Year 6 have had a festive-filled end of term! They have all worked so incredibly hard this term and us teachers are very proud of them! Wishing all of our wonderful Year 6’s and their families a joyful and restful Christmas – we look forward to welcoming everyone back in the new year for another busy and exciting term ahead!
Year 6 carried out a Science investigation to discover how the size of an object’s shadow depends on the distance between the light source and the object. Before the investigation, children made a prediction, explained the method, noted the apparatus needed and drew scientific diagrams. They then drew up a results table and used this to plot a graph to show their findings as well as writing a conclusion.
What did we find out?
The size of the object’s shadow increases as the distance between the light source and the object decreases. This is because light
travels in straight lines, so objects closer to the light source block light travelling in a greater range of different directions. As a wide light source moves towards an object, the shadow’s edges become less sharp (as it actually consists of overlapping shadows due to different parts of the light source). We only changed one variable to make it a fair test.
Year 6 have produced some wonderful double-page spreads to celebrate all of their hard work in History over the Autumn term. Children collated a range of different ideas under subheadings to show their understanding, including: rationing, the role of women, key dates and countries involved and VE Day. Have a look at these brilliant examples!
Year 6 made their very own periscopes today as part of their learning about light and reflection. They used mirrors in their periscope and observed how the mirrors in the periscope reflected the light to enable them to see an image of an object around a corner or over the top of another object. Grit and determination were needed as well as independence and concentration whilst following the instructions!
In Year 6 this week we have started our Design and Technology unit for this term. In this unit on ‘Mechanisms’, we have started by learning about levers and fulcrums. We learned that Archimedes discovered this concept that we can adjust how much weight we can lift by pivoting on a fulcrum. We learned how changing the distance of the ‘effort arm’ from the fulcrum can make a big difference to the weight we can lift.
During the lesson, we talked about the examples of levers we can see in our everyday lives; seesaws, nutcrackers, hammers, bottle opener and balancing scales. Using a fulcrum doesn’t make the item lighter, it just changes how we can apply pressure to lift the weight. Maybe you can have a go at home building your own lever systems. Send some photos if you make anything!
We have completed our first Maths investigation of the year. This time we had to work to find all solutions to The Ladybird Challenge. It is always interesting to see the creativity with which children approach these challenges, as they are very different from arithmetic questions. This is about trial and error and sometimes fumbling your way through and collaborating with each other to find out new ways of thinking and recording.
The children worked on their problem solving skills and used our school crowns “grit and determination” and “curiosity”. It was lovely to see all of the children engaged and enjoying building on their knowledge and understanding.
Year 6 have been delving into their own personal beliefs, and learning about those of other religions, when it comes to the presence of a soul, the possibility of an afterlife, and what’s the deal about karma? It has been truly fascinating discussing all the different things that might happen to us after we die, and the adults have been very impressed with how the children have handled these discussions with respect and curiosity. There are many religions, faiths, and personal beliefs represented in Year 6 and across our school. There have been many conversations about ‘what goes around comes around’, and big philosophical questions about why we should treat each other with respect and kindness throughout our lifetimes.
Today, we have talked about the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path, as well as the concept of Karma and reincarnation. We designed our own visual ‘Wheel of Life’ images, and thought about what we would choose as our areas for reincarnation and enlightenment.
Thank you to all those who joined us for Remembrance Assembly this morning. I think we can all agree that the Year 6’s presented themselves with the utmost respect and decorum for this special occasion. They have been working hard to learn their lines off by heart and deliver them to a huge audience with confidence and clarity. Year 3 pupils also created their own poppies and our school canteen kindly created special poppy cakes in recognition of remembrance day.
Well done Year 6 for bringing a tear to many an eye this morning! You should be very proud of yourselves.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Year 6 made purple poppies to remember the animals that have helped in war. We were really impressed with the concentration and grit and determination shown by all the children!
Year 6 were fully immersed in the world of Shakespeare during their drama workshop with our expert visitor!
Children took part in a series of warm-up activities – including becoming Madame Tussauds waxwork models and terrifying monsters! They then developed Romeo and Juliet freeze frames in groups and asked each other insightful questions surrounding these still images.
Next, they used these skills as a way into both exploring the text and language whilst also considering how the Prologue and Act 1 Scene 1 are ‘delivered’.
Everyone was so enthusiastic and engaged – it was wonderful to see. We are very much looking forward to seeing how children get on with their newspaper reports this week. They will be reporting on the civil disturbance caused by the two warring households – the Montagues and the Capulets – causing bloodshed and pandemonium amongst fair Verona’s streets!
