Friday 12th July
Hello!
Another week has passed us by – not long to go now! As today was the day we sent home school reports, I will start off by saying that I am very proud of the results which the children have achieved this year. SATs Week seems like a very long time ago now, but I have not forgotten how hard the children worked in the build-up to it, and how seriously they took the exams themselves. They have exceeded my expectations in the results achieved, and regardless of what scores they attained, I am very proud of all of them.
We had a very active start of the week this week, working hard on dances for our end-of-year show. I was really impressed with how quickly the children managed to pick up the routines – much better than me (although that’s not much of a challenge!) They’ve also done some lovely art work with Mrs Suji this week, before returning to Bentley Priory Museum today for a free workshop. We certainly enjoyed the chance to dress up again:
Next week we will be constructing the stage and really pressing on with play rehearsals, building towards our dress rehearsal on Friday afternoon. We also have a netball tournament at Bushey Heath on Monday afternoon and a football match at Little Reddings on Thursday for a nice sporty end to the term, and don’t forget that it’s our class party at Top Golf on Friday afternoon.
Have a fabulous weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 5th July
Good afternoon!
Seeing as how I didn’t update the blog last week I had better start off by saying how many positive reports I had from Bushey Meads staff about the children’s behaviour and conduct during our secondary experience week. They were incredibly impressed by all things Hartsbourne and I hope that the children found it to be both useful and enjoyable.
This week we have been cracking on with our end-of-year production and I’ve been really impressed with how much progress the children have made with both their performances and their singing. We started choreographing some dances today too, which already look fab! In the afternoons Mrs Suji has been doing some brilliant artwork with the class, inspired by our own personal ‘Take One Picture’ project, which culminated yesterday in some beautiful cityscape printing work:
It was also lovely to see so many of you for Open Morning today – thank you so much for popping in and supporting the children, I know that they really appreciate it.
Next week we will be really focusing in on the dance side of our production in order to bring them up to the same level as the acting and singing. I would also like to wish all of the children luck if they have their transition day on Thursday and we are all looking forward to returning to Bentley Priory Museum on Friday – please remember to get the photography permission slips sent back into school if you are happy for your child to be in the publicity materials!
Have a super weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 21st June
Hello!
Summery weather at last, and just in time to round off a fantastic sports week! On Monday we had a skipping session and I was really impressed by the progress that some of the children made over the course of it, especially the girls who managed a triple butterfly skip! On Tuesday we had a cricketing session from Premier Sport, on Wednesday we took on the role of sports leaders working with Year 3, and Thursday of course was our annual Sports Day – congratulations to Fallow! Finally this morning saw us head down to Bushey Meads for a cricket and tag rugby festival, which was a lot of fun and yielded some super results!
Next week we are very excited to be at Bushey Meads for Secondary Experience Week! It’s sure to be a week to remember and will really set the children up well for their own secondary transition experience. Our timetable is below:
Please remember that myself and Mrs Suji will be coming down on the minibus with the children from Breakfast Club so won’t be there at 8:30am, but there will be Bushey Meads students around to take you where you need to go.
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 14th June
Good afternoon!
Another wonderful week of work in Year 6! In maths this week we completed some ‘Murder Mystery Maths’ booklets, which involved us creating a suspect list and a series of maths puzzles, each which would yield a clue that would ultimately reduce the suspect list down to one. The children really worked hard on these and they are looking great! We’ve also pushed on with our play rehearsals and I was really impressed with the level of maturity shown by all upon learning which parts they are playing – theatrical performances of this nature are not about stars, but about teamwork and everyone pulling together to put on a great show. I am sure they will! We had a lovely secondary transition workshop from the Watford Schools’ Trust on Wednesday morning, a slightly soggy but nevertheless rewarding trip to Bushey library on Wednesday afternoon, and yesterday we finished off our pencil cases in DT, which I’m sure you’ll agree look fab:
Next week is Sports Week so we’re looking forward to a whole host of physical activities such as skipping on Monday, cricket on Tuesday, Sports Day itself on Thursday and a tag rugby and cricket festival at Bushey Meads on Friday. Make sure you have PE kit in every day! We’ll also be starting a new unit in music and computing about podcasts and vlogs, learning about the Ancient Mayans in history and getting started with our own version of the ‘Take One Picture’ project in art – an exciting week without a doubt!
I hope to see you all tomorrow at the summer fair, but if not I will see you next week 🙂
Friday 7th June
Welcome back!
