"Do everything in love” 1 Corinthians 16:14

 

Learning to love, loving to learn

Welcome to Year 6

 

Our staff

Mr Davies (Monday- Wednesday) and Mrs Alley (Thursday- Friday) are our class teachers and Mrs Whittaker will be supporting our learning.

The following information tells you a little more about the coming term in Year 6 and your child's learning. However, if you have any queries or questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

nathan.davies@st-marys.halton.sch.uk

stephanie.moss@st-marys.halton.sch.uk

General information

• Please tie up long hair.
• Please have a bottle of water at school every day. This can be refilled as necessary.
• Please bring a small school bag, reading book and homework record every day (if relevant to your child).
• Please return your homework on or before Thursday for marking. Homework will be sent out on a Friday.
• All school uniform needs to be named but particularly jumpers and cardigans.
• A full PE kit should be in school at all times. 

PE is timetabled for Thursday and Friday during Spring 1. This will be outside whenever possible so please account for this when sending in your child's PE kit.

 

Spring Half Term 1 2025

Welcome Year 6!

Mr Davies, Mrs Alley and Mrs Whittaker are excited to welcome you to your new classroom and learning. This year has some exciting topics and experiences in store, and we are looking forward to exploring them together. We aim to make your final year at St Mary's a memorable one and hope you do too. 

Our Christian Values

During the Spring term, our Christian value is Determination

Love of reading

We are now reading a favourite of Mr Davies', 'The Bubble Boy' by Steward Foster. A story about empathy, kindness and real-life superheroes.

 

English

In this half term we will use the book 'Island' by Jason Chin. The text is rich with imagery and explanations about the Galapagos Islands which will help inform our journalistic writing at the end of the unit.

 

 

Our weekly routine will include spelling and grammar, handwriting and guided reading sessions. Daily reading at home continues to be essential, even in Year 6, and we would ask that you question your child regularly on the book they are reading to develop a deeper understanding of a range of texts, to develop new vocabulary and strengthen writing skills. Please sign at least once a week. The children's diaries will be checked on Thursdays and Fridays with a reward at the end of each half term for consistent reading.

Our Pathways to Read text will be 'The Explorer', by Katherine Rundell. This will help us understand and expand our vocabulary for writing, but also allow us to develop our reading skills.

 

Spelling

We will continue to use Pathways to Spell as part of our English lessons to develop spelling strategies and learn spelling rules, as well as the Y5/6 words.

Maths

As mathematicians, the children will learn through concrete experiences moving onto pictorial and abstract methods as their confidence builds. They will also be expected to use their learning to reason about maths and solve problems. 

During the Spring term we will focus on measurement and shapes. fractions, decimals and percentages. algebra and how to tackle difficult, multi-step SATs problems.

Science

As scientists, we aim to develop our knowledge and understanding, scientific skills and measuring and recording abilities. This half term we will be investigating evolution and adaptation. We will be looking at fossils and learning about what they teach us about our world. This will extend our knowledge from earlier in Key Stage 2 as we use evidence to prove facts. we will also be learning about our circulatory system and linking this to a healthy lifestyle.

                                                                                                                               

 

Our focus scientist will be William Harvey.

 

Geography

In geography, we will be exploring coastal regions. Where they are located, their features, similarities and differences between them and also links with tourism. Studying coastal regions will also involve learning about erosion and how the British coastline has changed over time.

RE

For RE we will continue to use the Questful RE planning. This half term we will explore the questions, Who wasJesus? Who is Jesus? in relation to Easter.

Courageous Advocacy

As we continue to live our lives and act out the teachings of Jesus, we will look to be courageous advocates and challenge big questions around fast fashion and the impact it has on both humans and the world itself.

PE

Our PE will concentrate on net, competative invasion games, such as basketball or netball and improving our physical strength and fitness.

Art and DT

As artists, we will be looking at how some artists have influenced textiles. We will be looking at how artists, such as Picasso and Mondrian, and designers have formed relationships and influenced each other. 

We will also look at how to use textiles and fabrics to make an item. We will be learning how to sew pieces of fabric together, to have a seam allowance to make a useful object.

PHSE

In PHSE, we will follow the Heartsmart scheme. This will start with us reminding ourselves about the importance of keeping our emotional and mental heart healthy. 

Music

As musicians, we will be using Charanga to explore different music genres and new terminology. To do this we will use a range of instruments to explore using notes to create tunes. we will be learning how to accompany melodies and improving our compositions. The songs we are focussing on this term are La Bamba and Disco Fever.

MFL

As linguists, we will learn how to discuss our family and school in French. this will involve learning new words and phrases and perfecting our pronunciation. We will be writing in French too.

Computing

We will be looking at how data is presented and understanding how to use a spreadsheet to help with this.

Homework

Homework will be sent out on Friday to be returned on or before the following Wednesday. Please come and see us if there are any difficulties or write a note on the piece of work. It is important to complete each piece as they will either build on taught skills or pre teach skills ready for the following week. Homework completion will be monitored. Homework for next half term will predominantly be focused on gaps in learning, consolidation and SATs style questions to allow the children to show their best selves come 12th May.

Possible trips & visitors

Our vicar, Simon will be coming in to talk about services in church.
We will be visiting Norton Priory as part of a rearranged WW2 trip.