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Oak Class

Week beginning 16th July

What a busy couple of weeks for Oak Class. Our visit to Hunstanton was fantastic - drop in next week to see all of the photographs.

On Saturday we participated in the Manea Gala. Our float had the theme of "Royal Ball" - we certainly looked the part.

At the ball:

On Thursday we accompanied Year 2 on a visit to Manea Allotments. The Allotment Association are celebrating their 10th Anniversary.

Here we are on the visit:

Week beginning 9th July

It has been an exciting week for the pupils of Oak Class. They have been on transition visits to their secondary schools in readiness for September. Upon returning to Manea they have been "buzzing with excitement and enthusiasm". Many nervous thoughts have been "put to bed" and new adventures are eagerly awaited by all of the class.

Meanwhile, back at school, we have enjoyed working together:

Week beginning Monday 2nd July

This has been an extremely busy but exciting week. The highlight for many of us has been our visits to our secondary schools.

We enjoyed our visits immensely and were eager to share our day when we returned to Manea. Our worries and fears have been allayed and we are all looking forward to the next adventure.

This afternoon some of the class represented the school at an athletics tournament. Those of us who remained in school tackled the KS2 challenge of creating a sun shelter for the ducks - our Science week visitors.

This was not an easy task! Here we are working in our KS2 teams:

Week beginning 25th June 2018

It has been Science Week. On Monday we were visited by Mr Rix and Miss Wala from Cromwell Community College.

They led a session on the heart which we have been studying in our Science lessons. We were able to study a lamb's heart and dissect it.

Whilst feeling apprehensive at first, we conquered our fears.

Here we are at work:

Our next challenge was to design and build a submarine.

Here we are at work:

We tested our inventions - all were successful to some degree.

Just look at the results!

Week beginning 18th June 2018

It has been an extremely busy week in Oak Class!

We have been rehearsing and performing our scene for the school production. Oak class decided upon Egypt as their country for the "Around the World in 80 minutes". The wedding of two famous Egyptians was beset with difficulties!

Here we are on stage:

Ms Taylor, from Cromwell Community College, visited this week. She taught a Year Seven lesson on decimals - she was impressed by our Mathematical knowledge and skills.

The Maths lesson in progress:

Week beginning 11th June 2018

What an incredibly busy week! Rehearsals for the school production are now well underway. This week we enjoyed our last Sports Day at Manea Primary School.

We all thrived on the various challenges and more importantly had fun!

Week beginning 4th June 2018

Refreshed after the half term break Year Six returned to be faced with a series of challenges in every lesson!

Miss Smith (aka Bob The Builder) "Can we do it?"

Year Six: "Yes we can!"

So the challenges began!

Here we are solving tangram problems:

Week beginning 21st May 2018

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the IWM, Duxford. It was a fantastic end to a hard week. We couldn't have timed the visit any better - as we ate our lunch, picnic style, we watched some of the rehearsals for the Duxford Air Show. We saw a Spitfire, Messerschmitt and World War II American fighter planes take off and land. Wow!

In Literacy we acted out scenes from our text "Street Child" which told of life in the workhouse.

Here we are at work:

Our Science topic is "Animals including Humans". This week we have focused upon learning about blood. We researched blood and wrote a factsheet and a haiku poem. We also sketched blood cells using colour and shades of black and white. Take a look ...

Week beginning 14th May 2018

What a week!

This has been a tough week with Year 6 undertaking their SATs. Year 6 have been ... amazing, brilliant, focussed, determined, passionate, resilient ... The list is endless.

The children should feel extremely proud of their achievements.

We celebrated this afternoon - a film, chocolate (lots of it) and our favourite game: "Capture the Flag".

Let the challenge begin:

Week beginning 8th May 2018
Over the last few weeks our foundation topic focus has been art. We researched the American artist Georgia O'Keefe and discovered that one of her passions was painting flowers. We used the mediums of pencil and water colour to recreate some of her most famous flowers.
Take a look at our display:

We have continued to use water colours to complete our entries for the Manea Gala Art Competition. This year's theme is Disney.
Here we are at work:

Week beginning 30th April 2018

Bonjour! Comment ça-va?