We’ve had a great first week back after half-term! In literacy we completed some author studies and presented our information on Thursday; I was really impressed by both the level of the research and the children’s confidence in presenting. We have also started to read our end-of-year play, ‘Robin and the Sherwood Hoodies’, this week – I’m already confident that it will be a great show! In DT we have created some fabulous pencil cases, in computing and music we filmed and began to edit our silent movies, and today was Project Day – here are some of the brilliant entries:
Next week we will be looking at some ‘Murder Mystery Maths’ and challenging the children to come up with their own ‘Whodunnit’ problems for others to solve! We’ll also be pressing on with cricket in PE and learning about electricity in science. Don’t forget that on Wednesday we have a volunteer from the Watford Schools’ Trust coming to talk all things secondary transition with the children, and we’re also looking forward to going to Bushey Library that afternoon – don’t forget your library cards or forms!
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 24th May
Phew!
It’s been a short half-term but we have crammed a lot in, and this week was no different!
It’s been glorious weather this week and the cyclists have certainly made great progress! Cycling proficiency week is always a challenge but both the Bikeability instructors and myself were really impressed with how well the children concentrated and their stamina to complete such a lot of cycling in the heat. Well done to everyone! It was also lovely to see you at the PGL assembly this afternoon – I’m sure you’ll agree that the children did a fantastic job with almost no input from me. They clearly have a flair for the dramatic and I’m certainly looking forward to working on an end-of-year play with them! As well as all of this excitement we have been doing loads of fabulous sewing in DT, created some educational e-safety presentations in computing, and on Tuesday were lucky enough to take part in the K’Nex Challenge; check out the winning design from Samuel and Charley:
After SATs, cycling, K’Nex and our class assembly, the children have certainly earned a week off to rest! Have a wonderful holiday and I will see you all in June! 🙂
Friday 17th May
Happy End-of-SATs-Week!
I would like to take this opportunity to say again how proud I was of the children this week. SATs Week is always an anxious experience and I could certainly see the nerves jangling before the grammar test began on Monday, but once it was over I think the children settled in and adapted really well to real-life test conditions. The level of concentration during each paper was so high you could almost taste it, and I am certain that whatever the results may be, the children couldn’t have worked any harder than they did. SATs do not define this class, nor are they likely to dramatically accelerate or hold back their progress at secondary school, but I do believe that they have real worth and that the children will have learned a lot of valuable lessons about revision, preparation and coping under pressure from sitting them – lessons I hope that will serve them well going forward. So one last time Year 6 – well done, I am immensely proud of you all 🙂
Outside of the tests we have had a lovely week – we devised some fantastic silent movies on Monday, learned all about the digestive system on Tuesday, went for a ‘road safety walk’ to the duck pond on Warren Road on Wednesday and produced some fantastic ‘step-by-step’ instructions about how to do so safely on Thursday, as you can see here:
Next week is a very exciting one! We are looking forward to the K’Nex Challenge on Tuesday, which I’m sure will unearth some budding engineers of the future! We’re also delighted to be welcoming you all to our PGL assembly on Friday – it will be a 2:30pm start and I’m sure the children will put on a great show! Finally we’re also lucky enough to have cycling proficiency next week – please make sure you’ve read the information in the letter that came home today and that all bikes are in a road worthy condition, or they won’t be used. I’ll see you all Monday morning in the parents’ waiting area – remember that you need your bike, a helmet, a lock and any other cycling clothes you may want to change into.
Have a well deserved break this weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 10th May
Hello!
It may have only been a four-day week but we have done enough work to last a fortnight!
It was our last week of practice papers this week and I did take the time to tell the children how impressed I have been by their efforts since the start of term. They have really tried their best with their papers, worked hard to analyse their mistakes and set themselves targets, completed lots of valuable homework and have even been researching and studying independently at home. I couldn’t have asked for any more of them over the past three weeks and I am confident they are more than prepared to give their best next week, which is all I have ever wanted them to give.
Outside of this we made some excellent progress in learning the triple jump today during PE, came up with some fabulous role-plays predicting what the next chapter of our class reader ‘The Magician’s Nephew’ would be this morning during guided reading, and completed some super graphs comparing the population density of the UK and North America, as you can see here:
Next week is SATs week which will obviously dominate our mornings, but I am confident the children are ready to knock the tests out of the park! We’ll also be learning about road safety walking to local landmarks in PSHE, starting to put together our silent movies in music and computing, and continuing to plan our pencil cases in DT – a week not to be missed!
Have a relaxing weekend, please get an early night on Sunday (!) and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 3rd May
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework:
I’m also sharing the slides that we went through for grammar and maths – the homework is largely based around it so if you have forgotten anything you can have a quick flick through!
