Year 5 2025-2026

RE

This half term we are focusing on the Islamic religion. Our starting point was to look at Laylat al-Qadr (The Night of Power) and find out what exactly this is and why it is so special to Muslims all over the world. We had many first hand experiences of what Muslims do on this night and the significance it has.

What Is the Night of Power?

The Night of Power is the most venerated night of the Islamic calendar. During this night, Angel Jibril revealed the Holy Qur'an’s first verses to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This night falls within Ramadan’s final 10 days, and although the exact date is unidentified, it is commonly thought of as the Holy month’s 27th night. However, the believers are advised to seek this night in the last 10 odd nights of Ramadan, following the example of the Prophet (PBUH).

A Journey Down The Nile

This week 5 Attenborough began our very own 'journey down the Nile'. We had our very first lesson on Ancient Egypt and looked at some of the Ancient civilisations such as the Stone Age, Ancient Sumer, Shang Dynasty and created a timeline pinpointing the Ancient Egyptians and those who came before and after including ourselves! We are all extremely excited to delve deeper into the lives of the Ancient Egyptians and learn all about their various achievements and how they have influenced life today.

A Visit from the Premier League

We were delighted to welcome the Premier League to our school on Tuesday 25th November. They brought along the iconic Premier League Trophy, which was proudly on display throughout the morning and created huge excitement among the children. The pupils loved seeing the trophy up close, and they especially enjoyed taking part in a range of fun sports activities led by coaches from the West Ham Foundation. It was a fantastic experience for everyone and a day the children will remember for a long time. 

The Last Days of Pompeii

This week year 5 were incredibly lucky to be invited to the Excel centres new interactive exhibition ahead of the grand opening. 

The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition transports visitors back to 79 AD, blending dramatic storytelling with cutting-edge technology to bring the doomed Roman city to life in London this November. 

We had an amazing time, the effects were so realistic and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Victorian Day

On Monday the whole school took part in Victorian day as part of the schools 130th birthday. It was very strict and the children were shocked that children were not allowed to speak or even ask questions. Life as a Victorian child was very different to life today. I think everyone would agree that we much prefer school now and are grateful of the caring and encouraging environment we have today.

Factors

This week in Maths 5A began exploring factors and the different ways in which this can be represented. The children arranged tiles and counters to show different factors, they even drew factor bugs to support their understanding. We then moved on to prime numbers and how to identify which numbers are prime. 🙂

Science

This week in science, 5 Attenborough have been investigating asexual reproduction of plants. As part of our investigation we took a closer look at spring onions and how they reproduce. Using our knowledge of asexual reproduction we decided to conduct an experiment to see if new plants can grow from the roots of the parent plant. The children cut the spring onions about two to three centimetres from the root off the stems of the spring onion and put the roots in a pot of shallow water. We are going to change the water every couple of days and record any changes that we observe. As spring onions reproduce asexually, we are hoping that we will be able to grow completely new plants.

SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD

" Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." -Nelson Mandela

Today the whole of Stratford Manor came together and wore red to stand united in showing racism the red card!

Comparing Numbers to 1,000,000

Year 5 have been very busy in Maths this week, the children have been comparing numbers to 1,000,000 using place value charts and counters to determine the value of each digit. They have been practising how to read and write numbers both in numerals and words. Additionally, they have used their Maths sentence stems to explain their methods and identify their own learning within a lesson.

Educational Visit to Kew Gardens 

Our visit to Kew Gardens was an exciting way to bring our geography learning to life, especially our new unit on Brazil and the Amazon rainforest. Exploring the glasshouses helped us experience the climate, plants and biodiversity of a real rainforest environment, deepening our understanding of why these ecosystems are so important and how people and the planet depend on one another. Seeing rainforest plants up close also linked to our study of globalisation and the many products that come from these regions, which we will later use in our cooking sessions. During the trip, we learned about the environmental challenges facing rainforests worldwide, supporting our school thread of Sustainability, and we discussed how individuals and communities can help protect these fragile habitats. Our reflections also connected to our thread of Social Equity, as we explored how environmental and economic issues affect different groups of people in countries like Brazil. Overall, our visit to Kew Gardens gave us a vivid, hands-on start to our learning and inspired us to think deeply about the world and our role within it.