📚Jeff Kinney visit to Our Lady’s!!!📚

I can hardly believe I am typing this, but yesterday we welcomed THE world-renowned author and cartoonist, Jeff Kinney, into our school!! We were so fortunate to be selected for this visit and the whole of the school were unbelievably excited to meet the ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ writer. We gathered together, as a whole school, while Jeff delivered an fun, interactive assembly and then he spent some time with our Year 6 librarians! I had 7 extremely giddy librarians in my class yesterday! This was such an amazing opportunity to raise the profile of reading within our school and further inspire our budding writers and illustrators.

Jeff Kinney visit….

Here is what else we have been up to….

In Maths we continued to looked at converting between fractions and decimals and then moved on to multiplying by decimals.

In English we finished and copied up our descriptive cyclone poems. I was so impressed with the standard of these poems and so were the class. So much so that we made three copies-one to display in the classroom, one for our books and one to take home! We then moved on to looking at the introduction of one of the main characters in The Wizard of Oz : Scarecrow. We compared the introduction of Scarecrow in the novel with the film version, noting any similarities and differences. We then looked in more depth at the description of Scarecrow and innovated Frank L Baum’s description from the book.

In RE we look at an example of injustice that happened back in 2000 when a wealthy gold mining company set up work in Honduras, which hugely affected the local residents in the area. Not only did they have to move from their homes and life in (very poorly made) houses, they also had no land to plant their crops, were inflicted with air and noise pollution and had no clean water to drink so had to resort to drinking unsafe, contaminated water from the gold mine company. We linked this injustice to Pope Francis and Jesus teachings and discussed how this company were not playing their part ot be stewards of God’s creation-this also link in nicely with Pope Francis’ words from Laudato Si.

In Science the class complete an end of topic quiz on our topic from last half term. Any questions they did not know the answer to, they researched and filled in with their purple pens.

In Computing we started to make a PowerPoint presentation all about Bletchley Park. Each group will be presenting these to the class, when they have been completed.

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Oscar for giving up his own time to make and sell items to raise money for charity.

The Writing Award went to Bobby for the huge improvement to the standard of his written work.

The Maths award went to Joshua for his quick mental maths when dividing numbers by 10 and 100.

NOTICES:

Children in Need-I would like to say a huge thank you for the effort and donations from today. It was a huge success, and as a school we raised a lot of money towards Children in Need charities. A special mention to Oscar Op and Jacob for helping to make and sell items to raise extra money for this charity too!
Homework concerns- I have started to notice that more and more children each week are failing to complete either the Bedrock lesson or the IXL units, and in some cases both! I really do not want the standard of homework completion to slip. Please can I politely ask parents to remind their child at home that all online homework has to be completed by Wednesday evening. I will reiterate this in school too.

PE day- Wednesdays.

Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Wednesday Word and TenTen Newsletter

Please have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worships…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

WEDNESDAY WORD Please follow this link below to access the Gospel Readings for the forthcoming week, there are also some fun activities to complete, this is a fantastic family resource to share and celebrate with your child at home.

Wednesday Word

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedNovember 17, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

Tomorrow marks Armistice Day: November 11th. On Sunday 12th, it is Remembrance Sunday. Today, Year 6 led a special remembrance assembly. Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed since the end of the First World War in 1919 to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. We wanted to gather as a school as a mark of respect to remember and pray for all those fallen soldiers, who have bravely fought for our country in past wars, and also for those who are still fighting for our country now. Year 6 led this assembly so beautifully-many members of staff commented on how well they led this reflection and how respectful they were. Our Head Boy and Girl-Joseph & Charlotte- have also been selling poppies around school this week, with all proceeds going towards the Poppy Appeal.

Remembrance Assembly

Here’s what else we have been up to this week…

In Maths we have been using our knowledge of coordinates to translate and reflect shapes on a grid. We then moved onto our new unit on decimals. Firstly, we focused on dividing numbers by multiples of 10,100 and 1000. We looked at how dividing by an amount such as 300, we could divide by 3 and then divide by 100 or if we were dividing by 40, we could first divide by 4 and then 10. We also looked at decimal and fraction equivalents.

