Author: Mr Roundtree

06 November 2015 – practice makes perfect homework

As always, Year 5 have a practice makes perfect homework due on Wednesday 11 November.

To show I can improve on my writing target.

Each child has written their writing target into their book and need to show (in any way they choose) that they are aware of what this is and can practise improving on it. You might want to write a paragraph that demonstrates you are considering your target, or you could write individual sentences to help you practise. It’s up to you. Here are the different targets with an example to help.

  • To be able to use expanded noun phrases – In front of him stood a long, dark corridor that was full of shadows.
  • To be able to use relative clauses – Tim Peake boarded the rocket, which was ready for lift-off, and buckled himself in for a bumpy ride.
  • To be able to add detail to openers – Beyond the Milky Way, where the stars shone brightly, a comet flew through space.
  • To be able to use a range of openers – ‘ly, ‘ing, conjunction, preposition

06 November 2015 – creative homework

This week’s homework is creative and is due on Wednesday 11 November.

To show what I know about the Solar System.

We’ve had a fantastic start to our new topic, Mission to Space and this week’s learning has centred around the Solar System.

  • How many planets are there?
  • What are their names?
  • In what order are they from the sun?
  • Which is the biggest and which is the smallest?
  • What orbits Earth? How long does it take?
  • What does Earth orbit? How long does it take?
  • How long does it take for the Earth to spin on its axis?
  • What else would you find in our Solar System?
  • Where is the ISS?

…Just a few questions we’ve been answering through a research-based topic where the children are taking lots of responsibility for their learning. Here are a few suggestions of ways the children could present their learning this week:

  • Draw and label a diagram of the Solar System
  • Write a story, travelling through the Solar System on a rocket
  • Create a model of the Solar System
  • Present information about the planets using mathematical facts and figures

As usual, you can use one page in your homework book. For this topic, Year 5 will also be using a website called Makewaves to share the work we’re doing in class with other people taking part in this national project. If you want to upload your homework to your Makewaves site, it will add to your portfolio and we can have a look at it in class.

8 Rs for learning – our new SEAL theme

The eights Rs promote good learning in school – help your child to develop characteristics such as being responsible, responsive and resilient.

This half-term, we’re thinking about the ‘8 Rs for learning’. This theme is about promoting good learning behaviour for your child. Each week, we’ll focus on different ‘Rs’. We use an animal to symbolise each ‘R’, which might help your child remember all eight – can your child remember which animal matches the correct ‘R’?

You can support your child at home – we’ve listed a few ideas to help you below. Ask us if you’ve any questions or comments.

Download top tips for promoting the 8Rs for good learning behaviour.

I can show I am ready to learn.

  • Make sure your child is at school for a prompt start of 08:50.
  • Make sure your child has had plenty of sleep so they are alert and ready to learn at all times.
  • Encourage your child to ask lots of questions – that shows they want to learn!

I take responsibility for my own learning.

  • Provide time and space at home so your child is able to organise themselves: their PE kit, reading book, homework, spellings and tables… Don’t organise everything for them!
  • Make a link between rights and responsibilities: your child has the right to a great education, but needs to be responsible for their own learning.

I take a safe risk.

  • Talk about the difference between a safe and unsafe risk. At school, we want your child to take a safe risk by having a go at answering, even if unsure; trying something new and attempting harder learning.

I am resilient.

  • Encourage your child to keep going! Set a tricky challenge or puzzle for your child to do.
  • Encourage your child to think of different ways of doing things.
  • Don’t let your child win when they play a game – they need to experience losing, too!
  • Celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn – be happy that your child found some learning hard and encourage them to ‘bounce back’ and learn from the experience.

I respond to feedback.

  • Ask your child if they remember their ‘stars’ and ‘steps’ in English and Maths.

I am resourceful.

  • Encourage your child to be organised so they can play with a range of different toys.
  • Encourage your child to try new ways to solve a tricky problem.

I remember.

  • Make sure they have time to learn spellings, number bonds and times tables – a little practice daily is best.

Play memory games:

  • Kim’s game: show them objects for 30 seconds… can they remember all the objects?
  • Can they build up the sequence, ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple’… ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple and a bike.’… ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple, a bike and a cucumber.’ etc … Take turns!

I reflect about my learning.

Talk with your child about what they’ve learnt, asking questions about:

  • how they learnt
  • why they learnt it
  • when they’ll use their learning
  • how they would teach this to someone else
  • what learning might link with what they’ve learnt today
  • etc

Some great PE

With a new half term, we’re changing focus in our PE lessons. Students from Leeds Beckett University joined us today and we really enjoyed their session. It tired us out and was great fun, too! We look forward to working with them each Wednesday this half term. image image image image image

Don’t forget to always have your PE kit in school on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Attendance matters

Well done to Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5 whose attendance is all above the school average.

The attendance data for the first half-term is below. Well done to Year 1, Year 3 and Year 5 whose attendance is all above the school average.

  • Reception: 96.7%
  • Year 1: 98.2% – a great attendance figure… well done!
  • Year 2: 97.5%
  • Year 3: 97.9% – just higher than the school average… keep it up!
  • Year 4: 97.4%
  • Year 5: 98.9% – this is really high… brilliant!
  • Year 6: 97.7% – just a tiny bit lower than the school average… nice one!

‘Warmest congratulations’ from the DfE

We’re in the ‘top 2% of all primary schools in the country’ for teaching phonics in Reception and Year 1.

We’re delighted to receive a letter (27 October 2015) from Nick Gibb, Minister of State for School Reform (part of the Department for Education), in which he expresses congratulations for the ‘very high standard of achievement in the 2015 phonics screening check‘.

The phonics screening check takes place towards the end of Year 1. The check is a short, ‘light-touch’ assessment to confirm whether individual children have learnt phonic decoding to an appropriate standard. It will identify the children who need extra help so they are given support In Year 2 to improve their reading and writing skills. It consists of a list of 40 words, half real words and half non-words, which Year 1 children read to a teacher in school – in our school, this person is Mrs Weekes.

Mr Gibb’s letter says:

We want to ensure that every child develops a firm grasp of phonics which is why I was delighted to see your results. With 100% of pupils at Moortown Primary School reaching or exceeding the pass mark in the check, your school is in the top 2% of all primary schools in the country.

This year’s figures show that 99% of pupils who reach or exceed the pass mark in the phonics check go on to achieve at least the expected standard in Key Stage 1 reading, which underlines the importance of developing the ability to decode words effectively at an early age.

I am pleased to learn that you have ensured that all Year 1 children in your school have a firm foundation in reading, from which they can develop further and become increasingly fluent readers.

Thank you for your work in this vital area of a child’s early education and congratulations again to you and your staff for your hard work and professionalism.

Well done to all the Year 1 (now Year 2) children, and to the staff in our Reception and Year 1 class. Thank you, also, to parents / carers who support their child so well at home, practising spellings and reading regularly.

Incidentally, earlier this year, we received a similar letter from David Laws (26 January 2015), congratulating the school on our Key Stage 2 results for disadvantaged pupils since 2012.

Welcome back

A quick welcome back for the second half term. We’ve got an exciting run up to Christmas, kicking things off with our trip to Malham Cove and then taking on a new and exciting topic.

Topic – Mission to Space

We’re leaving Holidays behind for the second half of the Autumn term and jetting off into space. Tim Peake is to be the first English astronaut to go to the International Space Station in December of this year and Year 5 and 6 are joining many primary schools across the country on a project that looks into what he will experience there, culminating in his launch on 14 December. Through Science, English and Maths, we’ll boost our understanding of Space and try to answer the many questions we already have about it.

To help at home, see what books you can find at the local library or research the project at home by googling ‘Tim Peake Space Project’ to find out more.

Maths

Alongside many space-related maths ventures, over the next couple of weeks we’ll be learning about multiplication and division. We need to be able to multiply numbers up to 4 digits by one or two digits (4653 x 3 or 2353 x 22) and divide up to 4 digit numbers by one digit (3603 / 3). It’s also important for us to understand the terms ‘factor’ and ‘multiple’ and to know and recall prime numbers.

To help at home, use Mathletics multiplication and division activities for extra practice and see what real maths you can get up to together. Maybe you’ve got a recipe to make 12 butterfly buns and you need 500 for a wedding! There’ll be some multiplication to get what you need for that from the shops.

English

The half term begins with our imaginations in overdrive as we take on the challenge of writing adventure stories set in Space. We’ll practise speech punctuation and complex sentences before planning our own stories and then making them into exciting adventures to be enjoyed by each other in our reading area.

To help at home, point out and pick up on descriptive language in the books your child is reading and discuss how they could use this in their own writing. Keep practising spellings and make sure that their meanings are understood and they can be written correctly into a sentence.

It’s half-term…

…so there is no homework this week.

Please make sure your child spends some time most days reading – books, comics, newspapers… Why not visit the library or a book shop this week?

To support writing, your child should review their spellings from the last few weeks. You could test them on words from all the lists, and ask them to use the words in sentences or a story, or create a comic strip with a word used in each speech bubble.Perhaps you could set a challenge (for you as well as your child!) of using spelling words in everyday conversations! Practising handwriting by joining up is a useful activity, too.

In Maths, children in Key Stage 2 should definitely practise times tables – including the related division facts. Can your child respond within five seconds (not counting up to work it out) to questions like ‘What’s 7 times 8?’ and ‘What’s 42 divided by 6?’

Of course, make sure your child is happy and healthy over half-term, too! A walk and play at Roundhay Park, a bike ride, a conker challenge, a trip to the art gallery… Enjoy!

The Year 6 assembly

Well done, everyone in Year 6, for a great class assembly this week, and thanks to all the parents, friends and family who visited.

For those unable to attend, the assembly was a very entertaining summary of some of the learning which has taken place this half-term.

Comments from our guests include:

  • “Nice to see what the children have been learning. Very good.”
  • “Very interesting to have a view of what the children have been working on – fantastic!”
  • “Very interesting. I have learnt a lot of things myself.”
  • “Great show, as ever. Brill song and very interactive.”
  • “Brilliant adaptation of the song. They’re experts at assemblies now!”

…I was struck by that last point, too: the children were confident, clear and comfortable in front of the large audience.