Year 5

Welcome to Year 5 2020-21!

Green 1: Mrs Dart and Mrs Turner

sdart@callingtonprimary.co.uk

kturner@callingtonprimary.co.uk

Teaching assistant: Mrs Carter

Green 2: Mr Burnip

iburnip@callingtonprimary.co.uk

Teaching assistant: Miss Purnell

Topic Learning this week- It's All Greek to Me

This week we've delved deeper into our topic ‘It’s all Greek to me’. We've begun to learn about the Ancient Greeks and started by thinking about who exactly were the Ancient Greeks. We used timelines to place this period into history and compared it to other time periods that we knew about. We then turned into researchers to find out more about the two city states of Athens and Sparta. We discovered they had completely different ways of life; they had their own laws, money, rulers and were in fact rivals. We're looking forward to finding out even more next week!

Forest School

This week, Green One and Green Two had a fantastic half day at forest school.  We spent time exploring the forest school area with a senses scavenger hunt, designed our own nature inventions and created mythical creatures from the natural materials we could find! Check out some of the pictures from our day below. It was great to see the children outside and loving the natural environment, smiles on their faces and mud on their hands...

It's All Greek To Me- Stunning Starter

This week we kicked off our new topic with a bang with our Ancient Greek Stunning Starter. We turned back time and were greeted at the classroom doors by our teachers in togas, ready for a day of fun and discovery. We started the morning by being challenged to create our own togas out of toilet rolls; there were some rather interesting designs indeed! Next it was on to loral making which we would later on present at our Olympic games ceremony. Throughout the day we learnt about about lots of different ways of life during the Ancient Greek period including food, ancient buildings, past times and dress. In the afternoon, our sporting skills were put to test with our very own Olympic games. The day culminated in a Greek feast where we were able to try some typical greek delicacies - yum yum! We now can't wait to learn more about this exciting time period!

Please see below for previous years information and picture

Welcome to Year 5 2019 - 2020!

Green 1:

Class Teacher: Mr Burnip

iburnip@callingtonprimary.co.uk

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Dance

Green 2:

Class Teacher: Mrs Briars-Delve

ebriarsdelve@callingtonprimary.co.uk

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Vellacott/Mrs Boud

Trip to the Royal Cornwall Museum

Year five had a fabulous time at Truro Museum where they got to create their own tile pot in the style of an Ancient Greek design. This was then decorated by scratching the clay with their chosen design. In addition to making a tile pot, the children had access to the museum without members of the public; therefore, they had the freedom to explore the museum at their leisure and to look at the various artefacts ranging from a mummified foot to a stuffed seal and especially the ancient Greek section. Everyone was extremely tired after a fun day of activities but would definitely do it again. Take a look at our pictures below:

Carnyorth Residential Trip

The Carnyorth residential was thoroughly enjoyed by all and was a huge success again. On the first day, the journey to St Michael’s Mount was swift and relaxed. Upon arriving, the children enjoyed the playpark and were soon playing merrily with each. We soon made our way down to the beach and ventured out to the mount as it was low tide. We all gazed in wonder at the mount and enjoyed being able to walk to the island that is usually cut off by the tide. Upon arriving at the centre, the children were soon settled in and got straight into the activities which were climbing and archery. These activities encouraged team bonding as the children supported each other and fostered an individual drive to improve and persevere. That evening, we went to explore the arsenic mines which led to some stunning views and excellent games - a perfect way to end the day.

Thursday morning brought glorious sunshine with a warm breeze. The children had the opportunity to build their own boat (a coracle) which they would later sail on a moorland pool. This was the highlight of the trip which saw the children having the chance to play in the water and sail in kayaks and their coracles. The children thoroughly enjoyed this time in the water with many exclaiming it was amazing and expressed that not many people could claim to have made their own boat and sailed it in the same day.

Friday brought more beautiful sunshine for the final activity: miners cluedo. The children had to use clues to find the person whilst explouring the surrounding area and dilapidated engine houses for the old mine workings.

All the children would agree, they had a fantastic time and enjoyed every minute of it.

Spectacular sell out at the summer fair!

WOW! The Year 5’s were spectacular at the summer fair, selling all their products in a record breaking time. The marvellous keyrings, fantastic galaxy slime and fabulous fantastic flapjacks were extremely popular with all children, staff and parents. On top of this the Year 5 made a humongous profit of £150.  A huge well done Year 5.

Ocean Day

In Year 5 we looked at Jo Roxton’s website and a mini video on the damage plastic is doing to our ocean and marine life. The children found some of the images very moving as they depicted scene of animals in distress – all due to plastic littering their habitat.

We spent the rest of the morning looking at why plastic is clogging up our seas and what we can do about it – focusing on the 4 R’s.

The children then looked at an ocean poem from which they then created their own; including reasons why the plastic is there, to how we can help prevent it.

Alternative Sports - Urban Polo 

Presentation Day!!

On Friday 24th May 2019, Year 5 delivered their presentations to our 2 dragons: Governor Keith and Jodine Boothby. Jodine was invited to be a judge this year as she is a local entrepreneur who has had first hand experience of delivering a product idea to investors (and hearing the same 'no' over and over again). She went on to invent the Gummee Glove which is an international selling product.

