Welcome to the South America Year 6 Class Page. Here, you can find out about everything that we've been doing this term.
Friday 24th January
Another lovely week in South America. We have been so busy this week and completed lots of fun tasks. In English, we have completed writing our story which was based on the novel 'Street Child'. We developed our own characters and tried to give lots of detail about them by showing the reader, not telling them. The children did this brilliantly and their stories have been so impressive. We even brought in some of our history lesson as the book is set in the Victorian era, we used what we have learnt about child labour and used that in our story.
In geography we had a practical lesson where we looked at the affects of overfishing. We used skittles to be fish and tried to catch what we could to feed our village. However, we soon realised what happens when too many fish are taken out without time to reproduce; some groups had no fish left after the first year!
Finally, in science we have been looking at evolution and inheritance. Following on from our workshop at the Hancock museum last week, we were looking at how different plants and animals have adapter over time to be successful in their environment. I'm sure the children would like to tell you more about how this happens, and even one way in which humans have adapted over time.
An honourable mention to some of our class for their amazing efforts in their netball tournament last week. They played so well, and ended up coming in second place which secured them a place at the finals in a couple of weeks time!
A brilliant week here in South America. On Thursday, we had our school trip to the Great North museum and the day was excellent. The day had been organised for us by the museum, so we started the morning by exploring the ancient Greeks in The Shefton Gallery. We had to find and name certain artefacts, find out what material they were made out and some of us even had a go at designing our own mythical creature.
Next, we played the evolution game with one of the staff from the museum. This game linked to our current science topic and taught us how natural selection and evolution work over time. I'm sure the children will be able to tell you all about how the game worked and what science they learnt from it. As part of this, we also got to look close up and stroke at some taxidermy birds from the museum.
After lunch, we had time to explore the rest of the exhibits and go into the planetarium where we learnt so much about our amazing universe. The children represent Emmaville so well and I am really proud of them all.
What a lovely first week back we have had here in South America. We have started new topics in our subjects including fractions in maths; street child in English and evolution and inheritance in science. In preparation for our upcoming trip, this week we introduced our science topic looking at inheritance and how offspring inherit characteristics from their parents. The children had lots of knowledge about this already and I was so impressed with what they shared in class.
To try and show how characteristics were passed down within DNA to offspring, we tried to show this through designing our own Mr Men characters. Each child chose two, and then incorporated characteristics from both off these to decide what their offspring would look like. We had some brilliant results and I know the children really enjoyed this activity.
Well, unlucky for some, but we have had a lovely week here in South America! This week we have had an enrichment week which centred around Black music, art and history, as a follow up to Black History Month in October. We have had lots of fun and many great experiences this week, emerging ourselves in black culture.
In music, we had a drumming workshop from Tongesayi, who is originally from Zimbabwe. He taught us all how to play the djembe (an African drum) and we absolutely loved this, even if our hands were sore after!
We have also been exploring African culture by creating traditional masks out of clay. We looked into why African people wear masks and found out that they are used in many ceremonies including births, deaths and marriages, and how each mask is an individual creation.
For our history lesson, we looked specifically at Empire Windrush and how people from British colonies were invited to the UK after the second world war in an effort to help re-build Britain. I know the children will really enjoy telling you all about what they have learnt this week.
Another fabulous week here in South America! The children were brilliant in my absence and I want to thank them all for being so responsible while I wasn't well. On Tuesday, the children took part in an enterprise day all about global life. It was a day of two parts: the first all about holidays and budgeting, the second all about developing a business. The children worked collaboratively during the day to construct ideas, as well as give each other feedback and support. The children were brilliant throughout the entire day, and I know they had lots of fun.
We have also been working hard on our division skills this week, practising dividing by a 2-digit divisor. We learnt a brand new method for solving these types of questions, and I know the children will be proud to show you this over the weekend, I hope you all have a fabulous one!
Well, another amazing week here in South America - I can't believe we are almost in December! The children have been working so hard and it is wonderful to see the progress in them already. This week in English, we discussed parenthesis and the punctuation marks that we use to show the added information into sentences, perhaps you can ask your children to tell you what these are (or sing the song all about it).
We also had lots of fun at the bookshop that came to school on Tuesday. Miss Armstrong very kindly gifted all of the classes some money to purchase some new books and we were able to pick a selection of different genres including graphic novels, some sci-fi novels, World War 2 texts and challenging picture books. We had a great time looking at all of the books and have began reading some in class.
