Year Five Handbook

HEADMASTER’S INTRODUCTION I am delighted to introduce the Year 5 Parents’ Guide, in which we aim to tell you more about what the school sets out to achieve, and how to accomplish this. The guide begins by setting out our mission and vision for the school, a list of ideals to which we aspire. The guide contains sections describing the structure of Year 5, the curriculum and the wide-ranging extra-curricular opportunities on offer. I would also like to draw your attention to the website where you will find other useful information regarding your child’s education and well-being whilst they are at RGS The Grange, including the full Parents’ Handbook. Close contact between home and school is an important factor in ensuring a child’s school years are both happy and fulfilling, and I hope you will feel free to contact me or any other member of staff should you have a matter of concern. I wish you and your child a very happy association with RGS The Grange and with RGS Worcester.

Gareth Hughes Headmaster

RGS The Grange: Guide for Year 5 Parents

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SCHOOL’S MISSION AND VISION Our Mission RGS The Grange strives to enable all children to achieve full potential in all their educational, social, physical and emotional needs, and to create an environment to foster a caring, sharing sense of community involving all members of the school: children, staff, parents and governors. Our Vision - Through excitement and challenge, children at RGS The Grange develop

a joy of learning in an inspirational environment. - Children experience a sense of beauty, awe and wonder. - They are given opportunities to acquire a sense of responsibility within

the community, and to nurture a compassionate and respectful attitude towards others.

- Children develop their moral values by gaining attitudes of sensitivity,

fairmindedness, and honesty. - There are opportunities to develop a sense of individuality, to increase

their self-esteem and to take pride in themselves and their achievements. - Children learn both independently and co-operatively and acquire the

lifelong skills of perseverance, communication and initiative. - They experience physical and mental well-being through leading a

healthy lifestyle.


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Welcome to Year 5

The class teachers in Year 5 are: Mr R Scase, Mr R Millard and Miss K Singleton. Throughout this academic year, and under-pinning all its elements, is the desire to assist and steer the children towards becoming more independent and organised individuals, to become more self-reliant and to learn how to cope with increased personal and group responsibilities.

The Curriculum

The primary aim of the RGS The Grange curriculum is to provide opportunities for the children to be taught so that they become active, moral, fulfilled, confident and happy citizens of the 21st century and to ensure a smooth transition into the next stage of their education. All pupils have appropriate entitlement to all aspects of a curriculum that will be broad, balanced, differentiated, rigorous, relevant to pupils’ needs and contribute to their academic, personal, spiritual, moral, cultural and social development. The curriculum at RGS The Grange is aimed to surpass the National Curriculum and to meet the requirements of the Senior School, RGS Worcester. It is enriched by a special emphasis on achievement in the performing arts and sport, as well as a wide range of other opportunities. It is also supported by specialist teachers in various subjects.

Main Areas of Academic Study in Year 5 The pupils will be set for Mathematics early in the Michaelmas term. There will be 3 Mathematics sets. These settings will be regularly monitored and children moved where appropriate. All other subjects (other than Games) are taught in classes. French will be taught by a French specialist, throughout Years 5 and 6. The main topic areas of academic study for 2013-14 are as follows. English: Traditional Stories, Instructions, Shakespeare, Poetry, Significant Writers, Classic & Narrative Poetry, Recounts, Older Literature, Film Narrative, Comprehension & Grammar work, Literacy for Life Spelling. Mathematics: Place Value, Rules of Number, Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Problem Solving, Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Multiplying


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Decimals, Dividing Decimals, Coordinates, Averages, Factors, Negative Numbers. Science: Habitats, ID Keys, Adaptation, Food Chains, Food Webs, Sound, Light, Materials and their Properties, Micro-organisms, Decay, Microscopes, Mould, Forces. History: The Tudors, The Stuarts, The Aztecs. Geography: Water, Tropical Rainforests, Oceans & Seas, Drought, Atlas/Map Skills, Our Local Area, Traffic Problems, Independent Investigation, Coasts, European Human and Physical Geography. ICT: Website Design and Creation, Spreadsheets, Modelling Effects on Screen, Graphic Modelling, Animation Project. D&T: Powered Trolleys, Puppet Project, Bread. Art: Textiles, Exploring and Developing Ideas, Kandinsky, Heraldry, Pointilism, Seurat, Pencil Sketching, Perspective and Vanishing Point, 3D Objects, Lowry. PSHE: Working Together, Relationships, Valuing Differences, Citizenship, Family, Stereotypes, Fear, Loneliness, Behaviour, Feelings, Being a European Citizen. RE: Faiths in Britain, Judaism, Christmas, Easter, Islam, The Qur’an, Christianity. FRENCH: Recap year 4 work, General revision of personal and general information and geography, Describing hair and eyes, illness and feelings, Visiting the doctor, hemist, Clothes and fashion, House and home and furniture, Likes and dislikes, Seasonal topics. MUSIC: Tudor Music/Improvisation, Preparation for Carol Service, Study of set work/reading from score, Detailed study of composer, Class ensemble playing/compositions. P.E.: Movement skills and games, Ball games, Gymnastics, Racket Games, Athletics. In most subjects the areas of study will be based on the relevant sections of the National Curriculum and The Independent Curriculum. Individual pupil targets will be set and discussed at the Parents’ Evening in the Michaelmas Term and reviewed in the Lent term. In May the children will take tests in English, Mathematics, Spelling, Reading and Cognitive Ability, to measure their progress.


