Our Year 6 Class

A very warm welcome to our Year 6 class page.  Year 6 is a hard year, but a memorable one. The children are our oldest pupils and they are therefore expected to be role models to the rest of the school. It is our intention that the children's experiences will stay with them and they will be able to look back at their time at Christ Church with fond, happy and special memories. 

Our Year 6 Class 2024-2025

Class Information

This half term... Summer Term 1 (April - May 2025)

The main focus for our lovely year 6 class this half term is to make sure we are 100% prepared for our SATS tests. The children have been working so hard and they will be here before we know it, so just a little bit more of a push is needed! We are already seeing a much more mature attitude towards work and a raised awareness of self-responsibility, essential in preparation for high school. Booster clubs before and after school have continued to be really well attended and lots of children are doing that little bit extra with some even creating their own revision timetables - very impressive!

Once SATS are done and dusted then we can really focus on giving this wonderful Year 6 class the best possible send off - don't worry, we have lots planned! 

The children have already found out which High Schools they'll be attending and there will be plenty of opportunities to visit, with lots of transition activities planned. There is so much to look forward to over the summer term: The annual year 6 Leavers Service in Manchester, WW2 themed days, trips to Pennington Park and Leigh Cricket Club, the Leavers Prom and of course the year 6 'Big Day Out' being just a few events that we will be sure to enjoy.    

In Literacy, the purpose of the writing will be to inform and entertain. Hooks for the writing will include our class novel and clips from Literacy Shed. As with all our writing, the children will be encouraged to use a range of high level and ambitious vocabulary and develop their skills as editors through the use of editing stations. The children will also be encouraged to use formal and informal language, speech and dialogue and a range of sentence types for effect - sometimes less is more! As usual, we will be fine tuning this writing using targets from our Writing Rainbow.

We will develop these reading skills:

• Research & note-taking
• Exploring the meaning of new vocabulary
• Making inferences from the text
• Retrieving, recording & presenting information from different sources
• Asking questions to improve understanding
• Summarising key ideas from what we have read 
• Comparing sources of information

Spelling work will be set weekly and practised regularly following the Spelling Shed Scheme of Work, as well as the Y5/6 key spelling list. Children will also be developing their reading skills by accessing the Reading Plus intervention scheme throughout the week in school.

In Mathematics we will start the term by covering key Year 6 objectives. 

We will then move our learning on to covering a unit of Statistics. The small steps that will be our focus in this unit are:

• Line graphs
• Dual bar charts
• Read an interpret pie charts
• Draw pie charts
• The mean

Later on in the half term we will turn our attentions to a potentially tricky topic - Geometry, some of the small steps for this particular topic are as follows:

• Calculating angles
• Angles in triangles
• Angles in quadrilaterals
• Circles
• Drawing shapes accurately
• Nets of 3-D shapes

As usual, the children will continue to work on their skills of arithmetic and will have the opportunity to work in their target groups with the very talented Mrs Waqar! Skills in reasoning will also be a big focus in preparation for the demands of the SATS papers, and this is something that we have found particularly difficult to master and we will be pushing this as much as possible. We will also aim to re-cover previous maths topics already covered just to rejog our memories and it's going to be a particularly maths heavy start to the half term!

RE - Our topic is ' For Christians, what kind of King is Jesus?'.

In this unit, pupils will find out about parables from the Bible and learn that most Christians believe that Jesus told some parables to share what the Kingdom of God is like and to invite people to join God’s kingdom by letting God rule in their hearts. Pupils will learn about different ways that Christians may interpret these texts, exploring how believers put their beliefs into practice in a variety of ways, including through worship and service to the community. Pupils will spend time discussing what the parables that Jesus told might mean for Christians today and how they may have an impact on how Christians live. Pupils will focus on the parable of the great banquet and the parable of the unforgiving servant. They will explore how some Christians interpret these parables as saying that people need to accept the invitation to God’s Kingdom and should not get distracted by the temptations of the world, and that forgiveness and mercy is at the heart of what it is to live under God’s rule. Pupils will also find out about ways in which many Christians try to make the world more like God’s Kingdom by challenging unjust social structures in their local area and around the world.

