Welcome to Maple Class’ page of the website! Here we are taught by Mr Langley and Mrs Rasmussen. Out Topic in year 5 at the moment is the The World Around Us and we’re always learning something new! We discover more about other countries and their cultures.
In maths we’re often challenging ourselves to solve word problems, calculate difficult additions / subtractions and much more! At the moment, we are looking at 2D & 3D shapes.
When we do English, it’s often planning, writing or assessing / improving Big Writes. A Big Write is when we are given a picture or prompt, then produce a piece of writing that includes it. Normally, we do them on Thursdays and up-level them the following day. But, that’s not all we do! We also learn about a variety of SPaG skills like Generalisers, Contractions and Conjunctions. At the moment we are exploring newspaper articles.
By Violet
This week we had the opportunity to head over the beautiful Oratory Prep School for a workshop with their Year 5 children linked to Africa. We split up into different groups to make African jewellery, design an African themed t-shirt, do some team building activities and then work on dance, drama or drumming for our final performance. After hiding from a storm, getting flooded out of classrooms and moving the location of our performance to the drama theatre(!) we finally got to perform for our parents. Take a look at some of the photos from the day below:
We were thrilled to have a visit from the Oxford Playhouse this week. First, they put on a play in a beautiful tent up on the field that included turtles, foxes, dinosaurs, a saxophone and (yet again) throwing Mr Langley under the bus:
After our performance, we had a go at writing some poetry linked to some of the themes from the play. Each poem followed a pattern of syllables, 2, 4, 6, 8, 6, 4, 2. See if you agree with our syllable count below:
Today, we made Rock Cakes using a WW2 era recipe. They were…interesting? Try them out for yourselves!
Rock Buns
Method
We were very lucky to have a guest come into school this week called Dr Niall McCann. When he is not being the uncle of a couple of members of our school, he is a conservationist and biologist who works all around the world protecting animals that need our help the most. He has appeared on TV shows with Sir David Attenborough and even had his own TV show called ‘Biggest and Baddest.’
After a fantastic assembly where he talked about lots of places he’d visited and animals he’d met, he joined us in our classroom to answer some questions we had written. What a fantastic visit!
JUNE Waddesdon Manor
This week, the entire school made it’s way on three coaches to Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire. We went looking for three things: (1) A great day out. (2) Something to inspire us in our artwork. (3) A chance to learn more about evacuees in World War II. I’d say we succeeded on all counts.
Below check out some photos of the house, the wooden elephant statues that caught our attention and practically forced us to sketch them, as well as some photos of the inside of the house where we learned about the 150 five year olds who were evacuated there during the war.
Recently, we learned about how propaganda was used during WW2 on both the Allied and Axis sides. We explored a wide variety of propaganda, including posters that were designed to encourage women to take on different roles during the war, posters to get soldiers to sign up and even ones encouraging you to grow your own fruit and veg!
We decided to try out making our own posters, first focussing on the design, then making sure lettering was big and bold, before finally adding pictures and scenes that would capture the viewers attention. We wrapped up our project by using watercolours to create a faded look like what might have been achieved in the 1940s. Check out our designs below:
MAY Pirates of the Curry Bean
Year 5 and 6 have picked out a play to learn and perform next half term, Pirates of the Curry Bean. It is full of pirates, laughter, mice and monkeys. Each of the children now has a script to read through but we thought the songs might be useful too. Below you will find a link to a playlist on YouTube that has all the songs (the words are in your scripts). See what you can learn at home.
Today we celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with a huge tea party in the hall. We dressed up in our finery, played some traditional games and consumed scones, jelly, ice cream and cake! A fantastic time was had by all. Check out our glad rags below:
We had an incredible trip to Young Voices this week. We sang. We danced. Mr Langley danced. It was a whole thing. While you’ll have to buy the official video for evidence of Mr Langley dancing (available at https://yv22film.co.uk) there is plenty of evidence of Year 5! Check it out below:
We’ve started learning how to play Tag Rugby in our sessions with Felix and Sean recently. This week we were working on our defensive and offensive skills, trying to predict where our opponents were heading and cutting them off at the pass!
We’ve begun to explore war poetry over the last few days. We’ve even had a go at writing a WWII themed poem together. Each line was written by a different child in the class! Enjoy!
We used to be peaceful, and everyone was equal,
Until our lives were interrupted by all men greedy and corrupted,
As they sailed across the ocean all being affected by the motion,
Running into blind terror completely without a tether.
The controversial Germans had no mercy,
Crashing footsteps on the ground but they cannot be found,
I watched France burn as Germany twist and turned,
I felt cold as I shot a German looking like mere specks hiding over the sandbanks.
