Welcome to the Antarctica Year 5 Class Page. Here, you can find out about everything that we've been doing this term.
Friday 8th December
This week, Year 5 welcomed back the Prayer Spaces team, who helped us to think about some of the important figures in the Christmas story, from Mary and Joseph to the shepherds and the wise men. It gave us time to reflect on how each of them played their part in the events of Jesus' birth all those years ago.
We were also very excited to welcome back Adam Bushnell, who worked with us on Thursday afternoon. He brought with him a Christmas-themed writing activity, but of course, being Adam, it was no ordinary session - Victorian ghost stories were the order of the day, . This led to some great discussion about settings and characters, resulting in some super suspense writing. Everyone had great fun thinking of ideas, and the writing that we produced was fantastic - Adam was incredibly impressed!
Happy December - what a fantastic week! On Tuesday, year 5 headed off on the coach to Durham for a day at the cathedral and a riverside walk. Our tour guides, Sarah and Nick, were so helpful and told us a lot about the cathedral and the monks that used to live there. Did you know that it took 40 years to build the whole cathedral? After a guided tour and a look at the museum of Durham and Saint Cuthbert’s treasures, it was a walk down to the riverside for some fresh air and a look at the river. Once we arrived at the marketplace, we had a look at the timeline of Durham and the important historical events in its history. We had a fantastic day, and it wasn’t too cold! We really did Emmaville proud with our behaviour and fantastic questioning skills – what a great time!
Another week has flown by, and we have been very busy! In English, we finished our unit of suspense stories, and they were great. From escaping panthers, to running from elephants - we really did use our imaginations.
In science, we began to discuss the geocentric and heliocentric models of the solar system. We then got a chance to head to the yard to recreate our very own heliocentric solar system, rotating and orbiting the sun. Whilst some went off course (spinning makes us very dizzy!), we managed to imitate how the planets move in space.
Thursday night saw some of us head to the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle for a night of performing with Channy at her Decade Concert. We had a great time and really enjoyed seeing lots of different performers. We even got our moment to shine as part of a choir singing alongside Channy in a medley of songs by Coldplay - and we sounded brilliant!
This week has been so busy - we don't know how it's already Friday again! This week, we kept working on our suspense stories and using description to build tension. Some of our stories are shaping up to be terrifying, we can't wait to share some with you next week.
In science, an investigation into the planets made us realise just how tiny we are in our solar system. We researched some facts and made information sheets all about the planets - ask us what our favourite fact was!
Today was, of course, Children in Need! Not only did we get a lovely treat of watching the year 6 class assembly, but we also got to share some cookies as part of the fair trade committee's fundraising activities. We also wore some great Pudsey themed outfits! It has been a great week, we can't wait to see what fun we have next week!
The first week of our new half term has been jam-packed with new learning and lots of fun! In science, we started our new topic all about Earth and Space. We discussed evidence that told us that the Earth is, indeed, a sphere. This discussion got us thinking, and we wish that we could go up into space ourselves to have a look!
On Thursday, we were lucky enough to receive a singing workshop from Channy Thompson and Jamie Lee Harrison. The pair taught us some vocal warmups and sang through a medley of songs with us. I think they would agree that we are fantastic singers, and we made our teachers proud with our great behaviour and enthusiasm.
Just like that, our first half term in year 5 is over! We want to share some of the amazing things that we have already achieved in only 8 weeks. So far in year 5 we have…
Celebrated 5 birthdays
Learned new songs and practised singing as a class
Completed 2 maths tests (and done incredibly well in both of them!)
Been swimming weekly and learned new skills both in the pool and on poolside
Competed in sports competitions, showing our Emmaville pride and sportsmanship
Used our coding skills to make our own computer games on Scratch
Designed and created WW1 propaganda posters
Completed two pieces of writing in English to demonstrate our report and warning story writing skills
Elected our school council representatives
Conducted 6 science experiments
Made pop up books all about Antarctica
Read lots of different texts and started a class reader
Learned new topics in history
Practised our French skills
Welcomed new friends to our class
And that is only a sample of what we have been busy with!
We can’t wait to see where the next half term will take us, with visits and exciting lessons ahead. Have a great half term, and a well-deserved rest!
Friday 20th October
We have had a great week; the rain and wind won’t stop us! In art, we finished our WW1 propaganda inspired posters. We used cross-hatching, bright colours, catchy slogans and eye-catching images to encourage men to join the fight, women to take up jobs, and British citizens to lessen their waste.
