WELCOME back to year 5/6 at St John Lloyd! 

It’s the start of an exciting new term packed with fresh challenges and opportunities, and we hope every single one of you will continue to enjoy, flourish, and excel in Year 5/6.

Our exciting new topic for this term is “Into the Future”. This project will take us on a journey through technology and science—exploring how everyday inventions have evolved over time, investigating how energy is stored and transferred, and evaluating the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on our daily lives. As part of our hands-on learning, we will even be stepping into the shoes of tech designers to create our very own smart home devices and apps to solve real-world problems!

In Maths this term, we will be diving into statistics and data handling, mastering fractions, and exploring the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. We will also be getting hands-on with practical measurement, learning how to accurately convert metric units of volume and capacity

Within our literacy sessions, we will be diving into the high-octane spy thriller “Stormbreaker” by Anthony Horowitz, alongside exploring themes of belonging, empathy, and justice in the poignant picture book “The Island” (linked to our School of Sanctuary and RSE learning). Through these texts, we will be creating spy profiles, crafting persuasive speeches, writing non-chronological reports on deadly animals, and writing exciting mystery chapters of our own!

In Science and Humanities, we will be investigating energy stores (kinetic, thermal, gravitational potential, and chemical), testing insulation, tracing how energy originates from the Sun, and plotting timelines of computer technology from the past to the future.

In ICT, we will be stepping into the world of secret agents with our new unit iCrypto! Instead of coding, we will be learning all about communicating securely over distances through cryptography. We will explore how secret messages have been sent throughout history using ciphers, semaphore signals, Morse code, Caesar shifts, frequency analysis, and even historical simulators like the Enigma Machine!

In our RE lessons, we will continue to deepen our understanding of Biblical texts and nurture our relationship with God. We will be learning about “Prophecy and Promise.” We will explore how God spoke through Old Testament prophets to bring hope and guidance to His people. As we enter the liturgical season of Advent, we will reflect on what it means to live with faith and hope today, learning how we can be messengers of God's love, fairness, and promise in our own school and community.

Living out our Catholic virtues of being Eloquent and Truthful means using our God-given voices to spread truth, kindness, and understanding in our world. Inspired by the teachings of Jesus, who is the Truth (John 14:6), we encourage our pupils to speak with courage and integrity, always standing up for justice and honesty. By expressing their thoughts eloquently and respectfully, our children learn to build each other up, witness to their faith, and share God’s love through both their words and their actions.

Don’t forget to keep checking your BUG CLUB (https://www.activelearnprimary.co.uk) and MYMATHS (https://www.mymaths.co.uk) accounts, where new targets and tasks are regularly updated.

Diary Dates

Parents evening - 10th November

Year 5 swimming - weeks beginning 16th November and 23rd November

Advent Service - 15th December