Etz Chaim Jewish Primary School
Year 6
Welcome to our Headline of the week. This will give you a small taster of some of the learning taking place in your child’s class.
We hope you enjoy reading our Headlines each week.
21/07/23
The children have been given the opportunity to plan their own leaving party. In groups they have been given a budget and some tasks they need to do in order to plan their section of the party. This includes music, food, entertainment and speeches.
14/07/23
The children enjoyed a trip to Parliament this week. They enjoyed hearing a live debate, their own law making workshop and being able to tour the building.
07/07/23
The children have had their transition session from Streetwise. This has included thinking about and preparing for moving to Secondary School. The children considered safety, expectations and travel.
30/06/23
The children are looking at financial awareness this week. We have investigated the use of debit cards, credit cards and cash. They have looked at a budget and decide what was the best payment method for each item in their groups.
23/06/23
The children have enjoyed completing Kosher Apprentice!
16/06/23
The children have enjoyed starting their 6 week giving program with GIFT. They are learning about the levels of giving and how to be better givers. It has been thought provoking and engaging.
09/06/23
The children have evaluated their collages. The finished products look amazing.
25/05/23
In Maths we have started to learn about how to use, interpret and draw graphs. The children enjoyed plotting a line graph about temperature over time of hot chocolate. I think they enjoyed drinking the hot chocolate this most during the lesson!
19/05/23
The children have continued to practise and learn the songs to create a great performance of Matilda.
12/05/23
The children began a collage project using mixed media to create animals. This included layering oil pastels and watercolours this week.
05/05/23
We looked at a real sheep heart in Science and identified the four chambers. The children had the chance to look at the heart and see inside it.
28/04/23
The children got hands on with practical resources this week to solve an open ended problem in their SATS revision. They had to work out how many cubes could be under each cup and the algebraic equation they could use to express this.
21/04/23
The children have started to prepare for our Year 6 presentation during De Capo by learning the songs from our chosen production of Matilda.
31/03/23
We have self-assessed our writing against the criteria and considered how to up level independently.
24/03/2023
The children created an engaging story telling experience for Year 3 using their story boxes. They planned a performance to engage their audience using body language, tone and expression.
17/03/23
Now we have finished reading How to Live Forever. The children were posed with the question, Should people be allowed to live forever? They thought about the benefits and drawbacks of this idea. They formulated points for and against living forever they can use in a balanced argument.
10/03/23
The children produced wonderful setting descriptions and were able to experiment with the use of figurative language independently.
03/03/23
The children worked hard to plan their circle meetings this week. They have put together special raps, poems and songs to perform at the Purim parade next week.
24/02/23
Year 6 have really enjoyed starting our new class book, ‘How to Live Forever’ by Colin Thompson. We have participated in lots of group discussion and guided comprehensions on the text.
10/02/23
We have enjoyed reviewing our SPAG objectives from this half term by playing SPAGOPOLY.
03/02/23
The children have worked as Historians this week to evaluate sources about living conditions and housing in the Victorian era. They have used these sources and internet research to build a diorama of a Victorian home or street.
27/01/23
The children found the work on Victorian child workers interesting and are very grateful to be 21st century children! As historians we have evaluated sources on what the conditions were like in the factories and the impact of a growing population as well as the industrialisation of Britain. As reporters, we wrote newspaper articles reporting on child work conditions in the Victorian era.
20/01/23
The children have been able to code nested loops this week using code on logo. This has consolidated their knowledge of angles and properties of shapes to complete these coding challenges.
13/01/23
The children have started their topic of python coding. They have had a tinker with 2logo. They have been able to explore the commands such as making squares, polygons and more advanced shapes to create patterns. The children have become well equipped to use the language of LOGO.
06/01/23
The children started their topic of Inheritance in Science. We discussed what the difference was between acquired and inherited characteristics. The children then sorted characteristics into the two categories.
16/12/22
In Science the children have been investigating shadows. They have learnt how shadows are formed, how they become bigger and smaller and have used this information to create a shadow puppet show about Newton and Hook and their scientific theories.
09/12/22
The children have been researching and creating presentations on computing heroes such as Alan Turing and Ada Lovelace.
02/12/22
The children are learning about Pop Art in preparation for creating their Chanukiah designs. They have used the influences of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein in order to create their Pop Art style initial design ideas.
25/11/22
We have continued our work on refraction of light. The children explored Newton’s theory of light by creating their own spectrum of colour wheels.
18/11/22
The children have consolidated their learning about the ‘mishpacha’ in Ivrit. They have started to write sentences and use the key words from their unit.
11/22/22
In computing the children began to look at codes. In this week’s lesson, we looked at cracking different secret codes, their use and why Bletchley Park was significant.
04/11/22
The children have explored practical resources in Maths to better understand the concept of prime numbers, factors and multiples.
21/10/2022
The children have used their research about black athletes to create a speech about why their chosen athlete belongs on a postage stamp. The children practised creating their arguments using point, evidence and explanation.
