Grade 6 booklet 2017

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SACRED HEART COLLEGE EDUCATION WITH HEART THAT KNOWS NO BOUNDS

GRADE 6 INFORMATION BOOKLET 2017


THE TEAM Ms Picas RELO

Ms Dickson

Principal

Deputy Principal

Mr van der Merwe Deputy Principal Physical PrincipalEducation

Ms Paton Mills

Ms Cross 6C Class Teacher Grade 6 English 4

Mr Masango 6M Class Teacher IsiZulu, Grade 6M Science & Technology

HOD

Director of Ethos

Ms Naidoo 6N Class Teacher Grade 6 Maths

Mr Hutchinson Music Grade 6 Social Sciences

Ms Kither Grade 6C Science & Technology

Ms Moodley Drama, 6N Science & Technology

Ms Reisinger Creative Arts

Ms Basson Computers Ms Marais Library

If you need to communicate with any of the teachers, please write a note in your child’s diary or alternatively leave a message with Mrs Peters or Mrs Naidoo in the Primary School Office. You can also email the teachers.

PROCEDURES Your child’s class teacher should be your first port of call if you have a query or a problem. If it is a subject-related issue, communicate with the specific teacher. Remember that the best way to do this is to use your child’s diary. If you need further assistance you should contact the HOD for this Phase. Please call Mrs Peters to set up a telephonic conversation or meeting with Ms Cross. Following this, you need to make an appointment to meet the Deputy Principal, Mrs Dickson and, if needed, the Principal, Mrs Picas. Again these appointments are to be set up by Mrs Peters or Mrs Naidoo.

UNIFORM Children’s uniform must always be the official one. They are allowed to wear their PE uniforms on the days that they have PE. It is very important that you label each item of your child’s uniform, as well as all books and belongings. Also please check every now and then that your child has her/his own uniform and is not wearing someone else’s. If your child has items of clothing that have been passed down or bought at the second hand store, please relabel these. Each child has been supplied with a pack of labels.


STATIONERY AND TEXT BOOKS Please ensure that your child has the stipulated stationery and textbooks. Far too much time is wasted because children do not have the necessary equipment at school. It is a good idea to check this at the start of each term. Please look after the school textbooks. If these are damaged or lost a fee is charged.

THE MARIST WAY St Marcellin, our founder and a man ahead of his time, loved young people. His energy and enthusiasm for educating young people is certainly felt in our Primary School, where children are given the space to explore life to the full. This is a family-like environment where excellence in education and a sense of social responsibility are valued. We aim to make sure that children have a safe, actively engaged learning experience, which is supported by passionate teachers. We believe in guiding youngsters toward life-long learning and our curriculum therefore aims to educate children who will strive to achieve their full potential while working as members of a community. The College’s Vision and Mission Statement outlines the ethos that underpins all we do at the school. o Being educators in partnership with the Church, we endeavour to witness the love of God by building a community based on mutual understanding, respect, tolerance, justice, reconciliation, love and peace. o Having a child-centred approach, we believe in treating each child with respect and concern. Our authority and discipline are motivated by love for those in our care. o Working in partnership with the family, we are committed to developing the closest cooperation with parents in the education of their children. o The College has Pastoral Care structures that respond to the pastoral needs of the learners, teachers and parents at the school. These include: a Pastoral Care Committee, counselling services, a Buddy System and programmes which develop values and enrich social skills e.g. Kindness Week, the Caring Caterpillar, our Bully-Busting Campaign and Safety Week. o Our Restorative Justice approach to discipline means that we encourage children to take responsibility for their actions and focuses on repairing relationships rather than on punishment.

LLS – LEARNER LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE Each Grade 6 child belongs to one of the following committees and serves for a term. Meetings are held on Friday afternoons. St Marcellin First Aid School Life Catering Concern


THE DAILY ROUTINE It is important that children arrive on time in the mornings, as being late can affect the tone of their day. Children need to be at school by 7:30 as our school day begins at 7:35 with an assembly and it is important that children do not miss these. Classes begin at 7:50 sharp: first break is at 9:50 and second break at 11:45. Please pack a healthy lunch and, if your child is staying the whole afternoon, a snack for the afternoon. Classes end at 14:00 each day and the co-curricular programme starts at 14:15. All children are encouraged to take part in the co-curricular programme, which is designed to develop children’s sporting skills as well as their cultural interests. Duplicate lists are sent out at the beginning of each season and, when children have made their choices, one of these should be returned to school and the other kept at home. The co-curricular activities are followed at 15:00 by homework classes and then Aftercare. After co-curricular activities the children can be fetched from the homework venues or from Aftercare. The venues are listed below. Homework Class Room 2 & Room 9

