Year 6 – Darwin Class

Darwin Class 2024-25

Maths - Place Value

This week, Year 6 have been revising Place Value. Look how our faces lit up when we got out the counters! We challenged each other to represent numbers on a Place Value chart and explored our understanding of 'exchanging'.

British Values - School Council Elections

Almost half the class bravely presented to the room as to why they believed they should be chosen as school councillor. All the speeches heard were thoughtful and persuasive: one candidate even made campaign stickers! We then exercised our British Values by conducting a democratic vote using voting slips and a ballot box. Here we are in action on polling day.

PSHE - Class Charter

We kicked off the year by agreeing our class' charter. We reflected on the school Mission Star and which of these values we most wanted to shape our learning environment. We were then asked to pose  for our classroom display; don't we look responsible in red?

Welcome to Darwin Class

Our new school year is about to start and I hope you are as excited as I am to get started! I am looking forward to hearing about your adventures this summer. Me? I have enjoyed my time gallivanting around Wales (ask me which was my favourite castle), finishing two books and planning some new topics to share with you soon. If you have any worries about the new term, drop me an email: rstinson@brentryprimaryschool.org.uk . Here is a sneak peek at our classroom:

Darwin Class 2023-24

Science - Classification

As part of our study of the Linnaean system of classification, we designed our own animal parks. This encouraged us to consider what characteristics we would group animals by to create the layout of our enclosures. Which park would you most like to visit? 

SATs Week - Hoodies Awarded

In this week's Celebration Assembly, the Year 6s were awarded their iconic Leavers' Hoodies to mark the completion of their SATs.

SATs Week - Icecream Celebration

Our Year 6s truly did Brentry proud this week. They showed enormous dedication and resilience in their tests and did not allow their politeness and positivity to falter once. We celebrated their cool-headedness with a visit from the icecream van!

SATs Week - SATs Breakfast Club

We fuelled our Year 6s for their exams this week at SATs Breakfast Club. Who knew one class could get through so many tea bags and Bran Flakes!

SATs Week - Motivational Messages

Year 6 have been planning ways to keep their morale high over SATs week. They created these motivational messages to decorate the hall with during SATs Breakfast Club (it also helped us with our writing of informal letters)!

English Week - World Book Day and more!

What a week of activities we enjoyed this year in celebration of English Week! We kicked off our festival with the Year 6 Spelling Bee. Congratulation to Fatima, Zaid and Szymon P, who proved impossible to beat: we had to get out Mr Clarke's 'evil' list of the most grotesque words in the English language just to distinguish between them. Bedtime Stories was a hoot with hot chocolates. On Thursday, the responsibility was on us to organise and host the Book Swap and Tea Party for the whole school, but the events went off without a hitch due to our fantastic efforts. We rounded off the week with a jaunt to Henbury Library, where we could not have been more relaxed after a  busy week.

Science - Airbus Workshop

We were lucky enough to receive a visit from three engineers who work for Airbus. They inspired us with their stories of how and why they chose their STEM careers. They were impressed by our knowledge of planes (our Concorde anniversary lessons came in handy here!) and how thoughtfully we spoke about the forces acting on planes when they move. We then took part in an engineering workshop designing and flying paper planes.

English - The Savage

Our class book is The Savage, written by David Almond and illustrated by Dave McKean. This is the first book we have read where the illustrator has been equally acknowledged on the cover. We have been reflecting on the significance of the illustrations to our understanding of the book and the emotions of the characters. Here are our own portraits inspired by the Dave McKean's savage.

SMSC - Class Celebration

Despite a challenging term, we had made it through with enthusiasm, curiosity and smiles on our faces! We had earned a celebration. We conducted a democratic vote and settled upon a 'Wheels' party followed by an ice cream sundae workshop! What a n-ice way to spend the day; we had a wheely lovely time...

Computing - Safer Internet Day

We  were challenged to debate a statement: 'Gaming is a safe activity'. This immediately caused controversy and we practised respectful debate. See the outcome of our discussion below, which resulted in a vote where we decided it was 73% safe.