In English we have continued with our Classic Fiction unti. We have been: close reading the introductory paragraph from The Wizard of Oz to deepen our comprehension; answering questions on cinematic choices of sound, based on the opening ‘cyclone’ film clip from the Wizard of Oz; choosing powerful words/phrases and vocabulary to describe the cyclone from the Wizard of Oz. We have used this descriptive language to start drafting a free verse poem all about the Cyclone.

In RE we started a new unit on ‘Justice’. We looked at what Justice actually means and what God teaches us about justice. We also looked at examples of injustice happening in our world today but also examples in our everyday life. Year 6 then created posters/leaflets all about Justice.

In Science we looked at how diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle choices can have a positive/negative impact of our bodies and health. The class then created information texts all about what we should do to maintain a healthy and well balanced life, which will keep our bodies in good physical condition.

In HRSE our next session was on ‘Peculiar Feelings’. The aim was for the class to deepen their understanding of the range and intensity of their feelings; that ‘feelings’ are not good guides for actions and to learn that some behaviour is wrong, unacceptable, unhealthy or risky.

In Geography we started a new topic on The UK. To begin with we labelled (on a blank map) the 4 countries, capital cities, seas and islands that surround the UK. We then researched the answers to questions all about the UK using different sources of information: the internet, atlases, our Geography books and knowledge organisers.

In Art painted poppy pictures in honour of Remembrance day. They are beautiful….

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Joseph for taking on so much responsibility within school and undertaking any task with such respect. He is really helping to look after this school!

The Writing Award went to Frankie for his effective use of language in his descriptive poem.

The Maths award went to Isabella for her great work converting between decimals and fractions.

NOTICES:

Friday 17th November is Children in Need Day. To mark this day in school we would like to invite children to come to school in their own clothes that day, Pudsey ears and all, for a donation of £1 to Children in Need charities.

PE is on Wednesdays.

Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Wednesday Word and TenTen Newsletter

Please have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worships…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

WEDNESDAY WORD Please follow this link below to access the Gospel Readings for the forthcoming week, there are also some fun activities to complete, this is a fantastic family resource to share and celebrate with your child at home.

Wednesday Word

Online Safety at Our Lady’s

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guide gives helpful advice about…

microtransactions – those in-app or in-game purchases which can tempt young users into regular online spending.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evan

PostedNovember 10, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

We welcomed in this new half term with a whole school mass to celebrate the feast of All Saints. This was also a joint celebration to mark Our Lady’s School’s 70th birthday! It was a lovely start to the week and a time to reflect on what it is to be saint. Fr. Frank talked about how the word ‘Saint’ means holy and to be a saint is to treat others as we would treat Jesus. I think Our Lady’s is full of Saints in the making! After mass, the parishioners from Our Lady’s were invited over to the school hall for tea, coffee, biscuits and a chance to reminisce on the history of Our Lady’s school. We had also delved into the archives and managed to get pictures of Our Lady’s school along with past pupils and teachers, from years passed.

Here’s what else we have been up to this week…

In Maths we have been finding fractions of amounts and writing and plotting co-ordinates in the four quadrants on a graph.

In English we have started our new unit on ‘Classic Fiction’. In our first lesson we wrote a discussion text based on the question ‘Can modern literature be classed as Classic Fiction?’ We explored some arguments for and against this idea and then the children put their own view across too. We have also been exploring new vocab, including archaic language, from the opening on ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ This will be our main focus text for this unit but we will also be exploring extracts from many classic fiction books.

In RE we were asking and responding to questions about the Kingdom of God. We thought of two questions we found difficult to answer ourselves and went around the class to ask our friends to respond to them. Once we had our friend’s response we then wrote a reflection on what we thought.

In History we have come to the end of our Battle of Britain topic, so we responded to the question ‘How was the Battle of Britain a significant turning point in British history.’ We then filled in a critical thinking grid with our different responses to the topic as a whole.

In Computing we did some research on Bletchley Park.

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Elsie for being one of those children who is always getting on with her work!

The Writing Award went to Hallie for her cohesive piece of writing in History.

The Maths award went to William for his brilliant work on co-ordinates.

