Teachers: Miss Hemingway and Miss Garner

Support Staff: Mrs Butteree

Reminders and Upcoming Events 

 Revision club every Thursday 3.15 - 4.15

 Galley Poetry Award: 12/03/18. Parents from winning children are welcome to attend

 World Book Day has been rescheduled for 15/03/18 - dress up as your favourite book character and bring a story to share in class

 Bring an Easter Egg to raise money for the Year 6 End of Year Trip

English

This half term we have been reading and studying the book Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. The children (and staff) have loved the story and we have even had some tears! Around the novel we have written balanced arguments, interviews, narratives and taken part in some very moving role plays. Have a look below at some pictures.

This half term in Maths, we are focusing on fractions - a huge proportion of the SATs will test their ability to:

Add, subtract, multiply and divide fractions

Convert between mixed numbers and improper fractions

Order a range of fractions

Simplify fractions

Find equivalences, including with decimals and percentages

Compare fractions 

Reason and problem solve around fractions, decimals and percentages   

THE VICTORIANS

This half term we have been learning all about the Victorians including: life for children, the rich and poor, Queen Victoria, workhouses, inventions, houses and school life. We couldn't believe how difficult life was for certain groups only a 150 years ago! On the other hand, we did have a lot to thank the Victorians for; some of their inventions and ideas are still used today. 

We read the novel Street Child by Berlie Doherty and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, making us laugh and cry. It also allowed us to infer even more information around what is was like to be a Victorian. 

Armley Mills

On Wednesday 13th December, we visited Armley Mills dressed as a Victorian (including staff). Here we actually experienced the life of a Victorian school child! The teacher was extremely strict, we sat in rows, wrote on slates, used inkwells and pens and some unlucky individuals were even punished with the Dunce's hat (which was very funny). We could successfully compare and contrast after this real life experience.

Also, we visited some of the mill cottages and noted very different lifestyles between the mill owners and the weavers - we were shocked at the terrible conditions! Due to our excellent behaviour, the kind staff at Armley Mills showed us a genuine, mill machine running and we learnt all about how children had to work in those times. We were so outraged, we wrote to Queen Victoria to persuade her to change the law around child labour and allow the innocent youth to get an education. 

Robinwood Residential 

To help the children smoothly transition into Year 6, we had an adventure-filled, 2 night stay at Robinwood in Todmorden. Whilst there, the children took part in some amazing activities such as: archery, bouldering, caving, trapeze and the infamous piranha pool. Although at times it was quite scary and we had to really face some fears and challenge ourselves, we had a fantastic time and bonded really well as a year group to set the tone for a great Year 6. 

Check out our pictures 

Take Over Day

The Year 6 children were transformed into teachers on Friday. They worked in small groups to teach the rest of the school about celebrating our individuality and differences. This included planning the lesson, making any resources and even meeting with the class teacher for a briefing. All children did a fantastic job and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, though they finished the day extremely tired, some even saying, "How do you do it?!" 

They all definitely gained a new found respect for the hard work of their teachers. Well done Year 6 - we are very proud of your efforts. 

English

This half term our English work will be centered around World War II and we will be reading The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - which we are already thoroughly enjoying. 

We have written about how the war began, how Hitler came to power, poetry around the Holocaust (they were very emotive), letters from the point of view of Bruno, the protagonist of our book and diary entries during a night in the Blitz. Later in the term we will be visiting Eden camp to experience first hand what it was like to live during the most catastrophic war in history. We can't believe how brave everyone was, including women and children at home. This topic really has us hooked and we can't wait to learn more! 

Eden Camp

This half term Year 6 visited Eden Camp to extend their knowledge on WW2. The trip was absolutely fantastic: we experienced what it would have been like in the Blitz, learnt about prisoners of War, the rise of Hitler and even said a prayer in the chapel to remember those who lost their lives during this six year battle. The children behaved exceptionally and did our school proud! 

Check out some pictures of our exciting day

World Book Day 

World Book Day has been very exciting indeed: children (and staff) came dressed up as their favourite characters and our theme for the day in Year 6 was Harry Potter! 9,00 - 9.30 parents came in for a stay and read session. We sat round a camp fire and drank hot chocolate with marshmallows whilst reading The Philosopher's Stone.