Year 3/4 new class novel
Next term, Year 3 and 4 will be diving into two class novels.
The first will be a Fighting Fantasy novel, which is the title given to a series of interactive books, also known as gamebooks, that were developed by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. This book will certainly be intriguing and memorable because the children’s participation and the choices they make directly affects the outcome of the story!
The second will be Akimbo and the Elephants, written by Alexander McCall Smith. Here’s the blurb for a sneak peak:
Ten-year-old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is eager to help him whenever he can—even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations.
In Akimbo and the Elephants, ivory poachers are killing grown elephants for their tusks and leaving the calves to die. When the authorities fail to turn up new leads, Akimbo sets out to save the elephants by posing as a hunter himself.
Northern Lights
Our idea for calendars this year, is based around The Northern Lights.
Since the beginning of time, people have told stories and legends to explain natural, but mysterious occurrences. The Northern Lights is one example. The Vikings thought the Northern Lights were caused by the shining weaponry of immortal warriors. The Alaskan Inuit people believed the lights were the souls of salmon, deer and other animals. The Menominee Indians thought the lights were the torches of giants living in the North.
Following a session finding out the facts, we set to work on designs for our calendars. I was amazed how much the children understood about the phenomenon of The Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights are actually caused by electrons from solar winds. They are attracted to the poles by the magnetic fields found there. They mix with gases in the atmosphere, causing the gases to glow. Solar flares can also cause the Northern Lights to appear.
Using chalks and smudging techniques, some great design began to emerge. The children chose colours carefully and mixed these to create a vision of light.
The finished gallery.
Cultural Creative Homework
Here are just a few of our creative homeworks from this week. It is great to see how proud the children are of their religions and cultural experiences. One homework, in particular, really had us engrossed and we were keen to learn more. One child came into school loaded with two very special cakes which are a part of a celebration held yearly in France.
Kings Day is also known as the Epiphany and takes place on January 6th. It’s the day the Three Kings are said to have presented their gifts to Jesus.
On this day, the three Wise Men arrived from the East, guided by the Star of Bethlehem, bearing gifts for the divine infant. In France, it is on 6 January that the Wise Men figurines in the nativity scene are placed around baby Jesus; in the lead up to this date, they were either hidden or being gradually moved closer and closer to the stable. French people also celebrate the Epiphany by eating the “galette des rois” (Kings’ cake) ceremoniously!
The cake is eaten most traditionally in northern France and is a flat round cake with an almond/butter filling called frangipane. The tradition is to bake a trinket or bean inside the cake. It’s called la fève in French, which means broad bean. That’s because originally they always baked a real broad bean inside the cake. Now the trinket is also called la fève.
Whoever gets the slice with la fève is King or Queen for the day. They’re given a golden cardboard crown to wear all day long. Their duty as king or queen is to buy or make the next galette des rois!
Other homeworks included:
- a Scratch project
- a cultural game
- places of worship
- rules for religions
.
Party
Just a quick reminder that the children can bring party clothes, in a carrier bag, into school tomorrow. They can put on their dancing shoes after lunch and get ready to strut some moves!
Reading in Chapel Allerton
‘I respect my communities and other communities,’ has been the focus of our Living and Learning sessions this week. In class, the children discussed what the community means to them. They were given the start of a sentence and were then asked to complete it, making sure they included reasons for their ideas.
My community is important to me because …….
I know that different religions are celebrated in my community because……
I think that our community is………
We would like to see more ………………
I show respect to my community and others by …………
Moortown community is ………………….
Some of the children walked down to the Chapel Allerton community to visit a new children’s bookshop.
Set in the heart of Chapel Allerton, The Little Bookshop is Leeds’ only independent children’s bookshop. Opening its doors in October 2017, The Little Bookshop is a place to explore literature and illustration with your child. With regular story times, author events and a cafe serving up fresh and wholesome food we hope you’ll have an experience in the shop that embodies the joy of reading for your family.
As well as visiting another local community, the children were able to enjoy what the bookshop had to offer and enrich their love for reading. The children enjoyed selecting some books that were linked to our next big topic – Life.
It was great to see those children then sharing the books they had returned with, with the rest of the class.
If you are ever stuck for something to do, then why not pay a visit to ‘The Little Bookshop.’
Coffee and cake available too!
Road Safety Pantomime ‘The Gift of Life’
Yesterday, all pupils watched this lighthearted show that delivered important road safety messages.
Pupils joined Santa and Rudolf as they travelled back in time to prevent young Neil Downe from being knocked down. Whilst being fun and interactive, the pantomime covered the following road safety themes:
- the Green Cross Code
- seat belts
- be bright, be seen
- safer cycling
Ask your child about the performance and what messages they took away.
