Author: Mr Roundtree

02 December 2022

This week’s Talk Time poses a moral question:

Is physical health more important than mental health?

 What is physical health?

Physical health is about a healthy body. This includes proper nutrition and plenty of physical activity.

What is mental health?

Mental health is about a healthy mind. Mental health is a sense of identity and self-worth; positive family and peer relationships; an ability to be productive and to learn.

Have a discussion with friends and family at home. Consider what physical and mental health looks and feels like for you. Does this match up to your friends’ and family’s ideas?

After the discussion with friends and family, what conclusion do you reach? Do others around you agree?

Class 5/6A News

Phew! What a week that has been.  Not only have the pupils crammed in a huge amount of learning, we’ve also been cheering England and Wales to World Cup glory!  Let’s catch up on the goings on in Mr. Robson’s class this week.

In Maths, Year 5 have been getting to grips with mixed numbers and improper fractions, and being able to convert one into the other. One of the key skills to success in this is sold times table knowledge, which we have reinforced this week with Times Table Rockstars sessions at every opportunity.  Having that solid times table knowledge helps to unlock a whole host of mathematical understanding.

Ever wondered what it’s like to interview a snowman?  Well we managed to put one in the hot seat this week along with their friend Lily.  Our Reading focus has been on the heart-warming Christmas tale of “Lily and the Snowman”, where a snowman magically comes to life in Lily’s garden, the two build up a strong bond only for Lily to grow up and the pair drift apart (all while the snowman lived in Lily’s fridge).  Our pupils took turns to be the main characters, whilst the rest of the class used their inference skills to ask questions about how they might have felt at certain parts of the story.

Water resistance was the focus of our Science experiments this week.  Tasked with investigating how changing the shape of an object affected the amount of water resistance it was subjected to, the class took part in a competition to see who could create a shape which would reach the bottom of the tank the quickest.  Some very creative designs were on show, but congratulations to Amelie whose effort reached the surface in 0.38 seconds.

The class have been under strict instructions to follow instructions this week, as creating a clear and concise set of instructions is our Writing focus at present.  Eary in the week they got to grips with tying a necktie, drawing a house and creating origami.  We will build on this further in the coming week and identify the key language and layout that makes a good set of instructions.

There’s just time to see who our lucky certificate winners were this week:

P.E – Sam Wilkinson: Always on task, gives 110% effort in every game.

Learning – Harry: A Strong week all round for Harry, but he has particularly shone on his fractions work in Maths.

Living & Learning: Millie – A mature, confident student who is always demonstrating the best version of herself.

Enjoy the weekend!

Mr. Robson

Living and Learning: Mental health

Mental Health

We’ve started a three week block of living and learning lessons around mental health this week. Being able to identify and talk about feelings and emotions is an important part of mental health. In our living and learning lessons, we have shared our feelings and emotions and talked about how emotions can change and that they don’t stay the same forever. We can look after our mental health by doing this regularly.

Writing – Little Red Riding Hood

This week, we have been been reading and acting out the story of Little Red Riding Hood.  The children have enjoyed creating their own actions and using prosody to retell the story.

Next week, we have the author of Little Red (Bethan Woollvin) meeting us virtually.  Little Red is an alternative version of Little Red Riding Hood.

Help at home by reading alternative versions of traditional tales and discussing similarities and differences.

This week’s message (Friday 25 November 2022)

This week’s message is in five parts: an important announcement, a celebration, a reminder, a question and an article to support your child at home.

May’s extra bank holiday and training day

This morning, we’ve received an important email that affects the training day we had planned for Friday 12 May and the Key Stage 2 SAT tests:

An additional bank holiday in honour of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will take place on Monday 8 May 2023. As this date had previously been announced as the first day of the 2023 key stage 2 (KS2) test week in England, a change to the KS2 test schedule next year will be necessary.

Ministers have considered the situation carefully and have decided that KS2 tests will take place in the same week with tests following the usual order but each taking place one day later than originally planned.

This means that the tests will now run from Tuesday to Friday, and this has a knock-on effect on Friday’s training day which needs to be re-arranged. We know this may cause some inconvenience – as you can see, the situation is beyond our control.

We’re exploring ways to overcome this problem (such as to move the training day one day later, too, so it would be on Monday 15 May). We’ll confirm details as soon as we can.

Times tables

In last week’s message, we talked about the Year 4 multiplication tables check.

