A busy week!
This week has been very busy and very hot.
The children have enjoyed the new playground and spending time learning outdoors.
Our theme this half term will be ‘Journeys’. We have been thinking about the types of journeys we take and how we get there. Please send photos of any journeys your children make-even if it’s just walking to school!
Literacy
We are reading the book ‘The train ride’ and writing about where we would like to go on a train.
Phonics
We are still learning to blend and segment words with 4 or more letters. The children are all attempting to write a sentence and using full stops and capital letters.
Maths
This week’s focus is doubling.
The children have learnt that double means ‘twice as many’. They have been building doubles using real objects and mathematical equipment. 
Please remember to send children with a sunhat and apply suncream as we are making the most of this sunny weather.
Keep sending those ‘wow’ moments and any questions to:
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
New playground and some mindfulness
Today, Year 1 were able to enjoy using our new front playground equipment.
After expelling all their energy, the class settled down to some calming mindfulness exercises. For children, mindfulness can offer relief from whatever difficulties they might be encountering in life. It also gives them the beauty of being in the present moment.
Below is a link for you to enjoy some mindfulness techniques with your child.
Mindfulness Meditation for Kids | BREATHING EXERCISE | Guided Meditation for Children – YouTube
Design & Technology: Eggy needs help!
To kick off their last ever half term (!), Y6 are beginning a design and technology journey!
We had an urgent message from someone asking for our help…
We took a look at our new vocabulary and decided how confident we felt as a class.
- red = I’ve never heard this term before and have no clue what it means!
- amber = I’ve heard of it but wouldn’t be able to fully explain.
- green = I’m super confident about this word in a DT context!
Here are the definitions! Get practising!
Finally, we explored the materials for our project which includes tools, such as a hacksaw and hand drill, and materials, such as wood and cork.
Here’s what we thought:
- “I’m excited for the making stage,” said Leo.
- “I’m excited to work in a group and cooperate with people,” Safiya-Mishal beamed.
- “I’m excited to see what other people make!” Musa said.
- “I’m excited to plan it because it’s going to be fun to draw what it will look like,” explained Alishbah.
- “I look forward to designing Eggy’s car because it’ll give me a lot of ideas and I’m creative,” said Pollyanna.
- “I’m excited to use the tools because they look so interesting. I’ve not done it before!” enthused Joude.
- “I can’t wait to test it to see if the egg will fall out or if my car will stay intact!” said Moh.
- “I’m looking forward to everything!” exclaimed Daisy.
Maths: fractions
This morning, we’ve been recapping what we know about fractions.
Ask your child about the following things:
numerator, denominator, equal parts, unit fractions, non-unit fractions
Computing: Promgramming
Year 2 were amazing at programming a simple story using the programming app, Scratch Jr.
Living and Learning: Drugs
During our last living and learning sessions, Year 2 have been learning about drugs. Over the course of two sessions, we identified what can make people feel better if they are not feeling well. The children were able to explain that medicines come in different forms and are used in different ways. We recognised that some medicines, such as vaccinations, can help prevent illness and disease and that some people need to take medicines every day to help them to stay healthy. Finally, the children identified who helps people to stay healthy and what they do.
TTRS tournament winners (wb 24 May)
Hello again to all of the Times Tables Rock Stars out there,
Well done for all the engagement with TTRS you’re doing so far – keep it up!
BREAKING NEWS:
The results are in. We have our ROCK STARS OF THE WEEK.
With an outstanding 1470 points, this week’s winners are Y3!
Y3 have been able to reclaim the top spot in TTRS for this week. A well deserved victory.
A special mention for the efforts of Hafsa in Y3. She was able to accumulate the most correct answers out of anybody in the school. Congratulations, Hafsa!
Which class will claim the coveted guitar next time? Will it be your class? There’s only one way to make that happen – go on TTRS!
Remember to give your teacher a nudge as the week goes on if you’ve not yet had a chance to play on TTRS. If you’d like to play at home and would like a reminder of your login details, let your teacher know.
All the best TTRS!
Living and Learning: I know some drugs can be harmful.
This week, Y6 have been learning about helpful and harmful drugs.
We thought about what young people might be saying to each other about taking drugs.
There are many reasons why people take drugs: some are helpful and legal like paracetamol. Some are unhelpful and illegal like cannabis.
We discussed and ranked certain influences on us in the form of a diamond nine.
Lots of us said that friends might be an influence – we called this peer pressure.
“Peer pressure is when your friends are all doing something and they try and force you to do it too, even if you don’t want to,” explained Jess.
We discussed certain scenarios, like the one below.
There are different ways of dealing with pressure and one is the best way. Can you work out which from these definitions?
We practised our assertive responses in each situation. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do and you can be polite but firm about it.
You could say:
- No, thank you.
- I’m not interested.
- My religion doesn’t allow it.
- I don’t want to. Thanks!
- No thanks. I’m going to go home now.
Finally, we evaluated the most important thing that we’d learnt in this session.
Well done to all Y6 for a mature and thoughtful conversation.
Writing: editing, improving and presenting
We’ve been busy writing a story inspired by Michael Rosen’s poem, Chocolate Cake.
The children have worked really hard and produced some of their best writing this year.
In today’s lesson, they edited their writing for mistakes and improved it. They then chose whether to present it by writing it up on paper with illustrations or typing it using a word processing app on an iPad.
L&L: drugs
In our living and Learning lessons we’ve been learning about medicine and drugs.
We learned that it can be very dangerous if you take medicine that isn’t for you. We also learned that it’s really important that you take the correct amount (dose) of your medicine. Because, if you don’t, it may make you ill. We also talked about how and where to store medicines safely so that they’re out of reach of small children.
We learned about all the information that you can find on a medicine label:
- name and type of medicine
- possible side effects
- where and how to store it
- who the medicine is for
- how much to take
- safety warnings
- ingredients
- expiry date
Finally, we looked at some medicine safety scenarios and considered what the person should do in that scenario and how they should stay safe.
Things to do at home:
When you have some medicine for your child, look at the label and talk about the information on there.
- Can they find their name?
- Can they find the dosage details?
- Where do you keep medicines in your home?