LAST DAY OF TERM!

Finally, it was the 18th of December and we were on the last day! Year 6 have been excellent post-people, emptying the box and getting numerous cards delivered to everyone. The homework sessions have also gone well - we must carry on with them in the Spring Term.

Today, we had an early assembly when Mrs Bell shared the last newsletter, Victoriana with the school. It was amazing to see so many children involved in exciting opportunities this half term. The music concerts have been amazing. Mr Chapman exclaimed, "The KS 2 concert was the best ever!". Mrs Bell said it was equivalent to the ones she has seen at William Shrewsbury - this made everyone very proud.

Thank you to everybody for a lovely last day of term. We had lots of fun and the finished beautifully when Zaki came to visit us. Mrs Shankly had made homemade cookies and biscuits for the class, there was a cheeky drink of coke and the playground looked fantastic when Y6 pupils blew bubbles at home time!

Time now to enjoy the Christmas holiday - rest up, everyone but do read regularly and attempt those homework tasks!

Ex-pupils!

Today we had our Winter Fayre, and it was lovely to see some of our ex-pupils!

A BIG hello to Anum, Asra, Fatima, Ifra and Zain - thank you for calling and WELL DONE to Fatima and Anum who regularly write on the BLOG. You are all looking very mature and grown up yet you only left us in July. Shows how quickly people develop and why it is important to make the most of every opportunity you are offered. See you again soon!

Eid Party

On Friday we had a fantastic party for Eid and Christmas. The children all brought their party clothes in a bag (Mrs Bell came dressed in hers as she would not get time to change). In the morning, it was business as usual. We used the Quality Street chocolates Mrs Shankly bought us to do maths - data gathering!

We have changed the way we do homework. So many children wrote they have no time for homework, that we have decided to shorten lunchtimes three times a week and do our work instead. Mrs Bell is impressed with this dedication and interest. Friday was the first lunchtime club and it went well.

After that, we changed into party clothes. The first treat was being able to listen to music in the ICT room - this is the first class who are so keen on this! We then went to the gym for party games. First game was musical chairs, which was fun. This was followed by Pass the Parcel - Mrs Shankly had put a gift in each layer so everyone got something. Aneesa won the main prize though. Musical Statues was funny. Sohail danced like a snail, slithering on the floor and won one of the two prizes. Zahra was the other lucky winner.

We even had time for a game of football, whilst Miss Ahktar and the girls (they volunteered!) got the party food ready. It was a buffet style feast, with brown buttered bread, mild cheddar cheese, small, red tomatoes and cucumber for healthy options. However, no party would be right without a cake. Miss Akhtar kindly bought a huge, chocolate cake for us to share - it was DELICIOUS!

The brilliant afternoon finished off with Ismatullah and Zain being given the two presents they were still left. Ismatullah got his for mature behaviour and Zain for being a popular boy when voting was done. The staff had a GREAT DAY, despite one minor hiccup at lunch-time! Thank you, Year 6.

EID

Children celebrating Eid tomorrow can stay at home and have fun with their families. Year 6 made cards on the computer with Mrs Fearn on Tuesday and finished them off today in the classroom. It's been another busy week, with a lot of drama as well reading and writing in Literacy. Maths has been good - children seem to have become much faster with times tables and nearly everyone understands the written method for division.

Mrs Bell did some maths with the parent helpers. They found the different methods of addition and subtraction very interesting. One parents said, "Oh, this is great, now I know what my child is doing in school!".

Miss Akhtar, Mrs Bell and Mrs Shankly wish everyone a very happy Eid.

EID MUBARAK, ALL!

Back to routine

This week we are back to the normal routines of teaching and learning. In Literacy we have begun the unit on 'Street Child', which links History with Literacy and should be fun. The new guided reading groups are working really well. Mrs Bell is thrilled with progress from the less able readers - they are doing so well! Well done! Miss Hughes has bought us new books - everyone has taken one home and will be able to have another one on Friday.


Maths has been the efficient methods for division - some children are being to appreciate the need to know the tales by heart - keep practising them, everyone! There should be time to look at the maths tests we did to find out where we might have gained more marks.

The display for the creative week should be complete by Friday (hopefully!) The work is ready to go up ; it's a matter of finding time to finish it off. We will also be doing one in the hall, which gives more people the opportunity to see all the work from the themed week.

Assessment Week

This week it is assessment week, which gives teachers the opportunity to find out strengths and weaknesses in learning. The results help them to plan the next steps of learning. Miss Akhtar and Mrs Shankly got the room ready during assembly. The first test was mental maths. Some children did better than expected and some struggled a little. The staff will combine the marks with the written tests to get a level.
After play it was the longer written test; a diary entry about an outing. Mrs Bell is looking forward to marking it to find out if children have used complex sentences and powerful words.
On Tuesday we shall do maths and the shorter writing.

Afternoons will be for more work on the archipelago. It will be great when the display is ready to share with other people.

Creative week!

This week we are learning in a creative way - as a class we are making a group of Islands. Each island will have it's own features but will be part of one country. Today we used modroc to create the islands. It was great fun. The PSHE learning was brilliant - staff were amazed at how well each group worked!

