Assembly
Thank you to all who attended our assembly today.
The children have worked hard to prepare for this and have practised speaking with confidence and volume.
The song was chosen by the class and was great fun to learn! Well done to all!
Class Conscience Alley
During our Living and Learning session today, we created a thought tunnel which is also known as a ‘Conscience Alley’.
A ‘Conscience Alley‘ is a useful technique for exploring any kind of dilemma faced by a character, providing an opportunity to analyse a decisive moment in greater detail. The class forms two lines facing each other.
The children take on two contrasting viewpoints to provide a tunnel of thoughts for the character to travel through. The character then walks between two rows of children (the alley). Each side offers alternative advice representing the conscience of the character. At the end of the row, the character has to make a decision based on which side was more convincing.
We linked this activity to our class novel ‘Robinson Crusoe’. Here is the dilemma faced by the stranded explorer.
‘After weeks of believing he was alone, Crusoe spotted footprints in the sand. These were much larger than his own. Was there human life on this desert island? Considering his safety, Crusoe turned the idea of following the footprints around in his head. Was it a risk worth taking? His life could be at stake!’
As Robinson travelled through the alley, he was offered advice to aid his decision. He was given suggestions for going and for not going.
Here are just a few of the suggestions.
“Don’t go it may be dangerous.”
“You must explore these footprints they could help you.”
“I suggest you go but take your weapons.”
“It would be good to go as there may be food.”
“This is your one chance to freedom. You must go.”
“It’s not a good idea.”
“It could be dangerous!”
“I think you need to risk it. It may be a survivor from the ship.”
Robinsoe Crusoe decided it was a risk he needed to take. It may be his way off the island.
After-school clubs – it’s not too late to sign up
Our Autumn term after-school clubs start next week for 8 weeks.
We do have some spaces available so please contact the office if you would like your child/children to take part.
Clubs on offer include hockey, multi-sports, multi-skills, dance, gymnastics, cookery, Lego Club and Code Club.
School Savings Club dates for paying in
The School Savings Club paying in sessions for this year are at 3.15-3.45pm on the following dates (the penultimate Thursday of each half term).
- 12 October
- 07 December
- 01 February
- 22 March
- 17 May
- 12 July
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.
Information will shortly be sent home about the accounts and if your child would like to open account, please enquire at the office. There is an extra incentive for pupils in Year 3 as Leeds City Council will add £10 to your child’s account.
Explorers
This week, we’ve become explorers as part of our new big topic. Explorers is a geography driven topic that will see us embark on a journey round the world. Year 4 are all aboard and we have set sail on our adventure. Along the way, we are likely to encounter a few tricky situations! Luckily, as a group, we decided on the necessary items required to survive.
Let our journey begin.
First of all, navigation was at the top of our list.
We set to work looking at atlases, maps, compasses, globes and directions. In class, we studied paper maps and compared them to how we navigate our way today. Ask your child how they remember the points on a compass.
It was fascinating to find a location on a map and then on Google Earth. Year 4 navigated their way around the world looking at places of interest.
Working with a partner, the children could identify and name such things as: rivers, mountains, settlements, famous landmarks, continents and more.
A few children also set to work on a jigsaw of the United Kingdom. Working with Mrs Charlesworth, they looked at the names of regions and counties within our country. Sadly, one piece was missing!
After all that travelling, we were exhausted!
Time to relax in our very own dinghy.
Stay posted for the next part of our exploration.
It may get bumpy!
Homework
Ever wondered what it would be like to be shipwrecked on a desert island? Well, we have!
Our homework was a creative one.
I can show what I think it would be like to be Robinson Crusoe.
This homework was designed to whet children’s appetite for our new class novel, which we started to read this week.
Robinson Crusoe was a man who was shipwrecked on a desert island. For this homework, we wanted children to imagine they’ve been shipwrecked with no technology, just some basic tools.
- What would they do first?
- What would they need?
- How would they survive?
How would they try and contact home or get off the island?
Well, the children certainly got creative. Using the ideas above, we saw some fabulous ideas with such attention to detail.
We enjoyed looking at and commenting on each other’s work. Take a look for yourselves.
Practice that feels like play!
Practice that feels like play! Does this sound beneficial for your child? Have a look at IXL. It’s an online tool where you can access different activities to help your child practise basic skills.
It’s split into year groups, specifically looking at English and Maths, then each subject is broken down into sections. You can get a flavour of the activities by hovering over the title and can have a go at some of them – it looks great fun and very child friendly. The questions are all interactive and there are detailed explanations for new concepts.
There is a small monthly fee if you wish to sign up. Take a look – it might be something you want to explore.
Ukulele
Year 4 have started to learn how to play the ukulele.
The whole class are thoroughly enjoyed these weekly sessions, and so far have really impressed the music tutor. The children have begun to learn some of the basic notes and finger positions. They will, in time, go on to playing songs.
What’s that coming over the hill?
Is it a monster?
Continuing on with our text focus, Orion and the Dark, we have had fun creating our own monsters.
First of all, the children were asked to describe their monster. Using different parts of the body we were able to create a bank of adjectives. Using these, the children went on to create some expanded noun phrases. Here is an example of how we set this work out.
- ears noun
- wrinkly ears adjective noun
- wrinkly, old ears adjective adjective noun
- wrinkly, old ears that can hear a pin drop extra detail
- My monster has wrinkly, old ears that can hear a pin drop. full sentence
Then, it was time to get creative. The children sketched their monsters first. After this, using clay, we set to work. Children had to select tools needed to make patterns, cut, flatten and decorate their models. When complete, the models were baked and are now on display in the classroom.
Below, are a few pictures of the children at work.
Key Stage 2 tuck shop
Our fruit tuck shop returns next Tuesday, 19 September. The tuck shop is available for Years 3 – 6 at playtime every Tuesday and we regularly sell over 100 portions of fruit every week.
The cost per portion of 20p remains the same this year and children can either pay weekly by bringing money on the day or take advantage of our pre-payment offer of one free week per term.
Please return the prepayment reply slip by the end of the week if you would like your child to have that option.
Here are some quotes about our tuck shop from the recent pupil health questionnaires.
- ‘It is excellent as you get a range of different fruits.’
- ‘I think tuck shop has yummy fruits.’
- ‘You are selling healthy stuff which is good for us.’
- ‘You don’t feel hungry during lesson time.’
- ‘I really like it as it is a nice healthy snack.’
- ‘It’s very good and keeps our school healthy.’
- ‘You get to have fruit at a low price and it helps you to have one of your 5 a day.’
