On Tuesday 23rd September, Year 5 walked to St Albans Cathedral for a Viking and Saxon workshop and history was brought to life for us. No sooner had we sat down in the Cathedral a burly Viking named Bone Crusher came bursting in banging his axe against his shield. Bone Crusher and his assistant then spent time with the class in two groups showing the children through role play, artefacts and replicas about what life was like in Viking and Saxon time. Did you know St Albans at the time of the Vikings was part of the Kingdom of Mercia?
The children learned about how the Abbey’s monastery and a nearby convent were set up during the Saxon times. They also learned about the crimes and punishments of that time- both Viking and Saxon who were for a time living side by side. I think it’s safe to say, we prefer how society is conducted today!
It was a great trip, which the children wrote about once they got back to school.
Miss Parkes and I have thoroughly enjoyed welcoming the new Year 5 children into our class. They all look very smart and it is great to see how keen they are to do their best in all the lessons we have had so far.
We hope this great impression conitnues as we move forward with the school year.
Parents we are looking forward to seeing you at our Meet the Teacher morning on Friday 12th September.
Let’s just say a song by Simon and Garfunkel sprang to mind last night whilst the children were “fast asleep in bed”. I won’t say too much except that they will all probably want an early night tonight when they get home.
After packing up and getting their bags ready, there was a time for more exploring etc in the grounds before breakfast at 8. After this, there was another session in the chapel ; Jenga Prayer in the Chapel; Stained Glass painting and then preparation for Mass before Mass itself in the Chapel.
This gave us an appetite for lunch, followed by more play then it will be a reflection on the retreat and then home.
2nd Post
Even more to see outside as we were led on an adventure trail followed by a compfire sing sone and then film and shower:
First Post – Tea time Day 1
All the children got here and we had a good half hour orientating ourselves and selecting our beds before lunch.
Many children asked for seconds and not a scrap was left on the plates.
After lunch was time for a football match or to explore the grounds…
The grounds here are stunning and never more so than in the glorious sunshine – fortunately the woods provided suitable respite from the excess heat of the sun.
After this was a sessions touring the grounds; making crosses and quizes; followed by a treasure hunt;and a ‘noisy ‘ game called infected. All this to work up an apetite for Dinner and a bit more free time in the grounds.
For those of you who have been wondering what’s been going on in Year 5…
Proving that English and science is not just about writing in books, we did an investigation into the effect of gravity and also made spellings active.
This week was very busy with VE Day Clebrations and also our class assembly.
This week we have been very busy again on the footballing front with our boys playing in the year 5 six-a-side tournaments and other friendly games with Mount Pleasant.
We did well in the Tournament, keeping clean sheets in three of our 5 games but sadly, the fire power of some of the larger schools proved to be too much on the day. The match against Bricket wood was very close, finishing 1:1.
This week, we have been really exploring the gynastic apparatus in PE. Whilst in RE, we have been trying to generate our own ways of symbolising Community participation.
We indulged in a spot of mindfulness this week. We were aware of our surroundings and took time to stand and stare by taking a closer look at our local environment. After considerable input by Mrs Gallaher and Miss Parkes, we were able to conduct a humanities trip to look at recycling in the local area, sustainable living and , linking with history, how railways changed the prospects of St Albans in the 19th and 20th centuries, by walking along the Alban Way , which is a disused railway line and now part of the local cycle network. Also, we were able to spend some time at Sopwell Monastery (SIC).
It’s been a very busy week as usual and this week our sporting chops were on display with year 5 children competing against other teams in hockey and netball. Also the girls in year 5 and year 6 were involved in a football tournament with Girls from Mount Pleasant. Sadly neither of our girls teams could prevail against the superior skills of the Girls from Mount Pleasant. The Year 6 Stadrian’s Girls Vs Year 5 St Adrian’s Girls was a much tighter contest – Year 5 won by 2 goals to 1 with Alessia scoring a brace of goals for Year 5.
Win or lose- everyone had a great time.
