Information for parents and families

Knowledge Organisers to support with learning at home

Week Ending 13th December 2024

In English, this week the children have been preparing to write their narrative which they will begin next week. Thinking about dialogue, the children took turns to role play in character as Bess and Tim. The children focussed on narrating their speech in pairs and then wrote this up as a conversation using reporting clauses with action and show not tell techniques. After recapping the rules of speech, the children were then able to use inverted commas and the correct types of punctuation marks such as commas, exclamation and question marks to present their speech dialogue correctly. Towards the end of the week, the children planned their narrative endings which will be an innovation with a twist.

In Maths, the children moved on from comparing and ordering fractions to adding and subtracting. They have worked really hard to understand how to find a common denominator to add and subtract simple fractions and then extended this knowledge to solve more complex calculations including mixed fractions.

Towards the end of the week, the children have been busy rehearsing some of our songs ready for Young Voices in January as well as a variety of festive carols which will be sung at our annual Church service on 20^th December.

Week Ending 6th December 2024

In English, the children have continued working on pieces from our text, The Highwayman. This week, they explored the events in more detail and storyboarded this in sequence. Following this, the children wrote a diary entry in the character of Bess. I was overwhelmed by the excellent content and detail written in each of their extracts. The children were fantastic in describing, in role, how the character feels, showing me rather than telling me as well as using a variety of sentence structures in their work.

In Maths, the children have looked at comparing and ordering fractions this week looking at both the numerator and denominators.

In History, the children have now finished their unit ‘What did the Greeks ever do for us?’. This last lesson saw the children produce a stamp detailing some of the legacies that have been carried forward thanks to the Greek civilisation. The children chose what they thought was the most important legacy such as: philosophy, democracy, the Olympics, the alphabet and others. They then designed their own stamps and made notes about why they chose their given design.  

In PSHE, the children have continued to fill in their self-care calendars, taking notice of the activities they spent doing that helps them feel recharged and happy.

In Art, the children have set to work using photomontage as inspiration to create their own advertising posters. Based on the work of Hannah Hoch, the children enjoyed selecting and cutting out photographs from magazines and newspapers to create their own montage to follow a nonsensical theme. Next week, the children will use their knowledge of this to produce a cityscape based on products to advertise, such as: kitchenware, bedroom furniture, food items, clothing, skincare and others of their choosing. 

This week, we have also spent some time rehearsing the songs for Young Voices and on Friday enjoyed taking part in a Santa Dash around the playground!

Week Ending 29th November 2024

In English, the children started a new text called The Highwayman which is a narrative poem written by Alfred Noyes. The children have worked on using their deduction skills using the front cover of the book to predict what the story may be about. The class made some excellent suggestions and used their inference skills with evidence to back this up superbly. In addition to this, the children explored some of the vocabulary from the text before using this to write a setting description of the purple-ghostly moor.

In Maths this week, the children have started a new unit on fractions. To begin the week, they have been looking at equivalence and using their skills to consolidate their learning about equivalent fractions in preparation for our learning on ordering, comparing, and adding and subtracting fractions.

In Science, the children have continued to write up their results and record their observations on the growth of mould using our bread specimens.

In History, the children are coming to the end of their unit on the Greeks. They have been looking at the key question ‘What did the Greeks ever do for us?’. This week, the children looked at the different Greek Philosophers such as, Plato, Aristotle and Socrates. Through their own independent research, the children created flap booklets to detail significant facts they had found out about each of these influencers.

In PSHE, the children have continued to look at ‘Well-being’. This week, the children were given some time to take notice of their surroundings and we took a visit outside to the playground to really ‘look’ around. With I-pads, the children took photographs in pairs of the different areas of our outdoor space that they liked or thought was interesting. We then came back together as a class to show each other our photographs and explain what we noticed. As a follow-up activity, the children filled in a self-care calendar throughout the week to detail the things they have done for themselves that makes them feel happy - in recognition of needing time for ourselves to re-charge and take notice of how we feel or might be thinking.

Week Ending 22nd November 2024

This week, Year 6 have had an assessment week. This is where the children have the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and how hard they have been working in subjects such as: arithmetic, spelling, punctuation and grammar, as well as reading.

In Maths this week, the children have continued to work hard to embed and retain their knowledge of the long division method. This week has been about further practise moving on to larger divisors such as 17, 19 and 23. Once the children felt confident in using their newly acquired skills, they moved on to look at long division methods using remainders. 

In Science, the children observed and made notes about the mould found on pieces of bread that are being used to investigate the best conditions for bacterial growth. They concluded that after 1 week of being exposed to controlled conditions, the most growth was found to be on the bread kept in warmer conditions. The results showed that 7cm of mould was found on the bread left on the radiator pipes compared to 0cm of mould on the bread left in the fridge. Next week, we will take further readings to add to our results before making our conclusions and checking these against our predictions.

