Wake up Shake up leaders
Thank you to our KS2 WuSu leaders who have led our daily WuSu physical activity this term and taught us lots of new routines.
Thank you to Mrs Charlesworth who has helped to run our WuSu after-school club where they have created all of the routines.
Next term, we will be running a KS1 and KS2 dance /WuSu club which will lead into a dance festival after Easter.
Living Streets update
We are pleased to work alongside the Living Streets local Moortown group to support our aim for children to make healthy, active and safe journeys to school. Here is an update from the group.
A BIG THANK YOU!
Both Living Streets UK and Living Streets Moortown would like to say a big thank you for all the noticeable improvements you have helped to bring about on journeys to and from school this year:
• Reduction in parking in Allerton Avenue (which is access only for residents) and on the double yellow or zig-zag lines adjacent to the school
• Reduction in vehicles mounting the pavement near to the school
• Reduction in vehicles parked with engines idling
• Increase in the number of families opting to Park & Stride from M&S* when driving is unavoidable
* M&S has 200 free 2-hour spaces available and the short walk to school is much safer and more enjoyable with fewer cars passing through key crossing points on the routes to school (such as Allerton Avenue and the
shopping parade entrance & exits).
This is fantastic progress and with continued support from all the families at Moortown we’ll see further improvements in air quality, safer ‘vehicle-free’ pavements and more families choosing to make and enjoy active trips to school.
OUR CURRENT PRIORITIES
While all the improvements we have seen around the school gates are encouraging, there is still a lot to be done. Cars, vans and HGVs continue to be driven up footpaths and recently there appears to be an increase in drivers passing through the main M&S lights while the green man is on so please be mindful of this when crossing.
We are already campaigning to deal with issues like these and the great response we had to our recent survey of parents and carers has helped us to submit a feedback document to the ‘Connecting Leeds’ consultation – a proposal to improve bus and other sustainable travel options in Moortown. We recently met with a representative from the project and are hopeful that some of the suggested pedestrian improvements will be incorporated into the scheme which is due to be delivered next year.
THE YEAR AHEAD…
The Moortown Living Streets Group is still in its first year, but we already have some exciting plans for 2019, including a project to monitor local air quality as well as some great ideas to get Moortown moving!
➢ Register to get involved or receive news here
➢ Access info on walking to school here
Thank you once again for you support to date – it’s making a real difference and we’re keen for that to continue throughout the year ahead.
Season’s Greetings!
From everyone at Moortown Living Streets Group
E: moortowngroup@livingstreets.org.uk T: @moortownlsg
Living and learning: New Childline website – Speak out Stay safe
Staying Safe is one of our Living and Learning related themed weeks this year, taking place in February.
As part of the NSPCC’s Speak out Stay safe programme, Childline has launched a Speak out Stay safe website aimed at children under the age of 12. This provides age appropriate content on topics including: bullying, family, friends, feelings, school, abuse and staying safe. It also includes games and therapeutic tools for young visitors to play and express how they are feeling.
School Savings Club
The next School Savings Club paying in date is 13 December 2018 at 3.15-3.45pm.
If you’re unable to attend in person, please hand in any money to be deposited to the office in a sealed envelope addressed to Mrs Tiffany.
Paying in dates fall on the penultimate Thursday of each half term.
If your child would like to open account, please ask at the office. This is a great opportunity for children to begin to manage their own money and understand the importance of saving.
New school meal menu
Our new Spring/Summer school meal menu, starting from after February half term, is now available on our Meals page.
The menu has been created in liaison with Catering Leeds to ensure it meets the School Food Standards. We have also incorporated feedback from our school cook, pupils and parents/carers.
Pupils will continue to make their daily food choices at the start of the day to ensure they receive their first choice of main meal.
Online Safety
When using technology in class, Year 4 are always given a reminder of how to use the equipment safely and appropriately. Alongside these prompts, within other lessons, we also have some dedicated e-safety lessons.
On Wednesday, the children spent some time learning more about how to protect themselves whilst being online. We started by looking at some familiar images. The children were quick to identify these and speak, in detail, about what they were and the purpose they served.
Following this, the class watched an age appropriate, online film provided by the educational site, Thinkuknow.
The children answered questions from each other with maturity. It was very noticeable to see an improving awareness of the need to keep safe in the online world, just as much as you do in the offline world.
Question your child about this image.
Year 4 created their own acrostic poems linked to e-safety. 
