Year 6

Year 6 Pound Project Sale 

at Friends of John Clifford Fireworks Display

Year 6 will be holding their first 'Pound Project' sale of the year at 6:00pm on Thursday 7th November at the Friends of John Clifford Fireworks Display.  The Pound Project is an opportunity for Year 6s to work together and raise money towards a reward trip in July 2020.   Look out for a letter on Monday 4th November with more details.

Half-Term Reading Challenge

The children in Year 6 are BUZZING about this challenge.  Thank you in advance for your support with this exciting initiative.

Why not join us for our Reading Mornings?

After the half-term holiday, we are launching our Year 6 Parent Reading Mornings. 

These will be every Wednesday from 8.50am until 9.10am, starting on 06.11.19.  Come and read with your child and maybe find out a little bit more about what we are

learning in class!

In Year 6, this half-term, we have been having an incredible push on reading.  Bluebird class have astonished me with their commitment and enthusiasm to all things book and the quality of their reading diaries has sky rocketed.  I have been really impressed with the number of children who have gone from not reading at all at home to reading the required 3 x per week or even more!  Thank you for your support with this at home.

Year 6 Local History Tram Trip 17.10.19

October finished on a high for Ospreys and Blue Birds as both classes headed in to town for a tour of some of Nottingham's 'hidden history', beginning with an invitation to 'look up' in Old Market Square.  University of the 3rd Age member Mr Ian Hampton led a fascinating look at Watson Fothergill, the prolific local architect who designed around 100 buildings in Victorian Nottingham.  The children quickly became experts at spotting WF's distinctive style and appreciated his little quirks: the grumpy-looking Queen Victoria on Queen's Chambers and the monkey on the Notts Bank building being particular favourites with the children!  

Following a  sketching activity during which many children showed a keen eye for detail and observation, the group caught another tram over the hill and headed off to the Arboretum, Nottingham's oldest park, for lunch and a good run-around.  Many had never been there and thought they would like to return - the aviary and duck pond were particularly popular.

Another tram later and we were back in the city centre, tracking down Watson Fothergill's extraordinary office on George Street.  We were also hunting for locations associated with George Africanus, whom we had learned about in our recent history lessons; George had started life as a three-year-old from Sierra Leone in West Africa, brought to England as a slave in 1766; fortunately finding himself working as a servant for philanthropic gentry (the Molineux family from Wolverhampton - Lukas made the link with the Wolverhampton Wanderers stadium name, which stands on the site of the old Molineux house), George Africanus ended up being freed and starting a successful business career in Nottingham.  Sharp eyes located the blue plaque commemorating the place where George Africanus had lived and worked until his death at the age of 70 or 71 in 1834.  The final part of our tour took us to the Lace Market and St Mary's Church, where our intrepid history hunters successfully located George's grave and that of his wife and son.  The children's enthusiasm and knowledge were absolutely commendable - one of the parent helpers commented that her son had given her all the details of George Africanus's life while briefing her on the trip.

Thank you to Mrs Swailam, Mrs Bradshaw and Ms Stancer who generously gave up their time to support on the trip and were invaluable supporting Mrs Hosker, Mrs Jacques, Miss Kyle, Mrs Shah and Mr Morris with the task of assisting keeping 59 children together on four separate tram trips and a total of 10 km walked across Nottingham!  Big thanks also to Mrs Long in the school office for her support in organising the visit, and Ian Hampton for his expert talk on Watson Fothergill.

Restart A Heart Day

This week, children across the whole school worked with Mr and Mrs Roper and Mr Bailey to learn what do in the case of an emergency if someone is found unconscious.  Bluebirds really listened well and learnt a great deal.  Here are some photos of them practising CPR.

On Wednesday, Bluebirds presented the work we have been doing in music this term in their class assembly. As well as presenting their learning about Tchaikovsky and his ballets, the children introduced the audience to a 3/4 waltz beat. The audience participation and enthusiasm was really fantastic. We finished the assembly with a performance of our class composition which was inspired by an electronic piece of music by Norwegian band, Royksopp. The children performed brilliantly and they managed to stay in tune and, amazingly, in time! 

Unfortunately, due to a camera malfunction, I have no photos of the magnificent event to share on here but I've had some fantastic feedback from other children, parents and staff about the assembly and am feeling very proud of the children.  Well done, Bluebirds! 

Happy Friday, everyone!

In Bluebird class this term, we are having a HUGE push on reading both in school and at home.  I have been checking that the children are reading at least three times a week at home and am pleased to report that there has been a real improvement this week in terms of engagement.  Last week, only 25% of the children were reading the required three times a week.  This week, that figure was 38% which is fantastic.  Furthermore, the number of children whose diaries suggested that no reading at all was going on at home has decreased from 41% to 34%.  There is still some way to go towards the EVERYONE reading at home at least three times per week but we are one step closer to this.  Well done! 

We really do appreciate your support with this at home and, even if the children are not reading out loud to you all the time, it really does make a difference if you could listen to them reading out loud at least once a week.  

Weekly Update - W/C 23.09.19

We've had a fantastic week in Year 6, during which the children have admirably settled back into the routines of being back in their classrooms.  Whilst there is still work going on around school, it appears that our classrooms are now finished, which is great news!

As you were informed in the Autumn 1 Mind Map, the book we are studying this term is The Arrival by Shaun Tan.  This week, saw the children produce some outstanding setting descriptions based on pictures from the text.  I really have been very impressed.  Furthermore, the children have blown our minds with their ability to learn long division in maths!  Almost the entire year group have tackled this with enthusiasm, resilience and skill.  They've worked brilliantly!

The children have completed their first round of homework this week and I was really impressed with the number of children who completed this and brought it in on time; thank you all for your support with this.  Please don't worry if your child finds something difficult.  The most important thing for us is that they have a go at the homework.  If they are really struggling, they can come and see us before the homework is due to be handed in and we will try to help them.  Linked to this, is reading.  We are having a real push with reading in Year 6 and are reading extensively at school in English lessons, across other subjects of the curriculum and during our designated reading slots in the afternoons.  We ask that you support us with this at home by encouraging your child to read at home AT LEAST three times a week for 20 minutes.  It would be great if at least one of these sessions was out loud to an adult, especially if this is something your child finds tricky.  It's also a great opportunity to discuss with your child what it is that they are reading. 

Just a reminder to register for a Parents' Evening slot on the online booking system.  Any issues with this, please speak to the office.

 Kind regards,

Miss Kyle

Design and Technology - cam mechanisms

It's been a busy week with both Year 6 classes having to move classrooms for a few days due to the ongoing heating works; however, the children have risen to the occasion and been a credit to the school.  For this reason, the library hosted this week's DT lesson: Ospreys pupils got the opportunity to work on cam mechanisms, with some excellent hands-on teamwork  on display as they came to terms with new technological terms and skills. 

Engagement was brilliant with some excellent questions asked about how cams and pistons work inside various engines and motors, and one child declared that it had been 'the best lesson ever.'  (Blue Birds, you'll get a go at this next week!)

Good evening,

I have been informed by some of the children that they cannot access the Publisher version of the homework booklet below.  With that in mind, I have now changed this to a PDF version of the same document and it should therefore be accessible through most devices. 

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!

Miss Kyle

Welcome back to a brand new academic year at John Clifford School and, more importantly, to Year 6!  We have been really pleased with how focussed and engaged the children have been during their first week back after the long break.  Many thanks to all parents and carers who have done a fabulous job in helping the children to look so smart.  

A reminder about PE Kits: Trainers MUST be in school all week and PE Kits MUST be in school on Tuesdays and Thursday, although again, if at all possible, these should also be in school all week.

We look forward to seeing you at the Meet The Teacher meetings this week immediately after school.  Miss Kyle (Bluebirds) will be meeting parents on Wednesday 11th September an Mr Morris (Ospreys) will be available on Thursday 12th September.  

Homework will normally be issued and made available on this class page on a fortnightly basis on a Thursday.

We have many exciting things planned for the children over the course of the year and look forward to spending time with and working with your children.

Kind regards,

Miss Kyle and Mr Morris

Some useful web-links to support learning:

• www.mangahigh.com
• www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/
• www.topmarks.co.uk/
• www.crickweb.co.uk/Key-Stage-2.html
• www.mad4maths.com/
• www.kids.nationalgeographic.co.uk/kids/