Oaks Class Information

Welcome to Oaks Class. Year 6 is a great year full of exciting opportunities and memorable moments. We hope to give your child a fantastic final year at Holy Trinity. In the interest of fairness and clarity, here are some key pieces of information that we hope will be of use to you and answer any questions you may have.

Presentation:All Y6 pupils are given responsible roles as monitors, house leaders, etc. We expect them to set the highest standard for all the younger pupils.As part of this, the children shouldn’t wear jewellery, bracelets, bangles, nail varnish or make up. Ear-rings should be small studs or small plain sleepers. Correct school uniform should be worn every day too please and all shoulder-length hair should be tied back.

Pencil cases:Pencil cases are not necessary day to day and do not need to be brought in to school. We will do our utmost to provide all the equipment that they need for learning.

Water bottles:Our water coolers do not allow pupils to catch the water in their mouths: they are designed to fill containers. For this reason, it is important that every child has a water bottle in school every day, to enable them to have drinks whenever they need them. Bottles should be named and regularly cleaned.

Homework:We will regularly set homework in year 6. Although not compulsory, we feel it will really support your child’s classroom work. Homework may include:

Comprehension: Children will do a comprehension homeworkfrom a booklet that they will be given. This booklet should remain at home, but please keep it safe as we will want it back at the end of the year. Children should not write in it.

Grammar: There will often be weekly grammar homework given out every Monday on a sheet. We will mark the comprehension and grammar together the following Monday, so this is the deadline for the work to be in. Children are welcome to bring it in earlier (most children bring it in by Friday to be safe).

Maths: Maths homework will either be on a separate sheet or via a link on the school website.

Other homework: During the year, on a rota system, each child will be given a speaking and listening challenge e.g. reciting poetry or giving a presentation. Please support them fully to help them prepare. Over the course of the year, some projects may be set, and these usually replace the normal homework for several weeks.Occasionally, practice sats papers may come home in preparation for the end of KS2 assessments.

Spellings:Spellings will be tested and given out on a Friday. The format remains the same as last year. We are launching a new spelling program which can be accessed online. More details will be available in September.

If you are unsure about methods, etc., please feel free to ask in school for some explanation or reassurance. As some of our lessons incorporate preparing for homework and marking it, it is really desirable for all children to complete the tasks set. If a child has lost a sheet or doesn’t understand the task, he or she still has ample time to speak to Mr Powe or Mrs Hall about these things, so that they can complete the work.

Reading:Children will be asked to bring their reading books home every evening, and it would be great if you could encourage them to read daily. In the mornings, please check they have their books with them to bring back and read in class.

Parent / teacher liaison: We really value our liaison with parents. Mrs Garraway, our class TA this year, has a parent liaison role. She can usually be found at or near the KS2 entrance in the morning. She will always be willing to forward your messages to us or to answer your questions. Should you rather discuss matters in person, we are often available briefly at the end of the day before meetings begin, but it is advisable to check via the office or to make an appointment in advance. Please also email the school if there is any information regarding your child which you may want to bring to our attention.

Fruit tuck:We encourage the children to bring a healthy fruit snack to eat mid-morning. This should be fruit. Please be aware that some of the processed ‘fruity’ snacks or ones covered in yoghurt may contain considerable amounts of additional sugar along with the fruit.

PE kit: PE kit should come in every Monday and remain in school all week long, in case we need to change or ‘get sporty’ as part of our learning in other curriculum areas. The kit is a white or yellow t-shirt, plain black shorts and daps or trainers. Plain black tracksuit bottoms are allowed in cold weather, but not as an alternative to shorts in all lessons (cultural / religious exceptions to this are of course accommodated). If hair is of shoulder length, it should be tied back for all PE, and watches must be removed. Any ear-rings that cannot be removed, e.g. those in newly-pierced ears, will be covered with tape. When children forget their kit, we cannot allow them to miss their PE lessons. We have a box of spare kit to look through, and if they cannot find suitable items in there, children will have to do their lesson in their school clothes.

Management of belongings is a key skill to develop in Y6 as we prepare children for the rigours of secondary school, so we log every time a child forgets their kit. On every second occasion they will miss some break time as a sanction. Please do ensure that your child’s kit remains in school all week, every week!

Times Tables: The importance of learning times tables by heart cannot be understated. As the children undertake more complex maths, in areas such as area, volume, ratio, fractions, etc., those who have mastered the instant recall of their tables generally complete calculations more quickly, which leads to higher test scores and helps with problem solving. We will give children weekly times tables practice in all sorts of formats. However, regular practice is the key, and we urge you to support your children either by letting them chant tables to you or with you, or by asking them quick-fire questions so they can practise their recall skills.

Parent helpers:Parent helpers can have a massive impact on children’s learning: last year alone, parent helpers in Oaks class played a key part in raising certain pupils’ skills in times tables, mental maths and reading. Ifyou would be interested in helping out in school, either with Oaks or any other class, please let us or another staff member know. We can usually find jobs to match your strengths and talents with the children’s (or the teachers’) needs!

SAT tests:SATs week will be the w/c 14thMay 2018. Please make a note of the dateand avoid planning anything that might keep your child from school during that week. Please be aware that, from the very start of the year, a key focus in Y6 is to avoid the building up of any unnecessary stress or pressure; we would appreciate your support in this as it doesn’t help the children at all. Preparation for the SATs will be a part of our classroom discussions all year long, but it will always be made clear that the tests are a measure of school performance and effectiveness rather than something the children need to panic about.

We look forward enormously to working with you and your children this year!

Mr Powe & Mrs Hall