Week 1: 31/08/26

What a fantastic start to Year 5! I have been completely blown away by Fir Class this week and couldn't be prouder of how brilliantly the children have settled in.

From the very beginning, the children have worked hard to follow our classroom expectations and routines. They have shown that they are ready to learn, listened carefully and demonstrated such a positive attitude towards their learning. It has been wonderful to see them becoming more confident and independent already.

Presentation has been a big focus this week, and the children have really risen to the challenge. They have taken pride in their books and have worked hard to make sure their work is neat, carefully presented and something they can be proud of. I have loved seeing the effort going into every page!

 In Maths, we have been tackling Roman numerals — and Fir Class absolutely smashed it! The children showed fantastic resilience when working with this new learning and quickly became confident at reading, writing and converting Roman numerals.

 Our Art lessons have been particularly creative. We have begun creating self-portraits inspired by the bold, colourful and distinctive style of Roy Lichtenstein. The children have experimented with lines, patterns and comic-book-inspired features to create their own unique artwork. I can't wait to see the finished portraits!

 In RE, we have also started our journey into Buddhism. The children have begun learning about the life of Siddhartha Gautama and have shown great curiosity when exploring some of the beliefs and ideas at the heart of Buddhism.

 And, of course, we have been getting active! During PE, the children have demonstrated some fantastic teamwork in both basketball and football. They have encouraged one another, communicated well and shown great sportsmanship — exactly the kind of team spirit we want to see in Fir Class.

It has been a busy first week, but what has impressed me most is the way the children have embraced every challenge with enthusiasm.

Fir Class, you have made a fantastic start to Year 5. Keep it up — I can't wait to see what we achieve together!

What a fantastic second week we have had in Fir Class! The children have settled brilliantly and have continued to show enthusiasm, curiosity and a fantastic attitude towards their learning. Here’s a little look at what we have been getting up to…

 Maths – 

In Maths, we have continued our exciting work on place value, working with numbers all the way up to 1,000,000! 

The children have been developing their understanding of the value of each digit and have been fantastic at using online manipulatives to represent numbers and explain their thinking. It has been wonderful to see them becoming more confident when working with such large numbers!

Science –

We have also started our new Science topic: Electricity!

We began by exploring where electricity comes from and thinking about the different ways electricity is generated. We then got hands-on with some fun experiments involving static electricity. 

There were plenty of surprised faces as we discovered what happens when we create static charge using balloons!

Geography 

In Geography, we have begun our journey around the world's biomes. We have been learning about where different biomes can be found and why our planet has such a diverse range of environments.

We have also been learning about the importance of the Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, and how their position on Earth helps us understand different climates around the world. 

 PE – 

Our PE lessons have been full of energy this week! We have continued to develop our football and basketball skills, working on our control, passing, movement and teamwork.

The children have shown great determination and have really enjoyed putting their skills into practice during games. It has been wonderful to see so many children in the correct kit!

 English

English has been all about nouns this week! We have explored much more than simply identifying a person, place or thing. The children have been learning about common, proper, collective, abstract and partitive nouns, developing their understanding of how nouns can be used in different ways.

It has been brilliant to hear the children using their new vocabulary and spotting different types of nouns in their reading and writing.

Another Brilliant Week!

It has been another busy and productive week, and I am incredibly proud of the effort the children have shown across all of their subjects. Well done, Fir Class! Let’s see what Week 3 brings! 

Week 3

It has been another busy and successful week in Fir Class, with the children working hard across all areas of the curriculum. It has been fantastic to see their enthusiasm, curiosity and willingness to challenge themselves!

In Writing, we have been exploring regular, irregular and modal verbs. The children have been identifying how verbs change and thinking carefully about how modal verbs can show possibility, certainty or obligation. They have enjoyed spotting different types of verbs and putting their knowledge into practice in their own writing.

In Maths, we have been learning how to add 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000 and 100,000 to numbers. We have been looking carefully at what happens to the digits when we add these amounts and, importantly, explaining the patterns we notice. The children have been developing their understanding of place value and becoming increasingly confident at explaining their mathematical thinking.

Our Art lessons have taken a creative turn as we have begun exploring product design and packaging. The children looked at how designers think about the appearance and purpose of packaging before designing and sketching their own pineapple juice cartons. There have been some wonderfully creative ideas, with the children considering colour, shape, branding and how to make their product stand out.

In Science, we have been investigating electrical circuits. The children explored how circuits work and practised drawing them using the correct circuit symbols. They have been learning how important it is to represent circuits clearly and accurately so that someone else can understand how the components are connected.

It has also been wonderful to see so many children enjoying earning Dojo points for their hard work at home, particularly with their reading and homework. Regular reading and completing homework makes such a difference, and it is fantastic to see the effort being recognised.

A huge well done to everyone who has earned Dojo points this week! 🎉 Keep up the fantastic work, Fir Class — your hard work and positive attitudes are making a brilliant start to the school year!