Tomorrow we hope to paint them and begin to think about the finer details eg. names, flags, currency, etc. Mrs Lerigo will help the class to think about the type of clothes people might wear on each of the islands. All decisions have to be made by the groups.


Don't these islands look wonderful?

HALF TERM HOLIDAYS

Wow, the half term has flown by! In year 6 we have achieved lots and certainly learned in a variety of ways (safe-side, cinema, drama).We even went to the Nursery for a science lesson! It's been hard work but hopefully everyone has had some fun at the same time. As a school we have had a zero tolerance attitude to poor behaviour and used learning behaviour targets to learn more effectively. It's worked well in our class.

This morning we planned the creative week together. By the time she left, Mrs Bell had a flip-chart ready to use after half term. There will be 5 groups making their designed island which will form our Year 6 country. Mrs Shankly taught us a new word - archipelago - meaning a group of islands. This means each group can link their island. We are all looking forward to this themed week, but first everyone needs a good rest.

Enjoy your half term, Year 6. Come back rested!

How time flies!

Mrs Bell cannot believe that we are in week 6 already! Last week the class went to see Craig Bradley at the Library and had much fun. He was really funny - the staff thought so too!

We have a new system for coming back from the playground now. Everyone needs to line up as it has been so difficult to get quiet starts to lessons. This is working well.
This week the Year 6 children have yet another treat. They will be at the cinema watching ICE AGE 3. This should be good fun, but once again poor Mrs Bell has to stay at school. She is helping Mrs Fearn with some lesson monitoring on Friday.

Mrs Fearn will be watching of the maths lessons in our class too this week. We hope she notices all the good learning that is going on. Miss Akhtar, Mrs Shankly and Mrs Bell are certainly usually happy with outcomes.

Playground and Eid Picnic

Well, what a week it has been! Most children had a day off for Eid on Monday. Staff had a busy day in school. This was followed by a the Playground Opening. It was wonderful to see so many parents. The Abbot Beyne Rock band were brilliant and of course, it was fantastic to see the manager of Burton Albion at Victoria. Children busily got autographs, some on arms!

Year 5 and 6 did activities to help the afternoon run smoothly. Then on Thursday most children from Y6 and 12 from Y5 went to Safeside. "The best trip ever", Jasmin from Y5 told her mother. Mrs Bell stayed in school but wished she had gone as she heard so many good things about it. A lot of 'stay safe' learning was done by pupils.

The week ended with the Y6 introduction meeting for parents and children. The Y6 staff were impressed with the concentration from all the children. They are now clear about the expectations in their final year at Victoria.

HAPPY EID!

Wishing everyone a VERY HAPPY EID, including all of last year's Year 6. Thank you to the De'ferrers group who wrote a comment recently. Mrs Bell and Miss Akhtar have seen many of you over the last fortnight, and you have grown so much! You look so mature and so 'high school' kids! Can't believe you were only in our class in July! Glad to see you looking well. Thank you for coming over to speak to us and being so well mannered.

Hope everyone has a fantastic time on Sunday and Monday celebrating Eid. It's a wonderful time to see family and have fun together. Eid Mubarak to you all.

Settling in

Well, the first week is over. The new Year 6 are getting used to their responsibilities and the expectations. Mrs Fearn has commented on the way the children are showing their maturity. It's been a tiring week as some children were fasting and new routines take time and energy to get used to.

The groupings are nearly sorted. Homework was given out this morning. Spellings are challenging enough, even for Aqsa who has a spelling age of over 15 years (Mrs Bell was astounded!). This week we are learning words with 'bi' and 'ch' phonemes.

It has been good to see some of our ex-pupils - Fatima, Zain and Anum called in to say 'Hello'! They are adjusting to their new routines and making more friends. Well done!

First day for the NEW Year 6 at Victoria

Hoorah! We are back at school! The children arrived, some nervous, some tired and many wishing they had more time at home! However, the new playground had everyone buzzing with excitement. Although there are no trees left, there is a brilliant trim trail, which will help to keep everyone fit and healthy, the huge football pitch is GREAT, the false grass looks lovely and the wooden outdoor class room will be superb for quiet times. Parents, staff and pupils were very impressed by it!
Mrs Bell and Miss Akhtar greeted the new Year 6. They were introduced to Mrs Shankly, our new Year 6 booster teaching assistant. Soon everyone got used to some of the routines. Mrs Fearn did the assembly when she spoke about playground rules. After a morning activity and some reading about Alexander Graham Bell, we had lunch.

The afternoon was in the ICT room. Then Mrs Bell and Mrs Akhtar took the children for a treat - a go on the trim trail. It was BRILLIANT!

One more week!

Hi, Everyone, there is good news - the decorating is done! AND Ramadan has started - Miss Akhtar gave me this good news when I spoke to her recently. Good luck to all those who are fasting.

We are lucky in Staffordshire as we still have a whole week left of our holidays. Most counties are due to go back sometime this week, even if it's only the staff! However, many teachers at Victoria will be planning for their new classes this week and making sure they are ready for the first day children are back.

