Important reminders 

• Children should bring a water bottle to school with them every day.
• PE is on a Friday. Children should come to school wearing their full PE kit.  
• Home school reading diaries should be brought to school every day. Please can all children read at home at least three times each week and can the diary be signed. Thank you. 
• Homework will be given on a Friday and should be returned by the following Thursday. 
• Children will get a new set of spellings on a Monday which they should learn ready for their spelling test the following Monday. 

Dates for your diary 

• Monday 11th - Thursday 14th May 2026 - SATs week

Spring 1

English

In English, this half term, we have been reading and re-telling the historical narrative ‘Rose Blanche’. We have thought carefully about our vocabulary choices and how they impact the reader. The children have explored, in detail, the effects of emotive language and how they can use it effectively in their writing. They have included figurative language and used their 5 senses to make the story come to life.

The Little Mermaid at Southmoor - 20th January 2026

We were very lucky to be invited to Southmoor to watch the dress rehearsal of their performance, The Little Mermaid. The performance was excellent and the children asked lots of questions about performing arts at secondary. They are looking forward to the opportunities which they will be given when they start secondary school. 

Autumn 2

Raich Carter sporting events

Year 6 have had two excellent sports visits to the Raich Carter this month. Earlier in the month, they enjoyed competing in a netball tournament. Some of the children were very excited to show off the skills which they have learnt in netball club. The children demonstrated their ability to pass and defend and worked well in teams. This week, the children took part in sports hall athletics. This involved splitting into teams and completing in a range of events such as javelin, chest push, triple jump and speed bounce. The children also did a range of track events. We were very impressed with how the children supported each other in the events.

Art 

We have been learning about the artists Korem Shadi and Pez. The children explored their artwork and the meaning behind each piece. As a class, we discussed how world issues can be represented through art. The children drew a bottle with images inside to represent world issues. For their final piece, the children focused on the ‘Silent Polluters. They sketched the bottom half of their face and created a sunset background. All of the pieces of art looked amazing and the children worked very hard.

Autumn 1

Beamish - 20th October 2025

As part of our history unit of work all about life in the Victorian times, we visited Beamish Museum. We started our day with a tour down the mine. We learnt all about the ways in which workers used to get down the mines, how much they got paid and what the working conditions were like. We then took part in a Victorian lesson. The teacher was very strict! After lunch, we walked to the old town where we watched a demonstration of how cherry drops were made. We also enjoyed spending our money in the sweet shop. We had a fantastic day and learnt lots of facts about life in the 1900's. 

Karate - 15th October 2025

KS2 enjoyed taster karate sessions this week. We learnt how to do a karate chop, karate punch and how important good balance is. The sessions were great fun!

English 

This half term the Children are enjoying reading Oliver Twist. We have been exploring how the vocabulary used is effective in portraying each character. The children have been planning and writing their own versions of the story, building up to a dramatic ending. To help with this, we looked at the main character at different stages in the narrative and discussed how he would be feeling. We used this information to carefully select vocabulary which matched his feelings. We made sure to vary this vocabulary in order to make our writing exciting for the reader. 

History

In history, we are learning all about the Victorian Era. We have learnt about the life of Queen Victoria and discussed key events which happened during her reign, including The Industrial Revolution. 

Science 

In science, we have been learning about electrical circuits. The children were able to power an LED bulb using lemons, copper coins and zinc nails. We looked at how the citrus inside the lemon reacted with the copper and zinc in order to create a chemical reaction.