Ms Temple’s Weekly Update – Term 1 Week 10

Hello everyone!

It’s great to be back in school after a lovely half-term break. I hope you all had a chance to relax and recharge, and I’m really looking forward to seeing everything we’ll achieve together this half-term.

Maths

Year 5

Aut.4 – Fractions A	Aut.4.1 – Find fractions equivalent to a unit fraction
Aut.4 – Fractions A	Aut.4.2 – Find fractions equivalent to a non-unit fraction
Aut.4 – Fractions A	Aut.4.3 – Recognise equivalent fractions
Aut.4 – Fractions A	Aut.4.4 – Convert improper fractions to mixed numbers
Aut.4 – Fractions A	Aut.4.5 – Convert mixed numbers to improper fractions

Year 6

Aut.4 – Fractions B	Aut.4.1 – Multiply fractions by integers
Aut.4 – Fractions B	Aut.4.2 – Multiply fractions by fractions
Aut.4 – Fractions B	Aut.4.3 – Divide a fraction by an integer
Aut.4 – Fractions B	Aut.4.4 – Divide any fraction by an integer
Aut.4 – Fractions B	Aut.4.5 – Mixed questions with fractions

Literacy

It’s been a very productive week in Literacy. The students began by completing their persuasive writing pieces about protecting tigers. They had planned these before the half-term break, so this week was all about bringing their ideas to life. They worked hard to include persuasive features such as rhetorical questions, emotive language, facts and statistics, and powerful closing statements. I was so impressed with the effort and creativity they showed in their writing; many students spoke passionately about the importance of animal conservation and the role humans play in protecting endangered species.

After finishing their writing, we moved on to learning about modal verbs and their different functions in a sentence. The students explored how modal verbs can express possibility, ability, permission, and obligation or advice. Through discussion and sorting activities, they learned to identify the subtle differences in meaning between sentences such as “You must help the tiger” and “You could help the tiger.” This helped them see how modal verbs can influence the strength and intent of a statement.

To end the week, we continued reading our focus text, Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins. The students were fascinated to learn about other animals that are now endangered or near extinction, including the Partula snails, Asian elephant, and White-rumped vultures.

IPC

In IPC this week, we began focusing on our first ancient civilization — Ancient Egypt. The students were very excited to learn that each week we will explore a different civilization and discover what made each one so great, bold, and brave.

We started by learning about the importance of the River Nile and how it played a vital role in helping Ancient Egypt to thrive. The students were fascinated to discover how the Nile provided water, food, transport, and fertile land for farming — and how it continues to be an essential part of life in Egypt today. To show their understanding, the students wrote creative postcards from the past, imagining they had travelled back in time to the banks of the River Nile. They described everything they could see, hear, and smell, from the farmers working in the fields to the bustling riverboats sailing along the water.

Later in the week, we began exploring Ancient Egyptian beliefs and gods. The students were put into groups, each tasked with researching a different Egyptian god. They created informative and colourful presentations to share their findings with the class. Two groups presented this week and did a fantastic job explaining who their god was, what they represented, and why they were so important to Ancient Egyptian life. The remaining groups will share their presentations next week — and I’m sure they will wow us with their knowledge and creativity!

Useful Information

On Thursday, November 21st, we will be holding our TGMC Kindness Carnival! This exciting event will raise money for our partner TGMC school in Bristol, UK.

Your child has already received all the necessary information about the event. We kindly ask for donations of any items that could be suitable to sell at the carnival.

Starting Monday, students will be able to: