Year 6 Team: Mr M King (Class Teacher), Mrs L Martin
Miss Osborne
: Blog items

Year 6 - Autumn 2 - Week 5

Date: 1st Dec 2022 @ 4:37pm

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It has been a week full of different activities and festivities!

As artists, the children continued their learning of both World War 1 and 2 by creating their own propaganda art. The children connected their learning to previous lessons, including our workshop with The Holocaust Museum last half-term and our visit from Formby Civic Society last week, where we had discussed what propaganda was and how it had been used in the wars, both nationally and locally. They were also given an opportunity to examine further, poster examples in the lesson and work out the messages behind them. The children then had the task to either create their own poster or re-create an example from the past, using various media. Most children opted for pencils or paint on this occasion and the results were excellent! 

In PE, we were able to continue our gymnastic unit; the children worked in pairs / small groups on counter balances and counter tension. We saw some very creative thinking going on as the children performed their favourite balances at the end of the lesson for the rest of their peers! On Thursday’s lesson, we prepared for International Day for Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December by taking part in a carousel of activities that could be accessed and enjoyed by all: curling, boccia and goalball.  This was a great experience for the children and they enjoyed taking part in a range of competitive games that they may not usually play. 

Our Christmas festivities officially began on Thursday morning when the children were very excited to enter a decorated room, full of lights, candles and – of course - a Christmas tree! Friday afternoon was also TSP’s very own ‘Christmas Extravaganza!’ The children met Santa in his grotto and attended the Christmas Fair in the hall, where they could participate in different games, jump on the bouncy castles and even get their hair and face decorated! It truly was a magical way to finish the week. Thank you to Team TSP for organising it.

Having finished reading ‘George’ by Alex Gino, the class opted for a new, Christmas-themed novel to be read. As a result, we settled on ‘Christmasaurus’ by Tom Fletcher. This has given us different opportunities to ‘George’ as we have been able to take turns reading and singing the parts of the elves in front of our peers. There have been lots of laughs so far – and even a round of applause after our first reading session! We think this will be a firm, class favourite by the end of term. Our class Advent calendar is also providing us with further opportunities to read aloud. Instead of opting for a chocolate Advent calendar, we have gone for a ‘Storybook Collection’ calendar; each day, two children will be able to choose a short book and then visit Reception to read the story to their buddy. The children have been very excited about the prospect of this!

The children are aware of how to access their homework for next week – either on SATs Companion or in their books. Spellings have also been set. If your child is accessing their homework through SATs Companion and needs additional support, please remind them that there are support videos attached to the tasks. If there are no available videos on SATs Companion then at least one Youtube video will be uploaded on Google Classroom. 

Year 6 - Autumn 2 - Week 4

Date: 24th Nov 2022 @ 7:38pm

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It has been yet another productive week in Year 6!

The start of the FIFA World Cup has continued to bring us many conversation topics linked to our PSHE curriculum, particularly those objectives on human rights and equality. Prior to the start of the tournament, we were able to discuss why there were protests happening as a result of Qatar being able to host The World Cup; this week, we were able to talk about Alex Scott wearing the ‘One Love’ wristband while covering action from the games, as well as the significance of the Iranian team not singing their national anthem. Monday afternoon was an opportunity for many of the children to focus on just the football aspect of the tournament and create an everlasting, primary school memory by watching the England match together in class. It was lovely to see the children sticking their ‘match ticket’ into their gratitude journal this week. ‘Thank you’ to those parents who also sent in snacks for the whole class to enjoy while watching the match; not expected, but very much appreciated.

Our History topic on WW2 continued this week with the children firstly learning about the reasons for the outbreak of the war in Tuesday’s lesson. We were able to re-visit some of last half-term’s STAR vocabulary – such as trigger, factor and ultimatum – as well as learn some new terms in the lesson, including ‘reparations’ and ‘colonies’. On Wednesday, we were very fortunate that John from Formby Civic Society was willing to visit us to talk about how the wars impacted Formby. He showed us photographs taken at the time in Formby; local newspaper articles describing the war, and also explained what some of the shops and buildings we see today used to be. We may never look at Formby in the same way again! The children were so engaged that John ended up staying until home time…and he still had to cut his presentation short! The children asked brilliant questions throughout the session and it was wonderful to see them thinking like historians, asking questions about his sources and how he found lots of his information. Well done, Year 6!

In PE, we continued with our gymnastics unit. We reviewed our progress from last week and revised how to do various forward rolls; those children who felt like they had mastered these different roles, then set themselves different challenges, such as rolling with no arms and starting in a handstand position. One child even started and finished in a handstand position! We then moved into the backwards roll, which some children actually found slightly easier. It was great to see lots of children raising their hands at the end of the lesson to share how they felt they had made progress within the lesson and demonstrate something they were proud of.  Thursday’s PE lesson with Formby High School was led by some of their Sports Leaders in a special one-off session, which connected the children’s learning to the current FIFA World Cup and Rugby World Cup taking place. There were lots of red faces by the end of the session as the children divided into two groups for the two sports and each took part in a skill practice and then mini-match. Our final yoga session also took place this week; we would like to thank Sefton Active for leading on these sessions this half-term and providing the children with this rather relaxing opportunity!

In Maths, the children in both groups have been revising their understanding of fractions -working on problems and calculations that involve fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers. Mrs Martin’s group will be continuing with this next week while Mr King’s group will be revising all Y6 arithmetic objectives, following some assessments in the latter part of this week. The children should be very proud of their efforts in these. Mrs Martin's group will also be doing some assessments next week.

Friday brought the end to an emotional journey as we finished our class novel, 'George' by Alex Gino. The children have been thoroughly engaged with this text over the past two weeks as it has sparked questions and discussions on acceptance, diversity and respecting choices. The entire class raised their hands to say they enjoyed the story...this was a first for the children this term! It has now made it onto the 'Enjoyed By All' section of our Bookflix display. 

The children are aware of how to access their homework for next week – either on SATs Companion or in their books. Spellings have also been set. If your child is accessing their homework through SATs Companion and needs additional support, please remind them that there are support videos attached to the tasks. If there are no available videos on SATs Companion then at least one Youtube video will be uploaded on Google Classroom. 

We hope everyone has a lovely weekend – see you on Monday!

Year 6 - Autumn 2 - Week 3

Date: 18th Nov 2022 @ 3:07pm

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What a wonderful week it has been! We hope everyone enjoyed watching our Celebration of Kindness music video last weekend.

It has been a ‘celebration of kindness’ every day. In Year 6, we had previously discussed our school value of Nurture and how its intents are for us to be kind to each other, but also ourselves. We talked about how this was our final year of primary school and soon we would be going to secondary school, where our moods may change more frequently and we may feel like we are having more ‘down’ days as ‘moody teenagers’. As a result, we have ensured that every day this week we focused on our own wellbeing and paid extra special attention to our emotions, thinking of ways we could maintain our positivity and activities we could do to boost our mood when we are not feeling as positive as usual. Such activities have included mindfulness practice, creating gratitude journals and continuing with our weekly yoga sessions. We considered how others can affect our mood and on Wednesday, we had a morning of board games - thinking about we communicate each other and how we should aim to ensure everyone around us is also in a positive mood.

To be kind to those we have a responsibility of looking after, we invited our Reception buddies to create a piece of artwork with us on Wednesday afternoon, which our younger friends could then use to gift to others and spread kindness around the school.  This was a lovely activity to observe, as the children needed to guide their buddies through the task, modelling how to create colourful hearts with messages of positivity attached. All the Year 6 children were excellent role models and we are sure the Reception children are very appreciative.

