Year 5/6 Blogpost Friday 7th March '26

Year 5/6 Blogpost Friday 6th March

Dear Parents/Carers,
Thank you for all of the effort and thought that has gone into the children's outfits for World Book Day, they looked amazing. We have had another exciting and busy week in Y5/6 which has been made much more bearable by the gorgeous weather. Please could we ask that you check your child's clothing is clearly labelled as they are beginning to peel off layers and leave them around our school - unfortunately, many items have no names, meaning they are now being claimed by other children.

FOREST SCHOOL SESSIONS

Daisy and Manuka class will be unable to have their Forest School session due to our whole school Science Day.

Nightshade class - please remember to wear different clothing and bring a change of shoes.

NIGHTSHADE - Friday 13th March

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Thursday 12th March - Science Day (whole school)
Thursday 12th March - Mother’s Day Cream Tea (after school)
Friday 13th March - PTA Mother’s Day Sale - Please bring money and a bag
Wednesday 18th and Thursday 19th March - Parent/Teacher Consultation Evening
Thursday 26th March - PTA Easter Event/ Easter Disco
Friday 27th March - Last Day of Term/Wellbeing Day

YEAR 5/6 HOMEWORK TASKS
CGP BOOKS PLEASE RETURN BY WEDNESDAY
MATHS
Year 5 Pg 42-43
Year 6 Pg 24-25
ENGLISH
Year 5 Pg 60-61
Year 6 Pg 10-11
Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part, or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home.

• Spelling words - please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down. This week we are up to Spelling rule 58 for Manuka and Nightshade and Rule 56 for Daisy class 

• TTRS/Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

• This weeks times table is: 6's

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend and the sun comes out!
Mrs Hurley, Mr Greenfield and Miss Harvey

Year 5/6 Blog - 27th February 2026

 Dear Parents,

We hope you have had a lovely week. It certainly has been a busy one here in Year 5 and 6.Check out the newsletter for our fabulous photos. 

WORLD BOOK DAY

This year is The National Year of Reading so we will be celebrating World Book Day for the whole day.  Please come in wearing a costume to show your favourite book character. If you do not want to dress up, you can bring your favourite book in or a prop to give us a clue. 
Here is a competition you can take part in: World Book Day Competition
Email publicity@scholastic.co.uk with the header WBD NORA NIGHTSKY explaining why you want to win.
Competition closes: 15 April.

SHROVE TUESDAY

Shrove Tuesday is on 4th March. We learned all about why we eat pancakes in our Thursday assembly. Here is a recipe for you to try - please feel free to send in photos of you and your family enjoying them!

CROSS COUNTRY 

If your child has been selected for the Cross Country competition next week, please make sure that they bring a packed lunch to eat and a spare pair of trainers or football boots to run in. The field tends to get slippery so football boots would be best if you have them!

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Thursday 5th March - World Book Day 
Thursday 12th March - Science Day and Mother's Day Cream Tea
Friday 13th March - Mother's Day Sale
Wednesday 18th March - Parent's evening
Thursday 19th March - Parent's evening
Thursday 26th March - PTA Easter event and Easter disco
Friday 27th March - last day - wellbeing 

YEAR 5/6 HOMEWORK TASKS

CGP BOOKS

MATHS
Year 5 Pg 40

Year 6 Pg 28 & 29

ENGLISH

Year 5 Pg 21 & 22

Year 6 Pg 24 &25

Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home. Please make sure this comes into school every day.

• Spelling words - please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down. This week we are up to Spelling rule 57 for Manuka and Nightshade and Rule 55 for Daisy class 

• Times table practice - next week we are back to multiplying and dividing 12s. Please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down.

• TTRS/ Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Hurley, Mr. Greenfield and Miss Harvey

Year 5/6 Blog - 13th February 2026

 

Year 5/6 Blog - 13th February 2026

 Dear Parents,

We hope you have had a lovely week. It certainly has been a busy one here in Year 5 and 6.Check out the newsletter for our fabulous photos. 

