Swalwell Primary School
Working together, learning together
Welcome
Year 6
Welcome to Year 6.
Adults who help us in our learning are: Mr Warren and Mrs Hall.
Welcome to Year 6, the final chapter of primary school. A year of exciting opportunities, rewarding experiences and challenge! This is the year to shine.
As well as reaching academic potential, there will be plenty of opportunities for pupils to participate in key roles and responsibilities within the school that will equip them for their transition to secondary school.
In Year 6 pupils will be expected to work hard but in return, they are rewarded with many happy memories, lasting friendships, and an increased confidence to take them onto their next adventure
Enterprise Lesson at Whickham
We had a fantastic visit to Whickham School to take part in an enterprise lesson where we debated if it was right or wrong to build houses on the school field. We explored reasons for and against the build by taking on roles such as Councillors, HMRC, Builders, Local Businesses and residents and even the Hedgehog Prevention Society. We considered opinions from both sides of the argument before making our final decisions and creating posters.
Boccia
As part of our Invictus Games PE Module we have had a great time playing Boccia. We have worked alongside our friends in Year 6 and learned how to aim, throw, block and measure the weight of our throws to get closest to the Jacque. We played individually and in teams relying on our tactical understanding of the game to defeat our opponents.
Safer Internet Day
To celebrate Safer Internet Day, Year 6 took part in the BBC Teach Live Lesson and learned about Artificial Intelligence and how it impacts our lives. We discussed the benefits and risks of using AI and made posters to show the ways we can keep ourselves safe online, especially when using AI.
Animal Testing Research
As part of our English topic exploring persuasive writing, we used the Children's PETA Website to explore and research the different ways in which Animal Testing takes place around the world. We found some shocking information and gave our opinions around the way in which animals are tested upon and cared for in these terrible conditions. We are going to use the research to help us to write protest speeches to stop animal testing once and for all.
Children's Mental Health Week - Celebrating ourselves inside and out
To celebrate Children's Mental Health Week, we took the time to think about ourselves as unique individuals celebrating our traits inside and out. We made a list of all of the things people know about us before asking our classmates about how they see us and the things inside us that they value. We celebrated our similarities and differences and recognised that we all play a part in supporting one another's mental health.
Science: Heart Rate Investigation
As part of our investigation into the impact of exercise upon our heart rate, we began by finding our own and our partners pulse and recorded our resting heart rates. We then took part in 2 minutes of high intensity exercise and recorded our heart rates for 30 seconds every minute for 5 minutes to measure the impact of the exercise upon our heart. We recorded our results using a line graph to help us identify any trends and patterns in our data.
Poetry: Benjamin Zephaniah 'The British'
Following our Poetry study in Autumn Term, we have been exploring another of Benjamin Zephaniah's poems 'The British' which explores and celebrates the diversity or multi-cultural Britain. we enjoyed discussing Benjamin's intent and the themes of acceptance and respect and compared them to our classroom.
Holy Trinity Church
We visited Holy Trinity Church to take part in a workshop all about the Christmas Story. We had a great time working with members of the church and developed our understanding of the different journeys made by each group of people who travelled many miles to celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus. We also spent some time discussing the true meaning of Christmas and took some time to think of our friends, families and those less fortunate than ourselves.
Emotion Graphs
As part of our study of Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick, we created emotion graphs to track the key events of Zoe's escape from the Island as she is being chased by a furious mob desperate to stop her.
Science Lessons at Whickham
We visited Whickham School to take part in a great Science Lesson conducting an experiment where we extracted and formed Salt. It was great to use the science equipment - especially the Bunsen Burners! We loved working with our teams to conduct each step of the experiment and work scientifically.
Line Men - Art
Exploring the work of our focus Artist - Norman Cornish - we explored how line and shape are used to convey emotion and mood. We used wire and pipe cleaners to create our own characters 'The Line Men' using different positions and body shapes to show different emotions.
Commando Joes- Thinking outside the box.
Year 6 were challenged to 'think outside the box' as they completed our latest Commando Joes Challenge to venture into Space with a shared oxygen tank to collect all of the items needed to build a communication tower. We had great fun and thought carefully about how best to approach and solve the problem using teamwork and communication to help us achieve our goal.
World War 2 Artefacts
Year 6 had a great time exploring a range of artefacts to support our study of World War 2 - The items included an ARP Warden's Helmet, Whistle and Gasmask which we examined and discussed imagining the emotion attached to each object.
Classifying Conundrums
Year 6 have been working hard this week exploring classification as part of our science module. We looked at the observable characteristics of different Liquorice Allsorts and asked questions to help us classify each of the sweets.
