Well, in typical Year 6 fashion, the recent lockdown has done nothing to stop the children's trademark positivity, enthusiasm and 'can-do' attitude. Every, single one of you has made us so proud - and you really should be so very proud of yourselves.
We haven't paused, and have kicked our learning off in style. In writing we have been creating wonderful narrative pieces about going through a mysterious portal into another fantastical, magical world. The children showed excellent descriptive writing and real command of suspense, tension, intrigue and even (much enjoyed) humour. We have been blown away by how unique each piece has been; show-casing both originality, imagination and a wealth of varied writing techniques.
An excerpt from Fin:
One of Mrs Pyne's favourite openings. Zain reflects a little bit of how we are all feeling at the moment:
A very original and exciting story from Nadim:
If I had not continued working at the laboratory last night, none of this would’ve happened. It was nearly midnight and the workplace was as desolate as a desert. I was working on proving my theory that we could transform dark matter with our minds; however, I had not made any progress. Yet. The clock ticked. I couldn’t understand what it was that caused the anomaly, so I had to check my prediction and method again. Tick Tock. Could it be the environment? Tick Tock. Could it be the power? Tick Tock. Suddenly, it occurred to me that I wasn’t using enough electricity, so I connected the slender, black cable to the building’s power source. I gazed at the picture of my family that sat on my desk, the nostalgia bringing me back. The clock chimed 12. Lights began to flicker repetitively; the floor began to shake, and a whirring sound generated from the machine. My peculiar theory had become a marvellous discovery. Immediately, my experiment commenced, and a black dot appeared in the centre of the room, as fear crept down my spine. Could this be it? Would I become the most renowned scientist?
It enlarged rapidly and promptly. By the time I had figured out why it wouldn’t stop growing, it was already engulfing my life’s work. My Nobel, my equations, my family picture, even my PHD. With the sharp intake of a breath, I dashed to the machine, a desperate attempt to close the disastrous, empty portal, before everything was sucked into its massive opening. It was pitch black and composed of non-luminous, undiscovered materials. I reached for my phone to call my John, but it was much too late, for the portal was destabilising and had to be stopped. Why didn’t I listen to him and just go home? Curious and frightened, I stepped closer to the enormous, unsettling portal and waved my hand across its opening. I could feel its power drawing me in. Reluctantly, I had come too close to the abyss of darkness and had been pulled in by the vacuum-like portal, metal to a magnet. As I plummeted down from the portal, I felt a sudden breeze of warm air brush past me as I was sucked into another world.
My eyes shot open to the feeling of relief. Relief that I was alive. Relief that I was safe. Relief that i hadn’t lost everything. As I gazed at the vast landscape of darkness, I searched tiresomely for the portal, of which I had entered through. It was blacker than a ravenous crow as far as the eye could see and there seemed to be no signs of life. After many hours, I began to feel drowsy, and craved a bed. In the corner of my eye, the ground began to shake, and a pitch-black object appeared. It was a rectangular, cushioned bed. Suddenly, I realised that I could shape this world to become anything I could imagine.
Maths started with long division, and everyone showed both growth-mindset and perseverance in mastering this...and we know good this made so many of you feel! Well done, persevering
always yields results!
The children have also been exploring experimental science at home...working out that, perhaps, it's not a good idea to mix milk and orange juice if you're looking for a drink that won't make you feel rotten! We learned that the acid in the juice makes the milk particles solidify (curdle) Newsflash from Holly: curdled milk is not something she recommends drinking!
Jade observed the reaction that takes place when we mix an acid (vinegar) with a base (baking soda).
After learning that the reaction created CO2, therefore inflating the balloon, Jade tested other liquids in her kitchen to discover if there were any other liquids that had the same effect:
Amber also took kitchen science to the max and worked hard on keeping her test fair too:
We have explored cafe culture in French, learning how to order breakfast foods with refined French accents...and noted that Year 6 are choc-o-holics with the vast number of orders for hot chocolate and pain au chocolat!
Alfi even acted out his French!
Year 6 have also kicked off our mini topic "Crime and Punishment" with focused reading lessons...they are in for a treat as we start the topic in full next week!
Finally, don't worry if your sat-nav breaks down, because we are becoming accomplished map readers!
It has been a pleasure to see the children every morning - starting our days with positivity and a daily update at the Google Meet; it is also lovely that we end it with a chapter read from our novel 'Wolf Brother.'
No matter what is thrown at them lockdown wise, one thing is clear...year 6 don't drop their standards or their smiles. Well done.
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