Y6

Greetings Year 6 2020-21! 

Welcome back to school - we are really looking forward to getting to know you all and making sure that your final year at BCS is a year to remember! 

Please don't forget to wear PE kit on Wednesdays and Thursdays and that you cannot bring items other than snacks, lunchboxes and water bottles to school every day. 

We also MUST have your parents' permission if you want to walk home on your own. 

And finally, absolutely no mobile phones or electronic devices are allowed in school. 

We will put updates and photos on these pages regularly, so do check often. 

We are super-excited about the year ahead and we hope that you are too!

From Mrs Thompson, Mrs Storey, Mrs Souders, Mrs White and Mr McCarthy

The day the chairs quit.

In 6WS this week, the children walked in to find their chairs had gone on strike! 

The chairs had created a picket line and sent letters to the children via Google classroom. The chairs were no longer putting up with being rocked on, being left untucked, having pencil sharpenings left on them or worse still some children making foul smells upon them. 

The children then had to write letters back to their chairs begging for forgiveness.

Luckily the chairs could see how remorseful the children were and allowed them to have their chairs back once they had produced some outstanding letters. 

Farewell Year 6! 

Thank you for your cards, your gifts, your kind words, but most of all, thank you for being YOU! 

Being your teachers has enhanced our lives this year. 

Good luck to you all, 

Love from Mrs Thompson and Mrs Storey 

British Science Week

After 3 weeks in the classroom our bread experiment has yielded some intriguing results, raising the question which Y6 class washes and dries their hands more thoroughly?! 

It was also interesting to note that in one class the washed hands with soap was more effective than the antibacterial hand gel.

We discussed the different types of mould growth seen but now it will be a relief to move on from mould and microorganisms!

Our other activity in science week was to create a marble run in teams in just an hour: a real measure of teamwork and engineering skills! Can you beat the longest recorded time of 10.32 seconds?

Investigating Adaptations in Science

We have started the new year investigating the advantages and disadvantages to different shaped beaks.

Year 6 scientists Sept '19

We have started our science with thinking about the skills we need to work scientifically, but also having great fun with 'rocket mice'! Our main science topic this half term focuses on our health and looking after our hearts, learning about the circulatory system, so we have also been investigating the effect of exercise on our heart rate. 

ENTERPRISE CHALLENGE!

In Y6 the children engage in a project called Enterprise Challenge for the last half term. Children are placed into 10 teams and are asked to innovate and develop a product to sell in school on Thursday July 11th. Each team has chosen a personal charity to support and are working hard to come up with products that will sell!

The teams have produced a survey as part of their market research and we'd love for you to complete these and perhaps share on with other family members. This is an important part of the process for the children, who need to take on board the feedback and adjust their products accordingly. Click on the links below for each team. Thank you for your time and don't forget, the children will be selling an improved version of these ideas on July 11th !

Mrs Moss

TEAM 1 - FEARLESS https://forms.gle/2jarTdLJh95D9kyW7

TEAM 2 - MYSTIC MAKERS https://forms.gle/BNQmaDbTtKPUn61f8

TEAM 3 - RELAXIBLES (2 surveys) https://forms.gle/xn9D5pk3dPUrhsXh8 

https://forms.gle/CiK7YBjZ5b9HVftW9

TEAM 4 - SUPER SIXES https://forms.gle/RXVA6JBcCT5xdPcG7

TEAM 5 - STORMZ (2 surveys) https://forms.gle/8EFd96NzMSdj7PHX7 

https://forms.gle/49CFv1pN5Q2K15KV8

TEAM 6 - FIERCE FOOD https://forms.gle/DSGjfQKUdJkyoN2F8

TEAM 7 - LEGIT STICKS https://forms.gle/RUXrHima9XeobQNJA

TEAM 8 - TITANIUM https://forms.gle/YArAMNfnXNkgd25q7

TEAM 9 - BOSS https://forms.gle/8Ea3g9VaxRPGfiv7A

TEAM 10 - HAVOC https://forms.gle/i14KcQ8jsrvbCAj3A

Thank you to team ‘Tatton’ from Y6, who developed and presented the 4th BIG club assembly this year, focusing on the Beatitudes. They performed a modern version of the parable of the Unforgiving Servant to illustrate the importance of forgiveness. We’d also like to say a huge thank you to the dedicated team of parents and members of St Mary’s church, who come in each week to work with the children to explore aspects of faith and worship: Kirsten Wood, Katie Riley, Caroline Royle and Hilary Gartside. A reminder that Year 6 children are invited to attend ‘Underground’

