Science: We are biologists.
This half term, we are biologists. Biology is the study of living things.
In this week’s lesson, we dissected a flower called Alstroemeria. We labelled the different parts and discussed which of them make up the male and female reproductive systems. Have a look at our work:
Help at home: Label the different parts of the flower. Describe the process of pollination or plant fertilisation.
Science: A sticky experiment!
In Science this week, the children planned and created their own glue. The children decided on their variables and then completed the experiment.
This type of scientific enquiry was comparative and fair testing.
We then put our glues to the test! The children added pegs to their pieces of paper which were stuck together using their glue. The glue that held the most pegs was the stickiest. In conclusion, we found out that flour and sugar were the stickiest substances.
Afterwards, the children went on to reflect on their experiment and decided what they would do differently next time. Some responses were: adding more glue between the pieces of paper; changing the amount of substance so it made the glue thicker and trying to add the pegs when the glue was still drying.
Smart Money Award 2023
Today, we welcomed Nicola and Linda from HSBC to our whole school assembly to present us with our Smart Money Award 2023.
This is awarded for financial education lessons which took place in school for all classes last summer as part of our Living and Learning curriculum.
Nicola combined this visit with some more financial education for the children.
Living and Learning: I can give and receive compliments.
In Living and Learning, the children discussed and defined ‘a compliment’ as “giving someone praise in a respectful way”. We then went on to give ourselves a compliment, others a compliment and also talked about how it makes us feel when we are given a compliment. Some of our emotions included: being happy; feeling embarrassed; being proud; feeling appreciated and validated.
Here are some of the things the children complimented themselves on:
Food Technology – Bruschetta!
This morning, Year 4 have been cooking and making Bruschetta. We were so impressed with their knowledge and skills at each stage of the recipe.
The main skill we were practising was chopping with a knife. The two different techniques that we used were the bridge and the claw. We used the bridge to safely and securely cut the tomatoes into big chunks. We used the claw to dice the tomatoes and basil up into smaller pieces.
We then used a garlic crusher to squeeze the garlic into our tomato and basil mixture. It’s safe to say the room smelt very strong!
The final challenge was to spoon the mixture onto the sliced and toasted baguette without making a mess and then to dig in… some of them gave it a 10/10!
A big well done to everyone for being sensible and engaged with the learning!
School and snow day all in one
After a very hard decision this morning, we managed to open school and the majority of staff made it too – thank you to them for their efforts in quite severe conditions.
It may have been a shorter day and different in many ways but we’re really glad we made the decision to open. These photos show one of the reasons why – a school day combined with a snow day.
10 March 2023
This week’s Talk Time poses a moral dilemma and links to internet safety.
Is using the internet is bad for your health?
You could start by listing reasons why you would use the internet (playing games, social media, watching videos). Are your reasons the same as other members of your family?
We suggest approaching this Talk Time with an open mind. You may already have strong views on this but it’s important to consider both sides of an argument before reaching your conclusions.
Check out these R2s to help you with your discussions at home:
- What are the health benefits of using the internet?
- Remember that mental health is crucial to being a healthy person.
- How could using the internet negatively impact on your health?
- How could this impact on your physical health?
- Is using the internet always an enjoyable experience?
- Decide which argument is the
- This might be the side with the most points to back it up.
- You might consider some points to be more important than others.
- You may not agree with people you speak to – that’s okay!
After the discussion with friends and family, what conclusion do you reach? Do others around you agree?
Safer Internet Day 2023
“Happy Safer Internet Day!”
On the 7th of February, Moortown focused their learning around internet safety. This umbrella term covers lots of areas such as; online behaviour, keeping personal data safe, understanding how news can be false and knowing to ask an adult for help.
Firstly, we spent the morning learning about how we can decipher if online information is true or not. ‘Fake news’ has become more of an issue on the internet and therefore, it is important that the children understand what it is and how to work with it.
There were some tips that the children practised and will remember for the future:
- Question the source. Where has the information come from and is it a reliable source?
- Does the story appear on more than one source? If it is on numerous news websites, it could be true!
- Does it feel right? Some times you will have a gut feeling that a news story isn’t right…
- Ask a trusted adult. If you are ever unsure, ask a trusted adult to help you work out if it’s true or not.
This followed onto to our next focus: I know I can ask a trusted adult for help.
This statement is true for any subject, problem or question and it is definitely important when talking about internet safety.
Help at home: Whether it is a trusted adult at home, at school or at a club your child goes to, remind them that they should feel safe asking for help.
Living and Learning: I know that people shout treat others respectfully when online
On Tuesday this week, it was internet safety day. This is where we had a day to learn about how to be safe online and how important it is to treat others respectfully online.
In the morning, we had some very, very special visitors; the NSPCC team and Buddy made an appearance. This workshop was a follow up from our learning earlier in this half term (I know how to seek help). We revisited how and who we could speak to if we needed help (trusted adults).
Later on in the day, we discussed why it is important to check with a trusted adult before sharing personal information online; the potential consequences for bad online behaviour and how it is okay to step away.
Help at home: Discuss at home what advice Tunji’s friends should give, who they can get help from and how will this make the situation better.
‘Tunji tells his friends that he made a joke about someone’s gaming avatar. Tunji didn’t think it would be a big deal, but the person has been very upset by his comments. Two of their friends have started sending Tunji mean messages because of what he said.’
Writing: Narratives with dialogue
Over the past couple of weeks, the children have developed ideas, planned and written narratives which contain dialogue. The focus of the work was for the speech to convey character and advance action. Our inspiration was a silent animation where the two main characters were carrying out a heist for a priceless ruby, however, the plot took a turn and the thieving brothers ended up in a fight.
The children then created their own two characters who were also trying to steal something and similarly ended up in an argument.
Have a look at these extracts from their fantastic work:
