READING:

Reading This week, we have two extracts from texts that children transitioning to

Ormiston Meridian will be reading next year. If you are not going to Ormiston,

use these as an opportunity to practise your active reading. Use the ‘Tell Me

Grid’ method: Likes, Dislikes, Puzzles, Patterns.

The Murderer’s Ape

The other day the Chief gave me an old typewriter, a 1908 Underwood No. 5. He’d bought it from a scrap merchant down by the harbor, here in Lisbon. Several of the keys were broken and the release lever was missing, but the Chief knows I like fixing broken things. It’s taken me a couple of evenings

to mend my Underwood No. 5, and this is the first time I’ve written anything on it. Several of the keys still stick, but a pair of pliers and a few drops of oil will soon put them right. That will have to

wait until tomorrow. It’s already dark outside my cabin window. The lights from the vessels lying at anchor on the river are reflecting in the black water. I’ve strung my hammock and I’m about to climb

into it. I hope I don’t have those horrible dreams again tonight. It’s evening again. The Chief and I were lucky today. Early every morning we go to a harbor café where unemployed sailors wait round hoping to get work for the day. There is not usually anything much, but today we struck lucky and so we have been heaving sacks of coal from dawn to dusk. The pay was poor, but we need every penny

we can earn. My back aches, my arms ache and my fur is itchy with coal dust.

More than anything else, though, I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well again last night. It must be at least a month since I had a full night’s sleep undisturbed by nightmares. The same dreams return time after time. Some nights I’m back in the engine room of the Song of Limerick. I’m being held from behind

by strong arms while the engine is racing and the ship is sinking. Other nights I dream of Chief Inspector Garretta. It’s dark and I don’t know where I am. Among the tombs in Prazeres Cemetery,

perhaps. The only things I can see are Garretta’s small eyes, which shine with a cold gleam under the brim of his hat. And I can smell the acrid gunpowder from his revolver—the shot is still ringing in my ears. The most horrible dream is the one about the Chief. I am standing in the rain waiting for him outside an iron gate in a high wall. Time passes and I’m chilled to the bone. I try to convince myself

that the gate will open at any moment, but I know in my heart that I’m fooling myself. It’s never going to open and the Chief is caught behind that wall forever. There are times when I scream in my

sleep. One night not long ago I was woken by the Chief rushing into my cabin waving a big pipe wrench. Hearing my screams, he’d thought someone had crept aboard and was going to hurt me.

That was a distinct possibility, for we’ve made dangerous enemies in Lisbon.

I’m too tired to write any more at present. I’ll probably write again tomorrow. I’m really pleased with my Underwood No. 5! It’s foggy tonight. It came rolling in from the Atlantic during the afternoon. I went up on deck just now and couldn’t see beyond the cranes a short way along the quay. Every so

often the gruff noise of foghorns and the ringing of ships’ bells can be heard from the river. It sounds a bit ghostly. The Chief and I have been carrying sacks of coal again today. I was thinking about my

Underwood No. 5 while doing it, and now I’ve decided what I’m going to use it for. I am going to use it to tell the truth. The truth about the murder of Alphonse Morro. So that everyone knows what

really happened. And maybe the writing will help to rid me of my nightmares.

Kat Wolfe Investigates

An Uninvited Guest Kat Wolfe awoke with a stiff neck and the creeping sensation that she was not alone. She held her breath. Had she heard something or hadn’t she? Then it came again – a faint

metallic scraping. Kat relaxed. The latch on the kitchen window was loose. It jiggled with every shift of wind. Struggling upright, she rearranged the cushions and rescued the duvet from the floor. For the third night running, she’d fallen asleep on the sofa waiting for her mum to come home. Friday evenings were frantic at the city veterinary practice where Dr Ellen Wolfe worked, and her bosses, Edwina Nash and Vince Craw, insisted that their underlings (Kat’s mother and two harried nurses) take full advantage of it. Today was Valentine’s Day, which was not as madly busy as Christmas or Halloween but a close second to Easter. Kat could picture her mum bent over the operating table,

fighting to save the life of a labradoodle puppy that had swallowed a boxful of chocolate hearts or a diamond ring, or patching up a Maine Coon singed by a thoughtlessly placed candle. Meanwhile, in a back office, Edwina and Vince would be gleefully totting up the bill. Hunched over a spreadsheet like a couple of Scrooges, they’d be adding up triple-time emergency and admin fees, plus charges for X-rays, IV fluids, vitamin shots, scans, lab tests, antibiotics, catnip, chew toys, flea spray and painkillers.

On seeing the total, some pet owners needed hospitalization themselves. In Dr Wolfe’s opinion, a good veterinary surgeon was part psychologist, part animal whisperer. She routinely played

peacemaker on behalf of pets caught up in custody battles or family feuds. As for senior citizens, they adored her. Most came to her for the company more than because their pets needed help.