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Parents’ Evenings and Reports

Parents’ Evenings are held halfway through the Michaelmas and Lent Terms and are an opportunity for you to talk with your child’s class teacher about their progress. Within these discussions, we will share with you your child’s ‘attitudes to learning’ – a positive and organized approach will help ensure your child fulfills their potential during their time with us. This year we are revising the way we report to parents. Our aim is to give you far more information about how your child is progressing as well as giving you an indication of the level of effort we feel your child is putting into their work.

All children will receive an Interim Report at the end of the Michaelmas and Lent term and a full written report at the end of the academic year. These will contain effort and attainment grades in all subjects, as well as teacher comments.

The School Day

The beginning of the day Children may enter the school from 8:00 am onwards. On arrival the children should go to their classroom, put their bag in the cloakroom and hang their blazer on their peg. They should then go straight outside on to the playground for a supervised play session (weather permitting). Breakfast Club Breakfast Club is available daily to help parents who need to drop their children off before the school day officially begins at 8:40am. Parents know that their child will be offered a nutritional and fulfilling breakfast to set them up for the day. Breakfast is available in the dining hall from 8:00am - 8:20am and Pupils can buy breakfast credits in advance from the School's Reception. All the menu choices are £1.00 and credits can be bought and topped up at any time. All the children sit and eat together, usually with the radio playing, meaning they are then able to enjoy a relaxed and quiet start to the day in a friendly environment. Registration At 8:35 am all children should go to their classroom to register. This is an opportunity for children to hand in letters, show any notes from parents in homework diaries and hear other notices for the day from the class teacher. If your child arrives late, please ensure that you inform the School Office so that they may adjust the register.


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Absence If your child is to be absent through illness, please phone the School Office between 8.00am and 9.00am. Please also send in a written note explaining the reason for absence on your child’s return to school. Any medication, which may be necessary after your child returns, must be handed in to the School Nurse.

We encourage you, wherever possible, to arrange visits to the doctor or dentist out of school hours. Only the Headmaster may legally give permission for pupils to be absent from school for a valid reason except illness. Permission to miss school for a holiday or other reason should be sought in writing from the Headmaster, although it is preferred that family holidays will not take place during term time.

The timetable The school day proceeds as follows: 08:50 – Assembly 09:10 – Periods 1 & 2 10:10 – Morning break 10:40 – Periods 3,4,5 & 6 12:40 – Lunch 13:45 – Afternoon registration & reading 14:00 – Periods 7,8 & 9 15:35 – School ends 15:45 – Clubs start 16:45 – Clubs end (After school care starts) 18:00 – School closes Break times Water, milk and fruit are provided for mid-morning break but children may bring in their own light snack, if they prefer (no sweets, chocolate, crisps or fizzy drinks please). At lunch time children have a choice of a hot dinner or a salad. As well as traditional puddings, fruit and yoghurt are available every day. The weekly menu is published on the school website and is displayed outside the dining room. All children go outside on to the playground, astro turf or field for break (weather permitting). If children wish to play Football or other sports in break time, they are expected to change their school shoes for training shoes (and to change back at the end of break). They must not use their white PE trainers for this purpose. We strongly recommend that all children have their school fleece and waterproof in school every day in case of cold or showery weather.


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End of school Lessons finish at 3:35 pm and the children can be met outside the front entrance of the school; unless they are staying for a club, homework or after-school care. Clubs After school clubs normally run from 3:45 to 4:45 pm. Children not collected at the end of a club will join After School Care. If a club is cancelled the children will be notified of this with as much advance notice as possible. If it is cancelled before 1.45 pm on the day (for example due to bad weather), the school will endeavour to contact parents via text message so that they can rearrange pick-up time, as necessary. After 1.45 pm, no calls home will be made and the children will be supervised by the teacher whose club has been cancelled. If your child is unable to attend a club on a particular day they are expected to notify the teacher concerned. Homework Club For those not participating in an organised club, there is a supervised homework club running from 3:45 to 4:45 pm in the Dining Hall or upstairs in the Art, DT & Science rooms. After signing in, the children go outside (weather permitting) for a break, after which they will have a supervised silent homework session. After School Care (5 pm – 6 pm daily) Due to increasing numbers of children in After School Care, it is now necessary to book a REGULAR place for your child in advance for each half-term. A small number of emergency places are available on a first come, first served basis and must be booked by 3 pm on the day in question. After School Care runs from 5 pm to 6 pm every day. Please note that a penalty will be charged at a rate of £20 per 15 minutes for any child remaining after this time. Please, as a matter of urgency, contact the School Office on 01905 451205 or the After School Care Team on 07785 376883 if you are unavoidably delayed. When you collect from either a club, homework or after school care, please ensure that you sign your child out.

