Trotts Hill Primary School and Nursery
Welcome to Year 6 and the final year at Trotts Hill Primary School! Mrs Cook and Mrs Shergill are the class teachers and Mrs Cornish is the teaching assistant.
Year 6 is an extremely important, yet exciting year, when your children will sit their SATs in May. To ensure the children are ready for these tests and are feeling confident, all the support and interest you take in your child’s education is extremely valuable. We ask parents to read and sign their child’s reading record each week and help their child with home learning tasks that are set.
We cover the core subjects of English, Maths, Science and Computing as well as a full range of topics where we encourage children to take an active approach towards their learning including:
Year 6 is a very important year and we have organised a range of activities which ensure children receive a broad curriculum which challenges them. Children participate in a ‘Robotics Day’ where they design and programme a robot. Children’s Design and Technology skills are developed through a K’Nex workshop where the children build a model based on strict design specifications. Finally the children’s fitness is tested through a residential at the end of year where they have the opportunity to conquer fears and achieve goals!
The expectations in Year 6 are very high, but year on year, children always rise to the challenge through well developed home-school partnerships and a determination to succeed.
Year 6 have been inspired by the short film 'Alma' to produce wonderfully engaging suspense stories.
Year 6 participated in a ‘Children Challenging Industry’ workshop led by Mrs Draper from Sartorius Stedim. They had to find the most efficient way to collect medicine from a liquid. They had to find out which filter worked best to extract a solid from a liquid. There were four types of filters: a piece of cotton, felt, J cloth and filter paper. The solution that was tested was flour dissolved in water.
The children found out that the filter paper was the best material for separating the flour from the water and this was because it had thousands of tiny holes that allow the liquid molecules to pass through.
Year 6 learnt about the Easter story through a range of activities, from crafting a cross to planting a sunflower seed, provided by Bridgebuilders.
This week, Year 6 took part in a K'Nex challenge. Mrs Richardson, who is a STEM Ambassador, came to challenge the pupils to design and build a bulldozer out of K'Nex. The task was completed in just an hour and then each team gave a presentation about their build. Many of the pupils had included features such as solar panels and wind turbines to make their bulldozers more environmentally-friendly.
Year 6 showed great teamwork and communication skills during the challenge. The winners were Arthur and Rohan and their entry will be put forward to the regional finals.
Week commencing Monday 11th March 2024 LI: To understand and manage our worries
On Wednesday afternoon, Year 6 had a mental health workshop with Niamh, our mental health adviser. She gave us strategies for understanding and managing our worries.
This term the children have been studying the artist Katsushika Hokusai and his painting 'The Great Wave of Kanagawa.' The children used either watercolours, chalks or oil pastels to create a picture in the style of this artist.
As part of our 'Living in the Wider World' unit, we explored the importance of having a positive relationship with money. We discussed the impact a negative relationship with money can have on mental health and well-being. Through different scenarios, we decided how money could be best spent wisely, and the possible implications of these decisions.
Level 3 students, from Oaklands College Theatre in Education Tour, performed a Horrible Histories play based on the Ancient Greeks. The children then had the opportunity to participate in an acting or dance workshop themselves.
This week, Year 6 came up with ideas of how they could use the internet to make a positive change in their own life whilst also keeping safe online.
To begin our new Science unit, Animals, including Humans, Year 6 recalled their learning from Year 4 about the digestive system and then moved onto new learning and represented how the circulatory system works, explaining this using scientific vocabulary.
Year 6 have written and performed monologues this week, after being inspired by Mr Driver's acting skills. Year 6 used emotive language and expression to capture the audience.
Year 6 have participated in a 4 week unit where they have developed teamwork skills through a number of challenges. Pupils have worked individually, collaboratively in pairs and groups to solve problems. Children have been encouraged to be inclusive of others, share ideas to create strategies and plans to produce the best solution to a challenge.
To link with our Science topic 'Evolution', Year 6 have written explanation texts explaining how the peppered moth adapted over time in order to survive in its changing environment.
Year 6 investigated the relationship between mass and area by testing the amount of mass different sized ships could hold. Year 6 repeated measurements, found averages and plotted both bar and scatter graphs to determine whether there is a relationship between the two.
