Year 6

Mrs Callaghan and I send all our yr 6s and their parents a huge "Thank you" for all the lovely cards and gifts we received as the year ended.  It was very generous of you all.  

I hope you all enjoyed our summer show, "The Best of Both Worlds".  Your children worked extremely hard to be ready for the shows as we had hardly any time at all to rehearse.  Thank you for all your support and for being so flexible in dropping your children off and picking them up later in the evening.  It's so important that everyone pulls together at events like these because if lots of people don't make that extra effort - as you did - the shows wouldn't have been so successful and that would have been a great shame for all the children involved. In my experience, it is occasions like the summer show that the children remember for the rest of their lives - the applause, that feeling of pride in being involved in something everyone pulled together to produce and being able to perform to you, their parents and extended family.  

The end of term trip to The Royal Marine Museum was a great success.  The children loved the challenge of the assault course and many of them overcame personal fears to complete it successfully. If any of you are looking for a great day out in the holidays, I would definitely encourage you to visit.  

Another thank you for making the Leavers' Mass such a positive and happy occasion for everyone.  Again, your generosity in providing refreshments was humbling. I hope all the children enjoy looking at the disc containing photos of their time at St Jude's and they look back with fondness.  

This year 6 is a very special year group.  Their attitude to learning, their kindness to each other, their enthusiasm and sense of fun made my job, and that of Miss Crouch and Mrs Callaghan much easier.  Thank you for your children and thank you for being such supportive parents to the school and everything we're trying to do.  I hope we meet again.  In the meantime, have a great summer.  God bless.

Mrs McKnight 

Just to let you know that all the staff here are so proud of the children in year 6 for the way they approached the tests last week.  After enjoying the breakfast together they were well prepared to try their very best at anything SATs could throw at them.  We had a discussion on Thursday afternoon, after they were all over and they all said that they felt more and more confident as the week went on and, although they had been nervous on Monday, they had overcome those nerves and had actually enjoyed demonstrating everything they had learned.  So, despite all the negativity in the media, your children rose to every challenge.  I know that you are very proud of them; I know that we are very proud of them and I hope they are very proud of themselves.

SATs week is here!

Monday morning before break - reading test 1 hour 

Tuesday morning before break - SPaG test - 45 mins + spelling test which isn't timed but usually lasts for about 15 mins 

Wednesday morning before break - Arithmetic test - 30 mins and then after a short comfort break Reasoning paper 1 - 40 mins

Thursday morning before break - Reasoning paper 2 - 40 mins. 

The children have been very well prepared for these tests and are - believe it or not - looking forward to them. 

We'll start every day of testing with a lovely breakfast of a bacon roll, toast, cereal and a drink.  

Thank you very much for your support.  

A very Happy Easter to all parents and pupils.  

I would like to begin by saying how proud both myself and Mrs Callaghan were following year 6's Veneration of the Cross liturgy on Thursday. All of the children led the liturgy with a sense of reverence and maturity - thank you year 6. 

I'd like to say a big thank you to those children who produced project homework that reflected 5 week's worth of work.  Presentations took place throughout the final week of term and it was obvious which children had actually spent time and effort on their homework.  

I have set the new project homework, which the children were given before the end of term; however, if they have misplaced that copy, it is available by clicking on the homework icon. 

As a class, we watched the BBC's adaptation of The Passion and the children wrote about it from a chosen character's perspective. Many children were able to include much of the grammar and punctuation expectations for year 6 in their writing.  

Over the Easter break, I have asked that the children continue to read daily - looking out for how the author has used sentence structure and punctuation for effect and impact.  I would also like them to continue to learn the spellings they brought home.  They will be available under the homework icon also.  If any child still has not mastered the times tables, that must also be a priority for the holidays as that knowledge underpins everything else they do in maths.  

I hope you all have a restful Easter break and look forward to you returning to school relaxed and refreshed on 11th April. 

Best Wishes - Mrs McKnight and Mrs Callaghan. 

Thank you to all the children who put in a great deal of effort to produce some excellent examples of project homework.  They presented their work to the class during the last week before half term.  Many of the children are becoming much more confident and professional in their approach to presenting their work and are very knowledgeable about their chosen subject.  

Unfortunately, not all children put in the same amount of effort and did not produce work that was representative of 5 weeks effort.

These children must improve their work ethic significantly in preparation for secondary school, which is only 3 half terms away.  

