WELCOME TO YEAR 5 MACAWS

Macaws are known for their intelligence; they thrive on activities designed to challenge them. They are resourceful, curious and have big ideas. Being part of the upper years team, Macaws are able to gather knowledge and apply this to their daily learning.

THIS TERM'S THEME

'Be Curious...'

This term, Year 5 pupils will be learning to develop their curiosity, build new skills and ask questions that enhance their learning opportunities.

They will find out about how other localities in South America compare to life in Devon.

PE AND DANCE DAYS

PE for Macaws will be on a Friday and Dance will be on a Thursday. Please ensure your child comes to school with the correct kit, which is clearly labelled. For more information about kit requirements, please visit our 'Physical Education & School Sport' Page. We will ensure that PE kits are sent home at the end of every half term.  

HOME LEARNING DAYS

Home learning will be sent home on Fridays and should be returned to school on Wednesdays. Home learning should be completed to the best standard possible and Mathletics and Times Table Rock Stars should also be completed weekly. We celebrate the efforts of Mathletics and Times Table Rock Stars in our assemblies with special class shout outs and certificates.  

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday 25th April 2022 - First day of Summer Term

Friday 27th May 2022 - Last day of Summer 1

Monday 6th June 2022 - Non-pupil Day

Tuesday 7th June 2022 - First day of Summer 2

Monday 13th June 2022 - Macaws Residential Day 1

Tuesday 14th June 2022 - Macaws Residential Day 2

Wednesday 15th June 2022 - Macaws Residential Day 3

Monday 25th July 2022 - Last day of the Summer Term

MEET THE TEAM

If there are any issues or concerns, please feel free to come in and see your teacher (Miss Noble) or alternatively please contact a team leader (Mrs Gidley or Mrs Foster).

pnoble@white-rock-primary.torbay.sch.uk

rgidley@white-rock-primary.torbay.sch.uk

lfoster@white-rock-primary.torbay.sch.uk

ACADEMIC YEAR 2021-2022

SUMMER TERM

Summer term curriculum map

Wednesday 20th July - Cricket trip to Somerset

Today, 30 children in Year 5 and 6 visited Somerset Cricket Club to watch a match between Somerset and Yorkshire. All the children enjoyed watching the cricket, completing the activity book and getting autographs from some of the players. Have a look at some of our photos below! 

Friday 15th July 2022 - Science - Properties and Changes of Materials

Over the last week, Year 5 have completed their Science learning on Materials. We have learnt about what a mixture is and decided the best method for separating mixtures (filtering, sieving and evaporating) after thinking about the size of the particles and the state (solid, liquid or gas) of the materials in the mixtures. We thought about the properties of various materials and how they are suited to the purpose of the object. In small groups, we investigated three properties: absorbency, electrical conductivity and response to magnets. We learnt about chemical reactions and now know that when a chemical reaction occurs, a new product is made. Throughout our learning, we used our scientific skills to make predictions, to recognise and control variables, to take accurate readings from a thermometer and to present and explain the results from an enquiry. 

Thursday 7th July 2022 - Transition Day

Today we spent the day in our new Year 6 classroom, Hawks, with our new Year 6 teacher, Mr Beattie. We completed activities such as an 'All about me' booklet so that Mr Beattie can get to know us as individuals. We also got creative and sketched our self-portraits that were displayed in Hawks' classroom. At the end of the school day, our adults were invited into school to meet our new teacher and see our new classroom. We had a great day and are looking forward to being in Year 6 with Mr Beattie in September.

Monday 27th June 2022 – RSHE – Changes during puberty

This week in Year 5, we have been learning about the physical and emotional changes our bodies go through during puberty. We learnt about the reproductive organs and what changes we may see during menstruation and sperm production. In our final lesson, the children learnt the importance of personal hygiene.

The children were asked what they had learnt during the sessions.

Pupil 1: I have learnt the importance of personal hygiene. I now understand the importance of using an anti-perspirant deodorant. 

Pupil 2: I have learnt that I don't need to worry about going through puberty because it is completely normal. I know I can talk to my trusted adults if I am worried or have any questions. 

Pupil 3: I have learnt that is is ok to be different. I know what is going to happen to my body during puberty and the changes I should expect.

Pupil 4: I now know that there are reusable products that females can use during menstruation. 

