Miss Noonan (Class Teacher)
Mrs Read (Support Staff)
Summer 2025
It’s fair to say that Year 6 go from strength to strength! Our reading text this term has been Michelle Magorian’s ’Goodnight Mr Tom’. This text has already taken us on a rollercoaster of emotions: Willie’s wretchedness when remembering his life in London, the joy he feels as he discovers what life can be like, cheering on Mr Oakley as he encourages Willie, and re-discovers a little bit of life himself.
As we head into the swing of SATs preparation, our statistics topic in Maths included constructing our own dual bar charts, reading and interpreting pie charts (including those that use percentages) and how to calculate the mean. As part of geometry, we revisited angles and learned how to calculate vertically opposite angles, angles in a triangle and the properties of circles. We rounded off with the nets of 3D shapes. Continuing into position and direction, our mathematicians learned how to read and plot points in four quadrants, to solve problems with coordinates and finished with a refresh on reflection and translation.
As with many Year 6 cohorts up and down the country, this term has inevitably focused on KS2 SATs. The children’s eagerness to do their best has shone through and that is all we can ask. During SATs week, we’ll start each day at 8:10am with a hearty breakfast of fruit and pastries – a chance to laugh away any last-minute nerves before tackling the morning’s tests. During the afternoons, children will have their hands full with PE and our Art topic: chair design. As in keeping with tradition, after the hard work comes a treat (in our case – pizza!). Year 6 will not have long to rest though – after half-term, we’re off on our residential to JCA Condover Hall in Shropshire, swiftly followed by preparations for our end of year show!
In English, Year 6 have been thinking about how to demonstrate changes in formality through newspaper writing. Children have been show-casing their writing using all the skills they have learned: fronted adverbials, synonyms, dialogue, varying sentence length, purposeful repetition, pronouns and conjunctions – all designed to aid cohesion (the ‘secret strings’ that helps stories to flow).
In the Science topic ‘Evolution’, children will be thinking about which of our features are inherited and how living beings adapt to their environment, leading to evolution. Our History topic ‘World War Two’ has seen us explore which countries and leaders were involved in the war, important events, the effect of rationing, how the lives of women changed greatly and the lasting effects of the war on our world.
Spring 2025
Year 6 have continued their amazing start and have been super busy!
The children have been reading Kiran Milwood Hargrave’s ‘The Island at the End of Everything’ in their Reading lessons. This is a thought-provoking and heart-rending tale describing friendship, equality and how we treat those who are different. This has complemented our English writing unit: discussion texts. As Year 6 become more skilled writers, they’re learning to compose a balanced argument – using synonymous phrases, purposeful repetition and pronouns to aid cohesion, so that they can deftly present both sides of an argument.
At the very start of the term our Maths topic focussed on ratio and proportion. Children learned to work systematically around a shape to ensure that all sides were enlarged by the same scale factor. Our mathematicians were finally able to apply their knowledge of ratio and proportion to adapt recipes. Year 6 are already chomping at the bit for the next topic – algebra!
In Science topic ‘Classification’, children have been classifying livings things using Carl Linnaeus’ system of classification. They will be carrying out their own experiments to find out how micro-organisms (yeast) react with different substances.
Our RE topic is based on the Islamic belief in life after death. Children will explore themes of ‘forever’, ‘eternity’ and ‘motivation’, whilst relating these ideas to their own worldview.
Year 6 are ‘Exploring Identity’ in Art. It is inspired by African artists who use the theme of ‘identity’ in their work. Children will explore their own sense of self and identity to create their layered self-portraits.
We will be exploring the Kingdom of Benin for History this term. Year 6 will be finding out about this empire, its Golden Age and links to the British Empire.
In our Computing lessons, children will become publishers! They will work in teams to compile their very own class magazine detailing their experiences at Manland to date. Sections will include: most likely to …, highlights, favourite memories, teachers of past and present and an interview with the Headteacher! Our budding journalists will collate and compile their own content, decide on layout and pictures for their pages.
Autumn 2024
We are thrilled to share that Year 6 have settled in beautifully and are already off to a flying start! Our classroom has been buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm as students dive into their lessons.
In our Reading lessons, we’ve been captivated by David Almond’s ‘Skellig’. This engaging text offers numerous plot strands and presents a non-linear timeline, which has kept us eagerly turning the pages. The children have been focusing on inference – using clues and hints from the text to read between the lines. Our Year 6 pupils have also been practising fluency by reading aloud with intonation and prosody, truly embodying the author’s intentions.
In English, we have been analysing a variety of texts to understand how suspense is crafted. The students have been dissecting the techniques authors use to create tension and keep readers hooked. Our budding writers are now reflecting on their favourite elements in these suspenseful stories and beginning to incorporate them into their own writing. They are set to create their own thrilling narratives, ensuring their readers are always on the edge of their seats!
We started our Maths journey with a focus on place value and have since moved on to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. We have been investigating common factors and multiples, rules of divisibility, exploring square and cube numbers, and mastering long and short division. We’ve particularly enjoyed debating the most efficient methods for solving calculations and justifying our choices.
In Science, we have been delving into the fascinating world of the human eye. The children have been learning about its anatomy and how it enables us to see. This has sparked lots of curiosity and interesting questions in the classroom.
Our RE topic about Islam has posed the intriguing question: ‘What is the best way for a Muslim to show commitment to God?’ We have been exploring the concept of commitment and discussing times when staying committed can be challenging. The children have been learning about the Five Pillars of Islam and how these shape the daily lives of Muslims. It has been inspiring to hear the children express their thoughts and relate them to their own experiences and world views.
This term’s History topic is ‘The British Empire’. We’ve been investigating how it rose to prominence and its global influence, including the significant role of the East India Company and the eventual decline of the Empire. The children have shown great interest and thoughtfulness in discussing sensitive issues, historical events and their impacts.
In Art, we’ve been exploring the work of Pablo Picasso and the Cubist movement. The children have been creating their own self-portraits in the Cubist style. Their creativity and effort have been truly impressive! In Computing children have revisited micro:bit and MakeCode to create their own step counters. We have thought about the input and output in electronic toys, so that we can plan our own programmable toys.
We have been overwhelmed by the effort and enthusiasm our candidates showed in both their Pupil Parliament and House Captain speeches. Year 6 is in the unique position of having four members of parliament: Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, together with two MPs. Voting days were filled with persuasive techniques and even some creative campaign strategies (including advertising campaigns!)The children supported one another beautifully throughout this process, and we have no doubt that our new Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, MPs and House Captains will represent our school admirably.
As we look forward to our Crucial Crew trip to St Albans Fire Station, our class assembly, the Harvest Festival and our Open Morning, it’s clear that Year 6 have a busy term ahead. We are confident that they will take everything in their stride and do a fantastic job.
