Our time at Borwick Hall ...

What a wonderful time we have had on our residential! It has rained pretty much the whole trip but it certainly did not dampen our mood or stop us from doing any activity! Every single child has reached their potential, challenged themselves to push beyond what they thought they were capable of and have shown such resilience and bravery! We could not be any prouder of them all. Being away from home, for some, is not easy, but every single one of them have supported their friends and as you can see from the photos there has been so much laughter and joy. We have all climbed, rambled and meandered down a canal!

Last night, was the perfect finale of our stay as we were treated to array of talented acts. From theatrical performances, comedy sketches, dancing duos and pianists! What a range of talented bunch of children you have!

Enjoy the photos below which sums up our wonderful time away together making memories to stay in our hearts forever…

DAY ONE

DAY TWO

DAY THREE

THE GREATEST SHOW

Year 6 have now all been given their roles for the end of year play- we are so excited to get started on it! I know each child will embrace their role and they will be encouraged both at school and home with great enthusaism! Every role in the play is crucial. Just like in a team, each member plays a significant part in working towards the shared goal. They will contribute to the overall success of the performance as a whole and help create something truly memorable. It will be a show  you won’t forget because they all played a part in creating it and we can’t wait!

Notices

    • Half Term- School to close for half on Friday 24th May at normal time. School will reopen on Monday 10th June.

    • Tuesday 11th June Sports Day- This will be the second day back after half term so feel free to practice the events over half term. The events and set up will be identical to last year- starting at 1:30-3:00.

    • Monday 17th June Jim Jam Jog- Sponsorship forms have gone out to all children. Get fundraising for a brilliant cause. Money to be brought in on Jim Jam Jog Day.


Year 6 Weekly Blog- “You are only as successful as you let yourself be"

‘Christ has no body now on earth but yours’ Saint Teresa of Avila

Yesterday we went to church to celebrate the Ascension of Christ as a whole school. Father Peter told us the quote of St Teresa of Avila, reminding us the commandment that Jesus shared with us- To Love One Another and that although Jesus is not present in body, that he works through us. It is a beautiful reminder that we simply need to love.

May is the month of Mary, a very special month where we will study and use Rosary beads to pray and remember the ministry, life and death of Jesus but also Mary, the mother of Jesus. Throughout May we will be learning about and praying the mysteries.

After working with the children this week, we feel nothing but pride. The way the children have come in to school every day and giving their absolute best, no matter how they are feeling on the inside, is truly amazing! Each one of them are overcoming barriers and challenges, no matter how big or how small and this process is making them see, that hard work, over a long period of time, really does pay off. This week we celebrated all the children, not on their marks of their final practice papers, but on the progress they have made and for some, this has been huge! We have worked SUPER hard this week on the areas we needed to, as well as an exciting visit to ‘The Grand’ watching ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’- we just finished the last chapter in time! It was such a treat to see all the characters and the story come to life on stage!

Going Forward …

Monday will be the start of the children’s SAT’s journey and they are extremely ready for this! There will, of course, be some nerves and anticipation this weekend on the run up, but the most important thing to do over the next few days is to relax, exercise, have plenty of sleep and eat healthily. We need those brains ready and raring to go! It would be a good idea if the children, did a little revision (small doses) to keep their learning ticking over, we have sent a short reading task to omplete over the weekend ready for Monday, a sentence function revision map to prepare them for their grammar on Tuesday, and some ideas of IXL for their maths. It may just give them a bit of practice and confidence before the week begins. On Friday, the children set up the hall ready for Monday, so they all know exactly what they are walking in to and where to sit - I think there was even some excitement by the time we left the hall!

Next week’s timetable is as follows so that you know which each day holds. Please ensure that your child is in school on time after a really good night sleep and a substantial breakfast…

Monday am: Grammar, punctuation and Spelling test.

               pm: Reading revision focus

Tuesday am: Reading test

                Pm: Maths revision focus

Wednesday am: Arithmetic and Reasoning 1 test

                      pm: Maths revision focus

Thursday am: Maths Reasoning 2 test

                  pm: read through of script

The following week: Monday will be auditions and Tuesday will be the interview for jobs around school (dress to impress)

Leading Learners

Well done to Charlie and Alexander this week.

Wow Charlie, you have come back after your illness with such a determined attitude to your work. You are showing us exactly what you can do when you put your mind to it. You have put such a lot of effort into your revision work this week and the results are clear to see. What a capable young man you are!

Alex, you have been so considerate and flexible towards your classmates this week. You have helped around the school when you are needed and have made a difference wherever you are. Whether in the classroom, or on the playground, you have looked after our younger pupils with kindness and patience. Thank you for being a terrific role model.

Learned and Wise butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are learned in their actions, finding God in all things. Those who are wise, who use their learning for the common good. These children are the role models of the school, who drive their own learning and who have the wisdom to know when and how to apply one’s learning. This week we thank Nicola for working for the common good of our classroom this week.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Stanley

Role Model of the week … Anncia

This week we will take a break form helping in the mornings and start again the following week- thank you!

Notices

Thursday 16th May - End of year play read through

The Eco Council Green Day will be held on Friday 17th May- children to come in green and bring a pound. This is to raise funds to assist us in looking after our school grounds.

Monday 20th May- Auditions

Tuesday 21st May - Formal interviews with Mrs Gregan for positions around school. The children can come into school in formal interview wear. Dress to impress!


