16.10.2.026

What a wonderful two weeks we have had in Year 5!  

We have continued to explore our WWII topic and linked the Dig for Victory campaign to our science by learning about how plants grow. After identifying the different parts of a plant, the children took on an exciting challenge to investigate how water travels through the stem. Working in teams, they carefully set up an experiment using celery, water and food colouring. After just twenty minutes, the children could observe the coloured water moving up the stem. It was fascinating to watch, and the children were amazed by the results! 

As part of the County in the Community project the children have also had so much fun learning about making healthy choices and playing games to develop their teamwork skills.  

In Literacy, the children identified the features of free verse poetry and created a WordArt word bank to inspire their creative writing next week.  

In Maths, the children used a variety of skills to gather data and pack an evacuee suitcase, applying their perimeter knowledge to calculate the measurements of the items they included.  

This week the children have also begun their swimming lessons. It has been wonderful to see their confidence growing and the progress they have made since I last saw them in the pool.  

Well done, Year 5. I am very proud of you all!  

Thank you for your continued support. 

28.09.2026

We have had a fantastic start to our new topic, From Valleys to Victories, focusing on World War II.

As part of the topic the children have explored a wonderful workshop at Abergavenny Museum. The children started the sessions by being Artefact Detectives. Here they used a variety of detection skills to work out what the object was, the purpose of the object and then provide 3 clues to help the other children guess. We then enjoyed an immersive experience learning all about the Anderson shelters. The children were fantastic role models throughout the trip and I was a very proud teacher indeed.   

In ICT, the children have developed a range of digital skills by researching important information and creating timelines using Google Slides. They confidently inserted images and text boxes, as well as editing font colours to produce engaging presentations. In Literacy, the children have been reading Hannah Goes to War and used the first chapter as inspiration for a wonderful piece of writing based on the announcement of war. Using iPads, the children recorded their own news announcements, each taking on a different role. The emotional language used to convey Hannah’s feelings was particularly impressive. In Maths, the children have been focusing on developing pictorial methods for number. For addition and subtraction, they have been partitioning and recombining numbers to strengthen their understanding, while in multiplication they have used jottings, sharing and grouping strategies to build confidence and fluency. The children have also explored the role of food banks and the reasons they are needed. To support this learning, they used Digi Maps to identify the locations of food banks in and around Monmouthshire. This linked closely to our Harvest Festival work, and it was wonderful to see the children learn the songs and perform so confidently at the church. 

Thank you for your continued support.