Ready to learn
It’s the summer holidays and, in line with our homework policy, there is no formal homework set over the six-week break.
That doesn’t mean that your child won’t be learning! We learn all the time – and so do children, whether it’s through play, day-trips, independent reading, discussions at home…
And of course, you’ll be keen to support your child at home so the basic facts aren’t forgotten. Please think about key English and Maths knowledge that you can gently practise over the holidays:
- number bonds: knowing pairs of numbers that add to make ten, like 3+7=10 and therefore 10-7=3). When your child is secure with pairs that total ten, can they extend this knowledge to pairs which make 20 (13+7=20, for example) and 100 (such as 30+70=100) – make this fun by using some sweet treats or how about stringing ten loom bracelets on string and then hiding some and making the link with the ones that are left (how many are hidden if you can see three bracelets?)
- times tables: Year 2 children should have an emerging knowledge of the 2 times table and the 10 times table at least, and children who have just finished Year 4 should know all their times tables (up to 12 x 12) and the division facts, too (7×8=56 so 56÷7=8) – think about chanting some times tables or buying an app to practise just a few minutes every day to keep your child’s knowledge sharp!
- reading: lots of reading over the holidays will help your child in lots of different ways – visit the local library; take part in our Extreme Reading competition; if you’re going to a theme park or museum, read the leaflet and the website… there are loads of opportunities to build in reading as a daily activity!
- writing: reading will help your child’s spellings and writing style, so don’t force lots of writing, but do try to encourage some useful, purposeful writing – write some postcards to friends and relatives , or send some emails instead, and make lists for what to pack on holiday, or what to buy if planning a sleepover.
Check out this guide about supporting learning, useful whether it’s term-time of holiday time!
Finally, make sure you enjoy the summer break!
10 minute shake up
Change4Life and Disney have teamed up to help your kids have fun and move more this summer. Sign up for the 10 Minute Shake Up Pack and you’ll get a FREE stopwatch, fun activity cards, Disney themed wall chart and stickers – all inspired by your kids’ favourite Disney characters!
The 10 Minute Shake Up games are a fantastic way to help your kids get the recommended 60 minutes or more of physical activity they need every day. Being active helps your kids maintain a healthy weight and helps their heart and bones stay healthy. Visit the 10 Minute Shake Up Zone for loads of fun game ideas.
Inspired by the Tour de France?
What an amazing spectacle the Tour de France has been this weekend.
If you have been inspired to get on your bike then next week we are having a bike, scooter and walk to school week alongside our Staying Safe week.
Each day this golden lock will be placed on a random bike or scooter, in our storage area. If it is your bike or scooter you will be the lucky winner of a £20 voucher, kindly donated by the Chapel Allerton branch of Edinburgh bicycle cooperative.
On Wednesday, from 8:30am, Edinburgh bike cooperative will be visiting school for a Dr bike event. Children who bring their bike to school can have a free bike maintenance check to ensure their bike is in its best condition. Edinburgh bike cooperative will be with us all morning checking bikes and also providing bike maintenance sessions for Year 5 so they can maintain their own bikes.
Would you like to explore cycle routes across the city? Leeds City council have produced a series of local cycle maps. Additionally, Go:cycling offer a range of free cycling services.
Tour de France
After going to have a look at the amazing bikes at the front of school…
Year 1 wanted to find out some more about the Tour de France.
- ‘Did the first race start in France?’
- ‘Why is it so long?’
- ‘What colours will the bikes be?’
- ‘How many people will be part of the Tour de France?’
- ‘Why are girls not allowed to ride?’
- ‘Who is taking part this year?’
- ‘Who won the Tour de France last year?’
So we decided we needed to ask the experts: Year 4.
Year 4 came to teach us lots of facts and information from their Tour de France topic. They had even written quizzes and made leaflets for us to take home. Thank you Year 4 – you were great, well-prepared teachers!
Oh we did like to be beside the seaside.
Year 1 and 2 donned their sunhats, sun-cream and flip-flops for a day on the beach last week and oh what fun we had!
Once we arrived, we set off on the long downhill trek to the beach and settled ourselves on the sand to have a play and eat our lunch.