PSHE - Children's Mental Health Week

This week, we have been reflecting on our well-being. On Wednesday, we took part in a carousel of activities across KS2. It was so much fun to meet up with friends across year groups and explore how craft, sports and meditation can help to make time and space for our mental health.

Science - Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum

We have been investigating Newton's Colour Theory and how we can prove that 'white light' is in fact made of all the colours of the rainbow. We have experimented with reflection, refraction and absorption. Check out the videos below to see what we have discovered.

SMSC - Christmas Dinner Day!

Woohoo! Today, we celebrated our success in 2023 with an end of year party. All agreed the food tasted even more delicious, because it was served by the staff. The class dined like royalty!

RE - Christmas Tree Festival

Darwin Class entered a tree into the Christmas Tree Festival at St Mary's Church. They asked that your tree represent your industry. Can you spot how we linked our decorations to life in school? St Mary's kindly invited us to an exclusive viewing of the trees and a tour of the church with Reverend Rod. We felt like detectives as we spotted the nativity story in the stained glass windows and other familiar characters from Christian Bible stories. While some children toured the church's grounds, others were invited to sing Christmas carols with a special guest... Father Christmas himself!

History - WW1 Experience

The Year 6s took part in a WW1 experience day. We pretended to sign up to the war effort and travel to France. We used VR to explore reconstructions of WW1 trenches. We then followed a play script in our mock trenches, which traced some of the highs and lows of trench warfare. The class agreed that the idea of fighting in the trenches was initially exhilarating, but it quickly became cramped, exhausting and hopeless. We ended our experience by singing Silent Night in English and German, as they did in the Christmas Truce of 1914, and were relieve to escape the trenches even for a short while...

SMSC - Visit from the Lord Mayor

We were lucky enough to be visited by the Lord Mayor Steve Pearce, who kindly led the grand reopening of our school library. He explained that, until he puts on the ceremonial clothing, he is just an ordinary guy - Councillor Steve! However, when he puts on his civic regalia he represents everyone in Bristol. This, he says, is why the Lord Mayor is invited to open new buildings: when you invite the Lord Mayor, it is like inviting everyone in Bristol to the party!

Music - Protest Song

In Music, we have been studying the inspiring efforts of the Suffragettes and their fight for equal rights for women. We investigated the ways in which they protested: often using their voices to unite their community and ensure their message was heard. This inspired us to write our own protest songs about change we would like to see in our community. Here we are protesting about environmental change, mental well-being and acceptance of all people.

PSHE - Anti-Bullying Week

Brentry 'made some noise' this week to raise awareness of Anti-Bullying Week. We discussed scenarios where we - or our friends - might experience unkind behaviour and how we might deal with the situation. We reflected on the definition of bullying and who bullying should be reported to. We even wore odd socks to celebrate our differences. At the end of the week, we used drama to summarise our learning in a series of short pieces. Can you infer what is happening in each frieze?

Science - Investigating Heart Rate

As part our Animals and Living Things unit, the Year 6s were set the task of devising an experiment that would test a hypothesis - fancy, right? Darwin class learned how to check their pulse and set about designing activities, where they would record their heart rates at regular intervals. Can you guess the sports they were testing?

SMSC - Black History Month

This term, we have been learning about just some of the heroes of Black History. In RE, we studied Maya Angelou and Ta Nehisi Coates. In History, we learned the moving story of WW1 soldier Walter Tull. We created a display to recognise the inspirational figures we had researched.

French - Ordering Crepes at Chez Darwin

At the end of term, the class' French learning was put to the test at Chez Darwin, where only orders made in French would be put through the till. Fortunately, our well-rehearsed Year 6s were able to to order using their French speaking skills and create the orders using their French listening skills. Oh la la!

Literacy - Non-Chronological Reports

This week, our class has been preparing to write non-chronological reports reflecting the diverse cultural holidays celebrated in our class. We visited our school library to investigate effective formatting features and layouts. Here is what we found...

