year 6���������������������������������������

What a wonderful thing it is to be in Year 6 at St Cuthbert’s. Aged 9 and 10, these girls are in their last year of Junior School and have an infectious love for their school. The students are really becoming their own person at this age, having accumulated knowledge and skills, knowing what it is to be a Junior School girl at St Cuthbert’s, and enjoying being surrounded by so many friends and familiar faces. Year 6 has three dedicated homeroom teachers – Ms Shelley Ireton, Mrs Stacey Pinique and Miss Jacqui Tyler, and their pride in their students is evident. Mrs Pinique has taught at St Cuthbert’s for 13 years. She started as a Year 7 and 8 teacher, returning as a part-time Year 5 and 6 Science teacher following her maternity leave, and has been a Year 6 teacher since. Mrs Pinique reflects, “I’ve always loved teaching the biggest girls in the Junior School. I love helping them to navigate who they are, their pathways forward, and helping them to get ready for the Senior School. We put a lot into developing their self-management work habits so that they can transition confidently into Year 7. I’m so proud of the way the girls at this age become open to others’ ideas, can handle friendships, and think about inviting others into their group. Suddenly there is a sense they are starting to grow up, especially when I see them taking personal responsibility for their things, with less reliance on teachers and family. I still have visits from the now Senior girls I used to teach. Sometimes it’s to borrow craft supplies or for a cuddle and a chat for reassurance. I just love the way they check in!” Girls are fortunate to have the teaching expertise of Ms Ireton, who is one of St Cuthbert’s longest serving members of staff having taught here for 32 years. She too has taught the older Junior School years, as well as 20 years in Year 7. Ms Ireton naturally gravitates towards guiding the older Junior girls as they step up into the Senior School. She says, “I take great pride watching the Year 6 girls mature over the course of the year and seeing them step up into Senior School as independent, organised, motivated and self-sufficient learners. A delight of teaching at St Cuthbert’s are the visits from the Senior girls as well as reconnecting with Old Girls who now have daughters coming through the school.” Miss Tyler has taught at St Cuthbert’s Year 6 level for two years now, prior to that at a Year 4 level, and she says she’s enjoying the step up from the younger years. She says, “It’s just lovely seeing the girls becoming leaders at this year level and so special to see them achieving personal connections, with a more sophisticated empathy toward each other. I see them demonstrate thoughtfulness every day which is wonderful to help them foster and be around."

The three homeroom teachers work collaboratively which benefits the girls not only with their learning but also in exploring wider friendship opportunities, all aimed with creating a broader circle of friends for when they enter Year 7. The camp was chosen specifically for the start of the school year, building on the Year 6 Leadership

Day and to cement friendships across the three classrooms. Girls at Year 6 take part in many crossclassroom activities. The Summit Challenge to the top of Maungakiekie was a great way to start the year on a resilient note, from which the girls continue onwards and upwards. The homeroom teachers are supported by a fourth dedicated English teacher, Robin Wall, who supports all three classes by taking small groups to improve and extend reading and writing. Mathematics is critically important at this stage and there are six teachers supporting Year 6 students for Mathematics, including Lenore Clark who works solely on Year 5 and 6 in small groups. In addition, Mathematics specialists from the Personalised Learning Centre, Cherie Sowter and Ilana Tobias, join the team to support the strong Mathematics push to boost numeracy levels before students step up into our Senior School. Additionally, Mrs Tobias holds smaller classes for Reading, Writing and Spelling sessions. This level of learning support, with its golden combination of homeroom teachers working with dedicated specialists, greatly assists in ensuring each girl is well placed to reach her full potential. In addition to the strong core learning support, girls also attend dedicated classes during the week with specialist teachers from French, Music, Religious Studies and STRETCH, in which girls explore the STEM subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics through hands-on fun activities. A great event that the girls look forward to is their Year 6 graduation. This is wonderfully collaborative event managed by our teaching staff, alongside the girls’ families. It starts with a surprise presentation of an invitation at a Chapel service at which the theme of the graduation is announced. A pivotal difference about Year 6 is the opportunity for girls to hold leadership roles, which clearly mean a lot to them. Each leadership area has two leaders who hold the position for the year, plus there are House leaders and other captain and citizenship roles available on a term basis. At Year 6, these roles are a great opportunity for girls to grow, give back and shine as you’ll hear now...

6IRE

Hannah Warren

“I like that we get to do leadership roles in year 6. I like that there is a lot of diverse roles to choose to be part of. I’m doing my first librarian duty which I’m excited about. The Librarians are training us and they said that soon after we’ve been trained the library will open again for girls at lunchtime”. Sylvie Haldane “I like the learning at Year 6. I really like the playground, especially the stump where we play tag and ‘hide and seek’, it’s really fun. I like being a wet day leader because I like looking after the little girls”.

6PIN

Bella Guthrie

“I like the leadership roles in Year 6 as we haven’t been able to do this in previous years and it’s really fun because we get to show our skills. I’m a House captain for Elgin and I liked organising a House lunch and being able to speak at assemby.” Lucia Yoon

“I like the leadership as well but I really love the Science because I get to do lab work. There are challenges like how to balance 12 nails on one nail on a block of wood – the answer was to put one nail on first and then the others alternating, it took us an hour to work it out. We even got to see a rat being dissected! We did a little of the cutting ourselves but that was on a sheep lung and heart. I like being the Melrose House captain and speaking at assembly.”

6TYL

Molly Atkins “I like doing Science because it is different every time. We learn about the human body, bouncing and flight. My favourite thing so far has been learning about balancing things. I love my leadership role as a Junior Playground Angel as I like looking after other people and spending time with my friends”. Jessica Yeoman

“For me it’s the leadership roles I really like. I find it exciting because we get the opportunity to lead in a role and it prepares us for the real world after school when we get a job. I’m a Lindisfarne House captain with Mila Firth and we have a lot of fun together doing this. The meetings we have are fun as we get to give ideas for what we do next. Organisation is a big part of it, like House lunches which we love as we know everyone will like them”.