What a fantastic week!  The children have scaled heights; walked across high, wobbly bridges; paddled, knelt and stood on surfboards; built sand cities with tunnels leading to the sea; slid down slides, screamed on scary rides and pedalled on boats.  And ate the odd ice-cream!  The children were a real credit to the school and have all pushed themselves beyond their own comfort zones.  They have shown resilience, friendship, team work and courage.  And had a really good time!  

Here are some photos for you to see what they got up to on their week!

Hello Year Six Parents/Carers,

We hope this weekly blog finds everyone well and enjoying the wonderful spell of glorious sunny weather!
The children have been on top form this week and are working hard in all areas of their learning, especially with the thought of the Year 6 activity week arriving next week! They all seem so excited, which is fantastic to see and there is very much a positive vibe in the classroom.

English
The children have enjoyed a short storying writing opportunity this week.  I have been impressed with their vocabulary and imagination and I can see the progress they have made in their use of grammar and punctuation to structure their writing.  They are now continuing with their research for an information text about the human body, which they have thoroughly enjoyed and got to grips with. Each child was able to chose a certain 'system' (circulatory/digestive etc) to research and create their page about. 

Maths
The children have come to the end of their learning focusing on ratio. It has been a really interesting two weeks as at the beginning of the unit, lots of children said they felt a bit daunted, needed support with the language used and needed some time to get to grips with what they were doing. However, that has definitely changed as they all seem confident to tackle problems based around this. After activity week the children will commence a short unit of learning around shape and space. 

Computing
On Monday, the children finished making their games using variables in Scratch.  We have some very proficient users of this coding programme in our class who were happy to act as 'experts' and help other less proficient members of the class (like Mrs Ware!).  Afterwards, the children had the opportunity to play each other's games and to give their peers some feedback on them.

Life Skills
We have begun our lessons on Relationships and Sex Education.  After the introductory lesson the children have been able to overcome their feelings of embarrassment and have been mature and sensible when discussing puberty and how it affects those going through it.

Science
We are studying diet and lifestyle in our final science unit.  Our first lesson focussed on the seven nutrients we need to have a balance in our diet to maintain healthy bodies.  I hope to be able to allow the children to plan and prepare a healthy meal before the end of term if time allows.

P.E.
A wonderfully hot and sunny P.E. session with our Saints coach Mr Berry took place this week. The children took part in a variety of athletics style activities and had to record their scores/distances/times in order to work on improving them. Activities ranged from hurdles to discuss! We will miss our Saints session next week due to our activity week, and the following week due to transition to Okehampton college, but rest assured we will be putting in lots of P.E practice when we can, before our Sports day: which for KS2 will take place on the morning of Thursday 8th July! Write this in your diary now!

History
We have finally completed our learning about Twentieth Century Conflict and I have to say I feel the children have learned so much! They completed their end of unit task by designing an information page about the question:" Was World War 2 Inevitable?" and the majority of the children have really enjoyed this. They have said this has been their favourite history and geography learning throughout the year! We hope to move onto looking at 'Globalisation' in Geography after activity week!

French
This week in French we have recapped undertaking a conversation in a pet shop using the vocabulary we have been practising this term. 

We hope you all have a fantastic weekend and the children come to school on Monday eager and prepared for their week ahead. Regular updates have been added to the Class Dojo, such as the itinerary for the week, with those all important timings. Please do not hesitate to contact us via the office or Class Dojo if you have an urgent question, however I feel you should be well prepared! Lets hope for some lovely sunshine to add to those final memories of primary school. Thank you all for your support. I am sure there will be lots of wonderful photos in nest week's edition!

Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware 

 Good afternoon everyone,

We hope this class blog finds you all well after the excitement of the Jubilee Celebrations. We have had a busy week back in school and here are some of our learning highlights to keep you updated!

Forest Schools 
We had a great afternoon on Tuesday in our second forest schools session.  The children were challenged to create an obstacle course using items they found in the environment. The course also included a rope course which they helped Miss Prince to tie before the session began.  They then had to use their own obstacle course in races against each other which required teamwork and cooperation as well as physical skills such as balance, coordination, fitness and strength.  After that, we had to tidy up and return all the items to where we had found them - some were more keen than others to do this!!

English
Our English text 'Anatomy' links well to our science topic about organ systems and cells.  We have started writing a shared information text all about the heart and will go on to write independently about other organ systems carrying out research and planning our own writing, pop ups and diagrams for a double page spread.

