News

More fundraising fun

Posted on Sunday 19 November 2023 by Mrs Weekes

You will remember that we created a penny trail to finish off our ‘Me and my Money week’ with all the money that was kindly donated during the week.

Somebody in Y2 was very disappointed because she left her coins at home. Instead of being sad about it, she put her time to good use and created her own penny trail before donating the money to our fundraising pot!

Children in Need

Posted on Friday 17 November 2023 by Mrs Weekes

A massive thank you to everybody who donated to Children in Need – we had raised £228.38 by 9.00 this morning so there might be an updated total by Monday.

Thank you for your generosity and support.

17 November 2023

Posted on Friday 17 November 2023 by Mrs Quirk

Our whole-school homework this week is:

Reading: please make sure your child is reading on a daily basis.

Number Fact Fluency: Use Numbots or Times Table Rock Stars in regular short bursts.

Talk Time

Our Talk Time homework this week is all about charity.

To start the discussion at home, talk with your child about charities. Things you might talk about are how charity is the act of giving help to those in need of it. It involves giving money, goods or time to those that need it, without expecting something in return.

Soon, the Junior Leadership Team will choose our new charity. Each school leader in Sphere Federation has suggested a charity and now it’s over to you. Spend some time at home considering each of the six shortlisted charities below. Which one will your child encourage the junior leaders in school to vote for?

Did you know you can find out more about any registered charities really easily:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission

This site tells you lots of facts and figures about different charities – even things like how much income they receive and how many workers and volunteers they have.

You might use this site to decide which of the six charities to support. (In the list below, the text in italics is taken from the Charity Overview page from the site.)

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund

The main objective of the charity is to enhance the quality of care and support available to babies, young children and adult congenital cardiac patients, who are treated at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, based at Leeds General Infirmary.

https://www.chsf.org.uk

Zarach

We receive referrals through our network of schools. We deliver a bed bundle for every child in the household that requires it; this includes a brand-new Bed, Mattress, Duvet, Pillow, Bed Sheets, Pyjamas and Hygiene Kit. We work with local partners to include Food Parcels and, if needed, a school uniform. We can also mediate between families and their support services, as well as making referrals.

https://zarach.org/

Leeds Hospitals Charity

To further any charitable purpose or purposes relating to the general or any specific purposes of Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust or the purposes of the National Health Service.
https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk

Simon on the Streets

Objectives are to: 1) prevent and relieve hardship and need and distress amongst those who are homeless and rootless by the provision of practical and emotional support, in particular but not exclusively to those who are sleeping rough or who are unwilling or unable to accept existing provision; 2) educate the public concerning the problems of social isolation and homelessness.
https://simononthestreets.co.uk/

Trussell Trust
The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. 

www.trusselltrust.org

Mind (The National Association for Mental Health)

We provide information and support, campaign to improve policy and attitudes and, in partnership with independent local Minds, develop and provide local services.

https://www.mind.org.uk/

The charities will be reviewed in class on Thursday 23 November. Each class will vote for one charity which will be brought to the Junior Leadership Team who will have the final vote on Friday 24 November.

This week’s message (Friday 17 November 2023)

Posted on Friday 17 November 2023 by Mr Roundtree

This week, we marked Anti-Bullying Week. Make sure your child knows our definition of bullying (Several Times On Purpose) and the solution (Start Telling Other People).

Near the start of each half-term, Mr Wilks writes the weekly message to tell you more about the current topic in school…

What do we mean by topics?

Topics are the way we deliver much of the learning in the foundation subjects (eg history, art, geography, DT). Each half-termly topic has a driving subject – the main focus for teaching pupils the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in life. The driver changes with each topic to ensure a broad and balanced curriculum.

Although the learning in each topic is provided by the driving subject, there are opportunities for enrichment through other subjects. For example, learning in an art topic may be enriched by geography learning about where an artist was born and lived.

What is this half-term’s topic?

This half-term, we’re artists: we’re developing our art knowledge and skills. The learning this half-term has two aspects to it. In art history and appreciation lessons, children learn about some specific artists and their work. In art process lessons, children practise and develop skills by creating art.

Each phase has age-related specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary that they’ll learn, use and apply across the topic. Follow this link to the Curriculum Guide to find out more.

Years 1 and 2

Children have two featured artists: Leonardo Da Vinci and Paul Klee. They’ll compare their art, talking about similarities and differences. They’ll discuss what they like and dislike about the art and how it makes them feel. They’ll also learn about the artists’ lives and where in the world they lived.

