¡Hola! Bienvenidos a Mexico.

Hello and welcome to Mexico!

Our full class name is Mexico City (Mexico's capital) but around here, we are known as Mexico!

My name is Mr Andrews I am the class teacher for Mexico City class. This is my third time in Year 5 and each year just gets better and better! I can't wait to see what my new pupils have got to show me!

We have already explored the fascinating country of Mexico as part of our Mini Topic. We have particularly enjoyed immersing ourselves into the culture of Mexico, studying the mysterious yet joyous festival of Dìa de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead). We have looked at the traditional practices and the true meaning behind the immense celebration. What a great start to the year!

For our first term in Year 5, we will be studying one of the most influential periods of British history, the Industrial Revolution. We will discover how the innovations of the time have fuelled such significant changes for the UK with a nod to how our own town has been affected in the whirlwind of industry.

Furthermore, we will be using a fabulous shared novel in our English lessons all about the hardships faced by the children of the Victorian Age. Street Child by Berlie Doherty tells the story of Jim, an orphan who is unfortunate enough to find himself in the notorious workhouses in Victorian London. But once he decides to escape, the real trouble begins!

STEM Week

 17th- 21st October

Year 5 had the task of building a bridge that could span 80cm and had to be at least 40cm tall. Not only that, we had to include a light to warn any nearby aircraft that was to be controlled by a homemade switch. It was a tough challenge but Mexico were ready and willing to give it a go. We explored different types of bridges and investigated which cross section shape was the strongest. We then experimented with different truss patterns to help decide which truss would provide the greatest strength- lattice trusses seemed to be the most effective. We discovered that placing overlapping straws diagonally added strength and stability. Having gained this knowledge, we set to work designing and constructing our bridges using wooden lollipop sticks. Needless to say, the designing was much more straightforward than the building!

After much construction, destruction and restructuring, we had two final bridges to present. We then placed weights on the bridges to put our models to the test. One of our bridges managed over 2kg! Thank goodness for sticky tape!

Autumn 2

Welcome back, Mexico! I hope you've had a restful half term break and are ready for new challenges! The nights are quickly drawing in and winter is certainly on its way.

There is much in store for this half term as we continue our learning about the Industrial Revolution and seeing what the future holds for poor Jim Jarvis in our class novel- he's having such a tough time lately!

We're beginning to venture into our first fractions unit in Maths so any extra work on our times tables will really help to ease us in to some rather challenging concepts. Have a go at some Times Tables Rock Stars to get those recall skills polished.

In Science, we'll begin to look at the properties of materials, investigating why useful objects are made from certain materials and why some materials are a bad idea for a product- anyone in need of a chocolate teapot? We'll also be able to classify materials, deciding which ones will help keep in heat or which can help allow electricity to flow through it.

Mexico will also begin their swimming sessions from the 15th November at Longfield.

Please see the information below which was sent via ParentPay:

We ask that children come to school in their normal uniform and bring an appropriate swimming kit with them. Children will be able to change into swimwear at Longfield before there swimming lesson starts.

Your child will attend their swimming lessons on the following dates:
Tuesday 15^th November

• Tuesday 22^nd  November
  Tuesday 19^th November
• Tuesday 4^th  December
  Tuesday 13^th  December
  Tuesday 20^th  December
• 
  Please ensure that your child brings the appropriate kit on these days.

Please DO:
* Check that your child has a towel, swimming costume and hairbrush/comb in a bag.
* Ensure that swimming kit and uniform is all clearly labelled with your child’s full name.
* Send a swimming hat if your child has long hair – boys and girls please.
* Send swimming goggles.

Please DO NOT:
* Send your child to school in tights on these days. They need to be able to change quickly and easily.
* Allow your child to bring any gels, sprays, talcs, etc.
* Let your child wear their swimming costume under school uniform.

High standards of behaviour will be expected from the children at all times. During the walk to Longfield, in the changing rooms and in the pool they will be required to follow instructions immediately and act in a sensible manner. Children who do not do so risk missing subsequent sessions.

Hedge Planting at Harrowgate Hill

Mexico was invited to improve the landscaping around the perimeter of the school. We were tasked to plant hedges along the fence in preparation for the spring weather. It was a messy job but Mexico are always up for anything!

Mexico Class Assembly

After a few years of disruption, the children were finally able to have class assemblies again! Mexico wanted to showcase their hard work so far this year to their grown ups and there were tonnes to talk about!

