Year 6 - Autumn 1- Week 1
Date: 9th Sep 2022 @ 4:43pm
What a brilliant start we have had to Year 6!
It really has been fantastic to see all the children return to school with such excitement and enthusiasm. They have all settled in so quickly and the ‘Year 6’ team spirit is evident already!
The majority of our first week back has been taken up by our first PSHE topic, which focuses on the Disney film, Encanto. The film has helped us to recall our school’s vision and values while also allowing us to reflect on our school motto, ‘Choose Wisely’. Throughout the week, the children have participated in various discussions around the themes of the film, as well as individual characters. Using our thinking hats and maps, we have been able to expand on our ideas and consider others’ viewpoints as we have tried to understand what different characters are feeling, the adversities they are facing and how they are choosing to overcome these challenges. This week has also been a great opportunity to connect our learning with our school’s 4C Thinking Curve and reflect on how - throughout the year - we should welcome challenges, as challenges can lead to better outcomes.
Encanto spread across our curriculum as we practised our sketching skills in Art to draw Casita, the house where the Madigral family live. We also enjoyed learning new Spanish vocabulary on Tuesday and Wednesday to write sentences in Spanish about Mirabel’s family tree. The children thoroughly enjoyed their first PE lesson on Tuesday afternoon, where it seemed only right that the lesson should be Encanto-themed as well, thus the children were divided into groups and took part in various team challenges that represented different characters. They had to ‘carry the world’ as Luisa, move with the grace and elegance of Isabella and work as a family in a class game of bench ball. We were very impressed with the children’s attitude towards competition during this first session…so much so, they were able to play an extra game of bench ball as a reward!
Thursday’s PE lesson was led by Formby High School’s Mr Brindley and his Sport Leaders. In preparation for our athletics lessons and potential athletic competition later in the year, we worked on our jumping skills. The children attempted several courses that tested their jumping skills to varying levels before applying them on the ‘long jump’ mat. The children certainly worked their leg muscles – there may be some future Olympians among us!
Perhaps the highlight of the children’s week came on Friday afternoon when they were able to meet their Reception buddies. No doubt the children will have told their parents all about it this evening, but it truly was lovely watching the children get to know each other and spending time together doing various activities. The Year 6 children are already very excited to see their new friends very soon…despite being worn out from all the running around after them! Be sure to check out our Year 6 Twitter page to see pictures of all the children.
Please note: following yesterday’s sad announcement of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, we did come together in class on Friday to remember her and her 70 years of service. We discussed how she inspired us all to live out the Christian values in our daily lives before we observed a one minute silence together.
We know that many children are excited for our school residential to Robinwood in Wrexham towards the end of the month. Please ensure you have visited their website and read all the information given, including their FAQ page. Further information – specific to our school’s trip – will be provided in the upcoming weeks. As per the Autumn diary dates shared with parents today, we will also be holding a meeting for Y6 parents on September 19th to discuss the residential, as well as the SATs in May. If you have questions prior to this meeting, please do not hesitate to get in touch via the class account (y6@tsp.sefton.school).
Please note that weekly homework (including spellings) will commence once the children have sat some initial assessments next week and been split into separate Maths and Writing groups with either Mr King or Mrs Martin.
In terms of Year 6 reading, the children will have daily opportunities to read, either independently, in a group or as a whole class. Those children who receive their ‘home reading books’ from school will also still be listened to individually every week by an adult. However, it is really important that the children are encouraged to read daily at home and with an adult if possible. If you are struggling with book choices, please refer to the recommendations listed on our ‘Learning at Home’ page, or let us know and we will be able to offer suggestions. A recommended list is also attached to this blog.
Thank you to everyone for making the start to this academic year so wonderful. We hope you all have a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next week. We are certain it is going to be action-packed!