Have a wonderful and restful long weekend and thank you for your continued support.

Year 6 team

Year 6 Weekly Blog- “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.” J K Rowling

This power was most certainly evident in the Year 6 classroom this week… we are reminding ourselves daily that we hold this power, our inner strength, to do the best that we can, and as we remind the children daily, that their best is ALWAYS good enough. This week in class, the children have most certainly given just that… they have and I know they will continue to work incredibly hard. Their resilience and their whole attitude to their learning, makes us all so proud of them already. To us they have already achieved so much.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

In our prayer and liturgy this week, we reflected on Jesus’ appearance to His diciples after the resurrection. We discussed at length how Jesus asked us all to be witnesses. We have to open our minds to the scripture and open our hearts to God. We spoke how we can be witnesses to our faith, because we know Him, feel His presence, we experience His love and we can see how God works among us on a daily basis, in our lives, at chruch and around our school.

What have we been learning this week?

We have been working so hard this week, and we have managed to fit in so much learning. Thsi week we have had feedback in our grammar paper from last week. We have taken our 2nd mocks in Maths this week and we have even had a visit from the fire service to give us a lesson on fire safety. What a varied week!

English - This week we have looked at the question ‘was friar Lawrence responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet?’. The children were excellent in their debate, brigning forward valid reasons and backing their arguements up with evidence. Next week we will be revisiitng discussion writing and starting to write a discussion piece on this. I can’t wait to see what they can do!

Maths - We have been problem solving with percentages, learning about coordinates with Mrs Gregan and started to look at how this links with reading data from pie charts!

With a bank holiday coming up, and only a few weeks to go until May, every day is crucial. Please ensure that your children are in school on time to maximise every learning opportunity.

Delving deeper through talk …

Every week now I am going to give you a question that I would like you to explore together and discuss at home. This could be over the dinner time as a family, at bedtime, on a walk or even in the car. How ever you choose to discuss this question is up to you, but the idea is that it will help to give an insight in to what we talk about in school, help children to understand more about themselves or others.

How have you been a disciple of God this week?

After your feedback for Grammar, what do you know you need more practise at?

Learned and Wise butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are learned in their actions, finding God in all things. Those who are wise, who use their learning for the common good. These children are the role models of the school, who drive their own learning and who have the wisdom to know when and how to apply one’s learning. This week we thank Angel for working for the common good of our classroom this week.

Leading Learners

Well done to Leo and Harvey this week.

Leo we are so impressed with your focus on your learning, you really couldn’t work any harder. You listen intently to every part of every lesson, which shows in the progress you have made. We love the way you are always curious to find the solution to problems with such steely determination and you ask such focused questions that show just how inquisitive you are.

Harvey Wow what a week you have had! We are so proud of your positive attitude, the minute you have walked in to school until you have left! You have been so resilient in your learning this week and have kept going even when things have been tricky! You have been so determined to complete all your work independently, but asking if you need extra help. We are so proud of your ‘I CAN’ attitude Harvey- you can achieve so much with this mindset!

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Georgia

Role Model of the week … Dominic

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Dominic Connor-Sean Matilda Nicola

‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ …

As a class we have been reading the novel ‘The boy at the back of the class’ and the children are really enjoying this opprotunity to listen, enjoy and discuss this book. The children have loved hearing how Ahmed has transitioned in to his new school, learning about his background and seeing the friendship between him and the narrator develop. Luckily, The Grand at Blackpool, are performing this on stage and we thought it would be a great opprotunity to go and see this live at the theatre! It is the week before SAT’s too, which will give us some nice light relief from revision. With the cost of the coach and the tickets, this is £21, which is now on Parent Pay.

Notices


‘Treasure Trail’ evening at St Bede’s on Wednesday 1st May- please arrive between 5:30pm - 6:45pm to complete the trail.

Final payments for Borwick Hall is 3rd May, please see Parent Pay

Have a lovely weekend.

I will see you on Monday.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog - 'The greatest gifts we can give our children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence'

This week we have celebrated the risen Lord in our school chapel, how we can grow in our relationship with God and how we can be His true disciples. We shared how throughour faith we know Jesus is still among us and talked about all the things they have not yet seen, but know it is there. This is closely related to our new virtues of the half term- Learned and Wise. Finding God in all things and using His teachings wisely in our everyday lives to work for the common good.

Read more

Year 6 Weekly Blog - 'He is risen. He is not there.'

What a way to end a wonderful term together! I am sure that you were all moved by the children’s depiction of the Resurrection this morning - many a tear had to be wiped from the eye. This morning is what education is all about. The children having the opportunity to think outside of the box, be creative and to express themselves. We are incredibly proud of them all.

Continuing to learn

We have continued to really push ourselves to learn in the last week of this term. In addition to focusing on the Easter assembly, the children have been writing their own versions of Jesus’ journey to His cross. This piece is being written in 1st person so the children really have to focus on the emotion of the event. I can’t wait to share these with you after half term. In maths, we have done lots of percetnage work and to make sure children remember everything they have learnt, it’s important to keep this ticking over during the Easter break- please see the home learning page.