Maths
We have begun a totally new area of learning for the children in Year 6, and that is ratio. This week we have looked at what the ratio symbol looks like, how we use language around ratio and the link between ratio and fractions. We enjoyed using cubes to get used to talking about it, for example...for every 3 blue cubes there are 2 red ones. We will continue with ratio next week and will look at how it links to scale factors and relative size.

History
We are tying up the end of our history learning by focusing on the questions, 'what was life like in Germany during the 1930s?' and 'was the Second World War inevitable?' There has been lots of information to remember about this but also we have been thinking about our own opinions and ideas about this perios of history.

Transition
We had a visit from Mrs Hachipuka from Okehampton College on Wednesday and the children had an opportunity to ask lots of questions about life at secondary school.  Questions ranged from which tutor groups they will be in, clubs and buses, lessons and social times, school uniform to what is the most serious sanction for bad behaviour!!  Mrs H was happy to answer all their questions and welcomes any further questions you or they may have.  The website may answer many of your questions but if there is anything else you can contact her directly or send your questions to us and we will field them on.  By the end of the session the children seemed happier and were feeling more excited about this important transition. Okehampton College Year 6 Transition Information - OKEHAMPTON COLLEGE

We have lots of exciting events coming up for the children, and we look forwards to sharing more of our learning with you. This week's star of the week is Kit, who has showed great maturity, positivity and has listened well to feedback! Well done Kit, we are proud of you. 

Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you next week.
​Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware.

Good afternoon everyone, we hope this blog finds you well. Here is a brief update on learning this week!

English
The children have really enjoyed reading and imitating Flossie Albright's secret World War 2 diary.  They have learnt from more personal stories from World war 2 to complement their learning in history and have been able to write in the role of a child living through this turbulent time in history.  The children are working really hard to proofread and perfect their writing and to show evidence of all the year six standards of writing. We will soon have to make a final teacher assessment of their writing which has to be then submitted officially.

Maths
We have come to the end of our unit on area, perimeter and volume and what a difference a couple of weeks makes! All the children have made great progress in this area and have tackled the problems they have encountered very well. Next week we begin ratio and proportion. 


Science
This week the children learnt about animal and plant cells and their similarities and differences.  To support this unit of work about life processes, cells and organ systems, the children have been growing sunflowers so that they can observe their growth and the other life processes over time. As an extra bit of fun I have promised a prize for the tallest/best sunflower.  They will be bringing these home for half term and can bring back after half term or at the end of term for the final judging! - No cheating now!!


Life skills
Our lesson this week was all about drug awareness: the risks associated with using any type of drug and identifying some of the risks and effects of drug use.  They were able to analyse the level of risk in different situations, identifying that drugs can affect people in different ways.  We discussed how, for some people, drug use can become an unhealthy habit that can be difficult to break and about the support available to help people and  where to report any concerns they have.  After half term we will begin our lessons on relationships and sex education

Quad Games and PE
The children thoroughly enjoyed their 'speed cricket' game on the field this week. This saw them pairing up and getting 3 balls each to score as many runs as possible before the next pair took over. Winners were Ollie and Rowan, followed by Jason and Ralfie. It was a lesson of running, throwing and cheering. 

On Friday morning in the glorious sunshine the children took part in OCRA's Quad games. This consisted of four events: a sprint, a long distance run, a long jump and a javelin style throw. The four girls and four boys with the most points overall from Years 5 and 6 will go on to represent us in the finals in July, so watch this space! The OCRA coaches were very complimentary about our children and said they had seen huge improvements in fitness, resilience and most importantly enjoyment. We have a great team spirit in Sycamore class, something of which both Mrs Ware and I are very proud of. 

French
The children's letters to the school in Blangy Chateau in Normandy have been sent off! We look forward to receiving a reply! The focus of today's lesson was to use their past knowledge of animals and opinions, numbers and greetings to buy a pet from a pet shop. Today there was a huge emphasis on speaking and listening as the children were introduced to new phrases and also some new French culture: using euros and noting how the cost of something is written. They did very well with this and we have some lovely video clips of the children having a go!

We hope you all have a wonderful half term break, enjoy the Jubilee celebrations and may we hope for some more glorious sunshine. When the children return we have an exciting, but incredibly packed final 7 weeks of Primary School life. Transition will be made a priority for all children and we have the much anticipated activity week, sports events, Festival of hope and many more! One incredibly important date for your diary will be the Year 6 Leavers Assembly, you won't want to miss it! So write it in your diaries now! Friday 22nd July (we think this will happen during the morning). We would love to see as many family members there as possible to share this special occasion. 