HEARTSMART- 'No Way Through' isn't True

HeartSmart is about love. Our hearts are made healthy by love, love is what makes our heart smart. Hope is the fruit of a healthy heart, believing that there's always a way through. ‘No Way Through’ isn’t True shows that we love ourselves enough to never give up, to keep hoping and believe always. It also shows that we love others enough to look for the potential lying dormant within them.

Visit the website www.heartsmartprimary.com for more information on what Heartsmart is all about.

Computing - Programming - Big Data 2

This topic follows on from the work earlier on in the year when we completed the Big Data 1 unit. There's lots to get through! Children will learn the following: 

• Recognise that data can become corrupted within a network and that data sent in packets is more robust, as well as identify the need to update devices and software.
• Recognise differences between mobile data and WiFi and use a spreadsheet to compare and identify high-use data activities and low-use data activities.
• Make links between the Internet of Things and Big Data and give a basic example of how data analysis/analytics can lead to improvement in town planning.
• Explain ways that Big Data or IoT principles could be used to solve a problem or improve efficiency within the school and prepare a presentation about their idea, considering the privacy of some data.
• Present their ideas about how Big Data/IoT can improve the school and provide feedback to others on their presentations

In Science we will be finishing off our unit of work on classification of living things before moving on to a unit on Evolution and inheritance. This is a fascinating subject and lots of really rich scientific discussion takes place. Over the course of the unit a number of objectives are covered:

• Recognise that living things have changed over time and that fossils provide information about living things that inhabited the Earth millions of years ago
• Recognise that living things produce offspring of the same kind, but normally offspring vary and are not identical to their parents
• Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways and that adaptation   

Topic work is a real favourite of mine -  World War 2. The following key questions will be investigated:

• Why did Britain have to go to war in 1939?
• Why was is necessary for children to be evacuated and what was life like for evacuees?
• How was Britain able to stand firm against the German threat?
• How did people manage to carry on with normal life during the war?
• Why was it so difficult to be sure what life really like on the Home Front?
• What was VE Day really like?
• How were individual families on the Home Front affected by the war?

The children are very fortunate to have the expertise of Mr Wilkinson on a Thursday afternoon. This half term the children will be introduced to a wide range of hip-hop music. They will learn the storytelling element in writing hip-hop lyrics. The children will be reminded of how to show confidence when performing, the importance of breathing correctly and clear diction. 

They will compose their own hip-hop lyrics, choosing or creating an appropriate backing track. They will learn their lyrics/performance by heart focussing on performing to an audience.

Spring Term 2 NEWS!

During Spring Term 2 the children have all worked incredibly hard. Once again, they have written some amazing pieces of writing and showcase pieces would be: The letter from a grandfather to his grandson, the events leading up to and including Good Friday and their flashback writing in particular was a joy to read. We've been really pleased with the progress that has been made this half term, and it's great to see lots of the children really raising their game and going that little bit further by doing additional work outside of the classroom.

In Maths, the children are becoming more confident in problem-solving and recalling their number facts. we have been working really hard to plug the gaps that have needed addressing due to a number of factors. Weekly arithmetic tests have continued with lots of children progressing nicely, and we have plenty of children in the full marks club! I think it's fair to say that in general, the children have all risen to the challenge of assessment and have quite enjoyed finding out their scores on their tests! Reasoning and problem-solving skills will be a huge focus this term, as we really look to display a deeper understanding of key mathematical knowledge.

Our class novel, Goodnight Mr Tom has been a truly gripping read. It's an old favourite of mine, but it is a new book for many of the children and it's definitely proven to be a huge hit. There are many highly emotive topics covered and the children have shown just how mature they can be in their responses. We are really looking forward to finishing it next term and we'll definitely be watching the film too!

The term ended with our Easter Worship in church. It was so nice to be back together again as a whole school and it was a lovely service with the Year 6 readers doing us proud - as always! The artwork depicting Easter Sunday that was on display too was really impactful.

I think it's fair to say that some of the children are a little nervous but excited about the prospect of next term being their last with their Christ Church family. With SATs on the horizon, it's really time to pull out all the stops and show what they are capable of. The children have been really focussed, but they also know that no matter how they do in their tests, their results don't define them, they are all truly unique and talented in so many ways and we are incredibly proud of them.

Spring Term 1 NEWS!

There goes another really busy half term - where does the time go?

