resources and made them successfully! We also learnt about the events leading up to WW2 and used counters to represent how Germany lost power on a map of Europe.

In maths, we have consolidated our understanding of place value and we are able to regroup more flexibly to solve calculations. We then applied our learning to formal written addition and subtraction. With this, we spotted mistakes, solved missing number calculations and investigated word problems; these tested our understanding and provided an opportunity to show case their understanding 

In English, We studied the story Wisp by Graheme Barker. The children learnt all about the symbolic meaning behind the text. A boy, a refugee follows a wisp, which gives the vulnerable memories. The children learnt how to use metaphors for description and they explored using multi-clause sentences.

We then studied the non-fiction text Planetarium. The children were inspired by the book as they delved into the world of space. We wrote fact files on Earth, persuasive postcards about Venus and even wrote our own non-chronological report on the fictional planet Pandora from Avatar. The children showcased their skills in this piece of writing and formulated formal reports, which included multi clause sentences, adverbial phrases, relative clauses and many more techniques!

In Science, the children have spent time learning all about electrical systems. We proved and disputed different claims such as, ‘The bulb would be brighter if I added more batteries’ or ‘The bulbs I have in a circuit the brighter they would be.’ In order to solve these, we planned and carried out our own investigations and used electrical components to draw conclusions.

In Geography this half term, we have learned about the landscape of Europe. This has involved locating the continent and the countries of Europe on world maps. We have investigated capital cities of Europe and compared them to London, identifying many similarities and differences between the human and physical geography of the cities. 

Computing lessons have focused on video editing this half term. We began by looking at filming techniques including camera angles and types of shot before using a storyboard to plan a video of our own. We then filmed our videos in groups. The children showed that they were adept at using technology to create their videos.

In PE, we mastered tag rugby skills. We began our learning by playing a variety of games to practise dodging and attacking. We then put this into practice in a whole class game. With Rising Stars, we completed our unit on gymnastics and even showcased our learning on a bouncy castle-like strip! In DT, we constructed our own vehicles that moved and made clay snowmen; we learnt the importance of cross hatching so that the parts of our snowmen stayed together.

For our PSHE lessons, we learnt all about tolerance and the importance of celebrating difference. We looked at children with different cultures from our own. We held mature discussions about sensitive topics such as Hate Crimes and Black History. We learnt that groups of people are discriminated against because of perceived different and discussed how we could overcome these conflicts. I was so impressed with how mature all the children were in talking about these subjects and expressing their views to others.

As the term draws to a close, I am reminded of just how much we have achieved as a team and as the very special Margaret Wix family! The Christmas spirit has definitely taken over and Candy Ken, our elf on the shelf, has really caused some mischief. He put toothpaste in oreos; took elfies on the class ipad; and even taped himself to the table whilst wrapping presents! It has been so lovely to see the school filled with Christmas cheer; we wore Christmas jumpers, ate Christmas lunch, decorated the tree and made Christmas hats!

I hope you have a restful and well deserved break Admirals. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, if you are celebrating! Well done for all of your hard work and I look forward to seeing you again in January! Parents and carers, thank you for your continuous support in helping your children to reach their full potential!

Miss Pott :) 

Autumn 1 updates Week 4 and 5 update (W.C 4.10.11)

Wow what a fabulous couple of weeks we have had in Admirals class. It has been so fantastic to see how well the children are demonstrating our learning powers. They have been showing curiosity within our light topic and answering some tricky questions about how light is reflected. They have demonstrated resilience when tackling multiplying and dividing numbers by 10, 100 and 1,000 and have spread a little kindness on Mental Health Day. 

In English, We have been exploring the text ‘Rosie Revere Engineer’ a story about a girl who never gives up and keeps striving to create the greatest flying machine. We were inspired to design our own flying machines and create a user guide to explain how it works. We created some truly invented machines like a flying school bus, jet-pack helium pants and a turbo flying dog! We developed our technical vocabulary to create a formal piece of writing. We practised using rhetorical questions to entice our audience and we even used relative, embedded clauses to tell our audience who are machine would be best suited for.

