Attendance matters
Our attendance figures for Autumn are really encouraging – thank you to all the parents and carers who have helped to ensure children are in school as much as possible.
The whole school attendance figure is 96.8%. This is a little higher than for the same period last year (96.3%), which we’re really pleased about. Let’s aim to get higher than 97.0% by the end of the Spring term.
The year group totals are:
- Reception: 94.9%
- Year 1: 97.2%
- Year 2: 96.7%
- Year 3: 96.3%
- Year 4: 97.5%
- Year 5: 97.5%
- Year 6: 97.2%
Well done especially to Years 4 and 5, both of which have attendance quite a lot higher than the school average!
Living and Learning
- Drug, alcohol and tobacco education (DATE)
- Keeping safe and managing risk
Here are the weekly Living and Learning statements, for this half term, to support this learning.
- I don’t interrupt (with my mouth or my hand).
- I can make things better.
- I know what a drug is.
- I am aware of risks.
- I make safe choices.
- I stay safe online.
Be mindful
At this busy time of year, mindfulness can help children to take control of their emotions.
During our recent themed week, all children took part in mindfulness workshops to learn a variety of techniques to use at school and at home. Here’s a reminder of a few of them that might be useful for over the holidays. A mindfulness newsletter/parent guide will be sent out in the new year.
Breathing hug
Start with both arms in the air. Put one hand across your tummy and the other on your shoulder. Breath slowly in and out.
Breathing tree
In a standing position, raise your arms as you breath in and release your arms back down as you breath out.
‘Ok’ breathing
Make an ‘o’ sign on your tummy button to represent that it is ok to feel different emotions. Slowly breath in and out.
Mindfulness bottle
This is a bit like a snow globe. Shake it up and watch it. Simply watch the disturbance as it begins to settle – as does our mind.
Take a bottle, add glitter and food colouring and seal tightly.
Road Safety Pantomime ‘The Gift of Life’
Yesterday, all pupils watched this lighthearted show that delivered important road safety messages.
Pupils joined Santa and Rudolf as they travelled back in time to prevent young Neil Downe from being knocked down. Whilst being fun and interactive, the pantomime covered the following road safety themes:
- the Green Cross Code
- seat belts
- be bright, be seen
- safer cycling
Ask your child about the performance and what messages they took away.
Fab feedback!
In a time when many local authorities have stripped away the support they previously provided to school, Leeds continues to provide support to its schools. Our School Improvement Advisor visited recently and had lots of positives to tell us about:
The qualities of teaching… endorse the strong end of year outcomes, which have become typical of Moortown. Informal observations across the school verified the good subject knowledge and understanding of the national age related expectations for each member of the teaching team. For example, in Year 1, the temporary teacher led a writing session whereby pupils of all abilities were able to reap success.
Maths teaching observed… provided evidence of the school’s focus on lesson starters designed to develop arithmetical understanding. In each lesson, good subject knowledge was apparent.
It is very clear that pupils understand why they should behave well, rather than doing it because they are told to. Behaviour in each of the lessons seen was impeccable.
The early years classroom provides a well organised, welcoming and productive environment in which children can learn. Very well modelled behaviour and expectations from adults result in children quickly working well together, developing positive behaviour and an eagerness to try new things.
The Topic Book scrutiny evidenced a rich curriculum whereby children are afforded frequent opportunity to apply their reading, writing and mathematical skills beyond the core curriculum. The children’s books evidence an equality of demand for all abilities. Books also evidence a wealth of lessons that provide for ‘active learning’ opportunities…
Cross Country qualifier
Congratulations to Grace in Year 6 who finished 6th in the Year 6 girls Leeds East North East Cross Country race at Cardinal Heenan school last week to qualify for the Leeds final next year.
Well done to all children who represented school in traditional cross country weather. For some of the children, this was the first time they have taken part in a competitive event and spirits were still high despite the weather.
Terrific times tables
By the end of Year 4, children are expected to know their times tables and corresponding division facts up to 12 x 12, as stated in the National Curriculum. They should be able to recall a multiplication or division fact within about five seconds.
