Netball after-school club
High 5 netball club will move to a Tuesday evening after the Easter holiday for four more sessions, until our main Summer term after-school programme starts (week commencing 16 May).
Children who currently attend the club on a Thursday, and also any new members, are welcome to attend. Please return the permission slip sent home this week.
This continues to be a free club subsidised by part of our PE Premium.
Eatwell guide
Public Health England have launched a new Eatwell Guide. This relates to the Eatwell Plate, a key resource used in school, to show how much of what you eat overall should come from each food group.
‘Life’ topic skills review
This morning, we spent some time reflecting on the skills we practised whilst learning about our last Big Topic: ‘Life‘.
We chose to focus on the skills we need in order to learn because these are important for life-long learning. Knowledge is important, too, but it’s crucial not to neglect the skills that underpin our learning.
We worked in groups to create a ‘diamond 9’; the children were given seven skills and also had to choose two of our ‘8Rs for learning’.
Then, we reflected as a class and decided on this ‘diamond 9’:
At the top is the skill we all thought was most important: working with others. All the other skills are important, too!
Testing times…
Do you have a child Year 2 or Year 6?
If so, they will be taking the national curriculum tests (SATs) in May 2016. The tests will provide information about how your child is progressing, compared to children the same age nationally. The results are used to ensure that schools are teaching their pupils the essential knowledge and skills in the subjects that are the early building blocks. This is to ensure every child reaches their full potential. There are changes to the tests this year at both key stages. This is because the tests are based on the new national curriculum, which your child has been taught since September 2014.
The Standards and Testing Agency has published a leaflet and short video for parents about the 2016 tests.
Football training
Thank you to all the children who attended football training tonight. Everyone was focused, positive and tried hard – well done!
Also, a big thank you to the parents who were able to help with walking and being an extra adult.
The children were glad to hear that we have some matches lined up too. Look out for a letter with more details.
Here are some action shots:
Mini-topic: ‘Loving Reading’
For the next two weeks, we will be completing a new mini-topic: Loving Reading.
The emphasis of the topic is all about enjoying reading. As you are aware, we already give reading a high profile within our class but this topic will put reading (and a love of reading) at the forefront of our learning.
Lots of research suggests that children who read for pleasure perform better at school and reading is certainly a life-skill!
As part of the mini-topic, children were given some reading challenges to complete over the next two weeks. It would be great if they could finish them all (some are easier to achieve than others).
You can help at home by:
- Encouraging your child to complete the challenges.
- Raising the profile of reading at home (Family reading time? A visit to a bookshop/library? Discussing reading over a meal?).
- Reading with your child regularly; whilst reading for pleasure is important, understanding what you read is even more so. The only way to be sure that children are practising their reading skills properly is to read with them and ask questions.
- Encouraging your child to read more than usual.
- Showing your child that reading can take many forms (fiction books, non-fiction books, e-books, audio books, magazines, newspapers, trusted websites, instructions, recipes, online news).
Again, we thank you for your continued support!
Holiday activity idea
Big Topic Review
A big thank you to those parents that were able to attend our open afternoon on Wednesday. We hope you enjoyed finding out about all the great learning that’s happened in Y6 during our ‘Life’ topic.
For those that didn’t attend, we reflected on each piece of learning we have done by writing down on big sheets something we remembered.
Then, we created a ‘diamond 9’ of the skills we have learnt/practised and some of the knowledge we have gained. It was interesting how everyone had different ideas of what they’d learnt most about.
Finally, we sat down to review our big topic book. It works as a diary of all the great topic-related learning we do!
If you’d like to find out more about our brilliant ‘Life’ topic, ask your child how they’ve found it.
How are you feeling?
Across school, we’ve been trialling the use of colours to represent children’s emotions. Children are then encouraged to think whether this is a blocker or driver for their learning.
- ‘I feel blue because I am calm.’
- ‘I feel red because I had a fall out at lunchtime.’
- ‘I feel orange because I am excited to celebrate my brother’s birthday.’
Here is a new website to support young people’s emotional wellbeing in Leeds.
‘If you’re a young person, MindMate can help you understand the way you’re feeling and find the right advice and support. If you’re a parent, carer or professional, MindMate can help you support a young person you know.’
Children are also encouraged to speak with an adult, friend or use our class SEAL boxes to share any worries.
Leeds Youth Council
All young people aged 10-18 in Leeds can now join the Leeds Youth Council (LYC).