It’s been a busy and productive week in Year 6! We have been completing some more practice papers ahead of SATs week and analysing our mistakes in order to try and cut down the number of silly mistakes we make. I was also super impressed to see and hear about children completing independent learning at home regarding areas they aren’t confident about – it’s a great habit to get into! In music and computing we watched some silent movies and discussed the difference between them and movies we watch nowadays, in PE we practised our javelin, discus and shot put skills, and in French we learned how to describe our appearance- I wonder if you can guess who this is?
Next week we’ll be completing our last round of practice papers before ‘the big S’ begins the following Monday! We’ll also be pressing on with our DT work on pencil cases, continuing to learn all about what goes on inside our bodies in science and learning the long and triple jump in PE (unfortunately we don’t really have the facilities for the high jump and as for the pole vault…!)
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 26th April
Welcome back!
First and foremost I would like to belatedly congratulate all of the children who came for a fantastic PGL week. It’s fair to say that we were unlucky with the weather, but despite this they were a credit both to their families and also the school in the way that they conducted themselves all week. Above all, I was really impressed with much they slept, which really made all the difference and helped them to stay fresh and happy all the way until Friday, and also how organised they were with their packing (I didn’t have to do any sleeping bags!) Finally thank you very much to the parents who left cards and gifts for Mrs Suji and myself – they were not necessary as your children were delightful all week, but we really appreciated them nonetheless.
Here is this week’s homework, along with the project homework suggestion list for this term:
This week has been science week and we have been doing lots of scientific activities at the start of each day. We learned about the constellations which form the zodiac, the different phases of the moon, and after a visit from some owls in assembly, we created some fantastic owl presentations, as you can see here:
Next week we’ll be carrying on with some past paper practice in the immediate run-up to SATs week, and remember that any bit of independent learning you can do at home on areas you’re not confident about will only help you! In science we will continue to learn about the heart, at the centre of the circulatory system, in computing and music we will be learning about silent movies, and in PE we will press on with our athletics skills – no doubt the Olympics awaits!
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 29th March
Good afternoon!
It’s been an action packed week without a doubt! On Monday and Tuesday we completed our final round of assessments before PGL and I was delighted with some of the progress the children have made. On Wednesday, the house captains and school councillors were lucky enough to attend the Hertsmere Annual Youth Conference and learned a lot about the importance of making informed decisions in a democracy, as well as the work of their local council. Today we had another day of fabulous projects, which though we only just about had time enough to squeeze in, were creative and wonderful as per usual, but the highlight of the week for me was definitely bread making, as you can see here:
Next week is of course PGL and it’s fair to say the children are all very excited by the prospect! I will endeavour to leave some fun and interesting activities for the children not coming with us, but for everyone else I recommend you get a good night’s sleep on Sunday and will see you all on Monday at 1pm!
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 22nd March
Hello!
Here is this week’s homework – it’s the last round before the Easter holidays, so do your best and please make sure it’s in on time!
Ratio, Proportion and Algebra Week 2
This week in literacy we planned, drafted, peer marked and published our judge summations on the issue of whether or not Kensuke was guilty of cowardice, and I feel like I’ve been working in law school with so many potential judges in the room! In maths we completed a week’s worth of work on algebra, and I have to say that I was really impressed by how well the children did, even if they did keep rushing ahead and not following my methods! In science we have been classifying invertebrates, in French we learned how to talk about our pets, and in PSHE and RE we wrote our own ‘I Am’ statements to try and capture ourselves in a single statement, as you can see here:
Next week is an exciting one for sure: we kick off with some assessments (okay, not the most exciting!) but then the school councillors and house captains will be attending the Hertfordshire Annual Youth Conference on Wednesday, we’re all baking bread on Thursday (don’t forget your apron, bowl and extra ingredients!) and Friday is project homework day, which I’m sure will be great as always!
Make sure you get plenty of rest this weekend, and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 15th March
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework:
Discussion Week 1 – Comprehension Questions
Discussion Week 1 – Comprehension Text
Ratio, Proportion and Algebra Week 1
It was lovely to see you all at parents’ evening this week and particularly nice to see so many of the children in attendance – good practice for secondary school!
This week in literacy we started a new discussion unit and have put Kensuke (from ‘Kensuke’s Kingdom’) on trial for the crime of cowardice! In maths we have been solving a variety of problems using ratio and proportion, and I’ve been really impressed with how many children have been moving on to extension tasks. In French we learned and revised the names of various animals, in PE we played some small-sided possession games in hockey, and in science we have been classifying vertebrates, as you can see here:
Next week we will be drafting, peer marking and publishing our judge verdicts on the fate of Kensuke! We’ll also be spending the week in maths solving problems related to algebra. In science we’ll be looking at invertebrates, in French we will be playing games to revise our animal knowledge, and in computing we will be learning how to use spreadsheets to perform data calculations – if only we’d known this when we were learning mean, median and mode!
