Welcome to the Saturn Class page!

Saturn class is a mix of year 5 and year 6 children.

Ms Smith is our class teacher but Mrs Tickle takes us for Forest School sessions and Mrs Griffiths teaches us on Friday mornings. We are also supported by Miss Preston and Mrs Wiseman (TAs).

The ethos of our class is to develop confident and independent individuals who are ready to tackle the challenges of school life and be active citizens in the wider world. Through high expectations and adaptive teaching to meet individual needs, we nurture personal and academic progress for children.

On this page, you can find updates about our learning and special activities that we take part in.

Saturn Class 2023.2024

Summer Term

Week ending 19/04/24

What a productive first week back this has been!

The children consolidated their maths learning relating to angles on a straight line and around a point. The year fives have also revisited properties of 2D and 3D shapes, whilst the year sixes practised converting between metric units of measure and solving calculations relating to this. The children also enjoyed a fluency afternoon, whereby we focused on times tables facts and applying them to problem solving scenarios, as well as Times Table Rock Star battles. We currently have a TTRS class competition running against Jupiter - the winning class will be announced next week!

In English, we have spent some time revisiting word classes and have been applying this to our explanation text writing. Next week, we'll be moving on to writing about dragons!

The year sixes have also been getting stuck in to their SATs preparations in school, with children having extra 1:1 and small group sessions to ensure that they're as prepared as they can be.

Spring Term

Week ending 22/03/24

Saturn class have had lots of fun with science the past two weeks. In British science week, the children designed and completed their own investigations relating to biscuits - some experimented with their suitability as building materials, whilst others tested to see which was the most resistant to dunking. This week, we used fruit and sports equipment to create a scale-model of the solar system on the playground. 

In maths, we have been continuing to use formulas to calculate the areas of shapes, and the year six children have also been practising finding the volume of cuboids.

In English, we have been writing about an object that is special to us, as part of our work on 'The Viewer'. 

Week ending 08/03/24

We've had a busy week of assessments, finishing our newspaper reports about the death of Macbeth, swimming and exciting writing. For PSHE, many of the class enjoyed writing recipes for creating loving relationships. 

The highlight of this week has been World Book Day. The children all looked fabulous in their costumes and I especially love their decorated spoons. We shared 'The Black Book of Colours' and then began creating our own book of tastes. The children experienced a range of interesting foods (including lemons, sherbet, extra mature cheddar and anchovies) and then thought of creative ways to describe them. We hope you enjoy the photos!

Next week, we will look through the completed assessment papers together so the children can see their progress and areas for development. 

Week ending 16/02/24

This week, to finish our work on Macbeth, we have become journalists, reporting on the Battle of Dunsinane. We have explored using quotations, passive voice and relative clauses. The children have thoroughly enjoyed our work on Shakespeare. After half term, we will be writing explanation texts - we will be exploiting links to topic for this by explaining the water cycle.

In maths, we have been focusing on statistics - reading information from line graphs, bar charts and timetables. We've found that it's a lot harder to present information than it is to read it!

We have also been finding out about biomes in our topic work, thinking about persuasive design to finish our Safer Internet Day work, and the year 5s have been learning about taxes.

Have a lovely half-term break!

Week ending 26/01/24

This week in maths, the year 6 children have been resilient in their work on algebra. Many of them entered the classroom with preconceived notions of algebra being terrifying, but that was a myth that we quickly dispelled. They learnt about how unknown values can be expressed in equations and how both sides of equations must stay balanced. The year 5s continued to work with fractions, specifically looking at different methods to find fractions of amounts. They worked together on problem solving activities and used reasoning to justify their mathematical thinking.

We had another successful week in the swimming pool - the children are continuing to show us their very best. They have been listening to feedback and we're already seeing progress. It was also lovely to see the class enjoying gymnastics in the hall today with Mrs Griffiths. They were moving around stations, practising a range of rolls. 

In English, we've utilised drama to explore emotions before writing a persuasive argument as either the 'devil' or 'angel' on Macbeth's shoulder, to encourage him to make a choice about his actions. We wonder what actions Macbeth will take next.

Week ending 19/01/24

What a busy week for Saturn class!

Year 6 started the week with their first SATs booster session. We enjoyed being able to work in small groups to target specific areas of learning that the children needed more practise on. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm looking forward to more of the fantastic attitudes to learning that the year 6 children came to this week's session with.

On Tuesday, Saturn class had their first swimming lesson of the term. The children behaved beautifully, followed instructions, worked really hard and had fun. 

In maths, the year 5 children have been working on written methods for multiplication and division, whilst the year 6s learnt about ratios and their relationships to fractions. Macbeth continued to be the focus for our English lessons, with the children characterising speech between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, as well as using the text to make inferences about characters.

The majority of year 6 visited the O2 arena on Thursday and took part in the Young Voices concert. By all accounts, it was a fantastic day and the children thoroughly enjoyed an amazing experience.

Obviously, Friday was an interesting end to the week, with children and staff being at KPA for the day. Those that made it in joined Rowan class for the day, including for their PE lesson with Mrs Griffiths. Let's hope that all's back to normal on Monday!

Week ending 12/01/24

This week, Saturn class continued with their learning about fractions - the year fives were looking at adding and subtracting fractions, whilst the year sixes progressed to multiplying and dividing fractions. Next week, we are revisiting multiplication and division with the year fives, and moving on to ratio with the year sixes.

In English, we began exploring Macbeth. Initially, we focused on writing complex sentences to describe the witches before using these to write a narrative of the first scene in which they met Macbeth and Banquo. 

