In Year 6, weekly, we will be asking a few prefects to write a short blog about their learning that week. They will talk about: maths, English, PE, humanities etc...

Class of 2023 - 24

Harry & Astin (WB: 03.02.2023)

Since starting our new term in January, we have been learning about WWII. So far we have looked at: evacuation, rationing, the causes of the war and the declaration made by Neville Chamberlain. We were able to have a Zoom call with a Holocaust survivor on Friday 27th January and Tom Palmer, who is an author of Over The Line, After The War and more. 

Also, we have completed our RSE unit, which of course we won't talk about in too much detail on here.

In our first art of 2023, we focused on printing, collage and batik. We were able to design and carve a pattern using perspective onto a polystyrene tile. We then used this to print some large and small designs in our art books. For the batik, we used melted hot wax on a piece of fabric to make a design. With this we then applied coloured ink which the fabric soaked up leaving only our wax design showing.

Our current maths focus is on co-ordinates, translation, reflection and working across four-quadrant grids.

Daisy & Poppy B (WB: 05.12.2022):

Today (Monday) is the Elm Tree Christmas Disco after school. The early years children and Key Stage 1 children have their disco first, which is then followed by the disco for the key stage 2 children. We are very excited!

Over the past week and the week coming, we have been and will continue learning our carols for the Carol Concert (Ding Dong Merrily on High and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Pentatonix version). We have decided we won't be performing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen at the carol concert anymore, but will sing it in an assembly for the rest of the school. 

Tomorrow (Tuesday), we have our half-termly RE Day. The focus will be Christianity and the Christmas holidays. We will upload some pictures on the Year 6 photo gallery to show you what we get up to.

In English, we have been drafting and editing our Gothic Villain descriptions. We hope to have them finished in neat by the end of this week and again, will put some on the website for you all to see. Some of us might even film ourselves reading them!

Ayda & Poppy S (WB: 28.11.2022):

Tonight we have the Elm Tree Opening Evening (16.00-18.00). Some of the Year 6 prefects are helping all years in the classroom deliver their activity. They will also talk about what they have been up to in their years at Elm Tree, what they enjoyed and what experiences they have had. They are also there to answer any questions you may have. Our head and deputy head prefects will be showing people around the building, taking them on tours. 

This past week we started to focus on our villain unit in English. We have sketched the villain of our choice and made it our own monster - ready to describe in our writing. In the sessions, we are going to be looking at different gothic villain descriptions: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Red Room, Jekyll & Hyde and Moriarty. 

We are exciting because this week, Christmassy things begin at Elm Tree. On Wednesday, Mr Mansell will be putting the school Christmas tree up in the hall and on Thursday, all children across the school will be creating their own decoration for the it. Also on Thursday, Mr Mansell will be putting the stage up ready for the Rocksteady concert on Friday and the Christmas productions. 

Friday this week is Elm Tree Elf Day. This is not a charity event, but it is just for a bit of Christmassy fun. Monday next week, the 5th December, is the Christmas Disco for both EYFS/KS1 and KS2.

Eva & Poppy L (WB: 21.11.2022):

This week is art week and our new focus will be on painting and collage work. We haven't started this yet because we have PE on a Monday (this afternoon). We are excited to be creative and hopefully won't get too messy with the paints!

There has been lots of conversation on the playground about the World Cup this morning - come on England!

This week, all of Year 6 are going to be participating in a first aid session. We will learn how to do CPR, treat cuts and burns, put someone in the recovery position and other basic first aid.

We hope to see you at our Open Evening next Monday (28th November). It starts at 16.00 and finishes at 18.00. It is open to anyone: parents in the school already or parents looking for a school for their child(ren).

We have now finished writing up in neat our science reports after our experiment on our pulse. We found it quite a challenge because to begin with, we couldn't find our pulse! The writing was also quite challenging because we hadn't written in that style before. We couldn't use any personal pronouns or contractions to make sure our writing was formal enough and was written like a science report.

Grace & Jake (7.11.22 - 17.11.22)

Last week, we had our parents' evening sessions with Mr Smith and he told our parents/carers all about how we have been getting on so far this year. On Friday 11th November, we paid our respects to the troops who gave their lives throughout wars for our safety/freedom today. Eva, Cameron, Jimmy and Milly read some poems to the school during this event.

This week (14.11.22) is Anti-Bullying week. To celebrate our differences, we had an odd socks day on Monday. Also on Monday, we went to Crucial Crew where we learnt about how to keep ourselves safe in the wider-world. There were people there teaching us about: online safety, additions, fire safety, road safety, financial awareness, recycling, first aid and beach safety. (See the Year 6 photo gallery for lots of images).

