Welcome to Year 6!

Week Ending 26/04/2024

This week, Year 6 have been working so hard in engineering. We have not only had to use all our knowledge about forces and materials in order to build our bridges, but also our communication skills. In order to strengthen our group-work and communication, Mrs Simpkin challenged us to a number of team competitions outside. These helped us understand how important communication is in all aspects of group-work in order to do the best we can and use everyone’s strengths effectively to win!

Week Ending 19/04/2024

Year 6 have been evaluating their test bridges this week in our topic of Engineering. We couldn’t believe how strong they were; the strongest held 7.7kg before collapsing! We look forward to sharing our final bridges and our results soon.

Week Ending 22/03/2024

This week, Year 6 were able to have a live debate about the subjects they feel most passionate about. Some chose to discuss whether violent video games should be banned, others chose to argue whether Artificial Intelligence will replace teachers in the future. However, the most popular discussion topic was ‘This house believes that books are better than movies.’ Obviously, our avid readers concluded that books are better!

Week Ending 15/03/2024

To complete our Frozen Planet and Inuit Art topics, Year 6 created fantastic pieces of art inspired by the Inuit artist Kenojuak Ashevak. Some of us challenged ourselves by making our art tell part of the story of Edward Shackleton’s Endurance.

Week Ending 08/03/2024

This week, Year 6 were unbelievably enthusiastic about their learning as we celebrated World Book Day! We read ‘The Girl and the Dinosaur’ and created our own dreamlands, finishing the week by creating an advert to entice people into visiting. However, Year 6’s favourite part of the week was when they convinced Mrs Simpkin to do an extra long ‘Book of the Week’ so that all the children who wanted to recommend their book could present and we were all able to choose our next read. We are even writing balanced arguments now in English to convince people that books are better than films!

Week Ending 01/03/2024

This week, Year 6 have been honing their persuasive skills, culminating in a wonderful poster advert persuading people to buy their brand new product.

Here are some examples of their final posters!

Week Ending 26/01/2024

This week, Year 6 have finished off their topic of Evolution and Inheritance by creating their own new species! We used all our knowledge of mutation and natural selection to imagine new and unique creatures that have adapted to their habitat and diet. We ensured that we had a well informed and researched reason behind each design choice or trait.

Week Ending 19/01/2024

Year 6 have been learning all about Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace and their theory of evolution. We learnt about how offspring can inherit certain traits and how, through reproduction, some offspring will develop variations which will either help or hinder their ability to survive in their environment. We were split into two groups and given the same animal but given different mutations at each stage of reproduction. It was fascinating to see how these tiny changes over time can result in completely different looking offspring!

Week Ending 12/01/2024

This week we learnt how bacteria can become resistant to many different types of antibiotics. We learnt how a few bacteria can randomly evolve resistance to the drug or antibiotic, but these bacteria will soon make up the whole population. We enacted scenarios where one cold bacteria was able to evolve and mutate, spreading to different people and gradually becoming resistant, and eventually immune, to the antibiotics the doctor was prescribing!

Week Ending 08/12/2023

Year 6 have been creating a wonderful display based on the book The Arrival which we are studying in English. This week, they created beautiful nine-square illustrations depicting a series of events during a particular occurrence or a series of images showing the passing of time.

Week Ending 01/12/2023

This week, Year 6 have been looking at Shaun Tan’s ‘The Arrival’. Inspired by the main character’s use of origami to send letters to his daughter across the sea, Year 6 have created their own letters and used them to create beautiful origami birds for our English display.

Week Ending 24/11/2023

This week, Year 6 were able to showcase their amazing winter fair games that they have been making in DT! They were fantastic with all the younger children, helping them to win lots of prizes. Thank you to everyone for all your help and support; hopefully we have raised lots of money!

Week Ending 10/11/2023

This week, Year 6 took their first trip to the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. They really impressed the RAF staff with their knowledge about World War One and asked some really mature and insightful questions about both World War One and World War 2. They even experienced a WW2 classroom, pretended to be evacuees and took part in a fake air raid!

Week Ending 03/11/2023

Year 6 have had a very productive week back this half-term. This week, we were given the difficult challenge of interpreting data and creating visual representations. Miss Milton thinks that we have really understood infographics and have produced some really creative work.

Week Ending 13/10/2023

Year 6 have been experimenting with light this week! We have been problem solving by using our understanding of reflection and refraction. Mrs Simpkin set us some tricky missions where we had to work as a team to reflect a laser in order to reach our target as well as work out how light moves through different shaped prisms.

Week Ending 06/10/2023

This week, Year 6 have been learning about the end of WW1 and the Treaty of Versailles. Before we were shown the actual treaty that was signed, we worked in groups as each of the major powers at the time. We came up with a list of goals or promises that would benefit our given country, based on all our knowledge about WW1 and the impact of the war. We were then shown the real Treaty of Versailles, which we found very shocking. We could not believe what was eventually decided and we were already independently realising how this would then lead to WW2.

Week Ending 29/09/2023

Year 6 have been researching and analysing World War One propaganda this week. They looked at the language used, the colours and overall persuasive message. They have created very moving posters based on the propaganda they have researched.

Week Ending 22/09/2023

Year six have been researching all about the start of WW1 and what it was like to live in the trenches. They have been looking at primary sources such as photographs and letters that were actually written on the Western Front and sent home to loved ones. Mrs Simpkin was overwhelmed with the amazing number of mature and considered questions asked. Well done year 6, we’ve all learnt something new this week!

Week Ending 15/09/2023

As part of our English work on persuasion, we have started creating posters warning people of terrifying beasts in the area. Here are some of our work in progress; we look forward to showing you our finished pieces on display somewhere around the school!

Week Ending 08/09/2023

Year 6 have had a fantastic start to the year! They have been trying to persuade Mrs Simpkin to give them the class job of their dreams through persuasive writing, composing letters to their future selves to open at the end of the year and creating beautiful artwork that expresses who they are. Their favourite lesson this week was Music where we discussed music theory and tried to guess which animal Camille Saint-Saëns was describing through his compositions in Carnival of the Animals. The Year 6 team are super proud of every single one of you; well done on a superb start to your time in Year 6!

Week Ending 07/07/2023

This week Y6, you made your parents and teachers unbelievably proud in your fantastic performances of ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’! You learnt a record number of lines, stunned your audience with your beautiful voices and performed your fantastic choreography with true ‘Piratical Style’. You really came into your own this week and have shown everyone how funny and talented you all are. I hope you are all as proud of yourselves as I am, you are truly wonderful. Well done!

Week Ending 30/06/2023

Coming soon to a stage near you!

Year 6 have been practising incredibly hard this week for their production of Pirates of the Curry Bean. We cannot wait to show you all!

Week Ending 23/06/2023

Year 6 have had the freedom this week to create their own set of evidence pointing to a potential spy in WW1. They have used all their prior knowledge to create a fantastic set of letters, lists and interrogation transcripts. Miss Milton thinks this is some of the best work they have done this year so far!

Week Ending 16/06/2023

This week, Year 6 have been writing a recount of their residential in the form of a scrapbook diary entry. We have worked hard to detail the wonderful activities we did and our amazing achievements during our stay! The children will be able to take these home and keep as a souvenir to look back on in years to come.

Week Ending 09/06/2023

This week, Year 6 has started a new topic of Bees, Beetles and Butterflies. We were tasked with scrapbooking one of these to practise techniques and record our ideas and observations, which we will then reference when creating our final piece. Miss Milton brought in her real life (but not alive…) insects and arachnids for us to study in detail. We were shocked at the multitude of textures and colours and loved being able to get up close to these fantastical creatures. By the end of the lesson, Miss Milton told us that our sketchbooks looked so much better than some of the professional artists’ examples that she had shown us!

Week Ending 12/05/2023

For the King’s Coronation last week, Year 6 were tasked with creating graffiti-style bunting to decorate the new Coronation Garden! We were each given a word from the National Anthem to restyle and make as colourful and eye-catching as possible.

