Welcome to Year 5

Our class teachers are Mrs Long (Monday to Wednesday am) and Mrs King (Wednesday pm to Friday). We also have Miss Scott and Mrs Cutayar working with us as our teaching assistants.

Our Spring learning:

Our Summer learning:

Our curriculum map for Summer Term 1 has been sent out through Parent Hub. Summer Term 2 will be available in June. Our English in Summer Term 1 is based on portal stories, including Leon and the Place Between  by Angela McAllister  and extracts from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Our learning this term will also include a visit to The Story Museum to immerse ourselves in many different portal stories. In term 2 we will move on to The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan.  Maths will focus on consolidating understanding of factors, multiples and primes, before moving on to fractions in Term 1, followed by converting units and angles in Term 2. Science learning will focus on Plant Reproduction and Types of Change in term 1, in term 2 we will continue learning about reversible and irreversible changes before concluding our investigation into plant reproduction. 

Our RE work across the Summer terms starts with  Easter (with a main focus on the Easter Vigil) before moving on to Pentecost, the work of the Apostles and the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders. Our Geography unit in Summer Term 1 is  Local Fieldwork where we will consider the following question: How might a football stadium in Kidlington affect our local area? This will link to the Catholic Social Teaching focus of Stewardship of God’s Creation; exploring how how we can balance progress and development with protecting our common home. In term 2 we move to the History focus of The Ancient Maya. In this unit we will consider the question: How did the Maya prioritise human dignity and community and what can we learn from them? This links to Catholic Social Teaching work on Human Dignity and Family and Community

Find further details, including information on the other subjects, on the curriculum map.

Punctuality

It is really important to be ready for learning. The school gates open at 8.40 and children should be seated in the classroom by 8.45 ready to start the day’s activities.

P.E Days in Year 5:

Our P.E days for this term are Mondays and Thursdays, therefore on both of these days, children are to come into school wearing their full St. Thomas More P.E kit. Please ensure they have navy P.E uniform and appropriate footwear. 

Brass Ensemble - Music in Year 5:

Led by Mr Mark Probert of the Oxfordshire Music Service. The children will each have their own brass instrument and learn to play notes and simple melodies.

Reading:

Please ensure children have their reading journal in school every day, we check it daily to ensure reading is taking place at home. Inside the front cover of the reading journal is information about how to keep a record of reading and show response to the text through a short paragraph.

Supporting Learning at Home

We really value your support at home. Encouraging your child to read every day, practise times tables and spellings, and check their homework helps to build good routines and confidence. Here are some recommended websites that can be accessed from home. These sites provide activities and games to make revision fun and engaging.

English

🏡 Free Year 5 English Home Learning Websites

Spelling Shed – used to support weekly spelling revision https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/login/schoolOxford Owl – Free eBook Library - A free collection of online books for children aged 3–11. Great for daily reading practice. https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/

Oxford Owl – Grammar & Punctuation (Year 5)Tips, explanations, and simple activities to help children practise grammar and punctuation. https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/english/primary-grammar/grammar-year-5-age-9-10/

Oxford Owl – Reading & Comprehension Help - Guidance and activities to support understanding and discussion of what your child reads. https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-comprehension/

LearnEnglish Kids (British Council) - Fun, interactive games, songs, stories, and printable worksheets to practise English skills. https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/print-make/worksheets

National Literacy Trust – Free Literacy Resources - Reading and writing activities designed to develop a love of literacy at home.  https://literacytrust.org.uk/free-resources/

Maths

🏡 Free Year 5 Maths Home Learning Websites

Oxford Owl – Maths for 9–10 Year Olds. Helpful guides, tips, and activities for building maths confidence at home. https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/primary-maths-year-5-age-9-10/

BBC Bitesize – KS2 Maths. Interactive lessons, videos, and quizzes covering the full Year 5 maths curriculum. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z826n39

Topmarks – Maths Games. Fun, educational games that help children practise number facts, fractions, decimals, and more. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years

NRICH (University of Cambridge) Challenging problem-solving tasks and games that encourage mathematical thinking. https://nrich.maths.org/primary

MathsFrame - Free interactive maths games and tests tailored to the KS2 curriculum. https://mathsframe.co.uk/

National Numeracy – Parent Toolkit. Guidance and fun activities to help parents build children’s maths confidence at home. https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/family-maths-toolkit

TTRockstars - for practising times tables and improving speed of recall. https://ttrockstars.com/ 

Contact:

Should you need to be in touch, all communication should generally be made through the school office email. However, we are also happy to receive a note from you if a child is unable to do PE or requires support with their homework.

Our main form of contact with you will continue to be Parent Hub, so please check this regularly for updates and curriculum information!  The Parent Hub School Portal is designed to streamline interactions between school and home.  

As always, please do ask if you have any questions at all!