Our excited (yet nervous) year sixes spent time preparing and rehearsing for next week's visit to the O2 - they are sounding great. They have another afternoon of preparations next week before the big event. We are also looking forward to starting our swimming lessons next week. 

Autumn Term

Week ending 24/11/23

What a busy week of assessments, fruit tasting, science investigations and stop-motion animation this was!

• The children finished their investigations relating to reflection, which were focused on the relationship between rays of incidence and rays of reflections.

• They tasted exotic fruits for our English work, which was inspired by 'The Boy at the Back of the Class', whereby the narrator tasted pomegranate for the first time. The children will be using their experiences to write their own description about the fruit they tasted.

• The children's first attempts at using technology to create stop-motion animations can be found in the art gallery. Watch this space for their final projects!

Week ending 10/11/23

CAREERS WEEK!

Saturn class have had an informative and exciting week. We've been lucky enough to have a number of visitors into school to talk to us about their careers and occupations; we've learnt about agronomy, plumbing, midwifery, civil service and the fire service. A visitor from the University of Cambridge joined us on Friday morning and of course we had our whole school trip to ZidZania. All the notes that we've made will be used for writing an information text.

In maths, the children have continued to delve into multiplication and division, specifically exploring prime, squared and cubed numbers. We will be continuing with this into next week, along with our English tasks, where we have been exploring one of the main themes from our class book (The Boy at the Back of the Class).

Week ending 20/10/23

What a busy couple of weeks for Saturn class!

Last week, we celebrated all of our children receiving roles of responsibility - we know that they will make us proud.

We celebrated Harvest at church, where the children read and sang beautifully.

In science, the children have been physicists - they devised an investigation that would prove that light travels in straight lines. They also began to consider ways of exploring rays of incidence and reflection, so that they can make observations and explain the relationships between them.

The year 6 sports crew finished their sports leadership training on Friday; I know they're eager to put their new skills to use. Friday was also scary hair day! We hope you enjoy the photos...

Week ending 06/10/23

Saturn and Rowan classes came together this week for a fantastic visit from the Cromwell Museum in Huntingdon. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning about the causes of the Civil War and what it was like to be a Civil War soldier. 

On Wednesday, the year six children made short speeches to their houses, hoping to persuade them to vote for them to be House Captains. Then, on Thursday, all of Saturn class excitedly hand-delivered their application letters to Mrs Whiting. The house captains and roles of responsibility will be announced in next week's celebration assembly. 

Week ending 29/09/23

This term so far in maths, the children in Saturn class have been working on improving their knowledge of place value; they have been comparing, ordering and rounding numbers, as well as increasing and decreasing numbers by powers of 10. Next week, we will be moving on to addition and subtraction.

We finished our persuasive letters this week.  All that's left is to write them in neat and deliver them to Mrs Whiting; we'll be announcing the roles of responsibility soon!

The year fives enjoyed meeting Stephen Seagull this week, whilst they we're showing me what they can already do in French. For those of you who don't know, Stephen joins us for our French lessons and helps the children with their learning. He's a puppet - but don't tell the children that!

On Friday morning, our year sixes took part in a 'cool choices' workshop with the year six children from KPA. They began by thinking about the small choices we all make everyday, and how these can lead in to bigger choices. They thought about the factors that influence our choices - our own thoughts and feelings, peers, family, advertising, celebrities, social media - and potential consequences of these choices. 

Week ending 22/09/23

This week, in our English lessons, the children have been practising using the subjunctive form, modal verbs, superlatives and persuasive devices, ready for letter writing. Next week, they will be writing to Mrs Whiting, to apply for roles of responsibility within the school. 

Medieval knights and peasants have been the focus of our topic lessons. The children researched a lot of information about them in order to produce a non-chronological report and a more creative piece of writing in a 'Horrible Histories' style. We've reached the conclusion that you wouldn't want to be either!

On Wednesday, half of Saturn class took part in a Faith Tour: visiting a mosque and a gurdwara in Bedford. I've been told that it was a really enjoyable day - the children particularly liked having the chance to experience these places of worship first-hand.

The year fives had their first Forest School afternoon of this academic year. Mrs Tickle must have been very impressed by their attitude and behaviour, as they all earnt themselves two house points! I wonder if the year sixes will do as well next week...

On Friday morning, the year six children enjoyed another successful training session, and are all well on their way to becoming excellent sports leaders - the younger children are already enjoying the games and activities that are being set up for them at lunchtimes.

Week ending 08/09/23

Welcome back to school! Our new year six children are looking fantastically smart and proud (and suddenly much older!) in their blue uniforms. They have made a responsible start to the year and are already setting an excellent example for the rest of the school. The year fives have stepped up to the challenge of being amongst the oldest children in the school and I predict that we will have an exceptional year.

This week has been creative week and Great Staughton children have all been examining 'In Our Hands' by Lucy Farfort. In Saturn Class, we have analysed and explored the text and illustrations, focusing on our inference skills. We have embraced the theme of creating change in communities, and have thought about ways of improving the school environment as well as how we might spark change in the the wider world. We have taken inspiration from Lucy Farfort's pencil and watercolour illustrations to create our own artwork which expresses the changes we would like to help make.

The children enjoyed working collaboratively to solve mathematical problems, focusing on place value and number operations. We also began work on our topic (Travelling through Time), where we will be studying English history between 1066 and 1901. We thought about what we already know about the Medieval, Tudor, Stuart, Georgian and Victorian eras. Some of our more avid historians reminded us of our previous learning and gave us a glimpse of what we will be exploring in more detail this term.