Welcome to Summer 2!

A very warm welcome to Summer 2 term. I hope that you all had restful break and are ready for our final half term together in Year 6. You may still have your worries and concerns about the current situation, but let me assure you that we are still taking every precaution around the school and within our classroom.  The new routines continue to incorporate the advice that schools have been given and will not impact on the children's learning in any way.This half term, we have  lots to look forward to as we continue on our learning journey, working and worshipping together.  Attached below is a summary of the subject focuses we will be looking this half term.

English

In English, this half term, we will become 'Super Sleuths' and will be basing our outcomes around detective and crime fiction. To help us immerse ourselves in this exciting genre we will be joining Ted and his sister Kat as they work together to solve a mystery...

Ted likes the weather, he also likes statistics and routine but his life is thrown into disarray when his Aunt Gloria and cousin Salim arrive, like a hurricane, to stay in London en-route to a new life in New York.

Ted and his older sister Kat arrange to take Salim on the London Eye but although they watch him go up in a pod, he never comes down again. Salim is missing. Ted's analytical mind becomes an asset as he and Kat piece together the information surrounding their cousin's disappearance and begin to unravel the mystery.

Throughout the unit, the children will have some wonderful opportunities to immerse themselves in the world of crime fiction. We will use the class texts to help us to create our own detective stories based on a model text with an innovated plot structure, using plot patterns and shared writing techniques incorporating all our new and old grammar skills as we develop our ideas. Over the half term, we will be creating our very own novels on a theme which we will then present and share with some of our younger children in school. 

We will bring the half term to a close by focussing our attention on explanation texts and creating an explanation linked to learning experiences in other subjects across the curriculum.

 In Mathematics, we will be starting the half term by focussing on Geometry - properties of shape. In this area of study we will be concentrating on:

• Drawing 2-D shapes using given dimensions and angles.
• Comparing and classifying geometric shapes based on their properties and sizes and find unknown angles in any triangles, quadrilaterals and regular polygons.
• Recognising angles where they meet at a point, are on a straight line, or are vertically opposite, and find missing angles.

Towards the end of half term we will shift our focus to Statistics when the children will be using and developing their skills to:

• Illustrate and name parts of circles, including radius, diameter and circumference and know that the diameter is twice the radius.
• Interpret and construct pie charts and line graphs and use these to solve problems.
• Calculate the mean as an average.

You can help your child at home by helping them to practice their times tables and division facts. Just ten minutes a day will make all the difference to their rapid recall. 

'Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst' (John 6:35)

At Sacred Heart, Religious Education is at the core of the core curriculum, it is embedded in everything we do and say. This half term in Year 6 we will be busy exploring the Mass and how we celebrate Jesus' revelation. We will continue our journey together as disciples of Christ by considering Jesus as the Bread of Life. We will spend lots of time discussing and analysing how we can take our role in the New Covenant which Jesus gave us through his most perfect sacrfice.

For the entirety of the Summer term in History, we will enjoy conducting an in-depth study in to World war II up to and including the Battle Of Britain. We will journey back to the outbreak of the Second World War and discover the events leading to the outbreak of World War II.We will examine primary and secondary sources of the propaganda used by the allied and enemy forces in WWII and why it was used. We will focus our enquiry skills to construct responses that involve thoughtful selection of historical information to be able to explore rationing during World War II and how people adapted to deal with reduced product availability before bringing the half term to a close by explaining the importance and significance of the role of women during World War II. Next half term we will bring parts of our curriculum together as we celebrate our learning by having a World War II Street party using our healthy eating knowledge from our Design Technology coverage to create a war time rationing spread.

Our Science topic this half term will focus on Physics as we look closely at Light. In this unit we will be working to:

• Recognise that light appears to travel in straight lines
• Use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain that objects are seen because they give out or reflect light into the eye
• Explain that we see things because light travels from light sources to our eyes ore from light sources to objects and then to our eyes
• Use the idea that light travels in straight lines to explain why shadows have the same shape as the objects that cast them.

