Year 6 Team: Mr M King (Class Teacher), Mrs L Martin Miss Osborne : Blog items
Date: 30th Nov 2023 @ 8:04am
Hopefully, we have all calmed down now after a rather exciting few weeks! We hope everyone enjoyed watching the school – and more specifically, Year 6 – featuring on The One Show last Friday!
Our Christmas festivities officially began on Friday morning when the children had their movie tickets checked by the bouncer on the door and were ushered to their seats – ready for a Christmas film. They were very excited to enter a decorated (cinema) room, full of lights, candles and – of course - a Christmas tree! Friday afternoon was 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.
Our Collective Worship this week also involved us watching a selection of Christmas adverts and connecting each one to our monthly Christian value of ‘Compassion’.
Mrs Martin’s Maths group has started their work on fractions. This form a significant part of the maths curriculum so it is important that the children are as secure as possible in this area. This week, they have been learning to understand what a fraction is and carrying out calculations that involve fractions with the same denominator and fractions with our denominators that are multiples of each other. Next week, the children will be learning how to solve calculations where the denominators are not multiples of each other and what to do when there are mixed numbers. Mr King’s group have worked on adding and subtracting fractions with different denominators, as well as mixed numbers. Next week, they will revise multiplying and dividing fractions before carrying out some assessments.
As authors, the children have now finished their 'haunted setting' pieces and are writing these up into their author books. We think this may be some of their best writing to date! Check the 'Author Book Showcase' section on Google Classroom for images of your child's work.
In History, we are very lucky that Formby Luncheon Club have agreed to once again host groups of Y6 children on a Friday afternoon so that the children can pick up unique and personal knowledge of the wars from local residents. Our first group of historians attended last Friday and came back with a range of stories and information to share with their peers; another group attended this Friday and the same outcome was achieved. We are very thankful for that The Luncheon Club have agreed to continue to provide this experience and we will ensure that all the Year 6 pupils are able to attend at some point this term.
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 you all have a restful weekend and are excited for the festivities to continue next week!
Date: 22nd Nov 2023 @ 2:36pm
Another great week in Year 6!
As mathematicians, both Mr King and Mrs Martin’s group have been working on how to find percentages of numbers before moving onto adding and subtracting fractions. Next week, they will be continuing with fractions; in particular, how to multiply and divide them. Outside of Maths lessons, we also entered another Sumdog Contest...this time, the 'England Contest'! After a closely fought battle with nearly 2000 schools, our Year 6 pupils decided it wasn't enough to just be the North West champions and on Thursday they were announced as the national champions! The first TSP class to ever achieve such a victory - amazing!
On Wednesday, the children entered the classroom to the sound of some eerie noises with candles lit all around. They thought carefully about what they could hear and the images that came to mind before thinking of expanded noun phrases would help describe their thoughts. Having been informed of their writing objective for the week, the children then immersed themselves in the horror genre in the subsequent lessons, focusing on attention to detail when describing a setting.
In History, we have started to focus our research into the world wars more specifically on the impact they had on Formby. 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.
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 to watch the video input first. They can also revise any topics through the ‘Practice’ section of the app / website afterwards.
We hope everyone has a great weekend. You may want to tune into The One Show this evening…you know why! ;)
Date: 17th Nov 2023 @ 1:43pm
What an AMAZING week it has been!
The Year 6 class (and staff!) had some incredibly exciting days on Wednesday and Thursday…but more about that after next week!
We hope everyone enjoyed watching our Celebration of Kindness music video last weekend…particularly those Year 6 parents who also featured! It has since been a ‘celebration of kindness’ every day in class. The Year 6 children 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 releasing endorphins through dance! We considered how others can affect our mood and on Friday, 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 Tuesday 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.
In Writing, the children have finished up writing their ‘Star of Fear, Star of Hope’ narratives in their author book. As mathematicians, Mr King’s group have been working on ‘Order of Operations’ (BIDMAS) and will be moving onto percentages next week. Mrs Martin have consolidated their understanding of rounding.
The children are aware of how to access their homework for next week – either on SATs Companion or in their books. Spellings will now roll over to next week, following the rather busy week we have had! If your child is accessing their homework through SATs Companion this week and needs additional support for long division, there are support videos and websites on Google Classroom this week.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 10th Nov 2023 @ 1:50pm
What a week!
Firstly, we welcome Miss Osborne to Year 6. She will be supporting the children in class alongside Mr King and Mrs Martin.
As authors, the children are now on their 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!
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, including long division (using the chunking method). Mrs Martin’s group will be learning this later in the term; this week, they have focused on rounding.
Our History topic continued this week – now focusing on WW2 - 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 Tuesday, 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!
On Wednesday, our young historians learned about all the key events of WW2, exploring a range of resources such as newspaper articles, maps, textbooks, local documents and equipment such as ration books and medical boxes. Next week’s lessons will see the children consolidating their learning by summarising what life would have been like in Britain during WW2.
A particular highlight was our visit from Callum from The Hammond, a renowned institution for performing arts education. On Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed a very active, theatre workshop, which explored storytelling, drama and some key elements of acting and adopting the role of different characters.
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, staff (and even parents!) 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 Youtube and Vimeo channels!
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 this week and needs additional support for long division, there are support videos and websites on Google Classroom this week.
We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and is excited for the week ahead - celebrating kindness!
Date: 3rd Nov 2023 @ 1:34pm
Perhaps the main highlight for the children over the past week 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 you will be able to watch next Friday!
In Maths, both Mr King and Mrs Martin’s group have been revising long multiplication and will be continuing with this next week. Mr King’s group will be moving onto long division next week while Mrs Martin’s group will revise particular terminology such as factors and multiples.
As artists, the children continued their learning of both World War 1 and 2 by creating their own propaganda art. They were given the opportunity to examine examples from these periods and discuss their meanings, working 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!
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.
After all the dancing and performing this week, we hope the children have a well-earned rest this weekend!
See you all on Monday.
Date: 19th Oct 2023 @ 3:34pm
Well…we have reached the end of our first half-term in Year 6!
In Maths, Mr King’s group has focused on ordering decimals. This proved to be quite tricky at first – especially with numbers that use the same digits – but we appear to have mastered this now and even found time to move onto rounding decimals. Mrs Martin’s group have revised all of the different methods and topics they have done so far this half-term and completed some timed activities on these topics to improve their fluency further. Outside of these lessons, we were treated to a Tax Education workshop delivered by HMRC employees. They explained what taxes are, how we pay them and why. This then led to some interesting discussions on what tax laws the children would introduce and how they would divide the money between sectors. The children also took part in the North West Sumdog Contest, where they had one week to answer 1000 questions on the iOs app. After a closely fought battle with hundreds of schools, 8pm on Thursday soon rolled around and we found out that....we won! Amazing! 255 schools, 3107 pupils and we emerged victorious. What an achievement!
Our Science lessons this half-term have seen the children learning all about the classification of living things, building on their prior understanding from their animal topic in Year 4. Over the past couple of weeks, the children have classified different animals, recapped key vocabulary such as ‘vertebrate’ and ‘invertebrate’ and created fact files about different species. This week’s lessons saw the children learning about the classification of plants and microorganisms, as well as the benefits and dangers of the latter.
We have also continued with our historical knowledge this week, focusing on WW1 and how advancements in technology and use of animals in warfare would affect British citizens during this time.
Spellings have been set for the first week back; there will be no Maths and English homework set for over the break. However, Y6’s Virtual Classroom has been attached to this blog, which includes lots of relevant links for additional learning that can take place at home.
It is hard to believe that this half-term has finally come to an end. 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 buddies;
- Our Robinwood residential;
- Winning the North West Sumdog Contest;
- Bikeability;
- All the different Maths games;
- All the lessons with specialist teachers, such as Spanish, Music and even Maths (Tax Workshop);
- 4-a-day: The Friday Musical!
So much enjoyment and laughter – we can’t wait for next half-term!
Date: 11th Oct 2023 @ 1:07pm
Another great week in Year 6!
In Maths, Mr King’s group concluded their rounding topic before revisiting Roman Numerals. Next week, we will be moving onto decimal work and then long multiplication and long division. In Mrs Martin’s group, the children have consolidated last week's learning and also moved onto problem solving involving column addition and subtraction. Next week, they will be moving onto long multiplication as well.
On Tuesday, 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 listed ways in which we can help improve our mood and also discussed things we may do that actually won’t help make us feel better. We also talked about things in school that may cause us anxiety, such as being told to get into pairs. We tried to unpick some of these insecurities and shared ideas as a class for how to alleviate these worries.
