Emerald Class

Teachers: Mrs Blythe and Mrs Evans

Adults in class: Mrs Kite

Welcome to Emerald Class. We are a Year 6 class and we love learning! Please keep visiting our class website page as we will update it regularly. Our most recent learning will be at the top of our page.

Please see the documents below for our yearly overview and planning pathways.

Yearly overview Emerald Class 2023-2024

Emerald Class Planning pathway Autumn 2023

Emerald Class Spring term learning pathway 2024

Kilve Court Camp 2024 – Thursday 18th 2024

After 8 hours sleep last night, we have had a wonderful final full day at camp. The weather has been glorious and we have taken part in fun activities.

We have taken part in a stream walk, where we got VERY muddy (see the before and after pictures). All of the children took part in mountain biking, where we went over a range of obstacles, along tracks and over a pump track. We also went grass sledging, on a fantasy trail and on a Jumblies Quest. This evening, we had a disco and the teachers were #SlayQueens!

Tomorrow, we are all going to walk to the beach for fossil hunting, having lunch then heading home! 🙂

 

Kilve Court Camp 2024 – Wednesday 17th 2024

We have had an incredible day today, the weather has been glorious and we have had great fun. We started off with a 3 hour hike (in true Emerald style) across the Quantocks. At lunchtime, Mrs Evans, Mrs Blythe and Miss Frewin arrived to join us.

This afternoon, we have had fun rifle shooting – there are some great shots in the class! We also braved the abseiling tower, where everyone in the group had a try. The other group went grass sledging. We are looking forward to getting to sleep earlier tonight 🙂

Kilve Court Camp 2024- Tuesday 16th July 2024

Another amazing day! The weather has been much better. We started the day with team building activities and had a great time! In the afternoon we all tackled the climbing wall! The bravery shown was amazing!

We have also tried archery today and we learnt all of the technical vocabulary for the arrows and bow. We are about to go and try out the maze- we will keep you posted on this tomorrow!

Kilve Court Camp 2024- Monday 15th July 2024

 

Upcoming dates in Emerald:  10th July – Nailsea Induction Day 11th July – Year 6 End of Year Production (6pm) 15th – 19th July – Year 6 Camp – Kilve Court 22nd July – Leavers Service

 

Things to remember – Term 5 and 6:  PE – Tuesday – athletics PE – Wednesday – netball Homework for Term 3 and 4 will be spelling, reading and times tables and project work for each term.   We will be testing children on a Monday to see if they have learned the previous week’s spellings.

3.7.24 – Tyntesfield Walk

In spite of the drizzly weather, we had a brilliant day out with Year 5 and Year 6 students.  As we walked, we enjoyed looking at the beautiful surroundings, chatted with our friends and sung songs.  When we arrived at Tyntesfield after our long walk, we had lunch, before exploring the play areas in the woods.  Pupils were brilliantly behaved and it was a pleasure to spend the day with them.

 

Production: Please have a read of the full script this week ready to begin rehearsals towards the end of next week!  Please aim to learn your lines – this will make rehearsals much faster and more efficient. Please also begin to think about your costume – if you need support, please let us know.

27.6.24 – Athlete Visit

Kingshill students were lucky enough to receive a visit from an amazing athlete – Corey Samuels – from the Bristol Flyers.  During his time at our school, he delivered an engaging assembly with audience participation and also led children in carrying out a variety of exercises as part of our sponsored event.  Pupils were amazingly behaved and it was a pleasure to see them excited and actively participating.

14.6.24 – Learning Update

We have had a busy couple of weeks in Emerald class.  We have been working hard on our writing in order to showcase how much we have improved over the past few months: the progress is really amazing!  Pupils have produced some amazing pieces including: writing an informal letter about SATs; writing the opening for a narrative and a diary entry for the story Broken: Rock, Paper, Scissors (Literacy Shed+); and editing and improving a biography from earlier on in the year.

Maths: 

We will be continuing our learning on algebra next week and will be covering:

• Substitution: we can use symbols, images to replace (substitute) numbers
• Using formulae: a rule or relationship that uses letters to represent amounts which can be changed.
• Forming Equations: a specific known value.

Questions for home:

– Where can I see algebra in the real world? 

 

English: 

We will be completing our last big piece of writing at the start of next week focusing on narrative.  We will be revisiting a unit from earlier in the year: The Alchemist’s Letter.  Children will be focusing on creating an exciting opening, utilising their excellent narrative writing skills.

Questions for home:

– What makes a piece of narrative writing enjoyable to read?

– What figurative language can I use in my narrative writing?

 

 

13.6.24 – Exploring Voltage

In our lesson today, we explored voltage. We begun by discussing what voltage was; some of us had an idea of what it was connected to, but could not yet define it fully. We then looked at the voltage of different cells, discussing and comparing different types and sizes. Next, we made predictions about what would happen to a bulb if we increased the voltage, before moving on to build our own circuits and test our initial thoughts.

