Welcome to our class, 

Year 5,

Where Mrs Fawcett will help us strive,

To make our learning fun,

And get our best work done

We hope on this page you will see,

It's a great place to learn and just be!

Music Concert

On the 10th July key stage 2 were entertained by the annual music concert where the recorder players and guitarists got to perform a variety of songs and show off everything they have learnt.

Eureka

Artefacts theatre group came and performed a play called Eureka all about the Ancient Greeks.  Goddess Athena tricked the King into thinking she was a servant so she could  spy on him as he was wanting her help against the pirates.  Archimedes the mathematician helped solve all sorts of mathematical problems such as water displacement.  We learnt a lot not only about the Greek Gods but mathematics too. 

Growing Up and Getting Old

We are learning about the various stages of human life-cycles in science.  As part of this we have investigated which nappy is the most absorbent, Pampers or the Co-op's own brand.  We thought about all the variables before measuring and recording how much water each nappy absorbed.  Most of us predicted Pampers because it was a brand and specializes in nappies therfore should produce the more absorbent nappy.

Area

We have been learning how to measure area of irregular shapes using leaves.  We enjoyed competing against each other to find out whose leaf covered the biggest area.

Mr Maxwell Visits

Over the last couple of weeks Mr Maxwell has been teaching us about computers and networks.  We have learnt about how networks and the World Wide Web work before investigating how computers work.  We learnt about different ways of storing data and the computing language called binary and encryption.  Did you know Julias Caesar, in the Roman times, created a code called ROT13 (Caesar cipher) back in Roman times which computers can use know for encryption purposes.  We knew it was complicated but not quite how much. For example, 1kilobyte is 160 words meanwhile 1petabyte is 20 million 4 drawer cabinets full of text.

Famous Scientists

As part of our science we have been learning about famous scientists and their discoveries.  We completed a challenge at home and presented it to the rest of the class.  We enjoyed learning from each other and asking each other questions.

Badminton

In PE we have put putting our racket skills to the test with badminton 🏸.  We have found many skills from tennis useful but then are having to learn some new ones to help us develop our serve and master a rally.  We can’t believe how differently a shuttlecock travels compared to a ball.

Materials Workshop

We had a great workshop based on materials delivered by Pauline and Liz from Sellafield.  They helped us revise the different materials and their properties.  We sorted a variety of materials before taking on the egg suit challenge.  Before designing a suitable suit to protect an egg we thought about how a cycle helmet was designed to protect our heads.  The winner was decided by the eggs that survived which had the lightest suit.  It was great fun.

The Highwayman

In English we are busy crating a Stop Motion performance of The Highwayman poem by Alfred Noyes, we can't wait for you to see the finished version.

Fairtrade Tote Bags

In art we are busy completeing our art project on Fairtrade tote bags that can be used to promote Fairtrade products to people.

Archery

We are enjoying learning about archery in PE at the moment.  We are learning it requires patience, concentration and accuracy as well as coordination and strength.  We are looking forward to seeing how we improve over the coming weeks.

Wordsworth Trust

On Wednesday 18th April we enjoyed a visit from the Wordsworth Trust where we learnt a lot about communication in the 1800’s and the Wordsworth family who lived at Dove Cottage in Grasmere.  We read a letter written to William Wordsworth’s son, John, from a family friend Thomas De Quincey.  We also read one of Mary Wordsworth’s diary entries about daffodils before writing our own diary entry using a feather quill and ink.  We learnt how post wasn’t delivered to your door but to a post office and you paid to receive a letter.  One day Mary Wordsworth walked to Ambleside (4 miles) to discover she had no post.  So she made the journey again later in the day.

Egg Dumping

Year 5 enjoyed taking part in the Bookwell Easter egg dumping competition. 

Did you know the annual egg jarping (dumping) world championship is held every year over Easter in Peterlee Cricket Club, Durham.  Egg dumping is also practiced in Italy (where is called scuccetta), Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, and other countries. In parts of Austria, Bavaria and German-speaking Switzerland it is called Ostereiertitschen or Eierpecken. In parts of Europe it is also called epper, presumably from the German name Opfer, meaning "offering" and in Greece it is known as tsougrisma. In South Louisiana, this practice is called pocking eggs and is slightly different. The Louisiana Creoles hold that the winner eats the eggs of the losers in each round.  In the Greek Orthodox tradition, red eggs are also cracked together when people exchange Easter greetings.

Superstan

Year 5 are very excited to be taking part in the key stage 2 production of Superstan.

Tri-Golf

We have been busy learning and practising our golf skills in PE this term.  It is quite hard trying to be accurate.

