Year 6

It is with great delight that we are now able to share the news that our recent visits from OFSTED have resulted in St. Anthony's receiving an OUTSTANDING judgement.  All the children have received a paper copy of the report and it can now be found on the website. Some of our favourite phrases from include...

Pupils love coming to St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School. They feel safe and happy here.

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Pupils demonstrate high levels of respect for each other. They help one another in lessons. Pupils are very keen to learn.

Leaders have implemented a strong curriculum which is broad and ambitious. Pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn well in this inclusive school.

Parents, pupils and staff are particularly positive about the school. They feel an integral part of a school family which sits at the heart of their local community.

We could go on so please read the final report! We all wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all the support you give to your children and for helping to make the year 6 class so very special.  We are lucky to have a class full of wonderful children and they rose to the challenge of leading our school in our long awaited inspection after 14 years! I am so proud of you all. 

Many thanks once again!!

After successfully qualifying from the South Leeds heat in October, our Y5/6 football team competed against the best teams from across the north/east/west of Leeds at the Leeds United Training Ground on Monday morning. 

The boys competed magnificently, going through to the semi finals and losing 2-0 to the eventual winners of the tournament. We are so proud of their achievements in reaching the final 4 schools from a total of over 80 schools that initially entered. 

The boys had a wonderful day which was made even sweeter when they met one or two familiar faces (Dan James, Archie Gray and Cryscensio Summerville of Leeds United took time out of their day to speak to the boys and sign shirts and memorabilia). Well done to all involved. 

Here are our two School Ambassadors. This is a privileged role in school, created this September! The School Ambassadors will be supporting Miss Leonard at high profile events eg visits by Headteachers, Parents, tours of school, attending School Council Events and key events. They will also be attending important meetings with Miss Leonard and representing our school and the views of our children across school. Well done to our School Ambassadors. 

Here are our Year 6 School Council representatives. These members have been elected by their peers, using a democratic process in line with our British Values. These children attend special meetings weekly and conduct roles around school. They represent the views of our Year 6 pupils. Congratulations on this special role during this academic year. We are very proud of you! 

This half term we have jumped straight in to our Light topic in Science. Year 6 have made their own periscopes to investigate how light can be reflected. To create our periscopes, we used a 3D net of a cuboid and two mirrors. The light reflects off one mirror, down the middle of the periscope, off the second mirror and into our eyes - this is how we see! Periscopes can be used for really exciting reasons, like on the top of a submarine! There is a periscope on our Science display, come and have a look!

As part of our Geography topic this term, Year 6 put their compass and map reading skills to the test. Using a map of the continent of Africa, a few clues and the eight compass points, Year 6 were able to locate and name all 54 countries in Africa. We have been using the eight compass points to follow and give directions, too! 

As part of our Dance curriculum, in January 2024, our Year 6 class have choreographed, planned, and performed their own Carvival Dances. They worked in groups to perform the final dance recording which they eagerly share with you all. We hope you enjoy their performance!

On 9th January 2024, Our Young Voices Choir visited Sheffield Arena to perform as part of a choir of over 4,000 children for the Young Voices concert. What an exciting evening! The children experienced performing in a life-size arena, to an audience of over 10,000 people! They experienced live performances of singing, music and dance performed live! There was a huge buzz and the children were absolutely awesome! Well done to our Young Voices Choir 2024!

Year 6 have looked at how a flat-file database can be used to organise data in records and they compared paper and computer-based databases. Using a computer-based database the children used tools within it to order and answer questions about data. They developed their search techniques to answer questions about the data and used advanced techniques to search for more than one field.

Our Year 6 class have been putting their artistic skills into action making their line prints. After careful study of a variety of famous line prints, Year 6 designed their  own with a Christmas theme. Using carboard and string, they created their line prints and then carefully formed their repeated prints with colourful paint. How fantastic! Well done!