This week was science week and the theme was ‘Change’. We looked at chemical changes making carbon dioxide from bicarbonate of soda and vinegar and confirming that Carbon dioxide will extinguish a flame.
The children also experimented with art using invisble ink ( decoded by tumeric)
This week we were able to welcome Miss Parkes back into the fold and the children are looking forward to working with her. I’m not surprised, the first thing she did was treat the class to a morning at Loreto where they watched Sleeping Beauty. On Wednesday, many children spent the evening singing in London.
We finished our art topic on Arcimboldo and fruit – here we are painting – by the way, it was Crazy Hair Day so some of the hairstyles are quite exotic.
The classroom was very quiet this week as the much of the class were away on Thursday representing the school in the indoor athletics – needless to say – we did very well and as usual punched above our weight in the face of two and three form entry schools.
Meanwhile, those holding the fort at school were able to have a rather chilled day and we combined maths, art and RE
We have hit the ground running and Miss Roberts and I have been putting the children through their paces using adverbials, subordination and expanded noun phrases to describe an encounter with a mysterious lost thing- next week, the children will be putting all they’ve learnt in a final extended piece.
In RE we have celebrated the feast of the Epiphany and St Adrian of Canterbury.
In Line with Catholic Social Teaching, the children have studied Solidarity and will be doing some work on Fratelli Tutti – We are then due to start our next topic – Mission.
On Friday we had the Year 5 Cake Sale and my goodness it was busy – the scene in the hall was reminiscent of the First Day of the Harrods January Sales in a time before Internet shopping and when shops were shut between Christmas and 2nd January. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to making this such a successful event.
Finally, another big thank you for the brilliant Christmas presents…
We have ad a really good final week. Thank you to all the kind family members who were able to attend the grandparents day and help the children with their Nativity Books. I hope you enjoyed the carols. Miss Parkes and I would like to say thank you for all the presents and cards – you have been very generous. We wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year.
The pupils were a real credit at the School’s Mass at St Bartholemew’s – it great seeing so many of the younger pupils there.
How lovely it was to attend the carol service. The children sang so well and all the readings were clear. If you weren’t excited and feeling the Christmas spirit beforehand, you definitely would have been after this.
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!
Rather than wind down for the end of term, in Year 5 we believe in squeezing out every bit of curriculum time that we can. We had a great time on Tuesday along the Alban Way and Sopwell Nunnery ( thanks to Mrs Parrett, Mrs Bird and Mrs Watson making this possible).
Later, back in class, we were able to complete some brilliant project work based on the trip.
Please look at the Herts Reading Challenge this summer – enjoy yourselves, relax and stay safe -come back refreshed and ready for Year 6!
Well this week was Sports Day – And what a slick opperation it was! Now these things don’t happen by accident – We made sure that we haelped the Key Stage 1 sports day go well by helping Mrs Hayes and Mrs Thompson . Later we also helped with orgaising of the Key Stage 2 Sports Day as well as competing.
Later in the week we were treated to a lovely act of worship from some of the boys in our class
This week the children were proud to display all their work at the Open Evening. Parents were treated to an array of artwork, sculpture and bridge constructions. Others tried their hand at solving some encrypted messages or identify St Albans buildings from the past. The bravest of brave even watched a selection of terrifying videos that the children had made depicting the The Marwell Murder Mystery.
Sorry – Photos refuse to load but I have put them on the Google Classroom
SPEC LATEST
Friday Morning,
A very quiet night was had by all – none of the usual disagreements over shining torches after lights out or the dreaded 3 am knock at the teacher’s door… “I can’t sleep” .
One case of fake snoring and excessively noisy trips to the shower at 6 am was all I can report.
Some quotations:
“That’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had for three years”
“Great Hot Chocolate”
“Food is great (kisses thumb and first finger)”
“I like the forsest”
“campfire was brilliant”
“Grat sharing with your mates”
“They have vegetarian hot chocolate !!!”
