Weekly Newsletters

Welcome to Year 6!  This is where you will find weekly newsletters (shared at the end of each week) with photos of learning and details of upcoming dates and events.

The most recent newsletter is displayed at the top of the list:

Term 1, Week 7 (Friday 17th October)

Another week has flown by, culminating in a wonderful performance of "The Secret Garden" which the children found thoroughly engaging and enjoyable this morning.

We have started to practise for our upcoming church service in the midst of busy lessons which have included:

• English - Work on expanded noun phrases and the "bare bones" of setting descriptions in preparation for the "invention" phase of writing next week.  The children will independently work on a "show piece" to demonstrate their understanding at the end of this unit of work.
• Maths - We finished work on BODMAS and have spent much of this week securing our skills in Short Division (using the bus stop method). We have been impressed by the growing confidence around arithmetic and particularly by some children wishing to move quickly to learn about Long Division!
• History - We have started to learn about the kingdom of Benin and have been drawing parallels between it and Ethiopia.  The children have been particularly interested to learn about the way history has previously been passed down orally.
• Science - This week we investigated the phenomenon of refraction.  It was wonderful to see the children being curious and asking questions about why a pencil appears to bend or break when placed in a glass of water.

Looking ahead and important dates for next week

1) If you still want to purchase a set of CGP books for homework, we will be placing a final order at the end of next week (on Friday 24th October) please let your child's teacher know.  Payment can again by made via ParentPay or by cash or cheque in the office.

2) Parents Evenings take place on Tuesday and Thursday next week and we are looking forward to seeing many of you there.  If you have not managed to secure a slot and would like to arrange a meeting please pop a note in your child's contact book and we will be happy to arrange this.

3) Homework club will take place on Monday as usual but other after school clubs for maths, writing, spelling and times tables will not be taking place next week due to Parents Evenings.  All learning clubs will continue in Term 2.

4) On Wednesday (22nd October) the school photographer will be in to take individual photos.

5) We have added some additional spelling resources to our class page which may be helpful.  They can be found here. Our homework pages also continue to list the pages of the CGP books that the children have been asked to work on each week.

Term 1, Week 6 (Friday 10th October)

This term is flying by, it doesn't seem possible that we're over a week into October already.

The children have applied themselves well in their learning this week and have accomplished a lot:

• In English we've been rewriting and innovating a model text, building skills of descriptive writing.  This is preparing the children to write their own effective setting descriptions in the coming days.
• In Maths we have secured our understanding of multiplication further (please keep practising) and have started to look at the process of BODMAS (the order of operations).  We will continue this at the beginning of next week before moving on to consider short and long division.
• In Geography we have considered the effects of climate change and in History we have continued learning about how kingdoms change over time.
• We have also started designing Christmas cards (yes it's that time of year again) and are beginning to prepare for the Year 6 Tie Ceremony which will be held in church during the first week of Term 2 - children will be coming home with their words to learn next week.

As you can see, it's been a busy week and next week looks set to be busy too, so we hope that you all get a good rest this weekend. 

Looking ahead and important dates for next week

1) CGP (homework) books have now been given to those who had ordered them. If you still want to purchase a set please let us know as we may be able to arrange this. 

2) Bookings (and non refundable deposits ) are still being taken for Heatree via Parentpay. The closing date for making bookings is this coming Friday (17th October). We will be in touch soon after this date with further details of ongoing payment plans etc to help you spread the cost as needed. 

3) 6P are swimming on Monday

4) The Year 6 church service (and tie ceremony) is coming up on Wednesday 5th November.  Parents and carers will be very welcome to attend this. Children will be bringing their lines home to learn over the next few days.

5) Thank you very much for your support of the additional learning sessions that we have been offering this term. If you have any queries about these sessions or would like your child to attend a session they are not currently on the list for, please let your child's teacher know. 

6) Please could we remind all children that trading of any toys/stationery etc at school is not allowed and that toys (however small) shouldn't be brought into the classroom where they can distract from learning. 

Term 1, Week 5 (Friday 3rd October)

Well done for another busy week. We can't quite believe how quickly the term is flying by, the children continue to show they have settled into Year 6 really well and are enjoying the different opportunities of this year. This week, the children have particularly enjoyed seeing their EYFS buddies at church and walking them back to school after a lovely Harvest service.

Other highlights of the week have included: Listening to teachers sharing favourite poems on poetry day (and making up some new vocabulary); completing our unit on Performance Poetry by writing original poems; learning (and growing confidence with) the process of long multiplication and building skills in Tag Rugby.

We have also enjoyed seeing some of the children for morning and afternoon additional learning opportunities which started this week.

Looking ahead and important dates for next week

1) CGP (homework) books are now on order and will be given to the children as soon as we receive them - thank you very much for placing your orders for these

2) Bookings (and non refundable deposits ) are still being taken for Heatree via Parentpay.

3) It's the time of the year where many local Secondary Schools hold open events for potential new students.  Please also remember that applications for secondary school places are still open.

4) 6F are swimming on Monday

5) The Year 6 church service (and tie ceremony) is coming up on Wednesday 5th November.  Parents and carers will be very welcome to attend this.

Term 1, Week 4 (Friday 26th September)

Another great week at Sir Henry Fermor, it seems that there's always something exciting for the children to experience and this week has been no exception.

On Wednesday, the children enjoyed a special workshop in scooter skills - they loved the opportunity to go over ramps and jumps, it certainly made for a different PE lesson!

