It’s been another busy and productive few weeks in Year 6, and with only 1 week to go until the Christmas holidays, here are some recent learning highlights:

✍️ English
In English, we’ve been writing newspaper reports inspired by The Last Bear by Hannah Gold. The children have produced fantastic articles about what happened to April (the main character). Year 3 have also also writing newspaper reports so we spent some time sharing writing together.
➗ Maths
Our focus in Maths has been on decimals and percentages. We’ve explored how to convert between them, solve real-life problems, and understand their practical uses. The children have shown great perseverance as they tackled increasingly challenging tasks.
🏗️ D.T.
Our D.T. lessons have been hands-on as we’ve been designing and building model playgrounds. The children have carefully planned their designs, thought about safety and functionality, and worked collaboratively to bring their ideas to life. Have a look at the pictures below.
🎶 Music
In Music, we’ve been learning about and analysing film music, from understanding how composers use instruments to create mood, to discussing themes in iconic movie scores.
🌍 In Geography, we’ve been learning about population. The children have explored population density, population pyramids, and the challenges of growing and ageing populations.

The children have really risen to the challenge and expectations of being in Year 6 this term, and I'm looking forward to all that the spring term has to bring!

Spellings w.b. 09.12.24
Words ending with the /g/ sound spelt –gue and the /k/ sound spelt -que
tongue
league
vague
antique
unique
Words with the /sh/ sound spelt ch-
delicious
precious
ambitious
cautious
infectious
Words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list
communicate
hindrance
mischievous
system
yacht

Maths homework
w.b. 9th December
Please complete all questions in the Percentages booklet.
This can be found on the Year 6 blog on the school website.
You do not need to print the booklet and can complete the questions on any paper you have.
Please bring in by next Monday and your homework will be marked. You will receive a Dojo point for completing your homework.

Suffixes
Double the final consonant if the word ends with one consonant preceded by one vowel and the final syllable is stressed.
  forget → forgetting
  begin → beginning
  admit → admitted
Do not double the consonant if the final syllable is not stressed.
  visit → visiting
  offer → offered
  listen → listening
Drop the final 'e' when the base word ends in a silent 'e' before adding the suffix.
  decide → deciding
  hope → hoping
  imagine → imagined
Keep the final 'e' if the suffix begins with a consonant.
  hope → hopeful
  care → careless
  complete → completely
Change 'y' to 'i' if the base word ends in 'y' preceded by a consonant, unless the suffix is '-ing'.
  happy → happiness
  carry → carrying
  busy → busier

​w.b. 2nd December
Please complete all questions in the Decimals workbook.
This can be found on the Year 6 blog on the school website.
You do not need to print the booklet and can complete the questions on any paper you have.
Please bring in by next Monday and your homework will be marked. You will receive a Dojo point for completing your homework.

The past four weeks since half term have flown by, and we've been as busy as ever! Here's a little look at what we've been up to:

🌍 Recycling Workshop
Alex from Recycle Devon joined us for a brilliant workshop all about recycling. We explored where everyday items come from, learned about the raw materials they’re made of, and discovered what happens to waste here in Devon.
💛 Children in Need
We had a great day dressed in our pyjamas and comfy clothes to support Children in Need. A highlight of my day was seeing a group of children collaborate and create an amazing Pudsey football shirt—it was such a creative project.
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Parents’ Evenings
It was so lovely to properly meet everyone at parents’ evenings. Thank you for taking the time to come in and hear about your children's progress.
📚 Hard Work
The children have been working hard across all our lessons. Year 6, you’ve shown great focus and determination—keep it up! I'm particularly impressed with the progress in Maths arithmetic, as well as some fantastic writing in our current English unit 'The Last Bear'.
🎄 Festive Fun Ahead
As December approaches, we’re excited about all the festive activities coming up, including our pantomime trip, Christmas dinner and much more.

Spellings w.b. 25.11.24
Words with the suffix -ous
anxious
dangerous
cautious
famous
curious
Words with the /sh/ sound spelt ch-
chef
machine
brochure
parachute
chalet
Words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list
correspond
interfere
recommend
symbol
vehicle

​Maths homework
w.b. 25th November
Please complete questions 7-10 in the White Rose Fractions (B) booklet.
This can be found on the Year 6 blog on the school website.
You do not need to print the booklet and can complete the questions on any paper you have.
Please bring in by next Monday and your homework will be marked. You will receive a Dojo point for completing your homework.

Spellings 

Words with the /u/ sound spelt ou
couple
double
trouble
cousin
touch
Words with the suffix -ly
happily
truly
mysteriously
deliberately
particularly
Words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list
ancient
equipment
guarantee
persuade
rhyme

Maths
Please complete questions 1-6 in the White Rose Fractions (B) booklet.
This can be found on the Year 6 blog on the school website.
You do not need to print the booklet and can complete the questions on any paper you have.
Please bring in by next Monday and your homework will be marked. You will receive a Dojo point for completing your homework.

​

Spellings w.b. 11.11.24
Words with endings that sounds like /zhun/ spelt -sion
occasion
decision
explosion
confusion
precision
Words containing the letter string -ough
enough
although
thought
through
thorough
Words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list
apparent
controversy
government
sincere
sufficient

Maths homework
w.b. 11th November
Please complete questions 6-10 in the White Rose Fractions (A) booklet. 

Words with endings that sounds like /shul/
official
essential
crucial
financial
potential
Words with 'cei'
receive
ceiling
perceive
deceive
receipt
Words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list
aggressive
desperate
existence
occupy
physical

Maths
Please complete questions 1-5 in the White Rose Fractions (A) booklet.
This can be found on the Year 6 blog on the school website.
You do not need to print the booklet and can complete the questions on any paper you have.
Please bring in by next Monday and your homework will be marked.

Hello,

As the half-term break approaches, it’s a great time to reflect on the past eight weeks. I've really enjoyed my first term here at South Tawton Primary School and already feel very proud of the children for their individual achievements and progress with their learning.

Over the past couple of weeks, in English, we have been studying poetry, with a focus on W.H. Auden’s poem, 'Night Mail'. Children have written their own poems inspired by the rhythm and themes, producing some highly creative and thoughtful work. In Maths, the focus has been on fractions. We have made progress in simplifying fractions, finding equivalent fractions, and adding and subtracting fractions. The recent History topic on the Industrial Revolution has now been completed. Students explored how the introduction of factories and machines transformed society, and how this period shaped modern industry. In Science, we've been learning about chemical and physical reactions and children have explored how substances interact and the difference between chemical changes and physical changes.

Last week, the class participated in Bikeability: a cycling program designed to teach children how to use their bikes on the road safely. This experience helped them develop important life skills and boosted their confidence in riding safely on the roads. Have a look at the photos below.

After nearly eight weeks of hard work, I hope everyone in Year 6 enjoys a well-earned half-term break. I look forward to seeing everyone again when we return.

Maths homework
w.b. 21st October
Please complete all of the in the White Rose Four Operations (B) booklet.
This can be found on the Year 6 blog on the school website.
You do not need to print the booklet and can complete the questions on any paper you have.
Please bring in by the Monday after half term and your homework will be marked.

​Spellings w.b. 21.10.24
Words with silent letters
knight
wrist
honest
knuckle
half
castle
gnome
whistle
island
thumb
Words from the Year 5 and 6 statutory list
competition
immediately
variety
programme
privilege