The Grove Primary School

It has been another busy term in year 5, and a reflective one, as we have been learning about events during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 60s, in both the UK and USA. This topic has lent itself so well to our whole school focus on Protected Characteristics, and has made us all think critically about the world that we want to live in! In History, we have researched the significance of key figures and events; such as, Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott and Martin Luther King Jr, with his infamous “I have a dream…” speech, in Washington. This has been an incredible topic for developing our understanding of individual rights and liberties and the importance of challenging discrimination in society. This encouraged us to think about what our own ‘dream’ society would look like! In keeping with the theme, our Music lessons have been predominantly based around classic Blues and Gospel music.

In English, we have been busy practising the year 5 standards for writing, and we have done this through a range of genres. The children have written instructions, presented and persuaded (using modal adverbs) in our Great Debate, and enjoyed performing with pre-written play scripts! They have developed their understanding further by writing their own scripts using essential features – all of which were brought to life during our amazing visit to St Augustine’s theatre this week! It was the perfect way to finish our study of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

Science week was celebrated with real life investigations into air resistance and streamlining – linked to the engineering requirements of the aerospace industry. Along with other classes in the school, we enjoyed our special science careers visitors and listened intently to the surprisingly varied opportunities that science studies can bring. From studying veterinary practice to microbiology within the MOD, there are plenty of interesting careers out there for the children to think about.

Our Art has focused on the style of Surrealism, in particular the work of Salvador Dali – this has led to some dreamlike interpretations and fascinating creations! Using newly learnt sketching skills and practising the use of shading and tone, the children have enjoyed the freedom of choosing their own stimulus. Of course, our children have also developed their skills in Maths, Computing, PE (hockey and gymnastics), and many other areas of the curriculum!

We are so proud of how far our children have come this year! The positive engagement and learning attitudes that we are seeing in Year 5 are so rewarding for us all. They really are standing out as a respectful, kind and considerate year group – well done everyone!