This week we were visited by Madame Powley from Cromwell Community College. We experienced a Year 7 French lesson and thoroughly enjoyed the session. We entered into conversations imagining ourselves in Paris or the South of France, played vocabulary challenge games, guess my number and a French memory game.

We were challenged during the lesson but thought it was "une expérience extraordinaire!"

Ici nous sommes au travail:

Week beginning 23rd April 2018

This has been a busy week in Oak Class. We have continued to read our text "Street Child" and have reached the point where Jim finally makes a friend.

We have focussed upon our reading and summarising skills this week. We read the next two chapters, had to elicit the key points and then present our findings to the rest of the class.

We found the task quite challenging. Here we are at work:

Week beginning 16th April

Welcome back!

Year 6 have made a great start to the new term.

Many children attended Easter School and their hard work over those few days has clearly paid dividends.

This week in Literacy we have focussed upon letter writing and writing persuasive texts. We were challenged to convince Jim, the hero of Street Child, to either leave or stay at the workhouse.

As groups we devised our statements and performed "Conscience Alley".

Here we are trying to persuade Jim to stay or leave the workhouse.

Week beginning 26th March

Although this is a short week Year Six have "packed in" many tasks. This week has seen us have a "run-through" of SATs week.

We all acknowledge that the week has been tough but worth it for the experience. It has given us so much confidence and all of the adults in class have been impressed with our skills, determination and application.

On a lighter note - it's almost Easter. We have made cards and will be tackling the challenge of making a model chick (World War II Style) and an origami Easter Bunny.

Happy Easter!

Week beginning 19th March

This week in Literacy we have focussed upon the demise of Mrs Jarvis and Jim. We discussed how their lives were "full of bad with few, if any, glimmers of hope."

We acted out scenes of the journey to, and arrival at, the workhouse.

Week beginning 12th March

The week culminated in our school "Market Place". At this event Oak Class showcased all of the work that we have undertaken as part of our Forest School project on the Mayans. This week we designed Mayan jewellery and picture frames for our artwork. We have thoroughly enjoyed the project.

Vilte said "I have loved all the activities but especially using our cutting and whittling skills to make Mayan jewellery."

Although we had used Clove Hitch knots before we still found constructing our picture frames a challenge.

Here we are at work:

Week beginning 5th March 2018

Another busy week.

In Mathematics we have been undertaking problem solving questions. Then we moved on to algebra and solving equations; we were also tasked with representing our equations graphically.

We have continued to read "Street Child" and learnt the fate of the Jarvis family following their eviction by Mr Spink. We wrote diary entries in role as either Emily or Lizzie.

Here we are at work:

Week beginning 26 February 2018

Snow!

On Wednesday Year six made the most of the snowy weather. At break time the whole class worked together to create ... a snowman!

Everyone agreed that it was great fun!

In Literacy this week we have continued studying our text "Street Child". We read the chapter "The Stick Man" and then created our own drama sequences.

Here we are at work:

Week beginning 19th February

What a busy week!

In Literacy we have begun to study a new text.

We have explored the preface to "Tell Me Your Story, Jim."

The preface sets the scene and gives the background to the text. It also introduced us to the two main characters - Jim and Barnie.

Next we undertook an analysis of the preface and found it contained many features such as:

rhetorical questions,
anecdotal information,
quotations,
dialect and chatty language, and
it finished by using suspense to lure the reader in.

Here we are at work:

We can't wait to read on next week!

Week beginning 5th February

Mathematics Outdoor Learning

Today we were asked to bring our bikes/scooters to school.

We were challenged!

We had to complete several challenges that incorporated using our bikes. We were asked to:

Calculate the perimeter of the netball court,
Calculate the area of the netball court,
Create an area of 11m2 and
Estimate a distance of 24m

We had to record our thoughts and ideas and methods of calculation, resources and solutions.

Here we are at work:

Harvey said: "I liked the lesson. It was a very different way of learning about area and perimeter."

Chloe said: "I enjoyed the activity - it was a real challenge. It certainly got us thinking."

Katie-Rae said: "I enjoyed the lesson because it was entertaining and encouraged us to be resourceful."

