Welcome to Year 6!
We are writing to share some information about life in year 6.
Our two classes are Hawks class with Miss Hammond and Kestrels class with Mr Belton. Our teaching assistants are Mrs Jones and Mrs Searle.
Curriculum and key dates
Our project question is ‘What are the ingredients for change?’ We start the year by learning about the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, the changes they made and the impact they have had. We will be using ‘Beowulf’ by Kevin Crossley-Holland to write a descriptive story ending and will read ‘Floodland’ by Marcus Sedgwick in our whole class and carousel reading lessons. As part of our RE curriculum, we learn about Buddhism and in science, we study evolution and adaptation. In DT, we design and construct Viking warships and an Anglo-Saxon settlement! After half-term, we will visit the Clair Hall site to help us explore changes we think should be made to it. We will then design and construct a model to show what we think the site should look like going forward. An overview of the curriculum can be found on the website at https://www.stwilfrids-hh.school/web/year_six/
Here are a couple of key events for Spring term:
- Parents’ consultations – Tuesday 28 February & Thursday 2 March from 3:30-7:00pm.
- Bikeability – Monday 20 April – Friday 24 April. The Bikeability scheme (run by West Sussex County Council) offers young people the chance to develop their skills and confidence to cycle safely on the road.
KS2 celebration worship takes place on Friday afternoons, where one member of each class is chosen to receive a certificate for their work that week. The work of these children is shared and the rest of the key stage has a chance to hear about their achievements.
Reading at home
Even when your child enjoys reading and reads well on their own, they still need to read aloud all the way through their Key Stage Two years. Books can be borrowed from the school library – each class will visit once a week – and each year group has a selection of books that your child can borrow and read at home. Every time your child reads at home, you (or your child) should log this using BoomReader BoomReader — The Digital Reading Record. BoomReader also has a free app which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play. The school code is 39826 and your child’s login has already been sent home. If you need this again, please email the year six address and we can provide this for you. In KS2, children will be awarded value points for every occasion that they read at home. When children have finished a chapter book, they need to click the option on BoomReader that allows them to show they have completed the book so we have a record of the types of book they are reading.
In Year 6, children can earn ‘Reading Rewards’ time, for reading at home and recording it on BoomReader. To receive this reward time, children need to read at home on at least five occasions during the week and log these. logging can be done by an adult or child using the BoomReader website or app. We also give children the opportunity to log the reading in school.
Maths homework is set every week on a Thursday and needs to be completed by the following Thursday. This homework will be an activity on the website MyMaths based on what the children have been learning that week, revision of a prior concept or an introduction to a future concept. Children have been given their log-in details for MyMaths, but if these have been misplaced, please inform the class teacher.
English homework is set each month and is usually a written task, based on a prompt, such as a story opening or illustration. In addition, children will be set spellings to practise and these will be tested on a Thursday in Kestrels class and Friday in Hawks class. These will be a mixture of words from the statutory ‘word lists’ and those with particular spelling patterns.
Times tables and related division facts should be practised on an on-going basis, ideally a few minutes daily. Children are expected to know these and be making progress with them. Children are expected to know these and be making progress with them. ‘Times Tables Rockstars’ - Times Tables Rock Stars: Play (ttrockstars.com) - is an excellent website to use to practise these and children have been provided with logins to access this at home.
All children are expected to complete and hand their homework in on time. If children are finding it difficult to complete their homework at home, they can choose to attend ‘Learning Links’ (homework club) for part of their lunchtime where they can receive support with their homework.
PE in both classes is on a Thursday and a Friday so please ensure your child comes into school in PE kits on those days each week. If there is any reason why your child cannot participate in a PE session, please let the class teacher know through the year six email address. As an alternative, or in addition to plimsolls, sports trainers are allowed in the Juniors. These are particularly useful during the winter months as it allows the field to be used for outside PE. PE is only cancelled in the event of heavy rain, icy or extremely cold conditions, therefore children can wear a a pair of jogging bottoms (ideally navy). Children should wear school sweatshirts for PE. Children with pierced ears must be able to remove their own earrings or cover these with tape.
Water bottles and snacks
Please remember to bring in a water bottle and a healthy fruit or savoury snack (for example, fresh fruit, a bagel, raisins etc) for break time. Please ensure any snacks and packed lunches are both nut and egg free.
Please ensure your child has a waterproof coat in school every day. All clothing, including PE kit, should be labelled with your child’s surname. Children are expected to wear sensible, black shoes as part of the school uniform. Lost property is located in the first aid area by the Y5/6 doors to the KS2 playground.
We are looking forward to a great Spring term. If at any point you have a message for your child’s teacher, please email firstname.lastname@example.org, as emails are checked daily.
Please do contact us if you have any questions.
Thank you for your continued support,
Mr A Belton and Miss C Hammond