NOTICES:

PE is on Wednesdays.

Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Wednesday Word and TenTen Newsletter

Please have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worships…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

WEDNESDAY WORD Please follow this link below to access the Gospel Readings for the forthcoming week, there are also some fun activities to complete, this is a fantastic family resource to share and celebrate with your child at home.

Wednesday Word

Online Safety at Our Lady’s

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guides give helpful advice about…

The social media site X, highlighting the major changes since its rebrand from Twitter and the related online safety risks.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: a suspense-filled horror game which has nevertheless attracted a relatively young fan-base.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

Thank you for a great first week back, Year 6!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evan

PostedNovember 3, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

And just like that, we come to the end of our first half term! I am so pleased with how well all of my Year 6’s have settled into the Year 6 routine and expectations, and because of this, we have managed to cover so much in 7 weeks. From fractions and percentages to biographies and letter writing, we’ve covered a range of topics. The class have been so engrossed in their History topic, ‘The Battle of Britain’, and we have looked in-depth at 'The Kingdom of God, linking this with our beliefs and making links with scripture. On top of all that, we have established our roles and responsibilities, lead whole school assemblies and made a start on some practice SATs papers….a week off to relax is definitely deserved!

Today we had our Harvest festival and we came together as a whole school to celebrate this. Thank you for your generous contributions to our Harvest collection, it’s' very much appreciated. The tins of food (over 500 tins!!) will be going to a local food bank for people within the community, which I’m sure you’ll agree is a worthy cause. Thank you for your generous support!

This afternoon the children were very excited to have a visit from a therapy dog. The dog came in to visit all the children in a special assembly and after half term, he’ll be working with children in Year 2.

Here is what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we have continued to look at fractions. We have been multiplying them, dividing them and finding fractions of amounts. We also had a go at an arithmetic paper this week. I was so impressed with how well the class did with this, especially considering it was the first paper they had done. We also used a lesson this week to go over some of the questions they found most difficult in the test.

In English we finished off our biographies and had a go at two papers: the GPS (grammar) paper and the reading paper. Again, I was so proud of how everyone did in these papers. I did have to remind the class that it is only October and we still have plenty of time before our actual SATS, which also means plenty of time to see those initial scores go up!

In RE we looked at some of the miracles Jesus performed, linking them to His compassion and how it showed signs of the Kingdom of God. We also discussed the times in which we have shown compassion to others and ways in which we can follow Christ’s example by showing compassion through our future actions.

In History we looked at historic landmarks, from WW2, in our local area. We used a map of our local area to locate pillboxes, RAF training grounds and even an experimental radar station! Did you know there is a pillbox, from WW2 on Common Edge Road?? Just up the road from school!

This week we also had a special workshop delivered by ladies from the NSPCC. This workshop emphasised the importance for our children to speak out when they are worried about anything. We talked about the different kinds of abuse that children may suffer and that there will always be someone to talk to about this, whether it be a trusted adult they know or Childline. ‘We all have the right to speak out and stay safe!!’

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Emma for being a considerate member of the class/

The Writing Award went to Ayson for the huge improvement in his written work, since September.

The Maths award went to Hallie for all of her efforts this half term-they have certainly paid off.

NOTICES:

We return to school on Tuesday 31st October.
PE will remain on Wednesdays when we return after half term.

Homework-I have not set homework over the half term. I do ask, however, that the children keep up with their home reading.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Wednesday Word and TenTen Newsletter

Please have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worships…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

WEDNESDAY WORD Please follow this link below to access the Gospel Readings for the forthcoming week, there are also some fun activities to complete, this is a fantastic family resource to share and celebrate with your child at home.

Wednesday Word

Online Safety

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guides give helpful advice about…

EA Sports FC 24 This is the spiritual successor to FIFA which is likely to be a similarly spectacular hit among young football fans.

We hope you find these guides informative and helpful in promoting the positive use of technology to make the online world a better and safer place for us all.

