PE with a difference
On Thursday, the whole of 3,4 had the chance to participate in some excellent football training by local coaches affiliated with Leeds United Football Club. Our plan is to use these skills in our PE sessions in the coming weeks too. As ever, the behaviour and attitude of our children was positively commented upon by the coaches. Well done 3,4! The coaches advertised some sessions that children from 5yrs and upwards may attend. Please see photo.
Here are a few photos of 3,4 B enjoying some of the last warm sunshine during a skipping challenge. We aim to improve the amount of skips we can do in one minute. Skipping is such a great way to improve our fitness and make our ‘legs feel like jelly!’-Zara
3,4 B Please see our photos from Science learning this week. (Follow on from previous post).
Class 5/6A News w/c 7th November
And so we have reached the end of week 2 of this half-term. Only 5 more school weeks until Christmas! (Is it too early to mention that word?) Let’s look at what the class have been up to this week.
In Writing we have begun to plan a short narrative piece about an apocalyptic world. Using a couple of videos as inspiration to help generate ideas and vocabulary, our pupils have been planning how they will set the scene for their narrative, describe their main character and give a brief insight into the plot.
Air resistance has been the focus of our Science work this week, as the pupils explored the effect of this force on different sized parachutes. Using cupcake cases and string to make the parachutes, pupils recorded how long it took them to fall to the floor and drew the conclusion that larger parachutes took the longest because of the increased air resistance.
Year 5 pupils have been exploring one of William Wordsworth’s most famous poems in Reading this week, “Daffodils“. Linking to our writing, we have been identifying how the use of similes, metaphors and personification helps to bring a piece of writing to life and make it engaging for the reader. We have also practised some of our oracy skills by learning the poem by heart and reciting to the rest of the class. I am really proud of the pupils’ efforts on this!
On Monday, the school will be recognising Anti Bullying Week through Odd Socks Day.
For this we ask all pupils to come to school wearing odd socks, to encourage people to express themselves and celebrate their individuality and what makes us all unique! When talking about bullying, Scholes Elmet Primary School defines this as follows:
Bullying is where you hurt someone, physically or emotionally (including online), several times on purpose.
What might bullying look like?
If any of these things happen several (lots of) times, it is bullying.
Hurting peoples’ feelings, for example, name calling, teasing, threatening, ignoring, leaving people out or spreading rumours
Hurting peoples’ bodies, for example, hitting, punching or kicking
Throughout the course of the week, we will be discussing what bullying is, and what we can do as individuals and as a school to prevent it.
Finally, let’s check out certificate winners for this week.
Great Learning – Louis M. Has been on task across all subjects this week. His planning work for his written narrative piece has made for great reading. I can’t wait to see the final version!
Living and Learning – Ben. Is always showing consideration to others in class. Kind, polite and honest, Ben is always making the best possible choices.
P.E – Harry. Has shown some super hockey skills this week with great stick control. He throws himself with enthusiasm into every new task.
Have a lovely weekend!
Mr. Robson
Bonfire night
We began the week talking about children’s experiences of Bonfire Night. Children loved playing in the small world area and launching the rocket into the sky. Whooooosh!
We watched firework videos and talked about the colours, patterns and noises that we saw and heard. Outside, we listened to some firework sounds and pretended to be fireworks, dancing with ribbons.
What noise did the firework make? Pop! Bang! Whizz! Crackle, crackle! Fizz!
Children also talked about the bright colours that they’d seen in the sky and enjoyed using brightly coloured paints, to make firework prints and pictures.
In the shallow sand tray outside, we looked carefully at the firework cards to try and create different patterns and shapes. There were crosses, zig-zags, spirals and wavy patterns.
In group time, we’ve been learning to compare quantities using language such as ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’. E.g. The blue plate has fewer cookies than the blue plate. I have more biscuits than you.
Try and use some of this language at home, too. Children are often familiar with the words ‘more’ and ‘most’ but don’t often hear ‘fewer/fewest’.
Reminders
- Next week, Monday 14 November is ‘Anti-Bullying’ day in school. It is also Odd Socks Day and children and staff are encouraged to come to school wearing odd socks to celebrate that we are all unique.
- Nursery coffee morning – after Nursery drop off on Wednesday 16 November. See our earlier post.
- WATER BOTTLES – Please check your child’s bottle has their NAME clearly marked on.
A special visitor!
A special visitor!
We had a zoom call with Abbey House Museum. We learnt lots about what it was like living in the past (Victorian era). The children were fascinated and learnt lots! We learnt about how they went to the toilet, washed their clothes, brushed their teeth and kept warm.
“There were no toilets so they went in a potty” Olivia.
“They scraped soap on a grater” Zachary.
“They brushed their teeth with their fingers” Ella.
“The grown-ups slept downstairs and the children slept upstairs” Seb.
Ask your child what they have learnt about the ‘past’ this week. You could send an email with their quote.
