Happy New Year!
We hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are ready for a new term of learning.
We are looking forward to starting the year with a science mini topic, What’s the matter? before we go back in time with our history themed Time Travel big topic.
Don’t forget this half term it is our second class assembly of the year on Wednesday 11 January at 2:40pm.
Parents’ evenings are also later in the half term (Monday 06 February and Tuesday 07 February) but if there is anything you would like to ask or clarify, please do come and see us before then.
New SEAL theme…Good to be me
Our new SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) theme for this half-term, Good to be me, focuses on three main areas of learning:
- Self-awareness: feeling good about yourself, taking risks.
- Managing feelings: understanding feelings, and why and how they lead us to behave the way we do – particularly the feelings of being excited, proud, surprised, hopeful, disappointed, worried and anxious and standing up for yourself.
- Empathy
This theme explores feelings in the context of the child as an individual, developing self-awareness and helping the child to realise that it really is ‘Good to be me’. The theme is about understanding our feelings as well as considering our strengths and weaknesses as learners.
As part of our current science mini topic, What’s the matter?, children will also ask ‘What’s the matter?’ from a social and emotional point of view, understanding feelings and thinking about how they can solve problems.
The theme also links with Moortown’s Got Talent, our upcoming annual talent show.
The key ideas and concepts behind the theme of Good to be me are:
Building emotional resilience
Children need to become resilient if they are to be healthy and effective life-long learners.
Coping with anxiety and worrying
Worry and anxiety are major features in many children’s lives. Many children have good reasons to be anxious. Exploring worries is important.
Calming down
Although getting stressed, anxious or angry are important and useful emotions, sometimes these feelings can be overwhelming.
Assertiveness
The theme encourages children to become assertive – that is, able to recognise and stand up for their rights while recognising and respecting the rights of others.
Understanding feelings and how they influence behaviour
The theme explores the relationship between ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’ and the way each impacts on our behaviour. It looks at Flight or Fight rapid response to situations of threat and our responses to feeling threatened / under stress.
‘I respond to difficult situations in a positive way’ is the first SEAL statement for this theme.
Santa’s Setbacks
A big well done to all children in Year 2, Year 1 and Reception who have performed three fantastic shows this week. Even after many rehearsals, we’ve been very impressed with the children’s focus and enthusiasm. Here is the cast…
Thank you to all family and friends who came to watch. We hope you enjoyed the show.
Cookery skills
This morning, Year 2 had chance to develop their cookery skills while following a Christmas themed recipe.
We have recently been learning about instructions so we were able to identify some of the features of the recipe such as the title, what you will need, subheadings, numbered instructions and imperative verbs (bossy words to tell you what to do).
Can you identify the following skills and equipment that we used?
School Meals
Our school dinner menu is usually changed on a termly basis but this is now changing to half yearly. Our new menu will therefore be from February 2017.
When we return from the Christmas holiday, we will start on Week 3 of our current menu until the new menu is introduced.
Mathletics
Well done to children who, in recent weeks, have been awarded a Mathletics certificate.
We’ve not had any for a couple of weeks so why not log on and attempt some of the multiplication and division (our recent Maths learning) tasks that have been assigned.
While Mathletics is an optional activity to do at home, it’s a good way to reinforce learning which we’ve been doing in class.
Do let us know if you have any access or log in problems.
School Saving Club paying in session
Our next paying in date for School Saving Club account holders is Thursday 08 December 3.15-3.45pm. If you can’t make this date, the next one will be on Thursday 02 February at 3.15-3.45pm.
Children must be accompanied to the sessions.
Alternatively, you can bring money to the office in a sealed envelope marked School Saving Club for the attention of Miss Hale.
School Saving Club accounts can still be opened. Please ask at the office for an application form.
Children who are in currently in Year 3 will have their account credited by Leeds City Council with £10 once opened.
Physical activity – the facts
In August 2016, the Government released its Childhood Obesity Strategy. This document outlines actions which will address the rising rates of childhood obesity.
Yorkshire Sport Foundation have produced the following poster with statistics and key information from the strategy.
We continue to monitor and improve our physical activity provision (see our current PE Provision Plan (pe-and-sport-premium-2016-2017) and our previous PE Provision Plan (pe-and-sport-premium-2015-2016).
Packed lunches
Struggling for ideas for a healthy packed lunch?
Change4life have some great tips and easy to prepare ideas based on the Eatwell Guide.
Also make reference to our Packed Lunch Guidance.
Skittle Toy
This week, our STEM project has been to make our own version of a Victorian skittle game. The children were shown a big version at the start of the week and then had to design and make their own table top version. They have measured, sawn and drilled, solved problems, worked cooperatively to finish their toys. They have also written sets of instructions to tell others how to play the game.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to make a toy for every person so the children worked in pairs. If your child doesn’t bring the toy home, they’ll take home some of the left over materials so that they can make their own at home.