14/10/2022
The children have learnt about the themes relating to Sukkot this week. They have focused on the ideas of moving people and temporary housing. We discussed what people need to live, refugees and why people seek asylum and have heard from a Syrian who sought refuge in the UK. The children enjoyed formulating questions to ask him.
07/10/2022
The children have risen to the challenge of learning how to complete long division calculations. They are working hard at gaining fluency, problem solving and reasoning in groups using this method.
30/09/22
Year 6 have enjoyed learning ball skills so far this year. Today they have learnt about attacking and defending.
23/09/22
Year 6 enjoyed going on their residential to Kingswood this week. Some highlights included The Trail of Mystery, The 3G swing and The Leap of Faith.
16/09/22
The children have enjoyed learning about the Victorians. We have created our own timelines of significant events. The children have considered the impact these events left on Britain.
09/09/22
The children have began to learn about electricity in Science. The children explored how to create their own circuits and drew these into their books using the correct symbols.
21/07/23
The children took over the school on Monday and enjoyed seeing what it is like to be a teacher, teaching assistant or part of the office team.
14/07/23
The children enjoyed their visit to the Apple store this week. They have been busy putting their video skills into practise.
07/07/23 The children worked hard to put on their dress rehearsal this week. They did really well and have worked hard to learn their lines, songs and cues to be on stage.
30/06/23
The children have worked hard to prepare towards the dress rehearsal on Friday. They are putting the finishing touches on the presentation to pull it all together.
23/06/23
The children have begun to work as a team to design and create a brand-new theme park. Over a few sessions they will need to consider a layout design for their theme park within a set budget, a name, theme and logo (branding), how to use sustainable and renewable energy sources in their park as well as how to advertise their park to potential visitors.
16/06/23
The children had a visitor from Natwest this week! Kunal who works for Natwest came to visit our school and run a workshop on budgeting. The children enjoyed planning a party and presenting this to the class.
09/06/23
The children interpreted and presented their own results in Maths. They have created a variety of charts including dual bar charts to show this.
25/05/23
During English we began to look at traditional tales and how we can tell them from the point of view of different characters. The children have used their ideas to create alternate versions of their favourite tales.
19/05/23
The children ripped up their masterpieces to continue with our animal collage project. These have been shared out to be a collaboration with the whole class.
12/05/23
The children were split into groups to work on managing a budget. They were given criteria for a holiday to plan for Mrs George and a budget. They will present their ideas to her and the winning group will receive a prize.
05/05/23
We discussed the effects of drugs and alcohol on the body.
28/04/23
The children used their knowledge of nets, volume, perimeter and area to build their own cities.
21/04/23
The children heard the story of Mr Bibring’s father on Yom Hashoah. They were able to hear the recount of how he came to England on Kindertransport. The children were able to see his documents and medals.
31/03/23
The children have enjoyed creating self-portraits in art this half term.
24/03/23
The children have looked at the book Musical Truth for book week. They have considered the influence and impact historical context has on music. They have written their own chapters in the style of the book on a song of their choice.
17/03/23
The children are working hard in pairs to create their Haggadah page. They are creating Dvah Torahs on their given sections and are researching the significance and importance of their given piece.
10/03/23
The children have discussed what being a global citizen is and what this might look like in groups. They have annotated the images explaining how they show what it means to be a good global citizen.
03/03/23
The children have finished their Victorian house models using first-hand sources from the time period.
24/02/23
To start our algebra topic, the children have enjoyed problem solving using function machines.
10/02/23
We have read #Goldilocks for Internet Safety week. The children enjoyed writing their own fairy tales with an E-safety moral of the story plot twist.
02/03/23 As scientists we looked at the disadvantages and advantages of adaptations. The children prepared debates on the advantages and disadvantages of human intervention in animal adaptations through selective and cross breeding.
27/01/23
Year 6 had a thought provoking workshop on antisemitism run by Streetwise.
20/01/23
We have continued to plan our Israel 75 art project, based on our chosen image of the Moroccan Wedding Dress. The children explored our chosen object in great detail and short listed some ideas of what they wanted to base their item around.
13/01/23
The children have been designated bits of the novel Clockwork to perform.They can read the chapter, act or do a mixture. The first group performed their piece to the class this week.
06/01/23
The children have started to read Clockwork by Phillip Pullman. We spent the morning reading Part 1 and using dictionaries and context to understand the tricky vocabulary within the novel.
16/12/22
The snow has been an exciting feature of the week! The children have enjoyed the snow on the playground.
09/12/22
The children have been using The World Cup as a point of inspiration for study. We explored the 3D shapes of footballs and the children have built some models of Truncated Icosahedrons from Nets. These were decorated with the flags of all the countries playing in the group stages, as there are 32 faces to this shape.
02/12/22
In computing the children used their research skills to find out about Bletchley Park. They created information posters on the topic.