7.6.24 – Frisbee

Today, Emerald class took part in a fun trial of frisbee golf.  Children worked collaboratively to throw and catch the frisbee and even had a go at throwing and catching two at the same time.  It was lovely to try something new and develop a new skill.

6.6.24 – Emerald Class Showcase – Exciting Electricity

For our showcase, pupils shared their knowledge of electrical components and circuits.  Pupils collaborated with their adults and peers to predict and test a variety of circuits. It was great to see pupils working as ‘scientists’ and drawing on their scientific skills of prediction, observation, as well as posing their own questions.  Some pupils also moved on to draw some of their own circuits which they then tested. Thanks to those parents who came and visited us – it was great to see you all.

 

 

4.6.24 – Transition Workshop

This morning, Year 6 have had a really productive workshop with Hayley and some additional members of the MHST (some practitioners we met work at Nailsea regularly). We reflected on how we are feeling about going to secondary school and what worries we might have. We identified strategies which we could use to overcome the worries that we have and difficulties which we may encounter. We reflected on ways to help look after our mental health as we transition from the safety of our familiar school to our new, much bigger secondary schools.

 

17.5.24 – Ancient Maya Talk with Harry Cadwallader

Today, Year 6 pupils were treated to a brilliant Talk by Professor Robert Jones (Harry Cadwallader) from Indiana University.  During the session, pupils were taken on an exciting journey where they learnt about: the mystical powers and value of cacao; recent historical discoveries from the Maya era; the most well-known Maya gods; the influence of the stars, moons and planets and much more! Pupil also listened to some traditional Maya tribal music and tried out some traditional dance. What a great way to develop our understanding of Maya.  We will be continuing our learning linked to the Maya for the rest of the year – we look forward to sharing our experiences!

 

16.5.24 – A Fun Afternoon

To celebrate the end of the SATs we had a wonderful afternoon playing outside today. We enjoyed going on the bikes, playing football and spending time with our friends.

 

16.5.24 – The SATs are finished!

A huge congratulations to our wonderful Year 6 students on completing their SATs in Spelling Punctuation and Grammar, Reading and Maths (Arithmetic and Reasoning).  We are so incredibly proud of the dedication and resilience you showed throughout the week.  We know that some of you were nervous, but you showed everyone how brave you are.  Well done to each and every one: we know that you all tried your very best and we could not have asked for more.  We can’t wait to celebrate with you over the next few days and to end the year with our Year 6 production, a trip to Tyntesfield and our exciting Year 6 camp at Kilve Court.

 

SATs preparations:

Over the past few weeks, we have been working really hard to prepare for the upcoming SATS which will commence in just over a week.

Children have been completing a variety of activities to help them prepare including:

– Past paper questions

– What Went Wrong Papers

– Focused sessions linked to misconceptions/gaps in understanding

– Small group targeted focus group

We will continue to work on test technique and strategies right up until all the exams have been complete. We are so proud of their continued efforts and can’t wait to celebrate their successes with them at the end of the exam period. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

3.5.24: SATS Stress Workshop

Today, Hayley our Mental Health Practitioner came in and spoke to our wonderful Year 6 students about strategies to help support with any anxieties related to the upcoming SATs. Pupils discussed how they were feeling and shared both positive and negative thoughts they have been having. Children then worked with Hayley to discuss strategies that they could utilise to support them. We are so proud of all the hard work that Emerald class are putting into their SATs preparation and we know that they will all try their very best.

30.4.24: Robotics Workshop

On Tuesday, we had an amazing visit from Bristol University staff and students to show us some amazing robots.  The children were brilliantly behaved and had a great time exploring the different robots and working with teams from Bristol University.

 

18.4.24: What do we already know about electricity?

We started the lesson by retrieving our prior knowledge about electricity – some of us remembered lots from studying electricity in Year 4, but some of us needed to be reminded!

Using our new equipment, we worked in groups to explore electricity, building circuits using lots of different components (including bulbs, buzzers, wires and cells).  We loved reactivating our prior knowledge and discussing what we were doing with our peers.

We ended the lesson by writing questions about what we wonder.  Some of our questions included:

How does electricity travel?

How does wind make electricity?

Is electricity dangerous?

What would happen if we did not have electricity?

 

We worked as scientists by:

• Using equipment to experiment
• Looking for patterns or anomalies
• Posing my own scientific questions.
• Presenting the evidence.
• Linking my scientific enquiries to prior knowledge.

 

This Term

We are looking forward to the term ahead! Term 5 is an exciting time as we get to show off the culmination of our academic learning throughout KS2, in our SATs.  The SATs will be taking place on the week beginning the 13th May – please remember to have a look at the resources shared (via email) from our SATs information evening.