Year 6 visited the Leeds City Museum and explored all it had to offer. What a fantastic day! Our specific focus of the day was to learn all about the journey of hip-hop through the museums special exhibition '50 Years of Kulture'. We learnt all about the five pillars of hip-hop: Emceeing, DeeJaying, B-Boy and B-Girl, Aerosol Art and Knowledge. These fundamentals were the foundation of hip-hop and are the reason why hip-hip continues to be so prominent today. We listened to different music, we read poetry and we were immersed in a fantastic graffiti-filled subway carriage from New York. 

Our History topic has covered the campaign of three British Heroes on their plight for reform. Our final British Hero was Emmeline Pankhurst, the founder and leader of the Women's Social and Political Union. Year 6 research greatly the radical actions of the Suffragettes (members of the WSPU) and continually reflected on why they were so determined to campaign for reform. Year 6 used this understanding of the societal view of women at the time to write an essay answering: 'Were the radical actions of the Suffragettes justified?'. This is an outstanding piece of work that was written with great care and attention to historical detail. Well done, Year 6!

This week, Year 5 and 6 were lucky to hear some folk music! These outstanding musicians took on a journey around the world explaining the history of folk music. We were taught about lots of different instruments, we were taught how to dance with the music as accompaniment and we were even taught how to sing some famous folk songs as a call and response. The children were outstanding and showed a real passion for a variety of music!

Year 6 have been developing their understanding of computer systems and how information is transferred between systems and devices. We looked at the input, output, and process aspects of a variety of different real-world systems. The children discovered how information is found on the World Wide Web, through learning how search engines work and through comparing different search engines.

Music - Our Key Stage 2 Chamber Choir

Each week, Mr Leach visits our school to teach our Key Stage 2 Chamber Choir a range of delightful songs.

Our pupils begin with vocal warm-ups before moving on to the focus songs. They also practise a range of singing techniques such as singing in rounds and using a variety of dynamics in each song. Each song recounts a tale or Bible story to further our understanding of some of the messages of Christianity.

We love taking part in these sessions and cannot wait to continue!

RE - Year 5 and 6's Trip to Leeds Grand Mosque (Autumn 1)

Today, Year 5 and 6 visited Leeds Grand Mosque to support our understanding of other cultures and faiths. As part of our RE learning, we were introduced to the Mosque and how it is used, including some of it's customs and traditions such as taking our shoes off and washing our hands before we enter.

We were then taught about Islam and some of the similarities the faith shares with Christianity and Judaism. What an enlightening opportunity for our school, we have thoroughly enjoyed our visit!

Our Year 6 class took part in Leeds City Council Level 2 Bikeability Training in the week beginning 9th October 2023 to 13th October 2023. All the children rode to an exceptional standard and made huge progress in their cycling ability and knowledge of risks. The trainers sent a follow up e-mail to comment on their exceptional behaviour and attitude: 

Dear Miss Leonard,

Our Reading Corner in Year 6 is up and running with a new makeover! Our Year 6 children have the chance to cosy up and lose themselves in a variety of books: non-fiction, fiction, adventure, mystery, suspense and educational. We are really passionate about fostering a love of reading in Year 6. Enjoy reading for pleasure, Year 6! 

On Monday, Mount St. Mary's High School welcomed us for our annual high school visit afternoon. We were treated to an afternoon of fun activities. First was rock-climbing, everyone was challenged to push their boundaries while climbing and reach for just one hand-hold more! Next, we went to Science to learn all about electro-magnets. We even created our own using wire and a nail. This tested our scientific knowledge of circuits! Finally, we learned all about human rights in a Humanities lesson (and even finished with a game of bench ball). Thank you, Mount St. Mary's! 

In Music, Year 6 have been exploring the concepts of rhythm and beat through the medium of body percussion. We examined a set piece, focusing of the beats of a bar and syncopation. This influenced our own compositions. This children found it challenging to find movements that could keep up with the tempo but they thoroughly enjoyed it! Well done!

Congratulations Alice - Our Mathlete of the Month.  She has achieved 5130 points during September by completing additional work at home! A huge well done Alice - keep up the good work!

