Class Teacher Blog
Class Teachers for Year 6 Classes:
Miss C Dowding
Miss J Foster
Teaching Assistants for Year 6 Class:
Mrs S Walker
Mrs B Imbulana
PE days:
Tuesdays: Indoor PE
Fridays: Outdoor PE
Class emails:
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
Spring 1 - BLOG
This Week’s Learning – wb 13.11.23
In English, we continued our two week block of writing on the Matilda Effect and wrote a newspaper about the breaking news of Professor Smocks being a fraud!
In history, we learnt about how telephone technology has changed over time and created a timeline to show these changes, thinking about the impact of each phone upon Britain.
In DT, we designed our own futuristic mobile phones, which we will use this week to write a persuasive advertisement.
In Science, will recap sources of light and learn about how light is reflected.
In maths, we started our fractions unit. We began by finding equivalent fractions and then learnt how to simplify them using highest common factor. We also compared and ordered fractions by making the denominators the same.
In music, we have been using Soundtrap to identify parts of a composition and use loops.
Bonjour! This week we used adjectives to describe famous French people and completed activities based on these people. You could continue practicing numbers at home by playing some of these games: https://www.french-games.net/frenchgames/four-in-a-row?topic=Numbers%20-%201%20to%2010&level=primary
Next Week’s Learning – wb 20.11.23
Next week in Science, we will be learning about how light enters our eyes and how light is reflected.
In English, in the next two week block we will be studying a short film. We will building up to writing a biography towards the end of the week.
In maths, we will be continuing to order and compare fractions and then will learn how to add and subtract them.
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to identify parts of a composition and use loops.
In French next week we will be writing poems in French describing ourselves, using the adjectives that we learnt last week.
It is assessment week next week for the children next week but this is nothing to be worried about, we just want to see how well the children are doing!
Class Teacher Awards – 17.11.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Taylan and Kiara
Sycamore: Louis and Zhen
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information - 17.11.23
- Final payments for residential need to be paid on Arbor – please speak to us if you are having any problems with this.
- We have started setting children homework which is also accessed on children. We have printed off some copies to support children with this.
- Please continue to encourage your children to read at home!
- We had a busy week this week! Firstly, it was Anti-Bullying Week and the theme this year is ‘Reach Out’. We kicked off on Monday with Odd Socks Day! On Friday, children then completed some activities – they made a poster within an odd sock template and they completed a sheet which enabled them to reflect who they could turn too if they would like to reach out!
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 06.11.23
In our theme leading up to christmas, we have started our ‘Brilliant British Inventions’ topic. In geography, we used atlases to locate where British inventors were born and mark these places on a map of Britain.
In English, we researched a British inventor of our choice and created a poster about their life. We have also begun writing this week, as we are reading the Matilda Effect which is linked to our theme, we have read the chapters and answered questioned the book as well as looked at characters – particularly Matilda! We recapped expanded noun phrases and used this to write a character description about Matilda’s personality and appearance!
Maths
This week we recapped long division and then learnt how to use BODMAS to solve equations with mixed operations. We also solved word problems involving all four operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
In music, we have been using Soundtrap to identify parts of a composition and use loops.
Bonjour! This half term, we will be learning about famous people in French culture. This week we have learnt how adjectives change their spelling in French depending on whether they are used to describe a man or a woman. We will also continue to practice numbers from 1-30. You could help at home using this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtoWhTOco9A
Next Week’s Learning – wb 13.11.23
English
In English next week, we will be building on from our character description around Matilda to write a newspaper report about Professor Smocks being a fraud! We look at features of newspapers and collect language to write a newspaper towards the end of the week.
History
In History, we how telephone technology has changed in history and how this has had an impact on society! This will then help us design our own futuristic phone in DT!
Maths
In maths, we are starting our unit on fractions. We will be starting by ordering fractions and will then be identifying equivalent fractions and simplifying them.
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to identify parts of a composition and use loops.