Friday brought the conclusion of Celebration of Kindness Week. In the morning, we were given the opportunity to be kind to our community by helping Team TSP create items that could be sold at Formby’s Christmas Market via our very own stall. This was a great opportunity for us to support the school while also mixing with friends from every year group.

Outside of our kindness-themed lessons, many of our curriculum subjects have continued. Continuing with our war unit in Art - in recognition of Remembrance Day - we read 'In Flanders Field' by John McCrae and analysed the words. We then explored the artwork of Claude Monet's 'The Poppy Field' before creating our own pieces in a similar style. The finished products were incredible; make sure you check out a sample on our Twitter feed. 

PE on Tuesday saw the start of our gymnastics unit. The children revised their understanding of various rolls (forwards, backwards, straddle) and discussed how they could build on their prior learning and challenge themselves further with each one. Fortunately, teacher demonstrations were able to be kept to a minimum as we had many gymnasts in class willing to support their peers…phew! In PE on Thursday, the children were treated to some excellent strategy games as part of their OAA (Outdoor Adventurous Activities) learning, working alongside their Year 5 buddies to race against other teams and solve the clues. A special 'well done' to all the children for also receiving their Virign UK 'Mini Marathon' medials on Friday - what an achievement!

We know that next week, a lot of the children are excited to watch The World Cup. On Thursday, we had a class discussion about why there are protests about this event taking place in Qatar. We read news articles on the matter and debated several questions about whether it is right that Qatar that was able to host The World Cup and whether or not we should watch it. Following on from a lot of our learning this year – such as our class novel of ‘George’, our WW2 topic and Hate Crime Awareness Week – we were able to make many clear connections to our human rights and the importance of respecting diversity in our community. While we did not reach any unanimous decisions, we were all able to explore different viewpoints and could understands reasons for both sides of the arguments. We will be showing The World Cup on Monday and many of us will be supporting England as they play in their LGBTQ armbands. If any children do not wish to watch the game of Monday, they know that this is fine and their peers will respect their decision now that we all understand the current politics and debates.

The children are aware of how to access their homework for next week – either on SATs Companion or in their books. Spellings have also been set. If your child is accessing their homework through SATs Companion and needs additional support, please remind them that there are support videos attached to the tasks. If it is ever the case that there are no available videos on SATs Companion then at least one Youtube video will be uploaded on Google Classroom. 

We hope everyone has a lovely weekend – see you on Monday!

Year 6 - Autumn 2 - Week 2

Date: 10th Nov 2022 @ 9:57pm

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Another busy week in Year 6!

In Maths, Mr King’s group has worked incredibly hard on a number of tricky topics. They have not only revised their understanding of long multiplication from last year, but this week had to apply it to difficult reasoning problems, which certainly tested their mindsets and resilience levels! They have also learned new concepts and methods, such as BIDMAS and long division (using the chunking method). The latter is a particularly difficult method to master and so we will be continuing with this next week, although the children were praised several times during Thursday’s lesson for the progress they made in a very short space of time – well done! Mrs Martin’s group have been working on rounding and next week will move onto finding percentages of numbers.

As authors, Mr King’s group now on our final piece of writing, having finished the story, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’. The children have now gone back to the start and are writing a recount of the initial events in the book, but this time from the perspective of the secondary character, Lydia. Next week, the children will then be able to link together all the shorter pieces they have written from Lydia’s point of view so far and use them to write up an extended piece in their author books. We can’t wait to read them! Mrs Martin’s group have also finished ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ and there was not a dry in the room…from the teachers! Next week, the children will be reading ‘Erika’s Story’ by Ruth Zee and creating a piece of writing based on this text.

Plenty of discussions around reading have been had this week and the children have had lots of great ideas for a new display in class called ‘Bookflix’ where we can celebrate what we have been reading and recommend texts to our peers in a quick and easy way. We have also started a new class novel following a very close class vote between four potential books. We will now be reading ‘George’, by Alex Gino, although the novel has since been re-published and entitled ‘Melissa’. The book tells the story of a young transgender girl and although we have only read a couple of chapters, it has already generated so much discussion on equality, diversity, stereotypes and sense of belonging. 

The children enjoyed our World War 1 topic so much that there was a class vote before we finished last half-term to change our History syllabus and allow the children to continue the war theme this half-term with more of a focus on World War 2. The power of democracy  prevailed and this week we began our new unit by revising and recalling everything we knew so far about WW2 – thanks in large to the texts we have read and the Zoom sessions with the National Holocaust Museum and Holocaust survivor, Hedi Argent. In addition, we have started a new Art unit with a focus on poppies and the significance of them in relation to war and continued with our group visits to Formby Luncheon Club so the children can continue to pick up unique and personal knowledge of the wars from local residents. It is wonderful that all the children in the class will now have this opportunity!

On Friday, the children took part in Remembrance Day by attending a service at Formby War Memorial and laying a wreath, which they had created themselves. Although it was largely a time for reflection, it was also a good opportunity for the children to see first-hand how the wars affected our local community and to pay respects to the all the soldiers listed, whom we had previously been researching in class last half-term.

To conclude our week, the children were very excited to attend a special, whole-school assembly in the hall to watch the launch of our sixth ‘Celebration of Kindness’ music video! There were plenty of laughs in the hall as we watched ourselves, our peers and staff dancing around school last week and having fun. This is always a great way to launch our Celebration of Kindness Week and we hope all the children have fun watching the video again over the weekend with their families. Remember, the video can be found on our Vimeo channel!

We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and is excited for the week ahead - celebrating kindness!

Year 6 - Autumn 2 - Week 1

Date: 4th Nov 2022 @ 8:33am

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It has been a week of singing, dancing and laugher this week!

In RE, we started our first unit, ‘Life as a Journey’. To begin, we reflected on what we mean by the word, ‘journey’ and used a Double Bubble  Thinking Map to demonstrate the differences and similarities between life and journeys. We then considered how our whole life is a journey and discussed the many journeys people make through both choice and sadly forced to . Over the upcoming weeks, we will be exploring the different journeys others take, including those of particular religions, race and heritage and hopefully making lots of thoughtful connections.

In Maths, Mr King’s group has revised all previous topics from last half-term, recapped Roman Numerals knowledge from Years 4 and 5 and also done lots of work on decimals. This has included ordering decimals and multiplying them. Next week, we will be moving onto long multiplication and long division. In Mrs Martin’s group, they will be revisiting and building upon their knowledge of division and division related problems.

As scientists, we concluded our learning on classification by focusing on microorganisms. We learned that microbes or microorganisms are too small to be seen with the naked eye and vary in size; also, that there are millions of different types, but there are five main groups that scientists use to classify them. It was highlighted how microorganisms can be harmful, but that some can also be useful and play an important part in decomposition. 

We are very lucky that this half-term, we will be taking part in yoga sessions every Wednesday afternoon with Sefton Active. The children had their first session this week and - during their post-session reflection – noted how calm and relaxed they felt afterwards. Hopefully, this will be  a very rewarding experience for our pupils and a hobby they may wish to continue in the future.

As last month was Black History Month, we have been reading, 'Happy Here: 10 Stories from Black Authors and Illustrators'. The stories we have read so far have been a great stimulus for lots of different PSHE discussions, including different family structures.

Perhaps the main highlight for the children over the past two weeks has been filming our whole-school music video for our Celebration of Kindness Week. The school has been filled with laughter as we have discussed different scenes to film, learned choreography and focused on our performing and acting skills. Our Year 6 pupils thoroughly enjoyed filming their scenes and that is certainly reflected in the video, which will be found on our Youtube channel at the end of next week when we officially launch Celebration of Kindness Week.