On Saturday 30th September 2023, our Year 6 Cross Country Team took part in their first Saturday race of the season. They met at Middleton Woods to take part in a Cross Country Race against all other schools in Leeds. The children showed their determination and resilience and are looking forward to Race 2 at Cardinal Heenan High School on Saturday 14th October. Well done Year 6! 

To start our first topic in Science - Classification of Living Things and their Habitats - Year 6 had a fantastic lesson classifying sweets! We focused on the features of each sweet (colour, shape, texture and flavour) and the children thought of a variety of ways to classify them. We will be taking these classification skills and applying them to animals, plants and micro-organisms. 

Welcome back to your final year at St Anthony’s, Year 6! I am very excited to be welcoming you all through the cloakroom door very shortly and sharing an action-packed year with you!

I hope that you all have had a brilliant holiday with lots of fun and rest, and I hope you are excited about the wonderful year we are going to share together. I am really looking forward to getting to know you all and helping you shine brightly every single day!

During our time in Year 6, we will enjoy exploring lots of wonderful topics - beginning with a focus on British Heroes, this is one of my favourite History Topics to study! Our class novel ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ will be the inspiration for our first piece of writing. 

Throughout the year we will be using Google Classroom to complete our homework, but it is also a place to share what other wonderful and interesting things you have been getting up to at home! We are going to have lots of rewards and prizes for the children in Year 6 that are being kind, patient and trying their best – what should our whole class prize be? 

As we all get ready for our first day together in Year 6, please remember to:

• Come into school every day excited and ready to learn
• Remember that every day is a new challenge, and we are all here to help each other succeed
• Read every night and make sure an adult signs your planner - reading is the key to success in Year 6!
• Spellings are to be completed every week and submitted on Google Classroom
• Times tables practise is essential
• PE days will be Monday and Friday for the first half term
• Ensure you come to school in the correct uniform every day - you are now at the top of the school and, therefore, must lead the rest of the school by example
• Grow in maturity and independence – you are now entering your final year at St. Anthony’s and one of my main jobs is to ensure you are well prepared for high school. I will set you lots of challenges in school to help you develop your independence but try to do the same at home. For example: make your own pack lunch; get your uniform and school bag packed the night before; set your own alarm clock to wake up on time
• Always be positive! 

I know that you are all such hard workers and will try your best in everything that we do together in Year 6. I am looking forward to seeing you all very soon!

Miss Staunton Sykes

We are blessed to have French lessons taught weekly in Key Stage 2 by our native French speaking expert subject specialist teacher, Mademoiselle Mattias. She has raised the standard of our French teaching, using fun techniques to ensure retention of French knowledge and vocabulary. The Year 6 pupils have been playing games and using puppets for French conversation to further consolidate their learning. They could demonstrate that they are able to speak in French fluently using topics linked to body parts, clothes, places to go, activities, names, age, place they live, as well as everyday routines eg getting up, getting dressed. 

Magnifique!

On Wednesday 24th May 2023, our Netball Team played in The Well School's "Bee Netball" Tournament at Roundhay School, Leeds. We were delighted to be successful and win our way to the grand final, which will be played on Tuesday 4th July 2023. Well done girls!

During Summer 1 2023, Year 6 have designed, made and evaluated their "Steady Hand Games" using their DT and Science skills to the maximum. We are so proud of you Year 6. 

Year 6 have designed, made and evaluated periscopes as part of their Science focus on light. We are very proud of how well they have worked together and the learning in Science that has been undertaken. Congratulations Year 6!

Year 6 have been fascinated whilst studying a topic on Africa in their Geography. They have most recently been learning more and remembering more about Africa, its physical and human features, as well as key information linked to our carefully crafted knowledge organisers. When interviewed by Miss Leonard (Geography Leader) in May 2023, Grace (Year 6) stated "Geography inspires me to find out about different countries and extend my learning to new levels." Daniel (Year 6) added "Geography lessons are immersive and interesting. They keep you focussed and we love to learn even more about our Geography topics." We are so proud to have such enquiring Geographers in our midst in Year 6. Look at some of our work from our Geography books in Year 6, as well as some of the extended curriculum enrichment opportunities linking to this topic. We are very proud of our learning and are getting excited about our final Geography topic of Coasts in Summer 2!