Thursday 21st June 2022 – PE – Cricket Festival with Churston

Today, Year 5 took part in a Cricket Festival, run by the Year 10 Sports leaders from Churston. The children had a great time and learnt lots of new skills link with cricket, such as bowling, batting and fielding. They worked really well in the teams, to score as many points as possible. We had a brilliant afternoon.

Wednesday 15th June 2022 - Year 5 Residential - Day Three

On day three of our Residential, Macaws went to Goodrington Beach. We split into two groups. One group took part in Kayaking and the other group had a go on the giant SUP. We then swapped over. In the afternoon, after we had lunch, we built rafts and got back into the water to test them out.

Tuesday 14th June 2022 - Year 5 Residential - Day Two

On day two, we split into two groups to complete activities on Dartmoor. Half of us went to Bonehill Rocks and the other half to Hound Tor. At Bonehill we went weaselling. We moved in and out of the rocks and through some tight gaps. Everyone had a really good trying at some difficult sections. Our rock climbing was at Hound Tor, where there were two different climbs for us to have a go at. We all got better, and went higher, each time we climbed. Both groups met at Haytor and had lunch together. When we go back to camp, we enjoyed a game of Battle Royale. 

Monday 13th June 2022 - Year 5 Residential - Day One

Macaws have had a fantastic first day of their Residential. We've completed a walk from Newton Abbot down to our camp at the River Teign. Along the way, we collected as many different leaves as we could find. We made sure we only collected leaves we found on the ground, so we didn't disturb nature. When we got to camp, we settled ourselves into our tents and then played some team-building games, where we had to show good listening and communication skills. 

Wednesday 8th June 2022 - Maths - Identifying and Measuring Angles

In Macaws, we have been working on identifying and measuring angles. We know that an angle below 90° is called an acute angle, an angle measuring 90° is called a right-angle and an angle which is larger than 90°, but below 180°, is an obtuse angle. We used our protractors to take accurate measurements of the angles on our table. 

Friday 27th May 2022 - The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Celebrations!

White Rock have spent the day celebrating the 70 year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Year 5 began the day by making bunting to decorate the tables and playground ready for the whole school street party lunch. Everyone designed and made a crown to wear during lunch. During our whole school assembly, Year 5 joined together as one to sing 'Sing' by Gary Barlow and The Commonweath Band. After finishing our crowns, we enjoyed a whole school lunch. In the afternoon, the whole school got together and performed a dance to a medley of songs from each decade of the Queen's reign! We ended the day by receiving a Platinum Jubilee commemorative coin. 

Monday 23rd May 2022 - History - Visitor

We were lucky to have the chairman of the Torbay Civic Society come into school today and talk to us about Wilfred Owen, a WW1 soldier and war poet. He was born in 1893 and sadly passed away on 4th November 1918, just one week before the Armistice. As a young child, Owen dreamt of becoming an aviator and during training was recognised as officer material. In June 1916, he received a commission as lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment. Owen received a Military Cross on Armistice Day. Owen, who wrote some of the best British poetry on World War I, composed nearly all of his poems in just over a year, from August 1917 to September 1918. We learnt about the blue plaques that are on display around the English Riviera as part of the Heritage Trail. One of these plaques is dedicated to Owen and can be found on Union Street, Torquay. We have learnt a lot about Wilfred Owen and our local history today!

Friday 20th May 2022 – Art – Queen’s Jubilee

Year 5 have begun to think about the Queen’s Jubilee and all the things that have happened during her reign. We are creating a wall hanging that celebrates her Platinum Jubilee. We thought about things we associate with the Queen and the Capital City – London. We each designed an image and painted it onto fabric. We’re looking forward to seeing them all together.

Tuesday 10th May 2022 - D&T - Lego WeDo Moon Rovers

As part of our Design and Technology learning this term, Year 5 have been exploring rovers used by NASA. We developed a design criteria for a new rover and used the Lego WeDo sets to build, programme and evaluate our designs. Have a look through the photos below.

Wednesday 4th May 2022 - Online Safety Session

Today an online safety consultant, from the UK Safer Internet Centre, came to speak to Upper Years about how to be safe and sensible online. 

We started our session by thinking about what it means to go online - searching on the internet, watching YouTube videos, gaming, interacting with others, texting, messaging. As a group, we discussed the term 'digital tattoos', which replaces 'digital footprints'. We talked about the permanency of a tattoo. Anything we put online, will stay there, whether we delete it or not. We explored Apps that allow us to send photographs, such as Snapchat and Instagram, and the journey a photo we send takes before it reaches the recipient. 

