WELCOME TO YEAR 6 (2024–25)
THE TEAM
6A Teacher:
Mr Peter Alden
6M Teacher:
Mr Dan Makroum
6R Teacher:
Mrs Phillipa Rushby
THE SCHOOL DAY
The school day remains the same in Year 6.
7.30 am Breakfast club (optional)
8.00 am Pupils may be dropped off at the playground, where they will be supervised. Alternatively, children may be dropped off at the Pen in the morning and will be greeted by a member of staff.
8.25 am Bell is rung to line up for registration
8.35 – 9.10 am Matins – Tuesdays and Fridays in St Mary’s Church
4.00 pm Years 5 and 6 end of school
4.00 – 6.00 pm Clubs (optional) / extended day provision (optional)
THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO
In Year 6, the children are role models for the school. They often help the younger children and take on extra responsibilities. There are also some exciting trips and visits to help prepare them for their transition to senior school:
Autumn – The children visit North Wales in October. To prepare for this, they have a day trip climbing the Surrey Hills. In December, they receive a visit from The Young Shakespeare Company for a workshop production of Twelfth Night.
Spring – The children attend a Junior Citizens Event, which helps to prepare them for leading more independent lives as they prepare for secondary school. We celebrate the end of our topic on China with a meal at the Five Spice restaurant in Reigate after the traditional Year 6 production – a musical spectacular!
Summer – To support both their CH and science topics about space, we visit Herstmonceux Science Centre for lots of hands-on science experiences on a huge scale. We are visited by volunteers from the NSPCC to promote their Stay Safe campaign. As a fun end-of-year trip, we take the children to Mercers Lake for a day of exciting water sports and raft-building challenges.
UNIFORM, BELONGINGS & SNACKS
SCHOOL UNIFORM
The main school uniform and sports kit remains the same in Year 6. Summer uniform is not compulsory.
CLOTHING
As in Year 5, the children may use a pair of old outdoor trainers for playtime.
MOBILE PHONES
If your child is walking to school and you would like them to have a phone, they may drop it off at the school office before school and collect it again after school.
WATCHES
Children are permitted to wear a watch, but please do not bring smart watches or fitbits.
STATIONERY
As in Year 5, children need a named small, single-layer pencil case (it must fit into a tray) containing a small set of headphones that can be plugged into their iPads, 3 HB pencils, rubber, sharpener, 30-cm ruler, 12 coloured pencils (max), scissors, glue stick and a fibretip Berol/Swash/Stabilo handwriting pen. Only blue ink is permitted.
In addition, 2 or 3 highlighter pens, a pair of mathematical compasses, protractor (ideally coloured) and a basic (not scientific) calculator can be kept in school.
POSITIONS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Each child has a leadership role which they apply for during their final term in Year 5. Throughout the year, they will be involved in various projects to support different curriculum areas.
SNACKS
Each day your child will need to bring:
• A named water bottle filled with still water.
• A morning and afternoon snack – it can be fresh or dried fruit or vegetables, fruit loaf, rice cakes, bread sticks, simple sandwich, crackers, popcorn, smoothies, cereal bar. Crisps, mini cheddars etc. are not allowed.
Snacks should be in a named small container (not a lunchbox) that can fit in your child’s tray. No chocolate or sweets and, as we are a nut-free school, no nuts or sesame (including houmous).
After-school snack – children doing clubs would benefit from an extra snack at the end of the school day.
Please remember to name everything!
GAMES & PE
The children will have one PE lesson and two games sessions per week. They will swim for the first half of the Autumn term and second half of the Spring term (during their PE lessons).
On games, PE and swimming days, children come to school in the relevant sports kit. Team sheets and information will be available on the sports website www.rsmsports.org.
It is easiest to download this as an app to your phone (password will be sent separately).
GAMES DAYS
Autumn Hockey and football (to mid Nov) then rugby and netball
Spring Rugby and netball (to Feb half term) then hockey and football
Summer Cricket
HOMEWORK & REPORTING
Homework is set on Firefly for convenience: other apps such as Atom Learning and Literacy Planet are also used. The following homework is set each week:
• Reading – Children are expected to read daily and also to read frequently aloud to a family member and then discuss the text. This helps their expression, projection and clarity.
• English and maths – set weekly. The children will be told which day it should be completed and handed in at school.
• Combined humanities and science – occasional homework may be set with extended periods of time given for these. Each piece of homework should take approximately 40 minutes.
REPORTING
Parents’ Evenings are held in the Autumn and Summer terms (you will receive a short written report on English, maths, social progress and targets in advance). A full written report will be received from all your child’s teachers in the Spring term.
HOME/SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
BY EMAIL
If you would like to email us, please do so via the school office: office@reigatestmarys.org. There is also a confidential email address for sensitive matters: confidential@reigatestmarys.org.
IN PERSON
Please do not hesitate to come and speak to us if you have any concerns. We are very happy to have a brief chat at drop off but if you would like to talk for longer, you can make an appointment via the school office. Meetings tend to be before school (8.00–8.20am) or at the end of the school day (4.00pm onward).
6A 6M 6R
Uniform PE kit Uniform Tuesday Uniform Uniform PE kit
Games kit Games kit Games kit Thursday PE kit Uniform Uniform
Games kit Games kit Games kit
Monday
Wednesday
Friday
YEAR 6 TOPICS
Each term there is an exciting cross-curricular topic:
AUTUMN TERM – Mountains/Boom or Bust
SPRING TERM – China (beyond the Great Wall)
SUMMER TERM – Reach for the Stars
LANGUAGES – The children will learn Mandarin fortnightly.
INFORMATION & EVENTS
VIRTUAL YEAR GROUP UPDATES –
In the Autumn and Spring terms there will be a collective update from the Year 6 teachers. This will take place via Microsoft Teams and provides an opportunity for teachers to talk about the children’s learning and activities, and for parents to ask general questions
CURRICULUM EVENING – In September.
SOCIAL MEDIA – Follow the school’s Instagram and Facebook accounts to see lots of the fun activities that take place on a day-to-day basis
YEAR 6 PRODUCTION
Every child in the year group will have a part in the much-anticipated Year 6 production at the end of the Easter term. Year 6 children also help at open mornings, sports days and other school events.
FAMILY EVENTS
We hope to see you at our family events throughout the year. These include:
ReigateStMarys rsmprepschool
THE WEEKLY BULLETIN – Includes a message from the Headmaster, a round-up of school news from the previous week and school notices. It is issued each week during term time.
THE PARENT
PORTAL
– Curriculum jigsaw maps, menus and school reports are uploaded here. It can be accessed via the school website and new parents receive a log-in before the beginning of term.
• Harvest festival
• Christmas Concert
• Christmas & Easter Services
• Year 6 Production
• Sports Day
• Leavers’ Celebration Evening
FOSMA EVENTS
Please keep an eye on the Bulletin
