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Year 6 - Hawk
SATs 2024
Important dates:
Monday 13th May - Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar - Paper 1
- Spelling, Punctuation & Grammar - Paper 2 (Spelling)
Tuesday 14th May - English Reading
Wednesday 15th May - Maths Paper 1 (Arithmetic)
- Maths Paper 2 (Reasoning)
Thursday 16th May - Maths Paper 3 (Reasoning)
Y6 SATs Breakfast Cafe:
This will take place from Monday 13th May to Thursday 15th May. To find out more, and to sign your child up for this, please follow the link below before Monday 6th May:
Welcome to Hawk Class!
Welcome to Hawk's class page. This will be somewhere for us to share useful information and important updates, as well as celebrating many of the things that we will do throughout the year. As a general rule, if you need it, it will be on here. Having said that, if there is anything else that you would like to see on here, please let me know.
Mrs Dimbleby 
Please remember your e-safety rules before clicking on any of the internet links on this page. For more information on how to stay safe, visit the e-safety page.
Useful Class Information
Class Teacher: Mrs Dimbleby
Other adults working with Year 6: Mrs Ganson, Miss Parker, Mrs Boland, Mrs Hobbs and Ms Sutton
Contacting me
If you need to contact me, you can email me using hawk@balliolschool.co.uk. You can also leave a message at the school office and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
School Uniform
We expect the children to be in full school uniform (when not wearing their PE kit.) Please ensure that they have their ties with them and are also wearing plain black school shoes or plain black trainers.
PE - Monday and Thursday
Children should come to school in their school PE kits on these days. As it is getting much colder, the children need to bring extra layers such as tracksuit bottoms, leggings or jogging bottoms and jumpers or zip-up tops. These should be plain black or navy.
Homework
English and Maths homework will be given out weekly on a Friday. We will discuss homework activities with the children and will also put details of these on the class pages.
Planners
As last year, the children will have their own planner for recording homework and other important information. Most of the local secondary schools use planners, so this is a really good way to help them prepare for Year 7 and beyond. Please sign the planner at the end of each week; this will be checked in school every Monday morning.
Mobile Phones
If your child walks to or from school on their own and you would like them to have their mobile phone with them, that is fine. When the children arrive at school, phones will be collected and stored in a secure place in the classroom. Children will be able to collect these before going home at the end of the day. Please note, the mobile phone remains the responsibility of your child at all times.
What we are learning this term
We have created an overview to show you the main areas of learning we will focus on during the Summer Term. Please see the document below.
The School App
We now use this to send home important information and to keep you up to date. Please consider downloading this (if you do not already have it) so that you don't miss anything important. There is a guide which explains how to download the app below.
Homework
Homework is a very important part of life in Y6 because it will help to support the learning you are doing in school. We expect you all to complete your homework every week. However, if you need any help, please make sure you ask us. Just remember to do this before the day that your homework is due in!
Date set: Friday 19th April
Date due in / date to be completed: Friday 26th April
Revision: Aim to do 30 minutes revision, for 4 or 5 out of the 7 days this week.
Focus on the things in English and Maths that you need a bit of extra practice on. Remember, you have lots of resources available to you. If you need any help, please ask!
Ongoing homework:
As well as the weekly homework that you are set, please make sure you continue to:
- Read regularly. You can read to an adult, but you can also read to yourself. Remember, you should be reading something that you enjoy. This could be a book, a graphic novel, a comic, an e-book, or information on a website.
- Practise 5 (or more) key word spellings a week - you have a list of the words that you need to learn at home.
Reading in Year 6
In Year 6, we want you to LOVE reading and read books which you ENJOY reading and WANT to read. We have lots of brilliant books in the classroom and there are also great books in the school reading books which you can borrow.
Parents and carers: Please see the letter below about reading in Year 6. This was sent home in the first few weeks of the school year.
This is perfect for practising your reading comprehension.
Looking for something to read?