Children, you also must think about preparing for YOUR first day - pencil cases, bags, uniform, this list is endless. Usually helpful to have a list and tick things off as you get them. Remember, you may already have many things e.g last years pencil case, or your older brother/sister's uniforms. It's good to recycle as it means you have more money for other things. Good luck with your preparation.

Going into the next week

Hello, everyone, do hope you are well and enjoying the beautiful weather we are having at last! I have been away to Hastings and London and am feeling GREAT. Great enough to start the decorating again - need to paint 3 more doors and the skirting board of the stairs. They will need two coats; the undercoat to nenew it and then the second coat which will give it a gloss finish. I think I'll get up earlier tomorrow and make a start before I go and see my dad for his 83rd birthday. He keeps changing his mind to what his age really is - think I might start doing the same!


Good to see the comments people are writing on the Blog. Keep them coming as they make it interesting and let others know what you are doing. Miss Akhtar sounds like she is having a 'whale of a time' (thought I'd use some of those English sayings, like authors sometimes do!)

Have fun, all!

Where did the two weeks go?

Well, it's Friday again and Mrs Bell cannot believe two weeks have already gone by! That's the problem of beginning to relax - days just whizz by so quickly. Hopefully the weather will become sunnier soon - it's been more rain than sun so far!

Nearly there!

Hello, everybody, hope you are all having a good holiday. What awful weather we have got today! Misha called in today with Mrs Dickinson so I managed to give her some change from her dinner and have a quick chat.

The new Y6 classroom is beginning to take shape - will need one more day to sort out the folders where the books used for teaching are kept. I also need to sort out the SATs booklets and past papers. From Thursday, I too will be having a relaxing time. Have a great summer, all!

LAST DAY IN YEAR 6!

Today was the final day. and the Leavers Assembly at 9.15. Mrs Bell was quite nervous because the practise on Thursday afternoon had not been very good! However, the assembly went really well with many children and staff in tears by the end! Mrs Bell has her sunglasses to hide the evidence (not that it worked) and Miss Akhtar left the hall for a few minutes. The Roatary Club came and presented Fahad and Klaudia with special gifts - Fahad for being a resilient pupil who despite all his difficulties has achieved well and Klaudia who came to our school in Y3 with no English but got THREE level 5s!
We had a rounders match at 11 and then a party in the afternoon. Children helped to clear the classroom and wondered where the whole year had gone. Soon it was time to say 'Goodybye' and a few more tears (and that was just the staff!). Many parents came to say thank you to Mrs Bell and Miss Akhtar.
The Year 6 staff have really enjoyed teaching this class and will miss them BUT know that they have plenty of life skills to help them in their next steps. THANK YOU 6 B, you are a brilliant class. Good luck in Y7; have a great holiday first!

Final Days in Year 6

We are beginning to COUNT DOWN! Not much time left, but there is the Open Afternoon to do on Wednesday, Leavers Assembly to practise and of course the party to plan! The talent show was wonderful today. Mrs Bell could not believe the confidence of the children - people singing on their own, dancing, music and even jokes! What a brilliant school we are!

Final Week of term

Just a week to go and SO much to do! We are busy preparing the leavers assembly which will be at 9.15 on Friday morning. The De'ferrers children will be at their new school on Tuesday and will miss the talent contest in the afternoon. However, it is more important for them to be visiting their new teachers and meeting new pupils.

On Wednesday children are invited to bring their parents into school to see their work. Luckily Mrs Bell did not put the work out for parent consultations. This means books can be seen and then packed away.
The Year 6 staff are hoping we can fit in another party - we have done well for parties this year. On Friday the 10th we had a mini birthday party for Mrs Bell, Misha and Fatima as they all had a birthday in the week. Mrs Bell was thrilled with the photo frame the class made with Mrs Lerigo. The photograph is so natural - it will remind Mrs Bell of all the children she taught in her first every year 6. She's had a wonderful year, and so have Miss Akhtar, Mrs Annett and Mrs Lerigo.

MEDIA CHALLENGE

July the 9th and we were all ready for the BIG DAY! The school bought a special video, we borrowed a digital recorder from 4A and Mr Rees raced around preparing the children - they needed to know how to use the Video as well as edit it. Mrs Bell read the instructions on using the recorder and Mrs Annett wrote down instrcutions to help the group.

This sounded manageable, BUT we had the Y6 play to put on as well! It was a good job Miss Akhtar was in charge of that. She has done a brilliant job, organising the children and teaching them the roles, organising adults to help with scenery and props and also involving Mr Chapman with the singing. The 3 performances were superb, with the final one for the parents being the BEST! Well done, everyone one.

Now back to the Media Challenge. Mrs Annett and Mrs Bell took the children in their cars, along with the resources. We even had to take the printer with us (Mrs Fearn was happy for us to borrow hers). When we got to MOD, first we had to sign in at Reception and pick up the badges and car labels. Then we went to the Hub where we set up our resources. After the briefing, it was full action..........

Everyone ran towards a building from which a robber was seen leaving. Suddenly a loud BANG made us jump! A car had crashed, there was smoke everywhere, and fire sirens ringing loudly. People ran towards the crash and started filming, taking photos and taping information. It was very exciting to see an ambulance arriving to help the injured people. The police managed to capture the robbers and took him away.

