Chiddingstone Church of England School
Going Above and Beyond Together
***********************Congratulations to Mary, this week's Star of the Week and to Will O for last week******************
Children have had a busy and varied week this week. They have completed their three maths assessments and the whole class has made good progress which is excellent news and testament to their hard work and focus.
In computing, Mr Miles brought in a Green Screen and children filmed each other presenting information about an aspect of the UK. We look forward to seeing the finished product once we have edited them and added backgrounds. We should hopefully end up with a comprehensive guide to the geography of the UK.
In the limited time we've had for English lessons, children's persuasive letters are coming on and will be completed next week. We have also started a short science topic, considering how we separate different mixtures using magnetism, filtration, sieving and evaporation. Next week we'll think about the properties of different materials.
We look forward to seeing parents for our CATs meetings on Thursday.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Maths - multiplication on Atom
English - words with silent letters
Spellings:
Week 6 Words with silent letters 2 |
wrestle |
wrapper |
island |
castle |
guarantee |
guilty |
debris |
yacht |
mortgage |
There was great excitement this week as we prepared for our next piece of writing - a letter to the Senior Leadership Team recommending that we include insects on our school lunch menu. We have been discussing the benefits of this sustainable food source and comparing the amount of protein, fibre and omega-3 in a 200 calorie serving of insects versus the same amount of beef or salmon.
To ensure we researched this topic thoroughly, children had the opportunity to test a selection of edible mealworms, crickets and locusts on Thursday - not all were convinced. Mrs Durrant gamely came into the classroom and undertook a kind of celebrity 'Bush Tucker Trial'. I'm not sure she was persuaded either but she and Mrs Haysom will soon be receiving persuasive letters extolling the virtues of replacing meat with edible insects on the lunch menu - watch this space!
In maths, we are still manipulating fractions and children used their homework on the UK to write scripts ahead of filming and editing in computing lessons with Ed Miles next week.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Maths: division for Earlybirders and fractions for the rest
English: apostrophes for all.
Spellings:
Week 5 Words with silent letters |
autumn |
column |
thumb |
know |
knot |
lamb |
knuckle |
debt |
solemn |
knight |
Children, I'm sure, will be revelling in today's 'Break the Rules Day', but I am pleased to be writing this from the solace of my quiet kitchen! I hope they've had fun and it is a successful fundraiser.
This week's offering has included an African Drumming Workshop on Wednesday and our Kind Minds session on Monday. Off the back of this, the children have started GRACE journals - do ask them what the acronym stands for as they have been a popular addition to our classroom activities and will hopefully be part of their building good habits to look after their mental health.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Maths: fractions on ATOM - Earlybirders have a slightly different homework.
English: The children are making short videos about the United Kingdom. They have all been given a topic to present so I would like them to do a little research at home this week and bring any information they have discovered in by Thursday.
Spellings:
Week 4 Creating nouns using -ship suffix |
membership |
ownership |
partnership |
dictatorship |
championship |
craftsmanship |
fellowship |
apprenticeship |
dictatorship |
sponsorship |
********************************Congratulations to our Star of the Week - Amelia**************************************
We've had a great week in Year 5 - our trip to the Greenwich Observatory was exciting and informative and the children were complimented on their behaviour and engagement.
Back in the classroom, we've been building on our knowledge and understanding of fractions by looking at how we can order and compare fractions with different denominators. This is quite a tricky concept to grasp but the children are coping well.
In English, we've been doing reading, grammar and spelling assessments as well as continuing with our Amazonian Animal fact files.
On Monday (20th) we are lucky enough to be taking part in a workshop run by Kind Minds all about how to deal with the many and varied pressures of growing up in today's world. I am hoping we can build on this as the year progresses.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Maths - Ordering Fractions on Atom Learning. Those who attend the Maths Earlybird Club have a slightly different homework - see activities set on Atom.
English on Atom - subordinate clauses - same questions for everyone.
Spellings:
Week 3 Creating nouns using -ness suffix |
happiness |
hardness |
madness |
nastiness |
silliness |
tidiness |
childishness |
willingness |
carelessness |
foolishness |
*************************************Congratulations to our Star of the Week, Oscar***********************************
Happy New Year to everyone - I hope you all enjoyed Christmas.
We've had a positive, if chilly, start to the term and children are already getting stuck in to our new topic - Investigating Our World. The focus is on geography and we have begun by revising some of the basics - continents, countries and capitals of the UK and compass points.
On Monday, we'll rewind back to our Earth and Space topic during our trip to the Greenwich Observatory but we will have the chance to touch on geography as the children will have the opportunity to stand on the Greenwich Meridean line and think about different time zones around the world.
