English
In English this week we set sail on the Peggy Sue and wrote in role as Michael, the main character from our class text Kensuke’s Kingdom. The children tried hard to include descriptive phrases and the language from the author as they wrote and did a really good job at remembering key details from the book. We will be working hard on basics such as capital letters and full stops – though the children in Year 6 should be very secure on these already – and on year 5/6 statutory words. These are the 100 words children need to be able to spell by the end of the year. It’s a comprehensive list! Please take a look with them and support them as they learn to remember the spellings of these tricky words.
Geography
This week we listened to a story about what it was like to experience a large earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. The children learnt the words earthquake, tremors and aftershock. Ask your child if they can explain to you what each word means!
Assessment Week
To support our planning this year, we will be carrying out a set of assessments in the coming week or so. We know that the children have not yet had the experience of Year 6 curriculum and do not want them to worry or panic about these assessments in any way – it is simply for us to have a baseline to work from. We have spoken with the children and will make sure they feel calm, confident and fully understand why they are completing the papers.
We will be using the past papers from 2024, 2025 and 2026 in the coming year so we kindly ask that you don’t use these as revision resources during the year. Please don’t feel that you need to begin lots of revision now — there is plenty of time, and we will guide the children carefully through everything they need. We will speak to each of you at the first parent evening to discuss what could be done at home, alongside the weekly homework.
General Reminders
Can all children please bring indoor shoes if they do not already have some in school. It is becoming quite wet outside and they should be changing out of their dirty / wet shoes after playtime. Some children are without shoes and only in socks: if the fire alarm went off and they were in socks it would lead to some very soggy and cold feet!
Chromebooks should be fully charged, ready to use in class every day. Children should also have a (cheap) pair of headphones with them in school to be used in class when doing spelling activities or watching videos for research.
Thank your for your support in making sure reading diaries have been completed. Reading is so very important for children as we know that children who read for pleasure do better in a wide range of subjects at school and it also positively impacts children’s wellbeing. If you are able to share a story with your child or listen to them read out loud regularly, it will make such a difference
Homework
Spelling shed – 3 games ‘long vowel sound spelt ‘y’ (rhyme, occupy, apply etc.)
Maths – mathletics or mathsbot 30 minutes and TTRS 20 minutes.
Extreme Reading – every day.
Have a lovely weekend.
Year 6 Team.
