Well done to all the children in class 5 for a fantastic half-term you’ve been amazing! Everybody has worked so hard and achieved so much, you should be really proud of yourselves.

Last week was our assessment week and the children did really well, the week highlighted just how much progress everyone has made over the first half-term. Our focus in English was a formal written report and to aid them with this the children gathered their own notes from our class book so that they could refer to them during their independent writing. We looked at examples of formal written reports and the children used highlighters to pick out the key features and points showing an exceptional depth of knowledge and understanding.

In Maths we looked at multi-step problems and how we could use the RUCSAC method to work through questions in a logical and accurate fashion. With so much to concentrate on and so many decisions to make for each problem the children worked efficiently and effectively to show deep understanding of the four operations. We finished the week with a consolidation task that was set out as an investigation in a sweet factory which the pupils loved and really applied themselves to. From this task it was clear to see that everyone’s confidence has improved since the start of term as there was some great mathematical thinking and reasoning going on.

This week in English we have focused on letter writing. We identified the features and their purpose at the start of the week before moving onto persuasive devices and writing persuasively to try and capture a reader’s attention. On Wednesday our focus was modal verbs which indicate certainty or possibility. The children were really enthused and produced some extremely persuasive sentences that they have then utilised today when writing their letter.

We have made a brief start to our third block of Maths this week as we looked at timetables. It was only an introduction session but all the children took a great deal of time to work efficiently and effectively, producing some great discussion and attention to detail. We will be carrying on with this block after half-term. The children participated in their fourth arithmetic test of the term at the start of this week. Everybody is doing so well in these tests, me and Mrs Allen are extremely proud of the way the children approach each test and the determination they show to succeed. This is certainly reflected in the scores they have attained so far.

There is no homework for half-term because the children may want to have a go at the writing competition.

Thank you to all the children and parents in class 5 for welcoming me into the school this term, enjoy your break and I’ll see you after the holidays ready to get back into it.

Thanks, Mr Sudlow.

Well done to everyone in class 5 this week, it has been a bit topsy-turvy with the bikeability course as pupils have been in and out of class depending on their group. But everyone has worked really hard and we have achieved plenty, both in the classroom and on the bikeability programme.

In English this week we have looked at the features of formal reports with an aspiration that we will write our own next week using notes we have made on the investigation that two characters are carrying out in our class book. The children have worked really hard to identify the chronological order of the investigation and to recount all of the key details so that they can take their knowledge into their extended piece of writing .

Our main focus in Maths this week has been using the inverse operation. This is a tricky concept as sometimes problems have to be looked at from a completely different angle. However the children have really put a lot of effort into understanding the topic in depth and have used it to flip problems round in order to solve them, to make choices about what operation and method they need to use through detailed mathematical thinking and they have grown in confidence enormously over the past week. The children completed their third arithmetic test of this term earlier this week and we are so pleased with how everybody is showing progress, this is down to their hard work and the way they apply themselves in Maths so well done class 5!

Have a brilliant weekend, see you Monday.

Mr Sudlow.