Once we had gathered all the information, children went to produce reports - radio, T.V and newspaper. The group (Asra, Anum, Hannah, Dhanyal, Hassan and Hussnae) worked well. It was disappointing to find that the digital video did not work effectively. But the group improvised and coped. The radio report was soon ready, and the newspaper was looking good by lunchtime.

At lunchtime, Mrs Annett and Mrs Bell had a quiet time in the recreational area. Mrs Annett produced a birthday cake for Mrs Bell (how lovely) and we all had a wonderful piece. Yum, what a great day for Mrs Bell. After that Mrs Bell disappeared again - she found INTERNET and wrote on the Blog!

SNOW WHITE!

This week has been the week of the Y6 productions. Monday began with the first performance to Key Stage 1. Everything went really well, singing was amazing. we just need to remain loud throughout the whole play next time.

On Tuesday Mrs Lerigo came along with the Y2 from Newhall (her other school) to watch the play. Mr Loftus, who taught many of the Year 6 in Year 2 (he is now the headteacher at Newhall) came too. He said, he couldn't miss the opportunity to see Victoria again. The show went well, more children had face make up today.

However, the afternoon was just FANTASTIC! The children had saved the best till last - everything was just perfect for the parents (so many came, we were impressed) and Key Stage 2. Mrs Fearn and Mr Chapman said it was the best performance they have seen at Victoria. Mrs Bell thanked Miss Akhtar for doing so much of the work . Miss Akhtar insisted it was team work and showed her appreciation to Mr Chapman for music and singing, Mrs Lerigo for the art work, Mrs Annett for the costumes and Mrs Bell for letting her have the class.
An excellent play, Year 6. Very well done!

HEALTH AND SAFETY WEEK

This week the whole school are thinking about Health and Safety. The morning began with an assembly by Mrs Turner, who explained what the week was about. Back in class, we thought about the aspects of health and safety we need to consider for our transition into high schools. Mrs Bell chose 5 leaders, after which children selected their own groups. Dhanyal was an excellent leader, ensuring his group worked well.

The afternoon started with a dance demonstration followed by a workshop for the class. It was brilliant! Everyone who joined in learned a sequence of fantastic movements. We just had enough time to go into the ICT suite before going home. It seemed such a short day (except for Miss Akhtar and Mrs Bell who had parent consultations)

Gardening Olympics

Today Mrs Bell went along to find out what Garden Olympics was all about and what a lovely surprise she had! There were loads of different stalls, from ice-cream to facing painting. The main arena was full of garden displays from many different schools in Burton -on-Trent. Mrs Dost had kindly arrived early with Mrs Newton to set up the Victoria display. A few children had made the banner and paraded it for the school.
By the time Mrs Bell arrived, the school had been awarded GOLD for the use of recylable containers, SILVER for overall display and vegetables and BRONZE for their art work. The display looked brilliant! Gradually more children and families arrived; it was good to be able to say 'hello' to them.

Laches Wood Assembly

Today (26th June 2009), we had a special assembly to share what we did when we were at OEC - Outdoor education Centre. Mrs Harrison, Mrs Goodwin and Mrs Anderson from Burton-on-Trent Lions Club came along to see it. They are the people who kindly donated £287 towards the expenses for our trip. This made the cost to the parents less by £30.00.
Everyone enjoyed the assembly, which also included some of the photos. We ran out of time for the video, but Mrs Fearn said we could see it on Monday. It was good to see so many parents there.
Thank you, parents for supporting us.

Preparing for Assembly

On Friday we will be holding our special assembly about our trip to Laches Wood. Mrs Bell is busy using the thoughts people had on Monday, along with the lovely letters they wrote to get the assembly started. We will all read this through and add more to it on Wednesday. By Friday, we should have a complete assembly to share.
We just seem SO busy!

Final Day at Laches Wood

Friday and already the 5th and last day - where did the week go? Most children had to be woken up as by now everyone was in the routine of sleeping well. The knocking sounds in the night and early morning bird calls were no longer waking us up! It was proabably a combination of tiredness, all that fresh air and of course, the enjoyment of knowing that we were having fun and surviving homesickness!
We began the day by stripping the beds(Mrs Akhtar and Mrs Bell made sure everybody was on task), having breakfast and then finishing packing . Raheel was seen stamping on his case, trying to get all his things to stay in! There were odd socks, matching socks and even a pair of trainers that seemed to belong to no-one! Eventually all the cases were sorted and we did our 'duties' for the last time. The boys in charge of the hoover have been just GREAT! Our base, the laches wood classroom has sparkled and corridors very tidy. Hussnane with his asthma given the job of cleaning the staff corridor and got to see Mrs Bell's bedroom. There WAS NO SPARE BED! (She's been threatening people that if they misbehave, they'd have to sleep in the spare bed!)


Last activities were the shelter building and balance course. Mrs Annett rushed around to both groups videoing all the action! Once again everyone put in 100% effort and worked hard although Klaudia struggled to be a team player today.

After lunch it was in the classroom where Miss Brandwood announced the winner of the different events. There were some surprising results - that's what the week has all been about, finding out the different strengths people have. How lovely to see Zain and Shazad win the archery contest.