Later in the session, we discussed gaming and the games we can play online. We were able to identify situations that we may come across whilst playing online games that may be unsafe and came up with strategies we could put in place to help keep us safe. Included in this were: playing in a solo mode or creating our own server, only accepting requests from people we know, blocking and reporting spam comments, not wearing headsets, playing offline and turning various settings off/down.

Thursday 28th April 2022 - PSHE - Debate

In PSHE, Year 5 have been learning about democracy. We learnt about parliament, voting and debating. The class had a go at discussing the motion ‘Lessons should be optional’ and the children shared their opinions. Everyone then voted to decide whether they were for or against the motion.

Heath - "I think people should be able to choose what they learn, as they might not be interested in a specific lesson or subject, or they might not need that subject knowledge to achieve their future career goal."

Archie - "I don't think lessons should be optional because someone might not choose a lesson that they might need to become a vet or a chef when they are older."

SPRING TERM

Spring term curriculum map 

Tuesday 5th April 2022 - PE - Swimming 

This term, we have been going to Brixham to swim. We have all gained in confidence and have been working on improving our strength and technique when in the water. 

Friday 1st April 2022 - Home Learning - CENTURY

Use the QR code or weblink below to access CENTURY. 

Remember to click on 'Sign in with Office365' before inputting your username and password. This is the same information you use for Guided Reading. 

Tuesday 29th March 2022 – Science – Night and Day

Our topic for Science is ‘Earth and Space’. We have been learning about night and day. The vocabulary we have been learning to support our understanding is rotate, axis and shadow. We used a torch, Lego person and globe to show how the sun shines on the Earth and the Earth rotation causes night and day. We also discovered that countries on either side of Earth experience night and day simultaneously.

Thursday 24th March 2022 - Paddleboat Theatre Company

We were so lucky today to have the Paddleboat Theatre Company come in to share their performance of 'Margo and Mr Whatsit'. It was about a girl called Sophia, who has an imaginary friend called Mr Whatsit. No matter where Sophia finds herself living, he's always there with a new joke to tell and a new game to play! We listened really well and had so much fun watching this. Thank you Paddleboat!

Friday 19th March 2022 - Red Nose Day

Today we wore our red noses, dressed up as super heroes or wore red to support the fantastic work of Comic Relief. During the day, we took part in some activities that the Y6s arranged - Red nose and spoon race, Guess the amount in the jar, Pin the Red Nose and Red Nose coin fill. 

Friday 11th March 2022 - Music - Glockenspiels

This week, Year 5 have started to learn how to play the glockenspiel. We began by learning how to hold the beater correctly and comfortably. We then recapped reading music notation from our recorder learning last term, recognising a half rest and a quarter rest. We had a go at playing D, E and F and then put the notes together to play 'D-E-F-initely'. 

Tuesday 1^st March 2022-Friday 4^th March 2022 – D&T – Soup Making

This week, we have been learning all about soup making. First, we thought about why we make soup and discussed the different types (like broths and stews). We looked at why you would make and eat soups and how they are a great way to contribute to a healthy lifestyle and a balance diet.

We looked at the different soups that you can get on the market and how they are packaged. As a class we thought about why cans, plastics and cartons are good to use to package soups and the reason retailers make those choices about what to use, and that as a result they are stored in different ways.

Next, we tested some shop-bought soups to see which ones we liked and completed a chart on taste, appearance, consistency and texture. Macaws favourite soup was tomato and basil.

Once we knew which flavours we liked, we created some designs and then picked the best one to make a final design, which we then created a recipe/step-by-step guide for.

To make our soups, we had to be very careful using the knives and peelers. We listen well and found out that different vegetables are cut, chopped and peeled in different ways.

Here we are doing our learning this week...

Thursday 3rd March 2022 - Reading - World Book Day

Today was World Book Day 2022. We dressed up as some of our favourite book characters; some of us dressed as ourselves because we are all authors! We started off the day with a whole school assembly, where we listened to Green Eggs and Ham by Dr.Seuss. Later on in the day, we shared stories with Foundation and listened to some snippets from a variety of stories. 

Wednesday 16^th February 2022 – Science – Asexual reproduction

Today in our Science learning, we explored how some living things reproduce asexually. This means that only one parent is needed to create offspring and they create a perfect clone of themselves to keep their lifecycle going! We planned our own scientific enquiry to see asexual reproduction in action. We took cuttings of basil plants, used rooting powder to encourage root growth and potted them in nutrient-rich soil. Hopefully, we will soon see if they would grow smaller plants - proving that basil plants can reproduce asexually!

