Who knew just how many engineers we had in Year 5!   We had a fantastic morning designing and engineering a warm, waterproof den for a guinea pig, that also provided protection from predators.  We were given sticks, dried grass, plastic wallets, card, selotape, paper clips and rubber bands.  In groups of four, we discussed and designed the dens and then built them.  Once completed, we took them outside and tested whether they were waterproof!

We had a great morning learning how to be sporting superstars!  A small group of us were taught the skills needed to lead a small group around a circuit.  These leaders then guided their group through the activities, recording personal bests and encouraging team work.  We had to run sprint relays, throw a weighted ball from a standing position and hone target throwing skills, to name a few!  We thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to take part again and try to beat our personal bests!

As part of our World Book Day celebrations we joined an online virtual session with the famous author, Lisa Thompson. She has written some great books – The Goldfish Boy, The Day I Was Erased, The Graveyard Riddle – to name a few. She told us all about how she became an author and that it all began with a poem she wrote in class when she was 10 years old. Lisa read an extract from her most recent book and it sounds great! She inspired us to read her books and even have a go at writing a story ourselves about a mysterious, old compass. Here are some quotes from the children in Year 5.

Sofia – “Listening to Lisa, made me want to try some of her books as they sounded interesting.”

Simone – “It made me want to find out more about her book as she read an extract from her book The Graveyard Riddle.”

Ben – “She inspired me to have a go at writing my own story, including then compass that she showed us.”

Year 5 had a fantastic afternoon taking part in a New Age Kurling tournament run by School Sport Nottingham.  They were so excited about leaning a new sport – they’ve been asking Mrs North if she will order some of the equipment to have in school.  Fingers crossed!

We had a wonderful afternoon with the University of Nottingham and their mobile inflatable planetarium.  This was such a unique and engaging opportunity to find out about the Milky Way, constellations, Ancient Greek mythology, light pollution, navigation, the stars and much more!

It was so difficult trying to pick out just a few photos of the amazing visit we had from Mr. Mark Robertson.

Mark began his session talking to us about what it was like being an author and he shared some of the exclusive pages from his drafting books.  The story mountain gives us some crucial information on how an author plans their story – a useful tool for the classroom and home learning!  Mark also shared some of his original illustrations for the books he writes – what a talented man!

After the disussion time, Mark did a live drawing and created our very own Year 5 troll!  The remaining photos show some of the stages he took whilst creating the character.  It was breathtaking to watch and very inspiring!  The original drawings that Mark created for each class can be found displayed in the school library.

This term our topic has been the Mayans.  Mrs Nicholson arranged for 3 History students from Nottingham University to come in to our class to help teach us about who the Mayans were and how their ancient civilisation became so well known.  The photos below show the results of a fact finding lesson the students organised.  We learnt about the different Gods that the Maya worshipped; we were given a fact each about a particular God; and finally we had to find all the people in the classroom with a fact about the same God.  We finished the session by sitting in our groups and writing down all the facts we had learnt about.  It was great fun!

Year 5 made a great effort with their costumes on World Book Day!  Also, we had lots of fun designing and creating tribal tattoos for the main character (Podkin) from our whole class read text – Podkin One-Ear.

During Science Week, Year 5 conducted an experiment to explain how bacteria spreads and why it’s important to wash your hands well and often.  We took several slices of bread from the same loaf and asked different children to handle the bread.  One slice was handled by hands that had just been cleaned with soap and water for 20 seconds; one slice was handled by hands that had just used hand sanitizer; one slice was handled by hands that hadn’t been washed; one slice was rubbed with a white board rubber; one slice was rubbed on an iPad; and the final slice was a control slice.  The slices were individually bagged and have been put aside to see how the bacteria develops…

On Monday 2nd March we had a retreat morning with Issie – our Chaplain.  With it being the period of Lent, we considered what sacrifices Jesus made in his life, with his crucifixion being the ultimate sacrifice.  Then, we reflected on what things we could give up that may help others or ourselves.  We ended our retreat, reflecting on how we may have responded to the Jesus’ news during the Last Supper.

The final photo shows the Lenten Promises we made on Lenten Reflection Day.  We each wrote 3 promises on a cross relating to fasting, alms giving and a prayer.  We then coloured them in to make our display very striking!