Comment on the proposed development of the field
As most of you will know, there are plans to develop the former Yorkshire Bank playing fields.
If you would like to put forward your own comments – whether in favour or against, whether to request dedicated land for our pupils or to support open park for all – please follow these steps. Comments must be submitted by Friday 09 May.
1. Go to Leeds City Council planning site
The website address is as follows or use the link above: https://publicaccess.leeds.gov.uk/online-applications/
This takes you to Planning >> Simple Search
2. Type the reference number 14/01839 or enter Allerton Grove into the search field.
This will take you to the Planning Application Summary page with the reference:
14/01839/RM | Reserved Matters application for 29 dwellings | Land Former Sports Ground Allerton Grove Moor Allerton Leeds
3. Click on the Comments tab. You’ll need to register so that you can make comments.
If you wish to see other people’s comments click on the Documents tab and view associated documents.
Art and maths
This week, Year 1 have been using a piece of artwork, on loan from Leeds Art Gallery, to inspire our literacy and maths.
In maths, we looked at the different lines on the drawing, in particular parallel lines. After looking at examples of parallel lines in real life such as train tracks, running tracks and flags, we had a look for some ourselves.
We then got to work creating our own examples of parallel lines.
Some of the final versions will be displayed in the hall, very soon.
Future goal keepers?
In PE this half term Year 1 are taking part in the Leeds United Foundation Take it to the kids coaching scheme. Ian, our coach, along with some footballing apprentices began our lessons by developing goal-keeping skills. We focussed on sending, receiving and manoevering the ball with partners. Next week, we hope the weather will improve and we can be outside so please ensure your child has their outdoor PE kit for this lesson.
Do you use the vampire technique?
As part of our focus on manners this week, Year 1 have been mastering the ‘vampire method’. I cover my mouth (when I cough, sneeze or yawn) is our weekly statement so we looked at why this method can help to prevent germs spreading. By coughing or sneezing into our elbow, germs are not spread into the air or on our hands which may contaminate other things.
Don’t forget to ‘use your sleeve to cough and sneeze’.
Netball stars
A team of Year 5 and 6 netballers recently took part in the Leeds North East High 5 festival at Roundhay School. Eventually finishing 6th out of 17 teams from local schools, this was a fantastic achievement. Well done to all the team.
‘I definitely want to take part again next year,’ commented one of the Year 5 players.
Our new SEAL theme for this half-term is…
…’Relationships’.
We begin the half term with a focus on manners: I cover my mouth (when I cough, sneeze or yawn) is our statement for this week. Children, and adults, will be taught the ‘vampire method’ for coughs and sneezes in order to prevent the spread of germs – ‘use your sleeve to cough and sneeze’.
Following this, the Relationships theme explores feelings within the context of our important relationships including family and friends.
It aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of learning: self-awareness, managing feelings and empathy.
There is a focus throughout the theme on helping children understand the feelings associated with an experience that we all need to cope with at some time: that of loss – whether of a favourite possession, a friend, a family home, or a loved one. Although relatively few children are bereaved, most will experience losses of other kinds during their childhood; losing a home, losing friends because of moving house or changing schools, or losing a pet are examples.
We would therefore ask for parents / carers to alert us to any experiences your child has had that might make this area particularly difficult for them – for example, a bereavement.
Proposed development of former Yorkshire Bank playing field
A note from the Governing Body:
A meeting to discuss the possibility of secured school access to a part of the proposed Moortown Park was held on Friday 11 April.
This meeting was attended by representatives of Moortown Primary School, representatives of Leeds City Council, Fabian Hamilton MP and Councillors Sobel and Hamilton.
Prior to this meeting, Fabian Hamilton and the councillors had met with the developers to discuss the school’s request.
The school had requested some dedicated secure space to be used during the school day for sport and other learning. The outcome of both these meetings was that school’s request does not appear to be feasible and / or desirable in the opinions of those involved.
Additionally, it was felt by some parties that the governing body and the Moortown Parents Group should make an apology to the developers who have been very upset by the change.org petition which is directed at the local ward councillors and the Director of Children’s Services.
Whilst the governing body is very disappointed with this outcome we would like to reassure the developers that we do still support the development of a small number of houses and the provision of a park for Moortown which will undoubtedly benefit the community as a whole.
However, we do have every right to question our local ward councillors and the Director of Children’s Services as to why they do not appear to be supporting the school’s wish for a formal, secure sport and learning facility which could also be used by the general public outside of school hours.
Emre, Year 5
“When you need help with learning, you can just glance at the displays and they’ll help you.”
Emre, Year 5
A good news story…
We hear a lot of doom and gloom about the state of education in England – much of this stems from political interference and sensationalist journalism (in our opinion!). Here’s a story about how successful our young people are at an increasingly important skill: problem-solving. The story didn’t get quite as much coverage in the media, sadly…
“Graduates need core knowledge in subjects like maths and English, but they also need to be able to apply this to tackle complex and unpredictable tasks with confidence… Good problem-solving skills give young people an edge in the world of work and prepare them to move into top jobs and leadership positions.”
Mr Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders
Teenagers in England are “significantly above average” in problem-solving skills, according to the results of international tests. Whilst scoring relatively low in some international school tests (especially one known as the Pisa rankings), these latest global rankings from the OECD put England in 11th place.
The OECD puts England as second highest in Europe, behind Finland, in tests of how pupils can apply their knowledge. These problem-solving tests were taken at the same time as the Pisa tests, which compare how well pupils perform in maths, reading and science.
Rather than testing theoretical knowledge, the problem-solving tests examined how well teenagers could use their knowledge in practical questions. For example, it presented pupils with a range of information about different types of train tickets and asked them to work out the cheapest price for a journey.
These problem-solving tests were an optional extra following the Pisa tests taken in 2012 – and were taken by 44 out of the 65 countries and administrations in the Pisa rankings.
It found that pupils in England were much better than their performance in Pisa tests, despite not making the top 20 in any subject.
The OECD’s Michael Davidson suggested that Asian countries were particularly strong at learning information, but it seemed that pupils in England were above average at how this information was creatively applied.
The top performers remained Asian countries and education systems – but the Chinese city of Shanghai, which had been the top performer in Pisa tests, is ranked sixth in these more practical tests. England’s pupils’ performance puts them above countries such as Germany, the United States and Sweden.
These problem-solving skills were going to be essential for the future job chances of young people, said the OECD’s Francesco Avvisati.
Worryingly, a new National Curriculum for state schools in England takes effect from September 2014. This new curriculum has been devised under the current government and it places far less emphasis on using, applying and problem-solving skills, and far more on knowledge and facts and figures. At Moortown Primary, we are in the process of preparing for the new curriculum, and will ensure that problem-solving skills are not neglected.
Sorting Smarties
As it was the last day before Easter, and we had been looking at presenting and interpreting data, we had some fun with chocolate in maths! We had a look at a bar chart showing us what colour Smarties were in one tube. Each pair of children had a tube of Smarties and we needed to know which tube the chart was showing us.
We decided to pour our Smarties out and sort them into the different colours.
We then thought of a way to better organise our Smarties so that we could compare the packet to the chart more quickly. We created a pictogram of Smarties on our whiteboards.
Finally, we created our own bar chart of the information to find out whose packet matched the chart we first looked at. Shockingly, it didn’t match anybody’s and Miss Rushbrooke had to own up to eating that pack of Smarties already! So… we all ate ours too. Yum!