All of the children have revision resources and some past SAT papers for over half term for them to practise and have a go at. They have worked so hard and we are now onto the final push. Support your child the best way you see fit, these will not be assessed by me, so whatever level input you feel is necessary then please feel free. If you click on the button below, it will take you to the section on the Year 6 web page ‘How to Help Your Child.’ I have updated the page with lots of useful sites for the children to access. If you see there is an area that children need more practice, then these sites should help, but remember one of the most crucial ways is through books. So please make sure you set aside time of Easter to read together.The final weeks after half term will be focused on revision and helping the children in each of the different areas.

This week we went to visit the special visitors in Year 2 and we loved every minute if it …

Food Tech for after Easter …

Below is the dates, groups and the ingredients the children will need for after Easter…

Friday 12th April- Groups cooking(Mains)

Group 1:

Millie- parmesan (to sprinkle over pasta) and 1 lemon

Ruby Lilly- dry pasta(for 6 servings)

Poppy- 1 bunch of Parsley

Harvey- 1 pack of breadcrumbs

Leo- 5 garlic cloves

Group 2:

Max- x2 tomatoes 2x pepper's

Iris- 4 cloves of garlic 1x avocado

Owen- Taco shells x8 

Lilly- 1x natural yoghurt  2xlimes

Daisy- 2x red onions 2x avocados

Friday the 19th April - Groups cooking (desserts)

Group 1

Rosa-2x bars of cooking chocolate 

Charlie- 1x packs of strawberries

Georgia- 1x packs of marshmallows

Evan- 1x packs of strawberries

Group 2

Betsy- 1x meringue pack 

Tabby- 3x eggs    

Matilda-1x bar of cooking chocolate

Leon-Vanilla extract 

Jay- 1x strawberries

LEARNER OF THE HALF TERM

Voted for by your classmates for being an excellent learning role model within our classroom. The class think you have shone this half term …

Angel and Owen

Love and Compassionate butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do.  Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words. This week we thank Emilia, Daisy and Matilda for always being compassionate and loving with others.

Lunch Time Awards …

Year 6 have been awarded class of the half term for good manners and being excellent role models in the dinner hall!

Helpers in the morning for after Easter

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Edi Iris Nicola Harvey

Notices

Back to school on Monday 8th April

Leaver’s Hoodies

The leaver’s hoodies have been organised and are now ready to be sized. To ensure that your child receives the correct size, please take them into Top Marques to try them on. Top Marques will also take payment fpr the hoodie of £18.50 - hoodies will then be delivered to school before the children go on their next residential. You have until Friday 26th April to pop in and complete your orders.

On behalf of the Year 6 team, I wish you all a restful and holy Easter. Take time to spend with each other and to enjoy the beautiful weather- let’s hope it remains.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog 'A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new' Albert Einstein

It has been so lovely to talk and catch up with many of you last Wednesday. There is no greater joy than sharing your child’s achievements and progress, alongside targets and areas of development. This run up to May is always a crucial one, where we can really refine the skills we need and reinforce any necessary information. So many of you have asked how you can help your child at home and what you can do to give them confidence in the final few weeks. Staying calm and not putting unnecessary pressure on children will ensure that they remain confident and continue to have that ‘I can’ attitude; early nights will be crucial over the next few weeks as they will be tired from all of their hard work and of course keep talking to them about their success but also areas to improve, helping them to set a plan of what they can do to reach their targets. One HUGE way to support your child, is homework. Every week, I spend time organising and planning for the areas that Year 6 need the most, complimenting what we are doing in class. Having a parent work alongside them to do this homework WILL help them. Reading is the other area, reading alongside your child every night- modelling fluency and pace, modelling reading punctuation and asking them questions about what they have read will also have a great impact.

Wow we have been a class full of Isabella Insects this week: listening to advice, celebrating the things we have achieved, looking forward to the things we want to develop next and most importantly not comparing ourselves to others. Such vital skills when we are teaching our children to be independent learners; giving them the confidence to take risks, try different skills and most importantly, be allowed to make those crucial mistakes and learn from them. We have had a few weeks of feedback from our first practice SAT’s papers. This is a huge learning curve for the children, and a crucial one, as it allows them to celebrate their achievements but also, to see for themselves the areas they need to work on. The first paper is never a full reflection of what your children are capable of (especially when your teachers miss out questions), but we must celebrate them whatever mark they got as it is the first hurdle of a journey together. They now fully understand this process, as we have talked at length about how our feelings/ emotions can take control, preventing us to see or read questions carefully, the silly mistakes we make when we feel like we are being timed, the way the questions are worded and decoding ‘what does it want me to do?’ and then the strategies they can use to allow them to become more accurate or efficient. These are just SOME of the barriers, or as we would say, ‘learning opportunities’, that the children need to learn or overcome, before they even then, apply all of their knowledge.

I am so proud of the way Year 6 have approached this feedback. They have faced these sessions with such resilience, determination and maturity. This is why it is so crucial to do these papers at this time, rather than any earlier, as they are now more ready and have the skills to face these challenges. The children have laughed and celebrated at their silly errors, know exactly where they have gone wrong, know what they need to work on and are, dare I say it, even excited to do it again and ‘beat’ their score. These papers will go home with the children next week to share with you. Take the time to go through these papers, to celebrate their achievements, let them explain their mistakes and what they should have done and let them share their targets with you.

 

Enrichment Morning …

Monday morning Year 6 spent some time planting vegetables with Mrs Hotchkiss…

What have we been learning this week?

