Abbotswood Primary School
Together We Aim High, Believe and Achieve
2023-24 Year 6 Falcons and Kingfishers
2023-24
Year 6
Welcome to our class page for Falcon and Kingfisher classes. Here you'll find all the information for homework, newsletters and all of the other amazing things we have been doing in class. Keep a look out for the latest information and keep up to date with any exciting events that have happened at school!
Please do not hesitate to get in contact with any of us if there is anything you need to discuss. Many thanks for your continued support.
Mrs Metha-Jolliffe - Falcons Class Teacher
Miss James - Kingfisher Class Teacher
Miss Allen - Teaching assistant
Mrs Herniman - Teaching assistant
Miss Walbridge - Teaching assistant
Sportshall athletics
Last week, a group of Year 6s represented the school at a local athletics competition at Mangotsfield School. During the afternoon, the team took part in a whole host of relays (including the exhausting 6 lap relay!) and a variety of field events too.
They were brilliant, coming either 1st or 2nd in the majority of the activities! They showed great perseverance, determination and teamwork!
Thank you to the staff and parents who gave lifts to and from the event, it’s very much appreciated!
Library visit
Year 6 had a brilliant time at Yate Library, where they met author Polly Ho-Yen! She led a writing workshop and shared stories about her life as an author. The children were issued their library cards and enjoyed exploring the shelves for books to take home!
Making blood!
As part of our Enquiry question, 'How are lives saved?' we used our knowledge of the composition of blood to create our own version of human blood!
2022-2023
More from Morfa Bay part 2!
More Morfa Bay!
Morfa Bay day 4
Morfa Bay 2.5 and 3
Morfa Bay Day 2
Morfa Bay Day 1
Forever Sport Netball School Games
On 19th June, the Year 6 netball team travelled to the Sports Complex at UWE for the Bristol Sport Netball School Games.
The girls played well from the off, showing brilliant teamwork, communication and dedication. They played lots of schools from around the Bristol area, beating Bowsland Green 8 – 0! Some great goals from Ella and Jessica meant that Abbotswood dominated the match from the first whistle.
Grace and Lola demonstrated unbelievable defence skills throughout the group stages, working tirelessly against some tough opponents. The other schools struggled to get goals past them! (A special mention must be made to Jessica, who injured her finger quite badly in game one and went on to score two goals! What a trouper!)
Then came the finals, where we faced Birdwell. Having lost to them during the group stage, we knew that it could be a tall ask to come out on top but the girls saved their best until last. The Amelias were so pacey around the court that they just could not keep up with us! After a series of goals from Ella and Amelia A, Abbotswood took an easy victory of 6-0, coming 3rd place overall!
The progress that they have made as a team this year is undeniable – they showed that hard work absolutely pays off and did not get disheartened during our tougher matches. It was a brilliant morning and a great way to end the Year 6 netball season!
Thank you to the parents who came along to support too!
Year 6 Netball team:
Amelia A (C), Amelia W, Ella, Destiny, Rebekah, Lily, Jessica, Lola, Grace, Leah
Go Team Abbotswood!
Miss Jolliffe and Miss James
Year 6 Quadkids
A group of Year 6s took part in a Quadkids athletics event at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. They took part in four events: 75m sprint, vortex throw, standing long jump and the (dreaded!) 600m.
The team were so enthusiastic and keen to get going, despite the immense heat and threat of thunderstorms overhead!
They were all so supportive of one another and had a great afternoon sampling the different disciplines. They all performed brilliantly in the sprint – a special mention to Ewan, who was just pipped at the post for 2nd place in his heat! Lily and Jacob proved that they are long jump masters – both nearing 200cm for their jump – so springy! Harry was the ultimate vortex thrower, with a few of his flying far past the huge measuring tapes!
Grit, determination and good pacing was required for the 600m. I’m not sure that any of Team Abbotswood were particularly looking forward to this one, but they all gave their absolute best and paced themselves brilliantly, with nobody shooting off and running out of steam by the end! The whole team showed a great sense of pride and worked so well as a team to support each other over the finishing line.
Team Abbotswood finished 3rd overall!
Thank you, as always, to the parents who gave lifts and provided support on the day!
Miss Jolliffe
Year 6 Netball Tournament
On Tuesday, our Year 6 Netball team took part in their first ever round of matches! The girls were all so excited to be taking part at the event at Mangotsfield secondary school which was clear in their attitude and approach to all of their games. They played incredibly well (especially for a team who had never played a single game against another school before!) finishing 3rd in their half of the draw.
A brilliant opening game against Mangotsfield Primary (and a hat trick of goals from Ella) was exactly what they needed to get started. Playing the home team on their court is never easy, but the girls worked together and communicated well to make it look simple.