Unfortunately, a particularly vicious seagull stole Mrs Maqbool’s sandwich!
After lunch, it was time to get ourselves wet and have a paddle. We all had a great splash around and then had a quick change as the tide was coming in.
Once we were all dry, we moved the other side of the beach where the tide wasn’t in yet and where the ice-cream van was parked. Everybody had an ice-cream with a flake. The most popular flavour was mint-choc-chip whilst the teachers favoured cinder toffee. Yum!
It was a beautiful day and we were all sad to have to leave the beach to climb up the hill to the coach again to head back home. I don’t know about Year 1, but Year 2 were surprisingly lively all the way back home. Hopefully, they were then tired out for bed at the end of the day.
Farewell to Nothing
Today, we said farewell to Nothing by having a celebration of the time he has spent with us. There were party games and food and a chance for the children to say a message to Nothing before he left to return to his family.
- ‘Hope you have a nice time with your family.’
- ‘Hope your family look after you.’
- ‘I hope you have enjoyed visiting our school.’
- ‘I’m sorry that you are leaving.’
The children have thoroughly enjoyed the Nothing project and have shown great understanding and learning.
- ‘I know we don’t pick things up and eat them.’
- ‘We need a healthy diet.’
- ‘There are things we need and things we want.’
- ‘Don’t talk to strangers.’
- ‘All medicines are drugs but not all drugs are medicines.’
Thanks for coming to visit us, Nothing.
Seaside sing-a-long
Year 1 have been getting in the mood for our upcoming seaside trip with a seaside-themed singing session. A sailor went to sea, sea, sea is one of our favourites and Mia even taught us the clapping rhyme to go with the song – great partner work.
Our new SEAL theme for this half-term is…
…’Changes’.
We begin the half term with a focus on manners: I use good table manners. Adults in school, including lunchtime supervisors, will be looking out for children who show good table manners – not talking with their mouth full and using their cutlery correctly. What other table manners can you think of? Ask your child to add their suggestion to their class SEAL box.
Following this, the Changes theme aims to equip children with an understanding of different types of change, positive and negative, and common responses to change.
It aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of living and learning: motivation, managing feelings and social skills.
The key ideas and concepts behind this theme are:
- Change can be uncomfortable, because it can threaten our basic needs to feel safe and to belong
- Change can also be stimulating and welcome
- Both adults and children can experience a range of powerful and conflicting emotions as a result of change – for example, excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, loss, anger, resentment
- Worries about change can be made worse by uncertainty, lack of information, or misinformation and lack of support from others
- People’s responses to and ability to cope with change are very variable, and might be influenced by individual temperament, previous experience of change, and the nature of the change – chosen or imposed, expected or unexpected, within our control or out of our control
Some children may welcome most forms of change and dislike routine and predictability. Other children may find even small changes very difficult.
Within school, children, who are coping with or have undergone significant change, are supported in a variety of ways:
- Our positive ethos within school
- Support systems, from staff and peers, for children who have undergone change or who maybe new to the school
- SEAL and circle time sessions where children feel safe to talk about their feelings
- Class SEAL boxes for children to record any concerns
- Preparing children wherever possible for planned changes for example, a change of class teacher, Key Stage or even school
Roundhay Football Tournament
The Roundhay 7 a side tournament is well under way. The Year 5 team have a win and a draw from their first two games!
Nothing (or little Toby)
Year 1 had another visitor this week. It was Nothing.
Nothing is the main character in the book we have been looking at in our SEAL lessons. When his family move house and leave him in the attic, Nothing becomes lonely and afraid. Helped by big Toby, Nothing is reunited with the rest of his family at their new house. We have used the story to think about how Nothing might have felt and how the children might feel if they were in similar situations, developing empathy skills. The children can certainly recognise a wide range of emotions.
‘He might have felt uncomfortable,’ suggested Pia.
‘When he was reunited Nothing would have felt brave,’ Ethan thought.
We invited Nothing to visit our class and this week the children were so excited to meet him. Making sure Nothing felt safe and welcome in the class, we introduced ourselves.
As part of the project the children will be taking Nothing home overnight and we will continue to look at how to look after Nothing – what might he want but more importantly what are his basic needs.