St. Catherine of Siena

Feast Day:April 29 

Born:1347 :

Died:1380

Catherine was born at Siena, Tuscany in Italy. Catherine was the youngest in a family of twenty-five children. When she was six years old Jesus appeared and blessed her. Her mother and father wanted her to be happily married. But, Catherine wished only to be a nun. To make herself as unattractive as possible, she cut off her long, beautiful hair. Her parents were very upset and scolded her often. They also gave her the most difficult housework to do. But Catherine did not change her mind. Finally, her parents stopped bothering her and allowed her to become a nun. 

St. Catherine was very honest and straightforward with Jesus and scolded him when he was not around to help her in her struggles and temptations. Jesus told her that because he was in her heart she was able to win her struggles by his grace. In those days the Church had many problems. There were fights going on all over Italy. Catherine wrote letters to kings and queens. She even went to beg rulers to make peace with the pope and to avoid wars. Catherine asked the pope to leave Avignon, France, and return to Rome to rule the Church as it was God's will. He listened to St. Catherine and did as she said. Catherine never forgot that Jesus was in her heart. Through her, Jesus helped the sick people she nursed and comforted the prisoners she visited in jail. This great saint died in Rome in 1380 when she was just thirty-three. She is the patroness of Italy, her country. Hundreds of years later St. Catherine was named a Doctor of the Church. She received this great honor because she served Jesus' Church boldly during her short lifetime.

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Mrs Egboh is our class teacher in St Catherine. Mrs Bertolino and Mrs Gusciglio are our Teaching Assistants.

 

 

Unit 1: Portal stories

When writing, the children will:

• use varied sentence starters
• use varied openers for each paragraph
• write in cohesive paragraphs
• use the third person
• use similes to describe
• use personification
• use purposeful dialogue.

Unit 2 – Famous artists

When writing, the children will:

• clearly explain their opinions
• identify new words and synonyms
• retrieve simple facts and answer a range of questions
• retrieve, record, sequence and summarise information from non-fiction texts - biographies

Unit 3 – Adventure stories

When writing, the children will:

• identify and use nouns and pronouns
• identify, create and use expanded noun phrases
• use fronted adverbials
• use apostrophes accurately
• use and punctuate direct and indirect speech accurately
• write in cohesive paragraphs

Unit 4 - Chocolate

When writing, the children will:

• use retrieval skills
• identify new words and discuss their meaning in context
• explain and justify using evidence from the text
• sequence, summarise and order events
• differentiate between fact and opinion
• use varied punctuation

Unit 5 – Magic spell poetry

When writing, the children will:

• explore and analyse poems
• use and develop their inference and vocabulary skills
• create and continue a rhyming pattern
• write using stanzas

Unit 6 – 20th-century music

When writing, the children will:

• identify and use relative pronouns
• identify and use relative clauses
• identify and use embedded relative clauses

 

Click on the link below for helpful information and activities which are all literacy based;

Block 1: Place Value

Numbers to ten million

Read and write numbers to 10,000,000

Powers of 10.

Number line to 10,000,000

Compare and order any integers

Round any integer

Negative numbers

Block 2: The 4 Operations

Square and cube numbers

Multiply up to a 4-digit number by a 2-digit number

Solve problems with multiplication

Short division

Division using factors

Introduction to long division

Long division with remainders

Solve problems with division

Solve multi-step problems

Order of operations

Mental calculations and estimation

Reason from known facts

Block 3: Fractons A

Equivalent fractions and simplifying

Equivalent fractions on a number line

Compare and order (denominator)

Compare and order (numerator)

Add and subtract simple fractions

Add and subtract any two fractions

Add mixed numbers

Subtract mixed numbers

Multi-step problems

Block 4: Fractions B

Multiply fractions by integers

Multiply fractions by fractions

Divide a fraction by an integer

Divide any fraction by an integer

Mixed questions with fractions

Fraction of an amount

Fraction of an amount – find the whole

Block 5: Converting Measures

Metric measures

Converting metric measures

Calculate with metric measures

Miles and kilometres

Imperial measures

Add or multiply?

Block 6: Ratio

Use ratio language

Introduction to the ratio symbol

Ratio and fractions

Scale drawing

2-step function machines

Form expressions

Substitutions

Formulae

Form equations

Solve 1-step equations

Solve 2-step equations

Find pairs of values

    

   

     

    

    

    

   

 

 

Energy, light and reflection

In this unit the children (working at secure level) will:

compare sources of light and explain how the eye is protected from light

describe how light travels and how we see luminous and non-luminous objects

recall factors that affect the size of a shadow and describe how the distance between an object and the surface its shadow is cast on affects the size of the shadow

use ray diagrams to explain why shadows change size and why the shadow matches the object that was cast

recall what happens to light when it reaches a smooth mirror surface

identify the incoming and reflected rays and describe the relationship between the angles

use mirrors to make a working periscope and explain how a periscope works using ray diagrams

recall a range of uses of mirrors and reflection, describe how a mirror reflects light in different situations and explain how light is reflected using knowledge of light and reflection.

Working scientifically

When working scientifically, the children (working at secure level) will:

•         make observations about the properties of light

•         use my observations as evidence to support conclusions about light

•         draw scientific ray diagrams

•         pose testable questions in response to their observations

•         record results of their investigation in a line graph

•         use their line graph to extrapolate data and make predictions about missing values.

