Class teachers - Miss Matthews, Miss Tompkinson and Miss James

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June - Showing Gratitude, Care and Generosity

• July - Taking and managing risks

As the final term in Year 6 comes to an end, will be continuing to follow the Literary curriculum. This curriculum consists of whole-class reading, Literacy Leaves and Spelling Seeds. 

In Literacy sessions, we will continue reading Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is about an orphan, clock-fixer, and thief, twelve-year-old Hugo, who lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and her grandfather, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. Pupils will be writing diary entries, journalistic reports, flashbacks, narratives, speeches, and film critiques. Their main outcome will be to write a biography of the life of Papa Georges.  After this, we will move on to studying The Lost Bear, which is a story based on the social issues of climate change and the environment. The Lost Bear is about how there are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life… This moving story will win the hearts of children the world over and show them that no one is too young or insignificant to make a difference. The Last Bear is a celebration of the love between a child and an animal, a battle cry for our world and an irresistible adventure with a heart as big as a bear’s.

Children will continue with Guided Reading sessions, designed to work alongside the texts within the Literacy Curriculum by providing opportunities to practice spelling, reading, comprehension and engage in group discussions. We will continue reading On the Origin of Species by Sabina Radeva. Children will learn about Charles Darwin's famous work and the legacy he left behind. They will study the meanings of scientific terms in context and record discoveries just as Darwin himself did on his famous voyage aboard HMS Beagle. After making their discoveries, children will sequence the stages of evolution before creating their own glossary of terms. 

We will deliver Welsh Literacy lessons every Friday. We will also be doing daily Helpwr Heddiw sessions. We plan to focus on providing the children with many opportunities to deepen their knowledge and confidence when using Welsh in and out of the classroom. We will be revisiting simple sentence patterns and extending our knowledge of the use of present, past and future tenses. Children will talk and write about places they want to go in Welsh using increasingly sophisticated language and will be encouraged to extend their sentences using achos, ond and weithiau. 

Reading for pleasure is very important, and we expect pupils to bring a book into school with them every day.  All children have access to the school library, where we will help them make an age-appropriate choice.  Children are welcome to bring in books from home as well. Pupils will take part in 1:1 or group reading during independent reading sessions and will be reviewing their book upon completion before changing. 

We will finish off Year 6 maths and numeracy by developing our data analysis skills.  Children will use their four-purpose knowledge to calculate the mean and range of varying data sets, identifying key trends and patterns. After data analysis, we will move on to using our data knowledge and creating graphs and analysing graphs. Children will have the opportunity to collect their own data and identify and summarise their findings.  After this, we will return to all previous mathematical knowledge, applying the skills to a range of projects, allowing them to retrieve knowledge, correct any misconceptions and prepare them for their move into Year 7 maths and numeracy. 

During the summer term, we will focus on independence and perseverance in maths and numeracy, encouraging children to use their previous knowledge and transfer skills across a series of topics.  We will regularly answer reasoning-style questions, developing their logical thinking and fluency; incorporating their Voice 21 oracy skills. 

All pupils are encouraged to practice their times tables at home to support their learning.  Times tables are central to mathematics and the ability to recall tables will assist pupils with more challenging mathematical problems.

We will continue building our collaboration skills, working with other members of year 6 since new friendships have been forged, and encouraging them to work outside of their classroom setting. At the end of each day, we have a check-in session; this allows pupils to speak freely about their day, ask questions, develop empathy skills towards one another and identify ways to move forward. 

Year 6 will be taking part in Grease rehearsals for the end-of-year production. All pupils will be involved and have specific responsibilities; costume designer, actor, music, lighting designer, set designer, hair, makeup and many more. 

During the summer term, our focus will be Threads of Fashion. Pupils will continue to explore how fashion communicates identity, belief, and protest. They will engage critically with fashion’s global impact and consider future innovation and sustainability. Pupils will begin by creating personal fashion identity maps to express who they are, before learning how clothing can share powerful messages, such as those seen in punk fashion, Suffragette sashes, or protest t-shirts. Pupils will then design their own message-based t-shirts linked to Children's rights. These will be shared with Brynteg Comprehensive as we participate in Expressive Arts based transition sessions. Later in the term, pupils will investigate the environmental and ethical issues of fashion, including fast fashion and sustainability. In group, they'll create their own eco-conscious clothing brands, complete with logos, budgets, and ethical missions. Pupils will explore how fashion can challenge social norms by redesidnging traditional garmets with a modern twist, showcasing their work in a fashion walk presentation.  Finally, they’ll develop their own fashion concept addressing a modern issue—such as climate change or equality—and present their vision in a final showcase using visual boards, mockups, and presentations.

Children must remember to bring in a water bottle each day and weather-appropriate clothing; we aim to go outside each day; therefore coats are essential if forecasted wet weather. 

Health and Well-being sessions will take place on a Friday. Pupils should wear their P.E kit every Friday. 

Year 6 will be taking part in Grease rehearsals for the end-of-year production. All pupils will be involved and have specific responsibilities; costume designer, actor, music, lighting designer, set designer, hair, makeup and many more. 

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.