Welcome to Year 5 - Acer Class!

Who are the staff in Acer Class?

**Hello Acer Class**

Miss Gill and I were thrilled to have you all back on March 8th. We are both really proud of how you have taken all of the changes in your stride and how your perseverance and resilience during this time has really shone through - so well done!

Things will continue to be a little different for the time being, but we are all in the same boat, so if you have any concerns, you can speak to any of the adults in our bubble or if you want to tell your parents they can let me know by emailing: acer@st-nicholas-birchington.kent.sch.uk

Please ensure you are reading for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, completing quizzes online, now available at https://ukhosted55.renlearn.co.uk/2240591 and continuing to practise your times tables using Times Tables Rockstars (https://ttrockstars.com/). We will be following the Spelling Shed scheme for spellings this year, these can be accessed and practised at home at https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb.

**Parent / Carer Information**

Below you will find information and websites that you may find useful in Year 5.

What does our day look like?

What does our curriculum look like?

What are we learning in Term 5/6?

Topic - Darwin's Delights

Ship Ahoy! We’re off on an exciting expedition with Charles Darwin and his crew on board HMS Beagle. Can you trace his route across the vast ocean?

Stop at the magical Galapagos Islands to see the amazing species that helped Darwin develop his theory of evolution by natural selection.

Do you know what is so special about a Lava Lizard? Know why the Blue-Footed Booby has blue feet?

See how animals adapt to suit their environment over time and meet some of the world’s greatest explorers and naturalists.

Imagine how humans may evolve in millions of years. It’s a scary thought.

Ready to trace the origin of the species? Let’s set sail.

English - The Last Wild / Wonder

In Terms 5/6 our class books witll be: 'The Last Wild' and 'Wonder'

Maths

In Terms 5/6, we will be focusing on shape, space and measures. We will then have a few weeks at the end to consolidate and fill in any gaps due to lockdown.

P.E

P.E this term will be on a Monday and a Thursday.

Music

Due to current covid restrictions, Mr Guy cannot complete all aspects of the music curriculum safely to you in school, including beat boxing. He has therefore found a link to a drumming site which helps with the beats needed to do beat boxing at home: https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/

What did we learn in Term 4/5

Topic - Pharaohs

Let’s travel back 5000 years to the dusty realms of Ancient Egypt. Cruise along the Nile, entering a world of mysteries and curses, mummies and kings.

Find out about life on the river’s fertile banks, discovering Egypt and its fascinating culture.

Unravel the secrets of secret tombs, using historical sources and age-old artefacts. Find out about powerful pharaohs and grandiose gods! Make yourself a nemes and you’ll really look the part.

Become and apprentice and work for Ramose – he’s the chief embalmer at the Beautiful House. Help him prepare a body for the afterlife.

Now open the door to Ancient Egypt  - who knows what treasure you will find?

What did we learn in Term 3

Topic - Blood Heart

Crimson, scarlet, burgundy, cherry…blood flows through our bodies in all its vibrant shades of red. Let’s explore our circulation system! Now surgeons, don’t be squeamish as we dissect an animal heart and examine the veins, arteries and chambers up close. They all work hard to move blood around our bodies.

William Harvey (local to Kent) was fascinated with anatomy, and made ground-breaking discoveries about valves. I wonder what we might uncover.

Let’s check the most common blood groups in our class. Why do people give blood?

Find out how to keep your heart happy and healthy with cardiovascular exercise and healthy food. Kick-start a campaign to spread the word about the damage caused by smoking, to the lungs and heart.

Hearts pound, flutter and maybe skip a beat. What makes your heart race? Is it a secret? Cross my heart, I won’t tell.

English - Pig Heart Boy

In Term 3 our class book was 'Pig Heart Boy', which was used as a writing focus in English as well as in our whole-class guided reading sessions.

Maths

In Term 3, we continued with our learning of multiplication and division and then we worked on fractions.

What did we learn in Term 2

Topic - Frozen Kingdom

Welcome to the planet's coldest lands...vast wilds and hostile territories - incredibly beautiful, yet often deadly. Take shelter from the elements or fall prey to the icy winds and the deepest chill. Trek bravely and valiantly across treacherous terrain to the ends of the Earth, treading deep in snow or be pulled by a team of mighty sled dogs.

The children really enjoyed this topic: learning about how Arctic and Antarctic animals are adapted to suit their environment; how food chains and webs work; who was at fault for the Titanic and they even orchestrated a search and rescue mission for a tourist cruise that got lost on its way to the Antarctic.

English - Shackleton's Journey

In English we based our writing on the beautifully illustrated book 'Shackleton's Journey' - a story about the trials and tribulations of Antarctic exploration. The children each took on a role and wrote in character for most of their writing. As them what they know about Ernest Shackleton and his brave crew.

Maths

In Term 2, we learnt how to read and interpret statistics, how to calculate area and perimeter and we began expanding our knowledge of multiplication and division.

What did we learn in Term 1?

Topic - A Child's War

A siren sounds, a building crumbles, a Spitfire zooms overhead. Take cover! It's 1939 and Britain is at war. Deep down in the Anderson Shelter, we will learn why nations are fighting and while child evacuees must make the long journey from their homes and families into unknown territories. 

The children can now share with you how the war started, who was involved and decisions that were made that were important to the survival of all involved, including rationing, evacuation and propaganda.

We also looked at light in science this term and your children can describe how light moves and have investigated the relationship between shadows and how near or far a light source is.

English - Rose Blanche

In English we read Rose Blanche, a book about a young girl, who we believe to be German, who witnesses a strange event in the small town she lives in. Curious, Rose decides to look further into this event, which puts her in terrible danger. Ask your children what happened and what they thought of the book.

Maths

In term 1, we worked on Place Value, Addition and Subtraction.

In PSHE we have been thinking about feelings and emotions and how these impact on our behaviour. We have been using The Zones of Regulation to describe and discuss our emotions and have talked about how we can be more 'heartsmart'.

What homework is given in Acer Class?

Pupils are expected to complete their set MyMaths and Spelling Shed homework once a week and read for at least 30 mins every evening. Once children have finished their reading books, they can log into Accelerated Reader to complete quizzes on their book.

Pupils homework projects will be displayed as part of the express section at the end of the unit of work. Pupils can choose whether to present their homework as written work, ICT or something creative.  If pupils decide to choose something creative such as a painting then they should choose either written work or I.C.T. for their next homework project so that they are using different skills throughout the year.

How do we reward children in Acer Class?

We believe in positive praise and always seek opportunities to reward the children when they are following the 5 B's.