Good luck with the wind this weekend and I will see you all next week! 🙂
Saturday 9th March
Good morning!
Apologies for the slightly late update, but I went to see Motown the Musical last night (mums and dads if you haven’t been then you definitely should, it’s amazing!)
Anyway, here is this week’s homework – remember we’re doing last week’s spelling words next week instead:
This week in literacy we drafted, peer marked and published our persuasive letters to Mrs Hudson, which she has now received and is looking forward to reading! In maths we calculated the area, perimeter and volume of a variety of 2d and 3d shapes, and I was really impressed with how well the children took on challenging work! In science we learned about micro-organisms, in DT we were able to taste various varieties of bread, and in computing we used formulae in spreadsheet software to build function machines, as you can see here:
I was also mega-impressed with the variety of colourful costumes adorned on another fabulous World Book Day!
Next week we will be starting a new unit of literacy all about discussion texts, and a new unit of maths on ratio, proportion and algebra. In French we will be learning about animals, in PSHE we will be learning to challenge each other’s points of view respectfully, and in PE we will be playing some small-sided hockey games – a week not to be missed!
Have a relaxing weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 1st March
Welcome back!
Here is this week’s homework:
Persuasion Week 1 – Comprehension Questions
Persuasion Week 1 – Comprehension Text
It’s been a busy and productive first week back and I’m delighted to say that the children have hit the ground running!
In literacy we started a new persuasive writing unit all about school improvement, and have spend the week coming up with ideas which we think will really appeal to Mrs Hudson. In maths we started a unit about shape and measurement, and have been identifying the properties of 2d and 3d shapes as well as solving reasoning problems about both. In science we started a unit of classification by learning about Carl Linnaeus, in computing we used spreadsheets to create budgets, and we were able to display some of our fabulous work from our trip to the William Morris Gallery two weeks ago, as you can see here:
Next week we will be drafting, peer marking and publishing our letters to Mrs Hudson and hopefully convincing her to agree to the changes we have in mind! We’ll also be learning to calculate the area, perimeter and volume of various 2d and 3d shapes in maths. In PE we’ll continue to hone our dribbing skills in hockey, in DT we will be tasting different kinds of bread ahead of baking our own, and in PSHE we’ll be learning about diversity and discrimination – a treat of a week no doubt. Don’t forget that it’s World Book Day on Thursday – I can’t wait to see the children’s fabulous costumes!
Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 22nd February
Hello!
Hope you’re all having a lovely half-term holiday 🙂
There is no homework for the first week back, but if you would like to get a head-start on your project homework for this half-term, the list of suggestions is here: Project Homework – Spring.
Remember that there are no restrictions – you can do as many or as few projects as you like, including Powerpoint presentations. The only rule is no bringing in sweets or chocolate for quizzes, as it has made us all far too competitive in the past and can exclude those with various allergies or diet restrictions.
See you all next week! 🙂
Friday 15th February
Happy half-term!
This week we have completed our penultimate round of assessments and I have been really pleased to see the progress which the children have made, which has demonstrated not only how much they have learned in the past term-and-a-half, but also how much better they are at applying what they know. We also finished our pixel artwork in computing, sang a beautiful rendition of ‘When I Grow Up’ in music, had a fabulous trip to the William Morris Gallery today and of course, shared all our wonderful projects on Thursday, a selection of which you can see here:
No homework for next week – have a well-earned rest and make sure you come back to school fresh as educational daisies, ready to push through the soil of challenge and blossom into beautifully educated flowers!
Have a super week and I will see you all after the holiday! 🙂
Friday 8th February
Hello!
Here is this week’s homework. I haven’t set you any spellings due to our trip next Friday, but please remember to get the other tasks done so I can get them marked over the half-term holiday:
Position and Direction – Week 2 (No need to print, just write the answers into your homework book)
This week in literacy we drafted, peer marked and published our own version of the extract from ‘Cider With Rosie’ which we read, and I was really impressed by how focused the children were throughout this process. In maths we have had a week of transformation: reflecting, rotating and translating shapes, with great success. In computing we started creating some fabulous pixel art using spreadsheet software, in French we learned how to say what our favourite lesson was, and in art we created our brilliant tapestry to re-tell the story of Boudicca and the Iceni Tribe, as you can see here:
Next week we will be diving into some assessments, and I’m looking forward to seeing how much progress the class have made since January! I’m also looking forward to seeing the children’s superb projects on Thursday and we’ll finish off our half-term with a trip to the William Morris Gallery next Friday, which is sure to be a memorable experience!
