Year 5 This has been a very industrious and very exciting week for the Year 5 classes who have been, as always, working tremendously hard. In science they have been investigating the effects of streamlining and upthrust in water and also exploring which shapes are best for moving at speed through water. In geography they have been working on their 4 figure grid references. They have been creating their own grids and using the map symbols that they have previously learnt to populate their grids. They are working up to using our real OS maps to navigate through an area. As always, if you are out walking this weekend please hand over the reins to your child and see if they can lead your journey! English classes this week have consisted of developing persuasive writing, putting themselves into the shoes of characters from ‘Hamlet’. The classes have been focussing on using expressions of certainty, rhetorical questions and direct address to encourage their audience to take their opinions into account. RS lessons this week have been exploring the story of Moses in the bulrushes and looked at how this story may have felt from the point of view of different people in the story, using their drama skills to conduct character interviews. Computing lessons have been looking at how computers show letters and pictures using spreadsheets to write out their names and draw pictures by colouring in the grid squares on the screen. Finally in music lessons Year 5 have been using their knowledge of programme music to compose music for a film car chase, featuring a wide range of different instruments, textures and timbres.
Year 6 Year 6 have had a successful week, made possible by their resilience and patience with the current unpredictable climate. As well as completing their maths exam this week, all took part in the Primary Maths Challenge too! The Primary Maths Challenge is a paper containing 25 problem solving questions designed to make the children think creatively using their maths skills. Several of the children did really well and have been awarded bronze, silver or gold certificates! In French this week pupils have been learning how to ask tourist type questions. They started with simple examples and before long were practicing useful queries that a tourist would ask in France! In Latin, they have developed their familiarity with the ancient forum in Pompeii. Pupils have analysed and labelled the forum floor plan as well as translated the ‘Hermogenes’ story in Stage 4 of the CLC. In history, they have been completing their slideshows on the reasons for the Titanic disaster as well as reviewing the numbers from each class of society who survived, which has prompted interesting discussions. In RS, pupils finished their medals inspired by Christian hymns and prayers of war. Using inspiration from St. Ignatius' Prayer for Generosity and the hymn 'I vow to thee my country', they produced these beautiful medals that could be presented to a war hero. Lastly, in textiles pupils finished stitching their slippers together and are beginning to think about what detailed embellishment is needed and how they can create their design using different materials.
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.