Year 5 - National Storytelling Week
To celebrate the wonder of reading during National Storytelling Week, we had a special guest visit our class to read a story. Kathleen Graham, from Darwen Rotary, volunteered her time to kindly read Roald Dahl’s The BFG at the end of the day. The children really enjoyed it and we are very grateful to Kathleen.
Year 5 - Science
In science we learned about how the Earth moves through space. It rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, which is tilted by 23 degrees, and orbits the sun once every 365.25 days. We modelled this movement using torches and balls to understand how day and night and the seasons are a result of these properties of our planet.
Key Stage 2 - Timestable Rockstar Battle
Huge congratulations to all of our Key Stage 2 children who competed in this month’s Times Tables Rock Stars Battle. We were incredibly impressed with the effort and enthusiasm shown by everyone involved. Our individual award winners are: • Year 3 – Charlie Duckworth • Year 4 – Bobby-Ray Catterall • Year 5 – Carter Corran • Year 6 – Charlie Shorrock A special well done also goes to Year 6, our overall winning class for this battle. As a reminder, in order to raise money for the NSPCC, we will be launching the KS2 Times Tables Rock Stars NSPCC Battle in school on Friday 6th February. Throughout the day, children will collectively build up their scores, which will contribute to a whole-school total. To celebrate Number Day, all children — including Reception and Key Stage 1 — are invited to come to school wearing their own clothes that depict a number (for example: numbers on clothing, badges, or Times Tables Rock Stars-themed outfits). Voluntary donations will be available via ParentPay to support this fantastic cause.
Year 5 - Music
Mr Hannon recapped the ideas from previous lessons, with a discussion of chords, triads and accompaniment. The lesson then introduced how to construct chords using specific hand positions to play the chords C, F and A minor within the song “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith. The children then created their own chord progressions and melodic improvisations.
Year 5 - Online Safety
Today we discussed the social media app WhatsApp, including what it is and how it can be used safely. WhatsApp is a popular way of sharing messages, videos and photos that many children use to keep in contact with friends and family. The app’s minimum age is 16 and we discussed how the privacy settings can be altered so that children can only interact with people in their contacts list. Other safety steps include turning off Live Location, blocking and leaving inappropriate chats as well as deleting mistaken messages.
Drama Club: Prop Making
Drama Club has been fantastic these past weeks. All the children have now auditioned and will receive their roles this week. They have been working really hard to create swords and shields for our show telling the story of Troy. Its great to see their enthusiasm and commitment.
Year 5 -Rotakids
Today, Julia from Darwen Rotary Club visited the class to discuss our next project. We have decided to collect Teddy Bears to give to children around the world who do not have their own. We have made posters and comic strips to promote the endeavour and we will be asking everyone in the school to donate a Teddy Bear in good condition that they would be willing to part with.
Year 5 - PE
In hockey, we continued developing our skills in controlling and passing the ball while developing new skills in dribbling, tackling and shooting through a range of fast paced activities in the hall. The children worked in teams of four to challenge each other in a supportive and positive manner to get the best out of every member of the group.
Year 5 - Science
In science, we charted the history of astronomy as scientists developed a modern understanding of the solar system. We learned how new astronomical observations challenged Ptolemy’s geocentric view that the Earth was the centre of the Universe. Copernicus used this data to create a heliocentric model, where the sun is at the centre and the Earth orbits it. We discussed why people may have held the geocentric view alongside the evidence that challenged it.
Foodie Friends Club-Victoria Sponge Cupcakes
To make Olivia’s birthday extra special today, we made classic Victoria Sponge cupcakes in our Foodie Friends Club. The bakers carefully weighed the flour, sugar, and butter, cracked the eggs, and worked together to prepare the mixture before baking. Once the cakes had almost cooled, the bakers got to work on the best part: the assembly. They carefully sliced the tops to create a space for a generous dollop of rich strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream.
Year 5 - Art
Year 5 have been learning about portraits and how to use a variety of media to create a self portrait that communicates something about their personality, beliefs and interests. The children used photographs, paint, pastels, coloured pencils and coloured paper to build their portraits and they were free to express themselves and their talents. The finished art will be displayed in the hall for all visitors to see!
Year 5 Life Education: Friends
Today, year 5 had their Life Education session, focusing on friendship. They began by discussing what we need to do to keep our bodies and minds healthy; thinking about how these things affect our behaviour, mood, growth and development. The children talked about the importance of good mental health and how we should aim to: be mindful, connect with others, be active, be creative and try to give to others. This led into the topic of healthy friendships and conflict resolution. The children discussed what it means to be aggressive, passive or assertive when trying to solve arguments with our friends. The session ended with a discussion around standing up to peer pressure.