Week 4

🌟 Another Fantastic Week in Fir Class! 🌟

It has been another busy and exciting week in Fir Class, with lots of opportunities to learn, investigate and work together!

🔬 Science
This week, we have been exploring electricity and circuits. We investigated what happens when we add extra voltage to a circuit and observed how this affected the brightness of the bulb. The children made thoughtful predictions before carrying out their investigations and discussed the different variables that could affect the results. There were some excellent scientific discussions and observations!

In P.S.H.E, we explored how we can help someone who is new to our school feel welcome and included. We thought carefully about how small acts of kindness, friendship and encouragement can make a big difference to someone who might be feeling nervous or unsure.

Some of our children had the fantastic opportunity to attend an orienteering event at Soham College. They worked brilliantly as teams, communicating with one another, solving problems and encouraging each other along the way. It was wonderful to see such positive teamwork!

In R.E, we continued our learning about Buddhism. We explored special days and celebrations that are important to Buddhists and then created our own drawings of Buddha, thinking carefully about some of the symbols and features associated with Buddhist art.

Well done, Fir Class, for another week of fantastic learning, teamwork and kindness! 

Week 5: 28th September 2026

It has been another busy week of learning in Fir Class!

Science: We have been investigating circuits and exploring what happens when we add more components. We made predictions, tested our ideas and discussed how adding components can affect a circuit.

Geography: We have continued our work on biomes, learning all about the savannah. We explored its climate, vegetation and the animals that are specially adapted to survive there.

Art: We have been exploring product design and have started using collage techniques to present ideas for a brand-new product. We have been thinking carefully about how colour, shape and materials can make our designs effective.

English: This week we tackled compound subjects and dummy subjects. These were quite challenging concepts, but we worked hard to understand how they are used in sentences and put our new knowledge into practice.

Maths: We have started our new unit on addition and subtraction, developing our understanding of different methods and applying these to increasingly challenging problems.

Well done, Fir Class, for another fantastic week of learning! 

Week 6 5/10/26

It has been another busy and exciting week in Fir Class, with lots of fantastic learning taking place across the curriculum!

Maths

We have been working hard on our addition and subtraction skills. We have also been developing our problem-solving skills by learning how to identify the key information in word problems. We are becoming more confident at deciding which information we need and which operation will help us solve each problem.

Writing

This week, we have begun exploring non-chronological reports. We have been identifying the key features of this type of writing and creating our own checklist of everything we need to include when writing an effective report. We are looking forward to putting these skills into practice!

Reading

Our reading lessons have taken us on a journey around the animal kingdom! We have been retrieving facts about different animals from a range of biomes, developing our ability to locate and use information from texts.

Art

In art, we have been putting our painting skills to the test by creating new product packaging. We have explored how colour and painting techniques can help make a product stand out, and we have enjoyed getting creative with our designs.

Geography

We have been learning about vegetation belts and exploring how plants adapt to survive in different biomes around the world. We have discovered how different environments influence the types of plants that grow there and the amazing ways plants adapt to their surroundings.

Harvest Preparations

Our harvest preparations are also in full swing! We have been busy practising and getting ready for our harvest assembly. There is lots of excitement in the air as we work together to make it a special occasion.

Well done, Fir Class, for another fantastic week of learning, creativity and teamwork. We are looking forward to sharing more of our learning with you soon!

Week 6 12/10/26

What a fantastic week of learning we have had in Fir Class! The children have been busy developing new skills, investigating scientific ideas and preparing for some exciting projects next week.

English – Exploring the World’s Biomes

In English, we have been learning the skills needed to write a non-chronological report about the world’s biomes. We have explored how to organise information, use factual language and structure our writing to inform the reader. The children have now planned their reports and are ready to put their knowledge into writing next week!

Maths – Multiplication and Division

We have begun our new unit on multiplication and division. The children have been investigating what multiples are and exploring common multiples. They have been using their times-table knowledge to spot patterns, explain their reasoning and develop their mathematical vocabulary.

Science – Creating Pressure Traps

Our young scientists have been putting their knowledge of electrical circuits to the test! The children designed and created their own pressure traps, applying their understanding of circuits to make their ideas work. It was wonderful to see them using their scientific knowledge creatively and solving problems along the way.

Art – Product Design

In art, the children have been busy planning their own product designs. They have been developing their ideas and thinking carefully about what they want to create. We are looking forward to seeing their designs come to life when we begin making our products next week!

Geography – Discovering the World’s Biomes

We have continued our geography learning by sorting facts about the different biomes we have explored. The children have been using their knowledge to identify the features of each biome, including their climates, vegetation and wildlife. This learning will also help them when writing their non-chronological reports in English.

Well done, Fir Class, for another brilliant week of learning! We are looking forward to seeing everyone build on their hard work and creativity next week.