Mrs Bell picked out 4 special children - Madasser for coping with being very independent and getting to all the activities on time and in the right places, Azeema for coping with her first ever residential for a whole week (she's only been in England just over a year), Raheel who although very bright at academic things had to challenge himself (and did exceedingly well) at so many physical tasks this week and finally, Imaani who has shown a lot of common sense and been helping and supporting so many children this week.
Mrs Bell and all the staff who have supported the class this week were very proud of all the children. Each child deserves an award for different reasons this week - they will all get certificates next Friday during the special assembly. Parents are all welcome to that assembly - we hope they will come and find out what we got up to!

Have a good rest everyone, and THANK YOU for a lovely week.

Thank you to our excellent staff - some came and worked with the children on activites and some stayed to help Mrs Bell at night. Mrs Annett stayed the night on Monday, Mrs Robey stayed on Tuesday and Mrs Akhtar stayed on Thursday and Friday. Miss Akhtar drove over for 4 full days and always brought over any extras we needed. Thank you, you are all hard working stars and your help is much appreciated.

Wow another amazing day for year 6 at Laches Wood!!
Started again bright and early with another hearty breakfast - the children just love beans!!
The activities today were canoeing and climbing.
Both teams took part in all activities today, the canoeing was great, after kitting up in hard hats ans life jackets it was off to the canal we go. Each team was allocated a canoe and given team talks and instruction before boarding. Then it was sailing down the canal and each child paddling furiously to beat the other team. The children played lots of games, which involved getting dripping wet!! They loved it! A special mention to Miss Akhtar and Mrs Akhtar who loved the canoeing and didn't want it to stop! They all got out happy and hungry and ready for lunch.
The climbing walls were a great success, everyone took part even Mrs Annett who managed all 3 walls. The children attacked the walls with gusto, dressed in their safety gear - they all looked a picture. We have got some great pictures and video of all the children enjoying themselves immensely!
Mrs Fearn visited us today all the children were happy to see her and she had great fun giving them lots of encouragement to get up those (very high) walls.


Free time before tea saw the children playing football, stilts, ball games and generally runnning around. They all have lovely rosy cheeks and are well and happy.




After a lovely dinner of cheese lattice bakes it was off to play again and then to the all important tuck shop for their treats and because it was the last night, souvenirs and presents.
It doesn't get better than that!!
Hopefully an early night for everyone ready for their last fun packed day. See you tomorrow everyone!

Hello there year 6 parents
Well today brought our first lot of rain but the children put on their waterproofs and got on with enjoying themselves.
Two teams took part in the archery today which was amazing and some very high scores were reached. The other two teams took part in search and rescue and problem solving - a good time was had by all and the competition between the teams is greatAll the children are working hard on their daily diaries so you will be able to "read all about it" when they get back!
The food is great here, everyone is eating well and trying lots of new foods.
This evening the children will be running around on a photo trail before a well earned good nights sleep!!

First 2 days at Laches Wood

Hello there Year 6 parents
First of all really sorry we were unable to get on to the blog last night, sadly we were unable to log in at Laches Wood. So it had to wait until Mrs Annett arrived home.
We had a great day yesterday, everyone was very excited on the way there, all shouting at once "Are we there yet?"
All the children ran around when we arrived and really enjoyed finding their bedrooms, classroom etc. They all got into a tangle making their beds, but were ok in the end, showing off their duvet covers to each other.

A quick change, after lunch, the children were split into their teams. One group set off into the forest with Mrs bell to search and rescue in the forest, while the other team were shelter making and cooking on the open fire in a teepee! All had a whale of a time!


Last night after an orienteering exercise it was bedtime!! All were finally asleep by 11.30ish!!! PHEW - Mrs Annett and Mrs Bell could relax for a little while.


Tuesday Expedition

This morning everyone woke bright and early, (Mrs Bell and myself became hairdressers to the girls, a novel experience as we both have sons and no daughters)! After breakfast it was on the coach, to Carding Mill Valley where we performed river tasks.

All the children had loads of fun, and then walked up a mountain!! (well thats what the children said anyway). A fantastic day has been had by all and the sun kept shining. A special mention must go to Ifra, Hannah, Raheel and Anum, who never moaned once and are having a wonderful time.
More soon, all children are well and happy and very tired now after the mountain walk.

Panic before OEC!

Well, the day is nearly here! By now everyone should have their suitcases packed with all they need! Mrs Annett sent Mrs Bell a text to ask if she needs a duvet cover. We are both going to take one, even though we don't have a staff list!

Mrs Bell had to plough through her reports this weekend - at 9pm, she still has ten to check before emailing to Mrs Fearn. It has been a busy weekend. However there will be no marking or preparing to do this week, just having fun and less sleep than normal! This will be a trip like no other!

Mrs Bell decided to dress up for the occasion on the Monday. She arrived at school wearing a straw hat! Everyone laughed at her in the staffroom (they knew something she didn't, obviously).

WONDERFUL NEWS!

There was great excitement today! Mrs Bell got ANOTHER phone call from Staffordshire Partnership! She hasn't stopped smiling since!

