​Today we have been learning about the importance of stories and history in understanding faith. We began by recapping the story of Abraham, which we learnt last term, and reflected on the message behind it. We then explored the story of Jonah and the Whale, thinking about the lesson it teaches.
As a class, we discussed thoughtful questions such as:

• What message can we take from this story?
• What might this story teach Jewish people about their faith?
• Did anyone in the story do something to help others?
• Do Jewish people believe in helping others?

We then explored how helping others is a key part of Judaism, looking at some of the ways Jewish people support their communities and the wider world:

• Tzedakah – Giving to those in need through money, food, or acts of help.
• Gemilut Chasadim – Carrying out acts of kindness, such as visiting the sick or helping the elderly.
• Welcoming Guests – Hospitality is very important, especially during special times like Shabbat.
• Community Volunteering – Supporting food banks, schools, and charities.
• Tikkun Olam – Aiming to ‘repair the world’ by making it a better, fairer place.
• Mitzvot – Doing good deeds and following God’s commandments with kindness and respect.

To finish the lesson, we reflected on how it feels to do something for the common good – something that helps another person or benefits the whole community, we then made a class paper chain with our ideas. Take a look at our class photo below.
It was a thoughtful and inspiring lesson and I was so proud of how everyone reflected so thoughtfully.

Today, Year 5 ventured boldly onto the playground—not for a game of tig or a sneaky extra break, but in the name of science. Armed with chalk, tape measures, and an enthusiastic sense of curiosity, our young scientists set out to investigate the mysterious ways of… shadows.
Every hour, on the hour, pupils marked and measured the shadow of one of their classmates. 
The aim? To observe how shadows change position and length as the sun moves across the sky. The results were fascinating and not at all what some of the children predicted. 
The children made observations about the position of the shadows and the position of the sun alongside measurements of the shadows. They then used these to try to explain what was happening. Next Science lesson we will be looking at these ideas and determining how scientifically accurate they are.
​All in all, a sunny day of hands-on learning, with just the right amount of chalk dust and science magic.

his week, Year 5 have kicked off an exciting new maths unit all about volume!
We’ve learned that volume is the amount of space an object takes up, and we now know how to calculate it using the formula:
📏 Length × Width × Height = Volume
📦 Our unit of measurement is centimetres cubed (cm³).
Today, we put our knowledge to the test by creating different cuboids with a total volume of 12cm³. We discovered that there are lots of ways to make different shapes with the same volume — it's like 3D maths puzzles!
To really get us thinking, we also tackled the statement:
“The taller the cuboid, the greater its volume.”
We had a brilliant discussion about whether this is always, sometimes, or never true. It really helped us to deepen our understanding of how volume depends on all three dimensions, not just height!

This afternoon, we had an amazing time at Delta Academy, where we took part in an exciting tag rugby competition! The event was packed with energy, teamwork, and lots of fun as we played a variety of mini-games to build our skills and confidence on the field.

Throughout the afternoon, we took part in games like scarecrow tag, dodgeball, normal tig, and mini rugby matches. These activities helped us develop our agility, teamwork, and understanding of the game while having a fantastic time with our friends. Everyone showed great sportsmanship, determination, and enthusiasm, making it a brilliant experience for all involved.
A huge congratulations to the green team, who finished second overall and have now earned their place in the Barnsley finals! This is an incredible achievement, and we can’t wait to see how they perform in the next stage of the competition.
Well done to everyone who took part—you should all be proud of your efforts! 

What an exciting day Year 5 and 6 had for our Enterprise Day! The challenge was to design a sensory nook for our school based around four themes: Outer Space, The Jungle, The Beach, and Underwater.
Each team was given 200 sensory stones to spend in the Sensory Star Shop, where they could choose from materials like LEDs, fibre optics, light tiles, interactive panels, and UV lights. The children worked together, brainstorming ideas and planning how to incorporate these elements into their designs.
In the afternoon, each team wrote a script to present their sensory nook to our judges. The children showcased their creativity and explained how their designs would engage the senses and create a unique experience.
It was a fantastic day full of learning and teamwork! The children not only had fun but also developed important skills like collaboration, budgeting, and presentation. A great big well done to everyone for making it such a memorable experience!

This afternoon, we had a fantastic visit from Compass Be, an organisation that helps young people understand and take care of their mental health. They work with schools to teach important skills like resilience, emotional well-being, and finding ways to cope with challenges.
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During the session, we explored what mental health means and how we can look after our own. We talked about what makes us feel happy and how different things affect our emotions. The team from Compass Be helped us understand that, just like our physical health, our mental health needs attention and care too.

One of the key things we learned about was resilience – the ability to bounce back from difficult situations – something that we talk about a lot at school, particularly in our One Life lessons. We discussed ways we can use what we've learned to get through challenging times and how important it is to keep trying, even when things feel tough.

We also practised relaxation exercises, which can help us feel calm and in control when we’re stressed or anxious. It was great to learn simple techniques that we can use anytime we need them.
Finally, we talked about who can support us when we need help. Whether it’s a teacher, a friend, a family member, or someone from organisations like Compass Be, we now know that we’re never alone when facing challenges.

A huge thank you to Compass Be for spending the afternoon with us and helping us build skills to support our mental well-being!

We had a magical afternoon in Year 5, celebrating World Book Day in true Harry Potter style!
The class spent the afternoon immersed in Harry Potter activities, including role play, listening to more of our Harry Potter novel, looking at wands from the story Harry Potter and even reading stories to others. It was an afternoon filled with magic, imagination, and a love for books!
Take a look at our amazing outfits! Mrs. Powell was Professor McGonagall, and Miss Jaques brought the clever and courageous Hermione Granger to life! What a fantastic way to share the magic of reading!

​Hello from Dearne Valley 2025!

I would just like to check in with all of the nervous adults at home and say that so far, the children are having a wonderful time. We have all settled in, unpacked our suitcases and "made" our beds. We have already had 3 separate members of staff commend the behaviour of our children and that makes all of our staff feel extremely proud. We will try to keep uploading as many photographs as possible but this initial blog has taken over an hour due to poor connections and problems with uploading photographs so please bear with us!

This week, we have started an exciting new reading and writing unit based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!

In writing lessons, we have been diving into the world of mythical creatures. We explored different types of mythical creatures before designing our very own! Everyone came up with creative and imaginative ideas, thinking carefully about their creatures' appearance, abilities, and habitats.

Next week, we will shift our focus to dialogue. We will explore how conversations between characters can show different moods, such as friendship, humour, fear, and conflict. We will study key scenes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to see how J.K. Rowling uses dialogue to bring characters and emotions to life. Then, we will have a go at writing our own dialogue between two characters—using our new skills to make it engaging and expressive!

In reading lessons, we have been working through Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We explored lots of new vocabulary and tackled inference questions to uncover how different characters were feeling, what they were thinking, and why they acted the way they did. Everyone did a fantastic job using clues from the text to support their ideas!
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We are all excited to continue this magical journey next week! Keep up the great work, Year 5!