Year 5 It has been another busy week in year 5! We all enjoyed a delightful assembly on Wednesday, hosted by Miss McDonald, in which we had an opportunity to talk about ourselves and our likes and dislikes before Miss McDonald shared the story of ‘Slow Loris’. I hope pupils can remember the moral of the story!
Mrs McManus’s maths group enjoyed their ‘Children In Need’ maths lesson as they had great fun playing a lovely game in pairs. Pupils had to move around a board and earn points by answering various maths questions. They had great fun, so much so that some even begged to take their games home!
In French, pupils have enjoyed working in pairs to express opinions about school subjects and giving the reason why they like or dislike school activities, and in history with Mr Wickens, as well as completing their work on Mary Tudor, they also researched the only English Pope as part of their extension work. Did you know he was a local man from Bedmond/Abbots Langley? His name? Ask a year 5!
In classics lessons, now that the pupils have a good grasp on the daily life of ancient Athenian citizens, it is time to move onto the fundamental topics of myth and religion! In Week 8 they enhanced their understanding on Greek gods and goddesses and the value that these divine beings had in Athenian life. Their newly found understanding of the turbulent and sometimes unpredictable nature of the gods sets them up nicely for some group acting in Week 9…
In textiles, the pupils are building skills learning how to hand stitch applique pieces on to their fabric masks. They are selecting different colours of felt fabric to build up their design, cutting out shapes and applying them using a running stitch. Meanwhile in DT, Mr Davies reports that the pupils have been excited to begin work on their wood this week, using their measuring skills before cutting using a range of tools including; the fret saw, tenon saw and power sander. The children have certainly been learning the old adage ‘measure twice; cut once’! It has been great to see children using the tools in such a mature manner and rising to the challenge that their projects are giving.
Year 6 In English, pupils have been developing their understanding of persuasive language. What is it, and when is it used? Examples from Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ were the main source of ideas about persuasive language in action.
In science, pupils have started a new topic exploring energy. They have found out the nine forms of energy and investigated how energy changes from one form to another. They had the opportunity to look at real world examples.
In geography, pupils are continuing their exploration of the impacts of tourism in Benidorm. To link our learning with the current Flourish focus the children have been asked to write a diary entry imagining they live and work in Benidorm. They have used their learning and empathy to describe how they feel about tourists coming to their town. One of the diary entries is included.
In RS, pupils have been looking at National days through a Christian lens: this week, Remembrance Day was the focus. Year 6 closely analysed the words to St. Ignatius' Prayer for Generosity, as well as the lyrics to the hymn 'I vow to thee my country' to explore and investigate Christian attitudes to war. Then they designed a medal that could be given to a war hero, and wrote their favourite phrases from the hymns and prayers around it.
In computing, pupils have been learning more about how spreadsheets work. This week they have been working on functions and formulae to solve simple problems.
Dear Diary,
Another day working as the Head Chef in one of the last cultural restaurants in the beautiful town of Benidorm. Well not entirely beautiful. Most of the town is now big skyscrapers and British restaurants and no Spanish culture. I remember the days where there were only about 500-600 visitors a year, no crazy tall hotels and lots of culture. And I got why they came because it was a beautiful place. But now it is crazy with mass tourism, primarily British restaurants and people only come to party and make loud noises. To conclude I think they should limit the amount of tourists that come otherwise the town of Benidorm and all its culture will disappear.
José
By Max, 6BL
Creative Arts Don't forget to check out the Creative Arts section to see all the fantastic things Middle School have been up to in Music, Art and Drama.