Welcome to Year 6!

Dear Parents/Carers,

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a restful and peaceful holiday with your loved ones. Thank you again for all of the lovely gifts we received at the end of last term; they were very thoughtful and very much appreciated. I hope you all enjoyed our Collective Worship during the last week of term. It was lovely to see so many parents in attendance, and I know how much it meant to the children too. We are planning on inviting parents to school again in the spring and summer terms, so keep a close eye on ClassDojo for updates.

At the end of the autumn term, myself, Miss Williams and Mrs Moore were very proud of the children’s achievements and work ethic in class. Year 6 is a challenging year where many children find the step up in expectations and volume of work difficult to navigate at times. The children have adjusted well, and I know they will continue to show their best selves and produce their best work over the coming term.

The spring term will be a busy term in class as it is our last full term before National SAT testing, which begins on Tuesday, 9th May 2023. In preparation for these tests, Booster classes will begin the week beginning 9th January on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 3:10pm – 4:00pm. These sessions are open for all children to attend and have proved beneficial learning opportunities in previous years. We also have parent/teacher meetings coming up on Tuesday, 17th January, and I would strongly encourage as many parents as possible to attend these meetings. In the evening, I will be able to share with you your child’s current progress and attainment and their next steps in learning. Updated SEND plans will also be given out in the evening for any child who is currently on the SEN register.

We look forward to continuing to work with you over the coming term, and thank you for your continued support. If you have any questions or queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Ms Chellew, Mrs Moore and Miss Williams

English

In English, we will be exploring the book ‘Letters from the Lighthouse’ and ‘Windrush Child’ this term. Throughout the first half term, in writing, we will learn to write a newspaper report and official report in the style of a spy and then after half term, we will be writing a recount and explanatory text.

Mathematics

Our focus for this half-term is decimals and percentages. We will also be consolidating our learning of fractions and linking our learning to measure and ratios, and proportions.
Could you please encourage your child to practise their times tables each week until they are proficient? Without a good understanding of all of the tables, children find it difficult to access many areas of numbers in Maths. Around 70% of the questions in the end-of-year Maths SAT papers are related to multiplication and division, so it is vital that your child has a good understanding and recall of their times tables.

Religious Education

Our first ‘Come and See’ topic is the Local Church, and we will be focusing on community. We will look at a wide variety of books and the purpose for which they were written – Explore and understand The Bible as the story of God’s love, told by the People of God – Reveal. Our second topic is Eucharist – relating: to unity, where we will learn more about communion and what it means to be in union with Jesus Christ and with one another. Our third topic is Lent / Easter – Giving: Death and New Life For Christians, and it focuses on The Lenten journey, which takes us to the glory of Easter Sunday, from death to new life.

Science

In Science this term, we will be learning all about Evolution and Inheritance. This is a biology unit designed to reinforce and then build on pupils’ knowledge of adaptations before exploring basic genetics and the threat of extinction. This unit looks more closely at why there is variation in living things and how these variations, or adaptations, are essential for ensuring the survival of the species.

History

Unit 3: History: Conflict and Resolution

The children will learn about the First and the Second World Wars as well as how conflict still continues in the world today. The unit begins with an exploration of how the First World War began looking at the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as the catalyst. They will also understand the role of the British Empire and how it wasn’t solely Britain that fought in the war. As the unit progresses, the children will learn about women’s roles in the first world war, how they took on the jobs that men could no longer do whilst they were at war, their work in the munitions factory and how their significant contributions led to them receiving the right to vote. The unit moves into exploring who Hitler was and how his actions led to the outbreak of the Second World War. Children will learn about the Windrush generation, which links perfectly to our class text, Windrush Child, for the second half of the term.

Attendance and Punctuality

It is extremely important that your child attends school and is on time every day, so they do not miss out on important learning. Excellent attendance and punctuality is the key to our children’s success. Please help your child to strive for excellent attendance.

Uniform and PE Kit

Please ensure your child has the correct, full school uniform every day, and PE kits are brought into school every Wednesday and Thursday.

Please remember to put your child’s name on every piece of uniform, PE kit and coat.

Reading at home

A little reminder: Children are expected to bring their reading books into school every day so they can be heard reading at any time. We appreciate that it is not always possible to read every night with your child, but we do ask that you make every effort to read at least 4 times per week with them and make a comment in their reading records.

Reading at home doesn’t always mean their school reading books; it could be anything from a newspaper, magazine, kindle books, a recipe or instructions for a board game.

Class Dojo

Please continue to look at our class Dojo to find out what we have been up to and any class information and updates. If you have any questions or concerns, please drop me a message, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Key Dates

Return to school
Thursday, 5th January 2023

Break up for the half term
Thursday, 9th February 2023

Return to school
Monday 20th February 2023

Break up for Easter
Wednesday 5th March 2023

Return to school
Tuesday 18th April 2023

National Offer Day for Secondary School Places
Wednesday 1st March 2023

SAT’s Week
Week commencing 8th May 2023

Water Bottles

Don’t forget to bring water bottles in every day – it is important for the children to stay hydrated throughout the day. Please put a label on all bottles and wash them every day.
Please remember to bring a healthy snack for break times.