Welcome to Year 6!

31st January 2025

Singing Stars and Biome Heroes!

O2 Young Voices
Oh, what a night! Last week, the much-anticipated O2 Young Voices performance finally arrived, and Year 6 joined over 8,000 children in a spectacular show. After a full day of rehearsals—including learning last-minute parts, dances and changes—we were ready to wow our audience. When the lights dimmed and the parents filled the arena, the children sang and danced their hearts out, delivering an unforgettable performance. We couldn’t be prouder of how the children represented Summercroft with their impeccable behaviour and enthusiasm. It was truly a memorable evening for all involved! 

Biome Protectors Save the Day
Year 6’s campaign to save Earth’s biomes reached its thrilling conclusion last week. Following weeks of preparation, we were visited by (suspiciously familiar-looking) UN scientists to hear our pitches. The children impressed with their detailed presentations, blending the learning and independent research with creative flair, and making a passionate case for their chosen biomes. The verdict? A unanimous decision to continue funding to save all the biomes! A huge well done to our budding environmentalists for their dedication and teamwork in this global mission.

Sportshall Athletics

Finally, a special mention for the sportshall athletics squad that competed at the Birchwood games event on Thursday 16^th January. All of our athletes showcased incredible skill, determination and teamwork during the event, each playing their part. We finished top of the leaderboard for the field events and then went on to win every race, apart from one, during the track events. Consequently, we were crowned champions and will now go on to represent Bishop's Stortford at the county sportshall athletics festival in March.

What an incredible start to 2025 for Year 6!

Many thanks for all your support, especially in making the Young Voices performance possible.

The Year 6 Team 

17th January 2025

Ready to Take the Stage!

The excitement is building as our final rehearsals for the O2 are complete! With dance moves polished and songs perfected, Year 6 are ready to take to the stage on Monday for what promises to be an unforgettable experience. The children have worked incredibly hard, and we can’t wait to see them shine at such a spectacular event!

In class, we’ve continued our exploration of The Dam by David Almond and Levi Pinfold, delving into the rich heritage of Kielder. The children have been learning about traditional music and dance from the region, and there have been some impressive (and enthusiastic!) dance moves making their way into our lessons.

This week also brought some fantastic learning opportunities in PSHE, with SCARF workshops in the Life Space on navigating the online world and an additional e-safety session from an external provider. These valuable lessons have sparked important conversations, and we’ll continue revisiting these themes throughout the year to ensure our children are safe and confident online.

It’s been a busy and rewarding week in Year 6 — now, let’s bring the house down at the O2! 

20th December 2024

Carols, Comedy, and Christmas Cheer!

Carols Galore!

Year 6 have been spreading festive joy through their musical talents, performing at two events in the last fortnight. First, at St. Michael's inter-school carol service, and then at our own school service at All Saints. The children’s polished performances, including tricky two-part harmonies and soaring descants, drew high praise, with the St. Michael's organiser expressing how impressed she was! Now, we turn our focus to the O2 in late January for what promises to be a spectacular celebration of the children's dedication and hard work in singing this term.

He’s Behind You!
Our Christmas festivities continued with a visiting panto, Aladdin. The children loved the pantomime and impressed staff with their maturity, keeping their excitement sensible while setting a wonderful example for others. It was the perfect way to begin to draw a busy and festive term to a close.

Looking Back, Moving Forward
As we reflect on the term, it’s been a delight to see how much the children have grown as leaders of the school. They’ve embraced their responsibilities with enthusiasm and truly blossomed in their roles. We’re looking forward to another exciting term ahead but, for now, wish you all a restful and joyful Christmas break. Thank you for your ongoing support!

6th December 2024

Christmas Cheer and Climate Challenge

We've had a busy start to December in Year 6.

On Decoration Day, the children rotated through all four Upper Key Stage 2 classrooms, crafting a variety of festive decorations. All the staff were impressed by the children's careful instruction-following and creativity. It was a fantastic way to kick off the Christmas season and get into the spirit!

Continuing the Christmas theme, rehearsals are well underway for our carol concert at St. Michael’s on Monday. The children have taken on the challenge of learning a range of songs, including a beautiful two-part harmony, with enthusiasm and focus. We can’t wait to share their hard work with you. 

Elsewhere, after watching David Attenborough’s A Life on Our Planet to kick off our new topic, the children received an exciting and urgent letter from the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, asking for their help to save Earth’s biomes and inviting them to present at the UN Climate Action Conference in January! While Mr. Guterres may have overestimated our current biome knowledge, we’re diving headfirst into this important topic to rise to the challenge.