Our audience were introduced to our topic of the Industrial Revolution in which we described the hardships of the working classes during the 18th and 19th century. We demonstrated the brutality of child labour and how the Factory Act of 1833 changed children's lives for the better. Our audience was also treated to a couple of performances of our Street Child scripts!

Mexico also discussed their investigation into the thermal conductivity of materials in our science lesson. We explained how we carried out the investigation and what conclusions arose from this. Who knew bubble wrap was such a good alternative to a tea cosy?!

Finally, Mexico delighted the audience with a musical number in French. We sang a simple nursery rhyme named 'Tête, épaules, genoux et pieds' or as we would call it 'head, shoulders, knees and toes'. It was a wonderful way to close the show and I couldn't be prouder of all the work that Mexico have put in to delivering a stellar assembly! 

Spring 1

Doesn't the time fly?! Happy New Year to pupils and their families. A new year means new opportunities, fresh starts and new learning to sink our teeth into!

In Mexico we start our year with a Mini Topic focus. We venture to Latin America, exploring everything there is to know about carnival! Whether it's the flamboyant fiestas of Mexico or the majestic Mardi Gras celebrations of Brazil, carnival is alive and well! We will explore why carnival is so important to the culture of Latin America as well as participating in some of the special festivities ourselves. ¡Viva Carnaval!

The new year also brings our new topic: Invaders and Settlers. This term we will investigate how the face of Britain was changed forever after the withdrawal of Roman rule. Throughout our study of the Anglo Saxons and Vikings, we will be able to identify reasons for invading Britain as well as gain insight into the lives of these formidable tribes as they begin to settle on British land.

Our English work will further our understanding of life during the dark ages. Year 5 will share the incredible epic of Beowulf written by Michael Morpurgo. Beowulf is a retelling of an Old English poem believed to written around the 8th century CE in which a Geatish prince travels to distant lands to save kingdoms plagued with horrific evils. Will this warrior prince ever meet his match?

Aspirations Week was so interesting! Year 5 were tasked to explore the trade industry along with apprenticeships. Who knew that there were so many options available to us in the future? We had visits from various adults who discussed their careers and the paths they took to get where they are now. We had a Student Wellfare Assistant from Durham University and Mr Godfrey came in to tell us about his work as an engineer.

We researched different apprenticeships that Darlington College offered and had to see what qualifications we might need to aim for to achieve our dream jobs. We even had a taster session of what it would be like to be a beautician, an electrician and a construction worker. We braided plaits, created an electric home security system and constructed a number of buildings using modelling materials.

There was definitely lots of food for thought for the future!

Spring 2

Welcome back! That half term break went much quicker than expected! I hope you've all had a well-deserved rest as we have a lot to pack into our final half term before the Easter holidays!

This half term will see our Assessment Week, Viking Day as well as the much anticipated Easter bonnet parade to take us into the holidays in style!

Summer 1

Welcome back! Here's hoping you've had a wonderful break!

As we enter our final term together (I know!), we will embark further from home in our topic of the Ancient Maya. We will get to know who this ancient civilisation was and investigate how this once vibrant community mysteriously disappeared.

In our English we are starting a brand new novel for Year 5 called 'Floodland' by Marcus Sedgwick. This dystopian tale describes a future in which England is covered by water. The protagonist, Zoe, is left behind by her parents on the island of Norwich and now must find a way to survive in a land that is not long for this world...

Longfield Transition Morning

Year 5 were kindly invited to attend a transition morning at Longfield Academy where the children were able to get a flavour of what life after primary school would be like. Throughout the morning, the children participated in a range of activities such as creating imaginative animals that could adapt to rainforest environments; solve maths problems to escape the Jumanji board; and investigate food of the future- do let me know if you've ever wondered what a salted caramel cricket tastes like! 

Life Science Centre

Year 5 spent the day at the renowned Life Science Centre in Newcastle. From the second we entered the doors, we were welcomed by a huge model of Earth suspended in the air so the bar had already been raised and it was set to be raised even further! The children had the chance to access the huge number of interactive displays which enabled the children to learn about space travel, how the brain works (or in some cases fools us) and play around with physics!

We were invited to watch a show about the science of coastlines as well as a fascinating insight in the constellation of Virgo in the centre's planetarium; it certainly made our heads spin! To round off the day, we headed to a lab to explore life on the International Space Station. We used some high-tech robotic arms to fix some broken solar panels and even tested how much urine an astronaut's Maximum Absorbency Garment (nappy) could hold! There was far too much knowledge to put on this page so we will let you see for yourselves just what we got up to in our photo gallery.