16th October 2020

There goes another week in Rhino class. I can't quite believe that we are at the end of Term 1. All of the class really deserve their upcoming half term holiday as they have all been working their socks off.

This week in Maths we have been looking at time. This is one area where you can practise your maths wherever you have a clock! Everyone has done really well and demonstrated their resilience in tackling these maths problems. If you want to practise time, there are lots of activities on MyMaths and also you can look online. Also just looking at an analogue clock when you are out and about can be a really good way to discuss maths with the children. Next week we are revisiting addition and subtraction problems and taking another look at division.

In English, we are continuing with How to Live Forever and this time writing stories based on the book. This week we have been focussing our grammar on relative clauses and using relative pronouns such as which, who, that and whose. Next week they will continue practising these skills before writing their story on Thursday. If you would like to support writing at home the best way to do this is to support your child to read and to discuss vocabulary with them. If they aren't sure what a word means it is quick and easy to google and find out together! Don't worry if you don't know either, it's really good to model what you would do if you don't know something!

PE next week is Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Don't forget, Friday is an INSET so Thursday will be the last day of term.

This week's spellings:

3rd October 2020

Wow! October already. I can't believe how quickly we are racing through Term 1. I think it is fair to say that Autumn is well and truly here and we've had some very wet and cold days this week. As you probably are aware, for Covid safety measures, we are required to have the door to the class and all the windows open. We are also going to try and get outside for play if it is lightly raining or drizzling. With that in mind, please can children come into class with jumpers or cardigans and definitely bring a coat to protect them from the rain.

Both Mrs Hyde and Mrs Popel continue to be super impressed by Rhino class and their resilience during these strange times! In Maths this week children tackled Multiplication and Division and used all their gem powers to tackle these in a formal written method. There was some brilliant maths being done by the whole class and lots of 'lightbulb moments', which as teachers we love to see.

In English we have moved on to the beautifully illustrated book called How to Live Forever. This tells the story of Peter, a boy who lives within the books at a library, as he searches for a lost book that gives you the secret to eternal life. This week Rhinos analysed the text and wrote a descriptive passage about the library. We were blown away by some of the incredible vocabulary chosen by the children. Vocabulary building is something that can be done at home really easily when on Reading Eggspress or reading a book - simply google the word and discuss what it means! You could even challenge your child to use it in school!

Talking of reading, it's been brilliant to see how much the children are loving Reading Eggspress and everyone is racking up the minutes on there. Obviously, if your child would still like to read an actual book, that is brilliant and still encouraged. The children are enjoying the new reading scheme we are using in school. It has a mix of specially written books and classics so there is something for everyone. If you are still not up to speed with Reading Eggspress, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Hyde or Mrs Popel and we can help you get logged on.

Thank you for supporting your children with home learning. From logging on to the various online platforms and seeing the spelling results, we can clearly see there is a lot of learning being done outside school. 

PE kits will be needed Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. 

Reading Eggspress will be checked on Tuesdays.

Spellings are below. These will be tested on Friday:

25th September 2020

Week 4 done! Well done Rhinos - what a great week!

We've tackled problem solving in Maths this week and, although some found it challenging, they gave it a really good go and showed their emerald power. I could see definite progress through the week which is all we can ask for. Next week we are moving on to shape and geometry.

In English, we wrote some lovely diary entries about the book the Promise. All children tried really hard to make their writing brilliant and use fantastic vocabulary. I was really impressed when I marked the books. Again, although some found it tricky they didn't give up.

In topic we had a fab lesson finding different cities in the atlases and discussing why people might have settled there. We also were asking the question - what do we need? A lot of the children thought really hard about what is essential in life and what maybe is an added luxury.

PE as always is Tuesday and Friday. However, for the next month we will be having a wellbeing and fitness session on a Wednesday morning. Please can children come in wearing PE kit.

Spellings for this week are as follows. If you need to speak to a teacher about spellings, please drop us an email or catch us in the morning. 

Remember

circle

actually

believe

build

business

different

though

therefore

potatoes

Have a lovely weekend and see you next week!

18th September 2020

Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a lovely week. 