READING

Please make sure your child is reading at home and this is being recorded in their reading record. Reading at home aloud improves fluency and understanding and helps your child to pass their Accelerated Quiz.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labelled if possible. 

**Please bring spare boots or trainers for cross country in PE in Wednesdays**

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Monday 23rd February - INSET Day (school closed)
Thursday 26th February - Daisy and Manuka Forest Schools
Friday 27th February - Nightshade Forest Schools
Thursday 5th March - World Book Day 
Thursday 12th March - Science Day and Mother's Day Cream Tea
Friday 13th March - Mother's Day Sale
Wednesday 18th March - Parent's evening
Thursday 19th March - Parent's evening
Thursday 26th March - PTA Easter event and Easter disco
Friday 27th March - last day - wellbeing 

YEAR 5/6 HOMEWORK TASKS

CGP BOOKS

MATHS
Year 5 Pg 16

Year 6 Pg 31

ENGLISH

Year 5 Pg 31

Year 6 Pg 56+57

Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home. Please make sure this comes into school every day.

• Spelling words - please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down. This week we are up to Spelling rule 56 for Manuka and Nightshade and Rule 54 for Daisy class 

• Times table practice - next week we are back to multiplying and dividing 7s. Please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down.

• TTRS/ Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Hurley, Mr. Greenfield and Miss Harvey

Year 5/6 Blogpost Friday 6th February '26

Dear Parents,

We hope you have had a lovely week. It certainly has been a busy one here in Year 5 and 6. The children have successfully completed their SATs papers - each and every one of them has made so much progress and we are so proud of their efforts! With 9 school weeks to go until the 'real thing', our Year 6 children are definitely confident and nearly ready - keep working hard to achieve your goals!

WEST STOW ANGLO-SAXON VILLAGE

We have had a lovely day today and the children gained so much knowledge about the Anglo-Saxons. Photos to come next week...

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 13th February – Last day of term

Friday 13th February – Wellbeing day

Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February- Half Term Holiday

Monday 23rd February - INSET Day (school closed)

NO HOMEWORK HAS BEEN SET THIS WEEK. ENJOY YOUR REST!

Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home. Please make sure this comes into school every day.

• TTRS/ Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Hurley, Mr. Greenfield and Miss Harvey

Year 5/6 Blog- 30th January 2026

 Dear Parents,

We hope you have had a lovely week. It certainly has been a busy one here in Year 5 and 6. 

Please check the newsletter for our photos and updated news.

This term, we getting stuck into our new project - The Anglo Saxons. We will be learning all about the history of the the Anglo Saxons and their impact on our society today. We are also looking forward to our school trip to West Stow Village in next week. 

WEST STOW ANGLO-SAXON VILLAGE

Please make sure you have read the letter in regards to the trip. We are very excited for what should be a brilliant day!

SCHOOL UNIFORM

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labelled if possible. 

**Please bring spare boots or trainers for cross country in PE in Wednesdays**

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 6th February - West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Visit (Year 5/6)

Friday 13th February – Last day of term

Friday 13th February – Wellbeing day

Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February- Half Term Holiday

Monday 23rd February - INSET Day (school closed)

YEAR 5/6 HOMEWORK TASKS

CGP BOOKS

MATHS
Year 5 Pg 36 + 37

Year 6 Pg 46 +47

ENGLISH
Year 5 Pg 32

Year 6 Pg 13 + 14

Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home. Please make sure this comes into school every day.

• Spelling words - please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down. This week we are up to Spelling rule 54 - Word List 

• Times table practice - next week we are back to multiplying and dividing 8’s. Please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down.

• TTRS/ Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Hurley, Mr. Greenfield and Miss Harvey

Year 5/6 Blogpost Friday 23rd January 2026

 

Year 5/6 Blogpost Friday 23rd January 2026

Dear Parents,

We hope you have had a lovely week. It certainly has been a busy one here in Year 5 and 6. We all had a great Forest School sessions and we have enjoyed learning about the Bayeux Tapestry. If you are looking for somewhere for a family meal, the new Wetherspoons in Basildon town has beautiful artwork all around that was inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry so definitely worth a look.