Year 6 have been learning how to use Excel. The unit culminated in using a spreadsheet to model a real life situation, where children planned an event, using their knowledge of formulae to calculate costs and profits.
Week commencing Monday 11th December 2023 LI: To make a 3D decoration
Year 6 have been designing and making 3D decorations in DT . Pupils used a variety of techniques including appliqué, attaching sequins and using decorative stitches to decorate their decorations. They also joined fabrics using backstitch, running stitch, whip stitch and blanket stitch. Some of the students added scents to their decorations such as lavender, in addition to filling them with cushion stuffing.
This term Year 6 have been learning about their local area and came up with the question ‘Does The Oval Shopping Centre need regenerating?’ On Tuesday, we visited the Oval and looked at the land-use and amenities on offer. The children then composed a survey to ask the views of people who live in the local area and collated the evidence to come to a conclusion.
Year 6 learnt how Darwin used his own research about finches in the Galapagos Islands to develop the Theory of Evolution. We will be investigating different 'beaks' in our next lesson.
Year 6 have been rehearsing using persuasive techniques verbally, recalling techniques previously taught as well as learning new ones. We have been trying to expand our vocabulary in the process.
Year 6 have been practising chest pass and bounce pass in their basketball unit and using both types of passes when moving the ball.
Year 6 have been finding fractions of amounts and mastering this knowledge in a variety of contexts.
Year 6 have been exploring writing in different fiction genres, taking inspiration from authors to experiment with new vocabulary, considering the impact on the reader.
Week commencing Monday 16th October 2023 LI: To create a watercolour landscape
Year 6 concluded their art module on watercolours by creating our own landscapes based on the style of JMW Turner. They implemented the skills they had been practising in this unit of work to create their own masterpiece.
The children looked at images of stained glass windows and paintings and discussed what message they thought they were trying to portray. The children then created their own stained glass windows and mandalas with messages they wanted to convey.
Year 6 explored two different areas on the school grounds, collecting data about the plants, presenting it and then analysing their findings.
Year 6 took part in a brilliant World War Two day in school led by Kate from Stevenage Museum.
All children experienced what life was like for those who were evacuated to the countryside. The children were given identity cards to fill in as well as learning about rationing of clothes and food.
The children then handled a range of WW2 artefacts where they asked questions about what they were, what they were used for and who they belonged to. The children enjoyed dressing up as Nurses, Air Raid Wardens and Billeting Officers.
Year 6 investigated the vertebrate groups and presented their findings to the rest of the class. We learnt lots of interesting facts!
The children participated in a range of games where they had to use critical thinking to overcome a task and work together to discuss possible solutions. They had great fun playing ‘Row the boat race’ and ‘pass the parcel,’ where they had to work together to pass objects to the finish line using different body parts.
As part of our Inspirational Maths lessons, Year 6 were encouraged to identify patterns. Using manipulatives, then moving to pictorial, and finally, abstract, children were able to predict and make generalisations about the pattern. All children contributed to the lesson and left knowing we can all do maths!
Goodbye and Good Luck to an incredible Year 6 class. What fun we have had and what lovely memories you have made! Thank you for being a wonderful, supportive class who have been enthusiastic all year! You will all shine at secondary school and we wish you the best of luck!
Following our trip to the Henry Moore Sculpture Gardens last week, Year 6 have been making their own sculptures in the style of Henry Moore, using newspaper, wire and masking tape to form the structure. They then covered them with mod rock, and finally painted them with metallic paints.
The children in Year 6 were given a wonderful opportunity to visit Sartorius Stedim in Royston, as part of a project called, ‘Challenging Children In Industry.’ The children participated in a range of activities such as: exploring and using a Computer Aided Design (CAD), building and testing robots and the children then ran experiments to check their results and to see that the robots worked correctly. Through these activities, the children were exposed to different roles available within science and maths and many were inspired to pursue a role in their future careers.
The children were detectives and had to deduce information from the art gallery set up in class, which contained images from the Mayan civilisation. The children had to investigate possible reasons why the Maya were a significant society worth studying in schools.
