Welcome to Year 6s Curriculum Evening Prayer Loving

Welcome to Year 6’s Curriculum Evening

Prayer Loving God, look upon our students. Let them enjoy their learning and take delight in new discoveries. Help them to persevere with their work and give them the desire to learn all things well. Look upon our parents and teachers. Let them strive to share their knowledge with gentle patience and endeavour always to bring the truth to eager minds. Grant that students, parents and teachers alike may follow Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, forever and ever. Amen

Aims • General expectations at school – a reminder! • Curriculum to be taught this year; • Whole school focus on writing; • SATs – what to expect; • Questions and discussion.

Introductions • Miss Keane (6 MK) • Mr Ross (6 CR) • Mr Dias (6 HD)

Expectations Ø Uniform Please ensure children wear the correct school uniform. Hats must be worn to and from school. The children are still to use their red St. Gregory’s school bags. PLEASE LABEL ALL UNIFORM, PE KIT or any other belongings ØAbbey Mass Every Friday unless told otherwise. We very much appreciate any parents/guardians who are able to walk back with us from the Abbey to school. ØBehaviour We use the behaviour ladder in class and a variety of incentives and rewards. The children may also receive a Gold or Head-teacher’s Award during our weekly assembly. We also give out ‘Well Done’ slips: these may also be given by a member of staff during lunch, for which the child is rewarded with a seat at the ‘top table’ in the dining hall! Encourage good behaviour/bedtimes/ homework completed and signed/discuss behaviour ladder. Parental support crucial in supporting school & teacher with behaviour issues. ØE-safety ØWe will be running Computing sessions on E-safety in class. We encourage all parents to be vigilant and aware of their children’s online activity to ensure the well being of the pupils. ØHigh School Ø Please inform us by letter of any open days/tests your child may be going on or doing. Where possible, please ensure your child attends school before/after a high school visit.

Core Subjects ØEnglish ØChildren will be taught the national curriculum through the study of different books– this will often link with other topics. In these units, children develop reading, writing, grammar and speaking and listening skills. Regular guided reading will also play an important role in the development of these skill. ØMaths will continue to be taught in 3 groups. Over the course of year children learn skills across whole range of maths areas from data handling to number. ØOn Fridays, the children will have the opportunity to work in their usual class on a focused problem solving activity. ØIn addition, the children will have access to an online maths resource at home which links to the resource teachers will be using in class –watch this space!

Core Subjects ØScience Ø Children are taught for 2 hours per week – a core subject. A range of topics will be covered from the 3 strands of biology, chemistry and physics as well as working practically. The children will develop their understanding of the world around them. ØRE ØThe children have 3 sessions a week. We are currently following a scheme that has been developed by Dr. Margaret Carswell, who has produced this for Catholic schools in the Diocese of Westminster. ØStrong focus on Bible studies as well as Bible stories. A reminder that the ‘Wednesday Word’ is given out to enhance their understanding of the Gospel each week. ØChildren are required to reflect more on what they read from scripture to help develop their own faith.

Foundation Subjects: Ø P. E This year, the children will benefit from one session a week with a specialist PE teacher. They will focus on the development of agility, balance and coordination, healthy competition and cooperative learning. There will be a rotation of indoor and outdoor sessions. P. E lessons take place on Mondays. Ø History/Geography Ø One session per week. The children will develop a further understanding of chronology and will learn about famous people and periods in history and about life in different areas in the world. Ø Computing One session per week. Children will study 6 main topics throughout the year. Children will have the opportunity to use a variety of software programs and ICT equipment including the Learn Pads. These may even be used during other lessons for research. Music Ø One session every week. Children will learn using the brand new Ealing Music Service scheme of work based around a song each half term. Ø D. T/ART Ø One session each week. Children will further develop their designing, making, evaluating and drawing skills. Children will also have DT projects involving designing, making and evaluating products. The children will also have the opportunity to learn about cooking and nutrition. We have carefully selected our art topics so that there are cross-curricular links. Ø French Ø One session each week on Thursdays. Children will build confidence and positive attitudes to language learning through a range of interactive resources in lessons, culminating in their running of the French Café in the summer term!

Foundation Subjects: ØHomework Children will be advised when and what homework is due and provided with a timetable. This will be good practice for the children to prepare them for their transition to high school. ØReading Those who read succeed! Please encourage your children to read either to you or to themselves at home. We encourage children to share their reading recommendations in school alongside their class reads and English topic work. ØSpellings Spelling lists will be provided weekly with a test each week. This will be given to the children by their teacher and they should use their green spelling books to write sentences, record and practise their spellings, bringing this book back to school for their test each week. ØAttendance/sick notes, lateness During this very crucial year, the expectation for attendance in Year 6 is 95%. 1% works out to about 2 days- meaning a maximum of 10 days away from school. -Please call the office and provide the school with a letter. -Please also ensure the children are punctual. Children can come to class from 8. 40 am ØHelp at home All help is EXTREMELY welcome. Vocabulary/ dictionary work. Visiting the library and museums. Talking about their work. Lots of reading. Times tables and division facts. ØParents concern Please make an appointment through the office. Always advise of any personal issues / bullying reported.

Whole school focus 2017 -18: writing • Writing is one of the hardest but most important skills your child will learn while at school. • The foundations of good quality writing begin in the early years of primary school and continue developing each subsequent year. • As a school, our focus this year has two main strands: 1. High quality content of children’s writing 2. Presentation and handwriting

1. Quality content of writing • In year 6, writing does not form a tested part of the SATS: instead, it is internally assessed by your child’s teachers against national criteria covering form and content (eg. grammar, syntax, handwriting, vocabulary) • We will be reading and analysing high quality texts that are often linked closely with other topics, eg. The Silver Sword, Goodnight Mister Tom, to inspire the children and to promote high quality writing. • Good readers make better writers!

2. Presentation and handwriting • It is proven that good presentation and handwriting plays a very important part in the way a piece of writing is judged. • We have taken a number of steps to help encourage the children to take pride in their work: 1. Brand new handwriting pens provided in class – also available to buy through the office at a discount for home 2. Greater emphasis placed on good posture and position when writing in class to support children

SATS Week beginning th 14 May 2018 • Results are reported as ‘scaled scores’ in which the child’s raw score (number of marks attained on the test) is converted to a comparable scaled score. • A scaled score of 100 will represent the national standard expected for a child at the end of Year 6 – this means they are well placed to begin the next phase of their education. • Children are tested in Reading, Grammar and Maths (writing is assessed internally).

Reading Paper:

Maths Tests

Grammar, spelling and punctuation test

Progress KS 1 to KS 2 • As year 6 teachers our job is to help your child make the best possible progress • This also involves looking at your child’s KS 1 results – this can often provide an indicator as to where they should be by the end of year 6 • If your child has achieved particularly highly at KS 1, we need to look at ways of supporting them to achieve highly at KS 2 if this is what they are capable of • Parents evening in October provides a good opportunity to highlight where a child may not be making the expected progress – working together in partnership to accelerate progress • Every child is different and develops at different rates – we will encourage and support them as they progress

Questions There is a meeting this Thursday at 2: 30 pm in the hall to discuss matters relating to PGL.

• Thank you for attending year 6’s curriculum evening. • We look forward to a happy and successful year with your support!