We have reached the end of yet another half term, and this week in Year 6 we have been busy writing, drawing, dancing, role playing and visiting a Hindu temple.

Their writing has involved designing a magical creature and writing a non-chronological report on it, full of examples of hyphenation, passive voice, multi-clausal sentences and multi-syllabic words. Their finished writing is fantastic, and they have accompanied it with drawings of their creatures, for which the focus has been shading. This will be compiled to produce our very own Y6’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You!

Today concluded our dance unit in PE, and the class put together and performed Charleston dances in groups. The dances were impressive – full of swivels, toe taps and straight arms. Good work!

As part of Computing Week, Y6 spent Monday afternoon participating in an e-safety workshop, where they got the opportunity to act out lots of difference scenarios linked to online gaming.

This week has also been Other Faiths Week, during which time we have been learning about Hinduism. It was amazing to go to BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Neasden Temple) on Wednesday, where we were all awestruck by the beautifully intricate and ornate marble building. We were able to witness an Arti ceremony – the Hindu ceremony of light, which was a very special experience. Unfortunately, photos were not allowed to be taken at the temple.

We ended the half term by making the most of the sun and they spent Golden Time reading with their Learning Partners under the dappled light in the Reception outdoor area.

Have a lovely half term break 🙂

Miss Donatantonio

By Sophia, Varun, Kate and Deya

Yesterday,  Bishop John Sherrington visited our school and answered some of our questions. He also presented the two Liturgy Leaders with a Papal blessing from Pope Francis, which Mrs Heymoz had requested because our patron saint Pope Paul was made St Paul VI in October and our school is the only school named after him.

One of the questions put to the Bishop Sherrington was, “Do you find anything hard to do as a bishop?”, to which he responded that there are many difficult things he encounters in his everyday life and the hardest thing is making decisions.

Another question was, “Have you travelled around the world because of your role?”. He answered that he went to Zimbabwe and Zambia where he was invited to participate in a project for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). He explained that CAFOD were trying to equip these places with a water pump on top of a hill. Also, he went to Brazil for World Youth Day.

In response to the question “What is it like to have a a calling from God?”, he said that all of us have a calling from God somewhere in our life, and responding to it can bring great joy to our life: this is what God has asked you to do for him; do it with pride. This means that when you feel God in your presence, you will feel joy.

“What Bishop John Sherrington said that inspired me was that we each have our own calling from the start and God has a plan for us. Our job is to find out what that plan is. These words moved my heart.”

“Bishop John Sherrington inspired me because he said that no mater what, at least one moment of your life, you will have a calling from God.”

In other news this week, we had a trip down to Darkes Lane to see where we could witness God’s presence in the everyday. It was lovely to see them recognising the Holy Spirit acting through other people and in the beauty of creation, especially on a snowy morning.

This week’s home learning (due Tuesday 29^th January) is as follows:

English	spag.com: ·        KS2 SATs Grammar Test (C)
Spellings	Adjectives from our current English unit (see below for word list) – spelling sentences to be written in pink Home Learning book.
Maths Times tables	Questions to be completed in the yellow Home Learning book: ·        CGP Year 6 book p.11 (Written Division) Continue to revise all times tables.
Reading	Daily reading, with parent signature once a week.

 

Spelling list (to be tested Friday 1st February) Adjectives from the Spiderwick’s Field Guide
malevolent	benevolent
malicious	vicious
devious	immortal
mischievous	nocturnal
ravenous	deceiving
opportunistic	lethal
menacing	ominous

I would like to firstly say a big thank you for your gifts. They are extremely generous and I appreciate them very much.

We have ended the term with lots of Christmas cheer. On Tuesday, we all enjoyed watching the Jack and the Beanstalk panto at the Wyllyotts. Your behaviour was outstanding, Year 6, and you were an example to all in the theatre, not just to your reading partners whom you accompanied.

Wednesday saw the festive combo of Christmas jumpers, Christmas lunch and the talent show – what a treat! Well done to all the finalists for displaying such a wide variety of talent.

On Thursday, the children finished their gym routines and performed them to the rest of the class. I was impressed by your excellent team working and the high quality sequences you put together.

The class also joined forces with Year 3 to create 3D star Christmas decorations.

This week, we also had our final 2 groups leading their Acts of Worship – this time on this Sunday’s Gospel reading (The Visitation). We were even treated to a group-composed hymn – well done!

Last but not least, the Liturgy Group have been busy once again. This week, they have been leading a reflection on the Travelling Nativity in each class, which has really allowed us to think about the true meaning of Christmas.

And that’s a wrap for the first term of year 6! Thank you all for your hard work. Have a well-earned rest and I will see you all on the 8th January.

Miss Donatantonio

We have entered into Advent thinking deeply about what it is we are preparing for and how we can better ourselves for the Lord’s coming. A couple of weeks ago, the children worked in groups to prepare Acts of Worship to align with the Advent Gospel readings, and this week we had our first two groups leading us in prayer. Well done for allowing us to reflect on how we can prepare ourselves for Christmas.

On Tuesday, the children practised their recent learning on addition and subtraction of fractions by playing a competitive card game.

The Healthy Living Team are still leading their fruit competition and this week it was Year 3’s turn to fill the hamper. Well done to the team for your efforts in promoting this.

Well done for your efforts in rehearsing for the Advent service so far. Please continue to practise your lines and the songs (see last week’s blog post) to make Tuesday night a special and memorable occasion.

 

This week’s home learning (due Tuesday 11^th December) is as follows:

English	spag.com: ·         Hyphens, dashes and bullet points (A) ·         Hyphens, dashes and bullet points (B)
Spellings	Words ending in -cious and -tious (see below for list). Spelling sentences/paragraph to be completed in pink home learning book.
Maths Times tables	Questions to be completed in the yellow Home Learning book: ·         CGP Year 6 book pp. 20-21 (Adding and subtracting fractions) ·         CGP Year 5 book pp. 30-31 (Adding and subtracting fractions) Continue to revise all times tables.
Reading	Daily reading, with parent signature once a week.

Spellings:

malicious	atrocious
precious	ambitious
vicious	infectious
delicious	cautious
conscious	nutritious
suspicious	fictitious
ferocious	repetitious
spacious	pretentious

Enjoy your weekend and hopefully see some of you tomorrow at the Potters Bar Christmas Lights event.

Miss Donatantonio