This week Rhino class have been continuing to get to grips with Place Value in Maths. Every year, we start the September term with three weeks of Place Value. The reason for this is that it is the building blocks of every child's maths knowledge and can help them in all areas of their maths. We have been really impressed by the children's knowledge and understanding. Please continue to support Maths at home by encouraging children to access My Maths and Timestables Rockstars.

In English, we have been carrying on looking at the book The Promise. For those of you who don't know, this is a picture book written for older children. It deals with themes of how an environment can affect a person for good or bad. It also looks at home in the right circumstances anyone can change. It fits in really nicely with our topic Enough For Everyone that focusses in on sustainability and how resources are shared around the world.

Reading is an important part of our curriculum and every week we have a dedicated reading lesson. This week we have looked at a text all about Dolphins. Here children are expected to use a range of skills to answer questions. We also spend time each week looking at reading inference, which is looking for clues in the text to answer 'how' and 'why' questions.

Please continue to read with your children at home at least 4 times per week. The Reading Eggspress programme has a variety of books to choose from and some comprehension tasks. From this Tuesday we will be checking Reading Eggspress and seeing who is reading books or doing comprehension tasks. It is now school policy that a text will be sent to those not reading or using the programme. There are games and things on the programme, which are fun and educational but please can you also encourage your children to use the library and look for books. 

PE is Tuesday and Friday - please come into school in kit appropriate for the playground or field.

Spellings should have been given today. These are:

Some children will have different spellings. If you require these at home, please let us know and we can email them to you.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you next week!

11th September 2020

Another fantastic week in Rhino class. It's been great to see all the children settling into their learning again and getting stuck in with English, Maths, reading and other subjects.

In English we have been focussing on sentence work and writing descriptive pieces based on the book The Promise. We saw some lovely writing and have seen children working hard to improve their vocabulary. 

In Maths we've continued to look at Place Value focussing on numbers up to the Millions column. Our work has included writing these numbers in words, discussing how they work and problem solving based on place value. All children have shown resilience and great learning behaviours.

All children will have their Reading Eggs login now at the moment, this will replace an actual physical book in school. Please read 4 times per week and log this on Reading Eggs. Mrs Hyde and Mrs Popel will check this on a Tuesday. Certificates will be given to fabulous readers! In school we have a brand new reading scheme. These books will stay in school but we will note in their reading records when they have read with an adult. Children will be levelled on these books next week.

Spellings for this week are:

address

different

eight

favourite

heard

minute

remember

separate

through

weight.

These will be tested on 18/09/20.

PE will be on Tuesday and Friday. Please come into school in PE kit. 

If the weather is on the chilly side, it can get very cold in the classroom as we have to have doors and windows open to be COVID safe. Please ensure children have a coat or layer up on chillier days.

If you need to speak to Mrs Hyde or Mrs Popel, please can you email or call the school. Our door is always open and we are really happy to discuss anything with you.

4th September 2020

What a brilliant week! I have been so impressed with all of Rhino. They've handled all the changes to school with maturity and been really sensible. This week, we've been settling in with a few different activities to get us in the swing of things and getting to know one another. 

Next week, we will be looking at place value in Maths and looking at the book The Promise in English. Our topic this term will be Enough for Everyone, which looks at the environment.

PE will take place on Tuesday and Friday. Please come in on those days in appropriate kit and wearing trainers.

Spellings will start from next week.

My Math, Timestable Rockstars and Reading Eggress logins will be given out next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Welcome to Year 5

We hope you are enjoying the summer holidays! 

Miss Cripps, Mrs Hyde and Mrs Popel are really looking forward to getting back into school routines, we have missed Team Barley Close so much during lockdown. We have been into school and we can now say the classrooms are looking ready (if a bit different) for welcoming our new Year 5's back in September. 

If you are starting to get bored, remember it never hurts to do some reading or a bit of maths work to keep your brain active. There are so many free games for maths, spelling apps and reading is everywhere! Please don't worry about being "rusty" with any school work, we are all in the same situation so we will ease back in and soon get ourselves back up to speed. 

We can't wait to see you in September and we are all looking forward to our school year together. Year 5 is the best! 

Miss Cripps, Mrs Hyde and Mrs Popel