Next up was St Anne’s, where, despite eventually conceding one goal, Team Abbotswood again played so well. Our defence was strong against a pretty evenly matched side.
They then faced St Stephens, who perform notoriously well in a lot of their sports fixtures. Abbotswood put up an amazing fight to see them to a draw. Lola and Ella defended particularly well against a very experienced side. They were also the eventual winners, so we can take pride in the fact that they didn’t get a goal past us!
Then came our final match against The Tynings to secure 5th or 6th place. As they did throughout the whole event, the girls did not give up the fight with the whole team working hard right up until the final whistle.
Overall results:
Abbotswood 3 - 1 Mangotsfield
Abbotswood 0 - 1 St Anne’s
Abbotswood 0 - 0 St Stephens
Abbotswood 0 - 4 The Tynings
Abbotswood 6th overall
We are incredibly proud of how well the girls came together as a team, showed infectious enthusiasm and great perseverance when faced with more experienced players. Well done Team Abbotswood and let’s hope for even more success in our league games throughout the rest of the year!
Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support!
Luke Hall (MP) visits Year 6!
At the end of last week, Year 6 were really excited to receive a visit from our local MP, Luke Hall. After writing him letters at the end of term 2, we couldn’t wait to meet him in person and have the opportunity to ask him about life as an MP. He very kindly replied to every child’s letter about the issues that they feel most affect Yate. We are very grateful that he took the time out of his busy schedule to not only acknowledge our letters but to come and teach us about the day-to-day life of a member of parliament too. It was a brilliant way to end last term’s enquiry and we look forward to (hopefully!) seeing some of his promises put into action!
Year 6’s Wapley visit
To kick start our latest enquiry, ‘Linnaeus and Darwin – What connects them?’ Year 6 took a very muddy and soggy trip to Wapley Woods on Tuesday to search for eye catching leaves and foliage. On our return to school, we identified what we had found and created labelled specimen boxes of our favourites for display. Using any leftover finds, we made collages to show how nature can be used to create art.
We have been really keen to create some art, this term, so we jumped at the chance to use watercolours to recreate the houses of parliament. I think you’ll agree that they look really effective!
Letters to our MP
Term 2's Enquiry has focussed on democracy and how our parliament was formed. We have been learning about the Ancient Greeks and how they influenced our society today. With that in mind, as part of our most recent English unit, we have written to our local MP, Luke Hall. We have considered issues in and around the local area and have asked for change. Some of our ideas include: implementing a lollipop person on Kelston Close, installing more recycling bins around Yate, having more CCTV at the Abbotswood shops and ensuring the safety of homeless people. We have sent our letters to Luke Hall’s office and are awaiting his reply. He will also be visiting Year 6 in early January, so we are looking forward to discussing our issues face to face.
Year 6 Athletics
Last week, a group of Year 6s took part in a Sportshall Athletics competition at Mangotsfield secondary school. The group showed great determination and teamwork across a whole range of events, including a variety of relays, jumping events and throwing events. The children’s behaviour, as always, was exceptional and they listened and followed instructions (in the very loud hall!) brilliantly. Thank you to all of the parents who came along to support and offer lifts, we really couldn’t have done it without you!
Fundraising
This week, Year 6 have given up their break times to run a cake sale to raise money towards Year 6 camp later in the year. Their bakes were unbelievable and their generosity in giving up their own time was extremely responsible. Thank you to all parents for donating so many brilliant bakes! Due to their hard work in running (and supplying!) the cake sale, they have raised an amazing total of £602.94!
TED talks: How are lives saved?
Our end of Enquiry challenge was to present our own TED talks answering the question 'How are lives saved?' in any way that we liked. We had such inventive ideas and demonstrated a massively wide range of topics. We researched and created Powerpoint presentations in small groups or individually. We then presented our findings to both classes. Every single person (staff included!) learned something new. The Year 6 Team were amazed with our confidence and passion when presenting.
RE investigation
As part of RE this term, which focuses on the overarching question of 'Why do some people believe God exists?' we have been exploring how Christians may answer this. We were lucky enough to have a visit from Reverend Wanda from the local parish to talk to Year 6 about Christians' beliefs in God. She spoke to the classes about what it means to be a Reverend, including sharing and discussing some of the outfits that she wears for particular ceremonies, as well as detailing the importance of God to Christians. The children were given the chance to ask her some questions - they asked brilliantly insightful ones!
What does blood contain?
As part of our term 1 enquiry (How Are Lives Saved?) we have become Scientists by exploring the composition of blood. We have learned all about the role of red and white blood cells, as well as platelets and plasma. We recreated this using various cereals, liquids and food colouring.
How Are Lives Saved?
