de Vere Primary School

Welcome to Year 6- Thunberg Class!

Thunberg class is taught by Miss Wong and supported by Mrs Minnette and Mr Mooney.

Year 6 marks the children’s last year at de Vere Primary School and is filled with: excitement, plenty of opportunities in being stretched and challenged, new experiences with an adventure filled residential and a magnificent end of year production. Furthermore, there are numerous additional exciting responsibilities for children in Thunberg Class to undertake, such as assembly monitors, librarians and play leaders. These jobs all play a crucial role in the smooth running of the school.

Undoubtedly, your last year at de Vere is going to be the best!

Our topics this year include:

Autumn 1 - World War II

Autumn 2 - Energy

Spring 1 - Our Planet

Spring 2 - The Making of Modern Britain

Summer 1 - India

Summer 2 - Lights, Camera, Action

8th March 2024

Thunberg class have had a wonderful start to our new Science topic of Electricity. The children demonstrated excellent knowledge of how to construct circuits and we learnt how to draw circuits using the correct scientific symbols to represent the electrical components.

In Maths, we finished our Algebra topic and have moved onto finding the area and perimeter of shapes including triangles.

In English, the children showed great perseverance and teamwork in editing and rewriting parts of their newspaper article about Percy Jackson falling off the Gateway Arch before going onto publishing them using their best handwriting. We then moved onto collecting information to write a diary entry about Dharavi, linking in with our Geography topic of India. The children were fascinated by how different it was to live in the slums and we can’t wait to use the information we’ve collected in our writing.

Finally, in Computing, we have started our new topic of 3D Modelling and the children have been exploring how to combine shapes to create different designs on Tinkercad.

2nd February 2024

This week Thunberg Class have been busy continuing with their writing based on Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. We published our information texts and moved onto writing a short narrative based on the scene when Medusa appears. The children were extremely proud of their writing with lots of them requesting to display their work on the Proud Wall.

In Geography, we started our new topic of India and we located different physical and human features on a map of India. The children have also been researching about the country and are working towards presenting their findings in a format of their choosing.

Finally, the class got to enjoy an afternoon at the Woods building dens and practicing their sawing skills.

19th January 2024

Class 6 have had an amazing start to the year! In Maths, the children have tackled our new topic of ratio with great enthusiasm, despite it being completely new learning. We looked at how to write ratios using a colon and how use the multiplicative relationship to work out missing information.

In English, the children have been drawing from the magical items in Percy Jackson to help them to write an information about their own creation. After writing their first drafts, they spent time with different editing partners to improve their writing before publishing them using their best handwriting.

15th December 2023

In D&T, we have been evaluating existing bags, in particular looking at the materials they are made from to see whether or not if they are sustainable. To inform us about our designs, we formulated different questions and then went around to different classes to carry out our market research. It was great to see the children use their findings to influence their design decisions.

In Maths, the children have worked incredibly hard on multiplying fractions by another fraction and dividing fractions by an integer.

We wish you a happy Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in the new year.

1st December 2023

In Science, we have been looking at the different crucial parts of the circulatory system and the children really impressed with their recall of key facts about the heart, blood vessels and blood.

The children have also been working together to explore sustainable energy options for a fictional island in Geography. After choosing a suitable way to present their decisions, they presented their proposed renewable energy options to the class.

Also, in My Happy Mind, the children have been discovering and working on understanding their unique character strengths.

3rd November 2023

Thunberg class have had a busy week back to school. In Maths, we have been using our multiplication and division skills to solve tricky multi-step problems and we have been looking how the order of operations affects which part of a question we tackle first.

In Art, we have using textiles and different techniques including stitching, layering and painting to tell a story. We all chose our favourite books and recreated a scene from this book on our fabric piece.

Finally, in English we have started a new text called ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ by Rick Riordan. We have been working on how to punctuate bullet points in order to write a set of instructions for a magical spell.

13th October 2023

Thunberg Class had an amazing time for their WW2 Experience day. In the morning, we followed a war time recipe and made honey and ginger biscuits. We then learned about life during the Blitz and made our own Anderson shelter models whilst working together collaboratively.

In Computing, we have been looking at the different ways people work together online. The children had the challenge of making a group PowerPoint about evacuation whilst working with other children on different tables and not being able to communicate with them using their voices. They could only use the functions available on Google Slides to help them to communicate.

