Columba and Aquila - Reflect and Review

Dear Parents and Carers,

We have had another productive week across both classes.

As poets, we continued to draw inspiration from The Journey, focusing on writing poetry to describe places and experiences. We generated rich language to describe locations and explored how writers use imagery, similes and personification to build mood and atmosphere.

As mathematicians, Columba worked on short division with remainders and applied their skills to problem-solving involving multiplication and division. Aquila were challenged through ratio and proportion problems, using reasoning and precise mathematical language. Aquila then began exploring algebra and substituting numbers for letters!

As historians, we explored the Windrush journey and the experiences of the Windrush generation, learning about the challenges and contributions of migrants who came to Britain.

Columba also took part in their second Climate Education Workshop, which focused on carbon dioxide emissions from travel. Through role-play, the children compared the impact of walking, driving and flying (including flying to New York for one day) and discussed how different choices affect the environment and climate change.

Next Week

In English, we will plan and write poems about a journey to a new place, building on our work from The Journey.

In maths, Columba will learn how to multiply fractions, including unit fractions by integers, non-unit fractions by integers, and mixed numbers by integers. Aquila will focus on algebra, working with function machines, formulae and expressions.

In DT, we will explore seasonal fruit and vegetables and how the UK climate affects when food is grown. We will also consider how reducing food waste can support a more sustainable future.

Parent Forum

We're looking forward to welcoming parents for our Parent Forum this Tuesday at 6pm. We'll be talking about our Approach to Behaviour, Staff Growth and the HSA. We look forward to seeing you then.

Parking and Travelling to School

We'd like to remind parents to consider the impact of their parking at pick up and drop off. Concerns have been raised at the dangerous behaviour that some drivers have shown; parking on pavements without space to pass, blocking driveways and parking or stopping on the yellow zig-zags, all of which are not allowed. Additionally, we would ask parents with children on bikes to walk them down to the bottom of the driveway before mounting, we've seen a number of near misses with cars turning on the residents road.

Home Learning – Spelling & Vocabulary

Regular spelling practice at home makes a huge difference to your child’s confidence in reading and writing. Please encourage your child to practise these words little and often. Saying the words aloud, writing them in sentences, and using strategies such as Look–Say–Cover–Write–Check will really help.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Upper Key Stage 2 Team

CORE SPELLING – Adding -ing

Rules:
- Drop the e: make → making, write → writing
- Double the consonant after one short vowel + one consonant: sit → sitting, run → running, hop → hopping
- Just add -ing: play → playing
Examples:
playing, helping, jumping, making, writing, running, sitting, hopping, chatting, swimming, smiling, dancing

CORE SPELLING – Adding -ly

Rules:
- Add -ly: quick → quickly
- Change y to i: happy → happily
Examples:
quickly, slowly, happily, loudly, kindly, easily, carefully, nervously, proudly, gently, eagerly, suddenly

CORE SPELLING – Past Tense (Regular)

Rules:
- Add -ed: jump → jumped
- Add -d if ends in e: like → liked
- Double consonant: plan → planned
Examples:
played, jumped, helped, walked, lived, liked, planned, stopped, shouted, danced, cleaned, painted

CORE SPELLING – Past Tense (Irregular)

Examples:
went, saw, ate, came, did, had, took, began, wrote, ran, became, got

CORE TRICKY WORDS

with, friend, said, were, there, because, people, their, they’re, could, would, should, enough, does, door, beautiful, thought, through, again, different

COMMONLY MISSPELT WORDS (Year 5)

separate, definitely, necessary, believe, calendar, grammar, interest, business, accident, address, answer, appear, arrive, continue, decide, describe, different, early, favourite, important

CONNECTIVES

though, although, because, but, however, therefore, nevertheless, whereas, even though

MONTHS

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

AMBITIOUS ADJECTIVES

enormous, furious, exhausted, mysterious, nervous, delighted, ancient, fragile, magnificent, dreadful, remarkable, hesitant, suspicious, cautious

AMBITIOUS ADVERBS

suddenly, carefully, nervously, quietly, angrily, eagerly, gently, proudly, dramatically, cautiously, deliberately, instinctively, effortlessly, triumphantly

GREATER DEPTH – ADJECTIVES

formidable, relentless, desolate, treacherous, resilient, apprehensive, dominant, insignificant, sophisticated, vulnerable, inevitable, chaotic, spectacular, perilous, intimidating

GREATER DEPTH – ADVERBS

reluctantly, cautiously, deliberately, instinctively, unintentionally, effortlessly, dramatically, suspiciously, triumphantly, desperately, boldly, frantically

GREATER DEPTH – POWERFUL VERBS

infiltrated, confronted, manipulated, accelerated, retreated, emerged, collapsed, pursued, anticipated, demolished, negotiated, captured, transformed, discovered

GREATER DEPTH – ACADEMIC VOCABULARY

consequence, perspective, justification, significance, interpretation, contribution, assumption, analysis, impact, evaluation, hypothesis, conclusion, evidence, theory

GREATER DEPTH – TRICKY SPELLINGS

conscience, privilege, accommodation, interference, pronunciation, temperature, queue, necessary, cemetery, opportunity, mischievous, restaurant, sincerely

Key Dates

3rd February - Y6 to visit MAS for school play

10th February - Safer Internet Day

13th February - HSA Mufti Day and last day of term 3

23rd February - Start of Term 4

25th February - Parents Evening

5th March - World Book Day 

11th March - Parents Evening 

12th March - HSA Cake Sale

26th March - Easter Service at SS Peter and Paul's Church 10am start leaving school 9:15am

27th March - End of Term 4 - 1pm finish