Year 6, Crabtree Junior

Welcome back!

2012-02-21T15:22:00.002Z

Dear Parents and children,

Welcome back to school! Hope you've all had a fab half term and have all had the opportunity to relax...

We hope the children are looking forward to the rest of this term as they have still so many activities to take part in: Junior Apprentice, House Banquets, Science at St George's, another Art Triwizard task on Movement etc and of course lots of preparation for our lovely SATs! :)

Below is a reminder of tomorrow's homework for those who forget to access the learning platform. And as usual, Friday's homework is our Daily Prophet entries. Could the children refer back to instructions given last term as standards are beginning to slip both with presentation and content. Could I also remind children that it is not acceptable to "cut and paste" from the internet. This homework has been set so that we give the children the opportunity to develop and improve their literacy skills; particularly editing. This cannot be achieved if whole sections of texts are taken from a website and copied. We hope you can support us in this matter.

Finally, we look forward to seeing you all soon at Parent Consultations. Please remember that in order to keep to a tight schedule, each appointment is 10 mins only. If you feel that you need more time, please see us about possible alternative arrangements.

Many thanks,

The Year 6 team.

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The following homework has been published on the learning platform too. It will be set tomorrow and is due in on Friday.

In ICT, we are learning how to use spreadsheets. In the next two weeks, we will be learning other Excel skills which will enable us to eventually carry out our 3rd Triwizard Task. This task will consist of each house planning and costing for a typical Hogwarts banquet.

Your banquet will need to:

- feed 8 wizards and witches

- be imaginative and appetising with its selection of dishes

- include both food and drinks

- be excellent value (good quality but value for money)

Your homework is to:

1. research examples of dishes to include

2. make a shopping list you would need to make those dishes

3. research the price of those products

You can communicate with your group members (by phone, at school or on the Learning Platform) if need be.

You will be given time in school to make final decisions on menu choices before you are asked to start your actual task.

Happy Half Term!

2012-02-11T11:49:00.000Z

Well, the end of another half term- and what a finish. The children have all worked so hard on their assessments. Alongside those all important bits of paper they have managed despite snow fall and late starts to pull off another brilliant assembly thoroughly enjoyed by all who saw it. We hope your knowledge of Harry Potter is now suitably improved!

Our topic is well advanced and we have more to look forward to next half term with the completion of our Tri Wizard Challenge Cup and a mini topic ‘Race to the Moon’ to get under way. This will continue into the beginning of next term as we do our final preparation for SATs.

Homework over the half term has been sent home with your children today, Friday, and is due in on their return on Monday 20th February. A twist on our science topic with cross curricula links to maths. We hope this will challenge the children to think outside the box!

Looking ahead we will be coming back to an art day on Monday so a few art aprons would be welcome.

Wishing you a very restful half term break with maybe a little dusting of the white stuff to keep those young at heart amused.
See you on the 20th February.

Thanks again for all your support during the term so far.

The Year 6 team.

Chess Enthusiasm Takes Crabtree

2012-02-01T16:42:00.000Z

Miss Wilson has been really impressed with the Chess enthusiasm that has been shown in chess club this week. I dare you to challenge them to a game at home!

See you all next week!

2012-01-26T21:46:00.002Z

The weeks are flying by and the children are all making great inroads into this half terms work. The latest part of our Harry Potter topic is the second of the Tri Wizard challenges; the children are working within house groups to write quest stories. Each child will write five chapters of an adventure with choices and then the stories will be combined so that every quest has an original first chapter followed by four choices of each of the next four chapters. We look forward to sharing the end results.

Homework has been set on Sam Learning this week and with assessment week fast approaching children have been told to explore areas where they feel they need additional practice, particularly in maths. This revision should be over and above any other homework set. Anyone without access to Sam Learning at home can use a school laptop during a break time- they just need to ask and of course we are on hand to help if they get stuck or should I say challenged!

As we have recently experienced some wet weather forcing the children inside at playtimes we are asking as a school whether there are any unwanted board games out there that could find a new home in our wet play cupboards. Please speak to your class teachers if you have any such items.

Next week we begin preparing for our assembly- the final one for our year 6! We hope to amaze you with the children's expertise on all things Hogwarts. Mark the date on your calendars- Thursday 9th February at 9:10 a.m., we look forward to seeing you there.

Wishing you all a good week end.

The year 6 team

Chess Club

2012-01-24T10:13:00.003Z

Chess Club

Miss Thomas and I were very pleased and excited about the number of children interested in chess club We had a whopping 48 children ask to take part. Fantastic! Whilst I am sorting out a rota for all year groups; building towards choosing a chess squad, you might be interested to check out the following website:

http://www.chesskid.com/

This website is fantastic for any level player of chess! It gives you online tutorials and even has a section for parents and coaches (I'll be sure to check this part out!)

Just please remember our esafety rules: zip it, block it, flag it!

I hope you find this website fun and I look forward to seeing you at Chess Club Soon.

Miss Wilson

Friday Homework this term

2012-01-13T12:25:00.002Z

Dear Parents,

Another week has flown by with more Harry Potter fun, especially in literacy where the children have been watching lots of Harry Potter clips, learning about the use of flashbacks in short stories.

Below is an explanatory of the Friday homework. This has been given to the children in written form, explained to them and will also be published on the learnig platform.

Many thanks for your cooperation and have a brilliant weekend!

The Year 6 team

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Your Friday homework for this term: Due in on every Monday.

From now on, you will be compiling your very own Daily Prophet. Each week and only once a week, you will need to watch BBC Newsround. Whilst you watch it, you will need to choose one news story about an important happening and take notes. With these notes, you will then need to write a paragraph about this news report/article as well as provide a picture or an illustration to go with your summary. Each of these pieces of work will be kept at school and eventually be made into a newspaper, which will be called “My Daily Prophet”. The cover for this newspaper will be made and laminated at school, so the only pieces of work you have to do at home are the summary and reviews of the actual news articles. If you can’t watch BBC Newsround, then you can choose an article in a newspaper or online. You will need to keep your reports varied (not all about football!) so that you can learn about what is happening all around the UK and, indeed, the world.

Your page must include:
• A title for the newspaper article (if found in a newspaper, you can even cut it out and glue it at the top of your page)
• A summary of the article
• Answers to the 5Ws (What? Why? Who? Where? When?)
• An illustration (either drawn or a printed picture)
• Your work can be typed but it must be written in your own words
• If not typed, your work must be handwritten on blank A4 in ink. If you need to, use pencil lines to make your writing straight.

Finally, a kind reminder regarding standards of presentation. We expect you to take pride in your work and ensure that your homework fulfils the points above. Thank you.

Your homework

2012-01-11T15:27:00.000Z

Your homework tonight is science based. You will need to access the BBC website at the address given below. Copy and paste it into your browser to find the right page.
It is all about changes of state between solid, liquid and gas, the science that we have done this week in school.
Once you have read the information and played the game then have a go at the quiz. Check your answers and then print out you sheet to bring into school as the evidence that you have done your homework.

There is a second challenge activity to go on to if you have time, the address is below. Again, reads the information and play the game and then have a go at the quiz. It’s a bit more challenging than the first activity so don’t worry if it takes you a while or you can’t complete it totally.

It’s all good revision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/changing_states/play.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/materials/solids_liquids_gases/play.shtml

As promised!

2012-01-06T11:26:00.008Z

Dear Year 6 and parents,

What a wonderful first few days back! As promised, here are some photos of the children and their day at Hogwarts, as well as some great demonstration of slime making!

Wednesday, the children were welcomed back and whisked into the hall for the sorting ceremony. Now each child belongs to a Hogwart House and accruing points towards an overall house cup!

Throughout the term the children will be taking part in group challenges otherwise known as Triwizard Tasks. They had their first group task on Wednesday. In Elm, Slytherin won with their co-operative group work skills and in Elder, Hufflepuff won the task through sheer team determination!

On Thursday, a Science specialist from St George came to teach the children about reversible and irreversible changes by making slime! Hope the children's efforts did not make their way in bizarre places (sibblings' beds etc)...

Hopefully Year 6 is now ready to start and work hard through another term, preparing themselves for their SATs. Please note that we are starting to invite the children to do revision at home should they need to. For example, after a mini-assessment this week, a few children realised that their long multiplication skills weren't up to scratch. They are of course given plenty of opportunities to consolidate basic skills in class but they will also need to take responsibility for their progress and do additional revision on Sam Learning if necessary. Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

This week's spellings are (in case children are absent):
fright
frighten
mighty
slight
enlighten
flight
tight
tighten
blight
night
knight
light
lighten
plight
bright
fight

Many thanks and have a great weekend.

The Year 6 Team.

Welcome to Hogwarts!!!

2012-01-04T14:50:00.002Z

What a brilliant 1st day to our spring term! We've all had so much fun making potions, erupting volcanoes and making colours disappear... all details and pictures will be published Friday on this blog.

Until then, below is the homework the children have been set, due on Monday. It has also been set on The Learning Platform, in case you are looking at both websites!

Another kind reminder on pencil cases... we would really appreciate it if they could be filled and "up-dated" as we have limited resources. A few children asked for pens and pencils today. Many thanks for you understanding and cooperation.

The Year 6 Team.

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For the children's information:

Your homework today is to write a letter home (addressed to your parents) about your first day at Hogwarts. Your letter should include details of:

- what you did today

- what you enjoyed

- what you learnt

- how you are looking forward to the rest of the topic

You have until Monday morning for this task as we will expect you to handwrite this letter on parchment-like paper (tea-stained paper or greaseproof paper).

You will need to think carefully about:

- paragraphing

- using the right letter format

- using high level vocabulary

- take care with your punctuation throughout

Good luck!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T12:25:00.002Z

Apologies for the lateness of this blog entry... the end of term was more hectic than usual!

First of all, well done to all the Year 6 for getting through their first term with so much enthusiasm and determination! Indeed, the children have really enjoyed their topic on WWII and we are sure they are looking forward to the next one: HARRY POTTER!