The children are aware of how to access their homework for next week – either on SATs Companion or in their book. Next week’s spelling test in Mr King’s group is a recap of the previous three weeks. Please remember that the children can also access their virtual classroom on Google Classroom if they wish to access further learning at home.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

 

Year 6 - Autumn 1 - Week 7

Date: 18th Oct 2022 @ 11:55am

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Well…we have reached the end of our first half-term in Year 6!

On Monday, we had an incredible opportunity to ‘Zoom’ with Holocaust survivor, Hedi Argent. Having heard about the treatment of the Jewish community during WW2 this half-term, the children were very excited about the prospect of speaking to somebody who lived during this time and already had plenty of questions they wanted to ask before the session even started! Hedi was so fantastic in sharing her story, including how life was for her as a Jew in an Austrian school in the 1930s and how her family sought refuge in the UK after Kristallnacht. She also shared life lessons she had learned around inclusion and kindness, which still stand today. 

Our Science lessons this week have seen the children learning all about the classification of living things, building on their prior understanding from their animal topic in Year 4. So far, the children have classified different animals, recapped key vocabulary such as ‘vertebrate’ and ‘invertebrate’ and created fact files about different species. Friday’s Science lessons saw the children learning about the classification of plants and microorganisms, as well as the benefits and dangers of the latter.

In PE, we saw the return of a firm favourite: Kinball. On Thursday afternoon, the children took part in a match - refereed by some of Formby High School's Sports Leaders. A great time was had! Also, a special 'well done' to those girls who represented the school in a football tournament on Thursday after school. Once again, they represented the school well and managed to pick up a couple of victories over different schools. 

Many of the children were particularly excited on Thursday as it was the 'Glow in the Dark' disco organised by Team TSP. Lots of singing, dancing...and lots of sweets! It was a great way to end our first half-term back after the summer holidays.

Spellings, which the children will be tested on in the first week back after half-term, are available on Google Classroom. No specific Maths or SPAG homework has been set for over the half-term break however October’s virtual classroom has been attached to this blog – should the children wish to consolidate any learning.

It is hard to believe that this half-term has already come to an end. Our ‘Choose Wisely’ topic linked to the film, Encanto, seems like so long ago. We cannot believe just how much we have packed into these past two months, but we have had many highlights, including:

-Meeting and spending time with our Reception buddies;
-Our Robinwood residential;
-Winning the Sefton Sumdog Contests;
-All the different Maths games;
-Our WW1 & WW2 History topics;
-Taking part in a virtual workshop led by National Holocaust Museum;
-Zooming with a Holocaust Survivor.

We are sure next half-term will be just as busy!

Have a great half-term break everyone!

Year 6 - Autumn 1 - Week 6

Date: 13th Oct 2022 @ 9:25pm

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Another busy week indeed!

On Monday, we celebrated Hello Yellow Day. We discussed the purpose of the day and reminded ourselves that the term, ‘mental health’ isn’t a negative concept; we can have positive mental health and negative mental health. We then recapped some of the insecurities we had anonymously expressed last week and it was reiterated that the subjects on the board should not be used as a joke – even if we think it is in good humour with our closest friends – as we do not know how everyone is really feeling on the inside. To summarise our discussion, we shared strategies we use to help ourselves when we are feeling negative and referred back to our school value of ‘Nurture’, which reminds us to be kind to ourselves as well as others. In the afternoon, we completed a mindful walk with our Reception buddies, where we follow a path of yellow flags, each containing a message of positivity for us to read.

In Maths, we have continued to develop our understanding of place value while also revising some of the mathematical fundamentals, such as number bonds and multiplication facts. Both groups have worked hard and faced fun challenges along the way, from game shows to elimination games. We are definitely enjoying Maths in Year 6 at the moment! Next week, Mr King’s group will be moving onto negative numbers while Mrs Martin’s group will be recapping the work they have done this week on multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000 before moving onto dividing by 10, 100 and 1000.

Our History topic has certainly continued to stir up intrigue and excitement amongst the children. Once we learned about the factors and trigger that started World War 1 – confirming some of our earlier predictions and research last week – we moved into exploring the impact of The Great War in our local community. We must thank Formby Civic Society and Merchant Taylors Boys’ School for providing us with so many incredible resources, including yearbooks from 1916 and 1918 to an online version of Formby’s Roll of Honour, which have allowed us to make our own lines of enquiry about particular soldiers and areas of Formby. On Friday, a small group of pupils were also able to visit Formby Luncheon Club to interview some of the members about their experiences of war, so we look forward to hearing about their findings on Monday. The children have been disappointed every time the end of a lesson has been announced this week!

A special ‘well done’ to those girls who took part in a football tournament on Thursday. We are so proud of how well you represented our school and we look forward to watching you progress as a team over the year.

Homework has been set and the children are aware of what this is. Spellings can be found on Google Classroom.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Year 6 - Autumn 1 - Week 5

Date: 7th Oct 2022 @ 10:22am

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A very busy week in Year 6!

Having recovered from our residential at Robinwood, we have began our first History topic, focusing on World War 1. Before being provided with knowledge from their teacher, the children had to make inferences and predictions about The Great War based on artefacts provided and genuine newspaper articles from that period. Once we had summarised our initial thoughts, we also questioned the reliability of newspapers and considered why the sample provided to us may not show us everyone’s perception of the war (e.g. British newspapers’ reporting may differ from Germany’s relaying of information). This was also supported by National Poetry Day on Thursday, where we saw the perception of war through the eyes of a soldier when we read and performed the sarcastic lyrics of ‘Oh! What a Lovely War!’ by Courtland and Jeffries. It will be interesting to compare these words to those in Siegfried Sassoon’s poems next week.

On Friday, we were treated to a virtual workshop led by The National Holocaust Centre and Museum. Following on from our learning about World War 1 and linked to our current unit for writing (which centres around the book, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’), we delved further into the story of World War 2, including how the Jewish community were treated and how this was able to happen. The children’s knowledge of WW2 was certainly developed, particularly their understanding of antisemitism and how the Jews were allowed to be treated so badly in Germany during this time. Thank you to the National Holocaust Centre for providing this opportunity for the children! We particularly enjoyed the final messages around being a courageous advocate and having the courage to stand up for others if we see an injustice or somebody / people being treated unfairly.

We have commenced Maths and Writing lessons in our groups. In Maths, both groups have been learning about place value - reading and writing numbers, ordering, rounding – and this will continue next week. Outside of these lessons, the children also took part in the Sefton Sumdog Contest, where they had one week to answer 1000 questions on the iOs app. After a closely fought battle with Year 4, as well as the four Year 6 classes in Churchtown Primary, our Year 6 pupils managed to finish in…1st place! A terrific effort for our first contest of the year and hopefully all the children can be proud of what they have achieved. We were still in 2nd place at 7pm on Thursday evening, but managed to claim the top of the leaderboard in the final hour due to the children’s work ethic at home. A special ‘well done’ to those pupils who answered the majority of their questions at home, as well as those who answered all 1000 questions in the time frame. Keep up the good work!

Mr King’ writing group has started its first unit, which, as already mentioned, centres around the book, ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ by Jo Hoestlandt. In this story, which is set in France during the Nazi occupation of World War II, a child named Helen recalls the mounting persecution of her Jewish friend. This week, the children read the initial few pages, learned about Hitler and his perception of the Jewish people, and wrote some short extracts that focused on particular grammar and punctuation objectives, such as using inverted commas. Over the course of this unit, the children will be looking at how to write newspaper articles, diary entries and recounts. We can’t wait to see their final piece when they put all their skills together!

Mrs Martin’s group have began their writing journeys by making connections to their experiences at Robinwood. They have been working on sentence structure and writing in first-person narrative to create a recount piece. Once they have completed this task, they too will start on their WW2 ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ unit.

As part of our PSHE curriculum, we took part in a class discussion on the impact of words on our mental health. To begin, we were introduced to two new members of class: Sarah the Apple and Bob the Apple. The children were told to be really kind to Sarah and say nice things to him but were instructed to laugh at Bob and tease him. Unfortunately, when we revealed how they looked on the inside afterwards, Bob was rotten. The children understood the important message of this initial activity: words can hurt. 

Our final activity was to anonymously write down some of our insecurities. We acknowledged that sometimes we can tease our friends in a playful manner - believing that everyone is enjoying the joke - but it may be the case that what we are teasing somebody about is actually their biggest insecurity, or an insecurity of somebody else in the group, which could make them feel sad or ashamed. Therefore, it was a chance to share the comments we would not like to be brought up about ourselves at this moment in time. When we shared everyone’s responses, the class was silent. Firstly, we were surprised to see so many of the same insecurities mentioned repeatedly by different pupils. This ended up being rather reassuring to learn that we are not alone in our worries. However, we were also surprised by some of insecurities listed and pointed out a few that we would never have assumed could hurt someone’s feelings. We then agreed that we wouldn’t use any of the words / examples mentioned as we could risk hurting someone’s feelings without realising. Overall, it was a very thoughtful lesson that gave the children lots to think about. As we ran out of time, we will be continuing this session next week and unpicking some of the more common insecurities that the children expressed in more detail.

In PE, we developed our stamina and long-distance running techniques on Tuesday by taking part in a 15m ‘Beep Test’. This was a good opportunity for the children to develop strategies while also providing opportunities for discussions on mindset and setting personal challenges. It was lovely to see that many of the children said they actually enjoyed the test and would like to try and improve on their results next week!  While running also forms part of our athletics unit, Tuesday’s lesson helped prepares us for the 2022 Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon we have entered. The children need to complete 13 laps of the school field to complete this challenge; we started our journey on Friday by completing a couple of laps with our Reception buddies!

A huge ‘congratulations’ to our UKS2 boys’ football team, who competed in the Formby Schools Tournament this week. The children were able to make it into the final – despite a penalty shootout in the semi-finals – where they finished the tournament in 2nd place. Well done! We cannot wait to see how you perform in future matches and tournaments.

Homework has been set for this week and the children are aware of what this is. Mrs Martin's homework will be completed in exercise books while Mr King's homework will be completed on SATs Companion. Please recall the SATs Companion Guide attached to an earlier blog to support parents and children at home. Weekly spellings can also be found on Google Classroom.

We hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Certificates have been sent home for Robinwood and Sumdog - please celebrate these at home!

 

Year 6 - Autumn 1 - Week 4

Date: 26th Sep 2022 @ 6:46pm

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Well...what a busy and exciting week it has been!

On Monday, it was particularly hectic as we began the week by celebrating the Harvest Festival at St. Peter’s Church. As well as enjoying the readings and drama performed by Year 5 pupils, we had been waiting to show off our singing and dance skills as we performed ‘Beautiful World’ and our new favourite, ‘Harvest Samba’! Being on the balcony in Church only added to the enjoyment!

Monday also saw us celebrating European Day of Languages. We were fortunate enough to be visited by an MfL teacher from Kidslingo, who talked to the children about the importance of knowing an additional language before recapping some prior Spanish learning with them, including vocabulary for numbers and emotions. 

In between these events, we also took part in a whole-school ‘Readathon’ challenge on Monday and also Tuesday. This provided great opportunities for the children to ‘drop everything and read’ for pleasure. It was also lovely to hear about what the children have been reading in school and at home.

Tuesday was an extra special day as the children co-hosted an ‘afternoon tea’ for Reception parents, alongside their buddies. As always, it was so lovely to see the Year 6 children supporting their younger peers - especially during their musical performance, which was a rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Toy Story. We were also particularly impressed with our Year 6 pupils when they introduced their buddies and shared several facts about them with the parents. Our children spoke confidently and projected their voices clearly. Well done, Year 6!

From Wednesday onwards, it was the trip many of us had been eagerly awaiting…our residential at Robinwood! We know that our parents have been keeping a close eye on the Twitter feed and have appreciated the efforts of our staff to post regular updates – while also supporting the children and getting involved in the activities themselves. The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience as they faced fears, challenged themselves and continued to strengthen the bonds they have made with their friends and the adults in class. Thank you to the children, Robinwood and the TSP staff for working so well together to create the magical few days we have had. We are sure this has been an experience they won't forget!

Please note: pre-ordered souvenirs from Robinwood will be handed out on Monday. Any medication will be handed back over to parents as soon as possible.

We hope the children sleep well tonight and that you all have a very relaxing weekend!

See you on Monday!

Year 6 - Autumn 1 - Week 3

Date: 23rd Sep 2022 @ 2:21pm

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Although it was a shorter week this week, we still managed to achieve a lot!

In Collective Worship this week, we focused on our Christian monthly value of ‘Respect’, reminding ourselves of our discussions at the start of term on why the choice of characters for Encanto was positively received by the public for its diversity (Mirabel wearing glasses, the film being set in Colombia etc.). We then watched the new Little Mermaid trailer and learned about the mixed reaction the trailer had had due the change in ethnicity of Aerial from the original movie. We talked about why representation is important and how it has progressed over the years in the media. To really cement our understanding, we then watched a video that had gone viral over the weekend, which showed little girls’ surprise and overjoyed reactions to seeing the ‘new Aerial’ with a similar skin colour to their own.

A particular highlight this week was our singing lessons. The children have had songs to learn for the Harvest Service next Monday morning, as well as a special song they will be performing with their buddies in front of the Reception parents next Tuesday afternoon. Despite some initial reservations, we were soon blown away by the children’s confidence and enthusiasm within the first fifteen minutes of rehearsals! Over half of the class wanted to stand up and sing solos and by the end, we were all taking part in a Harvest Samba ‘conga’ around the classroom! It was great to hear so many children requesting we practise the songs again in the days that followed – this bodes well for our leavers’ performances at the end of the year!

This week, it was National Fitness Week. In PE we continued with our athletics unit, working on different throwing events such as javelin and chest push, while also revising skills from previous PE lessons this term such as long jump. On Friday, we concluded our week by joining Dame Darcey Bussell for a live dance workshop!

A significant amount of time this week has also been taken up by assessments as the children have had their first practice of sitting past SATs papers. They have shown great determination and resilience throughout this process and we have been very impressed with their efforts – especially since they have just come back from their summer break and there will be content in these papers which we have not yet covered! The children were fully aware of this and know that these assessments were just to determine their ‘starting point’ for the year, as we discussed in our ‘Y6 parent meeting’ on Tuesday.

We hope the children are looking forward to Robinwood. We have answered lots of the children’s queries regarding Robinwood in class this week; groups and timetables will be shared with them next week. Please ensure you have a luggage label to attach to your child’s luggage on Wednesday; there are extra labels in class and in the school office. Souvenir orders should be sent to the class email account (y6@tsp.sefton.school) before Monday at 9am.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Year 6 - Autumn 1 - Week 2

Date: 16th Sep 2022 @ 8:22am

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Our second full week in Year 6 is now complete!

We concluded our Encanto mini-topic this week with several lessons focused on our school values. To begin, we revised the intents for each of our values before watching particular scenes from the film and identifying as a class which value the scene best represents. At times, we were able to articulate why more than one value was demonstrated by various characters, which also helped us understand how our school values are all connected. On Tuesday, we then applied our understanding by creating a Top Trumps game with the characters from Encanto, rating each of them against our five school values. Not only did this encourage us to reflect on each character’s personality traits and actions during the film, but it made us think critically as we also had to ensure the ratings we gave each character ensured the game could be played effectively. For example, although Mirabel was the main protagonist, her card needed at least one area where she could be defeated in the game for it to still be enjoyable.

