Swans

 Welcome to the Swans

 We are the Year 5 class team:

Mrs Leach – Class Teacher

Mrs Smith - Teaching Assistant

Email contact 

SLeach@sharnbrookprimary.beds.sch.uk

For SEND contact Mrs Wildman

sendco@sharnbrookprimary.beds.sch.uk

  Year 5

Swans Spring 2023
Weekly Events

Welcome to the Year 5 (Swans) newsletter of the spring term. We hope that you had a fabulous Christmas holiday and return to school excited about all the things that we’re going to be doing. This letter will give you an overview of the different topics we’ll be studying.

Read on to find out more...

Weekly Events
PE lessons:
PE lessons will take place on a Tuesday and Thursday morning. Please come dressed in your PE kit on these days and ensure you have your water bottle filled!  Please either remove or ensure you can take your earrings out independently on PE days.  

Homework is compulsory and includes reading daily to an adult at home. The children have been provided with a reading a homework diary, please sign the books at the end of each week to acknowledge that you have seen the homework which has been set. Children will also be provided with a weekly timetable, along with log in details for Times Table Rock Stars, Mirodo, Spelling Shed and Purple Mash, all of these have been exemplified to the children so they know how to log on and use the platforms.

Healthy Snacks may be brought in daily to eat at morning break.

Water Bottles should be brought in each day and kept with the children throughout each lesson. Water bottles will need to go home daily to be cleaned and refilled.

Pencil Cases: All pupils should have their own stationery for lessons and will all be writing in blue pen. They will need: a blue ballpoint pen, a pencil, a ruler, a rubber and a sharpener (pencil crayons and felt tips are optional). It would also be helpful to have a small glue stick, pair of scissors, a compass and protractor. Please make sure your resources fit into one pencil case.

Curriculum
English
Our English studies will be a fiction unit, using the story 'The Darkest Dark' by Chris Hadfield as our inspiration; the children will use this text to write a biography.  

Maths
This term we will cover units on; addition and subtraction, decimals and fractions, multiplication and division, shape and fractions. Homework will relate to the work which has been covered in lessons.

Science
For the first half term in science we will be learning about ‘Properties and Changes of Materials’. We will carry out a variety of scientific enquiries to understand the differences between a variety of materials and how materials can be mixed and dissolved, and reversibly and irreversibly changed.
In the second half term we will focus on lifecycles.

History
In history we will be learning about one of the most famous royal families in British history. We will explore how the Tudors came to power at the Battle of Bosworth and learn the Tudor family tree. We will find out about life in Britain during the Tudor period, exploring everything from questionable medical practices to the difference between the lives of rich and poor children. We will of course explore the famous story of the six wives of Henry VIII; whether they died, were executed, divorced or whether they lived to tell the tale. We will also learn about Henry VIII himself – what he was like, his character, temperament and appearance – and what his motivations behind each marriage were.

Geography
Linking to our historical studies we will be learning about some intrepid Tudor explorers and the new lands they discovered. We will then focus on north and south America, looking at the countries, climate, features, capital cities and time zones.

RE
In our religious studies we will be looking at Hinduism, exploring the question How can Brahman be everywhere and in everything?.

Music
For the first half term we will be joined by a music teacher. Our focus will be on ‘Composing with iPads’.

In the mornings Swans will be expected to walk independently to the classroom from 8.45; a member of the Swans team will be in the room to greet them from this time and the children will be expected to complete their morning work. The children will be dismissed from the classroom at 3.20pm. The children have been told that they must return to the classroom if an adult that they are expecting to meet them isn’t on the playground, ie they are not to just walk home. Please reinforce this with your son/daughter. If your son/daughter is going to be walking home independently, please communicate this in their reading/homework diary or by dropping me an email.

Mobile phones: We recognise that some pupils may need to bring a mobile phone to school if they are walking to or from school by themselves. All phones need to be named and turned off once on school grounds. These will then be handed in to myself and stored in a locked boxed and the children will collect their phones before leaving at the end of the day.  No phones will be allowed on any school trips or visits.  If children have a smart watch, these must be put on 'airplane mode' whilst the children are on the school premises.  

As always, please don’t hesitate to ask if there is anything you are unsure of or require further clarification on.

Mrs Leach and Mrs Smith