Year 6
Class Teachers: Miss Dyer & Mrs Buck
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Bardell
Monster Shootout - 29 & 30.6.21
Year 6 Masterpieces 30.06.21
Don't forget if you would like to keep your recreation of Paul Kenton's Amsterdam Moods then bring £3 in an envelope to school. Your piece of work will be framed and look fab...an excellent reminder of your art classes at Millfield.
It's all Looking Fab...15.05.21
Year 6's hard work has really paid off. The WASUP Garden looks brilliant. The seeds and bulbs that were planted during the winter and spring months have bloomed and the vegetables that were grown have been harvested already.
It's very exciting to check how many ripe strawberries there are each morning. They have been yummy!!
Year 6 have the responsibility of managing the mud kitchen area on the junior playground. As you can see from the photos the area is looking really good and they enjoy spending time in it too.
Looking Forwards 03.12.20
Year 6 have planted some spring flowering seeds this afternoon. The beans and peas are looking really healthy in the greenhouse.
Happy Trees November 27th 2020
We've completed our class Happy Tree this week. This is inspired by 'The Artist in the Shed' also known as Mary Price. Find out more about her stunning work by clicking here.
Firstly we painted a dark acrylic background and then applied a second coat of acrylic in different shapes and colours. We put the canvases together to make a tree shape that we were happy with and then applied the top designs. These patterns are made using every day items such as cotton buds, bottle tops and cocktail sticks. The result is amazing - hope you agree.
Spring Bulbs for the CRT 19.11.20
The Canal and River Trust have very kindly invited us to take part in two projects this autumn. The first is planting lots of spring bulbs that will be transplanted next spring to planters along the canals in the West Midlands. This is us planting the daffodils and crocus and storing them in our greenhouse until the time is right after Christmas.
Play Time November 16th 2020
Games are an excellent inspiration for stories that are full of figurative language and detail.
Horsing Around November 2020
It's not every day that you see two horses on the playground...but it's great fun!
Gravity Watercolours 06.11.20
On Friday, Year 6 attempted gravity painting and we had loads of fun, although our work spaces did get very wet and colourful.
Gravity painting is where the paper is drenched with water and then the colour is dripped into the water so that it runs on the paper and blends with other colours. The way the colours run and blend help to give the painting movement and depth.
Catherine Beale is an artist that uses this technique of gravity painting if you would like to know more about this method follow this link:
The photos below show us having a go at our own landscape. We began by sketching the hillside, barn and bare trees in ink before putting a wash on for the sky. The gravity painting technique was used to create the downwards slope of the hill.
Remembrance @ Millfield 05.11.20
Please make sure that you take the time to visit Millfield's Remembrance art installation on the grounds in front of The Mill. Each child in school has decorated a cross as an act of Remembrance for all of those that have lost their lives in war. Year 6s crosses are ready and waiting to become part of the feature from 11.11.20.
Winter Planters 04.11.20
Some of Year 6 have been busy planting up the evergreen planters that you can see standing either side of the doors to the school's reception area. Hope you like them as much as we do!
Camp Trip to Beaudesert Oct '20
WASUP World Against Single Use Plastics
Millfield has been a supporter of this group founded by Professor Gatrad since its infancy. The group's fundamental message is to stop using plastic and if this is not possible immediately then to make it reusable or recyclable.
If you would like to find out more about WASUP then visit:
WASUP will be delivering a session at the Youth Climate Summit 2020 that is due to take place from the 9th November to the 13th November. Here's a message from the WASUP site:
"We're proud to be a part of the #YouthClimateSummit2020 and to be running our WASUP session at this summit. It's great to be part of a collaborative effort to create a week of virtual climate action for schools. If you would like to get involved, book now - see you there!" https://bit.ly/30GX9Cu
Silver Birch 16.10.20
Our latest piece of art in our Friday art sessions are our silver birches. They are one of the most effective pictures that have been created very simply. Again, this piece is a mixed medium piece that uses both acrylic and watercolour paints.
The trees are marked out with masking tape and a watercolour wash is applied as the background colour. When the masking tape is removed to reveal the white silver birch trunk, the acrylic paint is drawn across the trunk with a credit card to recreate the striations that give the silver birch its typically striped bark. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Christmas Robins October 2020
You'll be able to order your Christmas Cards very soon.
We have been creating Christmas scenes in our Friday afternoon art sessions. The first is a watercolour robin sitting in a silver birch tree and surrounded by holly leaves. This piece actually uses two mediums: acrylics and watercolours. The results are all different and all equally pleasing.
The RHS Big Soup Share October 2020
Once the potatoes from the garden quad had been harvested there was only one thing to do with them...share them!
Luckily the Royal Horticultural Society's Big Soup Share (click here to find out more) was about to begin. We decided that we would make some soup and share it with our friends at Knaves Court in Brownhills. Whilst we enjoyed the soup we all had a game of Bingo and the residents at the home read the newsletter that Year 6 had written as a class project. If you would like to read the newsletter, click on the document below.