The children pitched their product ideas to the judges informing them of the materials needed, costs (net and gross), product slogan and a persuasive argument to entice the judges to invest in their product.

After careful deliberation from our judges, they informed the children that the 3 products chosen to be made for the Summer Fair are: Fabulous Fantastic Flapjack

                                The Marvellous Keyring

                                 Fantastic Galaxy Slime

We look forward to seeing you all on Saturday 15th June 2019 where our outstanding products will be available for you to purchase!

Looking smart and professional, Year 5 arrived at school on Tuesday brimming with ideas and pitches for our business project -  they had clearly been busy over the Easter break devising original and profitable ideas for products to sell at this year’s summer fair. They were immediately thrust into the world of work considering the value of different jobs and whether or not they felt that the average salaries received was reflective of the job being completed. Year 5 decided that all jobs are of equal worth as they all contribute to a successful society. Year 5 then went on to play a business game where they had to collect as many counters as possible to raise a profit by manufacturing, trading and selling stock.  The children soon learned about fluctuating prices and the importance of negotiating prices.

Fantastic Finish –

Bubonic Blaze

Year 5 culminated their topic by re-enacting ‘The Great Fire of London’ by creating their own mini Stuart houses, thatching them and the setting them alight.  The children watched how quickly the fire spread from building to building and also tried to quell the blaze but found how difficult this would have been back in the 1600’s.

Easter Extravaganza 

Alternative sports

Year 5 had alternative sports which was fencing and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. During the time the children learnt to attack and defend as well as referee a game between their peers. 

Stunning Starter - Bubonic Blaze

Year 5 children came into school dressed as a Londoner from the 17^th century. Throughout the day they learnt and discussed the events of ‘The Great Plague of 1665’. The children were extremely shocked to find out that the plague killed half of all Londoners in the space of 18 months – perhaps 40,000 people. During the morning, they learnt about songs and their meanings and symbolism, baked 17^th century cakes and explored remedies and cures for the plague. In the afternoon, the children then learnt about ‘Plague Doctors’ and created their own distinctive masks to keep foul plague air away.

 Fantastic Finish 

Year 5 enjoyed their fantastic finish at the fabulous PRIMRAF theatre. Here they were able to perform their adaptation of our class story, 'Mined' from this term. The children worked in small groups to turn a paragraph of the story into a production, creating and sorting their own: lines, props and costumes. The children all performed brilliantly, remembering their lines and projecting their voices.

Here are some photographs from their performance.

Marvellous Middle Trip to Geevor Tin Mine

On Friday 2^nd November, Year 5 children embarked on a long journey to Geevor Tin Mine as a marvellous middle to their fantastic topic Pasties and Piskies. The day before, children had made traditional pasties which could be their lunch for the next day’s trip. The children were split into their 2 classes during the day in order to complete all the activities. These included looking inside the mill and seeing how shaker plates shook away the sand from the milled tin; panning for gems; discovering old techniques for breaking down rocks – the job of the bal maiden and finally venturing into an old mine. Whilst inside the mine, children were able to experience the cramped, awkward conditions the miners had to deal with many years ago. As you can see from the photos taken on the day, the children had a lovely time learning and experiencing life as a Cornish tin miner!

Piskies and pasties

This term has begun with our exciting new topic ‘Piskies and Pasties’ which will see the children explore myth and legends of Cornwall as well as its rich heritage.

Year 5’s stunning start consisted of learning and acting four famous Cornish myths and legends: The Pisky led boy, Cormoran the Giant, Bolister the giant and The Pisky Thresher.

The children also had the opportunity to create their own Cornish Piskey, created from a cork and felt, and finally created their own giant in the forest school area.

2017 - 2018

Carnyorth Residential Trip

The Carnyorth residential was thoroughly enjoyed by all and was a huge success again. On the first day, the journey to St Michael’s Mount was swift and relaxed. Upon arriving, the children enjoyed the playpark and were soon playing merrily with each other despite the overcast weather. We soon made our way down to the beach to enjoy our lunch and played a range of beach activates to burn off some energy. Upon arriving at the centre, the children were soon settled in and in the evening we went to explore the arsenic mines which led to some stunning views and excellent games - a perfect way to end the day.

Thursday morning brought glorious sunshine but a cold wind. The children had the opportunity to build their own boat (a coracle) which they would later sail on a moorland pool. This was the highlight of the trip which saw the children having the chance to play in the water and sail in kayaks, cones and their coracles. Mysteriously, Mr Burnip ended up in the water; he was adamant that he had been pushed by an unknown culprit. The children thoroughly enjoyed this time in the water with many exclaiming it was amazing and expressed that not many people could claim to have made their own boat and sailed it in the same day.

Friday brought more beautiful sunshine but a cold breeze; however, this was ideal for the activities which were climbing and archery. These activities encouraged bonding as the children supported each other and fostered an individual drive to improve and persevere. All the children would agree they had a fantastic time and enjoyed every minute of it.

Enrichment at School

Whilst half of the year group enjoyed a residential at Carnyorth, the other half of Year 5 took part in a range of enrichment activities.