In French, we are going to use adjectives we have already learnt to write a poem about ourselves.
Class Teacher Awards – 10.11.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Blu and Sachi
Sycamore: Reggie and Nicole
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information – 10.11.23
- Just a reminder we have our Junior Citizenship Trip on Tuesday 14th November – please send your child to school in their school uniform with comfortable shoes. They will also need their packed lunch unless your child is entitled to free school meals and you have asked for the school to make one for you.
- We have an upcoming book fair on which is happening from Monday 13th - Friday 17th November. You can scan this to pay for the books online!
- Please endeavour to keep up with payments for the Year 6 residential – if you are having any problems, please just let one of us know.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 16.10.23
English
In English this week, we focused on our Grammar, we learnt about synonyms – where words are different but with the same meaning and antonyms – where words are the opposite. We also learnt about the 4 different sentence types – statements, commands, questions and exclamations. Lastly, on Friday we were introduced to contractions and how to use them.
Maths
This week we learnt about prime numbers, square numbers, factors and multiples and common factors and multiples between two sets of numbers.
Science
On Wednesday, the children were luckily enough to have two labs in a lorry. Children were in groups and had 4 activities that they completed - lego cars (forces), cogs & gears, dyna cars (friction)and making slim! You can see some photos of this in our gallery section!
Music
In music, we continued to create our own piece of music using Soundtrap, a programme to make music online.
French
Bonjour! This week we have been finishing our descriptions of what is happening in a picture using the correct pronoun, verb and ending. This is a challenging topic and I am really proud of the way Year 6 has persevered. I have seen some really outstanding work. Over half term you could practice counting in French. Go to the Busy Things website, clicking Key Stage 2, year 5/6, languages, French and then scrolling down to the numbers activity.
First Week Back’s Learning – wb 06.11.23
Theme
Our theme next term is ‘Brilliant British Inventions’! In History we will be learning about British inventors and how inventions have changed over time. In Science, we will also be learning about light and electricity in science and will be conducting a few experiments!
In maths, we are having a revision session on long division to make sure we haven’t forgotten over half term! We are then learning how to solve problems using BODMAS (brackets, orders, division, multiplication, addition and subtraction). Children will also be solving some problems using the four operations.
Bonjour! This half term, we will be learning about famous people in French culture. This week we have learnt how adjectives change their spelling in French depending on whether they are used to describe a man or a woman. We will also continue to practice numbers from 1-30. You could help at home using this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtoWhTOco9A
Class Teacher Awards – 20.10.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow Class: Smiyaan and Christian
Sycamore Class: David and Mel
We would like to say huge well done to you all for all your hard work! This has been an excellent start for both classes this half term and we are extremely proud! Keep up the hard work, you are all amazing!
Parent/Carer Information - 20.10.23
- Please endeavour to keep up with payments for the Year 6 residential – if you are having any problems, please just let one of us know.
HAVE A WONDERFUL HALF TERM! See you back in school on Monday 6th November 2023.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 09.10.23
English
In English this week, we used our plans that we wrote the week before to begin writing our explanation text about how Inuits survive in the Arctic, we also used our grammar on cohesive devices and subordinating conjunctions to broaden our sentence openers and fluency across paragraphs. Children could decide how to present their writing in their English books in a non-chronological way.
Maths
This week in Maths, we have been learning long division and most of us have found it is not as hard as we thought! Children have really persevered with this and we are so proud of them!
DT
In D&T, children were extremely creative with building their own tents. It was fantastic to see the children working together in a group and towards the end of the week we were able to evaluate the tents against the design criteria!
In music, we continued to create our own piece of music using Soundtrap, a programme to make music online.
Bonjour! This week we have been finishing our personal profiles.
Next Week’s Learning – wb 16.10.23
English
This week in English, we will be focusing on grammar and spelling strings, this will lead us into writing our first week back after half term!