15:00-16:00

In the Orchard

16:00-17:30

Rainy Day Venues Room 2 & Room 9 After Care Cell Number:

0836304707

ASSESSMENT & REPORTING Assessment of children’s progress occurs throughout the year. A report is issued once a term and the marks are taken from both classwork and tests. Children will be notified of upcoming tests timeously. The tests and classwork are weighted and form the final mark per learning area for the report. In the second term, there is a formal testing week and children will be tested in English, Maths, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Social Sciences and Science and Technology. These marks are added to all class work and other term tests and weighted to make up the second term mark, which appears on the report. The third term mark is made up of term work and the end of year assessments in the previously mentioned subjects. The final result is the average of all three terms. Teachers will send out mid-term reports for children who they feel are experiencing some difficulty.


THE CURRICULUM English Afrikaans isiZulu RELO Social Science Performing Arts

Mathematics Science & Technology Computers Library – Book Education Physical Education Visual Arts

We follow the CAPS documents and supplement this curriculum with the Singapore Science curriculum as well as weaving in other important aspects of education.

ENGLISH The children will do a number of both shorter and longer themes focusing on different genres of literature and writing. Each theme will include exercises in the four areas of the curriculum namely Reading & Viewing, Listening and Speaking, Writing, and Language Structure. The children will have a Spelling Test every two weeks and a vocabulary test every other week. There will be various other assessments, both formal and informal, throughout the term. Please sign all tests so that you are in touch with your child’s progress. In class the children will both listen to and read a selection of novels. It is essential that children always have a book with them at school; they have access to the Library as well as a class library.

MATHS Each year, we extend on the knowledge from the previous year and expand the children’s understanding of concepts. The children learn about numbers, operations and relationships focusing on whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentage. They investigate patterns, learn about 2D and 3D shapes, do conversions of length, mass and capacity and calculate perimeter and area. In handling data they read and draw graphs. The children write weekly mental maths tests, theme tests and formal assessments in the testing weeks both mid year and in November.

ISIZULU In Grade 6 we begin the year with the theme: ‘Ilanga lami’ – My Day. Verbs and vocabulary must be revised daily as children need to be able to speak about their day from waking up to going to bed in the evening. The language focus is on the present tense; long, short and negative forms. In the second term we look at transport/ going to school – ‘Ukuya esikoleni’. We revise present, past and future tenses. Children will be able to hold a conversation at a taxi rank or at the station asking for directions and how much the fare is. In the last term we learn about the weather, seasons and the months of the year. We also look at appropriate clothing and the relevant vocabulary. IsiZulu skills include listening, speaking, reading and viewing and grammatical structures.


AFRIKAANS This year in Afrikaans, we will be working in the "Goed, Beter, Afrikaans" workbook. Learners will also be expected to have their bilingual school dictionary, that will be used daily. These dictionaries should stay in the Afrikaans classroom. Most of the curriculum work will be completed in the classroom and homework will only be given to those learners that need to catch up on work that they have missed. Our themes for the year are: "Meestersjef, Oorlewing, Blyplekke, Sportsoorte, By die Kkool, Australië en Brasilië, Vakansies, Diere, Suid-Afrikaanse Kulture en Wat is Interessant?"

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In Science and Technology we will maintain a strong focus on enquiry, discovery and reasoning. Of course there are facts to memorise and information to recall – but our aim is to ensure our scientists are actively engaged and involved in their own learning. Therefore, we will be performing investigations and experiments for each of our topics, and working in pairs and groups to develop our questioning and reasoning skills. Our curriculum will be flexible to incorporate new scientific information and discoveries that will surely surface over the course of the year, to foster a life-long love of enquiry and observation. The topics we will cover are: The Solar System, Changes in Materials, The Human Body, Plants, Energy, Forces and Simple Machines.

RELIGION AND LIFE ORIENTATION The RE department follows the curriculum as set out by the Catholic Schools Office, the Life Bound Curriculum. We also follow the new CAPS documents. The various areas of focus for the year are Leadership, Relationships, Comparative Religious Studies and the Sexuality Programme.