Week Ending 15th November 2024

In English this week, the children explored in greater detail the character, Kensuke. Starting with a timeline of the events in his life, the children then wrote fantastic biographies using a range of sentence openers, relative clauses and parenthesis.

In Maths this week, the children have worked really hard cementing their division skills and have moved on to the formal method of long division. Some of the children found this work challenging but have really impressed me with great resilience and determination – overcoming misconceptions they originally faced. On Wednesday this week, the children had some special visitors attend one of their maths lessons – their grown-ups! Here, the children showed off their skills and carried out a reasoning style session focusing on multiplication.

In Science, the children have started an investigation on mould where they are investigating the best conditions in which mould grows. Using 6 different locations: a classroom cupboard; fridge; windowsill ledge; warm radiator pipes; behind a curtain; and in the circuit shed, the children will observe the changes over a period of weeks to see the conditions that contribute to mould. The variables we are monitoring to see if they inhibit or promote the growth of mould include: dark, light, cold, warm, dry and moist conditions.

Week Ending 8th November 2024

In English this week, the children took on the role of Kensuke and wrote a diary entry outlining his thoughts and feelings about Michael being washed up onto 'his' island. The children have been working hard to use powerful vocabulary in their pieces of writing and this piece has been no exception. I have been really impressed to see the techniques used by the children such as: the more, the more; if, if, if, then sentences; subordinate and relative clauses; as well as show not tell sentences. 

In Maths this week, the children have revisited their arithmetic skills through the use of our weekly arithmetic test. The children have been working hard on all four operations and have been busy revising and consolidating their learning from Year 5 as well as being introduced to some of the Year 6 content. As well as this, the children have been learning about short division methods as well as how to use factors to divide. These small steps are getting the children ready for the next step which is long division. This can be quite tricky to learn and will be something the children practise little and often to build their confidence gradually.

In Science, the children finished their last lesson on living things and their habitats. In this week's lesson, they learned about micro-organisms and focussed specifically on bacteria. The children were able to identify different types of bacteria and illustrated some of these in their books. To end the lesson, the children classified the different types of bacteria using a number key. Next week, the children will carry out an investigation on mould and will research another famous scientist - Edward Jenner.

Week Ending 25th October 2024

In English this week, the children carried out a debate where they were asked to decide if one of the lead characters, Kensuke, was caring for or keeping Michael a prisoner. The children orally rehearsed their ideas before writing up their points in favour of against the key question. The grammar focus this week was to look at conjunctive adverbs as well as making sure the children's points of view were well balanced. 

In Maths this week, the children have been working on squared numbers ahead of their unit on multiplication. This week, the children have revised written methods learned last year and have moved on to look at 4 to 5 digit numbers multiplied b 2 digits. As the week came to a close, the children worked on word problems using multiplication.

In History this week, the children worked in groups to research the differences and similarities between Athens and Sparta as city states with a focus on education, warfare and governance. They learned the difference between a democracy and an oligarchy and were able to confidently discuss the meanings of these two types of governance. 

Week Ending 11th October 2024

In English this week, the children worked on a non-chronological report of their choice based on the next part of our story. The children were able to choose between either gibbons or orangutans and used different texts to retrieve information for their report. The focus of this piece of writing was for the children to hone in on cohesion as a skill and were taught how to group information together using adverbials. 

In Maths this week, the children have been looking at factors and multiples as well as working on their arithmetic skills. Every Monday, the children work on arithmetic skills as well as on developing their pace as they answer questions under timed conditions. Each week they impress me by improving on their scores and embedding more and more skills to help them across all areas of maths. 

This week was very exciting as our Head's (Head Boy/Head Girl) and Deputy Head's (Deputy Head Girl/Deputy Head Boy) were announced in assembly. I must say how impressed I have been by everyone that wrote a letter to Mrs d'Arcy expressing their interest in these roles. All the children worked exceptionally hard and whilst the worthy winners will go on to make a great success in their newly appointed positions, it has to be said that Mrs Lee, Miss Smith and I are very proud and excited to see the rest of children in Jordan class go on and make huge successes in all the other opportunities that the school has to offer them this year.

Week Ending 4th October 2024

This week, in English, the children have been introduced to more of our text 'Kensuke's Kingdom'. The children explored one of the chapters in detail as they answered questions using our VIPERS reading skills. They explored vocabulary such as 'cackled', 'screeched' and 'wailed' and looked closely at the effects the author used to depict suspense and atmosphere. 