In practical art lessons, children will hone their artistic skills and knowledge by sketching objects using pencil, learning about and mixing colour and then they’ll be learning how to print by creating relief prints inspired by the artwork they’ve studied.

Part way through the half-term, they’ll visit the Hepworth Gallery for a printmaking workshop to complement the learning in school.

Years 3 and 4

Children will learn about the work of Wassily Kandinsky and Martha McDonald Napaltjarri. They’ll compare and contrast the artworks by these artists and also learn about their lives and the places they lived. In particular, children will learn about abstract and figurative art (see the vocabulary for definitions of these words).

In practical art sessions, children will develop observational drawing skills and their understanding of colour by learning about warm, cold and complementary colours. They’ll then apply what they’ve learnt by creating sculptures inspired by the artists they’ve studied.

Years 5 and 6

Children in Years 5 and 6 are learning about sculpture in their art lessons and will focus on three artists: Thomas J Price, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth.

The children have already been on their school trip to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park this week. They’ve seen and learned about sculptures by these artists. In art history and appreciation lessons, they’ll learn about the lives of these artists and how their localities have influenced their art. They’ll learn about classical and modern art in relation to their featured artists and in art movements more generally. They’ll also learn when and why the modern art movement happened.

In practical art lessons, children will continue to develop their observational skills and will create maquettes (see the vocabulary list) inspired by the work of Barbara Hepworth.

How can you help?

Talk to your child about what they’ve been learning in class. The class news page of the school website is a good place to go to find out more about what the children are doing.

Familiarise yourself with the artists and the artwork that your child is learning about. Look in books or on the internet for pieces by the artists and talk about them. Find art by other artists that you like and compare it to the featured artists. If you feel confident, you can go into more depth using the vocabulary. However, if not, leave that to the teachers and just enjoy looking at the pieces and asking general questions:

  • What do you like or dislike about the art?
  • How does the art make you feel?
  • Is it life-like or not?
  • What colours can you see?

The Tate Gallery has a good children’s website with games and activities which children can explore.

If you’re in Leeds, the Leeds Art Gallery and Henry Moore Institute are both free to enter.

Finally, thanks for any donations you made to Children in Need today.

Have a good weekend.

Living and Learning: new school charity

Posted on Friday 17 November 2023 by Mrs Taylor

Every year, we vote for a new school charity to support and this week is the start of the selection process.

Our new charity will replace our current school charity St Gemma’s Hospice. An amazing £1500 has been raised for this great, local cause.

Whole school homework this week is to consider the following shortlist of charities.

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund

The main objective of the charity is to enhance the quality of care and support available to babies, young children and adult congenital cardiac patients, who are treated at the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, based at Leeds General Infirmary. https://www.chsf.org.uk

Zarach

We receive referrals through our network of schools. We deliver a bed bundle for every child in the household that requires it; this includes a brand-new Bed, Mattress, Duvet, Pillow, Bed Sheets, Pyjamas and Hygiene Kit. We work with local partners to include Food Parcels and, if needed, a school uniform. We can also mediate between families and their support services, as well as making referrals. https://zarach.org/

Leeds Hospitals Charity

To further any charitable purpose or purposes relating to the general or any specific purposes of Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust or the purposes of the National Health Service. https://www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk

Simon on the Streets

Objectives are to: 1) prevent and relieve hardship and need and distress amongst those who are homeless and rootless by the provision of practical and emotional support, in particular but not exclusively to those who are sleeping rough or who are unwilling or unable to accept existing provision; 2) educate the public concerning the problems of social isolation and homelessness. https://simononthestreets.co.uk/

Trussell Trust

The Trussell Trust supports a nationwide network of food banks and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK. www.trusselltrust.org

Mind (The National Association for Mental Health)

We provide information and support, campaign to improve policy and attitudes and, in partnership with independent local Minds, develop and provide local services. https://www.mind.org.uk/

The charities will be reviewed in class on Thursday 23 November. Each class will vote for one charity which will be brought to the Junior Leadership Team who will have the final vote on Friday 24 November.

Money Money Money!

Posted on Monday 13 November 2023 by Mrs Weekes

After a very busy ‘Me and My Money’ week, we wanted to share how we finished it all off. During the week, there were lots of donations of copper coins and we had so many, we were able to write ‘MOORTOWN’ in coins and we even had enough to create part of the school logo.