Please check the newsletter for our photos and updated news.

This term, we getting stuck into our new project - The Anglo Saxons. We will be learning all about the history of the the Anglo Saxons and their impact on our society today. We are also looking forward to our school trip to West Stow Village in February. 

WEST STOW ANGLO-SAXON VILLAGE

We are very much looking forward to the trip to West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. Thank you to all the parents who have signed and returned the slips. We can't wait for such an exciting trip.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labelled if possible. 

**Please bring spare boots or trainers for cross country in PE in Wednesdays**

WHOLE SCHOOL SUMDOG COMPETITION

Calling all of you amazing mathematicians! 

You have been entered into the East of England Sumdog Competition. It starts on 26 Jan, 8:00am and ends on 30 Jan, 12:00pm

Why not have a go and get your class on the school leaderboard?

I will be monitoring how well each class is doing. The winning class will get extra playtime!

Let's show our school what great mathematicians we are!

Good luck.

Mrs Hurley 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Friday 6th February - West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Visit (Year 5/6)

Friday 13th February – Last day of term

Friday 13th February – Wellbeing day

Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February- Half Term Holiday

Monday 23rd February - INSET Day (school closed)

YEAR 5/6 HOMEWORK TASKS

CGP BOOKS

MATHS
Year 5 Pg 25

Year 6 Pg 36+37

ENGLISH
Year 5 Pg 28+29

Year 6 Pg 92+93

Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home. Please make sure this comes into school every day.

• Spelling words - please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down. This week we are up to Spelling rule 52 - Homophones and other words that are often confused.

• Times table practice - next week we are back to multiplying and dividing 12’s. Please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down.

• TTRS/ Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Hurley, Mr. Greenfield and Miss Harvey

Year 5/6 Blogpost Friday 16th January '26

Dear Parents,

Happy Friday! We have successfully week two of the Spring term at Down Hall Primary School. We hope that you all had a wonderful week and are now ready for the weekend ahead!

This term, we are all looking forward to getting stuck in to our new project, The Anglo Saxons. We will be learning all about the history of the the Anglo Saxons and their impact on our society today. We are also looking forward to our school trip to West Stow Village in February. 

WEST STOW ANGLO-SAXON VILLAGE

We are very much looking forward to the trip to West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village. Thank you to all the parents who have signed and returned the slips. If you have not yet returned it, please make sure that you have returned your signed slip to give permission for your child attending the trip by the end of next week. If you need a copy, please send a dojo and we will get a copy for you.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

It has become apparent that some of the children are beginning to wear items of clothing that are not within our school uniform policy. Could you please make sure that the children are dressed in the correct clothing (including shoes), labelled if possible. 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Wednesday 21st January – SATs Booster Club begins (Year 6)

Thursday 22nd January – Dance festival

Friday 6th February - West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village Visit (Year 5/6)

Friday 13th February – Last day of term

Friday 13th February – Wellbeing day

Monday 16th February - Friday 20th February- Half Term Holiday

Monday 23rd February - INSET Day (school closed)

YEAR 5/6 HOMEWORK TASKS

CGP BOOKS

MATHS
Year 5 Pg 6-7

Year 6 Pg 34-35

ENGLISH
Year 5 Pg 38

Year 6 Pg 49

Please also ensure that your child is regularly:

• Reading: Remember 15-20 minutes reading to an adult every day is the optimum and should be continuing into Year 6. Please also encourage your child to read by themselves and then discuss the text afterwards, sharing opinions, their favourite part or questioning what happened so as to ensure that your child is understanding the text as well as reading it. All children have a Reading record to take home.

• Spelling words - please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down. This week we are up to Spelling rule 52- Homophones

• Times table practise - next week we are back to multiplying and dividing 7’s. Please practise these at home by revising them from your spelling and times table notebook and by writing them down.

• TTRS/Sumdog - lots of practice on these amazing programmes that complement what we learn at school. Please see your reading diaries for login details.

We hope that you have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs Hurley, Mr Greenfield and Mrs Witherall