On Tuesday, Mr Burton (Mrs Burton's husband), who has taught science at high schools for 39-years, came in to dissect a pig heart for our bloodheart (Animals including Humans) unit. Whilst this was bit gory, it was really interesting to see. We liked it because it is a really great experience for us to have.

Congratulations to the Year 6 pupils who are the new Elm Tree Eco-Warriors. They will be working closely with Mrs Hayward (formerly Miss Peek) considering how we can make Elm Tree a sustainable place and more environmentally friendly. Also, another congratulations to Astin, Ayda, Eva and Lyla, who will be the Year 6 representatives as narrators in the Early Years Nativity - Wriggly Nativity this year.

In the classroom, we have now finished our first drafts of our Sherlock Holmes newspaper report. Next week we will be editing them and writing them up in neat.

Hermione & Shanaiyah (WB: 31.10.22 - First post this half term)

Since returning in our second half term in Year 6, we have performed our signed version of Spaceman to the rest of the school in assembly. We were excited to begin with, but when we saw how many people were watching us it made us feel a bit nervous. Now this song has been performed, we are learning how to sign 'Best Day of My Life - American Authors'. Also, we are starting a weekly singing/signing assembly this Tuesday.

Best Day of My Life - American Authors (Makaton)

In maths, we have started our new unit of measurement. We have looked at the circumference, diameter and radius of circles; we have also looked at area, perimeter and volume and are now on our second assessment week. We are trying our absolute best and will continue doing so.

In science, we have started our new unit of Bloodheart (Animals including humans). We are learning about the components of blood and the circulatory system (including the heart). In this unit, we are exciting to see a dissection of a pig's heart to help us understand visually the form of a heart. 

For English, we are studying one of the many mysteries of Sherlock Holmes. We read, 'The Adventure of the Speckled Band' but we won't ruin the ending for you on here! We are going to write our own newspaper report about events from this story over the next few weeks.

Layla W & Cameron H (WB: 10.10.2022):

This week in Year 6, we have completed our sentence stacking unit based on refugees and writing persuasively. We started planning our independent write in our jotters after researching homelessness in the UK. In maths, we have been working through multi-step problems which asked us to use all operations accurately. 

In addition, this week has been art week for our enquiry. We studied the work of Frida Kahlo and the details she used. We then drew the cross-section of various fruits (including some rotten apples!) trying to recreate her styles. Following this, we drew portraits (not self) in the same detailed style. Once completed, we designed the background based on a symbolic representation of us as individuals. 

We have also learnt the Makaton/BSL signs to Spaceman - Sam Ryder using the below YouTube video if you would also like to learn!

Spaceman - Sam Ryder (Makaton/BSL)

Congratulations 

SATs Week Is Complete!

Week Beginning 28th March 2022

As another busy week in year six concludes, we now prepare for our final week before the Easter Holidays. To give you some notice, the children will be coming home for the holidays with a work pack to keep their brains going prior to their upcoming assessments in May.

The key event this week was our very successful share afternoon. As I said on the day, I would like to thank all that were able to attend and also those who were kind enough to make some donations for our resources. The children thoroughly enjoyed having you in for the afternoon and, rightfully, are very proud of the Anderson Shelters they have built. 

*Pictures in the photo gallery*

This week, in the PE sessions, the children competed in their inter-house competitions for football and netball (this half terms sporting foci). Well done to all children and houses for their efforts and positive sporting attitude and respect for one another. 

Our usual slot for reading buddies this week was unfortunately cancelled due to the EYFS share afternoon. However, as the children in year six were very keen to still go read with their reading buddy, we were able to reschedule. These weekly sessions are a delight to be able to see as the children are now really coming out of their shell, so to speak, and are now more confident working their their young person.

Week Beginning 21st March 2022

Last week concluded with the excitement of Red Nose/Crazy hair day. In year 6, this was paired with our half-termly DT Day. As a lot of our extra-curricular learning has been as of late, this was based upon a theme of 'Make, Do and Mend' from WWII. The children spent some time in the morning researching the theme and what sorts of things were made/used/recycled. This research was then applied whilst they planned the garment/other useful item in their small group which they were to make in the afternoon. 

The morning was concluded with learning three different types of stitch: running, back and overcast. *Please head to the photo gallery page to see some pictures*

In PE this week, the children began their intra-house sports competitions. I have spoken to Mr Wyer and Miss Houghton, who were very pleased with the overall approach from the year six children and said that their sport tact was very impressive.

Today (Wednesday), the children continued their work on the Blitz and starting looking at some examples of poetry based upon it. Over the next week, they will be creating some of their own and these will be published into our Year Six photo gallery and on the school social media pages once completed.

Week Beginning 14th March 2022

Firstly, we apologise for our lack of uploads as of late. Things in year six have been incredibly busy with lots of new events and opportunities beginning for our young people.

Since we last uploaded, one of the most exciting opportunities the children have had is to start working with their reading buddy in early years. The year six children have been truly amazing with their young person: reading to them, listening to them talk about their day/week(end), asking them questions about what they have been up to and really showing an understanding of the importance of helping our youngest people feel welcome and comfortable at Elm Tree as they begin their transition into using the, 'big playground' and field soon. The children of early years have told us they are really enjoying their sessions and the early years staff members have commended the year six year group for their commitment to it.

*Please check the photo gallery on the Year Six page for images*

In addition, we have been thoroughly researching the events which occurred during the battle/evacuation of Dunkirk in WWII. This has gripped our year group, with many choosing to do additional research at home and looking into their own family histories during war-time. We would like to commend these children for their efforts and thank them for their extra hard work. 

The children are currently planning and drafting an independent piece of writing based on these events and their passion was evident. Please do ask them questions about their news paper report and, once they are written, we aim to post some on to this page and the Elm Tree social media accounts.

Moreover, as a precursor to their writing, the children had the opportunity to work collaboratively with one another to research one specific element of this battle/evacuation. They had the choice of delving more deeply into:

- Operation Dynamo itself

- Admiral Bertram Ramsey

- Maginot Line

- B.E.F (British Expeditionary Forces)

- Phony War/Blitzkrieg

Once the children had completed their research and decided on how they wished to present it to their peers, they then took a small group to teach about their specific strand. There are pictures of this on the Year Six photo gallery available to look at.

*Pictures to be uploaded of the writing once the piece has been completed*

We understand you are already aware (due to a letter/email going to you from Mrs Baker), that the year group has recently be completing their RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) lessons. We will not go into depth on here as to the subject matter, but would like to recognise the maturity of the year group throughout this unit and we feel confident that they are all aware how to keep themselves safe through the coming years of their lives.

Week Beginning 7th February 2022

What an amazing week of learning! In maths, we have looked at interpreting and constructing pie-charts. We have also worked on more reasoning and arithmetic based problems to enable pupils to work on their problem solving skills. In English, we have continued to plan and write our Sherlock Holmes newspaper articles. Pupils have worked hard to use formal language and to use an appropriate format/structure. It is Mental Health Awareness Week and the children have embraced the opportunity to think about the ways they support each other. They have also completed a 'Reach for the Stars' activity where they set themselves a personal goal. 

Week Beginning 31st January 2022

We have had a fantastic week of learning. In English, we have been focusing on writing a newspaper article based on events from the Sherlock Holmes short story, 'The Speckled Band'. We have explored summarising paragraphs using the abridged version of A Tale of Two Cities. Maths lessons have been focused on statistics and calculating averages. The booster sessions continue to be a hive of activity with pupils engaging in a range of high energy mathematical activities. On Wednesday, we had a special RE day where we looked at the religion of Hinduism. Art based activities,  stories and presentations were used to explore this fascinating religion. We even had a moment of calm where we meditated! 

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

Year Six have a very busy first half term back, beginning with some 'shortburst writing' work. This gives the children the opportunity to have autonomy with their writing style and to experiment with techniques and punctuation. In maths, the children will be beginning by investigating circles: circumference, diameter and the radius. Followed by, coordinates work: plotting, reading, translation (using vector) and reflection. The children are going to be beginning the long awaited WWII unit, which we know they have been looking forward to.

We are excited for their return to school and look forward to seeing them all soon.

Week beginning 6th December 2021

This week we have been working on converting units in maths. We have also been continuing to focus on relationships in PSHE. Building on from our work on teamwork, we have been discussing what it means to act appropriately in different social situations. In Spanish, we have been learning vocabulary related to Christmas, using the words we know to role-play purchasing a present in a shop. Our Christmas production is really taking shape and it has been fantastic to use the stage in the hall for our rehearsals. 

Week beginning Monday 29th November 2021

We have had a busy week completing our gothic villain descriptive writing in English. In maths, we have worked on finding the area and volume of complex shapes. Maths boosters have provided a welcome opportunity to work on approaching reasoning questions and pupils have made good progress with this. We have started to practise our Christmas production - it has been a real team effort and the children have worked hard to learn their lines and project their voices. We have been impressed with their level of commitment and look forward to continuing with our rehearsals next week. 

W/B 8th - 23rd November 2021

To be uploaded soon...

W/B 1st November 2021

The children have made a fantastic start to the new half term. They have enjoyed their maths lessons in the hall and have made good progress with challenging percentage and division work. In English, they have been editing their biographies and are preparing for their gothic villain experience days. We can't wait! The sessions will call upon the children's artistic skills and we are looking forward to seeing their fantastic work. In history, pupils have continued to explore crime and punishment through the ages with a specific focus on Tudor times. We are constantly questioning why these extreme punishments were deemed necessary and children are keen to explore this fascinating time period.