In Maths this week, the children have begun a new unit of work based on addition and subtraction. Here, the children have revisited skills they already have to ensure they are evidencing their place value understanding when calculating numbers as well as when reasoning. 

In Science, the children continued to explore the animal kingdom with a closer look at invertebrates and how this group of organisms can be classified. Through the use of salt dough modelling, the children produced some fantastic examples of spiders, insects, snails and worms, and were able to identify some of their common characteristics. 

As the week drew to a close, the children were introduced to our history topic 'What did the Greeks ever do for us?' In their first lesson, the children created their own timelines and looked more closely at the Ancient Greece periods.

Week Ending 27th September 2024

This week, the children have really impressed me as we undertook our first practice SATS assessments in Maths, Reading, and Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar. The children showed great perseverance, resilience and concentration throughout the week and should be really proud of their hard work.

On Thursday morning, the children worked as one with the rest of the school to help tidy, weed and maintain our beautiful school grounds. It was a pleasure spending time with the class and hearing about ways they help at home with maintenance and gardening, and the importance of being involved together to make the biggest impact.

This week also saw the election of our new school councillors. Amber and Warren (our elected representatives) presented effective and persuasive speeches which resulted in them being voted in by their fellow class members. Congratulations to you both and we look forward to hearing about the focuses for this year.

As well as the school councillors, sports representatives were also selected this week to support both Mr Franco and Mrs Smith with events that the school are hosting this year. It was a tough selection process with many letters of consideration. From maintaining the sports equipment and helping to keep items tidy and safe, the sports crew will also help with other important activities such as sporting events and morning Zumba. Our morning Zumba sessions are a short five-minute burst of exercise to get everyone readyand energised for their day including the children, teachers and grown-ups a like - the more the merrier! This starts at 8:35am every morning in the school playground and is currently led by Mrs Smith; soon to be designated to the sports crew to lead in due course.

Finally, the children finished the week with their designated swimming lesson at One Leisure where they built on their skills from their previous session.

Week Ending 20th September 2024

This week, the children have continued their busy streak with another week of hard work.

In Maths, the children have been continuing to investigate place value - exploring numbers from 1,000,000 to 10,000,000. By the end of the week, the children had moved on to look at ordering and comparing as well as rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000 and 1,000,000. 

In English, the children have heard more about the plot of our text 'Kensuke's Kingdom'. This week, the children have explored how to use simple, compound and complex sentences and re-visited how to apply this to their work. Examples of work have included a log entry and a prediction. Their log entries were fantastic as they really took on the role of the lead character Michael. 

In Science, the children have extended their learning to find out more about warm-blooded and cold-blooded vertebrates. During this week's lesson, they understood more about the characteristics of reptiles, amphibians and fish. 

The theme of the week for assembly was to understand more about First Aid and the children have been conducting research on how to help others. Once their research is complete, they will produce their own leaflets to demonstrate their knowledge on how to help support someone who: has had a fall and subsequent cut/graze; has a broken bone or sprain to their body; as well as what to do if someone is having an asthma attack. 

Finally, the children finished their week with their first swimming lesson at One Leisure.

Week Ending 13th September 2024

It has been a pleasure spending time with Jordan class this week as we begin work on the new curriculum for Year 6. What a busy week it’s been!

In Maths, the children have been introduced to our first unit on place value and have been exploring numbers from 1,000,000 to 10,000,000. The children have impressed me with their knowledge of number and shown great skills in their partitioning of digits using part whole models. In addition, the children have been consolidating their understanding of arithmetic using their knowledge of the four operations to solve numerous calculations.

In English, the children have been introduced to our new text 'Kensuke's Kingdom' by Michael Morpurgo. They have made interesting predictions about what they expect to happen in the book using the images from the front cover. I have been really pleased with their stamina to write. The children have produced a number of pieces of writing this week including a balanced argument and two setting descriptions. This is such a fantastic start to Year 6!

In Science, the children have demonstrated their retrieval skills from previous years of learning. Recalling the processes of living things using the acronym MRS GREN and relating this to classification has been the children’s first opportunity in demonstrating their knowledge of organisms in Year 6.

Please remember to keep an eye on Class Dojo for regular class updates and if you have any concerns or questions please don’t hesitate to drop me a message or pop into the school office.

Week Ending 6th September 2024

Welcome back to the Autumn Term - the children are now in Year 6!!

We started this term with activities based on: expectations, rules, targets, successes, etc.  We also spent time looking at Michael Jordan (our inspirational figure - also the name of our class). 

Children completed fact files on Michael Jordan as well as started some artwork.  Mr Franco also taught PE.  Children also spent some time in our school grounds for our 'Ground Force' morning.