Have a restorative weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 1st February
Good afternoon on a snowy day in Hartsbourne!
Here is this week’s homework. The spellings we will extend for another week because we didn’t get a chance to do the test this week.
Position and Direction – Week 1
This week we have been doing lots of writing around our classic fiction text ‘Cider With Rosie’, and I have been really impressed by the children’s use of descriptive language within multi-clause structures. In maths we started a new unit on position and direction, which has involved identifying and plotting co-ordinates across all four quadrants. In computing we used spreadsheet software to complete calculations, in French we learned how to say what we do at break time, and in RE we created some fabulous stained glass windows, as you can see here:
Next week we will be writing our own versions of our classic fiction extract in literacy, and reflecting, rotating and translating shapes in maths. In geography we will continue with our map work, in PE we will introduce tags into our rugby unit and in music we will be re-writing the lyrics to a well-known song – should be a great week!
Have a safe weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 25th January
Hello!
Here is this week’s homework:
Classic Fiction Week 1 – Matilda Extract
Classic Fiction Week 1 – Comprehension Questions
The snow may have come down this week, but the fires of education soon melted it all away!
In literacy we started a new unit based on the classic children’s novel ‘Cider With Rosie’ by Laurie Lee, including some fabulous work on using language to create atmosphere, and some interesting attempts at writing our own puns today! In maths we brought our unit on length, mass and capacity to an end with a week’s worth of work all about capacity, including working out how many water bottles it would take to fill a bathtub! In French we learned how to say what time different parts of our school days begin, in computing we solved scramble challenges using spreadsheet software, and in art we completed some lovely printing work, as you can see here:
Next week we will be looking at punctuating formal and informal speech in literacy as we start to plan our own version of the extract we have been working on. In maths we will start a new unit of work on position and direction by studying co-ordinates across all four quadrants. In music we will continue to study the lyrics of various popular songs, in PE we will be pushing on with our rugby skills and in science we’ll be studying the anatomy of the eye and how it helps us to see things – a great week no doubt!
Have a restful weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 18th January
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework, and this half-term’s project homework suggestions:
It’s been another work-filled week in the world of Year 6!
In literacy we wrote poems in a variety of forms, including haiku, kenning and (my personal favourite) limericks, with some very witty results! In French we learned to tell people how we come to school and at what time, in science we learned about the effect of light on mirrors by creating periscopes using cereal boxes, and in maths we decided to solve Tottenham’s injury woes by calculating how many pencil cases we would need to build a replacement Harry Kane, as you can see here:
Next week we will be starting a new unit of literacy about the classic children’s story ‘Cider With Rosie’. We’ll also be bring our first unit of maths this term to a conclusion with a week of work all about capacity. In PE we will continue to hone our rugby skills, in music we will be studying more song lyrics, and in geography we will push on with our work on population – another week not to be missed!
Don’t forget next Thursday is the school disco and next Friday is Bright Colours Day – I’m looking forward to seeing the children brighten the place up accordingly!
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 11th January
Happy new year!
Here is the first set of homework for the new term:
It’s been lovely to see the children come back in such good spirits, and we have certainly got straight down to business this week!
In maths we started a new unit on length, mass and capacity, and spent the week converting between metric units, converting to imperial units and solving word problems. In science we started a new unit of work on light and how we see things, in music we listened to the lyrics of ‘Hall of Fame’ by The Script and discussed what we thought the message was, and in literacy we have been writing poems using simile, metaphor and personification – I wonder if you can solve this riddle?
Next week we will be writing poems in different forms and finally publishing a winter-themed poem for display in the hall. In maths we will be investigating mass and dealing with all things grams, in computing we will be starting a new unit of work on spreadsheets, and in geography we will continue to study all things population – a wonderful week I’m sure!
Have a relaxing weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 21st December
Ho ho ho!
As final weeks of term go, this has definitely been one of the best!
Obviously the start of the week was dominated by our fabulous Christmas production of ‘The Sound of Christmas’, which took place on Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening, and it was lovely to see so many of you there. On Wednesday I was really impressed with the great variety of Christmassy outfits, and the children certainly did their part in ensuring that Christmas Dinner Day ran as smoothly as possible! The highlight of the week however was Thursday, where we all shared our amazing projects, a few of which you can see below:
Obviously there are no plans for next week, nor any homework expected over the holidays, so all that remains to be said is a massive thank you on behalf of both Mrs Suji and myself for all of your generous gifts, and that I hope you all enjoy a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! 🙂
Friday 14th December
Hello!
It’s certainly beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but we have been working hard this week nonetheless!