WE ARE THROUGH to the final because a school from Stoke cannot make the final - Yipee, we really were runners up and we get to go to MOD in Stafford on July the 9th!

Hard decision was which of the 2 groups to choose. In the end Mrs Bell went with the group Mrs Fearn thought she ought to take - B Stars. Mrs Bell thanked the other group for their understanding, but with Mrs Annett, she will take the B Stars to the Media Challenge Final.

Everyone in the staff room was pleased to hear the good news.

Visits to High Schools

Monday morning and it was the day most of the class were visiting their new schools. Mrs Bell took Fatima and Zain to Paget where they met Miss Marriot and had a good look around the school. They were escourted by Shaun who was at Victoria last year.

While they were looking round the Abbott Beyne children looked round their new science labs escourted by Jasmine, who is now in Year 8 but was at Victoria.

De'Ferrers children, on the other hand went later but stayed for lunch! What a busy day!

The afternoon was a little more normal - we went in the ICT suite to finish off our personal newspapers. Next week, we will be at Coven! "Can't wait," said Hannah, with a squeal

Visits to High Schools

Hello, everyone, hope you have a good weekend. Thank you for all the comments on the blog today. Anum, do not panic as Abbott Beyne are organising the transport for you for the visit on Monday. They will pick you up and drop you off, back at Victoria. Remind me to show you how to access comments on Monday when we do ICT.
Isra, glad the role play helped - it's a great way to understand how others feel. We certainly should do more drama activities. We'll try to fit them in. Hannah, glad to hear your recounts are getting even better. Keep using your skills.
I will be busy writing reports this weekend.

Runners up!

On Wednesday Mrs Bell waited impatiently for a text message (it was the day of the media challenge and she was at Coven). Unfortunately, no-one from the school office contacted her - Mrs Bell was disappointed. However, she rand Sharon Bywater at the Staffordshire Partnership to find out the results of the media challenge.

Sharon exclaimed, "You are next on my 'to do' list! The judges were impressed with the newspaper front page and story on the story board was good. The one thing some schools had done was add some direction to the video story board. But the good news is that you have come second although there is no prize for that".

She added we should be very proud of ourselves as it was our first time in the competition. Also if any of the other schools decide they can't go on July 9th, we will get their places. Like Anum, Mrs Bell has crossed her fingers.

Well done, everyone. Victoria is getting known for good things around the county. Today the Year 3 and 4 children came back with the CRICKET TROPHY! Mrs Turner, once again is delighted (so is Mrs Bell!).

Back to school

After a lovely week off (no homework!), we got back feeling relaxed and happy. Mrs Bell explained the need to continue with the curriculum as she wants everyone to go to High Schools with confidence and good skills. The guided reading was from a book called, 'Kensuke's Kingdom', a book all Y6 children will read this term.
In maths we went over the written multiplication method as many children have not used it correctly in the SATs! After all, assessments are to find out gaps in learning. In the afternoon, we discussed targets for personal and social developement. Role play helped children to understand how everyone has to take responsibility for bullying problems. Bullies also need help as they obviously have problems of their own.
The 'confidence' walk was interesting. Everyone looked so much taller! Tomorrow, we will have Mr Brown teaching us in the morning as Mrs Bell is out on a course.

Testing!

Hello, everyone, just testing to find out if I have managed to sort the 'comments' problem we had in class. What a glorious day - hope you are enjoying yourselves.

Choosing the winners!

We met the deadline for the media challenge! All the work was complete by Thursday and people began to help select the winners. The whole of the Bell family got involved - the two sons chose the newspaper they thought looked the best. On the other hand, Mr Bell read each story and really liked the one about shortage of water in Africa.

Mrs Bell gave out the final task on Friday morning. Each group had to have a 5 minute discussion on why they should win, then choose a spokesperson who would present their case. Well, what wonderful presentations! They were amazing! The views of the groups were well thought out and excellently expressed. Staff were proud of the way the pupils had conducted themselves - their reflective comments showed maturity.

Miss Akhtar and Mrs Annett revealed the results. Both of them said that the decsions were very difficult as all the results were very good. The Newspaper task was won by the B team whereas the Storyboard was won by the D team. Although there was some disappointed, everybody coped well. The entries were soon posted away to Staffordshire Partnership. We shall keep our fingers crossed!

We moved on with the 'Cinema'. Hannah's mum provided the popcorn, Imaani's DVD (second choice) was useful and Mrs Bell sneaked in some coca-cola. Misha's mum's mini-easter eggs came in useful, as did Mrs Walter's chocolate bars. The film was watched in two halves, and enjoyed by all.

In the afternoon, there was Golden Time and a great 'Good work' assembly that included the Football Team sharing their winning trophy. The Quick Cricket team were also recognised for their hard work on Wednesday.

A wonderful way to finish this half term. Enjoy your week off, everyone!

THE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT!

What an exciting day for Victoria's football team! Mrs Turner took her main team to Eton Park Junior School for a charity football tournament on Thursday 21st May 2009. Fatima was reluctant to go because she has begun to enjoy 'hanging' around with the girls. After a bit of gentle persuasion from Mrs Turner and heavy guilt ridden pressure from Mrs Bell, she made the choice to go along. Well, what a wonderful decision that was! The team drew one match, and WON all the others! It was so lucky for Mrs Bell that she phoned Mrs Turner at 3.45 pm, who said excitedly, "They are in the final!"