In maths, we're working on fractions; converting improper fractions to mixed numbers and in English, the children have begun to plan an information text on a creature from the Amazon Rainforest. This has been inspired by the class book, The Explorer.
See below for homework details.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Atom Learning Maths - Fractions - there is a seperate homework for those who attend Earlybirds on a Wednesday morning.
English - grammar - phrases
Spellings: (see attached for the whole term's spellings.) We will focus on the purple ones in class - the blue are for those who want to extend their learning.
Week 2 Creating nouns using -ity suffix |
community |
curiosity |
ability |
visibility |
captivity |
activity |
eternity |
flexibility |
possibility |
sensitivity |
Congratulations to Alice and Rufus who both received this term's Headteacher Awards - very well done to both.
And well done to Year 5 for dancing so brilliantly in our Carol Service - it was a wonderful celebration.
Thank you for our very generous gifts and cards and we hope you have a very happy Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year - see you in 2025!
NO HOMEWORK OVER CHRISTMAS>
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander.
********************Congratulations to our two stars of the week this week, Eddie and Henry - great work**************************
Phew - that was a tough week! We were pleased to welcome Ofsted in and show them what a fantastic cohort of children we have in Year 5 and across the school. One of the inspectors came into our science lesson on Tuesday afternoon and chatted to several children about their learning. I was proud of their excellent behaviour as well as their intelligent, well thought through answers - well done Class 5.
In other news, we have begun planning our CAM toys ready for construction next week - please could children bring in any cereal boxes or similar on Monday morning. Seb has kindly constructed a prototype for us (see picture) - ours will be similar but possibly slightly less professional as that was a shop bought kit!
Rehearsals are underway for the Carol Service on Wednesday evening. It starts at 6pm - please use the drop and go system to send your child into school in full school uniform between 5:30 - 5:45 pm.
There is no homework this week.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
********************************Congratulations to Seb W, this week's Star of The Week*******************************
....It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in Year 5 - we've managed to open a few Advent Calendar doors (when we remembered) and there seems to be a tiny little Elf floating about in the classroom. Our Christmas post box will be in the classroom from Monday for children to post any cards they'd like to send to their classmates. No stamps or addresses required.
The trip to Wicked on Wednesday was a huge success but clearly exhausting judging by the enormous yawns on Thursday! Well done children for being impeccably behaved and making the trip enjoyable for all involved.
Back in the classroom, our science topic took us into the playground today to learn all about gears. A huge thank you to Charlie, Seb W and Arthur for bringing in your bikes and to all who donated cardboard. There is a little science homework on Atom this week instead of the usual English.
In maths, we're looking at line graphs as well as starting to revise our work on multiplication and division. Story writing and speech punctuation have taken over our English classes and children are beginning to refine their proof-reading skills.
We will be making simple toys in Design and Technology lessons towards the end of term. If any parents are available to help with construction on Monday 16th or Tuesday 17th December in the afternoons, I'd be very grateful. Please contact the office if you can help.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Atom Learning Science and Maths
Spellings - we will stick with last week's words and will add in some extra homophones throughout the week - see below.
farther
father
guessed
guest
heard
herd
led
lead
mourning
morning
************Congratulations to Tilly T - last week's Star of the Week and to Nico, this week's Star of the Week***************
We've had a science filled week in Year 5 as we've been investigating the forces of friction, air resistance and water resistance. Children experimented with pulling different types of shoes along their desks with a force meter to measure the number of Newtons it took depending on the soles of the shoes.
Some groups also branched out to test the same shoe on different surfaces. We followed that with the construction of parachutes to see how air resistance affects the rate at which things fall to the ground. Brian Cox's experiment showing what happens when you drop a bowling ball and a feather in a vacuum was a good starting point (see link).
In maths, we've started to look at reading timetables and in English we're writing stories based on the competition winners in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and COSMIC. We have been considering how authors develop their characters by making them speak and act in certain ways. Even their names are important; Verruca Salt is a case in point!
Don't forget, we have the trip to London on Wednesday 4th - packed lunches and red hats are the important things to remember.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
ATOM Maths and English
Spellings: homophones and near homophones
past
passed
proceed
precede
aisle
isle
aloud
allowed
affect
effect
Finally, winter has arrived but the children were slightly put out by the lack of snow...adults, not so much.
Our maths has moved on to encompass division - we only ever use the short method for larger numbers and children have grasped it very well.
Much of our English lessons have been taken up with presentations about the Solar System - the standard of content and confidence when presenting has been a credit to Year 5 - they have all stepped up to the mark and produced excellent work.
