Class Blog for Talland Y5

Talland Class Visited the Alps

The children of Talland Class have had a magnificent introduction to their topic in reference to the Alps. They attended school in warm clothing to assimilate life in the Alps during the Winter. During the week, they learned how to geographically locate the Alps using maps and also identified the Continents of the World together with the countries bordering the mountains: Switzerland, France and Germany, for instance. The highlight for the children was toasting marshmallows to eat during the afternoon session. A quote from one 10 year old, 'It's hot but it's also delicious.'

The maths topic, fractions, has been a pleasant challenge for the children. They have been focusing on finding common denominators to enable the addition of 2 and 3 lots of fractions, for instance:
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A great deal of perseverance was shown by all of the children during the maths sessions.

During English, the children have been creating their own character and setting in anticipation for writing their own version of Hansel and Gretel. The description many of the children have been using is amazing: eyes like emerald balls; the isolated, lonely mountains are barren rocks on the sea shore eroding away with each crash of a wave; and so on.

Best wishes, Mrs Swabey, Mr Parry, Mrs Walters, Mrs Payne and Miss Rowlands.

w.b. 6th January

A Busy First Week Back!

This week, Talland have been developing their oracy skills within lessons. This is to enable them to speak and communicate clearly and confidently.

In science, we have started a new topic 'Living Things and their Habitats'. We were introduced to the classification of living things. We practised creating classification keys using liquorice allsorts, then had a go at classifying some Alpine animals (linking in to our new Big Question). I would like to say that no liquorice allsorts were harmed during this lesson...but I cannot!

In English, we have begun studying the traditional tale of Hansel and Gretel. After story-mapping it and analysing the features of traditional tales, the children were tasked with getting into the role of some of the main characters. During our 'hot seating' lesson they had to put themselves into their character's shoes and answer questions, that the rest of the class made up, in role. The children really got into the challenge and spoke with great thought and clarity. There are definitely some future theatre stars within Talland class!

Happy New Year, 2025!

Happy New Year 2025. We have an action packed term planned ahead of us titled: What is life like in the Alps? We will use this topic to explore the peaks of this mountainous region and expand our knowledge of the geographical features of the area.

Please note, on Monday 13th January, at 3.15pm, there will be a meet the teacher session with Mr Parry. It will be an informal meeting to discuss the curriculum for the rest of the term and to meet Mr Parry.

Below, you will find a copy of the 'knowledge web' which will cover the topics of this term.

Best wishes, Mrs Swabey, Mr Parry, Mrs Walters, Mrs Payne and Miss Rowlands.

Image Gallery

Documents

Year 5 KNOWLEDGE WEB - Spring Term 1 25.doc

w.e. 29th November

Crafty and Curious!

This week, Talland have been included in some lovely extra-curricular activities including table cricket and making lanterns for the Saltash Lantern Parade. Thank you to those parents who were able to join us in constructing the lanterns; it is always very exciting (and messy!).

Also, we have moved on in our 'Forces' science unit to learn about levers, pulleys and gears. The children were tasked with investigating pulley systems: they had to explain what they could be used for, and how they help. Some were very successful in being able to easily winch up some of the items on their desks! The children will be putting this knowledge to use in DT, in which we have started a railway project and are building a small electrical locomotive.

STEM Robotics

Talland get Technical!

Thanks to Hyett Education and Miss Henning, Talland got to experience what it is like to work as an engineer in the robotics sector today.

We first had to follow instructions to construct a small robot, then had to solve a series of design problems to allow a Lego figure to be attached, for the wires to stay clear of the wheels and to include a working headlight! The children then had to produce some code to ensure that the robot did as they wanted it to do and moved where they intended.

It was a truly inspiring, and seriously fun, morning for all.

Victorian Day

More gruel please...

Today we dressed like Victorians and learnt what life was like in a Victorian school.

We started by singing the National Anthem in the hall and then we learned how rules were different in Victorian times. For example, children stand every time an adult enters the classroom and they must not count on their fingers during maths lessons.

Throughout the day, they took part in workshops where they found out about Victorian life. They learned about Victorian Christmas and made a decoration, they created a sampler by experimenting with embroidery, they played some Victorian playground games and even chanted their times tables!