Week Ending 28/04/2023

Year 6 have started to learn about the circulatory system in Science. This week, we made our own blood sample using oil, milk and syrup with food colouring to represent plasma, white blood cells and red blood cells. We then mixed the samples, combining the components,to show how they would be in our body. We watched the samples settle and separate over time, as they do when in a centrifuge, and calculated the percentage of each component within blood. We couldn’t believe that plasma makes up around 55% of our blood and red blood cells, only around 45%! 

Week Ending 21/04/2023

After returning from their Easter Holidays, Year 6 have started a new Science topic of The Circulatory System. We have been exploring all the different systems that are vital in keeping our body working and moving, as well as focussing on the structure and function of the heart and blood. We have had so many interesting and stimulating questions that have started really mature and deep discussions. 

Week Ending 24/03/2023

This week, Year 6 have been studying Gallery Rebels, from the Expressionists to the Impressionists and even some Surrealists! 

We challenged ourselves to draw a still life as if we were Realists, then draw the same still life only using 40 straight lines to capture an ‘impression’ or ‘expression’ of the image. We then took it one step further, and created an image of the same still life using only 15 lines. It made us realise how important one line can be when communicating a complex idea but also how an image doesn’t have to be perfect in order for you to understand what an artist is trying to convey.

Week Ending 17/03/2023

As part of our Engineering learning, Year 6 have been designing and testing their own truss bridges. To do this, we had to apply our knowledge of compression, tension and the strength of triangles in construction. As it was Science week, Mrs Baxter asked us to do a live experiment during assembly to see how much weight one of the bridges could hold until it failed, but our bridge was too strong. Our strongest bridge held 4.5kg, more than the weight of a penguin or a large bag of potatoes!

Week Ending 10/03/2023

This week, Year 6 have been learning how to draw isometric and oblique technical drawings in DT. It was really tricky at first because we realised that no one ever truly sees 3D objects from this perspective; it almost felt like our brains were playing tricks on us! We discussed how M.C. Escher uses these technical drawing techniques to create his intricate illusions, hopefully we get to try them ourselves! By creating these illustrations, we recognised that drawing designs in this way helps to communicate their features and construction clearly and objectively. This will help us when we come to design, present and build our own bridges next week.

Week Ending 03/03/2023

This week, Miss Milton received an incredibly exciting and unexpected package in the mail. Having submitted our entries to the Young Writers Poetry Stars competition a couple of months ago, we discovered that every single one of our entrants won! According to Young Writers, it is exceptionally rare for all the entries of a school to win. Well done Year 6! 

Week Ending 17/02/2023

Year 6 are very excited to share their findings from their bread experiment. Over the weeks, we have been shocked, amazed and disgusted at the quantity and variety of mould that grew. Miss Milton showed us the bread under UV light to identify any dangerous mould. Our learning about light in Science helped us understand how some moulds (even those invisible in daylight) turn fluorescent under UV light. What surprised us the most was how there was absolutely no mould on the control slices! We realised that this is because the bread Miss Milton had purchased was made with many preservatives, and so it remained pristine. We have concluded that fresh is best, and the 5 second rule is not true!

Week Ending 10/02/2023

In Year 6, we have been investigating circuits and electricity. We were able to make our own using motors, batteries, wires and buzzers. We even made our own human circuit with the entire class, showing that human beings can also conduct electricity!

Week Ending 03/02/2023

After studying about the indigenous people of the Arctic, Year 6 created their own incredible animal artwork inspired by Kenojuak Ashevak. We first practised different patterns and used a variety of materials to try and perfect her style. It was a lot harder than we anticipated and once we made a mark, it could not be erased. Not only was it a great Art lesson, it was a great lesson in growth mindset and how to make mistakes into masterpieces!

Week Ending 27/01/2023

This week in Year 6, we have been using all of our understanding and learning about ‘Frozen Kingdoms’ to create either a promotional pamphlet encouraging people to visit Antarctica, or a pamphlet publicising the negative impact tourism has on the area. This has really proved how well we work in groups and shown us how we all have strengths that can contribute to an amazing final product.

Week Ending 20/01/2023

This week, Year 6 have been discussing bacteria, mould and the importance of handwashing! As a result, we created an experiment where, as a class, we chose what we wanted to investigate. We decided we wanted to see how much bacteria was on our door handles, floor and our own hands. We asked, ‘Will there be more bacteria on hands that used hand gel or were washed with soap?’ and ‘Will there be more bacteria on the ground outside or on the bins?’. We are very excited to watch the growth and spread of bacteria on our bread over the next few weeks, we will keep you updated!