I was scared because I was not prepared,
For the tanks all hidden behind banks,
From behind sandbanks the almighty tanks emerged,
The tanks were shooting and screeching, and my ears are screaming.
The sound is guns shattering my ears,
German planes battling above our heads putting people in endless death beds,
The planes roared through the sky dropping bombs on tanks and guys,
My friend’s faces disappeared from existence as I fought with the resistance.
Pushed back to the border to regain order,
Lost soldiers running through the frost,
Shaking shivering, nausea, grief. The battlefield as busy as a coral reef,
And an ear-splitting roar rang across the battlefield.
The bombs where booming and guns were shooting,
I shot my rifle 100 metres, then I saw all the weepers,
Working as hard as a soldier this war will never be over,
Soldiers fearing the impact from the endless flying bullets.
The bullets fly through the sky, I started to cry as I watched my friend was about to die,
Watching this shooting crushing danger everywhere,
Wanting to have a trifle rather than rifle in my hands,
Soldiers filled with despair can't seem to bare, wishing these beaches were empty and friendly.
We recently took nine KS2 boys (eight of whom were from Maple Class) to a cricket competition with four other schools. The boys played exceptionally (seriously, I would have been scared to face some of the bowlers on our team) and walked away with the win! Outstanding job all round and excellent sportsmanship after every game. Good job!
APRIL Korky Paul Visit
As if the arrival of Andy Instone wasn’t enough excitement for the week, we played host to illustrator Korky Paul (of Winnie the Witch fame) too! He told us a tale and then live painted an incredible ‘Winnikin,’ just for us! Check out the photos below:
We had an amazing mystery guest appear this week in the form of Andy Instone from Urban Strides. Andy is an incredible dancer and public speaker who comes up with lots of the dances for Young Voices. Check out some of the moments from today’s workshop below!
In preparation for Korky Paul’s upcoming visit we’ve been having a go at one of his competitions. We were tasked with designing an interesting filler for the ‘O’ in his signature. Thoughts? Opinions? We’ll be hearing from the man himself next week!
We are working hard at learning the words and dances ready for our Young Voices performance in a few weeks time. It’s all hard work. No fun to be had here. Proof in the photos below:
We've been continuing to practice our ukulele skills in Maple Class this week. If you want the latest updates then please check the ukulele page of our website (link here or at the top of the page). We also thought you might like to see what 'rocking out' looks like on ukuleles. For your viewing pleasure:
We were lucky enough to be invited to an amazing event at the Oratory this week. We learned about 'The Science of Smell.’ We learned that whale vomit is worth $40 thousand per kilo and that you might want to avoid strawberry ice cream! Check out some amazing reaction photos to some smells below:
Maple Class had the opportunity to send some representatives to a local Science Competition. Check out some of the exciting activities below:
Today we sent home the ukuleles for the first time! I’ve added a new page (which you can find at the top of the page or by following this link) that contains information on how to look after, tune and begin to play your ukuleles. I will try and update it each week with new chords, music and videos that might help you when practicing your ukuleles at home!
Good luck!
We had a great World Book Day in Maple Class this year. We spent time reimagining ‘The Longest Night of Charlie Noon’ and had a go at redesigning the front cover. We also explored some of our own books a little more before getting to have a go at Quidditch (minus the brooms, flying and high chances of injury). Check out some of the experience below!
In our Topic and D&T lessons we’ve been designing and sewing our own flags for Woodcote. Check out some of the process below:
January English
We've just started looking at 'The Longest Night of Charlie Noon' by Christopher Edge in our English lessons. In the first chapter he spends a lot of time describing how light is filtering into a forest our two main characters are entering. We thought it was so good that we could have a go ourselves! Below you will find Georgia's amazing writing:
As I walked I saw a sea of bluebells reaching over the dry, old leaves. Some had purple petals, some were dark blue and some had electric blue veins but most were bright with the sun shining on through.
The sun burst through the tall trees as the wind blew past. The sun was setting over a purple and blue sea of bluebells, making everything happy and light, bathing on the forest floor and dancing on the sun panelled leaves.
The trees were tall, short, thick, thin, light and dark as the sun set. They had leaves of all sorts. Emerald, light, dark, luscious and royal leaves made a large canopy over the bluebells. The birds in the trees made tweeting and pecking noises as the warm wind blew by.
The wind was warm in the sun and cool in the shadows. Animals galloped through the crunchy dry leaves that slept on the forest ground. The wind whispered and whistled as the sun got lower. Birds made liquid melodies and the deer munched on the bright green grass that swayed in the gentle wind.
The whole forest looked magical and enchanted, with the sun setting, the gentle warm wind and the sound of the wildlife.
In our Computing lessons we have been exploring video editing using Movie Maker. Here is a video Abi made for the fictional country of Searland. Check it out!
We had an amazing time today at the Christmas Fair. The stalls were full of amazing activities, run by amazing parent volunteers (and some fantastic Year 6 volunteers) and much fun was had by all. Thank you FOWPS!
So, a donkey came to visit today. That is all…
With Ethan’s (extremely capable) help, we’ve continued to explore a variety of different skills in gymnastics. This week we got to have a go at the wall apparatus included climbing poles using a mixture of techniques!
We had an amazing time this week learning how to stay safe on the roads around Woodcote. Here are some photos from our first day when we were practicing some skills in the playground before venturing out into the big wide world!
We have started exploring Circuit Training in PE (thinking about personal challenge, 1:1 contests and strengthening a variety of fitness skills). This week we’ve been trying out slaloms, plank and squats!
We spent time exploring forces and the effect they have on the world around us. We measured force using Newtonmeters and explored what shape, material or size of parachute would be the most effective. Check out some of the photos below!
We present the four stages of vault…
Superb job from our young lady!
We've been reading the book, The Templeton Twins, by Ellis Weiner in our English work this week. Earlier in the week we had a go at writing diary entries, particularly trying to make good use of time related language. Here is a great example from Noah!
Dear Diary,
Over the last few days Abigail and I have been trying to think of ways to persuade Papa to get a dog. As you know we have both wanted one for a long time because it would make us feel better. So... we came up with a plan. Tonight we made dinner for papa, Abigail moved the table and put Papa opposite where he normally sits so that our device would work. The idea we had was to use a fishing rod with a sinker and we attached a photo of a dog to it. While Papa was eating, I started to unwrap the fishing rod but it got stuck on the light so Abigail had to quickly climb up and untangle it. I then managed to lower the rod with the photo in front of Papa, he looked up and asked us why we weren't eating and then he noticed the picture. We asked if we could get this dog of one like it, he noticed what we had invented and said it was very clever and then he said that a dog would be such a change and he was thinking about it. We all went to bed so I still don’t know if we can have one of not, fingers crossed.
This week in gymnastics we found ourselves...upside down?
Lots of amazing costumes, ideas and contributions today! Hope you've all had a great World Book Day!
Last half term we spent some time working with Ethan on a dance to the intro track from the Greatest Showman. We're hoping to get a video up to show you soon but in the meantime, here are some photos showcase your amazing children!
After our recent visit to the O2 for Young Voices, we took the time to write newspaper reports recounting our day. Below you will find two examples that sum up what an amazing time we had!
Earlier this year we attended the Young Voices concert at the O2 Arena in London. We had an amazing time and wanted to share some photos. Be sure to check out our Newspaper Reports above to learn about the whole day! Stay tuned for more.
In November, we were working hard on Non-Chronological Reports based on a fictional creature we invented. We used the book 'The Lost Thing' by Shaun Tan to inspire us and here are a couple of our finished projects!
This week we have been exploring the effect air resistance has on objects we running an experiment. We tested different sized or different shaped parachutes to discover what we cause our payload to slow down the most.
While first and foremost out message right now is, "HAVE A GREAT BREAK!" our next message is feel free to play a few of the games we've added to the Homework page. Lots of things to keep your brains sharp over your holiday.
Enjoy!
Our plan this year is to keep you all updated with our 'goings on' through this web page. Keep checking back for photos, updates and examples of the work we've been doing.
If you were unable to attend 'Meet the Teacher' you'll find any useful documents on the Class Information page.
Thanks, and do let us know if you have any questions, queries or concerns.
Mr Langley and Mrs Rasmussen
This term in Maple class we have been learning about World War II with a special focus on the Battle of Britain. For homework, we researched different aspects of the war and created a variety of different projects. Here are some of the projects we made:
Last term, we were exceptionally lucky in Year 5 to be visited by children from Guangzhou in China. We had 26 guests aged between 8 and 11 who spent time in and amongst our class, learning with us and even teaching us a little about their school and language.
We took on a variety of different tasks throughout the week including maths investigations, reading comprehensions, research tasks, sketching and lots of PE!
We 
also had a chance t
o go to the woods and see bluebells in bloom (very British!) and we even walked down to St Leonard's church to show our guests some of our older buildings.
We had a fantastic couple of weeks and were really sad to say goodbye!
TOPIC - Rationing during World War II
Here are links to some websites that may help in your research:
Rationing Information - http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/war/rationing2.html
Rationing Information - https://www.cooksinfo.com/british-wartime-food/
WW2 Recipes - http://cookit.e2bn.org/historycookbook/index-20-world-war-2.html
WW2 Recipes - https://the1940sexperiment.com/100-wartime-recipes/
You can also search for more information online.
