St. Catherine's Class 2025 - 2026
Welcome to St. Catherine Class
Year 5 and Year 6
Class Teacher: Mrs Fairman
Our Learning for Spring Term:
The Vine and the Branches
Branch 3: Galilee to Jerusalem
In the Galilee to Jerusalem unit, Year 5 pupils explore the life and mission of Jesus as told in the Gospels, focusing on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Children learn about key events, teachings and miracles, and how Jesus showed God’s love through forgiveness, service and sacrifice. They consider why Jesus’ message was challenging, how people responded to him, and what his journey towards Jerusalem reveals about courage, faith and obedience to God. The unit encourages pupils to reflect on how Jesus’ teachings continue to influence the lives of Christians today and how these values can be lived out in their own lives.
English - Reading
Daily reading is a key priority in primary school and we actively encourage children to read as much as possible at home to help further develop their fluency and comprehension skills. Every child will be able to bring home a banded reading book from school. These will be assigned to children by their class teacher following a short reading assessment. These can be changed regularly in school. Every child is also encouraged to have a 'Reading for Pleasure' book.
Within our Whole Class Reading lessons, we will be exploring a variety of texts within a variety of genres. This will give children plenty of opportunities to practise their reading comprehension skills and learn about new things.
Our current class novel is 'A Kind of Spark' by Elle McNicoll.
English - Writing
Our focus text for this half term is: The Selfish Giant
Throughout the unit, children will work towards mastery the Mastery Keys outlined below.
Mastery Keys (Year 5)
Use relative clauses beginning with who, which, where, when, whose, that or an omitted relative pronoun
Choose the appropriate register
Integrate dialogue to convey character and advance the action
Use commas to clarify meaning or avoid ambiguity in writing
Mastery Keys (Year 6)
Distinguish between the language of speech and writing
Recognise vocabulary and structures for formal speech and writing, including subjunctive forms
Use passive verbs
Use semi-colons to mark boundaries between independent clauses
There will also be further opportunities for extended writing which develop skills across a range of genres.
Maths
In Maths, we follow Power Maths. This allows children to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills.
During this half term, our topics are:
Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
Throughout the week, children are given many opportunities to practise their arithmetic skills.
Link to support Year 6 with Arithmetic skills: https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/486/Y6-Arithmetic-Practice
Science
Our Science topic for this half term is Animals including Humans. Throughout this unit, children will practise using a variety of scientific skills to help them learn:
The main parts of the human circulatory system are: heart, lungs, blood.
The heart pumps blood around the body and delivers oxygen and nutrients to cells and collects waste.
Exercise increases the heart rate because the muscles need more oxygen.
Our blood is made up of four parts: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma.
Our diet impacts our bodies.
Alcohol, drugs and cigarettes impact negatively on our bodies.
History
This half term, we will be exploring:
Is everyone affected by the rule of law?
Within this unit, the children will investigate how law has changed over time. They will focus on the Magna Carta and how this changed in which King John ruled. As they develop their skills, they will be researching and analysing sources to expand their knowledge and help to draw their own conclusions.
Geography
This term, we will be exploring:
How could we make our local area more environmentally friendly?
Within this unit, the children will investigate how we could make our local area more environmentally friendly. The class will begin by exploring the impacts humans have had on the environment (both positive and negative). The class will then research and investigate the most environmentally friendly countries within the world, make comparisons between different countries and look at how they are ranked before learning about landfills and the importance of recycling.
Art
Within this unit, the children will develop their skills in using a managing different art medium effectively. They will learn different techniques that can be used when working with watercolour paints and explore how to layer different colours and textures and experiment with how to create different moods within their abstract art piece.
Music
Music sessions will be delivered by Amasing music tutors.
PE
Our P.E. day for this half term is Thursday. Children should come to school in their kit.
All kit must be clearly labelled, and appropriate footwear must be worn. Jewellery, including earrings, must not be worn during P.E. days. School hoodies and jogging bottoms can be purchased online with school uniform.
Personal Development
At St Luke's, RHE is taught using a scheme created by 'Ten:Ten'. Our first topic is Created to Love Others. This unit explores the individual. Rooted in the teaching that we are made in the image and likeness of God, it helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships.
Communication
Messages will mainly be sent using School Spider; please turn on notifications for the app so that you are alerted to new messages/emails. I am always happy to discuss any worries, concerns or general queries you may have. Please feel free to send an email or make an appointment through the school office.