As you know, we try to engage the children as much as possible with their learning by starting a topic with a Big Bang. WWII's big bang was our visit to Hendon. However, although it has not been possible to arrange a trip to Hogwarts for the Big Bang of our next topic we intend to bring Hogwarts to Crabtree on the 4th January, our first day back.

On "Hogwarts Day", the children will be taking part in lots of different science experiments which will fire their imagination. We thought it would be fun, if the children came in dressed up as witches and wizards; hence if your child happens to have a hat and a black cape (and a wand!), please bring these in on Wednesday 4th January; if they don't, please don't go out and buy these, they will have just as much fun without!

Finally, the only piece of homework that was set was a review on one of the HP characters; details of which have been communicated to the children and posted on the Learning Platform. Some children have posted their homework already...very impressive! However, we kindly remind the children that both Year 6 teachers have high expectations with regards to the standard of language used to express their ideas. The children have been given some questions to answer; it is important that these are answered thoroughly.

Many thanks for your co-operation,

and a very happy Christmas to you all!

The Year 6 Team.

Wow, what a week!

2011-12-05T15:42:00.000Z

Wow, what a week!

Year 6 you blew us away with your assembly. A huge thank you must go to all our talented children who pulled off what was an amazing performance last week. Another huge thank you has to go to our supportive parents. So many of you came to support your children and even joined in with the theme, dressing for the occasion. We hope you all enjoyed the fantastic finish to our topic as much as we did.

Many of the children have been really inspired by the work done on World War II and we hope that they will remember their first term in year 6 for many years to come.

We are currently evaluating what the children have learnt as well as what they have enjoyed. Some of their ideas will now feed into our topics for next term chosen, we might add, in response to their highly persuasive letters written earlier in the term. Across the two classes there was a 50/ 50 split in favour of both Harry Potter and Reach for the Moon, so we have decided to split our term into two topics.
We shall be starting with Harry Potter and finishing with Reach for the Moon.

Friday saw our trip down to Grove Junior School where the children were entertained by the Onatti Theatre Company and the play ‘Shipwrecked en France’
Two talented young actors told us a convoluted tale of young boy’s adventures when he became shipwrecked while on holiday in France. A mixture of French and English ensured that everyone could understand the play and the children were totally enthralled as they barely moved for 50 minutes!

As this term draws to a close work continues apace with the children rehearsing their next performances, this time of the gymnastic variety, ready for Friday’s performance to the rest of the school- sorry, no room for parents on this occasion.

This will be swiftly followed in the last week of term by our Christmas Celebration when some of our Year 6 children will be telling the story of the Nativity.

Thursday 15th December, as well as being the day of our annual Christmas dinner, is also the date for the year 6 Christmas party so remember to ring your party finery for the afternoon’s activities.

We’ll finish with a tantalising taste of 2012 when you should be prepared to be whisked into the magical world of Hogwarts at Crabtree upon your return in the New Year.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year

The Year 6 Team.

P.S. Don’t forget to check the learning platform for your holiday homework.

Homework, reminders and update!

2011-11-28T17:57:00.003Z

Hello everyone,

It is finally starting to feel like November with the freezing temperatures hitting our windscreens this morning! Won't feel odd buying a Christmas tree in the next couple of weeks!

Until then, Year 6 still has lots to get through, enjoy and achieve! Don't forget that this Thursday is our Year Group assembly. If you can, it would be lovely if you could join the rest of the Year in a short VE Day party which will take place in the classrooms after assembly. This will last 20-30 mins, enough time for you to have a look at what the children have been up to for the last term, eat some War time cakes and enjoy WW2 music? The children will be dressed up, so if you can, come along dressed up too!

In the last couple of weeks, the children have been working very hard as usual, particularly in literacy where they are been writing powerful poems on th Blitz as well as reading and drafting newspaper reports on the events of the WW2 period.They will be cooking in the next few days, producing some cakes using authentic WW2 recipes...

Below are the spellings for this week. Your homework is to use the following words in sentences (one sentence for each word), or to write a sensible but imaginative paragraph including the words. Don't forget the use of VCOP! Try and stretch yourself by using higher level vocabulary and accurate speech punctuation!

mansion
decision
impression
admission
television
conclusion
revision
expression
decision
progression
explosion
persuasion
invasion
discussion
division
exclusion

Elm - please carry out the work in your spelling books.

Another kind reminder regarding pencil cases: lots of children have been asking for pens and pencils. Could you please ensure your child has a replenished pencil case as we have limited resources.

Thank you and see you on Thursday,

The Year 6 team

Maths Homework for Monday

2011-11-18T15:23:00.002Z

Apologies to both children and parents. This is a message for Elm children. Your Maths homework is on Sam Learning. The children who can not access Sam learning at home have been given paper copies.

Many thanks and have a great weekend.

Miss Renier

Our forthcoming Assembly!

2011-11-17T16:57:00.000Z

We are approaching the end of our topic and with that the children’s penultimate assembly at Crabtree Junior School.

They have all been working really hard this week with a literacy focus on personification- they have done some amazing descriptive work which will be on display in our classrooms.

We wanted to let you know what the format of our assembly will be. Once the assembly is finished we would like to invite all the parents back to the classrooms with the children where we will have a mini VE Day Party. There will be some war time recipes to sample that the children will be cooking in our school kitchen that week, 1940’s music and you will have the opportunity to look at the children’s topic books and displays around the rooms.

Any war time food contributions to add to the ones that the children will be making will be very welcome.

Feel free to come dressed in 1940’s style and really get into the mood of our celebration.

As we begin to rehearse our assembly, the children will be considering the outfits that they need to wear, many of them will be asking to resurrect their outfits from our evacuation to Hendon.

In our science work we have come to the end of our topic on forces and we will shortly be looking to begin our work on electricity. Lets hope that by Christmas the children will be capable of lighting up the festive season by constructing their own circuits!

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our assembly on Thursday 1st December.

Enjoy your weekend.

The Year 6 Team

Homework due in on 16th November

2011-11-14T16:11:00.001Z

Your homework tonight:

On Thursday you will be writing a poem in Big Writing.
It will be about the idea of the Blitz and the bombing of Britain. Take the idea of fire and the devastation and make a collection of ideas that you could include in your poem. Think particularly about ideas for personification.
e.g. The fire devoured everything in its path.
The flames roared upwards pointing skywards with flickering fingers.
Create a mind map, a spidergram a list of ideas or any plan that helps you!

Use your senses to help you with your ideas.

We will update you with some real Year 6 news later in the week.

The Year 6 Team.

Homework due in on 9th November

2011-11-07T16:59:00.000Z

This week’s homework for literacy is to decide upon a topic that you can write your speech about later in the week. You need to chat with an adult to help you consider your ideas and whether you have enough arguments or points to put forward for your speech. Make sure the topic you choose is appropriate or you will be asked to change it on Wednesday.

In your home work book you need to record the topic you have chosen and 4 or 5 bullet points of ideas that you can develop further in school when you do your plan on Wednesday- we are NOT asking you to plan your speech at home.
You could add some persuasive phrases or really emotive words or maybe come up with a rhetorical question.

We look forward to some emotive and persuasive topics.

The Year 6 Team

Autumn has definitely started...

2011-11-02T13:18:00.007Z

Welcome back to the second half of our autumn term. We hope that you all spent a restful holiday and are full of energy and enthusiasm for the challenges we have planned to take us up to Christmas.

During this half term we will be completing our topic on World War II with a fantastic finish in the form of our year group assembly to be held on Thursday 1st December. We hope to follow our assembly up with a victory tea party including ration time snacks. It would be great if you could resurrect your 40’s costumes for this event. Parents too, feel free to dress in 1940’s style to come to our assembly!

On to a more important point; today’s homework.

As you are aware we have had some recent problems with accessing the Sam Learning site so whilst these issues are being resolved we have set you a science activity on the BBC Bitesize website which has recently been updated.
Our recent assessments indicated that this science area is a weak one. As we do not cover this topic during year 6 we want to encourage the children to revise it in as many different ways as possible.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/living_things/

If you use the above link and then go into the ‘Plant’ section to experiment with growing conditions and the plant life cycle section to explore how plants grow and reproduce.
Once you have completed the activities then go to the quiz. Complete and check your answers and then please print out the quiz sheets to bring into school as the evidence that you have completed your homework. This homework is due in on Friday.
Have fun!

PS As promised, here are some photos of the children making their Anderson shelters...

Homework

2011-10-17T15:48:00.002+01:00

Dear children,

As explained in class, your homework today is to write a letter or post card home from the point of view of an evacuee. You will need to be descriptive in your letter and tell your parents about:
- where you are staying
- your host family
- what you do on a daily basis
- how you feel

To improve the presentation of your work, why not write it on a tea-stained piece of A4 to make it look old? This is optional. If not, please write the letter on a blank A4, using pencil lines if needed. Please write in ink. If you want, you could also make a postcard.

Once you have written your letter, you need to also go through and underline all the verbs in red and adjectives in green. Soon in literacy we will do a lot more work on our understanding of word types so might as well get started now!

If you need guidance over content, please refer to the following BBC website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/evacuation/

Whilst writing the letter, please refer to the following steps for success:
- I can use paragraphs
- I can use a variety of sentence openers or connectives to introduce each paragraph
- I can use powerful advectives and verbs to describe my new life
- I can show my understanding of an evacuee's experience

Don't forget that this homework is due on Wednesday 19th October.

The Year 6 Team.

Anyone need an Anderson shelter?

2011-10-14T15:38:00.003+01:00

This week definitely proved to be an interesting week for Year 6. We were very proud of the children as they all showed commitment and determination towards their tests. A big well done. They had busy days as they had to spend the morning proving themselves in their assessments and then spend the afternoon showing off their amazing DT skills. Although we didn't have time to get on to making planes (Don't worry, the children will use up their cereal boxes very soon!), we gave the children a good opportunity to master their design and technology skills resulting in outstanding shelters. Photos of these and of the planes will be posted in next week's blog.