In Science, we began investigating how light is reflected. We learnt all about the angle of incidence and looked at how soldiers used periscopes in WW2 to see over the trenches; we even made our own. It was here where we realised that light can bounce off reflective surfaces and allow us to see even when there is an object in our way! We have now moved on to exploring the size of shadows and have begun planning our own investigation, which we will carry out next week. 

In art, we finished creating our roof tile designs. We safely attached these to the forest school’s area with power tools! Our bright red poppies with a blue back ground really stand out; have a look for them when you next come into school. We are now moving onto our textiles unit and have started designing costumes for teddy bears! We will move onto sewing them together in the coming weeks! 

In History, our WW2 topic was bought to life as we became evacuees for the day. We learnt all about what it would have been like to have been a child during WW2. We discovered the foods that were rationed and why and learnt how to bake carrot cookies for our new host families. We also learnt all about Operation Dynamo and how the British soldiers retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk.

We even had time to raise awareness for World Mental Health Day: we spread some sunshine and cheer by planting daffodils and created kindness and compliment notes to place in the staff room!

I hope you will agree that Admirals have had a fantastic few weeks! Next week, we will celebrate Black History Month so keep your eyes peeled for some updated photos! 

Miss Pott 

Week 3 Update (24/9/21)

Admirals have had a fantastic few weeks. We're firmly settled into school routines now and I have been so impressed with how well the children are sharing their knowledge and asking the necessary questions to move their learning forwards. 

In English, we finished exploring the text 'Lift' by writing some brilliant job applications to NASA - the children were able to write using a formal tone to explain why they would be the perfect applicants. We researched what was needed and used persuasive language to demonstrate our skills.

This week, we have moved onto a poetry unit of work based on the beautifully illustrated book 'The Lost Words'. This book contains spells on aspects of nature that have been lost from our vocabulary. Throughout the week, we have explored different texts from the poem and investigated the poetic devices used. We are looking forward to writing our own versions this upcoming week using what we have learnt.

In maths, we finished our work on place value by rounding numbers including decimals and looking at negative numbers. Admirals showed great resilience whilst tackling addition and subtraction calculations involving negative numbers. As a class, we practised and then consolidated our skills by playing maths games and using manipulatives. 

We worked hard across the curriculum too. This included using torches to explore reflection and how light travels. We planned and carried out our own experiments to prove that light travelled in straight lines. We've learned how Christians and Buddhists express their faith through art and designed our own stained glass windows. 

In topic, we learnt all about evacuees in London. We ignited our curiosity by looking at the contents of an evacuee’s suitcase. We then had to put ourselves into role and imagine ourselves being evacuated to the country side. We wrote diary entries to showcase our learning. 
 

In art, we continued to work cross-curricularly and used chalk pastels to create and underground tube station scene, depicting evacuee families. We were inspired by Henry Moore's visits to tube stations in London and his amazing sketches. 

Week 1 update (10.9.21)

Admirals have had an excellent, productive and full week back to school. The children have settled back into their routines and have shown me just what enthusiastic, reflective learners they are! This week, in English, we have been enjoying a fantastic picture book called 'Lift' by Minh Le. The children have produced brilliant, short pieces of writing in response to the story. These have included some setting descriptions, fantastic vocabulary sentences and writing a diary entry in role of the main character. The children have impressed me with their presentation and have taken great pride in their work so far!

In maths, we have tackled place value. The children have ordered numbers, placed them on number lines, predicted mystery numbers and rounded them too! The children have persevered when faced with new learning and challenges and have demonstrated our new learning skills brilliantly! 

We've had very productive and busy afternoons too. In History, we kicked off our unit of WW2 with an art activity; we used water colours to create a fire-filled backdrop and used black sugar paper to make silhouettes of soldiers, crosses, poppies etc.

In computing, we learning about electronic systems; in science we recapped previous understanding of light in Science and in PE Admirals impressed me with their netball skills.

Thank you for an excellent first week at Margaret Wix; your children have been fantastic and very helpful in teaching me the routines so far!