Whitehouse Common Primary -

Lock 'em up!

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Year 5 had a great start to their topic this half term with a trip to Steelhouse Lane prison.

On arrival, we were greeted by the officer at the processing area. We were given a quick summary of the day and then we split off into our groups.

Finding out all about the police uniform and equipment since the prison opened as a great way to see how life has progressed, as well as giving us a chance to dress up!

This tunnel led to the court house on the otherside of the road. One group got quite a surprise as they looked through the door as a guard was stood at the other end of the tunnel (the room at the end of the tunnel is still used today to hold prisoners waiting to go into the courts).

A great morning had by all and a super way to get us excited about our next topic!

Hockey at Bishop Vesey's - but where are the sticks?!

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This half term, Year 5 have been very lucky to have their PE lessons taught by a specialst hockey coach at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School and use their astro field. We look forward to our lessons every Friday and have learnt a lot - including different types of passes, how to hold the sticks, different ways of moving with the ball, and tactics for a game. Some of us have been selected to attend an after-school club too, in preparation for the Wilson Stuart Active Society competition later this half term.

In the photos below, you may notice our hockey sticks are missing... the coach, Mr Roberts, has a great game called 'floor ball'. This is where we practise our skills of passing / receiving the ball, looking around for clean / dirty space, keeping pace, and thinking about tactics. Not having the sticks, let's us focus on these skills and we can then apply them when using sticks.

Paint paint every where!

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Our art this term links in nicely with our topic on Birmingham. We have thought about the iconic building in and around Birmingham and created our very own skylines.

We then looked at 8 different ways to paint with water colours, ask us about the different names of each!

 To finish off our art day we combined our water colours and skylines, they have turned out beautifully! 

Ending in Style!

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What a great first week! We ended our first week in style by dressing up for the start of our Brilliant Brummies topic.

Throughout the day we looked at different Birmingham landmarks through the years, began to research famous landmarks and people from the area and played tradition games outside, the games seem to have been a highlight for everyone. 

We are all looking forward to delving deep into the history of Birmingham, with a little geography thrown in. 

Year 5 Cricket Inter House Tournament

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Dazzling DT Day at Bishop Vesey

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Yesterday, a group of pupils from our Year 5 and 6 cohort were given the opportunity to attend a pioneer DT day at Bishop Vesey Grammar School. The day was set up to forge links between a DT secondary provision and our primary approach to the design-make-evaluate process. The children were guided through the design procedure by Mr. Brown, the head of Design Technology at BVGS. From here the pupils used new technologies and techniques including; CAD design, laser cutting, using acrylic plastic, lining-up of layers and tapping of the holes. The building process was fantastic, with the end project being professional and well-constructed. The children experienced a secondary setting and were fantastically behaved and a credit to the school. Mr. Brown allowed the school to experience hands-on DT using specialist equipment. A wonderful opportunity!

Busy with business

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This week, we have completed a range of business enterprise related activities. Some representatives from the year group presented our business pan to the "dragons" in a Dragon's Den style presentation. Our ideas well praised and confirmed as a good business venture. We do hope you'll join us at the school shop later this month to purchase our products!

We researched famous entrepreneurs to find out about how they became so successful. We presented our reserach to

the class.

In maths we planned a new theme park, following set mathematical clues and criteria. We had a strict budget and clear guidelines to follow. We loved using our mathematical skills to solve this problem.

Year 5 Bread

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Our DT topic this half term has been all about bread! We have tasted a number of different breads from around the world and considered their taste, appearance, texture and aroma.

This week we have designed and made our own bread with the help of our fantastic school cook...

We were very impressed with the results - hope you are too!

5MM's budding author!

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5MM enjoyed a very special treat today as one of our members of the class shared his story with us - well, we heard chapter 1 and are looking forward to chapter 2 when it is written! This wasn't a book he had got from the library though... he has written it himself! The whole class was enhralled in the story-telling!

Year 5 Inspired

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This week and next sees parents of year 5 children being invited into school to join us in our Inspire Workshops.

The verb "inspire" means - "Fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something." (Oxford English dictionary definition)

We hope that we have managed to achieve this... Our children really enjoyed working with their parents.

Year 5 Mental Health Awareness Week

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Last week, we spent some time focusing on Mental Health awareness and participated in some activities to help us develop our mindfulness, use strategies to help us when we feel worried or stressed, and identify what mental health means. We did activities such as yoga, reading, mindful colouring, 'worry buckets', group discussions, talking strategies, guided meditation and laughter therapy (a favourite in 5MM!). We hope that in times of worry, stress or uncertainty, we can remember some of these activities to help us a coping strategy.