 Finally, we also adapted other people’s projects on Scratch and made them our own.

29th September 2023

This week in Thunberg Class, we have been learning about the different divisibility rules and the children have shown great determination and perseverance in trying to apply their knowledge to use the digits 0-9 to create a ten-digit number where the first two digits are divisible by two, then the first three digits are divisible by three and so on.

In Science, we have been investigating how light travels and how we see objects. We found out that light travels in straight lines and that we see non-luminous objects when light from a light source is reflected.

Finally, in English the children have been writing short stories based on the book ‘Rose Blanche.’  

15th September 2023

Thunberg Class have had a fantastic start to the year. They have settled in well and have been extremely enthusiastic about undertaking all the different roles and responsibilities around the school.

We have started our WW2 topic, thinking about why the war started and who was Adolf Hitler and what were the Nazis Parties views. The children went on a question hunt around the school and practised their retrieval skills by carefully selecting information from a text.

We have also been exploring place value in Maths and we have been practising reading and writing numbers to ten million. We then had fun playing against a partner practising how to multiply and divide by powers of 10.

20th July 2023

These last couple of weeks have marked an incredible year for Thunberg Class. The children wowed with their fantastic performance in their end-of-year play, Alice the Musical, with incredible acting, singing, and wonderful costumes that brought the characters to life. The class also received their SATs results, which was a moment of celebration for each student. Finally, the children enjoyed their final trip to the woods where they showed off their culinary skills in making bread and cooking bacon, whilst having lots of fun!

16th June 2023

This week, Thunberg Class have been creating moving vehicles utilising pulleys. To kickstart the project, they explored the speed of different-sized pulleys before proceeding to design and make their own vehicles. Afterwards, Eli, Christian, and Oakley did a wonderful job in teaching the class how to use a crumble microcontroller. We all successfully managed to program our vehicles to move in various directions and speeds, including forwards, reverse, and stop.

Additionally, the class had the opportunity to watch the film adaptation of "Holes.” Building on this inspiration, we have crafted letters home, adopting Stanley's perspective, to express our experiences and emotions whilst at Camp Green Lake.

25th May 2023

Thunberg Class have had an eventful two weeks. The most exciting would be the immersive WW1 Aviation Day organised by the WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust. We penned heartfelt poems on biodegradable poppy seed cards, paying tribute to the brave aviators of World War I. These poems will be taken via plane to France and dropped in a field in Normandy to create a field of reconciliation for the local children to enjoy. We also got to take to the skies through the exciting experience of a flight simulator and a VR headset.

In Art, we have been expressing our concerns about the consequences of climate change through some thought-provoking artwork, depicting melting ice caps, endangered species, and polluted landscapes. The children have taken immense care and pride with their work.

Thunberg Class have had a fantastic term so far and we have more exciting projects to come!

12th May 2023

Thunberg class have had a busy two weeks. In Maths, we decided to revise our reasoning skills in a different way: a treasure hunt around the school grounds. Working in pairs, the children had a competition to see how many questions they could answer correctly.

The class have also taken on an exciting new venture at school - they have opened a tuck shop! The tuck shop was kindly donated and crafted by Mr Wilson (a parent in Reception) and the children have had a wonderful time making sure everything is in order, taking turns serving and handling money.

Everyone in class has also worked extremely hard with completing their SATS and we celebrated with a well-deserved trip to the park. We are all extremely proud of the effort they have put in!

28th April 2023

Thunberg class have been working incredibly hard revising for their upcoming exams. We have made flashcards and have been quizzing each other to help with recall crucial facts in Maths and Grammar.

In Science, we have been learning how to draw circuits using the correct symbols and we have been investigating how the brightness of a bulb changes with the use of different components in a circuit.

Finally, in English, we have been writing short stories based on the clip ‘Francis’ and we have been working on how to build tension and suspense.

31st March 2023

Thunberg Class have enjoyed using 3D modelling in computing and have been working on designing their ideal house. Some children tried to predict what houses would look like in the future and created a model to demonstrate this.

We have also been learning about ‘The Making of Modern Britain’ in our History topic. We looked at the development of the NHS and the Welfare State and then plotted on a timeline some of the different events which has led to Britain becoming a multicultural society.

17th March 2023

In Thunberg class, we have been writing spooky setting descriptions and we have really focused on our editing skills. The children have really impressed me with their careful language choices and their attentiveness in ensuring their work is cohesive.

We’ve also been designing dioramas for Science Week to represent a scientist and their discoveries. We’ve got dioramas showcasing William Harvey (the first man to describe the circulatory system), Mae Jemison (the first African-American women engineer to travel into space) and many more.

3rd March 2023

In Thunberg Class, the children have impressed me with their place value knowledge involving decimals and we have worked on multiplying and dividing decimals by whole numbers. We then went onto applying these skills and used them to help us to solve trickier and more challenging problems.

In Computing, we had our first lesson on exploring how to use ‘Tinkercad’ with the aim to design 3D models in further lessons. The class extremely enjoyed using the program and we investigated how to move, resize and stack different objects.

Finally, every Tuesday, we have been joining up with Wonder Class for reading. The children have been thoroughly amazed by their reading buddies reading skills and enthusiasm.

10th February 2023

In Maths, Thunberg class have been tackling algebra and have shown great discussion skills in articulating how they would solve an equation. We have also been working hard with editing and improving our newspaper articles about Percy Jackson. After correcting our writing, we then took great care with using our best handwriting to publish our final pieces. The children were extremely proud of their work and numerous pieces have made it onto the Proud Wall!

27th January 2023

In Thunberg Class, the children have been showcasing their knowledge about how the circulatory system works. First, we practised being skilled communicators by articulating the process using the correct scientific vocabulary before producing some informative posters to explain the process. We also looked at the different components that make up blood and in groups we made our own models by choosing different items to represent each component.

13th January 2023

In Thunberg Class, the children have impressed with their ability to apply their learning about converting different metric measures in solving some tricky problems. We have also used Learning by Questions to practise converting between miles and kilometres.

In English, we have been exploring the features of newspaper articles in preparation to write our own about an upcoming event in Percy Jackson and the lightning Thief. 

Finally, we have started our new topic in Science – The Circulatory System. We took notes about the main parts of the circulatory system and then in groups, we tested our knowledge by choosing a keyword and describing it for the rest of the group to guess.   

9th December 2022

This week, in Thunberg class, we have been investigating the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy sources. We read about the advantages and disadvantages of many energy sources such as solar energy, geothermal energy and fossil fuels and recorded our findings in a table. Working in groups, we had to decide on the most suitable renewable energy options for an island with no electricity. Linking in with our geography learning, the class have also worked hard at making their own web pages using Google Sites to showcase all their learning. 

25th November 2022

In Thunberg Class, the children have shown great perseverance with their learning on fractions. The class have worked hard to add and subtract mixed numbers.

While a group of children had an amazing time learning how to ride their bikes safely on the road in Bikeability, the children in class, really impressed me with their writing based on Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. They made interesting vocabulary choices and wrote each sentence carefully.

Finally, for Christmas Decoration Day, we have been making decorations using clay. We can’t wait for them to dry and paint them.   

11th November 2022

This week in Thunberg Class, we have been working hard with applying our addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills in solving multi-step problems.

In English, we have written formal letters to express our appreciation towards the PGL staff from Bawdsey Manor for our wonderful time during the Year 6 residential. We will be posting these letters and hopefully we will get a response.

Finally, in Art the children have been learning how to do different stitches including a: running stitch, back stitch and over stitch.

7th October 2022

Thunberg Class looked absolutely amazing dressed up as someone from WW2! As part of our learning about daily life during WW2, we experienced being evacuees and learned about rationing. We made rationing leaflets and baked a war time recipe of honey and ginger biscuits. In the afternoon, we were creative and worked collaboratively to make Anderson Shelter models. We also shared our endings to Rose Blanche with Attenborough Class.

Friday 23rd September 2022

Thunberg Class have started learning about World War II and we went on a fact hunt to find out about how the war started and the different countries involved. Moreover, we have been debating about if children should have been evacuated during World War II. Whilst sharing and explaining our thoughts in groups, we arranged different reasons in a ‘Diamond Nine’ and went onto explain our ideas behind our choices to other groups. We then prepared arguments and counter arguments before holding a class debate.

In Maths, we reviewed our learning on place value by playing a game called ‘Grudgeball.’ The children were all extremely kind and didn’t steal too points off many groups when they answered the questions correctly. One group especially demonstrated great perseverance and a positive attitude towards their learning despite not winning the game.

We have been having great fun in our multi-skills P.E sessions, where we have been working in teams to developing our agility and ball control skills.