We love this great homework in 3,4EK.
Here’s a poem which is great to read – especially the part highlighted in purple!
This Scrabble game is a great challenge. (It’s a good way to learn spellings, too – whether you have real Scrabble pieces or not, can your child arrange this week’s spelling words in a grid?)
In class this week, we dedicated some learning time to consider which of our 8Rs we use. Do we use them all? Or some more than others?
We called it …
‘R thinking about our thinking‘.
At various times throughout our day, we stopped to think about what ‘R’ we have used. Was it … resilience? reflection? being ready? being responsive? taking responsibility? risk-taking? remembering? or being resourceful?
Problem solving in Maths: Resilience
Topic research using iPads: being resourceful and being responsible for what we searched for.
In some lessons, we used more than we realised.
We remember our times tables and division facts and respond to the task.
Being ready, resourceful and reflective when we write.
This metacognition, or ‘thinking about thinking’, really helps the children to understand how they think, feel, act and learn. Research shows that if we reflect on how we learn, then we become better at learning. 
At Scholes (Elmet) 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 3 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, their friends and the fences around the school grounds. They could also tell me about the different coloured lanyards issued to visitors and staff in school and why they are different colours.
It is clear to see that the safety and welfare of the children at Scholes (Elmet) 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.
Scholes (Elmet) Primary is a happy and healthy and safe place to learn.
The first of two parent-teacher meetings are coming up soon: 22 October and 24 October. At these meetings, you’ll notice a small change.
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.
As always, Miss Hague will be around to hear your questions, compliments and concerns with these arrangements.
Our Living and Learning this week has been to remember and reflect on what we learn. As learners, we store information through our sensory system which sends information to our brains. In class, we have looked at ways in which we remember best and not forget.
Visual Memory Games:
Look at a try of objects …
Count, visualise, remember …
Then write down what you saw…
Then check your memory… and try again to improve.
Auditory Memory:
We also tested our memory skills by learning a poem off by heart.
First, we read it together, read it to our partner and read it to ourselves. Then we added a steady beat by clicking or clapping. This musical element really helped us remember the lines.
Why not try it together at home?
https://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/walking-my-iguana
For homework this week, we are asking the children to remember a poem off by heart. Ask your child about the best ways to remember their learning and have fun!
Playing Games:
Play matching games online or with cards for learning times tables facts and spellings. Engage the learner through fun tasks so that it is more memorable.
Thanks to the parents and carers who came along to the Y2,3,4 Learning Workshops for Reading and Maths this week.
‘Learning about the help sheets on the website will be a great help.’
‘The workshop was really helpful so I can help our child in the same way as school are teaching him.’
Today, we had a fantastic treat from the theatre company, Hobgoblin, who performed an hour-long show, ‘The History of Britain’. Both children and staff were thoroughly entertained and learned lots about key events in British history. Here are some pictures from the show.
From the Ice Age…
the vikings and Romans …
and William the Conqueror …
the Black Death …
a pantomime sketch of Robin Hood and Sheriff of Nottingham …
and much, much more.
We followed the show with an afternoon drama workshop, which was just as engaging and fun. Thank you, Hobgoblin!
Orienteering is an exciting outdoor adventure sport which involves walking or running whilst navigating around a course using a detailed map and sometimes a compass. The aim is to navigate in sequence between a set of control points and decide the best route to complete the course in the quickest time. Today, our children did just that and learned many new skills along the way. Here are some pictures…
and check your team’s course times!
More information about further Orienteering activities and local events will be sent home shortly, so look out for letters in book bags.
Our Living and Learning statement this week deals with two more of our 8 Rs for learning – being resilient and resourceful.
Being resilient isn’t easy, especially when you find things hard. Our story, “Izzy Gizmo“, helped us to talk about times when we just want to give up. The message in the book helped us to understand that we must keep trying even when we are faced with difficulties.
Time Travel
We’ve kicked off our Time Travel topic with some learning about chronology, looking at how transport has changed over time. The children pieced together a timeline of different transport designs.
For homework last week, the children created their own type of transport and we certainly had some imaginative designs. The quality and variety of models were wonderful to see.