I hope you all have a lovey half term!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedOctober 20, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

Show Racism the Red Card Conference-Tuesday 10th October 2023

On Tuesday we had the privilege of attending the Show Racism the Red card conference, at Blackpool Football Club. This day had a huge impact on all of us and we took so much away from it. We had three workshops: one was about hate crime, another on discrimination and prejudice and the other was a tour around the football grounds, where we also designed anti-racism posters. The day ended with the children, in groups, creating a presentation on a chosen topic, and some groups were chosen to present their ideas to none other than Trevor Sinclair and Alan Irvine!! 😮 Two out of three of our groups were chosen to present their ideas! If things couldn’t get any better, one of our posters was chosen as runner up-each child from the group received a goodie bag and we won a signed t shirt for our school. Well done to Mickey, Frankie, Isabella and Lexi-Rose who were our winning team!!

The day was a huge success on such a relevant and important topic. I was so impressed with how Year 6 conducted themselves and how well they participated in the discussions that took place.

We felt is was very fitting, in light of our day at the Anti-Racism conference, to reflect on this in our RE and Worship. We looked at what scripture teaches us about equality and justice and found that the words from the book of Genesis ‘God created mankind in His image’, were poignant when discussing anti-racism. We wrote down a reflection on anti-racism and how this links in with the words from the scripture, and these refection sit proudly on our worship display.

Here’s what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we have been doing some tricky work on fractions! We have been adding and subtracting mixed numbers and looking at the different methods we can use. Some of us have mastered it and some of us are getting there! We will continue to revisit this regularly through our Fluent in 5! We also did our first practice arithmetic test….more for me to see the children’s strengths and areas for development (as well as gaps in our learning). I was so impressed with the class’s attitude towards this test and I am proud of them all.

In English the children have been writing their independent biography. I look forward to reading all of these completed pieces of writing and can use this to help feedback on each child’s writing during our brief parent meeting on Monday 16th October.

In Science we finally recorded our results of our investigation. Each child had chosen three other activities to undertake, and they recorded their heart rates immediately after. On Monday, they will write their conclusions.

In History we finished our pilot letters and started to look at the events of ‘The Blitz’. In our next lesson, we will be responding to the question ‘Was their a Blitz Spirit?’ using evidence to support ideas for and against this idea.

In Art we painted our model Spitfires. They look great…..

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Lexi-Rose for her impeccable manners!

The Writing Award went to Oscar Op for using a range of punctuation in his writing.

The Maths award went to Amy for her superb times tables work this week!

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
We are collecting tins of for Harvest. Any contributions are more than welcome!
Reading books - the class now have their ZPDs and will be coming home with books to read, within their range. Please can someone from home sign their records any time they complete home reading. In Year 6, I would expect them to be reading at least between 3 and 4 times a week.
Parent meeting on Monday 16th October. I can see all parents have booked a meeting with me-I look forward to meeting will you all then! My slot with each of you will be just 5 minutes long so I will let you know how your child has settled in and how they are doing so far in their learning.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Please have a look at this Parent Newsletter linked with our weekly whole school and class worships…

TenTen Parent Newsletter

WEDNESDAY WORD Please follow this link below to access the Gospel Readings for the forthcoming week, there are also some fun activities to complete, this is a fantastic family resource to share and celebrate with your child at home.

Wednesday Word

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedOctober 13, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

This month of October marks Black History Month and next week we have been given the opportunity to attend the ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ conference at Blackpool Football Club (please click here to view letter sent home about this). This is an educational event aimed at encouraging students to help address race, equality and stereotyping. In preparation for this conference, this week we looked at a comprehension centered around the life of Rosa Park, whose courageous actions had a huge impact on the lives of millions of African Americans. We also discussed the importance of equality and how God made us all in His image and loves us all equally!

Here’s what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we started the week simplifying factions then went on to comparing and ordering fractions with different denominators. After our first lesson on this I quickly realised that this was a concept that many found tricky so we continued this for a couple of lessons. I was so pleased to see so many have their ‘click’ moment with ordering fractions-it all started to make sense!

In English we finished our class write-a biography all about Usain Bolt. The children innovated the ideas we shared as a class and I then had the chance to read and mark their work, giving thorough feedback and targets on their written work. They are now ready to write an independent biography-the planning process has already begun!

