OUR CLASS BOOK - 

In class we are currently reading Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen

GLOBAL DAY - THURSDAY 25th SEPTEMBER

During Global Day, every year group discovered what harvest festivals are like across the world. In year 5 we learnt about 'Pongal' - A Hindu harvest festival celebrated by the Tamil community in India and Sri Lanka. Pongal is a 4 day celebration which marks the end of the winter solstice and is a celebration to give thanks to the Sun God for a good crop.

Did you know?

Pongal is the name of the dish made and eaten during this festival. It is a mixture of boiled sweet rice. It is derived from the Tamil word pongu, which means “to boil over”. Traditionally the rice is left to boil over to represent the abundance of food harvested that year.

Kolam

Early in the morning, on the second day, people wake up and create kolam at the entrance of their homes. These are patterns made from brightly colour rice. We had a go at doing our own art work similar to this.

Global Week 21st October  - 25th October

We have had fun this week learning about many different places around the globe. Every day took us to somewhere new. 

Monday - Chile

We learnt about a street artist named Mono. He painted the outside of buildings (with permission!) We had a go at painting in the same style. We had to use vibrant primary colours and use black to create a thick outline on our design.

Tuesday - Egypt

We learnt about Mohamed a man who loved herding camels. He said that all of his camels had different personalities. He also takes tourists on camel rides. We thought about how camels are adapted for life in the desert.

Wednesday - Spain

We learnt about Paula and her passion for protecting the ocean and the habitats for shearwater birds. She is a marine biologist. We created persuasive posters persuading people to stop over fishing and to look after our oceans.

Thursday - Indonesia

We learnt about Aci; a disability advocate who organises community events for children with disabilities. We discussed the importance of equality and thought about what fun events we would organise to support others with disabilities.

Friday - Iran

We learnt about a teenager called Shahnaz who loves to write. We discovered that her father thinks Shahnaz should give up on her dream of becoming a writer and that he would like her to marry. A teacher who travels to the village wanted to take the children who studied on a school trip away but parents were unwilling to provide consent for this. We discussed equal rights for girls/women. Some of us then wrote a letter to Shahnaz to boost her spirits to not give up on her dream whilst others chose to write a persuasive letter trying to persuade the grown ups to let the children go on a trip out of the village.