Thank you as ever for your ongoing support.

The Year 6 Team 

15th November 2024

On the Rhode(s)

We have begun this half-term with our new topic on colonialism, focusing on the British Empire and particularly on infamous local figure, Cecil Rhodes. We kicked things off by beginning to understand how inequalities begin and can be magnified by playing the Dictator Game. In this game, groups were asked to create various coloured shapes to sell to a mysterious boss. However, our groups soon learnt that some started with more useful resources than others, and when the rules changed, it changed the fortunes of many! We then related this to the real world by studying the East India Company and its role in the origins of the British Empire. Using our class book, The Rabbits, by John Marsden, we started to explore the significant impacts of Empire on indigenous communities.

To bring our learning to life, we received a visit from the South Mill Arts Centre, who taught us more about Rhodes' rise to power in South Africa, and explained how he went from opportunistic entrepreneur to cheating and tricking his way to controlling huge swathes of land in Africa. The children impressed us all with their understanding of complex topics and their ability to connect the dots between the colonisation of Africa, India, and Australia. Staff and volunteers from South Mill praised the children's curiosity, enthusiasm, and exemplary behaviour.

Thank you for all your support in making this visit possible—this experience was invaluable for the children’s learning journey!

Last week, we also celebrated French Day in true bleu, blanc, et rouge style! Students dressed up in the French colours of red, white, and blue, bringing a splash of Parisian spirit to Summercroft! Our day was filled with French-inspired activities, and a highlight was creating Seurat-inspired pointillism paintings of the famous lavender fields of Provence. The children put great effort into mastering the technique of dot painting, as well as drawing on our perspective drawing from Arts Week, creating some beautiful artwork that captured the essence of France's iconic countryside.

25th October 2024

Green Light to Get Off the Island!

Last week, in a thrilling end to our island survival adventure, the children showcased all they’ve learned in this term’s topic. They impressed everyone by independently presenting their knowledge through hands-on, engaging activities to parents. We are proud to announce that thanks to their efforts, we have been "rescued" from our desert island and are safely back at school—just in time for half-term!

During Arts Week, we immersed ourselves in the theme of green. The children explored its various associations—calmness, nature, and even envy! Through our focus poem, The Jealous Ones, we delved into our darker sides, which led to a menacing and powerful performance at the Poetry Slam. On the artistic side, the children mixed paints to create tints, tones, and shades of green, which they used to paint stunning Hockney-inspired landscapes.

11th October 2024

Stepping Up in Year 6 

The children have taken the responsibilities of Year 6 in their stride recently, with a range of opportunities to employ their independence and teamwork, which they have done with gusto. 

Last week, we had an amazing two days with Duncan from Let’s Get Out, learning invaluable survival skills! The children filtered water using items they might find on a deserted island, started fires, and built stable shelters. They even learned how to navigate using the sun to find East and West without a compass—skills that would make any explorer proud!

The children were also fantastic hosts at our Macmillan Coffee morning last week. Thank you for being so supportive; together we raised an impressive £509.62 for this important cause. Your generosity truly made the event a success!

Alongside all this, the children have undergone the interviews for responsibility and have been busy preparing for our end-of-topic presentation next week. On top of that, rehearsals for the Harvest Festival are in full swing. 

The children have shown great maturity throughout our recent learning, and we know that with this hard work, and their new responsibilities, they’ll make themselves—and us—proud.

20 September 2024

Stranded Savages 

The children had an interesting start to Year 6, as they kicked off the term stranded on a deserted island for our Survivors topic! 

After creating an initial survival plan based on the rule of three, we have started to hone essential survival skills to live on the island and, hopefully, escape! Our First Aid workshop taught us techniques for keeping ourselves and others safe, while our food preservation experiment ensured we know how to keep our supplies safe and healthy.  We've got a lot left to learn if we are going to escape the island successfully. Watch this space!

In English, we’ve started our new book, The Savage. The children have been delving into its complex emotions and ideas with impressive maturity. Their thoughtful discussions and insightful observations have proven that they are more than ready for the challenges of Year 6.

We are also thrilled to see so many students stepping up and applying for positions of responsibility. Their enthusiasm for taking on new roles and contributing to our school community is fantastic to see and an excellent sign of what is to come over the year. 

It has been a fantastic start to the year, marked by maturity, responsibility, and a spirit of adventure. We are excited about what’s to come! Thank you for your support already. Here’s to a successful year ahead!