Year 6 have returned to school in a positive and upbeat mood. We have got stuck into revising our reading comprehension skills and the fundamentals of grammar ready for the SATs next month.

Both maths classes are working towards the end of the taught units in order to allow some time for revision of the maths curriculum and to fine tune our arithmetic abilities.

We’ve also had the thrill of football and netball matches - with both teams winning. Some Year 6s have started soft ball on Thursday afternoons, and the Reading Pioneers have started a new book. Feel free to ask the Softballers and Pioneers about their activities and if they would recommend them.

We have another couple of weeks of our current topic ‘What’s so special about clouds?’  and will spend the final two weeks ensuring we have answered all of the questions we had at the beginning. Who knows, we may have some budding meteorologists in our midst.

We rounded off our first week in style by participating in a morning of alternative sports. Pendower and Seaton had a go at archery, American Football and capture the flag. The last two sports demanded positive teamwork from all of the children – a challenge they rose too admirably.

Introducing the KIRFs Café...

What are KIRFs?

KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) are pieces of mathematical knowledge that we want the children to learn off-by-heart or be able to work out very quickly (within 3 seconds).

They are designed to support the development of the mental skills that underpin mathematics. They are particularly useful when calculating, be it adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing.  They will include facts such as number bonds, counting on, back, times tables, equivalence of units of measure, and square numbers.

Each year group is allocated key facts to focus on throughout the year, in line with age related expectations. These should be practised for rapid recall.

Check out the website and class blogs for the newest KIRFs each Half Term.

We look forward to welcoming you to the KIRFs Cafe on Wednesday 17^th April at 3.10pm in Finnygook.

We have arrived at the end of our penultimate term in Brunel Primary; how has that happened so fast?

Year 6 have done a superb job of working their way through practice SATs last week and diligently completed their information texts on erosion this week. We are all incredibly proud of how they are applying themselves to their studies, and we know that they are ready for a well-deserved holiday before the final push towards the end of their time with us.

The summer term is a special one for Year 6, and we look forward to all of the exciting activities and special memories they will make together over the coming months. For now, relax, eat chocolate and enjoy some spring sunshine (hopefully).

Key dates:

• 15th April return to school 
• 6th May Bank Holiday
• 13th May - SATs week starts
• 24th May – No pupils – Community Day.
• 7th June – Inset Day

Science Week

The whole of Brunel Primary and Nursery Academy have been fortunate enough to spent time in Saltash Library participating in various science based talks and activities as part of national Science Week.

Year 6 listened to a talk based on nanotechnology and how this area of science is aiming to help diagnose cancers before they have a detrimental impact on the person’s health. We were able to look at synthetic skin and various data chips that were made via a nanomicroscope and nanolaser in a lab. We also leanrt about various Nobel Prize winner for thier work in science and nanotechnology imparticular. It has really got us all thinking about the tiny things in life and how they can have a huge impact!

We’ve finished out week in style by celebrating World Book Day. Well done to Year 6 who came to school in a range of costumes depicting some of their favourite book characters.

Over the past term, we have enjoyed sharing our love of reading via our Seaton Reading Scrap Book. There have been some stunning entries which have encouraged us to read a wider range of books based on the recommendations shared.

When your child brings it home for their turn to create a page, feel free to have a good look through and be inspired by the enthusiasm and variety on display. We hope it encourages everyone to pick up a good book :)

We have been immersing ourselves in all things water and weather related this week; this is due to our current topic - What’s so special about clouds?

Our English lessons have centred around writing persuasive letters to the Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP (Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). The focus of our letters has been the poor levels of water quality in our rivers and along our coastline. Living so close to both the Tamar and the sea, we are passionate to see our water quality improve. We completed our letters this week, and they have been copied and sent off to the Palace of Westminster for Mr Barclay to read.

In our geography lessons, we have been studying the water cycle in greater detail and how water is literally all around us – on the ground, below it and in the atmosphere.

We have also been looking into the formation of clouds and what the different types mean for our weather. We then had a go at analysing the clouds outside our classroom to predict if it would rain or not. Due to an abundance of nimbostratus clouds, we predicted it would rain and it did!

Key information

·       The children are now coming home with alternative maths homework to help support their learning in the run up to SATs. Please encourage them and help where you can. Class teachers will be available for support during lunchtimes if there are any questions that you are finding tricky.

·       Please continue to listen to your child read on a regular basis and support them to discuss what they have read – what do you think will happen next? Why? Why do you think the character did that? Can you summarise what you’ve just read.

Seaton have been busy this week getting to grips with our new topic What’s so special about clouds? Over the coming weeks, we will be discovering how the water cycle plays a part in cloud formation including living near the coast and rivers, the various types of clouds and how Saltash and the surrounding are compares to other areas of the UK, Europe and further afield.

We have been putting our electricity skills to the test this week. We are in the process of creating simple electronic games that test our maths skills. We are combining our DT knowledge with our science to make light-up boards that will show the correct answer to a given multiplication calculation. Watch this space for photos of our final work.

In our RE lessons, we have started to learn about the religion of Islam and how its core values unpin the lives of millions of believers around the world. We have been focussing on some of the key terminology round Islam and the importance of Mohammad. These lessons are also making us think about our own beliefs and what is important to us.

Another lesson that is challenging us to consider our opinions and views is PSHE. We have been fortunate to have had one visit already from Barnardo’s – the children’s charity – to discuss online safety, social media, peer interactions and mental health. We are looking forward to a second visit from them this coming week.

Key dates:

v  Here are a few reminders of events that are happening next week:

v  Tuesday 6th February - Safer Internet Day

v  Tuesday 6th February - Y6 to Saltash Comprehensive School to watch Oliver. All Y6 children will require a packed lunch. Please change your ParentPay selections ASAP. The kitchen will need to prepare packed lunches in advance.

v  Thursday 8th February - Chinese New Year lunch menu - please check selections on ParentPay.

v  Thursday 8th February - BFA 'Love Yourself Day' wear mufti and donate via ParentPay

v  Friday 9th February - Staff training day - School Closed to Children

v  Monday 12th February to Friday16th February - Half-term holiday

v  Monday 19th February - Back to school

We have been sparking with energy over the past two weeks as we have developed our scientific knowledge of electricity. During our lessons we have conducted several experiments including exploring if the length of a wire has an impact on the amount of electricity that passes along it. We have had great fun creating and testing circuits with various components. In the weeks to come, we are look forward to using our knowledge in a practical application as part of our DT lessons. Stay tuned to find out more.

We have come to the end of our diary entries in English. Everyone has excelled themselves in their use of vocabulary, sentence structure and higher-level punctuation. This piece of work has been copied up into a ‘best version’ and included in each child’s independent writing folder. Already, they are feeling justifiably proud of the work that is complied in these folders and the children are starting to recognise that this is something to treasure in years to come.

As we head towards our new topic – What’s so special about clouds? our art lessons have taken on a dreamy, airy quality as the children get to grips with watercolour paint and attempt to recreate clouds in their sketch books. As you can imagine, this is quite a tricky task, but they are applying themselves and working hard to carefully analyse what clouds actually look like (and not just balls of cotton wool).

Please continue to encourage your child / children to read every day and to complete their reading record for you to sign. Don’t forget, maths homework is due:

·    Pendower class every Wednesday

·    Seaton class every Thursday. 

Please find the new spelling booklet below. The first set of words will be tested at the end of next week (26.1.2024).
Children will bring home a new booklet with them this Friday.