Knowing that their meagre monthly pensions would be swallowed by a single vet’s bill, Kat’s mum had learned how to magic these and other visits out of existence simply by ‘forgetting’ to include

them in the diary.

No appointment; no charge. It’s not that Dr Wolfe imagined Nash & Craw Premium Pet Care was a charity. Far from it. But she did believe in fairness. Somehow Edwina and Vince had got wind of

these ‘lost’ appointments. They’d gone ballistic. For the past three months, they’d deducted every penny they felt sure Dr Wolfe owed them – plus interest – from her wages. Kat and her mum were not quite living on gruel, but beans on toast had become a recurring theme. The fun had stopped

too. For the entirety of Kat’s twelve and a quarter years, it had only ever been the two of them against the world. That was fine with Kat. Given a choice between spending her weekends with the selfieobsessed girls who attended her bleak London school, or hanging out with her mum and the

animals at the animal clinic, she’d have chosen her mum and the pets 101 per cent of the time. But Vince and Edwina had succeeded in snuffing out even that small joy. They’d banned Kat from helping out or watching her mum work on the grounds of Health and Safety. Which meant that every other weekend and three nights a week, when her mum was on call in case of emergencies, Kat was stuck in the house with Naska, the Bulgarian student who lived with them. Naska was one of the loveliest people Kat had ever met, but the Bulgarian girl studied every moment she wasn’t sleeping, and slept every moment she wasn’t studying. Tonight was an exception. Naska’s sister, who worked in North

London, had been rushed to A&E with appendicitis. Since Dr Wolfe had already messaged to say she was leaving work shortly, Kat had insisted Naska go to the hospital at once. Her mum would be

home any minute, and she’d be fine on her own till then. As Naska headed out of the door, Kat’s phone pinged again. Dr Wolfe was running late. Kat waved Naska goodbye without mentioning it. That had been nearly three hours ago. Now it was 1.30 a.m. Kat wasn’t worried about being alone. The doors were locked, and she knew her mum would be home as soon as she’d finished dealing

with whatever emergency had held her up. But the silent house did make Kat yearn, yet again, for a pet of her own – a dog to guard her and keep her company, or a cat she could snuggle up to.

Ironically, considering her mum spent every waking hour with animals, that wasn’t possible. They lived in a rented house, with no outside space, on a busy road in London.

Grammar Watch the KS2 Commas, Brackets & Dashes

video on BBC Supermovers. Add the commas,

brackets and dashes to the sentences below:

1) He finally answered after taking five minutes to

think that he did not understand the question.

2) Please read the analysis you'll be amazed.

3) Joe accompanied by his trusty

mutt was always welcome.

4) The president and his assistant travelled by

private jet.

5) After three weeks on set, the cast was fed up

with his direction or, rather, lack of direction.

Now, using either your memories of your time

at Crescent or your thoughts and feelings

about your transition to high school, write

some sentences using parenthesis correctly.

Maths Ratio and Proportion

Solve these problems:

Read and interpret the problem. Only use the support if you are

really stuck. Then, move on to the Explain and Extend tasks.

Athletics Club

Basketball

Calculations:

849 + 301

4918 + 943

1.9 + 4.9

14.6 + 7.3

876401 + 428156

109834 + 761932

128.7 + 28.3

451.18 + 43

9637 – 654

7654 – 7581

23.6 – 14.1

76.1 – 8.3

873921 – 76103

54917 – 41915

122.3 – 127.6

9758 – 23.67

9 x 12

8 x 6

451 x 9

278 x 6

829 x 32

1782 x 48

9213 x 23

986 x 291

429 ÷ 3

648 ÷ 8

288 ÷ 3

592 ÷ 4

5950 ÷ 70

2880 ÷ 90

7480 ÷ 17

3380 ÷ 13

Year 6 Common Exception Words

Continue to learn how to spell these common

exception words accurately.

Accommodate

Awkward

Controversy

Correspond

Language

Prejudice

Temperature

Hindrance

Pronunciation

Twelfth

Topic

We hope you enjoyed the science experiment last week and that

you found out the best way to melt an iceberg. This week, we

want you to explore the arguments around who was at fault for the

sinking of the Titanic. Below, there are a number of arguments

(you may recognise them from the home learning pack from a

few weeks ago). Familiarise yourself with the arguments, including

further research.

Once you have read about these, decide who you think was at

fault. Write a persuasive argument for someone, convincing them

of the guilt of the person or persons.

Use this structure to help:

Introduction

What I think 1

Words with –ible and -able:

Likeable Peaceable Adaptable

Disposable Lovable Impressionable

Illegible Susceptible Flexible

Feasible Plausible Contemptible

Write a sentence for each word.

What I think 2

What other people think

Conclusion

Important transition information for

children attending Ormiston Meridian in

September

Ormiston Meridian have this week sent us through

some important documents for you to read before

September. Have a look at the next few pages for

all the information you need. Also, login to the

Ormiston Meridian website and have a look at it –

familiarise yourself with the transition information

and don’t forget to log into Google Classroom!