Homework Children will be set 1 subject for homework a day; it should take no more than 30 minutes to complete.


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Children will be expected to record their homework in their homework diary, which should be signed by parents, preferably each day, or at the very least once per week, to verify that the homework has been completed. If for some reason homework has not been completed, please write a note in the homework diary and the piece of work can be completed at another time. Assistance with homework may be provided but where possible, please encourage your child to work independently. The children will, for the majority of their subjects, be expected to hand their homework in promptly the morning after it has been set.

Home/School Communication

We believe that many problems and issues can be solved quickly and easily through good channels of communication between home and school. The Homework Diary can be used by parents to pass on written notes, comments, and questions - please remind your child to show these to their teacher! If you wish to see the form teacher urgently please come to the form room, having notified the front desk. Before 8:35am and immediately after 3:35pm are usually appropriate times for brief conversations. If more time is necessary an appointment to meet the teacher can always be made through the School Office. Staff can be contacted via email at the following addresses: Mr Scase : [email protected] Mr R Millard: [email protected] Miss Singleton: [email protected]

Swimming, Games & P.E.

Swimming Children in Year 5 will be swimming in the Trinity term at Droitwich Swimming Pool. Goggles and swimming hats may be worn. Games (Please refer to our Physical Education Policy, which can be downloaded from the School web site). All kit should be brought to school on Monday and taken home for washing on Friday. Boys’ and girls’ reversible shirts are now to be worn. Boys and girls are required to have navy blue shorts, navy blue socks and shin pads for Football, Hockey and Rugby. It is essential that they also have football boots and a gum


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shield. Please provide a separate plastic bag in which to store boots and trainers. PE For PE lessons all children must wear white shorts, white socks, with a white PE shirt or a polo shirt in their house colours, and predominantly white non-marking trainers. Please note that boys should not wear boxer shorts as underwear for Games or PE lessons. Girls should ensure that their hair is tied back securely and no jewellery is to be worn. ALL ITEMS OF KIT, EQUIPMENT AND SPORTS BAGS MUST BE CLEARLY NAMED. A TAG OF SOME DESCRIPTION WOULD BE USEFUL TO IDENTIFY YOUR CHILD’S BAG. Sports Fixtures A list of fixtures will appear in the calendar at the beginning of each term. A squad will be selected based on performances in lessons and, when appropriate, in after-school clubs. The emphasis in many instances will be towards selection of the strongest teams. Where possible, fixtures for a B and C teams will allow more children the opportunity to represent the school. Please note: if your child is absent from school through illness the day before a match they will not be eligible for selection for the match. If they are away for a planned reason (for example an appointment or family event), please notify the games teacher concerned so that your child can remain eligible for selection. Mr Bousfield, The Director of Sport, can be contacted via email at [email protected].

Music & Drama All children are invited to take part in various concerts and productions that take place throughout the year. The Senior Choir will sing during the Carol Service at Worcester Cathedral in December. All children have the opportunity to learn other instruments on a one-to-one basis at an additional cost from visiting specialist teachers, and we are very keen for them to do this. We are able to organise tuition in most instruments (piano, strings, woodwind, brass and voice): please contact Mrs Corrie via email to arrange instrumental lessons. We hold regular informal concerts (usually half-termly) for children learning an instrument to perform in front of friends and family. Mrs Corrie, Head of Music, can be contacted at [email protected]


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Mobile Telephones It is recommended that no mobile phones, including camera phones or iPods, be brought to school. Children are not allowed to walk around school wearing headphones or earpieces. Pupils needing mobile phones for their journey to and from school must leave their phone at the office on arrival where it will be stored safely until collected at the end of the day. The school cannot accept responsibility for any items that the pupils do not hand in for safe keeping. Pupils are always able to ask office staff to contact parents during the day should an urgent need arise.

Internet safety Could we please draw your attention to the CEOPS website, a wonderful resource for parents to help protect our children online – a link can be found on the front page of our website (www.rgsw.org.uk). Both school and parents have a responsibility to educate our children about ‘Internet safety’. This website serves as a very effective tool to keep abreast of current practice. We would strongly encourage you to take a look at it.

Trips & Other Activities One of the highlights of the year for all children are the residential trips and visits. There will be a three night residential trip to Edale Activities Centre in the Peak District, including visiting the Lowry Centre in Manchester during the Trinity Term. During the year the children will have the opportunity to visit ‘ThinkTank’, Birmingham, and experience a range of interactive and fascinating activities linked to the Science curriculum and beyond. The children will also take part in a Lego Construction workshop and work with a team of visiting artists as well as participating in the excellent ‘Shakespeare4Kids’ production. Other trips and guests will be planned, where opportunities arise, to extend children’s learning experiences in and outside of the classroom environment.


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Documents

Year Five Handbook