The children have been working really hard since they came back from Christmas, with the timetable changing slightly and the focus being on getting the children ready for their SATs. We are whizzing through our maths work, with a big focus being on not only working our way through the Year 6 curriculum, but squeezing in time to address gaps in learning - this has proved particularly challenging! This will also continue into the second spring term, and it's important that children keep practising the methods for the four operations of maths at home, as well as other topics that have been covered. We learnt lots during our unit on decimals and are now able to use that knowledge in order to help us to work out those difficult reasoning and problem solving questions.   

As mentioned, we have started the 'SATs revision' process and the children have generally responded well to the challenge.  Arithmetic tests are under way: scores and times are improving, but there's still a way to go. Revision books have been handed out to all children and we hope that you find them useful. We have started to look at past papers; these are a shock to some children. Please do talk to your child about these and encourage them in whatever way that you can. If you have any concerns, please do pop in to see us. 

There was an awful lot that was covered over the first half of the Spring Term, here are just a few highlights:

We've loved our indoor and outdoor PE sessions and we have  we have certainly got better as the weeks have progressed, with a range of skills on display. In our gymnastics sessions we have really enjoyed working together to create our own sequences of work that included a range of different rolls, balances, movement and jumps. There are a couple more lessons that need to be covered so we will be finishing this unit after the break. In our tennis sessions the children enjoyed getting to grips with the the basics of the game, including forehand, backhand and volley strokes. Children also enjoyed the opportunity to play a mini-tournament to put their newly developed skills into practise too.

Computing continues to prove a big hit with the class and we really enjoyed getting to grips with Microsoft Excell, the children were able to create formula, refine and filter results and then use these skills to solve everyday problems.

We really enjoyed our Science topic on the circulatory system and the children learnt an awful lot about the importance of looking after not just our heart, but the rest of our bodies. There was plenty of opportunity to use our Working Scientifically skills and we finished will a really informative session focusing on drugs and alcohol.

PATHS lessons continue to prove a big hit with the class and it's been nice to do something a little different to break up the week. The session this half term have been really interesting and we have been learning about the importance of being organised and prepared, skills that will come in really handy when we get to high school!

We also really enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with our allocated buddies on a number of occasions throughout the half term and particularly enjoyed joining  them for their Friday dance sessions! It's been lovely to see the nurturing and caring nature of the children in our class and there are some lovely relationships that have been formed.

We are looking forward to what the new half term brings, there are high expectations but we will be ready for the challenges that lie ahead! 

Autumn Term 2 NEWS!

During Autumn Term 2 the children have continued to grow and mature in their attitude and outlook. There has already been plenty of difficult work to carry out, but they have raised to the task admirably. We loved spending time with each other during the build up to Christmas and enjoyed doing lots of Christmas crafts. We were so proud of how responsible and caring they were with their Reception partners on our visit to the cinema, and we had a whale of a time at our Christmas party, with some very dodgy dancing! 

A lot of hard work has taken place in Maths and English as we work towards Year 6 expectations and the sheer volume of work that needs to be completed. All the children have now completed all the written methods for calculation and regular practice of these takes place every morning during 'Number Ninjas'. We have also dived right in to our fraction topic and the children are beginning to have a good feel for the sense of number with fractions when comparing and ordering them.  Reasoning and problem solving skills linked to these topics is developing, but there is still a lot of work to be done in deciphering what some of the trickier questions are actually asking them to do. We have seen some super progress in writing; children have really taken on board the importance of careful and thorough editing and the results have been encouraging to see! The children, as did we, thoroughly enjoyed Who Let the Gods out, our class novel, and are looking forward to picking a new class reader.

The work Science work on electricity was really fun and informative. The children really enjoyed getting to grips with this topic and enjoyed finding out as much information as possible. We have already completed a number of investigations into electrical circuits and are able to understand the different scientific symbols linked to these. It's been nice to build on their knowledge of this topic from their time in Year 4.

In RE, we really enjoyed learning more about what Bible says about Jesus being the Messiah. Children could explain who the prophets were and what they said about Jesus being the Messiah. Children could also explain what other people say about Jesus being the Messiah and how this impacts on celebrations of Christmas. We also enjoyed learning about how Christians prepare for Christmas and were proud to play a big part in the school advent service in church. 

Our topic work on South America was really interesting and the geography work that was produced was of a very high standard. We loved the use of the Oddizzi website, especially the quiz pages. We learnt the names of countries in this continent, the different geographical features, how to use longitude and latitude, different time zones and compared features with our own country. We also created an Amazon fact-file.

