Week ending Friday 19th May 2024

Year 6 have come back to school ready to engage in their learning.

In Maths, we have consolidated our understanding of the four operations, addition, subtraction, short and long multiplication, long and short division. The children have been showing their methods and are encouraged to do this. In the afternoons, we have been learning about area and perimeter of triangles and quadrilaterals and have been calculating these through outdoor, practical activities. 

In English, we have been writing in the role of a red blood cell. The children learnt the science relating to this, role played as a red blood cell and have used this information to write a diary entry using humor and figurative language. 

In RE, the children have discussed where their special places are and discussed where they would like to go. They related this to religions who have sacred places such as mosques, cathedrals and temples. 

Week ending Thursday 28th March 2024

We have had a fantastic week in Year 6. This week, we have moved onto decimals, fractions and percentages. The children have learnt equivalent fractions to percentages, using our golden nugget number, 100. The children have learnt how to find percentages of amounts.

This week, we had a DT day where we made war time crumble. We began our day by learning about rationing where they created a weekly food plan using only the food available, created food hygiene and preparation posters for our new STEAM room. We then designed our war time crumble and decided which filling we would have. The children practiced their peeling skills in the afternoon, peeling the different fruits and cut them into chunks. They then created the crumble, using the rubbing process using the limited butter, flour and oats we could use.

Week ending Friday 8th March 2024

On Monday, the staff gave the children a huge surprise! We launched the theme ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and welcomed all our children to Wonderland and a whole school tea party. We are so lucky here at Bishop Chavasse School to have such a passionate dedicated staff who go above and beyond to bring learning to life.

The staff were out to greet the children as they entered ‘Wonderland’ through the main gates and every child was given an invitation to our Mad Hatter’s Tea party at school. We had a special Collective Worship, visited by some of the characters from Alice in Wonderland, launching our theme and sharing all the exciting activities that had been planned for the children throughout the week. In the afternoon, the whole school came together for a Tea Party every Mad Hatter would want to be part of: Music played, tables were laid and we feasted on all sorts of goodies with our Year 1 buddies. 

On Tuesday, we hosted the Welsh Children’s Poet Laureate, Alex Wharton. He delighted, captivated and mesmerized the children with live piano playing, rapping, performance poetry and an immersive drawing session to inspire their own poetry. Some children were able to perform their poems to their year groups while others had time to finish their written works throughout the day. Alex left the children with the message, that one day, it may be one of them performing and presenting their written works to hundreds of children for a living…and in the spirit of our school vision and ethos, he encouraged the children to follow their dreams, remain curious and kind and aspire to fulfill their inner potential.

The children were inspired by our author and performed a poem that they learnt at the beginning of the week and created their own version through our English lessons. Some children even wrote their own versions at home and brought them back in. We were impressed by their positive attitudes to their English writing this week!

Week ending Friday 1st March 2024

In English, we continued to use the book 'Little Ships' as our stimulus for our writing. The children wrote in the role of the characters in the story and wrote letters to their loved ones. They used metaphors, similes and personification within their writing, emotive language and continued to use the complex punctuation that we are teaching within our GPS lessons. 

In Maths, the children finished the unit on algebra and began the unit on decimals. Throughout our unit on decimals, we will be learning how to add and subtract decimals, multiply and divide by 10, 100 and 1000 and understanding the place value. 

In Science, our unit is 'evolution and inheritance'. The children have understood what inheritance means and spoke about what they believe they have inherited from their parents, sharing it with the whole class. 

Week ending Friday 23rd February 2024

Year 6 have come back eager to learn and focus on their new topic, World War 2. Our enquiry question is ‘what impact did WW2 have on Britain?’ We will be focusing on different aspects of the World War and there will be different topic days and activities that the children will enjoy over the next two terms. This week, we have introduced a new text ‘Little Ships’ which is based in Deal, Kent. It focuses on the troubles of Dunkirk and how many soldiers were rescued by little boats. The children wrote a setting description using effective figurative language, expanded noun phrases and fronted adverbials.

