Moortown Primary is a ‘single-form entry’ school. This means we take only one class each year and so have one class in each year group. Classes are limited to a maximum of 30 children in Reception, Year 1 and 2 (like all schools), and classes in Years 3 to 6 are usually around this size, too.
Key information about the day-to-day running of Moortown Primary School can be found here – everything from the price of a school dinner to important dates in the school year. If there remains something that you still need to know, we’re always happy to answer any questions you may have – call in or contact us.
This section is all about how you can join in and be part of our community.
Moortown Primary is very much an active community. Pupils, parents / carers and staff at school are all important 'stakeholders' and we want everyone to have their say, to express their ideas and to keep on making our learning community a great place to be.
Every pupil at Moortown Primary School is an enthusiastic, positive and expressive learner – but it's not just our children! We are all learners: we can keep on learning new methods, new facts, new points of view.
This section is all about learning and how parents / carers can support or join in the learning process.
As part of our community week and a focus on identity, Year 1 joined in a workshop on mindfulness this morning. This is something we all can benefit from. The children were taught some techniques to help when emotions or situations become hard to deal with. Today’s learning helped us to realise how there were lots of different ways we could be mindful of ourselves and mindful of others.
Ask your child about mindfulness and breathing techniques.
deep breathingdifferent emotions
breathing techniques
In class, we looked closely at who we think we are. The children came up with some great responses to this. Following that, we started some work about our own individual identities.
During the week, as part of their maths learning, Year 1 have been looking closely at shape.
It’s important that by the end of Year 1 children can do the following:
recognise and name common 2-D and 3-D shapes, including:
2-D shapes [eg rectangles (including squares), circles and triangles]
3-D shapes [eg cuboids (including cubes), pyramids and spheres]
The class have studied shapes carefully and have been learning to use appropriate shape vocabulary.
name of shape
sides
curved or straight
corners
flat
round
point
We played a guessing game with shapes. The children had to guess the shape in the bag without seeing it. We gave clues by feeling the shape and describing it to our classmates. Year 1 were confident to use the mathematical language they had been taught to work out the correct name for the hidden shape.
This game would be easy to do at home, too!
After a shape walk around school (again a great activity at home or whilst out and about), we got to work on our own shape creations.
Year 4 came into school looking slightly poorly yesterday. There were spots everywhere!
Luckily, no illnesses, just lots of support for Children in Need. It was great to see the effort made by the children (and possibly parents) in putting together an outfit that had spots.
In addition to supporting a charity, Year 4 were able to take over some of the responsibilities in the classroom. This created a fair bit of excitement!
We discussed which jobs would be suitable and safe for children to take over and these are some of the ideas Year 4 came up with:
taking the register
delivering the tests
handing out golden tickets
delivering show and tell
reading with Reception
giving out stickers
handing out cool class tokens
writing certificates
speaking in assembly
reading the class novel
and much more..It was great to see some of the 8 Rs for Learning being put to use:
responsibilities
risk taking
being ready
remembering
being resourceful
The children did such a good job at taking over these roles with maturity, and a sense of humour, which is always a bonus!
It’s the end of our Explorers topic this week and we’ve spent time reflecting on what we have learned.
This morning, we met with our Year 1 friends to discuss the topic. We looked at each other’s topic books and talked about the different learning. Next, we looked at some specific skills which we might have used during the topic (e.g. comparing and contrasting, teamwork, problem solving) and found pieces of learning which evidenced these skills.
The children were questioning each other about their learning.
“Tell me about this work. What did you find out?”
“Explain this learning to me.”
“Would you like to do any of the activities again and why?”
Have a look through our photos showing how we celebrated our learning.
Our Living and Learning theme this half-term is Identity. The children will learn about their rights and responsibilities, what makes themselves and others special, valuing the similarities and differences between themselves and others and what is meant by community.
Our lesson last week focused on how we are all the same and how we are all different.
We began with a discussion using the sentence stems
“I am different to… because…”
“We share some similarities in that…”
This then lead us to our activity. Using a Venn diagram, the children worked with a partner to compare similarities and differences. This sparked off some very interesting discussions.
“My partner and I are the same because we both have a religion. However, we are different because those religions aren’t the same.”
We always start our Living and Learning lessons by reading the rules that the children set out for every session.
Yet again, Year 4 produced some amazing, creative homework. The children were asked to use their knowledge from den building at school and produce a piece of work relating to this. During our homework review, we looked closely at each other’s work and then gave some feedback as a group.