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! Following on from ‘Hello Yellow’, we also had a session with Relax Kids as part of Thursday’s PE lesson.
A huge ‘congratulations’ to our UKS2 football team, who competed in the Formby Schools Tournament this week. They played brilliantly and were excellent role models for the school - we cannot wait to see how you perform in future matches and tournaments!
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 to watch the video input first. They can also revise any topics through the ‘Practice’ section of the app / website afterwards.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Date: 4th Oct 2023 @ 2:02pm
Another busy week in Year 6!
Having recovered from our residential at Robinwood, we began our first History topic last Friday, focusing on World War 1. Before being provided with knowledge from the 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 week, we learned about ‘factors’ and ‘triggers’ and explored the widely acknowledged reasons for the start of World War 1, looking at the alliances and rivalries between countries and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
In Writing, we have started our first unit, which 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!
As mathematicians, Mr King’s group has focused on rounding while Mrs Martin’s group has revisited multiplying and dividing by powers of 10. Next week, Mr King’s group will move onto ordering numbers and Roman Numerals while Mrs Martin’s group will move onto problem solving involving column addition and subtraction (e.g. missing digits in the calculation).
It has also been a very sporty week! Our dodgeball lessons have resumed and we were even treated to a martial arts session with Unite Formby. Many of the children have also been able to take part in Bikeability sessions throughout the week, practising their skills on the playground as well as the roads in the local area.
Please note that our brass lessons resumed on Friday afternoon. These sessions will now continue every Friday for the rest of term.
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 to watch the video input first. They can also revise any topics through the ‘Practice’ section of the app / website afterwards.
Have a good weekend, everyone!
Date: 27th Sep 2023 @ 2:06pm
Another busy week - despite some of us still recovering from our Robinwood residential!
As authors, we commenced our writing journey in Year 6 by writing a short recount from Robinwood. We imagined being back in Wrexham and how we felt as we approached our own biggest challenge there. Using a range of clauses, punctuation and vocabulary, we then created some excellent pieces of work, which the children should be very proud of. If this is what the children are already producing already, we can’t wait to see what they are creating by the end of the year!
Thursday 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!
On Friday, we attended our Harvest assembly, led by our fantastic Year 5 class 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 favourite, ‘Harvest Samba’! We were blown away by the children’s confidence and enthusiasm during singing rehearsals – this bodes well for our leavers’ performances at the end of the year! In addition to our singing lessons, our brass lessons will resume from next Friday afternoon.
Of course, one of the main highlights of the week was the experience of the Big Top Circus Tent on the school field. It was great to watch it being set up during the school day on Tuesday, and of course the incredible stalls, fire show and main circus event after school. Thank you to Team TSP for organising it all.
Homework has now commenced and will be due in on Wednesday. In Mr King’s group, Maths and SPaG tasks will be set on SATs Companion unless stated otherwise. The children have been introduced to the website / iOs application this week and are aware of how to access their homework tasks (as well as video tutorials provided for additional support). A guide for parents on how to use SATs Companion has been attached to this blog. Your child’s username is their full name with no spaces and their password is the same as their Sumdog password, which can be found on Google Classroom. Please email Mr King (y6@tsp.sefton.school) if there are any problems. 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.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 19th Sep 2023 @ 8:36pm
Well...what an active and exciting week it has been!
Last week, we were informed that a circus would be coming to school at the end of the month and that we would need to help prepare for the big event. As a result, last Friday we were treated to a typography workshop with Jenny from Outline Arts, who helped us create the TSP bunting to display in the circus tent when it arrived. This week, we continued with our preparations by having two sessions with ‘Bring the Fire’, a company that specialises in ‘all things circus’! The children took part in individual and team challenges, including performing different tricks with hula hoops and juggling clubs. A very unique way to start the week!
In Maths, we continued to practise our times tables in preparation for all the new learning we will be doing this year. On Tuesday, we discussed all the different ways we can practise times tables at home, including chanting, various iOs apps and simply writing them out. We then got onto the topic of learning through song, which led to us singing a couple of songs off Youtube. Before we knew it, this had then transcended into us splitting off into groups and writing our own times tables songs to the music of some of our favourite artists, such as Taylor Swift and Harry Styles. It was wonderful to see so many of the children continuing this activity into their break and lunch times and then performing their songs to the rest of the class. Well done, Year 6!
