Welcome back Oak Tree Class!

Happy New Year! I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas break, spending time with family and friends, and that the children are ready for the new term ahead!

If there are ever any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. The support you give is essential for your child's progress and the closer we can work together, the better it will be for them. Finally, don’t forget to follow our class on twitter @OakClass_Sankey for regular updates.

Kind Regards,

Mr. Johnson

Curriculum Overview:

Maths

We will be focusing on developing our understanding of fractions, decimals and percentages then position and direction, measurement and shape - in particular perimeter, area and volume. Throughout our sessions, the children will focus on developing their problem-solving skills, making decisions, working logically and checking results.

English

In our English lessons this term, we are continuing to work on our knowledge of punctuation and grammar from across KS2, with a particular focus on being able to extend our sentences through the use of different clauses. All of our writing across the year will be inspired by high quality texts and children's literature and we will be starting the term off with some writing linked to the story, The Darkest Dark.  Where possible, we will try to link our spellings in class to our writing also.  We will be completing daily whole class reading sessions to develop the children’s reading stamina, pace, understanding of vocabulary and comprehension skills alongside individual reading sessions where each child will be heard to read by an adult weekly. Alongside everything we do in school, it is incredibly important that children are reading a variety of texts both fiction and non-fiction regularly at home and recording their comments in the planners. The planners need to be in school daily and to be signed at by an adult regularly. Finally, the children will need to focus on using spelling strategies and rules consistently to ensure they spell a variety of common and uncommon words accurately. They need to be practising their spellings regularly at home. Please see the spelling strategies document to support your child learning their weekly word lists at home. 

Science  

This term, our science focus will be on light - how we see, shadows, reflection and refraction. The children will learn how light travels and how this enables us to see objects. Please read through our curriculum overview and knowledge organisers to see some of the exciting things planned.

Geography                                           

Our Geography topic for this term is ‘Why Is The Amazon So Important?’ and the children will be looking at the direct impact and effects of The Amazon Rainforest and River as well as the wider effects on the world. 

History                  

In History, we will be studying The Ancient Egyptians and looking at what life was like in 3000BC.

Additional Messages:

SATs 

In May 2026, children in Y6 will complete their statutory end of key stage assessments known as SATs. The children will be tested in Reading, Maths and Grammar, Punctuation & Spelling with Writing being teacher assessed in school. The tests will take place the week beginning Monday 11th May 2026 so we ask that any holidays or time off is not taken during this month. An information evening for parents giving further details will be held later this year and a timetable will be sent out to you in the first week of the Summer term to confirm arrangements. SATs Booster sessions will take place throughout this term and all Year 6 pupils have access to SATs Boot Camp which will support their learning at home.

Reading:

Please make sure that you read regularly (at least three times per week) and get an adult to sign your planner each week. You can read your school reading book, your own book, a library book, newspapers, comics, etc.

Spellings:

Spellings will be taught and practised throughout the week and tests will take place each Friday morning with new spelling lists posted on Google Classroom every Friday. 

PE:

For this term, indoor PE will be on Wednesdays and outdoor PE is on Fridays.  Once again, the children can come into school in their school PE kits on these days - a T-Shirt in their house colour and black shorts / joggers / leggings and trainers - with all hair tied back and jewellery removed. Please make sure these PE uniform guidelines are adhered to as last year we started to notice a few football shirts, etc. starting to creep in. It is important the children look as smart in their PE kits as they do in their uniforms. Thanks for your support with this. 

Homework:

Continuing on from last term, we will be setting a weekly English and maths task for the children to complete on Learning by Questions. These tasks will be set on a Friday and should be completed by the following Friday. All of the tasks will be linked to learning that has taken place in school so the children should be able to complete the tasks mostly independently. If you find your child struggling on a particular question, please make a note of the question number and we can go through this in class together.

Some useful websites, resources and links:

https://spellingframe.co.uk - Spelling Frame. A great, interactive website to give you chance to practise your spellings in a variety of different ways.

https://ttrockstars.com/ - Times Table Rockstars. Use this website to practise your times tables, battle with your band mates and keep your arithmetic skills up to scratch!

SATs Boot Camp - Year 6 SATs Revision, Practice Papers & SATs Questions Online - SATs Boot Camp (Year 6 only). Use this website to revise maths and English units and complete practice SATs tests in preparation for your SATs in May.