In RE we continued to look at the life and actions of Maximilian Kolbe and responded to questions about what values of God’s Kingdom he showed and where we think he got his strength and courage from.

In Science we finished planning our heart rate investigation and started to record our results. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to complete the investigation (as so many of us took a while to find our pulses! 🙊) but we will finish this next week and write our conclusion based on our results.

In HRSE our focus was on body image and recognising that images in the media do not always reflect reality and can affect how people feel about themselves. we also reflected on the fact that thankfulness builds resilience against feelings of envy, inadequacy etc, and against pressure from peers or the media.

In History (and DT) we made model Spitfires!! We used clay to mold our Spitfires and they are now drying ready to be painted next week. Here are some pictures of our Spitfires in the making…

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Ola for her hard work and focus in class, ALL the time.

The Writing Award went to Charlotte for her great work innovating our class write.

The Maths award went to Oscar O’C for his amazing mental maths!

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
We are collecting tins of for Harvest. Any contributions are more than welcome!
On Tuesday, all children will need to bring a packed lunch to the conference day. If you want the school to provide this, please let the school office know.
Reading books - the class now have their ZPDs and will be coming home with books to read, within their range. Please can someone from home sign their records any time they complete home reading. In Year 6, I would expect them to be reading at least between 3 and 4 times a week.
All of Year 6 now have their appointed roles within school. Many of them had their first official duties this week and I have been so impressed with how they have undertaken these roles with such maturity.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedOctober 6, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

‘SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD’ Conference 2023. Next Tuesday 10th October the whole of Year 6 will be going to Blackpool Football Club to attend the Show Racism the Red Card conference. This is a wonderful opportunity for us and a great way to acknowledge and celebrate Black History month. Below is the letter that was set home to parents with more detail about this event:

Show Racism the Red Card Parent Letter

PostedOctober 3, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

In our class worship this week we have been reflecting on God’s love for us. His love is unconditional and the greatest love of all. Well someone who showed God’s love through his actions was Saint Maximilian Kolbe. We looked at the life and actions of Maximilian Kolbe in our RE lesson this week, and how he helped to spread the Kingdom of God. We were all so humbled by his courageous actions and his dedication to Mary and God from a young age. He was such an inspirational man, who put others before himself, something that lead to his own death. He sacrificed his own life for that of a stranger!

We also had our first class mass on Thursday. We went over to church and shared in worship with Fr. Frank and parishoners from Our Lady’s parish. I was so pleased with how respectful the class was.

Here’s what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we have covered prime numbers, square and cube numbers and order of operations!! It’s been a busy week. The class have done so well, and there have been some challenging questions we have looked at together as a class. We used the cubes to make bigger cubes, and help deepen our understanding of cube numbers….

In English we are planning and starting to write our class Biography. We are planning each paragraph together and then drafting each paragraph as a class, before the children then innovate our class write into their books. Our focus person for our Biography is Usain Bolt. Next week, the children will then plan and write a biography independently. They will be able to use our class write to help them to structure and organise their own piece of writing.

In Science we finished describing the different functions of the parts of the circulatory system and we have planned an investigation, which we will undertake in our next lesson. We are investigating the questions How does different physical activity affect our heart rate?

In History we watched some news reels from the Battle of Britain and made notes on what daily life was like for an RAF pilot. We then used these notes to pen a letter to a loved one, as though we were an RAF pilot. We also had the chance to read a genuine letter from a real pilot during the Battle of Britain-its was quite emotional to read!

In HRSE we discussed how children can respect their bodies as gifts from God by looking after them appropriately. We are learning that good choices regarding rest, sleep, exercise, personal hygiene and diet will have a positive impact on our health.

At Our Lady's we like to support our parents/carers in Online Safety matters.

Keeping children and young people safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and it is all of our responsibility to ensure that children are educated to make positive, informed choices when they are online.

This month’s online safety guides give helpful advice about…

Live streaming - This free online safety guide profiles live streaming – a hugely popular activity among young people that’s certainly not without hazards.
Setting boundaries around gaming - This looks at the benefits of setting boundaries around video gaming to help young people learn healthy online habits.
WhatsApp - This is an updated examination of WhatsApp – the globally popular messaging platform which contains both old and new hazards for young users.