In science, we completed an experiment that we planned as a class. We wanted to investigate if the amount of water in a beaker would alter the time it took for 1tsp of sugar to dissolve. We had some great ideas, came up with a hypothesis (using the particle model, of course!) and began to test our theories. We found that – for the most part – our predictions were correct. The more water that we used, the faster the sugar would dissolve as there were more water particles bouncing off the sugar particles and helping them dissolve into the water. We are great scientists in year 5!
Another week races past - the end of our first half term is so close!
In maths this week, we completed our end of unit assessment for decimal fractions, and we certainly proved that we know our stuff! We all did absolutely amazingly, showing our skill and confidence proudly.
History lessons allowed us to travel back in time to WW1, and begin to analyse what life may have been like in the trenches. Did you know that soldiers often had to deal with rats that were the size of cats? Ask us at home about the trenches, we learned some amazing (and gruesome!) facts.
Finally, this week saw those of us who wanted to run for school council get up and perform our speeches in front of the class to explain why we would be perfect for the job. A huge congratulations to everybody who got up and presented, it isn't easy to have that confidence and takes a lot of bravery! Well done to Sophie B and Ethan P for being elected - we can't wait to see what you get up to this year.
Friday 6th October
Another fantastic week in year 5 – we have lots to be proud of!
In science, we have worked to come up with our own hypothesis. This meant that we could decide what we wanted to investigate, predict what could happen, and then test our theory. Then, we learned all about the concentration gradient, and it was time to experiment again! Using skittles, water, and a sugar cube, we watched as the colours (made from sugar) began to flow and move away from the most concentrated areas. It was a fascinating experiment with beautiful results!
On Thursday this week, it was National Poetry Day. We have been focussing on poetry all week in English, specifically ‘Raven’ by Robert Macfarlane. From this poem, we were inspired to write our own poems in the same style. We are budding poets in Antarctica, and all of our poems were truly incredible. We leave you with a poem written by Emily, all about her chosen animal; Owl.
Friday 29th September
We are now officially halfway through our first half term in year 5 - times flies when you're having fun!
This week, we have been busy writing our own warning stories in English. We are all avid storywriters, and it has been great to get our ideas written down and create our own plots. A huge well done to our two students who have been awarded 'Writer of the Month' this week - Noah and Drew!
In PSHE, we have been looking at what makes us special. One idea that we discussed is that if everybody was the same, the world would be very boring! We created 'culture wheels' to show our own culture, and compared them with other members of our class. We learned that whilst we do have differences, we are all similar in some ways. Conflict can sometimes happen because of differences, and we had a great chat about how to make sure this does not happen and ensuring we are kind to others. Enjoy the small selection of culture wheels, and have a great weekend!
This week we have worked hard and made some amazing progress – you wouldn’t think we had only been in year 5 for 3 weeks!
We kept working hard on our warning stories in English and have developed our own plot to follow the classic structure. We can’t wait to start writing them next week to see our ideas come to life! From mysterious forests, the creepy coastline to a fast paced river – our stories are sure to be great reading.
In computing, we had a go at some coding. It is national coding week this week, and we enjoyed learning more about code and the way we use computers. We learned about Ada Lovelace’s life (she did so much in only 37 years!) and had a look into AI and what it can do for us. Then, it was time to have a turn at coding our own game. We worked so hard and managed to get through the game with ease!
Another busy week in Antarctica, and this week has been a great opportunity to start delving into some of our year 5 topics.
In computing, eSafety was our focus. We know how to keep ourselves safe online and learned how to use the technology at school safely and for the correct purpose. We were shocked at how easy it was to fake news, and understand that fact checking is the key to knowing if we are reading the truth or not.
We became scientists this week to investigate different properties of materials. Some were waterproof, some were opaque, some were soluble - but they were all incredibly fun to investigate!
We are going to try and use our new scientific words as much as possible, so listen out for those at home...
Just like that, a fantastic first week comes to a close! We have started the year fantastically and can’t wait to see what year 5 will bring us. One fantastic piece of work that we have completed is a class acrostic poem, explaining how it would feel to fly for the first time;
Flight – By Antarctica 2023-24
Flying like a dove, like I’ve never done before.
Light beaming as I take off into the crystal-blue skies.
I move majestically and smoothly through the vast great beyond.
Gliding past the desert-like sun.
Happily hiding behind the clouds, soaring over the mountains.
The ground is low and I am high, I can skim the water and I can fly!
We are so excited for year 5, and any nerves and worries have quickly dissolved as the week has progressed. We are very happy to be back with our class, with some new friends and a whole year of fun ahead of us.
Privacy and Cookies Policy
Part 1: Privacy Policy
Last Edited: 22nd April 2021
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Part 2: Cookie Policy
Last Edited: 22nd April 2021
This Cookie Policy explains how eSchools use cookies and similar technologies in our Services. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control their use.
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