In History, we have begun our topic of World War 2, looking at what we know and what we would like to know. The children had some fantastic questions relating to the topic. We have created some brilliant topic pages which will begin their topic in their History books.

6P had a fantastic outdoor learning session – the children learnt how to use a peeler to peel carrots safely- and got to eat them too. They also painted wood discs for orienteering games which will be used across the whole school community and learnt how to drill through disks of wood for nail holes.

Week ending Friday 2nd February 2024

We have had a busy time in Year 6 this week. 

In Maths, we have been learning about ratio and how we can work out amounts using the relationship between numbers. We used the maths in a real life context by showing them how to adapt recipes using ratios, for example how to make a recipe for 16 people but the original recipe is for 8 people. 

In English, we have used a video stimulus to inspire our writing. We used the short Disney film, Lava. We apologise if any of your children come home singing the song! They have been singing it on repeat this week. The children have written some brilliant setting descriptions and letters this week.

In PE, we used the skills we have learnt over the last couple of weeks in the context of a match. The children enjoyed the game but now need to apply more tactical positioning to their team. This will be what we will be focusing on this week.

Friday 26th January 2024

It has been a fun and engaging week of learning. We began the week by creating our clay Islamic tiles. We used different techniques, slabbing, coiling and pinching in order to create texture. Our tiles came out brilliantly and we are looking forward to painting them next week. 

On Wednesday and Thursday, we had an incredible electricity workshop where children conducted some brilliant experiments and even made batteries out of fruit and vegetables! Take a look at some of the pictures on the website and newsletter of the fun we had! 

This Friday, we planted some trees outside in the KS1 and KS2 area which will continue to grow as our schools develops. It will be recognised for years to come that the trees were planted by our first Year 6 of Bishop Chavasse.

Week ending Friday 19th January

Year 6 have had a very busy but fantastic week.

In English, we have continued to read the text 'Clockwork'. We have met different characters this week including Sir Ironsoul. We have written some fantastic instructions how to store Sir Ironsoul. We then designed and wrote some persuasive posters for the people of Glockenheim to come to the clocktower ceremony. The children tried to use the most effective, persuasive language including rhetorical questions and strong modal verbs. 

In Art, we are going to be focusing on sculpture for our unit of work. We will be linking our RE to art by making an Islamic, textured, clay tile. Year 6 learnt about the different forms of Islamic art and planned their tile, annotating where it will be textured and the colours they will use. 

In Science, we have continued to look at our topic electricity, creating circuits and understanding the components which can affect the brightness of the bulb. We are looking forward to our Electricity workshop next week!

Week ending Friday 12th January 2024

We have had a fantastic week of learning. 

In English, we have continued reading the book 'Clockwork' by Philip Pullman. We have written letters, diary entries and character descriptions. We have focused on using high quality, effective language to the written piece and the children have begun to peer mark. 

In PE this week, we have started our unit 'basketball' and learnt how to V dribble and defensive dribble. We completed our unit on dodgeball this week. 

In Music, we learnt how to clap different rhythms and read notations, matching these to the given notes on the keyboard. We then started to combine the rhythms and the notation to begin to play a song. 

In Science this week, we have discovered how the number of cells or batteries can affect the brightness of the bulb. We experimented using different batteries that had different voltages. 

Week ending Friday 5th January 2024

We have had a short but busy week back at school. The children have come back well and ready to learn. This week, we continued with our fraction work - dividing fractions by whole numbers. Our homework links with this learning this week. 

In English, we have begun a new book - Clockwork by Philip Pullman. We read the first chapter and found out about a spectacular clock in Glockenheim that people across the world travel to. We have been introduced to the main characters within the text and are looking forward to reading on. We have written a diary entry in role of a tourist, who is visiting the spectacular clock. 

