Year 6 spent their STEM Day engineering a solution to a very real problem at this time of year – removing all the pieces of confetti and other party related detritus from the classroom floor. Unfortunately, our cleaner had taken her equipment home so it was up to the children to design, build, test and refine their own mini vacuum cleaners.

This was no easy ask, with the hardest part proving to be the shaping of the fan blades to attach to the tiny 3volt motor. Nevertheless, many groups did produce an end product that was suitable for the task in hand.

Here are some photos of our outcomes:

Thank you to all the parents and family members who attended the Year 5 and 6 Mass on Tuesday, where the focus was on reflecting and thinking about those who are persecuted across the world for what they believe in – ‘Faith and Freedom’ was the message for the Mass.

We have focused on Ancient Greece within our English, where the children have decided whether they would rather reside in Athens or Sparta, and they have persuaded prospective citizens to move to their preferred city. The children have enjoyed learning about city life in this time period, and were intrigued to find out the unique features of each city and the impact of this on the lives of the people.

Please remember to send in your donations of tinned foodstuffs for our Christmas Caring Cans Appeal and empty 1 1/2 or 2 litre bottles for use in our STEM day next week.

Have a great weekend,

The Year 6 Team

Whilst we have been continuing to develop ideas for our story based on Seigfried Sassoon’s poem ‘The Hero’, this week we have also learnt new strategies for division. Did you know that it is often easier to use factors to divide a larger number by a two digit number? For example, 1248 can be divided by 24 by first dividing by 4 and then dividing the answer by 6. However, this isn’t possible with prime numbers such as 17, 23 and 29 – that is where old fashioned long division comes in. Children can find it quite tricky to master straight away, so, if you have some spare time to practice with them every little helps!

Please remember our Year 5 and 6 Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church this coming Tuesday from 10:30 am. Parents, relatives and friends are most welcome to attend this special celebration which this year has the theme of ‘Red Wednesday’.

Have a lovely weekend,

The Year 6 Team

Another fantastic week of learning by the Year 6 pupils was rewarded with a special trip to Fort Purbrook on Friday morning. This event, organised by Havant Borough Council, focused on how to be a good citizen of the community and how to stay safe in today’s modern world. The children were full of insightful responses and represented the school in a mature and responsible manner! They are sure to have useful new knowledge to share, so please ask them about it!

Today culminated in the pupils delivering an award-winning, whole-school assembly where they revealed their experiences of the recent Fairthorne residential. The younger children loved the comedic value in some of the retellings!

Have a restful weekend,

Year 6 Team

Welcome back from a well-deserved rest – the children have certainly benefited from their time away after our Fairthorne adventure.

We have used our residential experiences to create a ‘Training and Survival Guide’ for Year 5 and the children of the school, where they have set-out a manual that identifies key tips and techniques that can help the reader last the distance at Fairthorne. Blending our understanding of multiplication, shape,area and perimeter has seen the children working between different domains in maths – this has required great links to have been made and developed one of our key Learning Circle Values: Resilience.

The week ended with a focus on Black History, specifically delving deeper into the lives of significant people in South Africa. The success of the country at the Rugby World Cup triggered a focus to look at Siya Kolisi and his impact across the country. This was considered alongside a biographical study of Nelson Mandela. The children are looking forward to sharing their findings with classmates in the near future.

Finally, a reminder that Year 6 are visiting Fort Purbrook this Friday morning, 15^th November to take part in the Havant Borough Council Citizenship Programme. This will take part in the normal school day – pupils just need a warm coat and sensible shoes.

Have a great weekend,

The Year 6 team.

Well, here we are –  the final night has arrived and it feels like only Wednesday!!! The evening culminated with a campfire that lit up the hearts and minds of the children; they thoroughly enjoyed the sing-song and performing their group compositions to the rest of the year group and Fairthorne staff!

Some challenging weather conditions earlier in the day didn’t hamper the children’s pursuit of outdoor adventure, with all drawing on their inner grit and resilience to master the challenge of Jacob’s Ladder – a stairway of horizontal poles, each one further apart than the other. This imposing structure demanded great teamwork if pairs were to be successful.

Many thanks to all parents who provided their children with plastic bin liners – they have been worth their weight in gold!

Wow – time certainly does fly by when you are having fun! We cannot believe it is Wednesday already.

The children really are fully into the swing of daily routines, managing their time and resources wisely. Yesterday was their first visit to the ‘Manor Shop,’ and we can confidently assure readers that they have all achieved their goal of maximum sugar intake versus £ spent! Some groups of friends have even combined their tuck money and have a ‘pot’ from which to spend. St Peter’s have definitely earned their rewards though as we are on our feet from 9:30 – 5:30 with little down time in between.

Challenges faced and conquered today have included raft building, kayaking, crate tower building and climbing. We were all once again very grateful that the rain stayed away

How much can we each have? A future maths problem we think!

We are sure the children are looking forward to busting some moves on the dance floor this evening.

With a good mix of water and land-based activities planned in, thankfully the weather looked kindly upon us for Day 2 of the Fairthorne Adventure.

Groups have enjoyed taking part in archery, orienteering, abseiling, climbing, blind trail and SUP – Stand Up Paddleboarding- and are quickly mastering the fine art of selecting the appropriate clothing and footwear for the challenge ahead!

After a filling dinner, it was all outside for ‘Operation Jungle’ – a nocturnal wide-game. After this, all the children have settled down to enjoy a well-earned ‘al-fresco’ hot chocolate and biscuit.

As we speak, the children are currently sleeping, re-charging those batteries ready to go again tomorrow!!! The children have really responded to the ‘Challenge by Choice’ tasks presented to them on the first full day here – they have also realised too, that they can push themselves that little bit more within the tasks which sets a good mindset for the rest of the week!!!

Sorry there are no photos – a genuine malfunction with cropping them to size!

Year 6 adults.

The eagle has landed!!!

We are here and the children are already up to their knees in mud!!!

The children have settled into their dorms and they have had a tour of the site! On top of this, they have already carried out two activities – some Orienteering and Team Challenge! It was a huge success – no-one has been lost!

They are about to enjoy their first dinner of the week and the children have a Night Walk tonight (in the dark!) and Sports Hall Games to wear themselves out before Hot Chocolate and ‘Lights Out’ at 9:00 pm!

Check in with you all at the same time tomorrow!

Year 6 have been extremely busy in the final week before their Fairthorne Manor adventure, applying strategies for addition and subtraction and learning how to pickpocket!

Could you draw a bar model to represent and solve this problem:

‘A cup of tea and a biscuit cost £1.30. A cup of tea costs 60p more than a biscuit. How much does a biscuit cost?’

After using counters to represent similar problems surrounding boys and girls in the playground, children were able to show what the cup of tea problem looked like. Maybe you could have a go!

We have been totally immersed in Dickens within our writing and guided reading sessions, culminating in acting out and explaining how to pick a pocket. Be on your guard – a Year 6 child may be sizing you up from the shadows of the playground!

We hope all have a restful weekend, prior to an action packed week ahead!

Keep an eye on the blog for regular daily updates!

The Year 6 Team