Heart dissection
Year 6 ended last week dissecting a heart for science – there’s definitely some potential butchers and doctors amongst them! They handled the whole experience very well and it enhanced their understanding of the circulatory system.
This week has been adventurous in mathematics rather than science: we have been multiplying, dividing, adding and subtracting mixed fractions. I was really pleased with their latest reflective diary entries in English, their writing is really coming along.
Class Avatar!
As well as working hard on ‘Olive’s journal’ in English and consolidating and extending their number work in maths and learning more about the effects of WW2, Year 6 had visitors from Central St Martin’s Art and Design college. They worked with the class to produce an avatar made up from artefacts that they had brought in from home which were special to each of them. They considered how to display them best to make a ‘person’ and this has been digitally transformed into a dancing avatar – check it out on Google Classroom!
Cross Country Tournament!
Last Friday, year 5 and 6 stretched themselves during an inter-school cross country race at Parliament Hill Fields. It was 1.5 km long and they did very well, showing much resilience.
Welcome back!
Year 6 have started their last year at Hawley with a very mature and sensible attitude. They have settled into their new classroom and their work very well. We had a great trip on Friday to the Royal Institute to do a Cosmetic Science workshop.
World War 2
At home they are making some wonderful artefacts connected to their history unit WW2 and we look forward to showing them to you all.
Electricity!
This week, year 6 have begun their new science topic, Electricity! We started with a challenge to try and make a bulb light with only one wire, one battery and a bulb. After some tinkering, they were all able to solve the problem. We also learnt how to draw scientific diagrams.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Auditions!
This week, we also held auditions for our year 6 end of year performance, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Everyone worked really hard to learn their lines and did their best to convey the character they had been given. Well done!
Viking Longships!
This week, we have been working hard in DT on our Viking Longships. We have developed skills in using tools, such as saws, and in measuring and constructing.
The Island by Armin Greder
In English, we have written character descriptions based on the text ‘The Island’ by Armin Greder and created excellent diary entries from varying perspectives. The children also produced some fantastic drama to accompany the text. Great preparation for our year 6 performance in the summer term.
Macbeth!
Welcome back year 6! The children have settled in fantastically well after the new year and are ready to begin an exciting term. We have begun our new English unit on Macbeth and are very much excited to visit the Globe theatre and take part in a drama workshop based on the play. We have already acted out the scene with the witches and the children have been getting to grips with Shakespearean language!
This week, we have begun our two week intensive swimming lessons. I have been so proud of the class as they have shown excellent resilience and determination and challenged themselves, despite feeling apprehensive! We look forward to seeing great progress in their swimming as we continue next week. Well done year 6!
Recent Trips!
Year 6 have been lucky enough to have been on a few trips recently, which have supported their learning in a number of areas.
Firstly, we visited the British Museum, where we were able to learn about the Kingdom of Benin and the amazing sculptures they created as well as learn about what life was like during the Oba’s rule. We also had time to revisit our topic on the Anglo-Saxons as we explored the galleries housing the artefacts discovered at the burial ground at Sutton Hoo.
Another trip we had was to the British Library to take part in a creative writing workshop. It was fascinating to visit the Treasures gallery, where we could explore some of the world’s most exciting, beautiful and significant books, maps and manuscripts. From the Magna Carta and Shakespeare to Florence Nightingale and Gandhi. We then used the artefacts to help us write a creative story!
Finally, we had a Junior Citizens workshop at The Salvation Army in Chalk Farm. We spent time with the police, fire brigade, ambulance, Hope and Coram charities and Transport for London to learn about how they can help us and support us as we prepare to leave primary school and become more independent.
Beowulf animations
Year 6 have been exploring character and setting descriptions in the story of Beowulf. We described our own mythical monsters when writing Chapter Four for our writing assessments. We enjoyed exploring writing our titles in Anglo-Saxon runes.
After writing about Beowulf, we put our knowledge into making characters and settings from paper and plasticine to create our own animated versions. We used the free iPad app Stop Motion to create our animations and then iMovie to add sounds and music to make our scenes extra scary!
France Residential
Wow! What a fantastic week we all had on our first year 6 residential abroad in France! The children all had an amazing time staying in eco pods on site at the Chateau de Warsy in northern France.
We travelled by coach through the Euro Tunnel and arrived in the afternoon to explore and settle in. After a delicious dinner, we went to the Teepee for a quiz, which tested our French! Then it was time for bed, which was full of excitement and midnight feasts!!
The following morning, after our daily dose of pain au chocolat or croissant, we headed onto the coach for a packed day of sightseeing. We visited the trenches at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial and had an amazing Canadian tour guide, who shared lots of fascinating information about what happened to the Newfoundland Regiment during the Battle of the Somme. We also spent time visiting the enormous Thiepval Memorial and an underground museum to learn more about the historic battle. The day was very moving as we reflected upon the lives that had been lost during the 3 month long battle.
During our trip, we were lucky to visit a number of French markets. The experiences enabled the children to practice their French skills, as they bought lots of lovely gifts for their families.
A highlight of the trip was our visit to the Chocolate Factory! We had a fantastic chocolatier explain the fascinating process they used to make delicious, and very expensive, chocolate. We loved getting to try a few samples, although the 100% chocolate was not to everyone’s taste! Many of us bought some treats to share back in England.
Overall, we all had a fantastic time and loved sharing the experience with each other!
Chuck Close Portraits
This week, the children have worked really hard on their first self-portraits of the year, which have been inspired by the artist Chuck Close. Can you guess who these are?
Heart Dissection
We have also begun our topic on The Circulatory System and had the fantastic opportunity to dissect a sheep’s/lamb’s heart! It was a great way for the children to see and identify the main parts of the heart!
Autumn 2022
Welcome to our new year 6s! I hope you all had a wonderful summer break and are feeling refreshed and ready for your last year at Hawley! This term, we will begin our learning on the Anglo-Saxons in history and the Circulatory System in science. If you would like to carry out some research into these topics before coming back to school, please do; you can share anything you have found out when we return to class.
Please keep checking our year 6 page on the website, as I will be regularly sharing your work and pictures from any trips and workshops we have had in school.
Enjoy the rest of your holiday!
Sports Day Summer 2022
A great day! Congratulations to team Sapphire for winning this year, but fantastic effort by all teams throughout the day! Well done!
The Lion King
Year 6’s production of the Lion King takes place this week (11th July). We will be performing to the whole school for our first dress rehearsal on Monday 11th July at 2.15pm. This will be followed by our first performance to parents on Tuesday 12th July at 2.15pm. Our final performance will be on Wednesday 13th July at 6.15pm.
We are all really excited to share all the hard work we have put in to produce a wonderful show! We look forward to seeing you all there.
