Welcome to the Unit 3 web page 

Here you will find copies of our unit newsletters and dates for your diaries! We also hope you enjoy looking at what the children have been learning about each term.

Unit Leader - Miss Warren

Class Teachers 

Mr McLarnon - Holcombe Year 5

Mrs Feeney - Luscombe Year 5

Mrs Cleaver & Mrs Hearn - Belvedere Year 6

Miss Warren - Eastdon Year 6

Contact us via Seesaw, School Gateway app or

📧 admin@westcliff.org.uk
 

Summer Term 2

Wow! The 2022-2023 academic year has flown by and Unit 3 have achieved so much!

Year 5 took part in the Chicago Bears NFL Mini monsters school tour 2023. Dawlish College were one of only 5 schools in the whole of the UK to be chosen and they kindly invited Westcliff along to take part in the day. Coaches from the USA and student helpers from Dawlish College coached the children through a series of NFL style drills with the emphasis on teamwork and participation. All the children came away with official t-shirts and signed autographs from former NFL player Kaseem Sinceno and a great day was had by all!

In DT we have been learning about healthy food swaps and seasonal foods as preparation to design our own healthy snacks. The children prepared, tasted and rated a variety of seasonal foods. Radish and Peas were our least favourite with Peaches, Raspberries and Strawberries coming out on top.

Year 5 have been lucky enough to see two productions this half term. The first one at the Shaftesbury Theatre was our year 6 children performing their end of year production ‘Charlie and the chocolate factory’. The second was a performance of Guys and Dolls by students at Dawlish College. The performances were both excellent and inspired some children to start thinking ahead to this time next year when they will be preparing for their own production.

Year 6 have had their two night residential with Spirit of Adventure. Within this week, we saw teamwork, courage, encouragement and enthusiasm. Every opportunity was seized throughout the week and the confidence and smiles were a pleasure to see. Similarly, during the production Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Year 6 worked incredibly hard to produce props, scenery and to develop their acting skills. The outcome was amazing and pupils should be very proud of the parts that they played in this!

In English, Year 6 continued to impress us with their writing where we focused on the story of Alice in Wonderland. At the beginning of the unit, there was some excellent acting and Imovies created to retell the story.

All that is left to say is, goodbye and good luck to our amazing year 6’s. We hope that you look back on your time at Westcliff with positive and happy memories. We hope you're proud of your achievements and excited for your next set of opportunities!

Summer Term 1

Summer term is flying by and Year 5 and 6 have both had very busy half-terms! Year 6 should be incredibly proud of how hard they have worked and the mature attitude they showed on the run up to SATs and the week itself. Year 6 were fortunate to be able to work alongside an artist from The Helen Foundation, where the children explored emotions through different mediums. In computing, we have looked at how to design an app and the target audience for an app which followed on from our Spring term unit. In writing, the children have continued to make great progress and we are now working with the book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them. There has also been lots of practical learning in science, where children have explored the circulatory system and the important role it plays in the body.

Year 5 had a fantastic day at the Devon County Show where they had the opportunity to explore lots of stands which showcased future opportunities. It was great to see all the children getting involved with the different activities. Children also had the opportunity to get involved with bike ability and are now have the knowledge needed for road cycling. A virtual reality workshop has explained the importance of staying safe online and highlighted the different feelings we may encounter when using the internet. Year 5 have also been lucky enough to have workshops with Exeter Chiefs where they have had tag-rugby coaching and learnt about healthy eating. In English, Year 5 designed their own invention and explained how to use it based on Wallace and Gromit Cracking Contraptions. In History, Year 5 have learnt about Ancient Greece and explored Greek Gods.

Spring 💐 Term 2

Spring term has flown by in Unit 3 this term.

Year 5 have really enjoyed their swimming sessions at the leisure centre and it has been a joy to watch pupils develop their swimming skills and become more water confident. They have also experienced a cricket coaching session. In English, Year 5 have been writing poems based on The Magic Box and have worked really hard to mirror the features that they have learnt about. We have been very impressed with Year 5s sewing skills where they have created some fantastic drawstring bags! In Science, we have completed some experiments to separate mixtures and learn about how more complex mixtures could be separated as well as how some can't be separated.

Year 6 have been exploring the meaning of Fairtrade in DT and we have been working in groups to bake cookies. We have considered the quantities of ingredients and the costings that go alongside this. We have had to apply our knowledge of ratio to complete this. In Art we have started learning about M.C Escher and how he used maths within his artwork. In English we have been exploring The Lost Words Spell book which is a series of poems written as spells to uncover lost words. Pupils worked really hard in this unit and there were some fantastic poems in the same style. We are really proud of how hard Year 6 pupils have worked this term to achieve so much and make so much progress in their recent practice SATS papers. We have no doubts all children will make themselves proud in the Summer term. Year 6 have also worked alongside a TCS teacher in a Music unit. They have explored different percussion instruments and the four strands of composing, listening, performing and appraising.