Thursday 10th February 2022 – Art – Drawing

This week in Art, Year 5 have been experimenting using different types of mark making to draw a variety of waves. We looked at different techniques to show the water’s spray as a wave begins to barrel over. Next, we will look at planning the foreground, midground and background of the painting ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ before creating our own drawing and painting these.

Friday 4^th February 2022 – Writing – Kensuke’s Kingdom

Year 5 are beginning to start our new writing journey. We will be using the text Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. We will look at Morpurgo’s writing style and the ideas which inspire him to write. We know that he is a children’s author, and he likes to write from the point of view of his main characters.

Here are the first four chapters for you to read:  

Monday 24th January 2022 - Writing – Non-chronological reports

In Writing sessions, we have been currently looking at the features of a non-chronological report. As a class, we completed a shared write on Camels. We planned it together, wrote an example and used this to inform and support our own writing.

Tuesday 18th January 2022 – Music – Music Lab

In Music, we have been experimenting using Chrome Music Lab to create our own 16-bar melodies. We looked at how you can change the tempo, instrument, percussion, the length and the beats per bar. Below is a QR code for the children to access Chrome Music Lab at home, if they would like to!

Monday 10th January 2022 – Geography – Trade Journeys

Today, we have been looking at the importance of imports, exports and trade, in the UK. We learnt what these words meant.

Below are photos of us completing our learning to show how vegetables are traded around the world.

Wednesday 5^th January 2022 – PHSE – Emotions, Feelings and Friends

This week, in PHSE we have been thinking about friendships. We discussed four key questions:

• Do you like all your friends in the same way?
• Do you like doing the same thing with all of your friends?
• Do you tend to see some friends only in certain situations?
• Would you want to see all of your friends all the time?

We realised through our discussion that we all tend to have friendships at different levels, and this is ok. We do not want to be best friends with all of our friends. Some of us have many friends, while some prefer to have one close friend.

We completed a diagram to help us understand the relationships we have with our friends. We didn’t need to use anyone’s real name if we didn’t want to.

This was our task:

AUTUMN TERM

Autumn term curriculum map 

Thursday 16th December 2021 - Christmas Dinner

Macaws had a delicious Christmas dinner today. We really enjoyed eating all the pigs-in-blankets, pulling the crackers and telling all the jokes.

Thursday 9th December 2021 – Maths – Fluency

This term, Macaws have been working on building up their fluency and speed in the 2, 5, 10 and 4 multiplication tables. We have two minutes to complete 40 multiplication questions and then we check our answers but chanting together.

Watch the videos below, to see how we do it.

Friday 3rd December 2021 - Art - Jo Di Bona

Today Macaws began preparing for their final piece of artwork, in the style of Jo Di Bona. We started by sketching our portraits using photographs of ourselves and we then using a black pen to outline our portrait and features. In the next few sessions, we will be adding colour using scraps of coloured paper, coloured pencils and coloured inspirational words. 

Friday 26th November 2021 – Maths – Squared and Cubed Numbers

In Maths this week, we have been finding out about squared and cubed numbers. We understand that a squared number is a number that is multiplied by itself twice, for example: 2x2=4. After we learnt this, we also discovered that a number multiplied by itself three times is a cubed number, for example 2x2x2=8. We used the multi-link to help show the cubed numbers.

Monday 15th November 2021 - PHSE - Anti-Bullying Week

Today marks the start of Anti-Bullying Week. This morning, we listened to Mrs Tomkinson's assembly and watched 'Andy and The Odd Socks' singing this years new song, 'One kind word'. Lots of us wore odd songs to celebrate that everyone is unique. 

Thursday 11th November 2021 – PE – Reach Outdoors

For the past two weeks, we have been with Reach Outdoors. The groups changed over their activities.

Archery

Group A had a great time firing the arrows in archery. We listened carefully to the instructors so that we knew how to hold the bow properly and help to develop a better aim. We played a game called ‘Holiday’ where each colour of our target corresponded to a place to stay/how we were going to get there/what our accommodation was etc. We had some very funny combinations. Everyone in the group improved their aim.

Climbing

Group B had a fantastic time climbing. Everyone in the group pushed themselves to climb further up the wall. We encouraged and supported each other. Like the group before us, we had to think about how to be safe and use the procedures, that we had been taught, to get up and down the wall.

