Dear Parents and Carers,
I hope that you have all had a very enjoyable summer break and welcome back to a new term at Skyswood. I am very pleased to be working with all of your children this year and I am sure that they will settle quickly into the Upper Juniors. This letter will hopefully clarify some of your questions about curriculum coverage and classroom routines this year.
The Year 5 curriculum is broad and balanced, with plenty of scope for practical work, investigations, individual, paired and group work. We will also incorporate trips to enhance and compliment learning – more details will follow on these in due course.
In English this term, we will begin with a unit on ‘The Midnight Fox’ by Betsy Byars, followed by units on Persuasion, Cinquain poems, Classic Fiction and Performance Poetry. Spellings will be focused around a particular spelling rule each Monday and there will be a spelling test linked to this rule every Friday. The children will also participate in several guided reading sessions each week with a real focus on reading for enjoyment. During Maths we will continue to build on prior learning from Year 4, developing skills in understanding number, calculating, shape, measuring and handling data.
The children will study two topics this term in Science; ‘Forces’ as well as ‘Earth and Space’. We will be learning about Brazil in Geography, and the children will be looking at ‘Shades, Tones and Tints’ in Art and Design. After half term, our Design Technology food unit will involve an ‘Apprentice style’ challenge to create your own box of chocolates (which I am really looking forward to!). In RE we will be studying rules for living and aspects of Judaism and Christianity. Music lessons will be taught by Mrs Constantin and French will be with Mrs Jones each week.
As well as swimming on Wednesdays in the Autumn Term, the children will have a PE session on Thursday mornings. It would be helpful if children have named PE kits in school at all times in case an extra PE lesson is arranged and please ensure that they have appropriate outdoor footwear and clothing for colder weather.
As the children are now in the Upper Juniors, it is important that they become responsible for remembering to bring their homework in on the correct day. The Learning Log tasks will be given out on a Friday and should be returned by the following Wednesday.
As you may already be aware, there is a Parents Evening in November which will provide an opportunity to discuss your child’s progress. However, if any issues should arise in the meantime, either socially or academically, please do not hesitate to come in and see me.
It would be very helpful if any parents are able to assist in the classroom during the year especially with reading. Parent helpers are always greatly appreciated for either a whole morning or afternoon or even just part of a session at the beginning or end of the school day.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope that your child has a very happy time in Year 5. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
Mrs Caroline Rich and Miss Lisha Wallace