From Wednesday onwards, it was the trip many of us had been eagerly awaiting…Robinwood! We know that our parents have been keeping a close eye on the Twitter feeds 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. Medication can be collected from Mr King at the classroom door at the start or end of any school day next week.
We hope the children sleep well tonight and that you all have a very relaxing weekend!
See you on Monday!
Date: 13th Sep 2023 @ 10:13am
Our second full week in Year 6 is now complete! A special 'thank you' to all the parents for purchasing leavers' hoodies for the children - they look great!
In RE, we started our first unit, ‘Life as a Journey’. To begin, we reflected on what we mean by the word, ‘journey’ and considered all the different ways we can define it. We then considered how our whole life is a journey and mapped out our life journeys so far. 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 Mr King’s Maths group, 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’ last week. Mrs Martin’s group will complete the same assessment shortly; this week, they have revised previous year group topics such as ‘place value’ and played some ‘ice-breaker’ activities to get used to the new setting.
In PE, we have continued with dodgeball (please note: ‘Fitness’ lessons will start this half-term once the weather cools down!). We have played several variations of the game to support us with making improvements on dodging, throwing and communication. It’s safe to say that the children are still enjoying this game!
Following our PE lesson on Tuesday afternoon, we took some time to evaluate our handwriting and identify our areas for improvements. Within less than an hour, we had already seen some superb transformations…now we just need to keep up our efforts!
We hope the children are looking forward to Robinwood. We have answered lots of the children’s queries regarding Robinwood in class; 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 have now been sent in so please do not make any orders next week. If your child requires any medication for the trip, please try to ensure this is handed in to Mr King prior to Wednesday morning.
A poster containing 100 recommended reads for Year 6 children has been attached to this blog. By providing 100 quality texts at an age appropriate level, this list may be useful when choosing your child's next book. We hope it inspires the children to continue on in their reading journeys whilst further encouraging a lifelong love of books and stories.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 8th Sep 2023 @ 12:21pm
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, there has been plenty of laughter and the ‘Year 6’ team spirit is evident already!
The main focus of our learning this week has centred around our class novel, ‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar. The children have enjoyed the story so far and have shown a good understanding of the text as we have had breaks for discussions. We have even been able to make a start on understanding how to write down answers to more in-depth question using a ‘Point, Evidence, Explain’ strategy. As the book mentions ‘yellow-spotted lizards’ frequently, we used this as an opportunity at the end of the week to practise our sketching skills in an Art lesson, working on our fine motor skills before creating some excellent drawings of a lizard’s eye. Well done, Year 6!
Throughout the week, the children have also enjoyed watching several videos that demonstrate our school values. So far, we have watched a variety of clips that have reminded us to be kind to ourselves and others, and also to have perseverance when faced with a challenge as that’s when we experience the greater sense of achievement. Thursday’s videos were particularly interested as the children watched two experiments that demonstrated ‘herd mentality’ and the ‘bystander effect’. We discussed how these situations may arise in Year 6 and how it is important to have self-belief and trust our gut instincts.
On Thursday morning, the children found out that they would be visited by one of Formby High School’s Spanish teachers, Mrs Gibbons. She delivered a lesson to the children on pets, as per our Y6 Curriculum Overview. The children are very fortunate that – going forward this term - Mrs Gibbons will be leading their weekly Spanish lessons at this time.
To ease ourselves back into Maths lessons, we have taken part in a variety of games to revise our number facts and times tables. Chanting, ‘quick fire’ throwing and catching, speed challenges, Blooket quizzes and ‘shoot out’...the children have enjoyed a variety of fun ways to learn.
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.
We know that many children are excited for our school residential to Robinwood in Wrexham in a couple of weeks. We hope you found Thursday’s parent meeting useful and have received all of the resources via School Spider. Please also ensure you have visited the Robinwood website and read all the information given, including their FAQ page, which should answer any further questions you may have.
Our first set of spellings have been shared on Google Classroom and the children will be tested next Thursday. Maths and SPaG homework will commence after the Robinwood residential.
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.
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!
Date: 18th Jul 2023 @ 10:25pm
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. On Monday, 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 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!
