Welcome to Patience Class.  My name is Mrs Minhas and I am the Year 5 teacher; our teaching assistants are Miss Rego, Miss Flores and Mrs Woyike.

Year 5 is an extremely important year for the children, as it is leading up to their final year at St Augustine before making the leap to secondary school.  A key focus throughout Year 5 will be to ensure that the children take a mature and responsible approach to their education; becoming confident, organised and independent learners.  It is also the year when all pupils will begin to consolidate, bring together and apply the knowledge that they have gained throughout the past five years.  The skills and knowledge that they will build on this year will help to ignite their motivation to strive to reach their best, while inspiring them to grow and adapt to face the new challenges that Year 6 and secondary school will present.

Our Literacy text for the Summer term is ‘Wonder’ by R J Palacio. This text  is about a young boy called August (Auggie) Pullman who was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a main-stream school -  until now. He's about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if  you've ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that  can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an  extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Reading

All pupils are expected to read regularly at home with an adult in order to develop their comprehension/inferential skills as well as the speed, fluency and accuracy of what they read.  In school, we focus a great deal on analysing the content of what is being read; asking a variety of questions about the content in order to ensure that they gain a deeper understanding.  Asking these questions at home will improve their reading skills.  So, it is imperative that you read with your child every day for at least 15 minutes.

We would ask parents/carers to initial and date any comments that they make in their reading records on a daily basis, as well as indicating when their child has finished the book; these records will be checked regularly.

Homework

 All pupils will be set homework every Friday (pink books) and it is to be submitted by the following Tuesday.  Homework will include spelling/timetables, online Oxford Reading Buddy texts along with another piece of work related to the content covered in school during that week for consolidation.

Please remember - the aim of the Spelling homework is that all children apply this knowledge in their written work, not only in Literacy, but across the curriculum.  So please practise the given spellings in a context so that children understand their meanings and how to use them correctly. 

Physical Education

Swimming will take place every Monday afternoon.  As such, please send your child into school with their swimming kit in their bags. 

All jewellery must be removed for PE/Swimming lessons. 

I look forward to working in partnership with you to support and help develop your child’s education in an enjoyable and attentive atmosphere.