It has been great to get to know the class over the last couple of weeks and they have made a good start. They have shown a lot of ideas and creativity in their work and an outstanding ability to work in teams and communicate with each other. Below I have provided an overview of some of the areas which you may be able to assist your child with.

Homework

In Year 5 the children will receive both maths skills and grammar homework every week. They will need to complete one page for maths and two pages for grammar (it is more spread out).

Maths Homework: The children will continue working on their current homework book from Year 4 before moving up to the next book around Christmas. This will allow your child the chance to learn the core Year 5 maths skills prior to working on homework at this level.

Grammar Homework: Your child will be set two pages from the ‘CGP Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling’ book. This will have a specific focus, which will be covered in class prior to homework being set. It is expected that this homework is completed to a high standard, including care being taken over spelling and punctuation such as capital letters and full stops, as well as the focus of the page.

Please see the homework timetable below. 

Spellings

Each week (on Mondays) your child will be given a new spelling list. The list will cover words from 3 to 4 spelling rules/patterns which are covered in class over a four week period, with each list building on the previous. To further support this, your child will be provided with a spelling logbook in which to record words that they need to practise at home. This should be done on a nightly basis for around 10 minutes, including at weekends. Please see the guidance for ideas on how to support your child with spelling at home.

Quest and ‘POWer Projects’

It was great to see the POWer projects from over the summer. It was clear that many children worked hard on these and had fun completing them. This terms topic is ‘Invaders’ and I have included an overview of our learning in this unit below.

Your child has now been given the full POWer Project sheet (please see below). The tasks on this are not compulsory but do give an idea of how your child can further their learning of the topic at home. There will also be chances for the children to showcase their POWer projects and to earn points towards a prize draw. They also have a book in which to record research, notes, ideas, evidence etc. 

Reading Records

Reading is central to your child’s learning across the curriculum. It is therefore important for your child to be reading regularly in order to develop the necessary understanding and skills. It is encouraged that your child reads at least five times per week for around 20 minutes. They will need to record this reading in their reading journal which will be collected in on Mondays.

Each night they read counts towards their reading total for the term and subsequently reading awards. However, for a night to count the record must be initialled by you to verify that your child has read, and they must have written a comment themselves.

Although your child may begin to be reading more independently it is important that they still have opportunities to read to an adult. I have added some useful guidance for ways you can support your child’s reading and some suggested websites below. 

Reading Books

Some children have moved up to ‘Free Reader’ and their reading will now be monitored through MyBookBlog. Children who are on the Oxford Reading Tree have been given a level to be assessed by and the aim is for them to be a ‘Free Reader’ by the end of Year 5, if not sooner.

The children will also have regular visits to the school library in order to read and to borrow books. Recommended books for each year group can be found on the website above. 

Times Tables / Mental Maths

Times Tables are an important skill and form the core of much of Year 5 maths. Therefore, it is important that your child has a good grasp of these. Times Tables Rockstars is an excellent resource that is available, and as well as our regular practice in school the children have log-ins to practise at home.  I would encourage that your child practises these daily.

Independence

We expect children in Year 5 to be responsible for their own belongings and behaviour. If your child leaves something at home, then please let them face the consequences! This will help him/her to learn not to make the same mistake again, which will help the child and you.

Behaviour

As well as sanctions for negative behaviour, which are outlined in the Behaviour Policy, in Year 5 we also have rewards for children showing positive behaviour. Our reward system runs as follows:

Individual: Children who stay on a green card for the whole week receive team points.

Group: All children are in a team named after the continents of the world. Team points are awarded to groups who are showing good behaviour. The points throughout the whole school are combined at the end of each month and a trophy is given to the winning team.

Whole class: On occasions when the whole class are behaving well or meet targets they will move on the LEGO race. If they win this race they will be rewarded with extra break time.

Thank you for your assistance and I look forward to working with you and your children throughout the year.

Kind Regards,

Mr Stanley