In Science this week, we have begun our topic on 'Electricity'. We used our learning from Year 4 and 5 and created circuits using lightbulbs and motors. We will continue to build on our knowledge this term. 

Reminder - now swimming has finished, our PE days are Wednesday and Fridays. 

Week ending Friday 15th December

Year 6 had a fantastic final week of the term. On Monday and Tuesday, the children continued with writing their free verse poems based on the book 'The Dog who Stole Christmas'. The children focused on using figurative language for example personification and similes. 

On Wednesday, the children had an amazing DT day where they created stocking using a variety of different sewing stitches. In the morning, the children planned thoroughly and designed the features their stocking would have. Some chose to have pockets on the front, some chose to have an edging at the top. Lots chose to challenge themselves with their sewing skills that Mrs Price and Miss Scott were very impressed with! 

We had completed some brilliant festive activities this week including the panto, Christmas carol concerts and our fantastic Christmas lunch. 

Have a lovely Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in 2024! 

Week ending Friday 8th December 2023

We have had a fantastic week of learning. 

In Maths, we have been learning how to multiply fractions by an integer as well as other fractions. The children were able to this independently and are now masters. You should be able to see this in our home work this week! 

In English this week, we have been reading 'The Dog who Saved Christmas'. In the book, we have learnt about Jake, the main character, who hates Christmas. We wrote free verse poems in the role of Jake and why we needed to get our own back on Christmas. The children use figurative language such as similes, metaphors and personification. Check out some of our poems in the pictures below. 

On Wednesday, we walked to Barnes Lodge to give Christmas cards and sing some festive tunes to the residents. This was part of our RE learning, how people can show generosity to their local community. 

Week ending Friday 1st December 2023

It has been assessment week which means we have worked incredibly hard throughout the week, displaying great perseverance and resilience when we have found them challenging. 

In Maths this week, we have been finishing our first unit on fractions. It has focused on adding and subtracting proper and improper fractions as well as mixed numbers. The children have learnt that a common denominator will always be there best friend when it comes to adding and subtracting fractions! 

We have had some great history lessons this week, where they learnt about Zara Yaqob, one of the solomonic kings, who became the king of Ethiopia. 

Next week, we are beginning our unit on poetry linking to the book 'The Dog who Saved Christmas' and starting our second unit on fraction - multiplying and dividing fractions. 

Week ending Friday 24th November 2023

Year 6 have had a fantastic week of learning. 

In Maths, we have been learning how to change improper fractions into mixed numbers and how to add and subtract fractions. We have needed to use their times table knowledge to support their learning. It would be great for you to keep practicing your times tables to support your maths learning in Year 6. 

In English, we have used the John Lewis advert that features Edgar the Dragon, as a stimulus and planned an apology letter from Edgar to the towns people for ruining their festivities. We focused on the purpose and audience of the letters, used a variety of features of writing and therefore produced some fantastic letters.  

In Science, we have continued our work on shadows by running an investigation on how the distance from the light source affects shadow size. They created their own puppets to carry on their experiment. The children have recorded their results and are now ready to complete their write up of the investigation. 

6S had another fantastic outdoor learning lesson with Mrs Kyte and Mr Manning. It was commented on how the children were incredible role models to the Year 2 children and showed exemplary behaviour expectations. The children particularly enjoyed toasting marshmallows.

Week ending 10th November 2023

We have had a busy but wonderful week in Year 6 this week.

In English, the children have continued to study the text ‘The Children of the Benin Kingdom’. We read the beginning of chapter 5 and then the children wrote the end of the chapter. They focused on building suspense, using effective vocabulary and sentence lengths to build this suspense.

At the end of the week, we focused on Remembrance Day. The children focused on some moving pictures from the war and the children wrote some emotive poems using the first person. They focused on high quality emotive language. We began by writing a class poem and then on Friday, we wrote our own individual poems.