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Our Learning for Autumn Term:
The Vine and the Branches
Branch 1: Creation and Covenant
This term, the children will learn about the life of Moses, focusing on his encounter with God in the burning bush and the giving of the Ten Commandments. They will reflect on how these commandments, given to the freed Israelites, were a source of guidance and freedom, and how Jesus later summed them up in the call to love God, others, and ourselves. We will also explore virtues—faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance—and how these help people of all faiths and none to live well, make good choices, and build strong relationships.
English - Reading
Daily reading is a key priority in primary school and we actively encourage children to read as much as possible at home to help further develop their fluency and comprehension skills. Every child will be able to bring home a banded reading book from school. These will be assigned to children by their class teacher following a short reading assessment. These can be changed regularly in school. Every child is also encouraged to have a 'Reading for Pleasure' book.
Within our Whole Class Reading lessons, we will be exploring a variety of texts within a variety of genres. This will give children plenty of opportunities to practise their reading comprehension skills and learn about new things.
Our current class novel is 'Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
English - Writing
Our focus text for this half term is: Star of Fear, Star of Hope.
Throughout the unit, children will work towards mastery the Mastery Keys outlined below.
Mastery Keys (Year 5)
Use fronted adverbials (Y4)
Use expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely
Link ideas across paragraphs using adverbials
Commas after fronted adverbials (Y4)
Use of inverted commas and other punctuation to punctuate direct speech (Y4)
Mastery Keys (Year 6)
Use expanded noun phrases to convey complicated information concisely (recap from Y5)
Use passive verbs
Link ideas across paragraphs using a wider range of cohesive devices
Integrate dialogue to convey character and advance the action
Maths
In Maths, we follow Power Maths. This allows children to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills.
During this half term, our topics are:
Place Value
Four Operations
Throughout the week, children are given many opportunities to practise their arithmetic skills.
Science
Our Science topic for this half term is Evolution and Inheritance. Throughout this unit, children will practise using a variety of scientific skills to help them learn:
Fossils are found in sedimentary rock.
Fossils provide information about where and when living things inhabited the Earth.
Charles Darwin helped us understand more about natural selection.
Living things can change over time to adapt to their environment.
Evidence has shown that natural selection is how human evolution has occurred.
Inherited traits are passed genetically by a parent.
Offspring inherits traits from parents and grandparents.
History
This half term, we will be exploring:
Ancient Maya - What were the achievements of the Ancient Maya civilisation?
Within this unit, the children will discover the achievements of the ancient Maya civilisation. They will explore where this is on the timeline, linking with prior learning before using primary and secondary resources to research more and further their knowledge to support them in drawing conclusions.
Geography
This term, we will be exploring:
'Where does our energy come from?'
This term, pupils will learn about different types of energy, how it is produced, and how countries use and trade it. They will explore renewable sources, such as wind, solar, hydropower, and tidal, which come from natural resources and don’t run out, as well as non-renewable sources like oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, which are limited. Pupils will also consider the importance of sustainability—using resources responsibly—and look at how different countries, including the UK and the United States, rely on and trade energy, with a focus on the shift towards renewable energy.
Art
This half term, we will explore the skill of 'Drawing'. Using Edvard Munch's 's work as inspriation, the children will develop their drawing skills focusing on using light and shade as well as looking at one and two point perspectives.
Music
Music sessions will be delivered by Amasing music tutors.
PE
Our P.E. day for this half term is Thursday. Children should come to school in their kit.
All kit must be clearly labelled, and appropriate footwear must be worn. Jewellery, including earrings, must not be worn during P.E. days. School hoodies and jogging bottoms can be purchased online with school uniform.
Our swimming sessions are Tuesday afternoons.
Personal Development
At St Luke's, RHE is taught using a scheme created by 'Ten:Ten'. Our first topic is Created and Loved by God. This unit explores the individual. Rooted in the teaching that we are made in the image and likeness of God, it helps children to develop an understanding of the importance of valuing themselves as the basis for personal relationships.
Communication
Messages will mainly be sent using School Spider; please turn on notifications for the app so that you are alerted to new messages/emails. I am always happy to discuss any worries, concerns or general queries you may have. Please feel free to send an email or make an appointment through the school office.