Cross Country qualifier
Congratulations to Grace in Year 6 who finished 6th in the Year 6 girls Leeds East North East Cross Country race at Cardinal Heenan school last week to qualify for the Leeds final next year.
Well done to all children who represented school in traditional cross country weather. For some of the children, this was the first time they have taken part in a competitive event and spirits were still high despite the weather.
Homework with a differencce
Following our whole school themed week this week, Who do you think you are?, children were asked to consider the following statement by showing what they have learnt.
I know what community is.
As a guide, children could think about these aspects.
- What is community?
- Where is their community? Children could consider their school community to local community to wider community. Moortown Community Group has lots of information about our local community.
- Who is in their community? Children could consider visits/visitors during our themed week.
- Why is community important? Children could consider the terms ‘identity’ and ‘diversity’ discussed during our themed week.
How can we be a good citizen in our community?
We were absolutely delighted with the high standards of homework this week. The children had thought of the most ingenious ways to create their homework. As we moved around in the classroom, celebrating everyone’s efforts, sounds such as, “WOW! Look at this! How did they think of that? This is such a great idea,” could be heard.
A great deal of respect is always shown by the children in Year 4 especially during homework celebrations.
One particular piece of work that stood out to both adults and children alike was a song with a difference. Kirsten had used the famous Christmas song, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, and changed it to ‘The Twelve Days of Moortown Community‘.
It was superb! So much so, we just had to all sing it!
The Twelve Days of Moortown Community
By Kirsten
On the first day of Christmas in my community, we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the second day of Christmas in my community,
Two helpful brownies,
And we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the third day of Christmas in my community,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the fourth day of Christmas in my community,
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the fifth day of Christmas in my community,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the sixth day of Christmas in my community,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the seventh day of Christmas in my community,
Seven lights switched on,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the eighth day of Christmas in my community,
Eight St. Gemma’s collectors,
Seven lights switched on,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the ninth day of Christmas in my community,
Nine local Councillors,
Eight St. Gemma’s collectors,
Seven lights switched on,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the tenth day of Christmas in my community,
Ten librarians lending,
Nine local Councillors,
Eight St. Gemma’s collectors,
Seven lights switched on,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the eleventh day of Christmas in my community,
Eleven mince pie servers,
Ten librarians lending,
Nine local Councillors,
Eight St. Gemma’s collectors,
Seven lights switched on,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
On the twelfth day of Christmas in my community,
Twelve families rejoicing,
Eleven mince pie servers,
Ten librarians lending,
Nine local Councillors,
Eight St. Gemma’s collectors,
Seven lights switched on,
Six neighbours giving,
Five brilliant teachers!
Four policemen saving,
Three fire fighters,
Two helpful brownies, and we sang Christmas carols by the tree.
An amazing selection of such super homework – I’m sure you’ll agree.
Comments from the children included:
“So much to choose from.”
“Enas, has celebrated her religion.”
“I love the drawing of the school. It’s a great idea!”
“WOW! Our whole class put together as little people in a box.”
“Such detail in Oliver’s work.”
“Celebrating all the local places of worship is really thinking about the community.”
“We were blown away by this week’s homework! Keep up these high standards and be proud of yourselves. WELL DONE!” commented Mrs Freeman, Mrs Charlesworth and Mrs Pearson.
Cheesy scones
Today, Year 4 went back to the kitchen. On the menu were cheesy scones.
Listening carefully to given instructions is always important – especially when using sharp knives and hot ovens.
All the children used skills they have been taught before. These included:
- accurate weighing and measuring
- grating
- mixing
- kneading
- rolling and cutting
- and, of course, washing up
The scones smelt and tasted delicious.
Packed lunches
On Monday, Caitlin Kitson, Nutritionist and Healthy Eating Adviser, delivered a whole school healthy eating assembly. The main focus was the importance of healthy packed lunches.
We talked about the different food groups on the Eatwell Guide, why different proportions of each food group are important for our bodies and how to achieve this in a packed lunch.
It was great to hear the children’s excellent knowledge of the Eatwell Guide when answering Caitlin’s questions.
At Moortown Primary, our packed lunch guidance includes:
- information about the different food groups
- how to put together a healthy, balanced packed lunch
- links to recipes and ideas for healthy packed lunches
Following the assembly, all children were given a copy of our packed lunch guidance and the Eatwell guide.
As an alternative to packed lunches, school meals, including a vegetarian option, are prepared daily in our kitchen and children are offered a choice of main courses and desserts. Children select their main meal choice at the start of the day. Catering Leeds provides food which meets national Food Standards criteria. School meals can be combined with packed lunches.
Free school meals are available to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. They are also available to some older children according to family income. It’s important to register for entitlement to free school meals, even if your child has a packed lunch or is in a younger class – this is so we can receive additional funding (called the pupil premium) which we can use to help your child.