PSHE - World Mental Health Day

Today, our school has been raising awareness of the importance of mental health. We reflected on what makes us happy and took part in well-being exercises we can use to calm and recentre ourselves. We enjoyed taking some time to explore The Happy News website. Grown Ups, we recommend you follow The Happy News on Instagram for daily, family-friendly, joyful news videos.

Check them out here: https://thehappynewspaper.com/?v=79cba1185463

French - Anyone for a crepe?

On France camp, the children will get opportunities to buy snacks at shops and cafes, so we have been helping each other to prepare. Ask us to translate these videos for you.

PE - Yoga

Year 6 have been learning about wellbeing in mind and body through their yoga sessions. When did you last take a moment to stretch and breathe?

Literacy - National Poetry Day

Today, we celebrated National Poetry Day with a whole-school Poetry Slam. Year 6 did us proud with their incredible performances.

French - Greetings

Darwin class have been helping each other to prepare for France camp. Do you think we will be mistaken for locals?

Maths - Place Value

Look how much fun Year 6 are having in these totally candid - and not in the least bit staged - photos of building Place Value towers using Dienes. The class always have these exaggerated smiles and their thumbs up... I swear!

PSHE - School Council Elections

Thankyou to everyone who prepared a speech for our school council elections. We were wowed by your thought and your passion. If only we could have you all as councilors, you would make quite the cabinet! Congratulations to Roha and Zaid. Your outstanding presentations won the class over. We know you will represent us well.

Happy New Year ... kind of!

Hello Year 6s. I hope you have had a restful summer. I have had a brilliant time visiting the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where I saw lots of people perform: comedy, music, magic, shadow puppets, a man playing a violin using his hair... At one point, I even ended up on stage - you can ask me about that when you see me! I am sure some of you are wondering what the classroom might look like. Here is a video below to help you picture it.

Looking forward to catching up,

Mrs Stinson x

Darwin Class 2022-23

PSHE: School Nurse Services

Today we received a visit from representatives of Bristol's School Nurse team. They explained to the Year 6s the services they can access through their School Nurse at primary and secondary school. Eight hours sleep, they say, is the key to happiness, as it provides us the energy we need to get in our 60 minutes exercise, to choose healthy foods and to tackle our worries. They also introduced the ChatHealth app which 11-19 year olds can use to contact their School Nurse directly for support.

PE: Sports Day

Well done to everybody for taking part in this year's Sports Day. Our Year 6s certainly did us proud, as they guided and encouraged the younger members of their house colours. Shout out to Jayden who ran the Tree Champions plant stall helping to raise money for environmental work around the school. Here are some snapshots from the day.

Science: Speaking Up For Nature Competition

AT Brentry, our students are extraordinarily passionate about the environment and no more so than our Year 6s. In recognition of this, a select group of our most enthusiastic ambassadors for nature were invited to the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. Our Tree Champions took part in a full-day conference and the brilliant Belle represented us with her inspiring speech.

Art: South and Central American Art

We have come full cycle, as our art topic this term links back to our Term 1 History topic: Ancient Maya. Explore our artwork below, which links to celebrated South and Central American Artists and themes.

PSHE: Dogs Trust Assembly

This week, we were joined by a representative of the Dogs Trust. She helped us understand how to act safely around dogs by thinking empathetically. We learned that it is always responsible to ask the owner's permission before petting a dog and to touch them on the shoulders, rather than the head.

Maths and English: SATs Breakfast Club

Prepping for our SATs in style! Year 6 have enjoyed a gourmet menu this week to get their brains in gear for their end of key-stage assessments: breakfast burritos, avocado toast, bacon bap, pain au chocolat, croissants... Friday's breakfast was my personal favourite - waffles, fresh fruit, squirty cream and sprinkles. SATs week doesn't have to be all bad!

History: Coronation Party

Today, we were part of History in the making, as we celebrated the coronation of King Charles III. We shared our hopes for the new monarchy and what the United Kingdom might look like in another 100 years.

English: Poetry Slam

This week the Year 6s hosted the school Poetry Slam. Every class took part in sharing their poetry with the school. We reflected on the mood, themes and effective devices used in the performances. In the afternoon, we joined by two members of Poetry By Heart (a national poetry scheme). They watched the Year 6 small group and solo performances and were delighted to see their resources in action. They asked for four of our groups to be put forward for the national competition! Check out our entries below.

