6W
Welcome to 6W's homepage for 2018/19!
Keep checking here for updates on what we have been learning about as well as tips and links to help with your SATs preparation.
We visited Prince Harry's favourite hangout at the Future Youth Zone. Dodgeball, team games, art, table-tennis and pool were all on offer at the borough's latest project to provide facilities for young people.
Give the people what they want... In the morning, Year Six worked together to make a lunch of pizza and spicy potato wedges, followed by Eton Mess and lemon drizzle cake. Yum! Afterwards, we all went down to GOALS for a kick-about.
To find out more about Barking & Dagenham, we paid a visit to Valence House Museum. After a quick tour of the herb garden, we discovered how the area developed from its agricultural roots, into a fishing port and manufacturing hub. The building of the Becontree Estate was another major landmark which still affects how we live today.
To prepare for the Year Six production, all classes visited the Royal Ballet to watch their world-class performance of Romeo & Juliet. It was a stunning interpretation of Kenneth Macmillan's masterpiece. And look where we ate lunch!
EASTER HOMEWORK
Just a quick reminder that the holiday homework is Section 3 Test 1. This is due on the first day back - Tuesday 23rd April.
Revision
Click here to visit the KS2 SATS Organiser YouTube page where you will find lots of Reasoning and Arithmetic questions with worked solutions - have a go at a question then watch the video to see if you were right! If you didn't manage to get the question right, then the worked solution will show you exactly how it should be done!
A great resource to help you work on your Maths over the Easter break!
WE DAY UK 2019
Prince Harry's empowering speech in full...
It’s a great privilege to be back in this exciting, buzzing space, this time as President of the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust; a platform we created for YOU where your ideas and creativity will be taken seriously – because it’s YOU that are making the most impact in your communities.
I am proud to stand before you and see you just as enthusiastic as I remembered.
With all of that activism, some might think you’d be exhausted – but look at you, (and listen to you) - you know the secret! That in giving back, in fighting the good fight, it doesn’t exhaust you, it energizes you.
To be amongst all of you progressive, motivated, open minded, change-makers, is what gives me hope for the future. Your optimism is inspiring - you see opportunities where other people see challenges; you seek solutions when others just focus on problems.
You are the most engaged generation in history. You care about values, doing the right thing, and championing the causes that will shape your future.
You don’t judge someone based on how they look, where they’re from, or how they identify.
In this room, you see the world for what it is - vibrant, colourful, mixed and full of promise.
That is who you are, and that is what makes me feel proud to stand in your presence as you tackle the world’s greatest issues. And you guys know as well as I do, we’ve still got so much to do.
As far as I see it, there are two absolutely crucial issues that we need to focus on, and my hope is that a 1000 more issues will be cured in the process.
First, let’s take OUR mental health; which you’ve embraced whole heartedly, breaking the generational stigma and helping to normalise the conversation. After all, mental illness is about recovery, mental health is about consciousness, mental fitness is about well-being.
To be happy is to be mindful, mindful of your feelings, mindful of your surroundings, and mindful of the 7.7 billion other humans that inhabit this planet.
And while we’re on the topic of health, let’s talk about the health of our planet too. Climate change, is a humanitarian issue not a political one, and one where we’ve been far too slow in waking up to the issues and acting on the damaging impact our ways of living are having on the world. We now have the facts, the science, the technology and the ability to save not just our planet, but ourselves. I know you don’t sit back and wait for solutions, you take action and create them.
Our world’s greatest assets are threatened every day and it is SO important that we support local communities to safeguard every element of this incredible world.Every forest, every river, every ocean, every coastline, every insect, every wild animal. Every blade of grass, every ray of sun and every rain drop is crucial to our survival.
It is all connected, we are all inter-connected. You in this room understand that and are already making this a safer, healthier and more resilient home for all of us and for generations to come. And for that I applaud you.
If we look at the world we’re living in, I know it can feel challenging sometimes, but your role is to shine the light. Every day you are inundated with an overexposure of advertising and mainstream media, social media and endless comparisons, distorting the truth, and trying to manipulate the power of positive thinking. But you don’t let them sway you. Because you don’t need to hide behind your device to share your voice. You confidently voice your opinions because you can embrace them proudly.
As my wife often reminds me with one of her favourite quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. - 'Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.'
You aren’t always going to agree, you may find yourselves frustrated with the older generation when it seems like they don’t care.
But try to remove that judgment. Try to remember that not everyone sees the world the way you do, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care. It means you have the incredible opportunity to help reshape mindsets, to empower those around you to think outside the box, and to work with you, not against you, to find solutions. You know that if you don’t stand for something you’ll fall for anything.
So let that be your true north, let that be your call to action - to inspire those who stand for nothing, to stand for something -and to stand WITH you.
So what’s next, what’s on your to-do list starting now...
Be braver
Be stronger
Be kind to each other
Be kind to yourselves
Have less screen time, and more face to face time
Exceed expectations
Eliminate plastics
Conserve water
Protect wildlife and their unique habitat
Keep empathy alive
Ask your friends how they are doing and listen to the answer
Be honest
Take risks
Change your thoughts and change the world
Dare to be the greatest generation of all time
I am with you, we are with you!
Malorie Blackman is acknowledged as one of today's most imaginative and convincing writers for young readers. The novels in her Noughts & Crosses sequence have won several awards.
Her work has appeared on screen, with Pig-Heart Boy, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, being adapted into a BAFTA-winning TV serial. Malorie has also written a number of titles for younger readers including Cloud Busting, which won the Smarties Silver Award, The Monster Crisp Guzzler, Robot Girl, Snow Dog and Whizziwig. In 2005, Malorie was honoured with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children's books. In 2008, she was then honoured with an OBE for her services to Children's Literature.
Malorie Blackman was the UK Children's Laureate 2013-2015.
Visit her website here: https://www.malorieblackman.co.uk/
Our focus book this half term is Pig Heart Boy:
You’re thirteen. All you want is a normal life. But most normal kids don’t need heart transplants.
So there’s this doctor. He says there’s a chance for you. But he also says it’s experimental, controversial and risky. And it’s never been done before.
Producers from the top CBBC show 'The Last Commander' popped by to road-test their new ideas for the forthcoming second series on Y5 & 6. Children gave their opinions and ideas about the show in four 30 minute workshops.
Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow
During the Autumn term, 6W planned, drafted and completed their own books retelling the English legend of Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow. Once our stories were finished, we invited 2W up to the annexe to share our work with them. We enjoyed reading our creations just as much as the younger children enjoyed hearing them.
Anderson Shelters
As part of our IPC topic, we designed and made Anderson Shelters. Our products were judged in five key areas: non-wastage, teamwork, appearance, strength and the accuracy of our measurements.
It was a very close contest but well done to Yusra, Muid and Rupi who dominated the scoring and fully deserved their chocolatey prizes!
Cycling World Cup
As a thank you for those who volunteer for Zoneparc and/or have regular attendance at our football clubs, some class members took a trip to the Olympic Park to watch a world-class field compete at the Velodrome. Olympic and Paralympic stars such as Kadeena Cox, Jodie Cundy, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibold all competed - although the highlight for many was the playground afterwards!
Duxford
As usual, it was perishing cold when 6W visited Duxford as their WOW starter for their new IPC topic. Over the coming weeks, we will be learning about what life was like for local children during World War II. The trip provided the ideal start.
Library Visit
Y6 took a trip to Dagenham Library to meet master storyteller John Kirk. Look at some of the pictures taken as he retold the story of three young volunteers from World War One.
(Then take a look at his website for an insight into how he brings stories to life: http://www.john-kirk.co.uk/?author=2)
New Y6 Member
The latest recruit for the Y6 team is this little fella... The class voted from a shortlist of six names, eventually settling on DARWIN. If anyone would like to take him home for the Christmas holiday, please see Mr Wilding.
Author of the Moment (Autumn 2): Michael Morpurgo
Multi-award winning author, Michael Morpurgo, is one of Britain's best-loved writers for children and has won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, The Writers Guild Award and the Blue Peter Book Award for his novel, Private Peaceful, which has also had two successful runs as a play devised by Bristol Old Vic. From 2003 to 2005 he was the Children's Laureate, a role which took him all over the UK to promote literacy and reading, and in 2005 he was named the Booksellers Association Author of the Year. Our class book until Christmas is The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips.
Read on for a short review...
It’s 1943, and Lily Tregenza lives on a farm, in the idyllic seaside village of Slapton. Her life is scarcely touched by the war until one day Lily and her family, along with all of the other villagers, are told to move out of their homes -€“ lock, stock and barrel.
Soon, the whole area is out of bounds, as the Allied forces practice their landings for D-day, preparing to invade France. But Tips, Lily’s adored cat, has other ideas -€“ barbed wire and keep-out signs mean nothing to her, nor does the danger of guns and bombs. Frantic to find her, Lily decides to cross the wire into the danger zone to look for Tips herself...
RE
Our RE topic was the tricky subject of 'Philosophy'. We generated our own Big Questions about life, The Universe and everything else we could think of. Then came the harder part - having a go at answering some of them...
Times Tables Rockstars
Click the link below to go straight to the Times Tables Rockstar page...
IPC - Brainwave
During our IPC topic, we investigated how we learn. We looked at different learning styles and how we can become more effective students. Check out the heads that we made. Can you work out who is who?
Author of the Moment (Autumn 1): Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl was a spy, an ace fighter pilot, a chocolate historian and a medical inventor. He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG, and a treasury of original, evergreen, and beloved children’s books. He remains for many the world’s No. 1 storyteller.
Our class reading book for September is Going Solo...
Going Solo tells of how, when he grew up, Roald Dahl left England for Africa - and a series of daring and dangerous adventures began...
Continuing from where he left off at the end of Boy: Tales of Childhood, Going Solo focuses on Roald's adult life before he began his career as a writer. From plane crashes to snake bites, it takes us through some of the amazing things he experienced while living in Africa, to his time as an RAF pilot during the Second World War.
As he said in Boy, Roald didn't think of these collections of stories from his own life as straightforward autobiography. In the introduction to Going Solo he says: "A life is made up of a great amount of small incidents and a small amount of great ones. An autobiography must therefore, unless it is to become tedious, be extremely selective, discarding all the inconsequential incidents in one's life and concentrating upon those that have remained vivid in the memory."
Going Solo was published in 1986, the year Roald turned 70. The stories he selected to tell give a fascinating insight into some of the experiences that helped shape his later life.