Now for the final room check –
Teacher: So you ‘ve all checked your room and made sure you’ve left nothing behind
Boys : (Heads nod vigorously) Yes we’ve double checked – it’s all clear.
Teacher: So why is there a sock over there, a tooth brush by the sink and a coat under the bed?
Boys: (sheepishly in unison) Oh .
Off to breakfast now – and here’s a few more photos from yesterday
Hi All,
Just to say everyone is having a great time.
Activities today have included drama’s on the lives of the saints, treasure hunts, hamma bead crosses and exposition of The Blessed Sacrament followed by fireside stories at the campfire and hot chocolate.
Now its time for bed and sleep …
This week we have started finding out about the tragic events at Marwell Manor. Lady Anne has been found murdered and many of the children are convinced it was her husband who comes into millions from her will – or does the house keeper, Ruth, have something to hide.
Yesterday we all celebrated Ascension day at the Church. Year 5 helped with Year 1. The children behaved beautifully.
I had a really hard time deciding who would go forward to deliver their speech to the school. After much deliberation, it was decided that Kane was our best bet – he delivered his speech with aplomb to the rest of the school and we are now far more aware of our excessive use of plastic and how we can remedy the situation.
We have learnt all there is to know about the perils of using too much plastic and have all prepared speeches to deliver to the rest of the school about what they should do to address this issue- they might be asking you to listen to their speeches as they practise.
May is also the month of Mary and we have produced some artwork which celebrates some famous martyrs (Mary- Queen of Martyrs).
As we finish our work on plastic we move to a new genre in English – Mystery writing.
Miss Allen, our new sports coach, has started teaching dance to the pupils.
Well this week we have been busy preparing for our Class Mass and I have to say it was a wonderful experience. The children read, served and sang beautifully and were very reverent. A big thank you to Fr Francis for celebrating the Mass and to Mrs Porter and Mrs Parrett for their in help preparing the Mass.
We have been doing lots of work for Earth Day. We wrote some poetry and did some research into reducing our carbon footprint and using single-use plastic ( Don’t be surprised if your children give you a hard time next you put a ready meal in the microwave!)
Our brave boys were in action in the Six-a-side and kept two clean sheets. Unfortunately, in a very tight competion a headed wonder goal from a Skywood striker meant that we missed out on going to the finals tournament on goal difference.
Easter Art Competition and Parade
Congratulations to the two winners from Year 5 and the wonderful contributions from Year 5
Computing
This week we have extended our crytopgraphy lessons to binary signals using morse code.
Chicks
We had a chance to see the baby chicks in reception this week.
Holy Week
In RE, we re-enacted aspects of the events of Holy Week
Computing
We have started a new topic in Computing and how messages could be sent across distances. Historically this was accomplished using semaphore.
Wow – what a week.
WORLD BOOK DAY
Every year this is an event which the children enjoy by dressing up as their favourite book characters. This year, we paired up with Year 1 and read their books to them.
And whilst on the subject of wonderful books, it has been suggested to me that children, on their birthday might wish to donate a book to the library. There is a suggested list on amazon for some titles for year 5 and the link is below:
We have been looking at personal development and how to avoid succumbing to undue pressure to do things we would rather not do – helped by some role-play.
History of St Albans.
Using Archive photos, we have identified how various views and landmarks of St Albans have changed (or not changed) and attempted to match them up with their modern counterparts.
Mothers’ Day
Not a dry eye was left in the house after our beautiful rendition of Bob Dylan/Adele ‘s ‘Make You Feel My Love’.
Well another hectic week rolls by- this week we have had more work on our bridges; internet safety; and well being so there have been sessions off timetable
Yoga and Dance and mindfulness
Investigating how we can be manipulated on the internet (Internet Safety Day)
Well this week we have been busy with science experiments – investigating insulation. This involved taking a series of temperature readings and using the chromebooks to help us analyse our results.
NSPCC Numbers Day
Following a tip off from a parent, we tried our hand at a few maths packages that are currently on the market (IXL Maths and Maths frame) – fun was had by all.