To start of this term's enquiry, we have been learning about the function of the heart. We are able to identify and label the parts of the human heart, as well as describe the journey that blood takes as it passes through the heart, onto the lungs and towards the rest of the body. We have also been thinking about how we, as individuals, have a responsibility to take care of our bodies by promoting healthy lifestyles.
2021-22
Morfa Bay - Day 4.
On the final day of activities Mr Jelf's group were up early for a busy day of physical challenges: abseiling, assault course and orienteering. The group were brilliant and all of the children went down the abseiling wall, using the rope to control their descent. They then moved onto the assault course. The assault course is a timed challenge and the fasted team gets a prize! Mr Jelf has never been one for speed and instead challenged his group to be the muddiest - a challenge they grabbed with both hands. The photos almost don't quite do it justice - I have been doing camp for many years and I can categorically say that they were the muddiest group I have ever seen!
Miss Jolliffe's group and Miss James's group began the day in the sea in much improved weather! They went bodyboarding and played games and all of the children loved it! Miss Jolliffe's group then headed to the mountain biking track and the archery arena! They finished the day on the climbing wall and all of the children had a go. Miss James's group headed back down to the beach immediately for the Rocky Shore Study and finished their week of activities on the mountain bike trail!
Once dinner was finished and the plates were tidied away, all of the children headed up to the hall to participate in the legendary Morfa Bay Disco! A huge shout out to Oscar, Caleb, Harley and Harry who did not stop dancing!
There may also be a few sneaky pictures of some children asleep on the bus ride home!
Morfa Bay - Day 3.
On Wednesday, Mr Jelf's group kicked off the day with a double header of mountain biking and archery. Scarlett proved to be the group's best archer and even got a few 10's! They then moved onto the climbing wall after lunch and all of the children reached their goals and many made it to the top of the tower (including Mr Jelf)! They finished the day back down on the beach looking at some of the creatures that can be found in the rockpools.
Miss Jolliffe's group began the day on the tower with abseiling. Many children went off the top and, using the rope to control them, lowered their way back to the bottom. They then shared bushcraft session with Miss James's group and learnt how to create sparks from batteries, how to build a shelter from natural resources and how to filter water using charcoal. They finished the day doing orienteering in the woods and ended up with some of the fastest times of the week.
Miss James's group began the day on the assault course - getting extremely muddy in the process! They then moved into the bushcraft area with Miss Jolliffe's group and finished the day entering the cave. Miss James was incredibly proud of her group - all of whom made it into the second chamber and could answer questions about the cave.
Morfa Bay - Day 2
On Tuesday the children had their first full day of activities! Mr Jelf's group began the day with Zip-line and the High Ropes course! All of the children made it to the top of the High Ropes course and they all flew down the Zip-line. They then headed into the forest for some bush craft. They learnt the three key features of survival and thought about how they could survive in the wilderness. They finished the day with an incredibly wet and windy trip to the beach! The sea was rolling and the children were fearless in their attempts to catch the perfect wave!
Miss Jolliffe's group started their day on the climbing wall - the whole group were so encouraging and made sure to cheer on all of their teammates. After lunch, the group took part in caving! Despite some initial nerves, every single child made it through to the the second chamber. Again, the team spirit was amazing and they all looked out for each other. We ended our activities in the pouring rain, using maps and our sense of direction to locate clues in a wooded area. Conditions were most definitely challenging, but the team persevered and were able to locate key points on the map, ensuring that no team member was left behind!
Miss James' group began with a rocky seashore study - each member of the group located crabs, fish, sea urchins and snails (which we all then studied and discussed). Once we ate our delicious lunch, we moved onto caving! Every member of the group was amazing - supporting and encouraging each other to get through the cave and its tricky terrain! Proudest moment so far for many of the team! Our final activity was abseiling, a very scary moment for many of us! Each member attempted the challenge and again, everyone was so supportive towards one another. A fantastic day!
Morfa Bay - Day 1
After arriving at camp and sorting out their beds, the children went straight into their very activity! Miss James's and Miss Jolliffe's groups completed the zip line and high ropes: we were so impressed with how much enthusiasm and support for each other they demonstrated. Mr Jelf's group began with caving and, despite a few nerves, everyone made it to the second chamber - some even made it through the post box! Following dinner, all groups took part in the Pendine coastal walk before hot chocolate and bed. A busy start to the week!
Camp Day 1
Electricity
During our Science lessons, this term, we have been learning all about electricity! We started the term by learning the scientific symbols for the different components of an electrical circuit. We have also designed our own circuits following a brief and have investigated conductors and insulators as well as exploring what happens to a bulb/buzzer/motor when the voltage is changed.
Busy in the allotment!
Each year group has been challenged to grow some produce in the school allotment in preparation for creating a meal later in the year. We have chosen to grow peppers, radishes, onions and courgettes in order to make a vegetable pasta dish. We were very hands on in the allotment, weeding, turning soil, planting and just having a good general tidy up!
