Welcome to Jupiter

Year Six

Wow! Welcome to a New Year - 2024! This term, we are focussing on diversity and freedom.

In English, our book this term is "Freedom Bird by Jerdine Nolen." This is a story of courage and hope - set in America, in the 1860's, just before the American Civil War.   In this inspiring story, written in the tradition of American black folktales, an enslaved brother and sister are inspired by a majestic and mysterious bird to escape to freedom.

Our Class reading book continues our theme.

"Journey Back to Freedom by Catherine Johnson,"  celebrates the incredible life of Olaudah Equiano in this gripping true story - from the horrors of the slave trade to a book that changed the world. "Journey Back to Freedom" focuses on Equiano’s early life, demonstrating the resilience of the human spirit and one man’s determination to be free.

This term our focus in History is Maafa.  This project teaches children about Africa past and present, with a particular focus on Benin. It traces the development of the slave trade and explores Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, the causes and consequences of the European colonisation of Africa and the worldwide communities that make up the African diaspora.

In PE, we are focussing on fitness and well-being with circuit training followed by "Dance through the decades."

This term promises to be fun, informative and busy!

 Class Teachers

Mrs Louise Oaten - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Mr Tim Jones - Thursday and Friday.

Class TA - Mrs Ellen Frampton.

Wow, what a fantastic start to the year.  It has been great to watch the children of Year six settle into their role as leaders and role-models.  We have been focussing on the new school code - Be kind, Be Safe, Be Respectful.

Our English book focus is The Last Bear by Hannah Gold.

This moving story takes the children on an adventure to the Arctic where April and her Father are sent on a six month assignment by the Norwegian Government. The Last Bear is a celebration of the love between a child and an animal, a battle cry for our world and an irresistible adventure with a heart as big as a bear’s. This book will continue to be the stimulus for our writing over this half term..

Our Class guided reading novel is Wonder, a story which allows the children to explore the idea of being different as a positive and enriching experience.

Each week your child will bring home spellings to learn on Thursday. They will be tested the following Thursday so please ensure the blue book comes back to school on that day. 

Your child will be bringing home a reading book each week. Please encourage your child to read at least 3 times to you and record this in the reading record book. Please take time to talk with your child about the characters, the plot and their predictions.

Our PE day is Tuesday, your child will need to come into school wearing their kit each week on that day. 

Our Geography topic is the "Frozen Kingdoms" which allows us learn about the characteristics and features of polar regions, including the North and South Poles, and includes a detailed exploration of the environmental factors that shape and influence them.

In Science we are beginning to look at electrical circuits, using correct notation when recording our circuits and then building our own; we will also be working with microbits which will feed nicely into our computing work where we are also going go be building our own websites!

In art we are looking at some trailblazing black artists from the last 150 years, finding out what made them well-known and looking for the meaning in their work.

We are looking forward to this year. We already know that Jupiter class is AMAZING!

Mock Trial - 14th November 2023

Jupiter class has been preparing for a "Mock Trial." This involved bringing  a mock case to court.  The children had a script with all the legal terms and procedures which needed to be followed and acted upon.  We had to defend the case and the children worked hard on their questions using the statements of the witnesses. As a class we practised with two teams, the defence and the prosecution. On the day, the children performed well, speaking clearly and concisely to the witnesses and the court. We were rewarded with Joint First prize, which we were all super excited by.  The trophy which we won is proudly displayed in our classroom.

This week, we have had a visit from a Magistrate, Mrs Ellis, who talked to us about her work.  We learnt all about being a magistrate, court cases and the criminal justice system. Mrs Ellis was also able to give us some more information about our "Mock Trial" which we have begun to practice for.