Science: We are Physicists.
In this next block of science, we are physicists. Physicists study forces (pushes and pulls) and energy. Year 6 will be learning about electricity.
Before we started, we had a discussion about how to stay safe in this unit.
In our first lesson, we learnt how to use symbols in a scientific diagram to represent components in a circuit.
The children made some brilliant observations:
- the bulb will only light up in a closed circuit
- the more bulbs in the circuit, the dimmer the bulbs will be
- the more cells in the circuit, the higher the voltage therefore the brighter the bulb
Help at home: Discuss the key vocabulary for this unit. Can you use the words in a sentence?
Sporting events
Recently, we’ve had a few sporting events that children have taken part in.
Year 2/3 Cheerdance
Firstly, as part of our association with Leeds Well School Partnership, some of our Year 2 and 3 children took part in a cheer dance session led by Nicola from Leeds Rhinos. The children learnt some cheer arm actions, some jumps and using pom poms, they learnt and performed a great routine.
Basketball festival
Some of our Year 5 and 6 children took part in a basketball festival with other schools practising some basketball skills and drills.
Leeds School Sports Association Saturday morning cross country
The first of the Leeds School Sports Association Saturday morning cross country races took place at Cardinal Heenan. This is one of four events across the year. Well done to the Key Stage 2 children who took part and represented our school.
Key Stage 2 School Games cross country
Finally, this week was the Key Stage 2 School Games cross country event in Otley. We are hopeful a number of our children will qualify for the Leeds final from this event after some great performances. The children were a great team and supported and encouraged each other in very muddy conditions.
Thank you to adults in school and parents who have supported with these events and to the children for being happy and healthy and representing Moortown Primary so well.
RE: Drop Down Morning
In this RE Drop Down Morning, we were learning about Christianity. We had three sessions: when and where did Christianity begin and where do Christians live today; what do Christians believe; and what festivals do Christians celebrate.
In our first session, the children created a fact file about Christianity. This fact file was different though as we linked our learning to maths because we used a net of a cube.
Did you know an Abrahamic religion is a religion whose followers believe in the prophet Abraham? They believe Abraham and his sons/grandsons hold an important role in human spiritual development. The best known Abrahamic religions are Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
In our second session, we learnt about the different denominations of Christianity. Denominations are different groups within Christianity. The different denominations have different ideas about how to worship God.
The children linked this learning to their reading skills and answered a RIC.
In our third and final session, we focused on Holy Week and Easter.
Help at home: Which day do you think is the most important in Holy Week and why?
Guided Reading Week 2
Here are the target pages for this week’s guided reading. These need to be read by Friday 21st November.
Divine Freaks: up to page 95
Spirit Walker: up to page 102
How to Train your Dragon: up to page 103
The Considine Curse: up to page 78
The Switch: up to page 99
Art: Figurative vs Abstract
To start off this topic, we looked at our featured artists: Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Thomas J Price. We were able to see their work on our trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
We’ve then continued our history of art journey by analysing whether art is figurative or abstract.
Help at home: Asking your child to define these terms. Is there another piece of art around your home that you could place on the table above and why? Or, discuss the key vocabulary for this topic. Can you use it in a sentence?
PE: Gymnastics
This half term, we become gymnasts!
Travelling as been our focus for this week, where we’ve practised moving around the space in different ways: high, low, wide, narrow, with many points of contact and few. We also has a lesson today using the equipment; we explored the apparatus with controlled and balanced movements.
Next week, we will perform sequences of travelling using benches!
Living and Learning: Hotshots sponsorship event
To finish off our Me and My Money themed week, all the school took part in a Hotshots event, led by PE Partner, to raise money for our school charity, Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Can I just say how fantastic all the children were in every year group! It was amazing to see them all encouraging each other, no matter their ability. When the children were up for their turn, who maybe football isn’t their forte, the rest of the children were so supportive with their cheering and encouragement. It was fantastic! You should be very proud of them all!
Living and Learning: Penny trail
It was great to see the generosity and enthusiasm of the children during our Me and My Money themed week to try and fill their class collecting tubes. They were filling up by the end of the week.
On Friday, all the classes ventured into the playground to use their pennies to create a huge ‘Moortown’ penny trail. We had so many 1ps and 2ps that we ended up doubling and tripling up our coins.
The total amount raised for Yorkshire Air Ambulance was a fantastic £123.53 so thank you for your donations.
Anti-Bullying Day
Today was anti-bullying day. This year’s theme is ‘power for good’. Year 6 thinks that we can use our power for good by:
- not being a bystander
- standing up for ourselves
- being valiant and standing up for others
- telling a trusted adult
- blocking and reporting online
We watched a BBC live lesson which had a range of challenges to help us think about how to stop bullying.
We looked at the definition of bullying which our JLT members created:
“Bullying is when you hurt someone physically or emotionally (including online), Several Times On Purpose”
Whilst we hope this would never be the case in our school, we also discussed what you can do if you were to experience bullying at Moortown Primary School:
“Start Telling Other People. You could use the Living and Learning box, the worry box, tell a trusted adult, email stayingsafe@spherefederation.org or even call Childline (0800 1111).”
The school came in odd socks today to show that we are all unique but should still all respect each other.
In class we discussed how to be respectful and safe online. The children suggested making sure to send kind messages to each other and only playing with people they know. We also discussed what to do if someone is mean online; Year 6 said you could step away and ignore, you could report or block and you can tell an adult or even the police if it is a serious incident.
Help at home: Who are the trusted adults your child could go to? What would they do if someone was mean online? What could happen if they were mean online?
Guided Reading Week 1
Here are the target pages for this week’s guided reading. These need to be read by Friday 14th November.
Divine Freaks: up to page 67
Spirit Walker: up to page 66
How to Train your Dragon: up to page 75
The Considine Curse: up to page 63
The Switch: up to page 61