Spring 💐 Term 1

In Year 5, we have been learning about the Ancient Kingdom of Benin. We have been learning about where this is in the world and how they lived. We have been thinking like historians using a variety of sources to gather our information. In our Art lessons, we have been using clay to create Benin masks. Children persevered well with this and really thought carefully about their designs. In maths, we have been learning about area and perimeter and have measured the perimeter of lots of different shapes and sizes and considered what unit of measure would be best for each shape.

In Year 6, we had a busy half term with lots of opportunities to develop our understanding of how the past influences the present. In history, we have been learning about democracy and the suffrage movement. Both classes were really interested in how these changes were made through protests in the early 1900s. In English, we have been writing suspense stories and we have been so impressed with the descriptive language that has been used within the stories. In French, we have worked really hard on developing our pronunciation and being able to give opinions - there have been lots of brilliant sentences being created.

Thursday 16th March, 23rd March and 30th March - Year 5 Swimming Swimming booking Form

* Tuesday 9th - Friday 12th May - Year 6 SATs

* Wednesday 28th June - Year 6 Production @ The Shaftesbury Theatre in the evening

* Monday 3rd - Friday 7th July - Year 6 Residential - Please keep up with the payment plan on Parentpay

*Important dates to note for Year 6

Group 1 - 3-5 July 2023
Group 2 - 5-7 July 2023

The centre is run by a team of fully qualified staff, who are experienced in outdoor educational activities.  The programme which the schools follow will be led by members of this team, as well as the teachers who will accompany each party.

During their three day residential, pupils will undertake a full and varied programme. 
https://www.spirit-of-adventure.com/schools/

Autumn 🍂 Term 2
Wow! What a busy term Unit 3 have had.

In English, Year 6 have retold the story of the Christmas Day Truce and this has linked with our learning in History about World War II and our DT learning where we investigated free standing structures and created Anderson shelters. In Maths, we have explored shapes and practically explored 3D and 2D shapes with Polydron. We have also explored how to calculate the area and perimeter of shapes. Year 6 have also had an eco workshop where they explored the meaning of sustainability and what products and materials were sustainable as well as an Anti-bullying workshop. In French, both year groups have been revising how to introduce themselves and numbers from 1 -31 and we have seen brilliant progress in their acquisition of a new language!

Year 5 have had an exciting term connecting with our local secondary schools. They have been to Dawlish College to watch a Christmas performance and had a TCS teacher in to complete a music and drama workshop linking to the production Matilda. Year 5 have also explored the book Never-believe where they showcased their Oracy skills when discussing their survival tactics on an unknown island and encountering unknown animals. In Science, Year 5 have been exploring forces through a parachute investigation and identifying which forces were present as they released their parachutes.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Trinity Dragons Den
Year 6 had the opportunity to enter a Dragon's Den competition lead by Trinity School. All pupils created a design for a sustainable toy in groups of up to six. These designs were then shared with Trinity and three teams were lucky enough to get shortlisted to present their idea to the dragons! The three teams created a Powepoint presentation which outlined their idea, the materials and sizing, their target market and costings and presented this to the dragons where they also had to answer questions posed by the dragons. All teams did brilliantly and one team won the competition!

Their design was the Eiffel Tower toy and the teachers at Trinity created a prototype which they have now shared with us! Well done to all the teams that entered!

Autumn 🍂 Term 1

Unit 3 have had a brilliant start to the term! In Year 5, in English we have been learning about biographies. After looking at a variety of biographies and autobiographies we have written a biography of our own based upon the history of the Lego company and founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen .We have continued to enjoy our visits from our French teacher and have learnt greetings, numbers and how to say when our Birthday is. The different actions our French teacher has taught us are helping us to remember numbers up to 20! In Geography we have looked at earth and the different climate zones and biomes that make up our planet. We have also started to think about what we can do to protect our precious planet.

In Year 6, we have produced some fantastic narratives to end the story 'Journey'. There have been so many creative ideas and a pleasure to read. In Art, we have been making decisions and considering different lines and tones, as well as exploring different mediums such as oil pastel and pencil. In Geography, we are beginning to look at two contrasting continents of South America and Asia. We are using our geographical knowledge from year 5 to identify key physical features in the continents and will be looking more specifically at countries within the continents.

Don’t forget to check your Family Seesaw account for class activities and announcements. If you need a new family/home learning QR code or would like to add another family member please contact the school office.

📧 admin@westcliff.org.uk