Yr6 Curriculum Update – 24/08/18
Working together to achieve success for every child
The Year 6 Team
Welcome to the 1st addition of our Year 6 Curriculum Update!
In each update you will be able to see glimpses of the learning journey that our students have been involved in over the previous two weeks. Our Learning Journey will be written by teachers and students.
In the last two weeks, our students got a number of Opportunities to build Agency, Well-being and Respect across the whole Year group. Kindly read this update along with your child, so they can talk you through all the incredible things that have taken place so far!
Transdisciplinary Learning – It’s all connected!
What an awesome start! Our first two weeks of school were all about Well-being at KJS. The focus of teaching and learning was to develop positive relationships not only within the classrooms but also across the entire Year 6.
Our first unit of inquiry is a school wide focus with all students exploring the central idea of; “Making choices that develop respectful relationships with ourselves, others and the environment define who we are as individuals and as a community.” This year, our Year 6 students will get various opportunities to be leaders in different areas, such as Library monitors, playground monitors, Student Council representatives etc. In order to further develop the concept of how to lead self and others, students explored the attributes of some successful leaders. They analysed roles and responsibilities associated with different jobs and positions in year 6 and compared the attributes required to lead in these roles successfully.
“Do not worry too much about your difficulties in mathematics, I can assure you that mine are still greater.” Albert Einstein.
Year 6 have had a fantastic start to their maths learning this term by finding out how their brains work during the learning of maths. They have experienced collaborating on open ended learning tasks to find out the importance of struggle, taking time and valuing mistakes in developing maths understanding. They have listened to Professor Jo Boaler of Stanford University telling them that there is no such thing as a ‘maths person’ and that everybody can be successful in maths by being motivated, having deep learning experiences and by believing in themselves. Please support maths learning by embracing these messages and talking about them at home. You can find out more about our approach to Maths Learning at KJS and how you can help at home by clicking on this link.
In Physical Education, our Y6 students have spent last week preparing for their ‘Amazing Race’ which they completed this week. A series of group challenges designed to test their physical and mental abilities and of course, crucially, their ability to work with others, deal with situations when it goes a little wrong (which it did) and engage with their classmates with a fun, positive attitude. At this time of year, this gives our students an opportunity to identify and reflect on areas of wellbeing they may want to be mindful of and develop in the weeks to come.
The start of the school year can be a bleak time in the life of classroom decoration. There are so many other tasks to complete before aesthetics can be dealt with. Not this year though…thanks to OPERATION OWN IT!
Some year 6 students this year were given the task to personalise a space in their classroom during the first week and make it their own. This gave them the opportunity to the show each other “Who They Are” and express themselves through their passions. They also got a chance to visit each other’s space and provide positive peer feedback.
As part of developing student voice (Agency in AAROW), Year 6 students have been involved in design the year 6 shared area. Working in teams, with specific criteria, the students used creative thinking to come up with productive, but beautiful spaces throughout the shared area.
Congratulations to the following students whose designs have been selected by their peers and teachers:
Charlotte 6L
Isabella 6L
Jae Yun 6L
Rhianna 6L
Nathaniel 6G
Zuhair 6G
Sebastian 6G
Luke 6G
Be on the lookout for photos once the shared area has been completed!
Our next curriculum update with be written in partnership with our year 6 students. The jobs of students editors and photographers were rolled out the Year group and 10 students were nominated to report on learning in different areas.
How you can help at home?
Please talk to the students about the different attributes that they will need in order to lead themselves and others. Reading some books at home about popular leaders and not so popular leaders can help children to analyse the different attributes that leaders need to be able to lead successfully. Leading at home… what would that look like? Please have a discussion with your child about how they can lead at home and what attributes they will need to be successful leaders.
We believe in partnering with the parents to boost our students learning. As part of the process to develop the shared area, our students would like to use items that are made of natural materials such as empty cans, glass jars and baskets/containers. In case you have any above mentioned items at home and you wish to donate them, kindly send them to school along with your child. Before sending in, please ensure the items are clean and labels have been removed.
- Thursday 30 August Evening Session ‘Wellbeing’ Dr Helen Street sign up gateway
- Friday 31 August Staff Continuous Professional Development Day – No school
- Monday 3 September Welcome Meetings No school for children, sign up gateway
- Friday 14 September KJS Lantern Festival & PTA AGM
Kind regards,
Year 6 Team
