Best of British themed menu
Catering Agency, our school meal provider, will be running a special themed menu on Thursday 06 October: Best of British Autumn Favourites. Please contact the office if your child would like a school dinner on this day.
Where in Europe?
As part of our Where in the World? mini-topic, we’ve been learning about Europe: its countries, cities, capitals and the many things to see!
To learn this, we planned an inter-railing trip around Europe. We imagined we were going in August and planned our journey using the official inter-railing map. They were some things we had to do:
- visit eight places
- go somewhere near a mountain range
- go somewhere with a river
- go somewhere hot
- go somewhere cold
Once we’d planned our destinations, calculated our journey times and made sure we’d done all of the above, we used our research skills to find out what we could do in each place we visited.
Ask your child:
- Where they chose to visit?
- Why they chose there?
- What could they do there?
- Which country is______ in?
- Is that city a capital city?
Here’s some pictures of us in the early stages of planning our trip of a lifetime…
Autumn term school meals menu
Don’t forget our Autumn term menu is available to view on our website and is displayed on our dining room window. The menu, from our school meals provider Catering Leeds, follows a three week cycle. Have a look for the week ahead to make your child aware of what the daily meals are.
School meals continue to be free for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. If your child is in Key Stage 2, please check for eligibility for free school meals.
If your child would like to start having school dinners, please inform the office. A combination of packed lunches and school dinners is also available.
Sport England Primary Spaces award
You may have noticed some playground changes since we have returned to school. If not, ask your child to take you to the back playground and this is what you’ll see.
The installation of the MUGA (multi use games area), nets in the main playground and playground markings outside Year 5 are as a result of a successful application to Sport England under the Primary Spaces fund to help primary schools who have little outside space. We were awarded £30,000 to create a multi-sport area and our School Council were part of the decision-makers for the final designs.
The new facilities will provide vital facilities for curriculum PE and physical activity across the school day including playtime, lunchtime and after school. They have proved to be a hit in the first week back with children eager to use the new facilities and also watch (in a safe manner).
Thank you to Playscheme, the contractor responsible for the installation.
Welcome to Year 5!
We’re two days in to the new school year now and are starting to settle in to our usual routines. We’ve discussed some expectations for the year and are ‘ramping-up’ our learning.
We’ve already learnt lots across a range of subjects and even visited our school library (check out the pictures below). Each child now has a library book that they can (and should) be reading at home. We’re keen at Moortown Primary to ensure all children have a love of reading – you, and your children, will hear me talk about this a lot over the year! As it stands, our library session is on a Tuesday so children should bring their library book on this day (although I have advised them to bring it every day in case we decide to have a spontaneous read).
We’ve enjoyed a fantastic first two days and I can’t wait to watch each child develop and progress over the coming year. Stay tuned to enjoy the journey with us.
Last thing, if you have any questions, would like a quick chat about what we’re doing/how you can help at home/how your child is progressing, please do not hesitate to come and see me!
New SEAL theme – New Beginnings
As we start the new school year, our SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) theme focuses on New Beginnings.
We begin the theme with a manners SEAL statement, I can greet someone politely.
New Beginnings allows children the opportunity to discuss and reflect on how they or others may feel in a new situation or setting. This SEAL theme offers children the opportunity to see themselves as valued individuals within a community, and to contribute to shaping a welcoming, safe and fair learning community for all.
During the theme, the key areas of learning are empathy, self-awareness, social skills and motivation.
Through discrete SEAL lessons, circle times and across the curriculum, children will explore feelings of happiness and excitement, sadness, anxiety and fearfulness, while learning (and putting into practice) shared models for calming down and problem-solving.
New Beginnings supports the development of a learning community in each classroom where all members feel that they belong. Class contracts, produced at the start of the year, allow children to contribute to how they feel they can achieve a safe and fair learning community.
Does your child have a School Saving Club account?
If so, here are the paying in dates for this year (one each half term).
- Thursday 13 October 2016 3.15-3.45pm
- Thursday 08 December 2016 3.15-3.45pm
- Thursday 02 February 2017 3.15-3.45pm
- Thursday 23 March 2017 3.15-3.45pm
- Thursday 18 May 2017 3.15-3.45pm
- Thursday 13 July 2017 3.15-3.45pm
Children must be accompanied to the sessions.
If you can’t attend the dates, you can bring money to the office in a sealed envelope marked School Saving Club for the attention of Miss Hale.
Also, it’s not too late to open a School Saving Club account. Please ask at the office for an application form. 
As an added incentive for children moving to Year 3, their account will be credited with £10 once opened.
Heading to secondary school in 2017?
Pupils who have just finished Year 5 are due to go into Year 7, the start of secondary school, in September 2017. Parents will be able to apply for a place between 01 August 2016 and 31 October 2016.
All applications need to be made via the online application system. This site also contains a YouTube video giving parents a step by step guide to completing their online application. The online application form and the video will be available from 01 August 2016.
Parents will need a valid e-mail account in order to set up and create an account in the online system. Free computer access and help with setting up an e-mail account is available in Leeds City Council libraries and One Stop Shops. If parents need help applying online for a secondary school place they can come to one of the drop in sessions outlined below for support with their online application.
- Armley One Stop Centre – 13/10/2016, 10:00-12:00
- Beeston Library – 04/10/2016, 10:00-12:30
- Bramley Library – 11/10/2016, 12:00-14:00
- City Centre One Stop Centre – 10/10/2016, 11:00-13:00
- Headingley Library – 03/10/2016, 13:00-15:00
- Middleton Library – 06/10/2016, 9:30-11:30
- Seacroft Library – 12/10/2016, 10:00-12:00
- The Compton Centre – 07/10/2016, 11:00-13:00
- The Reginald Centre – 05/10/2016, 13:30-15:30
If you’re still having difficulty with completing an application online, you should contact the Admissions Team on 0113 222 4414 to access individual support including alternative methods of application if required.
Have a happy and healthy holiday
It’s the summer holidays at last, so there are no homework or spelling activities. Enjoy the holidays instead!
Does your child spend less time outdoors than prison inmates? A survey suggests three-quarters of children do, as the time spent playing in parks, woods and fields has shrunk dramatically due to lack of green spaces, digital technology and parents’ fears.
Research shows that playing outdoors promotes social skills, improves vision, reduces stress, increases attention span and provides vitamin D.
What healthy changes are you making?
Last week, our SEAL statement was I can make a healthy change.
It was great to hear all the changes that children were making and also encouraging their family to take part in.
Here are some examples from Year 3.
Children were also encouraged to travel to and from school on foot, by bike or scooter. The class with the most healthy changes and sustainable journeys were Year 5 with over 200 counters!
Here are some suggested healthy changes for over the holidays.
- Try tennis for free – these sessions continue monthly during the summer and are held locally at Roundhay Park tennis courts.
- Local leisure centres offer a range of holiday activities.
- Maybe you took part in the recent Sky Ride event and want to know how to maintain your bike? Halfords are running free bike maintenance sessions.
- The Little Gym is now open locally at the Moor Allerton Centre offering classes and summer camps.
- The Change4Life Sugar Smart app allows you to check levels of sugar in foods. How much sugar is in your snack? Is it time for a change?
- Change4Life and Disney have teamed up again with a 10 Minute Shake Up summer adventure, inspired by Disney Pixar’s Finding Dory.
We hope you have a happy and healthy active break.