Year 5 Weekly Overview

Week Beginning: Sunday 9th March 2025

A Message from Mr Mernagh:

Dear Parents,

The transition into the shorter hours for Ramadan has gone well with the children being able to get outside due to the cooler weather. Please see some of the key updates especially on the use of Whatsapp.

Ramadan Kareem
First and foremost, I would like to extend my heartfelt wishes to all our families observing Ramadan. Ramadan Kareem! We had a truly wonderful time last night at our school Iftar. It was a beautiful opportunity for students, staff, and parents to come together in celebration and reflection. We are grateful for the positive energy and sense of community that the event brought, and we look forward to continuing this spirit of unity throughout the holy month.

Whatsapp
A gentle reminder to parents about the importance of understanding the use of WhatsApp. As many of you are aware, WhatsApp is widely used for communication, but it is important to remember that it has an age restriction, as users must be at least 16 years old to comply with its terms of service.

It's also worth noting that Qatar has regulations in place regarding online safety, and we encourage all families to be mindful of these laws to ensure the protection and privacy of our young learners. Should you have any concerns or need advice on how to manage digital safety at home, please see this week’s e-safety guide in Mr Sibley’s newsletter.

Year 4 Parent Engagement
We had an incredibly successful Year 4 parent engagement event recently. The hands-on science lesson on constructing electrical circuits was a fantastic way for parents to interact directly with the students and get a first-hand look at the exciting learning taking place in the classroom. The enthusiasm was palpable as students and parents worked side by side to build circuits and explore the wonders of electricity.

Challenge ME

A massive well done to the 26 students from Y3-8 who successfully made it through to the finals taking place in Dubai in April. Only 2.6% of participants have made it this far and we are so proud of everyone who pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to compete. We wish our finalists every success!

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support and partnership.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind Regards,

Mr Mernagh

Head of Middle School

lmernagh@dess.org

Ramadan Kareem

Ramadan snack-times will be shorter, in line with the reduced day. Please consider this when you pack your child's lunch for the five hour school day.

Please also note that the school canteen will be closed during the month of Ramadan.

Garangao Day

We will be celebrating Garangao on Thursday, 13th March, an occasion that allows us to honor Qatari traditions and heritage. On this day, we invite all students to wear Qatar National Dress, Garangao Dress or Qatar national colours to mark this special event.

Additionally, free henna will be available for some KS1, KS2, and KS3 children. If you prefer your child not to have henna applied, please inform their class teacher by Thursday 6th March.

Home learning

Home learning has resumed this week and we will continue to give out the homework every Sunday. We have tried to simplify this by putting all of the tasks onto one template, on Google Classroom - this should hopefully be much easier for your child to navigate. If you do not wish for your child to complete homework, please speak directly to your child's teacher.

Swimming

Please let your child's teacher know if you do not wish for your child to take part in swimming due to fasting.

Please ensure your daughter has the following with them for their swimming days:

- DESS Swimwear
- Towel
- Flip flops
- Goggles
- Swim cap (if their hair is longer than their chin)

Please ensure pupils come in their PE kit on swimming days. Also please note these groups will be swimming until Thursday 27th March 2025.

Year 5 parent curriculum map

Learning Objectives Covered this Week:

English

-To retrieve, record and present information from non-fiction.

-To use organisational and presentational devices to structure text and guide the reader.

-To write a newspaper report

Reading Unit Objectives

- Explaining the meaning of words in context

- Making inferences from the text and using evidence

- Retrieve and record key details

Mathematics

-Percentages as decimals

-Equivalent FDP

-Perimeter of rectangles

-Perimeter of rectilinear shapes

Science - Life Cycles

This week, we will be learning about the life cycles of birds.

Topic - Are we damaging our Earth?

This week, we will be focusing on where our power comes from.

Photos

Please use the following links to access photos...

Reminders

Chromebooks

The Y5 children need to bring a fully charged Chromebook to school every day. If you would like to order a Chromebook, please email it@dess.org

In Year 5, children come into class by themselves in the morning. The class teachers and TA’s will be in the classroom ready to greet the children.

At the end of the day, 5A and 5B teachers will bring the children onto the shaded playground area at 2pm (1pm Thursdays) to meet you. 5C and 5D will assemble at the side of block E, outside the 5C classroom. The Year 5 team will be around to point you in the right direction.

Please remember that parents are not to enter classrooms. The school day begins at 7:30am and pick-up is from the shaded playground at 2:00pm. REMINDER: We finish at 1:00pm on a Thursday

Please bring a full water bottle to school each day.
Please bring a hat everyday.

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