This week in Year 6 we have been focusing on ‘thinking about our thinking’, or metacognition for short. Pupils are striving to become more ‘self-aware’ of their preferred strategies in reading and maths, so that they can select from these more efficiently when required. An important element in this approach is spending time in reviewing how they did in a task, as this will inform future decision making. It is still early days but we can already see pupils being more considered in their working.

The sad passing of Kobe Bryant earlier in the week signposted us to his Oscar winning animated poem ‘To Basketball’, which he wrote upon his retirement. The children were amazed at the longevity of his career and his aspiration to become a professional basketball player from the age of six years old. His passion for the sport sings through the poem – we hope it may have encouraged some of our pupils to aim high with their personal goals.

Many thanks for your continued support in encouraging children to spend some of their time using SATSBootcamp, Sumdog, TTRockstars or their CGP revision books. We can assure you it is time well spent.

What’s on?

Please join us for the Year 5 and 6 Mass in school this coming Tuesday 4th February at 10:30am.

SATS information evening – Wednesday 12th February at 5:15pm.

Have a lovely weekend.

The Year 6 Team

This week we have enjoyed learning about the Battle of Marathon in Ancient Greece and the unlikely outcome that ensued. The children got to grips with the tactics and strategies used by the Athenians to outwit a Persian invasion. If you can, ask your child why the Athenians won!

On top of this, PE saw the children compete in some athletic try-outs in readiness for four teams to compete in the Interschools Indoor Athletics Championships being held at the Mountbatten Centre in early February.We wish to thank everyone that has taken part in the training thus far, led by Head Conditioning Coach Mr Crozier; many of the children complained about sore legs and spoke of muscles they didn’t know they had!

Rest up to ‘go again’ next week!

The Year 6 Team

This week really culminated on Wednesday when the Year 6 children were riveted by key note inspirational speaker Chris Lubbe, a former bodyguard to President Nelson Mandela. Chris captivated the children by sharing his challenging stories of life under Apartheid and how his life experiences have led him to spread the word of forgiveness to people all around the world. He spoke in-depth about equality, what this looked like in South Africa at the time, how racism is still prevalent in the world today and how we can combat this. Chris really strived to communicate these points to the children. We are sure they took away a lot of wisdom from the session.

Have a great weekend!

The Year 6 Team

The children seem to have come back with renewed vigour and have settled quickly!

We have enjoyed getting to grips with Wolf Brother – a mini unit for our writing – and have finished our guided reading novel ‘Oranges in no-mans land’.

Maths has continued to develop the children’s understanding and application of fractions within real-life contexts, where they are improving awareness of fractional parts and wholes of amounts.

Our PE topic is now hockey  – a new invasion game for many pupils to learn. PE kits do need to be in school at all times.

Please encourage children to make a start on their CGP revision booklets! 10 minutes a day would be sufficient. We would also be grateful if they spent time learning their times table facts through TTRockstars. Do get in touch if you require assistance with this.

Have a relaxing weekend.

The Year 6 Team