Big Idea

We are surrounded by codes! What do DNA and websites have in common? They are both made up of codes! This term we will investigate the world of codes around us! We have lots of science knowledge at our fingertips; it can be found quickly and easily on the Internet. The science knowledge in books and websites is what other scientists have discovered in the past. To discover new things ourselves we need to be able to be able to ‘do’ science not just ‘know’ about it. During this topic, we will learn how to ‘do’ science. We will learn several, important, scientific skills. These skills can be used in a whole range of scientific situations. However, we will use these skills to investigate one branch of science: forces. As super scientists we are going to explore real life applications of air and water resistance to enable us to make choices which have an impact on the safety and efficacy of our designs. We will build parachutes, so that they can deliver our spies safely to the start of their mission and return them home without harm. We will select materials based on their properties and functions. As geographers, we will study the climate of countries around the world and use the knowledge we have gained to make choices about clothing, equipment and transport to enable us to be successful in our missions. We will look at weather data, physical geography and use our findings along with our knowledge of properties of materials gained in previous terms to equip our spies to safely conduct their missions in what can be hostile environments. This will link with our knowledge of graphs from maths and our abilities to write an explanation text from English to enable us to create a coherent document which displays our skills to their fullest. 

Purcell Music School Visit

What an aspirational day Year 5 had last Wednesday with the young musicians from the Purcell music school! Watching the response and reactions of the children during the introductory 'concert' by them was wonderful! They were in awe and inspired by the young adults who played their instruments for them; from a bassoon through to a violin and a drum set to a base guitar. The class could not get over the size of the harp and the beautiful music it made. One child said it was like a piano on its side. It was great for them to hear the trumpet being played. The musician encouraged them to be aspirational like him and keep going with it.

The workshops in the afternoon held the attention and interest of the children throughout. The young people from Purcell were so encouraging and inclusive that they were singing and banging their drums soon enough! Seeing my group singing Spongebob Squarepants, dancing around the hall was beautiful.

How to join the codebreakers.

We have completed some assignments to prove we have the capabilities to be a spy. We investigated different ciphers to decode them, to see if we could join this elite group. We passed.

Being out in the field means that spies need to use their ingenuity to get messages sent. We used the forest school area to create natural codes.

We also imagined ourselves as spies and the characteristics we needed. Here are some of them:

Adaptability,

A problem solver,

Observant,

Good communicator,

Organised,