Year 5

Welcome to Red Kites 2025/2026

Mr Chadd, Miss Johnson and Miss Read

We will update the class page once a week. Please check regularly as we will often share key information here.

Please feel free to contact us via the class email:

redkites@watlington.oxon.sch.uk

Our PE days this term are Tuesday and Wednesday. Please come to school in your PE kit.

 

Swimming Tuesday

Circuits Wednesday

 

Red Kites Class Update – Week Ending 5th December 2025

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas in Red Kites, but that hasn’t stopped us from diving into some exciting learning projects too!

Following on from our pantomime newspaper reports last week, we’ve now taken our storytelling a step further in Computing by beginning our new unit on video production. The children are working towards turning their newspaper reports into news-style videos over the coming week—complete with interviews, introductions, and closing statements. This week, we’ve been focusing on storyboarding and learning about the different camera shots and angles used in film-making. Everyone has been full of creative ideas—watch this space for our finished productions!

We’ve also been working hard in Music, practising our Christmas song ready to perform at the Church service in a few weeks’ time. The singing is sounding beautiful already, and we can’t wait to share it with parents and families.

And to top off a magical week, excitement filled the playground when Father Christmas made a surprise fly-past in his Chinook helicopter on his way to the North Pole! The cheers and smiles said it all—it truly brought a touch of festive wonder to our week.

 

A fantastic week of creativity, teamwork, and festive fun—well done, Red Kites!

Red Kites Class Update – Week Ending 28th November 2025

It’s been a busy but exciting week in Red Kites, filled with assessments, creativity, and a sprinkle of pantomime magic!

This week, the class worked incredibly hard during our assessment week, showing great focus and perseverance across all subjects. We’re really proud of how everyone approached the challenge with a positive attitude and determination to do their best.

A highlight of the week was our trip to the Oxford Playhouse to see the pantomime Dick Whittington. The performance was full of laughter, singing, and lively characters—it was a brilliant way to kick off the festive season! On our return, we used the experience as inspiration for our writing, producing newspaper reports retelling the panto story. The children used catchy headlines, quotes, and clear structure to make their reports engaging and informative.

We ended the week with a hands-on Science lesson, modelling the solar system to explore how each planet orbits the Sun due to gravity. The children worked brilliantly in teams to represent the scale and movement of the solar system, deepening their understanding of how the planets move in space.

It’s been a full and rewarding week—well done, Red Kites, for your continued enthusiasm and hard work!

Red Kites Class Update – Week Ending 21st November 2025.

It’s been another fantastic and productive week in Red Kites, with lots of exciting learning taking place across every subject!

In Maths, we’ve been working hard on equivalent fractions, using visual models and number facts to understand how different fractions can represent the same value. The children have shown great perseverance when simplifying and comparing fractions—fantastic focus all round!

In English, we’ve completed and published our very own “How to Train Your Mythical Creature” instructions. The children have applied all the features of instructional writing, using imperative verbs, adverbials of time, and clear step-by-step organisation to make their guides both engaging and easy to follow. We then used our digital literacy skills to publish our finished work on the computers, taking pride in presenting our writing to a high standard.

In Science, we’ve begun our journey through space, researching the planets within our solar system. The children discovered what each planet is made of, how many moons they have, and some fascinating facts about their atmospheres and distances from the Sun. There’s been lots of curiosity and awe as we explored the wonders of our solar neighbourhood!

In Topic, we’ve been diving into a historical debate—Was Alfred the Great really that great? We’ve examined evidence about his leadership, achievements, and legacy, and discussed whether he truly deserves his famous title. The class had some thoughtful arguments on both sides—there are definitely some historians in the making!

It’s been another brilliant week full of enthusiasm, imagination, and hard work. Well done, Red Kites!

 

Red Kites Class Update – Welcome Back!

Welcome back, Red Kites! We’ve had a fantastic start to the new half-term, full of focus, enthusiasm, and curiosity. Everyone has returned refreshed and ready for the exciting learning ahead.

In Maths, we’ve jumped straight into exploring common multiples, factors, common factors, and prime numbers. The class has shown great reasoning skills as they’ve worked to spot number patterns and connections, learning how these key ideas link together to form the foundation for more complex maths later in the term.

In English, we’ve begun our new writing unit on instruction writing. Building on our creativity from before half-term, we’ll be writing detailed and imaginative instructions on how to train our mythical creatures. This week, we’ve looked closely at the key features of instructional texts—imperative verbs, adverbial phrases, and clear organisation—and started to plan how to apply these to our own work.

In Science, we began investigating gravity through a practical water bottle experiment, proving that mass doesn’t affect the speed at which things fall. The children made excellent predictions and observations, showing their growing confidence as young scientists.