Well things are still buzzing in Year 5 and our class is still busy with Mrs Bartley- we have moved on to bridges in DT.
Whilst some of the class were away representing the school at the indoor sportshall athletics, the rest of us took some time to do some problem solving in maths.
We have been working very hard with Mrs Bartley on our electric light up boxes – much more fiddlly than it looks but it has been a great learning experience.
Well this week we have been working with fractions. Whilst some of us parents (and tutors) will know the mantra of’ times the bottom and top to get equivalent fractions’ , here is us putting theory into practice.
Wishing you all a very happy and holy Christmas and New Year.
We have been quite eclectic in our activities :
You will know from the Harvest Festival that we are a musical bunch, and here’s more evidence ….
In RE we have been having class acts of worship which have been prepared and delivered by the children. We have also learnt about the prayer that Jewish people say called the Shema and how they keep it stored in a special box called a Mezuzah.
In maths we have been calculating square and cube numbers but first get real concrete experience of what this means
Well another fun week has flown by. We have completed our Shakesprianesque playscripts and look forward to starting our new book . Christmas will be here soon and we have started to sing some carols for the Carol Service (see home learning). Naturally, being Year 5, we were best and were awarded the singing trophy.
Friday was also Children in Need day and there was a cake sale. Naturally, being Year 5, our cakes were best.
Friday was also Multiplication Tables Day. We have taken part in a TTRS competition and did a variety of times tables related activities.
The Curriculum rolls on and now we are gearing up for some serious Times Tables work in Maths. In English, we have started learning about The Bard, and in particular , The Tempest. We are currently writing our own scripts for our Shakespearean scene based on a black and white video clip of a 1908 film version. Here we are, working in our groups, with the initial draft of our scene
THE CENTRE FOR COMPUTING HISTORY CAMBRIDGE
Our first trip of the year. This time we were off to Cambridge to sample the delights of The Centre for Computing History Cambridge. This is a fantastic museum – 0pen to the public by the way. Inside was a vast cornucopia of computing memorabillia and paraphernalia starting from even before my time – although the site of the 80s classroom and early computer and video games brought a tear to my eye. They even had the coverted ZX81 and Sinclair Spectrum. Looking at the size of the computers, the children were taken aback by the fact that they had significantly smaller computing power than a modern laptop.
Across the day, the children were treated to various workshops including a talk on the history of computing; morse code as a method of binary communication; controlling devices using programming on a Raspberry Pi; and a trip to the Game Zone which had all manner of arcade games and computer games from days of yore.
The big data disk from 1959 is about a mtre across and holds only 4MB – roughly enough memory to send 30 emails (without attachments).
Programming with the Raspberry Pi
Using Morse Code
Fun in the Games Room (below)
Well this week we have been tackling some rather tricky maths and have got our heads around inverse operations whilst in English, we have all but completed the first draft of our (Katherine Johnson’s) memoir. We have been gearing up for our Computing Trip to Cambridge with some rather beautiful patterns produced by our algorithms (more on theactual trip to follow).
Wednesday was the Harvest Festival and it was great to see all the classes delivering songs of thanks for the harvest as well as more sobering thoughts for those that still go hungry. We did our part with our rendition of ‘In my Lifetime’
In English, after being inspired by the book, ‘Here We Are’ , we have written our own guides to lead a good life and maintain health and well-being. We are currently studying ‘Hidden Figures’ which chronicles the struggles and ultimate triumph of four African American Women working for NASA during the space race with the Soviet Union.
This makes a timely backdrop to our Black History Month celebrations, where the children learn about the contribution that Black people have made to our culture, community and development. In particular, we have been studying Baroness Benjamin (Floella Benjamin ) and her memoirs on living in Trinidad and then coming to England as part of the Windrush Generation.
In response to an initiative from the Well-being Team, we have been decorating hands with a view to making a beautiful collage.
In maths we have been learning about Place Value and playing games against each other.