 We will work scientifically by:

• Predicting and explaining with diagrams and models, how the path of light rays can be directed by reflection to be seen
• Predicting and explaining with diagrams and models, how the shape and size of shadows can be varied.

In French this half term, we shall be looking at The Woodlands. In this unit, the children will be focussing on:

• Saying and writing in French the key elements animals and plants need to survive in their habitat
• Giving examples of in French of the most common habitats for plants and animals
• Telling somebody in French what types of animals live in different habitats and what their adaptations are
• Telling somebody in French what types of plants grow in different habitats
• Learning to use the verbs ‘to grow’ and ‘to live’ to help me talk about plants and animals in their habitats.

Design Technology this half term will see Year 6 we will be working to understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet  The children will be challenged to:

• prepare and cook a variety of predominantly savoury dishes using a range of cooking techniques 
• understand seasonality, and know where and how a variety of ingredients are grown, reared, caught and processed.
• learn about the influences of and similarities between cuisines from other countries
• plan and shop for a meal.

ICT this year is a project that will take us through the whole academic year as we become App. Planners. Our outcome for this half term is a clear piece of market research around the planned app. The children will become market researchers as they think about the types of input and output available on a smartphone e.g. microphone, camera, GPS and the screen, speaker, vibration motor and how smartphones connect to other computers and how they connect to the internet. They will be relying heavily on effective team work this half term as they work together to identify the app market.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Education this half term is dedicated to 'Money Matters' In this unit, the class will be encouraged to think about:

• the different ways to pay for things and the choices people have about this

• to recognise that people have different attitudes towards saving and
spending money; what influences people’s decisions; what makes something ‘good value for money’

• that people’s spending decisions can affect others and the environment (e.g. Fair trade, buying single-use plastics, or giving to charity)

• to recognise that people make spending decisions based on priorities, needs and wants

• different ways to keep track of money

• about risks associated with money (e.g. money can be won, lost or stolen)
and ways of keeping money safe
• about the risks involved in gambling; different ways money can be won or lost through gambling-related activities and their impact on health, wellbeing and future aspirations

• to identify the ways that money can impact on people’s feelings and 
emotions.

In Music this half term all our learning will focus around 'New Years Carol In this unit children will be working to:

• To compare two songs in the same style, talking about what stands out musically in each of them, their similarities and differences. 
• Listen carefully and respectfully to other people’s thoughts about the music. 
• Use musical words when talking about the songs. 
• To talk about the musical dimensions working together in the Unit songs. 
• Talk about the music and how it makes you feel, using musical language to describe the music.
• How pulse, rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, texture and structure work together to create a song or music  
• How to keep the internal pulse
• Play a musical instrument with the correct technique within the context of the Unit song. 
• Select and learn an instrumental part that matches their musical challenge, using one of the differentiated parts – a one-note, simple or medium part or the melody of the song from memory or using notation.

General Class information

Reading

By Year 6, children are confident with reading, the task now is to ensure that children understand what they are reading.  It is important that they read a wide variety of genres and text types.  Fiction, non-fiction, leaflets, websites, newsletters etc.  The more children read and discuss the deeper their understanding becomes.  Encourage the children to explain what they have read, ask them questions and describe how they know the answers.  On occasion allow them just to read for pleasure, because they want to and they are enjoying it.  Read with them and continue to read to them.  Love books together!

PE

PE sessions will take place on Wednesday afternoons. This half term our focus will be on Athletics. Remember to arrive in school each Wednesday in full PE kit and trainers or pumps. You will remain in your PE kit for the entire day.

Snack & Water

Toast is available to children for snack.  Children must pay £1 at the beginning of the week for a slice of toast each day.  Children are able to bring in their own snack for playtime.  This can be a cereal/breakfast bar, fruit or veg. If you would like your child to bring in their own bottle, please ensure the bottle is clearly labelled with the child's name.

If you have any queries or just want to chat about your child's progress, feel free to make an appointment with Mrs Thompson in the school office.  

Mrs Livesey.