Welcome to Buzzard & Magpie

Class  2024 - 25

Welcome to our Year 5 class page.  We will updating our class stories regularly to share with you the engaging work we are completing in year five.

This year, our staff consist of:

Buzzard Class - Mrs Webber, Mrs Roberts,

Mrs Gallagher, Mrs Nicolle and Mrs McBride (all 1:1 at different times)

Magpie Class - Miss Harlow, Mrs Lang

We will also have the following teachers working with us over the year:

Music Specialist- Mrs Heap (autumn 1, spring 1, summer 1)

PE Specialist- Mr Williams (autumn 2, spring 2, summer 2)

French Specialist - Mrs Nicolle

Useful Class Information

Drop off and pick-up

The school gates will open at 8.45am for registration at 8.55am. We expect for children to be in the classroom, ready for learning by 8.55am. Pick-up time is 3.15pm. If you would like your child to walk home independently, please pick up a form from the office which allows you to give permission for this to happen.  

P.E

P.E will be taught this half-term by class teachers which will be on Fridays. Please ensure that children come to school dressed in their PE kit. We will aim to be outside, weather dependent, so please make sure that your child is suitably dressed. 

Reading

Oxford Reading Buddy

We are delighted to tell you that our school uses Oxford Reading Buddy. This is a digital reading service to support children’s reading development at home and at school. It contains hundreds of digital books and book-quizzes all matched to each child’s reading ability. Please log in to Oxford Reading Buddy. Your child has their password in the back of their home-school learning journal. If you don’t have a tablet or PC at home the service works on smartphone as well. For more information go to this address and choose Parent Support: https://support.oxfordreadingbuddy.com/

Your child will also be given a physical copy of a book. This can be looked through when completing their quiz.

In year 5, children should be reading at home five times over a week. We also read every day in school between 8.45-9.15am. This is where children are able to read their book, complete a quiz and change their book once they’ve completed it.

Teachers keep track of individual scores and move on and/or support where necessary. When children complete a quiz, it gives teachers an analysis in how pupils have performed in certain areas such as finding information, making connections and using inference or understanding vocabulary. Teachers can then support appropriately.

The scheme goes up to level 20 which is aimed at Y6 greater depth readers.

Homework

Spellings and homework will be set on Fridays. There will be a spelling quiz on Fridays and homework is due in on Wednesdays. It is important that pupils complete their weekly tasks along with reading and practising their spellings on a daily basis.   

TTRockstars is also hugely helpful in preparing children for their learning in Year 6. One 3 minute game a day makes all the difference. 

Water bottles/snacks

Children are encouraged to drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep well hydrated.  We ask that each child brings to school a named water bottle and a healthy snack (fruit or veg) each day to school (Fridays are for a small treat). Please remember that we are a nut-free school. 

Communication

If you need to communicate anything to staff, please contact us (through email or telephone) via the school office.  Alternatively, you may be able to speak with a member of the team during pick-up time.

Best wishes,

The Year 5 Team 

Autumn Term 1

This half-term, our unit of work will be on 'Mission to Mars'.

We will be learning about the planets in the solar system, how we get day and night and the lunar cycles of the moon. 

Communication, Language and Literacy

In CLL, we will be using two books: 'Curiosity: Story of a Mars Rover' and 'The Jamie Drake Equation'. Using these books, we will be learning about Mars Rovers and learning how to write effective diary entries from the perspective of one of these moving robots (Rovers). 

Maths

The key areas being taught over this half-term will include:

• Place Value: numbers up to 1,000,000.
• Addition and Subtraction
• Multiplication and Division
• Fractions

We will also have daily Mastering Number sessions and 2 minute quick fire times table checks. 

Art and Creativity

In Art we will be looking at Starry Night by Van Gogh and using pastels, paints, chalks and collage to create our own 'Planet Night' pieces. 

PSHE - 

Jigsaw

This half-term, children will study the unit, 'Being me in my world'. In this unit, pupils will learn about the feeling of belonging in different communities as well as the rights and responsibilities of children. 

Faiths and Beliefs

For this unit, we will be Learning about what it means to Christians to think of God as Holy and Loving. We will look at:

• How Christian texts reflect the idea of God as Holy and Loving.
• How God is a role model to Christians in their daily lives as Holy and Loving.
• Choices people make in the world and how this reflects a Holy and Loving approach.