Year 6

Reading at Home - Bug Club

Just to make sure you are practicing your reading at home and trying out new and exciting books – we have set up an account for each of you on ActiveLearn where you can download new texts and progress through the different-coloured book bands!

All you need to do is:

1. Find the ActiveLearn log in page online.
2. Fill in your username, which will be your first name and initial of your last name (e.g. JamesB).
3. Fill in password, which is 123456
4. Fill in school code, which is swxg
5. Go to My Stuff and read the texts that have been assigned to you!  

I’ll be keeping an eye on your progress to see how well you are all doing! You all know how important it is to keep reading every single day.

Take care!

Welcome to Year 6

Teacher: Mrs Paton

Teaching Assistants: Mrs McNeil

 

Mrs McNeil and I are delighted to be working with your children again this year. There is nothing better than hitting the ground running, so to speak!

 

Year 6 is a very busy year at Millbrook. We continue to work at a fast pace revisiting learning which has been covered in previous year groups for English, Maths and Science as we prepare for the SATS tests in May 2020.  As well as this, we will be learning new concepts and technical vocabulary.

 

The children will sit a range of mock/practice tests throughout the year to allow us to monitor their progress and to prepare them for the week of testing. We use the children’s results each time to inform our planning and to set the children achievable targets during the terms.

 

Full attendance in Year 6 plays a vital role in your child being equipped for the tests. Learning this year is going to be fast paced. As well as revisiting the learning that has been covered in previous years, we will be introducing new content to them. It will be hard to catch up if your children are absent on the day we teach a new concept to them.

 

 

 

Homework Timetable

Our home learning books will go home on a Friday and are due in on a Tuesday. The homework will consist of a spelling task, English task and Mathematics task. In addition to this the children will be given Maths Passports where they will need to work on specific targets at home e.g 12 times tables

 

 

It would be advantageous for your child to have the following resources at home:

 

You can help your child at home by:

• Ensuring homework is completed on time.
• Making sure your child has the correct equipment in school (P.E kit, glasses, reading book & record book, pens, pencils etc.)
• Encourage them to read a variety of literature/text types and a mixture of fiction/non-fiction. We expect every child to read every day, for at least 15 minutes; a comment should be written in their Reading Record book about the text they have read.  I have asked if they can read to an adult once every week.  Reading is a crucial skill which, particularly at this level, is used in all curriculum areas. We are working very hard to make sure that your child is equipped with the necessary reading skills in preparation for secondary school.

 

SATs in 2020: what parents need to know

During the summer term of 2020 Year 6 will sit their Sat’s tests. These tests in English and Maths will reflect the national curriculum, and are more rigorous than before.

At the end of Year 6, children will sit tests in:

• Reading
• Maths
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar

These tests will be both set and marked externally, and the results will be used to measure the school’s performance (for example, through reporting to Ofsted and published league tables). Your child’s marks will be used in conjunction with teacher assessment to give a broader picture of their attainment.

 

English Tests

Key stage 2 reading test

The reading test will be a single paper with questions based on three passages of text. Your child will have one hour, including reading time, to complete the test.

There will be a selection of question types, including:

• Ranking/ordering, e.g. ‘Number the events below to show the order in which they happen in the story’
• Labelling, e.g. ‘Label the text to show the title of the story’
• Find and copy, e.g. ‘Find and copy one word that suggests what the weather is like in the story’
• Short constructed response, e.g. ‘What does the bear eat?’
• Open-ended response, e.g. ‘Look at the sentence that begins Once upon a time. How does the writer increase the tension throughout this paragraph? Explain fully, referring to the text in your answer.’

 

Key Stage 2 grammar, punctuation and spelling test

The grammar, punctuation and spelling test will consist of two parts: a grammar and punctuation paper requiring short answers, lasting 45 minutes, and a spelling test of 20 words, lasting around 15 minutes.

The grammar and punctuation test will include two types of questions:

• Selected response, e.g. ‘Identify the adjectives in the sentence below’
• Constructed response, e.g. ‘Correct/complete/rewrite the sentence below,’ or, ‘The sentence below has an apostrophe missing. Explain why it needs an apostrophe.
   

Mathematics

Children will sit three papers in maths:

• Paper 1: arithmetic, 30 minutes
• Papers 2 and 3: reasoning, 40 minutes per paper

Paper 1 will consist of fixed response questions, where children have to give the correct answer to calculations, including long multiplication and division. Papers 2 and 3 will involve a number of question types, including:

• Multiple choice
• True or false
• Constrained questions, e.g. giving the answer to a calculation, drawing a shape or completing a table or chart
• Less constrained questions, where children will have to explain their approach for solving a problem.

 

Science

Not all children in Year 6 will take science SATs. However, a number of schools will be required to take part in science sampling: a test administered to a selected sample of children thought to be representative of the population as a whole. (Beginning of June is the science sampling test period in which your child might sit the tests.) For those who are selected, there will be three papers.

 

When will the KS2 SATs take place in 2020?

The Year 6 KS2 SATs will be administered in the week commencing Monday 11^th May 2020. Please make sure that children are in school this week.

 

How will the KS2 tests be marked?

Children will be given scaled scores. You will be given your child’s raw score (the actual number of marks they get), alongside their scaled score and whether they have reached the national average. The score needed to reach the national average is 100.

To help your child with revision for their SATS, study books for literacy, numeracy and science will be loaned to your child; they will be collected back in after SATs week. These will be given out at the parent consultations in October.

 

 

Websites that may be of use with your child’s homework;

www.samlearning.com

www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize

www.channel4learning.com/index.html

www.bbc.co.uk/newsround

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids

www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/index.html

http://yucky.discovery.com/flash

www.funbrain.com

www.teachingtime.co.uk

www.mad4maths.com

www.teachingtables.co.uk

www.teachingmeasures.co.uk

 

School Trips:

 

We are in the process of organising educational trips linked to our curriculum topics.

We have the local Crucial Crew trip to Hertfordshire College where the children will learn life skills as they prepare themselves for independence at Secondary School. We aim to visit the National History Museum to enhance our Evolution and Inheritance topic in Science this term and also visit Lea Valley Park to inspire our landscape ideas whilst studying Monet.

 

PGL residential trip to Osmington Bay, Dorset at the end of June 2020.

 

Year Six Transition

 

The open evenings have been arranged for parents and pupils to look around the secondary schools before making their decision about which school they would like their children to attend. All admission information can be found at www.hertsdirect.org/admissions.The online admissions system is now open and during September and October the schools hold their open events. You should have received a separate letter with details of the dates and times. The closing date for both paper and online applications is 31^st October. If you would like some help with your application please make an appointment with a member of the office team via the School Office.

 

Walking to & from school

If you are happy for your child to walk to and from school this year on their own, we will require a letter giving your consent.  Please hand this letter to the office.

 

 

We are always happy to discuss any issues, questions or concerns you may have about your child’s progress over this academic year and should you wish to do so, please make an appointment with the office.

We would like to thank you for your continued support.

 

Mrs A Paton & Mrs E McNei

 

 

PE & SWIMMING

Swimming lessons began last Friday and will continue every Friday until Christmas. All the children will work towards attaining a National Curriculum and Personal Survival Level 1 award. In addition to normal swimwear (swimsuit or swimming trunks), every child will require two thin, long sleeve tops and a pair of thin trousers (leggings/ pyjama bottoms would be ideal) to wear in the pool every week. In previous years we have found that thin pyjamas or leggings work best as they are lightweight and do not become too heavy for the children to wear in the water. I would also suggest that the children bring a spare carrier bag to put their wet clothes into after they leave the pool.

 

PE lessons will be on a Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Your child is required to have a full PE kit in school at all times due to occasional changes to the timetable.

 

 

REWARDS

Housepoints are awarded for positive behaviour and good work.