Maths
In maths, we will be continuing to learn long division and then move onto factors, multiples and cube, square and prime numbers.
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to create our own online music piece.
Next week we will be showing these to the class and speaking in small groups in French.
Class Teacher Awards – 15.10.21
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Elyse and Scarlette
Sycamore: Karamogo and Mickyle
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information – 13.10.23
We have a few reminders this week:
- Please endeavour to keep up with payments for the Year 6 residential – if you are having any problems, please just let one of us know.
- We are holding our parent consultations on Thursday 19th October. Please remember school finishes at 1pm. Please try to be on time for your appointment and we look forward to speaking with you.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 02.10.23
English
In English this week, we learnt about Inuit’s, who are Indigenous people, that live in the Arctic regions. We used our winbooks to research the population, what they live in, what they eat, how they move around and their way of life. We used these facts to write a plan ready to write next week!
Maths
This week we moved onto multiplication in maths: we started with short multiplication (multiplying by a one-digit number) and used place value counters to show our understanding of exchanging into the next column. We have also been learning how to divide by one-digit numbers using the short division bus stop method. We used place value counters to visually see how a number is divided into groups and then applied that to solve complex problems.
DT
In DT this week, we looked at different tents that are used in the arctic. We used this to help us design our own! Children were in groups researching the best tents, what materials they were made out of and the best reviews.
In music, we continued to create our own piece of music using Soundtrap, a programme to make music online.
Bonjour! This week we have been writing out ourselves. We are making PowerPoint presentations which we will share with the class. This will continue into next week.
Next Week’s Learning – wb 01.10.22
English:
We are going to be writing an explanation text about how humans survive in the Arctic!
Maths
In maths, we will be learning how to divide numbers by 2-digit numbers using the long division method.
DT
In DT next week, we will be getting creative and making our tents! The children are so excited to creative! There will be photos in our gallery section of the children with their masterpieces!
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to create our own online music piece
Bonjour! This week we have been finishing our personal profiles. Next week we will be showing these to the class and speaking in small groups in French.
Class Teacher Awards – 06.10.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Taliyah and Ethan
Sycamore: Priscilla and Julie
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information – 06.10.22
We have quite a few reminders this week:
- Thank you for already bringing in so much cardboard! Please can you bring any more you may have - cardboard, plastic, bubble wrap etc – we are going to be building tents next week 😊
- We have sent the children home with some letters for: a SATs workshop and the CGP revision bundle, a packing checklist for Residential, a residential parents meeting and a medical and dietary form for you to fill in.
- Please endeavour to keep up with payments for the Year 6 residential – if you are having any problems, please just let one of us know.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 25.09.23
English
In Engish, we began writing our persuasive letters to persuade Captain Oates to remain on the South Pole expedition and then worked in partners to edit and improve them.
History
In History n used our winbooks to conduct some research about past and present polar explorations and used this information to think about how humans can survive in the Arctic.
Maths
In Maths this week we have moved onto multiplication in maths: we started with short multiplication (multiplying by a one-digit number) and used place value counters to show our understanding of exchanging into the next column.
Art
On Friday, in art, we looked at different ways to blend to help us build on our skills to create an Arctic scene. You can see some of ours in the gallery section!
In music, we continued to create our own piece of music using Soundtrap, a programme to make music online.
Bonjour! This week we have been writing about what our friends are doing using different pronouns. Keep learning the verb faire using Alexa’s video: Faire (to do/make) — Present Tense (French verbs conjugated by Learn French With Alexa)
It is such a useful verb!
Next Week’s Learning – wb 02.10.23
English
Next week in English, we will be building up to write our explanation texts about how humans survive in the Arctic. We will be identifying fronted adverbials in a sentence, identify conjunctions in clauses (sentences) and converting nous into suffixes and adjectives.
D&T
Next week in D&T, we will be researching and designing tent structures to build! Please could all children bring in cardboard boxes to help us with this!
