In order to develop the children's understanding of sustainability, we had a visit from Severn Trent Water who worked with us to look at how we can save water. The children were shocked to find out that we only have access to 1% of the water on Earth and even more shocked to realise that the water they drink today is the same water that was on the planet at the time of the dinosaurs! Each group followed some scenario cards, measuring out water to find out if their 'family' were water savers or water wasters. We then looked at how we could save water in our everyday lives and why it is vital that water is conserved wherever possible. The session ended with the children making a pledge to do what they could to save water. See Photos in the photo album.

On 4^th October, Year 6 visited the Potteries Museum to find out more about Reginald Mitchell and his contribution to World War 2. We took part in a scavenger hunt, finding out key facts about Mitchell's life, and spent some time sketching the Spitfire in the Spitfire Gallery. See our photo album for more photos.

Here are some photos of Y6’s pulley systems we made in DT. They were asked to create a pulley system that would help Mayan construction workers to build pyramids. The pulley system would be needed to lift the heavy building material up to the tops of the pyramids.

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For World Book Day, Year 6 created some Whispering Poems, inspired by the poet laureate Joseph Coehlo, to create mood and atmosphere within poetry. Using an image as a stimulus, we gathered together vocabulary and considered different poetic devices. We then performed our poems in a whisper, trying to create an atmosphere of suspense and fear. We had lots of fun!

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During art week, Year 6 looked at printing. We tried two different styles – relief and collagraph – before creating our final design using relief printing. Our work was inspired by the work of the artist William Morris, and we also studied pattern and symmetry in Islamic art. Our final designs were really impressive!

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As part of their RE learning looking at ideas around Creation and Science, Year 6 were visited by a representative from Humanists UK. Margaret discussed her values; the reasons why she identifies as a Humanist (a person who relies on Science rather than faith); how these link to the beliefs of other religions and also what impact this has on her world view. The children really enjoyed having the opportunity to ask questions, which helped to deepen their knowledge and awareness of people who choose to believe in a world shaped by scientific understanding rather than a specific religion.

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Children from Year 6 were offered the opportunity to take part in a ‘Mini-Saga Competition,’ requiring them to write a short story of no more than one hundred words. The competition was a national one, with winners having their stories published in a compendium of mini-sagas. We are proud to announce that four of our children won and look forward to having their work published in the coming months. Picture L-R Mason, Fatimah, Zainab, Ana-Maria.

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o link with our topic on World War 2, Year 6 were given the challenge to cook a dish that would have been suitable for the wartime diet. This meant we had to consider the availability of products due to rationing and ensure that the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign was taken into account. We looked at the design of the Woolton Pie and innovated this recipe to match with our own tastes and seasonal availability of produce. We worked together in our teams to make the pastry, prepare and boil the vegetables before assembling our pie and making it look appealing with individual designs. They tasted much better than we expected; a job well done!

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6J visited the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery to take part in a workshop, which linked with their Geography topic, looking at WW2. First, they had the chance to study the Spitfire Gallery, where they learnt about Stoke-born engineer Sir Reginald Mitchell, who helped to design the famous aeroplane. After that, the children created a ceramic plaque to commemorate those who gave their lives during WW2. The children had a fantastic time, adding first hand experiences to their growing knowledge of the topic.

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Year 6 visited St. Mark’s Church to experience an art exhibition and also be curators themselves! Under the guidance of local organisation Stoke-on-Clay, children from 6J learned about the history of the church and then had an opportunity to see examples of work from local ceramic artists as well as the incredible altar piece by master ceramicist, George Tinworth from 1890! As an added bonus, the children then curated their own mini exhibition, thinking carefully how they would select and arrange their artworks.

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On Tuesday 12th November, pupils in Year 6 completed a knife crime workshop with PCSO Washington from Staffordshire Police. The children who took part in the workshop learned about the dangers of knives and how situations can lead to knives being used to harm others. This was an extremely informative session and really does support our children in being safe when out of school.

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As part of their investigation into the topic: Will You Ever See The Water You Drink Again? Year 6 created musical sound-scapes based on the water cycle. Each group where given a specific part (evaporation, condensation, wind, precipitation), which they then  re-created with a variety of instruments. Children notated their compositions using graphic scores as well as adding appropriate musical vocabulary. Finally, the groups performed for the rest of the class to create one continuous piece of music.

Please click on the following to listen:

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Year 6 have spent their recent sessions with Mr Anderson learning about musical notation. We have learned the notation for a variety of notes including crotchets, quavers and rests, working together using percussion instruments to perform ostinatos. We then listened to a short piece of music, writing down the correct notation by ear onto the stave.

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As part of our Geography Topic, ‘Will You Ever See The Water You Drink Again?’, Year 6 enjoyed a visit from Severn Trent Water. We found out about how water is cleaned and prepared before it reaches us and attempted to clean some ‘sewer soup’ that we had created. It was a thoroughly enjoyable visit and we learned a lot about the importance of looking after our water.

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