In literacy this week we planned, drafted and peer marked our Fantastic Beast reports, ready for publishing to our Learning Journeys next week. They’re looking great! In maths we learned about how to find the mean, median, mode and range of various sets of data – there was certainly nothing average about our efforts this week! In geography we learned about various ways in which camels are adapted for life in the desert, in guided reading we pressed on with ‘Carrie’s War’, and in computing we made great strides with our World War II presentations, as you can see here:
Next week we’re looking forward to seeing you at our Christmas show on Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening. Don’t forget to bring £1 and your finest Christmas jumper on Wednesday, and remember your project homework on Thursday, on which day we’ll also be seeing our pantomime (and at some point I’ll squeeze in one or two lessons as well!)
Have a festive weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Monday 10th December
Good afternoon!
Apologies for the split blog this week – as grateful as I’m sure we all were for the Occasional Day, it did throw me out of loop somewhat!
Last week in literacy we learned about hyphens and modal verbs, as well as refreshing our understanding of relative clauses to try and write multi-clause sentences with four different clauses by the end of the week – it’s fair to say we’re not all quite there yet but good progress was made! In maths we drew line graphs and pie charts before using our interpretation skills to answer questions about the data we had presented. We really enjoyed visiting Heath House and singing for the residents, it was great to see so many of you at the Christmas bazaar, and we worked especially hard on our shelters, as you can see below:
This week we’re planning, drafting, peer marking and publishing our Fantastic Beast reports, which I’m sure will be great reads! We’re also learning about how to find the mean, median, mode and range of various sets of data in maths. In geography we’re learning about how different animals are adapted to their biomes, in RE we’re drawing comparisons and contrasts between Buddhism and Christianity, and in PSHE we’re creating role-plays to help each other find strategies to relax when stressed or anxious – I think I may need one or two of those as we get closer to the Christmas play!
Have a great week and I’ll be back to normal on Friday! 🙂
Saturday 8th December
Hello!
Here is your this week’s homework – sorry it’s slightly late:
Measurement and Statistics Week 2 (two pages again)
Spellings – Week 11
Blog to follow!
Friday 30th November
Greetings!
Here is this week’s homework. Owing to the occasional day next Friday there are no spellings, but the English and maths will need to be handed in a day earlier, so don’t delay getting started!
Measurement and Statistics Week 1 (yes it does say to be handed in on the 6th of November but I’ll accept it on the 6th of December unless you have a time machine)
Another great week of work in Year 6! In literacy we started a new unit about Fantastic Beasts, and spent the week creating some weird and wonderful creatures, as you can see here:
In maths we started a new unit about measurement and statistics, with lots of careful protractor and ruler work involved! In computing we pushed on with our World War II presentations (which are really taking shape) in French we completed a puzzle involving some common greetings and phrases, and in DT we finished the planning for our shelters, which we’ll be making next week.
Next week we will be learning about hyphens and modal verbs in literacy, and drawing and interpreting line graphs and pie charts in maths. Don’t forget that we’re also visiting Heath House on Tuesday and Wednesday to perform the songs from our Christmas play, and I hope to see you all at the Christmas bazaar on Wednesday after school!
Have a relaxing weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 23rd November
Hello!
Here is this week’s homework:
FDP Week 3 (remember there are two pages!)
I have to say, this has been our best weeks since September. In maths especially, I have been so impressed with the children’s attitude towards their work and challenge. Everyone has been pushing themselves and struggling with difficult work, but at the same time I’ve seen an embracing of the struggle and more than once have had to force them to stop for lunch! It seems that our messages about being courageous and going for it have really sunk in, and I know that they have completed a lot of valuable learning this week as a result. Long may it continue!
In literacy we planned, drafted, peer marked and published our evacuee diaries written from the perspective of Carrie or Nick from Carrie’s War. It was a long old slog to get them finished this morning but I am certainly looking forward to reading the completed pieces. In maths we have been adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions and mixed numbers, and I hope the children enjoy their homework as much as they seemed to have enjoyed classwork this week! In DT we started to plan some ideas for our shelters, in PE we did some hip-hop dancing with Candice and Richard, and in French we completed some revision of the body parts, as you can see here:
Next week we’re starting a new unit of literacy all about non-chronological reports, which will see us create our own fantasy creatures! We’ll also be starting a new unit of maths all about measures and statistics, and focusing initially on angles and using protractors! In science we’ll be pushing on with our study of evolution and natural selection, in music we’ll continue to learn songs from our Christmas show, and in computing we’ll be extending our World War II multimedia presentations – a great week in store!
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 16th November
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework:
The weather may be damp and miserable, but the fires of education have been burning brightly this week!
