Welcome to

Elmsett C of E Primary School.

Owls Class - Years 5 & 6

Owls class marks the final phase of the children’s time at Elmsett School and will no doubt encompass the most intense years of the children’s lives so far. Not only do the children have to take their SATs at the end of their time in Owls, they also must be prepared for the step up into high school.

We prepare our children sensitively and by celebrating their achievements.

Owls Long Term Plan CLICK HERE

Owls Weekly Timetable CLICK HERE

About Us

Owls is a mixed Year 5 & 6 class where the children are taught as a whole class or in groups within some areas of the curriculum so that every child can be supported appropriately, according to their specific needs. Additional adult support is used to help children with special educational needs, including those who are more able. The primary aim of the class is that children can leave the school happy with their time in Elmsett School and pleased with their progress in their final 2 years.

Although some subjects are taught independently, a creative approach to learning is continued and many aspects of the curriculum are covered within the whole school topics. There is also an emphasis on the children gradually becoming more independent both in their learning and in taking responsibility for themselves to further prepare themselves for secondary education.

Micro:bits - Computing

Owls have been using the BBC Micro:bits we have loaned from the Computing Hub in our lessons this half term.

The children have really enjoyed exploring what they can do by designing animations, tinkering with the coding software and making their own pedometers!

We achieved the Young Leaders Award 2023/2024

Homework

In Owls class, our regular weekly homework activities are reading, spellings and times tables. In addition, the children will be given maths and English homework to build on learning in class.

Reading should be a daily activity. If possible, please hear your child read each day and put a comment in their reading log. Children will complete book quizzes and be guided to choose appropriate material to support their reading development.

Spellings will be given each week via Spelling Shed and Spelling Groups. These will be tested on a Friday as. Please encourage your child to complete the challenges set as well as the statutory word lists available all year.

Please ensure your children have their homework with them on a Tuesday as I will often go through it with the class in morning work.

Times tables will be assessed regularly and children are encouraged to use Times Table Rockstars to build fluency, recall and speed.

In addition to this regular homework, we may occasionally ask the children to carry out some topic, science or RE-based research at home. We will always give them a few days at least to complete this. For a longer project, they will have several weeks.

If there are any problems with any of the homework, please put a note in your child’s log book or see me in the playground in the morning to let me know. Thank you for your support with your child’s home learning.

Norfolk Lakes - Residential November 2023

Owls had a fantastic time on residential this year and have really bonded as a class. Despite the cold weather, we were lucky to see the sun for most of our stay and enjoyed the facilities immensely.

Some of the activities we undertook were: giant canoe, campfire, climbing, caving, raft building, archery, aeroball and survival skills.

‘I enjoyed the caving because it was really fun exploring the caves and playing ‘Among Us.’

‘I enjoyed the giant canoeing because it was really relaxing. We got to see swans and geese swimming around. We also got to play games like ‘Guess Who’ and had a race.’

‘I loved the food way more that my packed lunch and even my food at home! I really liked the full English breakfast and chicken skewers.’

Orienteering and Map Skills

Owls took part in an orienteering and map skills challenge in a Geography and PE cross-curricular lesson. The children used compasses, bearings and instructions to locate places on the meadow and playground.

Thorpe Woodlands Residential

Owls have had a fantastic time on residential this year taking part in a multitude of fun challenges. Some of the activities we undertook were: climbing, biking, canoeing, caving and archery. We also had the opportunity to do the tree top drop, powerfan, shelter building and low ropes.

Rainforest Topic

Owls class have been investigating the impact of deforestation on the rainforests around the world as part of our South America and rainforest topic.

After lunch, we returned to find our classroom have been destroyed! We explored the threats and their impact on this habitat (including endangered animals) as well as looked at preservation. We created posters to raise awareness and began to answer our key question of ‘Why should rainforests matter to all of us?’

Year 6 - The Porch Project

Year 6 pupils had a visit from The Porch Project which supports pupils making the transition to high school. They discuss wellbeing and how to chill out as well as give support generally with transitions.

Year 5 - First Aid

Year 5 learned about First Aid, they practiced:

Putting on a bandage
Tying a triangular bandage
How to apply a plaster correctly
How to treat someone who has fainted

Anderson Shelter Spring Project

As part of our World War II topic in History, Owls built Anderson Shelters with their families for their Spring homework project. Thank you to all of the adults that gave their support. They look fantastic! The accompanying leaflets were brilliantly detailed too!

Christmas DT

Owls have worked hard to develop their sewing skills this year to create some fantastic Christmas cushions and cards. Each one was very personal and made brilliant gifts for family.

Please find some useful websites below for the children to access at home. These can be used to develop key skills and support learning in preparation for SATs and beyond. These are a supplementary resource to build on learning in class. Many are game based and we have played some at Booster Club so the children may been keen to try more out!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zv48q6f
KS2 BBC Bitesize English

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z826n39
KS2 BBC Bitesize Maths

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/spelling-and-grammar
Top Marks - English

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/ordering-and-sequencing
Top Marks - Maths

https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/maths/
Education Quizzes - Maths

https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks2/english/
Education Quizzes - English

(As these are external sites, we are not in control of content. Please do check before children use them).