PSHE: Healthy Choices

We were visit by Joanna from BE Project. She helped us to define key terms in the Year curriculum: dependency, stimulant, depressant, alcohol, drug, cannabis and vape. She created a safe space for us to discuss what we know about substances, addiction and users we had seen in our local community. By the end of the session, we felt more able to make informed choices and more confident sharing with adults in school.

Science: Coded Messages

In Science this term, we have been investigating the properties of light. We put our understanding to the test when we developed our own system for coding messages using filters. Can you work out how we used the principles of absorption and reflection to write hidden notes and animate cartoons?

British Values: Democracy

This week Year 6 were fortunate enough to be invited to the Houses of Parliament. We were given tour through areas of the building, which usually have restricted access. We even sat in the Strangers' Gallery in the House of Lords and listened in on a debate in the House of Commons. We don't have many photos, as our phones would have been confiscated if we had taken them without special permission!

Maths: Algebra

The Year 6s were surprised to find out that algebra was part of the primary curriculum, but once we got started we realised it was as easy as a, b, c... or is that x, y, z?

Maths: Ratio

For every 1 teacher, there are 29 children in Darwin Class who will happily get on board with ratio if it involves baking! We used scaling to adjust a recipe intended for 10 to calculate ingredients for 60 flapjacks cooked in groups of 5.

Art: Poppy Imagery

This term we have been studying the novel War Horse  by Michael Morpurgo. To help us reflect on the text, we created artwork in the style of Rae Smith (the illustrator of our special edition copy borrowed from Mrs Collins). We thought about the 'poetry' in the pictures. We felt that the budding poppies might represent the young men, who were forced to grow up quickly under the weight of war. The bunches of poppies in full bloom showed how the soldiers worked together. The poppies which have lost their petals might represent the lives lost. We hope our pictures help you to reflect too.

SMSC: Forest Schools

We frolicked in the leaves, built innovative dens and decorated tree cookies to create festive decorations. This week's Forest School was a hit with the Year 6s, though all agree the smores really took the biscuit!

History: Trench Warfare

Using our research of trench warfare, our skills of improvisation and a lot of scrap paper, we reenacted what it may have been like to have been recruited to the frontlines in the First World War. We used VR technology to explore modern reconstructions of the trenches and then acted scenes similar to those which would have taken place in the build up to the Christmas Truce of 1914. We finished by singing Stille Nacht in our trenches. We hope today's experience will inspire and inform our WW1 letter-writing in Literacy next week.

History: What events led to the outbreak of WW1?

Ever wondered how the death of an Austro-Hungarian Archduke led to a war between, well, most of Europe and beyond? Watch our re-enactment:

History: A Mayan Breakfast Banquet

We ended our Term 1 History topic with a Mayan Banquet. To maintain historical accuracy, we designed elaborately decorated headdresses to ensure we had the correct status to enjoy a cup of Ancient Mayan Hot Chocolate (just add cinnamon and chilli to dark chocolate power, if you want to recreate this at home). We each played a part in preparing a traditional Mayan breakfast: egg and guacamole wrapped in a corn tortilla, as maize was the most common ingredient in their cooking at the time. Admittedly, we then added a homemade salsa... introduced by the Spanish, who invaded Ancient Maya toward the civilisation's end. We decided our headdresses and high statuses may have allowed us to enjoy some European delights, while we negotiated Maya's future.

Maths: BIDMAS and the Four Operations

What an excellent name for a band: BIDMAS and the Four Operations! Here we are trying any means possible to remember our order of operations ahead of our end of unit assessment. We just so happen to look effortlessly cool doing so...

RE: Moral Dilemmas

We have been comparing the similarities and differences between a Humanist's and a Christian's code for living in RE this term. In this lesson, we considered the classic 'angel and devil' sketches, when a character faces a moral dilemma in TV and film. We suggested that a Humanist may be guided instead by their head (science) and their heart (compassion). Here we are responding to moral dilemmas empathising with Christians and Humanists, before comparing their potential responses to our own World Views.

