Homework Heroes
Yet again, the homework in Y6 has been varied, delivered enthusiastically and worked hard on. We had drama, posters, videos, poems and comic strips. Here are some of many highlights. 
We know how to STOP bullying!
There’s an astronaut in Year 2!
Over the last couple of weeks, we have been focusing our writing lessons on the children’s book ‘Man on the Moon.’ As the title suggests, it is about a day in the life of Bob, a man who lives on Earth but works on the Moon.
All the children have been really engaged with this learning and we’ve even had a look at the first moon landing in 1969!
This week, the children thought about appropriate questions (using inferred events) they would like to ask Bob.
Is it cold on the moon?
Where do you sleep?
Do you enjoy your job?
Why do you need to wear a special suit?
We decided to see if we could send our questions to Bob. However, Bob is a busy man so instead he sent us a prop to help with our queries.
All the children were excited to try the suit on. 
Questions and answers
The children took it in turns to ask the astronaut a question and shake hands.
Learning and exploring through drama allows the children to be actively involved. It is a great way to spark imaginations and creativity and this helps to build ideas for writing.
We even enjoyed a spot of moon walking!
Writing: taking on a character
We’re going to write a character description of a pirate this week so, to get us in the mood, we got ourselves into character through some drama.
After a few warm-up games, we started to move around the room slowly, with big strides, like a clown and then we posed as different characters we read about last week.
We were Peter Pan.
We were The Evil Stepmother
We were Fantastic Mr Fox
We were Cinderella.
To get us into a piratey mood, we then thought about what our pirate was like and created scenes as a group of our piratey adventures.
We sailed across the seven seas.
We attacked any boats that got in our way.
Some fab drama from Year 4 who are now very much looking forward to writing their pirate character descriptions. Watch this space.
Living and Learning: My Community
We’re looking forward to lots of learning about identity, diversity and our community in our next whole school themed week, My Community.
Here are some key events taking place next week.
Living and Learning: Themed week
My Community themed week
As part of our themed week, next week, we would like the children to bring in something that relates to their identity. It might be a special object, toy, a photo of special people or a place or a memory from their life. If your child would like to take part, they should bring their item ready to show on the following days.
Monday 25 November Arctic Ocean
Tuesday 26 November Atlantic Ocean
Wednesday 27 November Indian Ocean
Thursday 28 November Pacific Ocean
Friday 29 November Southern Ocean
Thank you for your support.
Christmas themed menu
Catering Agency, our school meal provider, will be running a special themed menu on Thursday 12 December. Please contact the office, before 28 November, if your child would like a school dinner on this day (no action needed if your child normally has a school meal on this day).
Early Maths Workshop
Don’t forget our maths workshop tomorrow at 2.15 and 6.00. Find out how we teach maths in Reception and how you can support your child at home.
This will be followed by our maths ‘Stay and Play’ on Wednesday. You will be able to see how the children learn maths through play and ‘hands on’ experiences in the areas of provision.
Living and Learning: My Community themed week
Themed week – My Community
Our next whole school themed week, based around identity, diversity and community, will be taking place from Monday 25 November 2019. A variety of events and visitors are planned to help us deliver this key aspect of education.
Events and learning during the week will include looking at our own identity including belonging and self-esteem, diversity of people around us including race, age, religion, disability and gender. Classes will also be getting out into the community working with local organisations and taking pride in the local area for example by litter picking.
Active travel
We encourage children to get out in the community in an active way on their way to and from school, with prizes available as part of the themed week. By walking/scooting/biking to school, families will be keeping our community safer and healthier by reducing congestion at the school gate. Maybe even pick up a piece of litter on the way. Even by parking further away from school your child could then to do the final part of their journey by foot, bike or scooter. Bike and scooter storage facilities are available beside the Year 3 and 4 classrooms.
Email us (moortownoffice@spherefederation.org) a picture of your active travel, maybe by a landmark on your route to school, for the chance to win one of five £10 shopping vouchers. Entries to be submitted by Friday 29 November 2019.
New school charity
During the themed week, children will be researching local, national and international charities and a new school charity will be chosen at the end of the week to replace our current charity, WWF. Children will have chance to consider and suggest charities in the upcoming whole school homework (Friday 22 November 2019).
Identity day
Friday 29 November 2019 will be a non-uniform identity day. Children are invited to dress in clothing that represents part of their identity, for example uniform from a club they attend, a team they are part of or support or traditional dress to represent their heritage. We invite a donation for the PTA Christmas fair.
SAVE THE DATE Community coffee morning Monday 25 November 2019 9-10am
As part of the week, we welcome parents and carers to an informal coffee morning to meet other members of our school community including representatives from the PTA, our governing body, Moortown Community Group and Friends of Moortown Park. There will be chance to hear about proposed plans for the new land to the rear of school. A whole school community Wake up Shake up will follow at 10am in the main playground.
Can you help?
Pupil feedback from our previous My Community themed week was to ‘learn more languages that other people speak’. Do you speak another language and would you be happy to speak to children about this? If so, please contact the office to pass on your details. Also, do you have any local community links that may support our week?
Our website and Twitter continue to keep you up to date with key community events as well as our community noticeboard with lots of information about the themed week too. It’s going to be a busy week!
Super Scientists
Year 2 have become scientists this week. As a class, we discussed the different types of a scientific enquiry; observation over time; pattern seeking; identifying, classifying and grouping; comparative and fair testing (controlled investigations); and researching using secondary sources.
Over our next few lessons, we will be following the children’s curiosity and the class will be taught to use the following practical scientific
methods, processes and skills:
- asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways
- observing closely, using simple equipment
- performing simple tests
- identifying and classifying
- using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
- gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.
Encouraging questions
To get our curiosity juices flowing, the children chose from a selection of pictures that provided a stimulus. This focus prompted the children to begin to ask questions. The class were encouraged to develop more ‘scientific’ questions that could then be turned into an enquiry. We created our very own ‘I wonder’ wall.
Having generated a lot of questions, we then discussed whether we thought the questions could be answered through scientific enquiry.
What could we do?
How could we find out?
I wonder what we will need?
Even though not all of the children’s questions lend themselves to being investigated, there are other ways of finding answers. Any remaining questions, that can’t be answered, we can use the internet or books to research solutions. After all, this is a valid form of scientific enquiry in its own right and demonstrates that all questions are valued.
Living and Learning: STOP bullying
This week, all classes have been learning about different aspects of bullying during national Anti-Bullying Week.
Thank you to those families who supported our Odd Socks Day on Tuesday, celebrating that we are all unique.
Classes have been considering the following during this week.
- Our school definition of bullying.
‘Bullying is when you hurt someone, physically or emotionally, several times on purpose.’
- Types of bullying – cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion and belief, special educational need and disability
- What to do if children experience or witness bullying. The key message is to tell someone (start telling other people)
STOP can stand for two key messages: the definition (Several Times On Purpose) and the solution (Start Telling Other People).
Our new child friendly anti-bullying policy has been launched this week and this was shared, by the four Year 6 authors, in assembly.
All classes have access to their class Living and Learning box or the whole school worry box where they can tell an adult any concerns about bullying or any other issues.
Please discuss this important learning at home (our whole school homework this week).
For further support, here are some resources and advice that can be found at…
- https://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/tools-information/advice-parents
- https://www.kidscape.org.uk/resources/
- http://www.bullying.co.uk/advice-for-parents/
- https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/news-blogs/get-involved-in-anti-bullying-week-2019-change-starts-with-us/
- https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/bullying-and-cyberbullying/keeping-children-safe/
- https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/types-bullying/
- https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/feelings-and-symptoms/bullying/
- https://esafetyoffice.co.uk/resources/