Erin said: "I enjoyed the task and the new obstacles the task presented. I had lots of fun being outside."

Week beginning 29th January 2018

During our Literacy lessons this week we have focused upon writing short stories. We have listened to many stories, looked at the author's use of language and how atmosphere, pace and tension have been created.

We moved on to looking at text evidence and used this to predict a story ending. Funnily enough we did not agree! Next we identified main events in a story and had to justify and explain why these were significant. We represented these thoughts graphically.

Here we are at work:

Today we began writing our own stories - we have decided upon using a horror/mystery theme.

If I were you I would read our page next week to see the final version of our stories!

Week beginning 22nd January 2018

This week we have launched our topic on The Ancient Maya Civilisation.

We have been busy gathering general information about this clever and forward thinking race.

Here we are at work:

Next week we shall be visiting the woods and linking our work on the Maya Civilisation to our forest school project.

Week beginning 15th January 2018

Class Assembly

This week we have thoroughly enjoyed rehearsing and performing our class assembly. We retold the story of "War and Peas" by Michael Foreman.

We spent time adding vocal expression to the story. Next we focussed upon including actions to support our story telling.

Here we are performing the story:

We hope that you enjoyed our assembly and visiting our classroom to look at all the work we have been doing.

Week beginning 8th January 2018

What a busy week!

In Maths we have been using negative numbers in the context of temperature. We had to plot our data and then draw conclusions from the information.

Seth said "This is not as easy as it looks! But I have done it! I'm proud of myself."

In Science we are completing our "Evolution and Inheritance" topic. Our task, this week, was to research two famous scientists:

Charles Darwin, and
Mary Anning

These scientist's work revolutionised man's understanding of evolution.

Here we are at work:

Week beginning 4th January 2018

Happy New Year!

Year 6 have made a great start to the New Year.

Today we read from Anne Frank's Diary where she attempts to describe the "Secret Annex". The annex was where the family lived for two years - hiding from the Germans. We used evidence from the diary extracts to visualise what we thought the annex might have looked like.

Here we are at work:

Week beginning 11th December

This week we combined Maths and History. We used our practical Maths morning to focus upon the skill of converting different units of weight ~ non-standard units and then metric and imperial units.

Then we used these skills to convert some World War II recipes into metric units. We looked at a recipe for "Potato and Watercress Soup" which served four people.

We had to scale the proportions so that we could serve 8 people, then 2 people and finally 1 person.

We all agreed that the soup did not sound or look very appetising!

Next we looked at the amount of food people received as their weekly ration during the war. We were amazed how small the amounts were. We made "Carrot Cookies" following the wartime recipe. We had to convert and then weigh out the ingredients.

Here we are at work:

However, we realised very quickly that making our cookies had used our complete weekly ration of margarine and sugar! Cookies were a real wartime treat.

Then came the taste test!

Theodore said: "They are surprisingly good - yummy, in fact!"

Ebony said: "I like them. Can I have the recipe?"

Year 6 have taken the recipe home! Happy cooking!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

from, Oak Class.

Week beginning 4th December

Inspiration Day

Last Friday we came to school dressed as World War II evacuees.

Evacuees were children who were sent away from home to live in the country where there was a lower threat of bombing. We imagined ourselves as leaving London's East End and arriving in Manea.

Our first task was to build an Andersen Shelter. These were used by families to keep safe during a bombing raid.

Theodore said "This was great, you really had to think carefully about the construction."

Erin said "We understand why these shelters were so important - they are tricky to construct."

Our next task was to write a postcard home - because of security regulations we were not allowed to say where we were! Just that we had arrived safely.

We learnt about rationing. During the war most items were in short supply and were rationed. Children had to make their own toys.

Here we are making a paper Spitfire.

We all agreed that the task was very hard.

This week we have completed our Spitfire, made an "evacuee tag label" and produced our own "Identity Card".

Here we are at work:

Harvey said "This has been a great few days. I have really enjoyed everything we have done!"

Week beginning 27th November 2017

As part of our Science topic "Evolution and Inheritance" we have been identifying how animals and plants have adapted to suit their environment. We have also learnt that adaptation may lead to evolution.

Look at the pictures of these two foxes. Can you say how they have adapted to suit their different environments?

Later this week is our "Inspiration Day" - we are very excited about coming to school dressed as evacuees!

Week beginning 20th November 2017
As part of our topic "The Big Bang" we have been studying war artists. We spent some time using the computers to research the artist Henry Moore. We discovered many facts about him, for example:

He was a sculptor,
He drew scenes from the Second World War, and
He was interested in depicting people.

We studied two of his line drawings which show people sheltering from a bombing raid.

Then we produced our own versions.
Here we are at work:

Week beginning 13th November

Difference Week

This week in school we have been celebrating "difference". Year 6 have explored and discussed the concept of difference and how this works in modern day society.

We shared the book "and tango makes three".

Having listened to the story we discussed how Roy and Silo were different. Then we created our own story boards of the book.

Here we are working on our story boards:

Week beginning 6th November 2017

Literacy

Our performances retold the part of the story in "The Cat Mummy" where Mabel has been unwell and has gone missing. We used actions and vocal expressions to bring the scene alive.

Some of us were daring enough to play Miss Smith - and before you ask - she is a character in the book!

Science

In our work on forces we have explored and defined the terms fulcrum, effort and load.

Here we are exploring different resources - we had to determine: the fulcrum, where the effort would be and how this would affect the load.

Week beginning 30th October

What a varied week!

On Thursday we performed our short play in the Harvest Assembly. Our intention was to highlight the importance of:

working together as a community,
being grateful for what we have, and
saying thank you.

In Science we have been learning about forces. We discussed and defined the various forces that act on a parachute.

We tested the effectiveness of our parachutes. Here we are at work:

Week beginning 16th October

On Monday Year 6 experienced their first 'Computing Day'. The first part of the day focussed upon using technology safely and responsibly. The e-safety message was reinforced during the day and the children identified a range of ways to report their concerns.

The main focus for the day was how to create and use a spreadsheet. Year 6 learned how to use sequence, selection and repetition in a spreadsheet and how to work with variables.

The favourite activity of the day was to use a spreadsheet to calculate amounts of food for a party.

"What a challenge!" said Amber.

Here we are at work - just look at the concentration:

Week beginning 9th October

This week we have continued our study of "The Cat Mummy". We have been learning how to analyse a text. We have considered the main points and the implications they have on the story. This led to a discussion about the various themes running through the story. We have begun to draw conclusions as to Mabel's fate!

Here we are analysing the text. We were looking for clues to support our theory that Mabel was ill:

Harvey said: "I have enjoyed the challenge! It was harder than I thought but we had a lot of discussion in my group. We didn't always agree and were forced to justify our ideas."

Week beginning 2nd October

We held the D&T Market Place this week. We showcased our work on building a "Minibeast Hotel" suitable for younger children.

Monday morning saw us revisiting the woods to collect last minute resources to complete the roof. On our return we spent time completing our build.

Have a look at the finished product:

We think that it is amazing!

April-Marie said "Our Minibeast Hotel is far better than any we saw on the internet when we did our research!"

Year 6 all agree!

Week beginning 25th September

We have been busy!

D & T Week

Our task has been to research, design, build and evaluate a "Minibeast Hotel" suitable for younger children.

Here we are collecting materials

Now the build begins

Week beginning 18th September

This week we have continued to study our text "The Cat Mummy". We discussed the features of an instruction text and then we were faced with a challenge!

Our challenge ... we had to sit back to back and draw a picture. Next we had to give clear and simple instructions to our partner so that they could reproduce the original picture.

Here is how we got on ...

In Science we have continued our work on forces. This week we focused upon air resistance and gravity. We discussed what factors make a parachute effective.

Using our knowledge we had to make our own parachutes.

Week beginning: 11th September

Our first full week in Oak Class has certainly been busy.

We have begun our new topics. In science we are studying forces.

We spent time discussing different forces - gravity, friction and air resistance. We watched a variety of video clips and had to work out which forces were being used. Then we discussed a range of scientific vocabulary and their definitions - all were related to forces.