Welcome to Life at KPS for Year 5

Mrs Van Rooyen and Mrs Sharma warmly welcome you to Year 5.

The aim of this page is to highlight some of the fantastic learning that has been happening in Year 5, this page will be updated monthly, with photographs and information about the learning we have completed during the month.

We hope you enjoy looking through these updates and do discuss your child’s learning with them to celebrate their success. We look forward to any suggestions you may have to make your child’s learning a pleasant experience.

March 2022

Arts

This term, we were finally ready to make our clay pots! After all the research and practise, we almost felt like experts! During our practise, we learnt to roll the clay at least as thick us our thumbs in order not to have a floppy pot! Then we had to put the rolls together to get a coiled pot. Our clay pots look amazing and some of us tried some really complex ideas.

Computing

In Computing, we continued our work on a mini-website about the Romans and we could finally finish it too. We had to disable the transition feature and create links from the contents slide to all other slides. We inserted a ‘home’ button to link back from each slide to the contents slide. We also learnt how to create links to outside websites and then we tested our links. We were really impressed with ourselves with what we have achieved.

English

In English, we focused this term on Vasaikhi and the importance of in to the Sikh religion. Vasaisakhi has been a harvest festival in Punjab – an area of Northern India – for a long time, even before it became so important to Sikhs. In 1699, Guru Gobind Singh chose the festival as the moment to establish the Khalsa – that’s the collective name given to Sikhs who’ve been baptised. We learnt about the ‘Beloved Five’ who became known as Panj Piare – and they were to be the first members of the Khalsa.

They were baptised by the Guru who sprinkled them with Amrit, which is the Sikh word for holy water.

Food Technology

As we had Vasaikhi as our topic, we decided to make something that we normally like to have during our Vasaikhi celebrations. So, this time, we made some Aloo Tikki! This is basically a little potato snack. We used potato mash and mixed it with a variety of available herbs such as fresh coriander, black pepper, paprika, corn flour, rice flour, etc. We also added some fried onions to it. It was really nice! Even some of the parents requested for more!

Maths

In Maths, we continued to develop and deepen our knowledge fractions. We now know how to add mixed numbers, how to subtract with mixed numbers and now also how to multiply with fractions! We can’t wait to continue our next unit, which is decimal numbers as we heard that we are going to learn more about the link between fractions, decimal numbers and percentages! We are more and more getting so confident knowing everything about fractions!

Music

They have used both body percussion and drums to follow their rhythms.

They have followed a mixture of crotchets and quavers, semi quavers and crotchet rests as above using the words ‘TA’ and ‘TE TE’ ‘TIKA TIKA’ and ‘TE TIKA‘to keep in time to a pulse beat.

They have also used Eddie’s Green Boots Don’t Fit/ F A C E to learn about pitch

Year 5 have also listened to ‘Ode to Joy’ by Beethoven and have begun to play this on the chimebars.

Panjabi

In Panjabi, we have carried on learning about Vaisakhi.  We have learnt many new Shabads which we have recited during Gurdwara time and for our main Vaisakhi assembly as well.  We have learnt why Amrit was created and how the birth of the Khalsa is one of the most important times of the year for Sikhs.  We have also learnt the start of a new season, Spring and also falls in line with the new Sikh year and Vaisakhi at the same time.  We have also been blessed with the opportunity to partake in Chaur Sahib Seva and have really enjoyed taking on this role with respect and enthusiasm.

Physical Education

In PE, we have been learning to play Kabaddi! We have been practicing the skills needed to play the sport by taking part in practice games and drills designed to improve spatial awareness. Kabaddi is a team sport in which you have to score points by invading the other team’s space and tagging a player, then returning to your own side before getting tagged back. Children will be working on quick footwork skills and teamwork to improve their game play.  These skills are transferable to many other team and individual sports and we will be discussing this further in our lessons.

Science

This half term we continued to deepen our knowledge on materials and their properties. We learnt about some materials that’s conductors and other materials are insulators. We know that thermal conductors allow heat to flow through them and that plastic is an example of a poor thermal conductor. We all agreed on that heat travels from a warmer place to a colder place and that warm air rises up.

Sikh Studies

In Sikh Studies, we have carried on learning about Vaisakhi.  We have learnt many new Shabads which we have recited during Gurdwara time and for our main Vaisakhi assembly as well.  We have learnt why Amrit was created and how the birth of the Khalsa is one of the most important times of the year for Sikhs.  We have also learnt the start of a new season, Spring and also falls in line with the new Sikh year and Vaisakhi at the same time.  We have also been blessed with the opportunity to partake in Chaur Sahib Seva and have really enjoyed taking on this role with respect and enthusiasm.