Woodland View Primary School

Oak CLASS NEWSLETTER: Autumn 2 / Issue 2

Dear parents, carers and Year 6 children,

Oak Class have made a good start to their time in Year 6. We are enjoying getting to know them and are very pleased with the hard work and kindness they have shown so far. Below is a round-up of what we aim to work on this half term.

English

Our English block this half term largely centres around the book ‘The Spider and the Fly’ by Mary Howitt. It will form part of our writing for this term. We will be using the book to write character descriptions, as well as a setting description of the spider’s home. We will continue to develop skills in grammar, spelling, punctuation and reading comprehension, as well as writing, applying new learning through our writing. In spelling, we will be working on Y5/Y6 spellings, developing strategies to learn them and to recognise particular spelling patterns.

We want to encourage the children to read for enjoyment as much as possible. I would like them to read at least three times a week for pleasure (every day would be ideal). Each week, children who have read three times receive a raffle ticket. The raffle is drawn on the last day of each half term. Last half term, two children had their names pulled out, winning a stationery set each. Everyone else who had a raffle ticket won a small prize too. Children may read any books they wish- they don’t have to be school books and can be fiction or non-fiction. We have included our ‘recommended reads’ below- all are great books!

Mathematics

In Maths we are currently working on mental calculations, involving multiplication and division. Then we will work on:

• Decimals, percentage and fractions equivalences
• Drawing 2D shapes using given dimensions and angles
• Calculating, estimating and comparing volume of cubes and cuboids using standard units, including cm3 and m3,
• Converting between miles & km
• Using, reading, writing and converting between standard units, such as measurements of length, mass, volume and time

Science

Our Science topic this half term will be linked to English with the question: “Are spiders related to flies?” In this topic, we will be using classifying keys to classify living things (vertebrates and invertebrates). We will also research the world’s deadliest spiders to create our own ‘Top Trump’ cards. As part of the unit, we will explore harmful and useful bacteria by investigating yeast.

PE

Please ensure your child’s PE kit is at school from Monday to Friday each week. We have PE twice a week, normally on a Tuesday and Friday but sometimes this changes if the hall is busy. This half term we are continuing to work on cooperative and team games.

Praise and Reward

In Year 6, we like to reward hard work, great thinking, excellent questioning and sociable, kind behaviour. Children are also able to nominate who they think has shown good learning behaviour and/or the school’s core values. Children attend assemblies where children are awarded for showing specific learning behaviours and our school’s core values (Be considerate, Be respectful, Be tolerant, Be safe, Be responsible).

Communication

Should you wish to speak with either of us, we can usually be found in the playground or in the school office after school. You can also ring school to make an appointment to speak to us at other times.

Homework

Many thanks for all homework sent for our homework exhibition last half term. The class will spend time this week time looking at each other’s work and discussing their knowledge. Following a vote by the whole class, two children will be awarded a prize for the quality of their homework. Everyone else that brought homework will also receive a small prize. This term, homework is presented as a choice of different activities for your children again. Please return them to school by Thursday December 12th. Year 6 children will be able to show their work in our Y6 homework exhibition and there will be a small prize for the winners of a competition voted for by the children. Homework will then be displayed.

Best wishes for another great half-term.

Mrs Fiddimore, Mr Carter and Mr. Clayton