Summer 1 - Week 3

Your Year 6 Teacher’s Vows:

We do solemnly declare that we, your year 6 teachers, shall not pressurise you, our wonderful year 6 pupils, about SATs. From this day forward, until lunchtime on May 16th, and indeed thereafter, we shall not subject you to stress and shall protect you (to the best of our ability) from Key Stage 2 testing.

We promise that we will strive to keep you stimulated and engaged, even as together we revise the difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and why a sentence is active and not passive. We will be excellent teachers, for better, for worse, and we shall not continually mention that SATs are coming up. Instead, we will endeavour to equip you with the skills and knowledge that you need to succeed for the rest of your lives, until we are parted forever in the summer.

We pledge that we will respect, trust, help, and care for you, remembering that after all, you are only 10 and 11 years old. We will support you, in sickness and in health, not only to secure your academic success, but also your emotional wellbeing, social ability and general well-roundedness.

And when July comes, we promise to reassure you, in joy and in sorrow, that we, your year 6 teachers, believe that you, our year 6 pupils, have qualities that the tests could not test. We will be your champions, reminding you that you have the capacity to succeed in so many different ways.

And as the last day of school rolls around, and we are rent asunder, we will wave you off, confident that your sanity and happiness remain intact, as you look forward to the summer.

These are our solemn vows.

Mr H Day - 31st January

Mr Hamblett was a veteran of outdoor cooking in all weathers, so Y6 had a flavour of cooking over an open fire with Mrs Storey and Mrs Moss. Pockets of foil with potatoes, onion, carrot and mince (optional) were made and cooked on the embers; meanwhile we toasted marshmallows , trying not to burn them! So now you know why everything smelt of smoke. The day also included cricket, a Mr H style quiz, hot chocolate and dancing. 

We miss him more than we can say but he would have loved all of our activities and his memory lives on in us.

WW1 remembered in Y6

Although Y6 usually focus on WW2 for their local history topic, due to the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 we have also spent some time focusing on these events. Our focus started with WW1 poetry and looking at the messages these poems have for us today. Y6 then wrote their own poems using the originals as inspiration. Artwork and drama followed,  together with thought provoking discussions in RE lessons 'Is it ever right to kill?"

As part of  school activities, we helped to paint the poppy boards at the front of school, sold poppies at the beginning and end of each day, baked scones for the community tea - where members of upper junior choir sang WW1 songs.

All these activities have developed a greater understanding and respect of the sacrifice of those who fight in the name of their country or personal commitment, but also respect for those who are affected by war or who choose not to fight. 

We will remember.

Poetic Year 6 have been experimenting with Haiku and Tanka poetry.

The sea calm and deep

The waves gently whisper

It sends me to sleep.

The hypnotic sea

Draws its enemies closer

It has no mercy

The waves will lift you away

To a bottomless chamber

by Bea

Griffindors Venture Anywhere (based on the poem 'Cats Sleep anywhere')  by Shula

Griffindors venture anywhere

Under table, or a chair.

By whomping willows, the window edge,

The forbidden forest, in a wedge.

With Moaning Myrtle , she will do

She could take you down the loo!

The chamber of secrets, fight the snake,

swimming in the dark, black lake.

All you'll need is gilly weed,

The room of Requirement for your need.

They love adventures, as you see.

Like Harry, Ron and Hermione.

Anywhere, they don't care.

Griffindors venture EVERYWHERE!

Designing a house for a chosen climate

With a focus on Geography and our climate topic this week,  we've been busy considering what it would be like to live in different parts of the world. After some initial research we all decided where we'd like to live and designed a house to cope with that particular climate. We have some budding architects, judging from some of the detailed designs.  'Grand Designs' here we come, we just need the financial backing! Well done to Eloise for this fantastic design for a house in Venezuela.