Cycling and Buddies
Year Six have had a great week.
Monday saw many of the children continuing the cycle training that they started in Year Five. The instructors told me how impressed they were with the attitude and enthusiasm exhibited by the group. This made me very pleased. It’s always great to have such positive feedback! (Mr Roundtree was pleased to hear that Angel didn’t fall off this time!)
Many of your children have been buddies to the new reception children and have given up their lunchtimes to show their new friends the routines and expectations in the canteen and dinner hall. Again, it’s really pleasing to see how the class has volunteered to help out the new children and make their first day at Moortown a success.
Well done Year Six. You’ve made a fabulous start to being in the oldest age group in school.
Welcome to Year 3!
Hello and welcome to the Year 3 Class News!
It’s been an excellent start to the year and I’ve been really impressed by the children’s fantastic attitude to their learning. In the Class News this year you’ll find all sorts of information about what we’ve been doing in school.
Below are some information about routines in Year 3.
PE
PE is on Mondays and Fridays. Please make sure that children have suitable outdoor and indoor PE kits.
Reading
Reading this year is a little different to Year 2. The children will read with me once a week in small groups. At the end of this session, the children will be given a target page to get to by the next time they read with me. As the group are all reading the same book it’s really important that they don’t read past the target page! If the children have reached their target page they can read a different book from home or I can arrange for them to take home an additional book from school. During the week other adults will usually read with the children too. However, it’s really important that the children read at home with an adult as well.
Homework
The routine for homework is the same as in Year 2. It will be given out most Fridays and is expected in the following Wednesday. Children are expected to spend between 30 minutes – 1 hour on their homework. It should only cover one page of their homework book.
Tables and spellings
Tables and spellings are given out on Fridays and will be tested the following Friday. The yellow Learning Lists book has the spellings and tables listed in them. Children can practise for the tests in these books at home. They should be brought back into school each day so the children can practise in school and so that the new lists can be put in on Fridays.
Thanks very much for taking the time to read through the first post of the year. They won’t usually be as long as this one! If you have any questions at all or just want to say hello, please come and find me. If you can’t see me on the playground I’ll probably be in the classroom – just ask at the office for someone to show you where I am!
Welcome to Reception
Finally the start of school for Reception children has arrived! All the new children will be starting this week.
Here are some of the things you need to know this week.
Arrival
After the first day children need to arrive by 8.50 when the bell rings. Reception children don’t line up but please bring your child into the classroom to help them with their coat and to settle them. There will be different activities for the children and you to get involved with. We will play music when it’s time for parents to leave. (usually 9.20).
Hometime
Please wait at the gate of our outside area at 3.15. When we see you we will send your child out. Those children collected by Candystripe will stay in the classroom to be collected.
Bookbags
Children should bring their bookbag to school every day. Letters are put in the bookbags at the end of the day.
Clothes
In reception we like to go outdoors in all weathers. Please make sure that children come to school appropriately dressed and please label all your child’s clothes. Children often take their jumpers and coats off and either forget where they have left them or somebody else picks them up first. If it is not labelled it might not get back to them. Labelled clothes save a lot of time for us and anxiety for the children as we can quickly identify who they belong to.
Lunctime
Your child has a choice of packed lunch or hot dinners. Packed lunch children eat in the hall and hot dinners are served in the dining hall. Children are very well supervised and looked after. They have help to carry their tray and are encouraged to eat as much as they can. It would be very helpful if you could encourage your child to use a knife and fork before they come to school as lunchtimes can be very stressful for children who are not used to feeding themselves.
There will be more information to follow in the weekly newsletter and here on the website. Please don’t hesitate to ask questions.
We are very much looking forward to greeting you and your children during the coming week and can’t wait to get started on their learning journey at Moortown.
Welcome to Year 1
Wow! What a fantastic start to Year 1. The children have shown some great learning from the start and we are very excited to see how they are going to develop. Benjiman and Adwait have both shown how they understand their own feelings and those of others and Mia has already received a certificate for taking responsibility for her own learning.
Look out for all the exciting learning that is going to take place in Year 1!
Some things you need to know:
- children will need their PE kits on Tuesdays and Fridays
- book bags will be needed every day
- homework is sent out on Friday and is expected back on Wednesday
- spellings are sent out on Friday and need to be learnt for the following Friday
Look out for the newsletter which will be coming home soon. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please come in and see Mrs Maver or me, Mrs Weekes.
Looking forward to working with you and your children over the coming year.
Welcome to Year 4!
Hello parents, carers and pupils to the Year 4 blog!
First of all, I’d like to offer everyone a warm welcome. If you haven’t introduced yourself yet, please come up and see me soon.
Here you will find regular updates of all the fun and exciting things taking place in Year 4. We’ll have pictures, videos, quotes as well as examples of brilliant learning.
In addition, you will find a bunch of resources that I have come across which will further your child’s learning.
I’m really looking forward to the year ahead with what is quite clearly a lovely class of children and I’m certain that they will all enjoy and achieve along the way. Find out more about me in our staff interview.
Staying Safe themed week 26 September
We are looking for parents / carers who have a job related to safety.
If you can spare some time, during our Staying Safe themed week (26 September), to come in to talk to the children about how safety affects your work please speak to your child’s class teacher or leave a message at the office.
Thank you.
Hello from Mrs Hazell
Hello there and welcome to Year Six’s Class News, 2011-12.
It’s been an excellent start to the year with everyone showing a positive attitude to their learning. The children are already focused and committed to being the best they possibly can.
Here’s just a few reminders and some information to start the year off:
Reading
I read with every child in a small group once a week. Other staff in the class may read with them too, but it’s really important that children read at home as well. It doesn’t have to be story books – factual books, newspapers (children’s ones are available if you look), comics, magazines or websites are all good, too. This year, we’re going to be concentrating on understanding the meaning behind the words authors use and why characters behave and react as they do. You can help your child by asking questions about characters’ plots and settings rather than simply hearing them read.
Homework
Homework is due nearly every week, just like the rest of the school. It’s given out on Fridays and is due on Wednesdays. This gives children three evenings and two whole weekend days to do the homework, which should be plenty of time. At Moortown, we expect each piece of homework to take around 30 mins – 1 hour. This could be done in three 15 minute sessions or one long fun session. One of the Year 6 team will mark the homework and feedback to the children their stars (things they have done well) and their steps (things that need a little more work). This will either be done verbally or in writing.
Spellings
Spellings are given out on Fridays and tested the following Friday. Children should practise them by whatever works for them, but I recommend the tried and tested method: READ IT> COVER IT > WRITE IT > CHECK IT.
Times Tables
Each week children are asked to practise their times tables. By Year 4, children should know their tables, so by Year 6, they should be really quick and accurate with all tables (and division facts) up to their 10s. If your child isn’t up to speed, I can’t stress enough how important it is for them to spend more time practising. Children’s ability with number affects loads of their maths and times tables is a vital part of that. 5 – 10 minutes every day is perfect. Don’t forget division facts too.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to pop in and see me.
General information
PE will be on Thursdays and Fridays. Please ensure PE kits with outdoor trainers and pumps are in school on these days (or have them in on Monday and take them home on Friday every week!).
Show and Tell will be on Thursdays. Four children will be chosen each week to bring in something such as a certificate, a medal or a souviner. The focus will be on children’s speaking and listening skills. Encourage your child to prepare at home first by thinking about who, what, why, where and when (our five Ws).
Write away!
Did you know we have two published authors in our school community?
Year 3 parent, Emma Barnes, has a new book out for children called How (Not) to Make Bad Children Good. Aimed at 7-10s, it’s the story of naughty child, Martha, who is so bad that an Interstellar Agent, Fred, is sent to Earth to try and sort her out. Emma will be appearing at Waterstones on Saturday 24 September.
We’re all very proud that Carolyn Hazell, our Year 6 teacher, is also a published author. Her book, Pav the Plumber Saves the Day, is popular amongst our children, and a great resource in school to promote reading and writing. Our current Year 6 pupils are being inspired to write great character descriptions, and a former pupil described Miss Hazell as ‘inspiring’ as a teacher and writer.
Find and compare schools’ performance
The following information is an extract from a recent email from the Department of Education to schools. Parents / carers who need to consider what school their child should move on to after Moortown Primary might find it helpful. Please note that the most up-to-date 2011 exam or test results may not yet be available.
The Department for Education has launched a new web tool helping parents / carers find and compare local schools’ performance. It significantly improves parents’ ability to choose the right school for their child.
The ‘compare schools’ tool brings together a wide range of performance data in a single place.
Parents can find schools by name, keyword or location or browse via an interactive map. Each school has its own mini-site with a range of useful information such as spend per pupil and test and exam results. Parents can also compare their school with others nearby – or with any other school in England.
For the first time on the Department’s website, parents can:
- select the schools that interest them and compare performance side by side
- view a full list of schools in England and filter to find schools with similar characteristics
- use an interactive map to view local, regional and national averages for school performance.
For more information, visit http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/search