Week Ending 13/01/2023

Year 6 have been picking apart different features of fiction genres. We have been experimenting with well known scenes in fiction books and describing the same scene but changing the genre completely! For example, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry finds Filch attending to Snape’s badly injured leg. This is meant to be a mysterious and worrying scene. However we reimagined it as a Romance, Action, Crime and Horror story. In one freeze frame, Snape had ‘radiant, pearly-white skin and glistening, silky hair as dark and deep as midnight, that cascaded luxuriously over his shoulders as Filch affectionately wrapped up his wound.’ In another, Harry was creeping silently, spying on the actions of Snape and Filch; in some Harry was even a murderer… We had a lot of fun reinventing well-known scenes and playing around with vocabulary to completely change the meaning for the reader, although sometimes it was hard to keep a straight face!

Week Ending 16/12/2022

Year 6 have been creating magnificent miniature models of Anderson Bunkers as part of our learning about the Blitz and civilian life in World War II Britain. Some of us even made tiny replicas of games they may have played, cans of spam for food, books and allotments where they would have been “digging for victory”!

Week Ending 09/12/2022

This week, Year 6 have been creating dramatic chalk art pieces inspired by “St Paul's Survives”, a photograph taken in London during the night air raid of the 114th night of the Blitz of World War II. Instead of concentrating on the shadows and details of the buildings, we focussed on the light in the pictures and detailing the backdrop of the illuminated sky by using black paper with white chalk. Some of us even used coloured chalk to give the impression of flames and explosions from the bombing of London.

Week Ending 02/12/2022

This week in year 6, we finished our English unit on Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide. We ended it by creating our own amazing creatures and writing non-chronological reports, letters, diary entries, news reports and drawing labelled illustrations. Some of us loved the book so much, we created our own at home!

Week Ending 25/11/2022

This week in D.T., Year 6 have been designing, testing and building funfair games for the Newberries Winter Fair! First, our five teams came up with three concepts which we then presented to the class. Everyone provided us with feedback, considering the materials we might use and their playability. After we had chosen our favourite and collected all the materials we would need, we illustrated our build sequence to make sure we knew exactly how we would assemble our designs. We encountered many problems as we built our initial structures, but this provided us with fantastic learning opportunities to improve and test our constructions. 

Finally, they are ready! We are so excited to be able to share our creations with the rest of the school, watch everyone have a go at playing them and hopefully, win some amazing prizes! 

Week Ending 18/11/2022

This week was Anti-bullying Week and in Year 6, we role-played as physical, cyber, social and emotional bullies and victims. We learnt about how we should walk away and reach out to a friend or adult if we, or someone else, is being bullied. We also discussed all the different forms bullying can take, and how we can stand up for ourselves and victims of bullying.

Week Ending 11/11/2022

Today, Year 6 took part in a very moving assembly focussing on remembering all those who have sacrificed their lives for us and our beliefs, freedom and rights. In the afternoon, we did a quiz all about Remembrance Day. As we have just finished our Topic unit on WW1, we were able to offer incredibly detailed answers including some which even the quiz was not aware of!

Week Ending 04/11/2022

This week, Year 6 have been exploring atmospheric cliff-hangers in English. We have been comparing vocabulary to ensure we choose the best adjectives to describe a creepy setting for our suspenseful story.

Week Ending 21/10/2022

This week, Year 6 were looking at why men volunteered to be soldiers in the First World War. We were able to look at real-life propaganda posters and mugs that Miss Milton had brought back from her time in China. We learnt about the colours, persuasive language and slogans used and then created our own amazing propaganda posters!

Week Ending 14/10/2022

This week, Year 6 went on an amazing trip to the RAF Museum in Hendon. We were able to get up close to aeroplanes, uniforms and artefacts that had actually been used in, and survived, the First and Second World War. We even got to experience what a wartime classroom would be like and had to take cover during an air raid! It was eye-opening to stand next to those enormous machines and learn about the heroic people that fought during the war.

Week Ending 07/10/2022

In Year 6, we have been researching about World War I. We have looked at a variety of sources including real letters from soldiers and photographs to understand about the causes of the war, life in the trenches and the weaponry used.

Blogs 2021-22

Week Ending 15/7/2022

It is traditional for Newberries’ Year 6 children to take part in Bikeability. Last Friday, the children completed Level 1 and all were able to progress onto Level 2 this week. The children spent the day on their bikes learning how to keep safe on the roads – everyone passed and deserve a huge well done for they had to persevere with their cycling even in this heat.

In science the children have started their final unit, Light Theory. They have explored how light travels through conducting an experiment to prove this and they have learnt that they can see because light is reflected into the eye.

It was lovely inviting you all into our classroom on Tuesday. We hope you enjoyed looking at your children’s work and seeing how much they have learnt and developed throughout the year.

The majority of the class also experienced their transition day into secondary school this week – a big step for all involved but one that is full of new adventures and excitement!

Week Ending 8/7/2022

What an incredible week we have had in Year 6! 

This week Year 6, you have truly shined and dazzled us all with your amazing performance of ‘Cinderella & Rockefeller’. Your voices were like angels, you remembered your lines perfectly, choreographed your own dance routine and entertained your audience with not only your impressive acting skills but also with your ‘wit and beauty’!  

As your teacher, I could not be any prouder of you. This week was an important week, not just because you were performing on stage but also because you were receiving your end of Key Stage 2 SATs results and what else can I say apart from WOW and congratulations. Not only were your results amazing but are significantly above national average!  You have demonstrated determination, perseverance and fantastic self-discipline - important life skills that you will continue to use in your next educational chapter and beyond. 

Congratulations Year 6 and well done - you never cease to amaze me.

Week Ending 1/7/2022

This week Year 6 have continued working on perfecting their production – we can’t wait to share it with you next week!

In English, we focused on using a range of punctuation and created our own stories called ‘It’s a mystery’. The children were given the opening line only and then were given the opportunity to discuss and share ideas with each other before writing their own mystery story.

In science, we started our unit Evolution and Inheritance. The children created some amazing double page spreads on the theory of evolution. We also looked at the classification systems and explored the different classification kingdoms through examining fossils. Today, we data on inheritance known as continuous and discontinuous variations (what colour eyes we have and how tall we are) and then presented this data using a bar graph and a line graph. 

Week Ending 24/6/2022

This week Year 6 had a great opportunity to show off their leadership skills. As part of our link with the Hertfordshire PE Partnership scheme, Mrs Charles introduced a sporting challenge to the children – they were to teach and lead a tennis festival for Year 2. The children worked in small groups where they were given an activity card, they had to then use this to set up their game. When they were ready, the children from Year 2 came to partake in the sessions.

Week Ending 17/6/2022

Last week, the children auditioned for their final production here at Newberries and on Monday the roles were allocated and the rehearsing began. This year we will be performing Cinderella Rockerfella, a fantastic production with lots of comedy moments for you all to enjoy.

We have also used a short animation, Alma, as a stimulus to produce some great pieces of writing - our focus this fortnight was to write a narrative as well as a newspaper report. The children focused on using a shift of formality as well as using some ambition punctuation.

During our topic lessons, we continued learning about Maafa. We have learnt how Portugal and Spain contributed to the start of the slave trade and the role Britain play within it too.

Week Ending 26/5/2022

Year 6 have had a good week back after their trip away last week. On Monday, Mr Gibson, who used to teach Y2 when they were in Reception but now works for part of the Education Outreach Team for Bletchley Park, came in to talk to the children about password protection. The children were all engaged and so well behaved.

In English this week, we have been using an animation based on the adventures of the Queen’s corgi and guard. The children focused on their sentence openers but also produced some excellent writing.

We ended the week with our jubilee celebrations: making bunting, collage art and our Jubilee picnic and games outside.