In literacy we have been learning about using apostrophes, colons and semi-colons, with all of our examples linked to Carrie’s War, ahead of next week when we will be writing their evacuee diaries. The plural apostrophe work in particular was very challenging but I was really impressed with the way the children stuck at it! In maths we have had a really tough week of fractions and percentages, but again, the children have really worked hard and definitely impressed me with their ambition in wanting the most challenging work today. In music we have started practising the songs from our Christmas show The Sound of Christmas, in computing we have started to design our World War II multimedia presentations, and in science we learned about Charles Darwin and the theory of evolution, including predicting what the offspring of two different dogs would look like, as you can see here:
Next week we will be planning, drafting, editing, improving and publishing our Carrie’s War diaries, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the children take on the persona of Carrie or Nick! We’ll also be learning how to add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions in maths, to bring our unit of work to a conclusion. In science we will be learning about natural selection, in PE we will be continuing to dance our socks off with Candice and Richard, and in geography we will start learning about how different creatures are adapted to survive in their particular environment or biome. Another week not to be missed!
Have a well-earned rest this weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 9th November
Welcome back!
Here is this week’s homework:
It may only have been a four-day week, but we certainly got straight back into the swing of things!
In literacy we started a new unit on recount writing, with our intention to create a diary entry from the perspective of either Carrie or Nick from Carrie’s War about the experience of being an evacuee. We read an extract from an evacuee diary written by a girl called Lauren, and then had a couple of performance days where we created ten-second silent snapshots of a moment from chapter 2 of Carrie’s War, and then a more extensive role-play from the same chapter today. I was particularly impressed by Jessie, Lana, Evie and Kizzy who managed to include so much content! In maths we have started a new unit on fractions, decimals and percentages and have spent the week simplifying fractions, finding equivalent fractions and converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions. In PE we have started dance with Candice and we also ran the ‘Golden Mile’, in computing we finished off our work on hyperlinks ahead of starting our World War II presentations next week, and in geography we completed maps to show where global biomes lie, as you can see here:
It was also lovely to see so many of you buying poppies and attending our remembrance assembly today. I think it was the best one I can remember!
Next week we will be learning some grammar and punctuation skills which we’ll be able to use in our recounts, as well as finding fractions and percentages of various quantities. We’ll also be starting a new unit of science about evolution and inheritance, learning some Christmas songs in music and starting to think about our shelters in DT – a week not to be missed!
Have a nice weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 26th October
Hello!
No compulsory homework for the half-term holiday, but if you would like to get started with your next round of projects, here is a reminder of my task suggestions:
We’ve worked hard on lots of assessments this week and I have seem some very encouraging results so far! As well as this, we learned to use hyperlinks as part of Powerpoint presentations, completed some yoga routines in PE, had a fabulous trip to Bentley Priory Museum today and shared all of our wonderful projects on Thursday. Here is a selection of them:
It was also great to see so many parents this week for parents’ evening – some fruitful discussions were had, even if the majority of the children could only manage a single word!
Have a well-earned rest over the next week and I will see you all in November! 🙂
Friday 19th October
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework – the last round before the half-term holiday!
We’ve had another busy and productive week in Year 6! In literacy we planned, drafted, peer marked and published our science fiction stories, which I’m sure you’ll be looking forward to reading (I know I am!) In maths we have done a week of problem solving, including lots of work on timetables and time – I’m sure the children are now more than ready to plan their own train journey across the country, although perhaps don’t take me literally on that one! In science we investigated the ideal conditions for dissolving, in PE we worked on our group displays in gymnastics, and in art we had a fantastic clay session, which yielded these fabulous containers:
Next week is assessment week, so I’m looking forward to seeing how much progress the children have made over the course of the term so far! Don’t forget that it’s parents’ evening on Tuesday and Thursday, we’re sharing project homeworks on Thursday and visiting Bentley Priory on Friday – it’s sure to be a fantastic end to the half-term!
Have a peaceful weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 12th October
Hello!
I’ve managed to just about wipe the cake crumbs away to show you this week’s homework:
It’s been another hard-working week in Year 6! In maths this week we have done a lot of work with positive and negative numbers, before moving on to learning about BODMAS and solving calculations in the correct order of operations. In science we completed an investigation about filtration, in computing we added animations and transitions to slide-shows, and in French we learned to find the gender of a noun in the dictionary, and what impact that had on the rest of the sentence. I was particularly impressed with the weird and wonderful extra-terrestrial containers and aliens which the children produced in literacy, as you can see here:
Thanks also to Friends of Hartsbourne for their seamless running of the calendar photo-shoot today, and another delicious cake sale!