Yesterday, the government released data about the 2022 check – the one that our current Year 5 pupils took in June.

Nationally, 27% of pupils scored 25 out of 25. At Scholes (Elmet) Primary, 60% scored top marks.

Nationally, the average score was 19.8 out of 25. The average at Scholes was 22.8.

Well done to the Year 5 pupils for such a great achievement, and thank you to adults at home for helping your child to practise their times tables. (Next step is to continue to practise – a little and often – to maintain that rapid recall!)

Top topic

Next Friday from 2.30pm, teachers and children will welcome you to the class to share the great learning they’ve been doing during Topic Time.

This is a drop-in session – come and have a look at your child’s topic learning from 2.30pm.

(Parents of children in Reception should look out for other ways they can join in with their child’s learning journey.)

A question of behaviour…

All schools in England are required to have a Behaviour Policy. We’re currently reviewing our Positive Relationships Policy (that’s the name we use for our Behaviour Policy).

We usually ask about behaviour in our annual survey of parents – this year, 100% of of you who expressed an opinion said you were happy with how we make sure our pupils are well-behaved.

During our review, it’d be great to hear from you. If you’ve any particular views or suggestions, please let us know: scholesoffice@spherefederation.org

Finally this week, a message from Mr Catherall, one of our English leaders, about effective speaking and listening…

Support your child’s oracy

In Sphere Federation schools, we place a high emphasis on oracy: the ability to communicate and express yourself effectively. It’s about having the vocabulary to be able to say what you want to say and the grammatical awareness to structure your thoughts in a logical way.

Oracy is a crucial life skill:

  • it increases engagement in learning
  • it improves academic outcomes
  • it fosters wellbeing and confidence
  • it supports transitions and enhances employability
  • it equips students to thrive in later life
  • if all children develop good oracy skills, it promotes equality in society

How can you help at home?

  • Be an oracy role model: model good speaking and listening skills to your
    child, and when they’re in ear-shot.
  • Don’t ‘dumb down’ your language: try not to avoid using more complex
    vocabulary. Instead, use complicated language but then succinctly explain
    what it means.
  • Complete the Talk Time homework we provide each week: these are a great opportunity to have a conversation and model good oracy skills.

Have a go this weekend!

25 November 2022

This week’s Talk Time relates to this half term’s Art topic.

I can compare and contrast different artworks, architecture and designs. 

I can give my opinions, and back them up with reasons. 

In our Art lessons, we’re thinking about the work of these artists, architects and designers and we’re using the following vocabulary:

Y1,2 Artists:
George Seurat
Bridget Riley
Vocabulary: pointillism, op art

Y3,4 Architects:
St Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren
London Aquatic Centre, Zara Hadid
Vocabulary: architect, architecture

Y5,6 Designers:
William Morris
Orla Kiely
Vocabulary: pattern, repetition, symmetry, foreground, background

The key to this task is being able to explain thoughts and opinions. It’s worth remembering that the opinions of one person may not match those of another and that it’s okay to disagree.

We’d like your child to speak confidently and passionately about art. Using ‘because’ will encourage your child to think carefully about their own interpretation of the art. Offering your own opinions may also help your child to consider alternative viewpoints and perspectives.

Discussions about the art could take place in a number of ways. Here’s a couple of suggestions:

  • Discuss each piece separately before then looking at them side by side.
  • Have both pieces side by side from the start.

Whichever approach you opt for, referring to these questions and the vocabulary above will help to focus your discussions at home:

  • Explain what you like about each piece.
  • Explain what you dislike about each piece.
  • How are the two pieces similar?
  • How are the two pieces different?
  • Considering what is most important to you, which piece do you prefer?

Reading Records: WAGOLL

Your child may sometimes come home from school and say that they have seen a WAGOLL.  We often use WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) to demonstrate how we want a particular piece of work or behaviour to look like.  Today I want to share an example of a WAGOLL Reading Record.

Our expectation for pupils is a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes reading at home each day with an adult.  When the child has read with their adult, the date, book title and pages read needs to be recorded in the diary section, and the adult needs to sign this.  Furthermore, if homework has been set, this must also be completed.  This allows the pupil to immerse themselves into the text beyond simply reading to a target page.  We are seeing an increasing number of pupils who either forget to bring their reading records or forgot to complete the homework.

It is vital that pupils are reading at home, and completing the homework when set.

Parents, please continue to support your child’s reading at home.  Developing their competence in this area is vital in them being able to access the wider curriculum.