We also ended the week by celebrating European Day of Languages - it was fascinating to hear of the many different countries represented in our classes and to have the opportunity to learn a little Spanish.

Of course we also focused well on learning our core subjects (including investigating factors and divisibility in Maths; and shadows in Science) and we look forward to writing our own performance poetry to "show off" our learning from our latest English unit next week.

Looking ahead to next week - (and things to remember):

• Homework club will run after school on Monday in Mrs Miller's classroom (until 16:15pm - please return your completed permission slip if you would like your child to attend)
• Our before and after school intervention groups will start from next Tuesday - children will bring letters home about this on Monday (apologies we could not send them home today due to a printer fault)
• 6P will be swimming on Monday afternoon
• If you would like to order a set of CGP (Homework) books for your child and have not yet done so, please could you place your order via Parent Pay by the end of the day on Monday so that the order can be placed on Wednesday. Many thanks to those of you who have already ordered these.
• Heatree Deposits are still being taken on ParentPay.
• Children have now been given their badges in recognition of their "Year 6 jobs".  We would encourage them to look after these as at a cost of almost £3 each we are unable to replace them if lost.
• It is possible to apply for your child's secondary school place.  As we mentioned at the Meet the Teacher event we would encourage you to do this as soon as possible before the deadline of 31st October 2025

Term 1, Week 3 (Friday 19th September)

A week that was filled with exciting times for Year 6.  Of course we were busy with lessons in core and foundation subjects, but we also threw in some other great learning opportunities.

• The week (and our new poetry unit) started with a visit from Brian Moses (poet) who inspired the children with his funny poems and tips on choosing topics to write about.  
• In Science we used torches to create shadows and investigate how and why their shapes changed.
• Confidence grew in Maths where we started our new topic by consolidating what we already know about the column methods of addition and subtraction.
• Friday was perhaps the most exciting day for the children as they not only met their EYFS buddies for the first time (and enjoyed reading a story to them) but they also learnt which Year 6 job they have been given.  It was lovely to see how excited the children were for each other as they heard who had been selected for roles including Ambassadors, Office Helpers, Play Leaders, Worship Leaders and many more.  We look forward to seeing how the children take to their roles and the new responsibilities they bring.

Looking ahead to next week - things to remember:

• Homework club starts after school on Monday (running until 16:15pm - please return your completed permission slip if you would like your child to attend)
• 6F will be swimming on Monday afternoon
• If you would like to order a set of CGP (Homework) books for your child and have not yet done so, please could you place your order via Parent Pay by the end of the day on Tuesday (23rd September) so that we can place the order as soon as possible.
• Instead of our usual PE lesson on Friday, we are excited that thanks to FoFS our children will be taking part in a Scooter Workshop on Wednesday this week.  The scooters are provided for this.
• Heatree Deposits are still being taken on ParentPay
• It is possible to apply for your child's secondary school place.  As we mentioned at the Meet the Teacher event we would encourage you to do this as soon as possible before the deadline of 31st October 2025

Term 1, Week 2 (Friday 12th September)

It doesn't seem possible that we've already finished the first 2 weeks of Year 6.  The children have worked so hard this week, particularly as we have completed a range of baseline assessments which are a great way for us to see where knowledge is already very secure or might need a few little reminders to help it stick.

Of course our learning hasn't just involved assessments, we've also been busy in lots of other areas.  In maths we've continued our work on place value (particularly looking at decimal places and rounding), in English we've focused on improving persuasive letters and beginning to plan our own.  As the pictures below show, we've also been working in groups to investigate how light travels in Science, whilst in PE we've been practicing our throwing and catching in tag rugby.

Thank you very much to all those who attended our "Meet the Teacher" morning on Monday.  For anyone who was unable to join, the slides are now available on the presentations page.

Important notices for next week:

1. We have Brian Moses (poet) joining us to lead a workshop about Performance Poetry on Monday afternoon.  Brian will also be in the foyer area (outside the KS1 Hall) immediately after school to sell and sign his poetry books for those who would like to make a purchase.  You can see the books that will be available by clicking this link and payment can be made by cash, cheque or phone.  
2. Due to our Poet's visit, 6P will have their swimming session on Friday rather than Monday.
3. If you would like us to order a set of CGP (Homework) books at the reduced rate for your child, please could you arrange payment via ParentPay
4. Heatree Deposits are now being taken on ParentPay
5. It is now possible to apply for your child's secondary school place.  As we mentioned at the Meet the Teacher event we would encourage you to do this as soon as possible before the deadline of 31st October 2025.

Term 1, Week 1 (Friday 5th September)

Well done everyone, what a great start to the year!

We have been very impressed with how well the children have settled in to the routines of year 6 and how excited they are to start applying to take on additional responsibilities such as play leaders, ambassadors and house captains.

Over the next week or so, our English work will focus on writing persuasive letters (to apply for Year 6 jobs), whilst we will continue our revision of place value in Maths.  We will also be carrying out a series of baseline assessments next week to establish how much the children have retained over the summer - this is not meant to be a stressful time for the children at all, it will highlight any specific areas we need to place our early focus and any areas that the children are already particularly confident with.

Next Week 

We look forward to meeting those who can make it to the "Meet the Teacher" session on Monday morning at 9am (meet at the Year 5/6 exit door) although we will of course be happy to share the information afterwards for anyone who is unable to join us.

Year 6 will be swimming on Monday afternoons this term - it will be 6F's turn first so please make sure they bring their swimming kit (including swimming hat and goggles) on Monday.