Orca Class

Welcome to 2025, which marks the start of a very exciting term, leading towards our PGL Residential at Windmill Hill. As part of a whole school exploration of 'Diversity', Orca Class will participate in a wide range of workshops including African Drumming, Bhangra Dancing and talks led by PANDA Anti-racism and the Kran Refugee organisation.

This page will be updated throughout the year with information about our topics and the learning that we will be focusing on. Please do check out our school Twitter page to see regular photos of our incredible learning.

Our Learning Environment

During the third term, our ‘driver’ topic will be ‘Frozen Kingdoms’.

English

This term, in connection with our overarching topic ‘Frozen Kingdoms’, ‘The Ice Bear’ an Inuit myth retold by Jackie Morris, will form the backbone of our English lessons. During this project, the children will be encouraged to explore their own cultural history; looking at traditional tales and myths and, by so doing, find commonality of values and beliefs.

Orca Class will also have the opportunity to write non-chronological reports, poetry and narrative. In each, the children will be shown how to use appropriate organisational devices, new sentence structures and vocabulary. To support this, each Monday, the class will have separate grammar and spelling sessions, in which they will explore new aspects of grammar and KS2 spelling patterns. Each week, the children will also be given spellings to learn and given links to Spelling Shed, so that they can practise these words in preparation for a weekly spelling test.

Reading

As well-developed reading skills are vital to enable children to access all areas of the primary curriculum, this term, the children will be finishing ‘When the Sky Falls’ or ‘Thief’. Each week, the children will read, discuss and answer VIPER questions about chapters of the story with the class teacher.

Your child will also continue to bring home a reading folder, which will contain a Homework Diary and a fiction/non-fiction book. We ask that they read for 20 mins each day and we would be grateful if the record could be signed to show that this has taken place. In this way, we hope to enthuse the children and make them realise that books can open up a world of endless possibilities.

Maths

In Maths this term, Years 5 and 6 will continue their Power Maths Learning. 

Year 5 will continue to explore decimals, leading onto percentages so that by the end of these topics, they should be able to:

• recognise and use thousandths and relate them to tenths, hundredths and decimal, percentage and fraction equivalents                                
• compare and order fractions whose denominators are all multiples of the same number            
• read, write, order and compare numbers with up to three decimal places
• round decimals
• recognise the per cent symbol (%) and understand that per cent relates to ‘number of parts per hundred’, and write a percentage as a fraction with denominator 100 as a decimal fraction

Year 6 will explore decimals, percentages and ratios, so that by the end of these topics, they should be able to:

• identify the value of each digit to three decimal places
• multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1 000 where the answers are up to three decimal places
• round any whole number to a required degree of accuracy and solve problems which require answers to be rounded to specified degrees of accuracy
• solve number and practical problems that involve all of the above
• calculate percentages [for example of measures, and such as 15% of 360]
• solve problems involving unequal sharing and grouping, using knowledge of fractions and multiples

During these sessions, the children will be supported to solve a range of question types, including arithmetic and reasoning, in preparation for the Year 6 SATs. They will be encouraged to use a range of manipulatives during these sessions, as well as to use mathematical language to explain their answers.

As the children are now entering the latter part of Key Stage Two, it is even more important that they have a secure understanding of their times tables and can use the four operations to calculate mental arithmetic questions.

You can access TT Rockstars via this link: https://ttrockstars.com/

Wider Learning

This year we will continue to use the ‘Cornerstones Curriculum’ to support our wider learning.

 Our main topic across the next two terms, ‘Frozen Kingdoms’, will teach the children about the geographical characteristics and features of polar regions, including wildlife living at the North and South Poles, and includes a detailed exploration of the environmental factors that shape and influence them. During this work, the children will also gain an insight into early polar exploration and the deadly challenges faced by Ernest Shackleton, as well as follow the ‘Sir David Attenborough’ research ship as it makes its way to Antarctica. 

Science: Circuits

This project teaches children about electrical circuits and their components and how they function. They will recognise how the voltage of cells affects the output of a circuit and record circuits using standard symbols. It also teaches them about programmable devices, sensors and monitoring. They will combine their learning to design and make programmable home devices.

D/T: Engineer

This project teaches children about remarkable engineers and significant bridges; learning to identify features, such as beams, arches and trusses. They will complete a bridge-building engineering challenge to create a bridge prototype.

 Art

This project teaches children about the genre of environmental art. They will study how artists create artwork that addresses social and political issues related to the natural and urban environment. The children will work collaboratively to create artwork with an environmental message.

French: 'En Classe' and 'Chez Moi'

As well as learning a range of conversational phrases, by the end of this unit, pupils will have the knowledge and skills to present both orally and in written form about what they have and do not have in their pencil cases and/or school bag in French. This is a unit that focuses on recycling previously learnt grammar, using it with new vocabulary and having a better understanding of the negative form, demonstrating a growing ability to create independent responses. The childre will then move onto exploring phrases related to life at home.

Computing 

We will continue to follow the ‘Teach Computing’ Curriculum.

R.E 

Our key learning question this term is ‘What does it mean to be a Muslim in Britain today?’ In this unit, the children will learn about the Muslim religion and explore the Five Pillars of Islam and the importance of these to Muslim believers. They will gain a greater understanding of Islam and what they can learn from its beliefs, values and ideas.

PSHE

This term, as part of our whole school celebration of ‘Diversity’, Orca Class will be exploring this and considering stereotypes and prejudice. They will also be participating in an ‘Internet Safety Day’.

 P.E. 

Our P.E day is Monday; please make sure your child comes into school wearing their full P.E. kit on this day. 

This term our P.E. focus is Dance, where the children will complete a full routine to a pop song. Dance involves movements of the body with rhythm, usually to music. Instead of using words, children can use dance as a way of expressing themselves and their feelings. Dance also improves their fitness, gives them better coordination and helps them to connect with other people.

Home Learning

Homework will be set on a Monday (spelling) and Friday (Atom Learning) and is to be completed by the following Friday. This will be set on Google Classroom.

 Each Monday, the children will be set their weekly spellings on Spelling Shed

 As part of their home learning, we encourage children to read every day to support their reading fluency and vocabulary.

Contact us

We are always available on the playground after school if you need to talk! Alternatively, if it is not urgent, you can email the families' email. This email is checked regularly and will be forwarded on to the class team. You can find the email here: families@bethersden.kent.sch.uk

We are looking forward to the exciting term ahead of us!

Orca Class Team