PSHE: Hello Yellow

In celebration of World Mental Health Day, we participated in a well-being workshop. We explored activities which engaged our senses and promoted mindfulness. We reflected on how to look after ourselves and collected our ideas into a positive affirmations poster. We also had quite the giggle in our photobooth... below are just some of the 200 hilarious pictures Mrs Stinson sifted through!

French: Lotto

We revised our numbers to 100 by playing Bingo en français! We then used these numbers to describe distance between different cities in France.

Maths: Place Value

Who says Year 6s always have to learn stony-faced and sat down? Here we are racing to order our 6 and 7 digit numbers, while revising place value.

British Values: Rule of Law

Being top of the school comes with responsibilities. Luckily, our Year 6s do not shy away from their duties, particularly if they come with a shiny badge. Meet our Term 1 Prefects and Playground Buddies:

Well hello there everyone,

I hope you have all had glorious summers filled with adventures, excitement and lots of books. I for one have had a rather fabulous summer, as a result of which I shall be returning to you as Mrs Stinson... that's one for all of us to get used to! If you are feeling nosey, check out the photo below.

I am eager for the new academic year to begin, so I can share with you all the wonderful events and lessons we have planned between now and the winter break. In particular, I can't wait to start our Ancient Maya topic, which will inspire our writing in Literacy as well as our research in History. 

Don't forget Monday is an INSET day; therefore, I will see you bright and breezy on Tuesday morning. Remember to pack lots of snacks on your first day back, as you will need all the energy you can get for the thrill of wearing those red jumpers.

See you then,

Miss Trotman  

Mrs Stinson

Darwin Class 2021-2022

Welcome to Darwin Class! I hope you all had a fantastic Summer - it felt so good to have a bit of 'normality' back in our lives didn't it? It's only been a few days, but the children have been brilliant so far. They have settled into the new routines of Year 6 really well, and have impressed me with their attitude and behaviour. They've sat through information overload from me in a very hot classroom, so well done them! 

On our first day back, we looked through our school Mission Star to remind ourselves of what we want orur pupils to achieve at Brentry. We then used it to create our Class Charter. Our new History topic - the Maya Civilisation - was introduced with making hot chocolate - with a twist! See the photos below to see their reactions! 

There will be a 'Back to School' meeting via Zoom on Monday after school (exact time TBC). I will send out the Zoom link very soon, so I hope to see all of you there. Don't worry if you can't make it though. I will send out a letter with all of the information next week. 

3rd May

Revision Packs

Hopefully, your child will have brought home a revision pack on Friday, in preparation for our Assessment Week coming up on the 14th June. Each pack contains study books and question books for maths and English, plus some practice papers. The pack also includes a blank timetable, which the children can use to plan out their revision sessions. How you want to organise this is completely up to you, but I would recommend planning in at least a couple of sessions per week. Every night would be too much, but once a week probably wouldn't be enough to make a difference. Little and often (with breaks in between) is the best approach! Remember that there will be no homework set between now and the assessments - revision will take its place.

If there is anything your child is really struggling with, or doesn't understand, please encourage them to bring their books into school so that we can go through it with them. Also, bear in mind that we haven't covered everything in the books yet, so if something seems very alien to them, it could be that we haven't even taught it in class yet.

At the end of the assessments, we will be asking for the study books to be returned (the red and blue books only), plus the plastic wallet that the books come in. Please look after them and do your best to keep them in good condition!

Good luck!

1st April

We did a spot of gardening and general tidying up around the Outdoor Classroom area this week. The children worked hard on weeding, pulling up brambles, litter picking and raking up dead leaves. Thank you Year 6!

Class Treat

The children chose a water fight as their class treat. What a way to end the term! I think they all went home with soggy shoes....

17th March

It's been so good to have the children back in class, and to have the school busy again. We really did miss them all! As always, they have adapted brilliantly to being back, and have enjoyed catching up with their friends. Last week, we focused on getting them used to the routines of school life again, socialising and playing with their friends, and learning outside.

