Author: Mr Roundtree

Gearing up for the Gallery

 

Having produced so much art this half term, we’re preparing our final piece to go on display in our open art gallery in the week beginning 10th November 2014. Our final piece will be using a technique called pointillism. This is where you create a picture using lots and lots and lots of tiny dots. It takes lots of skill, patience and determination so we had a practice this week.

First, we decided which paintings were pointillism and which were not.

Then we practised using pointillism ourselves.

We had a go using three different media to find out which would be most effective for our final piece. We used paint, felt tip pens and coloured pencils. The coloured pencils took the longest, felt tip looked quite effective, but, we most enjoyed using the paint and cotton wool buds.

It’s half-term…

…so there’s no specific homework this week, apart from ensuring your child spends at least 20 minutes each day reading and 5-10 minutes learning their number bonds / times tables.

Enjoy your October break. If you stay in Leeds, check out all the activities the museums and art galleries have on offer.

Maths workshop

Thanks to all of you who visited us this afternoon for another learning workshop.

Thanks to all of you who visited us this afternoon for another learning workshop so that you can support your child’s learning at home – this week, the theme was maths.

  • “Another useful session, particularly for practical ideas on how to explain maths concepts at home.”
  • “Very beneficial – the right amount of information squeezed into the right amount of time.”
  • “Great to have some fresh ideas on how to help at home.”
  • “Well explained in parent-friendly language – it’s always useful to have a re-cap on what is being taught.”

If you didn’t manage to make it, or if you have any more questions, comments or concerns, please do speak with your child’s teacher or come and see Mrs Weekes or Mr Roundtree.

Finally: many of you wanted calculation methods explained in more detail.  Look out for our Moortown Methods video, coming soon!

Applying for a place at secondary school

The deadline for applying for Y7 places for next year is 31 October 2014 and Leeds on-line application system will close at midnight on that date for secondary applications (the on-line system will remain open for primary applications). Alternatively, you might prefer to apply via a paper form and hand your completed forms into school for us to forward to the Admissions Team.

Amy Vernon from the Choice Advice Service can support you if you’re struggling with the application process. Email [email protected] or call 0113 3951183.

Offer day is 02 March this year. Parents who apply on-line will receive an email with their offer any time from midnight onwards. Parents who apply on a paper form will have their offer posted to them 2nd class on 02 March so may not receive this until later in the week.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

 Recount of our day written by Noorpreet

On Wednesday, we went for a school trip. First, we went on the coach. There were lots of sculptures. It was a large park. We also had lunch and we had fun at a fountain. There was a sculpture called Family of Man. Also, ten seated figures. We even learnt about artists and sculptures and there was lots of grass. Some of the sculptures were strange or some of them were real. It was so good because we made our own sculptures. Ours was so tall and even though it was raining, it was fantastic.

 

Here are some pictures from our day.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our own sculptures in the afternoon like real artists!

 

17 October 2014

This week’s homework is Talk Time and is due on Wednesday 22 October 2014.

Is this art?

You have got four pieces of art to look at. All of them are very different.

  • ‘Swept under the carpet’ – Banksy
  • ‘Family of man’ – Barbara Hepworth
  • ‘Rain princess’ – Leonid Afremov
  • ‘Essence of elephants’ – Greg du Toit

Have a conversation around the dinner table or in the car about these pieces. Are they art? Do you like them? Which is your favourite? Make some notes about your ideas in your homework book and bring these to our class discussion on Wednesday 22 October.

Phonics visits

“…making it easier to support learning at home.”

Thanks to all parents / carers who have visited the Reception classroom to watch and learn more about phonics. These open-sessions have taken place on Wednesday and Thursday, with one more tomorrow.  We’ll repeat the open-sessions when we move to a new stage in phonics teaching and learning – look out for when. Parents’ comments have been extremely positive; feedback includes:

  • “These sessions are amazing. They allow us to fully support our children, working together with school. Team work!”
  • “Fantastic! Amazing to see how engaged the children were and how you teach them, making it easier to support learning at home.”

