It’s half-term holidays next week, so there are no homework tasks or spellings next week.
Of course, regular practice and learning can still happen: reading each day, swimming, tables practice, trips to the library, walks around Roundhay Park… All will help your child have a happy and healthy holiday!
A very thought-provoking article highlights the benefits of outdoor play.
Sustrans is a charity that encourages people to travel by foot, bike or public transport more often. Recently, they’ve produced a couple of very thought-provoking articles about children’s experiences of their journey to school (‘A child’s eye view of school travel’) and outdoor play (‘Free range kids’). Here’s an extract from ‘Free range kids’…
90% of us adults regularly played outside in our street as kids, compared to fewer than one in three UK children today. As 73% of them prefer outdoor activities, the charity Sustrans wondered why they aren’t getting out more, benefiting from the sunlight and fresh air…and splashing around in the mud and rain. After all, it’s their preferred way to have fun (whilst burning calories and getting their daily dose of activity).
Emma Kenny is a well-known expert in child psychology, and a parent too. She gives us her thoughts on why these things are so vital for growing children, and what we as adults can do to help.
What are the benefits of outdoor play?
Children who are allowed to explore their personal worlds are bound to feel that, on the whole, life is a playground where adventures are to be had. This means they’re more likely to approach new challenges with confidence, forge new peer relationships more easily, will be less likely to suffer obesity and issues with isolation and feel that they are unique and trusted individuals within their own worlds. Physiologically, the benefits of spending a couple of hours in daylight are proven: the white light we experience means lower levels of stress and healthier mental states and, of course, fresh air is always a healthy addition to our lives.
What might happen if kids don’t have their freedom?
If you cage any animal, it will begin to demonstrate a fear of leaving its environment in spite of this appearing unnatural. We are creatures of habit and we adjust our beliefs to reflect this. If we are inside and isolated much of the time, we will start to fear that which is outside and new. Kids need to have a sense of self within their environment. We should encourage them to do this.
Read more of this and other articles in Sustrans magazine: The Hub, Spring 2011 edition.
Farhan is one of two Advisors to the Children’s Comissioner from Moortown Primary. He invites all children and young people to complete a quick survey about advertising.
Farhan is one of two Advisors to the Children’s Comissioner from Moortown Primary. To all children and young people, he writes:
Do you feel that you have to buy certain things and look a certain way just to be cool?
The goverment has promised to help and protect young children from bad advertising, so the Children’s Commisioner for England would like to hear your views. She would like as many children and young people to fill out this survey so that your opinions can be put into action.
The survey will only take about 10 minutes and there are no right or wrong answers – this is all about your views and feelings. Nobody will ever know who gave what answers – it is totally anonymous, so please be honest!
The closing date is Friday 28th January 2011.
Thank you.
Farhan
To accommodate children, the local authority propose to change the age range of three local secondary schools so that they accept children from 4 – 18 years. Please do alert friends and family who have children starting school in September 2012 or later of the need to find out more.
The following information could directly affect friends or family who have children starting school in September 2012 or later. Please do alert them of the need to find out more.
In Leeds, demand for places at primary schools is increasing rapidly. The local authority is proposing that various primary schools around Leeds expand (despite the authority closing primary school a few years ago).
In this area, the proposals are more unusual: to increase primary school places by changing the age range of three local secondary schools – Allerton Grange, Roundhay and Carr Manor – so that they accept children from 4 – 18 years. As one school, there would only be one headteacher managing provision for 4 year olds as well as 18 year olds.
Whilst there is a primary school already close to all three of the schools (Moor Allerton Hall, Kerr Mackie and Carr Manor Primaries), these schools are not subject to any expansion proposals. There is scope for Moortown Primary to expand using the land at the rear of the school and the authority has registered interest in this; however, there are no immediate plans to do so and previous proposals to use the land have not gone ahead.
You can read more about the proposals online or call in to school for paper copies of the consultation booklet. There is a series of public meetings in the week beginning 24 January where you can ask questions and express your views about the proposals:
Regarding Allerton Grange High School expansion:
Tuesday 25 January 2011, 6.30pm at Allerton Grange School, Talbot Avenue, LS17 6SF
Thursday 27 January 2011, 6.00pm at Moor Allerton Hall Primary School, Lidgett Lane, LS17 6QP
Regarding Roundhay High School expansion:
Monday 24 January 2011, 6.15pm at Roundhay School, Gledhow Lane, LS8 1ND
Regarding Carr Manor High School expansion:
Wednesday 26 January 2011, 6pm at Carr Manor High School, Carr Manor Road, LS17 5DJ
Tuesday 25 January, 9am and Thursday 27 January, 2pm at Carr Manor Children’s Centre, Carr Manor Road, LS17 5DJ
Written responses can also be made:
• using the form in this booklet, which includes details of where to send it;
• by letter, to School Organisation Team, 10th Floor West, Merrion House, 110 Merrion Centre, Leeds, LS2 8DT; or
• by email to: [email protected].
Some Top Tips to help when your child has Talk Time homework!
Homework at Moortown Primary can be based on Creative Homework, Practice Makes Perfect and Talk Time.
This week, many classes have Talk Time homework. In the Year 5 Homework page, Mr Owen has helpfully added some extra detail and top tips which are also noted below for all children, parents and carers to benefit from:
Research shows direct links between the spoken language children use and are exposed to and their written language.
So, please, for this discussion:
I’m delighted that, once again, we’ve had a very positive response to the Annual Staff Survey.
At Moortown, we listen to the views of everyone in our school community.
We regularly ask our children for their opinions. Recently, children have expressed their views on topics, their learning and how safe the school feels. Each year, we also ask parents / carers for their views in the Annual Survey.
It’s important to also listen to the views of staff in school, whether teachers, teaching assistants or support staff.
I’m delighted that, once again, we’ve had a very positive response to the Annual Staff Survey; for example:
This all confirms that Moortown Primary is a happy and healthy place to work as well as to learn!
…so there are no spelling lists, tables or other homework this week.
Enjoy reading, writing (and possibly making?) Christmas cards, reflecting on this term’s topics and other activities.
Google tell us they have fixed the bug that was causing our calendar to display events on the wrong days, so we’ve reinstated it to the site.
Google tell us they have fixed the bug that was causing our calendar to display events on the wrong days, so we’ve reinstated it to the site.
Sorry for any confusion that was caused by the problem.
Google Calendar has a bug at the moment. Until they find a fix we’ve taken our calendar page down. Here are the next few important dates.
We use Google Calendar to publish our timetable of events, meetings and holidays. Unfortunately, Google has identified a bug which is causing events to be shown on the wrong days. They’re working on the problem; until they find a fix we’ve taken the calendar page down.
The next few important dates on our calendar are:
Sorry if you’ve been confused by our calendar recently!
The BBC website has described the dilemma headteachers face regarding whether they should close their school or not. Closing school is a last resort and a decision I don’t take lightly.
The BBC website has described the dilemma headteachers face regarding whether they should close their school or not. Schools can’t please all parents on this issue: this week, most parents have praised us for staying open whilst many other Leeds schools haven’t, but there have been one or two parents complaining that we should also have closed. Today, many parents wanted to know if we would be open tomorrow – but closing our school is a last resort and a decision I don’t take lightly.
The article lists many different factors and conflicting opinions that have to be considered. For example, people have today been advised that they should only travel when it is “essential”. The Department for Education regards travelling to school as essential and says both staff and pupils should try to do so safely, but the National Union of Teachers disagrees, arguing that “essential” should mean emergency services, gritters etc.
When making a decision to stay open or close, my main priority is safety: the safety of children, obviously, but also the safety of parents and carers who need to collect their child, the safety of staff who face challenging journeys home, and even the safety of our neighbours on Shadwell Lane, a road that can get severely clogged up with traffic (this has in the past blocked emergency vehicles from gaining access).
At Moortown, we’re lucky in that many staff live locally. Teachers and support staff stayed for as long as they could today: Mr Owen and Mr Wilks, for example, stayed until after lunchtime so that they were around to provide extra supervision, and then faced very long journeys home on foot, whilst Mrs Weekes, Mrs Wilson, Mrs O’Malley, Mrs Sherriff and Mr Wilson stayed throughout the day ensuring those children still at school were safe, and that parents need not dangerously hurry to school.
I’m extremely grateful to all staff for their efforts and to parents who collected their child as soon as it was safe to do so.
Please continue to be patient and check our website for the most up-to-date information, which will be in the blue Twitter box. You might also like to receive the tweets on your mobile phone – text follow moortownprimary to 86444. This is free and works for all networks except T-Mobile.