Kung Hei Fat Choy! - Chinese New Year

Today we celebrated Chinese New Year, in year 5. It was a fantastic day, enjoyed by all of the children and staff. We began by identifying where China is in the world, and writing our birth dates using Chinese numbers. We then visited the Prince Garden in the village where we had an amazing welcome from the staff there and members of the Chinese Institute. They were incredibly accommodating and gave the children an explanation of what Kung Hei Fat Choy meant to them before taking questions. They then gave the children sweets, gifts and fortune cookies. Afterwards, we were all treated to some fantastic food from the owners of the Prince Garden before sadly coming back to school. We would like to say a huge thank you to the members of the Chinese Institute and The Prince Garden (especially David) for their hospitality and kindness. Once we were back at school we had a karate lesson where the children learnt some basic self defence moves. Finally the children left school with a small gift kindly donated to us by Mrs. Leigh, owner of the Chinese take away Hakasan, thank you Mrs. Leigh. The children behaved themselves magnificently and we are so proud of them. What a fantastic day.

To view all of the photographs from today, and yesterdays maths lesson - problem solving with a Chinese Restaurant Menu, click on the photo below or just browse the small sample shown.

From Chinese New Year Pictures

Year 5's Chinese New Year Celebrations.

Dear Parents/Guardians, It's all organised! - Year 5 are going to be learning about the Chinese New Year this Friday. The day will start with some geographical skills - locating China on a map, looking at the Chinese Flag and images of China, before moving on to discussing the Chinese New Year. The children have been encouraged to bring any artefacts from China to school on Friday. Later in the morning we will be having a Chinese Maths lesson. At midday, we will be visiting the Prince Garden in the village and having a talk about the Chinese New Year. Children will be preparing questions to ask. We will be sampling some traditional Chinese food too. On our return to school, children will have lunch time - please send a packed lunch to school on Friday as we are not sure what time we will be back from the restaurant. After lunch the children will be taking part in some very basic Martial Arts in the hall. Our very own karate black belt Mr Llewellyn will be leading this session! Time allowing, during last lesson we'll be having a quiz about the Chinese New Year - so children need to do a little bit of revision between now and then. We hope the day will be both informative and fun. If your child has any food allergy, or wishes to not try any food please advise us below.

I am happy for my child to visit The Prince Garden on Friday 30th January.

Signed …………………………. Relationship ……………………

I would like my child to visit The Prince Garden on Friday 30th January but not eat.

Signed …………………………. Relationship ……………………

My child has the following food allergy …………………………

You can find additional information about all we have been upto lately on our class blog. www.rctednet.net/pontyclunprimary Click blogs.


Please print this if your child looses their letter.

Mrs Marlow and Mr Llewellyn

Year 5 Update

Just a quick message to let you know what is going on this week in year 5.

• Recount of Cardiff Bay - children need to write/type their recount of our trip to the Bay and Techniquest (following the ideas on the handout). They are to be brought back to school on Friday(J5) .
• Spelling challenge for J5 and 6 will be on Monday next week.
• All children need to remember dark tracksuit bottoms and a white top for Friday's Martial Arts lesson - alternatively children can wear their own Tae kwon do suits.

Mrs Marlow, Mr.Llewellyn

Practical Maths is Fun!

Mrs Marlow and her maths class have been having fun doing practical maths today. The children rotated around nine stations set up in the hall and completed Venn Diagrams. The challenge was to correctly identify the common multiples in each Venn Diagram. Well done Year 5, you worked so hard.

Mrs Marlow

Cardiff Bay

J5's Trip Memories

Here are some of J5’s thoughts about Cardiff Bay.

“I found the boat trip interesting because the guide told us lots of facts like the Titanic used coal from Cardiff” Amy-Kate O’Sullivan

“I found out that in the country, because there are less street lights, you can see the Milky Way and it’s made out of lots of little stars – the Planetarium was fantastic” Alex Davies

“In the Planetarium I found out that when the Romans were lost, they used stars to direct them. The trip was great as I learnt lots” Josh Bridge

“I liked the land train ride because Brian told us really interesting facts about Cardiff’s buildings, for example the Wales Millennium Centre is made from pure Welsh materials” Ben Davies

“I liked the Planetarium, especially when the lady told us the names of the stars e.g. the Seven Sisters. I think everyone enjoyed the trip” Elliott Harris

TO BE CONTINUED THIS AFTERNOON…

Maths Brain Tuner Competition

Look at the games and tools we've put on the right hand side of the page. There are loads of things to keep you occupied -you can even listen to music whilst browsing the blog!
This week we are focusing on the Maths "Brain Tuner" competition, it's just like brain training on the Nintendo DS. Why not give it a try or challenge Mum or Dad? Let us know your fastest times. Great maths practise!

Mrs Marlow and Mr Llewellyn

Maths Homework

Just to let you know, both classes were given maths homework on multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100 today. The homework is to be brought back to school on Monday.

Mrs Marlow and Mrs Llewellyn

Learning Overview - Year 5 - 1st Half Spring Term

Topic: Zooming In – From the Milky Way to Cardiff Bay

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year. We have lost no time in year 5 so far by getting stuck into a very busy term as can be seen via our class blog (accessed from our school website http://www.rctednet.net/pontyclunprimary/ ). Please check the blog regularly as it is updated several times a week. We are all looking forward to our trip to Cardiff Bay on Friday where we will visit Techniquest for a trip through space (inside the space dome), before going on a visit of the Bay itself via a land train and then a trip on the tourist boat.