On Wednesday, we had an amazing time zorbing with the staff from Go Active. Most of us had never tried this sport before and after a slightly cautious start we soon realised that it was great fun. Games such as 'last man standing', 'bulldog' and a range of relay races which involved running rolling and bouncing in the zorbs provided much laughter!

On Thursday, we became computer programmers designing our own computer games on Scratch. We managed to create games where our sprites could be directed around a track, could catch fire if they veered off the track, had sound effects and congratulations messages when levels were completed. The skill level and perseverance, of Year 5 were impressive as they debugged their programmes so that they worked smoothly. In the afternoon, Year 4 came to trial our games and they were very impressed. 

Our final day of enrichment activities, focused on cooking. Each group of children were given a recipe and the ingredients they were needed and were left to cook independently. With only some slight disasters (salt instead of sugar for example), the children had cooked mini quiche, cookies, flapjack and chocolate cake. In the afternoon, we walked to Kelly Bray park where we played in the sunshine until our hearts were content and enjoyed the snacks that the children cooked earlier. Luckily, earlier mistakes were remedied and they all tasted delicious!

Sports Week

Year 5 have had a brilliant time during sports week. We have enjoyed taking part in zorbing, tri- golf, cross bow and nerf war. Experiencing these new sports allowed us develop new skills, perseverance and resilience. Green 1 and Green 2 worked well in teams, supporting and encouraging each other like true sportspeople. We also enjoyed cooking a range of healthy snacks. some tasted more delicious than others! We made strawberry pancakes, smoothie ice-creams and  sweet spinach muffins.

Our Year 5 Company - Dream Big

The Year 5 company ‘Dream Big’ are busily preparing for the summer fair after the Dragon’s Den selected their three products which will be sold. The children are in the process of manufacturing ‘Perfect Personalised Plaques’, ‘Fantastic Fudge’ and ‘Paracord Bracelets’. Take a look at teh links below to hear the jingles they have made to advertise their products and look out for their posters around school. Dream Big looking forward to seeing you at the summer fair on Saturday.

Canopy Chaos Fund-raising total...

We have finally totalled up the amount of money that Year 5 raised during their previous topic ‘Canopy Chaos’. The children learned all about life in the rainforest including the human impact on indigenous tribes, animals and their habitats. Consequently, the children were determined to make a positive difference and set about organising many different fund-raising events. In total, the children in Year 5 raised an astonishing £432.72 to split between their three chosen charities – Cool Earth, Rainforest Concern and WWF. Thank you for all of your support. We are now waiting to hear back from these charities to see when they can be presented with the cheques. Amazing team work Year 5.  

Sugar Awareness

Some children in Year 5 took part in a sugar workshop this week to become ‘Sugar Ambassadors’ as part of the Sugar Smart campaign. The aim of this workshop was to train some of our students so that they can spread information about the amount of sugar in food and drink we consume and provide top tips on how we can reduce the amount of sugar we eat. Did you know that to burn off the energy in one soft drink, you’d need to walk around Wembley Stadium 6 times!

Battle of the Books – Green 1

In Green 1, we are enjoying reading our ‘Battle of the Books title’ The Polar Bear Explores’ Club written by Alex Bell since it is an adventurous and creative book. The main character Stella Starflake Pearl – a snow orphan – is a determined and courageous young girl who has a dream to break gender barriers and become an explorer. At the moment, Stella is struggling to persuade her adoptive father to let her accompany him on his latest trek and is battling against her Aunt Agatha who wants to send her to a posh finishing school for young ladies.

Times Table Rock Stars

Thank you for the wonder effort made transforming Year 5 into rock stars. The children had a fantastic time kicking off ‘Times Table Rock Stars’ which is a fun and challenging programme designed to help students master the times tables. Yesterday, high quality maths discussions could be heard across the school as our pupils completed a variety of engaging times table related activities: treasure hunts, puzzles, investigations and even making their own times table rock music videos. All children spent time on the laptops logging into the website so that they became familiar with the platform.

Dragon's Den Stunning Starter

Looking smart and professional, Year 5 arrived at school on Monday brimming with ideas and pitches for our business project -  they had clearly been busy over the Easter break devising original and profitable ideas for products to sell at this year’s summer fair. They were immediately thrust into the world of work considering the value of different jobs and whether or not they felt that the average salaries received was reflective of the job being completed. Year 5 decided that all jobs are of equal worth as they all contribute to a successful society. Year 5 then went on to play a business game where they had to collect as many counters as possible to raise a profit by manufacturing, trading and selling stock.  The children soon learned about fluctuating prices and the importance of negotiating prices. We have now formed our business and the children decided upon a company name. So watch out for updates from our new school company ‘Dream Big’.

International Women's Day

During equality and diversity day, we explored gender stereotypes discussing traditional views of roles for men and women. We were shocked when we read ‘Tips for looking after your husband’ published in 1950 and it made us realise how many opportunities women now have and the importance of gender equality. In Year 5, we voted on our top 5 words which expressed our view of women: independent, passionate, loyal, curious and ambitious.