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Bobby for being a kind member of the class.

The Writing Award went to Amelia for the huge improvement in her hand writing.

The Maths award went to Ayson for his superb work using BODMAS to solve calculations.

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Reading books - the class have now (finally!) complete their STAR Reading tests and been given their new ZPDs. I have said that they can finish reading the book they were in the middle of, even if it is not within their range. However, once they have finished that book they must then pick books within their range. Please can someone from home sign their records any time they complete home reading. In Year 6, I would expect them to be reading at least between 3 and 4 times a week.
All of Year 6 now have their appointed roles within school. Many of them had their first official duties this week and I have been so impressed with how they have undertaken these roles with such maturity.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 29, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

Our RE topic and our Worship and Gospel theme this week have aligned perfectly. It has been all about forgiveness. We know from Sunday’s Gospel reading that Jesus told his disciples to forgive ‘not seven times, but seventy-seven times’ . He was teaching his followers that we should not limit the amount of times we forgive others, we should always try to forgive when someone has wronged us and seeks our mercy. Well this linked in perfectly with our RE topic about The Kingdom of God. This week, we were showing an in depth understanding that God’s Kingdom is for everyone! We looked at some parables that emphasised how God’s forgiveness is limitless. Even the repentant sinner is welcome in God’s Kingdom-in fact, God will go out of his way to seek those who have sinned and strayed from Him and welcome them, with open arms, into his Kingdom! This week we also celebrated our first whole school mass together. This was a special time to gather together for collective worship and a lovely welcome to the new school year.

Here is what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths our focus has been on written methods for long multiplication and long division. We also started to look at common factors.

In English we have completed another piece of writing- a formal letter of application. We have been pretending to be Walt Disney applying for a job as chief animator, working for Pixar. We used his biography to gather evidence for each statement from the person specification and used this to form our letter. We recapped the formalities of letter writing and the do’s and don’t’s of formal pieces of writing. The class did write a formal letter to me on Day 1 of Year 6 so this most recent piece of writing will be very useful for me to compare and see progress/targets in writing for each child in the class.

In Science we completed the labeling of different parts of the heart and described the functions of the heart, blood vessels (veins, arteries and capillaries) and blood.

In History we placed and described some of the key events of the Battle of Britain on a time line.

In Computing we have been codebreaking! We looked at some different types of codes and what they might be used for. We then had a go at cracking and creating our own codes!

🧑Head Boy & Girl 👩

I must begin by saying how incredibly proud I am of all of those who applied for the role of Head Girl & Boy. Every single applicant delivered their speech so well, which made it a very difficult decision for the rest of the pupils and teachers when it came to placing their votes. I can, however, announce that after counting up all the votes, our new Head Girl is Charlotte and our Head Boy is Joseph. Receiving the second most votes, our Deputy Head Girl is Lexi-Rose and our Deputy Head Boy is Bobby. Well done to you all!

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Avie for being just a thoughtful and respectful member of the class. Avie is a wonderful friend to all.

The Writing Award went to Emma for a great choice of vocabulary in her formal letter of application

The Maths award went to Frankie for his brilliant mental maths. He always does so well in our Fluent in 5!

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Water bottles-these need to be filled and brought in each day and taken home to be cleaned at the end of each day. Each child in the class was provided with a school water bottle-please can you ensure these are the bottles that are brought in daily and not their own water bottle from home.
Reading books - we have not yet completed a STAR Reading test, so the children do not have their new ZPDs yet. There is a problem getting the new classes set up but they will take this test as soon as possible. I have allowed the class to bring books home this week, just based on books they like the sound of. Hopefully the books they take home will match their ZPD, from next week.
All of Year 6 now have their appointed roles within school.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk.

Have a lovely weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 22, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

This week in RE we have been continuing our work on ‘The Kingdom of God’. After looking at some of the values of the Kingdom of God, we then responded to the question Is the Kingdom of God in heaven? If not, where can I find it? We quickly realised that the Kingdom of God is not just in heaven, it is here on earth and it starts within us and grows the more we do good deeds. We focused on some of Jesus’ parables that he used to explain God’s Kingdom and referenced these to support our responses. We also looked at what Pope Francis had to say, highlighting the importance that the Kingdom of God is hidden within us like a seed in the ground, which grows and becomes great by the power of the Holy Spirit. I was really inspired by what the class had to share when we talked about how we could help the Kingdom of God to grow through the things we do every day.

