Time to learn your times tables
Practising times tables at home is really important. Knowing times tables facts really helps your child to feel confident in Maths, and enables them to make progress in areas such as calculating, fractions… even shape work can involve times tables – when we think about angles, for example.
The National Curriculum sets out expectations for times tables knowledge:
- Year 2: recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers
- Year 3: recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables
- Year 4: recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12
If your child is in Year 5 or 6, they need to know all the tables facts so they can start thinking about prime numbers, factors etc. Knowing the tables facts (including division) means having rapid recall – being able to say the answer within about five seconds, not counting through the times tables to work it out.
Each week, your child is asked to learn a particular times table. We might also work on a pair of tables which are related, such as x4s and x8.
Please make sure your child practises as home: in the car, in the bath, on the way to school, straight after school as a matter of routine. Your child needs to know that something like this involves effort and there aren’t any easy solutions!
It’s really helpful to test them two or three times during the week to make sure their ‘score’ improves, and also try to build in some multiplication and division games and references:
- play ‘tables ping-pong‘, where you and your child counts through a times tables forwards and backwards, alternating the counting: 0, 4,8, 12, 16, 20…
- look out for arrays, where you see a grid of something: eggs in a carton is a simple 2 x 3 or 3 x 2 array, and there are arrays on your mobile phone (to log on to mobile phones, you might see a 3 x 3 array – a square number), on buildings (the window panes of a block of flats are useful for larger numbers), tiles in your bathroom, chocolate and other food products…
- download an app to practise on a phone or tablet (there are loads of free ones)
- talk about when you use times tables knowledge
School council elections
Our current school councillors held their final meeting recently as we prepare to elect our new school council.
Children from every class, including Reception, are encouraged to prepare a speech to present to their class as part of the election process. Our whole school homework before the election date will give children the chance to plan their speech.
Thank you to our existing school council who have been involved with many decisions and discussions throughout the year. Most recently they have selected books for our library and pupil prizes as rewards in class.
New SEAL theme – Good to be me
Our new SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) theme for this half-term, Good to be me, focuses on three main areas of learning:
•Self-awareness – feeling good about yourself, taking risks.
•Managing Feelings – understanding feelings, and why and how they lead us to behave the way we do – particularly the feelings of being excited, proud, surprised, hopeful, disappointed, worried and anxious and standing up for yourself –assertiveness skills, standing up for your views.
•Empathy
This theme explores feelings in the context of the child as an individual, developing self-awareness and helping the child to realise that it really is ‘Good to be me’. The theme is about understanding our feelings as well as considering our strengths and weaknesses as learners.
The key ideas and concepts behind this theme are:
Building emotional resilience
Children need to become resilient if they are to be healthy and effective life-long learners.
Coping with anxiety and worrying
Worry and anxiety are major features in many children’s lives. Many children have good reasons to be anxious. Exploring worries is important.
Calming down
Although getting stressed, anxious or angry are important and useful emotions, sometimes these feelings can be overwhelming.
Assertiveness
The theme encourages children to become assertive – that is, able to recognise and stand up for their rights while recognising and respecting the rights of others.
Understanding feelings and how they influence behaviour
The theme explores the relationship between ‘thinking’ and ‘feeling’ and the way each impacts on our behaviour. It looks at Flight or Fight rapid response to situations of threat and our responses to feeling threatened /under stress.
‘I respond to difficult situations in a positive way’ is the first SEAL statement for the theme of Good to be me.
Cross country
Recently some pupils from Key Stage 2 took part in the Leeds North East School Sports Partnership KS2 cross-country festival at Cardinal Heenan. Here is a report from the event.
‘On Monday, I was really excited to go to the cross country. It was time for my race. My friend stood next to me. Just then, the whistle blew. I ran as fast as my legs could take me! I slowed down but didn’t stand still. I was near the back but that didn’t stop me. Nothing could get in my way and I caught up with some others. I sprinted to the end and passed a few people as I crossed the finish line. My smile was from ear to ear. I wasn’t near the front but I wasn’t the last. Everyone cheered and patted me on the back. I felt like I was first.’
Well done to all the children who took part.