We also have lots more exciting things to learn about, like the Maya, athletics, netball, electricity and lots more!

We hope that you have an egg-cellent Easter Holiday and come back to school egg-stra ready to learn 🙂

 

Easter Holiday Homework

We have sent a pack of homework home with the children.

There is:

• Maths Easter 10 4 10
• English

Below are the electronic sets should you wish to access them.

Year 6 – SATs Survival Easter English Revision BookletYear 6 – SATs Survival Easter English Revision Booklet – AnswersTen-for-Ten-KS2-Maths-Practice-Booklet—Working-TowardsTen-for-Ten-KS2-Maths-Practice-Booklet—Greater-DepthTen-for-Ten-KS2-Maths-Practice-Booklet—Expected-StandardEggstra support day 8-10 with answersEggstra support day 5-8 with answersEggstra support day 1-4 with answersAnswer-Pack—Working-TowardsAnswer-Pack—Greater-DepthAnswer-Pack—Expected-Standard

14.3.24 – Creating environmental art about The destruction of the frozen kingdom

Pupils collaborated to create some incredible 3D environmental art to explain the issue of global climate change and the detrimental impact that it is having on the frozen kingdom.

 

13.3.24 – DT Comparing Processed and Homemade Bread

Today, we compared processed and homemade bread by exploring the ingredients and the nutritional values. We tasted the bread and then considered the advantages and disadvantages of the different types.  Most of us concluded that the home made bread was tastier and more nutritious!

8.3.24

Learning Update

Maths: This week we completed our ‘Area, Perimeter and Volume’ unit of learning. Children worked hard to find the area of triangles and the area of parallelograms.  We then moved onto find the volume of 3D shapes by counting cubes, before moving on to finding volume by calculating using a formula.

As we head towards the end of the term, we will be exploring statistics. We will begin by reading and interpreting line and bar charts; exploring pie charts and looking for the connections between pie charts and percentages.  As we continue, we will practicing finding the mean and applying this to a range of reasoning and problem solving scenarios

Questions to ask at home:

Where can I see examples statistics in  real life

What jobs would use the skill of statistics?

What formulas can I use for finding area and perimeter?

How can I accurately read line, bar and pie charts? What skills can I use to support me?

 

English: 

This week, we completed the third week of our new unit – ‘Narrative (focusing on character): The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota’s Garden’.  We completed our narrative writes, using The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota’s Garden as inspiration for our own original stories which were set in San Francisco. The stories were amazing and showed how much they had learnt during this unit.

Next week, we will utilise our understanding from the unit and write our own diary entries from the perspective of character’s from the story. These will include emotive language, character and setting descriptions

Questions to discuss at home:

What natural disasters can occur in the world? What leads to them happening?

What impact do natural disasters have on the world?

What would you feel if you were involved in a natural disaster?

 

Topic:

Over the past couple of weeks we have worked as geographers by exploring natural resources in the arctic and investigated how indigenous people live.

Next week, we will be working as historians by exploring civilisations in Antarctica and significant people.

Questions to discuss at home: 

Who explored Antarctica?

Who was Robert Falcon Scott?

 

Spelling: 

Based on ongoing assessment information, we have decided to tweak spelling groups and focuses for the term.  We have selected specific patterns to target misconceptions and to ensure good progress as we head towards the end of Year 6. Your child will receive a letter outlining their focus spelling patterns for the rest of Term 3 and Term 4.  They will be set corresponding spelling patterns on SpellingShed to support in them learning their specified patterns.  If you have any issues or concerns, please let us know.

 

7.3.24 – World Book Day

We have had a brilliant day in Emerald class and have enjoyed dressing up as some of our favourite book characters.  Pupils selected their favourite picture book to share with their reading buddies in Pearl class – they read beautifully.  Working together, children also created their own bookmarks to use.

1.3.24 – Emerald Showcase

What a brilliant showcase – thanks to all parents and carers who were able to join us. During the session, we discussed the beautiful text ‘The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota’s Garden’ which we have been studying for the past couple of week, shared our excellent writing (focusing on the use of figurative language to describe the ocean’s movements, sounds and impact) and created some wonderful artwork to show the appearance, movement and impact of the destructive tsunami waves.  We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

1.3.24 – Super Science – Exploring the effectiveness of different insulators

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been planning and carrying out an investigating into the effectiveness of different insulators of an animal’s ability to keep warm in frozen conditions. We used our knowledge of different ‘frozen kingdom’ animals to help us make appropriate predictions. We used plastic gloves to act as an animal’s skin and then tested different materials as insulators including air, an additional plastic glove and lard. It all got a bit messy, but we had a great time building on our prior knowledge and developing our skills of observation, recording and discussion.

