Living and Learning: Me and My Community themed week St Gemmas visit
Year 2 visited St Gemma’s Hospice where they met Sarah who helps fundraise for St Gemma’s and Catherine, a senior nurse. The children represented Moortown Primary extremely well. As part of community week, it was wonderful to represent our community so well and learn more about local charities so close to our school.
Help at home: Ask your child what they learnt about St Gemma’s Hospice. Talk about the importance of charity fundraising and maybe visit one of the local charity shops to show your support.
Living and Learning: Me and My Community themed week Moortown Park
Year 2 got out in the community when they met Pat from Friends of Moortown Park.
Moortown Park is a lovely and peaceful small park in the middle of Moortown, giving everyone who lives there somewhere nice to go to relax, play, or walk their dogs.
Friends of Moortown Park organises local people as volunteers to help look after the park, including collecting litter, planting trees, and keeping paths clear. We made the little library for everyone to share books, and the herb garden so people can cut some herbs to cook with. We raised money to buy the lovely metal benches for everyone to sit on. We organised the trees for our community orchard, and we have put up lots of bird boxes and some bug hotels for our little friends.
All of these things make the park a much nicer place for everyone in the local community to come to, and they also help all the birds, bees, butterflies and other wildlife that live here. If we all respect the park by behaving nicely, not dropping rubbish, and looking after dogs, then it will remain a lovely place for everyone.
After visiting the park, we thought about what people can do to make sure they respect and look after the park for others to enjoy.
Help at home: take a visit to the park. Ask your child to show you some of the things Friends of Moortown Park have done to improve the park for its users.
Living and Learning: Me and My Community week Grandad Wheels
At the start of our Me and my community themed week, we had a visit from Grandad Wheels (Brian). Brian is a wheelchair user and an author too. We heard all about what it is like to use a wheelchair and he also retold one of his wheelchair adventure books.
It is difficult to do lots of things if you are in a wheelchair but you are still the same as others.
Brian’s arms get tired from pushing his wheels on his wheelchair.
There are lots of different types of wheelchairs.
I learnt that Brian damaged his spinal cord so he can’t feel his legs.
It doesn’t matter if people have a disability.
This visit helped the children to understand that there are different groups within our community including those with a disability.
We created our own crazy wheelchair designs and Brian came to look at them. He thought they had some great features.
There’s an extra chance to order any of the Grandad Wheels books including his new book to be published this week. All proceeds go to charity. Please contact the office to order.
Help at home: talk with your child about what help someone might need if they are a wheelchair user.
Living and Learning: Me and My Community themed week Diversity Role Models
We enjoyed our learning with Lindsey from Diversity Role Models which was all about embracing differences. First of all, we thought about what diversity means. It means being different.
Using the text Odd dog Out, the children learnt how being different is a good thing. It is a good thing to be who you are. Be proud of you!
There was a key message of treating everyone with kindness and respect and include others.
Finally, we thought about what makes us wonderful and unique by creating our own odd dogs out.
Help at home: read the story again to think about odd dog out feels throughout the story.
Anti-bullying day and Odd socks day
We are biologists!
This half term, Year 2 have been busy learning all about animals including humans and what they need to survive.
We’ve learnt lots of knowledge about different types of animals and they all have the same basic needs – air, water, food and shelter.
Here is the key vocabulary we have been learning.
More recently, we’ve been learning about humans in particular and how humans need to keep healthy as well as having their basic needs.
Help at home – the BBC website has some great videos to summarise the different types of animals and their basic needs. Choose some to watch with your child to discuss this learning.
Pumpkin picking
One of the community links for our Me and my community themed week, MHA Moor Allerton, are holding an open day next Tuesday 29 October 2pm to 4pm with pumpkin picking from their own pumpkin patch, refreshments and activities.
Me and my community week
Living and Learning: New school charity
Every year, we vote for a new school charity to support.
Our new charity will replace our current school charity The Children’s Heart Fund. Thank you for all the donations and support given to this great, local cause, including £180 for our recent Rob Burrow Connect Challenge.
As part of our Me and my community themed week, children will be considering the following shortlist of charities. Children should start thinking about these charities and be ready to share their views.
Action Against Hunger aim to save the lives of vulnerable people affected by hunger. Action Against Hunger fights hunger and malnutrition around the world, because no child should ever suffer or die from it. Stop hunger today.
No child should live in poverty. All children should have their basic needs met so that they can achieve their full potential in life. Give every head a bed.
Each class will vote for one charity which will be brought to the Junior Leadership Team who will have the final vote on Thursday 07 November.
It’s nearly time to elect our new junior leaders
We have recently launched this year’s Junior Leadership Team election process. Our Junior Leadership Team is one of the ways that children are encouraged to take an active part in pupil voice.
The election process allows children to develop an understanding of one of the British Values, democracy, with two representatives from each class, chosen democratically by their peers.
Here are some of the qualities our junior leaders think are needed to be an effective JLT member.
- use the 8Rs for learning
- be respectful and polite
- help others
- be a good speaker and listener (to members of your class and in the meetings)
- share and be confident with your ideas
- let others speak
- accept the views of others even if you don’t agree
- be friendly and approachable
- follow our school rules and make good choices in class and around school
This weeks’ whole school homework is all about the election and democracy, ready for the elections on Thursday 24 October. For children who want to stand in the election, they will have the chance to share their speeches in class on Wednesday or Thursday this week.
Well done to all our current junior leaders who have represented their class so well this year. Remember, you can stand again in the election.