Please refer to our own school website for further information on how to help your child stay safe in a world full of technology:
As teachers and parents, we’re aware of the ways in which the use of social media, online gaming and the internet have become part of young people’s lives. We embrace the educational and social benefits of these new technologies and encourage responsible internet use. We’re also increasingly aware of the potential dangers and opportunities for misuse these technologies offer. Key to promoting online safety is open and honest discussions about the sites we’re using and the ways we’re using them – keep the dialogue open with your children about their internet use.
Marvellous Magnetic Homework
Getting create with magnetism was the focus of last week’s homework. During our weekly review, the children shared their work with each other. Around the room, we were amazed by the creativity on show.
Phoebe began by making a pin magnetic. Then, she placed it on some bubble wrap and floated it on water. The magnetic pin span around as it connected with the Earth’s magnetic field and settled when it was facing North.
When will be your next Park Run?
Thank you to Richard Spencer (parent, chair of the PTA and Park Run race director at Roundhay Park) who came to speak to the whole school this afternoon about the great, free, weekly Park Run events held locally.
We were impressed by the number of children who have already completed a Park Run event with one pupil achieving over 100 runs!
All you need to take part is to register for your personal bar code that is used at the event to record your position and time for the run. ThePark Run event is not a race. You are only trying to beat yourself by achieving a faster time each time you do it.
There is no commitment to attend every weekend: just turn up with your bar code when you can.
The course is fully marshalled and so children are able to run round with others as long as an adult accompanies them to the event.
- Junior Park Run (age 4-14 years – 2km course) 9am every Sunday
- Park Run (5km course) 9am every Saturday
- Local courses include Roundhay Park, Temple Newsam and Bodington (Brownlee Centre)
We’d love to hear your Park Run achievements – let your teacher know!
What is our new school charity?
We support our school charity for a year and it is now time to change our current school charity, Make-A-Wish.
This week, each class, discussed a range of charities, researched by the children for their homework, and voted on one charity they wanted to put forward for the school councillors to decide on.
Here were the class choices:
The final democratic decision was made by a vote by the School Council and the winning charity for 2018-2019 is WWF. We will support this charity for one year.
What is a force?
This week, Year 4 have been introduced to their new mini topic – ‘Forces.’
Did you know that without forces our world would be silent and immobile?
The lessons began with the children recognising that everything on Earth is powered by forces, pushes and pulls which act on our bodies and the things around us. Forces make things move and stop moving.
Having discussed pushing and pulling, it was time to demonstrate these forces using our bodies. Working with a partner, the children created their own push and pull forces. Some were easier than others!
Magnetism
Magnetism is an invisible force. A magnet attracts or repels other items.
We discussed that magnets come in different shapes and sizes: horseshoe magnets (the ‘classic’ magnets we see in pictures!), bar magnets and round magnets.
Each magnet has a south pole and a north pole.
Opposites attract: this means the north pole of a magnet attracts (pulls towards) the south pole of another magnet.
Likes repel: this means that the north pole of a magnet repels (pushes away) the north pole of another magnet and the south pole of a magnet repels (pushes away) the south pole of another magnet. The children were amazed to learn that the Earth is like a giant magnet, and there is a magnetic field all around us. The Earth’s North Pole is also a magnetic north pole: a compass points north towards the North Pole because it is attracted by the Earth’s magnetic field.
Iron is magnetic, so any metal with iron in it will be attracted to a magnet. Most other metals, like aluminium, copper or gold, are not magnetic.
A magnet can move an object without touching it. True or false?
Using iron filings, we tested different magnets to see if this statement was correct.
This got us thinking about whether or not the size of the magnet had an impact on it’s strength.
The class were asked to work scientifically to explore this. Using different sizes of magnets and paperclips, the children made predictions, tested magnet, recorded their findings and were then able to decide if size made a difference to strength. One rule was that paperclips were NOT allowed to be joined!
The bigger the magnet, the stronger the force?
The children were not shown how to carry out the experiment. I was really impressed with how they set about testing the magnets. All around the room it was great to hear some fantastic, scientific conversations taking place. They will be studying their findings in our next lesson.
“Let’s work slowly and add one paperclip at a time.” Devising a systematic approach!
Here are a few magnet activities for at-home learning:
Visit the library and look for information books on magnets.
Investigate how many paper-clips you can pick up with different magnets.
Explore magnets: what do they stick too? What items are magnetic? This could be around the house or outside around your local environment.
Do you have any magnets around the house? What are they used for? Can you investigate different uses for magnets?
Find out about how electricity and magnetism are linked.
Make your own fridge magnets and decorate them in any way you like.