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North America Year 6

Welcome to the North America Year 6 Class Page.  Here, you can find out about everything that we've been doing this term.
Friday 22nd November
 
In our Computing sessions this half term, we are exploring the concept of "computational thinking" which can be used when approaching complex problems. It involves four separate concepts:
- decomposition
- pattern recognition
- abstraction
- algorithms
 
This week, we focused on decomposition which can be defined as breaking down a complex problem or system into smaller parts that are more manageable and easier to understand. We explored this by relating it to real life experiences, such as tidying your bedroom or learning a dance. 
 
We had a lot of fun using this idea to learn a clapping routine, which caused a lot of laughter (and some frustration!) but was certainly easier when we broke it down into small steps. 
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We will apply this to our computing sessions as we develop games in Scratch.
Friday 8th November
 
What a busy first week back it has been, culminating in our class assembly today, all around the subject of remembrance. The children spoke with confidence and passion about a very important subject, as well as sharing poems, singing, displaying their art and DT work and a wonderful trumpet performance from one of our Year 6 pupils. Below are some of the remembrance themed poems which the children have produced. Well done to you all; we felt incredibly proud of your performances. 
Friday 18th October
 
I can't believe we only have a week left of this half term, and so far, it has been a really successful one for the children in Year 6. We have gained so many new skills, as well as showing resilience and a growth mindset when things have been challenging. This has been particularly evident in our DT lessons, where we have been designing and making our very own sock monkeys. This has required the children to use templates, cut material, use a range of joining techniques and also add some wonderful aesthetic appeal with a wide range of monkey accessories, from hula skirts to batman masks! The children are incredibly proud of their creations, and it is clear to see why. We currently have double the amount of students in class, as there is a sock monkey mascot sat at each table! They will make the journey home after the half term holiday, and I am sure the children will be desperate to share their creations with you. 

Friday 11th October
 
This week, we have continued our learning in Science, looking at the topic of light. So far, we have carried out many investigations and enquiries including creating periscopes to explore reflected light, manipulating shadows by changing the distance of an object from the light source and learning about transmitted light when exploring transparent, translucent and opaque objects. This week, we learnt all about the structure of the eye, understanding what different parts are for and then spent time exploring the key question, "Do we definitely need light to see?" 
 
We had a lot of fun using the dark boxes to test a range of materials, and although we knew the science behind it, were still fascinated to see that you could see absolutely nothing when the window was closed and light was completely absent. Great learning once again from North America class. 
Friday 4th October
 
On Friday, we (along with South America class) spent a sunny afternoon up at Thorp Academy, taking part in a cluster schools orienteering event.  Our Emmaville House Teams were split into small groups, each of which was given three maps of the school grounds.  Each map showed increasingly tricky routes that included a series of waypoints to be visited.  Time limits were set and points for each correct waypoint recorded were up for grabs, as well as bonus points for early finishers and penalty points for anyone infringing the rules of play.  It was hard work, but there was a lot of determination and encouragement evident throughout the afternoon, which was brilliant to see.  A special well done to Sage, who earned the most points.
Friday 27th September
 
This year, we have started a new approach to our Guided Reading lessons, using principles from an approach called Take One Book. The children all have a copy of the book we are studying to share one between two, and we spend 3-4 weeks exploring, reading and analysing the text, with plenty of opportunities for reflection and discussion as a class. The first book we have studied this year is "A Story like the Wind" by Gill Lewis. 
A Story like the Wind is a beautifully illustrated story of freedom, music, and seeking refuge.
A small group of refugees is crowded on to a boat on the sea. They share their stories as the boat travels towards the dream of safety and freedom. One boy, Rami, has brought his violin, and his story of how the violin was invented, and of a stallion that could run like the wind, weaves through the other stories, bringing them all together into a celebration of hope and of the power of music and story. 
 
Throughout the series of lessons, the children in Year 6 have shown empathy and compassion towards a very sensitive subject, and I have felt incredibly proud listening to their viewpoints and discussions. The story finishes at a point where we do not know what the future holds for Rami, and the other refugees on the boat, and the children spent the final session expressing both their hopes and fears, many of which were very poignant. Well done North America. 
Friday 20th September
 
As always, there has been all sorts going on in school, including writing epic warning stories in English, making periscopes to investigate how light travels and reflects in Science and the Year 6 football team representing Emmaville for the first time this year in the Blaydon and District League, which was a very successful start for them. 
 
However, there has also been some exciting things happening outside of school, as two members of our class made the journey to Birmingham, to visit Wolves stadium, to attend the celebration event for the Show Racism the Red Card competition. Earlier in the year, we were notified about Noah and Alia from our class both winning first place awards in the Creative Writing and Music competition. They both had a fantastic day, and represented Emmaville so well, and they came away with an overflowing bag of goodies, which they were excited to show the rest of the class. Well done on such a great achievement. 
Friday 13th September
 
At Emmaville, we are lucky to have regular visits from Gateshead music services, who bring us brilliant termly music workshops. Each workshop focuses on a different theme, and music knowledge, and world knowledge is built around this. On Wednesday, Key Stage 2 took part in a fantastic workshop based around "local heroes". It started with an impromptu chorus of the Blaydon Races from nearly everyone in the hall, and took us all away around the North East, where we learned about mining life, the creation of the first lightbulb and all about the story of Cushy Butterfield! There is always plenty of opportunity for audience participation, and the children played everything from the fish (guiro), to the clogs! We can't wait for the next one already. 
Friday 7th September
 
It has been a pleasure to spend this week with the new Year 6 children of North America class. They have returned to school from the Summer holidays with enthusiasm and eagerness to learn, and have made the most of all opportunities on offer. We have explored the rights of a child, learnt more about our class continent of North America, displayed creativity in different art and technology activities, including practising our sewing techniques, and showed athletic ability in cross country. I can't wait to see what else Year 6 has to offer, and I already know that this group of children are going to thrive. 
 
Check the website regularly for updates through the year, as the class page will be updated each week.