Week Ending 13/5/2022

Congratulations to our Year 6 children who have finished their SATs - you have all worked extremely hard and we are incredibly proud of you! They have worked incredibly hard all year, particularly over the last couple of months and this has been reflected in the amazing attitude that they have shown towards their SATs. The effort and determination displayed by each and every one of them has been utterly awe-inspiring and they ought to be incredibly proud of themselves.

The children arrived at school each day at 8:30am where they were treated to some pastries and fruit before having a quick revision session and singing the traditional Year 6 SATs song. In the afternoons, the children had revision sessions followed by a competitive game of rounders or bench ball.

They ended their week with ‘D.O.S’ day – a Day of Strike, where no formal work was completed and fun was had by all.

A huge thank you to them for their hard work, effort and patience and an even bigger WELL DONE – you definitely rose to the challenge of your Key Stage!

Week Ending 6/5/2022

Letter from Year 6 Team to Year 6

The final countdown to SATs has begun! You have worked incredibly hard over the term and we are incredibly proud of your determination and focus.  In Maths, you have focused on improving your fluency and are probably fed up with long division and fractions by now. You have also developed your reasoning skills through solving many different problems. In English, you have completed lots of SPaG and spelling activities and have even managed to grasp the variety of tenses within the English language!

Please try not to worry and remember that these tests do not assess many things: they won’t tell us how kind you are, they won’t tell us how sporty or creative you are and they definitely do not tell us how amazing you are.

So, over the weekend - although it is ok to do revision - you must please ensure that you get outside and have some fun seeing friends and family. Make sure you have time to relax and to do things that make you smile!

The only thing we would like you to do is to make sure you go to bed early on Sunday night and to remember that you can do anything you set your mind to.

You’ve got this Year 6. SATs here we come!

Week Ending 29/4/2022

This week in English, we have been using a text- The Shadow- to identify subordinate and main clauses as well as identifying the different techniques used to create atmosphere within our writing. The children then innovated the story to create their own atmospheric short story.

In Maths, we have completed our ratio unit and moved on to our statistics unit where we have learnt the different parts of a circle and the relationship between the diameter and the radius. We have also learnt how to draw pie charts using a protractor to measure the different sections accurately. 

In PE, we have continued with our pilates and dance unit. In pilates, we explored exercising with a pilates ball which definitely worked our core muscles! 

In the afternoons, we continued our work on our topic - Maafa. This week, the children presented their findings on the African country that they researched last week. Lots of work went into this and the children showed great respect towards each other whilst listening to the presentations.

Week Ending 22/4/2022

Can’t believe we are in the last term of Primary School! Although our time together is almost over, we still have a term full of memories to make.

This week, we completed our unit on Hermlin in English where we deconstructed sentences to identify the different types of clauses and then used this knowledge to create diary entries.

In Maths, we began our ratio unit. We started by exploring ratio language and by gaining an understanding of the relationship between fractions and decimals. We ended the week by calculating ratio problems.

For our topic work, we have started Maafa which is all about the slave trade. The children began the week by researching a country of their choice within Africa; they will be presenting and teaching the class about their country next week.

Week Ending 1/4/2022

Year 6 showed everyone the reason why they are such an amazing year group when they took part in their ‘Mock SATs Week’ this week. All of the children showed an amazing resilience, commitment and dedication to their tests and all had a fantastic growth mindset. The children worked their socks off to show what they know in Maths, Reading and GPS (Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling).

It hasn’t been all work and no play…as well as completing SATs papers, each child also become familiar with using Google Sheets to record data within a spreadsheet and were able to incorporate their previous algebra knowledge to use formulas to complete sets of data.

Happy Easter!

Week Ending 25/3/2022

This week in computing, we have finished our websites and webpages and evaluated each other’s work. We have now started our new unit on spreadsheets and data.

We were also fortunate to experience a Science workshop where we carried out lots of fun science experiments. We hope you enjoy the photos.

Week Ending 18/3/2022

This week in English, we have started our next unit of work based on ‘Hermelin – The Detective Mouse’ by Mini Grey. This week we have focused on our prediction skills and used drama to help us to empathise how a character might be feeling.

We have marked Science Week by learning about worms with Reception and then going on a worm hunt together. The children used magnifying glasses to look at the anatomy more closely. We also learnt about crazy custard – a type of custard that you could technically jump on! Year 6 are going to have their own mini competition to see who can grow the biggest sunflower. These will then be planted in the school allotment for all to appreciate their beauty.

Finally, we marked Red Nose Day and Sports relief by working in groups to plan and deliver PE sessions to all the other classes in the school. The children worked incredibly well together and everyone had great fun!

Week Ending 11/3/2022

This week, Year 6 have been working hard to solve algebraic equations. We have used concreate objects to help us to visualise balancing the equations as well as pictorial representation through bar modelling.

In English, we have completed our unit on the class text, The Night of the Gargoyles where we have focused on various writing techniques: expanded noun phrases and adverbials to add description; short sentences and ambiguous words to add tension.

In PE, Year 6 have been busy planning activities for the rest of the school to complete next Friday during Sport’s Relief.

Week Ending 4/3/2022

What a busy week we have had in Year 6. We started the week by playing our first netball match on Monday. The Year 6 netball team played Holywell Primary and it was a nail-biting game – final score an amazing 7-7.

In science this week, we have looked at the impact that exercise has on our body and why our heart needs to beat faster. We also investigated which adult had the best lung capacity by blowing up a balloon. Mrs Lynch, Mr Rafiq and Mrs O’Sullivan all took part. Who would you predict would have the best lung capacity? The majority of the children predicted that Mr Rafiq would have the best lung capacity due to him being younger and fitter, however the actual winner was Mrs O’Sullivan. We used this to discuss what could cause any one person to have a smaller lung capacity: age, height, weight, conditions such as asthma or being a smoker.

On Thursday we celebrated World Book Day, a day that was organised by our very own Reading Ambassadors: Kayla, Lexie, Lucas, Zach, Joseph, Lily, Harry. The class enjoyed various activities such as reading to reception, taking part in a live illustrators show and choosing a free book provided by the FoNs as well as taking part in several class competitions such as dressing up a potato, designing a door and writing a blurb for a mysterious book by just using the front cover.

As if this was not enough, Year 6 also found out which Secondary School they have been allocated – a big day for all but we are incredibly proud of how excited they are about starting their new educational journey and how they have demonstrated compassion and resilience.

Week Ending 25/2/2022

This week we celebrated Twosday on the 22.02.22 – the date is a palindrome and an ambigram at the same time. This implies it may be read in any direction, including backwards and upside down. In English, we worked in twos to write a rhyming couplet about school and in Maths, we did lots of investigations using the number two.

Year 6 have also been learning about Fairtrade this week, where we discussed the difference between a need and a desire. We looked at how some people do not have basic needs due to not being paid fairly and how   we can help those less fortunate by buying Fairtrade products.

In Science, we have learnt about the function of the heart and have labelled the different parts using scientific vocabulary. We have also learnt about our double circulatory system.

Week Ending 11/2/2022

This week Year 6 worked hard completing practise SATs papers during the morning and the rest of the time was spent completing our art unit on pointillism.

At the beginning of the week, we created a colour wheel on paper plates using just primary colours and pointillism to create an optical illusion. We then compared and contrasted two artists and their techniques before sketching our own natural disaster and finally painting it using cotton buds.

Week Ending 4/2/2022

It has been an exciting week this week in Year 6.

On Monday, the boy football team had another amazing win (7-1) and then on Wednesday we got a class sofa! Year 6 are loving our reading sofa and all children are eager to read in comfort!

On Friday morning, we marked NSPCC Number Day by competing in a maths competition where children were given some challenging KS3 questions to answer. In the afternoon, we had our first visit to HABs for science where we learnt about the circulatory system and the function of the heart.

Week Ending 28/1/2022

This week in English we have continued our work on cohesive devices and implemented them into our own writing. In Maths, we have continued our work with decimals and have moved on to converting decimals into fractions and fractions into decimals.

Big Garden Bird Watching started today, Friday 28th January. To mark this, we spent time outside watching the birds and trying to identify them. When we returned to class, we drew them.

Week Ending 21/1/2022

This week in English we have been looking at the ingredients needed to create a good piece of writing. We began the week by focusing on the use of cohesive devices (openers, adverbials) which will help us to link our sentences together. We then unpicked sections of a story where we explored the adjectives, adverbs, openers and conjunctions used and discussed what made it effective.

