Well done and thank you to everyone who contributed towards year 6’s non-uniform day. As a cohort, we made just over £100! The children have chosen the CAFOD world gift of a cow to help transform lives of those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Welcome to Year 6W!

with Miss Watson and Mrs O'Hagan

What a wonderful Autumn term in year 6 - long may it last! I am so impressed with Class 6W’s enthusiasm to learn. They have shown consistent determination, interest and they have consistently welcomed challenges to extend their learning. The  following is what we have been learning and what we shall continue to build upon for the rest of the spring term:

English

We are all very excited about the spring term in English as the children are going to be writing their extended piece of narrative. Initially, the children were presented with five, very different, prompts for their story writing, these were: a picture, a video, an object, a sentence starter and a piece of music. After choosing which one most interested them, they are going to use these prompts to create their very own story. As they are writing, they will be consistently proof reading as well as editing and improving their previous work to ensure that it is accurate and engaging.

Our book talk book is I, Coriander by Sally Gardner. Coriander tells the story of her childhood in 17th Century London, living with her father and mother until her death, when her father reluctantly remarried a Puritan woman named Maud Leggs, who immediately begins to change Coriander's life. As she has very different religious beliefs, she insists that all things 'fancy' be removed from Coriander and her father's home. We have reached the point in the story where Coriander's father is away for longer periods of time on business as Cromwell comes to power and a warrant is put out for his arrest. Will Coriander survive life with her wicked stepmother?

Maths

As we learnt about 2D shapes at the end of Autumn 2, the children are going to begin this term by focusing on area and perimeter. of these shapes. At first we will be recapping how to calculate the area and perimeter of simple oblongs and then we are going to use these skills to find the area and perimeter of compound shapes. Following this, the children will learn how to find the area of triangles and parallelograms. All of these skills will be used to solve problems in this area of maths.

We will then go on to naming, drawing and labelling 3D shapes and their properties, using the terms 'vertices, edges and faces'. The children will then learn how to calculate the volume of these shapes.

We are also likely to move on to studying ratio and proportion as well as algebra in the Spring term.

We are going to be consistently building upon our arithmetic skills throughout the spring term, allowing the children to practise using their place value and number skills consistently throughout the year. Practising the following skills regularly during our maths lessons will also help to secure the children’s mathematical understanding:

• Times tables up to 12 x 12;

• Counting forwards and backwards in positive/negative numbers as well as decimal numbers from any given starting point;

• Formal written methods of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division;

• Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions;

• Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000;

• Applying all of the above to explain, reason and problem solve.

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Where possible, please encourage your children to practise these skills daily at home too. It is extremely important that your child knows their timetables up to 12x12 and can recall them all within three seconds.

There are some excellent number, including times tables and number bond, games on the following website: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

Science

During the Autumn term, the children were focusing on learning about living things and their habitats, which included classification.

In the Spring term, we will be moving on to studying animals including humans. Our children will be taught to:

• identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood;
• recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function;
• describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.

History

Year 6 have started learning about the Viking raids and invasions in their history lessons. They initially came up with a range of questions which they would like to answer in order to extend their knowledge of this time period. Some of the questions included:

• What did the Vikings eat?
• What did they wear?
• Who were their Gods?

Each child then selected one of these questions and carried out their own related research. Whilst note making, the children used a range of sources in order to understand how our knowledge of the past in constructed, whilst considering which information is reliable and accurate.

Geography

Initially, year 6 have extended their knowledge and understanding beyond the local area to include the UK and Europe as well as locating countries worldwide. They have also identified human and physical characteristics and key topographical features including: hills, mountains, coasts and rivers.

Next, the children will go on to study, describe and understand the key aspects oh physical and human geography. Whilst on our residential, they will be able to apply these learnt skills in the field.

PE

As the children are now in year 6, they are allowed to come to school on a Friday in their PE kits, consisting of black shorts (they may wear tracksuit bottoms to come to school in), a white t-shirt and pumps or trainers. They will be working with our sports coach during the Autumn term to improve their games skills. These skills will be tailored to meet the on going competition calendar. Your child may therefore be asked to represent the school in various competitions throughout the year, both within and after school time.

Music

This will be taught by Mrs O'Hagan and Miss Delaney on a Friday afternoon. The children will select, learn and practise playing instruments to a song of their choice!

What can you do to help your child in Year 6?

• Purchase a watch for your child so that they can read the time throughout the day;
• Ensure your child reads every night. They do not need to read to an adult and they do not need to read for hours at a time! Ten minutes every night is fine as long as they are reading and they have understood what they have read. Your child will have a focus for their reading diary so they know what they have to write (we are beginning with summaries). It is their job to write in their diaries - not yours!
• Allow your child access to a dictionary so that they can check the meaning of words which they cannot work out themselves.
• Expose them to different experiences and different places to extend their understanding of the world.
• Homework will be set as and when required to assist the children in their learning. Encourage them to complete homework on time. If you child is struggling with anything, they should ask a teacher for help - that is what we are here for!
• Make sure they have plenty of sleep and early nights.
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It is important that in year 6, we support and encourage your child to allow them to fulfill their potential. It is also paramount to prepare and develop them so that they are ready for their move to high school. To ease this transition, your child will move between the two year 6 classes for the teaching of various different aspects of the curriculum and they will be taught by different adults including Miss Watson, Mr Stenton, Mrs Abbott, Mrs O’Hagan , Miss Saxon and Miss Downie, so that their learning is tailored to their ability.