UKS2 News

Read on to find out what we have been up to in Years 5 & 6 this week.

Year 5

This week, Year 5 embarked on an exciting journey of discovery and learning across a range of engaging topics. In literacy, we delved into Oliver Jeffers' imaginative book, What We'll Build. This story sparked wonderful discussions about creativity and the power of imagination. Jeffers’ whimsical illustrations inspired Year 5 to plan their own setting descriptions, using expanded noun phrases and fronted adverbials. Additionally, we practised converting Roman numerals, partitioning and representing numbers up to 100,000 in our maths lessons. It was impressive to see how quickly the children were able to apply what they knew, to solve a range of challenging maths problems.

Our science lessons were focused on gravity, where we explored how Newton’s discovery of gravity keeps us grounded and affects objects around us. We conducted our own experiments to observe how different weights and air resistance can affect the speed of falling objects. In art, we introduced Fernando Botero, exploring his unique ‘Boterism’ style by analysing and comparing a selection of his bright, still life paintings. The students were fascinated by his distinctive approach to form and proportion. In PE this week, the children were able to work collaboratively to compete in various games, using a diverse range of movements.

We’re incredibly proud of the enthusiasm and curiosity the students have shown this week. A big thank you to you, our wonderful parents, for your continued support and encouragement. And a special shout-out to the students for their hard work and creativity. It’s been a fantastic week, and we’re looking forward to more adventures in learning!

Science: Forces word mat

Geography: word mat

w/b 09.09.24

Spelling rule: -ious words

Key words: themes, build, construction, partition, flexible partition, borough, town, compass

Maths facts: Roman numerals, numbers up to 100,000

w/b 16.09.24

Spelling rule: -ious words

Key words: features, adjective, fronted adverbial, senses, population pyramid

Maths facts: Roman numerals, numbers up to 100,000

Messages:

Friday 20th PJ reading day - bring in a £1

Thursday 26th New to The Vineyard Coffee Morning 9.15am

Year 6

Kyanite, Jet, and Garnet children have had an exciting first two weeks as they embarked on their final year at The Vineyard with excitement and wonder. In week 1, they eagerly began their new geography and science topics, diving into Brazil and Living Things. The children kicked things off by revisiting their previous knowledge from Years 4 and 5, making connections to the Caribbean and the adaptations living things make to survive in their habitats.

In week 2, the children explored the whole-school book What We’ll Build by Oliver Jeffers. This beautifully illustrated story inspired them to plan their own setting descriptions, imagining a place they would want to call ‘home’. Their creativity really shone through as they used rich language to bring their ideas to life and employed descriptive techniques to transport the reader to their chosen setting.

In maths, the children focused on key skills like partitioning, rounding, and estimating to boost their confidence when working with larger numbers. These essential skills are helping them feel more at ease as they tackle increasingly complex problems.

The focus in science was classification. The children used observation skills and classification keys to distinguish differences between various living things. This hands-on approach to learning encouraged them to think critically and work collaboratively as they carefully examined a range of plants and animals to understand how scientists group life forms. A big thank you to Mr. Murphy for letting us borrow his classroom plants!

Week 2’s geography lesson opened the children’s eyes to the impact that physical geography can have on the way land is used by humans. They explored the differences between Western and Eastern Brazil, considering the suitability of human geography to rainforest-rich or mountainous land.

Thank you to all parents who came to the meet the teacher and PGL meeting. It was lovely to meet you all and share our expectations for the year. Please ensure the PGL letters are returned to your child’s class teacher as soon as possible.

It’s been a fantastic start to the term, and we’re so proud of how enthusiastic and engaged the children have been in their learning! We look forward to even more exciting discoveries in the weeks ahead.