Although Mrs Bell was busy, she dashed over to Eton Park, hoping to hear the results. Unfortunately, she took a wrong turn and consequently arrived too late. However, she was in time to see the team being photographed WITH the cup! She was SO PROUD of the team! Mrs Turner and Mrs Bell hugged each other (just like real footballers!). A BRILLIANT FINAL GAME OF THE YEAR! Well done Victoria!

Finished Newspapers!

After a hectic art and games lesson in the morning, the class worked extremely hard to finish off their newspapers. Mrs Bell has been proudly reading some parts to other staff. When Miss Hughes heard one main story, she thought it was a 'cut and paste' cheat from the internet. Mrs Bell reread the article and decided it must be Raheel - he is consistently good at writing. However, the story turned out to be one of Klaudia's masterpieces! Well done, Klaudia. She really has been great this year!

By the end of the afternoon, all four groups has completed their front pages. Mrs Bell went to the office and Mrs Kirkpatrick kindly printed them off in colour. Now the difficult task is choosing the winner.


ALL the work is brilliant - the two news stories show the higher skills in writing. BUT WHICH GROUP worked the best as a TEAM. This has to be taken into account! Mrs Bell asked her son's opinion and he chose Klaudia's group. "Oh.....!" moaned Mrs Bell, "but they argued so much!" She will have to discuss this with Miss Akhtar.



Tomorrow the winners of the storyboard and the newspaper will be chosen. The two entries will be posted off to the Staffordshire Partnership so that they can be judged. It would be great for Victoria Community School if they get through to the final round - this would mean ONE group going to MOD (ministry of defence) in Stafford. Sadly only 6 children can be taken, so one criteria for winning within school HAS TO BE the ability to work as a team - such an important life skill.

Midweek news!

Wednesday and it was back to normal duties for Mrs Bell. At last she could catch up on some of her management jobs!Mrs Kirkpatrick was keen to catch her - she needed to given Mrs Bell £10,000 so that she could share it out with teachers. This money is for teachers to buy teaching resources. They have to spend it wisely so that we give 'good value for money'. Mrs Bell quickly gave out paper work so that teachers can request how much money they need for their subjects.
In the meantime the class worked with Mrs Lerigo on the planning of some Art work. After play, it was back to the Newspaper front pages for the Media challenge. We got the laptops from Mr Rees so that we could begin to put the main story on. The afternoon was also be used for this - we added more in the computer suite and the results are looking good!

Four children from Y6 and four from Y6 went to a cricket tournament after school. Mrs Turner and Mrs Bell were very proud of their efforts. We came 6th out of 8 teams, and had a great time. Aamir was playing for Waterside - They came 2nd and we felt pleased for them.

Meeting for Parents for Coven

On Tuesday, Miss Akhtar and Mrs Bell will be running a meeting about the Outdoor Education Centre. The class will be away for a week, from 15th June 2009. Parents and pupils will find out what to expect when they are there. Some parents can't come in the morning so the meeting will be repeated in the afternoon at 3.30 pm.
If you look at the following weblink, you will get an idea of the types of activities we will do:

http://www.cheslynhay.org.uk/coven/2006/5.html

I hope the pictures from this school help you to understand how much fun we too will have. Ifra has already told Mrs Bell to expect enjoyment from the activities. It will be just like a holiday and AWAY FROM home for a whole week! Wow!

Video StoryBoards - First task

The morning started with Mrs Bell explaining the media challenge project but she had a challenge herself! The De'Ferrers group were going to their new school from 10 am until 12.15. Therefore it was decided that the groups of 6 would be based on future high schools, which left Fatima, Zain and Madasser feeling a little left out! However, this was not the case - they joined in with the De'Ferrers groups as there were less children in those two groups.

By 2pm, when the Abbott Beyne children met their teacher, we had some wonderful story boards. Ecah group had chosen 12 images to write their story. The staff were pleased with how the groups had formed and the way they worked together - this is an excellent life skill. Two of the groups had used extended, complex sentences.Brilliant!

In the computer suite, we looked at examples of Publisher newsletters as our second task is to produce the front page of a newspaper. We will start this on Tuesday - the finished work has to be produced on the computer.

MEDIA challenge

Now that the SATs are over, we can begin to use our skills to new areas of learning. This week, the class will be involved in working in mixed ability groups (different strengths within each group) to write a front page of a newspaper. In addition, they will produce a video story board using a selection of images. This is a really interesting project and by Friday, Mrs Bell will need to select the best results towards a county competition.

"The event is designed to encourage children at Key Stage 2 and 3 levels to participate in a countywide safety competition. This is achieved by inviting schools from around the County to participate in preliminary rounds."

We will start by getting into groups on Monday. As some children will be visiting their High School, we shall have to use that to help get into teams. The week is quite busy, with transistion visits as well as a parent's meeting for Coven. This meeting will give parents and pupils more details about going to the Outdoor Education Centre on June 15th. Miss Akhtar has assured Mrs Bell that she will enjoy this experience.