We were delighted to have a visit from Kent Libraries on Thursday as we have, once more, won the Reading Challenge - a huge well done to all who took part.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
Atom Homework: Modal Verbs and Word Problems - a total of 10 questions - PLEASE COMPLETE BY 29/11/24
Spellings: words with the long /i/ sound spelt with a 'y'
supply
identify
multiply
rhyme
cycle
python
hyphen
It was great to see many of you at Parent's Evening on Wednesday and I look forward to catching up with everyone else this week. The children have worked hard at reflecting on their successes and where they can improve - hopefully, the little presentations they have put together will be good practice as they go through their school careers.
In the classroom, we have been tackling column multiplication which has been quite difficult for many children to grasp - we will ensure everyone understands by the end of the year.
Our English lessons have been taken up with creating PowerPoints on various objects in our Solar System - I look forward to watching their presentations on Monday.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
ATOM LEARNING:
Maths Word Problems
English - colons and semi-colons
pyramid
symbol
mystery
oxygen
physical
system
rhythm
Welcome back everyone - it's been an interesting week which has included a visit from the Bishop of Bondeni, and a webinar by a Greenwich Royal Observatory astronomer - never a dull moment in Year 5.
Bishop Luzineth took part in our Act of Worship on Tuesday, leading the children in a short song in Swahili and answering questions about his life and work in Tanzania. Our link school, Bondeni, is part of his diocese.
Wednesday kicked off with our webinar and subsequent quiz. Children were interested to hear that the Earth orbits the sun every 365.25 days hence the need for a leap year - it's wonderful to see them fully engaged with this fascinating topic.
Our new class book, COSMIC, seems to be a popular choice, with children laughing out loud at the antics of the narrator, Liam, we're looking forward to finding out how exactly he ends up in space.....
We have our first Parent Teacher meetings on Wednesday. Don't forget that your child will join us for the first part of the meeting as they have put together a presentation on their learning and progress so far.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK:
Please do some research on your group's Solar System object and bring in (or email in) the information you have discovered for Monday.
ATOM LEARNING MATHS - written multiplication and estimating.
Spellings this term - see attached - we have completed Week 1 this week.
ambitious
cautious
infectious
nutritious
anxious
Congratulations to Seb W and Rosie for being the recipient's of our end of term Headteacher's Awards
Happy holidays to everyone and well done for all your hard work this term.
We have had a busy but productive time in Year 5. Homework this half term is to learn, write (or type) up your chosen poem and decorate it for the first Monday back, as well as to draw your self portraits as per Mrs Clare's email.
Our topics next term are Earth and Space and Forces and Movement. We have a webinar with the Royal Observatory booked for 6th November and we are working on a couple of other exciting trips - watch this space.
Brian Cox has a new series on our Solar System out which may be of interest.
Have a lovely couple of weeks.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
Congratulations to Oskar S for last week and Evie, who is this week's Star of The Week.
We've had a lovely week in Year 5. Monday started with great excitement as the children were told who their Year 1 buddy was going to be. They spent a very pleasant 20 minutes at the end of the day, reading with their buddies and getting to know them. It was good to see how kind and gentle they all were with the younger children.
Talking of reading, we are looking forward to seeing as many of you as can make it for our Reading Cafe and Open Classroom on Friday (18th October) from 2:45pm. Please do bring along your favourite children's book to share with Year 5 - any cake donations would also be much appreciated.
In maths, we've been focusing on factors, multiples and prime numbers - times tables are crucial for this. Please do take advantage of Times Tables Rock Stars and encourage your children to practise.
In English, we've had an excellent time reading a child friendly version of Romeo and Juliet and we had a brilliant Drama Workshop on Thursday in which the children re-enacted the hilarious but cautionary tale of the Emperor's New Clothes.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK: Practise Times Tables, and English and Maths on Atom Learning
SPELLINGS: Words with the /s/ sound spelt ‘sc’
Science
Fascinate
Scene
Crescent
Scissors
Scent
Descent
Ascent
Scenery
Scientist
Friday 4th October
October has started with a bang. The children have worked hard across the curriculum this week.
Their ghost stories are typed up and decorated with suitably spooky images - they enjoyed thinking about their vocabulary and sentence structure to try and create tension and terrify their readers.I was pleased to also find a sprinkling of dark comedy in some of their work.
In maths, we’ve been looking at column subtraction and considering how we borrow across two place values - they are becoming increasingly secure with working into the millions!