Here is what else we have been up to this week….

In Maths we have focused on negatives numbers and written and mental methods for addition/subtraction and multiplication. I have loved hearing the different methods the class have used to work out calculations! This is why I love maths so much - there are so many different ways to get to the same answer!

In English we have continued with our ‘Biography’ unit focusing on new vocabulary, scanning texts for key information, identifying cohesive devices and using evidence from a text to support ideas. We have covered all of this using a range of different biographies! In these first few weeks of a new unit it is so important to immerse the class in the genre of biographies and what better way to do that then to read a range of them?!

In Science we started a new unit on ‘The Circulatory System’. To begin with everyone in the class had a go at drawing what they thought the human heart looked like. We then looked at a diagram of the heart to see how similar or dissimilar our depiction was. We then drew a more accurate diagram of the heart and started to identify and label some of the main parts of the heart.

In History we did some research on The Battle of Britain on our laptops and them presented this information in a leaflet. I am very impressed with the standard of these information leaflets!

In PE we had our first lesson with the BFC coaches and this term our focus is on hockey. We will be learning some of the skills involved with hockey and transferring these to play matches, in teams, against each other.

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Chase for his focus in class-I am very impressed.

The Writing Award went to Elsie for her well-written information text all about the Battle of Britain.

The Maths award went to Jacob for his ability to explain the mental methods he uses.

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Water bottles-these need to be filled and brought in each day and taken home to be cleaned at the end of each day. Each child in the class was provided with a school water bottle-please can you ensure these are the bottles that are brought in daily and not their own water bottle from home.
Reading books - we have not yet completed a STAR Reading test, so the children do not have their new ZPDs yet. There is a problem getting the new classes set up but they will take this test as soon as possible. I have allowed the class to bring books home this week, just based on books they like the sound of. Hopefully the books they take home will match their ZPD, from next week.
Homework- I have set homework this week, details of which can be found on the Year 6 Homework Page.
Head Boy/Girl speeches will be delivered in assemble to the whole of the school on Wednesday (20th) morning.
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk. I do apologise as I have not got access to this email address yet, but this is being sorted. I will hopefully have full access by early next week.

Thank you, Year 6, for your continued efforts this week. I have had a delightful first couple of weeks back!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 15, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

This week, I have spoken to the class about preparing their speeches for Head Boy/Girl, should they wish to apply for the role.

As soon as they have written/drafted their speech, I have said they can bring it into school for myself or Mrs Owen to proof read, if they wish. Some have done this already. The date that they will be delivering their speeches is yet to be confirmed but I will let the class know, as soon at this is arranged.

I am so pleased at the number of children in Year 6 that are applying for the Head Boy/Girl role….reading publicly, in front of an audience, is a huge skill and confidence boost in itself. In Year 6 ALL pupils will be given a role of responsibility, so even those who are not selected for the role of head girl/boy or deputy head girl/boy, and those who did not apply, will have a duty within the school. We find that it is really important, and valuable, for the Year 6’s to be given roles of responsibility as part of the preparation for High School.

Here are some top tips for when you are writing your speech….

Introduce yourself-not all children in school will know you by name!

Talk about your time at Our lady’s so far-What responsibilities have you had? What have you achieved? What good qualities will you bring to the role?
Talk about why you want the position.
What suggestions do you have to make Our Lady’s an even better place?
How has the ethos at Our Lady’s help to shape you into the person you are? How will you inspire others in the school?
Engage with the audience. Do not look down or put your speech in front of your face.
Project your voice (without shouting). The people at the back of the hall need to hear your speech as clearly as those at the front.
Smile!

Good luck to all applicants…remember to speak eloquently and confidently!

PostedSeptember 13, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

A huge welcome to my new Year 6 class! This week I have spent time getting to know my lovely new class and hopefully the class now know me a lot better too! Although we have spent time getting to know the Year 6 routine and expectations, we have also hit the ground running, and made a good start to our learning.