In the Style of...Yvonne Coomber September 2020
One of my favourite artists is Yvonne Coomber and so I was really pleased when the artists in Year 6 loved her work too. The following photos show how we have tried to recreate our own versions of wildflower meadows using acrylic paint on a polystyrene tile. The children have blended, drizzled, splattered and whirled the acrylics and I'm sure you'll agree the finished display is stunning.
If you'd like to see more of Yvonne Coomber's work click here.
Strawberry Fields September 2020
Before school closed for lockdown, Y6 planted strawberry plants in the planters on the bank of the canal. We spent time weeding the planters and have cut the baby strawberry plants from the mother plants so that we can plant them in the allotments within the school grounds. Next summer we will be able to have strawberries and cream for afternoon tea! Have a look at the photos to see Y6 enjoying their time outside. Discovering blackberries growing in the hedgerow was an added bonus!
Year 6 Curriculum and Timetable
Reading in Year 6
We will be reading a range of both fiction and non-fiction texts in Year 6. Pupils will be asked to take home a reading book every night and to bring them back to school the following day. Everyone will have their own reading record, to keep track of what they've been reading in class and at home. In class, we have selection of books for pupils to choose from, as well as the huge collection of texts in our library. Click on the word document below to find out more about some of the books we might cover during this academic year.
Writing in Year 6
We cover a range of different genres in Year 6, from diary entries to newspaper articles and narratives to explanation texts.
Here are some websites you might find inspiring…
SPAG in Year 6
Here are a range of websites to help improve your SPAG knowledge…
Maths in Year 6
Click on the links below to discover a range of SATS style questions.
Reasoning questions:
Area of squares and rectangles
3D shapes nets and visual maths
You could even have a go at an arithmetic paper.
Arithmetic Papers:
If you love Maths, why not try solving some of the mathematical problems below…
Problem solving:
Click here to see lots of Year 5 and Year 6 problems that need solving.
Click here to see lots of Year 3 and Year 4 problems that need solving.
Click here to see lots of Year 1 and Year 2 problems that need solving.
Click here to get the solutions. No peeking!
Homework:
Homework will be handed out every Thursday and is expected to be returned completed by the following Tuesday (Wednesday at the latest). Those children that do not meet the deadline can complete their homework in ‘homework catch-up sessions’. All of the children know that if they have any problems with their homework they can just ask for help.
PE kits:
The correct school kit is:
White t-shirt
Black shorts
Black sweatshirt (can be zipped)
Black jogging bottoms (in winter)
Trainers
Year 6 will have PE on a Wednesday afternoon and this year we have changed our policy on PE kits. Children will come to school wearing their kit on PE days. This policy requires that all children have the correct PE kit, so they look smart during the school day as well as being ready for their PE lesson.
Swimming:
Critical Skills Classes
By the end of Year 6, children should have mastered the critical skills involved with swimming which include: being able to swim 25 metres, being competent at two different strokes, having the ability to float and tread water and knowing the rules associated with swimming in swimming pools and open water.
To enable them to accomplish these skills Year 6 will have swimming lessons at some point during the year but this has yet to be arranged.
Fun Sessions
Children may be invited to attend early morning fun sessions in the swimming pool at 7.30am. During these sessions they can play with the floats, balls and woggles and splash around as much as they like! Children will be informed of any sessions as they become available.
For all sessions in the school pool children must have the appropriate swimwear on - tight fitting trunks for the boys (no baggy shorts) and a full swimming costume for the girls (no bikinis). They are not allowed in the water wearing any jewellery and they must wear a swim cap at all times. Children can only wear goggles if they have a medical need which is supported by a letter from the medical profession.
Outdoor Education:
Enrichment
At times during the weekly timetable, we may spend time outside learning and working in our school grounds. For this reason, it would be ideal to have an outdoor kit here at school at all times. This can be a warm change of clothes that you do not mind getting dirty. We have wellies for children to borrow at school; however, you are always welcome to bring your own.
As part of our curriculum Year 6 children, continue to develop their kayaking, canoeing, hill walking and orienteering skills throughout the year. Whatever the weather – we are out there!
Hill walking
Year 6 children have the opportunity to go long distance walking – for both pleasure and fitness purposes. The school offers every child a set of waterproofs, thermals, fleeces, walking boots and even a rucksack!
Kayaking and Canoeing
At different times throughout the year (to be arranged), you are almost certain to find a small group of Year 6 “messing about on the water”. Of course, we have fully trained staff to oversee every session.
Orienteering
We have an outdoor orienteering course in our very own wild area which children get to use as part of adventure days and outdoor learning sessions.
Mountain biking
The school has purchased a number of mountain bikes that the children can use on a daily basis at lunchtime or as part of a programme to gain their bicycle skills certificates.