Children’s Heart Surgery Fund
This week, Lauren from Children’s Heart Surgery Fund came to visit.
Children’s Heart Surgery Fund is our new school charity, voted for by the Junior Leadership Team, and we learnt all about their work and how our donations will support the charity over the next year.
Here are some of our Junior Leaders with Lauren.
We are Historians
History is the focus of our topic learning this half term. During this topic, we will be ordering significant events in our lives and we’ll be discussing them using historical vocabulary.
As the half term progresses, the children will discuss how significant things have changed over time: the food that we eat, the shops that we visit and how trade has changed.
This week, we will be ordering key events in our lives on a timeline, ordering events within living memory (the last 100 years) and discussing the key vocabulary past and present.
Help at home by talking about what shopping was like when you were younger. Have shops changed? How about the way you pay for things?
We are looking for someone (maybe a grandparent) to come into school to answer the children’s questions about how shopping and life in the 1950s is different to today. Please talk to Mr McGriffiths if you have someone in your family who would like to come into school in the next few weeks. Thank you!
PE superstars!
On Thursday in PE we had an amazing lesson! We got out lots of equipment and practised all the skills we had been learning this half term. We did balancing, jumping and moving. We were all very brave and very safe! Sorry the pictures aren’t perfect but they were moving too fast!!
We ended the lesson with our balance challenge. How long can you balance on one leg? We have got so much better at this over the half term! I wonder if you could practise at home!
Have an amazing break everybody and thank you all so much for the generous gifts and words of thanks. I will see you all in the new year!
Merry Christmas,
Mr McGriffiths
Living and Learning: Mental Health
Over the past 3 weeks we have been talking about our feelings and emotions in Living and Learning lessons. We met Maz, who had landed on this planet and wanted to learn all about different feelings. We were able to list lots of different feelings including: sad, upset, excited, shy, happy, worried. We acted out how our body’s would be if we were feeling these emotions to help Maz recognise his own emotions.
We also discussed how we would feel in different situations and that everyone can feel different emotions about the same thing. For instance, many of us would feel scared or worried in the dark whilst it made others feel calm and relaxed. I was very proud of the children for expressing their own individual opinion and being brave to say how it would truly make them feel.
In the final week we spoke about BIG feelings and how some big feelings are just lots of small feelings building up. We read the book Barbara throws a Wobbler and talked about what had happened to Barbara to make her so upset! Finally we spoke about how we could help ourselves if we felt some BIG feelings. We have an excellent breathing technique called finger breathing which helps us calm down. Ask your child about it.
Talking about feelings and knowing where and how to seek help for yourself or others is very important.
Help at home: We’ve talked about how people’s faces and body language can help us to understand how others are feeling. We acted out certain emotions in class. Try to have a go at home.
Lights Camel Action
We are getting excited to perform our Christmas production, Lights Camel Action, this week to three audiences.
Today is our dress rehearsal for the rest of the school followed by two performances to parents, carers and families on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The children have all worked so hard learning lines, songs and dances and we can’t wait to share it with you.
We hope you can join us.
We are artists!
This afternoon, we created our final print as part of our art topic. We had already created a background using tissue paper. We only used primary colours and overlaid the pieces to create different shapes as well as different colours. Inspired by Castle and Sun by Paul Klee, we created a design for our polystyrene sheets and then drew the design carefully on.
Today we rolled out our ink and precisely rolled the ink onto our polystyrene design. Then we pressed the design down onto our tissue paper background and rolled it flat with a dry roller. Finally, it was the moment to reveal what we had created. We were so happy with our final pieces, I think they all look amazing! I love the changes of colour, shape and pattern the children have made. Unfortunately, I was a little busy (and inky!) to capture photos of the process! However, I have included a photo of everybody’s final piece, they should all be very proud of themselves!
Help at home by talking to your child about their own piece of art and how they created it.
Maths – 2-D shapes
This week in Maths we learnt all about 2-D shapes. We learnt the names and properties of simple 2-D shapes and different ways we can sort them. Mr McGriffiths tried to trick by turning the shapes around and making them bigger and smaller but we were not fooled. We know that if a shape has 3 sides and 3 corners then it must be a triangle!
We also drew round the shapes to make different pictures on paper. This shape work carried on in our art this week where we used tissue paper shapes to create a background for our prints. We are very excited to see how they will turn out!
Help at home by spotting 2-D shapes at home.
DT food – banana sandwich
On Tuesday this week we headed over to the kitchen to make banana sandwiches. This is part of our DT food curriculum and the children will be making two further recipes over the course of the year.
First we had to choose our bread.
Then we chopped and slice our banana using the claw and bridge grip.
Next we spread cream cheese on our bread.
After that we arranged our bananas on top and sprinkled on some cinnamon.
Finally we ate it! It was delicious!
Help at home by talking about the cooking and maybe trying some cooking of your own at home.
Art – The Hepworth Gallery
Last Thursday, we had an amazing time at the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield. The children loved the gallery and were in awe of the size of not only the sculptures but the gallery itself. In the morning the children took part in a workshop where they explored parts of the gallery and drew some of the sculptures they liked. Then, they took their ideas back to the workshop room and did some printing. The children were so engaged and listened excellently to the workshop leader.
In the afternoon, we explored the gallery ourselves in small groups. The children were so excited and enthusiastic to examine the art and complete some careful drawings. Again they were extremely well behaved and a member of the public commented how well they had done!
Help at home by talking about the trip and exploring their artwork that they have brought home on Friday.
Living and Learning: new school charity
Every year, we vote for a new school charity to support and this week is the start of the selection process.
Our new charity will replace our current school charity St Gemma’s Hospice. An amazing £1500 has been raised for this great, local cause.
Whole school homework this week is to consider the following shortlist of charities.
The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund
The main objective of the charity is to enhance the quality of care and support available to babies, young children and adult congenital cardiac patients, who are treated at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, based at Leeds General Infirmary. https://www.chsf.org.uk
Zarach
We receive referrals through our network of schools. We deliver a bed bundle for every child in the household that requires it; this includes a brand-new Bed, Mattress, Duvet, Pillow, Bed Sheets, Pyjamas and Hygiene Kit. We work with local partners to include Food Parcels and, if needed, a school uniform. We can also mediate between families and their support services, as well as making referrals. https://zarach.org/
Leeds Hospitals Charity
To further any charitable purpose or purposes relating to the general or any specific purposes of Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust or the purposes of the National Health Service. https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk
Simon on the Streets
Objectives are to: 1) prevent and relieve hardship and need and distress amongst those who are homeless and rootless by the provision of practical and emotional support, in particular but not exclusively to those who are sleeping rough or who are unwilling or unable to accept existing provision; 2) educate the public concerning the problems of social isolation and homelessness. https://simononthestreets.co.uk/
Trussell Trust
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. www.trusselltrust.org
Mind (The National Association for Mental Health)
We provide information and support, campaign to improve policy and attitudes and, in partnership with independent local Minds, develop and provide local services. https://www.mind.org.uk/
The charities will be reviewed in class on Thursday 23 November. Each class will vote for one charity which will be brought to the Junior Leadership Team who will have the final vote on Friday 24 November.