Our Spanish lesson this week remained Encanto-themed and following on from our Top Trumps lesson, we focused on personality traits. The children were given a list of Spanish adjectives to look up in their dictionaries and on their iPads and then apply to the different characters, writing full sentences to describe each person’s personalities.

In preparation for our Maths assessments taking place next week, we took part in a variety of games to revise our number facts and times tables. Chanting, ‘quick fire’ throwing and catching, speed challenges and ‘shoot out’...the children have enjoyed a variety of fun ways to learn. However, perhaps their highlight this week has been their introduction to Gimkit, where the children have loved playing ‘Trust No One’, a game inspired Among Us. Using their multiplication facts, the children had to earn points to run tests on their ‘crew mates’ and identify the ‘imposters’ on the ship. It has been lovely to see so many children asking in the mornings and at break times if we can play another game – long may the enthusiasm continue!

Our brass lessons recommenced on Friday afternoon as well. The children enjoyed hearing a few different pieces they could learn over the next term as well as playing some games to test their listening skills and understanding of tempo.

Spellings and homework will commence next week – once we have sat our assessments and are in the usual routine of Maths and Writing groups each morning with Mr King and Mrs Martin. However, the children have now been introduced to the iOs app /website, SATs Companion, which many of the pupils will be using for their homework and all will be using to revise for the SATs later in the year. A guide for parents on how to use SATs Companion has been attached to this blog. If your child has forgotten their password, they can find it in their ‘Password’ section on Google Classroom. There are many other useful features on the site, including a ‘Practice’ section, where the children can access videos and lessons on all KS2 objectives for Maths, Reading and Writing at any time. Please do encourage the children to use this section at home to support them with their ongoing learning in these areas. Children may wish to familiarise themselves with this resource alongside their parents over the next week prior to homework commencing.  

Please recall that the Y6 meeting for parents has been re-scheduled for next Tuesday at 5pm. The meeting will take place in the Y6 classroom and parents can enter through the classroom door. As per the message sent via School Spider, if you are unable to attend, please do inform Mr King so that resources from the meeting can be still shared.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend. See you on Tuesday!

Year 6 - Autumn 1- Week 1

Date: 9th Sep 2022 @ 4:43pm

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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!

Year 6 - Summer 2 - Week 6

Date: 15th Jul 2022 @ 7:46am

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Well...the day has finally arrived! Today, we said our final goodbyes and finished our time here at Trinity St. Peter's.

Even in this final week, we have still been able to create some final memories of primary school. One would expect that the week would comprise entirely of leavers' celebrations, but we still managed to visit Formby High School on Tuesday morning to take part in their 'Maths Maze' against Redgate Primary and Freshfield Primary. We competed in groups and worked our way through 15 mathematical challenges and when all was said and done...we won! Two of our groups placed in the Top 3, one of which taking place. This was just the perfect moment for this class: even in the final week we are still achieving!

On Monday and Tuesday, we were able to perform our leavers' production for the rest of the school and our families. There was laughter, tears, but most of all...enjoyment. The script was written by the class and included all the memories, jokes and stories they wanted to reminisce about with their audiences. The children shone in every sense: their acting was superb, their comedy timing was impeccable and their singing was just beautiful. We were all so incredibly proud of them. 

Our Leavers' Service on Friday was equally as emotional with presentations, montages, dancing and one final opportunity for our pupils to show off their incredible voices. There was not a dry eye in St. Peter's Church!

There is not much left to write that has not already been said in class, at the production or in Church...we also need to save some final words for the party this evening in Warren Farm! Nevertheless, Year 6, you have been A-MAZ-ING. We have loved teaching you and watching you all grow as individuals and as a class. Bonds have been made for life and we can't wait to see you go onto achieve even more success and happiness in your secondary schools. We will miss you all.

Parents, we would like to thank you for the gifts and cards this week - never expected but always appreciated - and most of all, for your kind words. Your continued support has allowed the children to continue to thrive at Trinity St. Peter's in their final year and we look forward to celebrating with you all this evening.

Have an amazing summer, everyone!

Year 6 - Summer 2 - Week 5

Date: 8th Jul 2022 @ 1:25pm

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Can you believe this was our penultimate week at Trinity St. Peter’s?!

We are now feeling confident during our leavers’ rehearsals. Well done to all the children, who have worked incredibly hard to learn their lines, songs and stage directions…all while trying to keep the production a secret from other year groups, teachers and parents! A few lucky members of staff have been able to have a sneak peak at the show and have all been amazed! This has included Mrs Whitehead from Formby High School, who thought the children perform amazingly well! Hopefully all parents have received their 3 tickets for the show and have received the messages on School Spider regarding details for Tuesday. We are very excited for you all to watch it now!

On Wednesday, we were able to have our final ‘Sports Day’ at Trinity St. Peter’s. We wanted to have a strong emphasis on our value of ‘Enjoy’ and not take it too seriously. We agreed that if we were losing, we would ‘lose in style’ – just as long as it didn’t affect anybody else in the race who may still be trying to win. There was a great atmosphere throughout and we all had a great time taking part in the different races. Perhaps the highlight was our impromptu, parents’ three-legged race. Lots of laughter…and lots of competitive parents! We were very impressed with those children who managed to complete the lap with neither of their feet ever setting foot on the grass!

In PE we took part in our first netball session; we learned the rules of the game, how to pass effectively and even managed to play a couple of matches. There may have been a hidden agenda for this lesson though as on Friday, our girls’ netball team took part in a special tournament after school…involving both a teachers’ team and a parents’ team! Needless to say, it was very competitive, but also great fun! Thank you to all who got involved, including those children who came to cheer on all the participants.

This week the children enjoyed a visit from Sarah from Formby library who informed the children about this year's summer reading challenge. They were all very excited! We hope they will be able to enjoy the reading challenge and celebrate this with us when they return to school in September.

Next week, we will be continuing to rehearse for our leavers’ performance, as well as the Leavers’ Service on Friday. On Tuesday morning, we will also be walking to Formby High School to take part in their traditional ‘Maths Maze’ against other local primary schools…wish us luck!

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend and enjoy reading your EOY reports and SATs results - we are extremely proud of you all! Please remember to buy some extra tissues in preparation for next week!

Year 6 - Summer 2 - Week 4

Date: 30th Jun 2022 @ 8:40am

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Another hectic week in the final half-term for our Year 6 pupils!

Production rehearsals have continued with the script now being finalised and all children happy with their roles. Parents should have received a message on Wednesday regarding clothes for the children to bring in; all other costumes will be organised / purchased by school. Mrs Meredith has reviewed our costume list and is very confused as to what the production is all about…but we think you will all enjoy it! Please encourage your child to practise their lines at home over the weekend - and try not to listen in! 

On Tuesday, our final primary school trip took place as we ventured to Alton Towers! The children had been very excited in the build-up as we discussed how the day would work, looked at the theme park map and watched videos about particular rides. We set ourselves a challenge to all attempt Wicker Man when we first got there – before deciding if the ‘big rides’ were for us or not – and we are so proud to say that the class faced their fears and went on it! Well done, Year 6! Following this, we went on some rides as a class (The Rapids, Duel, Teacups) but also split into groups at various points to allow us to go on the types of rides we wanted. Despite limited time at the park, we were able to get on several other rides in groups, including Galactica, Nemesis and Blade. All in all, a successful day!

Throughout the week, it has also been the final Sefton Sumdog Contest of the year. As the inaugural winners for this academic year, we decided to enter one final time to bring a close to our mathematical journey at Trinity St. Peter’s. After a particularly hard push on Wednesday, we managed to climb from 10th place on the leaderboard to 1st place! Applying final pressure on Friday, we finished overall in…1st place! What a brilliant end to the week!

