Year 5 Dorper

Welcome to Year 5

During this year you will find that you are encouraged to take a far more active role in your learning. Our aim is to make you an independent learner, curious and creative; interested and intrigued; resilient and resourceful. Far more of your learning will involve you making connections to previous learning, and questioning different strategies. This is a big step up from Lower Key Stage two, but you are ready. Much of our learning is linked to your locality, so you will learn more about where you live.

Ms Zimmatore

This is my second year teaching at Shepherd Primary School and I also have many years’ experience teaching in schools within the local area, both as class teacher and various senior leadership roles. As a child, I went to school in Rickmansworth, so joining Shepherd Primary school was almost like coming home! In addition to teaching Dorper Class, I am also Assistant Head for curriculum, teaching and learning and English Lead. In my free time I love reading, especially children’s books and am happy to recommend my favourites to anyone! I also enjoy walking and exploring the outdoors and love to visit museums and art galleries.

Wellbeing

Although independent learning is what we aim for, you are a class of individuals with individual needs. You will all be challenged and supported, and rewarded with words when you achieve and make progress.

We encourage a Growth Mindset during all our lessons so that you know that there is no ceiling to your learning and that you can achieve anything you put your mind to! We recognise that making mistakes is very much a part of learning, and we do not shy away from difficult challenges. Mindfulness plays a big part in what we do, and each week we spend an afternoon on our Jigsaw PSHE lessons, learning about our place in the world. Everyone is encouraged to take part in discussions and class activities, and support is given when needed. We do a ‘daily Mile’ run each day to improve our fitness, stamina and our wellbeing. Great work and effort are regularly shared and celebrated. We love to see photos of you carrying out activities at home, and photographs of special festivals or celebrations are regularly shared with the class. We will always find time to listen to you when you need some support, and we encourage kindness from everyone in the class. 

This Year

During this year you will take part in an Inter School Fun Run. Everyone gets to take part, but our Elite runners also run in a special competitive race. A different sort of challenge is the K'nex Challenge, which again is an opportunity to compete against other children throughout the county, using your Science, Mathematics and Engineering skills. This year you will have swimming lessons at the William Penn Leisure Centre, to ensure that you have this important life skill, and towards the end of the year you will have the opportunity to take part in Bikeability, helping to ensure you are safe on the roads on your bicycle. Throughout the year we will welcome visitors to support our learning, and carry out school trips both locally and further afield to help bring our learning to life.

To find out more about your child's learning, please see our Curriculum Page.