This week, Year 6 completed their Food Technology module of DT. The pupils measured ingredients to make a tortilla wrap from scratch and after mixing, kneading and rolling, their dough was ready to be fried on our new induction hob!
They honed their knife skills cutting lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and red onion, which they added to their wraps before tucking in and enjoying them!
Year 6 participated in a ‘Children Challenging Industry’ workshop led by Mrs Docking from Sartorius Stedim. They had to find out which filter worked best to extract a solid from a liquid. There were five types of filters: fabric, tissue, J cloth, kitchen roll and filter paper. The solution that was tested was flour dissolved in water.
The children found out that the filter paper was the best material for separating the flour from the water and this was because it had thousands of tiny holes that allow the liquid molecules to pass through.
Year 6 had a fantastic time on their residential. They showed all the PRIDE learning behaviours - especially ENJOYMENT! Many pupils challenged themselves by participating in abseiling, climbing, crate-stacking and raft-building. They supported each other and made memories to treasure.
Year 6 rose magnificently to the STEM challenge to build a moving crane from Knex. In the space of only one hour, they produced some inventive prototypes. For this difficult task, the PRIDE learning behaviours were present in abundance - resilience in particular. All the children were able to identify what they would improve on next time. Congratulations to the worthy winners, Caleb and Jake and runners up, Edward and Jack. Many thanks to our governor and STEM Ambassador, Emma Richardson for running the workshop.
Week commencing Monday 8th May - LI: To be mindful
In the middle of SATs week, we used our PSHE lesson to be mindful. Most of the class chose to do mindful colouring and we had some colouring sheets with positive affirmations to help us feel good about ourselves. Some pupils preferred to complete sudoku puzzles. We also talked about breathing and grounding techniques to help us feel calm.
This week, Year 6 had an active maths lesson where firstly they used polydrons to test different nets of cubes and then after that they investigated nets of different 3D shapes.
The children had to devise their own experiment to prove how light travels. The children were responsible for choosing their own equipment and which variables were to be changed or kept the same.
Week commencing Monday 27th March - LI: To understand the significance of the Easter story
Year 6 participated in a virtual Easter journey organised by Bridge Builders. The children learned about the life of Jesus and the events leading up to his crucifixion. The children discussed personal heroes and discussed the significance for Christians of Jesus as the Messiah.
This week the children worked towards achieving their Level 1 and Level 2 Bikeability certificate where they had to learn to ride their bike safely on the road.
Week commencing Monday 13th March - LI: Understanding and managing our worries.
On Tuesday afternoon, we had a mental health workshop with Vicky, our mental health adviser. She gave us strategies for understanding and managing our worries.
Week commencing Monday 6th March - LI: To devise an investigation into pulse rate.
Year 6 investigated the question, 'How long does it take for your heart rate to get back to it's resting rate after exercise?'
The children had to discuss what the variables were and then decide how to record their results and present them in a graph. The children wrote a conclusion to explain what they found out. Here are some examples of our learning.
World Book Day 2023
For World Book Day, Year 6 could not decide on just one book for our class theme, so they chose two! Members of the class dressed as characters from the World War Two themed novel "The Silver Sword" by Ian Serraillier and the Harry Potter series of books. We also had Julius Zebra, Frodo Baggins and Little Red Riding Hood. The class enjoyed listening to excerpts from different books whilst completing their art.
Week commencing Monday 27th February - LI: To write a story ending
The children were tasked with writing alternative endings to Ray Bradbury's short story, "All Summer in a Day." In order to help inspire their writing, the class worked in small groups to create short pieces of drama about possible scenarios, which they performed to each other before completing their stories.
Week commencing Monday 6th February - LI: To know how to be safe online
As part of Internet Safety week, we visited the Google Interland site and completed four different challenge areas all around staying safe online. Some of the questions made us think more about what we share online and how we behave online.
Week commencing Monday 30th January - LI: To understand children's rights.
In PHSE this week, we looked at the NSPCC's "Speak Out, Stay Safe" campaign. We learnt about the idea of human rights and, in particular, children's rights. The class shared their existing knowledge of their rights and then watched a presentation revealing all their rights. The children then discussed the rights that are most important to them and created posters.
