It has been so lovely to talk and catch up with many of you last Wednesday. There is no greater joy than sharing your child’s achievements and progress, alongside targets and areas of development. This run up to May is always a crucial one, where we can really refine the skills we need and reinforce any necessary information. So many of you have asked how you can help your child at home and what you can do to give them confidence in the final few weeks. Staying calm and not putting unnecessary pressure on children will ensure that they remain confident and continue to have that ‘I can’ attitude; early nights will be crucial over the next few weeks as they will be tired from all of their hard work and of course keep talking to them about their success but also areas to improve, helping them to set a plan of what they can do to reach their targets. One HUGE way to support your child, is homework. Every week, I spend time organising and planning for the areas that Year 6 need the most, complimenting what we are doing in class. Having a parent work alongside them to do this homework WILL help them. Reading is the other area, reading alongside your child every night- modelling fluency and pace, modelling reading punctuation and asking them questions about what they have read will also have a great impact.
Wow we have been a class full of Isabella Insects this week: listening to advice, celebrating the things we have achieved, looking forward to the things we want to develop next and most importantly not comparing ourselves to others. Such vital skills when we are teaching our children to be independent learners; giving them the confidence to take risks, try different skills and most importantly, be allowed to make those crucial mistakes and learn from them. We have had a few weeks of feedback from our first practice SAT’s papers. This is a huge learning curve for the children, and a crucial one, as it allows them to celebrate their achievements but also, to see for themselves the areas they need to work on. The first paper is never a full reflection of what your children are capable of (especially when your teachers miss out questions), but we must celebrate them whatever mark they got as it is the first hurdle of a journey together. They now fully understand this process, as we have talked at length about how our feelings/ emotions can take control, preventing us to see or read questions carefully, the silly mistakes we make when we feel like we are being timed, the way the questions are worded and decoding ‘what does it want me to do?’ and then the strategies they can use to allow them to become more accurate or efficient. These are just SOME of the barriers, or as we would say, ‘learning opportunities’, that the children need to learn or overcome, before they even then, apply all of their knowledge.
I am so proud of the way Year 6 have approached this feedback. They have faced these sessions with such resilience, determination and maturity. This is why it is so crucial to do these papers at this time, rather than any earlier, as they are now more ready and have the skills to face these challenges. The children have laughed and celebrated at their silly errors, know exactly where they have gone wrong, know what they need to work on and are, dare I say it, even excited to do it again and ‘beat’ their score. These papers will go home with the children next week to share with you. Take the time to go through these papers, to celebrate their achievements, let them explain their mistakes and what they should have done and let them share their targets with you.
Enrichment Morning …
Monday morning Year 6 spent some time planting vegetables with Mrs Hotchkiss…
What have we been learning this week?
English - This week we have looked in to the fight scene of Mercuito and Tybalt, as well as continuing to revise the spelling rules for when nouns change from singular to plural and the possessive apostrophe and working on the active and passive voice.
Maths - We have continued to master our fraction work, solving problems, adding, subtracting and multiplying fractions and of course consolidating our arithmetic.
Geography- we spent time looking at the difference between hills and mountains, then found mountain ranges, collecting the data in bar charts.
Computing - This week we have been looking in to creating quizzes online for our reception partners and linking this to our Science work on animal adaptations
PE- This week we have been working on our racket control and rallying skills in tennis…
Leading Learners
Well done to Christian and Ruby-Lily this week.
Christian, you have been so resilient in your learning and this week we can see how your hard work is paying off! You have persevered with that deep maths learning of new methods and you have been so determined to complete all your work independently. Your fraction work this week has clicked in to place and you are whizzing through it, as you have such a sound recall of your times tables. We are so proud of your ‘I CAN’ attitude!
Ruby-Lily, we love the way you have took all feedback in your stride. You have been super reflective in your approach, quietly celebrating the areas you have achieved and recognising what you need to work on. This determination and self-reflection will serve you well in the future, keep making all your notes and listening carefully to feedback- well done!
Love and Compassionate butterflies
This half term we will be on the lookout for all the children that stop and notice how others are experiencing their lives, and how they feel, and why they say and believe what they do. Ultimately, it is what makes us kind and, at a deeper level, opens up the possibility of being loving through our just and merciful actions and forgiving words. This week we thank Daisy for always being compassionate and loving with others.
Lunch Time Awards …
Marvelous Manners awards … Leo
Role Model of the week … Angel
Helpers in the morning
This week we have the following children helping to take the younger children to their class:
Owen Evan Leo Tabby
Notices
For those who could not make our ‘Book Look’ this week… the classroom will be open for half an hour after school on Tuesday 19th March, 3:20- 3:50pm, for any parents or grandparents that would like to see their children’s work.
Date for the diary- Year 6 Resurrection Assembly is on Thursday 28th March.
Have a lovely weekend.
We will see you on Monday.
Mrs Harrison, Mrs Webster and Mrs Barker