On Friday 5th May 2023, our U11 Girl's Football Team returned victorious following a series of games against Shakespeare Primary School, Leeds. Mr Kearney was so proud of the girl's team who work as a team, applying true resilience and perseverance and rose to the challenge. Well done girls! 

On Thursday 23rd March, Year 6 participated in ‘Macbeth – A Play in a Day’ which was led by a visiting drama teacher from Splats Entertainment. What a day we all had! The children we split into four different groups and all led a different act from Macbeth with the help from another group too. The children enhanced their teamwork, co-operation, listening, communication and acting skills and were simply superb throughout the day. The day ended by all Year 6 performing the tragedy of Macbeth to Year 5 – what an achievement in one day!

Huge Congratulations:

Leeds United will be represented by St Anthony’s Primary School in the Yorkshire regional event of the Premier League Primary Stars Under-11 (U11) National Girls Football Tournament, in a bid to claim their place at the 2023 finals. Ten regional events will be staged at community facilities across the country, with hundreds of young people representing Premier League, English Football League and National League clubs hoping to win the opportunity to play at our very own Elland Road, in the playing kit of their respective professional football club. The U11 National Girls Football Tournament is one of the competition elements of the Premier League Primary Stars programme. We are so delighted that our girls can represent their local team and enjoy a day out in Sheffield tomorrow accompanied by Miss Staunton Sykes. The girls were brilliantly trained by both Miss Staunton Sykes and Mr Kearney (who is sad to miss this event due to his paternity leave but wishes the girls every success). The girls returned victorious as runners up, earning their place in the semi-finals to be played on our hallowed local grounds of Elland Road. What an honour for our girls!!!! 

Kelly Jackson-Powell, Primary Stars Team Leader, added:

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the girls from St Anthony’s Primary School in Beeston, Leeds. This team progressed from the local competition which had over 60 primary schools taking part to the girls Finals Day held at West Riding County FA where they finished in the top two meaning they qualified for the Yorkshire Regional Finals to representing Leeds United.”

Year 6 have had a wonderful week planning, plotting, writing, rehearsing and performing their very own play scripts. Each group worked together extremely well and showed true creativity when thinking of their story line; every play have three scenes, the actors portrayed each character so well and suspense was built throughout leaving the audience wanting more at the end. Each play was very different and was very amusing to watch. The children brought in props from home to help bring their performance to life! We definitely have some future playwrites in Year 6, and some performers that were born for the stage! 

Our Year 6 class have been using their research of Africa to create their own African landscapes in Art. Look at their stunning artwork on display in our KS2 shared area. 

Young Voices: On Wednesday 8th February 2023, Miss Leonard and Miss Taylor had the opportunity to take a group of children to Sheffield Arena to once again enjoy the experience of performing live as an audience of over 4,000 children. This is the first time we have returned since Covid, so it was truly wonderful to experience this joy of singing together once again. The children were an absolute credit to themselves, school and their families.

To further immerse ourselves into learning about the continent of Africa, Year 6 experienced an African drumming and mask-making workshop in which we learnt all about the Ore tribe and their traditions. We learnt about how colours are used to represent different elements of life that are extremely important to them (elders, water, faith etc.), we learnt the history and traditional use of the djembe drum, and we finished the day by playing music together, practising call and response techniques, and learning some traditional African songs. It was a lot of fun and it certainly helped us to further learn about amazing Africa. 

Dance in Year 6 (Spring Term 2023):

Our Year 6 pupils are incredibly proud of their own choreography in their group inspired dances. Inspired by Brazil, its sights, sounds and geographical features, their dances represent great progress building sequentially over the half term to the final polished performance. We hope you enjoy their dances! 

During Spring 1 2023, our Year 6 class have been extending their knowledge of a key location in Africa, comparing this to the UK. They are using enquiry skills to ask and answer questions about the locations they study, in order to find out what the country is like, its main human and physical geographical features as well as key facts from each country. Superb work Year 6.