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The Good Shepherd
Catholic Primary School
“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own and my own know me”. John 10:14"
English
Learning About the Suffix -ify
Today in English, we learned about the suffix -ify and how it changes a root word to make a new word with a different meaning.
We played a game where everyone had a word stuck on their forehead: either a root word, the suffix, or the new word. We had to walk around and find the people who matched with us!
For example, if I had “beauty,” someone else had “ify,” and another person had “beautify,” we made a group! It was so much fun!
Jólabókaflóð
Bringing an Icelandic Christmas Tradition to Good Shepherd!
In Iceland, there’s a beautiful tradition called Jólabókaflóð — “The Christmas Book Flood.” Families exchange books on Christmas Eve, snuggle up with blankets, sip hot chocolate, and spend the evening reading together. On 10th December, we brought this cozy tradition to life! Year 5 pupils paired up with Year 1 buddies for a festive reading session. Older students shared picture books and short stories, creating a warm atmosphere filled with stories, laughter, and Christmas spirit.
Scholastic Book Fair
This term, we were thrilled to welcome a pop-up bookshop to The Good Shepherd! Ahead of the event, we held a poster competition to build excitement. During the three-day fair, thanks to the wonderful support of parents and children, many books were sold, earning us free books for both the school and class libraries! It was fantastic to see children volunteering to help and engaging in conversations about books!
Chris Lee and Jenny’s Visit:
We were honoured to welcome authors Chris Lee and Jenny, author of You Are Beloved, to The Good Shepherd. They read to the children and led wonderful conversations about the four Gospels and how God is represented in different ways but remains the same. The children asked thoughtful questions and even shared ideas for what could be included in the next book! It was an inspiring and memorable experience for everyone.
Romeo and Juliet - Young Shakespeare Company
We were thrilled to welcome the Young Shakespeare Company back to The Good Shepherd, where pupils in Years 3–6 enjoyed an inspiring performance of Romeo and Juliet. Through interactive drama and language activities, children explored the emotions and motives of the characters, and even stepped into roles themselves, bringing Shakespeare’s words to life!
National Poetry Day in Year 5!
To celebrate National Poetry Day, Year 5 explored the magic of compound words through the playful poem Word Play by Michaela Morgan. Inspired by the poem, we created our own verses using compound words and turned them into a vibrant display of class bunting!
We proudly shared our learning in a whole-school assembly, where we performed our verses and explained how compound words can be both fun and creative. Now, our colourful bunting is hanging proudly outside the Year 1 corridor for everyone to enjoy. What a fantastic way to celebrate words and poetry!
Reading a Poem
500 Words 2025 – Live Lesson
Year 5 took part in an exciting Live Lesson to celebrate the return of the UK’s biggest children’s story-writing competition – 500 Words.
During the session, pupils went on a creative mission to collect three key ingredients for writing a brilliant story: An original world An original character Imaginative words, including vivid verbs introduced through a catchy and memorable song
The lesson was hosted by Sir Lenny Henry and Naomi Wilkinson, who built their own story live on screen. A professional illustrator captured their ideas in real time, creating a downloadable poster to inspire pupils further.
To finish, Year 5 were challenged to draw their own story using the ingredients they had gathered. This creative activity helped them visualise their ideas and prepare to write their own 500 Words entries. The class thoroughly enjoyed the session and left feeling inspired and ready to become young authors!
Prince Escalus’s Monologue
Today, Year 5 explored Prince Escalus’s monologue. We watched a professional actor’s performance to learn about expressions, tone, and body language. We also clarified unfamiliar words using synonyms. Now that we understand the meaning, we can deliver the monologue with more confidence and expression.
Fighting Scene (Gregory, Sampson, and Abraham)
Year 5 explored Act 1, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet. We acted out the opening fight between Gregory and Sampson from the Capulet family and Abraham from the Montagues. Through this, we learned how to use body movements, facial expressions, and tone of voice to bring the scene to life and understand the characters' emotions.
Romeo and Juliet - Quiz!
Romeo and Juliet - Role-play!
Solving Mystery as Special Agents - Romeo and Juliet
Year 5 were secret agents on a special mission — someone had gone missing! Through puzzles, riddles, secret codes, and newspapers, we uncovered the truth: it was Juliet Capulet. Along the way, we solved the feud between Montagues and Capulets and even found the three key items — the dagger, potion, and secret message — to rewrite the ending and save the day!
Year 5’s First Cold Write
(linking to D&T)
Today, Year 5 tackled their very first writing task of the year: a cold write to show their best work to their new teacher! Using metacognition strategies, we pictured an unexplored island where Jack is about to land and pictured the adventures he might encounter there.
Designing this mysterious island also links to our upcoming DT topic, Programming Adventures, where we’ll be using robots to navigate maps of the very islands we created in today’s English lesson.
My Favourite Book!