Green 1 celebrated International Women’s Day by exploring the role of Rosalind Franklin, a British scientist who made contributions to the understanding of the molecular structures, most notably of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Franklin produced an x-ray photograph that allowed two other researchers, James Watson and Francis Crick to work out the 3D structure of DNA. The structure of DNA was found to be a double helix. In 1962 Crick and Watson, along with Wilkins, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery. Rosalind Franklin had died four years earlier and her pivotal contribution wasn't acknowledged until much later.

St Piran's Day

Year 5 celebrated St. Piran’s day by exploring Cornish mythology. There is much traditional folklore in Cornwall, often tales of giants, mermaids, Bucca, piskies or the 'pobel vean'. We focused on the legend of St. Tue and the Giants which tells the tale of the formation of the Cheese Wring, Liskeard. We unpicked the tale through drama and created our own comic strips. Some of us imagined that we were the intimidating giant Uther and wrote from his viewpoint whereas others explored the thoughts and feelings of courageous St. Tue. We then created art of giant rock formations.

Canopy Café

Year 5 held a brilliant Canopy Café as their marvellous middle to begin raising money for their chosen rainforest charities: WWF, Rainforest Concern and Cool Earth. The children cooked all of the delicious treats that they were selling and ensured that all of the ingredients that they used were Fairtrade. The children felt that this was important after learning that with Fairtrade we have the power to change the world every day. With simple shopping choices we can get farmers a better deal. And that means they can make their own decisions, control their futures and lead the dignified life everyone deserves. After a successful afternoon, the children made a profit of £60. This is just the start of their fundraising campaign as they are determined to raise enough money to adopt three rainforest animals for a year, sponsor an acre of rainforest and donate to Cool Earth. Watch out for more events coming soon!

Canopy Chaos - Stunning Starter

This term, the children have decided to learn about rainforests. On Tuesday, they set about learning about indigenous tribes who live in and off the rainforest. They explored the One of the tribes wrote a letter to Year 5 so we were able to use the information to compare Akra’s life to your own. It certainly was very different! We then set about becoming members of her tribe: exploring tribal dress, symbols and food. We used face paint on one another to explore tribal patterns and symbols and created head dresses to try to look authentic We went to the forest school area to build homes out of natural resources with many of us building them upon stilts or in trees to avoid flooding. When we came back in we cooked chicken and rice inside banana leaves and sampled some of the rainforests' most nutritious food: buffalo worms, meal-worms, crickets and grasshoppers. Some of us thought they were delicious and even managed to convince our parents to come in and sample some! Unfortunately, when we went back to our homes, they had been destroyed by loggers. Deforestation was awful to witness and the impact unbearable. 

WW1 Tanks

Christmas Celebrations

As I am sure you are well aware, Callington Primary School has built a reputation within the local community for having  outstanding young performers. As Christmas approached, Year 5 were in demand! They attended numerous events in and around Callington to spread some of their Christmas spirit. They performed for the Evergreen Club and the U3A at the Town Hall sining a mixture of traditional hymns and contemporary festive tunes. The audience were impressed with their tuneful singing, lively spirit and fantastic manner. Year 5 represented the school brilliantly.

Many Year 5 children attended a concert at St Mary's Church where the children sang with the Tamar Valley Male Voice Choir. The children dazzled the audience with their enthusiasm and Christmas spirit. They all loved performing with a professional choir and it certainly was a memorable experience for all involved, including the audience who participated brilliantly. The children loved seeing so many family members in the audience.

Marvellous Middle

As Year 5's marvellous middle, they split into groups to design and run 20 minute activities about the significance of remembrance day for the whole school to participate in and learn more about the importance of poppies and the two minutes silence. Year 5 were incredibly well organised, spoke confidently and engaged the other children brilliantly. Years 1-6 all enjoyed their activities and went away with a greater understanding of the importance of Remembrance Day.

Remembrance Assembly

Year 5 have led remembrance activities at Callington Primary School this years and provided the rest of the pupils an opportunity to think about the impact of the war and to explore why remembrance has become part of national life in the UK and other countries.

Year 5 pupils worked in groups to write sections of an assembly script to cover why we remember World War One and how that remembrance is marked, for example by Remembrance Sunday events in November, the two-minute silence, war memorials and poppy-wearing. Their fantastic assembly encouraged the whole school to think about the experiences of the men, women and children who lived through World War One and later conflicts. Year 5 encouraged all pupils to consider how learning about past wars can shape our attitude to present conflicts and achieving peace. They recited 'Flanders' Field' and sang 'The Call' which proved very thought provoking.

Callington War Memorial

On Tuesday, Year 5 walked down to Callington War Memorial outside of St. Mary Church. This trip proved poignant as each child was given information about the life of one of the soldiers remembered on the war memorial, so they could learn a little more about their life before they went to fight in WW1. The children were appreciative of the sacrifice that these men from their town had made. Once back at school, the children analysed the poem 'The Fallen' by Robert Laurence Binyon and they created some artwork in their honour. Take a look below....

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

E- Safety

Year 5 explored stranger danger online and discussed who they befriend online. We discovered that many of the children in Year 5 are 'friends' with people online who they don't know in real life. We discussed the associated risks and how they should be minimised. Many of the children were keen to go home and look through their friends lists on games and social media and ensure that they edit them so that they keep themselves safe online.