In Maths, we have started our unit on decimals. This week we have identified place value and multiply decimals by integers.

In Geography we have been exploring the climates of the world and created a thematic map.

Week Ending 14/1/2022

Happy New Year. We began this week by reflecting on the highs and lows of 2021 and thinking about what our hopes and worries are for 2022. As Year 6 brings lots of change, it will also bring worries. So, we created our own worry dolls to help us to manage our feelings and worries about the year ahead.

In English, we have finally completed our non-fiction unit based around the book Planetarium which we started before Christmas. Throughout the unit, we looked at different SPaG structures: adverbials, prepositional phrases, subordinating clauses etc. Our final outcome was to create an information text on the planet of Pandora and then, in Art, we used our cross-hatching technique to create a drawing of one of the species they could find there.

Week Ending 3/12/2021

This week started off with the children getting to play their own Christmas games; they had great fun and did such an amazing job to raise the amount of money they did for the school. This year, they raised £462.11.

In Maths, we have continued our work on fractions where children have been finding fractions of amounts using bar modelling. We love a good bar model problem in Year 6, so much so that we even have a song about it!

Week Ending 26/11/2021

What a busy and festive week we have had in Year 6! This week we came off timetable to plan and make our winter themed games for the Winter Fair. The children worked hard in their groups coming up with not only their games but the rules and how much they would charge the children to play it. They took into consideration the different abilities across the key stages and altered the rules to make it fair for all year group.

This afternoon they worked together to run their games.  Wow – such amazing hard work and such kindness shown to all the younger children.

Year 6, you have made me proud and I am glad that next week you get to have some festive fun playing your own games too! Well done.

Week Ending 19/11/2021

This week Year 6 completed art work left over from their enrichment week: they used acrylic paint to paint their poppy plates and cut a war photo into strips to draw in the rest using oil pastels.

For anti-bullying week we were fortunate enough to take part in a workshop where we looked at the importance of using kind words and how one kind word can completely change how somebody is feeling. The children then created posters where friends gave them one kind word about themselves.

Year 6 also took part in the Joe Wicks Children in Need special where they took part in a thirty minute exercise and quiz session.

Week Ending 12/11/2021

This week Year 6 have had a WW1 themed week. In History, we looked at what caused the war to start and what life was like on the western front. We also looked at the meaning behind Remembrance Day and learnt what the different poppies represent.

In Art we use watercolours to draw our own poppy fields and also made poppy bowls out of clay – the children are excited to paint these next week.

In English, we analysed war poetry and then focused on uses our senses to write our own poem.

We also took photos of our hands and inserted a 3D effect using poppies to show that peace is in our hands.

Week Ending 1/10/2021

On Monday we celebrated European Day of Languages by learning Spanish. The children had a great time learning Spanish greetings, playing games and singing songs. We recorded our greetings rap which we hope you enjoy listening to.

Audio Player

Week Ending 24/09/2021

In Maths this week, the children have being practising their addition and subtraction skills as well as learning informal and formal methods for multiplication.

In science, the children planned, conducted and wrote results for their own science experiment.

In PE, we celebrated national PE day but doing a range of fun activities for 15 seconds each.

Week Ending 17/09/2021

Our story in English symbolises hope and friendship, two important themes for Year 6 this year so this week the children made their own lanterns where they place their hopes and dreams within them.

In science this week, we have been exploring different components and trying to make circuits.

This term, Year 6 will be working alongside Watford Football Trust to complete the Positive Minds Education project. It is a ten-week award winning wellbeing programme delivered in primary schools across Hertfordshire to Year 6 pupils. The programme combines classroom and practical-based activities to engage and increase the awareness around the topic of mental health.

Week Ending 10/09/2021

In English this week we have been exploring Aaron Becker’s book ‘Journey’. The children have enjoyed creating comic scripts to retell the story and have spent a lesson creating a descriptive poem. In Maths this week we have been reading, writing and comparing numbers up to 1 million. In art we have been using different types of pencils to experiment with our cross-hatching, shading and blending skills.