“Nayaab’s was beautifully presented.”Zidaan used natural and man made materials for his model.“I love the fire outside Maggie’s den.”CosyA great attempt at drawing a 3D den.“Eliza has made a den. She didn’t need many materials.”A well made hideout.Fun fun fun“Kirsten’s den looks like it’s on a relaxing beach.”
Linking in with our current Big Topic, Explorers, Year 4 have been thinking about shelters and dens. These, of course, are an absolute necessity when exposed to the elements!This morning, the children set to work on building their very own dens. Loaded with sheets, pegs, clothes horses and much more, the teams set to work.
Attaching the material to various supports proved quite a challenge.
“Best learning ever!”“We had to make decisions as a team.”
Having a shelter is important when you’re an explorer!
All the children worked well together and were able to overcome a few construction issues. As the dens started to take shape, the teams suggested improvements for their designs and compromised with their ideas.
The finished dens were stable, well constructed and fairly strong. However, all the dens were separate to each other so we decided to link them together.
Using tunnels and more sheets, the children successfully managed to join all the dens together, creating one big one!
Finally, the dens were complete!
“It was hard to get our den to stay up!”
Time to relax and read inside on some cosy cushions.
This week, Mrs Pearson had an abundance of apples falling from her tree in the garden. Rather than waste this delicious, fresh fruit, we decided to put it to good use.
Ready…
Steady…
Bake!
“We used the bridge method to slice the apple.”“We added some raisins to the apple.”“It is important to peel away from your hand.”“Tah dah! Apples chopped and ready!”
The children set to work washing, peeling and slicing the apples. It was lovely to see great team work. Reading the recipe as they worked, Year 4 were able to measure and weigh ingredients accurately.
After everything was put into the mixture and the pastry rolled and filled, it was time to put our creations into the oven.
Spicy aromas filled the air and after just fifteen minutes our apple turnovers were ready! Delicious
The children really enjoyed their own mini ‘Bake Off’.
Today, we visited The Forbidden Corner in the Yorkshire Dales. Around the gardens, we discovered a unique labyrinth of tunnels, chambers, follies and surprises. A great place to explore!
We had to work our way through the temple of the underworld, the eye of the needle, a huge pyramid made of translucent glass, paths and passages that lead nowhere, steep spiral staircases and narrow corridors. Around each corner, we found extraordinary statues. At every turn, there were decisions to make and tricks to avoid. This was a day out with a difference that challenged and delighted the adults and children alike.
Year 4 were an absolute pleasure to take out for the day and thoroughly enjoyed their day of exploration.
Take a look at a few snapshots from our adventures.
Golden sand glistened in the sunlight, while waves gently danced upon the shore. High in the sky, seabirds drift on a warm, salty breeze.
Sounds perfect – doesn’t it?
All is not as it seems!
Seating beneath a towering, palm tree, Mr Owen wonders how on earth he is ever going to get off this solitary, desert island.
Bright and bold, the piercing fire ball blazes down on his sore, aching back. It blinds him, making him feel weak and weary. As the marooned, skeletal man clambers to his feet, a familiar scent of the salty sea catches his nose, reminding him of home. The endless fish and chip suppers he would enjoy with his treasured family, just a memory away.
Surrounded by water but not a drop to drink, Mr Owen decided to take action. He HAD to escape this unforgiving paradise!
Year 4 to the rescue!
Your task is to build a raft that is stable, secure and can float. You must ensure you choose your natural materials carefully and use your expertise to bind the sections together. Not only that, you will need to ensure that your raft will float. Test it when complete and use five marbles as cargo.
Time is running out! You HAVE to rescue Mr Owen!
After planning a raft, Year 4 selected their materials and set to work.
The children were able to secure their models using techniques such as winding, weaving, knotting and sealing.
“It was quite tricky to make sure that things were tied together.”“We tried to choose materials that were close to nature.”
“Mission complete. Time to see whether our raft floats.”
Next, it was time to see whether the rafts would float and be able to take a certain weight. To make this a fair test we all used five marbles. We checked for balance, floating and sinking. It was a very windy day yesterday, which meant that we could also test the sails on the rafts. Mr Owen may encounter a storm or two on his journey home.
“Our raft floated. I know this because the weight of the marbles did not make it tip or sink.”“It was clear that as we added a marble at a time the raft became unbalanced and began to tip.”“If we made another raft we would put some sides on it. It was clear that the rafts with sides floated better than those without.”“This was great fun and now we can rescue Mr Owen!”
It was great to see some of the 8 Rs for Learning being put to use:
