Congratulations to Cassie who won the Poplar class book review competition. The class were asked to write a review of our Guided Reading book, Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll.  Well done Cassie - I loved reading your charismatic review!

This is my opinion of letters form the lighthouse by Emma Carroll. Personally, I thought it deserves 4 and a half stars out of 5 and that’s what I’m here to explain. In my own perspective of this book, I strongly recommend it for passionate readers, who are up for a challenge and enjoy cliffhangers, powerful description and I could probably point seven more points but we better get on. I could close my eyes for a split second and imagine what WWII is like just from a short line of description. This book has many ups and downs but in the end, well they sort things out. I’m going to end my review here so I don’t spoil it for your adventures, hope you enjoy and I will be sure to read plenty other Emma Carroll books since they are emotionally inspiring.

In science this week we have been investigating the effects of water resistance. We discussed how it feels different to walk in water than it does to walk on land and we learnt that water resistance is a type of friction. We had to build three shapes out of play dough to test which one would sink the fastest. We used stopwatches to try to be as accurate as possible and made sure it was a fair test by doing it three times for each shape to get the best results. Which shape do you think would sink the fastest?

At 2pm today, air raid sirens rang out throughout year 5.  All 3 classes were being evacuated.  Just like Cliff and Olive in our guided reading book, Letters from the Lighthouse, the children were bundled up and sent to all 4 corners of the school.  Each group had a very different experience.  Some were helping younger children with their maths, some went out to play with the Year 1 children and many were stuck washing up, sorting and sharpening pencils and cleaning tables.

It was easy to see who hit the evacuation jackpot however, the 2 groups sent to Miss Bridge and Mr Holgate were spoilt rotten with hot chocolate and biscuits!

Much in the same was as back in the 1940s, the children had vastly different experiences and were very keen to compare (and complain) upon their return.

Year 5 were treated to a medley of fruit on Tuesday in their Food Education workshop.  They learned all about the health benefits of various fruits as well as making a delicious rainbow fruit salad.  I'm sure they all enjoyed eating them at home (apart from the few pieces Mrs Allan stole!).

On Wednesday this week, Year 5 visited the Imperial War Museum Duxford, to learn more about our current topic of Conflict. We saw some really impressive planes and land warfare artillery and even got to exlpore inside some of the planes. We were also lucky enough to see some of the planes flying, including a two-seater Spitfire!

This week in our Jigsaw lessons, we have been learning more about bullying, focussing on direct and indirect bullying.

Direct bullying: when the bullying is done directly to the person 
being bullied. He or she might be pushed, hit, tripped, texted/
emailed, or told, “No, you can’t play with us”, having signs made at 
them, etc.

Indirect bullying: bullying that happens behind someone’s back, 
(spreading rumours, whispering, making signs to each other, 
stealing or damaging things without the person knowing who is 
doing it, excluding someone indirectly, e.g. making up excuses 
about why they can’t come rather than telling them directly).

Throughout these lessons, we encourage the children to think about their own actions and how they can be powerful in ensuring that bullying is not taking place in our school. We also talk about the various sources of support that can be accessed if you think you are experiencing bullying or see it happening to somebody else.

After weeks of line learning, song practice and epic DT sessions making all the props, Pine Class performed their WWII play first to the other children in their forest, and then to their delighted parents.  All the children did exceptionally well, performed their lines and sang the songs beautifully.  They should all be very proud of themselves.

This week year 5 participated in the first of 6 food education work shops with Mrs Caplan.  They learned all about how much sugar is in everyday food and how to make informed decisions about their sugar intake.  They measured spoonfuls of sugar in Cola, ketchup and frosties and suffice to say they were all a little shocked at how much sugar these items contain.

We learned about how much sugar is recommened daily and also how to substitute some overly sugary snacks with some healthier alternatives.  We enjoyed tasting the alternatives to digestive biscuits even if some agreed it would be better with a nice cup of tea!

Today, Luke from Stevenage FCF, who does a range of fantastic work with us at Fairlands, delivered a workshop to Year 5 children entitled 'Say No to Racism.' The children learned about what it means to be an ally; someone who is willing to act with or for others to create equality. We talked about playing our part in helping to challenge racism and discrimination and learned about how our own behaviour can impact others in positive ways. We were also lucky enough to meet two Stevenage Borough players - Luther James-Wildin and Terence Vancooten - who talked about their own experiences and gave the opportunity for the children to ask them questions.

In our English lessons we have been learning all about biographies. Biographies tell the story of a real persons life. As it is black history month, we each chose an influential figure in black history and wrote a biography all about their life. We had to organise our paragraphs into the correct subheadings. Some of us even worked hard to publish our biographies! We are hoping to make a display in our corridoor for all to see.