Welcome to Year 5!

To contact the year leader please email: 

heatherlands.office@coastalpartnership.co.uk

Please phone the office if you have an urgent message or enquiry.

The Heatherlands Way

PE days: Tuesday (outdoor) & Friday (indoor)  - Children to come into school dressed in PE kits.

Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming Mr Anderson, an EKO STEM Ambassador, to our school to host three engaging cyber security workshops for our students. This experience provided the children with the invaluable opportunity to work collaboratively on a variety of activities focused on the importance of cyber safety and cryptography.

One of the highlights of the sessions was the introduction of the Caesar Shift cipher. The children learned that by shifting the letters of the alphabet a certain number of places forward, they could create their own encrypted messages. For instance, if 'A' becomes 'B' when shifted one place, it turns into 'C' when shifted two places. After crafting their messages, the children exchanged them and worked to decode their peers' messages, demonstrating remarkable resilience and teamwork throughout the process.

As the workshops progressed, the children were presented with an encrypted message created using the Caesar Shift, which they needed to decrypt. Using laptops, they were motivated to explore various options to unravel their messages. Together, they decoded a joke that asked, “What pudding does a cat like to eat?” The answer, as they discovered, was “mice cream.” This activity sparked a valuable discussion about the significance of encryption and decryption in our modern world, especially considering how much information is transmitted over the internet. Understanding cryptography is increasingly vital for keeping our information secure. Children demonstrated great respect with this new information.

The conversation then shifted to password security. The children learned about the common pitfalls of password creation, discussing frequently used passwords such as "password," "abcdef," "secret," "dragon," and "monkey," which are alarmingly easy for hackers to crack. With a renewed sense of purpose, the children engaged in decrypting a secret message using these commonly exploited passwords, spurred on by their curiosity and motivation to learn.

Following this exploration, we addressed how to create a robust password. The children recognised the importance of avoiding single-word passwords, given the efficiency of computers in testing every word in the English language in mere seconds. They learned to combine letters, numbers, and both upper and lower case characters to create stronger passwords using multiple words. Our discussions on online safety resonated well, as many students aspired to be more secure in their digital lives.

The grand finale of our workshops was the exhilarating Submarine SOS challenge. EKO, known for their submarines, presented us with an exciting task where children needed to enter a safe to retrieve a key. Working in teams, they had to hack the code using all the knowledge they had gained, competing to find a six-digit code to unlock the safe. The enthusiasm was palpable, with every child eager to be the fastest to crack their code. Overall, the day was a resounding success, fostering both learning and teamwork in an engaging environment.

In Year 5, we are revisiting the topic of online safety in our computing lessons.

We have explored the significance of creating strong passwords, safeguarding personal information, and demonstrating appropriate online behaviour.

Everyone engaged in fantastic discussions on how to protect themselves online. Furthermore, we highlighted the importance of being mindful of our digital footprint and the lasting impact of our online actions.

Our conversations also included the use of chat functions, particularly in online games such as Roblox. Upholding our values, we aim to foster a responsible digital community.