Our school book fair is currently taking place in the school portacabin and is open from 3.05pm to 3.30pm each day after school until next Wednesday 6th July. All purchases made, result in more books for our class libraries! Please do support us if you are able to, and thank you to those of you who have supported this event already. Your support is very much appreciated. 

Finally, we hope all the children enjoyed their transition days at Greenbank High and Formby High School at the end of this week. It is all starting to become very real!

We look forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Year 6 - Summer 2 - Week 3

Date: 24th Jun 2022 @ 12:28pm

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We are now halfway through our final half term of Year 6!

This week, it has been National Sports Week and we have celebrated it through a variety of ways. On Tuesday, we took part in a Lap of Hope – linked to our school value – which involved the children running a lap of the whole school, including through some of our classrooms! Prior to this, we reflected on all the sporting opportunities that have been able to return to school this year following Covid and national lockdowns and acknowledged our gratitude that ‘normality’ was able to return this year. The children then made ‘Power Pledges’ – writing down their hopes for the world in the future – and carried these around with them on their Lap of Hope. The day concluded with an assembly led by our Sports Ambassadors, which explained the upcoming Commonwealth Games. As it was also National Music Day, the assembly finished with the whole school singing Gary Barlow’s song, ‘Sing’. It was lovely to have all our KS1 and KS2 classes together this; once again, it was a symbol of normality returning after two years of disruptions.

Continuing with our sporting activities, the children have been able to take part in Bikeability sessions throughout the week. On Thursday, the children also had a practice of their upcoming Sports Day and for their PE lesson, they chose to play their favourite activity…dodgeball! 

In a PSHE lesson on Thursday morning, we learned about athlete, Dame Kelly Holmes and why she is such a recognised GB athlete. We watched parts of her interview from This Morning on Wednesday where she ‘came out’ and were able to make connections to our conversations about footballer, Jake Daniels coming out earlier in the year. Once again, we recalled why public figures ‘coming out’ is still necessary in today’s society and how we should respect differences in all areas of life.

Our production rehearsals have been going well. The children have been given specific roles now, although this is still only an early draft and additional lines will be added in as we continue to rehearse for those children who want larger roles. Information regarding outfits will be shared next week, although this shouldn’t involve anything more than sourcing a t-shirt of a particular colour. Everything else will be purchased / sourced by the school.

We hope everyone enjoyed the Summer Fair on Friday. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Year 6 - Summer 2 - Week 2

Date: 16th Jun 2022 @ 8:44pm

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It’s been ‘all singing, all dancing’ this week!

The rehearsals for our leavers’ production have moved up another level this week as have continued to learn more songs, learn actions and even give out a few solos! On Thursday, we also brainstormed some ideas we wanted to include in our script…without giving away too many details, it sounds like it is going to be fantastic! The children have been so impressive that we have even discussed the Leavers’ Service on the final day of term and began some preparations for this. We hope our parents are excited as we are! 

In Writing, we have concluded our booklets for Formby High School by writing four paragraphs about somebody who we consider to be a ‘brilliant leader’. This has been a great opportunity to showcase our writing skills – as well as to provide an indication of our interests. There was a wide range of leaders chosen, both real and fictional, from various time periods and areas of profession. Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmeline Pankhurst, Captain America, Star Wars’ Senator Palpatine…the list goes on! All the children should have now uploaded their final pieces onto Google Classroom if any parents wish to have a read – we would highly recommend!

It has been wonderful to see so many of our pupils taking part in extracurricular activities this week. A special ‘well done’ to the group of boys in our class who represented the school in the finals of a football tournament at Finch Farm on Tuesday; they finished in third place in their group after some fantastic performances. A huge ‘congratulations’ as well to the inaugural, girls’ netball team, who took part in a Formby tournament on Thursday…and won! Thoroughly deserved after an undefeated performance. Finally, well done to the two children in our class on the school’s Kindness Committee; they spent the day at Maghull High School on Thursday and earned the Diana Award’s Anti-Bullying qualification. 

We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. If the children could learn the lyrics to all the songs we have sung this week – before they are given their acting parts in the leavers’ production next week – that would be very helpful!

Year 6 - Summer 2 - Week 1

Date: 10th Jun 2022 @ 1:28pm

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Well, we are back…for our final half-term at Trinity St. Peter’s!

In Maths, we were finally able to present our theme park proposals to the rest of the class and staff ‘judges’! We still needed some preparation time on Monday to ensure our presentations were engaging, fully explained our reasons behind our designs and summarised the financial information clearly. On Tuesday, we delivered our presentations…and they were fantastic! The range of ideas and the children’s attention to detail were phenomenal. The judges were extremely impressed and all the children should be very proud of their efforts! There are certainly some budding entrepreneurs in Year 6!

In Reading and Writing, we have been working through our transition booklets for Formby High School. The themes have been been ‘adventurers’ and ‘leadership’ and we have learned about a number of significant literary and real-life explorers such as Beowulf, Charles Darwin and Robert Falcon Scott. Our final task has been to write four paragraphs about a leader of our choice; so far, we have each selected a particular individual and collated lots of information through research on our iPads. The children’s choices have ranged from fictional Star Wars characters to family members – we can’t wait to see what they produce next week!

We were very fortunate to be invited to Formby High School on Friday morning to take part in a special Science lesson which focused on working scientifically and carrying out an investigation. The children collected and set up their own equipment – including Bunsen burners – before being presented with various household solutions to test whether they were acids or alkalis. The children were thoroughly engaged and the activity was a great insight into the typical, practical lessons they will be taking part in next year. Thank you to Mr Kaye from Formby High School for leading the session!

Throughout the week, we have continuing to practise our drama skills, both in class and with Mrs Whitehead from Formby High School as part of our PE lessons. The children were introduced to the potential, opening scene of their leavers’ production and asked for their thoughts and opinions before the creation of the script continued. The children were very enthusiastic about it and it was great to see so many asking for bigger speaking roles. We have also learned a few of the songs we will be performing at the end of term and once again, the children’s efforts have continued to impress. We think it is going to be a great show! We have talked about how our parents will enjoy the show more if our plans and the final script are kept a surprise…so please do try and have some restraint at home and avoid asking your children about what they will be doing! We can however assure you that all the children will get the type of part in the show which they want.

A special ‘well done’ to those children who represented the school in a golf tournament at Formby Hall on Friday afternoon; another great opportunity for our pupils, who made us all very proud.

Information regarding Bikeability will be shared with parents shortly. We are just trying to finalise some final details with the company for our Year 6 cohort.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Year 6 - Summer 1 - Week 6

Date: 27th May 2022 @ 12:39pm

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We are now at the end of our penultimate half-term in Year 6!

In Collective Worship this week, Reverend Anne visited the children to remind them of St. Peter’s Uganda project with St. Peter’s school in Kalule. It is hard to believe that the last time some of our teachers and friends of the school visited was when this class were in Year 4, but we were able to recall some of the activities we did in school and why we have our Christian monthly value of ‘Koinonia’. Anne talked about some of the highlights of the project since it started and also provided some updates on what has happened since. This Collective Worship was a great opportunity to emphasise the importance of kindness in the community and to have gratitude for what we have in our school.

‘RSE Week’ has brought us lots of new information, questions and certainly some (possibly  awkward) laughter along the way! On Monday, as a whole class we recapped on our RSE lessons from last year and recalled the changes our bodies will go through during puberty; however as we discussed these in our gender groups last year, this week we were able to learn about and have empathy for what the opposite gender will experience. This created lots of questions from the children, which were easily explained through the brilliant ‘Kay’s Anatomy’ book by Adam Kay. (Please note: as per message sent to parent, the relevant chapters of this book can be found on Google Classroom.) Throughout the rest of the week, we discussed peer pressure and consent; personal hygiene and where you can go for support. The children participated in these lessons with great enthusiasm and maturity; we are very proud of how they conducted themselves and were relieved to hear on Monday that the first lesson wasn’t as awkward as they thought it might be!

