Year 6
Year 6 have had a wizard day to conclude our first half term! Quidditch, magic wands making, sewing socks for Dobby, writing with quills, brewing potions... We are all waiting for our letter from Hogwarts in the post! 
Diwali Workshop
Homework
- Passport to the world - Brazil
- Daily reading - at least 30 minutes per day. Please, record your child's reading homework in their reading log. These will be checked daily.
- Daily spelling and arithmetic (see weekly work attached below)
- Instrument practice
- As part of their homework, the children will have to memorise a poem every fortnight. Check your child's targets to see if they need to memorise a section of the poem or the whole poem.
Statutory spelling lists
Let's talk books!
It is important that we begin to prepare children for High School and the expectation of an increased level of homework through online access. Therefore, in addition to their core homework, we have developped a ‘blog’ about books for the children in Y6 in order to aid their transition. Children will be expected to access the blog daily to see if a task has been set (this may be as simple as to post a comment about their favourite book) and to carry out the task.
The comments are being moderated, and no comment will be published without having been read by the class teacher first. Children do not need to log in to access the Padlet, and can post comments without creating an account. Although this is a private blog, we encourage the use of initials or pseudonyms in their post, to avoid posting any personal information online.
Here is the link to access our Padlet blog: Let's Talk Books!
Homework Challenges
Maths
Challenge 1: A Christmas Maths delivery
Santa Claus has 3 large sacks of presents to deliver. There are no more than 8 presents in each sack.
- In the purple and blue sacks there are 12 presents in total.
- In the purple and orange sacks there are 10 presents in total.
- In the blue and orange sacks there are 8 presents in total.
How many presents are there in each sack? Use pictures to help you answer the question.
Challenge 2: Where did my day go?
For this challenge, you will need to draw a circle. Use the circle as a pie chart for you to record your daily activities. If 24 hours = 100% of your time, how much time do you spend doing each of the following activities?
- Sleeping
- Reading
- Eating
- Family time
- Playing videogames
- At school
- Hobbies (arts, crafts, sports, playing an instrument…)
- Relaxing
Writing
Research famous highwaymen and produce a fact file. Try to use your own words (not to copy and past from the internet), and think carefully about the purpose and audience in the written tasks and adapt your language accordingly.
You can present your work in several formats, such as a poster, a PowerPoint presentation or any other creative ideas you might have!
Science
What does the circulatory system of a lizard look like? Or a whale’s? Choose your favourite animal and compare their circulatory system to ours.
Create a poster or a model showing their circulatory system, and explain how they are similar / different to ours.
Religious Education
This half term, your RE task will be to put in practice your own reverse Advent calendar. A reverse advent calendar is the opposite of a normal advent calendar. With a normal advent calendar, you open a door each day to see a picture, take out a chocolate or get some other prize. With a reverse advent calendar, you give back to others something that you have. This could be the gift of your time, share a talent you have, a favourite recipe, some kind words, help out at home, donate some clothes or toys to a local charity…
You begin with a blank page (see document at the end of this post). Every day throughout the 24 days of Advent, you need to choose a person and what you will give them as a gift. Then, record it in your calendar. When Christmas arrives, you will have shared some of the joy of making people’s life richer, which is at the heart of Christmas: the gift of God’s self to us in Jesus.
Reading together at home
Evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who don’t, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures. Sharing a book with your child allows you to share adventures and experiences in the safe world of the book. It allows you to ask questions, talk about what has happened and decide what you think together, as well as sharing quality time together.
For these reasons I will be share here the books we will read in class every term, so that if you wish you can read them with your child at home. This term, our Literacy work will be based on these three books:
1. “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes. This thrilling poem, charged with drama and tension, is available online, so all children can access the text. In class, we will use an illustrated edition of the poem, and we will learn the grammatical features of this poem as well as the figurative language skills that Alfred Noyes used.
