Pupil voice: School Council investing their library budget
- The Usborne Book of Fariytales and You Choose in Space by Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart (suggested by Reception)
- Meg & Mog Collection by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski and Geronimo by David Walliams (Y1)
- Lego Star Wars Movie Collection (Y2)
- Dr Who Collection and Six Animal Adventures by Michael Morpurgo (Y3)
- Tracey Beaker Trilogy by Jacqueline Wilson and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Meltdown by Jeff Kinney (Y4)
- The Parent Agency by David Baddiel and The Bolds Series by Julian Clary (Y5)
- Tin Tin by Herge and Secret Nightingale Series by Lucy Strange (Y6)
Gymnastics in the sun
Y5 have started a new unit in PE – gymnastics! It was made even better by being able to have our lesson outside in the glorious sunshine.
We practised travelling and jumping in different ways …
… like this brilliant tuck jump …
… and practised balancing individually and in a group …
… making sure we were always safely in control of our movements.
We performed a simple routine to the rest of the class and gave each other feedback about what was good and what could be improved.
Space
Y5 kicked off their learning about Space with all things technological!
First, we analysed five websites to help us answer:
“Why do we have night and day?”
We discussed each web page’s ease of use, age appropriate level of information, and whether it had any features that made us trust it. Challenge your child to explain what these features were. Finally, we ranked each page.
Next up, it was time to find out for ourselves! We combined a couple of clips from (trusted) BBC Bitesize and our own research to create a short film using iMovie to explain our original question.
We had to write a script…
… work well as a team …
… speak loudly for the camera …
… direct each other …
… and edit our videos …
… before finally watching our efforts on the big screen!
Ask your child to explain why we have night and day, how shadows move and lengthen and where the sun rises and sets.
Allerton Grange visit
Year 5 enjoyed another trip to Allerton Grange, this time to visit their sports leaders and try out some fun activities.
“My favourite was the basketball because you had to dribble and shoot into the hoop,” said Zara.
“My favourite part was the basketball because you got to dribble and it really helped you and the shots were into a really high hoop. It was really fun,” said Zidaan.
Serenity’s favourite was the rugby station. “The sports leaders were really funny and they kept pretending they won but they didn’t!”
The Arabic Alphabet
After Miss Wilson’s trip in the Easter holidays where she learnt about the Arabic alphabet (albeit a very condensed version), Year 5 were challenged to write their name in Arabic!
Luckily for Miss Wilson, lots of children in Year 5 can speak or are familiar with the language so they were on standby, ready to help with pronunciation or letter names. (Thanks, Nayaab!)
“It was cool to do some Arabic at school!” said Darien.
It was great to hear about the eventful or relaxing breaks the children had! Welcome back, everyone.
Living and Learning: Healthy Minds
- 15 April I use good table manners. Think about good table manners at home – not pointing our cutlery at someone or speaking with food in our mouths, for example.
- 22 April I recognise emotions in myself and others. Recognising emotions is an important first step in helping us manage our emotions. For example, it’s ok to feel angry, as long as we try to manage it in a way that doesn’t negatively affect other people. It’s great to feel proud as long as it doesn’t lead to showing off. Being aware of different emotions – both positive and negative – is an important basis for good mental health.
- 29 April I recognise mental health is important. Increasingly, we hear about the importance of mental health. Talk at home about different ways to help mental health. This might include restricting screen time, getting enough sleep, and taking time – even just five minutes – as a family to relax and recuperate after a busy day.
- 07 May I can describe and use ways to calm down. We all get worked up from time to time – how do different people calm down? We’ll explore different strategies to calm down, and encourage our children to adopt one or two of these. These may be some of the mindfulness techniques children have been taught or counting to ten, going for a walk, getting a glass of water – discuss what works for you and your child?
- 13 May I recognise the importance of money. In the final week of the half term, we have the second themed week of the year: a money-related week. This Living and Learning statement helps to introduce the week.
- 20 May I make choices about my money. Linked to the Money Matters themed week, we’ll explore different choices: to spend or to save, for example.
The topic of mental health can be introduced to children through this text.
Living and Learning – Body Image
This half term, Y5 have been learning about why it’s good to be us. We also learnt about body image.
We watched a shocking video which showed the extensive airbrushing models undertake and discussed why this is damaging! Ask your child to explain why.
Advertising is all around us. It’s for everybody and should be representative of everybody. We watched some clips of more empowering advertising that might make people feel better about their body image.
Big Pedal
Thank you to all families who have taken part in the Big Pedal this week by making an active journey to school – the weather has certainly helped.
In some pupil interviews this week, one of the unsafe places around school that was quoted by a child was, ‘outside the school gates if there are lots of cars stopping’. Travelling actively not only supports our physical and mental health but keeps cars away from outside school making our pupils and families safer on their journey to school.
It’s the final day of the Big Pedal tomorrow so let’s hope we can keep our participation rate as high. After day 3, we are 83rd out of 500 schools taking part in the small primary school category.
How to get active locally
With the holidays coming up, here is a reminder of some local physical activities that you and your child might like to get involved with.
The comprehensive physical activity guide was produced to signpost parents and carers to help children achieve the governments recommended daily 30 minutes of physical activity outside of school.
Leeds Gymnastics Easter camps
Leeds Gymnastics, who run one of our after-school clubs, are holding gym camps during the upcoming holidays. Contact them direct to book places.