We also started our new round of swimming lessons, and what an amazing first week it was! Every pupil gave their best effort, showing determination, teamwork, and a willingness to improve—well done, Red Kites!

This week also saw our Remembrance Family Assembly, where we reflected on the meaning of remembrance and the importance of honouring those affected by war. We focused especially on the experiences of children evacuated during the Second World War, thinking about the bravery, separation, and hope of that time. The children showed great empathy and respect during our discussions.

It’s been a strong start to the term, full of energy and engagement—well done, Red Kites! We’re looking forward to everything the coming weeks will bring.

Red Kites Class Update – October Half Term 2025

What a fantastic way to finish the half-term, Red Kites! It’s been a busy week filled with hard work, creativity, and resilience—especially in the face of some very British weather!

We started the week with Bikeability, where everyone showed incredible determination and skill. Despite the wind and rain, the whole class demonstrated fantastic road awareness, control, and confidence on two wheels. Well done for completing Level 1 and Level 2, we couldn’t be prouder of the effort and maturity shown throughout the sessions—well done, cyclists!

In Science, we carried out some fascinating water resistance experiments. The children investigated which shape—sphere, cube, or cylinder—was the most streamlined, making careful predictions, measuring precisely, and recording their results accurately. There were some brilliant scientific discussions as we linked our findings to real-world examples such as boats, submarines, and aquatic animals.

In English, we’ve completed our Mythical Creature Fact Files, and the results have been wonderful. The children have produced vivid descriptions that truly paint a picture in the reader’s mind, using ambitious vocabulary and clear organisation. These imaginative creatures will take centre stage in our next piece of writing after the break—so watch this space!

It’s been an excellent first half-term full of learning, laughter, and teamwork. Everyone should be very proud of how far they’ve come already.

Have a wonderful and well-earned half-term break, Red Kites—you’ve absolutely earned it!

Red Kites Class Update – October 2025

It’s been another busy and exciting week in Red Kites as we continue to build on our learning across all subjects!

In English, the children will soon be creating their own Mythical Creature Fact Files, combining creativity with non-fiction writing skills. They’ll be inventing marvellous beasts—complete with fascinating habitats, unique powers, and perhaps a few dangerous features! We’ll also be focusing on how to organise information clearly using headings, subheadings, and technical vocabulary.

In Maths, we’ve been honing our addition and subtraction skills, focusing on solving multistep problems and using the inverse to check our answers. There’s been some excellent mathematical reasoning and teamwork on show!

In Design and Technology, we’re coming to the end of our weaving project. The children’s focus and patience have really paid off, and their finished pieces are looking fantastic. We can’t wait to display them all together in our colourful classroom gallery.

In Topic, the Vikings have invaded! We’ve been learning about how they travelled, where they settled, and the impact they had on Anglo-Saxon England. There’s been lots of lively discussion as we explored what it might have felt like to live through a Viking raid.

Another wonderful week, Red Kites—keep up the brilliant effort and enthusiasm!

Red Kites Class Update – Harvest 2025

This week in Red Kites, we’ve been travelling back in time to Anglo-Saxon England to explore the fascinating theme of Crime and Punishment. The children stepped into the roles of judges, witnesses, and accused villagers in our very own Anglo-Saxon courtroom drama, deciding who was guilty or innocent and what punishments might be handed out. There were some lively debates about fairness and justice—especially when discussing trials by ordeal!

In English, we’ve been unleashing our imaginations to write our own “Overcoming a Monster” stories. The class created an incredible range of terrifying creatures for their brave heroes to face—from shadowy beasts lurking in caves to dragons guarding ancient treasures. It’s been wonderful to see such creativity, rich vocabulary, and suspenseful storytelling coming through in everyone’s writing.

In Maths, we’ve been developing our mental maths strategies, learning how to approach calculations efficiently and confidently. The children have been challenging themselves to think flexibly and explain their reasoning—great skills for the rest of the year.

We also gathered together for our Harvest Assembly, reflecting on the meaning of the season. We learnt that the word “harvest” itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon language, meaning “autumn”. The children thought about how, for Anglo-Saxons, this was a time of sharing, community, and preparation for the long, dark winter nights ahead.

It’s been a week full of creativity, curiosity, and collaboration—well done, Red Kites, for another brilliant week of learning!

 

Class Update 3rd October 2025  - Poetry and Play

We had the fantastic opportunity to take part in a poetry workshop at Icknield Community College with the poet Christian Foley. He inspired us to think about how poetry can come from anywhere, even the most unexpected places. Together, we created our own poems that all began with the line: “Sitting by the dustbin, I met a dog called…” - with some very funny and imaginative results! The children loved experimenting with rhythm, rhyme, and humour in their verses.