 

1.3.24 – Open Classroom – UPCOMING

23.4.23 – Lost Spells Poem

We have been working hard to learn the beautiful poem – ‘The Moth’ from the book – ‘The Lost Spells’. We have created some props, as well as thinking of ways to add interest to our performance through actions, voice projection and body language. We performed it to the whole school on Thursday 29th February – we performed brilliantly: we memorised our parts, added actions and projected our voices well.

23.2.24

Learning Update

Maths: This week we have continued our learning on ‘Fractions’ Decimals and Percentages, primarily focusing on percentages.  We have explored: finding equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages, understanding percentage, ordering fractions, decimals and percentage, finding percentages of amount and solving multi-step problems

Next week, we will delve into the world of ‘Area, Perimeter and Volume; we will explore the area and perimeter of rectilinear shape and the area of right-angled triangles.  As we continue our learning, we will also explore:

• finding the area of any triangle
• finding the area of parallelograms
• finding the volume of cubes and cuboids

Questions to ask at home:

Where can I see examples of area and perimeter in real-life? 

What jobs would use the skill of finding area and perimeter in their roles?

 

English: 

This week, we completed the first week of our new unit – ‘Narrative (focusing on character): The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota’s Garden’.  We explored the key features 0f the text, inferred from a variety of beautiful images and produced detailed character descriptions linked to a character’s physical and internal characteristics.

 

Next week, we will continue our learning journey by:

• creating detailed setting descriptions
• describing the impact and movement of a tsunami
• using dialogue to show character and to advance the action

Questions to discuss at home:

What natural disasters can occur in the world? What leads to them happening?

What impact do natural disasters have on the world?

 

Topic:

Over the past couple of weeks will have investigated  the natural resources found in the arctic and how indigenous people live. We also had a talk led by Richard Lancaster – see photos below.

Next week, we will be visiting Bristol Zoo Project to continue exploring animals adaptations, looking closely as ‘Frozen Kingdom’ animals.

Questions to discuss at home: 

What is a polar region?

Where can they be found? 

Where is the coldest place you have ever been?

What is contributing to climate change?

How can we help to reduce our carbon footprint?

 

Spelling: 

Based on ongoing assessment information, we have decided to tweak spelling groups and focuses for the term.  We have selected specific patterns to target misconceptions and to ensure good progress as we head towards the end of Year 6. Your child will receive a letter outlining their focus spelling patterns for the rest of Term 3 and Term 4.  They will be set corresponding spelling patterns on SpellingShed to support in them learning their specified patterns.  If you have any issues or concerns, please let us know.

 

 

20.2.24

Richard Lancaster from Greenpeace

 

 

2.2.24

Learning Update

Maths: This week we have continued our learning about decimals by practicing adding and subtracting decimals, multiplying and dividing by 10,100 and 1,000 and multiplying and dividing decimals. Pupils have shown good understanding and impressed us with their ability to apply their knowledge to reasoning and problem solving questions.

Next week, we will begin our next block of learning – Fraction, Decimals and Percentages. This will provide a great opportunity to utilise our learning on decimals and make further connections. We will be focusing on:

• Finding equivalent fractions, decimals and percentages
• Understanding percentages
• Ordering fractions, decimals and percentages
• Finding percentages of amounts
• Solving multi-step problems

Questions to ask at home:

Where can I see decimals, percentages and fractions in the real world?

How will these skills be useful in the future?

 

English: 

We are well under way with our unit of learning ‘Explanation Texts’.  Children have shown great understanding and have developed their knowledge of makes an effective text through exploring the key features of several WAGOLL (What a Good On Looks Like) texts including the main WAGOLL – Why did the Dodo become extinct?’

We have enjoyed finding out about why grey squirrels have become dominant, why the ice caps are melting and more.

Next week, we will consolidate our understanding and pupils will complete their final write focused on ‘Why are polar bears becoming endangered?’ We will begin the week by planning our writing and conducting detailed research, before spending time writing.

Our next unit will be ‘Writing to Entertain (focused on character)’ and we will be looking at the text ‘The Phone Booth in Mr Hirota’s Garden’.  During the unit we will be exploring:

• Figurative language
• Subordinating and coordinating conjunctions
• Cause and effect
• Characterisation
• Dialogue to advance action.

Questions to discuss at home:

What natural disasters can occur in the world? What leads to them happening?

What impact do natural disasters have on the world?

 

Topic:

Over the past couple of weeks we have been working as geographers by investigating where the polar regions and exploring where the coldest deserts are. We have also learnt about the polar regions and their inhabitants. We will be looking in more depth at polar days and nights and how the polar oceans are unique.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will investigate what natural resources are found in the arctic and how indigenous people live.

