Welcome to Kestrels 23-24!

National Testing 2024

Please see below for information about the national testing (SATs) that will take place in May 2024. 

Please see below for a link to the past papers from 2021 and 2022.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum-assessments-practice-materials#key-stage-2-past-papers

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask one of the Kestrels team.

Term 3

We have had an incredibly busy term, packing lots of learning into the last 6 weeks. 

English:

We have been reading the novel ‘Asha and the Spirit Bird’ by Jasbinder Bilan and exploring the characters of Asha and Jeevan. The Kestrels wrote balanced arguments, using formal vocabulary and causal conjunctions, to help them decide if Asha and her family should move to England. Then, using dialogue and parenthesis, they have all written fantastic narratives taking these characters on a journey up a mountain to rescue Asha's father. 

In our guided reading sessions, we have been honing our retrieval and inference skills and studying the way the presentation and structure of non fiction texts can contribute to their meaning. 

Maths

We have been revisiting and consolidating our fractions and decimals knowledge during term 3. This has included adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimals; multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 and converting between decimals and fractions.

The Kestrels have also been perfecting their arithmetic skills with weekly arithmetic tests focusing on building confidence and speed.

Science:

We have looked at adaption and evolution this term in Science. We started by independently researching the habitats of different animals and exploring how these animals have adapted to live in these habitats. From there, we looked at evolution and how animals have adapted over time to survive. The Kestrels created fantastic PowerPoints to explain how this process applies to an animal of their choice. 

Geography: 

We have enjoyed learning about volcanoes during term 3. We started by learning about how they are formed and why they erupt. The Kestrels then located the world’s main volcanoes on a map using an atlas. Finally, we learned about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 and the impact this had on the town of Pompeii. The children wrote amazing information texts all about Pompeii showing their knowledge of this event and volcanoes generally.

It’s hard to believe that we are already half way through the year. We are all looking forward to a brilliant term 4! 

Autumn Term Update

 What a term it has been! We have been very busy in Kestrels right from the very beginning of term. Please see below for a few of our highlights:

English:

During term 1, we read the Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie. This led us to write some fantastic, imaginative narratives about our very own magical 'wonders'. We also honed our persuasive skills; we wrote letters to Ms McMorrin to persuade her to update the playground and then designed, and created leaflets for, our very own zoos! The zoos were home to a variety of different animals from the mythical to capybaras! 

In term 2, we explored the wordless book 'The Arrival' by Shaun Tan. We created another imaginative journey narratives based on finding a new world. We have also written lots of poetry this term including our 'Just a....' poems and 'Who are you?' using figurative language galore!

Maths:

We have covered lots during terms 1 and 2 in Maths. We have revisited place value, exploring numbers up to 10,000,000, and addition and subtraction focusing on word problems and reasoning. We have also spent time revisiting multiplication and division and have practised methods for long multiplication and long division. Recently, we have been learning about fractions including comparing and ordering; adding and subtracting and multiplying and dividing. 

We continue to complete times tables twice a week and also complete arithmetic on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Science:

During term 1, we revisited light building upon our learning from Year 4. This was a very practical unit where completed experiments to find out that light travels in a straight line and created our own periscopes to see how we can make light reflect to travel around corners.

Art:

We learnt about David Hockney during term 1, focusing on his beautiful landscapes. The Kestrels worked hard to mix paint in the style of Hockney and recreate their very own landscape. During term 2, we looked at the work of Alberto Giacometti and sculptures. Each Kestrels has completed their very own 'moving' sculpture which will be coming home with them for Christmas!

Geography and History:

In Geography, we explored trade and economics. This involved learning about who the UK trades with and what kind of goods are traded. We also looked at El Salvador and how their lives compare and contrast because of the economic differences.

In History, we have learnt about the Middle Ages and the reign of King John. Beginning with his portrayal in Disney's 'Robin Hood', we explored evidence from the Middle Ages and current times to evaluate his reign. This led us to learn about the Magna Carta and its significance in British history.

We have also made moving toys in DT, studied Islam and the Christmas story in RE and been studying the song 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams in Music. As you can see, it has been a very busy term!

Team Kestrel

Class teacher: Mrs Wood
Spanish (Friday AM) – Miss Flores

Class TAs – Miss Cooper and Mr Cooke
MDSAs – Mr Cooke (outside) Mrs Lawton and Mrs Wheeler (in the hall)

Mrs Cox will also take some children for interventions throughout the school year.

Our Timetable

Maths and Writing will be taught daily.
Guided Reading and Spelling will be taught four times a week.
We will be learning our foundation subjects in blocks, beginning with Geography. Computing will be taught on a Monday afternoon.
Miss Cooper will teach Music and PSHE on a Thursday afternoon.
Mr Cooke will teach PE on a Monday and a Friday afternoon. Please make sure that your child has a full PE Kit on those days including a change of shoes. If this is an issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me. All PE kit should be named.
Please note, no pencil cases are needed.

Home Learning

Beginning the 21st September, we will send home a menu of home learning in a similar style to last term. This will include a Maths, English and Topic task that should take no longer than 15 minutes each.
This will be set on a Wednesday, to be in by the following Monday.
Completing home learning is an excellent habit to get into in Year 6 as it will help to prepare your child for secondary school.
Reading at home remains a priority. Children who read to an adult, or independently, at home at least three times a week will be entered into a weekly raffle to win a small prize.
Spellings will be sent home on the 21st September also. This will be 6 words to learn and will be tested once per week.
Home Learning club is available for children who would like to complete their home learning at school.

SATS
National testing for Year 6s will take place during the week of 13th May 2024 for four days.
Children will complete 3 Maths papers (arithmetic and reasoning), a reading comprehension paper and 2 SPAG papers (punctuation, grammar and spelling).
We will hold a further meeting in the spring term to discuss these in more detail but if you would like any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Year 6 Residential - Pinkery
4 day, 3 night residential trip to Pinkery Centre for Outdoor Learning
Tuesday 21st May to Friday 24th May
Cost: TBC

If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to come and ask one of the team.

Ye