Final day of SATs!

"Hooray, it's the last day of SATS," thought some children. However, Mrs Bell insisted that it was as important, if not more important to try hard today. Paper B is the calculator paper and gives 40% of the marks from which the maths level is scored. This is the opportunity to pick up extra marks to secure the level the children are working at.

Once again, we did the usual routine - brain gym, maths warm up, water and even a bit of chocolate! Mrs Bell felt too sick today to have any, but there was no need. Children worked really hard and made an excellent attempt at each question. One or two children have been particularly nervous, but we will give strategies to them for the future.

After the test, Miss Akhtar played KingBall again with the class, whilst Mrs Bell and Mrs Fearn chatted about the week. We use what we learn from the experience to benefit other pupils.

The afternoon is for a party. Mrs Annett has made cakes (Her sons were jealous there were no cakes left for them but we have sent them a bag of Easter eggs that Misha's mum bought for the class.) Both Mrs Annett and Miss Akhtar have been brilliant at giving TLC to the children and to Mrs Bell, who has looked stressed this week. Wonder why! Mrs Bell gave them flowers to say THANK YOU and Miss Akhtar and Mrs Annett gave Mrs Bell flowers to say, 'Have a relaxing weekend.'

Mental maths and Paper A

It's Thursday 14th May 2009 and Year 6 children all over the country have been involved in their first part of the Maths tests. In class, the children did some maths warm ups which included body maths (Mrs Bell is keen on body maths!) and of course the Brain Gym. The water hydrated everyone - we all felt ready for the mental maths CD.
Everyone tried extremely hard, but no-one felt they had got 20 out of 20. However, most children thought they had either got the marks they get on practices or more. We can't ask for more than that.
The mental maths led us onto Paper A. Mrs Newton and Mrs Bell took some children into the Imran Khan room, whilst the others stayed in the classroom. It was an interesting paper, one that had us thinking hard!

Just one more paper to go - Paper B, which is the calculator paper. Do remember: not every question will require the calculator. Use your calculator sensibly and wisely! Avoid 'silly' mistakes by reading the questions twice and circling words that help you to focus your answers.
Good luck for it!

READING TEST

Wow, after a glum and subdued start, everyone got stuck in the reading test with determination. This year, there were two booklets to read rather than a single book. The narrative was in the forms of letters from Norman, who had decided to leave home. The non-narrative was called, "Earthship" and was very interesting. After the 15 minutes reading time, children began to answer questions.

Staff in both rooms (Imran Khan room for Mrs Lerigo's group) were very impressed with the concentration levels. Shahzad said the double spray of lemon had helped him. He was amazing - Mrs Bell hasn't stopped telling everyone how well he was doing!

After the test, Miss Akhtar kindly took children for Kingball, and for the final 10 minutes we went in the computer suite. This release of tension is needed for the maths revision this afternoon. Let's go for it, Y6 - we can do this!

End of Day Two

Mrs Bell is delighted with all the positive energy in the classroom. The children who were most nervous (Ifra and Hannah) are now smiling happily because they know they have conquered their nerves and managed the tests. This is a brilliant life skill to learn as life will bring along many stresses to test you. It's important to know how to deal with them. You have all made a great start!


Tommorrow is the hour long reading test. Everyone needs to use the reading strategies they have been taught, attempt to answer 2 and 3 mark questions in detail and we should be okay. In the afternoon, we will prepare ourselves for the maths on Thursday and Friday. The staff will have the party to think about - we think Y6 deserve a special afternoon on Friday.

WRITING TASKS

Well, we have finished the writing and what a wonderful opportunity to show off our writing skills! Well done, everyone! The first one was a descriptive piece of writing, whilst the second one was a report. That also needed some descriptions.

In the afternoon, first we looked at the Blog (now we can write comments). Then we did some reading and maths before having an extra playtime (WELL-DESERVED).

Tomorrow it is our reading SAT. Phew we are nearly half way there! I hope everyone will persevere hard with that as so much progress has been made that it would be great to show in our levels.

SATs Day One!

The BIG day arrived at last! Miss Akhtar had nightmares the day before, Mrs Bell managed to sleep well and Mrs Annett seemed a little preoccupied (her son was unwell). Most children came in bright and early and grabbed a piece of toast. There were Science questions to get the brain working and a Revisewise tape running in the background. Classroom was set up for tests - we were ready!
The tests were quite 'wordy' therefore they took a long time to read. Test A appeared easier than B, but was this because we were tired from the first test? This meant even the most able children only just finished in the 45 minutes. Mrs Bell had managed to get permission for 3 pupils to get extra time. Phew!

The staff were impressed by the childrens' efforts - all the children got stars for being so good. The afternoon was looking at a writing task in 3 groups and then viewing the Blog in the ICT room. Unfortunately no-one was able to add comments (yet) but Mrs Bell was pleased with what the children wrote.
Today this Blog has been adjusted to allow comments, so please free to write polite comments. WRITING today - I wonder what that will bring. We have worked hard on extended punctuation and complex sentences so we should be confident.