Questions to discuss at home: 

What is a polar region?

Where can they be found? 

Where is the coldest place you have ever been?

What is contributing to climate change?

How can we help to reduce our carbon footprint?

 

Spelling: 

Based on ongoing assessment information, we have decided to tweak spelling groups and focuses for the term.  We have selected specific patterns to target misconceptions and to ensure good progress as we head towards the end of Year 6. Your child will receive a letter outlining their focus spelling patterns for the rest of Term 3 and Term 4.  They will be set corresponding spelling patterns on SpellingShed to support in them learning their specified patterns.  If you have any issues or concerns, please let us know.

 

Speed stacking:

 

18.1.24 – Argentum Care Home Visit 

Today, Emerald class visited the Argentum Care Home in Nailsea.  During our visit, students chatted to the residents, shared books and played games.  They were brilliantly behaved and brought smiles to the faces of the residents.  Several of the residents and staff commented on how fantastic they were and we have been invited back for a longer visit later in the school year.

18.1.24

Learning Update

Maths: This week we have delved into the wonderful world of ratio.  We have explored ratio language, practicing using appropriate vocabulary (ratio, proportion, scale etc) related to ratio.  We have also looked at ratio symbols, as well as making the links between fractions and ratios. Students were able to make interesting comparisons and apply their understanding to their learning by ‘talking like mathematicians’.  As we continue on our journey, we will be looking at:

• Scale drawings
• Scale factors
• Similar shapes
• Ratio problems
• Proportion problems

Questions to ask at home:

What is ratio? What is proportion
Where can I see ratio and proportion used in real-life?

 

English: 

We have just completed our unit Pie Corbett’s narrative text – ‘Staying Out’.  Following the same formula as Pie Corbett’s story, pupils planned their own unique stories which included some lovely setting and character descriptions, dialogue and other devices to advance the action, suspense and more.

Next week we will begin our next unit: Explanation texts.  Linked to our topic ‘The Frozen Kingdom’, we will be exploring the question ‘Why are polar bears endangered?’. We will begin the unit with a cross-curricular lesson investigating how climate change is affecting biomes.  We will then explore our WAGOLL (what a good one looks like) text, unpicking the key features and getting to grips with the feel of an appropriate text explanation text.

Throughout the unit we will also explore:

• Fact and Opinion
• Effective introductory paragraphs
• The use of subheadings
• Cause and effect
• Cohesive devices

Questions to discuss at home:

What does the word endangered mean? What leads to an animal becoming endangered?

What could you write an explanation text about?

 

Topic:

We will continue working as geographers investigating where the polar regions are before moving onto explore where the coldest deserts are. We will be learning about the polar regions and their inhabitants. We will be looking in more depth at polar days and nights and how the polar oceans are unique.

Questions to discuss at home: 

What is a polar region?

Where can they be found? 

Where is the coldest place you have ever been?

What is contributing to climate change?

How can we help to reduce our carbon footprint?

 

Spelling: 

Based on ongoing assessment information, we have decided to tweak spelling groups and focuses for the term.  We have selected specific patterns to target misconceptions and to ensure good progress as we head towards the end of Year 6. Your child will receive a letter outlining their focus spelling patterns for the rest of Term 3 and Term 4.  They will be set corresponding spelling patterns on SpellingShed to support in them learning their specified patterns.  If you have any issues or concerns, please let us know.

 

 

12.1.24 – Trigolf

Today, pupils were lucky enough to try Trigolf. The session was super fun and pupils learnt the basics of the sport. It was lovely to see pupils building their resilience and supporting each other and one group even beat a record!

 

 

8.1.24

Learning Update

Maths: Last week we started our converting measures unit. This week we will be continuing to explore metric and imperial units as well as:

• Converting between miles and kilometres
• Exploring imperial units of measures

Towards the end of this week, we will be moving onto exploring ratio, starting by describing the relationship between ratio and fractions.

Questions to ask at home:

When do I use metric units in my every day life?

What is an imperial measure? When are these forms of measure still used?

 

English: 

We are currently studying Pie Corbett’s narrative text – ‘Staying Out’. Last week we retrieved, inferred and posed our own questions for images as well exploring the key features of Narrative Texts.

Questions to discuss at home:

What are the main events of the story?

Can you think of a similar story that you have read before?

 

Topic:

Due to the short first week back, we will be diving into our brand new topic ‘Frozen Kingdoms’.  We will begin by working as geographers investigating where the polar regions are before moving onto explore where the coldest deserts are.

Questions to discuss at home: 

What is a polar region?

Where can they be found? 

Where is the coldest place you have ever been?