Happy half term, we return on Tuesday 7th June 2022!
Take care and thank you.
Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby

​

Hello everyone,

We hope this finds you all well and looking forwards to the weekend! As per usual, the children have had another busy week and this week has seen a return to the usual routine/timetable that we have followed for so long.

In English we are reading 'My Secret War Diary' by Flossie Albright, and we are looking at writing diary entries in the style of the author, to fit the time period the book is based in (1939-1945). The children have shown great enthusiasm for this book so far and have really got learning about life in WW2.

In Maths we have begun a short unit on area, perimeter and volume. We have focused on finding the area of rectangles, rectilinear shapes and finding the area of triangles. We will continue with this unit next week.

In History we have looked at the questions, "Was the Treaty of Versailles Fair?" and "How did Hitler rise to Power in the 1930s?" As you can see, these questions this week will link the end of WW1 to the beginning of WW2 and the children have gained an insight to how they link. They particularly enjoyed learning about 'The Big Three', and how their decisions about repercussions on Germany led to the collapse of the state. They were asked to consider questions such as, 'was Germany solely responsible for the war?' and 'how did the repercussions affect the people living in Germany?'. As part of this history unit, the children have also gained an insight into how Europe has changed geographically/politically since the early 1900s. They are so keen to know more about this and were eager to take part in history this week, asking if we could do it all day! 

In Science the children have investigated the question, "What are organ systems, organs, tissues and cells?" The children learnt that a cell is the basic unit of an organism and cells work with other cells to do a job, forming a tissue, for example muscle tissue. They learnt that tissues work with other tissues to do a job forming organs e.g. the heart (muscle tissue and fat tissue). This then led onto organs and how they work with other organs to do a job forming organ systems e.g. the circulatory system. They then discovered that organ systems work together to form an organism.

In P.E the children have Mr Berry teaching them some more 'cricketing' skills, before using them in a match next week! It was lovely to see them all taking part and enjoy the fast paced atmosphere!

This week in French there was great excitement in the class, as the children learnt about the local primary school in Blangy le Chateau, in Normandy in France (who North Tawton is twinned with) and discovered they would be writing letters to the children there to make pen pals! They used the knowledge they had learnt about their birthdays, ages, names, pets and opinions to write a brief introductory letter that will be sent off in half term. As you can see from the photos, the children participated in this with confidence and eagerness! Well done Year Six!

On Tuesday the children experienced Forest school for the first time this term. This was a great afternoon of den building, team work, problem solving and resilience. All key skills to have. It's fair to say the children enjoyed it.

As you know Mrs Ware and I share the class and everything that goes with it. However, one thing we don't share, are our class story books (class novel). We are both really passionate about children developing a love of reading from an early age and try to immerse them in different types of texts, written by different authors. We both love reading! The story that we are sharing on my days is Wolf Hollow,  which focuses on a young girl; Annabelle and her relationship with a new girl Betty. When Betty goes missing suspicion falls on a man called Toby and Annabelle has to do everything in her power to stop the town turning against him. The children always listen so well during this time and we have great discussions about what has happened and what they think will happen!

Here are some photos so you can see some of the exciting things we have been doing this week! Have a lovely weekend, we will see you on Monday!
Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware

Happy Friday everyone and what a week it has been!

The children have absolutely excelled themselves this week, with their maturity, compassion and resilience throughout a week of SATS.  

They started off every morning with breakfast club in the school hall, where they enjoyed cereals, toast, pancakes, fruit juice and fruit before heading to the playground for some early morning exercise. I still believe this was the best part of the day for them all. Watching them eat together, talk, take turns and enjoy each others company brought a real lump to my throat as they have built such strong relationships despite being a small class.

After the indulgence of breakfast and some fresh air came a different test each day. SPaG on Monday, reading on Tuesday and maths on Wednesday and Thursday; where the children calmly and maturely approached each paper with an air of quiet confidence. Watching them made us all so proud of them.

During the afternoons they have undertaken a D.T project have created their own playgrounds. This involved designing and researching a playground, creating a footprint and then making it using a whole range of materials and apparatus such as saws, glue guns, bench hooks, doweling, and lolly sticks just to name a few. They all thoroughly enjoyed this and it was so nice to see the different skills the children have coming to light! Please see the gallery below for photos!

