Welcome to Year 6 Mrs Wright, Mrs Chamberlain Y6 Meet the teacher 2018 Welcome to Year 6 Mrs Wright, Mrs Chamberlain and Mrs Polli

The Year 6 Team Mrs Gina Wright – Class Teacher and Key Stage 2 Leader Mrs Dee Chamberlain – Class Teacher on Friday Mrs Polli – Year 6 Teaching Assistant

The curriculum As you are aware the National Curriculum changed in 2014, along with assessment changes in 2015/2016 for the end of key Stages. This has seen a massive change throughout schools, including an increase in standards and expectations. The Year 6 curriculum is challenging throughout but especially so in Maths, English and Science.

The first week The plan for the first week back after the holidays will be for me to get to know your child, we’ll do lots of reflections and PSHE type exercises on the year ahead along with some assessments in Maths and English to inform future planning and learning.

Jobs/responsibilities Towards the end of this week the children will be told which jobs they will have in Year 6; they vary from collecting money for toast or being the music monitor for the whole school. There will also be opportunities for the children to put themselves forward to become a House Captain or part of the Young School Leadership Team. And of course, they have already met their reception buddies and seem to love them already! Being a buddy really does make the children act more responsibly on the whole.

Expectations In Year 6 the expectations are high. We expect every child to do the best they can and accept challenges in order to further develop and reach their potential. We teach as a whole class and then work is differentiated according to ability. Reading is key. We expect children to be reading daily, not just from the KS2 reading scheme but library books, newspapers, comics/magazines – anything that will engage them. We encourage children to read and discuss the text they have read; good comprehension is vital. At home, it would be useful to continue to hear your child read on a regular basis. Discussing what they have read and asking questions will support their learning.

Expectations Once a child has finished their school reading book, they are free to change it and they are asked to complete a book review or reading activity to assess their comprehension/understanding of the book. As in previous years if you could continue to comment in the reading diaries when you hear your child read this would be useful; we also use these as a means of communication between home and school. We expect every child to be listened to read at least once a week; diaries are checked each Monday. Homework will be given out twice weekly; we expect all children to complete this on time and to the best of their ability. On occasions there may be additional homework/tasks or learning that is given out too.

Homework Maths Homework will be given out every Wednesday to be returned on Thursday. English Homework will be given out on Thursday to be returned on Friday. New spellings will be given out on Friday, with the expectation that children learn the spellings and meanings. Children will be tested every Friday. Reading – as often as possible. The minimum requirement is reading to an adult/older sibling once per week and recording it in their reading diaries. Regular practice of times tables is encouraged too.

(As per PE kit guidelines). Kit and equipment PE, currently, takes place every Monday and Tuesday. (Notice will be given if these days change) At least one session will be outdoors, weather permitting, tracksuit bottoms are permitted (As per PE kit guidelines). Pencil cases are allowed, space on tables is limited so please keep these to essential materials only. Water bottles are encouraged and children are allowed to drink water (no juice please) freely; Children must remember to take them home to wash regularly.

Assessment We will be assessing your children daily through our teaching and learning sessions and take into account their strengths and weaknesses. We also regularly test children, to inform our planning and teaching and in preparation for the End of Key Stage Two Tests. You will be regularly informed about your child’s progress during parents evenings and their termly written reports. In terms of writing assessment there is a greater focus on the progress children make throughout the school year, as opposed to a test-day snapshot of what they know; therefore children will be encouraged to write regularly, including planning, drafting and editing their work before a final draft is produced and assessed.

Helping at home Try not to put un-due pressure on your child. Support with homework. (Make time for this, ask them about it – this develops reasoning skills if they have to explain things to others) Read regularly and discuss a variety of texts – not just ‘listening’ to your child read. Short bursts of mental maths, times tables and problem solving etc. Support learning – vary it. Complete homework, answer questions, play games, use websites etc. Make sure they get enough sleep and eat breakfast.

Social Media/Devises As children become older they become exposed to social media more and more. In school we talk about e-safety regularly and the potential dangers and risks involved with it. We are sure you are aware of these dangers and urge you to talk to your child about them if you haven’t already. (Texting/whatsapp/instagram/facebook)

Year 6 In our school we FULLY appreciate that the KS2 tests do not measure the smartness and uniqueness of your child. We FULLY believe that your child is more than a grade on a piece of paper. We constantly remind our pupils that the future is theirs for the taking and that dreams should be held on to and aspired to. However, learning to work hard for something, learning to be resilient, learning to manage time, learning to deal with temporarily stressful situations is also important. These are life skills that will hopefully set your children up for success in the future – with whatever ambitions they have.

ANY QUESTIONS? ?