Class 5/6A News

Another week done and dusted in Class 5/6A.  There’s only 20 days left of school until the Christmas holidays!  Let’s catch up on the class goings-on from this week.

In Writing this week we have continued writing our narrative about an apocalyptic world using figurative language.  The students have produced some very imaginative work and have really got to grips with engaging their reader in different ways.

Tuesday saw us become physicists in our Science lesson.  Pupils recreated the famous experiment of Galileo Galilei to see if objects of differing mass fell to the ground at the same speed.  Using a tennis ball, football and basketball, and dropping these from the same height, our students were able to show that despite the differing mass of the objects, the velocity of which they fell was broadly the same.

It has been really pleasing to see the number of pupils who have improved their arithmetic test scores this week in both Year 5 and 6.  Year 5 have begun to look at unit and non-unit fractions, whilst Year 6 have explored long division.  Parents, you can help support your child’s maths development a home by accessing a number of resources through the Scholes website.  Click here https://www.scholeselmet.leeds.sch.uk/learn-more/calculations/ for more details.

Mrs. Thorn and the class have produced some excellent pieces of Art this week.  The pupils have been looking at using different mediums, with this week focusing on chalk pastels. They have produced some very colourful pieces as you can see.

In Topic we have looked at how printing on a large scale is used to replicate the works of William Morris.  Our pupils have today had a go at their own printing methods to create monochrome leaf pictures.

Before we go, let’s see who the lucky recipients of our certificates are this week:

Great learning – Sam B.  Always on time and on task.  A great role model for behaviour and attitude to learning and does himself and the class proud.

P.E – Will.  Gives 100% in every lesson.  Plays every game in the right spirit and is a great partner and teammate.

Living and Learning – Ruby.   Polite, considerate and on task.  Ruby can always be relied upon to do the right thing first time, every time.

Enjoy your weekend!

Mr. Robson

This week’s message (Friday 11 November 2022)

This week’s message has just four items, two of which are football-related…

Zoom sessions to support your child at home

This term, we’ve been hosting a series of Zoom presentations to help you support your child’s learning at home. So far, we’ve had sessions on  phonics and early reading; number; topic; and an introduction to Early Years. If you attended a session, or caught up afterwards by watching the recording: thank you.

There’s a few more coming up, all at 6pm on Mondays:

  • Online safety: 28 November 2022
  • Key Stage 2 SATs: 09 January 2023 (this one is mainly for parents of Y6 children)
  • Key Stage 1 SATs: 27 February 2023 (this one is mainly for parents of Y2 children)
  • Reception to Year 1 transition: 19 June 2023 (this one is for parents of Reception children)

If you’re interested in attending, please either send us a message on the School Gateway app or email the school office. We’ll then email the Zoom joining details out to all those who have expressed an interest.

If your child’s in Early Years, look out for the range of sessions specifically for you.

Time to learn times tables?

By the end of Year 4, children are expected to have a rapid recall of their times tables and corresponding tables facts. There’s a national assessment at the end of Year 4 – read more about the multiplication tables check.

Please keep making sure your child practises their times tables – focus on the one that’s being learnt in class. (Check the homework sheet to find this out.) Even if your child’s in Year 5 or Year 6 – after the national multiplication tables check – they should keep practising. We recommend little and enough (and this might include time on Times Tables Rock Stars).

Top tips! Encourage your child with a ‘buy one, get one free’ offer: knowing 4 x 7 = 28 means they also know 7 x 4 = 28, for example. And many people find 7 x 8 = 56 one of the toughest facts to learn, but if you think of it as 56 = 7 x 8, then the four digits in order might help (5, 6, 7, 8).

World Cup

Whatever your feelings about this year’s World Cup, the Youth Sport Trust has launched a social media competition which aims to inspire you and your child to play together via a series of football-based challenges – they can even be done in your living room. Check out the Half Time Challenge.

Is your child in a football club?

Every week millions of children play football, many of them in organised clubs and organisations. As part of its safeguarding response, the Football Association has created a safeguarding course for parents.

The course is designed to help parents make informed choices about the football settings where they enrol their children. (It might help raise awareness of safeguarding in other sporting clubs, too.) The course can help you to recognise best practice and see where there may be concerns, so that you can report them quickly and effectively. Check out the free course.

What a wet week we’ve had! Let’s hope for a drier weekend. Whatever the weather, have a happy and healthy one.