In RE we have started the topic ‘Hope ‘ which focuses on Advent and preparing for Christmas. We have responded to and analysed Hollman Hunt’s painting – ‘Light of the World’
In English, we have finished reading ‘Robot Girl’ and many were taken by surprise by the M Night Shyamalan denouement. They are currently using this sci -book to write their own Science Fiction stories about intrepid teachers (and latent private investigators) Aretha Cole and Dave McClooney who are on a mission to find out just what is the nature of The Maxtel Corporation’s ‘Project X’
Prayer Week
Pupils learnt about some of the prayers and responses we say at Mass as well as traditional prayers such as the Memorare.
Hinduism Week
The children enjoyed their workshop and also learnt about the Importance of Varanasi and the River Ganges and why it is a place of pilgrimage for many Hindus.
The Museum of Computing History
This is a brilliant museum, located in Cambridge which charts the history of computing from the earliest computers. Whilst there is something there for everyone, if you went to secondary school in the 70s and 80s, I have no doubt that a nostalgic year will spring to your eye. The children enjoyed working with Raspberry Pi s to programme traffic lights and also communicated using morse code.
Although over 40 years old, it was interesting to see that many children still loved playing on the original arcade games of Space Invaders etc.
After shaking off the cobwebs from the half term break we had to roll our sleeves up and get back down to business. Lots of the children had laboured over their homework on the Sacrament of Marriage and this stood them in good stead when called upon to write an essay on the subject incorporating some conceptual and abstract ideas and connections.
Later on, we explored some of the ideas raised in Monday’s Preferential Option for the Poor, watching a fabulous video on wealth distribution and competing in races which are rigged from the start to enable certain people to win and pull away whilst others to have no chance of catching up.
25th October
Is the Year 5 Harvest Earworm still in your head – I know I find myself humming it constantly.
A great rendition given with gusto and some Flemish Signing – which I think is a first for the school.
Meanwhile in maths we have been getting our hands on with the manipulatives and have strengthened our understanding of multiples, factors and cube numbers.
Along with a renewed focus on Catholic Social Teaching, the children are preparing and leading their own class acts of worship…
It was nice to see so many of you at Parents Consultation and I was able to discuss with you how hard the children have been working. In RE, we are nearing the end of our work on the Life of St Maximilian Kolbe and how he has inspired us. Similarly, we are finishing our work on Viking art. Here is the working wall showing some of the children’s work.
4th October 2024
So much has happened this week. Have produced some wonderful work on the pioneering ladies who feature in the film ‘Hidden Figures’ . Much of the work will go on display for our celebration of Black History Month. This will alsoset us up nicely for next week when we take the book ‘Hidden Figures’ as our class reader ( originally, I had planned for ‘Coming to England’ ). In RE we started to learn about St Maximilain Kolbe and will be continuing to focus on him next week.
27th September 2024
The week started with the Mercy Mass. We were able to say fond farewells to Jackie Harrison and Ed Behan who have been stalwarts in their devotion to the school as governors. Later, we were able to let off a bit of steam in PE with some Volleyball practice.
While some of the girls in the class were putting on a fantstic display at the Tag Rugby, the rest of the class were honing their printing skills in art.
AS part of the RE work on the Ourselves Topic, we have learnt about the Sernon on the mount , producing our own mini plays to illustrate the learning. The week was finished with a pupil-led act of worship.
13th September 2024
There has been a whirlwind start to the term and we have hit the ground running. The children are already established in their reading groups and some of them have started the YARC reading focus ( my intention is that all children will have their turn at this over the year). We have learned about Catherine McAuley in RE and also found out about our new class saint (St Josephine Bakhita). In maths, we have completed the first topic (place value) and there is some additional revision support on the Google Classroom to prepare for the forthcoming assessment. In English, we have written fables inspired by The Midnight Panther and the works of Aesop. We are now learning about the daring exploits of Philippe Petit (The Man Who Walked Between the Towers).
In art, our studies have taken us to the rather niche ‘Viking Art’ – here are some photos of us designing Viking Jewellery in the Osberg and Jelling style.
Summer Reading Challenge
In our assembly this morning, our visitors told us all about the Hertfordshire Libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge.
Over the school holidays, the children will not be bringing books home from school, so this is an ideal chance to visit your local library and join the library challenge.
You can register for the challenge in your local library and all you have to do is read six books across the holidays. The children will find a huge selection of books to choose from and earn stickers, a certificate, a medal and a special pencil as a reward for their holiday reading. You will find out more here.
Joining the library is free and children are able to borrow up to 30 items! This is a great way to try out different authors and different types of books.
We hope that as many of you as possible join in and we look forward to hearing all about your reading adventures when you return to school in September!
