This week in English, we planned our balanced arguments about whether xenotransplantation has a place in society. (Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another - in case you were wondering!!) We learnt about successful xenotransplantations and researched the risks involved with these medical procedures. On Thursday, we held a class debate, during which there were lots of interesting and valid points raised. Next week, we are going to be writing our balanced arguments, using the main features of this text type.

In Maths, we developed our understanding of mental strategies for the four number operations. We started the week sharing what we already knew about this area of Maths and considered the efficiency of different strategies. As the week went on, we completed a variety of problem solving activities and explained our reasoning when using a particular strategy.The strategies we used were Known Facts, Digit Position, Doubling and Halving, Equal Sum/Equal Difference (adjusting), Inverse and Partitioning. Next week, we are going to be completing our next practice SATs papers.

As you may have seen on our class Twitter page, we spent Thursday afternoon making Blood Smoothies. The aim of the activity was to understand the four components of blood and how blood looks under a microscope. Our ingredients were:

* Strawberries - red blood cells

* Marshmallows - white blood cells

* Sprinkles - platelets

* Orange/Apple Juice - plasma

Orange, banana and/or apple was added depending on different blood types. Everyone had a lot of fun during the activity and most smoothies were drunk and enjoyed!