We would also like to confirm that no homework was set this week. Homework will be set again on Monday, due in on Wednesday.

Before we wish you a good weekend, we publish below a recommended reading list which many of you have requested. The message we have been giving children is that enjoying reading is paramount. However improving our use of vocabulary and language can only be achieved through the reading of more challenging texts. So, it might be time for some of the children to move away from reading Jacqueline Wilson's books now... and if that seems impossible for some, why not alternate between a "fun" read and a more "challenging" read once in a while... up to you! :)

YEAR 6 RECOMMENDED READING LIST

Fantasy
Joan Aiken: Midnight is a Place
David Almond Skellig: Heaven Eyes
Eion Colfer Artemis Fowl series: The Supernaturalist, Half Moon
Investigations
Susan Cooper: The Dark is Rising sequence
Chris D’Lacey: Icefire, Shrinking Ralph Perfect, The Salt Pirates of
Skegness
Helen Dunmore: Ingo
Cornelia Funke: Inkheart, Inkspell, The Thief Lord
Alan Garner: The Owl Service, Elidor
Alan Gibbons Warriors of the Raven
Elizabeth Goudge: Little White Horse
Anthony Horowitz: The Power of Five series
Erin Hunter: Warrior Cats series
Brian Jaques: Redwall
Diane Wynne Jones: Eight Days of Luke, The Chrestomanci Series
Elizabeth Kay: The Divide, Back to the Divide etc
Stephen Moore: Tooth and Claw
William Nicholson: The Wind on Fire Trilogy, The Noble Warriors
Trilogy
Jenny Nimmo: Charlie Bone series
Ian Ogilvy: Measle and the Mallockee
Christopher Paolini: Eragon, Eldest
Michele Paver: Wolf Brother, Spirit Walker, Soul Eater
Terry Pratchet: Johnny and the Bomb, Diggers, The Amazing
Maurice and His Educated Rodents
Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials Series
Philip Reeve: Mortal Engines
Philip Ridley: Mighty Fizz Chilla
J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter (the children will be asked to read one of the series next term as part of their topic)
Louis Sachar: Holes, Small Steps
Angie Sage: Septamus Flyte series
Ali Sparkes: Shapeshifter series
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell: The Edge Chronicles series
Jonathan Stroud: Golem’s Eye
Robert Swindells: In the Nick of Time

G. P. Taylor: Shadowmancer
Kate Thompson: The Swithchers Trilogy, The Missing Link
J. R. R.Tolkein: The Hobbit / Lord of the Rings
Dr Who: story books

Adventure
Jon Blake: The Last Free Cat
Frank Cottrell Boyce: Millions, Framed, Cosmic
Melvin Burgess: An Angel for May
Joe Craig: Jimmy Coates series
Jamila Gavin: The Blood Stone, Surya Trilogy
Carl Hiaasen: Hoot
Charlie Higson: The Young Bond books
Anthony Horowitz: Alex Rider series
Sophie Mckenzie: Girl Missing
Willard Price: Volcano Adventure etc
Chris Ryan: Alpha Force series
Ruth Thomas: The Runaways
Mark Walden: H.I.V.E series
Jeanette Winterson: Tanglewreck

WW2
Nina Bawden: Carrie’s War
John Boyne: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
The Diary of Anne Frank
Anne Holm: I am David
Judith Kerr: When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Robert Leeson: Tom’s War
Michele Magorian: Goodnight Mr Tom
Linda Newberry: Blitz Boys
Christne Nostlinger: Fly Away Home
Jill Paton Walsh: Dolphin Crossing
Robert Westall Blitzcat: The Machine Gunners

Past
Berlie Doherty: Street Child

Have a good weekend,

The Year 6 Team.

Assessment Week

2011-10-07T15:34:00.003+01:00

Dear Parents and children,

This week has yet again flown by and actually the cooler temperatures were more than welcome in our classrooms!

Just to let you know that the children have been set two piece of homework to hand in on Monday. The first one was Science on Food Chains and the second one was preparation for next week's DT activities.

We understand that assessments can be somewhat stressful for some children and for this reason we try to compensate by organising "hands on" activities next week, in the afternoons. The children have been asked to come to school on Monday morning with the following: flexible cardboard with which to make their shelters, 2 empty cereal boxes, a roll of kitchen foil, a roll of sellotape/masking tape and doll house furniture if available. With this, they will be making Anderson shelters as well as various WWII planes (English, German, American and Japanese).

The children have been given a rough timetable for their assessment next week but the latter is subject to change. Should their be a change, the children will be notified. For example, it is likely that they will be doing their short writing and spelling assessment on Thursday and Science on Friday.

The children have also been told that there will be no homework set during the week next week as enough will be expected of them as it is. However, if some wish to revise areas of literacy, Maths or science on Samlearning, it is entirely optional.

Many thanks for your support and cooperation,

The Year 6 Team.

And they say it will snow by the end of October...

2011-10-01T11:32:00.003+01:00

A big well done for the Year 6 children for just having survived the blistering heat this week in both Year 6 classrooms! Despite the warm conditions, the children still managed to work very hard and produce some excellent writing. I bet some of you can't wait to have a look at their biographies. A few children have asked if they could take their work home. Rest assured. Next week, we will try to find some time to type the biographies in class so that these can be printed, and taken home.

This week also included our yearly European Day of Languages, which also went very well. Elm had a go making an Atomium and learnt lots about their teacher's home country; whilst Elder explored Denmark and it's wonderful culture.

On top of all that, the children have also been looking at gravity, and the difference between weight and mass. It's always nice to work out how much we would weigh on Pluto... ;)

Finally, another gentle reminder about pencil cases. Please make sure the children have pencils, pens, rubbers, glue sticks etc. Quite a few have been asking for pens and pencils this week and we are running short of resources. Many thanks for your support.

The Maths homework is on Sam Learning again this week. Please remind your children we expect them to spend no more than 30 minutes, even if it means they can't complete their task. Any additional time spent is optional.

That's it from the Year 6 team.

Enjoy the sun this weekend!

Yet another week at Crabtree...

2011-09-23T22:21:00.007+01:00

Yet another week at Crabtree in Year 6 and yes, it has really flown by.

The children have well and truly got into their WWII topic this week exploring the main events of the war, locating Britain's allies on maps of 1940 Europe and even re-enacting Chamberlain's war declaration on the wireless. We also had a chance to introduce Charlie Chaplin and clips of some of his films including the famous "Great Dictator"...it was great to see how, a century later, the little man with the funny walk still manages to make children and adults alike laugh.

The children also produced their group biographies this week and some have had a chance to present their work in front of an audience. Next week, they will be planning and writing biographies on the person they interviewed over the summer. We can't way to see the outcome!

Our first science experiment involving flying parachutes in the classroom also proved interesting...the children definitely enjoyed their 1st lesson on air resistance...let's see what happens when we ask them to make their own streamlined airplanes in a couple of weeks!

We would also like to let you know that the children's Maths homework was set on SamLearning today. We made sure they knew their password and that the children who had problems logging in were given paper copies of the homework. Miss Renier's Maths group was reminded that the expectation is for them to spend 30 mins on their homework. Any additional time spent is optional. This is due on Monday, along with their biography notes.

Before we wish you a great weekend, the Year 6 team would like to send out a gentle reminder about pencil cases being replenished when needed (including glue sticks)and PE kits being taken home regularly to be washed.

Have a lovely weekend,

The Year 6 team.

Another busy week!

2011-09-16T16:26:00.005+01:00

This week has positively flown by. What an exciting if exhausting day was had by all on Monday at RAF Hendon, all the staff at Hendon were impressed with our coach load of evacuees.

The children learnt how to make their own gas mask box and came away with identity cards and name labels which will be used in the classroom for display before coming home.
During the classroom experience the siren sounded and the children all took cover under their desks while the waiting for the all clear to sound.

Writing with an old style pen dipped in an ink well was a challenge for most- Mme Baikie wrote beautifully in her war sized exercise book!

The sheer size and number of aeroplanes on display resulted in a considerable number of gasps of surprise.

The Aeronauts Gallery of interactive displays was a big draw with children learning about aero dynamics, the thrust required to allow a plane to take off, cargo dropping from planes and they even had the chance to go hang gliding at ground level!

Since then we have been busy learning about biographies and preparing propaganda posters for display as well as whole class posters which will appear on the Parent Association’s calendar for 2012 available we believe later this term to purchase.

The children all deserve a well earned rest this weekend. We’re looking forward to one too.
See you all on Monday.

The year 6 team

Year 6's first week back!

2011-09-09T09:51:00.002+01:00

The end of the first week already and it really has flown by. Year 6 have begun to realise how much is expected of them in more ways than one and are rising to the new challenges being set, sometimes on a daily basis. Well done so far, keep it up!

Next week sees the exciting launch of our World War II topic. Both Miss Renier and Mrs Doran are well prepared with outfits at the ready for Monday morning. We hope you’ve all got yours prepared too.

A few reminders about the day itself:

The coach leaves school in time to reach Hendon for opening at 10:00a.m. Both classes will be experiencing a 1940’s classroom including some old style maths using pounds shillings and pence- hopefully you’ll be better than us at spending old style money. None of us being old enough to remember those days!

There will be plenty of time to look around the museum, a short film to watch, and of course time to visit the shop.

Remember to bring your packed lunch which should include a drink, but nothing fizzy. You may bring spending money up to £5.00; it should be in a named purse and wallet. You will be able to leave your bags in a safe locker so you won’t have to carry them around all day. Lunch will be inside in the lunch area so even if the weather should be inclement as they used to say in the 1940’s we won’t have our picnic spoilt.

We will be back at school ready for a 4:30p.m. pick up and a return to 2011.

See you Monday morning scrubbed and polished ready for your evacuation.

The year 6 team.

Welcome to Year 6!

2011-09-02T14:52:00.002+01:00

Dear children and parents,

We hope you have had a fantastic holiday and are ready to start a brand new year at Crabtree. We thought we would ping this note on the blog hoping it might find some of you...

The year 6 team would like to remind the children that they need to bring a full PE kit, an art shirt and a well equiped pencil case (rubber, pencil, handwriting pen, glue stick, pencil sharperner, small ruler etc) on their very first day back.

Although the children will be notified in detailed on Monday, we would also like to warn them that they will be given homework on Monday to be due in on Wednesday. Those reading this might be able to get ahead by preparing for it this weekend! We are starting the year in literacy looking at autobiographies and in order to help the children prepare for theirs we need them do complete the following task. We would like the children to bring a shoe box or a plastic bag full of items to represent their lives. For example: pictures of them as a baby, their first ever shoe, pictures of their 1st birthday party etc. Each item needs to have a meaning about each milestone so that they can use these to make a timeline of their lives.

Finally, although a letter will be sent out on Monday, we would like to confirm that the trip to Hendon on Monday 15th is going ahead. The Year 6 team went there for a sneaky preview in July and we got very excited about what the children will be able to see. However, we have decided to extend the trip to make the most of what RAF Hendon has to offer which means we won't be back to school before 4.30pm. Some parents have very kindly volunteered already and we will be getting in touch with you shortly to confirm your attendance. If the time change means you can no longer volunteer then please don't hesitate to contact the office.

Well, that's it from us for this weekend. We can't wait to see 64 little faces on Monday! Until then, enjoy the last few days of rest!

Have a good weekend,

The Year 6 Team

Summer Term, Week ?

2011-07-18T12:30:00.000+01:00

Friday 15th July

Leaver's Conert practise is now fully under way. The children are all so talented that I am sure that you are all going to thoroughly enjoy the evening on Monday 25th July. If you haven't handed your reply slips in about whether or not you are coming it would be really helpful to have them all in by Friday so we can ensure that we have enough seats.

We have also had Sex Education this week. The classes were both very mature in these sessions with lots of questions being asked. There will be a follow up session on Monday to ensure that we don't have any misconceptions.

Transfer day this week sounded like it was a great success and they didn't miss either Miss Renier or I at all. All the stories that they have been telling us today have been wonderful and they all sound very excited and ready for their new adventure in September.

Next week we have got an exciting time planned with Sports Day on Tuesday and then our Wicked Trip on Wednesday. The end is now in sight!

We look forward to seeing you all at the leavers concert on Saturday!!

Summer Term, Week 9

2011-07-13T09:39:00.000+01:00

Sorry for not updating this recently, I don't know where the time has been going!

Friday 8th July 2011

This week has been Inclusion Week at Crabtree Junior School. We have been thinking about the differences between people, ones that you can see and ones that you can't and then how we can make sure that everyone feels included.

Mrs Collingwood started off the week with a great assembly all about what inclusion means at our school. She has also set the whole school a challenge of completing a competition about famous people who are different and the challenges that the face. You might spot some of the answers around school so look out for them. We have also learnt all about Epilepsy, which is very close to my heart as well as how deaf and blind people can feel included. We had a lovely visit from Liz and Maple who represent the Togs for Dogs charity that we support every year. Maple is a very clever and well behaved dog!

We also had open evening this week which was a great success! The children in the class had been working on a WWII museum in class; researching and displaying all of the work themselves. They did a fantastic job and it created much discussion by those people who visited our classroom. I can also admit that the displays in the classroom of all the work that we have completed this year was also organised by a group in the class. It was all their own work so well done and thank you to all who stayed in and helped.

I can't believe how quickly time is now flying. There are now only 12 school days left of term and we still have sports day, transfer day and our Wicked! trip to fit it. Homework is still being set on SAM learning and on the Learning Platform and will be up until Friday15th July so make sure that you are checking both.

Miss Renier and I would like to wish Year 6 all the best for their transfer day next week and we're sure that their new teachers are going to be most impressed with their manners, skills and knowledge. Have a lovely time!

Multicultural Week, Day Four

2011-06-24T14:47:00.003+01:00

Thursday 23rd June 2011

Today saw the last day of multicultural week and what a crazy day it was! Year 4 were busy in the hall making masks using plastazote and the rest of the school, including Year 6, were busy finishing artwork and getting ready to display it for parents.

We were extremely lucky with the weather this afternoon for a lovely whole school picnic with the infants too. It was so nice to see so many parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles come down to join us and then to walk around the school to see what we had been doing this week. I'm sure that everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

District Sports this evening was yet another fantastic, enjoyable and extremely successful sporting event for Crabtree and Miss Thomas. It was definitely close this year but we are now District Girls, Boys and Mixed Champions. Well done to all who took part! Also a great big thank you for all the support. There were lots of children there who were not participating and also alot of teachers there to cheer everyone on. Collecting all the trophies at the end was fabulous A great sporting year!
Mr Sanderson was taking photos with his amazing camera so I'm sure that I will be able to share some photos on here next week with you.

Miss Renier and I hope that you have enjoyed your long weekend while we have been working hard in school and we look forward to seeing you on Monday.

Remember to check the learning platform and SAM learning for homework With the new homework policy you now have homework set on a Friday which is due in on Monday.

P.S sorry for the lack of pictures today but I wasn't in the classroom. More to follow next week, I'm sure.

Multicultural Week, Day Three

2011-06-23T14:25:00.000+01:00

Wednesday 22nd June 2011

Today we started with a great Steel Drumming Band running an energetic assembly. All the children and teachers were clapping along and enjoying the range of songs that were played. Can you guess the song?

The rest of the day Year 6 have been building their modroc 'people in action' using the haka as our stimulus. The 'sausage sketches' in class of people were fantastic and then transfering these in to 3D models.

We also took part in the steel band workshop with all of the children getting a brief go at playing the steel drum.

The people taking the workshop even commented on how musical all of our children were! Can you work out the song that they learnt?

We look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow for our picnic in school and to walk around to see the work that the whole school has produced this week.

We hope that you enjoy your visit.

Multicultural Week, Day Two

2011-06-21T23:43:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 21st June 2011

Today we continued our theme of looking at New Zealand in Elder with the children creating their own Koru Art designs. They were most impressive! We are going to be using these designs in a number of different ways throughout the week. Our first way was to paint the design onto some tiles. Have a look at some of the results..

Elm started looking at Jamaica today in preparation for playing the steel drums tomorrow. The music they were listening to from Bob Marley sounded great and their Jamaican artwork that they produced this afternoon with Madame Baikie looks fantastic.

Tomorrow we have visitors coming in to teach us music on steel drums and are also looking at creating our 'People in Action' using modroc and continuing to use the Haka as our inspiration. Apologies to Mr Woods for the mess that we make!

Multicultural Week, Day One

2011-06-21T23:28:00.001+01:00

Monday 20th June 2011

Multicultural Week started with a BANG! Year 6 started the week by looking at the Haka and trying to learn the difficult words and actions. Our efforts were then displayed as the opening ceremony for Crabtree's Rugby World Cup Tournament.

Follow along with the words:

Ka mate, ka mate Ka ora, ka ora Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru Nana i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra Upane, upane Upane kaupane Whiti te ra.

We also looked at the Ta Moko face tattoos that Maori people wear. We didn't carve these into our faces using the traditional wooden chisels but we did design our own and use face paints so they did wash off at the end of the day! I have learnt important information watching the Year 6 children paint each others faces - who I would trust to do my own and who I definitely wouldn't. I'll let you be the judge of the best ones...

My superstar pupil for best face painting! I've never seen such concentration!

This afternoon the whole school was involved in the launch of our Rugby World Cup. 20 teams took part with 40 games played this afternoon. The weather stayed sunny and dry for an extremely enjoyable afternoon. It was great to see so many children taking part in the event and enjoying themselves so much. A huge thank you to Miss Thomas for organising it all and for even coming in on a day that she doesn't normally work! She's a star!

Summer Term, Week 7

2011-06-17T15:06:00.000+01:00

Friday 17th June 2011

It was very tough getting back into the swing of lessons after half term and then such an exciting week last week but there have been lots of things going on to keep us busy.

We have really been getting in to our World War II topic this week and have set the classes the challenge of turning our classrooms into WWII museums in time for open evening. I'm sure that you will be amazed by what they produce in three weeks time. If you are in school at all though do pop and see our amazing WWII displays that are up around the school and in our classrooms.

A fantastic sporting week in Year 6. We have seen the cricket team get through to the regional finals with Miss Renier on Tuesday and our Tag Rugby team become the county champions on Wednesday. Miss Thomas and Miss Renier were extremely proud of their teams both on and off the pitch. Well done guys and to all that have been training to get them to such a high standard. Without the challenge at school we wouldn't be the champions in competitions!

I think that you can see from this video clip just how well our children play and that is all thanks to our wonderful Miss Thomas. What would we do without her!?

Next week sees the start of multicultural week. This year our theme is New Zealand as the Rugby World Cup is taking place this year. In Year 6 we will be doing some really exciting activities to do with New Zealand and also some other countries around the world. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible for Thursday's celebratory end to our exciting week. Please see the news letter for more details.

Remember to check on the learning platform for your homework this weekend and to go onto SAM learning too. Have a lovely weekend all.

Kingswood, Day Four

2011-06-09T16:44:00.000+01:00

Thursday 9th June 2011

Tiredness had definitely set in this morning. All was very quiet down the girls corridor at 7:15 this morning whilst the boys had already gone down to play football with Miss Renier (although a few of the boys have lost their voices).

Breakfast was bacon, hoops and tomatoes with lots of the usual stuff. The bread is definitely getting hammered and so are the fruit bowls. It seems to be that most people are eating an apple as they are leaving the dining room.