Forest Schools

Forest School provided Year 5 with the opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences. This half term, we focused on developing positive relationships with ourselves and other people through team building activities which required clear communication and trench building. The children also worked together to cook Trench Stew on the fire and enjoyed a strongly brewed cup of tea and dried biscuit - opinions on the taste of these wartime luxuries varied significantly! Some of the children thought it tasted disgusting whilst others had six cup fulls! The children then enjoyed some free-time play.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY DAY - Exploring Race

We read a story called ‘Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt’. We learned how people were treated differently because of their race; Clara had been taken from her family to be used as a slave. As a seamstress in the Big House, Clara dreams of a reunion with her Momma, who lives on another plantation and even of running away to freedom. Then she overhears two slaves talking about the Underground Railroad. In a flash of inspiration, Clara sees how she can use the cloth in her scrap bag to make a map of the land--a freedom quilt--that no master will ever suspect.

Take a look at our freedom quilts where we have explored Clara’s feelings and virtues as she fought for freedom and equality.

Also, we looked at how attitudes towards different races changed over time and predicted what we thought would have changed over the next 100 years. We were surprised by how much segregation existed. We explored the role that Rosa Parks who is recognised as the “mother of the modern day civil rights movement” in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States. Her quiet courageous act changed America, its view of black people and redirected the course of history.

Alternative Sports

Yesterday, Year 5 had alternative sports where they played Tchoukball. The children had fun developing core skills and working together as a team. Take a look below...

Green 1 Class Assembly 

On Friday 6th October, Green 1 shared their learning journey so far this year with the rest of the school, family and friends. The audience were excited to see the dance the children had choreographed, exploring daily life and emotions of soldiers in WW1. The children also shared some of their poetry where they used their inference skills as well as new vocabulary we had been exploring. Within the assembly, the children sang two songs. If you would like to take a listen, please take a listen using the links below. 

WW1 songs:

A Long Way to Tipperary --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsynSgeo_Uo

Peace like a River --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2R4D6qhaD8

Treacherous Trenches - Stunning Starter

We started our topic with the news that Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria had been assassinated. Shocked by the events, we were determined to investigate the culprits and their motives. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary. He was inspecting the army in Sarajevo with his wife Sophie. Seven young Bosnian Serbs planned to assassinate Franz Ferdinand as he drove along the main road in Sarajevo, the Appel Quay. The first conspirator who tried to kill Franz Ferdinand threw a bomb at his car. He missed and was arrested. Unfortunately, the car stopped in front of Gavrilo Princip, one of the conspirators, who was on his way home thinking he had failed. Princip pulled out a gun and shot at Franz Ferdinand, hitting him in the jugular vein. There was a tussle, during which Princip shot and killed Sophie. By 11.30am, Franz Ferdinand had bled to death. We then looked at the response by leaders around the rest of the World.

Forest school for both classes is on Wednesday (18th). Please bring all-weather clothing, spare shoes and a plastic bag to take dirty shoes home in. 

Today we travelled to Bodmin jail and were able to see the cells in which many prisoners were held and hear about the many uses the jail has had since it opened in 1779.Did you know the crown jewels were held in Bodmin jail during the World War 1 and over 20,000 people once came to the jail just to see two men hung! The children learnt many wonderful facts throughout the day and despite some of the stories being very gruesome, the children really enjoyed being able to walk where the prisoners had once walked and listen to the guide who could tell them more about the history of the building and its future - Look out for major developments in 2019! 

E-safety day February 2017  

During E-safety day, we watched and discussed the new reosureces from Ceop called 'Play, Like, Share'. 

Play Like Share follows the adventures of Sam, Ellie and Alfie as they form a band and enter their school’s Battle of the Bands contest, taking on the mean but ‘cool’ Popcorn Wizards as they go. The three friends learn that while the internet can help, they need to use it wisely and safely.  We learnt  how to stay safe online and in particular how to spot the early signs of manipulative, pressurising and threatening behaviour by people we might meet online. We also discussed what to do if we did have any concerns. 

Please watch the videos at home and join with us as we all learn how to stay safe online.

World Book Day 2017

During World Book day, the children in Year 5 focused on the author Michael Morpurgo. 

We listened to an interview about Michael’s life and found out that he has written over 120 books!

The rest of the morning was spent listening to, making inferences about and finding out about the characters in the short story ‘Silver Ghost’.

Who is the Silver ghost? Who caused the fire?

We created clay models of the main character Nathaniel Bickford and wrote down everything we has learnt about him in the text.

After we had heard most of the story, we made our own predictions about who we thought has started the fire…we won’t spoil it for you but a lot of the children guessed correctly!

The story did leave us with a few questions though. Who was the silver ghost? How did the petrol get on his leg? Why did the old man speak to him?

In the afternoon, we went outside with our buddies and did some extreme reading on the adventure playground and outdoor classroom.

Remember..keep reading and bring in your reading record  - what reading karate band will you achieve next?

BREAKING NEWS!