Friday saw us take a trip to the park and pump track with bikes and scooters...putting our bike ability skills to the test! Ice creams in the sunshine, climbing, hiding, catching, chasing, football, Secret seeker (a game they invented today), laughing and enjoying our time together after a week of hard work. 

Year Six-you have made us very proud this week! Well done. Enjoy a wonderful weekend together and we will see you all on Monday morning!

We hope you all enjoyed the extended weekend and made the most of it! Four week days to cram lots of learning in, instead of five! 

We have spent the time in English and Maths revisiting areas of learning the children in preparation for next week. They have all really risen to the challenge of identifying areas of learning they each want to get better at, and have grown in maturity in a short period of time. It is lovely to see responsible, resilient and positive children. We wish them every success next week and they each deserve to get the results they are capable of.
 
Science
This week we learnt about the organ systems in the body and the important functions they carry out.  We also learnt that plants too, have organ systems such as the root system, shoot system and reproductive system.  To support our learning about cells, and particularly life processes, we did some planting as part of our science lesson . Firstly, we planted cress seeds so we can observe the life processes of growth, sensitivity and movement.  We also planted some sunflower seeds to see who can grow the tallest to celebrate the appearance of the sun lately!  Some children also wanted to bring some home to try and grow - if they use the pots they were given they will need to put some drainage holes in the bottom!

Computing
We are continuing to learn about variables and how they can be used in games.  We coded a  project involving two variables.  The children learnt that variables have a name and a value and that the value can change during the operation of the program but that the name stays the same.

History
We have continued to learn about World war One and in particular the question, "Why were so many lives lost on the Western Front?". We recapped last weeks lesson about factors that caused the First World War and then went on to look at the Western Front, weaponry, life in the trenches, naval blockades, major battles and propaganda. The children were absolutely fascinated about this, in particular life in the trenches, and have asked to learn more about it. They were horrified to learn about the conditions and the disease, 'trench foot'. The children have been incredibly mature when discussing this topic  and have asked great questions. I love the fact they are curious and they want to know more! Next lesson we will learn about the Treaty of Versailles. 

P.E
The children has P.E. with Mr Berry again this week and they began recapping cricket skills. In particular, batting and bowling. They really enjoyed this session and they were eager and cooperative! Well done Year 6. 

We want to wish all the children a relaxing and happy weekend. Enjoy the warm sunshine, get some fresh air, sleep well and enjoy. We will see the children on Monday morning at 8:15 am for breakfast club in the hall.

Thank you.
Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware

Hello and wishing you all a warm welcome to the summer term 2022- the final term for your children at Primary school.
This week across the curriculum we have took part in these areas of learning...
REAL PE
Now that we have finished swimming, we have an extra PE session at school.  We have began our second unit from our REAL PE scheme which is all about using creative skills in PE.  On Tuesday, we played seated volleyball and practised seated balance skills.  In this unit the children will be able to change tactics, rules or tasks to make activities more fun or more challenging.

Saints PE
This session now happens on a Thursday morning with our new coach, Mr Berry. He was very impressed with the children's behaviour and sportsmanship this week and is looking forwards to the next few weeks with us. 

Science
Our unit this half term is all about cells in living things.  This week we learnt about the 7 life processes which all living things (organisms) have.  See if your child can remember them all using the acronym MRS NERG.  Later in this unit we will be learning about the different organ systems in animals and plants.

History
Our unit this half term is called Twentieth Century Conflict and it focuses on aspects of World War 1 and World War 2. The children are really keen to get into this and loved our first lesson. This lesson focused on the question, "What caused the First World War to break out?" The children learnt about the unification of Germany, the international treaties that existed between different countries and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. They were really involved in our discussions and were really keen to know more about this time period but also the geographical and political changes in Europe over the last 100 years. 

Life Skills
We are learning about mental health; what it means and how we can take care of it.  During this lesson we explained what is meant by 'mental health'; identified everyday behaviours that can help support our mental and physical health and recognised that we can take care of our mental health as well as our physical health.  The children always impress me with their understanding and thoughtful contributions during these lessons.

Computing
We are using Scratch in this unit of work all about using variables in games.  Many of the children are very proficient in using Scratch already but this unit of work allows them to explore the concept of variables to make sure they understand how and why we use them and relate them to everyday contexts.  The unit also focuses on the importance of design.

