Welcome back
Welcome back and Happy New Year!
We’d like to thank you for all the lovely Christmas gifts and cards.
This term is set to be yet another busy one filled with exciting learning.
‘What’s the Matter?’
This will be a Science based topic. Matter makes up our physical universe. The children will learn about the matter on Earth, which exists in one of three states: solid, liquid or gas. We will study how the state of some matter can be changed and reversed.
Reading
A lot of our reading activities will cross over and link to our class novel. On a Friday, the children will have a ‘Reading for Pleasure’ session. Each group will continue to be heard read from a guided book, focusing each week on a different skill necessary to aid comprehension and fluency. It is very important that your child had read to the given target page each week. During this session, we encourage the children to bring in a book from home. They are welcome to keep this in the reading area for others to enjoy should they wish to.
Maths
Multiplication, division and fractions are all on our maths agenda. Alongside this, there will be daily counting and times tables practise. It is an age related expectation, in Year 4, for all children to be able to recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12. (aim for rapid recall within five seconds)
How can you help?
Talk about maths every day! We use our English skills on a daily basis but sometimes maths is confined to school maths lessons. Talk about the time, chant tables and pose challenges that encourage your child to become more fluent in maths.
Living and Learning
Each week we will have a specific focus for our sessions. The lessons are delivered in various different ways. These can range from a circle time or a forum, to a drama based activity. We begin with a focus on ‘Manners.’ (not interrupting)
I don’t interrupt (with my hand or my hand)
Following this, we link the theme with our mini-topic – What’s the matter? Problem solving and showing how we can make things better, being the focus.
Please feel free to pop in should you have any questions or queries relating to your child or their learning.
Living and Learning
- Drug, alcohol and tobacco education (DATE)
- Keeping safe and managing risk
Here are the weekly Living and Learning statements, for this half term, to support this learning.
- I don’t interrupt (with my mouth or my hand).
- I can make things better.
- I know what a drug is.
- I know how to seek help.
- I make safe choices, including online.
- I can assess my own risks.
Keeping active
As part of our commitment to being a happy and healthy school, we’re always looking at ways to increase our pupils’ physical activity both in and out of school.
The government’s childhood obesity plan has set out the ambition for all children to achieve 60 minutes, or more, of physical activity every day (30 minutes in school and 30 minutes outside of school).
In response to this aim, we’ve compiled a physical activity guide suggesting out-of-school physical activities available to families in our local area.
The information on the guide is correct as of November 2018. Keep an eye out on our news and class news pages where will promote any new activities throughout the year.
We’d love to hear feedback about any activities you or your child try based on this guide.
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.
