Dear parents and carers,

Our last week of 'Lockdown Learning' is upon us and I know everyone in school is so excited for when all of Year 6 can be back together - at last!

Thank you so much for all the support at home and please do say, "Well done" to your children as it is not easy to be working in this way. They have all worked their socks off!

For our last week of Lockdown Learning, we have two special events planned- we have a music concert on Monday afternoon and then, on Tuesday morning, two sessions with the poet Levi Tafari. To fit these in, I've made some adjustments to Y6 timetable (which is attached) but I'm sure the changes will be worth it.

I hope you all keep well and look forward to seeing everyone on 8th March.

Kind Regards

Mrs Reece

Dear Parents and Carers,

Thank you so much for the support you are giving the children at home. I have been really impressed with how well the children have adapted to a new way of learning and how quickly they have become experts in using TEAMS.

During ( and after) the TEACHING LIVE lessons with the writer Pie Corbett, the children have the opportunity to blog their writing. These are then moderated and uploaded to the Teaching Live website. Please do log on and click on our class work to see some great blogs. You can leave a comment if you wish too.

Next week, TEACHING LIVE has been moved to Wednesday and we have a live author session on Thursday. I have therefore updated the timetable which is below and will be in the TEAMS files too.

Please remember that, other than for the live events, the timetable is a guide only. If your child is finding it stressful, the timings can be flexible- I would just ask that they try to complete their activities set during the day.

I will be adding an assignment of 'fun' tasks this weekend. These are open- ended activities which the children can complete away from a screen and are not compulsory but to give them a break from computers.

For next week, I have created some 'home- made' lesson videos. These may not be perfect but will give the children some familiarity. Hopefully, I will be able to create more in the following weeks.

I hope you and your families keep well at this difficult time and look forward to seeing everyone back in school as soon as possible.

Regards

Mrs Reece

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am Mrs Reece and I have taken over as Year 6 teacher whilst Mrs Griffiths awaits the arrival of her new baby. As you may know, I have got to know the children well over the last term and am looking forward to working with them for the rest of the year, even though this is in an unusual format at the moment.

Remote Learning

During this period of 'remote learning', all children, whether in school or at home will receive the same lessons. This will be in a mixture of work set on our online platforms (see links below) and through work set on TEAMS. 

A guide to TEAMS and a timetable which all children should follow are below.

In addition, each day, children should access and complete 'Number of the day activities via the website below, then check their answers by clicking on the answer button.

 For all of the learning platforms, work has been set for your child which they should complete. For example, Rising Stars has a bank of reading books which have been set for your child. As they complete each book, there are comprehension questions to complete. They can choose the order in which they read these books.

On our timetable, you will see that on Thursday afternoons English is through Teaching Live. Please use the weblink below at that time for lesson. I will add further information to this on TEAMS.

Each day the children will need to logon to their TEAMS account where links to the days lessons and resources will be . Some of these the children may be able to edit and write on, but if this does not work, please record answers in the notebook sent home. For Maths, I will upload answer sheets at the end of each day for the children to check their answers.

Working online in this way is a new experience for us all and I know from the sample lessons and resources this week there have been some technical hitches but hopefully, over time we will be able to sort these issues. Please be patient though as this is all new to me too!

If you have problems editing worksheets, please use them as a reference and let your child write their answers on paper/ in the exercise book provided.

If your child has any problems/ questions, they can contact me via the 'chat' function on TEAMS and I will respond as soon as I can. This may not be immediate as I will be supporting the learning of the children in school as you are supporting your child at home.  I have also set up some TEAMS catch up meetings where the children can speak to me live each week. You should be able to see these in the calendar on TEAMS. Queries can also be made via the school office.

Finally, I do hope this strange period will not last for long - I have missed the children this week and I hope that you and your loved ones keep safe and well.

 Mrs Reece

Links to websites and online platforms

 Teaching live- https://teachinglive.net/      (English lessons, Thursday 1.30pm)

Number of the day-https://mathsstarters.net/number   

Spelling Shed- https://www.spellingshed.com/en-gb/    

Mathletics - https://login.mathletics.com

Purple Mash - https://www.purplemash.com/sch/holy-l3

Times Tables Rockstars- https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth 

Rising Stars – myrisingstars-uk.com

Microsoft Teams - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/microsoft-teams/download-app

Virtual School Library- https://library.thenational.academy/

Hi, I'm Mrs Griffiths and I am really looking forward to teaching your child this year. The children in Year 6 are full of energy and look to be wonderful learners full of exciting potential. A positive work ethos makes all the difference to your child's learning, so your support from home is welcomed and encouraged. Our class is fortunate to work alongside Miss Morgan on a Thursday and Friday morning, during which they will participate in one-to-one sessions such as Precision Teaching and target work.

Every Friday, homework will be set online through Purple Mash, Spelling Shed and Mathletics. It is important this homework is completed before the following Thursday, so the work can be assessed and marked by the class teacher. Reading is a crucial aspect of learning, particularly in year 6, so we actively encourage the children to read every night at home in addition to the reading they do in the classroom. Year 6 also have access to Timestable Rockstars. We recommend children play on this daily to ensure they revise all of their times tables up to 12x12, as these skills will enable them to access and complete calculations more quickly in arithmetic and mathematical reasoning. Head over to our Year 6 Curriculum page to find out more about what your child will be learning this year.

I look forward to working with you as the year progresses.

Mrs Griffiths.

Zones of Regulation

Using the Zones of regulation approach the children have been learning about their own emotions. We have been exploring how we feel a range of different emotions throughout the school day and have begun to focus on how the different zones affect our learning.

Book Bingo!

The year 6 pupils have been given a ‘book bingo’ card to encourage their reading of wider genres outside of the classroom. The first pupil who completes the bingo card successfully will receive a book voucher as a reward, with additional rewards for the runners up... so get reading Year 6!

Zones of Regulation - Lesson 1

The pupils had fun identifying and exploring the different zones. They decided what emotions might result from a variety of different scenarios and were able to work together to organise the different emotion cards into the correct coloured zones!

P.E ...

So far this year, the pupils have thoroughly enjoyed participating in our Go Noodle workouts and warm-ups. They have been practising their stamina and developing their muscle strength whilst having fun to the up-beat music and high-energy routines!

we will also be taking part in some class yoga sessions this half term using online YouTube sessions ... so keep your eyes peeled for more pictures to follow!

Computing with Mr Mills!

Every Wednesday morning, Year 6 are very fortunate to have computing lessons with Mr Mills this half term. The children have been having lots of fun while learning all about coding, developing and putting their skills to the test using the exciting Sphero robots and apps such as Puppet Pals. 

RE - Loving 

This half term, the children have been exploring their topic of ‘Loving’ and thinking about what it means to love unconditionally. They have been working extremely hard to show their understanding of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness and have enjoyed reading exploring the parable of The Prodigal Son. They created these beautiful hearts to reflect their own ideas about love ...

PSHE

In year 6, PSHE has played a huge part in our learning so far. During these strange and sometimes difficult times, we have discussed and explored how our mental health, happiness and well being is of the greatest importance. The children have spent lesson time working together to generate and identify great ways to express any worries or concerns they may have and they have come up with wonderful ways in which we can cope and resolve issues we may face. 

They have produced marvellous posters that are displayed around the classroom, offering words of kindness and advice.

Don’t worry ... be happy!

Here are some of the other ways in which Year 6 deal with any worries they may have. Together we can share and talk about worries that are fed to our ‘Worry Muncher’ who sits proudly on our classroom wall. We have also each taken a worry doll home, to which we can share our worries and put them to bed!

PSHE

This half term, Year 6 have also read and explored the theme of ‘diversity’ through our class book ‘My Princess Boy’. They have discussed and recognised the importance of celebrating people’s differences. We in year 6 know that to be unique is a wonderful thing and we have been developing our confidence in expressing ourselves and celebrating the way in which are school welcomes everybody. 

English 

‘After The Fall’

This half term, year 6 have enjoyed reading our class text ‘After The Fall’ which has been recommended by School Improvement Liverpool as a way of meeting the children’s needs after the school closures. This text, whilst fun and engaging for the children, provides them with the opportunity to revisit and develop previous reading and writing skills. This story allows them the time and means to explore themes and ideas that will be vital for rebuilding their confidence and resilience. 

On our working wall, we have explored together the ways in which Humpty’s great fall could have impacted his life...

Rainbows of Positivity!

Our class have created beautiful, vibrant rainbows of positivity, on which they have displayed their achievements of lockdown. They worked hard to identify all of the wonderful things they were able to do and learn during their time at home with their families, encouraging each other to always look on the bright side! 

These will be displayed in our classroom for all to see, as a reminder that after the rain comes a rainbow...

Collective Worship!

Year 6 planned and delivered a beautiful collective Worship together, to celebrate the end of our ‘Loving’ topic. We considered how we would go forth with our learning and share acts of love at home with our friends, family and those in our community.