25/11/22
The children enjoyed their trip to The Benjamin Franklin House. They learnt about his significance in History and his important Scientific discoveries. The children enjoyed watching some exciting experiments based on electricity.
18/11/22
In Science the children built their own periscopes using boxes, tape, mirrors and torches. We learnt about angles of incidence and reflection.
11/11/22
Using cubes, the children investigated the patterns in square and cube numbers. They thought about the shape they create, what they noticed and what they could learn from this.
04/11/22
The children enjoyed a virtual Q+A session of Warhorse by Michael Morpurgo. We have been studying his book Kensuke’s Kingdom in class and will be looking at another of his novels, Private Peaceful this half term.
21/10/2022
In Science the children learnt about how electricity was made. They produced leaflets about renewable and non-renewable energy sources. They then had the chance to create their own turbine outside using a carton, a pencil, clay, water and string.
14/10/2022
In English Year 6 have analysed the poem Aleppo Cat by Michael Gross. The children performed the poem in groups thinking about how to use tone, volume and body language. They used to their groups to alternate lines and create effect.
07/10/2022
For Black History Month, the children have been looking at key athletes. The children have created debates about why their individual is deserving of being put on a postage stamp.
30/09/22
The children enjoyed making biscuits with apple and honey to celebrate the New Year.
23/09/22
The children have worked hard to build up the skills to create watercolour still life paintings in art. They used water colour to create the effects of the apple and the different colouring they could see. The children then chose an image to recreate onto their Rosh Hashanna Card.
16/09/22
Year 6 enjoyed a coaching session from Sportscool. They got to explore Tri-golf and enjoyed competing against each other in a variety of games.
09/09/22
The children learnt about place value to 10 million this week. We completed a maths investigation for coded hundred squares. The children enjoyed cracking the code in their groups.
Mrs Gishen and Ms Pieters are looking forward to teaching the class this year. There will be many interesting topics and activities planned for the year ahead. I am looking forward to a year of helping the children grow in confidence and continuing to instil a love of learning and curiosity.
Developing independence is a really important part of Etz Chaim, especially in Year 6. We are very aware that part of our role in school is to prepare our children for their move to secondary school and with this in mind much of the Year 6 curriculum fosters responsibility and independence. From the moment the children enter Year 6 they are responsible for their own learning, expectations are high, and they are encouraged to work more independently. We ask that parents support this by helping to develop children’s independence and encouraging them to be responsible. Children should pack their own bag for school, be responsible for their home learning tasks and bring their home learning in on time.
This year, the children will continue to develop and apply their mathematical knowledge which will include problem solving and algebra. The children should access Mathletics over the summer to ensure they are consolidated and secure on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. The children need to feel comfortable with efficient and quick arithmetic in preparation for heir SATS exams. The children will continue to explore a range of quality texts in English and write for different purposes. There will also be an emphasis on handwriting and presentation as well as the skill of editing and improving in order to up level writing. Over the summer, the children should continue to read a variety of different books and be ready to share some of their reading recommendations with the class. They should also access Spelling Shed where they can consolidate their understanding of patterns and rules that are needed for their SPAG, Spelling and writing. We will be reading Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo in Autumn 1, please ensure the children have either borrowed or bought a copy to bring on the first day of school.
The children will continue to develop their learning through an integrated and creative curriculum and become more resilient and reflective learners. This includes the use of CP and guided group learning. Our classroom will be a vibrant place of learning and independent thinking. Our goal is to develop academically and prepare the children for life beyond year 6.
As your children embark on the final chapter of their primary school journey, I welcome your support in the challenges and experiences that Year 6 has to offer! If you have any concerns or questions, please use the home-school diary for which your child will have ownership. This book is also used to write on the day if your child will be going home with a different person.
There are a number of ways you can support your child at home:
• Continue the fantastic support you have been giving over the years
• Encourage your child to believe in themselves and be confident in their learning, ‘You can do it!’ It’s okay for them to make mistakes along the way. Remind them that they are always supported in everything they do
• Please do not become or make your child over anxious and worried! Remind your child that the tests coming up in May are important, but that they are not the only way to be measured
• Approach a subject from lots of different angles. Software, games, activities, books, flash cards and practical applications all help prepare your child for SATs
• Ensure your child has the best possible attendance at school
• Support your child with any Home Learning tasks and suggested activities on the weekly class newsletter
• Make sure your child has a good sleep and healthy breakfast every morning
• Ensure your children continue to read for pleasure and from the scheme books
We kindly ask that you please provide 1 box of tissues and 5 large Pritt Sticks 43g (only clear Pritt Stick no other make).
A reminder of some other items the children will need to bring on their first day are: a non-uniform cap to keep in school and for the boys and a spare named school kippah, also to be kept in school.
Please also check your child has the full school uniform PE kit and the correct sized plimsolls and trainers. These should be brought into school on the first day of the term. Please ensure girls’ skirts cover the knee.
The children can bring in fresh fruit or a vegetable snack in a named container each day. This does not include corn snacks, apple crisps or any other processed food item.