After breakfast Ben H and the rugby team organised their own training and so did Daniel D with the cricketers. Miss Thomas and Miss Renier will be very pleased with their dedication. We've heard how well the Year 5's did at the rounders too on Tuesday (joint 3rd against all year 6 teams) so a HUGE well done to them!

9:30 saw the start of our activities again. It was time to collect evidence in the CSI Kingswood activity as well as crate stacking and outdoor laser.

After a gorgeous lunch of fish finger sandwiches or hot pot we set off for ANOTHER 3 activities. For the first time this week we experienced a down pour but all the activities continued anyway and so did the smiling.

All kitted up for fencing

Team building: stay in contact with each other AND the tyres at all times!

Tonight we have got our Club Kingswood activity. There has been much talk of who is taking who but I'm sure that you'll all hear about it when we come home.

This is going to be the last blog as tomorrow we will be packing up to come home. We hope that having the blog has helped to keep you informed of what is going on at Kingswood and we ALL look forward to seeing you tomorrow. Be prepared for some VERY tired children coming your way who I'm sure will talk your ears off about what has been going on here.

Mrs Coxon will keep you posted on what our arrival time will be. We are aiming to leave here at 12:30 tomorrow morning after yet another 2 sessions.

See you tomorrow!

Kingswood, Day Three

2011-06-08T21:06:00.000+01:00

Wednesday 8th June 2011

A very lovely start to the day with many of the children needing to be woken up or encouraged to get dressed. Heading down to breakfast everyone was much more sleepy and with hungry tummys.

Breakfast today was a posh continental mix of crossaints, rolls, cheese and cold meats with the usual bread, toast, fruit, yohurts and cereal. Once finished everyone headed back to their rooms to have a shower and relax before the first activity. Not as much running around this morning and with a little shower of rain we were all snuggled together.

First activities included 3G Swing, zipwire, fencing and abseiling. Every had a go and reached their own personal goals including myself and Miss Renier who managed to get to the top of 3G Swing. Very proud! I've been told that our faces were hilarious. Mrs Usher thoroughly enjoyed the zipwire too and it was really nice that we could all see each other and cheer one another on.

Top of the zip wire

Going up on 3G Swing

Other activities this morning then included flash dance, aeroball and quad biking and then on to lunch...

Pizza or spaghetti were the options this time with a few children choosing both. They definitely have hollow legs.

Afternoon sessions started again at 13:15. Lots more adrenalin running high as well as CSI Kingswood starting. I can't tell you too much about this as it is TOP SECRET!

We have all been so impressed with how all the children are behaving and how supportive they are of one another. The team atmosphere is excellent! You should all be very proud parents.

All harnessed and ready to go.

Relaxing between sessions.

Dinner was another fabulous feast of

Tonight we have got Kingswood Campfire so we are all looking forward to a good sing song and then on for our hot chocolate. I think the children are hoping for toasted marshmallows but the teachers don't mind. We've had our daily chocolate intake to keep us going...

Thank you all for your post. Esther is definitely winning with an amazing number of parcels, letters and postcards. Us adults are very jealous! 2 more sleeps till we see you all.

Kingswood, Day Two

2011-06-08T11:21:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 7th June 2011

What a glorious day! The sun has been shining down on us but hasn't been too hot. Perfect weather for all of the activities.

Today started very early - 5am some were awake and dressed! But we all headed down to breakfast for 7:30. Again portion sizes were huge with sausages, scrambled eggs and tomatoes available at the hot counter along with the usual bread, toast, cereal, fruit and yoghurts. Everyone was suitably full and ready for what the day held for us.

Showers were had before we set down to the activity spots for a group sing song of 'Go Banana' and then off to the first activities. This morning we had 2 sessions before lunch. This ranged from flash dance (an ICT based activity) to abseiling, archery and the leap of faith.

Between lunch and dinner we have managed to squeeze in 3 more activities with some groups doing 3G Swing, zip wire and other activities. I think that it is safe to say that everyone is having the time of their lives!!

Dinner was tikka masala or burger and chips followed by chocolate ice cream. You could see that this point that some of the children were starting to flag but conversations were great to listen; who'd done what and what was their favourite activity so far. Miss Renier and Miss Sanwell could now join in too as they had been on the leap of faith and the zip wire respectively.

One more activity and then it was the mini olympics. The instructors did a great job of trying to wear them all out ready for bed. The wind was starting to pick up but everyone's rosy cheeks were glowing.

Time for our hot chocolate and then to bed. All lights were out by 9:45 tonight and the corridors were silent by 10. Bliss!

Kingswood, Day One

2011-06-07T11:05:00.000+01:00

Monday 6th June 2011

After leaving school promptly at 12:30 we had an easy journey straight down to Ashford, no hold ups, traffic jams or toilet stops needed! (Let’s just hope it’s the same on the way home)

Driving into the site there were great gasps of delight when they saw the activity trail and this excitement just kept on growing. When we arrived our luggage was unloaded from the coach and we were then shown to our dormitory. I think that after two flights of stairs some were starting to flag carrying their bags. Everyone then set off to make up their beds. All of the adults had a giggle with some of the methods that were being used! And Mrs Usher won the competition of helping to make the most beds!

Can you tell which of the boys got INSIDE his duvet cover when trying to make his bed!

I was very impressed with the high standard of unpacking too – coat hangers were actually being used!

We were then given a tour of the site by our group leaders: James and Gaz. Excitement was definitely building as the saw all that the site has to offer. We then had time to relax with games of football, rounder’s and cricket on offer (Miss Thomas will be pleased with us!)

At 5:15 it was time for dinner. Options included: Lasagne, macaroni cheese, chips, sausages and Yorkshire puddings, and if they wanted they could have it all! Some of the plates were like mountains of food. We have no idea where they were putting it all.

Later we met at our activity spots ready to take on the first challenges of the trip. Some were thrown into the deep end with leap of faith others took part in orienteering, quadbikes and outdoor lazer with Ben H beating the all time Kingswood high score! Have a look at some of the photos that were taken.

So far (touch wood) they have been a fabulous group of children with good manners. We are all having a ball, both children and adults, and I will be sure to fill you all in when we have a spare hour.

School Journey Reminders

2011-06-05T13:14:00.001+01:00

Just a quick reminder as school journey is tomorrow.....

I have sent you all an email on the learning platform reminding you of all that you need to bring but just in case that you don't log on I thought that I would add it to the blog too.

Tomorrow you need to be at school at 11:45 with all of your bags. Please make sure that you have clearly labelled it and that you are able to carry it yourself!

Give any medication to Mrs Fulton when you arrive tomorrow and make sure that it is clearly labelled. Remember that any medication MUST have been prescribed by the doctors.

As we are leaving school at approximately 12:30, which is awkward for eating, if you all bring a packed lunch with you to school then we will all have a picnic together before we leave, either in the hall or the outside classroom.

On the email I have attached a kit list that I have put together just in case you've lost the one sent from school. It is just a suggestion of things to bring so use it as a guide. What is important to remember is your toiletry bag, towel and to make sure that you have long sleeved tops and bottoms for some of the activities.

Finally remember that mobile phones and electrical items are not allowed plus money isn't needed.

I hope that you have all had a wonderful half term and look forward to spending our last half term together.

See you in the morning.

Miss Wilson

World War II Day

2011-05-27T16:14:00.000+01:00

Enjoy our singing of the National Anthem, WWII style!

Summer Term, Week 5

2011-05-26T11:42:00.000+01:00

Thursday 26th May 2011

This week we started our World War II project. Our 'Big Bang' start was a great success with all the children looking fantastic as WWII evacuees. I think that they would all agree that the gas mask boxes were very annoying by the end of the day.

We all thoroughly enjoyed our day and were impressed with how involved they all became. Some did believe me when I said that unknown families/people would be coming round at the end of the day to pick them up and their appearance and cleanliness would be important so that they wouldn't be left until last! It wasn't until the end of the day that some realised that I was just in role...

Please enjoy some of the singing from the day...

We have asked both classes what sorts of things that they would like to learn about through this topic and their ideas were vast and very exciting. Miss Renier and I are thoroughly looking forward to getting stuck into the topic.

The next time that we see you, you will be carrying suitcases and be all excited about our school journey. Miss Renier and I are also really looking forward to it. It's the highlight of our year!

Our dinner each day is set for 5 o'clock so if the children can all bring a packed lunch with them, we will have a picnic in the outside classroom or the hall before we go. This way snacks will not be needed to be taken with us.
Just remember:

You need to be able to carry your own bag, so make sure that you can lift it!
Make sure that you help your parents to pack so that you know what you have got and where it is!
Don't forget your toilettries (only using roll on deoderant please so that we don't set off any alarms)
A day bag for your: long sleeved top; long trousers; named water bottle as well as sun hat and cream would be a great idea.
And lastly...don't forget your smile and laughter as we will need these alot!

Remember that you all have your log ins to the learning platform so you can still catch up with one another as well as ensuring that you get your homework in to us on time.

Have a lovely half term and we look forward to seeing you on Monday 6th June at 11:45.

Learning Platform

2011-05-23T17:11:00.001+01:00

I know that a few of you have mentioned that you have not been able to get onto the learning platform. I have spoken to DB Primary and they have suggested that:

"With children who cannot access the platform at home can you check that they are using the right domain name http://crabtree.herts.dbprimary.com/service/util/login?path=/herts/primary/crabtree . If this is not working then perhaps check that the parents haven’t put any security settings in place that means they cannot access the platform. If this still does not work, please could you let me know what the message is that they are getting when they try to access the platform at home. I might then be able to decipher why it is that this is happening. Hopefully we can get it sorted ASAP."

So if anyone is getting a message pop up when they try to access the learning platform, please can they write it down and send it in to me so that I can get this resolved as quickly as possible.

Thank you. Miss Wilson

Summer Term, Week 4

2011-05-20T16:22:00.000+01:00

Friday 20th May 2011

A crazy week! Thank you so much to everyone for their quick response about the change in school journey dates and again apologies for any inconvenience caused.

The meeting on Monday after school will start with all of the details about school journey, repeated from the Autumn term, and if time we will then be able to discuss Year 6 SRE for this term. Obviously if there is not enough time to fit in both then I will arrange for our SRE talk another time. I hope to see lots of you there.

This week in Year 6 has been great light relief after our assessments last week. Everyone in Year 6 has been taking part in cycling proficency. The instructors were very impressed with their skills as well as their behaviour and listening skills. Well done to everyone. Your awards will arrive soon I'm sure.

For the rest of the time both classes have been completing ICT based projects in the cycling gaps. In Elm they have been creating their own film. I know that Miss Renier has thoroughly enjoyed the project and thanks to a few very skilled ICT technicians in thier class they have been able to put the film together. Unfortunately the film is too large for me to add to our blog but I'm sure that there will be a premier coming soon....

In Elder we have had a theme of road safety continuing through all our lessons with our end products being a new road safety campaign. The class have been looking at past campaigns as well as the current new one called 'tales about the road'. In groups they have then been creating thier own adverts, ditties and advertising campaigns. Have a look at a few of the ones created below:

We ended our week on a high with a visit from a past pupil.... James McMurray. His assembly to the school about the things that he has achieved in his running was inspirational for the school, especially those in her six who can relate to where is journey started.

We hope that you all have a fantastic weekend and we look forward to seeing our World War II evacuees on Monday morning.

Summer Term, Week 3

2011-05-14T20:37:00.000+01:00

Friday 13th May

Well the week that we have all been working so hard for has finally been and gone! Both classes were amazing and ALL of the pupils made themselves and us extremely proud. No matter what their results, we know that they all tried their hardest and we can't ask any more than that!

Monday - Thursday mornings this week was full of concentration and in the afternoons we let our hair down a bit to relax and recuperate from the assessments. We have been playing challenging mind games.....

Bananagrams was a great favourite.

We have also been designing and making personalised t shirts for school journey. Some of the finished items are fantastic. Do pop in to class to see them; we will be popping them on display in the classroom next week. We have some amazing artists in the year group as well as some very creative ideas. I hope that everyone enjoyed making them and I look forward to seeing them being worn on school journey.

We have also been enjoying the lovely weather by playing rounders together, Elder vs Elm! I am pleased to report that Elm won one game and Elder the other. Miss Renier and I thoroughly enjoyed our games session together and hope to fit in many more 'extra' PE lessons so please can everyone make sure that they have always got their PE kit in school, just in case.

We finished the week with 'media studies' and I little treat. The peace and quiet in the class was lovely as they enjoyed a film to end the week.

Next week we have got another different week with Cycling proficiency taking place in Year 6. Everyone has had letters about the equipment that they need to have with them. We keep our fingers crossed that the gorgeous weather continues. This week also includes a talk to parents after school on Monday about our Sex and Relationships lessons that will be taking place this week. I will be showing the videos that will be used in lessons as well as fielding any questions about the content of the sessions. I hope to see lots of you there.

Again the Year 6 team want to say a HUGE well done to the all of the children in Year 6. Enjoy a well deserved rest this weekend. Time now for Eurovision. Come on England!

Summer Term, Week 2

2011-05-06T15:44:00.000+01:00

Friday 6th May

Another lovely SHORT week. I think that we could all get used to three and four day weeks!

In both classes this week we have been working hard on preparing ourselves academically, physically and mentally. In circle time we have been talking about the different ways in which we can keep calm and destress when we feel that it is all getting a bit too much. We have looked at how getting a good nights sleep and eating well will help keep our concentation and focus on our tasks. We have reminded ourselves that we can only do our best and that our assessments this week are exactly the same as any other assessment week that we have had in school. The only difference is that Miss Wilson and Miss Renier don't have to mark them!

This week we officially opened our brand new kitchen area with Elder helping Miss Wilson to make muffins for anyone to taste after school on Tuesday. Fortunately for Elder, there were then plenty left over for them to try on Wednesday. Over the rest of the term we are going to try to make the most of the kitchen so keep an eye out for letters about cookery events coming up!

Mrs Fulton was most impressed with their baking and washing up skills, the super "washer upper" award goes to Ed F - welll done!

This week we haven't set any homework for the children to do as we have covered so much since we returned from the Easter holidays. So please make sure that you get out, enjoy the sunshine and do things that have nothing to do with school.

Remember we think that you are all great and are proud of the improvements that you have made this year - it is all there in your books to see! Have a lovely weekend and enjoy this gorgeous weather while it lasts.

500 Word Writing Competition

2011-04-26T14:21:00.001+01:00

I hope that you have all had a wonderful Easter and have been enjoying the wonderful weather. Miss Renier and I have been working hard all morning and are looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

‘Heroes Bank’ by Daniel Dytham

One hot shining summer’s day, two boys called Max & Harry were having great fun fishing at the river. They were standing on a bank that was covered in sticky brown mud and the water below them was murky.

Two younger children, Tom and Sue, were sitting on a rickety bridge that crossed over the river watching the two boys pluck out small silver fish with their fishing rods. The bridge began to groan as the weight of the two children slowly began to snap it open. Cracks were quickly spreading over the rotten wood. Suddenly, there was a giant crack and the bridge gave way and the two children fell into the cold dark water. No-one, accept the two boys, had seen what had happened.

‘Help!’ screamed the children as the hurling water swept them to the ferocious rapids. Without hesitation, Max & Harry pulled off their boots and jumped into the cold murky water. They both swam with strong stokes to the struggling children. They managed to grab hold of them just before they reached the dangerous weir, where the water was flowing rapidly. They pulled the now unconscious children out of the water and carried them to the safety of the bank. Max grabbed his mobile phone and called 999.

An ambulance arrived and two paramedics pumped precious air into the children’s lungs. A crowd of people had started to gather, probably alerted by the noise of the siren. Worried faces spread around the crowd and people wondered what had happened to the two young children. The ambulance sped off to take Tom and Sue to the nearest hospital.

Word quickly spread around the town about the rescue and the Mayor went to the riverbank to speak to Max and Harry. He thanked them for their quick thinking and brave action. The hospital expected Tom and Sue to make a full recovery. The crowd cheered. Within an hour, the river rescue was reported on the local news. Max and Harry were heroes!

A few days later, the Mayor held a ceremony to thank Max and Harry for their bravery. Tom and Sue were there with their parents. They all thanked the boys for saving the children’s lives. The Mayor proudly gave Max and Harry an award for their bravery.

Max and Harry are now famous in the town and the bank they were fishing from has become known as ‘Heroes Bank’.

Well done again to Daniel for getting through to the final 900

Gym Display 2011

2011-04-20T20:12:00.000+01:00

As promised, here are a few snippets from the gym display.

I was really pleased to see that some of you have already started your SAM learning homework. Well done to Jenny, Caitlin, Alex, Macy, Mitzi and Anu.

I hope that you are all having a relaxing Easter Holidays and enjoying the glorious weather!

Don't eat too much chocolate this weekend!

Tag Rugby Match Reports

2011-04-12T20:15:00.000+01:00

Tag Rugby Team Match Report
Submitted by Ben H (Team Captain)

On Monday 4^th April Crabtree B team went to the Harpenden rugby club. When we arrived we had our lunch and the instructor gave us a quick briefing on the rules and who we were playing. First we made our way over to the pitch and trained for about 15mins. Our first match we played was against Beach Wood. We did pretty well and the end result was 4-4. After that it was Markyate and we one 3-1. Although we still had 3 more matches to play we had to wait about half an hour. After a while we got playing again, not knowing that next match would be our hardest so far. Unfortunately we lost 4-3 to them. Our 4^th match saw another brilliant win: 4-3. The 5^thand final match was Flampstead. The result was 4-1 to us. I would like to thank Miss Thomas for arranging this and for Mr Patrick for being a magnificent coach. we all thoroughly enjoyed it!

Tag Rugby Team Match Report
Submitted by Archie (Team Captain)

On Monday The 4^th of April Crabtree’s rugby a-team entered the district rugby competition. Crabtree was faced against over several different teams, each one hoping to win. Crabtree’s first couple of games were just friendly’s; no points registered. This would show the standard we were against.

We had the advantage, starting with the ball, and slowly progressed to, just win. The next few games were similar... We started with the ball, made none or little mistakes and played with heart, leading us to a win each time. Matches were only 5 minutes long so try’s and no errors, were really important. Finally after a close, good run of fair games led us to a close game against round wood. Jamie grasped some great try’s in his stride putting us ahead. Followed by some great tagging and pressure to the opponent’s team by Ailis and Sarah we managed to force errors. Eventually after a long 5 minutes we won. We all sat down to hear who had got through to the semis. And we had... Now there were only 2 games left. The first game was to our advantage starting with the ball. Katie made some great passes to Tommy running through their formations. We all played really well and never gave up leading to victory. We were through to the district finals. We were against Abbey, a very strong team, and we gave it our all. We made some simple errors, but fought back with Ella and Ben T making delivering fantastic passes. At last the game was over. The team earned the win. We had won. A special thank you to Miss Thomas and to the parents to cheered us on.

Spring Term, Week 13

2011-04-08T15:56:00.000+01:00

Friday 8th April 2011

Another term gone! It has been an extremely busy term and I think that everyone needs a well deserved rest. What a great week to end on though with the gym display and winning the tag rugby competition. Well done to all those who took part and a great thank you to all my 'bloggers' for their match reports. We hope that you have been enjoying reading a play by play account of what has been happening. Don't forget to spot the great literacy skills too!

In both Maths and Literacy this week we have been revising knowledge, skills, and techniques for us to apply in our assessments next term. It has been great, especially in literacy, to revist a genre and see how the children's writing has matured; including more of the SFS as well as thinking carefully about the VCOP that they are including.

Remember to continue to revisit topics on SAM learning over the holidays as well as reading every day! Steal and store any great ideas that you come across. Just in case you haven't found the liteacy revision sheet on the website, here is a copy for everyone to use:

LITERACY REVISION SHEET

I have also included a problem solving game below for you to give a go. Enjoy! Challenge your family!

Whilst discussing revision I have come across a great Science revision website. If anyone is interested in looking at it, here is the web address....http://www.compare4kids.co.uk/learn.php It covers all the topics that you need to know as well as giving you past paper questions to practise.

On a literacy note...this week saw Eoin Colfer release his final Artemis Fowl book. As I'm sure that you are all aware, this is one of my favourite, ever, authors and characters. I had my book delivered the day of release as I couldn't wait to get started! I am now on page 91 (Tommy) and look forward to talking about the book after the Easter holidays. We were also really excited about Eoin Colfer doing a live web chat. We did try to watch it live but unfortunately due to technical difficulties were unable to. If anyone is interested, here is the web link to watch it: http://www.eoincolfervirtuallylive.co.uk.

This term Elder class entered a story competition run by Chris Evans called 500 words. I am really pleased and proud to say that Daniel has had an email through to say that out of over 30,000 entries he has made it through to the final 900. A massive well done to Daniel! I will speak really nice to him and see if we can share his story with you all on here soon. We now keep our fingers crossed for Daniel and for the whole of Year 6 as they look to enter to Wicked Young Writers Award next term. Our literacy skills and competition success is starting to rival our Sporting achievements!

Homework over the Easter holidays is to complete your Wicked Writers Stories for the first day back and to check SAM learning for the tasks that we have set you over the holidays. Don't forget to read at least 1 week in your reading record ready for the usual check the first day back.

I am really sorry that I wasn't able to see you all before the Easter holidays but I'm pleased to say that Keren is doing well and will have a great scar to boast about in years to come! We hope that you all have a wonderful Easter Holiday and we look forward to seeing you refreshed, re-energised and raring to go for a new term on Wednesday 27th April.

P.S I will upload snippets of the gym display and photos of this week when I am next in school.

Spring Term, Week 12

2011-04-01T20:24:00.002+01:00

Friday 1st April

Another week gone! Only one week until the Easter holidays. Where has this term gone?

This week we have seen the school become the County Indoor Athletic Champions again. A huge well done to the team and a great big thank you to Miss Thomas. She definitely has the magic touch!!

This week in Maths the Lollipops have been looking at Capacity and the relationships between imperial and metric units as well as applying these through word problems. In the Marshmallows they have been starting to revist areas of the Year 6 curriculum that the assessments highligted as needing more work. A challenge has been set on SAM learning this weekend for each group to revise all that we have covered this week. See how you get on!

In literacy we have been using different texts and authors as our 'vehicle' (what a great metaphor) to look at a range of different texts types. Through this unit we have stumbled across a FANTASTIC website www.lovereading4kids.co.uk. Have a look! It has a great recommended reading list for each year group as well as being able to recommend other authors that are similar to ones that you have already read. It even gives you the facility to read the opening extract for the book to see if it interests you.

Art this week was great! Our white modroc blobs now look like creative and exciting native american masks. Do pop in the classroom and have a look!

I think that it is fair to say that all the chidlren enjoyed completing this task. We even saw the 'tongue of concentration' appear at school.

In science we have started our new topic of micro organisms. So....if you do find that the bread has been around for a little while to long...don't throw it away! Look and see what happens. How does the bacteria grow? How does it change? What factors effect the speed of the growth? But.....at the end of watching it all, don't eat it!

Today was extremely exciting. We got to see the dress rehearsal for the Gym Display. I don't want to give anything away, but you are in for a treat! If you don't have tickets yet; please see the office!

Literacy homework this week needs to be in on Monday. This should be, at a minimum, the beginnning of your story. Think carefully about your word limit as well as your VCOP choices that you are making.

Netball Match Report

2011-04-01T13:48:00.000+01:00

Netball Match against St. Hilda’s
Reported by Mitzi Weston

On the 30^th of March, Crabtree’s A team welcomed St. Hilda’s A team for a netball match. After a little prep talk the netball match was started at 4:00.
Crabtree started with the ball and the two Crabtree attacks were strongly marked so Katie (WD) ran down the court to pass to the other team players. Soon, this was a passed to Ella Hodge (GS) who took a shot and scored the 1-0.This was becoming a habit because the score came to 3-0. We had the ball but St. Hilda’s intercepted twice making the score 3-2.
The whistle blew and it was half time.
When we went back onto the court after a little prep talk Crabtree was rearing to go. St. Hilda’s started with the ball but Katie (WD) intercepted. This lead to, in a short time, 6-3.
St. Hilda’s unfortunately had the ball and scored 3 times.
Crabtree had tremendous shooters so they scored an outstanding 7 goals. The ending score was 10-6 to Crabtree!

Well done to the team and thank you to Mrs Mercer, St. Hilda’s and for the refreshments.

We have now won the netball league!

Indoor Athletics 2011

2011-03-29T09:37:00.004+01:00

Monday 28th March 2011

Crabtree Junior school, yrs 5 & 6, took part in the Indoor Athletics County final; which took place in the Hemel Hempstead Sports Centre.
The day started at 10:15, with a 16 year old girl and an ex-par Olympian doing a talk. Then we went into the activities: the first race was the obstacle race, followed by the 2+2 and the 1+1, whilst the first set of boys field events were taking place.
There were a lot more races consisting of unders and overs, 6 Lap Parluef and 4+1.

As the day started to bring to a close the tension was getting more and more exiting between the competitors, even some of the adults were sitting on the edge of their seats! We then got called down to sit in the middle of the hall with the other teams. We had no clue of who had won as we hadn't got told how we did in our field events. The results were given out and the tension was released in a loud cheer from Crabtree as they went to reserve there medals.

Reported by Benjamin T and Sarah M

Spring Term, Week 11

2011-03-25T17:02:00.000Z

Friday 25th March 2011

What a busy but lovely week! The sunshine was a welcome visitor and lifted everyone's spirits; long may it last!

Literacy this week has seen Year 6 looking at the differences and similarities between formal and informal letters. The children identified the features in each of them and have written their own too. Both in Elm and Elder we have found that the chidlren have grasped each concept well. Just don't forget an introduction and conclusion as well as how effective simple sentences can be.

Year 6's writing has really progressed well this term, both in the classroom and also for homework. Just look at the meal description that Caitlin produced below. I'm sure that you'll find your mouth watering at the end! It was so good I somehow managed to add it twice :)

Caitlins homework, meal homework

In Maths this week we have been looking at sequences and prime numbers. See if you can find the number pattern in the game below to open the safe...

In Elder we had our Japan projects handed in on Monday. I was so impressed with the amount of effort, time and creativeness that went in to them. Well done to all of you! I hope that you learnt as much as I have from reading them! If you are interested in seeing the finished timelines then do pop into the classroom as I have put them on display for all to see.

But it hasn't all been hard work this week. We got very messy and completed the first stage of modroc masks! The whole of Year 6 took over the dining room on Wednesday afternoon and created the basis of our masks. Even at these white, blank canvas stages we can see that these are going to be great once they have finished.

We all had a wonderful time, especially since the whole year were extremely responsible and helpful when it came to clearing up. The modroc dust gets everywhere! A big thank you to Mr Wood who helped us to clean it all up. I'm sure he'll be finding dust for the next few weeks!

I look forward to being able to post some pictures of our finished masks at the end of next week.

Homework: This week Year 6 have been set the Wicked Young Writers Challenge! This week they need to decide upon their story and begin by writing their story plan. Remember that this is in the form of notes and can take on any form: mind map, story mountain, notes, a table, anything that supports them in the writing of their stories over the next few weeks.

After a request from a parent I have written a help sheet for literacy. You can find it on the Year 6 page. Please let me know if there is anything else that you would find useful and we'll do our best!

We hope that you have a lovely weekend and we'll see you all on Monday with your story plans and reading records.

Netball Match Report

2011-03-25T15:04:00.000Z

Thursday 24th March

On the 24th March Crabtree A team played The Grove's A team. It started off with a Grove centre but the ball was swiftly intercepted by Katie and Seren, then the ball was passed to Sarah who passed to Ella who shot at goal and it was 1 nil. For the next 5 centres a goal was scored, then it was half time, it was 6 nil.

After a quick team talk we were back on and with our 2 centres swapping, with Sarah going off and Ellen coming on it was our centre. We quickly got it down to the shooters and they scored. It kept on going like this with Ella and Ella on fire with Grove making a few shots and missing and Amy the goalkeeper getting the boal back out, then the final whistle blew. The final score was 18 nil.

Thank you for all of the refreshments, to Mrs Mercer for being and excellent coach and to all of the parents who came and supported.

Match Report by Katie B.

Elder's Literacy Video Guides

2011-03-21T13:59:00.000Z

In Elder we have been looking at creating Video/Audio Guides all about Crabtree Junior School. Using our ICT toolkits we took photos and video clips of different places around the school and then recorded soundbites on our microphones. Using Windows Movie Maker we were then able to put these three things together to create our own mini movies about the school.

By Katie, Christos, Amy and Archie

By Jenny, Alex, Daniel and Ailis

This is the first time that I have created these in year 6. I think that the groups did a wonderful job! We hope that you enjoy seeing our work.

Spring Term, Week 10

2011-03-18T16:13:00.002Z

Friday 18th March

Half way through the half term!

This week in Maths we have been looking at Perimeter and timezones. We have been working out the perimeter of different compound shapes, even those that don't tell us the length of every side!

Can you work out the perimeter of this shape?

Everyone in year 6 have also been set questions on SAMlearning to practise all that they have learnt this week. Miss Renier and I will be looking to see how they get on. We were also really pleased to see that 8 children have managed to achieve the 10 hour challenge on SAM learning! Well done to: Jade, James P, Samantha, Lauren, Sarah, Angus, Ella H and Jamie! Keep up the great work!