The highlight of the week has been creating self portraits in the Tudor style. The results are impressive and surprisingly regal.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
Homework
Spellings:
Words with the 'ai' sound spelled 'eigh', 'ei' or 'ey
eight
weigh
weight
eighty
neighbour
vein
veil
prey
convey
Maths: Atom Learning - Written subtraction, mental addition and subtraction
*********************************Congratulations to Arthur - this week's Star of the Week**********************************************
It's been another packed week in Year 5. Preparations for our Harvest Presentation are well under way and the children have done a good job of learning their lines. Please can you encourage them to practise over the weekend so they can be word perfect come Tuesday. The service starts at 09:15 and the script is attached.
In maths, we've worked on adding numbers into the 1,000,000s, using various methods including number lines and column addition. We have learnt to ensure we line the numbers up in the correct place value to avoid unnecessary errors.
In English, our ghost stories are well underway and children have been learning how to make their sentences more exciting with subordinate clauses and fronted adverbials. I have included 5 grammar questions for homework this week. Please can you ensure your child completes the English baseline activity before they attempt this task.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK: Maths and grammar on Atom Learning
SPELLINGS: Words ending in the /g/ sound spelt ‘gue’ or /k/ sound spelt ‘que’
Tongue
League
Plague
Rogue
Vague
Fatigue
Dialogue
Antique
Unique
**************************Well done to Darcy - this week's Star of The Week********************************
This week's highlight was our class trip to Hampton Court Palace. The children were fascinated to find traces of Anne Boleyn left in the Great Hall as well as remnants of an ancient Tudor Rose ceiling decoration and the whisper of Katherine Howard's ghost in the Haunted Gallery.
Our workshop leader was hugely impressed with the children's engagement in answering questions about Henry VIII. They spent an hour considering different historical sources and making decisions about the King based on the evidence they were presented with. Well done Year 5!
Our biographies of Henry VIII are now complete and ready to be shared with Year 2 and we are heading towards addition and subtraction in maths.
If you didn't manage to complete the maths homework last week, please finish it this week along with the latest questions on Atom Learning.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK: ATOM LEARNING - mental addition and subtraction
SPELLINGS:
Adding suffixes and doubling the final consonant
forgetting
forgotten
beginning
beginner
preferred
preferring
occurred
occurring
forbidden
committed
Well done to this week's STAR OF THE WEEK - Albert.
It's been a busy week in Year 5. The pile of boxes in the classroom has finally morphed into two and three storey Tudor houses. Prior to construction, we spent some time in the village looking at the houses, sketching out designs and identifying the age of the buildings. Children were interested to learn that the church dates back to Anglo Saxon times and that there are records of people living in Chiddingstone as far back as 450AD.
There was great hilarity on Wednesday as children re-enacted the history of the Tudors from Richard III's death at the Battle of Bosworth to Queen Elizabeth I's reign until 1603. We had several weddings, a few executions and a visit to Rome to ask the Pope for a divorce on behalf of Henry VIII. It is excellent to see the class embracing their topic.
Don't forget the trip to Hampton Court on Thursday 19th; please send your child to school in normal uniform with a coat, red cap, snack, water and packed lunch.
Finally, the Year 5 Curriculum Meeting is on Wednesday 18th September between 2-2:30pm in the Year 5 Classroom and on Zoom. The office will send out Zoom details.
Have a lovely weekend - see homework below.
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander
HOMEWORK for 20/09/24
Maths: Atom Learning - Order and Compare
Please contact the office if you need login details.
Spellings: words with the /k/ sound spelt 'ch'. Please focus on the purple words and learn the black words if you need a challenge.
Technology
Echo
Character
Chaos
Orchestra
Chorus
Scheme
Stomach
Chemistry
Ache
WELCOME TO YEAR 5!
I hope everyone has had a good week; I've certainly enjoyed my first few days back and have been delighted with the children's level of concentration and focus.
This week has mainly been about getting to know the children and revising previous learning. The postcards recommending our favourite reading material are well underway and children have been introduced to our class library. There seems to be a general consensus that we need a few more graphic novels; if anyone has any they don't mind lending us, we'd be grateful.
The year 5 maths curriculum has begun, as it did in Year 4, with place value - we are working into the millions this year but have begun by looking at the value of numbers up to 100,000.
In our topic work, we have been looking back at our history lessons further down the school and thinking about where the periods of history we have learnt about fit in on a timeline - it is amazing how much the children have retained.
Homework is to find out about Henry VIII for our next piece of writing (see previous email). This needs to be in school by Wednesday.
Spellings for the term are attached as well as the lists of Statutory Words for years 3/4 and 5/6 (these are for your reference). I am aware the spellings may not be accessible to everyone - I will provide an adapted list for relevant children on Monday.
Have a lovely weekend
Mrs Hester and Mrs Silander