There are some great resources out there to help you choose a book to read. Here are some of the most useful:
#BookMatch - This is part of a fantastic website from 'The Reader Teacher' and has book lists showing you books similar to ones
written by some of the most popular authors at the moment. https://www.thereaderteacher.com/bookmatch
It is worth looking at others parts of this website, there are so many book suggestions, your list will get longer and
longer!
Book of the Week - This is a fabulous resource, made by @primaryteachew. Sadly it is currently too big to add here. If you would like to have a look, please ask Mrs Dimbleby as she has saved it onto the network at school.
Author A-Z - Another fabulous resource, focusing on authors perfect for Y5 & Y6. This was made by @Misterbodd and introduces you to authors, some of their books and books by similar authors.
What to read after - You can put the name of books or authors you really like in the search bar and search for other books that you
might like based on what you have already read. https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/our-
recommendations/what-to-read-after/#!?q=tom%20gates&sortOption=MostRecent&pageNo=1
If your favourite author or set of books is on this map, follow the correct 'tube line' for suggestions of other books that you might like:
#whereweread
Here are some of the interesting and inventive places we have been reading! These photos are really making us 
.
If you would like to share your photo with us, please email it to Mrs Dimbleby (hawk@balliolschool.co.uk).
Sometimes we are lucky enough to get tweets from authors, or win giveaways on Twitter. Here are some of the things we have received this year:
Letters from Authors
Books
Spellings in Year 6
Whichever spellings you are working on, this website is really useful: https://spellingframe.co.uk/
You can click on the year groups you want to. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page to practise the words from our word lists. You can also create your own word lists when you log in. If you are not sure how to do this, please ask.
Another useful website is: http://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/spookySpellings/index.html
You can click on the year groups you want to, then click on the books in the background to select different words.
Key Stage 2 Spelling Lists
Year 6 Spelling Menu
Other Useful Websites for English
BBC Bitesize - Y6 English - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zv48q6f
BBC Bitesize Crystal Explorers - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zkbkf4j/articles/zbm8scw
Synonyms and Antonyms: https://www.abcya.com/games/wordtoss_synonym_antonym
Maths in Year 6
Here are lots useful websites which you can use at home to help you with your Maths:
Do you fancy a daily challenge? If so, this could be the one for you. If you have seen people playing 'Wordle' on their phones, this is a Maths version and we are fairly sure that you might beat quite a few adults on it!
Ooodle - https://mathszone.co.uk/resources/grid/ooodle/
https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school/student/17733
To check whether you are using the most up-to-date version of TTRS at home, please visit https://play.ttrockstars.com/reset, or update the app in your app store.
If your parent or carer has any questions about TTRS, this is a great place for them to look: https://ttrockstars.com/parents/
Times Tables - This website is particularly good if you need to work on a certain times table. It gives you different ways to practise the multiplication facts in order and mixed up. https://www.timestables.co.uk/
Hit The Button - This is a great game to help you practise your times tables, as well as related facts such as doubles, halves and square numbers. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
Eedi - As you know, this is a fantastic website which we use for homework, but you can also use it to practise many different areas of Maths as well. https://app.eedi.co.uk/login
My Maths - This is not just for homework! You can log on and access lots of lessons and activities as well as games. The lessons are particularly useful as they explain what you need to do and give you examples to try. https://www.mymaths.co.uk/
Corbett Maths Primary - A fantastic website. Many of the resources can be printed, but could also be looked at on screen with
practise being done on paper.
5-a-day: 5 questions to practise every day at different levels. Perfect for practising those important, basic skills as well as other
areas of Year 6 Maths.
Videos: Videos to explain how to tackle different skills, followed by questions to answer.
Worksheets: These link to the videos mentioned above.