 

20.12.23 

Britain at War project completion

We have thoroughly enjoyed our Britain at War topic. To celebrate our new knowledge and understanding, we have all written a non-chronological report on an area of war of our choosing. To do this we have researched, made notes, planned, written and published a double page spread. We invited Mrs Harvey to come and celebrate our work.

 

Christmas Activities 

 

5.12.23 

Learning Update

Maths: We are continuing on our fractions journey this week and will reach the end of our unit on Friday completing our end of unit assessment.

• dividing fractions by integers
• finding fractions of amounts
• finding the whole from a fractional amount.

Questions to ask at home:

Where can I see fractions in real life? 

What method/steps do I need to take to divide fractions?

 

English: 

This week we will be completing – ‘Flashback Stories’. We will be continuing to utilise our learning about WW2, using our learning from ‘Beyond the Lines – Diary Entries’ and ”Newspaper Reports’ to support our learning.  We will be writing, editing and self-assessing our our flashback stories.

Questions to discuss at home:

Can you think of any stories/films that include a flashback? 

What are flashbacks includes in stories? 

 

Topic:

This week in topic we have look at the end of WW2 and we will be creating our own double page non-chronological reports.

Questions to discuss at home: 

What happened at the end of the war? 

What areas of WW2 most interest me?

 

13.12.23

Making Christmas Hats and our Christmas Meal

Today, we were lucky enough to have a lovely Christmas feast! We made and wore our own special Christmas hats/crowns which we made in class during the day.  Thanks to the wonderful kitchen staff for making this possible and to ‘Kingshill staff’ for helping serve and clean up!

 

8.12.23

How do mirrors reflect light?

Today in Science we explored how different types of mirrors reflect light. We used plane, concave and convex mirrors. We posed our own questions, discussed and recorded our observations.

Questions to ask  at home: 

What is a plane/convex/concave mirror? 

How do the different types of mirrors reflect light?

 

5.12.23 

Learning Update

Maths: We are continuing on our fractions journey over the next few weeks.  Over the next week or so, we will be exploring:

• adding and subtracting fractions
• adding mixed numbers
• comparing and ordering fractions by looking at the numerators

Questions to ask at home:

Where can I see fractions in real life? 

What method/steps do I need to use when adding/subtracting fractions?

What method/steps do I need to use when multiplying fractions by an integer?

What method/steps do I need to use when multiplying a fraction by a fraction?

 

English: 

This week we have started our new unit – ‘Flashback Stories’. We will be continuing to utilise our learning about WW2, using our learning from ‘Beyond the Lines – Diary Entries’ and ”Newspaper Reports’ to support our learning.

Questions to discuss at home:

Can you think of any stories/films that include a flashback? 

What are flashbacks includes in stories? 

 

Topic:

As we head towards the end of term, we will be learning about Anne Frank and Decisions of Leaders.

Questions to discuss at home: 

Who was Anne Frank?

Why is she remembered today?

Which leaders were integral to the war?

 

 

27.11.23 

Learning Update

Maths: We have now finished our Four Operations unit and are well under way with our Fractions Unit.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be exploring:

• adding and subtracting fractions
• adding mixed numbers
• comparing and ordering fractions by looking at the numerators

 

English: This week is the final week of our fantastic ‘WW2 Newspaper Reports’. We will be consolidating our learning, before planning and writing a newspaper report based on evacuees.  Pupils will use differentiated toolkits to write and self assess their work.

Questions to discuss at home:

How did the children feel leaving their homes? 

Where did the children move from? Where did they move to? 

Do you know anyone who was evacuated during WW2?

 

Topic:

As we head towards the end of term, we will be learning about:

Anne Frank and Decisions of Leaders.

Questions to discuss at home: 

Who was Anne Frank?

Why is she remembered today?

Which leaders were integral to the war?

 

 

24.11.23 

Christmas Tree Decorating

23.11.23 

NSPCC Workshop 

Today Year 5 and 6 students from Emerald and Amethyst took part in a workshop led by NSPCC workers.  During the workshop, children were provided with lots of important information to keep them safe.    We discussed what makes us feel happy and safe and discussed different types of abuse and when to seek support from a trusted adult. ‘Speak out, Stay safe.’

22.11.23

First Aid Workshop

Today, we had a visit from a First Aid Responder. He taught us more about first aid, CPR and choking. We all had the opportunity to practice the recovery position and CPR.

20.11.23 – Emerald Update

English: This week we will be continuing with our ‘News Reports’ unit which is closely linked to our WW2 topic – we will focus on writing news reports linked closely to the Blitz and evacuation.

Questions to talk about at home:

What would it have been like to be in London during the Blitz? 

How would children being evacuated have felt leaving their families and homes?  

Do you know anyone who may have experienced the Blitz or have been evacuated?

