Class teachers - Miss Craven and Miss Lincoln

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June - Showing Gratitude, Care and Generosity

• July - Taking and managing risks

During the final term of Year 5, pupils will continue with William Shakespeare's ‘The Tempest’.  They will write a missing scene from the play, using their stage direction, emotional direction and script writing skills.  To celebrate their work, we will be performing missing scenes as part of a Voice 21 assessment. 

After Shakespeare, pupils will move on to a new book called ‘ The Lost Happy Endings’ by Carol Ann Duffy.  During this literary focus, pupils will write a letter with their predictions to the main character, Jub, before exploring figurative language to write a poem. They will look at the author’s use of language to portray the character of the witch, as well as write a diary entry in the role of Jub. There will be opportunities for pupils to take part in role play to generate ideas for recording a section of dialogue not included in the original story, and there will be plenty of chances throughout for children to ‘instant publish’ their work to contribute to an ongoing display in the classroom. The sequence of learning finishes with pupils delving into the character of the witch, using their inference skills to write a prequel to explain her backstory and the reasons she committed the terrible crime of stealing the happy endings.

In Welsh, pupils will be learning to give directions and navigate partners around local areas.  They will extend sentences to develop precision. 

We will continue with daily whole-class reading sessions, working on a range of fiction and non-fiction texts.  Pupils are given opportunities to develop comprehension, inference and deduction skills as well as progress their fluency skills when reading aloud. 

As we near the end of our Year 5 maths journey, pupils will be working towards their national testing and celebrating their progress to date.  They will have opportunities to recap over the 4 operational skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and apply them to a range of real-life contexts.  Pupils will be encouraged to practise these skills at home with designated ‘home’ tasks.  The tasks will include how-to guides and opportunities to apply their knowledge to different contexts, both procedural and reasoning. These will be non-compulsory. 

Other learning areas that will be covered include: time, measure, basic algebra and data collection. 

As we focus on preparing the pupils for Year 6, we aim to develop independence in these areas by using a project-style approach.  Pupils will learn the necessary skills, then work on applying them independently to the given context.  We will continue to use manipulatives to deepen understanding.

Continuing with the theme of independence and resilience,  as part of health and well-being theory, pupils will be learning and developing a skill of their choice.  Each week, they will document their progress, the difficulties they may face and how to overcome them. 

During our physical education lessons,  we will be taking part in striking and fielding activities - rounders and cricket - developing throwing, catching and tactical awareness skills. We will also practise athletics skills on the run-up to sports day, to allow all pupils to try out for their preferred discipline to represent their house on the day.  We will be encouraging all pupils to take part in at least 1 event.

During our enrichment sessions this term, pupils will have the opportunity to learn new skills and create a range of exciting projects linked to our fashion topic.

They will explore different textile techniques, including wool and material weaving, where they will experiment with creating patterns and textures, as well as learning cross stitch to practise careful sewing and design skills. The children will also take part in tie-dye activities, experimenting with different materials, colours and folding techniques to create unique designs.

To finish the term, the children will work in teams to design and create an outfit using recycled materials. They will then take part in a catwalk around the school to showcase their creative designs.

This term, pupils will be exploring fashion from around the world through a range of subjects including geography, science, history, art and design technology.

They will research traditional clothing from different countries, learning why certain clothes are worn and how culture, climate and modernisation influence fashion. Each pupil will choose a country and create a two-page spread comparing traditional clothing with more modern styles.

In science, pupils will investigate different materials used in clothing, including natural and synthetic fabrics. They will carry out simple tests to explore properties such as stretch, strength and waterproofing, record their results, and use their findings to design a piece of clothing for a specific purpose, such as a raincoat.

Through history, pupils will explore how fashion has changed over time by comparing clothing from different eras and creating a timeline of fashion. They will also look at how items such as dresses or football shirts have evolved.

Towards the end of the term, we will explore the impact of fast fashion and discuss more ethical and sustainable approaches to clothing production. The pupils will finish the topic by designing their own eco-conscious clothing brand, applying everything they have learned.

All pupils should have a water bottle in school every day. PE will take place on Tuesday. Children are expected to wear their kit to school on PE day. 

Children should read their reading books daily and practise their times tables at home as much as possible.  

Over the course of the year, pupils will engage in outdoor learning opportunities, pupils and parents will be notified of these in advance. 

We ask that each day, pupils attend school with a water bottle and appropriate outdoor clothing to suit changing weather conditions. 

Pencil cases are limited to one per pupil and should remain in bags until needed. We provide pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, and rulers. 

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  

Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.