Settling in nicely!

Hello and welcome back to the Year Five Blog!

Well, we now have week two under our belts and our new recruits continue to settle in nicely! 

Please remember that each Year Five Tutor offers a 'Drop In' session every week (please see last week's Blog for details) which is worth bearing in mind.

Lots to cover so let's get cracking...

Permission for after school clubs

I am so impressed with the number of Year Five children who have attended clubs this week! There has been an incredible turn out across the board for both lunchtime and after school activities.

Please remember that if your child is going to attend an after school club for the the first time, they need to have written permission in their Home/School diaries. If written permission is not given then they will be not be able to attend that club. 

You only need to write the permission once.

Mrs Scott and I run Book Group on a Thursday once a fortnight, and we were delighted to see so many Year Five children attend - they were fantastic!

Worth a Mention Children

Huge congratulations to the children who found their names on this week's Worth a Mention Board in the Year Five Corridor this week.

If you look at the above image you can see why these children have been awarded this honour. 

Huge congratulations to all ten of you - to be the first 'Worth a Mention Children' of the year is extremely impressive indeed.

I can't wait to see who will be on the board next week!

Golden Time

This week was the first week that we 'enforced' Golden Time in Year Five and, considering is was a first for the children, they all did a sterling job in trying and earn this precious time.

There were a few little blips that is understandable, so I am hoping that we have pointed children in the right direction so they are on target for this coming Friday.

We do appreciate that there is still a little confusion with the Reading Record section in the diary.

We are finding that what is shown in the image above is a manageable way of recording those important five weekly reads.

The children can crack on with getting their five reads and start getting them under their belts as soon as the cut off time has passed (usually a Friday morning) so the weekends are ideal times to get going.

Thank you for your patience and understanding when getting to know the new systems - we're all heading in the right direction.

The Home/School Diary needs to be signed on a weekly basis as well. The diaries this year are a different format to previous versions so if you are used to them, it is probably a bit confusing.

In order for the children to get their Golden Time, the previous week needs to be signed.

I hope that makes things a bit clearer...

Super Sentences

We have cracked on with our learning and 5ER have shown me what super duper writers they are already!

Having looked at an animation called 'Lighthouse', the children had to produce a piece of descriptive writing based on the story it told. Once they had finished, they had to choose their favourite descriptive sentence, write it on a piece of paper and then have it scrutinised by the class. They then chose their favourite sentence by voting using sticker power.

These are their favourite sentences:

...and this is where they are proudly displayed:

Marvellous!

We're going on a Spider Hunt

As part of our Ecology topic, we have been on the hunt for spiders in different habitats around the school grounds. We have found some whoppers! If you hate spiders and they turn you into a quivering wreck, then look away now!

Apologies for the blurred images - who knew that spiders were so camera shy?!

Buddens

Thank you for all the returned slips and payments for our Buddens trips on the 28th and 30th September. We have asked that payment (£5.75) and permission slips are returned by the 20th September. It is essential that medical forms are completed and returned to school as soon as possible. Without a completed medical form, we cannot take the children with us on the trip.

So, that's it for this week. I hope you all have/had a lovely weekend and a well deserved rest!

If you are feeling brave, it would be great to receive some comments? It's always makes my day when people give me some feedback so go on, make my day!

See you back here next week!

Mrs Ray

(who is already starting to check the weather forecast in preparation for our trip to Wareham!) 

...and we're off!

Hello and welcome back to the Year Five Blog.

Wow! What a fabulous first week that was! We have had a tremendous first week with our new Year Five children - it feels like they have always been here but in a good way!

As it is our first 'proper' Blog of the academic year, I will try to keep it short and sweet but I'm not making any promises...

Uniform

The children looked so smart in their new uniforms, what a credit the children are to us all!
Now, the question is, is everything named?
Time will tell...

Golden Time

This week ALL the children received and experienced Golden Time and it was lovely to see them enjoying the extra playtime that they so richly deserved.

From next week, we will be enforcing the Golden Time expectations and the children have been brilliant at taking them on board.

These are the posters that are in the classrooms and dotted around the Year Five corridor...

I so hope that everyone will get their Golden Time next Friday. Fingers crossed...

Reading Records

Over the next week, we are expecting the children to complete five reads and have them recorded in the Reading Record section of the Home/School Diary. This includes the weekends and if any members of staff listen to your child read we will record it as well.

Once you have heard your child read, you will need to initial one of the stars and write the date above it. There is a space for you to record what they have read, how many pages they have covered and any comments you can squeeze in.

We appreciate that it is a bit 'tight' for space so thank you for bearing with us. This is a new system for us too so any feedback will be gratefully received!

Year Five Drop In

It's very easy to feel that when your child starts Year Five, the shutters tend to come down a bit. Please be assured that we are very keen to stay in touch but communication becomes a bit more 'formal' when it comes to middle school.

In order to help keep the lines of communication open, the following teachers will be available in their classrooms between 3.30pm and 3.45pm on specific afternoons.

 As this is a 'drop in' session it might be that you might need a longer time slot to discuss any issues that have arisen so an appointment might need to be made for another day and time.