To supplement our RSE learning – and to help address the insecurities that some of us have mentioned over the year – Dr Smith also visited us on Wednesday morning to discuss dental hygiene and help dispel some misconceptions we have about our teeth. The children had lots of questions and we are very grateful that he could give up his time to help alleviate some anxieties. 

In Maths, we continued with our ‘theme park’ project. Now that our parks have been constructed, we have had to calculate the running costs and then – from there – decide on our entrance admission fees to ensure we make a profit. The children have continued to enjoy this project and we can’t wait to see their pitches and presentations in the first week back after half-term.

As computer scientists, we have enjoyed more coding practice this week. On Monday, we explored the game, Crossy Roads, thinking carefully about its features and what makes it a good game. Later in the week, we were then introduced to the iOs app, Hopscotch to allow us to explore some of our STAR vocabulary: event, command, loop, random and range. We were then able to apply our knowledge by using the app to start creating our own version of Crossy Roads.

In preparation for our Jubilee celebrations, a significant part of our week has been taken up with our DT project: cooking and baking ‘the best of British’! Following BBC Good Food recipes, we made shortbread, sausage rolls, coronation chicken and cucumber sandwiches for a special picnic on Friday afternoon to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952.

In addition to our picnic preparation, we also saw the return of TSP’s Got Talent as part of our celebrations. On Friday morning, we had our Y6 talent show…and it was incredible! We laughed, we cried, we sat there open-mouthed at just how talented our peers are – it really was an amazing show! The children then voted for our two favourites, who later performed in front of the whole school and even the Royal Family! It was a great way to end our half-term. A special 'well done' to our two finalists and a huge 'congratulations' to a very worth winner. We are all so proud!

We hope everyone has a fantastic, week-long break. The SATs now seem like a distant memory but we hope the children have a well-earned rest after what has been a truly ‘packed’ six weeks!

See you all in a week!

Year 6 - Summer 1 - Week 5

Date: 19th May 2022 @ 8:58pm

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What a busy week it has been!

As mathematicians, we have embarked on a rather exciting venture…designing a theme park! On Monday, the children were informed that they would be getting into pairs / small teams to compete against each other in this project, but first would need to consider what type of theme park they would be hoping to create if it were a solo task. Our STAR vocabulary word for the lesson was ‘marketing’ and after learning what this meant, we considered who our theme park would be for, the potential theme / branding of it and what would be the key selling points. Once we had time to think about this individually, we then chose our business partners based on shared preferences.  

Throughout the week, the children have had to work together to design the layout of their park based on the costings of amenities and ride types and ensuring they meet all health and safety requirements, such as including the minimum number of toilets and park benches required. So far, the children have absolutely LOVED this project and it has been a joy to see them so enthusiastic about completing the initial tasks – with some children even doing further work on their branding at home and sending it to their class iPads via Google Classroom! We have also been particularly impressed with the class’ attention to detail as they have already started thinking about the branding of their food stalls, outfit designs for their staff and their theme park’s logo. There has been lots of creative thinking this week! We just hope the children still enjoy it just as much next week when they realise the ‘running costs’ of their creations!

Just when the children didn’t think we could fit anymore mathematics into our mornings this week, we also took part in National Numeracy Day by helping to successfully break a Guinness World Record with Times Tables Rock Stars for most viewers of a rolling numbers livestream on Youtube. The class had great fun dancing to different songs and listening out for all the number references!

In Writing, we used Kit Wright's poem 'What's in the box...?', to create our own poems. Using their senses, the children considered all the things that are special to them as well as their hopes for their future. Some really insightful and thought-provoking poems were created which we loved reading.

As artists, we focused on our local environment this week. To begin, we took images around school on our iPads, focusing on the finer details of our surroundings rather than the ‘bigger picture’. We then used a viewfinder to focus even further on one particular aspect of each image before choosing one to sketch.

In PE, we had our first drama lesson with Mrs Whitehead from Formby High School, playing various team games, miming and forming tableaux. The practising and developing of our acting skills will come in very useful as we start to embark on preparations for our leavers’ production next half term! On Thursday, we were visited by Mr Brindley and three Y9 Sports Leaders, who led a House tag rugby competition. Thank you to Formby High School for all their support this week!

Despite a very busy week of lessons, we also managed to find time to have several class discussions as part of our PSHE curriculum. On Tuesday, we read about footballer, Jake Daniels, coming out and talked about why this needs to be ‘news’ in today’s society. We also learned that Tuesday was International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and agreed that the world would be a better place if everyone could celebrate differences. This led to many other conversations around equality and diversity – particularly sexism and racism in the media. It was wonderful to hear the children making such thoughtful observations and comments throughout the morning and hope they continue to think with such open minds as they move into secondary school.

On the topic of differences, we also had a discussion on height on Thursday, as we are aware that several children in the class still feel insecure about being too small / tall. After reading a few stories, we used our white thinking hats to list many of the advantages of being short, as well as the advantages of being tall. We realised that sometimes it is useful to be small, sometimes it is useful to be tall and sometimes it is useful to be in between…there will always be positives and negatives in any situation, but we should learn to seek out the positives!

Finally, on Friday, we had our second, post-SATs celebration...this time in school! The children came into school in their own clothes to be greet with large ‘2022’ balloons, treats and music before being informed that an inflatable obstacle course had arrived on the school field and they had exclusive access to it all day! We had a wonderful time as a whole Year 6 team.

A special ‘well done’ to our boys’ and girls’ football teams, who both had matches against Woodlands Primary this week. The boys’ team were impressive in a 6-1 victory and the girls’ team showed plenty of grit and determination to win 5-4 in a thrilling contest! Also on Wednesday, six members of the class took part in the Lawn Bowls Festival at Southport Lawn Bowls Club, taking part in a variety of different games with other local schools. Well done!

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Year 6 - Summer 1 - Week 4

Date: 13th May 2022 @ 4:42pm

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Well...what a week indeed!

After plenty of preparation and build-up, the time to sit our KS2 SATs finally arrived! We could not be any prouder of all the children; they showed such positivity, resilience and optimism throughout the week. Despite the 'dull' nature of sitting assessments, we did also manage to find many opportunities to have laughs along the way too and the children agreed that the SATs process wasn't actually as bad as they thought it could be! Lots of the children would like to visit the Year 5 children before the end of term to let them know this too. Well done, everyone - you are all superstars!  A special 'well done' to those children who also came in despite sickness and family holidays taking place this week! 

On Friday, we had our post-SATs celebration at Formby Beach. We had a terrific day, taking part in a range of activities in our friendship groups as well as a whole class. It was a joy for the teachers to watch all the children play so well together and organise themselves so easily. The photograph shared in this blog only took a few minutes to set up with no assistance from the adults! Games of rounders and 'man hunt', as well as general digging and surfing in the sand...we definitely made some lasting memories! Be sure to check our class Twitter page for all the pictures.

We hope the children all have a well-earned break this weekend..they certainly deserve it!

See you all on Monday!

Year 6 - Summer 1 - Week 3

Date: 6th May 2022 @ 4:15pm

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Another week of determination and hard work in Year 6!

Our monthly Christian value is PERSEVERANCE, which could not be more appropriate as the children have persevered through SATs revision and techniques this week. Classroom displays have been hidden, tables have been rearranged and the children have been informed on how to complete the front page correctly…so there shouldn’t be any surprises on Monday!