I have sent home some spelling lists that the children must know when they return after half term.  Some of you will be thinking that these are very easy; however, you would be surprised at how many of these spellings many of the children spell incorrectly in their day-to-day writing.  It seems they can get quite difficult spellings correct but not these. With the raised expectations of the curriculum, the children must show evidence that they are able to independently spell all of these words.  I will be testing the children in the first week back and they will be able to tell you how they got on.  If you can support your children to learn these spellings and apply them to all of their writing I would be very grateful.  

Thank you to all parents who support your child in signing their reading log regularly.  A few of the children are on their 3rd book because they write in such detail about what they have been reading.  Well done!  This attitude to their learning will stand them in good stead when they are in secondary school.

Although the next half term is short, we have a great deal to get through.  The children will be working hard in preparation for SATs (beginning May 9th) and to that end we will be holding a SATs information evening on the 24th February.  Please try and come.  

Thank you for your continued support.

Year 6 team. 

Mrs Callaghan and I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.  We hope you had a peaceful and relaxing break. 

Just a few reminders -

PE is on Monday and Thursday, so the children should have their PE kit in school.  They can wear a dark coloured tracksuit or similar in the colder weather when they have PE outside.  Please ensure that it is named.  Children need to have a pair of trainers or plimsolls for PE, they cannot wear school shoes. 

Hair should be tied back at all times if it is longer than shoulder length.

Sensible school shoes must be worn in school. Children may wear boots to school, but they must change into sensible school shoes when they arrive.  Trainers are not appropriate footwear for school.  If there is a medical reason why your child cannot wear sensible shoes in school, you must provide a medical letter from your GP. 

Reading logs should be in school every day.  Children should be writing in their reading logs regularly. We ask that you (parent/guardian) hear your child read at least 3 times a week and sign the reading log at least once a week. 

Your child will have new spellings and a spelling test every week.  The children know they have to write 10 interesting sentences using these spellings, so please ask them regularly whether they have completed them yet. 

Please regularly ask your child whether they have any letters from school.  We know that some of you never seem to get them and when you come in to ask and we check your child's tray there is a whole pile of them!  Please be assured that we constantly remind the children to take letters home, but we cannot be responsible for you actually receiving them. By year 6 they have to start taking responsibility for this. 

The support you give your child is invaluable and we appreciate it very much. 

Many thanks from the yr 6 team.

We have been on some very interesting trips over the last couple of weeks; the first being an amazing trip to The Royal Marine Museum.  Your children absolutely loved it.  They were greeted by Andy who drilled them as young recruits before they went in and then, once they had entered the magnificent building, he led them through a short history of the marines and their adventures. 

We learned a great deal about the part the marines played in the D-Day landings and in particular discovered what it was like for 4 individuals and the bravery they showed at this time. 

Our second trip was to the Search Museum in Gosport.  The children learned about the theories of Charles Darwin and how animals and plants have evolved over time. 

Another busy week in year 6 has passed.  I hope your children told you about our inspirational visitor (Richard Hunt) who came and talked to the children on Wednesday.  Richard had a leg amputated when he was in his 20s, just a few years after becoming a sailor in the Royal Navy - the job he had dreamed of since the age of 5.  The children found his life story fascinating and motivational.   Through his discussion, the children began to realise that within us we all have the power to overcome fears and difficulties if we keep trying and ask for help if we need it.  Following the discussion, Richard spent 45 minutes with year 5s and 6s and gave them a number of challenges.  One of them was to tie a bow in a piece of string with one hand behind their backs.   Some of the children managed this quite quickly - none quicker than Abigail - who then went on to do the same with her left hand, and then with her eyes closed!  Well done, Abi.  Please ask your child all about it, he was very interesting. 

In English, your children have been writing some amazing poetry.  They have used personification, alliteration, metaphor and simile.  They have managed to create some superb imagery of a very standard.  You would be very impressed.  We are now learning about the form of poetry after reading William Wordsworth's I wandered lonely as a cloud and analysing line patterns, the amount of syllables, lines and stanzas.  

The school recently had a visit from Petra, a CAFOD education representative, who talked to the children about CAFOD's latest Harvest project and she presented a workshop for years 3, 5 and 6 (year 4 were at Fishbourne).  

Please remind your child to bring their reading log in daily, please. 

NETHERCOTT FARM MEETING

NEWS FLASH FROM NETHERCOTT

The farm will now supply wet weather trousers and coats for the children for their stay at the farm, so you do not need to buy them. 

A big thank you to all parents who attended our one of our two Nethercott Farm meetings last week and have completed and handed in the medical forms.  There are still 1 or 2 places left to fill, so if you would like your child to have the opportunity of going again, please don't hesitate to come and speak with me.