Year 5

As we conclude the final week of half term at The Vineyard School, we firstly want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all parents who attended the Hooke Court residential meeting. Your support and involvement are greatly appreciated and vital to the success of our upcoming activities.

Our art sessions culminated in the completion of Frida Kahlo inspired self-portraits. The students' dedication to capturing their unique styles and personalities in their artwork has been truly impressive. Each portrait includes a piece of symbolism which relates to their sense of identity.

In English, the students harnessed their journalistic skills to write captivating news articles about Philippe Petit, the famous high-wire artist. Utilising laptops for this task allowed them to explore digital literacy, honing their writing and editing skills in a modern context.

The debating workshop on Thursday was a highlight of the week, encouraging students to articulate their ideas confidently and respectfully engage in discussions. This activity enhanced their public speaking abilities, skills that are invaluable for their future education and beyond.

Additionally, our young coders dived into the world of technology by creating a carousel using Crumble, a versatile coding kit. This hands-on project allowed them to apply their programming knowledge creatively, fostering both technical skills and teamwork.

  

          

Key Messages

• Key vocab: tectonic plate, decimal complements, freeze frames, self-portrait, marsupials

• KIRFS: decimal bonds to 1 and 10

• Spellings: year 5 & 6 common exception words (words which don’t follow phonics rules).

• Hooke Court medical form to be completed by the 24th May: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDaOXLcvOKZPnBuhMLoSDkVSq6ornVmj1LDWu3NjQwARYgjQ/viewform 

• Slides from Hooke Court parent presentation with equipment lists: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1sI_qCl9taoPVAEXBbLoy0keQR_3PwJ5Vm5vdau32ZCc/edit?usp=sharing 

• Monday 3rd June - First day back after half term

 

Year 6

It has been lovely to get back to a normal week of lessons now that SATs are behind us. 

We started our new history topic first thing on Monday and the children were so engaged and interested to find out about the ‘Triangular Trade’ and how enslaved people travelled across the ‘Middle Passage’ to be sold at auction and forced to work on plantations. This background knowledge led us into our English text for the week: ‘Before she was Harriet’, a picture book that tells the story of Harriet Tubman and all the important roles she played in her life. 

After watching some videos and reading more, Year 6 have written an emotive piece of narrative imaging the journey of enslaved people who found their way to safety through the Underground Railroad and eventually to freedom with the help of ‘Moses’ (as Tubman was known at this time).

We also held auditions for our production early in the week and were impressed by all the budding actors in the year group. The children have let us know what sort of size part they would like and now we are working on sharing out all the lines and roles between them. Scripts will be given out after half term and we will start rehearsals in earnest. 

Painting was really fun in art this week. We reviewed our knowledge of colour theory and how to mix different shades to colour match. Next we experimented with a different painting technique: scrape art. This enabled us to create some interesting abstract images and is a technique we will use to create the background to our final pieces.

Enterprise projects are also well under way and groups have decided what stall they would like to create, thinking about how to make it as fun and original as possible whilst also making a good profit. Work on these continues after the holiday.

       

                                     

Key Messages

• Key vocabulary - composition, diction, project (voice), finance, sales, enterprise 

• Reading: 10 entries completed in reading diaries for after half term

• Year 6 Summer Events: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1luK8iKVHSmq6aVattGWaqdcW8r-gprKpYOJ4qlQBgUU/edit#slide=id.p

• Slides from the PGL meeting: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1o4n2yxs_RBHavRsUS419gBenyezvZscpxgeE__LlqY4/edit?usp=drive_link 

• Please make sure the children are bringing healthy snacks for breaktime. 

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