Thursday, July 25, 2013

W! O! W!

What more can I say.......... 

I have just marked a practice 11+ maths paper  and the mark was 100%

Congratulations to you, Ollie, a superb score!!!!!!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Current Year 5 summer studies

many of you are signed up for sessions through the summer and that is good because it means the children will not dip just before sitting the actual papers. If you are hoping to take the exam and have no summer session sorted for your child be aware that you need to create some work to keep them ticking over at the level they require to pass.
Many of you have bought papers from the internet or from the retail stores and that is great as the children need to keep practising but I would suggest you make them do no  more than a couple in a week or they will get so stale and bored by the time they reach the exam proper they will not perform well.
I tend to suggest the following weekly work schedule;
  1. Two test papers; maths and verbal [following week non-verbal and maths or English if your area requires it]
  2. Bond 10 minute test [mixed set] one a day when they are not doing a test paper
  3. games from the website, coolmaths4kids, say two days out of the week
  4. plenty of relaxation and fun and play for the majority of the time
by doing this, they will still be interested and motivated to work when they are expected to, but know they have time to go and have fun for the majority of the day. If you are going abroad take 10 minute tests with you and fit them in first thing after breakfast, that way one is completed every day but they are over and done with whilst parents are organising the day, the swimwear, the picnic.. and the remainder of the day is for the family and the holiday.
For the period of time from August Bank holiday Monday to the first day of term, do nothing, let them have a break, then give them a paper, one from each area and work through it with no time limit, just bringing their brains back into gear again. They will remember it all and it will come back with greater understanding,having been given the opportunity to rest in the head for a while.
So to all parents out there feeling as though they are sitting the exam themselves; its nearly here and nearly over and soon you can sit back and relax.........until the results are due. 

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

An update

For those who are working towards their 11+ this year; I know we are reaching the end of term and for some of you, you have already finished. If you are going on holiday and want to take some work with you, please let me know and I will place it on the memory stick. 

They will be things you can do for say 15 minutes and then go and have fun so don't panic. I wont give you stuff which will take hours! Promise!


For those of you who are due to come to me in September/October, the dates have gone out to all bar two people [they came last year and know day and time but not date] so can you please get back to me asap and let me know if the days and times are OK. As I have said in the email, the wriggle room is so limited this year, I am really struggling to move anyone, anywhere, but if there are real crisis, then I will do my utmost so solve the problem. Please, let me know quickly so I can confirm as many as possible and attempt to sort the others.

Thanks for your patience, this is always a logistical nightmare and I like to please as many people as I can whilst placing the students with someone who is commensurate with their skills level.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Dates and Times are going out

If you haven't heard from me regarding a slot for next year, then please, be patient, they will all be out by Friday. Some have gone out today and more will go out tomorrow, but today I have run out of available time, sorry.

Almost the end of the year and time to sort the timetable...

I think this is the most topsy turvy time of year; at one end there is the exhilaration of the successes I am watching around me as students pass into the zone of success and reaching their potential and the worry of getting the new timetable to suit as many parents and children as possible for next year...... and it's never easy. Bear with me, the constraints this year are greater than ever, especially as so many students wished to stay with me as they go into their secondary school, or are embarking upon their GCSE courses and want that extra bit of something as they work through.
So the tests you all did are in and the results will be sent out to you asap, but what I can give you is the averages in all four areas so when you get the results for your child you can review it against something.
As you will see, the range is wide and for those of you whose scores have come in low, it could mean many things (not being familiar with the question types, having a melt down at the tests themselves, or just not really able to do them because they were 'hard'). I will use the scores and any of you who have CATs scores (most recent if possible) to balance up the pairs.
As a warning, there could be some of you who will not get onto the timetable unless I can persuade you to take times later than requested. It is VERY tight this year.













Maths VR nonVR
English
highest score 76% 83% 78% 90%
lowest score 26% 19%  23% 26%
median average 48% 53% 52% 56%







To pass the 11+  78% in all areas
levels required 5c or above by end of year 6*





* expect to see students at level 5c in time for the 11+ exam at start of their Year 6 and then progress on from there as the year progresses










Thursday, July 4, 2013

Baking

Another example of what a year 5 student can produce by themselves. This was edited and re-drafted by the girl herself and you can see , very well structured and written.



BAKING!!!!!!

            My favourite hobby is baking. I have been doing it since a very young age. I especially enjoy licking the bowl at the end!

          I love baking cakes, because I love stirring the mixture together, decorating and of course eating them! There is a large variety of cakes. Large cakes, small cakes, and lots more. My favourite cake is the Victoria sponge, which I make from my favourite recipe book – Mary Berry. I make it every two to three weeks!  I think I like this type of cake the most because it is a plain sponge, with nice jam and is just so nice!!!!

          The second thing I love making is bread. My favourite part in the process of bread making is making and then rolling the dough out.  Bread smells so yummy when cooking and makes me feel quite hungry!

          Now weighing the ingredients is fun, but the best part about it is that it can help with your maths as you can soon learn how many ml in a litre and so on.

          Another thing I enjoy when baking is the mixing stage.  I enjoy this part because it makes me feel relaxed and calm.  It can also be exciting as, as you mix different ingredients together, the mixture can change and after a while it can get incredible hard or soft, depending what you add! 

I cannot resist the temptation of a cheesecake with a raspberry on the top.  Cheesecakes are really the only desserts I make, but I love the whole process- especially when I crush all the biscuits to make the base.

          Baking for Children in Need has got to be one thing I am extremely proud of. This is because, firstly I really enjoy making the biscuits and secondly because I really love to see the faces of people when they try my biscuits!

Another time when I was proud was when I make biscuits and cakes for the teachers at Christmas as their presents.  I made cup cakes and lovely  crystallized stem ginger biscuits.  I felt very happy, as the teachers liked them so much.

Lastly, I recently did some baking for Comic Relief.   My mum took the cookies I made to work and sold them to raise some money .  In total I raised £32.00 !

So baking is lots of fun, you can make so many different nice things and also you can raise money for Charity.





By Sasha ******