Energy – circuits, batteries and switches

In this unit, the children (working at secure level) will:

describe the function of key electrical components

predict if an electrical circuit will work or not, and explain why using their knowledge of complete loops, power sources and the presence of components

describe the relationship between the number of bulbs in a circuit, the bulb brightness and the amount of resistance

explain that increasing the number of components increases the resistance, affecting the flow of current and energy transferred

identify that batteries are a voltage source; they come in different voltages, affecting bulb brightness

describe that voltage can be changed using a different number of cells in a circuit, and that more cells or a higher voltage cause brighter bulbs

use the relationship between voltage and bulbs to predict what will happen with buzzers and motors

build an electrical circuit with a switch to control its function, explain how the switch and the electrical circuit solve the problem and recall different examples of problems that can be solved using an electrical circuit.

Working scientifically

When working scientifically, the children (working at secure level) will:

draw circuit diagrams with straight lines and using standard circuit symbols

design a results table with an appropriate number of columns and headings with units

identify the changed, measured and control variables in an enquiry to plan a method.

Click on the link below for helpful information and activities which are all science based;

 

 

 

Creation and Covenant

In this unit, the children will:

• revise the story of creation from Genesis 1:1-2:4a and identify what we learn about God
• explore the story of creation from Genesis 2:4b-25
• explore Genesis 3:1-24
• make links between Laudato Si and Genesis 2
• explain how Baptism forgives original sin and starts new life in Christ
• use the Gospel of John and the Nicene Creed to understand how Jesus (the new Adam) restores our relationship with God
• learn about a Catholic scientist and explore faith and science together
• explore what the fall says about human beings and suffering
• write a reasoned argument (assessed writing) in response to a given statement – ‘Belief in creation is compatible with scientific accounts of the beginning of the universe and the theory of evolution’.

 

 

 

    

History: Exploration

Threshold Concepts Covered

Main Events

Travel and Exploration

Vocabulary

Society

By the end of the unit, the children will be able;

To identify famous British explorers and place them on a timeline.

To explain some of the advantages of exploration.

To understand how exploration influenced British attitudes to people from different countries and to recognise how these changed over time.

To compare and contrast the experiences of 3 different explorers.

To recognise and understand the difference between migration and exploration.

To recognise and suggest reasons why Europeans called the area discovered by Christopher Columbus the New World.

To organise information about Mount Everest and the people who have climbed it.

To recognise why it is an important mountain to climb.

To suggest reasons why the kings and queens of Europe encouraged explorers to sail to new worlds.

To organise information about Amelia Earhart and consider what makes her achievements particularly significant.

To suggest reasons why most explorers in history have been men and to find out more about female explorers

Online Safety

National Curriculum Objectives covered:

By the end of the unit, the children will be able;

•         To use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly.

•         To recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour.

•         To identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

Bletchley Park – Unit 1

National Curriculum Objectives:

By the end of the unit, the children will be able;

•         To solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.

•         To use logical reasoning to explain how some simple algorithms work and to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs.

•         To design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; solve problems by decomposing them into smaller parts.

•         To use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; work with variables and various forms of input and output.

•         To select, use and combine a variety of software […] to design and create a range of programs, systems and content that accomplish given goals, including collecting, analysing, evaluating and presenting data and information

•         To use search technologies effectively, appreciate how results are selected and ranked, and be discerning in evaluating digital content.

•  To use technology safely, respectfully and responsibly; recognise acceptable/unacceptable behaviour; identify a range of ways to report concerns about content and contact.

 

 

2x 45 minutes session taught by external company non-stop action.

Futurism

Threshold Concepts Covered

• Artists and Artisans
• Visual Language
• Colour Theory
• Effects
• Techniques
• Process
• Emotions

By the end of the unit, the children will be able;

• identify the techniques used by futurists
• recognise and use divisionism
• recognise how futurists often used aspects of modern life in their work
• recognise the kinds of emotions this use of modern life created
• explore some famous Italian Futurist artists.
• name some artists from other countries who were inspired by Italian futurists and compare their work
• critically explore Giacomo Balla’s Street Light painting
• summarise the reasons why the artist Giacomo Balla was an influential figure to Boccioni
• describe the features of Bocciono’s masterpiece sculpture
• create their sculpture in the style of Boccioni.
• experiment with Boccioni’s advocated materials in their sculpture
• compare and contrast Boccioni’s use of line in his paintings with that of Piet Mondrian in his Cubist style
• plan their Futuristic style artwork
• create their clay sculpture using distorted poses to give the effect of dynamism and movement
• evaluate their piece of work.

D&T – Come dine with me unit

Design

In this unit, the children will:

•         use research and develop design criteria to inform the design of innovative, functional, appealing products that are fit for purpose, aimed at particular individuals or groups

•         generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, cross-sectional and exploded diagrams, prototypes, pattern pieces and computer-aided designs.

Cooking and nutrition

In this unit, the children will:

•         understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet

•         prepare and cook a savoury dish (spaghetti bolognese) using a range of cooking techniques

•         understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.

Make

•         select from and use a broader range of tools and equipment to perform practical tasks (for example, cutting, shaping, joining and finishing) accurately

•         select from and use a broader range of ingredients.

Evaluate

evaluate their ideas and products against their design criteria and consider the views of others to improve their work.

 

SRE

Unit 1 – Religious Understanding- “Created and Loved By God.”

This unit explores the Gospel story of the ‘Calming of the Storm’ (from Matthew, Mark and Luke). Over five story sessions, children will consider experiences of change, growth and development, and the trust that they can have in the person of Jesus through times of trial and tribulation. This is the religious and spiritual foundation for the exploration throughout the rest of the work covered in Module 1: Created and Loved By God.

Unit 2 – Me, My Body, My Health

The children will learn that celebrating differences between people is enriching to a community and know that their self-confidence should arise from being loved by God. They will learn about the physical changes that boys and girls go through during puberty and how they should respect and take care of their bodies as gifts from God. Genitals are also mentioned here, but not named and identified.