Well, after a very well argued debate on Wednesday, the judges voted unanimously that Jack is indeed a hero. Even though he stole the harp and the chicken from the giant AND then aided his mother in chopping down the beanstalk, the 'hero' team managed to persuade the panel that his actions were more heroic than villainous. Well done to everyone for your excellent debating skills. 

I'd also like to say a huge well done to everyone for your topic presentations. Our wider curriculum topic this term involved lots of research into the history of books and numbers and some of the concepts were incredibly complex. From the ancient number systems and stone tablets all the way to modern day coding and virtual reading of the future, we have covered a wide expanse of history. 

Well done to all pupils, parents and carers for the amazing job you have done this term in keeping going with your studies. You've done a fantastic job. I hope you all enjoy your half term. 

Mrs Leslie & Mrs Bonnett

Here are just a few slides taken from the topic presentations put together by pupils. 

As part of Children's Mental Health Week, Year 5 found ways to make themselves feel better and unwind by 'expressing themselves'. With the restrictions imposed on us due to the pandemic, it's more important than ever to look after our mental health and I think there are some excellent examples here. In class, we've enjoyed skipping, particularly on the long rope. Well done Year 5. 

As part of our Art studies, Year 5 are learning about the techniques and subject matter of classic painters.  This week, we found out about the life of  Frida Kahlo and what influenced her art.  Below are some examples of the pupils work, inspired by Kahlo.  

If your piece of artwork doesn't appear on this blog but you would like it to, please let me know.

Don't forget about the Big Garden Watch this weekend - spend an hour counting the birds you see from your garden or patio (from the comfort of a chair by the window, of course!) and submit your results. You can find out more on the RSPB Big Garden Watch website. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone. 

Mrs Leslie & Mrs Bonnett
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​What a busy week!

​You have all worked so hard again this week and now deserve a well earned rest. Well done!

Thank you very much to everyone for turning up to our lesson this morning on 'Online Etiquette'. There were some fantastic and well-considered suggestions about how we should behave whilst in 'lessons' online going forward and I would like to thank everyone for their contribution. If you have anything you would like to add to these rules, please drop me an email. 
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I would also like to say a big Thank You to Poppy's mum, Beth, for helping out with our Science lesson on Monday. Being a midwife, Beth very kindly agreed to help answer lots of questions during our lesson on fetal development. We were very lucky to have an expert on-hand, thank you Beth. 

​We have seen some super Maths this week and in English, you have used lots of interesting expanded noun phrases and speech to describe Red, Hunter and the inventor's workshop and bring your characters to life. 

Saints gave us another fun PE lesson and you have all ended the week with a creative write, letting your imaginations run wild, using this picture as a starting point:
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​We look forward to seeing you all again next week.
Mrs Leslie & Mrs Bonnett

It's been a week of fabulously impressive work from Year 5. Despite our technical difficulties, you have all shown determination and resilience with your work and attitudes to learning. Well done and thank you to everyone. 

I've been particularly impressed with your non-chronological reports on Charles Dickens this week; I loved finding out about how his childhood influenced his writing, his links with the Oxenham Arms, his inspiration for some of the characters and that he was buried in Westminster Abbey in Poets' Corner. 

I also thought that your stained glass windows, depicting images of Christianity and your local environment, were really inspirational. 

Below are a couple of photos so that you can see how we join-in with you at home with your learning. 

I hope that you all manage to have a relaxing weekend. You certainly deserve it. 

I look forward to seeing you all on Monday when we'll have a guest presenter for our Science in the afternoon ... 

Mrs Leslie & Mrs Bonnett 

Welcome back to a new term and the return of home learning. I hope you've all enjoyed a relaxing festive break.

Year 5 will hopefully be moving onto Google Classroom very soon (further details will follow) which will make submitting work much easier for you, but in the meantime you can find the work for today on our blog below.  Since today is our first day of home-learning, it may take you (and me!) a while to get going with everything so don't worry too much about the due times.  Going forward on Google Classroom however (since I will be teaching in school as well as setting and marking), it's important that you submit to me your work by the due-times so that I can mark it during the school-day. I've tried to stick to our regular daily timetable so that you can carry out the work just as you would in a lesson at school. I hope to touch-base with you via Teams or Google Classroom at least once in the day.

Please can everybody sign-in to our class registration on Tuesday at 9.30am. The link for that can be found here. ​

English

Today we are focusing on how to use effective expanded noun phrases. For today's English lesson, I would like you to:
1. Watch the video clip on Screen 1 
2. Have a go at the 3 whiteboard challenges on Screen 3 
3. Complete this worksheet. You can choose to edit the Word document and email it to me or n a piece of paper and take a photo to send to me. 
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PSHE 
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Our 'SCARF' session this week is 'thunking' about habits. Please read this document and answer the 4 questions. 

While school is partially closed, we're going to be asking you all to use google classroom to complete your home learning. This will enable you to meet with your teacher and class for registration and live lessons. There is an expectation that you will complete all of the home learning set each day and submit it back to your teacher for marking. This will ensure that you will continue to learn and make good progress even though you can't come to school. Your parents will receive a username and password for each of you by email. Use these details to log into google classroom. Follow the steps below to log in for the first time.

If you have any trouble with accessing, logging in or using google classroom, please let me know via email smarvin@southtawton.org
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Well done Year 5 for your amazing work this term.  We've been so impressed with your attitude to learning and the progress you've made. Have a very Merry Christmas and we're really looking forward to seeing you again in the New Year. 

Mrs Lesie and Mrs Bonnett 

After finishing their assessments, pupils worked together for some team building games on the field. They also had fun experimenting with different forces in Science. 

In Science this week, pupils concluded their investigation into which type of shoe sole creates the largest force of friction when sliding over a surface. The general conclusion was that it was the humble school shoe that could take the greatest frictional force over a given surface. Amazing! I really enjoyed the presentation of findings at 'base camp' on Monday. Pupils used Excel to present using charts. Well done everyone. 

Heads-up - we're hoping to get into the Outdoor Learning area on Thursday. I'll send an email with further details, but everyone will need their wellies and outdoor clothes. 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Mrs Leslie  and Mrs Bonnett