Miss Williams, Mrs Rodgers and Mrs Spink

We are the Year 5 class here at Randlay.

Spring Term 2025

This term, our topic is all about the Rainforest. This topic leads on perfectly from our ‘Ancient Maya’ topic that we studied throughout Autumn term. The children have already discovered a lot about South America and the climate. Now they have the opportunity to find out more about the Amazon Rainforest and the many different species that live there.

This topic will also be the backbone of many curriculum subjects this term. Our class reader is ‘The Explorer’ by Katherine Rundell. This is a hooking story based on a group of children whose plane crashes in the Amazon Rainforest on their way to Manaus and are learning how to survive without the basic necessities. Will they wait for help or will they go and find it themselves?

In English, the children will first be focussing on writing a rainforest survival guide in the form of a non-chronological report. Only the most organised will survive!

In science, the children will be learning about the classification of animals and how they are categorised based on physical features.

Weekly reminders

Homework

Your homework will consist of 10 spelling words (9 if you complete SNIPs). You should practise these words 3  times and complete the homework sheet. You will also have a maths task to complete, which will be based on this term’s KIRF (Key Instant Recall Facts) and recap of in class learning. Completed homework must be returned to school on a Thursday, ready to be marked and returned with the following week’s homework on a Friday.

PE

On Wednesdays, please come to school in your PE uniform: your red Randlay PE top or a red polo/t-shirt, a black jumper, black joggers (winter) or black shorts (summer) and plain trainers. No football tops please.

This term the children are focussing on Dodgeball, Gymnastics, Volleyball and Dance.

Autumn Term Forest School

Forest School takes place on a Thursday. Please come to school in your normal uniform and bring your Forest School clothes in a named plastic bag.

You will need:

• Waterproof clothing – trousers and coat
• Old clothes, i.e. joggers, leggings (no jeans), t-shirts, jumpers
• Wellies
• Hat, gloves, scarf

Have a look at some of the fun we have had in Forest School already this term!

Reading

Reading is so important for a child’s development. Reading just a few minutes a day has a huge impact on a child’s ability to access the rest of the curriculum. If a child reads regularly, their writing will improve, alongside other core curriculum areas.

We ask children in Year 5 and 6 to read at least five times a week and write comments in their diaries for these reads. You should use the example comments in your diary to help structure these comments. We are looking for one vocabulary, one retrieval and one inference comment per week. The other two comments are your choice. We check Reading Diaries on a Thursday, so make sure your diary is in school on this day.

Meet our Sports Ambassadors

Ruby and Flyn

Ready to be fantastic role models for sport at Randlay!