Croeso i’r Dosbarth Magpies!

Here is some general information about our class.

Year 5/6 Expectations

Year 5/6 is very much a transitional period, as the children reach their final years in Primary Education and take their first steps towards adulthood. As the oldest children, there is an expectation that they will set the example to the rest of school, in terms of their appearance, behaviour and attitude towards school life. Each morning we expect the children to arrive at school on time, in full school uniform and organised for the day ahead. It now needs to become very much their responsibility (not yours!) to ensure that this is the case so, if you need to, take a step back and let them learn to organise themselves, even if it goes wrong to begin with!

The Year 5/6 curriculum is a very tightly packed one and the children will be encouraged to develop resilience and a Growth Mindset to reach their goals. Children are encouraged to take ownership of their learning and are expected to complete each piece of work to the best of their abilities organising it clearly, and in accordance with the expectations of the school’s policy for pace, presentation and performance.

As the older children at our school, pupils are expected to embrace their roles and responsibilities as ambassadors to their peers, by setting an excellent example in their behaviour and attitude to school life. Within the classroom and school, the children have been given the opportunity to apply for key jobs and responsibilities, which they will be expected to complete autonomously and to the best of their abilities.

Language, literacy and communication

Writing

When completing homework tasks, please encourage your child to write in the cursive style that the school has adopted. We also expect pupils in year 5/6 to present work clearly and effectively. Pupils should consider layout and overall presentation that is specific to the writing genre they are focussing on.

Spelling

Weekly spellings will be based around the year 5/6 spelling patterns and will focus on the sounds and blends of letters. Pupils will complete a range of activities throughout the week to reinforce the pattern and will be tested on a weekly basis. Children are encouraged to be creative and use the class spelling menu ideas (attached to weekly spelling words on Seesaw) as inspiration to help reinforce key spelling patterns in a fun and enjoyable way.  

Reading

It is paramount that your child reads every day at home in order to develop fluency and understanding of a variety of text types (at least 10-15 minutes daily reading is recommended). We encourage pupils to read a range of literature that are challenging, including texts linked to real life. Please listen to your child read every week, even if you deem them to be ‘fluent,’ as discussion about the text will help your child’s vocabulary to expand, and aid with developing their writing. Pupils will read in a focus group at least once a week and will complete a range of tasks to improve reading skills daily. In year 5/6, pupils are expected to liaise with parents to complete the ‘Home School Reading comment' on Seesaw which they are responsible for updating on a weekly basis.

Numeracy and Mathematics

In line with the new curriculum, pupils have been placed in maths group within the classroom that will enable them to develop their maths skills at a pace that is suitable to them. 

We use White Rose maths as a guide to support our teaching of mathematics in the classroom.  Children are encouraged to  refer to the White Rose 'Learning videos' and 'Free download workbooks' as an extra tool to support home school learning and to reinforce key concepts taught in the classroom.  

Help encourage your child to rapidly recall number bonds to multiples of 10’s, 100’s and 1000’s, as well as multiplication facts to 12 x 12 at random – TTRockStars is a great way to help develop these skills and children will be set weekly 'Battles' where House Points will be rewarded for both participation and overall effort - Pob Lwc!

Seesaw

We will continue to use Seesaw to showcase pupils' learning and to communicate with parents.  A secure online learning journal, children can create and upload their work to document their learning. Your child will add photos, videos, worksheets, drawings and voice recordings to their individual Seesaw journal. You can also sign up for a free Seesaw family account by
downloading the Seesaw Family app, giving you access to your own child’s learning journal if you have not done so already.  Seesaw journals are private and only accessible by the teacher, students, and parents.  It is a requirement of Seesaw’s terms and conditions that we gain parental permission to use their platform. Seesaw has a thoroughly robust privacy policy and has committed never to share your child’s personal information or journal content. We hope that your child will continue to enjoy using Seesaw to document and share their learning this year. You can learn more about Seesaw by visiting
http://web.seesaw.me/
 

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