Year 5

For their WOW starter, Year 5 took a trip to Marwell Zoo. We got up close and personal with some residents of the Amazon Rainforest during our rainforest workshops, learning about each layer and who lives there. We also had the opportunity to visit their climate in the Tropical House and even saw a sloth! As the weather was so nice, we were very lucky that all the animals were out in their enclosures ready to say ‘hello’.

At half past three we gathered at the Penguin Enclosure to watch them being fed as they swam around enjoying their dinner. We stopped in to see the giraffes tucking in to their hay bales, saw some big cats sunbathing and meerkats standing guard. After a long day and a big walk we headed home with very tired legs, full of new information about our topic this term.

On Wednesday afternoon , Year 5 were tasked with designing a re-entry shuttle to bring their eggstronauts back to Earth. After learning about how astronauts return to Earth, what they experience and how the shuttles are designed to keep astronauts safe the children were given their box of equipment.

Each group had exactly the same set of equipment which included lollipop sticks, paper of different thickness, cotton wall and bubble wrap. The groups were given some planning time which they used to design their shuttle and give reasons why they have chosen that equipment. The children then set off and began constructing their shuttles.

After all the groups completed their designs, the whole year group came together to our specially designed test centre where Mr Melvin, Mr Michica and Miss Lyons were ready to test the safety and suitability of the shuttles. One by one the shuttles were dropped to the floor. Some were very successful bringing their eggstronauts back to Earth, however some groups were left with egg on their face.

There were some great designs and great deal of thought and collaborative work between the teams.

All in all we had an eggcellent time.

Year 5 have been talking about abstract art and it's use of shapes. They looked at some examples and labeled what they found.

They spent the afternoon linking maths to PE. The children took part in some circuit training and then gathered results to produce data on whatever aspect they wanted to record  - which class did the most press ups?  did the girls do more sit ups than the boys?

Four year 5 pupils showed off their excellent maths skills on Thursday 20th September at Christ's Hospital, Horsham.

They, along with 67 other schools from the area, tackled mathematical conundrums with confidence and success. After exercising their brains, they enjoyed a delicious meal in this truly amazing setting.

Well done Zach, Lola, Cobi and Darcie, we are very proud of you!

We left the rain behind and had a wonderful, and informative day at Marwell zoo. We saw so many rain forest animals including; capibaras, leopards, lemurs and even a sloth in the amazing "Tropical Zone!" where it was also rather lovely to warm up a bit!

Our sessions in the education centre gave us the opportunity to stroke stick insects and snakes, as well as learn more about the zoo's dedication to conservation of all these beautiful animals.

Everyone came away having learnt a great deal about the importance of protecting our world, and an even greater respect for the incredible animals it holds.