Next week we will be planning, drafting, peer marking and publishing our science fiction stories in literacy, which I’m really looking forward to reading. We’ll also be rounding off our calculation unit with a lot of work on problem solving and reasoning, where hopefully the children will be able to apply all of the skills they’ve learned for the last three weeks. In science we will be learning about the ideal conditions for dissolving, in PE we will continue to compose our own gymnastics sequences, and don’t forget it’s our Harvest Assembly at 2:30pm on Friday afternoon!
Have a lovely weekend and i will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 5th October
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework:
We have started the month with a bang and a lot of hard work, as per usual! In literacy we started a new unit on science fiction, and read an extract of ‘War of the Worlds’ by HG Wells, before comparing the text with a clip from the 2005 film and using it as inspiration to both write and role-play! In maths we have completed four tough days on multiplication and division, and I was particularly impressed by the strategies the children employed today when dividing by two digits. In science we completed an investigation into soluble and insoluble substances, in French we applied our knowledge of grammar rules to construct sentences, and in art we created some fabulous clay plaques, as you can see:
It was also great to see so many of you in red, white and blue on Thursday, raising plenty of money for three excellent causes.
Next week we will be combining sentence writing skills with creating our own aliens and extra-terrestrial containers in literacy, which I’m looking forward to seeing! We’ll also finish off our unit of work on calculation with some lessons about the order of operations and algebraic problems. In science we will be looking at filtration, in computing we will be learning to add animations and transitions to slideshows, and don’t forget about the Friends of Hartsbourne calendar photo-shoot on Friday, or the equally important cake sale which will follow it after school!
Have a relaxing weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 28th September
Hello!
Here is this week’s homework:
Mysterious Story Starters Week 3
It’s been another busy week in the world of Year 6, but this week I really felt the children were ‘in the groove’ and the acclimatisation period has come to an end. In literacy we learned about speech punctuation and added some to our mysterious story starters, which we published today. They turned out brilliantly! In maths we started a unit of calculation by working on our addition and subtraction skills, before applying them to solve a variety of reasoning problems. In PE we performed a number of different vaults under the watchful eye of Premier Sport, in computing we learned to create topic slides using Microsoft Powerpoint, and in science we created diagrams to represent reversible and irreversible changes, as you can see here:
Next week we will be starting a new unit of literacy all about science fiction, and reading an extract from HG Wells’ novel ‘War of the Worlds’. In maths we will be pressing on with our work on calculation and starting to look at efficient written methods for multiplication and division. In French we will be starting to create simple sentences using the verb ‘avoir’, in computing we will be learning to add animations and transitions to our multimedia presentations, and in art we will be experiencing using clay for the first time – don’t forget to bring an apron! Also remember it’s Red, White and Blue Day next Thursday, so I look forward to seeing all of you resplendent in the colours of our flag!
Have a chilled weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 21st September
Good afternoon!
Here is this week’s homework:
Mysterious Story Starters Week 2
This week in literacy we have been pushing on with our mysterious story starters, adding into them some active and passive sentences as well as some ‘tell and show’ sentences using colons and semi-colons. In maths we continued our work on number by finding common factors and multiples, before learning about prime numbers and how to find prime factors. In French we learned to conjugate the verb ‘avoir’, in history we learned how the ending of the First World War instigated a chain of events which would bring about the start of the Second, and in guided reading we wrote about memories which were both positive and negative. I found that I could particularly relate to this memory from Chloe:
Next week we will be adding some speech into our story starters and aiming to get them written up for our Learning Journeys. We’ll also be starting a new unit of maths all about calculation, as well as continuing with our gymnastics work in PE. Don’t forget that netball and art club /start on Monday, coding club starts on Wednesday and house captain elections are Thursday.
Have a peaceful weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂
Friday 14th September
Welcome to Year 6!
Here is this week’s homework:
Mysterious Story Starters Week 1
We had a fantastic first full week and are getting into the swing of what Year 6 is all about. In literacy we read and analysed a mysterious story starter, before writing the first draft of our own versions, which we will be adding to for the duration of this unit. In maths we have been using our place value skills to express numbers as words, identify the value of digits, order and round different numbers. In science we learned about the properties of solids, liquids and gases, in RE we learned about the story of Siddharta Gautama, and we were also lucky enough to be visited by the ‘Digital Bus’ this week.
Next week we will be expanding and re-drafting our story starters in literacy, as well as learning about factors, multiples and prime numbers in maths and continuing with gymnastics in PE. Don’t forget it’s also school council elections on Tuesday and house captain elections on Thursday, so get your manifestos written this weekend!
Have a lovely weekend and I will see you all next week 🙂