Welcome to the Jesse Owens and Tanni Grey Class page!

2021-22

Design and Technology - w/b 11.07.22

Our D.T. topic has been ‘Fairgrounds’. We have researched the history of fairgrounds, and compared the early ones with those we have today. Some of our time has also been spent looking at different types of fairground rides, how they move in different ways, and what enables them to do so.

This week, we have constructed mini roller coasters, using a range of mathematical and cutting skills. Our goal was to make the roller coaster in such a way that a marble would roll along it without stopping.

On the whole, we were very successful!

French - w/b 04.07.22

Our topic in French lessons is ‘Quoi de neuf?’. We are learning how to talk about some things we might find in newspapers, and how to give our opinions and preferences using helpful phrases that we could use in different contexts. Now that we are at the end of Year 6, we are using the French that we have learnt over the past four years to speak to each other in sentences, asking and answering questions. C'est très amusant!

Science - w/b 27.06.22

We had a great practical chemistry lesson this week, building on what we’ve been learning about colour and light. We worked collaboratively, creating our own ‘wands’ with malleable wire and using a washing up and water solution to create bubbles. We collected data in a tally chart after using our powers of visual classification, to collate data on the colours we could see in each bubble. We had lots of questions about why some bubbles popped and others didn’t, why some bubbles seemed to have different colours in them to others and why chasing bubbles is so much fun!

Reading - w/b 20.06.22

We've been delving deeper into the world of Shakespeare, and exploring not only Macbeth but also The Tempest and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, too!

A storm at sea sets the scene for The Tempest, a five-act drama that was first written and performed about 1611 and was published in 1623. Like many other plays that Shakespeare wrote late in his career, the subject of The Tempest is reconciliation after strife. Along with Shakespeare’s other late comedies, The Tempest is often called a romance or a tragicomedy.  The exact date the play was written is unknown. It is generally accepted that the play was written in 1595 or 1596. It was first printed in 1600. In 1623, the play was printed in the First Folio, a collection of all of Shakespeare's plays.  

A Midsummer NIght’s Dream  is about four confused young people, a group of clumsy workmen, the royal court of Duke Theseus, and the royal fairy court of King Oberon and Queen Titania. The play is set mostly at night in the woods near Athens.  The play has been made into films on numerous occasions. Benjamin Britten wrote an opera based on the play, George Balanchine and Frederick Ashton have both made ballets about it, and Felix Mendelssohn wrote many pieces of music for the play which include an "Overture" and a "Wedding March".

Mathematics - w/b 13.06.22

We’ve been reading and constructing line graphs this week, using them to show changes over time.  We’ve linked our learning to our studies in human Geography and expressed changes in birth rates since 1950 on our own graphs.

English - w/b 06.06.22

We've had a brilliant week getting to grips with one of Shakespeare's best known plays, Macbeth. It's a tale of greed, deception and quite a lot of murder! We've created a graphic retelling of the plot and tried our hands at becoming thespians, acting out an extract from the plot.

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations - w/b 23.05.22

For Jubilee week we did various tasks that were all fun, creative and amazing!  Each year group did a different activity but I will explain the activities we've done in year 6. On Monday, we were baking and making food and, of course, tasting!  Each table made a different dish but each one was equally fun. Our adults from home came to join us and together with them we made classic tea party food - cucumber sandwiches!

The second activity we did was in guided reading - we all made posters of the Queen.  We also made a profile of the Queen in Art, using different colours of wire and a 3D tile version of Buckingham Palace in History.  At the end of the day we each got a bookmark for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Jemima- Jesse Owens

Science - w/b 16.05.22

We had so much fun in science this week experimenting with chromatography which is where you separate colours into their constituent parts.  We made predictions about what we might have seen based on our knowledge of colours from art, and then we got on with the process of dipping ink in water and watching the separation.  If you fancy having a go at this at home and making beautiful patterns at the same time, have a look here: 

https://www.rigb.org/learning/activities-and-resources/colour-quest

Art - w/b 09.05.22

It was Jesse Owens’ turn to create some printing masterpieces this week. We used a
printing press, ink and lots of elbow grease to turn our etchings into final pieces depicting of
hybrid animals; we also became art critics and looked at examples of Justin Diggle’s work
which most appealed to us, analysing what he’d depicted literally and the figurative meaning
we thought he was trying to convey through his images.

Art - w/b 02.05.22

We have been inspired by the artist Justin Diggle.  Justin Diggle is based in Salt Lake City, and teaches at the University of Utah (USA). He graduated at Bristol Polytechnic, UK, in 1989 and obtained his M.F.A. Degree from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA in 1997.  He creates prints of technology mixed with birds to create hybrid creatures which represent the way in which technology impacts our lives.  We’ve also created creatures although ours are a hybrid of a variety of animals.  Have a look at the etchings and prints which we made from them and see whether you can work out which animals we have combined.

PHSCE - w/b 25.04.22

We had a fantastic virtual workshop with the British Red Cross learning about first aid and what we can do to help if someone is burned, cuts him/herself or has a fall.  We learned that there are things about the house which can help, such as cling film to cover burns so they don’t get infected or jumpers to wrap around cuts and put pressure on the wound to stop bleeding.  Although we hope that we don’t have to put our new knowledge into practice, we’re prepared just in case of an emergency!

Mathematics - w/b 18.04.22

It’s not long to go until our end of primary school exams and so we’re applying our skills and knowledge to prepare for our Mathematics SATs.  We’ve been using past exam papers to work out areas that we’re most confident in and using our powers of reasoning and reflection to learn from our mistakes, and help explain different approaches to solving problems to one another.

Science - w/b 28.03.22

In year 6, we have spent the week creating medical pamphlets giving readers information on the impact drugs and alcohol have on the human body. Before planning and drafting the content of the pamphlet, we carried out extensive research and added our knowledge of the circulatory and digestive systems we have acquired in science this term. 

Heart Dissection

During Science this week, we were dissecting a lamb heart. First, we put on aprons and vinyl gloves to protect our hands and clothes from the bacteria in the hearts. Secondly, we read a risk assessment and followed it. We started by observing the heart and using adjectives to describe what we saw. After observing the heart, we picked up the heart and described what we felt. Surprisingly, it was quite lighter than I expected it to be. We cut the front side of the heart through the middle and inspected the heart and labelled the inner parts. We all took turns to cut different parts we thought that would make an interesting result. Remarkably, the heart was pretty similar throughout. I enjoyed this lesson because it was something new and interesting that we haven’t done before ; I would like to do this again with a different body part or maybe an animal. I would give this whole experience a 7/10 as it had some ups and some downs and some parts were quite messy and disgusting but it was a great experience and was memorable.

- Ayaat. R
  J.O

RE - w/b 07.03.22

We've had some representatives from the Faith in Schools group again and this time we’ve been discussing Christian interpretations of the Easter story.  We looked at the way in which the Bible story uses themes that are common across cultures and religions to teach us thoughts on human qualities such as faith, forgiveness, love and sacrifice whilst explaining the Christian beliefs surrounding Jesus’s death and resurrection.  Once we’d unpicked the messages of the story, we depicted the motifs used through symbols in large scale pieces of art. It was a great opportunity to discuss religious perspectives which might have been different to our own, make links to our own beliefs and employ our creativity.

PHSCE - w/b 28.02.22

We’ve started our new focus in PSHCE (personal, social, health and citizenship education) for this term- Positive Relationships.  All our lessons are oracy based and start off with a meditation which allows us to practise methods to help us maintain good mental health.  This week we’ve been discussing the nature of relationships whether they’re with our family and friends, pets or inanimate things such as food and exercise and the impact that positive relationships with these people and things can have on our lives.  We finished our lesson with a fantastic game that you can play at home called adjust a minute.  The title of our minute of talk was ‘Someone with whom I have a positive relationship.’  It’s a game which is a lot more challenging than you might expect!

Geography - w/b 21.02.03

Exploring the water cycle

To begin our topic ‘Rivers’, we have learnt about the water cycle. We looked at how the water cycle is a continuous process, where water in seas and on land evaporates and rises into the atmosphere (as water vapour, which is a gas), condenses (the water vapour cools and turns back into water droplets), then falls back down as rain or snow (which is called precipitation).

To explore the water cycle close up, we created mini water cycles in plastic food bags attached to a window. We can see the water that has evaporated and then condensed on the sides of the bags.

Design and Technology - w/b 07.02.22

We've had a brilliant time designing and making pencil pots as part of our learning for Design and Technology this week.  We've improved our skills in woodwork, used our mathematics in a real life context, worked collaboratively to help one another in the construction process and we’ve used saws and glue guns to create our masterpieces!

Computing - w/b 31.01.22

In our computing lesson, we were learning about e-safety. We started designing a poster with facts and pictures. We learnt that we should always ask a trusted adult before going on electronic devices. If somebody sends you a nasty message, you need to tell a trusted adult, screenshot the message and then block the person. There is also always an age rating on apps which lets you know which age the game/app is suitable for. You shouldn’t reveal your personal information online to strangers.. I enjoyed this lesson because we got to learn how to keep safe online and we got to make a poster. I would definitely do this lesson again.

Ayaat
J.O Class 

Year 6

Mathematics - w/b 24.01.22

Mathematical Conundrums!

Every Friday, Year 6 works on mathematical conundrums. We use our skills and knowledge to solve different sorts of problems and investigations. There’s always a lot of discussion and sharing of ideas before we begin to look more closely at what we could do. 

We know that we have to make a record of our mathematical thinking, and we show what we do through calculations, diagrams or visual representations, and by explaining our reasoning.

Everyone enjoys these lessons because they give us a chance to apply what we have learned, and use our mathematical skills in new ways.

History - w/b 17.01.22

We’ve been delving into the world of Anglo-Saxon and Viking crimes and punishments this week in History after having summoned the Roman gods to wreak havoc on those who had wronged us, last week.  As time went on in history, so the punishments changed- from dropping people into the River Thames tied in a bag filled with snakes in Roman England to banshing people and outlawing them in Viking England.  We looked at how crime and punishment was depicted in legendary tales and focussed on the infamous character of Robin Hood, using the characters from the tale and reinventing them to depict a different crime and punishment.  Have a look at our dramatic reenactments and if you want to listen or read some of the original legends of Robin Hood, have a look here: https://www.storynory.com/category/educational-and-entertaining-stories/robin-hood/

English - w/b 10.01.22

Using drama to explore a text

In Year 6, we have started reading Street Child, by Berlie Doherty. Set in the Nineteenth Century, it’s the story of how a poor boy called Jim overcomes various difficulties and challenges. This week, we read about how Jim and his family were forced to leave their home because they could not pay the rent. After discussing what had happened, we worked in small groups to create a freeze frame for part of the chapter we read. It helped us to think about each character, and what they might be thinking.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! - w/b 13.12.21

Preparing for the Christmas Fayre

This week in Year 6, we have been busy getting ready for the Christmas Fayre, which will be held on Monday 20th December. We have made pretty salt dough decorations, useful notebooks, and have thought about how to publicise the event.

We will also be decorating biscuits to sell on the day (food is always very popular!), as well as organising stalls selling second-hand books and toys.

The Year 6 Christmas Fayre is always a fantastic end to the term, especially as this year, the money raised will go to the School Parliament, who will decide how to spend it for the benefit of all the children in school.   

PHSCE - w/b 06.12.21

Extremism

Today we learnt about Extremism. In the lesson we were discussing what extremism is with a person who works for the council. Extremism is showing violence and hatred.

One of the most common things is racism, which Martin Luther King Jr and other activists stood up for. We also read about some scenarios and voted to see whether it was extremism or not. At the start we looked at some pictures of extremism. We also discussed our thoughts and asked lots of questions and the person answered them. During this time, he explained to us how to spot this type of behaviour. After that we discussed how people facing these situations would feel, like small communities and families and how they would be affected. 

We enjoyed learning about this topic because we learnt many new things that we didn't know before. 

Ayaat and Tehana,

Jesse Owens Class.

Science - w/b 29.11.21

Exploring Light

We have been exploring the way light travels through liquids, and how it can alter the way objects appear. This is called refraction and it happens when light travels from one media into another, like water and air.

Because of the way that the light travels through the water and then into the air, it makes an object like a pencil seem bent.

We also explored whether the same thing happened in other liquids, such as oil and a fizzy drink. We observed that light did refract in the same way in all the liquids.

Year 5 and 6 Little Ilford Football Competition w/b- 29.11.21

It was great to have our year 5 and 6 boys and girls representing us at Little Ilford Football competition this week. Both played 3 matches against very strong teams and you could see them improving as a team every game. Our boys team finished with a total of 4 points overall to finish in second place. Our girls team finished in third place overall after some fantastic performances. Well done to everybody who took part!

RE - w/b 22.11.21

In RE we’ve been thinking and talking about how and why sculptures are used as a way of expressing faith amongst Christians. Sculptures fall into four basic categories: molded, cast, carved or assembled. The media an artist uses for molded sculptures include clay, wax, papier-mache and plaster. We used tin-foil to create a sculpture of a person who we felt strongly about expressing why we felt that way and how we wanted the viewer of the sculpture to react to them.  The next stage of our learning will be to use the inspiration behind the art of stained glass in Christian places of worship to make our Christmas hoops- keep a look out for what we create!

Bike Ride to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park  w/b- 15.11.21

This week some of the children from Year 5 and 6 bike club took their biking skills outside of school to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Starting and finishing at the Greenway the children rode alongside the rivers and canals of the park, and visited many of  main venues from the 2012 Games;  the London Stadium; the London Aquatics Centre, the ArcelorMittal Orbit viewpoint. We also cycled across to the Hackney Marshes playing area to play a game of Rounders. Overall the children covered a total distance of 8km each on their ride. 

Mathematics - w/b 15.11.21

We had the most wonderful experience cooking with Gavin Gordon, alumni of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen training programme and former contestant of Masterchef the professionals.  

We combined our D&T Topic of Bread and biscuits with practical mathematics skills, using weights and measures, reading scales and estimating, to sample some biscuits he’s made for us and then translating his recipe into our very own cookie dough which we took home to cook and share with our families! 

Reading - w/b 08.11.21

Year 6 loves reading!

One of the many things that Year 6 children enjoy is reading; we read at every opportunity. We especially enjoy being able to choose from a big range of books. Our book corners have recently been restocked with lots of brand new books of all sorts, from adventure stories, fantasy stories, biographies, information books, and much more.

It’s great, during DEAR time, to be able to relax in the book corner with a good book in our hands.

PE - w/b 01.11.21

This week we have been introduced to the game Tchoukball in PE. Tchoukball was created in Switzerland and is a mix of Handball, Volleyball and Squash. This week we have focussed on improving our shooting accuracy and using different angles when the ball rebounds off the frame to score. 

Little Ilford Visit - w/b 01.11.21

Some of us visited Little Ilford School earlier this week to help plan transition units. During this session, we studied maths and science. We did a practical experiment about dissolving. We linked this to the maths transition which was about scatter graphs to record our findings with negative and positive correlation.

Moubani, Jesse Owens

French - w/b 18.10.21

Bonjour! 

In Year 6, we have been learning the French words for different places in a school, and what goes on there. This week we reviewed what we have learnt by choosing the correct words to complete sentences.

Then we moved on to telling the time. We revised telling o’clock and half past times, then went on to learn how to say other times, such as quarter past, quarter to, and everything in between.

RE - w/b 11.10.21

We had a pair of visitors in Year 6 on Thursday who came to speak to us about Humanism and the Humanist worldview. One spoke about the ‘Golden Rule’ (Treat others the way you would like to be treated) and how his Humanist world view has quite a few similarities to that of various religions. We also had the opportunity to ask the visitors some questions to further our own knowledge of Humanism, such as ‘Why isn’t Humanism a religion?’ and ‘Why do Humanists not believe in a God or supreme being?’

Science - w/b 04.10.21

In our science learning this week, we have looked at the theory of human evolution. We found out that, according to the theory, there have been about twenty human species over time, culminating in homo sapiens - us!

We considered the characteristics that different species of humans had, and which ones were important developments in terms of the theory of evolution. For example, we discussed why larger brains, being able to walk on two feet, and having the ability to make and use tools and weapons made survival more likely.

Finally, we showed all our learning in a mindmap, and tried to show how ideas about the evolution of humans linked together.

Mathematics - w/b 27.09.21

This week in mathematics we’ve been revisiting how we use addition and subtraction.  We’ve looked at representing calculations with bar models, solving real life scenarios which would require us to use our adding and subtracting strategies and we’ve been revising what we’ve learnt during the week using Kahoot quizzes!

English - w/b 20.09.21

In our English lessons, we have been reading and exploring poems by Joseph Coelho, in his anthology, Overheard in a Tower Block. 

We have performed some of his work by reading it out in front of others, thinking about how to use expression and movement to enhance our performance.

This week we are concentrating on writing our own poems, inspired by Coelho’s ‘Tables Red, Green and Blue’, and using personal experiences as the subject.

Just like any other writing, we proofread and edited our first draft, before redrafting and finally publishing our poems.

We’ll make sure that we perform these, too!

Reading - w/b 13.09.21

On Monday, in Guided Reading, we read a poem called “A River’s Story”.
Whilst reading the poem, we also did actions portraying the poem. We did this with partners. One partner read and acted out the positive start of the poem, which described the river’s beautiful and calm life, while the other partner acted and read the negative area of the poem, when factories came and polluted the river. There were a lot of similes and metaphors which helped us act out the poem better. In my opinion, I enjoyed our Monday Guided Reading lesson!

Ayaat, Jesse Owens

Today in Guided Reading we were reading “The River’s Story”.  It was about a river explaining how it was healthy before factories came round and started polluting in the sea. The text explains that the rivers today are dirty and the rivers a long time ago were nice and clean.  I enjoyed the lesson when we used our bodies to act out the story.  I enjoyed the section of the lesson because it helped me understand the text more.  It also made the lesson very fun and interesting.

Khizar, Jesse Owens.

W/b 06.09.21 - Back to school!

Pupils in year 6 had a very strong start to the school year. They are currently studying the poem 'On a Beautiful Landscape' by William Lisle Bowles and returned their homework projects to school. 

______________________________________________________

Year 5

2020 - 2021

History - w/b 12.07.21

In Year 5, we have been learning about the history of Benin. In this lesson, we focused on the religious beliefs of the people in Benin and what they might do in a religious ceremony. We learned that animals played a significant role in religion, the Benin people were animists which meant that animals and objects had souls and spirits. Using this knowledge, we became ‘craftsmen’, we used our special crafting skills to create an animal tile to be used as a gift to gods.

PHSCE - w/b 05.07.21

In our PHSCE lessons, we have been thinking about change, and how change can affect us both positively and negatively.

This week we read Melanie’s journal, in which a 10-year-old girl records her thoughts and feelings about some major changes facing her. In small groups, we worked to identify the emotions Melanie experienced and the positive outcomes of the changes.

We then reflected on how change can be a good thing.

Junior Citizens - w/b 28.06.21

Year 5 spent an afternoon thinking about how to be good citizens! We took part in a virtual workshop, and explored several themes, including travelling safely on public transport, knife crime awareness and fire safety. There was lots of discussion about how to be good citizens, and how we can help others, as well. We also talked about how important being a good citizen will be as we get older, and become much more independent.

Let the Olympic Games begin! - w/b 21.06.21

This week in Year 5, we attended an Olympics workshop. In this workshop, we travelled back in time to when the very first Olympic games were held to honour the Greek God Zeus. We were well prepared, as we knew lots of facts about when and why the games began thanks to our guided reading sessions. We enjoyed participating in role-play and being able to imagine what it was like being an Olympian during those times. This was an amazing opportunity for us to broaden our knowledge about the Olympics.  

Diversity Week - Bangladesh - w/b 14.06.21

This week we have been learning about Bangladesh. On Tuesday we carried out research about different landscapes in Bangladesh, and sketched a variety of them in our Art Books. After that we had to choose one of our sketches to recreate the next day. On Wednesday, we looked back at our art topic on Peter Doig from earlier in the year. We discussed his abstract style and use of colour. Then we drew our chosen landscape, enlarging it to twice the size. Using pastels, we finally added colour and texture in the style of Peter Doig.

Mathematics - w/b 07.06.21

Before the half-term holidays, we focused upon fractions and how to manipulate and simply them through the use of our times table knowledge. We were able to convert fractions into equivalent fractions, mixed fractions and improper fractions with the support of our times table knowledge. This term, we have been using this knowledge to make links between fractions and decimals. We revisited place value and learned how fractions can also be represented as decimal numbers.

English - w/b 24.05.21

In English, we have been writing a script based on the story ‘The London Eye Mystery’ written by Siobhan Dowd. In order to understand what a script is, we had to first look at the conventions of a script and then we rewrote some chapters using these conventions. We focused particularly on chapter 9, where the two main characters, Kat and Ted, are brainstorming the mystery of Salim’s disappearance. We then created a role-play based on our script.

Get Active! - w/b 17.05.21

In Get Active, we have been doing lots of exercise in the form of superhero Tabata (which is high-intensity interval training) and ‘just dance’ using our favourite songs. We enjoy these sessions because they help us stay fit and they get our brains and our hearts working. We do a session first thing in the morning, after mathematics and right after our lunch time.

PHSCE - w/b 10.05.21

This week, we have been thinking about the effect of losing someone close to you. We watched a story called ‘The Heart and the Bottle’, and talked about how we can deal with the emotions we feel when we lose someone. Then we designed and made a candle of remembrance to help people feel better.

Art - w/b 04.05.21

In Art, we are looking at an artist named Peter Doig. He creates abstract art and he focuses primarily on landscapes. We began our journey by looking at some of his art work and then we discussed the colours within his work and how they influence the viewers’ mood. This week we focused on colour mixing, specifically creating tints of a colour. A tint is a lighter version of a colour, created by adding a little white. We concentrated on two of the primary colours which were red and blue and then we created green (by mixing yellow and blue) and violet (by mixing red and blue) which were secondary colours. We focused upon these colours as they are predominant colours within Doig’s abstract work.

Falconry Workshop - w/b 26.04.21

Reading - w/b 26.04.21

Reading Macbeth in Year 5

In our Guided Reading lessons, we are reading a version of Shakespeare’s famous story of Macbeth. Although Shakespeare originally wrote it as a play script, we are using an adapted version.

Apart from the events that happen, it has been interesting to think about the way language is used.

We have enjoyed reading the story aloud with each other, too.

Mathematics - w/b 19.04.21

Equivalent Fractions

This week, Year 5 has been learning about equivalent fractions. We started by recapping what a fraction was, and what it might look like as a pictorial representation. We then went on to use strips of paper to create different fractions – ensuring that each part was exactly the same size as the others. After this, we began exploring representations of equivalent fractions using a fraction wall and comparing different fractions. This has been useful in understanding how fractions with a different numerator and denominator could still be the same value as another fraction. Using our multiplication and division knowledge, we have been solving the missing value in equivalent fractions.

Easter Holiday Homework Projects - w/b 19.04.21

During the Easter holiday, pupils were asked by their teachers to research one of the spacecraft that has gone into space, and build a 3-D model of it. They used materials such as cardboard boxes, paper, paint, plastic bottles and masking tape to create these. Have a look at some of the wonderful models created by our artistic year 5 pupils!

English - w/b 29.03.21

Writing about a famous scientist

This week, Year 5 has been writing an obituary for the scientist Copernicus. We started by reading an example of an obituary, and talked about the way language is used, and how information is organised. Then we had to carry out research into the life of Copernicus and make notes, as preparation for our writing. Once we had gathered enough relevant information, we began to write our own obituary for the influential astronomer. Our writing was also a good way to finish this term’s science topic, Earth and Space.

Computing - w/b 22.03.21

In Year 5, we have been cryptographers by learning about different types of communication in the form of codes. Forms of communication have changed over time due to the many technological advancements. Today, many of us use technology to communicate particularly through social media platforms.

We began by looking at Semaphore, which is a form of communication using flags as a visual aid. Using a key, which contained each letter of the alphabet, we studied the flag positions and how some letters look similar to each other. We also managed to spell our names out using Semaphore.

We also looked at Morse code, which is a type of code used to send messages via sound or visual signals. It uses the alphabet, with each letter represented by a different sequence of long and short sound or visual signals called dots and dashes. We used a key to decode secret messages and discussed the importance of Morse code during World War 2 to send coded messages and to spy on the enemy.

