Welcome to Life at KPS for Year 5

Mrs Van Rooyen and Mrs Chahal 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.

October 2020

Art

In Art we have been focussing on the Iranian artist Hadieh Shafie. We began by researching about her background and focussed on one of her popular artworks of quilling. Hadieh Shafie creates scrolls with writing on them to portray a message.

We also wanted to create a similar art piece with our very own writing on the quilling scrolls and linked this to Covid-19. We learnt how to first make quills. This took lots of concentration, time and most importantly patience! We then began to write words and phrases on the quills ready to create our final masterpiece. We had so much fun doing this piece of art!

Computing

Our first topic for this term is Online Safety. We are exploring different ways to stay safe online. We know not to share our personal and private details online and very important, not to say nasty things about other people online as that’s online bullying. We also learnt that, when we see something that upsets us, to immediately go out of the site and tell a trusted adult. Whenever we don’t feel safe on a site like e.g. a game site, we will leave the site and we also know to block friends online when they bully us. We also learnt about which sites are trusted sites to use and the © sign is the first indication that will help us to know that we can trust the information on those sites.

English

This term for English we have been focussing on non-chronological report writing. We first looked at the features of a report and then began to look at the language features we would need to include. Our reports were based on the positive effect Covid-19 has had on the environment. We researched extensively about this subject finding information about the positive effects on pollution, wildlife and CO2 emissions. We then learnt about fronted adverbials, subordinate clauses, expanded noun phrases and adjectives which would help us write some fantastic reports.

Maths

In Maths we started off focussing on place value and numbers up to one million. We then looked at rounding numbers to one hundred thousand even to one million! We played a game which we really enjoyed. We also compared and ordered numbers to one million. Once this unit was complete we went onto the next unit of statics where we were reading and interpreting graphs. We looked at line graphs, drew some line graphs, interpreted it and think about other skills we need to make sense of the data shown on graphs.

Music

Due to Covid restrictions, we have been unable to sing in large groups or use instruments across bubbles this term.  Despite restrictions, I have been really impressed with the focus and participation of year 5.  This term, year 5 have been learning to read and write rhythmic notation using the Kodaly method.

The children have learnt to follow class and individual rhythms using body percussion, beaters and drums.

By writing and following their own rhythms, they have been able to create a rhythmic piece with many different parts.  In groups, they have written, practiced and performed a rhythm piece with a staggered start.

I have emphasised the importance of communication, planning and listening to each other in order to create a balanced sound.

Panjabi

In Year 5 children have been learning 6 sets of Panjabi letters. Children are reading and writing words using these letters. This month they have also been learning how to make simple sentences in Panjabi like kp (ieh kp hY) and some children have been using adjectives in their sentences. For speaking and listening our topic for this term is different seasons of the year. Children have been learning about self-hygiene in Panjabi so they can help Panjabi speakers in the community. We have also focused on the wellbeing of children during the pandemic, we have done this through a light discussion of what activities the children undertook during lockdown, as well as new ways to relax and have fun.

PE

In PE we have been focusing on getting our fitness back with lots of exercise!  Children have been working hard on improving their stamina by running, speed walking and skipping!

Children have been taking part in the daily mile walk as well as participating in shuttle runs which have been designed to increase in difficulty from week to week.

Skipping has fast become a very popular hobby at our school and children will be lucky enough towards the end of this month to meet and skip with the Skipping Sikh!

PSHE

In PSHE this month we were focusing on bullying. We discussed what bullying is and the different types of bullying that children may come across. We identified the following types of bullying: Online Bullying, Social Bullying, which included Emotional Bullying, Verbal Bullying and Physical Bullying.   We also looked at ways to try and deal with the bullies and we were saying that the bullies also need help as those, who bully others, also have a need or a problem in their lives that need sorted so that the bullying can eventually stop.

Religious Education

Our RE topic this term is about Hinduism. We were lucky enough to have a workshop where we could learn more about the Hindu faith. We first wrote down questions which we could ask a member of the Hindu faith about their religion and what is important to them. We then had the chance to ask these questions and get a deeper understanding of what is special to them. We also had a chance to look at artefacts relating to the Hindu religion including statues of various gods, the religious text, prayer beads and so much more! We even had the opportunity to get a real sense of the smells which we find in a Mandir with different incense sticks as these are lit during prayers. We also explored Hindu stories dating back to hundreds of years ago about a princess called Savitri.

Science

In Science we have been learning about space. We have been looking at the solar system and have even thought of some rhymes to help us remember the names and order of the plants. We researched facts about each planet and the properties they all hold.

We also focussed on the moon and its properties. We acted out how the moon rotates around the earth whilst the earth is orbiting the sun. Then we looked at the how we have seasons throughout the year and how this impacts the world we live in. Lastly, we looked at shadows and learnt why shadows change shape throughout the day!

Sikh Studies

Pupils have been learning about the 8^th Guru, Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji and what happened in history during the small pox epidemic in India during the 1600s. Children have been learning facts about Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji and also the story about what the 8^th Guru did during the smallpox epidemic in India.

They have then used what they have learnt to write either their own story in 3^rd person of Guru Harkrishan Sahib Ji during that period in time or a diary entry in 1^st person of someone living in that time during the epidemic.