Welcome back Oak Tree Class!

I hope you have all had a lovely summer holidays, spending time with family and friends, and the children are ready for their first term of the new academic year!

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

Our Maths topics for the autumn term will focus heavily on number, place value and the four written calculations and it is imperative that children are supplementing this work with basic skills practise at home. Please encourage the children to use their log in for Times Table Rockstars regularly at home to ensure they know all the multiplication and division facts accurately and rapidly as this knowledge and recall will be hugely beneficial this year.

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 Star of Fear, Star of Hope by Jo Hoestlandt. 

In Reading sessions, we will continue to improve our skills with particular focus upon discussing and answering questions using our inference skills, understanding unfamiliar vocabulary and around the author's viewpoint and their use of devices to engage and support the reader. Children will be encouraged to answer in detail and use the text as evidence.

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  

In our Science lessons this term, we look at the two topics of 'Forces in Action' and 'Earth and Space'. Throughout their lessons, children will explore the forces of gravity, air resistance, water resistance, and friction as well as looking at levers and pulleys before moving on to learning about our solar system, orbits of the moon and the Earth's rotations. 

Geography                                           

Our Geography topic for this term is ‘Where on Earth does it come from?' This topic looks at the use of land around the world (including farming), trade links and the distribution of natural resources including food. Children will look at where commonly used resources come from, how they travel and how land is used differently. As part of the topic, children will plot on a world map where foods they eat have travelled from and they are always quite astonished at just how far many of our foods travel to reach our dinner plates!

History                  

In our History lessons, we will be studying the enquiry question 'How did the steam engine change the world?' with a focus upon the Industrial Revolution and its impact upon our town and the wire industry. We will continue to use a range of historical skills, including looking at different historical sources including using our knowledge of our local area. 

Additional Messages:

SATs 

In May 2025, 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 12th May 2025 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 after the Christmas holidays.

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, outdoor PE (football) will be on Monday and indoor PE (Real PE) is on Wednesday.  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:

Homework will be posted on Google Classroom each Friday and should be returned by the following Thursday. Homework will consist of a Maths activity and an English activity linked to the unit of work they are covering in class, so they should be able to complete the activity independently. 

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!