Holy Cross Catholic Primary School
'Living, Loving, Learning Together'
Year 5/6
Welcome to Year 5/6!
I am Miss Soens, the year 5/6 class teacher. The children will also be supported in their learning this year by Miss Rice, our fabulous teaching assistant. We both hope that you have all enjoyed your first two terms and are ready and raring to go, for what will be a busy but fun filled final term!
As you know, this year the year 6 children will be sitting their SATs and it is crucial that we prepare them in the best possible way. It is vital that the children practise their reading skills both in school and at home, so we ask that the children read every night, using their reading records to record what they have done.
In addition to reading and weekly spelling lists, the children will be given homework every Thursday. This is to be completed and returned the following week. Homework will usually focus on work covered during the school week. Each child has also been provided with their individual log in details for 'Mathletics' and 'gAPPS Education'. We actively encourage children to access the websites to practise their different skills at home, as well as during any free time they may have in school. Some children also have an additional account to support their spelling - these pupils can access the wonderful IDL Cloud website in school and at home in order to improve the different spelling rules.
With SATs approaching, we know that year 5/6 can be a daunting time for some children. So in order to keep the children happy and focused we are now running weekly booster sessions every Tuesday night. This club is compulsory for all year 6 children as it will cover the content required for SATs. However, year 5 children from our class are welcome to join the club, providing them with the opportunity to practise the skills in preparation for next year.
This year, PE will be taught every Friday afternoon and will involve team games. Please ensure your child brings their full PE kit in order to participate. It is vital for health and safety reasons that your child has the correct PE kit.
A positive work ethos makes all the difference to your child's learning, so your support from home is welcome and encouraged, particularly during such an important year in their education. If you have any worries or concerns about your child throughout the year, feel free to make an appointment at the office and I will be more than happy to speak with you.
SATs treat...
SATs done and dusted!
A huge congratulations to the Year 6 pupils who completed their SATs this week! They all worked so hard in preparing for the tests and performed wonderfully ... all the staff and children at Holy Cross send a HUGE well done, we are all SUPER proud of you all!!
To celebrate the end of the tests, the year six pupils are off on a surprise treat day with Miss Soens and Miss Rice!
Class 5 have been working hard to explore the pros and cons of remaining in the European Union. They have researched the benefits of staying and leaving using a variety of different resources and were able to write speeches based on their formed opinions. We discussed the issues and topics as a class, before sharing our points in a class debate. After the debate, class 5 held a referendum of their own. Class 5 voted, with a majority, to stay in the EU. However, the opposition did put forward some excellent points! We are all excited to find out what the results of the UK's referendum will be on the 23rd June 2016!
Class 5's EU referendum!
Class 5 have had a brilliant time celebrating the Queen's 90th birthday with the rest of our school! They took part in a throne design competition, with the winning designs being used as inspiration for our very own class throne! The children will also be sending pictures and writing letters to Queen Elizabeth II to let her know that thanks to Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, she now has a tenth throne to add to her collection. During the day, we sketched and coloured portraits of the Queen and in the afternoon, the school went outside to enjoy delicious birthday cake and strawberries in the sunshine!!
Making our class throne ...
Portraits fit for a Queen...
Strawberries and cake in the sunshine!!
Class 5 enjoyed participating in the Boots Vision Screening Workshops when they visited Holy Cross. The workshops included 'bush-tucker trial' style activities, were the children tasted foods that are especially good for the health of their eyes! They explored different books that contained lots of exciting puzzles, illusions and fun stories. They had the opportunity to look at contact lenses; learning about the benefits and ways in which they work for our eyes. The children enjoyed learning to read and write different words in Braille, along with studying a variety of unusual animals and finding out all about their eye-sight!!
The Boots Vision Workshops...
To mark the Queen's 90th birthday, class 5 have decided to design her a new throne to celebrate. The pupils have been busy sketching and designing their ideas and a winner will be announced next week... The winning throne design will be transformed into a wonderful reality, taking centre stage in our reading corner! Here is one of the fantastic designs by two of our very creative pupils...
A special birthday design fit for a queen!
Good Shepherd Fundraiser - Sponsored PJ day!
Class 5 had a vote to decide what activity/event they could organise to raise some money for the Good Shepherd charity. They used their knowledge and understanding of British Values and democracy to conduct the class vote, with the winner being a sponsored Pyjama day! Everyone brought in a £1 donation and got to spend the entire school day working hard in their comfy PJs. As you see in the photos, class 5 had a blast...
OUR CLASS 'WALK-A-THON'
Earlier this year, two of the pupils from our class decided to write to our Headteacher Mrs Bannon and request permission for class 5 to organise and take part in a 'walk-a-thon', in order to raise money for the refugee crisis. They landed on the fantastic idea after the story they were working on in a guided reading session included a charity 'walk-a-thon'.
Having read the letter, Mrs Bannon has decided to let class 5 go ahead with this wonderful fund raiser and has praised the two pupils for their thoughtful suggestion.
I will now take the opportunity to thank the two wonderful girls in my class for having such a generous and heartwarming idea, keep up the good work!
Miss Soens
Excellent Writers!
Above are the different ways in which class 5 have approached their writing this year... we have focused on: creativity - 'magpie-ing' ideas from each other and sharing our excellent examples of vocabulary; the editing process - using the 'writing journey' wall to showcase our editing and redrafting skills to our classmates, starting with an early piece of writing and ending with our proudest and most improved piece! Finally the mighty 'grammar pack', which the children are seen using independently to improve and correct their sentence structures, spellings and to up-stage their vocabulary!
Exciting Transitions...
Last half term, the children worked hard in their PSHE sessions; considering their feelings and emotions about moving from primary school to secondary school. The pupils were given the opportunity to explore their personal hopes and fears and wrote down any worries anonymously, placing them into our 'worries basket'. Next the worries were shared with the class and we found that a lot of the concerns were felt by many in the class. So we decided to tackle these fears together and came up with, in small groups, suggestions to overcome and solve these problems. This helped to build our confidence and made us realise that the transition won't be as scary as we first thought! The class enjoyed this activity so much, that they decided to use these feelings to create some expressive and interesting pieces of abstract art - reflecting their feelings and emotions through different shapes, lines and colours. They researched different artists for inspiration!
Worries and solutions!
End of term celebrations...
During the end of Spring Term assembly, some of the pupils from class 5 were acknowledged for the hard work and achievements. A group of pupils were awarded certificates in recognition for their efforts in a football tournament at Liverpool Academy.
Another pupil was also awarded a gift voucher and a certificate in recognition for his superb writing during the term, particularly his report writing based upon a visitor's talk with the class on the current topic WWII - keep up the excellent work class 5!!