Mrs Ray/ Miss Enever - Mondays

Mrs White - Thursdays

Mr Duffy - Mondays

Mrs Daniel - Tuesdays

Mrs Cook - Wednesdays

Buddens

As mentioned in Ms Seymour's letter on Monday, Year Five will be heading to Buddens Farm, near Wareham as part of our Ecology topic in Science.

A letter will be going home on Monday with the full details but the headlines are:

We are going on Wednesday 28th September and Friday 30th September.

5ER, 5AD and 5KD will be going on the Wednesday.

5PC and 5CW will be going on the Friday.

The cost of the trip will be £5.75 per child.

The quality of cross curricular work that is produced as a result of this trip is fabulous, it's well worth the visit. 

So, that's it for the first 'proper' Blog of the academic year. I hope you all have a good weekend and that the children get a well deserved rest before we charge ahead with our learning on Monday. 

Thank you for all your hard work getting the children ready for DMS - they really are a credit to you.

Mrs Ray

(who has had one of the most hectic weeks ever but has a sneaky suspicion she is not on her own there...!) 

Are you ready?

Hello and welcome to the Year Five Blog!

Well, summer is nearly over so that must mean that it's back to school time! Hoorah!

The Year Five Team have been in school over the last few days making sure that everything is ready for you when you start with us on Monday.

We can't wait to see you!

Have a lovely weekend and we will look forward to seeing you on Monday in the playground before school.

Now, the question is, can you remember how to line up AND in alphabetical order?

Consider this your first challenge...

Mrs Ray

(who is worried about coming to school in her pyjamas and slippers - do you think anyone will notice?)

Happy Holidays to you all!

Hello and welcome back to the final Year Five Blog of the Academic Year!

Well, we made it! We got to the end of term relatively unscathed which is pretty impressive.

I have to say, we managed to have the busiest three days in the world ever but my goodness me, they were great days weren't they?

Want to see what we got up to? Well, read on...

Celebration Assembly

Thank you to everyone who turned out in great force on Monday. There were 122 parents/carers/grandparents and a growling child in the audience and it was lovely to see every single one of you.

We had a terrific assembly and many apologies for it running over the estimated hour but you were a super and patient audience. 

Here are a 'few' pictures to share:

Well done to all the children for taking part in the assembly. It was great to see what the children had chosen for their highlight of the year. Mrs Hammonds has reassured me that there will be microphones in the future so you will be able to hear what they are saying!

I have really enjoyed leading our Celebration Assemblies this year - you really have been a  fabulous audience and we have had  a lot of fun haven't we?

Buddy Picnic

Not long after the Celebration Assembly, the Year Fives met up with their Year Eight Buddies.

We started off in the Gym and the Year Five children sang a song that they had been practicing for their Buddies for weeks.

It was lovely. Mrs Carter and I struggled not to shed any tears!

Once the singing was finished, it was time to collect our body weight in Pringles from the classrooms and meet up with our Buddies for our picnic.

We started the picnic by playing a few appetite inducing games including the classic 'Duck, Duck, Goose'.

 Once we had played a few rounds, it was time for lunch and what a magnificent range of picnic lunches there were...

I know this is hard to believe, but I did spy quite a lot of fruit and vegetables in the picnics. Very impressive! We had a lovely time with our Buddies - thank you for such a memorable and special time!

Speed Sharing

This week it was the turn of 5ER to share their super duper writing with our Executive Head,Miss Deardon.

  

Year Five, the writing you have produced over the year has been excellent and we are so proud of everything that you have achieved. 

All for charity

We are always having haircuts aren't we? It's part of what we do. However, it's not every day that you have your hair cut for charity.

These two kind girls in Year Five had much longer hair a few days ago but had it cut in aid of a charity that makes wigs for children who have lost their hair through treatment for Cancer.

You are amazing, what an incredible thing to do!

Miracles do happen...

Every time we have a hot spell in school, we are always 'reminding' the children to remove their sweatshirts if they are hot.

Kit is clearly very hot after a break or lunchtime but always refuses to remove that top layer. That was until Wednesday when he finally conceded to taking off his sweatshirt because he was too hot!

Here is the proof that it actually happened.

He even got a round of applause from the Year Group!

Well, that it's for the year. Sob!

What a fantastic year it has been. We have had the most delightful year group this year and we are so sad to have to say 'goodbye' to every single one of you. Teaching you has been a complete and utter pleasure and we will miss you so much.

I would like this opportunity to say a huge 'Thank You' to the amazing Year Five Team who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the children make excellent progress and who make lessons fun and engaging. You are incredible and it is a joy and honour to work with you on a daily basis.

I would also like to thank all of the fantastic parents and carers for being instrumental in making this year such a success. When we first met you last July on Transfer Day there was such a lovely vibe  and this have never ceased to exist. 

Thank you to every single one of you who have taken time to read and comment on the Blog. It is so exhilarating when you see that people have taken time to read your ramblings!

Have a lovely Summer everyone!

Mrs Ray

(Have we really broken up?!!)