Another amazing week here in South America, and definitely the coldest one yet! We have been busy all week working hard across school, and in our computing lesson we were looking at computational thinking. We talked about how computers process information and how they are able to solve problems so quickly. We took 4 elements of computational thinking and had a task to complete for each one. They involved pattern recognition, algorithm design, abstracting the useful information and decomposing a problem into smaller parts. The children had lots of fun with the tasks and we had some very successful results.
In art, we have been completing a mixed artist study this half term, and this week we looked at an artist that was different to the previous two. John Singer Sargent painted portraits and very realistic images; we looked at on entitled 'Gassed' which showed soldiers on the battlefields of World War 1. During the lesson, we tried to recreate the picture with our bodies and some props. We split into two groups, to show the two main groups of soldiers, and each group had a director to help them get into position. This really helped us get a better understanding of the emotion in the picture and definitely helped refine our teamwork skills.
Another amazing week here in South America. We have been so busy, as usual, but I want to share a few of the things we have been up to this week. In maths, we have been looking at a new term which is 'congruent' - maybe you can ask your child what this means? We used Cuisenaire rods to create this type of shape with our partners, and it really helped our understanding with such tricky vocabulary in maths.
We have also been exploring a new artist, Fiona Rae, in art. She is an abstract artist that usually uses oil paints to create her pieces, and mixes specific colours on an 8ft long palette. We didn't have oil paints, but we did use a mixture of things to re-create one of her famous works: 'Untitled'. We mixed both watercolours and poster paint to create unique shades for our work in our sketchbooks, creating some brilliant pieces of art. We closed our lesson with a silent gallery, where the children looked at each others work around the classroom in silence, and then shared positive feedback with each other.
We were also lucky enough to have a writing workshop at the newly refurbished Crawcrook library. We had a great time exploring books and writing Pudsey themed stories. These were what we managed in our groups after only 5 minutes of writing; I'm sure you'll agree, they are brilliant.
Well, what a brilliant first week back we have had here in South America! We have been busy getting ready for our class assembly, but also busy in the classroom with lots of exciting things this week. In science, we introduced our new topic of classification and had a go at organising animals for our own 'Tyne Valley zoo'. We also began a new guided reading book that looks at a child's perspective of war and portrays some very sensitive subjects, which the children have been so thoughtful with.
We have also been looking at nets in maths, and exploring how 2D shapes can be folded to create 3D shapes. We used polydron to physically create nets on our tables using 2D shapes; we had lots of fun with this, but it also helped us visualise how those shapes folded to create new ones.
Also, a huge well done to Nathan for his outstanding performance of 'The Last Post'. It is a very difficult song to play and he played it for us all beautifully; here is a clip from one of our rehearsals.
I can't believe we have reached the end of our first half term here in year 6, and what a busy week it's been. We have been celebrating Black History Month throughout October, and we have done this in many ways: music, books and even maths! On Tuesday, year 6 were lucky enough to take part in an online workshop that told us about an amazing man named Thomas Fuller. He was a slave, stolen from Africa and taken to Richmond, USA. He was nicknamed 'the human computer' as his mental maths skills were incredible. He was able to do incredibly complex maths problems in his head, even though he didn't receive a formal education and couldn't read or write.
We have also learnt all about the life of another amazing man named Henry Brown. Henry was also a slave in Richmond, USA, but unlike Thomas Fuller, he was born into slavery. Henry left behind a unique and incredible story; he managed to post himself to freedom. I know the children will love telling you more about these inspirational men, or even finding out more about them over the half term.
I also had to share the amazing fact files the children created after finishing our newest guided reading book. We have just read a non-fiction book all about trilobites. I won't share too much as again, I'm sure the children will be able to tell you all about these fascinating creatures.
I hope you all have a wonderful and restful half-term.
Another brilliant week here in South America. I wanted to share some of the photos from our recent football PE sessions as the children have been fantastic and showed such team work. It was great to also get the input from some of our more experienced players that shared some of the drills they have been doing at our football clubs during lunch time or after school.
Also this week, we have been looking at one of the biggest freshwater areas in the world. Our geography topic at the moment is 'aquatic biomes' and so far we have looked at sources of freshwater such as ponds and lakes. During our lesson this week we were learning all about the Great Lakes of North America. The children produced some amazing information leaflets about them and we learnt so much about all 5 of the lakes. The children should be able to tell you lots of facts about the Great Lakes and how we can scientifically tell the difference between a lake and a pond.