A couple of weeks ago, we checked this for children in Key Stage 2 – and got some really encouraging results.
Out of a total score of 25, children in Year 4 got an average of 21.2 out of 25 – and, of course, there are still two more terms to keep on improving.
We’ve seen similarly encouraging results in Years 5 and 6. 100% of the Year 6 children scored over 20 out of 25, and their average score is 24.6.
In school, we explore times tables so children have a secure understanding of the concept of multiplication and division, and the various patterns and sequences related to each times table. There’s also regular practice in each class. We’ve also introduced regular tables to practise at home, followed by times table tests each Friday. Thank you for supporting your child with this.
If you’re confident your child knows their tables, don’t forget to help them know related facts. So, 3 x 8 = 24, which means…
- 8 x 3 = 24
- 24 ÷ 8 = 3
- 24 ÷ 3 = 8
- 30 x 8 = 240
- 3 x 80 = 240
- 30 x 80 = 2,400
- 3 x 0.8 = 2.4
- and so on!
Top tip! 7 x 8 = 56 is probably the hardest fact to know. Here’s a way that might help… Reverse the statement: 56 = 7 x 8. Can you see the sequence of the digits? 5, 6, 7, 8… 5 6 is 7 8s…
Crazy carpet dangerous driver
The article below is taken directly from the Yorkshire Evening Post website. We’d like to thank the parent who has reported this shocking incident to the police.
Leeds driver spotted with huge carpets obscuring his windscreen
A father walking his child to school had a shock when he spotted this car with its windscreen obscured by CARPETS. The man saw the overloaded vehicle in Moortown while dropping his son off at nearby Moortown Primary School. When he challenged the man driving the Ford estate, he was told he could still see where he was going despite the two large carpets strapped to the roof rack.
“I was just about to cross the road when I saw the car with its windscreen almost entirely covered by the carpets. The driver had the window open and I saw him adjust the position of the carpet as it had moved while he was driving. I asked the driver why he was driving dangerously, and he said ‘I always do it like this’ and that it was ‘OK, because I can still see where I’m going.’ ”
He took the photo at around 9am on Thursday morning.
“Complacent attitudes towards driving are becoming a real concern for me and my family. I’ve also recently witnessed people using mobile phones while driving, driving along the footpaths, parking on pavements, speeding and even a van driver eating a bowl of cereal while passing the school gates at drop-off time.”
The driver has been reported to police.
Subscribe to First News and raise money for school
Sphere Federation has teamed up with First News to offer a fantastic opportunity which will help us raise money for our school.
The children love reading First News in school and now you have the chance to get a great offer and have First News delivered to your house every Friday for your kids to enjoy at home.
To make things even better for every subscription parents take out using our unique voucher codes X17SFED we will get money back to put towards our school.
To subscribe, please click here.
Packed lunches
On Monday, Caitlin Kitson, Nutritionist and Healthy Eating Adviser, delivered a whole school healthy eating assembly. The main focus was the importance of healthy packed lunches.
We talked about the different food groups on the Eatwell Guide, why different proportions of each food group are important for our bodies and how to achieve this in a packed lunch.
It was great to hear the children’s excellent knowledge of the Eatwell Guide when answering Caitlin’s questions.
At Moortown Primary, our packed lunch guidance includes:
- information about the different food groups
- how to put together a healthy, balanced packed lunch
- links to recipes and ideas for healthy packed lunches
Following the assembly, all children were given a copy of our packed lunch guidance and the Eatwell guide.
As an alternative to packed lunches, school meals, including a vegetarian option, are prepared daily in our kitchen and children are offered a choice of main courses and desserts. Children select their main meal choice at the start of the day. Catering Leeds provides food which meets national Food Standards criteria. School meals can be combined with packed lunches.
Free school meals are available to all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2. They are also available to some older children according to family income. It’s important to register for entitlement to free school meals, even if your child has a packed lunch or is in a younger class – this is so we can receive additional funding (called the pupil premium) which we can use to help your child.