Throughout the week, we have had time to visit classes and teachers to get leavers’ shirts and books signed. On Tuesday afternoon, this provided the perfect opportunity to get the whole class out of the classroom (to visit their Reception buddies one last time) so that we could sneak Miss Browne back into school! The reactions of the children to seeing their Y3/4 teacher was fantastic! Please check our class Twitter page for the video / photos - including some class photos with all of their teachers from the past few years.
We concluded our short week with our Leavers' Service on Wednesday morning. This was perhaps more emotional than our leavers’ production with presentations, montages, speeches and one final opportunity for our pupils to show off their incredible voices as a class choir. There was not a dry eye in Holy Trinity Church!
There is not much left to write that has not already been said in class, at the production or in Church! 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.
Have an amazing summer, everyone!
Date: 14th Jul 2023 @ 10:54am
Can you believe this was our penultimate week and final ‘full week’ at Trinity St. Peter’s?!
On Monday, we visited Formby High to compete in their annual ‘Maths Maze’ against other local primary schools. Our children competed in groups, taking part in a carousel of problem-solving activities and earning various points for each challenge - depending on their success rate and level of support required. At the end of the morning, each group’s points were collated and…we won! Two of our groups placed in the Top 3 with one group winning overall. Congratulations, Year 6! Even in the final week, we have still experienced academic success!
With our leavers’ production ready to go, we performed several times throughout the week for the rest of the classes. On Thursday night, we performed for the parents and we all had a great time! The acting, singing and comedy timing was all excellent and the children certainly did themselves and us proud. It was wonderful to watch the parents recalling some of the children’s core memories from primary school and laughing along to all the Year 6’s ‘inside jokes’. A special ‘well done’ to all the parents for showing ‘no shame’ and dancing along at one point too!
We hope all the parents and children enjoyed receiving their SATs results and EOY reports. Between those and Thursday’s performance, they have certainly had a successful week! We couldn’t be more proud.
Don’t forget that we will hopefully be having our re-scheduled Sports Day on Monday afternoon. You should have also received details this week regarding Wednesday’s Leavers’ Service at Holy Trinity Church via School Spider.
See you all next week for our final few days at Trinity St. Peter’s!
Date: 7th Jul 2023 @ 11:41am
It’s still ‘all singing, all dancing’ in Year 6 at the moment!
Production rehearsals have continued with the script now being finalised and all children happy with their roles. Parents should have received a message 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! Parents should have also received information regarding the arrangements for next Thursday, as well as their 3 tickets for the show.
This Thursday, we also saw the return of TSP’s Got Talent. In the afternoon, 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! Our class representative was then chosen, who performed again on Friday morning for the whole-school show…and won again! Well done to that Year 6 superstar!
We also had our final Spanish lesson this week. Thank you to Mrs Gibbons from Formby High School for all her teaching and support over the past two terms.
Next week, we will be continuing to rehearse for our leavers’ performance, followed by ‘Beach Day’ on Friday. On Monday 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!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 29th Jun 2023 @ 1:04pm
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.
A special ‘well done’ to all the boys and girls in Year 6 who wanted to represent the school in a final football match against Redgate Primary this week. Both Mr McCabe and Miss McVey were very impressed with the teams’ efforts!
We hope everyone enjoyed their secondary school transition day on Thursday and the TSP Summer Fair on Friday.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 23rd Jun 2023 @ 10:26am
We are roughly half-way through our final half-term at Trinity St. Peter’s!
Throughout the week, we have continued with our revision of Maths topics via ‘whodunit?’ challenges and general revision packs. While the weeks are becoming busier with production rehearsals, we want to ensure that the Year 6’s knowledge is still being retained.
Wednesday was ‘Thank a Teacher’ Day and the Year 6 children were instrumental in organising this for the whole school. Prior to the day, the children planned activities that could take place, thinking about how they could work logistically and what they needed to know in advance. On the day itself, the children were then very busy, dropping off individual cards to each member of staff – including office and kitchen staff and Mr Essery – as well as breakfast, snacks and afternoon treats! The children were also armed with a variety of room sprays, fans and moisturisers to offer to staff throughout the day. It all went down very well and the TSP staff were very grateful to the children! Then, as a final celebration for everyone, the day concluded with a special guest: Alex Ander, a very comical magician!
On Thursday, 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, The Runaway Mine Train, Thirteen) 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 and Oblivion. All in all, a successful day! Check the Year 6 Twitter page for all the pictures.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 16th Jun 2023 @ 9:48am
A busy week with lots of sunshine!
