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 Spring term is ‘Boy in the Tower’ by Polly Ho-Yen. This text  is about a young boy called Ade who lives with his mum at the top of a tower block.   The the Bluchers appear - strange plants that eat buildings and kill people. And suddenly, the tower block doesn't feel safe any more!  The story is laden with profound messages about nature, urban life, friendship, family, sacrifice, bravery and love.  

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

PE will take place every Monday afternoon.  As such, please send the children into school already dressed in their PE kit. This will be black shorts/jogging bottoms, a white t-shirt and trainers.   

All jewellery must be removed for PE 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.