In History, we have begun our topic ‘The Benin Kingdom’. The children experienced an immersive lesson where they were able to visit ‘Aksum’ in the continent of Africa, the place we were learning about. The children learnt how the red sea had a great impact on the trade of the country, learning about the spices that flowed into Aksum from Asia and the children were able to experience the smells and colours of the spices. The children were able to take notes from the immersive experience and created a poster about Aksum.

6S had a fantastic morning on Thursday where they took part in their very first outdoor learning session. The children played lots of games such as hide and seek and the floor is lava. Our first session was with Year 2. The teachers were particularly impressed how the children looked out for the younger children and were incredible role models. Some children really embraced the outdoors and even got stuck in the mud!

Week ending Friday 3rd November 2023

What a brilliant week back for our Year 6 children. The children have settled straight back in and have completed some fantastic learning. 

In Maths this week, we have been looking and order of operations. We have learnt about BODMAS (brackets, order/other, division, multiplication, addition and subtraction) which will help them solve problems with more than one operation in it. On Thursday, we had a BODMAS treasure hunt and we had to answer the problems which led us to our next one, spelling out a word. I wonder if you can remember what it spelt! 

In English this week, we have started our new book called 'The Children of the Benin Kingdom' which is a fast paced adventure story set in one of Africa's most fascinating civilisations the Edo Kingdom of Benin, which links to our History and Geography topic this term. 

In Science, we learnt the vocabulary 'translucent, transparent and opaque'. We sorted materials based on whether the torch light (our light source) passed through the material. We had many great exploratory questions throughout our lesson!

Week ending Friday 20th October 2023

What a busy but fantastic term we have! We have settled into Year 6 very well. 

In English, we completed our term with publishing our non-chronological reports and writing them into a leaflet format. We shared these with our Year 1 buddies and they shared their learning from the week with us too! 

In Art, our artist of the term was Jill Pelto, who is an artist who portrays the messages of climate change through her art work. We looked at some of her work and other artists to inspire us for our final piece. We designed our final composition and focused on different aspects of climate change. Some of us chose deforestation, pollution and forest fires. One of our artists in 6S had the idea of what the eye could see but is surrounded by a polluted, grey world. 

Next term our History and Geography topics will be 'The Kingdom of Benin' and 'Ethiopia'. 

Week ending Friday 13th October

In English, we have been writing a non-chronological report about climate change. We learnt about the features of a non-chronological report and how we can incorporate them into our final piece. We will edit our writing from this week and then publish our work, ready to share with our Year 1 buddy. 

In Maths, we have been focusing on division. The children have learnt how to divide using short and long division. The children will continue with long division over the next week. 

In Science, we answered the question 'does light travel in straight lines?'. We decided what method would be best to test this and then our teachers proved it using a method. We learnt that light does travel in straight lines. 

Reminder: Please ensure your child's Heatree deposit money is in by next Friday. We have had many in already but are still waiting on quite a few payments. 

Week ending Friday 6th October

In Year 6, our topic 'changing worlds' has had a focus on climate change and environmental issues.

In English, the children have really enjoyed our text choice ‘The Varmints’ which is based upon environmental issues. Alongside this, we have watched the short film version which has enabled the children to gain more insight into the impact of climate change. Over the last couple of weeks, the children have written for a range of genres including blogs, posters and letters. Currently, the children are retelling the story of ‘The Varmints’ and they have adapted the ending. Throughout this unit of work, the children have focused on many different aspects of grammar and punctuation and we’ve particularly had an emphasis on the improvement in vocabulary choice. Year 6 have produced some incredible narratives which we’ll definitely be sharing once completed.

In Maths this week, we have focused on multiplication. The children have learnt about square and cube numbers, prime numbers and now working on solving multiplication problems using formal written methods.

In Art, we have focused on drawing and painting skills. Our focus artist for this unit is ‘Jill Pelto’ who is a climate change artist, communicating science through art. The children have been inspired by some of her art work and have devised their own climate change pictures. They have planned their work and are now in the process of completing their composition.

On Wednesday, Year 5 and 6 ventured out of school and had an amazing trip to Tonbridge School. They participated in a variety of sports including hockey, cricket and rugby. The children learnt many different skills and were able to put these into practice in a games setting. Our hosts at Tonbridge were very generous, providing us with gooey chocolate brownies and soft drinks in our break time (balanced evenly with some fruit as well, of course). All the staff commented on the team work and communication skills that the children displayed.

In the afternoon, Year 6 participated in science experiments. The children looked the part in their safety goggles and lab coats and worked well together to complete a science experiment. After our practical work, we were fortunate enough to watch a science show put on by the Tonbridge boys. The science show was fantastic and we heard lots of gasps of amazement during the show. The Year 6 team were particularly impressed with how the year group represented the school and Tonbridge School had commented on the positive behavior that the children had shown throughout the day.

Week ending Friday 29th September 2023

Year 6 have worked incredibly hard this week. We have continued to study the book 'The Varmints' and watch the short film that is based on the book. We have heard from Lord Bleakstone, the leader of the varmints, he sent a voice recording to explain that he needed the varmints to continue to destroy nature. In role of the varmints, we had to decide whether we wanted to continue to support Lord Bleakstone or deviate from his plans. Many of the children decided to deviate from his plans and wrote a formal letter back to him using persuasive writing techniques.

In Maths, we have been focusing on common factors and multiples and divisibility rules. The children really enjoyed learning about the different divisibility rules and how we can tell if a number can be divided equally between each number. For example if it can be divided by 9, all the digits in the number will add up to 9... 108 - 1 + 0 + 8 = 9 so it can be divided equally between 9. 

In RE this term, we have focused on the question 'Christianity and Science - complementary or conflicting?' This week, we looked at two different accounts of creation; 'Big Bang' and 'Evolution' and looked at these along with the creation story passage from Genesis, in the Bible. 

Please remember that next Wednesday, we are going to Tonbridge School and your child will need a packed lunch. 

Week ending Friday 22nd September 2023

In Year 6, we have started to read the book ‘The Varmints’ by Helen Ward, which has been developed into a short film. The children began the week by writing some fantastic setting descriptions using high quality language and the use of relative clauses. We then found out that the Varmints were going to invade and ruin the tranquility, we wrote some fantastic breaking news reports using modal verbs. The children have thought carefully about language choice and writing for purpose. 

In Maths, we have finished our place value unit and looked at rounding to the nearest 10,100,1000 and negative numbers. We will now be beginning our addition and subtraction unit where we will use the column method. 
 

In RHE this week, we spoke about how we use social media appropriately and kindly. Our homework relates to this. 

Week ending Friday 15th September

We have had an incredibly busy week with lots of assessments in Maths and English. We have worked very hard and shown one of our monthly value 'growth mindset' throughout this whole week. We have persevered and kept going even when we've found the assessments tricky. 

In PE this week, we were learning how to do different leaps and jumps within our gymnastics unit. We learnt how to do a cat leap and a stag leap, learning how to begin the leap and how to land. The children demonstrated to their peers and got advice from a GB gymnast, Mrs Clarke!!

In Science, we have started to think about what we already know about light and what we would like to find out throughout this topic. The children have written some fantastic questions for our working wall. 

Maths Homework this week is based on Purple Mash, completing some times tables practice.

Week Ending Friday 8th September

What an exciting week, welcoming our first ever Year 6 back after the summer holidays. We have had a fantastic week settling into our new classes. We have spoken about expectations and responsibilities in Year 6 and created a class charter which explains that when we have signed the agreement, we must follow the expectations. 

In Maths, we have been focusing on place value and have been working with numbers to 1,000,000. We have been learning how to read and write numbers, the place value and understand how powers of 10 changes the numbers. 

In English, we have been writing letters. We have written letters to our new Year one buddies and then a letter to ourselves, ready to read at the end of Year Six. We shared their buddy letter on Friday afternoon.

Next week is our school's assessment week.