What a wonderfully *Christmassy* week we have had in Year 6! Not only is it starting to *look* like Christmas in our classroom… it’s beginning to smell and taste Christmassy too! This week, we rolled up our sleeves, put on our aprons, and set about baking our very own Christmas cakes—and what an adventure it has been!
We started with a simple, traditional recipe and then let our imaginations (and taste buds!) run wild as we thought about ways we could adapt it. Extra cinnamon? A hint more ginger? A festive burst of orange zest? Yes, yes, and yes! Before we even cracked an egg, we reflected on our design brief and what we’d learned during our Christmas cake taste test—thinking carefully about texture, taste and smell like true culinary experts.
Working in teams, we set out to make the perfect cake batter. We learned to cream butter and sugar until it was light and fluffy, add our eggs a little at a time (to avoid the dreaded curdling!), and fold in the flour gently—very gently—so we didn’t knock out all the precious air. We measured every ingredient with care, carefully checking our units of measure… proudly putting last week’s maths learning to excellent (and delicious) use.
Once our cakes were baked and cooled, it was time for the best part—decorating! Let’s just say that as many decorations were eaten as were placed on the cakes. Well, it isn’t Christmas without a few extra treats for the chefs, is it? We are certain that Dame Mary Berry herself would have been proud of our efforts—over-enthusiastic mixing, slightly flat tops, and that extra bit of sugar that might have hindered the perfect rise… but shhh, we won’t tell!
Science – Light, Reflection & Secret Spies!
In Science, we’ve been exploring how light travels in straight lines and how it can be reflected to help us see things we normally couldn’t. We linked this to our World War Two topic and discussed how periscopes were used to keep watch safely from the trenches.
Then, with card, mirrors and a whole lot of curiosity, we got to work making our very own periscopes! Once they were assembled, we had great fun testing them around the classroom (and yes… even doing a little cheeky spying on Maple Class!). We also challenged ourselves to adapt our designs so we could see behind us too—because who doesn’t want to be a secret agent at school?
French – Letters to Father Christmas
In French this week, we put our vocabulary to festive use by writing letters to Father Christmas. With great enthusiasm (and maybe some very big wish lists!), we wrote: Cher Père Noël, je voudrais beaucoup de cadeaux cette année! We’re not saying we’re expecting mountains of presents… but Year 6 has been très bien this year!
Panto Time – Snow White at South Mill Arts!
To round off our brilliant week, we enjoyed a fabulous trip to the pantomime at South Mill Arts Theatre to see Snow White. The singing, the dancing, the jokes, the shouting… Oh yes we did! The theatre staff went out of their way to comment on how polite, well-mannered and well-behaved we were. What stars!
A Quick Reminder – Ice Skating on Monday! ⛸ ❄️
We are very excited for our trip to Alexandra Palace on Monday for ice skating!
Year 6, please remember to bring:
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A warm coat
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Gloves and a hat
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A pair of long socks that will fit comfortably over the top of your skates
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A packed lunch
We can’t wait to see your amazing skating (and possibly sliding!) skills on the ice!
Have a lovely weekend!