KS2 tuck shop free portion
As an incentive for selecting the pre-pay option, we’re able to offer you one week free. Therefore, the cost for one portion of fruit from 06 January to 31 March 2015 inclusive (12 weeks) is £2.20 (11 x 20p) and the cost for two portions is £4.40 (11 x 40p). Please note that if you choose to pay in advance, your payment is non-refundable and must be made in cash with the exact money.
If you prefer your child to continue paying in cash on a weekly basis, that’s fine – we’ll continue to operate this system.
If you would like to pay in advance for your child to visit the tuck shop, please return the slip and money to the office by Monday 15 December 2014.
KS2 fruit tuck shop takes place every Tuesday morning playtime.
Several times on purpose
Alongside our Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds themed week it has been national anti-bullying week.
Our school definition has been discussed by the School Council and has been amended, 10.11.14, to incorporate the stop message.
‘Bullying is when you hurt someone, physically or emotionally, several times on purpose.’
Following a whole school assembly, Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team have delivered Show Racism the Red Card workshops across school and in class children have discussed these aspects of bullying:
- Our revised definition of bullying (above)
- Types of bullying – cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion and belief, special educational need and disability
- What to do if children experience bullying. The key message is to tell someone (start telling other people)
Bullying resources can be found at…
- http://www.childline.org.uk/explore/bullying/pages/bullying.aspx
- http://www.bullying.co.uk/advice-for-parents/
- http://www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/worried_about_your_child/bullying
Children tell us what they would do if they were bullied ‘…I would tell an adult, teacher or someone I trust.’
All classes have access to their class SEAL box or a whole school worry box where they can tell an adult any concerns about bullying or any other issues.
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds
Our themed week, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds, has been filled with visits and visitors providing a variety of experiences for the whole school.
We would like to thank the following for their support with our themed week:
- Heart Research UK
- d:side (drug education)
- Betty Sutherland tai chi
- White Rose martial arts
- Chapel Allerton squash and tennis club
- Leeds United
- Molly Cawthorn (Leeds United ladies)
- Leeds Rhinos
- Tesco Seacroft Farm to Fork trail
- Jhardine Farrell who delivered ‘respecting everybody’ circle times
- Leeds anti-social behaviour team
- Year 6 for taking over PE lessons for the rest of the school
- Mr Catherall for introducing the teachers to our new whole school sport, tchoukball
- parents/carers who talked about their health related job to different classes
- Public health resource centre for the loan of resources and providing health related leaflets
Finally, thank you to all staff and pupils who have fully engaged with all the learning throughout the week. Take a look at the Class News sections of the website to find out what each class have been doing. We have enjoyed a fun-filled week.
For further information about healthy bodies and healthy minds have a look at the Kids health website and Leeds Let’s Change for advice on more local health issues.
And an extra note from me, Mr Roundtree: I’d like to also thank Mrs Taylor for continuing to organise wonderful, packed themed weeks around being healthy or staying safe. She puts an incredible amount of effort into ensuring our pupils enjoy some wonderful learning opportunities from staff and visitors.
Ronnie the Rhino and the Challenge Cup!
Yesterday, we had a fun-packed assembly from two Leeds Rhino Coaches who recapped some very important messages about how to have a healthy lifestyle. They introduced us to their friend Ronnie the Rhino – who had successfully changed his unhealthy lifestyle by eating a more balanced diet and doing lots more exercise. We were also very lucky as Ronnie had brought in The Challenge Cup which the Leeds Rhinos won recently.
Athletics preparation
Recently some children from Year 4, 5 and 6 visited Roundhay School to practise their athletics skills ahead of the first round of the competition next week. It was great to use the equipment and everyone had a blast! Good luck with the competition.
ChildLine
The ChildLine Schools Service has recently visited children in Years 5 and 6 to provide them with key messages about keeping safe. It can be beneficial for these messages to be reinforced at home. The NSPCC has developed some guides for all parents of primary school aged children to speak to your child about keeping safe – called the Underwear rule.
Find guides to the Underwear Rule to help you have simple conversations about keeping safe from abuse.
You can speak to an advisor for further advice or request a hard-copy guide for parents and carers by phoning the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000.
Read more advice on keeping your child safe.