I know Year 6 is a big year, not just for the children, but also for you parents too! Your (not so little) baby is getting ready to make that transition to high school next year and this is their last year of Primary school! With this is mind, I want to make sure that this is a successful and positive year for all. As a Year 6 team, we will work collaboratively with parents and children to ensure all of the class achieve their full potential and we will support you in any way we can. Yes, Year 6 is a challenging year, but it is also such an exciting year full of opportunity and responsibility. I look forward to starting this journey together.

Here is what we have been up to this week…

In Maths we started back with our ‘Fluent in 5’ from day one and I must say, I have been really impressed with the arithmetic skills in this class so far! In our Power Maths, our focus has been on place value up to 10,000,000. The class have done incredibly well with place value so far and we have looked at some challenging problems as a class too.

In English we made a start on our new unit on ‘Biographies’. We explored some key vocabulary and created a timeline of Walt Disney’s life. We also started with our ‘Grammar Warm-ups’ and reading comprehension.

In RE we have introduced our first topic, ‘The Kingdom of God’. We have explored and discussed some of the key values of the Kingdom of God and have written explanations as to why we think certain values are so important. We also used bible references to support our reasons. This week we also took part in daily class worships, and on Wednesday we had the chance to plan our own shared worships, ready to deliver to the class in future weeks.

In History we had an introductory lesson to our new topic, ‘The Battle of Britain.’ We looked at some key vocabulary and made links where we could and we have started to look at some key events of WW2, ordering them chronologically on a timeline…

🌟 AWARD WINNERS! 🌟

The Golden Award went to Joshua for being a caring and compassionate member of the class. He has impeccable manners.

The Writing Award went to Isabella for a well-structured and cohesive letter. Well done!

The Maths award went to Mickey for an impressive start to his maths. He engages really well in lessons rises to any challenge.

Notices:

PE days- Wednesdays this half term.
Water bottles-these need to be filled and brought in each day and taken home to be cleaned at the end of each day. Each child in the class was provided with a school water bottle-please can you ensure these are the bottles that are brought in daily and not their own water bottle from home.
Spellings- I gave the class a spelling test this week and they will come home with their spelling lists to practice next week. New spellings will be given on a Friday and they will be tested on them the following Friday.
Reading books - we have not yet completed a STAR Reading test, so the children do not have their new ZPDs yet. As soon as they are complete, the class will come home with their reading book and record. This will need to be signed by an adult each time they read at home.
Homework- I have not set any homework this week. From next week, homework will be set on a Friday and due for the following Wednesday (I check work has been complete on a Thursday morning). In terms of expectations, I will set Maths & English units on IXL , ask for at least one Bedrock lesson to be completed and spellings and times tables will be set too. Spellings and times tables tests will always be on a Friday.
Head Boy & Girl - All those who have shown interest in being Head Boy or Girl this year will need to prepare a speech to deliver to teachers & KS2. I have asked that those interested write their speech at home and bring them in next week. I am happy to proof read any speeches and/or give tips/prompts!
Other roles & responsibilities- In Year 6 every child in the class will have a responsibility. All of the class will be prefects and we also have roles such as librarians, dining hall monitors, assembly/prayer leaders, assembly set-up team…. I think it is really important for all the children to take on more responsibility as they enter Year 6; this is also good preparation for high school!
Contact information- if you need to contact me for any reason, please email using year6@our-lady.blackpool.sch.uk. I do apologise as I have not got access to this email address yet, but this is being sorted. I will hopefully have full access by early next week.

Thank you, Year 6, for a lovely first week back! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs Murphy, Mrs Owen & Miss Evans

PostedSeptember 8, 2023

AuthorCatherine Slater

Dear parents and carers,

Thank you for coming to our assembly today and for all your support this year.

Enjoy your summer!

PostedJuly 20, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

Zoo trip

PostedJuly 20, 2023

AuthorCatherine Leahy

14/07/23

Golden Award -

All of year 6 for your superb effort during our production. You worked so well as a team and really showed off your individual talents. You were all amazing!