Angles investigation
Recently, we have been learning all about angles! We have learned that angles in a triangle equal 180 degrees, angles in a quadrilateral total 360 degrees and angles on a straight line are 180 degrees. We used protractors and tape on our tables to investigate the size of different angles: we realised that vertically opposite angles are also the same!
Reading with Reception
We absolutely love reading in Year 6 and jumped at the chance to share our enjoyment of books with Barn and Tawny Owl classes! Both the Year 6s and Reception children had a brilliant time - we're hoping to make our visits a regular part of a our time table!
Area and Perimeter
As part of our maths learning, we were given the challenge to design a floor plan for our dream home! We could create any design we wanted, as long as we were able to work out the area and perimeter of each of the rooms, as well as the total area of the house. Who knows, there may be a few budding architects among us! 
Y6 Netball Tournament at Mangotsfield Secondary
Converting Measure
Tudors Topic
We are really enjoying our new Tudors topic! In our History lessons, we have learned all about the Tudor family tree, the impact of the War of the Roses, delved into the marriages of Henry VIII and questioned the reliability of primary sources - all in just one week!
As part of English lessons, we will be studying Macbeth by William Shakespeare. We started the unit by making predictions of the plot and themes based on various front covers - a lot of our predictions were quite close to the actual plot! We have written setting descriptions of the heath to develop atmosphere and have developed characters by writing dialogue between the infamous three witches.
Sports Leaders
Indoor Athletics at Yate Academy
On Tuesday, a group of Year 5s and 6s took part in an indoor athletics competition at Yate Academy. There was a whole range of events to compete in, including multiple relays, triple jump, javelin and long jump. The children came up against some tough competitors from six others schools but they gave their absolute all and demonstrated great perseverance and teamwork throughout the evening. Well done Team Abbotswood!
Sports Coaching with CSET
Testing air resistance
As part of our science topic, we have been learning all about forces. To test for air resistance, we were challenged to design and make our own parachutes to transport an egg safely to the ground. We were given a range of materials, including paper, tape, a plastic cup, aluminium foil, string and of course, an egg! Our designs were brilliant and only two of the eleven cracked!
Viking double page spreads
To mark the end of our Vikings topic, we have been creating our own non-chronological reports about our very own monster to fight against Beowulf! We used headings, subheadings and passive voice to create detailed descriptions of our creatures.
Viking traders
As part of our Vikings topic, we got into character by recreating a trade deal between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons. Half of the room took on the role of Vikings, whereby they offered goods and materials in exchange for food from the Anglo-Saxons. It got very heated; we're great negotiators!
Fun with addition and subtraction
We have been playing lots of different games to generate our own addition and subtraction questions. We loved using a Poppit, playing cards and dominoes!
Wildlife Area
During our sessions in the wildlife area, we have learned how to work as a team to build dens, play games involving lots of cold water and to get creative in the outdoors!
YEAR 6 2020-21
Science: Separating materials.
In Science last week, the children were given a portion of 'Alien Soup'. It contained: rice, sand, plastic, paperclips and bark, as well as a secret ingredient - salt. The salt had dissolved and at the end of the lesson we discussed how we would go about separating the salt-water solution.
Our school values: Perseverance
Here is an excellent example of perseverance from the girls during Lockdown - completing a 1,000 piece puzzle. Unfortunately two pieces had gone walkabout, but it doesn't take anything away from their achievement!
Christmas: Mr Jelf's Christmas Quiz!
A flashback to Christmas!
Maths: Problem Solving
In maths this week, the children have been working together to improve their problem solving skills. They were given a booklet of SATs questions and they had to work together to solve them. For every mark, they got a Lego brick and at the end of the lesson, they had time to build their creations!
Guided Reading: WW1 Research
In Guided Reading this week, the class have lead their own learning and researched their own questions about WW1. They then presented their information in the form of a poster. We had posters on what life was like in the trenches, what animals were involved in WW1 and what food the soldiers would have eaten during the war.
Jigsaw: What does it mean to be normal?
The children have been thinking about what it would be like to lose your sight and how that would affect their day to day lives. We went out into the wildlife area and they needed to navigate themselves around a course with a partner directing them.
This term the children have chosen to read Abomination by Robert Swindells.
Forest School
Last term, the entire class had the opportunity to go out into our amazing Wildlife Area and do some activities with the much-loved Mrs Millman. The children had an amazing time and I can't wait to get out there more with them!
Black History Month
As a part of Black History month, the children have completed a series of lessons on racism. They have learnt about what the word means, as well as what racial discrimination can look and sound like. We have learnt about one of the greatest civil rights protests the country has seen - The Bristol Bus Boycott - and the children have shown great empathy whilst imagining what the men involved would have been thinking/feeling.
