Year 5 Maths - Dividing with Remainders
Maths is "Straw-some" in Year 5! This week, Year 5 have been getting hands-on to master the art of division with remainders! Using bundles of straws as manipulatives, the children explored how to share and group numbers equally. The big "Aha!" moment came when we discovered a golden rule of mathematics: the remainder can never be greater than the divisor! By physically trying to make groups, the pupils realised that if they had enough straws left over to make another full set, their division wasn't finished yet. This practical approach turned a tricky abstract concept into something clear, visual, and—most importantly—fun! We are so proud of how our young mathematicians are using their problem-solving skills to "think outside the box" (or the straw bundle!). Can you think of a real-life situation at home where you might end up with a remainder—perhaps when sharing out a pack of biscuits or a bag of sweets? Let us know in the comments!
Year 5 P.E. - Dance By Chance!
Year 5 Find Their Groove with ‘Dance by Chance’! This term, Year 5 have jumped into an exciting new Dance unit, following the Get Set 4 PE curriculum. The children have been exploring the creative theme of ‘Dance by Chance’, where they use random elements—like the roll of a dice or the flip of a card—to determine their next moves. This approach has been fantastic for encouraging improvisation and teamwork. It’s been wonderful to see the children's confidence grow as they turn unexpected prompts into impressive, unique choreography!
Year 5 English - Investigating Clockwork
Year 5’s English lessons came to life this week as we explored the mechanical mysteries of our class book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. To help us describe the story's famous automaton, we held a Clockwork Investigation lesson. From examining the tiny cogs of wind-up clocks to calibrating pull-back Lego cars, the children explored exactly how stored energy and gears create movement. A huge thank you to Mrs. Thompson for bringing in her collection of mechanical treasures! This hands-on experience has been invaluable, giving the children the "technical talk" they need to make their persuasive and descriptive writing truly shine.
Year 5 Art - Making Visual Notes
Our Year 5 artists have begun a journey into the world of Monotype Printing! We’ve been drawing inspiration from the incredible Kevork Mourad, an artist famous for his unique way of "drawing" into ink to create prints. By watching videos of his process, the class created detailed visual notes to deconstruct how he builds his masterpieces. We learned that unlike other types of printing, a monotype produces a unique, one-off image. The children are now ready to take these professional techniques and apply them to their own creative work. Watch this space for our finished prints!
Year 5 Science - Human Model of the Solar System
This term, Year 5 has been heading out of this world to study Earth and Space! We started by looking at two very big words: Geocentric and Heliocentric. Historically, people thought the Earth was the centre of everything (Geocentric). But we discovered that we actually live in a Heliocentric system, where the Sun is the boss and everything orbits around it! To see how this worked, we turned ourselves into a Human Solar System. We had to orbit the Sun while spinning on our own axes at the same time! It was tricky work, especially for our Venus, who had to spin in the opposite direction to everyone else because it rotates 'backwards' compared to Earth! After all that spinning, we sat down to become researchers, creating fact files about amazing celestial bodies like Mars, Jupiter, and the Sun.
Year 5 Maths - Using Place Value Counters to Help with Multiplication
This week, Year 5 began mastering the complex process of long multiplication. To build a strong foundation, we first revisited short multiplication (4 digits by 1 digit), using place value counters and repeated addition to visualize the concept. Once this was secured, the children successfully transitioned to the formal written method. Feeling confident, they progressed to multiplying 2-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers—initially using the grid method to see the products before moving on to the more abstract formal column method.
Spring Clubs are back and they’re brilliant!
Our Spring 2026 after-school clubs are ready to go and they are packed with fun, creativity, and energy. This term children can get stuck into Kurling, Dodgeball, Lego Challenge, Art Club, Computing, Book Club, and our brand new Geography Explorers Club. Whether they love building, coding, creating, reading, discovering the world, or burning off energy, there’s something to get excited about. Clubs run from 3.20pm–4.00pm, with collection from the front entrance. Most clubs cost £4.00 for the full 10-week block, not per week, and some clubs are free. Spaces are limited, so don’t wait too long. Clubs start WC 12/1/26, with the final week WC 23/3/26. All bookings are through ParentPay. After-school fun starts here – let’s make it a great term!
Year 5 Class Assembly
This week kicked off with a brilliant bang as Year 5 proudly presented their Class Assembly on Monday morning to the whole school and some of our delighted parents. Every child had a key role, either speaking passionately about the exciting learning covered this term, or actively demonstrating their new skills. We saw amazing showcases of their work, including real-life experiments from Science, moving mechanisms from Design and Technology, dynamic routines from P.E., and interactive creations from Computing. Every member of Year 5 read clearly, spoke with confidence, and promoted the fantastic work happening in our classroom with immense pride.
Important Update: Breakfast Club Bookings Moving to Arbor!
????️ Important Update: Breakfast Club Bookings Moving to Arbor! Dear Parents/Guardians, We are excited to announce that all bookings for Breakfast Club will be moving to the Arbor platform immediately after the Christmas break! This change will make the booking process much smoother and more efficient for everyone. Key Information: Bookings Now Open: The full Spring Term is now available to book through Arbor. Limited Spaces: Please note that we have a limited number of spaces available for Breakfast Club. We strongly encourage you to log in and book your required sessions as quickly as possible to secure your child's spot! ???? Getting Started with Arbor If you are not yet familiar with the system, please take some time over the holiday period to familiarise yourself with the Arbor platform. For easy access, please remember that the Arbor App is available to download on both iOS and Android devices. ⚠️ Login Support Existing Users: If you have used Arbor before but are having trouble logging in, you can simply click the 'Forgot Password' link to regain access. Need Help? If you encounter any problems logging into your account, please do not hesitate to contact me during the holiday period for assistance. We appreciate your cooperation as we transition to this new booking system.
Year 5 PE - Musical Dodgeball!
This week, Year 5's PE lesson culminated in an energetic and strategic game of Musical Dodgeball. This fun activity required students to actively use all the throwing, dodging, and teamwork skills developed in previous sessions. The core game played as usual when the music was on, but when the music suddenly stopped, the player holding the ball was swiftly eliminated. This twist kept students highly engaged and challenged them to maintain situational awareness right up until the final, victorious player was crowned.
Year 5 Geography - Using Digital and Ordnance Survey Maps
This week in Geography, Year 5 engaged in a detailed comparative study of our local area using both digital maps and Ordnance Survey (OS) maps. We began our search using Google Maps to identify key human features in our locality, compiling a comprehensive list of tourist spots, leisure facilities, restaurants, bars, transport hubs, and hotels. Students then transferred these analytical skills to the OS maps of Darwen, using the specific OS symbols key to locate and interpret a wide variety of different points of interest, finding the activity highly rewarding and a lot of fun!
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