Cross country success
Following the recent Leeds North East Cross Country Festival at Cardinal Heenan, we are proud to announce that the following children have qualified for the Leeds final in February.
Year 3
Bridget (13th), Jake (5th) and Junior (20th)
Year 4
Billy (11th)
Well done to all the children who took part and good luck to our qualifiers.
Homework
Last week, for their homework, the children were asked to show what they know about something cultural or what they know about a specific festival.
Over the course of this term, some children in school have celebrated a religious festival of some sort. This might have been;
- the Muslim festival of Eid ul Adha
- the Sikh and Hindu festival Diwal
- the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, coming up in December
- the Christian festival (of course, celebrated by many non-Christians) of Christmas
- and the Chinese New Year festival, coming up.
We had some great examples of different cultures and festivals. Well done, Year 2.
Rugby at Allerton Grange
Last week, Y4 visited Allerton Grange to work with the sports leaders there. We took part in a range of activities designed to develop our skills in tag rugby before having a go at some tag rugby games. We really enjoyed the session and are going to try to re-create these activities at school so that we can continue to get better.
We practised passing the ball and moving:
We learned about passing the ball to each other and trying to intercept:
We tried to receive the ball in the air before the other person got it:
We tried to steal each others’ tags before they got to the other side:
We tried to get the ball to the try line with another team stopping us from getting through:
Takeover Day
Today, it was Takeover Day so the children took over Year 2!
Some children got to:
- do the warnings chart
- give out cool class tokens
- lead the
spelling test - say 321 and stop
- read a story
- take the lunch orders
- take the register
Takeover Day
Today, it was Takeover Day so the children took over Year 4!
Some people got to:
- do the warnings chart
- give out cool class tokens
- do the times tables test/ spelling test
- say 321 and stop
- serve lunches
- write certificates
- do the register
- lead guided reading group
And Betty and Amrit M wrote this class news post.
Maths and Science using Skittles
Today, the children have continued with some scientific enquiry learning. First of all, they were given a bag of Skittles with a question; can we collect any data about these sweets?
We could sort them into colours.
I think that we could count them.
After grouping the sweets, the children completed tally and bar charts to showcase the data collected.
Next, came the BIG QUESTION!
What do you predict will happen when we add water to the Skittles?
I think the Skittles will turn white.
The water will be brown.
The sweets might dissolve.
The colour will melt.
Using simple equipment, we arranged the Skittles around the edge of the plate and then poured warm water into the middle. We observed closely as some amazing changes happened. 
Well done Year 2!
Wellbeing Advent Calendar
In Y6, were always thinking about ways to be mindful. We’ve been completing these small activities for 5 or so minutes every day to look after our wellbeing.
Kirsten said, “It’s nice to let your mind relax for a few minutes.”
Packed lunches
At Moortown Primary, our packed lunch guidance includes:
- information about the different food groups
- how to put together a healthy, balanced packed lunch
- links to recipes and ideas for healthy packed lunches
This week, our packed lunch guidance will be emailed to parents and carers and sent home to children who have a packed lunch in school.
Packed lunches should be in a secure named container. No sweets are allowed – instead, we encourage lots of fruit or vegetables. Water is available on all tables for children who choose a packed lunch. However, your child can bring their own drink in a non-breakable container – please avoid fizzy drinks.
Change4life provides lots of ideas for healthy packed lunches including suggested swaps.
As an alternative to packed lunches, school meals, including a vegetarian option, are a great choice and are prepared daily in our kitchen. Children are offered a choice of main courses and desserts and they select their main meal choice at the start of the day. Catering Leeds provides food which meets national Food Standards criteria. School meals can be combined with packed lunches.
Free school meals are available to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. They are also available to some older children according to family income. It’s important to register for entitlement to free school meals, even if your child has a packed lunch or is in a younger class – this is so we can receive additional funding (called the pupil premium) which we can use to help your child. Please check if this is something you might be entitled to.
Figurative language
Y6 have been reading poetry this week, all to do with winter.
We’ve been learning about figurative language and the precise choices of vocabulary that the poet used.
We’ve learnt about similes and analysed their effect on the reader. 
Living and Learning: Takeover Challenge Day
Takeover Challenge is a fun engagement project which sees schools and organisations across England opening their doors to children and young people to take over adult roles.
It puts children and young people in decision making positions and encourages schools and organisations to hear and act upon their views and ideas. Children and young people gain an insight into the adult world and schools and organisations benefit from a fresh perspective about their work.