Class News

Y5 assembly

Thank you very much for attending the Y5 class assembly this week – I know Miss Rushbrooke was really sorry to have missed it.

Here are a few of your comments:

• “Well done. Could hear them all. Most informative.”
• “Wonderful speaking and great percussion.”
• “Great debate and very informative.”
• “Fantastic! Great confidence!”
• “Loads of great facts showing how much they’ve learnt.”

15 October 2015

We have really enjoyed our dance lessons this half-term. Here we are hard at work performing one of the dances we have been learning.

We have started a new class novel, Five on a treasure island, which ties into our Holidays Big Topic. Why not ask your child what has happened so far in the story?

We’ve been busy building dens!

What a great morning we had today! I discovered that Year 1 are marvellous den-makers! They concentrated so hard on securing the tricky zip ties, worked fantastically in their teams and persevered despite the occasional collapse! After building the dens, the class enjoyed their milk inside them and then voted for their favourite. This activity fitted in well with our Holidays Big Topic as we are looking at camping holidays this week.

This afternoon, we began writing a recount of our time building dens using time openers (first, then, next, after that, finally etc). Support you child at home: Ask your child if they could tell you a recount of their morning making dens using some of these words.

Leeds Children’s Mayor update

Unfortunately Ahmed, our entry for the Leeds Children’s Mayor competition, wasn’t successful in reaching the final twelve.  With a record number of entries this year, thirty six, all entrants were congratulated on their efforts.  Well done, Ahmed.

‘We really appreciate you taking the time to enable your Year 6 children to take part and that having your Year 6 think “big” about changing the city and their local community was an interesting citizenship activity for them.’

The Leeds Children’s Mayor project provides pupils  with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and understanding about democratic processes and being an active citizen, promoting this aspect of ‘British Values’.  All pupils are encouraged to take part in the election itself by reading the manifestos of the final twelve and casting a vote for their choice of the next Leeds Children’s Mayor.

Please note that voting goes live at 12pm on Tuesday 13 October and closes at 12pm on Thursday 05 November. The winner of the election will be announced on 9th November by the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Councillor Judith Chapman.

Let’s have a debate

Having focussed on the River Amazon for the last couple of weeks, we spotted areas of the forest that had been chopped down and discussed what was happening.

We learnt that this is called deforestation and there are pros and cons to it. After learning about why people chop trees down and how they benefit as well as exploring what damage it does to the local and global environment, we formed teams and debated.

Should deforestation be allowed to happen?

Yes – Local people earn money from selling wood that is chopped down and they need that money to pay for food and shelter.

No – Cutting down trees cuts down animals’ habitats and might lead to them dying as they have nowhere to live.

Yes – Trees can be cut down sustainably so that only a couple of trees in one area is destroyed and older, rotten trees can be targetted.

No – But trees that are cut down damage many trees around them.

Yes – Any trees that are cut down can be replaced by newly planted trees so they’ll grow back.

No – Maybe so. However, it takes years for these trees to grow back and they’re never the same as they were.

It was difficult to decide which was right or wrong as we could always argue back with another point!

What’s happening in class?

Here’s an overview of what Year 5 will be learning in class in the two weeks running up to half-term.

Topic – Alongside learning about Brazil and seeing how it is similar/different to our country, we’ll be getting creative by looking at Brazilian art and picking up our saws and drills for some woodwork.

Help at home by looking at Brazil on Google maps, finding mountains, rivers, neighbouring countries and then do the same for the UK. 

Maths – Fractions will be our focus all the way up to half-term. The children need to understand equivalent fractions, order fractions by finding a common denominator and they need to be able to add and multiply fractions together.

Help at home by joining in with Practice Makes Perfect homework. Ask your child to explain how to solve fraction problems to you as though you’ve never heard of the word fraction before.

English – Having focussed on writing promotions last week, we’ll continue this and write our own promotional text for a boat trip up the River Amazon. This will be followed by writing recounts.

Help at home by looking at the language used in adverts and read it to each other in your best ‘M&S voice’. Have a meal where only ‘writing talk’ is allowed. Everything you say must be in full sentences as though you were writing it down.

Phonics learning in Reception (and at home!)

At Moortown Primary, we follow the ‘Letters and Sounds’ programme.

At the moment, we’re focussing on Phase 1 where children learn to identify alliteration and rhyme which will pave the way for the systematic learning of phonics.

The children are taking part in lots of activities where they listen attentively to sounds around them, such as sounds in the environment and to sounds in spoken language. Singing a wide range of nursery rhymes and songs and reading books to and with the children helps to increase the number of words they know – their vocabulary – and helps them talk confidently about books.

We’re also learning to ‘sound talk’. The separate sounds (phonemes) are spoken aloud, in order, all through the word, and are then merged together into the whole word: d-o-g = dog. This merging together is called blending and is a vital skill for reading.

Children will also learn to do this the other way around: cat = c-a-t. The whole word is spoken aloud and then broken up into its sounds (phonemes) in order, all through the word. This is called segmenting and is a vital skill for spelling.

All of this learning at the moment is oral (spoken). Your child won’t be expected to match the letter to the sound at this stage. The emphasis is on helping children to hear the separate sounds in words and to create spoken sounds.

Ways you can support your child at home:

Play ‘What do we have in here?’ Put some toys or objects in a bag and pull one out at a time. Emphasise the first sound of the name of the toy or object by repeating it, for example, ‘c c c c – car’, ‘b b b b – box’, ‘ch ch ch ch – chip’.

When sounding out, try to avoid the ‘uh’ sound – say ‘sssss’ rather than ‘suh’, ‘mmmmm’ rather than ‘muh’. This is to keep the sound as ‘pure’ as it can be so there’s no confusion with extra, unwanted sounds when blending and segmenting words.

Leeds Children’s Mayor

Every year, year six pupils in primary schools are invited to enter the Leeds Children’s Mayor programme. Pupils write a short manifesto saying how they would improve Leeds if they were the Children’s Mayor. The manifesto must be based on one of the 12 wishes for a more child friendly Leeds.

Our entry this year, titled safe and independent, is by Ahmed.  Here’s his manifesto.  Good luck Ahmed!

If I was Children’s Mayor of Leeds, I would like to create a system which would mean certain shops have a poster on their window that shows the child walking past that it is safe in there. This means that if the child is scared about someone following them or doesn’t want to be out alone they can go in there and know that they are safe. This also follows one of the ‘12 Wishes for a more child friendly Leeds.’ This wish says that all Children and young people can make safe journeys and easily travel around the city.’ This is what would happen if I was Children’s Mayor.

To continue this manifesto, I would like to highlight that I am a strong leader and, as an observant member of year 6, I can listen and see problems. Furthermore, I can use my supportive fellow students, friends, and family to find solutions to problems. Plus, I would like to think I am a kind and caring person. Also, my older brother is part of a group for children and young people who deal with issues regarding children for the whole of England so I have learnt a lot from him and have gained experience about how to deal with problems like child poverty and unhappy children.

I would also like to put in place a special council made up completely by children and chosen by children. I think this is important because, as kids, we know what is best for us and what we really need.  We should be able to make or at least have a say in the important decisions that concern us. Like my other point, this also supports the statement, ‘Children and young people express their views, feel heard and are actively involved in decisions that affect their lives’ and the fact that we will be allowed to participate and shape our lives according to decisions that we as children have made agrees with this wish. It also would mean the wish ‘Children and young people are treated fairly and respected’ is also fulfilled.

I hope I have the chance to become a candidate for Children’s Mayor for Leeds and I hope I am able to make a difference.

What’s on the menu in Brazil?

As part of the whole school Holidays topic, Year 5 and 6 have been ‘visiting’ Brazil.  Following some research about popular foods in this South American country , we’ve recreated our own Brazilian dish. This was taken from a recipe book donated by the Brazilian restaurant Cabana.  There is even a branch in Leeds if you’d like to try some more traditional Brazilian dishes.  Our dish was a vegetarian version of moqueca (fish stew).

Take a look at our food preparation and tasting.  Ask your child what skills they were using.  Maybe you’ll get chance to try this at home as a few children were motivated to cook this for their family at home.

• ‘I love it and my favourite part is the courgette.’
• ‘I really like it, especially the coconut milk.’
• ‘I really like the sauce.  This is new to me.’
• ‘It’s amazing – the best stew I’ve ever tasted.’

Playground fun