Why don't you ask them to tell you all about it this weekend? I hope you all have a lovely one!
Another brilliant week here in South America, they really are flying in! We have been busy this week with lots of activities including a wonderful debate in our history lesson. Our lesson this week focused on the Industrial Revolution and what the key factors were in driving the revolution. We looked at what life in Britain would have been like before, and after the revolution and the big changes that occurred. We narrowed the causing factors down to 6:
- Power
- Transport
- Factories
- Empire
- Population
- and Agriculture.
The children then had to decide out of the 6 factors which they thought was the most important, and why. This lead to some amazing class discussions as we all had differing ideas. Some people were so convincing that they managed to persuade others, and helped us consider other perspectives. I was so proud of how much they listened and took in about the Industrial Revolution. They really did work so hard and the enthusiasm was unbelievable!
Perhaps, they would tell you a little bit about what happened this weekend; hope you all have a good one!
1.1. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of the users of our services. Our services include and will hereby be referred to as 'Our Services' (our websites used to promote eSchools services and tutorial resources, specifically
https://www.eschools.co.uk
and https://academy.eschools.co.uk), 'School Websites' ( designed by eSchools and populated by individual schools themselves) and 'Platforms' (individual online services that provide teachers, learners, parents and governors with information, tools and resources) as well as our smartphone app. This policy sets out how we will treat your personal information across these services.
2. Collecting personal information on Our Services
2.1 We may process or temporarily store the following kinds of personal information:
information about your computer and about your visits to and use of Our Services (including but not limited to, your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths)
information contained in or relating to any communications that you send to us or send through our website (including, the communication content) via online forms
any other personal information that you choose to send to us via online forms
manually inputted details of users added to the platform
details of users as integrated by our providers at Wonde via your MIS (if applicable to your package). For further information on integrated data please see our Data Sharing Agreement
2.2 Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person's consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with the terms of this policy.
2.3 eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. For further information on how you can manage and set your cookie preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.
2.4 Information submitted through the online contact form on a school website is processed via eSchools, and passed directly to the school in question. This data is held by eSchools for 30 days (or in the case of failed messages, 90 days) before deletion. Once passed to the school this data is held by them and subject to that school’s privacy policy.
2.5 Schools are also able to add analytics tools and can therefore gather information on visits to and use of their website (including but not limited to, IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths). Individual visitors can manage their preferences through cookie preferences, as mentioned in 2.4.
2.6 Session IP addresses are retained to monitor and safeguard against improper usage of our services.
2.7 Content on the platform (added by staff, governors and students) and website content is added directly by School Users. This information is only used for to display on the platform in the way the user intends and is not used for any other purposes by eSchools. At a time when a school ceases to use our services the content is removed within a 14 day period as detailed in our agreement with the school.
2.8 Some of our services require the school to provide access to information they require for use with those services. For example a school using our communication tool, Letters Home, which enables schools to contact parents by email regarding important school information. In this situation a school will provide eSchools with access to the email address(es) they wish to send their communication to. Schools have granular access to ensure only the required data is shared and accessed by eSchools. The data is frequently updated to ensure that eSchools only retains up-to-date data.
3. Using your personal information
3.1. We may use your personal information to:
administer our services
enable your use of our services
troubleshoot and problem solve
send you email notifications that you have specifically requested. You can manage your preferences at anytime through your eSchools dashboard.
keep our services secure, safeguard against improper use of our services and prevent fraud.
3.1.1. For the purposes of providing you access to your eSchools platform and app (ie. forgotten password/login)
3.1.2. By registering for updates, School Staff/Governors are able to subscribe to our regular communications.
3.1.3. We will use any contact details supplied in an online form for the purposes explicitly detailed in said form. For example troubleshooting and problem solving or the provision of live online training as explicitly requested by you, the user.
3.2. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
3.3. eSchools understands our obligation to be mindful about the data we process and only process data that is required to fulfil our obligations in providing our services; to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user.
3.4. We will not pass your information to third parties; except for the purpose of fulfilling our services to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user or where we are required to do so by law.
4. Disclosing personal information
4.1 We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.2 We may disclose your personal information:
to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
in connection with any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings;
in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information;
to the school in the case of improper use on the platform by individuals
4.3 Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your personal information to third parties.
