Class Newsletter
Spring Term Class 6 Newsletter
Happy New Year!
Welcome back. I hope you have had a good Christmas break. Mrs Martin and I would like to thank you for all the very generous Christmas gifts we received at the end of last term
Please find below a brief outline of what we will be covering this term.
Curriculum
English: we will be looking at a variety of narrative structures and techniques including recounts, short stories and the use of flashback as well as film narrative and extended stories, non fiction work will include information texts, writing to persuade and looking at reports and journalistic writing, we will be reading different styles of poetry to recognise, understand and discuss a range of features and their effects
Spelling, grammar, punctuation, handwriting, guided reading, reading comprehension, vocabulary expansion and improving self editing skills are ongoing.
Maths: improving mental calculations, using knowledge of place value, using knowledge of the order of operations (BODMAS), to multiply and divide any number, including decimals, by 10, 100 or 1000 and understand the effect, multiplication and division involving decimals, algebra, patterns and sequences, handling data and interpreting information, contextual problem solving, relationships and calculations, standard written methods for all 4 calculations including for decimals and fractions, recognise the equivalence between the decimal and fractions, problems involving fractions and percentages, use of ratio and proportion to solve simple problems.
Some English and Maths booster groups will be run by Mrs Broadbent, Mrs Martin and myself in class over the course of this term in order to enable smaller group teaching in preparation for new SATs in May.
Science: Evolution and Inheritance, Living things and their Habitats
Topic (History and Geography): Earth Matters; coasts and rivers. We have arranged a field trip to the Dawes Hall to support our studies and will also be visiting the river locally in Clavering.
Art Design and Technology: will be linked to our water topic and will include studies of various artists including Hockney and Monet
French: quelle heure est-il? ma journée, et les saisons!
Computing: we will be looking at the world wide web and the internet and designing our own html web pages
P.E: we will be starting the New Year with sports hall athletics and tag rugby in preparation for forthcoming tournaments. Children will need full PE kits available in school, including a change of socks and track suits are advisable in the colder weather. A plastic bag kept inside the PE bag for muddy trainers is helpful.
Music: Mr Clay will be teaching music and will be focussing on brass and woodwind instruments this term
RE: the siege of Masada and the Holocaust
Kingswood: thank you to all who have made regular payments towards the cost of the trip. This has been much appreciated as we do have to make staged payments to the Centre which would otherwise be a huge strain on school budget. I will be holding a meeting about the trip nearer the time in the Summer Term.
Key Dates for Your Diary
28th February – parents’ evening (3:30pm-5:30pm)
2nd March – parents’ evening (5:00pm-7:00pm)
9th March – field trip to Dawes Hall
22nd March – tray day
As always if you do have any questions or concerns at any time please do come and talk to me after school.
Lynn Lipscomb
Autumn Term Class 6 Newsletter
Welcome back. I hope you all had a very enjoyable summer and are looking forward to the busy term ahead. Below is a brief outline of what we will be covering between now and Christmas
English: We will be studying fiction genres with a focus on significant authors and historical stories as well as extended narrative and persuasive writing linked to our History topic. Non fiction work will include recounts, instruction and explanation writing as well as classic and performance poetry.
Spelling, grammar, punctuation, handwriting, guided reading, vocabulary expansion and improving self editing skills are ongoing.
Maths: improving mental calculations, place value up to three decimal places, patterns and sequences, handling data and interpreting information, contextual problem solving, securing number facts, relationships and calculations, efficient written methods for calculation, algebra, fractions, decimals and percentages
Science: What would a journey through your body be like? We will be studying our circulatory system.
Topic (History/Geography): How can we rediscover the wonders of Ancient Greece? We will be studying people, events and advancements of the Ancient Civilisation of the Greeks, their legacy and how they have influenced our lives today. We will also be visiting the British Museum in November.
Languages: Our topics in French will be En Ville and Les Saisons. We will be building on our previous learning, broadening our vocabulary, exploring patterns, structures and sounds and developing greater confidence to speak, read and write French with increasing fluency within a range of contexts.
Computing: We will focus on internet safety this term and will be developing skills in programming.
Art and DT: We plan to study Cubism for the first half of the term and will go on to look at frame structures after half term as we become architects designing and building our own Greek temples.
P.E: We will be starting the new school year with fitness, cross country and football. Children will need full PE kits on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. In Year 6 we do encourage children to get onto a routine of bringing all PE kits in on a Monday and taking them home for washing each weekend. Track suits may be preferred later in the term as the weather begins to get colder, sports socks and a roll on deodorant are also advisable to include in the P.E. bag for obvious reasons of good hygiene.
P.S.H.E.E: We will be starting off with Play Leader training and hope that all of the children will graduate by the end of the month and be able to begin their new roles very quickly. The children will also be taking over as buddies to the new Reception children which has become a very special link between the oldest and youngest children over the last few years at Clavering. We will then begin to focus on relationships and feelings beginning in our Friendship Week at the end of this month. We will also be taking part in the Bikeability Scheme in October/November (dates to follow shortly).
Music: will be taught through an integrated approach of listening and appraising, composing and performing through singing and the playing of pitched and non pitched instruments
Mrs Ford will be teaching the class on a Tuesday morning when I am out of class in my assistant head teacher role.
Homework: The children will be set Maths and English or Topic homework each week which should be completed in their Learning Logs or on the sheets provided and returned to school by the date set. Spellings will be given to learn on a weekly basis. Every child has a reading journal where they should be recording their responses to books they have read both at home and at school and aiming to complete the Reading Challenge. Please do discuss their books and reading choices with your child and continue to listen to them reading aloud when possible; this enables them to read at a pace to allow spellings and grammatical structures to be absorbed more readily. Additional homework may be set on occasions to support specific areas of learning as required.
Water/Snacks
Children are actively encouraged to bring in water and a snack for break time each day. It is often a long time between breakfast and lunch and a snack is important to keep us all going. We ask that these are healthy, in line with our Healthy Schools ethos (fruit or vegetables in their natural forms).
Secondary Transfer
You will shortly receive details regarding secondary school open days and the process for applying for a secondary school place, the statutory cut off day for which is October 31st.
Dates for your Diary
September 9th Non uniform day for house cup winners – Wymarc
September 16th – non uniform day for Sports Day winners – Oliver and Saville for returning most questionnaires
September 21st – Meet the Teacher evening (7:00pm and repeated at 7:30pm)
September 30th –MacMillan coffee morning (information to follow)
September 30th – October 7th – book fayre
October 3rd-7th – Friendship Week (information to follow)
October 10th – E safety workshops at JFAN for Years 5 and 6 followed by parent information evening 7:00pm – 9:00pm
October 10th – 14th Book Week
October 12th – Jack Trelawny author visit
October 18th (5:00pm-7:00pm) October 20th (3:30pm-5:30pm) Parents’ Evenings
October 21st – INSET day
November 3rd – visit to the British Museum
November 11th – Year 6 class assembly (2:45pm)
December 7th – Tray afternoon
December 15th – KS2 Christmas performance
If you do have any questions or concerns at any time please do come and talk to me after school.
Lynn Lipscomb
