Below is the cast list for the production of Alice. If you have a look, there are a number of parts that will need to have additional lines added in which we can look at back in school. If your part has the note additonal lines to add, have a think of what things your character could say and note it on your script to look at after the half term. Remember to start learning your lines as much as possible so we can begin practises straight away - we will only have about 4 weeks till production night!

Welcome to Succeed Class - Year 6

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

James 1:5

Welcome to Year 6 - Succeed Class. We have 29 children in Succeed class this year, all striving to achieve their own personal goals. I, Miss Fleming, am the Year 6 teacher and alongside myself will be Mrs Lord, who will teach the class on Monday's, and Miss Milner and Mrs Burgess as our class' Teaching Assistants. We all share the same goal - to guide, to support, to learn, to laugh and to ensure that memories are made. We are looking forward to the exciting, and hard-working, journey ahead!

Now that the children are in Year 6, they will have many responsibilities around the school such as: leading by example as school role models to the younger children; taking the lead with School Council; participating as senior members of the GIFT Team; supporting younger children in reception with key reading skills; demonstrating sound knowledge of Internet Safety as members of the Internet Warriors; assisting within whole school assemblies; and representing the school at the various sporting competitions that we will be participating in throughout the year. It is sure to be a busy year!

As the year progresses, we will move onto discovering about our local environments through our 'Coasts' topic in Geography; finding out about the ancient civilisation of Baghdad; learning how important Greek History was to our own language and society; discovering the history of evolution through science and where electricity came from. All of this, as well as preparing for our SAT's and the not-to-be-missed end of year musical production, which is always a highlight in the children's calendar!

Your child's well-being is of vital importance to us and we want to ensure that they are happy and progressing. If you ever have any queries, questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via our staff email:

nfleming@olsa.lancs.sch.uk

Routines in Class

At the start of the day, children will enter the classroom where they will settle into some basic daily arithmetic practise. Collective worship will happen every day at 10:45am.

Morning break will be at 11am. If you wish, you may send a healthy snack in with your child for them to consume at this time.

Reading:

We ask that you read with your child as often as possible. Your child will have a reading record that can be signed by yourself every time your child reads or is read to. In KS2, children will be expected to quiz regularly on Accelerated Reader upon completion of their book. As a minimum, we generally expect that children quiz at least once every fortnight. This helps aid their fluency and stamina to digest larger volumes of text that are expected within the Year 6 curriculum. This term, we have set the children a challenge to read at lead 50,000 words by the end of the term to receive a reading prize.

PE:

PE in Summer Term will be on Tuesday afternoon (FUNDA Coach Tom) and Friday afternoon (Coach Dan RLT) Children should come into school dressed in their PE kits. This consists of: Plain black leggings/joggers (no logo's or patterns), PE Top and hoody, jumper or cardigan. Please ensure that all earrings and jewellery are removed for sessions. 

Additional Swimming Session

Some children have been selected to receive additional swimming lessons this term which will commence on Monday, 9th June for the duration of the term. Children participating in this will have received a text from school to inform them. Please ensure that your child comes into school with their swimming kit, towel and swim cap ready to participate.

Homework:

Homework now will predominantly be rehersal of lines for the Summer production of Alice alongside other topic based assignments that will focus around maths, transition and reading. There are also lots of activities on this webpage to keep children active in their learning.

Transition & PSHE

As this is the children's final term at OLSA, we have focused a lot into the term to cover transition to high school and additional PSHE to cover wider world learning on finances and safety. Every Friday, the children will participate in sessions with Rob from Healthy Heads to cover vital aspects of money and finances, being safe in the wider world. In the afternoon, a selection of children will also particpate in a session with Moving Up group to discuss transition to high school. This program is aimed at making the transition to high school smoother for children who may have anxiety, are attending a new school on their own or just to familiarise them with the routines of a high school. Children not participating in the scheme will receive teacher led instruction in the same area so they do not miss out.

SUMMER TERM 2 LEARNING

Welcome back to what will be the children's final term here at OLSA. Do not worry - we have an event-filled calendar that will be sure to keep them occupied: moving up days, additonal transition activities, sports day, Summer production and the all important residential at Moorland Home. Not to mention Leaver's assembly and Mass to squeeze in! It will be a memory making term for the children to send them off in style!

Even though the SAT's are completed, we have not finished learning! In Literacy, we will continue with the work from the last term where we look at the Ancient Islamic Civilisation through the text, 'The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad.' Here we will journey through the book with their protagonist, exploring what life was like back during the Golden Age of Islam. This will be closely linked to the learning in History: How the Islamic Civilisation began; exploring the House of Wisdom and its importance; how trade developed along the Silk Road and finally, concluding with how the Islamic Civilisation impacts upon us still today. We will then move onto explanation texts to create our own linked to the learning in Science on Light. 