This week in Year 6 we have been using an awful lot of ICT. Elm have been using Publisher to write up their leaflets and Elder have been using Windows Movie Maker to create video guides of the school. Do ask your child all about them and have a look at them next time you are in. I think that we have all learnt alot doing these projects this week, including Miss Renier and myself.

Back on Monday we had a music lesson with Mrs Wright. We were both most impressed with the songs that the children had written using the notes that they had been given. Hopefully we will be able to show a few of these on here next week!

"I said a Boom Chica Boom!"

Not only have we been working hard but it has been yet another busy sporting week at Crabtree. Well done to the Football team for winning this week 2-0, which means that they are now winners of the league. A huge well done also needs to go to the Indoor Athletics team. Yet again the girls won, the boys won and yep...they were the overall winning school. This means that they now go on to the county finals a week on Monday.

Just look at how comfortably we were winning the races:

We wish them all the best of luck at the next round! You all deserve your success with all your hard work, commitment and training hours that you have been putting in.

A few reminders this week....we will be trying AGAIN to make our modroc masks on Wednesday. Please can everyone remember a bowl. Homework is due in on Monday and please can everyone ensure that they have brought their WICKED reply slip back in as the deadline is Friday 25th March.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Spring Term, Week 9

2011-03-11T14:55:00.001Z

Friday 11th March 2011

What a fantastic week we have had at Crabtree Junior School this week! Both our Football teams and Netball teams won their matches with the A team in Netball winning by a staggering 12-1 against Woodend. Great results all round.
The success hasn't stopped with the upper school...Year 3 and 4 took part in the District Indoor Athletics competition yesterday with the Girls now holding the district title and the boys coming an impressive second.

Back to Year 6 and we have been working extremely hard. We have been carrying out experiments n Science linked to reversible and irreversible changes. Elder have discovered that the rate of dissolving increases with the temperature and Elm have seen what happens when we mix different types of solid in water. Can you spot where these scientific phenomena happen in every day life?

In literacy this week we have been continuing to look at formal writing in leaflets. The children have been designing and creating their own leaflets about Crabtree Junior in Elder and a Country of their choice in Elm. Their use of Publisher to create their leaflets has been incredible and I'm really looking forward to seeing the final, printed versions.

We have had a really enjoyable week in Maths. As well as looking at Percentages of amounts we also carried out our Smartie Maths Challenge Day. Yet again I was amazed by the creativity of the problems being worked on as well as the mathematical knowledge used to solve them. One problem really had me baffled, see if you can solve it:

Seren, Thalia and Tracy love smarties. They tried to share them fairly, according to their age. Seren is double Thalia's age; Tracy is the sum of Thalia and Seren's age plus ten years. There are 64 smarties in total. How many smarties do they get each?

All I can say is good luck!

Today also saw a mini Gym and Dance festival taking place in the hall. Each of the Year 5 and 6 classes showed the rest of the upper school the gym and dance performances that they have been working on in PE this term. We saw a fantastic range of skill and use of music from all the classes. The purpose of the mini festival was for the Year 5 and 6 teachers and TAs to choose 2 classes to represent the school in the Sir John Lawes Gym and Dance festival in two weeks. I am extremely proud to say that Elder and Teak were the lucky two. Well done to all classes they - they were very impressive! Parents you will be able to see them at the Gym Display at the end of term.

The Gym Display is starting to creep up on Miss Thomas now. This week Year 5 and 6 were introduced to the trampets. The excitement was measurable! Have a look at their first attempts at skills on the trampets in Elder...

I think that you'll agree with me when I say that I'm already impressed with their first session. What will they be able to do by the end of term? I'll be holding my breath as usual and probably turning a little grey with the stunts that they will be completing.

Another week gone! A few reminders....don't forget to bring in your literacy homework on Monday as well as learning your Spellings. On Wednesday you will need to bring in a bowl for your mod roc masks. Have a lovely weekend.

Spring, Week 8

2011-03-04T15:39:00.002Z

Friday 4th March 2011

Already we have come to the end of another week. Only 5 more weeks till Easter! It was lovely to see so many parents at the consultations. In Year 6 we don't get to see you all as often as the other year groups so it was nice to be able to pass on so many positive comments to you all.

Year 6 have been working extremely hard this week. In Literacy we have been looking at the use of formal language in leaflets; exploring the many features and uses before starting to write our own next week. We have been learning the 9 Steps for Success and as the week has gone on, we have seen our writing improve. Persuasive language, rhetorical questions and quotes being included where appropriate!

In Maths this week both groups have been looking at interpreting Pie Charts as well as properties of positive and negative numbers. Why not practise these skills through the activities on Sam Learning?

Yesterday we were invaded by Book Characters. We saw some wonderful costumes including Alice in Wonderful, The 3 Pigs, Alex Rider and Esmerelda. They were all fabulous with a lot of time, effort and creativity gone into putting them together.

This week at Crabtree has been yet another successful sporting week. On Tuesday we took part in the Year 6 Football Tournament with the team coming an impressive 3rd, unfortunately losing on penalties. Thursday was one of the big events in our sporting diary....The Indoor Athletics competition. We were up against Manland, The Grove and High Beeches. All of the squad put in impressive performances with the team winning 12 out of 12 events on the track and 17 our of 18 in the field events. Well done to all who took part and a huge congratulations and thank you to Miss Thomas for all of the time and effort that she puts into the training and preparation beforehand. On to the next round now, I know that Miss Thomas has already been analysing times etc. thinking about any slight changes to training and groupings. Watch this space for an update in 2 weeks. Miss Renier and I will be keeping our fingers crossed!

This week you have received 2 VERY exciting letters from Miss Renier and I. The first was about the Maths Challenge day which will be taking place on Wednesday next week. This day involves Smarties and should be fun for both the children and staff. I am always impressed with where this challenge day takes us... Photos next week! The second letter, that went out today, is one of my all time favourite trips. This went down a storm last year with the children being enthralled by the West End Production, Wicked. We will be using this as a platform for one of our topics next term as well as using the Wicked Young Writers Award as part of our SATs revision. I can't wait!

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend. Remember that literacy homework is due in on Monday.

Spring, Week 7

2011-02-18T11:58:00.000Z

Friday 18th February 2011

Finally the last day of this half term. We are now officially half way through our year together. Hasn't the time flown? The last half will go even quicker. Just you watch!

This week has been Eisteddfod Week 2011. All of the staff have been so impressed with the talents that our children have. I think that everyone that took part is so brave; standing on that stage for all to see.

The standard of the performances in Year 6 were outstanding! Well done to all that took part. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of the instrumental performances on Wednesday afternoon. I especially enjoyed the duet and group items as they were all lovely. I have been so inspired that I have have now got my flute out and I am going to go home and practise my instruments too.

Thursday was especially exciting with a surprise visit from up and coming bands: "Red Lights One" and "The Scarletz." The school were all entranced during the performances and then extremely star struck with signed pictures and autographed limbs! Keep an eye out for these bands in the charts!

Not only have there been Eisteddfod performances this week but we have also been writing flashbacks. Some of the Year have written some wonderful memories of things that they remember. Be sure to look out for them during Parent Consultations after half term.

Elm have also been completing their slippers this week! Please have a look at them next time you are in school. Elder had a "Challenge Lesson" this week. They had to work together to read instructions and play a challenging game.

Next week Year 6 have a well deserved rest ahead of them! Remember that there are many websites that you can be accessing to revise during the holidays including:

SAM Learning

Woodlands Primary Website

BBC Revisewise

and Mathszone

Also Elder, don't forget to write your stories for the 500 words competition and enter them via the website.

Website link: 500 Words Competition Please can you remember to bring a print out of these on Monday 28th February and also remember to complete your Reading Records for our weekly check up - I should see 2 weeks completed!

Parents, we look forward to seeing you at your Parent Consultations appointment.

Have a lovely half term!

Spring, Week 7

2011-02-14T14:30:00.000Z

Monday 14th February

Happy Valentines Day!! We thoroughly enjoyed watching cards being posted in drawers this morning and a few embarrassed faces as they were spotted!

We have had a lovely start to the week with children bringing in their display items for Eisteddfod. What a talented year group we have!

Today Elm have started to make their slippers and Elder have been emailing a school we have linked with in Wales. Ask Year 6 all about it!

Spring Term, Week 6.

2011-02-11T16:11:00.000Z

Phew! What a busy week we have had in Year 6.

This week we have been completing our assessments. The children have worked extremely hard, finishing 2 Maths Papers plus a Mental Maths; 2 Science Papers as well as 2 long writing, a spelling and Reading paper. From what Miss Renier and I have seen, they have done well. We will be giving you feedback at the next parent consultation meetings which are taking place straight after half term.

We also performed our Year 6 assembly on Thursday. The children really rose to the occasion, giving a fantastic performance. We were both very proud of them since we only had 3 rehearsals beforehand. A special well done to our main characters: Alex and Jenny who had loads of lines to learn and acted out their parts beautifully. I especially loved Robert's costume - a very brave move that really paid off. I was slightly concerned that the assembly wouldn't have been well received from Miss Thomas after our erupting volcanoes continued to spill onto her lovely mats!

A special well done to those children who took part in the District Cross Country this week. I am always amazed each week when a good 30% of my class choose to give up their lunch times and run, endlessly, around the field (in all weathers!) All this tremendous hard work came to fruition on Tuesday when we managed to win all four races! Well done team! A heartfelt well done to Miss Thomas too! I was worried that her nerves were going to get the better of her on Tuesday morning, but she managed to hold it all together!

Next week is another exciting week at Crabtree! We have the Eistedfodd performances to look forward to as well as some fun, challenging and enjoyable activities with slippers, topic work and our flashbacks topic in literacy. This is a unit that I love and will look forward to posting some of the work on our blog next week.

I hope that you all have an enjoyable weekend and Elder, don't forget to bring your Maths homework in on Monday :).