Maths
In maths, we will move onto long multiplication – multiplying by a two-digit number and how to complete the short division method (dividing by a one-digit number) and putting these problems into context.
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to create our own online music piece.
In French, next week we are going to start to make a personal profile, writing all about ourselves. This will contain the new vocabulary we have been learning plus lots of the words and phrases that we have learnt from year 3-5.
Class Teacher Awards – 30.09.22
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Mikey and Shay
Sycamore: Natalie and Obed
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information – 29.10.23
We have quite a few reminders this week:
- Please could you start to collect some junk modelling, such as cardboard, plastic, bubble wrap etc – we are going to be building tents in our last week of school before half term!
- We have sent the children home with some letters this week regarding: a SATs workshop and the CGP revision bundle, a packing checklist for Residential, a letter about our residential parents meeting and a medical and dietary form for you to fill in. Please could you bring them back as soon as possible so we can inform the Hindleap Warren with anything they need to know!
- Please endeavour to keep up with payments for the Year 6 residential – if you are having any problems, please just let one of us know.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 18.09.23
We started the week completing baseline assessments.
History:
In history, we learnt about famous Arctic explorers Robert Falcon-Scott and Roald Amundsen who raced to get to the South Pole first. Children watched a video and read information about them and used what they had learnt to create story map about their expeditions, focussing on how one of the team members sacrificed himself to the cold in order not to slow the others down.
English:
In English, we looked at the CIOUS and TIOUS spelling string and understanding model verbs - could, should, would, can, will, must. This will link to our pieces of writing to persuade which will we start next week.
Maths:
Towards the end of the week, in maths, we continued with multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 before moving on to calculating the difference between negative numbers.
French
In French, this week we have been learning how to use the verb faire with different pronouns. It’s a tricky verb because it is irregular. To practice go to:
Faire (to do/make) — Present Tense (French verbs conjugated by Learn French With Alexa) up to 3.20 but you can go on and listen to the many ways you can use faire.
Next Week’s Learning – wb 25.09.23
History:
Next week in topic, we will be comparing past and present Arctic explorers and expeditions and using this to plan and write an explanation text about how humans can survive in the Arctic the following week.
English:
Following up from history this week, we will be planning a persuasive letter pretending we are Falcon-Scott, writing to our team mate to persuade him to not sacrifice himself. We will be writing these towards the end of the week so keep an eye out for work in our gallery.
Maths:
In maths, we will continue looking at negative numbers and we will be using the column method to add and subtract numbers, including ones with exchanging as well as moving on to multiplying by a one digit number.
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to create our own online music piece.
Next week in French, we will be writing about what our friends are doing using different pronouns.
Class Teacher Awards – 22.09.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Janson and Tyler
Sycamore: Joanna and Avie
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information - 23.09.22
We have sent a SATs letter out regarding the CGP books that you can purchase and we order for the children, if you would like another letter please let us know!
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week’s Learning – wb 11.09.23
Maths
In maths, we have been rounding numbers up to 1,000,000. We also recapped how to multiply by 10, 100 and 1000, including decimal numbers.
English
In English, we looked at the features of persuasive texts and have been using this learning to begin to write our own persuasive leaflets to convince people to save the polar regions from melting. Next week you will be able to see these in our gallery section!
Geography
In Geography, we have been learning about how global warming and climate change affects the polar regions. We looked at key vocabulary - manage and sustain and what this means in relation to the environment. We also looked at what the problems are that affect our planet and finding solutions to these.
In music, we continued learning how to use Soundtrap, a programme to make music online.
Bonjour! This week we looked at how to say the verbs jouer – to play and faire – to do/go. We began to match them with different sports and hobbies. To revise the sports that you can use with either faire or jouer using this video: Sport Words in French Part 1 (basic French vocabulary from Learn French With Alexa) - YouTube
Next Week’s Learning – wb 19.09.22
History
In History next week, we are going to learn about Arctic Explorers - Amundsen and Falcon-Scott - who raced to the South Pole.