In Reading, we have worked on various skills, such as identifying the author’s purpose for writing and understanding how they are able to create different atmospheres, such as suspense or a feeling of danger. We also continued to work on how an author can give you an impression of a particular character and how best to retrieve the evidence which gives the reader their impression.

In PE, we had our second ‘survival / life skills’ swimming lesson, which was also our final swimming session in primary school! The children showed excellent stamina in carrying out a range of tasks in the swimming pool without touching the floor / side and remaining in their clothes! They should feel very proud of themselves. 

Thursday’s PE session with Mr Brindley has seen the children revisit tag rugby, this time with all the children learning the rules of a match. We found the offside rule quite tricky, but we will continue to work on this over the next couple of weeks!

The end of the week saw us revising some SPaG knowledge. At the start of Friday afternoon, we welcomed the return of the very popular ‘Million Pound Drop’ game. In pairs, the children came up with their own personas and backstories before taking part in ten SPaG rounds – the goal being to keep all their money safe by answering the series of questions correctly. We had many pairings retain all of the prize money this time, which shows just how much knowledge the children have obtained over the year!  Following this, the children left the classroom for a short break and returned to find…it had been transformed into a SPaG rave! Glow sticks, inflatable props and an array of colourful sunglasses were available as the children danced around to some of our favourite Grammasaurus songs. What a great way to end the week! 

We hope all the children are able to have an enjoyable weekend. In terms of SATs preparation, they should do whatever will help them relax, whether that means doing some final revision to boost their confidence or having a two-day break. Regardless of the outcome, we are extremely proud of all them and the hard work they have shown throughout the academic year. We cannot wait to celebrate their efforts after Thursday morning!

Year 6 - Summer 1 - Week 2

Date: 29th Apr 2022 @ 4:09pm

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The sun is shining and our spirits are high in Year 6!

This week, we have been working hard on preparing for our SATs papers in two weeks. In Maths, we have continued to practise our arithmetic skills while also revising various topics including: multiplying and dividing decimals; Roman numerals, algebra and shape. We have done this through a variety of activities and games. For example, on Wednesday, Mr King’s group enjoyed taking part in a ‘whodunit?’ problem-solving investigation and on Thursday they became the teachers as they marked a fictitious child’s reasoning paper - which encouraged them to explain their understanding to others and also notice errors that children can make when sitting assessments!

In Reading, we have worked on a range of skills, such as how to decide on the author’s intention and purpose for writing a piece of text. We have also consolidated our understanding of what a question means when it begins, “What impression do you get…?” The children have been worked incredibly hard on enhancing their reading skills and we continue to be so impressed by their work ethic.

Wednesday’s swimming session was ‘a bit different’ to the usual session as it centred around survival techniques! The children were rather giddy as they walked onto poolside in their pyjamas / additional clothing but thoroughly enjoyed challenging themselves by treading water and trying to remove their wet clothing. They will continue to practise these skills next week as well, so should bring their extra clothing in again next Wednesday if possible.

The children are aware of what their homework is for this week. No additional tasks have been set on SATs Companion as there are still many set tasks to complete, including practice assessments. The children should take some time continue to work on their individual targets in the ‘Practice’ section or in their CGP books, doing as much as they feel they need to do / want to do.

We hope the sunshine continues over this long weekend and hope everyone has an enjoyable three days away from the classroom. See you all on Tuesday!

Year 6 - Summer 1 - Week 1

Date: 22nd Apr 2022 @ 3:37pm

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A short, first week back…but still plenty to talk about!

On Tuesday, we welcomed the children back after the Easter break. The children enjoyed sharing their latest adventures and stories with one another! 

In recognition of Earth Day 2022, this week the children enjoyed spending time with their Reception buddies over in Forest School. Together the children undertook a big class litter pick, teaching their buddies the importance of taking care of their environment. On Friday, we discussed in more detail why we have Earth Day and what its main purpose is before taking in the Blue Planet Live lesson.

In Maths, Mr King’s group have focused on geometry, particularly translation and reflection and how to use a mirror to support them with the latter. They also revisited ratio to learn about scale factors and how to solve problems involving these.  Mrs Martin’s group also worked on data handling and reflection and translation.

Our swimming lessons resumed on Wednesday, which served as a welcome relief from the warm weather! Mr King’s group briefly recapped some key technique points for front crawl and backstroke, before moving into breaststroke, while the rest of the children focused on their backstroke technique. Hopefully all parents have received a message via School Spider regarding next week’s lesson: children will need pyjamas or spare clothes to do some life skill / survival practice.

Mr Brindley also returned this week. Having heard about how well the children had done in their tag rugby lessons last term, he wanted to see it for himself in preparation for secondary school! The children enjoyed revising their skills again, as well as playing a few, new warm-up games beforehand.

The children are aware of what their homework for this week is. Spellings have also been set on Google Classroom for next week. They also have additional tasks set on SATs Companion – as well as their CGP books – if they wish to do any further revision at home.

Love Reading have chosen their 'top book picks' for April and May. More, highly-rated children's reads, from a variety of authors for different age ranges, are shared with us all to enjoy.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Year 6 - Spring 2 - Week 6

Date: 31st Mar 2022 @ 9:38am

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The Easter break has arrived!

Several Easter events and activities took place throughout the week, including the Easter Service on Thursday morning at Holy Trinity Church; a visit from the Easter Bunny and an Easter-themed, active Maths lesson on Friday morning, where – once again – the teachers’ chicken costumes returned. It is hard to believe that it has already been a year since our last Easter Maths challenge!

Also in Maths this week, all the children revised their understanding of various calculations involving decimals (particularly multiplication calculations such as 4.32 x 5 and 0.2 x 0.03) and recalled which methods and strategies they would use to solve each problem. We then moved onto measurement and focused on converting between mm, cm, m and km before trying some tricky reasoning problems involving distance. The Year 6 Maths Knowledge sheet can be found in the virtual classroom on Google Classroom and has been attached to this blog. It would be really helpful for your child if they can recall all the mathematical facts on that sheet to support them in their reasoning challenges.

We have continued to read our class book, ‘The Lion Above the Door’ by Onjali Rauf. The children have enjoyed hearing the latest part of the novel, which has centred around Leo and his friends coming up with a scheme to obtain records about former RAF soldiers from a museum. A particular highlight this week has been the children adding their own ‘layers’ to each character by requesting particular voices for each one. Despite not being set in Liverpool, we now have a very scouse character named Olivia and have laughed hysterically at Bo’s girlfriend, Jules, who we are told is going through ‘hormones’ and so now has an incredibly deep voice!

Last week, we were lucky enough to receive a delivery of tree stumps, which have been placed in the small garden area behind the bike shed. The children enjoyed taking some time this week to use the space to read independently and a group of children also chose to use this area to practise mindfulness, while others took part in the ‘Mindful Mile’ on the field and others opted to do some mindfulness colouring. 

Our final day of term brought plenty of laughter as it was April Fool's Day! Despite the children's best efforts - including spicy cupcakes and rearranging the classroom at break time - they were no match for the teachers! Firstly, the children were given false information about Google updating Maps and allowed to come up with their own 'Easter Egg' formation on the playground...to only wait for a considerable period of time! They were then given some rather underwhelming 'brownies' at break time and an unsolvable wordsearch. There were plenty of humorous groans of frustration heard throughout the morning!

The children are aware of their homework tasks. Extra tasks have been set on SATs Companion for over the Easter break, in addition to the assessments already set. Spelling lists have been attached to this blog once more, but can also be found in the ‘virtual classroom’ section on Google Classroom. We encourage the children to do as much as they are comfortable with, but please remember that mental health is the priority and SATs Week is not something to be worrying about – especially given the last couple of the years.

We hope you all have a lovely Easter break!

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