Quizzes: Link to Kahoot quizzes.
https://corbettmathsprimary.com/
My Mini Maths - This is a really useful website which can be used every day, or can be used to focus on areas which you would like to practise more. Many areas include videos to watch and there are always questions to have a go at answering.
https://myminimaths.co.uk/year-6-mini-maths/
This part of My Mini Maths is particularly helpful when you are practising for the Arithmetic paper. You can select the types of questions you find tricky, watch a video to help you, then try lots of examples of that type of question:
https://myminimaths.co.uk/arithmetic-16-practice-questions/
IXL - A fantastic website. You can pick an area to work on, look at examples or explanations and also answer some example questions. To use the website for free, you are limited to a certain number of questions, but it's definitely worth looking at every now and then. https://uk.ixl.com/math/year-6
BBC Bitesize - A great website. Again, you can choose an area to look at. There are videos, explanations and short quizzes to help you. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z826n39
Prodigy - This is a fun-packed website mixing games and Maths. https://www.prodigygame.com/
Adults can find out more by looking at https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/parents-guide-to-prodigy/
Guardians of Mathematica - Our new favourite game!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zd2f7nb/articles/zn2y7nb
Topmarks - You can search for games that link to specific areas of Maths. Look out for the age range underneath all games. It will give you a good idea of how useful it is. https://www.topmarks.co.uk/
Mathsframe - There are lots of great games on here - just make sure you pick one that helps you. https://mathsframe.co.uk/
Maths Is Fun - This site is really good at explaining things and gives you practice questions at the bottom of each page.
Online Maths Dictionary - http://www.amathsdictionaryforkids.com/dictionary.html
Y6 Maths 'How to do...' Videos
These videos have been made to help you with your homework, or with your revision. This is something new that we are trying, so if you would like a video made and added here, please ask.
All of the videos can be watched by clicking on the link provided.
Multiplying by 10, 100 and 1000 - https://loom.com/share/32d3c882ec5e4f14807435f4bd1d73e5 This video was made for home learning but is still useful as a reminder.
Dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 - https://loom.com/share/4f95eca7ff0e4908b85c66c970ed9c28 This video was made for home learning but is still useful as a reminder.
Long Division - https://loom.com/share/c7339fce1a0c48a989eb67327e7d4418
Darwin 200 Project
On the 15th August 2023, a ship set sail from Plymouth Harbour to recreate Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle. The voyage will stop at the same places that Darwin stopped at, re-creating many of his experiments, as well as conducting new ones to measure the impact of change.
This is really exciting as we study Charles Darwin and his voyage in the Autumn term. However, we will be able to follow this project throughout the year.
If you would like to find out more at home, or look again at things we have looked at in school, here are some useful links:
- https://darwin200.com/ - homepage of the project's website.
- https://darwin200.com/globalvoyage/ - use this page to follow the voyage and to find out more about the different stages still to come.
- https://darwin200.com/online-classroom/ - use this page to access the online classroom
French 
If you would like to find out more about what we have been doing in French with Madame Kaler, watch useful videos or find more information about challenges that she has set you, you can find all this here: https://www.petite-etoile.co.uk/balliol-primary
New Year Challenge from Madame Kaler
LA FETE DES ROIS: Three Kings Day - A celebration for Epiphany on the 6th January
We have started the year by learning about a traditional celebration on the 6th January which celebrates the arrival of the three Kings to Bethlehem. On this, the twelfth night, the family gets together for their last Christmas feast. The family eats a special cake called 'LA GALETTE DES ROIS'. It is a cake made of puff pastry. Inside is a lucky charm: 'UNE FEVE.' The youngest in the family sits underneath the table during the cutting of the cake and calls out names of family members around the table to have a slice of 'la galette.' Whoever gets the piece of 'LA GALETTE' with 'LA FEVE' inside, wears a crown and becomes King or Queen for the day!
If you would like to have a go at making a 'Galette des Rois' click here for the recipe and here for a fantastic video from Nathalie Paris, who shows you how to make 'une galette' in French. Take a photo and email it to Madame Kaler, or bring it in to school. Everyone who completes the challenge will get a prize!
Espresso
To access Espresso from home, go to https://www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/ then click 'Login' in the top right-hand corner.
Login details: student 4307 / espresso (Please do not change this as it is the login for the whole school.)
What we've been up to!