New class novel
This half term is the beginning of our new class novel. Year 3 voted for…
All Miaow wants is to enjoy his peaceful, solitary life as a temple guardian catching mice. But when the Jade Emperor invites all creatures on Earth to compete in the Great Race, the reserved cat finds himself reluctantly entering – and worse, socialising!
Spirited and fiery, shapeshifter Ming is Miaow’s polar opposite, and she’s determined to make him her new best friend. But she hadn’t counted on Miaow making other friends too. As the race heats up, things start to unravel… Can the pair (and their friendship) make it to the finish line?
Living and Learning: I know the importance of sleep.
Yesterday in Living and Learning, we talked about the importance of sleep. We were so impressed by their thoughtful and mature contributions as they shared their ideas about why sleep helps our bodies and minds. The children talked about feeling more energetic, happy, and ready to learn after a good rest.
Lu – I want to sleep because I want to grow.
Ha – If I don’t sleep enough, I get tired.
Ar – If I can’ sleep, I ask my Dad to hug me.
Ken – Sleep helps your body recover from things.
Ro – Sleep is important because it helps you recharge your brain.
Imo – Sleep gives us more energy.
Ka – Sleep is good for you because it makes you intelligent and good at writing.
Sal – It gives you lots of energy so you can grow.
Help at home: Continue the conversation at home by talking about bedtime routines and why a good night’s sleep is so important.
Living & Learning: Speak out. Stay safe.
This week is our second week on being safe in L&L. Today, your children learnt all about speaking out to stay safe with NSPCC.
We discussed children’s rights and the importance of the NSPCCs message of ‘Speak out. Stay safe’.
All children have the right to:
- speak out and have their views taken seriously,
- be kept safe,
- get help when they need it.
As part of this lesson, your children identified their trusted adults that they’d confidently ask anything to. We discussed the importance of having these trusted adults and why we should always speak out rather than bottling things up.
Alongside this, we spoke about how our trusted adults make us feel. Your children were really confident and comfortable speaking to their trusted adults about any worries or concerns.
Our Living & Learning box, in the classroom, is another way the children can speak out and write down any worries.
Help at home: visit the Childline website with your children (https://www.childline.org.uk/kids). Explore the games, interactive tools and age-appropriate advice.
Year 3/4 football final
Well done to our Year 3/4 football team who competed in the Leeds Well School Partnership final at the West Riding FA. The team worked together to play some great football including some fantastic saves from our goalkeeper. The children should feel extremely proud they qualified for this final along with the six other best schools across Leeds.
Summer term after-school clubs
The after-school clubs for this term will be starting next week, w/c 27 April, and we hope your child/children can get involved with our extra-curricular activities. Please contact the office if you have any queries.
The following clubs have availability and can still be booked.
Monday
arts and crafts Y1-3
skipping Y2-6
Young Voices singing Y3-6
Tuesday
table tennis Y3-6 last place
girls football Y3-6
Lego Y3-6 last place
Wednesday
Foot Tech games YR-3
dodgeball Y4-6
Thursday
netball Y4-6
Spanish YR-Y2
Friday
Spanish Y3-6
Geography – Explorers
This half term will be learning all about Geography and exploring the Amazon rainforest. The vocabulary we have been learning about is listed below.
We will be learning about deforestation, biomes and climate zones as well as parts of the rainforest. The children are really looking forward to this topic. This week we have learnt about the different biomes in Brazil and how they compare with biomes in the UK.
We found out that Brazil has lots more biomes than the UK. I wonder if your child could tell you why.
Help at home by reading more about the Amazon rainforest. Can you find out 3 interesting bits of information?
Rhinos Rugbees
The sessions will take place on Monday evenings at Kirkstall Training Ground from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. The cost is £2 per session.
Times Tables Rock Stars
This week, we have talked through how the children can access and use Times Tables Rock Stars. Login details are the same as for Numbots.
In Year 2, the children learn the two, five and ten times tables and these are the tables that have been assigned to the children. There will be division questions related to those times tables too.
Soundcheck is used in Key Stage 2 to check all the times table facts up to x12 so this isn’t recommended in Year 2 as the children haven’t learned these other times tables yet.
We encourage the children to continue to use Numbots too to help to secure their addition and subtraction number facts.
Another resource to support times tables and other number facts is Hit the Button. This is a great, fast-paced game and children can choose which times tables or number facts to work on during each game. This game is free to play online.
If you have any further questions regarding the resources mentioned, do not hesitate to contact us.
Summer 1: Week 1
Welcome back! We hope you all had a happy and healthy break.
This half-term, our topic is Life on Earth. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be learning about life cycles. The children will closely observe caterpillars to help them understand the four stages of a life cycle. We’re very excited for our tiny caterpillars to arrive!
Help at home: Use the story map sheet to help retell the story.
We’ve been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar and using story maps with actions to help retell the story. On Wednesday, the children created their own story maps, with some choosing to change parts of the story using their own ideas.
We’ve also made the most of the warmer weather by planting, going on bug hunts, and enjoying story time outdoors.
We’ve seen some fantastic independent learning during choosing time. The children have been highly engaged with the chilli challenges.
Tennis
Yesterday, we took part in a tennis session with Paul from Roundhay Tennis Club. The children had great fun learning new skills and using tennis rackets.
Reminders
- We will be adding new Phase 4 tricky words to your child’s phonics book. Please ensure your child brings their red phonics book every Thursday.
- As the weather gets warmer, children often remove jumpers and cardigans—please make sure all items are clearly labelled.
- Our final Stay & Learn session will take place next Wednesday at 2:15pm.
Home learning activity
Living and Learning – asking for permission/consent
This week, Year 3 have learnt about the importance of asking for permission and giving consent.
Asking for permission is important in many different scenarios…
- Asking to go to the toilet during learning time is important so that the teacher knows where I am if something happens.
- Asking to borrow something is important so that you are respecting another person’s belongings.
- Asking before taking a photo is important because someone may not want their photo shared.
- Asking before you step into someone’s personal space so that you’re respecting their feelings.
Help at home by generating more scenarios where you should ask for permission/consent.
In these scenarios, someone may say yes or they may say no. Saying no is acceptable and we must respect that!
When it comes to giving our own consent, we must remember that it’s always our choice.