Welcome Back UKS2!
Here you will find all things relating to Years 5 and 6
We all hope that you have had a wonderful Christmas and look forward to welcoming the children back and working hard as they get to the middle of their year. We will endeavour to update this section of the school website with as much information as early as possible, but as always if you have any additional questions please contact upperkeystage2@mpjs.eriding.net
Christian Values
At Mount Pleasant CE VC Junior School, we pride ourselves on teaching children how to be well-rounded citizens through faith, family and friendship. One way we achieve this is by studying different values each half-term. This term our value is Perseverance. It would be great if at home you are continuing conversations about being trustworthy and the importance of trust within our commitee.
Curriculum
Throughout the Spring term, the children (in both Year 5 and 6) will learn a range of topics and skills.
In Maths, children will be working initially on Fractions, Decimals and Percentages before progressing onto Shape and Converting Units of measure. In Year 6, children will also study Algebra and Ratio.
In English, we will focus on a child's version of The Tempest. Our grammar, vocabulary and spelling will be taught through the lessons and we will be writing a range of text types for different audiences and purposes. Alongside our English lessons, our guided reading sessions will include us reading 'Jamie Drake' by Christopher Edge and focus particulalry on drawing inferences and retrieving key information.
Geography this term will have a focus on rivers and look specifically at how they impact the wildlife who live nearby. In the second half term, we will then focus on History and consider why the Vikings settled in our area. A visit to York will help the children see the real life impacts of this.
In RE, all children are looking at the big question ‘How do believers express their faith?’ This unit is an opportunity to use social sciences to observe how people live and practise their belief (worship) with a particular focus on diversity.
Science in Spring is all about Light. By the end of this unit, the children will learn: how we see, how light travels, what shadows are, what refraction is and the effect of light pollution on the world around us.
French has year-group specific objectives so is taught in year groups. The Year 5 pupils will be looking at personal descriptions and describing their family. Whilst Year 6 pupils, will be learning how to follow classroom instructions, the names for sports and expressing their personal opinions.
In Art, we are learning about installation art and producing their own models in groups. In DT, children will be making pop-up books to develop their knowledge of mechanisms.
In Spring 1, outdoor PE will be based around developing Netball skills, specifically to refine passing and shooting. Indoor PE is focused on 'gymastics', specifically matching and mirroring in pairs/groups. In Spring 2, outdoor PE will be tennis. We will have a visit from the TMWS Tennis Club. Indoor PE is all about dance this half term.
Homework
As your child has now moved into the Upper Phase of their journey in Key Stage Two, we are starting to prepare them for secondary school. When the children move to secondary school, they will be expected to complete a wide range of homework and be responsible for completing and handing it in on time. Therefore, we are setting a little more homework than they would have previously had in their time at Junior School so far.
We still expect all children to practice their weekly spellings in preparation for their spelling test on Mondays and to apply in their writing. They must also read three times weekly. This must be recorded in their reading record with the dates and at least one adult signature. This will be checked on a Wednesday. If children have not read three times, they will stay in at morning break with Miss Stubbs to complete a short reading comprehension. Parents will also get a text to let them know.
We will also be setting further homework as detailed below:
Year 5 pupils will recieve 1 x piece of maths or english homework weekly which is usually based upon that week's learning, however may be a piece of 'pre-learning' to help teacher's identify gaps in learning. This may be on Emile or the children will bring home a worksheet to write on.
Year 6 pupils are set both Maths and English tasks on Emile.
Miss Stubbs is running a lunchtime club on a Monday for any children who wish to complete their homework then, are struggling to access Emile or need help.
Homework will be set on a Friday and due on a Wednesday. If children have not completed their homework by Wednesday, they will be staying in at morning break on that day to complete their homework.
We appreciate your support with this as it will help the children, not only with their learning but also with responsibility in preparation for secondary school.
PE days
The PE days are as follow:
Class 6: Monday and Tuesday
Class 7: Wednesday and Thursday
Class 8: Tuesday and Thursday
Class 9: Tuesday and Wednesday
Class 10: Wednesday and Friday
Please ensure that your child comes to school on their PE day in school PE kit. This consists of black jogging trousers, plain black sports leggings or black shorts, a white PE t-shirt, an optional Mount Pleasant School hoodie or their school sweatshirt, and trainers. If your child is not in correct uniform, we will contact you and this should be rectified as soon as possible.
IMPORTANT WORDS
These are our Year 5/6 words which it is expected your child will be able to spell by the end of the year. Why not play hangman or scrabble with these words?