Science Week

For science week professor Boffin visited school.  He did a whole school ‘fire show’ where we learnt about the fire triangle - what you need to make a fire.  We got to watch lots of explosions as well as Mrs Fawcett’s £20 note set on fire however it didn’t burn!  This was then followed by more experiments in a workshop.  We learnt about air pressure, vibrations, absorption and the Bernoulli effect.

Book Tasting

Year 5 enjoyed sharing some of the favourite books with other in a 'book tasting'.  We listened information about each others books and asked questions then made notes on our plate if it sounded like a book we might want to read.  We can't wait to taste some of these texts in the near future.

Harry Potter World Book Day

This year the arts council voted for a Harry Potter themed World Book Day.  Don't our costumes look amazing?  We enjoyed working with other year groups on a variety of Harry Potter themed activities.  You can see more of what we got upto in the gallery on the Bookshelf page.

 The Workhouse

We have been finding out about Victorian workhouses, through our text Street Child and by investigating lots of historical documents about the workhouses in Whitehaven.  We then went on to explore some of the conditions of a workhouse like eating gruel, handwriting, oakum picking and imagining what it would be like to sleep in a small crate.  We decided we prefer living in the 21st Century.

Magnificent Multiplication

We have been investigating multiplication facts by looking for ways to check if a number is a divisible by another.  Working out square numbers with square number sky scrapers and learning our square roots using our classroom clock.  We have also used erasthane sieve to explore prime numbers.

http://www.visnos.com/demos/sieve-of-eratosthenes

Lowes Court Gallery

We have been busy preparing artwork to exhibit in Lowes Court Gallery.  Our theme was mixed media and me.  We had to take a selfie and then depict a background a media of our choice that reflected us and our personality.  Those that aren't being displayed in the gallery can be found in Bookwell gallery (the junior porch).

The Beacon

On Thursday 25th Jan we headed to the Beacon museum to discover more about the Victorians and the Victorians in our local area.  We learnt about how Whitehaven was the 3rd largest port during this time and how coall and iron ore mining was a big influence.  We also discovered if you were poor life would be hard as you would be down the mine for 12 hours a day and would return home to a room, which you could share with upto 13 other people.  Meanwhile the rich merchants were so inconvienienced by the sound of their clogs on the stone cobbles they had them replaced with wooden ones.  We enjoyed exploring many artefacts and trying to work out what they were used for.

The Record Office

After we visited the Beacon we walked round to the record and archive office.  We got to look in the strong room where all the records are stored in a protective environment with a fire proof door.  We got to see one of their oldest documents which was 326 years old and also a seal that belonged to King James I.  We learnt old documents were written on parchment (sheep skin) and sealed with a wax seal to prevent fraud.  After that we went upstairs to look at some documents that related to Victorian Egremont and the Whitehaven workhouse.

Forces in the Forest

Today in woodland learning we were set the challenge to create something that used a push or pull force.  As you can see we came up with a variety of things from catapults of various shapes and sizes to see-saws and pulley systems.  Once we had a waorking force we had to try and improve its performance.  Smooth sticks caused less friction while frying pans created a holder for the ammunition. 

Recycling in Copeland

Here are some of our entries for the Copeland poster competition to promote the new recycling scheme in Copeland.  The Mayor, Mike Starkie, came in to judge them but he was so impressed he took them away in order to spend more time deliberating.  

Olympic Sports Star - Peter Bakare

We had a fantastic morning completing our sponsored circuit and finding out about  volleyballer, Peter Bakare, olympic journey.  We were amazed to learn he started playing basketball at the age of 9 before switching to volleyball.  He also talked about how he had to overcome injury to make his dream come alive.

First Aid

We have enjoyed learning some basic first aid skills.  We hope we never have to use them but we learnt calling 999 was the most important thing you can do, then stay calm and talk to the patient.  We learnt the recovery position, what do do if someone is choking, has cut themselves badly.  We also had a go at doing CPR and and using a defibrillator.

Woodland Classroom

This half term we are taking some of our learning outside.  We have begun with some problem solving and team work activities which have challenged us to think and co-operate.  Then we enjoyed playing our woodland noughts and crosses.  The following week we collected worms (paper straws) using our beak (a peg) and return them to our nest before building something with a stick.  We were really proud of our creations.

Census Detectives

We have been using the 1891 to find out who lived in these houses around Bookwell.  We were surprised to find women didn't tend to work and 7 people could live in one of these houses.

Poetry By Heart

In our reading groups we have been working together to learn and perform a poem.  For some of us performing came naturally whilst for many it made us really nervous.  As you can see we have had great fun creating our performance.

