Friday 10th December (assessment week has finished!)

The children have all worked exceptionally hard this week after we have completed our school wide (DMAT wide) assessment week. As they are in Year 6, this has been in the form of past SATS papers, which we then mark to get an idea of how the children are progressing. Mrs Ware and I also undertake a detailed analysis of every single question, on every single paper to see where support or more teaching needs to happen. At this stage in the year, there are obviously a few things we haven't yet covered in our curriculum, and the children know this, however it is a useful aspect of school life now they are in Year 6.  The SATS papers the children take are SPaG (Spelling, punctuation and grammar), 2 x Reading papers and 3 x maths papers (1 arithmetic and 2 reasoning), mirroring the traditional SATS week traditionally held in May (pre covid). We would both like to congratulate all the children on their positivity, resilience and maturity this week. They really stepped up to the mark. Well done. 

We completed our Geography unit, by writing at length a detailed essay,' Explain how and why geographers do fieldwork?' The children all wowed themselves at how much information they had learnt, how clearly they could talk about this topic and how well they could put their ideas into writing. As this was the first time we had attempted a final piece of writing in Geography, in this way, we were all really pleased. Again, well done Sycamore.

Next week is our final week of term with lots of lovely Christmas things to look forwards to. We will be completing our Science and RE next week with end of unit quizzes. We will also finish our writing- the story of the Christmas advert. 

We will also be learning about the significance of the Christingle and will then make our own. On Wednesday afternoon, we will take our Christingles to the Church (a Year 6 tradition that we want to try to keep as much as possible despite Covid) where we will have a small service with the children from Year 5. We will sing, say some readings and parade around the church with the candles lit. We're really sad that parents/carers aren't allowed to attend due to covid regulations, but we really wanted the children to experience this special service. It will be filmed and uploaded onto Class Dojo!

This week we didn't do a Star of the Week for learning but we did choose a kindness award. This is a new award we are introducing in school and they are incredibly special. These special hearts, will be given sporadically throughout the school year to children who show exceptional kindness and care to their peers. If you receive one, you have done something wonderful. Well done to Harry, who received our first one today. Harry is always kind, sensitive and thoughtful to everyone in our class. Well done Harry. 

So...I think that's it! Lots of lovely things happening in school next week including the Big Sing Up, Christmas Lunch, Secret Santa, Christingle Service and a Christmas class treat! We will post photos and updates on Class Dojo to keep you informed. Have a wonderful weekend at this incredibly busy time of year! Stay well, stay safe and enjoy the festivities as they begin!