Half-term coming up…

The museums and galleries of Leeds have got plenty to keep families entertained this October.

The museums and galleries of Leeds have got plenty to keep families entertained this October.

Leeds Discovery Museum

  • Investigating Masks, Wednesday 29 October, 10am – 12pm
  • Investigate real Asian masks from the World Cultures collection. Discover the history and stories behind them and design your own.

Lotherton Hall

  • Spooky Scarecrow Trail, Friday 24 October – Sunday 2 November, 11am – 3pm
  • Back and better than ever… beware: we aim to scare! Follow the clues around Lotherton Hall and see the spooky scarecrows on display. Don’t forget to visit the Witches’ Cottage! Plus five Days of Spooky Fun from Mon 27 – Fri 31 Oct, 11am – 3pm.

Abbey House Museum

  • Spooky Murder Mystery, Thursday 30 October, 10am – 12pm & 2pm – 4pm, Saturday 1 & Sunday 2 November, 2pm – 4pm
  • There has been another murder in our Victorian Streets. Follow the clues and see if you can discover the murderer. Suitable for families with older children.

Leeds Industrial Museum

  • Halloween Family Fun Day, Sunday 26 October, 1pm – 4pm
  • Join us for storytelling and face painting and see the amazing camera obscura bringing the outside to life.

Leeds City Museum

  • Sparkly, Clay Diwali Lamps! Tuesday 28 & Wednesday 29 October, 10am – 12pm & 2pm – 4pm
  • Mould, squidge and shape a lamp from clay, then adorn it with sparkles and colours. Join us to light up the museum with colours for Diwali.

Kirkstall Abbey

  • Fairy Creatures Scarecrow Hunt, Tuesday 28 October – Sunday 1 November, 10am – 3pm
  • Hunt around the abbey for our scarecrows inspired by fairy creatures. There will be good fairies and bad fairies, goblins and elves.

Temple Newsam

  • Spooky Spooktacular, Friday 31 October, 5pm – 8pm, Adult £7, Child £4, Family £20, booking essential
  • Bring your little ghosts and ghouls to trick or treat through the darkened house and farm. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Leeds Art Gallery

  • Creatures of a New World in Artspace, Monday 27, Tuesday 28, Thursday 30, Friday 31 October, 11am – 4pm
  • Taking inspiration from the latest exhibition, Shezad Dawood’s ‘Towards the Possible Film’, sci-fi creatures appear in Artspace, will they need to live happily in our land?Join our artist-in-resident Karen Babayan to find out.

Thwaite Mills

  • Scary Skeletons, Thursday 30 October, 11am – 3pm
  • Make your own scary skeleton Halloween decoration complete with flashing eyes.

Family draw-along with Nick Sharratt

One of our favourite illustrators, Nick Sharratt, is coming to Leeds!

One of our favourite illustrators, Nick Sharratt, is coming to Leeds for a family draw-along!

  • When? Monday 27 October ar 2pm
  • Where? Main Auditorium of the Carriageworks Theatre
  • How much? Tickets are £5 (£3 concession)
  • Who? All children aged 5+ are welcome

Nick Sharratt is one of our best-loved children’s illustrators. He has illustrated more than 200 books for children, including several award-winning picture books, Jacqueline Wilson’s novels, stories by Jeremy Strong and many other leading children’s authors.

In this family friendly, fully-interactive event, Nick will show how he creates his characters and share his drawing tips. Bring along a pencil, pad and a hard surface to draw along with him and after the show you can have Nick sign either a book you’ve brought from home or you can purchase one of Nick’s books at the event. (If your child is entitled to the pupil premium money, school will refund the cost of the book if you present a receipt to us.)

Early birds can create a special card or sign for Nick telling him about their favourite character.