WELCOME TO SYCAMORE CLASS

Class Teachers - Mrs Rawnson  (Mrs Tucker teaching Fridays)

​Teaching Assistant- Mrs Longhurst 

Spring Term 2024

Welcome Back and Happy 2024!

This term our project will be 'Lungs of the Earth' - which is all about Rainforests. There are 3 important dates for Year 6 for you to know about this term.

We have a trip on Friday 19th January to  The Living Rainforest Trip just outside Newbury (see link below). A letter will come out about this as always; it is in the normal school day time.

I will put a KS2 SATS Parents Workshop on so that you can find out more about what the SATS process is like and to know how to best support your child. You will get the opportunity to work alongside your child as they explain what they have been doing and what their 'Next Steps' are.  KS2 Parents' Workshop on Tuesday 6th February 9-10am in the school hall.

At the end of our topic, we warmly invite you to come and join us to celebrate your child's learning. The children will share their work with you at at Fair Trade Tea Party they will host as we all think about how we can best look after our planet.  Exhibition and Fair Trade Tea Party on Monday 25th March 2-3pm in the school hall.

Year 6 Christmas Update

What a great half term of learning and laughter Year 6 have had! The Ancient Greeks still took a lot of our thinking space with exploration of bias behind different sources as we re-enacted The Battle of Marathon.  We developed our sculpture skills in art as we explored, drew, designed and created our own Ancient Greek pots.

We loved exploring the genre of Jazz in music and having a ‘Jazz workshop’ afternoon.

In Science, we learnt about the different types of variables and constructed our own experiments into friction as we chariot raced across the hall!  Year 6 also held a Science Fair; the result of a whole half term of experimenting. Mr Sainsbury (a former Deputy Head at Winterbourne Earls and Science Guru) came to open our Science Fair and interrogate the stands before we opened up the afternoon to the parents to witness our hard work.

Our geared, electric cars that we built in DT were tested out as well. Sporting skills were developed in hockey and gymnastics- the wall bars and ropes are not just to decorate our hall walls!

In the final week of term, we have been finishing off our personalised Christmas stories that we have written especially for our Reception Buddies and we are looking forward to sharing our creations with Oak Class in the last few days of term.

End of Term 1!

It has been a fantastically successful first term to Year 6. The children have stepped into their roles as Prefects brilliantly and all of them have demonstrated our values as they have mentored their Reception Buddies. They have also shown prospective parents around our school, skills of confidence and speaking to adults were developed here. Braeside proved to be trip that none of them will every forget and the project of building their own geared, electric car had them working precisely and carefully in teams. Our project of 'Ancient Greece' has captured their imaginations and excellent artefacts have been brought in to create our own 'museum'. 

Braeside Residential- Day 2!    Survival day and Nightline

The children demonstrated amazing team work today! They scoured the forests for vast quantities of suitable fire wood -not easy due to all the rain we had last night! They learnt how to light a fire using flint and steel and cotton wool.  They worked as a team to keep their fire going and prepare and cook their lunch on the fire. Baked beans, hot dogs, potatoes, scrambled egg, corgettes, mushrooms and pitta bread.

Then two storms hit this afternoon- 'Storm Rawnson' and 'Storm Morgan Tranter'... they learnt how to create different types of shelters and worked as a team to create their own in which to hide in when the storms hit. Everyone created excellent shelters and stayed dry during the deluge!

Dinner was pasta bolognese and Braeside ice cream- everyone ate well and enjoyed the autumn themed dining room with calm music, twinkly lights and autumn decorations.

Nightline was a challenge of communication and trust. They had to guide a blind folded friend through the woodland holding onto a rope to guide them along. Everyone was excellent and we are looking forward to seeing these communication skills in action back in the classroom.

All children were calm and asleep at 9.30pm- which is just as well as tomorrow is the stunning hike through varied countryside ending up at the top of Roundway Down.

You should be very proud of your children- they have been an absolute delight!

Braeside Residential- DAY 1!  High Ropes, Canoeing and Orienteering

What a super first day! We dodged all the heavy rain and managed to get all that we had planned to do done. The downpours reached us when we were settling into our rooms.

Every pupil challenged themselves and made the most of their first adventure. We are extremely proud of them all.

Dinner was local sausages, chips, baked beans or peas, jacket potatoes and salad bar. Everyone had something that they could fill their plate with.

They are just about to head into the grounds to use GPS navigation skills to explore.

Welcome to Year 6! (September 2023)

I hope that you have all had a good summer holiday and are as excited as I am about the year ahead. We are always here to help so please let us know if we can be of assistance. This is a pivotal year for your child and you as parents- we will support and guide you through the key events.

There are three upcoming events that you need to be aware of:

1) Meet the Teacher Afternoon on Monday 11th September at 2pm. This is likely to be in the Year 6 classroom. This is a REALLY important meeting as I will introduce Year 6 to you all but also discuss our residential to Braeside Outdoor Education Centre.

2) Braeside Residential Week- Monday 2nd October to Friday 6th October.

3) Applying for a secondary school place. Hopefully you have managed to visit possible schools already, if not do contact me for further information. AS PARENTS, YOU NEED TO APPLY FOR YOUR CHILD'S SECONDARY SCHOOL PLACE. The deadline is 31st OCTOBER!

PE will be on Thursdays and Fridays. We expect children to come into school in their PE kits on these days.

Homework will be handed out and set on a Monday.

Summer 2 -Update

What a fantastic performance! Year 6 worked diligently and extremely well as a team to create a wonderful production of Robin Hood and the Sherwood Hoodies. Their glorious singing permeated the school for a couple of weeks so that everyone got excited about being able to witness their incredible achievement. The term has been action packed with a whole range of activities which included a geography field work trip and they are are looking forward to their visit to the RAF International Air Tattoo as well as going to the river with their Reception Buddies. All pupils have done lots of work towards transitioning to their new adventures in secondary school. All of them have now visited and are well prepared to embark on the next part of their educational journey. We wish them all the very best for their futures.

Summer 1 Update!

What a busy few weeks we’ve had! The children did brilliantly in SATS. They were well prepared calm and all gave it their best effort not daunted by the challenge. The SATS breakfast was a wonderful celebration of their hard work and had a great atmosphere. Thank you to our governors who came in to adjudicate and celebrate the pupils’ hard work. In preparation, the children learnt the skill of mindmapping and were allowed to draw on (specific!!) display boards in the classroom.

Year 6 enjoyed celebrating the coronation by creating images using the drawing form ‘Zentangles’. The work that they created was very impressive.

Year 6 have all participated in two days of Bikeability training with Wiltshire Council. It was wonderful to see them working as a team outside enjoying the sun.

The production will be Robin Hood and the Sherwood Hoodies. Parts have now been allocated and the children MUST learn their parts over the holiday and start sourcing their costume please.

Welcome back for your child's final term at primary school!  Where did that time go?!

Summer term is always the best and even more so in Year 6.  A lot of the hard work has been done, but we are determined to 'sprint over the finish line' rather than fizzle out! There are SO many things this term!  I have created a timetable letter that can be found on the Summer 2023 icon and below as it is SO important. As a busy mum myself, I know how useful it can be to have an overview of dates and events. I will also send a paper copy of this letter home once I have finalised the Bikability groups this week.

                                                                     TOP TIP: STICK IT ON THE FRIDGE!  

Please be aware that this is an emotional term for you and your child. I have been a Year 6 teacher for many years and have also personally been through it, as have Mrs Longhurst and Mrs Kerley. Between us we have children at a range of the secondary schools in Salisbury- feel free to talk to us! We will help and guide your child through it so that they feel closure on Primary School life and an excitement about the adventures that lie before them!

February Update on this busy half term.

This term Year 6 have enjoyed studying Rivers and Mountains. The geography element of the topic has captured their interest and they have been involved in many in depth discussions about how we can protect our environment. Year 6 have worked hard to improve their academic subjects too this term and it has been great to see their hard work and dedication coming into fruition in the standard of work that they are producing. This was particularly evident in our letters to the prime minister where the pupils expressed their concern about the situation of plastics in the oceans. We even received a thorough reply from 10 Downing Street in response to their letters.

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

It has been wonderful to catch up with the children over the last couple of days and to hear about all their Christmas news.

 This term is a 'Knuckle Down and Learn' term. We want the pupils to feel really confident in their learning and that involves them taking ownership of their learning. With help, they will identify things that they haven't mastered YET and will put in the work with the adults in the classroom to ensure that they feel confident and happy in their learning.

I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 9th January at 9 am in the school hall for our KS2 SATS Workshop. I will start the session with explaining SATS and what is required. Then you will get the opportunity to work alongside your child as they show what start they have already made into their SATS journey. 

This term's project is 'Go with the Flow'- which is all about rivers and mountains. Please find the Parent Planner in the Spring 2023 tab above to see what we will be getting up to.

Most of the class will also be coming on the Choir trip to perform in the O2 Arena as part of the Young Voices Choir. Keep practising- we need to know all the songs and actions off by heart.  Here is the link again! Spotify – Young Voices Uk Music Pack 2023 

As always, any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Christmas term update!

Year 6 have been up to so much this term. The topic of Egypt has had much to explore from mummification to the moral dilemma of whether artefacts should be returned to their country of origin. They have made geared electric cars in DT and have had an engineer come in to discuss their constructions with them and how to best improve them. There have been several sporting events, musical opportunities and charity events. As prefects, Year 6 have been busy supporting their area within the school. The children are looking forward to the last week of term where they will get to share their fantastic Science Fair projects that they have been working on all term at home.

Welcome Back!

I do hope that you have all had good holidays and are keen and ready to come back on Friday 2nd September!

Normally Mrs Tucker will teach on a Friday, but as this is the first day of the year Mrs Rawnson will teach the class to welcome the class and so that routines can be established.

On the first day back, I will give a 'broad brush stroke' with all lots of the things that the children will want to ask- eg buddies, prefects, Braeside, rewards etc! It will all be discussed properly when the time is right- please reassure them that I will go over EVERYTHING again through the term in more detail! Friday will be about getting them through the door and back into the buzz of a learning classroom. Some will be desperate to get back in; others less so. We will be ready to welcome them in.

I will also cover some of the more 'mundane' elements, eg the organisation of homework, presentation of work, spellings etc, with the hope that these things can be sorted swiftly each week meaning that there is plenty of time for fun learning in the classroom. Again, it will take them time to adjust back to school life, so no worries if half of the things that are discussed in the first day are forgotten!

My number one aim is to make the classroom a safe, happy haven for them to learn and thrive in. I look forward to seeing them all on Friday.