Computing: Scratch programming
This half term we are improving our computing skills. The first few lessons have focussed on logical reasoning, including solving sudoku and number sequences. This week, we worked on using the Scratch program to create a Chatbot quiz. In our quiz we programmed the sprite to ask our name, respond with a greeting and then ask us a question. We were able to use the ‘if, then and else’ block to ensure that the right answer had a positive response and all other answers gave a different response.
We really enjoyed getting stuck in with the coding and we worked very well together with our partners.
Help at home by logging on to Scratch and letting your children experiment with coding at home.
World Book Day!
After a particularly busy week for Year 5, it was lovely to celebrate World Book Day together! We started of the day with an assembly lead by Mr Wilks where we got to hear from teachers about their favourite book.
After Wake Up Shake Up we went to Year 2 to do some shared reading. The children were very kind and read wonderfully with their Year 2 partner.
After break, we took part in the BBC live lesson which was all about finding our reading vibe. Do you like adventurous books, funny books, fact books?
In between these times, we talked about the books we have enjoyed as well as listened to teachers share their favourite books. We also completed some activities on Authorfy and explored new and exciting authors.
Help at home by sharing your favourite book and talking to your children about what they love about reading!
Cross country
We’ve had two cross country events this week.
First of all, it was the final Saturday morning race at Middleton Park. Well done to all of the children who have taken part in the four races held across the year and for parents who supported at these events.
On Tuesday, five of our Key Stage 2 children represented Leeds at the West Yorkshire cross country final at Temple Newsam in the glorious sunshine.
We are very proud of all our runners who raced in tough, competitive conditions, with the best runners from across West Yorkshire. They all put in 100% effort and were a great support for each other. The children should feel proud of competing at this level.
A special mention to our Year 5 runner who finished 10th place out of 151 runners and has now qualified for the national cross country final later this month. One of our Year 4 runners narrowly missed out on this qualification by two places.
Thank you to parents who helped with transport and supported at the event.
Writing: Francis
This film is perfect at building tension: the narrator uses pauses and varies the speed at which he speaks in order to build the suspense. As well as speech used to create tension, the music also plays a key part in creating suspense.
Help at home: Watch the video with and without music. How does this alter the tension created?
Forest School
Today the second half of Year 5 got out to Forest School. They were very excited to get out there this afternoon.
Last half term, the first group experienced making dens, building fires and just enjoying being outside and the second group have been doing just the same!
Foot tech Y5/6 event
This week, thirteen of our Year 5 and 6 children took part in the Leeds Well Schools Partnership Foot tech 3v3 football event at Bishop Young Academy.
Our teams played lots of games against other schools during a very active morning. 3v3 matches allow the children to get more touches, passes, dribbles and tackling in a very fast paced environment.
Well done to all of the children who worked hard in their teams and represented our school so well.
Foot tech currently run two of our after-school clubs and offer football training locally.
Change in PE day
Next half term Year 5 will change their PE days from Tuesday and Wednesday to Monday and Wednesday.
Therefore, the first day back at school (23rd February) will be a PE day.
Thank you and have a lovely half term break.
Living and Learning: Safer Internet Day
On Tuesday it was Safer Internet Day. The theme for this year’s national Safer Internet Day is ‘Smart tech, safe choices – Exploring the safe and responsible use of AI.’
Our first lesson was about misinformation, disinformation and hoaxes. The children were given 3 news articles to analyse and summarise. They then had to share this information with their friends over message. What they didn’t know is that these articles were hoaxes (false information made to deceive people). I shared this information with them on purpose (disinformation) and they had then shared it by accident (misinformation).
Year 5 discussed how we must be critical users of the internet to make sure false information is not spread to affect others.
I would check different websites to see if the information was correct.
I would check for spelling mistakes and other errors.
I would look at the URL to see if it is a safe and reliable website.
It’s really important to always speak to a trusted adult if you’re unsure about something you read online.
We spoke about our conduct online as well. We know that we need to be respectful, responsible and kind in all our online interactions. Essentially, we need to treat people online with the same respect we would to their face. If we hear or read anything that upsets us we need to report it to a trusted adult.
Help at home: Can you think of at least 4 pieces of personal information that we should keep private? How can you be critical users of the internet?
Basketball half term holiday camps
There are the last remaining places available on these half term City of Leeds Basketball Club holiday camps held locally at Allerton High School.
School dinner menu
After February half term, we start our new menu which runs to the end of the year. It can be viewed here. Please review this with your child to help with their selection at the start of the day. We continue to offer meat free Mondays.
The cost of a school meal is:
- children in Reception, Years 1 and 2: this is free because of universal infant free school meals
- children in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6: £3.05 for children in Years 3 to 6
Payment should be paid in advance on the Arbor app. We’re happy to accept payment for the week, month, half term or term. We prefer two weeks’ notice to change lunch arrangements.
All children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 receive free school meals. If your child is in Year 3 to Year 6, and you are on benefits or a low income, your child may be eligible for free school meals.
Some people like to choose a mix of school dinners and packed lunch for their child – that’s absolutely fine, as long as it’s a the same pattern of school dinners and packed lunches every week. Just let office staff know which days you’d like to opt in for a school meal in the week, and which days you’d prefer to provide your child with a packed lunch.
We continue to gather feedback from children on our school meals.
If you have any feedback, please do get in touch.