Safetyworks
Year 6 had a fantastic visit to Safetyworks in Newcastle to help us understand the risks and hazards around using the Metro, Road Safety, House Fires, Dog Safety and a Water safety working alongside Gateshead Council, TW Fire and Rescue, The Dogs Trust and the RNLI. We had a great time and enjoyed exploring each of the different areas to experience first hand how we can keep ourselves safe.
Commando Joes: Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork!
Team work made the dreamwork for Year 6 in our latest Commando Joe's mission when we were forced to recover items from the moons surface whilst sharing an 'oxygen pack' which we couldn't let touch the ground otherwise it would be lost in space forever. We loved this challenge using teamwork, communication and problem solving to find different ways to achieve success!
Ratio
We have been working hard to develop our understanding of Ratio and Proportion using objects to help us to expand and express ratio and develop understanding the relationship between each component.
Commnado Joes
Year 6 had a great time working as Commando Joe's packing their space kit for a mission to a new planet following in the footsteps of Tim Peak! We used communication, teamwork and problem solving skills to retrieve the missing bits of kit to build our communication towers... All without stepping onto the surface of the planet!!
Transition Lesson : Art - Scultpure
As part of our transition to secondary school, we visited Whickham School to experience an Art Lesson in the art barns. We used clay to explore and create our very own pinch animals. To express our ideas we added eyes, ears, noses, wings, fangs and horns used cross hatching skills to join the different components together. Our fantastic creations will fired to 1000 degrees in the kiln and we are very excited for them to be delivered to school!
Ancient Greek Amphoras
As part of our study of Ancient Greece, we have been developing our skills using clay to create Amphoras, clay vessels which were used to transport Wine and Grain around the world on boats. We focused upon making the neck and handles of the amphoras manipulating the clay in different ways.
Performing Poetry - Benjamin Zephaniah
Year 6 have been studying the work of Benjamin Zephaniah and his poem 'The British'. We have performed the poem to the class focusing on our performance mirroring Benjamin's 'Dub Poet' style using volume, tone and expression to entertain our audience. We particularly enjoyed discussing the themes of the poem around acceptance, respect and justice for all as part of our British Society.
Ancient Greece
This week, Year 5 and 6 were super lucky to have a visit from Durham University Museum staff. David and Olivia were experts on Ancient Greece and we learnt so much from the day. We started by becoming museum detectives, we explored ancient artefacts and made predictions about what we though they were and what they might tell us about life in Ancient Greece. We then learnt about votive offerings which were small objects offered to the Gods by Ancient Greek people. We used clay to make our own votive offerings. To finish off the day, we acted out a Greek play which included lots of deception and gruesome deaths!
Holy Trinity Visit
We visited Holy Trinity Church to take part in the Christmas Experience. We learned about each stage of the Christmas Story from Joseph and Mary's journey from Nazareth to the Birth of Jesus and what he represented to the world upon his arrival. We had a great morning and were made to feel very welcome in our local church.
Christmas Crafts
This week we made Christmas Crafts to decorate our classroom as December arrives! We made Rudolph Triangles, Tinsel Angel Wings and Tissue Paper Wreaths with the help of our wonderful parents and fabulous families while the Christmas music was playing to get us in the festive mood
Video Production
As part of our Computing curriculum, Y6 have been exploring video production by looking at different filming techniques such as talking head, long shot, close up, panning and high angle. We used a range of camera angles to create our videos before editing and stitching them to produce some wonderful final pieces.
Louis Braille
As part of History Disability Week at school we have learned about Louis Braille and his amazing system of Braille. We explored the ingenious concept of the 6 dots and how they are combined to represent all of the letters and punctuation marks of the written alphabet. We decoded messages, wrote the alphabet and deciphered secret messages.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
We had a great time working with coaches from Blaydon Grapplers learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. we learned how to hold, defend and grapple with our partners - everyone thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to try this new sport with some fantastic skills on display and a few hidden talents coming out!
Circuit Making
As part of our Science topic we have been investigating electrical circuits and identifying the key components and their scientific symbols. We had a great time creating circuits including switches, bulbs, motors and buzzers exploring the impact of adding more components into the circuit.
Glow Event - Understanding Road Safety
We attended Swalwell Community Centre to take part in a Glow Event with MP Liz Twist which helped us learn about Road Safety and understanding brain injuries. We had a great time exploring an HGV cab and a police car to help us understnad further the dangers on the roads.
Floodland: Writing for effect in Year 6
We have been replicating an authors style using short sentences to build atmosphere in our writing as we described Zoe's escape from the island in Floodland. We then performed our fantastic work to the class using expression and tone.