Now Press Play! w/b 22.03.21

On Wednesday, Year 5 travelled back in time to relive World War 2 using a program called 'Now Press Play'. They started their journey in the school hall, where they received a set of earphones each. They became a character who travelled back to when children were first evacuated from cities such as London. When these evacuees returned to London, they had to practice using an air raid shelter. It was very enjoyable and pupils were also able to use the knowledge they already had of World War 2, as they read 'Goodnight Mister Tom' last term. 

Have a look at some of the pictures taken during the session!

Science: Earth and Space - w/b 15.03.21

Our topic in Year 5 is ‘Earth and Space’. We have started learning about the solar system, and how planets rotate in their axis whilst orbiting the Sun. We are also thinking about how shadows are formed and how they change during the day. To help us, we have made sundials to use in an investigation. 

Sundials are the oldest known instruments for telling time. The surface of a sundial has markings for each hour of daylight. As the Sun moves across the sky, another part of the sundial casts a shadow on these markings. The position of the shadow shows what time it is.

The ancient Egyptians made the earliest known sundial in about 350BC. This sundial was simply a stick or a pillar that cast a shadow on the ground. The ancient Greeks made a sundial with a bowl-shaped opening cut into a block of stone or wood. A pointer in the centre cast shadows inside the bowl. Muslims later invented the modern sundial. Clocks began to replace sundials in the 1300s.

Back to School! w/b 08.03.21

We are very excited to be back at school, and made a great start! This morning, the year 5 pupils became artists, when they used intricate patterns to design posters containing their initials. They worked carefully and shared ideas. They also enjoyed catching up with one another during playtime. 

Keep watching this space for more exciting learning!

PHSCE - w/b 07.12.2020

In PHSCE, we have been focusing on keeping ourselves safe in many different ways. We have discussed Internet Safety and the actions that we should take in order to stay safe. For example, we should always tell an adult when we are going online and we should ensure that we do not speak to anyone that we do not know. More importantly, we should never give out our personal information to anyone. We also discussed personal safety and what consent means to us. We know that our bodies belong to us and we must look after ourselves in order to be healthy and strong – both mentally and physically! We spoke about the adults that we can talk to in case we feel anxious or unsure about something. 

RE - w/b 30.11.2020

In Year 5, our RE topic is about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. To begin with, we looked at the accounts of Jesus’ birth, as recorded in the New Testament by Matthew and Luke. 

We read the accounts and talked about what was unique to each. Then we discussed the similarities between them. Finally, we recorded what we had found out in a Venn diagram. 

At the end of the lesson, we considered why there were differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s account.

English - w/b 23.11.2020

In English we have been reading a book called ‘Goodnight Mr Tom’ which was set during World War 2. First we conducted some background research about the war to better understand its impact upon the lives of people then. We then began to read the story and we explored the reality of a troubled little boy called William Beech who was evacuated to a kind old man, Tom Oakley. We discussed the consequences of right and wrong behaviour towards William’s character and we re-enacted scenes from the first chapter. We then began writing a narrative about two evacuee children and how they experienced the war in the countryside.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 16.11.2020

Art/DT - w/b 16.11.2020

In Art we have been looking at the artist Anthony Caro and his amazing sculptures. We investigated his early work and discovered that he used to work alongside another famous artist Henry Moore! Anthony Caro created abstract sculptures which would appear to change as the spectator would walk around them. We discussed how his use of colour and the titles of his sculptures added to our understanding of his work and what the sculptures may actually depict. We first investigated how to create a ‘freestanding’ sculpture by working in groups to create a newspaper tower that could stand on its own. We then evaluated our ideas and discovered that a tripod base was the best starting point to equally distribute the weight. Once we had finalised our designs, we began working on our sculptures using cardboard boxes, card, lots of tape and some messy Murdoc.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 09.11.2020

Mathematics - w/b 09.11.2020

In Year 5, we have been learning to round decimal numbers to the nearest whole number, or integer.

To help our learning, we played a game together. We rolled a dice twice to create a 2-digit number. Then we had to look at our number card. If we had a decimal number that rounded to the 2-digit number, then we covered it with a counter. The first person to cover all their decimal numbers was the winner.

Playing the game was a  lot of fun, and it really helped us apply what we had learnt about rounding decimal numbers.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 02.11.2020

Guided Reading - w/b 02.11.2020

In guided reading this term, we are exploring Anglo-Saxons and how they have had a huge impact upon our lives. We have been delving into this informative text, and we have been understanding and evaluating the historical role the Anglo-Saxons have played in shaping our language and our lands. We have been discussing historical accuracies and how information can be skewed depending upon the sources we choose. Through our reading about two British monks, Gildas and Bede who had written about life in Anglo-Saxon Britain, we understood that for a long time much of history was dependent upon people retelling a version of events. This also led to ‘Legends’ about mythical creatures and beings, such as Merlin the Wizard!

Computing - w/b 19.10.2020

Our computing topic in Year 5 is ‘We are interface designers’. This week, we reminded ourselves about the importance of being safe when online, and the ways in which we can make sure we stay safe. Then, with our partner, we planned a website all about e-safety, using what we have previously learnt. 

After that came the really fun part - we started using Google Sites to build our websites. It was interesting to experience some of what professional web designers go through when they build a website.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 12.10.2020

PHSCE - w/b 12.10.2020

In our PHSCE lessons in Year 5, we have been focusing on our dreams and our long-term goals. As a class we discussed what our own dreams and goals are, these include our career goals and how they might be influenced by salaries. We also compared the salaries within different professions and discussed if this was fair based on how hard the job was and the level of education required. We also discussed the dreams and goals of children in different countries and within different cultures. We discussed how fair trade produce / products may support these children and help them to attain their goals.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 05.10.2020

Science - w/b 05.10.2020

In our science lessons, we are exploring forces. This week we have conducted an experiment to find out how the length of the blades on a paper spinner affects its rate of descent. We used paper spinners which we had made, a metre stick and a timer to see whether the spinner with shorter blades fell more quickly or slowly than a spinner with longer blades. After recording our results, we talked about our conclusion, making sure we used the words force, gravity, air resistance and surface area.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 28.09.2020

English 'Varmints' - w/b 28.09.2020

In our English lessons in Year 5, we have been reading a book called ‘Varmints’. It focuses upon the environment and how urbanisation could have a physical and personal impact. We focussed on debating this week; we considered the different emotions Varmints may have experienced due to urbanisation. We challenged ourselves by choosing an opposing argument and pushing ourselves to really consider the other perspective.