VISUAL ARTS In Art the children continue to explore their 2D and 3D skills in a variety of media and spanning a range of topics.

PERFORMING ARTS In Performing Art learners have much fun discovering and developing their creative talents social skills and emotional intelligence. Various activities such as movement, poetry interpretation, improvisation etc are used to facilitate the teaching of the 5 Cs of Drama which are described below: Commitment: Being there, on time, and prepared. Strive for your own excellence. Courage: Risk-taking, trusting your peers and your instincts for what is possible. Caring: Be encouraging, supportive, and respectful of others’ work and creative process. Cooperation: Accept ideas with grace. Participate in your group with constructive ideas and enthusiasm. Concentration: Focus on your part of the task, communication of needs, listening to your teacher and the class


PHYSICAL EDUCATION Our focus is on strengthening children’s gross motor skills and giving them the opportunity to explore a variety of sports.

COMPUTERS & IPADS Computers 4 Kids is a Technology Top 100 winning educational ICT company that was formed in 1995 by Russell Pengelly, a qualified Special Needs Educator. Computers 4 Kids provides a unique integrated ICT curriculum, teacher training and ongoing support to primary and high schools in South Africa as well as 24 countries across the globe. Resource disks, templates, website links and educational games form a core element to the curriculum which goes hand in hand with our unique teaching approach – this culminates in effective teaching and learning in the classroom. Computers 4 Kids have trained 6000 000 learners, as well as 18 000 educators.

The children will also be using iPads and computers across the curriculum and we will set online tests and exercises for them. Quizlet is a very handy tool for all sorts of learning. All of the children’s Spelling Lists as well as their Zulu vocabulary will be available online. The children can join the class at https://quizlet.com/join/NCuDA9bx4. We will also introduce Edmodo in Grade 6. This is a free and secure learning network for teachers, students, and schools. It provides a safe way for us to connect, share content, access homework, participate in discussions and receive class information. Learners can access their account from any mobile device or computer and set up notifications within Edmodo to receive alerts/reminders via text or e-mail. The group code is swrsa6 .

LIBRARY All children visit the library once a week and are able to take out books as well as learn vital book skills such as research, writing a blurb and referencing work. The library is also available for children in the afternoons for project work.


HOMEWORK Homework is an opportunity for your child to consolidate what he/she has covered at school but, more importantly, it is a time when your child learns to work independently. Projects will be done at school. o o o o o o

Please help your child but do not do their homework for them! Create a space for your child to do their homework. Avoid any distractions such as phones, TV, music and noisy siblings. Sign your child’s diary daily – even if your child attends homework class. When preparing for tests use study notes, concept maps etc. Help your children pack their homework away and prepare their bag for the next day. The following tasks will feature in their homework:

• • • • • •

Spelling & Vocabulary– English, Afrikaans, isiZulu. Daily independent reading, a book of their choice. Maths homework - InstaMaths or exercises in their textbooks. Revising the day’s skills or working on writing tasks, grammar or comprehension. Other homework will be subject and teacher dependent and will vary weekly. Theme and section tests.

GRADE 6 CAMP The camp this year will take place from Mon 20th to Wed. 22nd of February (Tues 21st to Thurs. 23rd) at Camp Nelu in the Magaliesberg. http://www.campnelu.org. The cost of the camp, which includes transport, meals and all activities is R1500. The focus is on outdoor activities, which dovetail with both the Social Sciences and Science and Technology Curricula. Being in the bush and staying together in dorms give children the opportunity to improve their social skills and work cooperatively as a team.

EXTERNAL EXAMS Each year, our children in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6 write the International Bench Mark Tests in Maths, Science and English and the Grade 6s write the IEB Core Skills Tests. We use the findings from these results to enhance our learning and teaching at the College.

GRADE SIX FAREWELL As it is the last year of our children’s Primary School career, we celebrate this together. The children accompanied by two family members and the teachers, come together to celebrate at a party. Parents organise the event with guidance from the teachers. We have loads of fun, so please pitch in with the preparations for this function.

BIRTHDAYS Birthdays are always special occasions and, as we all love to celebrate, we ask that you help the teachers out by sending in cupcakes or pre-sliced cake for your child’s birthday. Serviettes are also nice to have! We look forward to a wonderful and successful year for all. The Grade 6 Team.


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