On the morning of Wednesday 23^rd February, Miss Wells was shocked to discover her classroom destroyed and the beloved stick insects were GONE!!! Who would take them? Why have they taken them?

The children spent the morning being detectives as they learnt how to explore a crime scene without removing or damaging any evidence.  They wore forensic suits and took pictures of any evidence they saw in the room. They also drew the crime scene to help them see the journey of the criminal through the crime scene.

The children’s personal details were given to the police including finger prints and DNA samples in the form of a cotton wool bud swab and a hair sample. Pictures were taken of each child for the police file.

Miss Balsdon led the  children in a walkie talkie exercise and the children learnt the police alphabet so that they could send important information quickly and efficiently without an errors in the messages.

The children have gathered a lot of evidence which will help them solve the crime. Watch this space to find out more as our investigations continue…

E-safety day 

On Monday we had our E-safety day. In Year 5 we used the 'Thinkyouknow' resource and videos called "Play, Like, Share". In the videos we met serval characters who taught us how to stay safe online especially when thinking about uploading videos online, commenting on other people's post and pictures and knowing when it is okay to share information or pictures and when it is not. 

We used role play, scenarios and lots of dicussions to help us learn how to stay safe. 

Remember think before your click, think before you post, think before you share! 

See our E-safety page for more information! 

Royalty and Revolution! 

We began the New Year and new topic with a very royal event - the Coronation of Queen Victoria. First, we (well those who were deemed rich enough) created crowns whilst the poor spent their time creating handkerchiefs and flags to wave. Once we were ready, we gathered ready to greet the princess. She arrived in a horse drawn carriage and through a crowd of loving subjects. The Turkish ambassador was overcome by the grandeur of the event and fainted! Once we was recovered, the crowning could occur. We used clips from ITV's Victoria to show us what it would have been liked and acted along with the other Lords and Ladies who were there. After the princess had been crowned, we chanted 'God Save the Queen' before heading back to class for a Coronation dinner and celebration. Of course we had cucumber sandwiches and the Queen's favourite Victoria sponge! In the afternoon, we played parlour games and had our pictures in front of the green screen  - pictures will be uploaded shortly! 

We had a great Stunning Start and now look forward to our exciting learning which will take us to the Great Exhibition of 1831 as we learn about the technological advances brought about by the Industrial Revolution. 

God Save the Queen! 

Science week 

During the first week of term, we had Science Week. Our focus was 'Forces'. Using our scientific enquiry skills of planning, observing, measuring, recording and concluding, we discovered the wonders of gravity, air resistance, water resistance, friction and magnetism. We conducted a range of investigations: How to make a boat move quicker? How does the shape of a parachute effects its fall?  What is weight and mass? What material would make the best brake pad? What happens when you put two magnets together? We had to make sure we conducted a fair test so used the phrase 'Cows Moo Softly' to help us.

 It was a great week and we learnt a huge amount about how to be scientists and the amazing forces around us! 

Equality and Diversity  day - Faith 

Buddhism  

In Year 5 we focused on Buddhism. We had two speakers who shared their practice of Nichiren Buddhism. We were able to listen to the chant ‘Nam Myoho Renge Kyo’ which is chanted several times throughout the day and heard how James used this chant to change his mind set on life. He believes that you can improve your life by looking inside yourself and improving yourself rather than looking to a god to make you better.   We explored mindfulness through mediation and looked at how we could be like a Lotus leaf and rise above anything that is negative or that makes our lives muddy just like the Lotus leaf grows out of muddy water.  In the afternoon, we created a piece of artwork which showed what was I our minds as we meditated. These included images of things we enjoy in life and those around us. 

MARVELLOUS MIDDLE

To celebrate the middle of our topic and all of our learning in music, we are having a Marvellous Middle celebration on Thursday 3rd November 3:15 - 3:45pm in the hall where we will entertain you with our singing and drumming. Families and Friends welcome. Please fill in the form on your child's letter and inform us how many of you are coming. 

Send a Cow visit 

 Today Year 5 had a special visit from four 'Send a Cow' ambassadors. They spoke to us about the charity, when it was set up and why and told us about life in Africa. The children were involved in a role play of how the charity educates and supports communities in water sanitation and storage projects and how to grow and maintain their own food sources through building keyhole gardens and livestock. Over the next term, we will continue to learn about the charity and look deeper into global environmental issues in Africa and the UK. 

Geography

We are geographers 

Using the globes and atlases to locate countries and features within Africa.

Laptop fun! 

On Friday we used our new school laptops to write diary entries about our gardening day on Monday.  

Year 5 news! 

Year 5 This has been a busy couple of weeks in Year 5. Last week, we began making our products for the summer fair. The children worked tirelessly each day to produce Fantastic Friendship Bracelets, Calming Candles and Silly Squeeze Stress Balls. There was wool, flour and newspaper everywhere but at the end of the week we had created hundreds of items and were ready for the fair. On the day, the Silly Squeeze Stress Balls proved the most popular and sold out by 12.30pm with the rest of the products not far behind. We are in the process of working out how much profit we have made and will have our Finance Managers announce the result next week! Thank you to everyone who supported the fair and our company – New Generation

Art Extravaganza

Yesterday afternoon saw the first great Callington art extravaganza! Every child –from Nursery to Year 6 – participated in this extraordinary event. The children in Year 5 explored the famous artist Picasso. They experimented using his work as inspiration and tried to recreate pieces of his work before creating their own Picasso mask. The children thoroughly appreciated all of the visitors who came and supported them – thank you! 

Dragons’ Den

Time to enter the Den! The children worked in teams to pitch the 6 products to the Dragons. The children were very excited to see Mr Scott return to school to be a Dragon and alongside our two Governors Keith and Helen, they made a formidable team! They had to ensure they knew the top 3 reasons why the product was brilliant, costings and most importantly how much profit each product would make. The Dragons grilled them with questions and finally made their decision and choose 3 products to be sold at the summer fair:

Silly Squish Squeeze Balls

Fantastic Friendship Bracelets

Calming Candles 

Over the next couple of weeks the children will be creating adverts and leaflets for the 3 products. Make sure you are at the Summer Fair to buy one! 

E-safety day 2016

Today we had E-safety day. It was a day of discussion and debate as we spoke about the ways we use the internet and the potential dangers. We looked at how having lots of ‘friends’ or ‘followers’ on social media didn’t mean you had lots of friends in real life and how we might not actually know the people watching our online activity. Then we explored our digital footprint and how whatever you put online is there for ever. We looked at some videos to remind us how to behave online and to each other and created E-safety help cards, posters and a board game.

Have a look at the videos below. 

MAYFEST 2016

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!

CONGRATULATIONS to Alice who won the Junior Town Crier competition against two other schools during Mayfest! She entertained the crowd with a cry on 'What makes her angry!' She was judged on content, diction and loudness. Look out for Alice at the summer fair and other school events making her cries! 

God save the Queen!

MAYFEST 2016 

On Saturday (14th) children and parents from Callington Primary School took part in the 4th May festival. Having created a giant dragon for the event, we joined the procession along with samba drums, Breton dancers and many more! The dragon gained a lot of attention and joined in the serpent dance in the centre of town. A massive thank you to all the parents and children who helped at the event! Start thinking about what type of giant we can do next year! 

THE APPRENTICE NEWS

We have been working hard during our topic'The Apprentice' and can now introduce our new company called NEW GENERATION!  Last week we held interviews for managing directors and appointed Zion, Easa, Harriet and Lily. They then interviewed the other children for the other job roles. The children who were interviewed were really brave as it was a tough interview process. 

The Apprentice

A business topic where the children will become members of a real, running business. They will design and manufacture  products which will be pitched to a panel of experts (the Dragons) and will then be sold at the summer fair in June. Watch this space! 

Stunning start

The children came in dressed to impress. They looked professional, reliable and ready to become part of a new and exciting business venture. Over Easter, the children were tasked with creating a new product to sell at the summer fair. Various items have been made and pitched to the whole year group! Once we have heard all the pitches, Miss Wells and Miss Delve will reduce the products to just 6 which will then be pitched to the Dragons. 

During the Stunning start, the children learnt about stocks and shares and had to use their business brains to make as much money as possible in just an hour. Then they became creative and created a new toy for a younger child. Later on we learnt about world currencies and worked out how much different products would cost across the world and well as working at £1 equivalents  so we will never be short changed!

This week will be writing our own C.V's and then applying for jobs within the company.  

Book week

On World Book day we ventured into the world of J.K Rowling and Harry Potter. Our focus was on one of the text book used in Hogwarts called 'Fantastic Beasts and where to find them'. In November it is being turned into a film. We listened to an extract about the Cornish Elves rampaging a classroom during a ‘Defence against the Dark Arts’ lesson. Later, with the help of Dobby the house elf, we made up our own fantastical beasts and even gave them a Ministry of Magic classification rating.

Book week

Extreme reading! We explored lots of ways and place you can read in. We even went on the adventure and in one of the mini-buses! 

Book Week 

In the afternoon, we became Macavity and used the 'Cats' musical for inspiration and to get hints and tips on how to move like cats. 

Book week! 

Green 2 entered their classroom to find it destroyed! Officers from Scotland Yard asked the pupils to help them find out about the criminal by looking at the evidence left behind. Using their excellent observation and deduction skills, the children concluded the criminal was Macavity the Cat!! 

We then spent time learning the poem off by heart ready for Friday's sponsored recital. 

Green 2 go to Pizza Express

Green 2 travelled into Plymouth on Thursday and went behind the scenes in a working Pizza Express. We learnt about the ingredients which go into the pizzas and then, after putting on an apron and hat, made our own margarita pizza also called the queen of pizzas. We waited whilst they were cooked in the over; it only takes 4 minutes. Then we took them back to school with us and ate our delicious creations.

Green 1 will be heading to Pizza Express next week for their pizza making experience!

Diversity in Britain - Greeks

Today we took a closer look at what it means to be British and thought about how Britain is a multicultural nation. We discussed the phrase 'Cultural Diversity' and how it means a range of different societies or people of different origins, religions and traditions all living and interacting together. We discovered that Britain has benefited from diversity throughout its long history and is currently one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world.

 To unpick the value of tolerance we set about learning about and developing a respect for our own and other cultures. Today, we focused on the Greek culture. We even had an expert in our midst in the form of Mr Scott who is part Greek.

We learnt about an area in London called ‘Palmers Green’ but has the nickname ‘Palmers Greek’ due to the number of Greek residents living there.

During the morning, we made traditional Greek food in the form on Mousakka and Baklava. We then asked Mr Scott to translate our names into Greek before learning about some traditions. One tradition we looked ta was the christening of babies. Although similar to Christening conducted in the UK, there were some differences including not washing the baby for three days once it is Christened. We also learnt about Name days. If you have the same name as one the Saints, then you get a name day. On this day, a bit like a birthday, you eat cake and see you friends.

In the afternoon, we tried the food we had made earlier as well as some additional Greek cuisine such as olives. Some of us had to be brave to try it but in the end most of us enjoyed it! 

We enjoyed finding out about one of the many cultures of people living in the UK and ensuring we celebrate British diversity.   

Bella Italia

Buongiorno!

This term in Year 5 we will be learning about Italy.  We started our topic having a ‘Taste of Italy’ day which included tasting Italian food, experiencing Italian music, watching snippets of Italian films and delving into the Italian language.  In the afternoon, we looked into renaissance art and had a go at recreating them.

Throughout the topic we will be focussing on the geography of Italy including historical events such as Pompeii and learning about the orchestra and opera through our music lessons.  We look forward to delving further into the culture of Italy and may even set up our own restaurant by the end of the term!

Look out for updates and learning, 

Arrivederci!

Tim Peake launches into space!! 

Today, Year 5 watched the incredible launch of Tim Peake into space as he makes his way to the International Space Station.  

We watched it live and counted down to blast off. 

We will keep track of Tim during his 6 months on board and hopefully see his return in June! 

The space planetarium comes to Callington!

On Monday the children in Year 1 and 5 experienced the wonders of the space dome, We learnt about the amazing solar system, how the moon appears to change shape in the sky and gazed at the thousands of stars that populate our skies. We learned how the North Star stays still in the sky as the other stars over overhead and where to look for the sun in the morning and evening. 

Here are some quotes from the children:

‘When the stars moved, I felt like I was moving; it was amazing!’

‘I enjoyed learning about when we would experience a full moon.’

‘I found out that there were even larger stars than our own and they can be different colours’

‘I was amazed by the images of Pluto and found out this was a dwarf planet’ 

‘I found it interesting to spot shapes in the stars and now can do this at home.’ 

E-safety Day

Year 5  - Cyberbullying

In Year 5 we decided to focus on cyber bullying. First, we looked at the definition of bullying and decided that bully is the ‘deliberate, hurtful and repeated behaviour by an individual or individuals which causes an imbalance of power.’ Having discussed this we looked at how this can become cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is the use of the internet and technological devices to bully someone.

We found out that many people say nasty or hurtful things online as they feel they are behind a mask and we discussed why this was. We watched the film ‘Say it to their face’  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRznvxQUYXc) which was quite shocking but showed us the impact of words. We also looked at some of the CBBC film  (http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/26136189)   which highlighted that cyber bullying can effect anyone, adult or child and the bullies can be anyone child or adult.

As we know, many people hide begin the screen or mask of the internet. We discussed the types of ‘avatars’ we have on our online games and what they say about us. We know it is important to have avatars to hide our identities  in order to keep us safe but they can also be used to hide the identity of a bully. We created our own masks.  On one side it showed a positive avatar where we have protected out identity and included some of the SMART rules for safe use of the internet. On the other side  we showed the negative side of an avatar such as lying about your age, saying nasty things to others  and included the impact on sufferers of cyber bullying.

In the afternoon, we were lucky to have a visit from the local policeman. He highlighted further the dangers of the internet if not used wisely. We were able to show him that we knew how to protect ourselves and keep ourselves safe on the internet.  We know a lot about E-safety but we must now put it into practise and keep ourselves and others safe! We must remember it is a digital Tattoo that is left behind not a footprint as everything online is there forever on one form or another.

A message from the teachers:

Although the children know how to keep safe, some children did admit to playing games above their age restriction, talking to those they have not met in person and sharing information which could give away their identity. We encouraged the children to speak to their parents, teachers or responsible adults around them if they had any concern. We sk you to ask the children as well about their online activity and monitor their use of the net.  Please go to the  CEOP website to report any suspicious activity  using the red button  https://www.ceop.police.uk/

Some articles on Cyber bullying

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/34328417/cyberbullying-worse-than-face-to-face-abuse-suggests-global-research

Welcome to Space school!

For our Stunning Starter we entered school as space cadets. We had a morning of activities which tested a range of skills.

Firstly, we had to test our fitness. We climbed ropes, jumped over gym equipment, practised our throwing and catching and eye and hand coordination and balanced on beams. .

After break, we tested our fine motor skills, made alien slime, which stretched across the rooms, and overcame fear where we had to place our hands in various items (including baked beans) to fetch hidden treasures.

Finally, after lunch, we showed off our creativity and made up our own planets.

We are now ready for the exciting learning which will take place this term!