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 21.09.2020

Mathematics - w/b 21.09.2020

In our mathematics lessons in Year 5, we have been learning about finding 1000 more or 1000 less than a given number. We looked at how digits in the thousands place change, while the hundreds, tens and ones stay the same. After we practised, we used challenge cards with our partner, who had to give the number 1000 more or 1000 less than the number on the card. 

This Week's Photo Moments - w/b 14.09.2020

Geography - w/b 14.09.2020

This week in Year Five, we have been learning about our local high street. This has promoted our moral development because we discussed how the local high street affects our surroundings. We also focused on social development when we discussed how communities thrive through local businesses.

We used Google Earth to identify what a high street is and how our local amenities cater to the community’s needs.

Later in the week we researched the advantages and disadvantages of having a high street and how this can impact our everyday lives. We drafted a letter to the Mayor of Newham to persuade her to change our high street. We favoured an environmentally friendly approach, where traffic should be minimised.

First Day Back at School - 4th September 2020

Year 5 returned to school today, after being taught via Zoom yesterday. The pupils were very excited to meet their new teacher and lessons started straight away focusing on how to keep themselves and others safe, becoming familiar with their new classroom environment, mental health and much more. They are ready for the year ahead!

2019-2020

Visit to the Bank of England Museum - 9th March 

Year 5 went on a visit to the Bank of England Museum and learnt about London’s history in the area. The children sketched and discovered information about the local financial district, including the London Stock Exchange, memorials for WWI and WWII as well as the statue of James Henry Greathead, an engineer known for his work for the underground system in
London. When they entered the Bank of England Museum, they discovered information regarding inflation and how the Bank of England regulates this through either raising or lowering interest rates and the results of this. Whilst inside, the children were able to find out how money is made and the security features behind the notes we use in our daily lives. Many found just how heavy a bar of gold is when they tried to lift it up!

Art in Year 5 - 28th February 

This term, we are learning about the artist Peter Doig. Our end goal will be to create an image in the style of his painting named 'Milky way'. This week, we started off by: 

• Describing the style of Peter Doig's work.

• Mixing water with paint to create a dark wash.

• Mixing primary colours to create secondary colours.

• Mixing colours with white to create different shades of a colour

We have used vocabulary such as: 

Hues, tint, shades, stroke, dark, background, primary, secondary.

Watch this space, as we will report again on our paintings at the end of this topic block. 

Reading Cafe - 13th February 

This week, KS2 parents/carers were invited to Sir John Heron's first ever 'Reading Cafe', where they had the chance to participate in reading related activities in class, whilst enjoying fruit, cheese and crackers. To start off, parents/carers met staff in the hall, who gave them information on and a taste of what the skill of 'inference' looks like in a typical reading lesson. They then had a go at discussing the characteristics of Hannah in the book 'Gorilla' by Anthony Browne. After this, parents/carers joined their children in class, and put some of these skills into practice. 

Robotics Workshop - 3rd February

On Monday, Year 5 had a session led by professional coders for a Robotics workshop. The workshop began with the children defining the meaning of a robot as well as robots that they may have seen or where they may be used in day to day life. A robot is a programmable machine which represents a human form. 

The children were then instructed how to code the robots using a simple program, similar to scratch and then they tried to ensure the robot followed their intentions. After using a lot of resilience and trial and error they were able to move a robot around a particular pathway with corners and straight lines.  Each robot was named after either a great robot or a pioneer in engineering and computing and the children were enthusiastic about finding out the achievements of each of the names of their robots.

Visit to the V&A Museum - 27th January

Year 5 visited the V&A Museum to enrich our understanding of our current DT topic: 'Fashion and Textiles'. We looked at how fashion has changed over time. During the visit, we demonstrated our artistic skills by sketching intricate garments. We also went on a tour around the Islamic Art exhibition. Our guide informed us of how patterns were used in Islamic Art hundreds of year ago. We are keen to replicate some ideas when making our drawstring bags this term.     ​

Theraputty in Year 5 - 23rd January

We are starting something exciting in Year 5 - using Theraputty to strengthen the muscles in our hands, which will improve our fine motor skills and handwriting. Today, our teachers introduced it to us during class assembly, as part of National Handwriting Day. We each have our own pot and will use it during 'Soft start' in the mornings. 

Topic Parent/carer Workshop - 22nd January

On Wednesday parents/carers joined us in a session where we combined our P.S.H.C.E. and D and T skills and knowledge. Our focus was on being mentally healthy and coping with feelings of worry or anxiety. We started our session off with a short meditation- we know that this helps to relieve our minds off negative thoughts and give a moment to be mindful.

After having meditated, we listened to an extract from Jacqueline Wilson’s ‘The Worry Website’ and discussed whether we had anything in common with the character’s who we met and the benefit of sharing worries with someone you trust. Then it was time to put our creativity into action by designing and making our very own worry monsters! Have a look at the pictures below to see how they have started off:

Fire Safety Talk - 13th January

Year 5 were visited by the London Fire Brigade and discussed the importance of fire safety. The children learnt about common fire hazards, especially those in the homes and how they can spread quickly and devour a room in minutes. They were educated in a fun and interactive manner, where they spoke about their knowledge of smoke and how it can be as dangerous as fire and how to minimise their risk of smoke inhalation. Smoke alarms and how to test them was recapped, although many children already knew many of these points from previous sessions, particularly after having a session with LFB at Tate and Lyle Sugar factory in October. Possibly the most important point the children revised, was their own fire escape plans at homes and what to do if there is an emergency, particularly one involving fire. Those in Year 5 are now equipped with the knowledge to minimise fire risks around their homes and are prepared in an event of an emergency.

PSHCE - 10th January 2020

In PSHCE, we started off the term with an anti-bullying lesson. Children reminded each other that bullying is an incident that takes place lots of times and on purpose, and that our school has a zero tolerance approach. We looked at the role of the upstander, and where we should go for help. Next, we investigated discrimination, and the impact it can have on people’s lives. We know that discrimination is wrong, and how to look out for it in our school and local community.