In maths, we will be looking at revision of key topics alongside new themes of: geometry, position and movement, negative numbers and statistics in Maths No Problem. Alongside these topics, we will continue to develop our arithmetic and reasoning skills through discrete sessions to ensure that they recall key facts in preparation for their transition to high school.

We will also be exploring the topic of coasts in Geography to wrap up the learning. Here we will look at prominent coastlines in the North: Blackpool and Holderness. We will be making comparisons between coastlines, looking at lines of coastal defense and how the coastline has changed over the last 100 years. Here we will be pulling together all learning on map skills, direction and geographical language. 

In science, we will be learning all about Light and how it is produced. Through investigations and exploration, the children will see how light travels, devise and explain their results from experiments using more scientific language in preparation for the transition to high school and, support or refute theories to explain thier understanding through an explanation text.

In computing, we will continue with the children's enterprise projects that they began last half term. Here the children were placed into groups and, through the scheme ran by Virgin, they were tasked with the objective to set up an enterprise to make money. I cannot wait to see how they progress this term!

In RE, we will move onto the themes of Healing and the Common Good. Through collective worship, prayer, drama and discussion, we will explore how we can be a witness to the Catholic faith and how our actions can influence others for the good of all. Children will continue to plan and deliver their own sessions of collective worship and reflection to enable all to hear and see the Word of the Lord.

In Art, children will experiment with the art form of Batik to create their own wax creations on fabric. In DT, we will be travelling to Whitworth High School to use the cooking facilities there to create our own three course meal. Details and times to follow in due course.

In PE, the children will continue their work with Coach Tom on Tuesday in FUNDA and with Coach Dan from RLT on Friday afternoons with a focus on rounders. As this is the Summer term, most sessions will be outside so please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing and footwear for all occasions, come rain or shine. 

As part of their learning in RE on other faiths and their work that they will be competing in History on the Islamic Civilisation, Year 6 went to Manchester Central Mosque to visit Imam Mohammad. The Imam showed us around the mosque and explained the various different aspects to their religion. He explained all about the Five Pillars of Islam, the ritual cleansing they have to undertake, the importance of the Qur'an and being a good Muslim, how they care in the community and how children are an integral part of their education. The trip concluded with a much needed run and play in Heaton park after a picnic lunch. Bravery was definitely not lacking with many venturing to the top of the slide!

On Friday 16th May, year 6 celebrated the end of SAT's with a party! Not only was it crazy hair day, but they also managed to let loose themselves. The children have worked extremely hard to prepare them for these assessments and they all did themselves proud. They demonstrated resilience, determination and they never gave up - every single one came out smiling which is the most important part! We celebrated through tearing down the covers in the classroom (after putting some of their own tasteful art on them!) games outside and a pizza/sweet party to finish. Well done year 6 - see, it wasn't that bad now was it!

As part of our down time from SAT's, the children went onto the field with coach Tom for a few games of rounders. After that, we decided as the weather was nice to stay on the field and take a ball, some games and colouring to just have some relax time. The children had a great afternoon basking in the sun and beating year 4 (with Miss Fleming playing) in football!!

After our SAT's, the children have been completing their DT projects to design and create their own waistcoats for a teddy bear. The children have sketched their ideas and annotated the plan. Today was the day that they found their choice of fabric, cut to size and pinned along the edges before they will finally stitch their piece together. It was a very complicated experience - even Mr A joined in!

On Thursday, 8th May, children in Succeed class commemorated the VE Day celebrations to mark the 80 year anniversary. We held a two minute silence in class and also performed a collective worship to reflect upon events of the past and, also, reflect upon how war still impacts us (especially children) today.

On Wednesday 7th May, Year 6 finally completed their last booster session before SAT's! To reward them for all of their hard work, they were greeted by a table full of snacks and a kahoot quiz to revise. All children have worked exceptionally hard over the last few months and have made so much progress - we are extremely proud of them and know they will all do amazing next week. Whatever the results, they have been a pleasure to be with and we have full faith in each of them! Well done year 6!!

Whilst the weather has been glorious, we made the most of getting out in the sun for a bit of fun on the field. Children were practising their rounders skills of throwing, catching and batting in pairs.

On Tuesday, 15th April 2025, children of Succeed class participated in an Easter Journey of Faith around Whitworth to explore some of the stations of the cross in art form. As a class, we were responsible for the station of Veronica wipes the face of Jesus. Here we replicated the face of Jesus onto cloth in various art forms and colours. The finished product was fantastic and will be displayed in school for collective worships.

Today for World Book Day, the children took part in a book cafe where they were chose from a selection of texts to read whilst having a hot chocolate and biscuit treat.