French
This week the children were introduced to the French alphabet and how to ask the question, "how do you spell your name?". They really enjoyed learning the letters through song and played a game where they had to ask each other to spell their names in French using the French alphabet. 

Art
This week we are focusing on the artist Susannah Blaxhill who is a botanical artist. We have focused on learning to draw poppy heads in her style (linked with our history work too). 

Congratulations to Eva who is our star of the week! We hope you all have a fantastic 'extended bank holiday weekend' and spend some quality time together. 

​Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby

Happy Easter everyone,

So here we are at the end of the Spring term! The next time I write a blog it will officially be the summer term and the Year 6's last term at Primary School. Next term sees lots of exciting things planned for them (details will follow in due course) as well as lots of important things too. We hope the weather begins to improve so we can truly make the most of our time together.

This week has been as busy as ever. We have used our time to finish our biographies, write our Geography essays based on 'Population', finish our D.T projects, undertake a short unit on converting units (measures) in maths, learn about April Fools Day in French, practise for our sharing assembly and conclude our swimming lessons. 

There have been two highlights for me this week and both of them are about celebrating the children's achievements and their resilience.

The first is the improvement in swimming and water confidence for EVERY single member of our class. I absolutely loved watching the children swimming this week as they undertook their assessments to see how far they could swim. The encouragement they gave each other,  the determination, the courage and the smiles on their faces and the pure pride they had in themselves. Whether it be 10 m or 100 m, positivity and effort is what counts. I was a very proud teacher today, and the staff at the swimming pool were full of admiration for the progress they have all made.

The second highlight was the children completing their D.T. sewing projects. They have all worked very hard, in a relatively short space of time, to complete a stuffed felt fish from design to toy. All the children worked independently, with little support from me and showed huge pride in their efforts as they were desperate to take them home! There were moments of joy, concentration, relief and support as they all participated with determination to complete it in time for Easter.

I wish you a very Happy Easter; Mrs Ware and myself will be in touch with news about the Summer term, what to expect, timetables, events, trips, activities and much more. We will do our very best to support your child in fulfilling their potential and having the most memorable time in their final few months at  primary school. 

Thank you and take care. 
​Mrs Ware and Miss Ruby

Good afternoon everyone,

Well here we are, the penultimate week before the Easter holidays and it seems to have been the quickest school year ever! I am sure I say that every year...however the time is flying and we will be in the Summer term before we know it. Lets hope we get some 'summer' weather soon, as we seem to have arrived at Easter in the grips of winter again. The children were however, very excited at the few flurries of snow we had on our way back from swimming yesterday!

This week has been a whole school wide assessment week, where we look at the levels of progress the children have made throughout their time in their class, to ensure they are on track to meet their potential at the end, and what we can do as teachers to best support them. Our class have worked incredibly hard this week, with an excellent attitude and approach. We were both incredibly proud of them. They are of course eager to know how they have done, so we will spend the next couple of days getting the information together to share with them if they wish. The children have undergone assessments in maths, reading, spelling and punctuation and grammar. 

The children are almost at the end of their swimming block and I have been thrilled at the levels of progress they have made. The level of water confidence from every single child has increased tremendously and that is so important in this vital life skill. They are happy and enjoy every second of their lessons which is wonderful to see.  Coach Edwards took the class for a P.E. lesson on the field, where the children enjoyed a game of football.

In French this week, the children practised lots of listening skills and had to be detectives to identify correct sounds. They had to match questions in French to the answers in English and also listened to a short paragraph about 'Marie-Claire' and then had to identify phrases/sentences about her from what they heard. Our children's French ability is very good and it's really great to see them having a go, using the new knowledge they have learnt and applying it with reasons for their thinking. I have been very impressed. 

We have also undertaken another of our D.T. projects. The children each designed and made a soft toy fish. They had to decide who it be would be for, and undertake a strict criteria to check it fit the person., e.g if the toy was for a baby then you wouldn't want buttons or anything they could choke on!  They then created a template, to make two parts, decorated each part and then sewed them together using a running stitch and stuffed them to make it soft like a toy. It is fair to say this was no easy task, as many aspects of the task were fiddly, however, once again, the class really rose to the occasion and all pulled together to create some brilliant toys! We will aim to finish and evaluate these next week, before they come home (which I know the children are desperate to do).

Have a fabulous weekend, please see Class Dojo for reminders about Leavers Hoodies, a class reward to the park with bikes and scooters and a celebration of our Star of the week.

Thank you,
Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware