Reading – The Highwayman (by Alfred Noyes)
This week, years 5 and 6 have been getting their teeth stuck into a new poem – The Highwayman (by Alfred Noyes). After reading the poem as a class, we discussed the meaning behind the story of the poem, and which emotions may have driven the way for this sad story.
Here’s what we came up with as a class:
Lots of these ideas derived from Tim the ostler, who’s plan to have the Highwayman killed ended with the death of his beloved Bess, the landlord’s daughter.
The vocabulary in this poem lead to further learning in our writing lessons – we looked at speech between characters within this story and what they may say to one another. The vocabulary used in the poem suggested a formal piece of speech was necessary to suit the purpose and the timeline, so the children have been hard at work practising their formal writing!
Towards the end of the week, the children practised their retrieval skills. One of their tasks was to draw and label the Highwayman, based on information they could retrieve from the text. Below is a small snippet of the text and some fantastic learning the children – do you think they have retrieved information successfully? Which parts of their drawings were retrieved facts, and which elements were their own interpretations?
Living and Learning
This half-term, years 5 and 6 have been learning lots around how we treat ourselves and other people. Here are the living and learning statements that we’ve used on a weekly basis this half-term:
- I recognise emotions in myself and others
- I know that we’re all the same and that we’re all different
- I recognise that friends and family are important
- I can find solutions to different problems
- I can give and receive compliments
- I know how to cope with change
I’d like to share a few reflections on some of our statements. The children have been absolutely fantastic in discussing, offering advice and putting some actions into place to keep our school a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe.
I know that we’re all the same and all different
Each week, the children participate in our Philosophy Friday sessions. Here, we learn to think deeply about a particular aspect of life. The children have really excelled in: listening actively to others and responding appropriately; recognising that our opinions can be different and that’s ok; and building on others views, even if we don’t personally agree with them.
I can find solutions to different problems
Key stage 2 were fortunate to have a visit from our local PCSO, Louise. Louise spoke to the children in depth about potential problems and risks that we may come across in our lives, and how to deal with them appropriately. The children asked lots of fantastic, relevant questions and came away from the session with a better understanding of how to find solutions to tricky problems, both in person and online.
I know how to cope with change
It’s important to acknowledge that we all live very busy lives. For our year 6 pupils, there are lots of changes upcoming, such as preparing to move to high school. These changes can be accompanied with feelings of concern, upset, worry and anxiety. As a school, we make sure we have lots of ways that children can communicate any of these feelings. Here’s a list of a few:
- Tell a trusted adult
- Circle times
- Living and learning/worry boxes
- Through our Junior Leadership Team
- Talking to peers
- Childline (0800 11 11)
Through our yoga sessions, the children have had the opportunity to switch off their thoughts, even just for a moment. These sessions have given our pupils a chance to feel completely relaxed and to have an enjoyment of being in the moment. Years 5 and 6 will continue these sessions moving through the year.
Help at home:
Reflect with your child on our living and learning statements this half-term. Provide opportunity for your child to express their feelings and thoughts to you, and perhaps come up with some methods together on how to deal with these thoughts/problems that may arise. This way, all of our pupils will be better equipped to navigate through life successfully.
Year 6 CGP Books
Year 6 have recently been sent home with three CGP books to help support learning leading up to their SATS. Each week, Mr Freeman will provide specific pages for pupils to study and practise weekly. These areas may be different to the areas currently being learnt in maths – this is to help bridge any remaining learning gaps pupils may have.
Help at home: Encourage your child to spend some time working through their set pages. Remind your child that they’ll need to bring their books into regularly for class reviews. This will definitely happen every Friday, but children may also be asked to bring them in on different days.
Finally, please don’t stress about upcoming tests! Children often perform better when more relaxed and calm – let’s encourage this mindset.
Viking Boy (Class Novel)
This week, years 5 and 6 read the thrilling finale of our well-loved class novel, Viking Boy.
This book has had us gripped from start to finish! We followed the life of Gunnar and his journey of resilience, growth and fulfilling his oath to his father. The children have thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel as a class – we couldn’t believe the ending!
As we reviewed our novel, we reflected on the choices made and events that Gunnar went through during his adventure.
Here were some of the final comments from the children:
- Not everything goes to plan – it’s important to keep going in difficult situations.
- Gunnar persevered whilst he was made a slave and ended up keeping the promise to his father.
- You have to show resilience at times in your life. Sometimes, you might feel like you’re super unlucky, but in time your luck can change if you don’t give up.
Help at home: Ask your child about the class novel and whether they enjoyed being read to. Use this knowledge to read with your child using different books that they enjoy. Take it in turns to listen to your child read, and to read to your child. This way, you can take some of the difficulties/stresses of learning away from the child by allowing them to totally relax and enjoy the story.
Spellings term 2.2
Living and Learning: I know how how to treat others with respect online.
Years 5 and 6 have been busy this week with lots of our learning based around internet safety.
In our sessions regarding being respectful to others online, we focussed on messages being sent through social media sites and thinking about why people may choose to be unkind. This was mainly discussed in our reading fluency sessions with a text around respect and safety on the internet.
Here are some ideas of what children came up with when asked why people may choose to be disrespectful online:
- ‘It doesn’t feel like real life if you type it onto a screen.’
- ‘People don’t get caught easily and there’s no consequence.’
- ‘You can’t see the other person’s feelings through a phone so you don’t know how they feel.’
- ‘People say things online that they wouldn’t say in person because they can.’
Following these responses, we looked at some top tips to help prevent us from ever taking part in this kind of online activity, and what to do if we are a victim of this.
Help at home:
Check in with your child and their experiences online. Make sure they know that they can talk without worry about their thoughts, feelings and actions online. Could you create some tips at home to help your child feel safe and to continue being respectful online?
Welcome back!
Years 5 and 6 have had a really positive start back at school in 2024.
With lots to look forward to, the children have flourished through opportunities to learn in different ways, such as through our fantastic forest school!
Linking to our Vikings topic, some children decided to build a Viking-inspired den outside in our woodland area! They used what they had learnt in their previous lesson to understand and make decisions on what their Viking home might’ve looked like back in 800AD.
Spellings for this half-term
Spring Attendance Competition
St James’ CE Primary is a happy and healthy place to be – and maybe even a lucky one, too!
Look out for our attendance competition next half term. All pupils with attendance of 96% or higher will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Love to Shop vouchers!
So… for the full Spring 1 half-term, Monday 08 January to Friday 09 February (five weeks), if your child reaches a good level of attendance – that’s 96% – their name will be entered into a prize draw. We’ll select one lucky winner on the last day of the half-term (Friday 09 February).
Remember, arriving late for school counts as an unauthorised absence. This affects a child’s overall attendance figure, and that might mean they lose out.
So far this term, 40 pupils have 100% attendance and 80 pupils have over 96% attendance – well done to the children and their families!
Upcoming Gymnasts!
This half term, our school PE focus has been gymnastics.
We have been learning and practising fundamental movement skills, such as jumping, balancing, rolling and travelling in different ways. This week, Years 5 and 6 have put their fundamental movement skills to the test on our school equipment! We had to make sure that we followed our safety protocols whilst moving around the hall and using our equipment. Here are some pictures of the children in action!
