Y6 met Martin Brown!
Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown joined us LIVE! He talked to us about his job and his new book: Paws, Claws and Jaws.
“Anyone can draw!” said Evie. Martin was really keen to emphasise this!
The above point clearly shown by Miss Wilson’s sketches below!
Not only did we do a draw along with him…
…but he had some important messages about animals and our need to care for and respect them.
This linked really well to our Geography learning. Help at home by asking what’s the link with the paragraph above and what we’ve been learning about deforestation?
Triathlon
This week, thirty of our Key Stage 2 pupils took part in the Brownlee Foundation Mini Triathlon event at John Smeaton. This is always a great event and it introduces the children to the elements of triathlon – a swim, a bike ride and a run.
Well done to all the children for taking part.
If your child is interested in triathlons, please see more details in our physical activity guide or have a look at this bike and run offer at the Brownlee Centre.
Editing our writing
Over the last two weeks, Y6 have undertaken their own writing project!
They chose everything about the writing: the content, purpose and audience – even the planning style!
Today, we edited in pairs. We read each other’s writing with a specific focus in mind. Swapping around the room, we teamed up with lots of different people to find and fix errors.
Our individual projects have created some beautifully unique and extremely well thought out writing, from poems, to reports about the French Revolution, to recounts about famous football matches.
Have a read of some of them below!
Help at home by having a go at writing several paragraphs about something really creative – but still be mindful of spelling and must dos!
Living and Learning: health, fitness and mental wellbeing
In our Living and Learning lessons over the last two weeks, we’ve been looking at the importance of wellbeing, including with physical and mental health.
It’s a good idea to dedicate some time in your day towards taking a small break to be present in your surroundings. We discussed some key tips for being aware of life going on around you:
- getting a plant for your home
- taking notice of sights and
sounds outdoors - switching off technology, such
as your mobile phone - taking notice of how your friends
or family are feeling or acting
Help at home by discussing the answers to the above questions that we looked at in class. It’s a great idea to have small goals and keep returning to them and checking in with each other.
What are the main exports of Brazil and the UK?
Y6 can tell you!
Check out their fantastic presentations below – they had freedom to show their learning in whichever way they chose.
Help at home by asking your child to define our geography vocabulary:
- deforestation
- agriculture
- biome
- vegetation belt
- climate zone
- natural resources
- exports
- indigenous people
Living and Learning: Healthy Eating
In Living and Learning, we’ve been looking at healthy eating.
We discussed how some people may be persuaded by what they are seeing in adverts.
Help at home by discussing some more items to add to each of the columns above.
Cooking starts with preparation – washing hands is absolutely essential. Some other key things to think about, as we put into practise in DT at school, are the grip you’re using with the knife, making sure to use any heat responsibly and making sure things are cleaned before use, especially things like fruit and vegetables.
Science: virtual farm tour
This morning, we met Sam who took us on a virtual tour of a dairy farm.
We learnt about how a dairy farm works. Did you know that the cows wear a fitness tracker so the farmer knows how many steps they do each day and how long they spend lying down and standing up. This is so that the farmer can check on the health of the animals.
We learned about how the cows are milked and that they produce up to 50 litres of milk a day!
We learned about how the cows have been selectively bred for specific desirable characteristics. These cows are bred so that they produce a lot of milk. Other cows are selectively bred for their size so that they grow big and quick or for their hardiness so that they can live in tougher weather conditions.
We also learnt about how wheat production is similar. We produce wheat that has desirable characteristics like its size and its resistance to drought. 
What is a rainforest?
“A rainforest is warm and humid filled with lots of trees,” said Ehtasham.
Edith the geographer stated, “The precipitation levels are extremely high.”
“There are four layers: forest floor, understory, canopy and emergent,” explained Betsy.
Tommy reminds us of the importance of the Amazon Rainforest, “It removes so much carbon from the atmosphere but it’s being cut down.”
Stellar spellers
Take a look at some fantastic spelling practice from Y6, this week.
Our focus has been unusual spelling patterns and the different ways you can write them in order to best remember them.
Help at home by practising spellings as part of writing sentences or when polishing your handwriting.
Summer term after-school clubs
***Update***
The following clubs have availability and there is still time to sign up.
The after-school clubs for this term are available for booking from this Wednesday. We hope your child/children can get involved with our extra-curricular activities.
This term, clubs will run for 10 weeks rather than 8 weeks starting week commencing 29th April.
Please contact the office if you have any queries about the after-school clubs.
