Newsletter March 2018

St. Mary’s Primary School

Killyclogher

Year 6 March/April

Numeracy

Mental Maths:

·         Understand how to multiply/divide a number by 10, 100, 1000.

·         Find percentage of set.

Number

·         Explore simple percentages in everyday use.

·         Understand and use percentages effectively. Convert fractions, decimals to %.

·         Find a % of a given quantity. Find discount, sale price.

·         Given discount find normal price.

Measures

·         Understand and use decimals to 3 decimal places in the context of measurement.

·         Introduce Capacity, convert appropriate units of measurement

·         Carry out calculations involving multiplication/division of money using practical, mental, and calculator or written methods.

Homework

Homework activities will be written on the board and pupils will record their homework in notebook, where parents and teachers can write any notes/concerns.

Reading Record to be maintained each week - parental contribution welcome.

Spellings/Tables Mon to Thurs. for assessments on Friday. Mental Arithmetic homework twice weekly – target score 30/36.

What should I do if my child is having a problem?

·         Contact class teacher by note /phone.

·         Contact School / Principal

·         Parents can maintain contact with the teacher through the homework diary or arrange an appointment through the office staff.

·         All queries will be responded to promptly.

ICT

Children will

·         use Explain Everything ipad app to present Literacy tasks

·         use Scratch to create, edit and move sprites

·         realise the need to immediately report anything that upsets them while online

How To Help Your Child

·          Be Positive and encourage your child by showing an interest in their work.

·          Praise always helps, at any age.

·          Listen to your child reading aloud–talk about the story and meanings of any difficult words phrases etc. sign and comment in the Reading Record.

·          Practice mental maths skills with pupils at all opportunities - E.g. Tables games, fast recall of number facts, rounding prices when shopping, calculating totals and change.

·          Help pupils to research topics through search engines. reference books, visiting the Library and sharing personal experiences.

Literacy

Reading: Pupils will read and discuss Home Reading books and Guided Reading books in class. Focus this half term will be on the structural and linguistic features of a persuasive text. Pupils will observe how language is selected to inform/ protest/complain/persuade. They will also Evaluate instructional text with regard to purpose, layout and usefulness. Accelerated Reading books will be available from class library and resource area. Silent Reading will be encouraged every day. Please encourage your child to continue reading and monitor their progress in the Accelerated Reading programme.

Grammar: Pupils will focus on correct punctuation, the use of the apostrophe to show contractions, the use of pronouns, and comparative/superlative adjectives.

Writing: Pupils will examine the features of persuasive writing.

Handwriting: Pupils will focus on developing a legible and swift style of joined writing, presenting good layout and evaluating their work.

Topics

All Topics are cross curricular to enable pupils to connect their learning.

March/April – Materials

Key Events / Dates

·         PE programme continues on Mondays with Gary Wallace

·         16^th March. St. Patrick’s Green Dressing Up Day

·         School closures – St. Patrick’s Day Monday 19^th March. Easter break 29^th Mach to 9^th April