Year 6

What a start to the year!

6V has started off wonderfully, implementing new routines and practices smoothly and wholeheartedly. We’ve spent a lot of time discussing the reasons supporting why we do things and their importance, we’ve been introduced to a lot of new ways of learning, and have embraced the class motto of Be Your Best.

Class Culture

Each day, we have started with a check-in of ‘What’s New in the Classroom?’ – this not only ensures that we’re all very familiar with our classroom space and take responsibility and ownership of the things within it, but builds an extra level of observation and appreciation for the little things, too.

We have also been doing a daily roll question which is displayed each morning, in place of just going through each name and replying with a simple “here”, or “good morning”. These have been a great way to get to know each other a little better, encourage discussion and build the trust around sharing our thoughts and ideas. 

Some of our favourites have been: 

Part of being in Year 6 is embodying the responsibility and accountability that comes along with it. It’s a time when students can unwittingly influence the culture in the school, acting as default role models for the younger students, and is a time when each individual needs to take some time to think about the habits they have, the person they think they are, the person others might think they are, and the person they want to be.

To that end, we have had a discussion around these exact questions.

It’s not an easy thing to think about as an adult, let alone as children, but it is a very valuable experience to sit with your own thoughts, to embrace the discomfort and slight confrontational nature of the questions, and to consciously make decisions about yourself and your conduct. 

Life is about balance, so following on from that conversation we thought about a thing or symbol that represents each of us, and made it using melting beads. These will hang in the classroom throughout the year as a visual reminder, and an added personal touch.