2. “Pig Heart Boy” by Malorie Blackman. This is a powerful, thought-provoking story from the award-winning Malorie Blackman, who has written about a delicate topic with skill and sensitivity. Besides raising questions on the ethics of heart transplantation when the heart is that of an animal it is also an eye opener on the world of teenage boys, his fears and hopes, and the importance of belonging.
3. “A Christmas Carol” by Tony Milton. A captivating, rhyming picture book retelling of Charles Dicken's much-loved, classic tale about the true spirit of Christmas
Times Tables Practice at home
It is essential for children to know their times tables fluently in order to access Maths confidently in Year 6, as well as to improve their pace. For this reason, they should practice their times tables at home daily. Not only they need to know their multiplication facts - they must be quick at recalling them in order to succeed.
The website http://timestables.me.uk/ is a free site where you can set up automatically generated online times tables test, with an option to print them. You can select:
- The amount of questions you want them to do.
- The times tables that you want to test them on.
- Whether you want them to practice multiplication facts, division facts or both.
This is a fantastic resource for children to practice their times tables daily. At the end of the test, you will get a summary of your child's results, including how many questions they got right / wrong, the time they took to complete them and the answers to the questions they answered incorrectly. It is a great tool for children to improve not only their knowledge of the multiplication but the speed at which they recall them. Challenge them to beat their own score / time - they are always willing to improve their results!
The big question for the Autumn term is...
Will we ever stop evolving?
Curriculum - Autumn Term
This term, we will be learning about:
- History and Geography: The Maya Civilization
- Science: Evolution and Inheritance & The Circulatory System
- Design and Technology: Chocolate
- Physical Education: Swimming and Hockey
- Art and Design: Sketch Work and Maya Masks
- Computing: Travel Writers and Advertisers
- Passport to the world: Canada and Brazil
KEY INFORMATION
St Saviour’s School Bank and Shop
We are delighted to re open Sutton Stores and Seacombe Bank. The children who have been successful in applying for jobs will begin their training with Mrs Abbate next week and all children will start earning saves too to deposit into their bank accounts. Below is a reminder of how to earn saves each week. Remember it takes hard work to earn money and the more you work, the more you can earn!
- Representing the school at any event – 2 Saves
- Entering a homework challenge – 3 Saves
- Entering Passport to The World – 3 Saves
- Completing the half termly reading challenge – 3 Saves
- Getting all weekly spellings correct – 1 Save
- Getting all weekly times tables problems correct – 1 Save
- Being in the winning ‘tree’ at the end of the week – 1 Save
- 100% attendance / punctuality per half term – 3 Saves
- PE kit in school 100 % per half term – 3 Saves
- Working in the Shop or Bank – 3 Saves per half term for managers; 2 Saves for Cashiers
- Children will also have the opportunity to earn Saves if they work as school councillors, playground peacemakers or sports ambassadors
Mobile phones
Children in Year 6 who are walking home may bring a mobile phone to school. During the day it will be switched off and kept safely in the classroom stock cupboard where children cannot access them. They will be handed to children at the end of the day to go home.
All classrooms have clocks but children may wear a simple analogue or digital watch to school as it can help them learn to tell the time. However, no Apple or smart watches please. These will be considered as a mobile device.
Waffle
If you would like to see some of the adventures Waffle has been going on, please go to our 'Waffle' page on the children section of the website where you will find a special message along with some pictures!
Sing Up at Home
If you enjoy singing and would like to learn a new song, follow the link below to visit the Sing Up at Home page. There will be a new song uploaded along with a performance track and backing track each week including pointers and tips on how to sing the song successfully.
Good luck and happy singing!
Numeracy
Throughout the year, Year 6 will be considering the question below...
We will be focusing on applying their numeracy skills to solve reasoning and real life problems. Children will deepen their understanding of the 4 operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and how they can be applied to the world around them.
Don't forget to read every night and have your red books signed!
Want to revise?