I think the highlight was trying the gruel that Jane made - it had mixed reviews.

What a fantastic and educational day!

w.e. 14th November

Antibullying Week, Maths Week England, Local Visits and Violin Concerts!

My goodness, what an action-packed week Talland have had!

In English, we have been learning to recite and analyse 'From a Railway Carriage'; a Victorian poem penned by Robert Louis Stevenson.

To inspire our writing, as well as further our learning about the Industrial Revolution we visited the 'Bridging the Tamar' exhibit and workshop on Thursday. We found out the history of both the Royal Albert Bridge and Tamar Bridge, and details of how they were created, as well as what the area looked like before either were built. In addition, we learned about the cause and effects of the Industrial Revolution, and how our school's namesake was at the heart of this.

Rounding off the week, we held a violin concert to demonstrate what we had been learning with Sally Bartholomew from Asone music hub. I'm sure those parents, who were able to attend, would agree that the progress that they have made in playing the violin, as well as musical concepts like rhythm, reading music and notation, was astounding. If your child would like to continue learning to play the violin, we are very lucky to have Mr Jane who provides lessons. For those children who are in receipt of free school meals, there is often a subsidy available to help with the cost.

Finally, in addition to all of this, we carried out many activities based around Anti-bullying Week and Maths Week England, including a maths treasure hunt where each answer led them to the next clue.

w.e. 7th November

Swimming, STEM and more...

This week has seen a super busy week for Talland! The class demonstrated excellent resilience, determination and enthusiasm during their swimming sessions at Saltash Leisure Centre. Huge progress was made by all children - whether this was honing their technique, learning a new stroke or even overcoming their fears to get in the water and simply float. Thank you to all the staff at Saltash Leisure Centre in providing this excellent tuition for our children.

We also were really lucky to have Jorden and Sean from SDS Sustainability and Engineering Consultants visit us on Thursday for a workshop. We learned about the role of an engineer and how their company designs buildings and building solutions which are more energy efficient and 'green'. The children then had a go at trying to solve an engineering problem: creating a ductwork system in a house, using the least possible pieces of pipes. It was an inspiring session, with lots of children showing an interest in an engineering career by the end.

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Documents

Autumn 2 KIRFs and Upcoming Maths Week England

Maths Roundup

Next week (Mon 11^th - Fri 15^th Nov), sees the return of Maths Week England! As such, children will be taking part in lots of fun maths puzzles and games in lessons, as well as finding out about maths in real life careers during a Newsday Tuesday special.

To celebrate, we also have some school-wide events taking place:

Thursday 14^th November - Family Games Night: Maths Escape Room Edition!

There'll be lots of online and paper-based maths escape rooms to try as families. All are welcome. For every escape room completed, you will gain an entry to a prize draw! As usual, this half term's KIRFs and resources will be available to take away too.

Crazy KIRFs photo competition!

Open to all ages. Take a photo of your child learning their KIRFs in an unusual way or place and submit them to Mrs Swabey by Fri 15^th Nov. There are some fabulous prizes to be won! Please print and hand in to your child's teacher or email them to lswabey@brunelprimary.co.uk

Please find this half term's KIRFs attached to this blog post.

Image Gallery

Documents

KIRFs- Autumn 2 updated.pdf

w.e. 25th October

The End of Autumn 1!

This half term has seen so many exciting activities and opportunities for learning. We've taken part in cricket sessions, violin tuition, a trip to Bodmin jail and street dance to name a few!

This week our celebrations for Black History Month culminated in a sharing assembly whereby we saw which notable person of colour, from the past or present, each class has focussed on. In Talland class, we spent time learning about Mary Seacole - a black lady who, during the Victorian times, was incredibly selfless, nursing soldiers in the Crimean war.

After finding out about her struggles and successes, the children created their very own 'relief printing' tile from card. They then did wax crayon rubbings over these to produce their portrait of Mary. They used the 4 colours associated with Black History Month and found out about the significance of these.

We can't wait to see what exciting opportunities Autumn 2 brings!

We hope that you have a lovely half term: stay safe and enjoy some family time.