Year 6 Newsletter
Terms 3 + 4 (Spring) 2020
Mr Shipley and Mrs Stewart hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year; the children worked very hard last term and earned a well-deserved break. We hope that they are returning to class feeling refreshed and ready to pick up where they left off. Exciting times are ahead this term as we are learning all about the Ancient Greeks, a topic which is sure to inspire and ignite imagination and interest.
Our vision is to…
Below is an outline of what your child will be learning in Terms 3 & 4 (until Easter) and any other information that will help you support your child.
TOPIC – This term we will focus on Ancient Greece, exploring historical facts about the time, the physical and human geography of Greece and how it has changed today, as well the impact the Greeks had on modern day life.
We will take a deep look into some really interesting topics such as the Spartans, the Olympics, Greek art and the theatre. There are plenty of books in school on ancient Greece that your children will have an opportunity to explore, however any reading or research at home would also be beneficial.
SCIENCE – Our science this term is looking at human body: how the circulatory system works, the makeup of the heart, blood and its use, living a healthy lifestyle and eating a good balanced diet. The majority of our science lessons will be practical based and children will get a chance to investigate explore and question before writing up their findings.
ENGLISH - This year we will continue using ‘Talk for Writing’ (T4W) throughout our lessons. This is based on the thinking and creative processes involved in ‘being a writer’, including knowing how to generate and develop ideas; drawing on a breadth of reading and understanding how to draft, refine and improve writing. Your child will be learning about a different range of genres. We are starting the year focusing on a range of different non-fiction texts using the Ancient Greeks as our stimulus. We will be writing: Diary entries of Greek citizens and of Gods, newspaper reports on famous Greek events, letters home from Spartans on the front line and stories of Ancient Greek myths and legends.
MATHS – This term we will continue to work hard on arithmetic skills with a focus on fractions decimals and percentages early on in the term, moving on to ratio and algebra later on. Throughout the term we will focus on problem solving in a range of contexts. It is important that when your children practise at home they are given word challenges as well as numerical.
COMPUTING – This term we will focus on e safety and making sure that your children know how to keep safe when online. Computers will also be used regularly to support our topic work; being used for research and creating fact files using word processor and ppt.
RE – This term we will focus on Christianity.
PSHE/MINDFULNESS – We will be following the Jigsaw PSHE programme. We will also be exploring how mindfulness can help us relax and focus on the ‘here and now’. We will learn some breathing strategies to help us unwind when we may be feeling anxious or overwhelmed and it is hoped that these lessons will become part of your child’s every day coping mechanism.
P.E. – will take place on Wednesdays afternoons and Thursday mornings. Each week we will have an indoor and outdoor session. Outdoor we will be undertaking in netball for the first half term and athletics during the second part of the term. Indoor lessons will be looking at dodgeball and team based games.
Please remember to take your child’s earrings out on PE days if they are unable to remove their own earrings otherwise they will be excluded from PE for health and safety reasons. Any long hair/long fringes need to be tied up with hair bands. Remember to include a pair of socks if your child wears tights. PE kits will be sent home every term for washing.
Please ensure all clothing, such as sweatshirts, cardigans, PE kits and footwear are clearly labelled.
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Art – Our Art lessons this term will be based heavily around our topic of the Ancient Greeks. We shall be creating: Greek Theatre masks using Paper Mache and a range of paints, Clay pottery and Spartan shields.
HOMEWORK - Homework is given out on Thursday and to be returned no later than the following Tuesday. Please encourage your children to aim for high levels of presentation, as with any other schoolwork. For example, Maths should be completed in pencil and include written methods where indicated and English books should be completed in black pen with joined handwriting and complete sentences where applicable.
As part of your children’s homework your child should be reading at home for at least 10 minutes every day. This will also help to encourage their love of reading. It is also important that you listen to your child read out loud 3 times a week; helping them with punctuation, expression, fluency and developing inference skills. We encourage you to write down how your children is getting on with their reading at home when you listen to them in their reading records.
ASSEMBLY - Celebration assembly will continue to be held on Thursday afternoons. Please refer to the assembly schedule on our school website for any further information. Our class assembly will be our Leaver’s Assembly on the children’s last day at our school.
WATER BOTTLES
We welcome your children having water bottles in school however, due to limited time and water machines we have asked Year 6 children to take their bottles home every night and fill them up before coming to school the following morning. This allows your child to then access teaching and learning promptly in the morning.
PARENT’S EVENINGS
I would like the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your child’s needs and progress. Two evenings are to be held on the 12th and 13th February. However, if you wish to discuss your child’s learning before this, or at any other time, you are welcome to make an appointment. If you need to speak with me before school please ask at the school office first, thank you.
Mr Shipley
Year 6 Teacher