English
In English, next week we will be exploring more persuasion and we will be writing a letter to persuade an explorer to continue on the Adventure!
Maths
In maths, we will continue with multiplying and dividing by 10,100 and 1000. Then then we are going to learn about negative numbers and how to find the difference between them.
In music, we will be continuing to use Soundtrap to create our own online music piece.
In French next week, we will revise how to use the verb jouer with pronouns and then look at the irregular verb Faire.
Class Teacher Awards – 15.09.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: Danica and Yusuf
Sycamore: Brooke and Chase
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information - 15.09.23
Please endeavour to keep up with Residential payments! Please speak to us if you have any issues or concerns relating to this.
Next week, we will be sending out letters regarding SATs CGP books and an upcoming trip.
Finally, Year 6 will be completing baseline assessments next week, this is nothing to worry about for the children, it is just to see where they currently are at the start of the academic year.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
This Week's Learning – wb 04.09.2023
English
In English, we have been learning about the similarities and differences between the Polar Regions. Children used their Winbooks and ipads to do their research and then wrote comparative information reports to present what they had found out.
Maths
In maths, we have been continuing with place value and used greater than and less than to compare numbers. We then used this knowledge to solve problems in partners using counters. We will continue to focus on place value next week, looking at Roman numerals and rounding.
French
Bonjour! This half term we will be learning about how to say what hobbies we like and revising how to talk about ourselves. This week, we have been saying positive adjectives to describe ourselves and our friends. You could ask your child to recall some of the adjectives and how they might describe you and other members of the family.
Geography
In geography this week, we used Atlas’s to locate the Polar Regions on our own maps. We labelled the seven continents as well as the equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn and the Prime Meridian.
Next Week’s Learning – wb 11.09.23
Science
We will be learning about how animals have adapted to live in their environment and compared animals in the polar regions with animals in the desert.
English
Next week in topic, we will be learning about global warming and how we can make a change to save our precious earth. We will then be using what we have learnt about global warming to discuss how the polar regions are being affected. Children will be writing their own persuasive leaflets to convince people to save these areas from melting.
Maths
In maths, we will be learning to round numbers to 10, 100 and 1000 and multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.
In music, we will be continuing to learn how to use Soundtrap, a programme to make music online.
In French, we will be learning some new hobbies and revising some sports.
Class Teacher Awards – 08.09.23
Our ‘Stars of the Week’ this week are…
Willow: LLayne and Eliza
Sycamore: Lenny and Max
Well done to you all!
Parent/Carer Information - 08.09.23
We have a few reminders this week:
- Please could you start to collect some junk modelling, such as cardboard, plastic, bubble wrap etc – we are going to be building tents in our last week of school before half term!
- Please endeavour to keep up with payments for the Year 6 residential – if you are having any problems, please just let one of us know.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails:
willowclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
sycamoreclass@cirrustrust.onmicrosoft.com
Welcome to Year 6! We hope you all had a wonderful summer break and are raring to go for the year ahead – we have lots of fun things planned!
We have numerous adults working within Year 6 this year:
Miss Foster and Miss Dowding are the class teachers, and we have Mrs Walker as our wonderful teaching assistant and Mrs Imbulana.
This term, our topic is Polar Regions, where we will be learning all about the Arctic, including famous expeditions, animal adaptations, global warming and much more! We begin this week by locating the polar regions on a world map and will be busy creating some polar region themed documentaries – don’t forget to come into school dressed as an Arctic explorer on Tuesday 5th September so you can truly play the part!
Just a few reminders:
- All children must be in school no later than 8.45. Gates will open at 8.35 every morning. Pick up time will be 3.20 for Key Stage 2.
- Our PE days this year are Tuesdays for indoor PE and Fridays for outdoor PE. Please send children to school dressed in their PE kit on these days, similar to how we did last year.
If you have any questions, please contact us by ringing the school or using the class emails: