17.10.25

Year 6, 

Phew, what a week! Firstly, I apologise for there not being a blog entry last week, I totally forgot that I hadn't written one. This week I have made sure to set myself a reminder.

This week, you have written reports in English and completed some arithmetic practise in maths, but most of your time for these subjects has been spent on practise SATs. Well done for showing resilience and for taking them seriously as a chance to show your best (what more could we ask for). In the afternoons, you have developed your understanding of networks in computing, learned about characteristics of organisms in science and have had a very informative NSPCC workshop. Today you began your art project on inspirational people with black and minority ethnic heritage.

Next week, in English, you will finish your reports and begin planning a 3rd person narrative, also revising direct speech and its punctuation. In maths, you will continue to work with division and problem solving. You will also have a chance to complete your artwork and to share your 500 words stories with your classmates. 

Home learning

Maths - pages 18+19

English - completing the parent consultation preparation sheet (also to return on Monday) 

Your half term project is due on Monday. Well done to those of you who have already completed it and brought a copy in. If not, remember to bring it in on Monday. 

500 Words Challenge

I would like all Year 6 children to write a piece that could enter the BBC's 500 Words Challenge. All you need to do is write a story you would love to read in 500 Words or less.  Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not marked - it's all about creativity! It is up to you as to whether or not you submit your story officially but you are still expected to bring a copy of your finished piece into class on 20^th October to share. We will be participating in a Live Lesson in September which can support this if you are finding it challenging, but feel free to begin writing as soon as inspiration hits you.

For those who enter the competition, 50 finalists will be invited to a star-studded grand final in February 2026, which will be supported by Her Majesty The Queen. If that's not enough, each winner will also see their story be read aloud by a superstar celebrity on TV, which will be shown as part of a special 500 Words programme with The One Show. The official panel of celebrity judges, Sir Lenny Henry, Malorie Blackman, Francesca Simon, Charlie Higson and Frank Cottrell-Boyce will crown the winners. 

There are also lots of prizes to be won - each winner will take home a bundle of books and the gold winners also win 500 books for their school library. In addition to the book prizes, each of our winning stories will receive a framed illustrated cover produced exclusively by top children's illustrators.

Children can only submit one story each. There are very few rules on 500 Words but a few points to remember:

All the stories must:

• Be 500 words or less (title is not included in the number)
• Be written by an individual and not a group
• Be a child’s own original idea
• Be prose, not rap or poem

Stories must not:

• Give any personal details of the child, including their name
• Recount an historical event (but they can use a real person or historical character as a source of inspiration)
• Be created, written or developed by AI

In every 500 Words competition, all stories are judged on the following criteria:

• Characterisation
• Plot
• Originality
• Language
• Enjoyment

Reminders

- Parent Consultations are next Wednesday and Thursday. This one is a bit different as it is 15minutes and you join myself, your adult and Mr Gradwell. Remember that this is a conversation, not a test!

You should be:

 -        Reading 5 times a week and completing a reading journal activity once a week

 -        Practising spellings each week between the pre-test and test; writing spellings at least 5 times and writing 10 of them into sentences (ensure that these are high quality and make sense) in your Home Learning Journal (set on Monday and completed for Friday)

 -        Completing the piece of English and piece of Maths set each week (set on Wednesday and completed for Monday)

 -        Practising maths on Sumdog

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Cresswell 😊