 

Maths: This week we will be beginning our new unit of learning ‘Fractions’.  We will be focusing on:

• reactivating our knowledge of fractions from Year 5
• finding equivalent fractions
• comparing and ordering fractions, focusing on the denominators.

Questions to talk about at home:

Where do you see fractions in real life?

What is a denominator? What is a numerator?

Remember to support your child in consolidating their understanding through completing their homework.

 

Topic: We are continuing our WW2 topic. In addition to the work on the Blitz and evacuation, we will be learning about WW2 in more depth. We will be answering questions like:

• Why did WW2 start?
• What weaponry was used in WW2?
• Why was WW2 considered the most technologically advanced war of its time?
• What was the Battle of Britain?
• Who was Anne Frank and why is she still remembered today?

 

Upcoming Dates:

Wednesday 22nd – First Aid Workshop

Thursday 23rd – NSPCC Workshop

Friday 24th – KFA Christmas Fair

 

17.11.23 – Children in Need and Reading Buddies

To help raise money for Children In Need, today pupils came to school kitted out in spots, Pudsey bear ears and their own clothes.  In Emerald class we discussed the importance of the day and the where the money raised goes – to support children who are in need of some extra support including those who may have a disability, who are living in poverty, may be separated from their family or who care for someone in their family. Pupils were very empathetic and we discussed how it would be great for pupils to take action themselves as they grow into responsible young adults.

In the afternoon, we shared some of our favourite books with Pearl class wearing our Children in Need outfits – it was lovely to see Pearl in their own ears and spots too!

6.11.23 – Tithe Barn Visit

Our immersive trip back in time as WW2 Evacuees.

 

Today we visited the Tithe Barn in Nailsea. We dressed up as Evacuees and when we got there, were given name tags of REAL children who were evacuated to Nailsea from London! We had a fantastic day and learned a lot more about WW2 and how it impacted people in Nailsea. After a talk about the causes of WW2, we took part in 4 different workshops:

• Geography – we learned about different primary historical sources. Then we used a variety of sources to learn about what Nailsea was like in the 1940s. We used the maps to see where evacuees were billeted to. We learned about their schooling, which was mainly at the Tithe Barn. Some of us managed to find a photograph of the evacuee we had the name tag of!
• Artefacts – we were lucky enough to get to see, touch and even try on a vast array of genuine WW2 artefacts, which included gas masks, uniforms, helmets and a portable telephone.
• Letters home – we learned about and made our own Identity Cards. Then we got to use ink pens to write our own letters ‘home’; they were very tricky to use.
• Rationing – we learned more about rationing and got to make rock cakes out of ingredients available in the 1940s. They were delicious!

Thank you to the staff at the Tithe barn for such an enjoyable trip and thank you to our families who created such amazing costumes.

6.11.23 – Emerald Update

English: This week we will be completing our Letter Writing unit ‘Beyond the Lines’ and children will be writing their own emotive letter from the perspective of a WW2 soldier.  You may wish to talk about this with you child you could ask them:

What would the WW2 soldier have felt?

What was happening at home at the same time?

Don’t forget that we are having our first Open Classroom of the year this Friday at 2:45-3:10.  We hope to see you there!

 

Maths: We are continuing our Four Operations unit and will be exploring:

• Short division
• Long division with one and two-digit divisors
• Worded problems

Remember to support your child in consolidating their understanding through completing their homework.

 

Topic: We are continuing our WW2 topic and will be exploring.  We will be attending a WW2 workshop at the Tithe Barn – keep your eyes peeling for exciting photos!

 

3.11.23 – Firework Art with Opal Class

Emerald class and Opal class worked together to create their own magnificent firework art pictures. The Year 6 pupils worked hard to support the younger students, discussing different techniques and using a range of words to describe fireworks exploding.

19.10.23 – Emerald Update

What an amazing term we have had in Emerald Class!  Well done for all the hard work and progress that has been made.

English: Over the last 3 weeks, we have explored inspirational people linked to Britain at war including Flora Sandes, Major Charlotte Hayes and Winston Churchill.  We investigated the key language and structural features, working in pairs and groups to create sections of biographies, before moving on to research and produce an in-depth biography on Winston Churchill.

After half term, we will be moving on to a new unit – ‘Diary Entries’.

Maths: Over the last couple of weeks, we have continued to explore the ‘Four Operations’.  We have practiced a range of written methods including column addition and subtraction, as well as column multiplication. We will continue working on our accuracy with written methods for multiplication and division.

Useful Maths Websites to support learning:

Maths Games for KS2: designed by a teacher for teachers – Mathsframe

Times tables games – Timestables.co.uk

Topmarks: teaching resources, interactive resources, worksheets, homework, exam and revision help

KS2 Maths – BBC Bitesize

Harvest: Emerald class took part in a lovely Harvest Service at the church this week.  Emerald pupils shared some beautiful prayers linked to the Harvest.