English - This week we have looked in to the fight scene of Mercuito and Tybalt, as well as continuing to revise the spelling rules for when nouns change from singular to plural and the possessive apostrophe and working on the active and passive voice.

Maths - We have continued to master our fraction work, solving problems, adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions and of course consolidating our arithmetic.

Geography- we spent time looking at the difference between hills and mountains, then found mountain ranges, collecting the data in bar charts.

Computing - This week we have been looking in to creating quizzes online for our reception partners and linking this to our Science work on animal adaptations

PE- This week we have been working on our racket control and rallying skills in tennis…

 

Leading Learners

Well done to Christian and Ruby-Lily this week.

Christian, you have been so resilient in your learning and this week we can see how your hard work is paying off! You have persevered with that deep maths learning of new methods and you have been so determined to complete all your work independently. Your fraction work this week has clicked in to place and you are whizzing through it, as you have such a sound recall of your times tables. We are so proud of your ‘I CAN’ attitude!

Ruby-Lily, we love the way you have took all feedback in your stride. You have been super reflective in your approach, quietly celebrating the areas you have achieved and recognising what you need to work on. This determination and self-reflection will serve you well in the future, keep making all your notes and listening carefully to feedback- well done!

Love and Compassionate butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do.  Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words. This week we thank Daisy for always being compassionate and loving with others.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Leo

Role Model of the week … Angel

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Owen Evan Leo Tabby

Notices

  • For those who could not make our ‘Book Look’ this week… the classroom will be open for half an hour after school on Tuesday 19th March, 3:20- 3:50pm, for any parents or grandparents that would like to see their children’s work.

  • Date for the diary- Year 6 Resurrection Assembly is on Thursday 28th March.


Have a lovely weekend.

We will see you on Monday.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog... 'A book is a gift you can open again and again'

You are never alone when you are lost in a book…

I love World Book Day-I am very upset I missed it! Yesterday, I am told, brought such happiness, laughter and excitement to the classroom. I hope you enjoy looking at the photographs from yesterday! This year, we have tried something a little different… throughout the school, we have spent the day being ‘storytellers’ and the children have worked incredibly hard creating and writing wonderful stories centred around their magical objects! The children loved the creative element of this and the endless possiblities to the imagination. Year 6 then got to share their stories with their Reception buddies and one lucky person will have their story chosen to go in to the ‘Storytellers’ box, which will be making its way back to The Grand Theatre!

Make time to celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how big or small …

I hope you enjoyed our book look this week, the children couldn’t wait to show you their work and how much they have achieved this year so far …

For those that missed the SAT’s and Borwick talk, the information will be shared next week on the blog.

Leading Learners

Well done to Leon and Mollie-Ann this week.

Leo, You are showing us exactly what you can do when you put your mind to it. You have put a lot of effort into your independent work this week and we are very proud of you. What a capable young man you are! You are trying to be a super role model and we can see this- keep it up Leon, we are excited to see just what you can do!

Mollie-Ann, you are beginning to see just what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. You have put so much effort in to your work this week and it really shows. You have brightened our classroom with your positive attitude. Thank you.

Love and Compassionate butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do.  Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words. This week we thank Christian for always being compassionate and loving with others.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Leon

Role Model of the week … Millie

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Edi Iris Matilda Connor-Sean

Notices

  • For those who could not make our ‘Book Look’ this week… the classroom will be open for half an hour after school on Tuesday 19th March, for any parents or grandparents that would like to see their children’s work.

  • Have you booked your Parent meetings from Mrs Gregan’s blog ?? These virtual meetings will take place on either Wednesday 13th March or Wednesday 20th March 2pm- 5:20pm.

  • Date for the diary- Year 6 Reesurrection Assembly is on Thursday 28th March.


Have a lovely weekend.

We will see you on Monday.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog 'From the cross, Christ teaches us to love even those that do not love us' Pope Francis

On Wednesday afternoon we went on a journey to the cross. For Jesus this journey was real but for us, the Stations of the Cross are a prayer journey. Father Peter, very kindly talked us through these fourteen stations to learn about what happened to Jesus when he died. This is such a crucial thing to do at this point of the year, as it reminds us of the vast love God has for us. Year 6 really enjoyed this, deep in prayer and asked some wonderful as they went around…

What have we been learning this week?

I am not sure that we have drawn breath this week - it has been full on, fast paced and thoroughly exciting.

  • English - Romeo and Juliet has continued to be the central point to our English unit. We have moved onto the most iconic scene - The Balcony Scene. The children were tasked with writing in role as Juliet. To really understand her emotions and to use Shakespeare’s language within their work. I was blown away! Our grammar focus has been our use of colons and semi-colons. The children have been experimenting with them and using them within their diary entries.

  • Maths - I am incredibly proud of the work that we have done this week on fractions- we have been comparing, ordering, convertingg- it’s has all been going on. This is a tricky concept that the children have grabbed with both hands. Next stop…percentages!

  • PE- this week we started our tennis work and we performed our duet representing the hero and the villain. We were so proud of how hard they worked and what they put together, we wanted to share it with you …

CHANGES TO HOMEWORK…

Today I have spent a lot of time gathering children’s homework, re-printing homework that has been misplaced or left at home and organising children to comeplete their homework. I am a firm believer that we need to prepare our children for their next journey. Homework and the organisation of their own time and work out of school is one way we can help them to be successful at high school, without it being a big shock for them in September. I have therefore made the decision that I will be now be giving out homework on Thurday and the new handing in day will be a Wednesday, as I can mointor it more carefully. Many thanks for your support.

Leading Learners

Well done to Charlie and Iris this week.

Charlie your enthusiasm, determination and positive attitude towards your learning is inspiring. You are super focused in class and now have the self-belief that you can do it and if you do come across an area you find challenging then you remain positive and go away and practise the skill until you master it. You have learnt that you are in control of your own learning, and that anything is possible when you have that positive growth mindset.

Iris, you never stop learning! There are times when you could sit back, relax and let the learning wash over you, but you never do. You seize every learning opportunity and see every lesson or feedback as a chance to challenge yourself and take your learning to the next level. Sitting back is never an option for you, you’re engaged and ensure you are actively learning and because of this your progress is evident! You are also a wonderful role model, always there to lend a helping hand, thank you for your quiet kindness and consideration to others.

Love and Compassionate butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do.  Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words. This week we thank Evan for always being compassionate and loving with others.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Emilia

Role Model of the week … Matilda

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Leon Owen Evan Matilda

Notices

  • World Book Day 7th March- dress up as your favourite BOOK characters and bring with you a magical object to help spark our imaginations to create our own cllass story! This ‘magical object’ could be linked to the character you’re dressed up as, but it doesn’t have to be- but be prepared to share your story and get creative! Some magical objects may include: a magic feather, a magic stone, a magic jewel- be creative!

  • Wednesday 6th March Year 6 Book Look at 2pm- we will also be doing a brief talk on SAT’s - what to expect and on the end of year residential, so please come along!

  • Have you booked your Parent meetings from Mrs Gregan’s blog ?? These virtual meetings will take place on either Wednesday 13th March or Wednesday 20th March 2pm- 5:20pm.


Have a lovely weekend.

We will see you on Monday.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog ‘Love and Compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive' Dalai Lama

Welcome back to the second half of the spring term. There is no doubt that it is going to be a busy term with lots and lots going on. I am really excited that we will end the term with an Easter assembly. It will be a lovely way to bring our class family: parents and children together.

This half term, we are focusing on the virtues of being compassionate and loving. There is so much love in our school and especially our class and I am so grateful for all of your wonderful children and how hard they are all working. Keep supporting them at home with their daily reading, completion of homework and of course attendance, it is such a crucial time, that we can not miss any learning opportunity!

This week has been a different week, as I was unfortunately poorly earlier in the week, but the children continued to workb hard and show the supply teachers just what polite, well-mannered and compassionate children they are!

Turning to the Cross

This week, we celebrated the start of Lent at mass with our Reception parnters. This was such a beautiful time, of deep prayer and reflection.We also have now exchanged our Lenten boxes with Reception, ready to collect money for Cafod during Lent. It was so clear how much effort all the children had put in to when creating their boxes and they loved getting together again to give it to their partner.

Being an active and curious learner.

I am sure the children have come home to tell you that they have had their first paper back from their grammar. This was such an exciting and worth-while learning journey, where we have been through the paper, celebrated achievements and even mistakes- as the mistakes we make are what we truly learn from the most! I would like to remind all of you that this process is not to label or to level your child, as we have not yet completed the whole curriculum, we simply do this to ensure your children are familiar with the layout, formatting, style of questions and of course to learn what is expected of them. The children have had the chance to think about what areas they know they need to work on now and reflect on what progress they would like to make next time- marginal gains are always the best way! We were so proud of the children’s maturity and resilience during this feedback time.

Leading Learners

Well done to Georgia and Emilia this week.

Georgia we are so proud of your attitude towards your learning and your drive to succeed. You really are such a resilient Sadie Spider! You just have not given up in Maths this week, in an area that you found really difficult! But you stuck with it, tried your best, reflected on mistakes and strived to not let it beat you with great results!! Keep working on those times tables with the same resilience and then you will be unstoppable!

Emilia, you are so focused during lessons, managing your distractions and getting lost in each task. Your work always reflects your capabilities, but also you’re creative, and we love the way you never stop at what is expected from you, you always challenge yourself to take your learning to the next step! We love your enthusiasm and enjoyment when approaching French lessons- thank you for passing on your enthusiasm to others!

Love and Compassionate butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do.  Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words. This week we thank Connor-Sean for always being compassionate and loving with others.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Tabby

Role Model of the week … Daisy

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Stan Edi Iris Tabby

Notices

  • World Book Day 7th March- dress up as your favourite BOOK characters and bring with you a magical object to help spark our imaginations to create our own cllass story! This ‘magical object’ could be linked to the character you’re dressed up as, but it doesn’t have to be- but be prepared to share your story and get creative! Some magical objects may include: a magic feather, a magic stone, a magic jewel- be creative!

  • Wednesday 6th March Year 6 Book Look at 2pm- we will also be doing a brief talk on SAT’s - what to expect and on the end of year residential, so please come along!

  • Have you booked your Parent meetings from Mrs Gregan’s blog ?? These virtual meetings will take place on either Wednesday 13th March or Wednesday 20th March 2pm- 5:20pm.


Have a lovely weekend.

We will see you on Monday.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker



Year 6 Weekly Blog - 'Don't be afraid to take on the biggest of challenges, they offer the greatest reward.'

We have reached the end of a very busy and full half term. I know I say this most weeks, but I really am in awe of the work that the children are completing and the expectations that they have of themselves. Whether it be Science, Maths, RE or Art, the children always get fully stuck into their learning and become immersed by what they are being taught. I am so very proud of them all.

Online Safety

In the midst of our busy week, we devoted a large amount of conversation time to online safety. Tuesday was National Online Safety Day. Children from all over the country will have been looking carefully at their online behaviour; hopefully they will have learnt a thing or two.

In class we started by taking part in the BBC live lesson- looking at all of the ways technology enhances our lives and Artifical Intelligence, reflecting on both the positive and potential dangers of this. We then went on to talk about how online beahviours can influence us, both positively and negatively- there was lots of very deep and open conversations around this. Today we spoke about scoial media and how there are age restirctions for a reason. We relefcted on positive and negative behviours at using these platforms.

WELL-BEING…

On Wednesday, we looked at and discussed, all the ways we can look after our emotional well-being and looked at some strategies we can use when we feel overwhelmed by certain emotions. Today, we read a book about ‘tapping your way to a great big smile’ which focuses on a different strategy of tapping to relieve stress or as a way to manage feelings. All great tools to have under our belt as we progress to the end of the year!

Where has our learning taken us this week?

  • English - ‘Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo.’ This week we have explored Romeo and Juliet’s first encounter and written a recount in role- very romantic!

  • Maths - We have continued with our long division practice and consolidation- this will be ongoing now, so please do not worry if we are not 100% confident with this just YET- we WILL get there, we just have to be Sadie Spiders! Fractions has been a big part of the week, we have been simplifying fractions byt finding the highest common factor!

  • RE - What happens during the Liturgy of the Eucharist- we have looked at the main parts and discussed how Jesus is present.

Amended version of the video from last week. I am very sorry I missed off our final group!

Being an active and curious learner.

I am sure the children have come home to tell you that this week we sat our first mock SAT’ paper. We have really played these assessments down this year, focusing on the children’s learning, development and any gaps they have, rather than teaching them how to take a test. Year 6 knew just days before that they were going to complete this, as I didn’t want to give them too much time to dwell, however, they came in to school yesterday with great resilience and such a positive attitude. It is often really hard plunging into the unknown, but that is exactly what the children have done. After half term, we will continue to complete the Maths and Reading, but they all understand the importance of this and I am sure lots of lessons will be learnt which will enable us to build and move forward together as a class. Once they have completed these assessment, they will of course be marked and handed back to them where they will be encouraged to think about their progress and where they want to be next time they take a set of papers. Marginal gains is what it is all about. Over the next few weeks, the children will be bringing folders home, with their papers in them. This is their opportunity to share their work with you, to purple pen, celebrate their successes and reflect on their mistakes. At this point, it is really important to remember that the Year 6 curriculum has not been fully covered yet and we still have plenty of time. Please celebrate your child’s achievements and help them to develop their own targets. You may also find, over the next few weeks, past papers or SAT examples may come home as part of their homework. This can be completed the best way you see fit- whether this is alongside your child, independently or even, if they independently start and then go over their answers after. Homework is not always about assessing your child, this is done in class, homework is all about consolidating what they have learnt in class, revising and practicing skills they will need, so this may not always be formally marked, but what they have gained from carrying out these practice papers will have helped them greatly.

LEARNER OF THE HALF TERM

Voted for by your classmates for being an excellent learning role model within our classroom. The class think you have shone this half term …

Connor-Sean and Christian

Eloquent and Truthful butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are eloquent in their words, that show the language to ask questions, express emotions, speak beliefs, talk about matters of faith and hope, debate points of view, and engage in conversation. Those who are truthful, who speak the truth about themselves and others. These children are the role models of the school. This week we thank Rosa for always being eloquent and truthful.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Charlie

Role Model of the week … Evan

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Evan Owen Harvey Matilda

Notices

  • World Book Day 7th March- dress up as your favourite BOOK characters and bring with you a magical object to help spark our imaginations to create our own cllass story! This ‘magical object’ could be linked to the character you’re dressed up as, but it doesn’t have to be- but be prepared to share your story and get creative! Some magical objects may include: a magic feather, a magic stone, a magic jewel- be creative!

  • Wednesday 6th March Year 6 Book Look at 2pm- we will also be doing a brief talk on SAT’s - what to expect and on the end of year residential, so please come along!

  • Parent meetings will be going live on Mrs Gregan’s blog so please book an appointment- these virtual meetings will take place on either Wednesday 13th March or Wednesday 20th March 2pm- 5:20pm.

  • Please do continue to keep up to date with your child’s homework (particularly spelling). The vocabulary that the children are being asked to spell are getting more complex and they will need your support to figure out the best strategy to use. Learning them over time, rather than bulking them the night before, always seems like the best route to use. Over half term they have some key areas to focus on- especially the long division which we have been doing this week- we don’t want them to lose this skill and forget! Have a look at this great video some of our Year 6 put together, to remind themselves and their grown-ups how to do long division (it is also on the homework page) …

Have a wonderful and restful half term.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog 2.02.23 - 'For never was there a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.'

I don’t think anybody can say that the Year 6 classroom is not a varied one! From performing Romeo and Juliet prologe to tackling fractions in Maths to composing our own ground base in music, we have certainly had a full and diverse week of learning.

Look at our work …

The children worked so hard on their Rosa Parks last week and as I took them home to mark, I could have burst with pride! Usually, I love to mark all over their work, highlighting the effective elements, celebrating their work and giving them areas of development. But this time, as I got my highlighters and green pen out, I found myself not wanting to mark their work it was so beautiful. So instead, I read thoroughly, and will be providing the children with whole class feedback next week. The children I know love doing this as it really gives them a sense of ownership of their progress. Here are our wonderful biographies …

Where has our learning taken us this week?

  • English - ‘Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo.’ Older literature is our focus now, in particular Romeo and Juliet. This week we looked at three different interpretations of this play and we have mapped out the whole plot, summarizing each main event. Next week, we will also be comparing the opening of the play via two films. One for 1968 and one from 1996. I will be using the 1996 film occasionally throughout the teaching sequence. This film is a certificate 12, but I can assure you that all of the content that the children will be shown will be suitable and appropriate.

  • Maths - This week we are coming to the end of finding equivalent fractions, looking at how we use ur multiplication and division knoweldge to find these. Next week we will continue this and find the lowest form as well as start our long division work.

  • RE- We have looked at theLiturgy of the word and reflected on how Jesus is present through his words, looking closely at what messages he is trying to convey to us.

‘Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou Romeo.’ Drama is a brilliant way to bring text to life and we will be using drama throughout this entire unit. We have filmed and photographed the prologue to Romeo and Juliet. Please enjoy our film below.

Leading Learners

Well done to Tabby and Rosa this week.

Tabby you have shown over the last couple of weeks what a reflective learner you are – you listen to the teaching and strive to achieve the learning objectives. You have listened to feedback and worked your socks off to improve the presentation of your work and goodness me, your work has shone! It has been a pleasure picking up your book, as your work now reflects just what you are capable of. You know your strengths but also the areas you want to develop, which is a very mature skill to have and enables you learning to fly!

Rosa- you are heaven on a plate and we LOVE teaching you! You are such a bundle of energy and enthusiasm, where every lesson you give your all! You hang on to every word and are such an active learner! Thank you!

Eloquent and Truthful butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are eloquent in their words, that show the language to ask questions, express emotions, speak beliefs, talk about matters of faith and hope, debate points of view, and engage in conversation. Those who are truthful, who speak the truth about themselves and others. These children are the role models of the school. This week we thank Owen for always being eloquent and truthful.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Owen

Role Model of the week … Besty

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Tabby Charlie Iris Edi

Notices

  • LEAVERS HOODIES - Over the past 10 years, the children in Year 6 have wanted to have a leavers hoodie to commemorate their time in school; they seem to have become a normal gift at the end of a child's primary school journey. Whenever, our children have had them, it hasn't been school that have organised them, but a group of parents who have taken on the job ready for when the children leave. I have reflected on this and have decided that we will now bring this in school and embrace the need. The children will be able to order their hoodie so that it will be delivered in time for their residential in May. It seems only fair that they can wear them whilst they have fun at Borwick Hall. Once I have a final design, timeframe and costing, we will issue a letter and you will be able to order and pay via Parent Pay. We hope that this takes some pressure off the need for parents to organise

  • Please do continue to keep up to date with your child’s homework (particularly spelling). The vocabulary that the children are being asked to spell are getting more complex and they will need your support to figure out the best strategy to use. Learning them over time, rather than bulking them the night before, always seems like the best route to use.

Have a happy weekend.

Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker

Year 6 Weekly Blog 26.01.24 'To bring about change, you must not be afraid to take the first step. We will fail when we fail to try' Rosa Parks

It has been such a reflective week in Year 6. In our RE we delved deeper in to the scripture ‘I am the bread of life’, at how we can nourish ourselves spirituality as well as physically through our daily interactions with others, as well as prayer and different ways we can connect or talk to God. Earlier in the week we reflected on Sunday’s gospel and what it mean to be ‘fishers of men’, adding our name to a fish where it will displayed in our front entrance.

HOMEWORK

Homework is such a crucial part of Year 6, where children reinforce their learning, revisit new concepts and retrieve information from their class learning, which in turn has more chance sticking in their long term memory, finding it easier and quicker to retrieve pieces of information when needed in the future. Also, children who reinforce their learning, do find it easier to make links to other areas and apply the same strategies they have learnt to unfamiliar areas. Every week, there are children, often the same children, who do not complete all areas of their homework or do not bring back their book. In Year 6 our mission is to prepare them for their next stage in life, and organising their home learning and ensuring they have completed work on time is a crucial part of this. Please help your child and make sure they have completed all the necessary homework on time. We also need another big push on ensuring all children are reading every night- this week I went through who has not completed a quiz during the three weeks of this half term and there was quite a number of them. Please help us to reinforce the importance of this skill.

Where has our learning taken us this week?

We have had a lovely week in class. Full of hard work, enthusiasm and deep reflection- and we even managed to watch the Dr Who episode where the doctor met Rosa Parks, which was such a great tool to use before we wrote our wonderful Biographies. The children were so gripped and great conversations led on from this about the injustice of the time.

  • English - This week the children have finished their Outcome 2 biographies on Rosa Parks. Because of the excellent homework produced, the children had such a wealth of knowledge and could write with great confidence. I am looking forward to marking them over the weekend- they are so proud of their work!

Maths- we have now started to look in to equivalent fractions- this is where our excellent recall in our times tables really comes in to play!

  • Science - EVOLUTION AND INHERITANCE - this week have carried out an experiment in teams, where we were given certain materials and had to design and make our own beaks. In order to survive this beak had to be able to pick up and drop the ‘worms’ in a time limit. There was then a twist and the environment changes- these beaks then had to be adpated to be able to pick up sunflower seeds!

Leading Learners

Well done to Betsy and Dominic this week.

Betsy, thank you for reflecting so deeply on your writing targets and responding to any feedback given. You take advice and comments on board and apply this to your writing, I have loved picking up your book this week and seeing just how much progress you have made! 

Dominic you are so focused during lessons, managing your distractions and getting lost in each task. Your writing this week reflected this beautifully. You listen to lessons and apply what you have learnt very well- keep it up Dominic.

Eloquent and Truthful butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are eloquent in their words, that show the language to ask questions, express emotions, speak beliefs, talk about matters of faith and hope, debate points of view, and engage in conversation. Those who are truthful, who speak the truth about themselves and others. These children are the role models of the school. This week we thank Rosa and Jay for always being eloquent and truthful.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Jay

Role Model of the week … Iris

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Harvey Owen Evan Leo

Notices

  • Next Wednesday the NHS are here to measure height and weight. There is also a short survey for the children to complete in regards to their mental well-being. Please make sure you have read the letter they have had fully, so you know what to expect on thsi day.

  • LEAVERS HOODIES - Over the past 10 years, the children in Year 6 have wanted to have a leavers hoodie to commemorate their time in school; they seem to have become a normal gift at the end of a child's primary school journey. Whenever, our children have had them, it hasn't been school that have organised them, but a group of parents who have taken on the job ready for when the children leave. I have reflected on this and have decided that we will now bring this in school and embrace the need. The children will be able to order their hoodie so that it will be delivered in time for their residential in May. It seems only fair that they can wear them whilst they have fun at Borwick Hall. Once I have a final design, timeframe and costing, we will issue a letter and you will be able to order and pay via Parent Pay. We hope that this takes some pressure off the need for parents to organise

  • Just a reminder that lip balms or any type of creams, are classed as a type of medication and therefore (if needed) need to be handed in to the teacher- thank you for your support.


Year 6 Weekly Blog 'The Word was God ... and the Word became flesh' (John 1:14)

God came to Earth to deliver a very important message of love to us all and the children have been reflecting on the meaning of the mystery of the Incarnation during RE lessons. We looked closely at the meaning of the scripture, how God came in the human form and then we questioned the significance of this and why he did this. The children also looked at evidence in the Gospels that Jesus was homeless, persecuted and displaced. This has enhanced our virtues Eloquent and Truthful even further, as we look for God in all things and use his teachings to speak his words eloquently and truthfully in our every day life. Earlier this week we shared a liturgy where we looked at these virtues and how we can use them in our lives, the children were then asked to write a prayer on these to add to our ‘burning bush’ display in the classroom.

Where has our learning taken us this week?

Wow the learning in Year 6 has really started to pick up pace and Year 6 are rising to all of the challenges- we are all so proud of them. We are managing to fit in so much learning and they are even becoming much more organised in the mornings, getting all of their equipment and books ready for the lessons ahead.

  • English - This week we have been working hard on our biography work, writing a paragraph each day on our Henry VIII biography and practicing using semi-colons and our relative clauses, using them as embedded clauses and at the end of our sentences. Next week we will be writing our own biographies on Rosa Parks, we were hoping to watch the Dr Who eposide to help us undertsand her struggles, please let me know via email if this is not something you want your children to see.

  • Maths - This week we have been looking at decimals, the value of all of the digits, comparing and ordering. We are now multiplying and dividing them by 10, 100 and 1000.

  • Science- This week we have been continuing our learning in to the theory of evolution, finishing our Charles Darwin research and looking at how the industrial revolution affected two varieties of peppered moths.

  • Music- This week we have been looking at boroque style music and learning to play canon in D using musical instruments….

Here is the video of them following the notation, they did so well and we love their concentration faces!

Leading Learners

Well done to Matilda and Anncia this week.

Matilda, thank you for reflecting so deeply on your learning, ensuring you apply what you have learnt to all areas and striving to be the best you can. You are working so hard across all areas, but I can see you know exactly the areas that you are determined to improve.

Anncia, we are always so impressed with your resilience and focus in all areas. You listen so well to the teaching, think deeply and this is always reflected in your work. Thank you for always putting 110% in to your work.

Eloquent and Truthful butterflies

This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that are eloquent in their words, that show the language to ask questions, express emotions, speak beliefs, talk about matters of faith and hope, debate points of view, and engage in conversation. Those who are truthful, who speak the truth about themselves and others. These children are the role models of the school. This week we thank Daisy for always being eloquent and truthful.

Lunch Time Awards …

Marvelous Manners awards … Dominic

Role Model of the week … Georgia

Helpers in the morning

This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:

Leon Edi Tabby Matilda

Notices

  • Please do continue to keep up to date with your child’s homework (particularly spelling). The vocabulary that the children are being asked to spell are getting more complex and they will need your support to figure out the best strategy to use. Learning them over time, rather than bulking them the night before, always seems like the best route to use.

  • Just a reminder that lip balms or any type of creams, are classed as a type of medication and therefore (if needed) need to be handed in to the teacher- thank you for your support.