As always, the children have enjoyed their PE lessons this term, and were able to show off their Handball skills. The children learnt how to develop agility and quickness, develop and refine throwing and catching skills, combine the skills of moving and passing in handball and take part in a intra-class competition. In their Dodgeball sessions the children enjoyed their Friday sessions, especially the opportunity to take part in a competition - we have some very competitive children! ;)

Computing work has been tough but very rewarding and we learnt lots as the topic progressed (adults included!). Over the course of the sessions the children were able to display a number of skills including:

• Decomposing a program into an algorithm.
• Writing increasingly complex algorithms for a purpose.
• Debugging quickly and effectively to make a program more efficient.
• Remixing existing code to explore a problem.
• Using and adapting nested loops.
• Programming using the language Python.
• Changing a program to personalise it.
• Evaluating code to understand its purpose.
• Using logical thinking to explore software independently, iterating ideas and testing continuously.

We recognise that after Christmas the expectations will be heightened again, but I'm sure we're ready for the challenge and as always - work hard, play hard!

Autumn Term 1 NEWS!

It's been an absolutely brilliant start to the new school year and the children have really stepped up to the mark and shown that they are ready for their final year at our school. Kicking of the year at Scotman's Flash was a fabulous opportunity for the children to really show what thy are capable of, with many of the class coming out of their comfort zones and taking part in a range of different water based activities designed to really test their character. They were an absolute credit to our school and it's fair to say that we all made memories to cherish. From a personal point of view, it was a lovely way to get to know the class and the wonderful characters we have.

We’ve been working hard on our Literacy and Numeracy skills, but there is still a way to go given the requirements and demands of the Year 6 curriculum. Written methods are coming along nicely and these will stand the children in good stead for the Arithmetic test and problem solving. Place value work and addition, subtraction and multiplication skills are pleasing and the children's resilience to problem solving is getting better. However, we have found that some children still aren't confident in their times table knowledge and this will be a huge focus in the next term. In Literacy, the children used David Guetta's video 'Titanium' as a writing stimulus to complete a number of different written activities: report writing, setting descriptions and diary entries. The resulting work that was produced was truly deserving of Year 6 status. We've really enjoyed reading 'Who let the Gods out', a story which has fitted in nicely with our topic work on Ancient Greece, and allowed us to further develop our VIPERS reading skills. We will continue to read this book after half term. 

Writing has shown promise, especially the diary entries, and the children all have targets to work on. As always, we're trying to master the non-negotiables, but we do still see missing full stops and capital letters, and there will be a real push with spelling: Mrs Kirkman is already planning for a 'Spelling Bee' competition when we return to school and has plenty of 'Kirkman Killers' up her sleeve! Reading Plus, our online reading program, is in full swing and it is pleasing to see children unlocking new levels. It is vital that this is constantly being accessed at home too - little and often is the key!

The children have loved the Light topic in Science, planning and carrying out investigations related to reflection and refraction. The children have been able to understand that light travels in straight lines from light sources to our eyes and been able to investigate what happens to the size and shape of a shadow when an object is moved from the light source.

As always, computing lessons have been enjoyed and lots of new learning has taken place. We kicked off the unit of work by discussing the importance of being safe using social media platforms and the importance of thinking about what what we post, specifically pictures that are shared. We then learnt a number of new skills related to coding. We looked a range of different types of code, which then led on to work using 'Brute Force' hacking. We completed the unit by looking at key individuals that have proved to be pivotal in some way linked to computer science.

PE lessons have been a hit, as usual, with children enjoying their indoor unit on dance and their outdoor unit on basketball. We learnt lots of new skills along the way and particular highlights were the sessions where the children got to showcase their dance routines and our unit finale in basketball as we enjoyed taking part in a intra-class competition. 

We've loved our PATHS sessions and the children have shown just how empathetic and compassionate we can be with our responses. We have had lots of discussion around dealing appropriately in difficult situations and how we can better manage a range of different problems. Towards the end of term, we learned all about what to expect as we approach puberty with a visit from HH Kids team. As ever, the children listened intently, with a few giggles and 'oohs' along the way!  

So, all in all, a very busy first half term - there's more hard work on the way, but we'll definitely rise to the challenge!