Spelling: 

Reminders:

• Homework will go home on a Friday and will be due the following week (unless otherwise stated)
• Please remember to read 4 times a week and sign your child’s reading record.
• Due to weather, Emerald class will have one more forest school session on Wednesday 1st November 2023.
• PE Term 2 will TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY

 

13.10.23 – Ready Buddies

13.10.23 – Forest School

 

Today, Topaz and Emerald class explored our Forest school area together. Topaz class have been learning about habitats and what a habitat needs to provide for a plant and an animal to survive so Emerald children supported them with their learning. We worked with the younger pupils to help them to spot features such as living and non-living things, shelter for animals and plants, and where they can find food and water. We had a great time together until the rain forced us to find our own shelter indoors.

12.10.23 – Self-Esteem Talk with Hayley

 

The wonderful Hayley our School Mental Health Practitioner came in and spoke to Emerald class about Self-Esteem. The pupils listened brilliantly and developed their understanding of self-esteem, what their strengths are and how to develop self-esteem in the future.

 

11.10.23 – Lifeskills Visit:

Today, Emerald class went on a fantastic trip to the Lifeskills centre in Bristol. During the visit, pupils were shown different scenarios to teach them about dangers and risk assessment in the real world. Some topics covered included: fire safety, water safety, drugs, electricity and more. The trip equipped pupils with important knowledge and skills which could save lives in the future.

Pupils were exceptionally well behaved during the trip and a member of staff commented on how impressed he was by their positive behavior and attitude to their learning.

Pupils have been provided with a booklet to take away with them to help them remember the key information from the day; we will spend time in school completing some of the tasks, but we would love for families to continue to explore the information at home. Please feel free to share any photos or home learning with us as we would love to see what you have been up to!

‘The trip was scary but really fun!’ – Ivy

‘It’s really fun and interesting and you don’t get bored. I would definitely come again as I learnt lots – I learnt that when there is smoke, you must go down on the ground.’ – Olivia

‘I liked today because I learnt a lot about hazards and being safe. I learnt about drugs, not to go down dark alleyways and more.’ – James

‘Today was great. I liked how we learnt about saving people when they are unconscious – Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing and Call for help!’ – Muhammad

 

Learning Update 5.10.23:

Maths:

Emerald class have been working hard in maths.  We have just completed our place Value unit and we have begun to work on our next unit – 4 operations.  This is a large unit which will last for several weeks and will teach and consolidate many fundamentals on mental and written calculations.  Please continue to practice times table and arithmetic at home.

English:

Pupils completed their Narrative Unit: The Alchemist’s Letter last week. The writing produced was amazing and impressed us hugely.  We have now moved on to our next unit: Biographies. We will explore the features of several biographies over the coming weeks. We were lucky enough to be visited (as part of History unit) by Major Charlotte Hayes who serves in the British Army – we will be using the information we collected to practice writing biographically (*please see photos below).   Over the course of the next 3 weeks, we will work towards producing a biography about an influential British person linked to one of the World Wars.

Britain at War:

We are continuing to learn about World War 1.  In the next few weeks, we will be moving onto learning about WW1 focusing on life in the trenches, weaponry, key events and the impact of the war on Britain’s.

Reminders:

• Homework will go home on a Friday and will be due the following week.
• Please remember to read 4 times a week and sign your child’s reading record.
• Forest school will continue on a Friday until the end of Term 1.
• PE will remain on a Wednesday until the end of Term 1.

 

5.10.23: Super Science

Today in science, we explored how plants adapt to their environment. We collected and examined samples of holly which we found in different locations within the school grounds and made some excellent observations.

 

 

4.10.23: Major Charlotte Hayes Visit

We were lucky enough to be visited (as part of History unit) by Major Charlotte Hayes who serves in the British Army – we will be using the information we collected to practice writing biographically.

27.9.23: Tyntesfield Trip

Today Emerald class went on an exciting walk to Tyntesfield. Although it was a little bit windy, the weather stayed dry and we had a brilliant time enjoying nature during our walk, having a picnic lunch and exploring the playgrounds.

20.9.23: Tower House Wood Walk

Emerald Class went on a local walk to Tower House Woods in lieu of our annual Tyntesfield hike.

We had a lovely hour walking. We enjoyed discovering stone and wooden carved  sculptures on the Ty Sculpture Trail

In English, we are currently basing our writing on The Alchemist’s Letter, which is a short film telling the story of a machine that could turn any metal into gold. To power the device he fed it his own memories. He had a family but in his quest for gold he abandoned them.
After the alchemist’s death the son returned home to the house he once knew as a child.

The Alchemist’s Letter on Vimeo

In our next update, we are excited to include some of the children’s finished work.