5. International data transfers
5.1. Data directly collected by eSchools may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this policy. Any third party we use is within the EEA or they hold an existing EU SCC, as in line with requirements under the GDPR. No other third party are permitted to access the school’s data.
5.2. Personal information that an individual adds to our websites may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.
6. Retaining personal information
6.1. This section sets out our data retention policies and procedures, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information.
6.2. Personal information that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3. Data collected through analytic cookies will be retained for 26 months. Individual visitors can adapt the data collected through cookie preferences, as mentioned in 2.4.
6.4. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we will retain documents (including electronic documents) containing personal data:
To the extent that we are required to do so by law;
If we believe that the documents may be relevant to any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings; and
In order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk). Data will no longer be kept after the termination of the contract with the school.
7. Security of your personal information
7.1. We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
7.2. We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall-protected) servers. The web service we employ has a broad range of accreditations and certifications and the data centres used ensure the data stays within the EEA.
7.3. eSchools use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which creates a secure connection and uses two keys to encrypt data in transit. Despite this, you acknowledge that the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data.
8. Amendments
8.1. We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
8.2. You should check this page regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes to this policy.
9. Your rights
9.1. You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you.
9.2. We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law.
9.3. You may change your cookie preferences at any time as referenced in 2.4.
9.4. School Staff/Governors who subscribe to our Newsletter may manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
10. Third party websites
10.1 Our websites may include hyperlinks to, and details of, third party websites. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies and practices of third parties.
11. Updating information
We will only provide communication about the eSchools platform to school staff/governors who can manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
Part 2: Cookie Policy
Last Edited: 22nd April 2021
This Cookie Policy explains how eSchools use cookies and similar technologies in our Services. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control their use.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by online service providers in order to (for example) make their websites or services work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information.
Cookies set by the website owner or service provider (in this case, eSchools) are called “first party cookies”. Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third party cookies”. Third party cookies enable third party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website or service you are using (such as advertising, interactive content and analytics). The third parties that set these third party cookies can recognise your computer both when it visits the website or service in question and also when it visits certain other websites or services.
Why do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?
We use first party and third party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Services to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” cookies. Other cookies enable us and the third parties we work with to track and target the interests of visitors to our Services, and we refer to these as “advertising” or “analytical” cookies. For example, the embedding of YouTube and Vimeo videos, as added by individual schools, will require “advertising” cookies to be enabled in order to successfully play them. Schools that, for example, opt to track visitor data using Google Analytics will require “analytical” cookies to be enabled in order to do so. These third party cookies are used to tailor content and information that we may send or display to you and otherwise personalise your experience while interacting with our Services and to otherwise improve the functionality of the Services we provide. We also enable schools to employ cookies and similar tracking technologies in connection with their use of our Services in order to allow them to track visitors to and interactions with their school website.
How eSchools Uses Cookies
eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. The cookies differ depending on the information. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
User Embedded Content
Our Services allows schools to embed code which may potentially contain cookies. Please note embedded content, if displayed on one of our websites, has been added by the school and not by eSchools. The embedded content added by the school may require additional cookies or tracking technologies to be enabled in order to function.
How can I control cookies?
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. Be aware that cookie preferences are set on a per device basis; therefore you may need to set your preferences on each device you use.
Initial cookie pop-up banner: You can exercise preferences about what cookies are served on our Websites by selecting your preference from this modal which appears upon visiting an eSchools website/login screen and dashboard. You can also change your cookie preferences by clicking on the link on the footer of any page. The banner will reappear annually (August 31st to coincide with the academic year) to confirm your settings.
Browser Controls: You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our Websites though your access to some functionality and areas of our Websites may be restricted. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser’s help menu for more information.
Disabling Most Interest Based Advertising: Most advertising networks offer you a way to opt out of Interest Based Advertising. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. If you would like to find out more information, please visit aboutads.info/choices or youronlinechoices.com.
Mobile Advertising: You can opt out of having your mobile advertising identifiers used for certain types of Interest Based Advertising, by accessing the settings on your Apple or Android mobile device and following the most recent published instructions. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
How often will you update this Cookie Statement?
We may update this Cookie Statement from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please therefore re-visit this Cookie Statement regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. The date at the bottom of this Cookie Statement indicates when it was last updated.
Where can I get further information?
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at support@.eschools.co.uk.