Author: Mrs Hogarth

As part of Healthy Week, Year 5 and 6 had a water safety workshop. The children were taught about the dangers of water and how to stay safe when swimming. The children recognised that there are safe places to swim, such as public pools but that others such as reservoirs can be very dangerous. We learnt some quite shocking facts about how quickly cold water can cause your body to go into shock and the fact that there are approximately 400 drownings per year.

The children were taught about life saving devices they could use such as life buoys. They also learnt that if you get into difficulty in open water, you should float on your back like a starfish. This keeps your head above the water and allows you to breathe.

We watched a useful video which you can access here.

We are currently in the process of creating our own moving vehicles in design technology to keep Eggy the egg safe. The design criteria for our product was that the cars needed to be durable, safe and movable. The children had great fun drawing annotated diagrams of their designs and then calculating the dimensions. The children are using wooden dowel, axles and wooden wheels to build their cars. The children have used hack saws and G-clamps to cut the dowel to the appropriate lengths. They have built the bases of their cars so far and are now building the frames. The children are constantly thinking about safety features to ensure that Eggy survives if he/she had a collision.

Year 6 had an exciting afternoon on Friday as they took part in Junior Warrior. It was a scorching hot day which made the challenge even trickier. Junior Warrior is a huge 3km obstacle course where you scale walls, carry logs and crawl through tunnels. This is made even harder by the fact that everything is covered in mud! You could hear screams and giggles as the children made their way around this slippery course! As the children made their way to the finish line, they faced a huge water slide. This did however clean them up a bit! Thanks to all the parents that came along to support the children. I hope you managed to get the children and their clothes clean again!

The sun was shining down on our PE lesson today as we got to work improving our cricket skills. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working on our batting skills – accurately holding the bat and hitting with accuracy. Today, we were improving our bowling skills using the hit and point technique. The children worked in small groups and created a game with a scoring system depending on whether they managed to hit the wicket or some cones when bowling. The children then developed this further to include batting. All the children ended the session with a game of Kwik cricket.

Help at home: Can your child explain some of the bowling and batting techniques they’ve been working on over this half term?

The Year 5’s had the opportunity to visit Wetherby High School and experience what it is like to be a high school pupil. They were thrown in at the deep end and completed a whole day of lessons just like a Year 7! The day began with PE. The children were able to use their basket ball skills that they had learnt earlier in the year. They had a go at different skills and even did some races!

Art was a great lesson in which the children learnt about a New York graffiti artist called Jean-Michel Basquiat. They looked at some of his artwork and discussed colour, shape, line and form. They then had a go of creating some art in the same style. They used pastels to add colour and shape to their own images.

The last lesson of the day was cooking. The children all made their own pizza rolls. They did a great job of following instructions and the recipe, although some of them looked like a ghost by the end of the lesson due to excessive use of flour! They also did a great job of tidying and washing up. It was spotless!

The children had a great day and behaved so well, remembering to use their manners at all times.

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Well, that’s day one done. After a great coach trip, we finally arrived at our home for the next two nights. The walk from the coach to the centre was our first challenge as it’s all uphill. The children managed to drag the teachers to the top!

The next challenge was that the children needed to make their own beds and sort their rooms out. When this was completed, they were finally rewarded with a yummy lunch.

The afternoon saw the start of some great activities. We turned our hands to the giant swing, where our screams could be heard for miles. The children conquered their fears at the crate challenge – building a tower of crates until they fell! Others were seen hurtling down the zip line at 100 mph!

Everyone is very tired now and tucked up in bed. We are looking forward to another fun packed day tomorrow.

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Year 5 had a great day out on Monday trying their hand at a triathlon. Luckily the weather was kind as we had a lovely walk to John Smeaton Leisure Centre. The children were all geared up for the challenge of a swim, a run and a cycle. Even though it was tough, the children completed the course with huge smiles on their faces. Team spirit was high as they cheered their peers over the finish line. Each child received a goody bag and a well-deserved medal! We even got to meet one of the Brownlee brothers.

Next week, we are taking part in ‘Walk to school week!’

The children are being encouraged to be more active next week and avoiding travelling to school in a car. We would love the children to walk, cycle or scoot to school. We would really appreciate parents support on this. If you live further afield, maybe you could park near to school and walk the last part of your journey.

The children will be signing a pledge in their classes this week and will receive an activity book they will complete in school. Each day the classes will tally up the active journeys. If you have any photographs of your children completing their active journey to school, please send them to sarahhogarth@spherefederation.org.

Let’s make next week active, happy and healthy!

Help at home: If you are interested in finding out more, check out the following website.