Below, we have put together a grid highlighting the work that your son/daughter will be covering over this half term. We hope that it provides all the information that you require.

Mr Llewellyn and Mrs Marlow


Numeracy
· Rounding up any integer to nearest ten hundred and thousand
· Using decimal notation for tenths and hundredths
· Multiplying and dividing any large integer by ten and 100
· Recognising multiples and common multiplies
· Read and put coordinates in the first quadrant
· Rehearse names and properties of common 2-d shapes
· Use read and write units of time
· Read, write and interpret digital clock times.

Geography
· Where is Cardiff Bay?
· What we already know about the Bay.
· What does it look like, what is your opinion of this place?
· Understanding geographical vocabulary e.g. human features, physical features etc..
· Understanding/ writing a planning application.
· A discussion about how the place has changed.
· Land Use in the Bay?
· How do we get to the Bay?
· How is this place changing?
· What is sustainable development?
· How do people affect the environment in the Bay?

Literacy

Writing
· Recount events, activities and visits.
· News reports on a UFO sitting and or Cardiff Bay.
· Arguing viewpoints (Letter writing) - criticising, persuade, protest, support, object and complain.
· Poetic style full half and internal rhymes on Space.

Oracy
· Speaking and listening exercise
( Communicating clearly and confidently to others,. Positively evaluating each others work.)

Reading – Developing reading with fluency, skimming and scanning text to find appropriate information and distinguishing between fact and opinion bias and objectivity.


RE
· Zooming into the Synagogue as a place of worship.
· Rules within the house.
· Bar and Bat Mitzvah
· Jewish beliefs
· Getting married and festivals

Art
Marbling Techniques + designing aliens
Collage of Cardiff Bay.

DT/ICT
Control technology – using software to control external devices such traffic lights and light houses.

Welsh
· Conveying personal information.
· Clothes—buying them in the shop, problems with clothes.
· Likes and dislikes relating to clothes
· STABEC video – tale of a Spaceman who arrives in Wales.

Science
· Gain an understanding of Earth, sun and moon, know that the Earth is spherical
· Appreciating sizes of Earth, Sun and Moon.
· How the sun moves across the sky.
· The Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours.
· Sun rise and sunset
· Daylight hours,
· Modelling the Earth’s orbit around the Sun
· The orbit of the moon and the different phases of the Moon.
· The seasons.

Competitive games.
Creative gymnastics.
J5 - Mrs Marlow inside PE Wednesday, outdoor Monday
J6- Mr. Llewellyn inside PE Thursday, outdoor Friday
PE

Homework
Spelling – Your child will bring home a spelling list on Monday. They will be required to learn the words for the following Fridays test.
Reading – We expect each pupil to be reading at home on a daily basis for at least 15 min. Please update your child’s reading diary weekly. PLEASE ensure your child brings his/her reading book to school every day.
Literacy – Literacy work will be sent home as and when the teacher feels that it is appropriate.
Numeracy – Numeracy work covering the topics above will be sent home as and when the teacher feels that it is appropriate.
Projects/ Other – This half term we will be asking you to aid your child with their research into their speaking and listening topic: ……………………………………………… (MORE INFORMATION NEXT WEEK 26/01/09)

Cardiff Bay Trip - Friday 23rd January 2009

To Parents/Guardians,

As you are aware our trip to Cardiff Bay is this Friday and both classes are very excited already!
We will be visiting Techniquest in the morning as part of our current Earth, Sun and Moon science topic. After lunch, we will be investigating Cardiff Bay, which is our current geography topic. We will have a 45 minute ride on the land train. The train will take us around the Bay then onto the barrage. After visiting the barrage, we will have a guided boat trip from Penarth back to Cardiff Bay. We should arrive back at school around 3pm.

Please remember that a packed lunch is needed - no glass bottles.

A small rucksack might be ideal as children will have the chance to purchase gifts in Techniquest and may need somewhere to put them. Children will be responsible for their own money and shouldn't need more than around £5 for the day.

As our weather is so unpredictable, please could you pack a rainproof coat. All children must wear their red school jumpers on the trip, but they are allowed to wear jeans/tracksuit bottoms.

Please can you pack a pen and pencil too.

Thanks for your cooperation

Mrs Marlow and Mr Llewellyn

MATHS IS FUN IN YEAR 5!!! Multiplying by 10,100 and 1000 using scale maps

This week we are looking at multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000. We are also investigating Cardiff Bay ahead of our visit on Friday. In order to introduce a practical (problem solving) approach to both topics, the children were set a challenging task today - to recreate a scale map (1 to 1000) of the Cardiff Bay area. Myself and Mrs. Marlow were amazed at how well the children worked and how accurate the maps were. Landmarks included the Millennium Centre, St David's Hotel, the barrage, the Welsh Assembly and many more.

Well done everyone, you worked fantastically.

Who knows what we'll have up our sleeves for you in next weeks problem solving challenge?

How Do We Get From Pontyclun To Cardiff Bay?

Today in geography we have been getting ready for next weeks trip to Cardiff Bay by researching the route that we will take.