Welcome to Falcons (Year 5 and 6)

"Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”

Ready, Respectful, Resilient

Hello, we are Mrs Heald and Mrs Raynor and we are your class teachers. We also have Mrs Armstrong, Miss Hay and Mrs Sherlock with us across week to help us learn and progress. Mrs Jones will also be teaching some lessons as part of our class. 

If you need to contact us at any time, please do. If you wish to speak to us in person then do not hesitate to make an appointment with us for after school. Our email addresses are heald@kingsleystjohns.co.uk and raynor@kingsleystjohns.co.uk

Welcome to Summer term 2024

The days are getting longer, the weather warmer and we find that we have arrived at our Summer term in Class 4. As always, there will be someone to help when you are stuck, feeling sad or just need a little pick me up. Although we are in the final term, there is still so much to do and enjoy in the Falcons, we are looking forward to the challenges and adventures that are in store.  We know that as Falcons we can demonstrate our school values in all that we do, being the best that we can be so that we can all achieve together. 

Our Christian values for this half term are endurance and creation.

'I can do all things through Him that strengthens me' Phillipians 4:13

General Information

Please and thank you…

• Full school uniform to be worn unless otherwise informed.
• Long hair (shoulder length or longer) must be tied back.
• Jewellery is limited to a pair of stud earrings and a wrist watch (which must be removed for PE).
• No false nails.
• Your child needs a water bottle every day, filled with water only.
• If your child is using a school bag, then please can it be a reasonable size so it can easily fit on the pegs 
• Name all items of clothing your child brings to school, this way they can be returned promptly.

Due to Charlie Gym and PE taking place on a Tuesday, your child may come into school in their PE kit for the day. This should be a school PE Kit as per the uniform list. 

'Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. 'Proverbs 22:6

Class novel

As we return this term we will be finishing our last class novel, Kidnap on the California Comet by M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman.  Hal has almost solved the mystery and we can't wait to find out who kidnapped Marianne!

After that, we will be reading When the Sky Falls, by Phil Earle, inspired by a true story, it tells the story of a silverback gorilla and a young boy against the backdrop of the Second World War..                   

English

During the first half of the Summer term our English work will be based on The Paperbag Prince by Colin Thompson. Tying in nicely with our Christian value of Creation, the story link to nature, the environment and our responsibilities in looking after our world.

The children will be honing their persuasive writing skills, presenting facts and evidence whilst appealing to the reader's sense of duty using a range of punctuation and gramatical devices. Knowing our Falcons and their environmental advocacy, we are sure they are more than ready for the challenge. 

After half term, we will be writing adventure stories. Our text will be The Hunter by Paul Geraghty, the children will be developing characters and setting descriptions, building tension, culminating in the exciting ending of a truly great adventure.

We will continue to learn spelling rules and patterns, with a strong focus on the statutory spellings for our year groups.

We will link our guided reading to the themes of  our writing with a mix of stories and non-fiction texts, practicing our retrieval and inference skills. 

Maths

During the first half-term we will all conclude fractions, decimals and percentages before working on shape.  Year 6 will then consolidate their learning whilst Year 5 further develop their use of decimals, negative numbers and converting units.

Science

Our science work will aim to develop our knowledge and understanding, scientific skills and measuring and recording abilities. After a biology focus last term, this term we move on to Physics, exploring forces in the first half term and electricity in the second.  There will be lots of opportunities for hands on exploration and discovery.

RE

Mrs Heald will be teaching RE this term where we will be exploring the nature and character of God. Falcons show great communication and listening skills in our RE discussions and this unit promises to be no different. We will be asking such questions as:

• What do Christians believe about the nature and characteristics of God?
• How is it possible for God to be both visible and yet invisible?
• Where is God?

Topic

Following our geographical study of Europe last term, we are moving on to our History topic, The Battle of Britain, our successful defense against German air raids in the Second World War.  Our keen Falcon historians will get the opportunity to compare Kingsley then and now, to understand the war in a global context as well as its effect on people's everyday lives, particularly children.

The children will learn about events such as Dunkirk, about 'The Few' and the different roles played by both men and women from all over the world.

PE

We are fortunate to welcome back Charlie Gym for the summer term, he will be teaching Gymnastics on a Tuesday morning with the class split into their year groups to enable maximum learning time.

In addition, we are pleased to welcome Kick PE into school on Tuesday afternoons to support Falcons develop their throwing, jumping and athletics skills.

Music

We are excited to see the return of our Brass lessons this term, lessons will take place on a Wednesday morning so please ensure your child has their instrument in school to make the most ofthis fantastic opportunity.

Computing

In Computing we will be exploring programming.

DT

Our focus this term will be bread, the different types, making and of course, tasting.

Art 

Conductive art, painting circuits.  

Aspirational Art - Hopes and fears for the future.

PHSCE

British Values - the rule of law, democracy, individual liberty, mutual tolerance and respect for diversity.

Homework

Homework books will be given out on Friday and then collected on a Wednesday. Please can you ensure your child is doing their homework and it is ready to be handed in. There will be a literacy or reading task and a maths task each week.

Children should spend a maximum of 20 minutes on each task. If by the end of the 20 minutes they have not managed to finish, please ask them not to worry and hand in what they have managed to complete. We know that life is busy, if you have a particularly busy week or are away for the weekend, please let us know so that we can make allowances.

We encourage children to read at home as often as possible, this will not only help to develop a life long love of reading but also support their classroom learning. They will be listened to as part of guided reading and their morning activities at least once a week. We would like their Homework records in school each day, but this is particularly important on a Friday. This enables the children to record their homework and we can check to monitor how much your child is reading at home.

Any homework not returned will be completed during a Thursday lunchtime.

If your child is having difficulty completing their homework please let us know so that we can offer help and advice. Mrs Heald will be available on a Monday lunchtime to support those in need of extra help.

Educational visits this term

Crucial Crew

Class Residential - Barnstondale