Joyeux Noël  - 18 décembre

In Year 5, we used our French knowledge of number, vocabulary and sentence construction to create French Christmas cards. First, we started off by learning new vocabulary such as père Noël, renne, Sapin de Noël, cadeau, to name but a few. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

STEM Challenge

This week the children in Year 5 started their designs for the STEM competition. The children thought of ideas such as heated hats, new wearable technology for football and technology that will help to improve the lives of children who are PMLD.

Over the next couple of weeks, the children will finish off drafting their designs and write a 200-word brief explaining how their design will help to improve people’s lives.

Here are some photos of children in Year 5 designing their wearable technology.

Modern Slavery Awareness Workshop - 11th December

In UKS2 we learnt about slavery, which is unfortunately still an issue within modern day Britain, despite it being illegal. We found out that William Wilberforce was the driving force behind abolishing slavery in the UK many years ago. The presenter used drama to help us understand how people are tricked into slavery today and the kind of jobs slaves may be made to do. We identified some characters in fictional stories who are slaves. 

Some unfortunate facts that we learnt are that there are an estimated 40 - 45 million slaves world, with slavery a part of some industries. An estimated £150 billion is made through slavery each year, more than most multinational companies around the globe! The most shocking fact is that 1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children. 

Through the session we were taught how to identify potential signs of modern day slavery and what we could if we had any worries and concerns about individuals who may be a part of this illegal activity. 

Amira commented, “After this workshop, I know one person can make a change, I can look out for others who may be involved in slavery and I know what I can do to make this world a better and safer place for others.”

Year 5 and 6 STEM competition

Year 5 and 6 are taking part in the Ultimate STEM Challenge! They will be competing against other primary schools in England. 

For this competition the children have to design their own wearable technology for the future. They will be thinking about:

• How will their ideas and design help improve someone's life?
• What will make their design's different from other competing schools? 

Three winning schools will win £750 and a surprise trip!

Visit to the Science Museum - 5th December

On Thursday, Year 5 travelled to the Science Museum in South Kensington. First, they explored galleries in the museum such as Flight, Information Age, Atmosphere, Exploring Space, Energy Hall and Making the Modern World. After lunch they explore the Wonderlab, taking part in a range of scientific enquiries; investigating friction, movement, sound, energy, to name but a few. It was a very enjoyable, informative day! 

Making Tibetan Prayer Flags - 29.11.19

As part of our PHSCE Themed Term, children and parents/carers used their artistic skills this week to create flags inspired by the Tibetan prayer flag. During the session, they thought carefully about the different feelings we experience, what these are caused by and how we can cope with them. Whilst creating these flags, children used in particular one of our school's Learning Values: Responsibility; thinking about making the correct choices and being responsible for the way in which we behave.

City Safe Haven Guest Speaker - 18th November

On Monday, Upper Key Stage Two was visited by Alistair, who spoke to us about an initiative called 'City Safe Haven'. Pupils learnt that this scheme was set up in 2008, after 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen was murdered outside a bakery close to his home in south-east London. The scheme was rolled out to Newham, with a focus on Stratford after students from schools such as Sarah Bonnell, St Bonaventure's, New Vic College and School 21 came together raising the issue of young people feeling unsafe in certain public areas. There are currently more than 20 shops and businesses in Stratford which are City Safe Havens, including O2, ZapSpace, Argos, Footlocker, to name but a few. Staff at these shops and businesses has been trained to deal with emergency situations which may arise, and can help to young people who are in immediate danger. Pupils know what to do and where to go if they ever find themselves in an unsafe situation. 

Junior Citizens at Tate & Lyle Sugar Factory - 13th November

On Wednesday, Darwin and Nightingale Classes attended a Junior Citizens event at the Tate & Lyle Sugar Factory in Silvertown. The workshop was organised by the Metropolitan Police, aiming to teach pupils how to be responsible citizens in society and how to stay safe. Services such as the RNLI, London Fire Brigade, Newham Council Recycling, Wildlife Crime Unit and The British Transport Police worked with small groups, providing information and giving different scenarios to discuss as a group. Pupils learned valuable lessons which will help them throughout life!

Mathematics Parent/Carer Workshops - 7th November 

On Thursday, year 5 parents/carers visited our school to watch and participate in mathematics lessons. The focus was on using different strategies when subtracting with larger numbers. Teachers and children demonstrated how they use the CPA approach in lessons (Concrete Pictorial Abstract). They used stem sentences to verbalise their reasoning throughout. Parents/carers can now use these strategies at home. 

Worry Wizard workshop: PHSCE  31st October 

On Thursday, Year 5 attended a workshop about mental health and wellbeing. They were able to understand the importance of wellbeing as a child and the necessity of telling someone how they feel. They took part in various activities including partnered work where they had to act out opposite emotions and group activities where they acted out a set emotion as a freeze frame. The groups had to come up with different tools that can help to calm them such as drawing, meditation, listening to music, etc and display these using a freeze frame. The session was concluded by a demonstration of a scale showing how wellbeing can be affected when we worry about something. 

Nutrition Workshop - 9th October

On Wednesday 9th October, parents/carers and children from Darwin and Nightingale classes took part in a Topic afternoon based on ‘Nutrition’. Throughout the workshop they explored what it means to be healthy and how to achieve a healthy lifestyle. They were able to understand the importance of reducing sugar intake and what the maximum sugar intake per day for a child is. They carried out a range of activities that included making an estimation of the amount of sugar in different food and drink items and using actual sugar to show this. When they were told about the actual amount of sugar found in each food/drink item, it took them by surprise! At the end of the session, they enjoyed making their own watermelon pizzas where they used different fruits as toppings. 

Science - Friction - 4th October

During today’s lesson the children learnt about the effects of friction and as a result, generated an experiment to test their theories. They used a shoe, some string, a metre stick, a timer and a variety of different surfaces. The majority of the children stated that the rougher the surface, the longer it would take for the shoe to be moved across each particular surface. After completing the experiment, it was found that the test wasn’t entirely fair as it was difficult to use the same amount of force to move the shoe across each surface and as a result realised if we were to carry out the experiment again, we would need a way to measure the pulling action, which resulted in a discussion of Newton meters.

 MET Police assembly - 3rd October

Members of the MET Police delivered a talk about gangs and knife crime to Year 5 and 6 pupils on Thursday morning. Pupils were informed of the dangers of getting involved in gangs, grooming and knife crime amongst young people, especially in London. There were opportunities to ask questions, leading to interesting discussions.