Throughout the week, we have continuing to practise our drama skills, both in class and in the shade on the school field. We have discussed potential scenes we would like to do, as well as ideas for songs to perform. The children have then had time in groups to come up with ideas and perform in front of their peers, thinking carefully about stage directions and voice projection. The children have been very enthusiastic about it all and it was great to see so many asking for bigger speaking roles. We have already nearly learned one song 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.
In Maths, we were visited by Mrs Bennett from Formby High School. She led an activity on symmetry, where the children had to design masks for a display. Not only did the children need to think about the symmetry of the shapes they used to create their masks…but also the use of colour too! It was trickier than we thought!
As scientists, we revisited our Space topic from Year 5. The children were asked to recall what they could remember about the sun and moon before being given the question, “Why do they appear to be the same size in the sky?” They learned how the sun and moon appear the same size because the sun’s diameter is about 400 times greater – but the sun is also about 400 times farther away. To demonstrate how this works, we were set the task to take photographs with our friends, using distance to manipulate the final images. The results were great! Check out our Twitter page to see them.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 8th Jun 2023 @ 8:38pm
Well, we are back…for our final half-term at Trinity St. Peter’s!
In Reading and Writing, we have been working on a unit linked to ‘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 this week was to write four paragraphs about a leader of our choice. 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, Winston Churchill…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!
As linguists, we have moved onto a new topic in Spanish: ‘The Beach’. A very relevant topic indeed! This week, we learned new vocabulary linked to items you would take on a beach trip and practised writing / saying phrases and sentences to describe this.
In PE, the children were given the choice of what they would like to do as a class for Monday’s lesson. As this is the children’s last half-term in primary school, this is the time to make some final memories altogether and so we thought about the best possible games we could play that would encourage this. Games such as dodgeball, bench ball and rounders were discussed, but in the end, the vast majority voted on a whole-class game of ‘man hunt’! This was a great idea as the children have never played this as part of a PE lesson; usually it is reserved for break time. We played a few variations of the game, each time reflecting on what worked and how we could improve the next round. The children had a great time – especially as their running / hiding area was not limited to just the school field!
Thursday’s PE lesson with Mr Brindley saw the children practising their driving and chipping in golf. A special ‘well done’ to those children who represented the school in a golf tournament at Formby Hall on Wednesday afternoon; another great opportunity for our pupils, who made us all very proud.
Our week concluded with a visit from author, Simon Hunt. Simon is a teacher but also author of the story, 'Delilah Rose: The Bogey Princess' and (upcoming) 'Billy the Bottom Burping Pirate'. He delivered a great workshop to the UKS2 classes and kept the Y6 pupils back for a talk on aspirations. Thank you, Simon!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 26th May 2023 @ 10:51am
Attending the opening of a new restaurant; a little bit of golf and some tennis in the sun…it’s been a very ‘Formby’ week!
Perhaps the main highlight of this week has been our writing focus, which has been writing a review. On Monday, we discussed why, when and how we use reviews before considering how you would word positive and negative reviews of the witch’s cottage in the story of ‘Hansel and Gretel’. On Tuesday, the children came to school and discovered that their classroom has been transformed into a new restaurant called Bar 23. They were shown to their tables, waited on by the staff and ordered food and drink from the menu. Each child’s experience was unique to say the least! Some had a great time while others were left feeling dissatisfied and underwhelmed. Once the children ‘left’ the restaurant, they had to rate their experiences and write up a review of this new establishment. The children thoroughly enjoyed this short writing unit and it has certainly been reflected in the reviews they have written. For some children, this has been their best piece this year!
Our ‘crime and punishment’ topic in History has also continued. The children learned about trends during many different periods: Roman, Tudor, Victorian and Early Modern. They were then given the opportunity to focus on a period that interested them most and carry out their own research into crimes and punishments at that time. Their next lesson involved them reading the tale of Robin Hood, which enabled them to think creatively and critically about the justice system at this time.
‘RSE Week’ has brought us lots of new information, questions and certainly some (possibly awkward) laughter along the way! On Thursday, 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 parents, the relevant chapters of this book can be found on Google Classroom.) Throughout the rest of the day, 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.
In Art, we explored how artists use different perspectives and media when creating various pieces. On Tuesday, we had an enjoyable afternoon focusing on our own artwork linked to ‘landscape’ – as you will be able to see on our Twitter feed.
Our PE lessons this week have continued with ‘tri golf’ on Monday and tennis on Thursday. The children competed in mini-matches in both sports, enjoying the sunshine outdoors while doing so. We have been impressed with the improvements the children have made in both areas. Also, a special ‘well done’ to those children who competed in the cross-country events this week. We were very impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and perseverance!
Have a great half-term break, everyone!
Date: 18th May 2023 @ 10:39am
Lots of subjects being taught this week - while still fitting in more post-SATs celebrations!
As computer scientists, we enjoyed some coding practice this week through our ‘Computing Day’. On Monday, we explored the game, Crossy Roads, thinking carefully about its features and what makes it a good game. 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. Following this, we had apply our knowledge by using the app to create our own version of Crossy Roads. All the children were able to do this successfully, with some even managing to set various levels of difficulty and additional levels fo their game!
As mathematicians, we embarked on a rather exciting venture…designing a theme park! Throughout the week, the children had to work together in small groups 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. They also had to apply their mathematical knowledge by calculating the running and advertising costs and – from there – deciding on entrance admission fees to ensure they make a profit!
Towards the end of the week, the children presented their ideas, including posters and trailers, and were assessed on their creativity, likelihood of success and business acumen. The children have absolutely LOVED this project and it has been a joy to see them so enthusiastic about completing each task – whilst learning new vocabulary such as ‘marketing’, ‘revenue’, ‘expenditure’ and ‘profit’!
In History, we have commenced our new topic on ‘Crime and Punishment’, exploring broad trends from the Roman period to society today. Although our original goals this week were to learn about some common trends and have time to independently research crime and punishment from our chosen period, our first lesson involved us discussing crimes we are aware of today and methods of crime prevention, which then actually led to more of a PSHE lesson on how we should stay safe in the community. All the children and staff were very open in sharing experiences and knowledge and we feel it was definitely a worthwhile discussion!
Elsewhere, we have continued with our Spanish lessons, this week combining our previous topics of ‘sport’ and ‘clothing’ to learn how to explain the clothing of different athletes! In PE on Thursday, we had a carousel of ‘tri golf’ activities, kindly set up for us by our Y6 Sports Leaders.
Finally, on Friday, we had our second post-SATs celebration in school! This time, the children came into school in their own clothes to be greeted with large ‘2022’ balloons, treats and music before being informed that an inflatable obstacle course had indeed 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.
You may also have noticed the installation of our Community Book Swap Box here at Trinity St. Peter's. This has been installed in memory of Margaret Blake, a past Governor here at TSP, who loved coming in to school and hearing children read. It is located on the wall (near the defibrillator) and the idea is for the whole community (adults and children) to use this book swap box so we can share our love for reading with all!
A special ‘well done’ to our boys’ football team, who competed in a very tough match against St Luke’s Primary School. Mr McCabe was very impressed with the positive attitude and skill on display!
Have a fantastic weekend!
Date: 11th May 2023 @ 8:18am
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! Well done, everyone - you are all superstars!
After our final assessment on Friday, we had a very 'chilled' day. We played games, saw our buddies...and some of us even enjoyed a little meditation with cucumbers on our eyes once again! We are are now looking forward to all the upcoming Year 6 events, including post-SATs celebrations next week, school trips and leavers' activities. Please check School Spider for a letter sent to parents today regarding some of our planned activities.
We hope the children all have a well-earned break this weekend..they certainly deserve it.
See you all on Monday!
Date: 4th May 2023 @ 8:07pm
A short, but busy week!
Our monthly Christian value is COURAGE, which could not be more appropriate as the children have shown plenty of this in their approach towards SATs revision and opting for more challenging questions 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 Tuesday! As per the last few weeks, we have continued to revise through the use of past papers, as well as songs, games and activities. Such games have included Blooket quizzes made by some of the children, as well as new games such as a SPaG version of ‘Blockbusters’!
Thursday afternoon saw us taking a break from SATs revision with the children taking part in a LEGO therapy session. The children were very excited about this and it was a great opportunity for them to continue to develop their creativity and thinking skills, as well as teamwork. Their PE lesson with Mr Brindley that followed allowed the children to practise their tennis skills in a carousel of activities led by some of Formby High’s Sports Leaders. These activities had the children practising their forehands, ball control through obstacles and general return shots.
On Friday, we celebrated King Charles’ Coronation. We were able to perform ‘New King’ with the rest of the school – a song we have absolutely loved practising back in class over the past two weeks! We also had a 'street party' outside at lunch time with our Year 5 peers.
The very end of the week saw us revising some Maths and SPaG knowledge. At the start of Friday afternoon, we all went into the hall with rolls of paper to write down all the mathematical knowledge we could think of to help us with our papers next week. Following this, the children returned to class to find…it had been transformed into a SPaG rave! Glow sticks were in full force as the children danced around to some of our favourite Grammasaurus songs. It was wonderful to see all the children having fun, but it was even better to see some children, who began the year rather reserved with this sort of activity, showing no shame with their singing and dance moves! 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 three-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 Friday morning!
Date: 27th Apr 2023 @ 7:48pm
Another busy week in Year 6!
This week, we have been working hard on preparing for our SATs papers in just over a week. In Maths, we have continued to practise our arithmetic skills while also revising various topics including: measurement, algebra and multistep problems. We have done this through a variety of activities and games, as well as past paper questions. Our reading practise has continued and some of us have even managed to fit in spelling practice through the creation and sharing of word searches with our peers. We have been very proud of the class’ efforts!
Our ‘Sing and Praise’ Collective Worship this week introduced a new song, ‘New King’ by Banji Alexander, which the children will be performing as a whole school in celebration of the Coronation of King Charles. The children (and teachers!) loved it and we have continued to practise this throughout the week. On the topic of songs / music, there has been plenty of singing in our SPaG lessons too – courtesy of Grammasaurus and MC Hammer on Youtube! Our SATs revision is starting to feel like a musical!
In Spanish, Mrs Gibbons discussed how pronouns are used – or rather not used – in the Spanish language. This was a great opportunity to connect the children’s Spanish understanding to the current learning we have been doing on grammar in the English language. The children then built on last week’s lesson on ‘clothing’ by constructing their own sentences on this topic.
In PE, the children saw the return of one of their favourite competitive games from last year… ‘Strategic’! The children had to work together in different teams to come up with a strategy to take their opponents’ bases. Lots of running, lots of tagging…and lots of battle poses before commencing each game! Great fun was had by all.
A special ‘well done’ to those children who competed in the tag rugby festival on Friday afternoon at Birkdale High School. The team put in a tremendous effort and – as always – the Year 6 children continued to make us extremely proud on the sports field.
The children are aware of what their homework for this week is. There are also additional tasks set on SATs Companion – as well as their CGP books – if they wish to do any further revision at home.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Date: 20th Apr 2023 @ 7:39pm
We have now commenced our final term at Trinity St. Peter’s!
The children have been working extremely hard as we enter the final stages of our SATs preparations and the positive results are certainly showing. In Reading, we have continued to work on our comprehension skills, as well as our understanding of authors’ intentions and use of language. It is clear from the questions that the children now ask how far they have come in their reading and their understanding of how to effectively articulate their ideas.
In Maths, Mr King’s group revised their prior Year 6 knowledge on ratio, as well as previous KS2 topics such as line graphs, measurement and time. Next week, we will be working on how to estimate measure and have encouraged the children to look at the mass / volume of items in the shops, as well as their cupboards at home over the weekend. Mrs Martin’s group have revised Roman Numerals and measurement, thinking about what they would measure particular distances in.
We are very lucky that Mrs Gibbons from Formby High School has offered to continue with our Spanish lessons this half-term. It was lovely to have her back in our classroom on Monday afternoon to continue with our MFL curriculum - this week focusing on 'clothing'.
Mr Brindley also returned on Thursday to lead one of our two PE lessons each week for the remainder of the school year. This week, his Sports Leaders led a great tennis session – perfect for the sunny weather we have been having! Our final swimming lesson also took place this week. Some children finished off their survival training while others revised the strokes we were learning last term…all before we finished the session with some ‘free time’ in the pool with our friends, celebrating our last ever swimming lesson in primary school!
As per the message sent via School Spider, PE lessons will now continue from next week on Mondays and Thursdays. Children should come into school in their PE kits on these days.
The children are aware of what their homework for this week is. There are also additional tasks set on SATs Companion – as well as their CGP books – if they wish to do any further revision at home.
Have a great weekend, everyone!