Thanks for your generous donations and thanks to Mrs Taylor for organising a great week.

Leeds Schools Sports Association Saturday morning cross country race

Posted on Monday 13 November 2023 by Mrs Taylor

Key Stage 2 children are invited to compete in an upcoming cross country race as part of the Leeds Schools Athletics Association cross country programme of Saturday morning races. Children will compete against pupils from other Leeds schools.

The race will take place on Saturday 25th November at Wharfe Meadows Park, Farnley Lane, Otley, LS21 2RW from 10am.

Please note, parents/carers are responsible for taking and supervising their child/children at the event. There will be a parent representative at the event.

There are opportunities for Year 3 and 4 girls and boys (under 9) to race 900m and Year 5 and 6 girls and boys (under 11) to race 1500m. Once your child has completed their race, you are free to leave the event.

Please sign up by giving consent online or ask at the office if you would like further information about the race.

Living and Learning: anti-bullying day and odd socks day

Posted on Friday 10 November 2023 by Mrs Taylor

On Monday, all children will be learning about bullying and how to STOP bullying as part of the national antibullying week.

Our Junior Leadership Team have recently reviewed our bullying definition. As part of this, we use two STOP acronyms: Several Times On Purpose Start Telling Other People – one’s a definition of bullying and the other’s a solution.

On Monday, we will also be taking part in Odd Socks Day which celebrates that we’re all unique. Children are invited to wear odd socks to school, marking the fact we’re all different in some way.

Odd socks day sends an important message to pupils that they should be allowed to be themselves, free from bullying. It helps us celebrate anti-bullying day in a fun and positive way.

Help at home: Talk about our school definition of bullying and the differences between falling out and bullying, and between a one-off situation and something that’s happened more than once.

This week’s message (Friday 10 November 2023)

Posted on Friday 10 November 2023 by Mr Roundtree

This week’s been a busy one – the first of our two themed weeks in the year. This one’s been Me and My Money. Ask your child what they’ve been learning about. Our Living and Learning Curriculum Guide lists the learning that we’ve been focusing on in school – see page 17.

Sticking to Living and Learning…

Bullying, Odd Socks and STOP

Next Monday, 13 November, is Anti-Bullying Day. This year’s theme is ‘Make noise about bullying’ and we will be taking part in Odd Socks Day on this day.

Odd Socks Day raises awareness of our differences, individuality and personal choice. Your child can come to school wearing odd socks (with their uniform) to celebrate what makes them unique.

Check out this parent and carer pack about bullying.

Remember our two STOP acronyms about bullying:

  • the definition: Several Times On Purpose
  • the solution: Start Telling Other People

Attendance matters

The whole-school attendance figure for Autumn 1 half-term was 96.9%. The national figure from 11 September to 13 October 2023 was 93.7% – we’re over three percentage points higher than national! Thank you for making sure your child attends school as much as possible.

Here’s a breakdown for each class…

  • Reception – 91.5%
  • Year 1 – 96.8%
  • Year 2 – 98.3% – brilliant!
  • Year 3 – 98.4% – amazing attendance!
  • Year 4 – 97.9%
  • Year 5 – 98.6%
  • Year 6 – 96.7%

Remember to check this new NHS website if you’re not sure whether your child is ill enough to miss out on school.

Rocking Rockstars

If your child’s in Year 3, 4, 5 or 6, they should be practising their times tables regularly at home – a little every day is best for most children. Children in Year 4 are expected to know their times tables with quick recall, and the matching division facts – check out this guide.

A good way to practise is to use Times Tables Rock Stars. The Times Tables Rock Stars website has just been updated, including:

  • intro video
  • parent guide
  • the importance of times tables
  • FAQs
  • free downloadables

Have a happy and healthy weekend.

Me and My Money week – school charity donations

Posted on Wednesday 08 November 2023 by Mrs Taylor

Donating money is one choice people might make when using their money.

As part of our Me and My Money themed week, we welcomed visitors from St Gemma’s Hospice, our current school charity, to hear how they have been using our donations over this year.

We have raised a staggering £1500 across the year so thank you for all of these donations. St Gemma’s Hospice are very grateful for this support.

There is one more way we can donate money this week and this is by bringing any spare 1ps or 2ps into class to deposit in each class’ saving jar.

On Friday, we shall be having a money trail with all the coins donated so please bring any spare change before then.

Here are Year 2 counting their coins so far.