On Friday, 24th January, Emma from the Coram Life Bus came in to talk to us about well being and our mental health. We completed lots of activities that help us to calm and express our worries in a more positive way. Finally, we got to meet Harold the Giraffe at the end - the thing we were most looking forward too!

On Friday, 17th January, class Succeed prepared their own assembly to inform all about their learning on organisms we have discussed in class - microbes! The children had created their own facts and some even produced their own piece of music, written by themselves and placed to a techno-track that they have been developing within their music sessions! The children explained their learning very clearly and were highly entertaining - well done!

As part of their learning in science, the children have been classifying plants, animals and micro-organisms. The children have understood the conditions needed in order to be classified as a living thing but we needed to identify whether yeast was classed as such. The children discovered whether sugar could saturate the yeast and, also, whether the increase in temperature could have an effect. The results were surprising - not as surprising as the bottle exploding over Miss Fleming on its release!

On Thursday, 19th December, Succeed visited Manchester Palace Theatre to see the world famous production of Wicked! The experience was amazing for the children and as ever, behaviour was exceptional!

We were invited by Rochdale Town Hall to come and explore the building after all of the renovations have been completed. The children learned a great number of facts from the date, linking to prior learning they have done through the years at OLSA: exploring the Victorian industry in the local area, including the cotton mill industry; exploring the links with trade through the Co-operative Society and how it linked to their topic of South America with the exportation of cocoa beans; the impact of war upon the town and how rules and precedents are set through time. The building was exceptional - full of fascinating history and was a sight to see. The children were thoroughly engaged throughout - their only request was when could they go back to explore the jail!

In class mass, the children have been practising the creed as part of the formal service. To help them understand the different elements and parts, the children designed and presented their own artistic interpretations of the Creed.

This term, the children of Succeed invited parents and carers into school to share their learning with them. The theme this time was based around creating a South American themed jungle setting as described in the book we are reading in class, Journey to the River Sea. The children could use a variety of media to create an Amazon inspired piece to use alongside their descriptive writing later on in class. Thank you to all the parents and carers that attended, your support was very much appreciated.

This term, Succeed class were visited by Bacup Fire Service for a talk all about fire safety. The children learned a lot of information that would prove very useful.

On Monday, 11th November, children in Succeed class attended the Whitworth Cenotaph along with children from other local primary schools to pay their remembrance respects. The children were incredibly well behaved and very respectful - they were a credit to the school.

In Geography, we have been exploring the continent of South America, in particular the country of Brazil. The children explored the many countries included in South America and the regions in which the Amazon River travels through.

At the end of term, we welcomed Maggie from CAFOD to talk to us about Catholic Social Teaching. The children were presented with various scenarios through the session to discuss and relate to the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. The children were extremely respectful in their deliberations and explanations of how these are applied in their daily lives.

This term, the children visited Whitworth Museum as part of their learning on turning points of WW2. The children had the opportunity to explore real artefacts of the era including: bayonet, shell casings, helmet and gas masks. We explored the impact of war upon the local area including looking at the impact of evacuees on the town and also, how incendiary bombs were dropped, damaging St John's Church. The children had a great time and learned lots of facts, bot to mention enjoyed taking part in their very own air raid emergency with full sirens blaring!

Each week in Succeed class, children volunteer to lead sessions of collective worship in class. The children take responsibility to select the readings, music, items for the table and the activity the class will perform. All sessions are very respectful and the children enjoy the opportunity to reflect upon scripture and see how it can be applied to their daily lives.

For the month of October, children in Succeed class, along with the rest of KS2, learned how to pray with the Rosary. As a collective, each section was explained to the children and then time was given for classes to practise back in their collective worship sessions.

This term, the children participated in a Pobble 365 live writing session based around the theme of dinosaurs. The children were introduced to an interactive dinosaur as the stimulus to create an interesting and exciting setting description. Alongside many other schools across the world, including Portugal, the children discussed and improved their techniques of writing under the guidance of expert authors. The final written pieces were very engaging and showed a lot of writing flair. We will look forward to the next session, scheduled in November in time for Christmas.

To help understand the main parts of the heart, the children made clay sculptures to label and inform following their exploration of real hearts previously. They had a fantastic time modelling the hearts and adding veins, arteries and valves.

As part of their learning on the circulatory system, the children had the opportunity to explore real animal hearts. The children had to investigate the strength of the heart, identify where the atrium and ventricles were and notice the aorta valve for the circulation of blood.

On Tuesday, 17th September, Succeed class visited the local library to learn all about WW2. The children listened to stories about D-Day. Th children then had time to explore the library to make bookmarks, complete WW2 quizzes and use the computers to research.

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