Autumn Term Reading Passport Award

Since September we have been completing challenges based on the books we have read.  Well done to these children who earned either Bronze, Silver or Gold awards.  Mrs Fawcett can't wait to see what year 5 read in Spring Term.

Christmas Party Day

We had a great day at our Christmas party.  Starting with Stu-di-doo in the hall.  Followed by lots of party games like; musical bumps, statues and chairs, pass the dare, Christmas quiz, bring me, corners, Pie Face and the potato race.

Christmas Stockings

We have been investigating Victorian Christmas traditions.  One of these is the Christmas Stocking.  We have designed and made our very own which we are very proud of.

Design & Technology Day

On Tuesday 12th December we took part in the annual Bookwell design and technology day where all classess compete for the Dick Winter memorial trophy.  This year, we were set the challenge to design and make a cam toy that Beatrix Potter might have invented for her story book characters.  First we designed our cam toy ideas before setting off to make them.  We soon discovered it was quite challenging getting the cam lined up and making sure the slider wasn't too wobbly.  Although we discovered lots of problems as we made our toys we felt successful when we managed to solve them.   Although many of us didn't complete our toys but we did all get a mechanism that worked.  Our perseverence paid off as Year 5 were awarded 1st place!   Congratulations also to Darcey, Lexie, Aronas and Louisa who won the class award.

Recycling in Copeland

On the 8th December we got the opportunity to meet Copeland's new recycling doorstep collection truck and how recycling works in Copeland.  We enjoyed playing the game to sort the waste and we got to sit in the truck.

Blood Hound

We enjoyed attending the Blood Hound at Lakes College.  We learnt a lot about the car that is attempting to break the land speed record in 2018 and how STEM influences all aspects of our daily life.  We enjoyed working in teams to create our own cars that were propelled by air.  We discovered how testing then modifying our designs affected its performance.  We came 2nd place in the distance competition but well done to Lowca who were champions and will get their team name on the tail of the real Blood Hound.  We can't wait to see the results of this record. 

Moon Phases

We have enjoyed exploring the phases of the moon.  We used Oreo biscuits when creating a diagram to show the phases of the moon.  We also got to look at the moon with a telescope.

Wonka Fruit

We are busy investigating and designing packaging for our Willy Wonka inspired fruit to encourage children to eat healthily.  There would no problem with children eating fruit if looked and tasted like some of these designs.

Irreversible Changes

We have been investigating irreversible changes and where impressed with the effect of the products that could be made from a variety of reactants.  We also looked at how dirty water can be made useable if it is sieved, filtered, evaporated and condensed.  We were amazed how quikly this could happen too.

Jennifer Carvery Cookery Day

On the 16th October year 5 took on the Jennifer Caver Cookery Day challenge by designing and making animal shaped tortilla crisps and packaging to suit.  We started doing a bit of market research and finding out the favourite flavours and animal shapes to help influence our design.  We soon learnt how easy it is to make a flavoured crisp however we did discover you don't need a lot of chilli to create a chilli flavour!

Dissolving

Some substances dissolve when you mix them with water. When a substance dissolves, it looks like it disappears. But in fact it has just mixed with the water to make a transparent (see-through) liquid called a solution.

When you mix sugar with water, the sugar dissolves to make a transparent solution. Salt dissolves in water too.

Heat can help some substances dissolve faster in water. Salt, for example, will dissolve quicker in hot water than in cold water.

Hawse End

We had an amazing residential where we experienced lots of new activities.  Not only did we experience new things but we learnt a lot about ourselves.  Many activities taught how to work as part of a team, to lead others, and how to solve problems.  We also discovered even if we don't want to do something we should give it a go because we might actually like it and when something gets hard if we persevere and fight the feeling to give up we can achieve things we thought were impossible.  Below are some of the highlights of our week.  More photo's can be found on the latest news page.

An A-Z of Hawse End

A is for adventure. Hawes End was one big adventure having to stay afloat when canoeing, aiming in archery, ascending a mountain and eating ample food.  A is also for an amazing time doing archery and A night time walk!

B is for a brilliant time being outdoors. Bizzare being away from home and with my friends.  B is also for a boring bus ride which took us to brilliant activities like burrowing through a tunnel, bombing from the pier and getting blisters on our feet. Be is also for being away from our parents and bringing giant suitcases which we had to carry!

C is for climbing Catbells carefully and calmly, especially on the rocks. Also caring for each other when we were missing home.

D is for getting drenched when we went ghyll scrambling, Dinner and having to make our own! Drinking delicious hot chocolate before bed. D is also for DVD, we watched the Minion movie on Thursday night. D is also for daylight, we got to see ducks on Derwentwater and complete dangerous activities. D is also for Dark and going for a walk with our torches.

