Year 6 / Blwyddyn 6
Croeso i Flwyddyn 6!
Welcome to Year 6!
The Year 6 team / Tim Blwyddyn 6
Class teachers:
Miss Fry 6F
Mrs Loulou 6L
Teaching Assistants:
Mrs Giangrandi
Mrs Cole
Mrs Fish
Mrs Evans
Times / Amserau
Years 3 to 6 pupils are dropped off at the main school gate for entry to school between 8.45 and 8.55am
Pick-up is also at the main school gate, at 3.30pm
Snacks & Lunch / Byrbrydau a Chinio
All primary school pupils' lunches are free - please order your child's choice on Parentpay. Pupils can bring in a packed lunch if preferred.
Please provide your child with at least one full drinks bottle of water, to be brought home for washing at the end of each day. PLEASE remember to label the bottle (and all other belongings) with your child's name. Thank you.
If your child would like to bring in their own snack, please can you ensure it is a healthy snack e.g fruit or vegetables (no crisps, chocolate, biscuits or sweets). Thank you.
What & How we Learn / Beth a Sut yr ydym yn Dysgu
Learning Projects
Autumn Term - 'A Child's War' - How did World War 2 affect Wales?
Spring 1 -'Frozen Kingdom' - Welcome to the Planet's coldest lands!
Spring 2 - Land of Legends (Welsh Myths and Legends)
Summer Term - 'A Star is Born'
Curriculum for Wales
The Curriculum consists of What Matters Statements which are found within these Six Areas of Learning
Expressive Arts (this spans five disciplines: art, dance, drama, film and digital media and music)
Health and Wellbeing (this includes PE)
Humanities (this Area encompasses geography; history; religion, values and ethics; business studies and social studies)
Languages, Literacy and Communication (which aims to support learning across the whole curriculum and to enable learners to gain knowledge and skills in Welsh, English and international languages as well as in literature)
Maths and Numeracy
Science and Technology This area draws on the disciplines of biology, chemistry, computer science, design and technology, and physics to enhance learners’ knowledge and understanding of the world.
These are carefully planned within a broad and balanced curriculum.
Literacy
Daily reading sessions which include reading with the teacher, punctuation and grammar, silent reading, comprehension, spelling practice (plus an additional spelling lesson per week). Welsh is taught for one hour a week and there is a Helpwr Heddiw session four times a week. French is taught for 30 minutes a week.
Through reading historical accounts and carrying out research in their Child's War learning project, pupils will explore what it was like to be an evacuee, the impact of evacuation on children and their families, and the daily life of a child in wartime Wales. They will read The Diary of Anne Frank and write their own diary entries.
In Frozen Kingdom, Year 6 pupils will research facts and figures about climate, temperature, habitats and eco-systems .
Land of Legends will give children an opportunity to study the engaging stories of the Mabinogion and to create their own legends.
Welsh
Helpwr Heddiw session daily, in which the teacher chooses a helper to assist with Welsh games, vocabulary and commands for that day
Maths & Numeracy
Big Maths weekly test. Children who have completed CLIC and SAFE 20 are given Corbett Maths Platinum level as consolidation.
White Rose (procedural and reasoning). Pre-assessments are carried out at the beginning of every topic and lessons are planned accordingly.
Health & Wellbeing
Pupils receive weekly Jigsaw lessons and weekly PE lessons. We have also developed links with Cardiff MET to provide enhanced, sports-specific lessons. Pupils undertake to run a mile every day.
Some pupils have access to our Thrive Practitioner via referral and many receive ELSA transition sessions (including a Speech and Language open day) at Cardiff High School.
Outdoor learning is undertaken as part of PPA provision.
The Star is Born learning Project is an opportunity for pupils to express themselves in drama, music and art/crafts, and to build their confidence. Pupils create the props, sets and costumes for the leavers' performance and all pupils take part in singing and dancing chorus work for the production.
Science & Technology
In Frozen Kingdoms, pupils construct food chains to show how species are interdependent on each other as food sources, and find out about the bio-diversity of the Arctic or Antarctic ocean.
Pupils construct props and sets for the leavers' performance as part of their DT work, which in 23-24 included mask-making and puppetry.
Humanities
A Child's War explores both World Wars, using maps to familiarise with the geography of the period; Frozen Kingdoms explores the world's coldest places, seas and oceans, researching the environmental and ethical issues of these locations.
History is prevalent in A Child's War and pupils look specifically at the effects and devastation of the Swansea Blitz and why some parts of Wales were more vulnerable to bombing than others.
Frozen Kingdoms looks at the story of the sinking of the Titanic, using the Michael Morpurgo novel Kaspar, Prince of Cats as a basis for literacy work and exploration of late Vitcorian society.
Land of Legends explores the mythical and historical history of Wales and how we can differentiate between these different types of historical sources.
Religious Education is incorporated in school life on a daily basis in assemblies, and Year 6 also explores religious celebration or remembrance when it is timely and relevant to the learning project. Year 6 always marks Remembrance in November, for example, and looks at Jewish festivals as part of studying Anne Frank's diary. Discussions and information sharing takes place around Christmas, Easter, Ramadan and Eid.
Expressive Arts
The Welsh artist Nicholas Evans is studied during the lead-up to the Eisteddfod and in Frozen Kingdoms, pupils use pastels to create pictures of the Northern Lights. A Star is Born is all about performance, both on and behind the stage. Pupils access music, dance, drama, art, design and working with fabrics and models.
Physical Education / Ymarfer Corff
PE is TBC for both Year 6 classes. Please could the children wear their kit to school on this day. The children also have the opportunity to participate in our Daily Mile activity during the rest of the week.
In order to allow plenty of time for lunch, please could the children come to school dressed in their Lakeside Primary School PE kit, on their PE day. A navy t-shirt and shorts are required, and trainers or similar footwear. Navy T-shirts may be purchased from YC Sports. If your child does not arrive in the appropriate PE kit, they will be asked to wear spare school kit. If, for any reason, your child cannot take part, please send in a signed letter from a parent or guardian.
Learning Areas / Mannau Dysgu
The Year 6 classrooms are both on the ground floor.
We use the Big Hall for lunches, assemblies & PE lessons
Pupils have regular Outdoor Learning sessions with Mrs Naomi Thomas, in addition to which we undertake many activities that involve being out exploring the wider school environment, e.g. collecting natural items, drawing maps etc. Learners are given the opportunity to explore and discover various aspects of the outside environment. The outdoor activities planned often link to their indoor learning projects.
During the school year, Year 6 pupils visit Cardiff Castle and a residential centre, in addition to sports sessions at Cardiff Met
Communication, and helping your child / Cyfathrebu a helpu
Children access work in the Year 6 Google classroom and their appropriate literacy and numeracy classrooms, some work is also recorded here.
Weekly Maths and spelling lists are posted in the relevant classroom on Friday afternoon.
Staff greet the children every morning in the classroom. Parents have an opportunity to speak to staff at the end of the day and can also send messages via Lakeside School email. Staff will endeavour to respond to emails within 1 working day.
Homework
Homework will be set regularly; this is often set on Google Classroom. Homework will help to consolidate skills taught in school and may also provide information if a home task is required for a topic. In Year 6, we encourage the children to be as independent as possible when organising and prioritising their time; we do this with the aim of preparing them for High School and we are grateful for your ongoing parental support with this.
Reading
We would be very grateful if you could encourage your children to read for enjoyment as regularly as possible. We do appreciate that many children have evening clubs to attend, but as it is a skill that is used across the curriculum, regular practise is highly beneficial.
Parents might like to consider subscribing to a weekly publication called First News. It is an excellent newspaper that has many interesting articles about current world events, written in a child-friendly way. If you are interested in subscribing to the newspaper at home, please click on the following link: https://subscribe.firstnews.co.uk/?utm_source=neutral-homepage&utm_medium=topnav&utm_campaign=neutral-homepage
Cymraeg
In Wales, the Welsh language is a core subject alongside English, Maths and Science. The children have many opportunities to practise their Welsh language skills throughout the school day, both inside and outside of the classroom. In addition to this, we have a daily Helper Heddiw session which focusses on different language patterns. The children also have lessons dedicated to their reading and writing skills.
Dysgu Cymraeg/Learning Welsh
If parents would like to join their children in practising Welsh at home, please see below for some links which we hope will be helpful:
https://www.s4c.cymru/en/dysgu-cymraeg/#
Apps:
Say Something in Welsh
Duolingo
Criw Cymraeg
Members of Criw Cymraeg have a very important role in helping to promote the use of the Welsh language throughout the school. In February 2020, we were proud to have been awarded the Cymraeg Campus Welsh Bronze Award; this year our aim is to start working towards the Silver Award and Criw Cymraeg will play a pivotal role in this.
Alan Peat
Alongside studying non-fiction genres, we continue to use 'Alan Peat' sentences in Year 6, so if your child enjoys creative writing at home, please could you encourage your children to include them in their work. These top tips for sentence writing will really help you improve your writing skills. Click here, or find the link at the bottom of the page.
Useful Information:
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Bitesize SATs Revision
Practise for your SATs with these activities in English, Maths and Science.
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Abacus log-in
The log-in page for the children to access the Abacus online world. This is where children can complete homework set and play fun maths games related to what they have done in class.
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Dance Mat Typing
A fun way to improve your typing skills
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Newsround
Find out about what's going on in the world.
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Top Marks Maths
Games to help you improve all areas of your maths. The problem solving section is great for practicing your reasoning questions! - Top Marks Spelling and Grammar Games
Sharing with Parents/Carers / Rhannu gyda Rhieni / Gofalwyr
Parents/Carers are invited to a curriculum meeting at the beginning of the school year, and can share their children's work at Christmas and during the Spring Term.
Parent Consultations take place twice-yearly, in October and March.
Thank you for your continued support,
Miss Fry, Mrs Loulou and the Year 6 team