Year 5 have been excited to begin our brand-new topic: The Explorer!

We have begun our exciting class novel, The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. In this captivating story, four children — Fred, Con, Lila and Max — find themselves stranded in the Amazon rainforest after their plane crashes. With no adults to guide them, they must use courage, resilience and teamwork to survive.

The children have been completely captivated by the unfolding plot. They have already begun making predictions, exploring character traits, discussing themes of survival and friendship and building rich vocabulary inspired by the rainforest setting. We cannot wait to see where the adventure takes us next.

In Geography, we studied the continent of South America. Year 5 explored the different countries that make up this vast and diverse continent and located key physical and human landmarks. For example, the mighty Andes mountain range, the ancient city of Machu Picchu, beautiful coastal locations such as Copacabana Beach in Brazil and the incredible Amazon Rainforest.

Year 5 also compared South America to Europe, thinking carefully about climate differences, physical features (mountains, rivers, rainforests), cultural diversity and population and landscapes. The children impressed us with their thoughtful comparisons and growing geographical vocabulary.

In DT, we focused on Brazil and explored its different regions. Year 5 investigated what ingredients are cultivated and grown in different parts of the country, linking this to climate and landscape.

In Art, we explored the vibrant colours and dense foliage of the rainforest. Using soft pastels and oil pastels, the children created beautiful front covers inspired by tropical plants, bold greens and layered textures. They experimented with blending techniques and layering colour to create depth and texture. The results are stunning and really capture the richness of the Amazon environment.

Finally, this week, Year 5 were visited by a special guest for Safer Internet Day. The children took part in an engaging workshop where they learned key digital safety skills, discussed how to respond to online challenges, created freeze frames to demonstrate safe online behaviours and applied their knowledge to advise on a real-life case study. It was wonderful to see them thinking critically and demonstrating maturity when discussing online safety. 

Year 5 have had such a fantastic first week and the children have returned full of enthusiasm, curiosity and brilliant energy. We are incredibly proud of how engaged they have been as we launched our new topic and we cannot wait to continue exploring the Amazon, Brazil and the adventures ahead in The Explorer!