This week, Year 6 practised their serving skills in table tennis through a carousel of activities. They then moved onto playing matches against one another and refining their skills.
Week commencing Monday 16th January - LI: To draw conclusions about variation
Year 6 conducted an experiment called 'Spot the Caterpillar' where wool caterpillars were hidden in our school bushes. The children had to predict whether the green, blue, orange or brown caterpillars would be best at camouflaging in the bushes. They recorded their results in a table and in a line graph and drew conclusions.
Week commencing Monday 9th January - LI: To create atmosphere
In English this week, we have been looking at poetry. We have focused on using figurative language and poetic devices, such as personification and alliteration, to write poems about gold and winter.
Week commencing Monday 19th December - Last week of term
Year 6 have enjoyed the last few days of term together. Mrs Shergill and Mrs Cornish were very proud of the way they performed their nativity and their song in the performances on Monday. In addition to our regular curriculum, we have continued being creative and the pupils made calendars on their last morning together before the winter break.
Week commencing Monday 12th December LI: To make a 3D decoration
This half term we have been designing and making 3D decorations in DT. Pupils used a variety of techniques including appliqué, attaching buttons and using decorative stitches to decorate their decorations. They also joined fabrics using backstitch, running stitch, whip stitch and blanket stitch. Some of the students added scents to their decorations such as lavender, cinnamon and star anise in addition to filling them with cushion stuffing. To finish, some of the pupils were taught how to crochet a chain of wool to create a hanging loop.
Week commencing Monday 5th December LI: To ask geographical questions about our local area
This term Year 6 have been learning about their local area and came up with the question ‘Does The Oval Shopping Centre need regenerating?’ On Tuesday, we visited the Oval and looked at the land-use and amenities on offer. The children then composed a survey to ask the views of people who live in the local area and collated the evidence to come to a conclusion.
Students from Oaklands College came to visit as part of their Theatre in Education project. Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed their workshop. They played games and activities related to the Greeks and were taught a dance routine from Hercules. They were then treated to a high-impact "Horrible Histories" show full of musical numbers, dances, comedy and sketches on the Groovy Greeks. Year 6 would like to thank the Oaklands students for such an enjoyable afternoon.
The children participated in a range of games where they had to use critical thinking to overcome a task and work together to discuss possible solutions. They had great fun playing 'Hot Coal' where they had to lift a playground ball off the ground using only hockey sticks and transport it from one hoop to another hoop 8m away.
In our maths lessons this week, we are learning about different units of measure. Today we had a practical lesson in which we estimated and measured a range of items. We measured length, mass and capacity.
Year 6 had a workshop whereby we made smoothies through riding a bike! We discussed how we need energy to function and to learn, and tried the healthy smoothies we made.
The whole school have been participating in a maths/science day which involved designing and making balloon buggies, with the aim of making them travel the furthest. This enabled us to refine our measuring skills as well as many scientific and DT skills.
Alanna: We learnt to be creative when designing. We also had to be committed! I enjoyed working as a team to create our design.
Lacey: We had to be hard working, patient and self-motivated. We also conducted a fair test.
Hannah: I liked having the opportunity to make and test our own unique designs.
This week, we concluded our art module on watercolours by creating our own landscapes.
This week, we have focused on improving our ability to calculate mentally, developing different strategies to do so.
Year 6 had a workshop with the author of Madge the Mermaid, Stephen Pass. The importance of the writing process was discussed. We then wrote our own pieces of writing, inspired by the author. Some of us created poems. Some of us wrote the next chapter of the book.
We are currently studying living things and their habitats in science, with a focus on classification. This week, we learnt how to classify the five vertebrate groups. We asked different types of questions, researched the answers, presented the information found using the relevant scientific language and even reported our findings to our peers.
Year 6 are participating in outdoor, adventurous activities in PE. Teams tackled a series of challenges, requiring teamwork and communication.
Year 6 participated in an inspirational maths lesson whereby we had to construct shapes, with the correct properties, using a loop of rope. We worked in teams to achieve this and realised we are all able to show resilience in mathematics in order to achieve a goal.