It was Science Week, so we welcomed back our student teacher, Mr Speirs, for a fun lesson all about Science and Engineering. The children were set various challenges, such as to make an object that can float, using different materials. They had to choose carefully, depending on their properties. Some were more successful than others! Take a look at the photos below.

We also spent some time in the Outdoor Classroom, measuring the entire area so that we can map it out and start to plan how we are going to improve it. The children have got some interesting ideas, so watch this space!

This week, we are back into the swing of things, with a focus on fractions, decimals and percentages in maths. Literacy has been all about reminding the children of the basic punctuation and sentence structure needed in their writing, as well as lots of reading comprehension. We have been learning all about the changing coastline of the UK in geography, and have started a new unit - 'What do religions say when life gets hard?' - in RE. Phew!

This Friday is Red Nose Day, so don't forget to wear something red, and have a go at the competitions coming home today. Good luck!

Mrs Ochiltree

Competition Time!

Can you guess which member of the Brentry staff team is behind each mask?

Fill in the entry form below and email it to Mrs Ochiltree at lochiltree@brentryprimarychool.org.uk by Wednesday 10th March for a chance to win prizes!

Happy New Year!

Hello everyone! We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, despite the restrictions. We were very much looking forward to seeing all of the children and hearing their holiday news, and are disappointed we can't see all of your lovely faces in real life.  It's hard to believe we're in another Lockdown, but fingers crossed it won't last long!

We are currently working really hard to get online learning set up and ready to go for Monday 11th, and in the meantime, there are plenty of links to websites, games and videos to keep the children busy. There is also a Home Learning pack with various activities in if you have an extra-keen bean at home! Just take a look in the Home Learning tab above and scroll down to the bottom.

We will be in touch again before Monday to outline our expectations for Home Learning, but for now, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions: lochiltree@brentryprimaryschool.org.uk or jbutters@brentryprimaryschool.org.uk.

It's a strange time for all of us, so let's be kind to each other, and to ourselves. We're all in this together!

Mrs Ochiltree and Mr Butters

18th December

Happy Christmas to all of the children in Darwin Class, and their brilliant families! Make sure you watch our Christmas treat (link above) - the Reindeer Rap - as the children are very proud of it. Here are some photos of the children enjoying their festive lunch during the last week of term.

Happy holidays to all!

Mrs Ochiltree and Mr Butters x

26th November

For a few weeks, the children have been reading a 'choose your own adventure' style story, set in the town of Storyhaven, online. The children have been working in teams, with each team member playing a different character. Along the way, the teams have been able to gain reputation, increase their stamina, spend gold and make choices depending on their team members' skills. At the end of the adventure, they used the story runes they had found to create stories, which they shared with the Shaman yesterday, via the time portal.

The children did brilliantly. The Shaman was very impressed, and they made me a very proud teacher! 

24th November

'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...' Too early? I think with everything going on at the moment, it's only fair that we get a bit of an extended lead up to Christmas this year. Sadly, we won't be able to enjoy one of my absolute highlights of the year, Carols by Candlelight, next month. However, we are hoping to put together a little treat for the Year 6 parents - watch this space!

In class, the children have been working on fractions in maths. This is a tricky unit, with so many new strategies and methods to learn, but as always, the children are impressing me with the way they have picked things up. In literacy, we are writing diary entries from the perspective of a WW1 soldier in the trenches. The children are so engaged with this topic, and love learning all about life in the trenches. I've been hearing all about their projects too - they sound great! As usual, on Fridays, Mr Butters is teaching the children science, and has just started our new unit, Animals Including Humans. He is also teaching Geometry, including coordinates.

And finally, a reminder that if your child is isolating, please have a look at the Home Learning page above. You will find links to plenty of resources to support your child to continue their learning at home. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me at lochiltree@brentryprimaryschool.org.uk 

Mrs Ochiltree

6th November

Hope you all had a great half term, and managed to get out and about before Lockdown #2 began!

This term, our topic changes to WW1, which I know the children are really excited about. We've already looked at how and why the war began, and will be covering topics such as life in the trenches, the Battle of the Somme and how life changed for those at home. It is such a shame that we aren't able to go to France this year, as the trip really brings this topic to life for the children, but hopefully the activities we have planned in class will help the children to get a good understanding of the war and how it affected life in Britain.

Linked to this, the homework for this term will be a project based on WW1. There are three options for the project, which can be found in the Homework section above. The deadline isn't until 14th December, but please encourage your child to start having a think about what they are going to do. Please don't leave it all until the last minute!

Next week, we will start a new reading and writing project called Storyhaven. It is an online reading game which takes the children on their own 'choose your own adventure'. They will create their own characters and settings, and collect special objects along the way, with the ultimate aim of creating a story to share over Zoom with the Storyhaven team. Please look out for an email asking for your permission for your child to take part in this. This week, the children created their own 'Adventure Journal', which they will use to record their Storyhaven journey. The journals look fab!

2nd October

Well Autumn is well and truly here, and wet playtimes are becoming more and more common. The children have been coping brilliantly with the new lunch time system though, and seem to be enjoying their takeaway-style lunches! Fingers crossed the rain eases next week though, as it's great for them to get outside, even if it's just for a quick runaround.

In class, we've been revising column addition and subtraction, and exploring factors and prime numbers. Literacy has been all about writing our mythical stories, linked to the Mayans. I have been so impressed with their attitude towards writing. They seem to really love it, which makes me very happy! I am looking forward to reading their stories once we've put the finishing touches to them next week.

We continue to learn about the Maya Civilisation in our History lessons, with this week's focus on their writing and number systems. Turns out the Mayans were a very clever bunch!

Next Wednesday, the children will be treated to an afternoon of Forest School activities, so they will need to come into school dressed appropriately. A text will be sent home with more information nearer the time. Even more reason to wish for dry weather next week!

Don't forget, you can find this week's homework in the Homework section above. Have a great weekend everybody!

Mrs Ochiltree

17th September

We're having another great week in Darwin Class. The sun has been shining (typical, now that we're back at school!) and the children seem to be enjoying spending time playing with their classmates again in the playground.

In class, we have been continuing our work on Place Value in maths, this week exploring numbers up to 10 million. Next week, we will move on to addition and subtraction. In English, we are still looking at mythical stories, and will begin to plan our own next week. This links well to our topic work this week on Mayan Gods and religion.

One of our tasks in PSHE this week involved discussing our hopes and dreams for Year 6. The children had some really sensible ideas about what they would like to achieve by the end of the year, and they made some spirals with their ideas on, which look very pretty hung up in the classroom!

Don't forget that homework has been set this week. It can be found in the Homework section above. Completed homework should be emailed to Mr Butters by next Thursday .

11th September

We made it through the first week! The class have settled in so well, and it's been great to see every single one of Year 6 back in school. They have adapted to the new rules and systems brilliantly, even reminding me of one or two throughout the week! Alongside our Recovery Curriculum work, in which we have been focusing on the children's mental health and well being after such a long time away from school, we have already been getting stuck in to some hard work.

In maths, the focus this week and next is on Place Value. We have been exploring numbers up to 10 million and will be working on negative numbers and rounding next.

In literacy, we have been reading the Mayan myth, The Hero Twins. Our first literacy unit is based around this story (linked to our topic) and the children will eventually be writing their own mythical stories, complete with mythical beasts!

Finally, I thought I'd share some photos of the children making Mayan hot chocolate as an introduction to our Maya Civilisation topic earlier this week. I'm not sure they were expecting the secret ingredient - chili powder! Some were braver than others....

Welcome back Year 6!

We hope you're all excited about coming in on Monday with your new red sweatshirts on, looking so grown up . I know that it will feel a little bit strange, especially after spending so much time at home with your families, but hopefully you will feel much more relaxed once you've seen a few familiar faces. Although things are a little bit different in school, and we have new ways of doing some things, we will all soon get used to them.  Remember that neither of us have been in the school for a while either, so you will need to look after us too!

