Writing
We’ve been writing using figurative language this week in Year 6.
Firstly, we learnt to identify various examples:
Then, we strived to use figurative language in our work. We wrote about one of these images…
Here is an example of some fantastic work written this week:
Christian:
At the brink of noon, leaves fluttered down from the trees. The smooth stream flowed like a snake whilst the trees gently arched over. Leaves lay on the ground like a blanket. The scenery was a beautiful fusion of orange and yellow leaves. Nervous leaves coated the undergrowth in a crispy texture giving it a snug and tranquil feeling.
Help at home – write about one of the images with your child. Can they remember what each example of figurative language is and give an example? Why is figurative language used by authors?
Topic
Art
As you may know, in topic this half term we have been learning about different artists and sculptures. The children have been eagerly waiting to begin their own sculpting, and they were delighted to start this week.
The children took inspiration from other sculptors and designed their own in their topic book. Afterwards, we began sculpting using soap. The children spent time practicing and refining new skills, using teaspoons, paperclips, pencils and paper towels.
Over the next few weeks, we will be creating several sculptures; here are a few pictures from today’s exploratory session:
Help at home – ask your child to talk to you about what they did and the skills they have learnt. Can you create some soap sculptures together at home?
Topic review
This afternoon, we welcomed parents into Year 6 for our art topic review. During this session, we revisited some of the sculptures we have been studying this half term. We then sketched some sculptures to gain further inspiration before we begin creating our sculptures next week. Finally, we created some mini sculptures using clay. Everyone did a fantastic job and the creativity shown by all was amazing.
You could see how proud everyone was of their creation; the children were able to talk about pieces that were abstract, figurative, modern and classic in their design.
PE
Gymnastic
This week, we’ve really enjoyed getting the gymnastic equipment out and finding new ways to express and challenge ourselves. It has been wonderful to see the children’s confidence grow each lesson.
We have been focusing on jumping and landing with two feet, control and balance (ensuring that we are safe).
Writing
In writing, we’ve been beginning our sentences in different ways using nouns, adjectives, adverbials, determiners, words ending in ‘ing and words ending in ‘ly’.
For example:
– nouns eg Odelux Cinema is in Leeds.
– adjectives eg Impressive sound hits from every angle.
– adverbials eg As you leave the car park, avoid the traffic.
– determiners eg Some of the seats are extremely comfortable.
– ing eg Popping with colour, the screen is astounding.
– ly eg Exceptionally good value for money, these tickets cost less than £8 each.
Here’s some super sentences that our children came up with:
Painted onto the plastic are colours which take you back to the prehistoric era. Valerie
Furiously, the dinosaur will chase it’s imaginary prey as you play with it.
Carefully create your masterpiece. Willow
Strapped to the side, the microphone is perfectly placed. Tommy
Thoughtfully, the bricks are divided into small compartments.
Playing with friends has endless possibilities. Chloe
Hanging about the house, the balloon stood against the wind. Christian
Putting the microphone in the holder is quite frustrating.
Lego is an entertaining thing to do at home. Lily
Loudly, the speaker’s volume got whilst they were dancing to the music. Teddy
Bricks come in a variety of shapes and sizes and are vibrantly coloured. Freddie
Hunting with full energy, the squirrel found some nuts to eat. Charlina
Help at home – write some sentences together beginning each one in a different way.
Anti-bullying
On Monday, we all came to school wearing odd socks to celebrate individuality and inclusion and to raise awareness of Anti-bulling Day.
At St James’, we use the acronym STOP to identify bullying:
We consider bullying when you hurt someone physically or emotionally (including online) Several Times On Purpose.
If this happens, we tell children to Start Telling Other People. To do this, children know they can use the Living and Learning box, tell a trusted adult, email [email protected] or even call Childline (0800 1111).
This year’s Anti-bullying theme was ‘power for good’.
We spent time learning about six roles involved in bullying:
- ringleader
- assistant
- reinforcer
- bystander or outsider
- target
- defender
We watched this video to help us to understand these roles more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnEjpHzTuwg
We also watched a BBC live lesson which had a range of challenges to help us think about how to stop bullying. The video can be found here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/live-lessons/articles/zkv6khv
Finally, the children took part in some interactive learning from the Digital Matters website. Here children had to respond to scenarios whilst learning along the way. For example, we learn what the word ‘flaming’ meant:
Flaming is the act of sending angry or insulting messages, often with profanity, over the internet or in online forums.
The interactive online resources can be found here:
https://www.internetmatters.org/digital-matters/modules/?user_type=student
Help at home – Please speak to your child about the things they’ve learnt. Where can they go should they be experiencing bullying? What is ‘flaming’? Watch the videos together and allow them time to access the interactive learning on the Digital Matters website.
Living and Learning
Me and My Money Week
During our first week back after the October half term, we have been focusing on money and liking our learning to money. We have carried out a variety of lessons to help us to understand money and how to use it in a responsible way.
We have learnt about budgeting, debit and credit cards, overdrafts, currency and how/why people may value money differently.
We have also been linking money to our Christian Values. We thought about how saving takes perseverance, starting your own business takes courage, how giving to charity requires compassion. We linked our learning to Bible readings and researched famous Philanthropists.
A philanthropist is a person who donates time, money, experience, skills or talent to help create a better world. Anyone can be a philanthropist, regardless of status or net worth.
Finally, we have had online workshops delivered by HSBC. Here children learnt about where our money comes from, how we can keep it safe and what happens to our money when we get paid.
It has been a busy and very enjoyable week.
Cross Country
Today, a whopping 52 of our KS2 pupils took part in the Leeds Easy Cross Country event. This event provides opportunity for young people to take part in a competitive running event, with routes through to Leeds and District finals. St James pupils conducted themselves really well on the trip and the high levels of perseverance/resilience from our children were definitely on show! Years 3 and 4 had a 900m race to complete, and the Year 5 and 6 pupils had a 1500m race. Every single pupil from St James ran and finished their races – we are so proud of everyone for this. Some pupils managed to get into the top 20 and may reach the finals in a few months! Here are some pictures of some pupils after their races.
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Training day – Arty Ideas
We thought you’d enjoy hearing a little about what went on during our recent teacher training day! Part of the day was dedicated to developing our art knowledge and skills with our resident art teacher, Mrs Boulton.
Teachers got hands-on with paints, pastels and even soap! There was plenty of colour, laughter, and even a bit of friendly competition as we experimented with new techniques and ideas for upcoming art lessons.
The rest of the day focussed on other important areas too, including maths and inclusion. It was a full, productive day – and we left feeling ready and excited for the next half-term!