Science has seen us very busy learning about the solar system – researching on laptops; doing a find the planet treasure hunt and mapping out or own scale model of the Solar System.
The Vikings had their gentler side too and, when not pillaging and plundering, loved nothing more than creating knots; printing patterns ; carving animals and mythical creatures; and producing ornate, deocrated jewellery. As a precursor to our study of the Vikings later this term, we have been studying Viking Art.
Sporting Prowess
Well as if all this wasn’t enough, members of Year 5 . Lots of the boys were in the football team playing against St Columba’s. Whilst the Year 6 Netball Team was stengthened by the inclusion of our very own Neve.
This week in Year 5 (26th -30June)
We finally completed our people in action sculptures – here was a photo from our display at the open evening. And also us investigating the power of levers in science
This week in Year 5 (19th -23rd June)
We have had a very busy day with lots of art, learning about Degas and how to use body proportions for people in action.
Many of year 5 were involved in the didtrict sports and there was also wheel chair basketball as well for everyone. ( More details on the sports page)
We took part in St Adrian’s got Talent with two groups of girls
Well done Maya , Lucy Rukksika, Abbie, Katie, Jess , Lara and thanks to Beth for helping to organise the competition.
This week in Year 5 (9th -14th June)
This week in English we were learning about the Mars Rover for our new Book, Curiosity. And Finally, we completed our fans in DT.
In Science we have been investigating air resistnce with paper helicopters and of course on Friday we sang our hearts out for our dads.
This week in Year 5 (5th -9th June)
Well we have been very busy again- with the hot weather we have been making desk fans to help cool us down as part of our DT project. The art display on Wednesday was a great way to show case our artistic talents. And, of course, on Thursday, we all went to Mountfitchet Castle and the House on the Hill Toy Museum
During the height of the pandemic in 2020, St Adrian’s 60th Anniversary occured. We felt that this occasion should be marked and so to begin our school year in 2022, we would normally hold a Mercy Mass. The Sisters of Mercy founded the school and it opened in September 1960. The Maryland Associates, the lay people in St Albans, still advocate their work and very kindly donated a tree and a plaque in commemoration of this special anniversary.
Previous Headteachers, Sr. Margaret, Mrs Yvonne Hawkes and Mr Dominic Bedford joined us for the celebrations. As well as some original pupils whose names were in the first register.
Previous Headteachers join the celebrationsPast pupils who attended in 1960, the year of the school opening
Report of the day written by Lily- Year 6
On Wednesday 5th October , we celebrated the Mercy Mass for our school (it had been postponed because of Covid) and I am very happy that I got my Chaplaincy team tie and I am part of our new Chaplaincy Team. I also got to see my old Headteachers like, Mrs Hawkes and Mr Bedford.
There was also another Headteacher, which was the Headteacher when my mum went to this school. Her name was Sister Margaret. I knew this mass was a very joyous occasion because Brother Nelson Dionne, Father Michael O’boy as well as Bishop Paul Mc Aleenan were all there. We got gifted from Mrs Cath White the secretary of the Maryland associates who carry on the work of the sisters of Mercy, a tree which we have planted at the main entrance where the parents and staff members came to watch. Then, all of the classes planted little flowers around this tree. There are also ribbons around this tree which the old Head teachers put on there . They put the word ‘TRUTH’ and the colour of the ribbon was red for the martyrs who spoke the truth of God’s word. They tied the word PEACE – blue is the colour of tranquility. We work for peace and tranquillity in our school and the world. Finally , they tied the word JUSTICE with a yellow ribbon witch is the colour for true happiness. The Chaplaincy team, parents and teachers and the priests attended the ceremony. I was worried about it because I had a reading. The reason why I was worried was because of the amount of people that were there but it was all OK. It was a very good day. It made me think more about our school motto ‘To learn, to love ,to live as a community of God with Christ as our teacher.’ It was a good day. It made me feel like I was important because of the new tie and that I could be part of our Chaplaincy Team.
