In English, we will be using a wonderful, graphic novel called ‘Illegal’ by Andrew Donkin and Eoin Colfer. This universal tale of immigration will inspire a huge variety of text types including internal monologues and formal letters. We will also continue to develop our amazing story telling by writing a first person narrative, focussing on adventurous vocabulary and varied clause structure, as well as a third person narrative that revises the rules for dialogue, and uses it to develop writing efficiently. We will also begin to do regular punctuation and grammar assessments to prepare the children for their upcoming tests in the first half of the summer term- some of these may be set online using SPAG.com and the children should have their logins for this.

In Maths we will begin with a final unit on fractions, where the children will apply their knowledge in order to solve reasoning problems. We will then begin a new unit on decimals, making connections with prior knowledge of fractions to deepen understanding. I would like to encourage you to revise all times tables daily and use this to solve long multiplication and division problems. The children are all very familiar with the method, I would just like to minimise small calculation errors that we sometimes see!

Science this term is all about animals including humans. The children will seek to answer the question ‘Which type of exercise has the greatest effect on our heart rate?’ They will continue to develop their scientific enquiry skills with lots of observations, experiments and research. In RE we will be studying Christianity. We will focus on the concept of salvation and endeavour to answer the ‘big question’- ‘Is anything ever eternal?’

Our topic for the half term is History and will be completing some really interesting learning about immigration to London. The children will think critically about our big question- ‘How far do you agree with the statement: Since Medieval times, London has welcomed and encouraged migrants?’

In Art, we will be completing a unit on Painting. We will be focussing on the work of some key artists from the contemporary period: Ai Weiwei, Esiri Erheriene-Essi & Tammam Azzam. We will discuss how the work of these artists makes us feel and will discuss what has inspired each piece. The children will try to incorporate some of the stylistic choices and techniques of these artists in their final piece, which will focus on the juxtaposition of beauty and ruin.

In Music, we will be learning a range of samba percussion, taught by Kinetica Blocco. We will continue to work on appraising, composition and performance.

PE with Michael will continue to be on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons; if the weather is fine, these sessions will be in the playground, so please ensure that your child has appropriate footwear and clothing on these days.

In PSHE, we will be answering the question ‘How can we safeguard ourselves outside of school?’ We’ll learn about how stereotypes and misogyny affect society and groups of individuals, how to deal with different types of influences and pressures and also explore different avenues to obtaining money and how these affect your financial profile.

In Computing, we will be focusing on data handling. The children will learn about the use of big data including barcodes, QR codes, infrared, and RFID technologies. Children will create and scan their own QR codes, manipulate real-time data in spreadsheets, and present their findings.

In RE we will be studying Christianity. We will focus on the concept of salvation and endeavour to answer the ‘big question’- ‘Is anything ever eternal?’