Welcome to Year 6
Dear Year 6 Parents,
Despite starting the new academic year online, we have an exciting year ahead, filled with incredible learning opportunities, adventures and interesting challenges for your child. We aim to ease the transition from our Primary school to Secondary and provide the best preparation possible, so students are ready for their move at the end of the year.
The new ‘DBIS Learner Profile’ will guide our learning and behaviours in Year 6, whilst aiming for a personal best in everything they undertake. We aspire to make their final year in our Primary school most memorable.
In Year 6, the children will follow our bespoke DBIS Primary curriculum which is based on the National Curriculum of England and enhanced by our unique international context. The children will experience quality learning opportunities throughout the year where they will work independently as well as in collaborative groups. Reading, Writing and Mathematics are core subjects and in Discovery, which encompasses Science, Geography, History, Art and Design Technology, students will enquire through a concept-based learning approach. Additionally, the children will receive specialist lessons for Mandarin, Learning Technology, Music and PE. The children will also continue to build on their skills during the many opportunities provided for learning outside the classroom.
Throughout the year, Year 6 students will be involved in a range of activities, including the Public Speaking competition, the STEAM Fair and transition activities in preparation for Year 7. Children in Year 6 are part of the 1:1 Chromebook program, which allows students to create their own digital portfolio and work on these both in class and at home. This is an exciting learning opportunity that enriches children’s learning.
Being the oldest children in the Primary School means that our students will be given opportunities to develop their leadership skills and act as role models to others by applying for the prestigious roles of House Captain and Student Ambassadors. There will also be opportunities to represent the school through the FOBISIA tournaments for sport, music and mathematics.
We understand that celebrating your child’s first day of school usually means excited (or nervous) children with backpacks filled with fresh books and unsharpened pencils, tumbling out of buses and golf buggies to meet new teachers and friends. However, just because your child’s first day of school is online, doesn’t mean you can’t do something special. In fact, this year there’s a lot to celebrate! You’ve survived months of COVID ‘lock-down’, your child is starting their final year in Primary school, and, they’ll still be meeting new teachers and classmates. To make Thursday feel as special as possible, can we suggest that if you normally take photos of your child on their first day of a new academic year, please take them! If you normally create a special breakfast for your child on the first day of school, please do so. Creating as many opportunities for ‘normality’ will help to alleviate any anxieties that your child may be feeling during these unprecedented times.
We are currently preparing packs of resources, including exercise books, to support your children’s learning both on and off-line. In order to support social distancing, please can we ask that resources are collected tomorrow at the following times:
- 09:15-10:00 –Â Year 3Â students –Â Y3AR
- 10:00-10:45 –Â Year 4Â students – Y4AH
- 10:45 – 11:30 –Â Year 5Â students – Y5CH
- 11:30-12:15 –Â Year 6Â students – Y6RA
If you have children in more than one year group, please feel free to collect from more than one team at the same time in order to avoid additional visits. If you have requested to borrow a Chromebook for your child, these can also be collected tomorrow morning from the school canteen.
Despite not physically being together on Thursday, the Year 6 Team promise to make this an exciting year and we are really happy to have you joining us for the journey.
Kind regards,
Mrs Ashcroft, Mr Moriarty, Miss Debnam-Sharp, Mr Gallagher, Mrs Ameresekre and Mrs Barnett
The Year 6 Teaching Team