Visit to Karamsar Gurdwara - 24th September 

Year 5 visited a gurdwara to help them understand Sikhism as part of RE. They were given a tour around the gurdwara and observed people praying and meditating. The tour guide  explained the history of Sikhism and how the religion is currently followed. He explained the importance of eating 'langar' (a special meal where food is served to anyone without charge) together on the floor to signify equality and outlined the importance of the Guru Grant Sahib (the holy book in the religion of Sikhism). The children also learnt about the 10 Gurus and some historical aspects on the 9th Guru. Overall, they had a very insightful visit and were able to acknowledge the fundamental steps of visiting a gurdwara.  ​

French - 20th September

During this week we had our first French lesson of the year where we recapped the French alphabet, identifying letters which sound the same and different, as well as playing games to help remember how to pronounce each word. With our partners, we spelt common words using the French alphabet and then we tried to define each word in English. 

Poetry week - Francesca Beard visit - 20th September

We were lucky enough to have a session with a fantastic poet Francesca Beard. During this time she shared stories about the inspiration for her poetry and performed some of her poems, whilst giving hints for how to improve our own performances. This passionate poet then gave direction for our poems called ‘I speak the language of…’, where we wrote about our own passions and then performed our poems to the class using the techniques we had learnt earlier. 

Forces - Gravity Experiment - 13th September 

After the children were introduced to their science topic for this half term, we immediately discussed how to conduct a fair experiment and put this into action. The children identified the variables and generated the question of ‘How does the surface area affect how fast a piece of paper falls to the ground?’, after discussing gravity and its effect on feathers, parachutes and other objects. They conducted the experiment before discussing their results and potential conclusions from the data recorded.

Poetry - 13th September 

Children in Year 5 have been analysing a range of poetry and accompanying illustrations from the anthology ‘The Rainmaker Danced’ written by John Agard and illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura. During this session the children created poetry journals where they recorded ideas about their thoughts and feelings when reading and hearing the poetry as well as the connections with the illustrations.

New to Year 5 - 6th September 

While starting in a new year group and class the children were excited to find out the importance of their classroom names in Year 5. First of all they carried out research and answered a quick fact file about their respective class name: Charles Darwin and Florence Nightingale. Notes were taken and additional information researched before arranging the facts into a clearer order, ready for a biography to be written. The children started on the first drafts of their biography after looking at example versions. Children easily got back into their writing rhythm after the summer holidays!  ​​​​​

2018/19

Ship of Tolerance - 10th July

Darwin class took part in a unique opportunity which allowed us to stretch our creative thinking and develop our artistic skills. A professional artist came in and worked with our class on a set theme of ‘tolerance.’ We worked in small groups to consider what we could convey artistically about this given theme and painted an image reflecting this on a silk flag. The flag will be attached to a ship which will sail the Thames so we had to ensure our work was bold, vibrant and impactful. This was a great workshop and we learnt many new skills!

Planetarium  - 8th July

We have been writing all about life on board the ISS and have been fortunate enough to be treated to an experience of a mobile planetarium visiting our school. We stepped into what seemed like a large inflated black ball. As soon as we stepped inside we knew this was going to be a vastly different experience to anything we had before, since the screen seemed to stretch on forever, but in reality it was just over heads. We learnt about the underwater training astronauts need to take part in, to prepare them for the weightlessness in space as well as being spun around in a machine to replicate G force. This information has meant we now have more knowledge to use when continuing our writing as astronauts on board the ISS. 

Visit to Manor Park Library - 5th July

On Friday 5th July, Year 5 had a lovely walk down to Manor Park Library, whilst we discussed some of our favourite books we read over the past year. The visit was in preparation for the ‘Space Race Summer Reading Challenge’, where we were given information on how to take part, as well as about other exciting events occurring at the library over the holidays. This meant we had ample time to choose a range of books we would like to read over the summer holidays and help Sir John Heron win the reading challenge. Whilst in the library, we were told about the upcoming reading party in the Autumn Term, with many of us excited and anticipating the fun to be had. 

Since the challenge is to read a book a week, which is something most of us manage to complete during school time, we decided to set the same challenge to the teachers to read 6 books over the course of the holidays which they duly accepted. We hope you'll join the summer reading challenge and blast us towards victory!

PHSCE Topic Parent/Carer Afternoon - 26th June

While taking part in the Year 5 topic afternoon, we were reminded of what bullying was, the key words associated and the role of a bystander. Initially we had to generate any words which described bullying which would then help us in our task to come. Within our groups we had to plan out a short video demonstrating bullying and the role of a bystander.

“This was quite tricky since we didn’t have a lot of time and we had to script, rehearse and record our role-plays. I enjoyed it as it was quite fun yet we learnt about bullying and its effects. I hope the video can be seen by others so they know what a bystander is and why they shouldn’t bully others,” Maisha Year 5.

Virtual Reality Experience - 25th June

During our Year 5 Space themed term, one of the workshops we attended was a virtual reality experience where we blasted off into space to explore the universe outside of our own home planet. During our limited time, we learnt about all of the planets within the solar system and some truly interesting facts which we added to our knowledge and work within class. We discovered that Jupiter has thick black clouds over it and there is a humongous red dot which is three times larger than Earth. Scientists say that the red dot will decrease in size over time as storms, which are raging on the surface of the planet, will dissipate the power from the giant hurricane.

Hamza - “It was interesting to learn about the planets as it has helped us with our writing as well as was revision of what we had learnt about the planets in Science earlier on in the year”

Shakila - “It seemed like a real experience as it took you to the planets and explained what they were and the features of them.”

Umair - “I think this was a great experience as not everyone has had this opportunity and it helped me with my learning as now I know much more about the planets”

Sahreen - “I had a lovely time as we had an experience which we haven’t previously had and now this has helped me create an image in my mind when I think about the planets”

Azan - “The experience was exhilarating as proved by the children’s screams to begin with. It was fun and information. It helps people learn in a different way than usual.”

Aneeba - “Exploring through the virtual reality of space we saw what may occur in the future as they mentioned there may be life on Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons) since there could be water under the icy surface. We may know why the red spot, which is the size of 3 Earths, could disappear as well since storms are predicted to rush through this spot within the next 50 years.”