WELCOME TO Year 6

This year, our class names at Blenheim have been chosen to celebrate the amazing biodiversity on our planet; all classes are named after unusual animals, some of which are close to extinction. We have chosen the vaquita and the potoo in Year 6 - have you heard of them? 

Year 6 Vaquita Class is taught by Mrs Dunn, Miss Limmer and Miss Gill.                             

The vaquita is the worlds' rarest sea mammal, found only in Mexico's Gulf of California. Sadly, Vaquita are often caught and drowned in gillnets used by illegal fishing operations in marine protected areas within the gulf. The population has dropped drastically in the last few years and it is now thought that there are only 10 vaquita left in the world! 

 Vaquita are about the size of small humans, measuring about 5 feet in length and weighing 120 pounds; they have black borders around their expressive eyes and rounded mouth. These tiny silver porpoises are known to be shy and elusive in character. Interestingly, Vaquita means "little cow" in Spanish. 

Year 6 Potoo Class is taught by Mrs Smith and Mrs Lynch; Mr Primmer joins us as the new class teacher in October.  

Despite looking like they just stepped out of the Muppets, potoos (pronounced POE-toos) are a real family of nocturnal bird. There are seven different species of potoo, which are found in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

Despite their big eyes and nocturnal habits, they're not closely related to owls. You might be able to spot these birds at night by looking for their eyeshine, which reflects back in the beam of a flashlight, but you're more likely to hear the eerie sounds these birds make. Each potoo species has its own unique call, given on moonlit nights.

The Common Potoo is not considered endangered as yet, however, forests are being lost all over South and Central America and one day this bird too might lose its home if we don't do anything to make sure that it survives.

AUTUMN 1 LEARNING

This half term, our foundation lessons will be based on the following: 

Geography - Maps

Science - Evolution and Inheritance

Art - Drawing and Painting

Music - Rhythmic patterns 

PSHE - Mental Health and Well Being

PE - Handball and Swimming

Computing - Internet Safety and Bletchley Park coding

RE - Sikhism

You can read in more detail about our Autumn learning in our Home school Link document, sent home in the first week of each half term.   

2022-23 CURRICULUM

You can read about our learning this year here...

 EXCITING NEWS...

We are excited to launch our new reading curriculum for 2022-23. The children will now be having 3 reading lessons every week, where they will practise their comprehension skills in discussion-rich lessons. Over the course of the year, they will be studying a wide, diverse range of fiction, poetry and non-fiction texts, exposing them to a huge range of authors, genres and writing styles and helping to build their contextual knowledge. Most importantly, we hope to foster a real enthusiasm and passion for reading, building habits that can last a lifetime!

In Autumn 1, children will be reading many 'linked-reads' to the book we will be studying in our writing lessons - Hatchet - and books with themes based on PSHE, Evolution, Refugees and Black History month.

You can see our Autumn and Spring Literature Spine here....

Year 5-6 Reading Spine 2022-23

 EXPECTATIONS FOR CHILDREN IN YEAR 6

HOME READING

It is vitally important that your child reads at home as well as at school.

The expectations are that your child reads AT LEAST 4 times a week at home. Reading books can be handed in on any day to be changed, but they MUST be handed in on a MONDAY, along with their reading records. These books need to have been signed by an adult each time your child has read.

We would really appreciate you supporting us by encouraging your child to read regularly at home; it is one of the best ways to improve their academic performance across the whole curriculum. 

HOMEWORK is an extremely important part of your child’s learning and specifically in Year 6, as it prepares them for the expectations of High School.

Homework is given out every Friday and MUST be returned to school NO LATER than the following WEDNESDAY.

The homework will be a Learning Log task based on the termly topic, as well as a piece of work for both Maths and Literacy.

Along with their homework every Friday, children will also be given a list of spellings to learn and a times table sheet to help them practise.

Spellings and times tables will be tested the following WEDNESDAY.

PE DAYS

PE will be on Mondays & Fridays for both Year 6 classes. Please ensure your child brings the appropriate kit for these lessons: 

Monday—swimming kit

Your child will need to bring a bag containing the following:

Swimming trunks/swimming costume (one-piece, no bikinis)

Towel

Hair brush (long hair must be tied up)

Goggles/swimming cap  - optional

Cosmetics such as shampoo and deodorant are not allowed.

 Friday– PE Kit

Your child will need:

A plain T-shirt or polo shirt

Sports shorts, tracksuit bottoms or plain leggings

Sweatshirt, hoodie or tracksuit top

Trainers suitable for outdoors

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need any support. 

We look forward to sharing this exciting year with your child, and we will try our best to make their last year of primary school a very memorable and successful one!

Mrs Dunn and Mrs Smith