New additions to the library - thank you, school councillors
At their final meeting, our current school councillors spent time, using part of their budget, choosing new books for our library.
From sport books to science books, there’s a great selection. The books will soon be available to borrow from the library.
School Council elections
In our whole school assembly today, we launched this year’s School Council election process. Our School Council is one of the ways that children are encouraged to take an active part in pupil voice.
The election process allows children to develop an understanding of one of the British Values, democracy, with two representatives from each class, chosen democratically by their peers.
Our current school councillors spoke about their role over the last year and the qualities needed to be an effective school councillor.
These included:
- use the 8 Rs for learning
- be respectful and polite
- help others
- be a good speaker and listener (to members of your class and in the meetings)
- share and be confident with your ideas
- let others speak
- accept the views of others even if you don’t agree
- be friendly and approachable
- follow our school rules and make good choices in class and around school
Watch out for the whole school homework this week all about the election and democracy, ready for the elections next Thursday 25 October.
Bike and run at the Brownlee Centre
The Brownlee Centre is a great facility on our doorstep.
These bike and run sessions, run by the Brownlee Foundation, are open to all children, any ability, aged 8-14. Why not give it a tri?
A happy and healthy and safe place to learn
At Moortown Primary, we place keeping our children safe – both physically and emotionally – as our top priority. We recently invited someone from Leeds LA to come in to school to audit all our safeguarding procedures. The purpose of the audit was to ‘assist schools in evaluating their procedures for Safeguarding and Child Protection’ – it’s something that many schools request in order to make sure their procedures are as robust as they can be.
We’re happy to tell you the audit went really well – some aspects of our procedures were even identified as exemplary!
Final comments in the report are:
I was shown around the school where I observed that the Living and Learning theme is embedded and visible to all pupils and staff and that notice boards and displays were of a high standard.
I spoke to 4 pupils who were confident in telling me about who they could go to in school for support and how they are taught to keep themselves safe on line. They all stated clearly that they felt safe in school because of the teachers they have around them.
It is clear to see that the safety and welfare of the children at Moortown Primary School is of high importance and the staff and SLT [Senior Leadership Team] have worked hard to meet the needs of its children and families.
The evidence presented for the audit was good and very thorough and the preventative approach through the curriculum was shown to be excellent and is embedded throughout the school.
Well done, Mrs Weekes, who’s the lead person in school for safeguarding.
Moortown Primary is a happy and healthy and safe place to learn.
Active travel winner
To mark International Walk to School month and our recent promotion of the Park and Stride site at Marks and Spencer, we are running a prize draw every week in October.
All children who make an active journey (bike, scoot, walk or park and stride) every day for each week are entered into a prize draw.
Each Friday in October, we will select a winner at random to win a £10 Love2Shop gift voucher.
Here’s our first winner. Keep up those active journeys to be in with a chance to win the next prize.
Parents' evening coming up
The first of two parent-teacher meetings are coming up soon: 22 October and 23 October. At these meetings, you’ll notice two changes.
In the annual survey of parents and carers, a small number mentioned that they would prefer more frequent updates about their child’s progress. We’ve acted on this by changing when we provide you with the Learning Updates. These were previously given to you at parents’ evening. However, this year, we’ll send these home at the end of the Autumn and Spring terms. This means you’ll have an update at the end of Autumn 1 (the parents’ evening), Autumn 2 (the Learning Update), Spring 1 (the second parents’ evening), Spring 2 (the second Learning Update), and then the end of year report in the Summer.
The second change is that under new data protection legislation, pupils’ books will be given to you during the parent-teacher meeting – meaning you can only see your own child’s books – and you’ll return those on the way out of school. (We’re sure parents didn’t peek into other books, but we’re doing this as a precaution.) To make things easier, the meetings will take place in the front building – some in classrooms and some in the hall.
As always, Mrs Weekes will be around to hear your questions, compliments and concerns with these arrangements.
Bounce into basketball
Road safety assembly
Anne, from Leeds City Council’s road safety team, delivered some great safety messages in our assembly this morning.
Can you remember the green cross code?
- Think!
- Stop!
- Look!
- Listen!
Mass park and stride
Thank you to all families who joined our mass park and stride this morning from Marks and Spencer. Special thanks as well to Leeds City Council road safety trainers, Dom Jacques and Living Streets representatives and especially Kerby for supporting this event to mark the start of International Walk to School month.
It was great to see so many families join the walk to school using Marks and Spencer to park their car rather than parking near the school gate.
Keep up those active journeys to school for a happy and healthy start to the day.
Start your day with an active journey
Today marks the start of International Walk to School month.
During October, we’re working alongside Living Streets to encourage families to travel in active ways to school. There are prize draws every week for children who have made active journeys to school (biking, scooting, walking or park and stride) with an added prize draw for those children who have made active journeys to school throughout October.
We realise that some families do need to come in the car to school so we are promoting Marks and Spencer car park (200 2 hour free spaces) as a place to park and then ‘stride’ the last part of the journey to school. This will avoid congestion at the school gate, improve health benefits to families and counts as an active journey.
Tomorrow, we will be working with Leeds City Council road safety trainers to deliver pedestrian training to Years 1, 2 and 3. Reception class will enjoy a class based safety session and Year 5 will be using the speed indicator device to check vehicle speeds in the 20mph zone outside school.
To start the day, join us for a mass park and stride meeting at Harrogate Road outside Marks and Spencer from 8:30am.
What? Mass Park and Stride
When? Tuesday 2nd October from 08:30am
Where? From Harrogate Road outside Marks and Spencer (200 free 2hr park and stride parking spaces)
Why? To encourage families to make active journeys to school and keep cars away from the school gates.
Who? Leeds City Council’s Road Safety Team, Kerby the road safety mascot, Living Streets representatives plus as many families as possible.
If you don’t come by car, join us on the route to school.