Year 6 is a really exciting year - you're the oldest in the school now! - and we know that you're going to make a fantastic Year 6 class. 

We are very much looking forward to seeing your smiling faces on Monday (and Friday for Mr Butters). Have a brilliant weekend and get plenty of sleep!

Mrs Ochiltree and Mr Butters

2018-2019

12th July

We had a brilliant day in the sunshine at Butlins today! The children did us proud with their fantastic behaviour and attitude. What a great bunch!

Friday 14th June

This week, we introduced Reading Buddies between the Year 6s and KS1. The pupils in Darwin Class all listen to children in Year 1 or 2 read, or they read a story to them. We do it three times a week, and the children absolutely love it!

Friday 7th June

What a week! We've had a fantastic Science Week this week. The focus has been on the environment, so we have been outside a lot, which the children have loved. As well as learning all about classification of living things as part of our current science unit, we've been identifying trees from their leaves, we've taken part in a scavenger hunt, and we've built dens, whittled wood for marshmallow-toasting and gone pond-dipping for minibeasts with Forest Schools. To top off the week, today was Art Day. A whole day of art linked to saving the planet - what more could you want?!

Friday 24th May

We've had a great final week of term 5 in Darwin Class. We've done lots of science, including an investigation all about electricity. We've also been writing newspaper reports for our end-of-year assessments, and today we have enjoyed Mojo Active Day. The children really impressed me with their 'have-a-go' attitude on the climbing wall and obstacle course. And then, of course, there was the slime making. Apologies for any sticky messes that came home with the children today! Lots of fun was had in the sunshine though.

Enjoy the week off! Lots to look forward to next term too. See the 'Y6 Camp' page above for important information, including a kit list, for the week beginning 17th June.

Friday 17th May

SATs Week is over! Congratulations Darwin Class! The children have all worked SO hard this week and have made me a very proud teacher. We’ll get the results on July 9th. Good luck everyone! 

We spent Thursday afternoon in the sunshine creating some huge pieces of art to celebrate finishing. Sadly, the sunshine didn’t stick around for us when we went to Blaise on Friday, but the children loved it. A great way to let off steam after a tough week! 

Friday 26th April

Welcome back to Term 5! It's going to be a short but very important term for Year 6, with SATs week coming up on the 13th May. Until then, we will be doing lots of revision of maths, SPaG and reading, both in class and in our booster sessions on a Monday and Thursday. We have two more after school Revision Club sessions left - the last one will be on Tuesday 7th May. 

There will be a letter coming home soon with a SATs timetable, and information about Breakfast Club, which will run Monday to Thursday of SATs week. There will also be a consent form to sign for the children's end-of-SATs treat at Blaise.

Like I said, lots to think about this term! Any questions, please don't hesitate to come in and see me, or give the office a call.

Friday 5th April

It's been a busy end to the term this week, with assessments, Brentry's Got Talent, and of course Mr C's birthday celebrations. As always though, the children have done us very proud. A huge well done to Lashantai, Lacey, Ruby, River and Alice, who were all brave enough to take part in the talent show today. Alice, alongside her sister, was even crowned the overall winner! What a talented bunch they are.

Have a brilliant Easter everyone - enjoy the break!

Friday 22nd March

Today, we had a Greenpeace speaker in to talk to Year 6 all about the campaigns that they run to tackle global issues such as climate change, plastic in the ocean and deforestation. It was really interesting to hear his views on how we can work towards making positive changes, and the children felt inspired to come up with some possible fundraising ideas for later on in the year. So watch this space!

Friday 15th March

This week, we visited the old school, and it felt very strange to be back! There is still a lot of work to do, but we could see how things are shaping up over there. It's just a shame this lot won't be able to enjoy it in September! 

8th March

It's my favourite week of the year - English Week! We've had a fantastic week in Year 6, with our visit to the library on Monday, a Spelling Bee on Wednesday (well done to our Spelling Champion, Viraj!), Bedtime Stories (eek!), our Family Read on Thursday and, to top it all off, some fantastic World Book Day costumes on Friday. Phew! Take a look at some of the photos below to see what we've been up to.