E is for exciting yet exhausting activities that were exhilarating. Enjoying the epic experiences that needed lots of energy.

F is for a fun, fantastic time with fabulous friends eating midnight feasts.

G is for gushing water as we were ghyll scrambling through gloriously cold water up the gorge. And a great time giggling with friends on the green canoes as the wind gusted us along.

H is for hitting the bullseye in archery, helping each other as we solved lots of problems. Our hairy friend canoeing with us and last of all a Hawes End Happy Birthday to Halle.

I is for incredibly high water as we scrambled through the ghyll. Getting impatient waiting for our turn on the archery. Instructors rewarding us with hot chocolate when we finished our problem solving and finally the impeccable food.  I is also for independent. We were encouraged to be independent by making our own beds, ensuring we had the right equipment for our activity and trying to pack our own bags ready to come home.

J is for jam sandwiches and jacket potatoes (but not together). Jumpers and jogging bottoms to keep us warm. Joining in the activities and ajoint effort to ensure everyone did their best. It was also for jumping – jumping from one canoe to another and for those crazy enough jumping in the lake.

K is for kindness, we tried to be kind to each other by looking after each other when we missed home and when someone found something challenging. Knowledgeable instructors teaching us new skills and for kids having a great time.

L is for a long time from home with lots of laughs and enjoying the scenery on such a lovely lake.

M is for making magnificent muddy memories up mountains, in the mist and at midnight.  M is also for meeting in the lounge every morning to find out our marvellous activities. Memorising maps and keeping motivated on our mysterious, mucky, moonlit walk. Marvelling at the magnificent view on our mountain walk.

N is for nervously climbing un rocks. Navigating people around and naturally napping after a hard day.

O is for outdoor activities in October. Oversized rocks in the ghyll and obeying our instructors but obviously I fell in. Onwards over trees and branches obstructing the trees. Pulling ourselves to safety and our instructor Rupert. Feeling odd conquering the tunnel of doom.  O is for an outstanding outdoor adventure.

P is for perfect time doing practical activities.

Q is for quick, rapid waters in the ghyll scrambling. The canoe quaking under our weight.

R is for the river running rapidly on a rainy day over the rugged rocks as the win rustled the trees on our rigorous ghyll scramble

S is for soaked. We got soaked when we were canoeing, and occasionally soaked the teachers. It is also for slippy when we were ghyll scambling

T is for a terrific time team building with my friends. Feeling terrified when …… A team talk to tell us about our activity. Being taught new things and thankful to have the opportunity to go to Hawes End and thankful to be home.

U is for an ultimately unique time. Going uphill was utterly unbearable at times but unforgettably making it to the top. Unpacking and making our room untidy.  U is for up – uphill, upland, upriver. U is for under – underground tunnel, underwater in the lake and wet underfoot. U is also for un, unafraid of the activities, unbalanced on the rocks and unleashed on the fell. U is also for an utterly ultimate time!

V is for victory after completing the various activities.

W is for wetly waling up Catbells, waiting warmly on the bus, wellies full of water and wobbly canoes on Derwent Water.

X is extreme mountain climbing. Excellent views from the mountain. Exciting meeting our new Labrador friend. Exhausted after all the walking.

Y is for young people yelling in the yucky mud. Yummy food everyday. Yellow waterproofs keeping us warm and dry.

Z is the zealous zippy children enjoying the zesty activities who zonked out sometime after midnight!

Learning about the Hajj

Imran, a teacher from Bolton, came into school to teach us more about the Muslim faith. After a whole school assembly where we learnt about the 5 pillars of Islam.  He taught year 5 more  about the Hajj (pilgrimage) every Muslim must try to make to Mecca, in Saudia Arabia, during their life. We learnt lots about what Muslim's do over the 5 days and what it means to them.  We took the opportunity to reflect on how it the Hajj might make a Muslim feel.

Lickable Wallpaper

We have created our own prints in order to create our own Wonka inspired Lickable Wallpaper.  We thought about shape, colour and pattern.  Some of the effects were quite effective.

Gymnastics

We have been exploring balances in gymnastics and created our own sequences.  We had to to plan a minimum of 5 balances, be able to hold them for 5 seconds, link our ideas and ensure we had pointed toes. 

Place Value in Maths

We have been investigating 5 and 6 digit numbers in maths and playing games that make us think about the value of each didgit.

School Council Elections

Many year 5 children chose to stand for election this year.  All candidates presented their manifesto to the rest of the class and took questions from the floor.  Some children made posters and chose music to support their campaign.

After a very close vote Ollie and Halle were elected