We also explored the work of T.S. Eliot, focusing on his famous poem “Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat.” The class enjoyed unpicking the language, rhythm, and character, and it was a brilliant way to see how poetry can bring a story to life.

In Maths, we wrapped up our unit on Place Value, working confidently with numbers up to a million, and we’re ready to progress into our next area of learning next week.

In Topic, we’ve continued our journey into the past by investigating Anglo-Saxon place names and discovering how many modern towns and villages can be traced back to Anglo-Saxon origins.

It’s been an inspiring week that has shown us how poetry connects to performance, history, humour, and even our own creativity.

Red Kites Class Update – 26th September 2025

This week in Red Kites we’ve had a wonderful mix of investigation, creativity, and celebration of cultures from around the world.

In Topic, we’ve been exploring Anglo-Saxon settlements and life, thinking about how people built their homes, what their daily routines were like, and how they adapted to life in England. In English, we’ve been expanding our writing skills by creating dragon-inspired expanded noun phrases—adding imaginative detail to bring our descriptions to life.

In Design and Technology, we’ve been weaving, and what fantastic weavers we are! The children are already producing some brilliant pieces, and we’re working towards a colourful weaving wall display. If you have any spare wool or yarn, please do send it in to help us.

In Science, we’ve continued our investigations into air resistance, this time testing how parachute size affects how quickly or slowly they fall. It was fascinating to see how our predictions matched up with the results!

We also celebrated Languages Day, which was a real highlight of the week. The children experienced a variety of different languages:

• In Shona, we learned the words for different body parts.

• In Spanish, we practised different greetings.

• In Tagalog and Japanese, we explored useful words and phrases.

• We also learnt how to say “Welcome” in many different languages.

• To finish, we combined music and language by learning “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles in Makaton—a brilliant way to end the day!

It was an inspiring week that helped us appreciate the rich variety of languages spoken across the globe—and even in our own school community.

Red Kites Class Update – 19th September 2025

It’s been another busy and exciting week in Red Kites!

In Topic, we’ve started investigating the lives of the first Anglo-Saxons and how they lived after arriving in England. In Science, we’ve been building on our understanding of air resistance by planning our upcoming parachute experiment—we’re excited to test our predictions!

In English, we’ve been using hot-seating to get to know our characters inside out, helping us to create fully developed and realistic characters of our own.

Big congratulations to Jimi, Cherry, Ryan, Sam, and Henry on becoming our new Sports Captains. They’ve already been leading warm-ups in PE and demonstrating techniques in gymnastics brilliantly.

Well done also to our new School Council representatives, Jess and Wren. The quality of speeches from all candidates was very high, and we’re proud of everyone who put themselves forward—you all did so well.

A brilliant week, Red Kites—keep it up!

Red Kites Class Update – Week 1 (September 2025)

What a fantastic start to the new school year for Red Kites! Everyone has settled in brilliantly and shown real enthusiasm for their learning.

In Maths, we’ve been exploring place value with numbers up to a million, building strong foundations for the year ahead. In English, we’ve begun creating our story maps and learning some exciting new vocabulary to help us bring our writing to life.

In Science, we investigated air resistance by testing how different shaped paper aeroplanes are affected as they move through the air – an exciting way to see science in action!

We also had our first ukulele music lesson, which was great fun, and we launched into our new topic, exploring the reasons why the Anglo-Saxons may have first come to England.

With Miss Johnson, we took part in a brilliant problem-solving session where we had to work together as a team and persevere, even when the going got tough – it was a great reminder of the power of resilience and collaboration.

We’ve also held our Sports Captain elections and look forward to announcing the results next week. We’ll also be deciding on our School Council representative then too.

A brilliant start, Red Kites—you should all be proud of yourselves!

Red Kites Class Update – Week 1 Welcome Back (September 2025)

A huge welcome back to all of Red Kites—we’ve had a brilliant first week of the new school year! It’s been wonderful to see everyone settling quickly back into routines and diving straight into learning with enthusiasm.

We’ve spent time getting to know each other again after the summer break and setting the expectations for the year ahead. The class has already shown excellent teamwork, positivity, and curiosity as we begin our new topics.

This week, we’ve enjoyed some welcome back activities, and started thinking about the themes and challenges we’ll be exploring this term. We’re already looking forward to what’s ahead in English, Maths, Science, Topic, Music, and PE, and it promises to be an action-packed and inspiring start to Year 5!

Well done, Red Kites, for such a fantastic start—you’ve made a brilliant first impression, and we can’t wait to see all you will achieve this year.