Friday 5th November – Outdoor Learning – Observing the Environment

As part of National Outdoor Learning Day, Macaws have been out and about in the wooded area. We have been making observations about what sort of wildlife and nature we can see in the environment around our school. We discovered that there’s a lot more to see when you take the time to look really closely! We grouped some of the things we were looking at and came up with a tally chart to note how many times we had seen it. Once back in class, we used our data to create a bar chart to show our findings.

Monday 18th October 2021 - Music - Recorders

In Music this term, Year 5 have been learning to play a variety of notes, whilst building on their prior knowledge. We have used the notes 'B', 'A' and 'G' to play along to a variety of songs and can read and play these notes confidently. 

Thursday 14^th October 2021 – PE – Reach Outdoors

Today, half of the class got to go climbing and while the other half stayed at school to take part in archery. 

Archery

Group B learnt all about how to hold the bow and arrows properly so we could aim correctly. Before we started, we thought about how to be safe. We needed to make sure that we listened carefully to the instructors, stayed behind the guideline, and carried the arrows with the tip down. 

To help with our aiming, we played two games - 'The Perfect Pizza' and 'Happy Holidays'. Each area of the board related to pizza toppings, for the first game. For the second game, it related to the location of the trip, the transport we would use to get there and who we would spend the holiday with. We had some very funny combinations!

Climbing

Group A had lots of fun climbing. When we got to the wall, we had to make sure we had all our safety equipment. We learnt how to put our helmets on correctly, step into our harness and clip onto the ropes. While we were climbing, we needed to make sure we were being cautious about who was around us and be aware of the rope. Once we’d got to the top, we needed to use the correct procedure to get down the wall. You had to lean back, with your legs straight and feet on the wall. You then had to walk down.

Thursday 7th October 2021 - Year 5 Residential Presentation 

Please find attached the presentation from Reach Outdoors regarding our upcoming residential in June 2022.

Tuesday 6th October 2021 - Science - Digestive System

In Year 5, we have been exploring how the digestive system works from taking the first bite to disposing of waste. We have built upon our previous learning about the functions of teeth and looked at what happened once we swallow our food. During our investigation, we used bread to represent how food is torn and broken up by our teeth, orange juice to represent the stomach’s acids and water. We then mixed the food, juice and water up in a bag, to represent the stomach breaking down food before moving into the small intestines. The contents of the bag was then put into some tights and squeezed to represent the nutrients being absorbed into the body. We then cut the end of the tights to show the body disposing of the waste products.

Wednesday 29th September 2021 - Assembly - Parliament

Today we were visited by a guest speaker, who spoke to us about The Houses of Parliament. We learnt about what happens in The Houses of Parliament and the two main Houses - The House of Lords and The House of Commons. At White Rock, our constituency is Totnes and our local MP is Anthony Mangnall. He represents us and our area and shares our views with the rest of Parliament. 

Thursday 23rd September 2021 - Writing - Recycling Week

In Year 5 this week, we have been writing an informative leaflet about the 3 R's (reduce, reuse, recycle) and the different materials that can be recycled. We discussed the impact of recycling and how it can help to save our environment. The children aimed to give their leaflet a bright, eye-catching design to draw their readers in. 

Friday 17th September 2021 - Science - Taste Test

In our Science lesson this week, Year 5 learnt about the function of the salivary glands and taste buds and the role they play in the digestion of food. We learnt that digestion starts in our mouths and messages are sent to and from our brain to the various parts of our bodies that are involved with digestion. As part of our learning, we used our taste buds to conduct a taste test. We all ate three sweets of the same colour - one whilst blindfolded and with our noses pinched; another whilst just blindfolded and then the final sweet whilst neither blindfolded or noses pinched. We recorded our predictions and our results - they were very interesting!

Did you know that, on average, humans have around 10,000 taste buds on their tongue?

Friday 10th September 2020 - Art - Evaluation

As part of our Art learning in Year 5, we have started evaluating the work of a famous Parisian artist called Jo Di Bona. His artwork has a creative yet unique style, which mixes a range of pop culture with graffiti, collage and bright colours. He is often recognised for the large murals he creates for popular galleries across the world. As a class, we started off by evaluating his artwork into our sketch books with discussions about what we like and dislike. The end goal will be creating a self-portrait of ourselves in a similar style to his.