Mahogany - Year 6
Class Teacher: Mrs Efrat
Class Teaching Assistant: Mrs Darnell
Class Email Address: mahogany@kafed.org.uk
Welcome back to school and the start of the summer term. This is the final stretch for our Year 6 children who will be leaving us at the end of this school year.
We are hoping that they will get the opportunity to participate in some fun activities throughout this term to mark their final journey with us and to make some more happy memories of their time at Elfrida, no matter how long or short it has been.
Week beginning 12th July 2021
Mahogany Self-isolation
Thank you to those of you who have sent in work you have been doing. It's great to see what you are all up to. If you haven't sent any work in yet, please do as I would like to share it all below:
Jessie has been being artistic...
Zahra has been baking..
Camron's Art work
DT - Baking Flapjacks
This week, Year 6 tantalized KS1 with the delicious smell of their flapjacks! They are all getting much better judging the quantities they need and working the electronic scales without reminders to zero them or change the unit of measure. It looks like we may have some future bakers and chefs! Lots of children have taken the recipe home as they would like to bake them for their families. :-)
Friday 2nd July 2021 - Sports fun day in the park
We were so lucky with the weather: we were expecting a few light showers, according to the weather forecast, but it turned out to be a glorious day, both weather wise and fun wise.
Six different activities were set up: tag rugby, football, rounders, bat and ball, volley ball and javelin. Everyone should have had an opportunity to try out each activity.
Whilst we were all involved in having fun, a cheeky beagle, who was running loose in the park, stole a baguette out of Mrs Darnell's bag! Despite Mrs Efrat's and Mr Speck's attempts to stop the beagle, it devoured the baguette, cling film and all!! In the end, Mrs Darnell managed to get hold of it and took it away from the rest of our delicious lunches. One baguette was all it was getting. Mr Speck then guarded Mrs Darnell's bag to protect the lunches!
The Children Take Over!
Last week, Year 6 wrote formal letters of application for the chance to teach a lesson to their peers. The children also had to submit a lesson plan together with their letter in the hope of being one of the five successful candidates to teach a lesson to the rest of the class. This week, the five successful candidates taught their lessons:
Momusu - Mental Health and Wellbeing
Bailor - Drama
Malique - Maths
Leona - Albanian
Ibrahim - Coding
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Drama
Maths
Albanian
Coding
Wheels Day - Thursday 24th June 2021
Today, children had the opportunity to bring their bike, scooter, skateboard or roller skates/rollerblades to school for some fun exercise in the playground. Safety precautions were paramount: helmets were compulsory for all; elbow and knee pads were required for roller skates and rollerblades; all children had to be travelling in the same direction around the playground and keep a safe distance from the person in front. Luckily, we got through the day without any accidents :-)
Sports Day 23rd June
How lucky were we? The sun shone and everyone had fun! Year 6 were lucky enough to have their packed lunches sitting on the field in the sunshine at Sedgehill before starting Sports Day. We had some technical issues with cameras but here are the photographs and the videos we managed to take.
Lunch Time
The Egg and Spoon Race
the Egg and Spoon Race
The Discus
Fun Day Friday 21st May
Another successful Fun Day Friday took place today. To finish off our maths, learning the order of operations (BODMAS/BIDMAS) the children were given a challenge to find a code to free them from the maths lesson and allow them to play board games. It made them very eager to solve the problems!
Music Through the 20th Century
Year 6 had fun listening to and learning about the different genres of music, and how they developed and evolved through the 20th century. Some they liked and some they really didn't; some made them want to clap/tap along and dance and others they wanted to stop!
Ask your child what they can remember and which type of music they liked the best.
Here are just a few of the genres they learnt about...
Thursday 20th May - DT Making Scones
This week, the children baked a variety of different flavoured scones which everyone got to taste, if they wanted to. The flavours were:
plain, cheese, pumpkin (with a hint of nutmeg), rosemary and Italian (sun-dried tomatoes and basil). All the children were good at tasting them and most tried them all. Many of them were surprised at how much they actually liked the pumpkin and Italian scones!
Over the weeks, the children's team work and cooking skills have improved immensely. Their scones had a really light and fluffy texture and were some of the tastiest scones I have had!
Eid Mubarak
May Allah bless your life and fulfil all your wishes and Dua’s.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all the families celebrating Eid a very happy holiday. Who would have thought you would have to be celebrating yet another Eid under lockdown restrictions. We hope that you have managed to make the most of your celebrations despite the current restrictions.
Eid Mubarak to you all and your families! May this Eid bring nothing but joy and peace for all. Have a safe and happy Eid day!
Well done to Imran and Abdallah who have both fasted throughout Ramadan and have managed to stay focused on their learning.
Fun Day Friday (14th May)
We have recently introduced the idea of Fun Day Friday in Year 6. This is in some way to compensate them from not being able to go on school journey. We are trying to find time to fit in some fun activities for them to enjoy.
Today, we started off with a board games session which the children thoroughly enjoyed. Playing games and having fun with their friends.
After playtime, Year 6 got together in Bodhi class to watch the film Mulan. We chose this film as it fits in with their learning about the kings of the Shang Dynasty and their research into the tomb of Fu Hao, the wife of king Wu Ding as the character Mulan is based on Fu Hao.
Board Games
Watching Mulan in Bodhi
Wednesday 12th May DT - Baking
This week Year 6 baked chocolate chip cookies. They learnt how to cream butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. A lot of beating caused aching arms! The children added their choice of milk and or white chocolate chips. Once again, the smell of the cookies baking permeated the KS1 building making everyone feel very hungry!
The children have evaluated their cookies, after tasting them, and made suggestions as to how they could improve them or what they might do differently were they to make them again.
Friday 7th May - DT - baking fairy cakes
This week, as Year 6 baked fairy cakes they improved and refined their baking skills. Their weighing is far more accurate and they no longer need reminding to zero the scales before they weigh out the ingredients, nor to switch between units of measure as required.
Year 6 thoroughly enjoy their cooking and especially the eating too!
The making
The finished cakes
A Cosmic Adventure with Bow Arts
Back in Year 5, before lockdown, Alder class (as they were called then) were involved in an exciting project with Bow arts. They worked with an artist, Ella Hempsted, to make 3D sculptures by plaster casting. They learnt how to cast and worked with silicon moulds, recycled moulds and also constructed their own larger moulds using a variety of different materials to create different textures too. They used pigments to colour the plaster and had fun experimenting with mixing colours and quantity of pigments to strengthen the colour.
Inspiration for this project was taken from the book Cosmic by Frank Cottrell-Boyce which was the book they were using in literacy.
Unfortunately, covid and the subsequent closure of school due to lockdown, meant they didn't get to finish the project and actually see the finished sculptures. Luckily, Bow Arts collected the work the children had created and have constructed the final sculptures inspired by space; they look absolutely fantastic and the children should be so proud of what they achieved.
The photographs of their work are below. We hope you will agree they are amazing.
Cosmic Adventure Sculptures
28th April DT - Baking - Fruit Crumble
This week, the children built upon their pastry making skills from last week to make crumble using the rubbing technique. They also had to peel and slice up apples very carefully either with a knife or a peeler. There was a choice of apples or raspberries, or both.
The making
Ready for the oven
Thursday 22nd April - Stephen Lawrence Day
Today, Year 6 took part in a live on-line assembly with Baroness Doreen Lawrence and learnt about Stephen Lawrence's legacy and Stephen Lawrence Day which is on 22nd April every year. Each year there is a different focus as part of Stephen’s legacy. This year the focus is on three key words:
respect, friendship and difference.
During the assembly, the children were told about challenges to MAKE A DIFFERENCE: to do something simple to help others and pass it on!
do good (a simple act of kindness to help others in your community);
get creative (express what living your best life looks like for you through your chosen art form);
or share the learning (find out about Stephen’s story and share it).
In art, Year 6 have chosen one of the focus words to create their own piece of graffiti art. Here are some example below. We are sure you will agree they have all done a fantastic job and we now have an amazing, colourful display outside both Year 6 classrooms to show it off to everyone.
DT - Cooking -Thursday 22nd April
This week, Year 6 had the pleasure of making savoury tartlets. They are now experts, not just at making pastry, but at making delicious pastry. They filled their tartlets with a choice of ingredients: chicken, cheese, onion, peppers, sweetcorn and mushrooms. As they were cooking, a fragrant aroma filled the KS1 building making people feel very hungry indeed!
The making
The finished tartlets
DT - Pitta Bread Pizzas
This week, Year 6 made pitta bread pizzas. They are quick and easy to make and cook:
- First, take a pitta bread, plain or wholemeal, spread some tomato paste on it.
- Then add your favourite toppings. (The children chose: mushrooms, sweet peppers, chilli peppers, pineapple, tuna, chicken, onion, sweetcorn, basil, but you can add whatever you like.)
- After that, top it off with grated cheddar cheese, grated mozzarella or chunks of soft white mozzarella cheese, or any other cheese of your choice.
- Finally, pop it under the grill for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Eat and enjoy!
Making the Pizzas
The Pizzas
DT - Weaving
Mahogany class learnt how to weave today. They worked with Ms Green on cardboard looms. The children learnt how to warp and weft which are the two basic components used in weaving. The lengthwise (up and down) warp yarns are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom while the widthwise (left to right) yarn us drawn through and woven over and under the warp.
Lockdown Reflections
Today, Tuesday 23rd March 2021, marks a year since we all went into the first lockdown. We have all been through so much since and we all have our thoughts, feelings and worries about the past year and what is yet to come. The children got a chance to mark this momentous occasion with some personal reflections and letting off bubbles in the playground to carry away any of their worries and concerns.