Night monkey, day monkey
This week in literacy we have been reading the book ‘night monkey, day monkey’ by Julia Donaldson. We talked about animals we might see in the day and night. The children learnt the word ‘nocturnal’ and have been confidently using this in their speech when discussing different animals.
“It’s a bat – its nocturnal” Daniel said.
“Day monkey wouldn’t see it (the owl) because it’s nocturnal!” Georgie said.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog (it’s along the play bar) and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.
Maths – comparison
This week, we have been comparing groups of objects. We have been using the words ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ and ‘equal number’ when comparing groups of objects.
This week’s maths challenge was to compare two Numicon pieces using weighing scales and say which number is more, fewer or equal.
We also played the game ‘who has more’. The children had to guess who had more counters in their hand without peeking. They then explained why they thought this.
“Mrs Flynn, you have a bigger hand so you can get more” Mila explained.
“Maddison has a little hand, so she has less” Thomas said.
Try and compare groups of objects when sitting down to eat. For example, you could compare who has more pieces of broccoli on their plate – or even who has eaten more!
Phonics
This week, the children have learnt the phonemes (the sound a letter makes) v,w,x and y. They’ve also been practicing writing the graphemes (the written letters). We have been challenging the children by asking them to spell words using the letters that they know. This week your child has been spelling the words; sock, hug, sad and rock. Can your child tell you what phonemes (the sound a letter makes) they can hear in these words?
This week, your child has learnt the tricky words; and, has and his. A tricky word is a word you cannot sound out – you just have to know it by sight!
Phonics home-link activity
Play tricky word BOO!
What you will need:
- the following tricky words written on individual pieces of paper; and, as, I, is, the, and, has, his.
- the word BOO written on a few pieces of paper
- 1 cup (to put the words in)
How to play:
- Take it in turns to pick a word out of the cup.
- Read the word.
- If you pick BOO you have to put all of your words back!
- The person who has collected the most ‘tricky words’ at the end wins!
Poetry Picnic
Each week, we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. This week’s poem is ‘a basket of apples’.
We talk about how a poem sometimes has rhyming words and sometimes doesn’t. Can your child tell you the rhyming words in this week’s poem? We also talk about how a poem can have a fast rhythm or a slow rhythm. Can your child tell you if this week’s poem is fast or slow?
Challenges
This week, we’ve introduced your child to challenges. Challenging activities are around the classroom for your child to complete to earn a brick. The aim is to get a tower of bricks taller than five. Challenges include the learning we’re focusing on throughout the week.
Ask your child what challenges they’ve done this week.
At the end of the week, we talked about who had more and who had fewer bricks. If your child’s tower is more than five, your child will come home with a certificate!
Reminder
Next week, Thursday 17th November (9.00-9.30) you are invited to a Marvellous maths stay and learn. This is an opportunity for you to come into school to find out about the Early Years Curriculum and watch your child learning in school.
Please fill in and return your invitation to confirm your attendance. It is important that we know you are attending so that we can ensure your child is in the correct classroom area to greet you.
School charities
In 2C we have been looking at a number of different charities that we might like to support. We researched and discussed different charities such as;
RSPCA/ RSPB
WWF
Candle Lighters
Cancer Research
Cool Earth
We discussed what charities are set up to achieve and how they help causes in need. We then created posters for how we could raise money for these charities. Our top ideas were bake sales and sponsored car washes. We are hoping to set up an event in the near future.
In 2C, each child voted for which charity they wanted to support. Our JLT representative will take our ideas to a meeting next week, to support the decision about which charity we should support as a school this year.
Science: Sound
Our Science topic for this half term is Sound (physics). Last week, we went on a sound survey and assessed the noisiest place in school. It was the playground because this is near the road.
This week, we’ve been learning all about how sounds are made.
Here’s a summary …
When any object vibrates, it causes movement in the air particles. These particles bump into the particles close to them, which makes them vibrate too, causing them to bump into more air particles. This movement, called sound waves, keeps going until they run out of energy.
Using instruments, drums and beaters, rice and lentils against plastic, we explored the sounds we could make. We also tried aking sounds with our bodies. It’s such fun exploring music and sound!
Finally, we discussed making sounds louder and quieter depending on how hard or soft you hit them.
Scholes Show Winners!
We were lucky enough to enjoy an assembly this week in which some winners from Scholes show were announced. This is a yearly event in which children from the local area are encouraged to participate. We had three very surprised winners in our school.
Emma won a huge trophy for the most points overall in the children’s sections, but she also won two more trophies for the best handwriting and baking – well done!
William won a lovely shiny trophy for the best rock painting. He created a circular design using metallic paint.
Clara won a trophy for the best handwriting in the under 8 group – well done.
Let’s hope more children join in next year – it sounds like a lot of fun. Well done again to the winners – keep polishing those trophies!
Nursery coffee morning
Remembrance Day poppies
Today in our art lessons, KS1 made some lovely poppies using their finger prints. We discussed the meaning behind the poppies and their significance.
Art: observational drawings
This art topic has involved the children learning about William Morris – an artist and designer from the Victorian Era. His designs were inspired by nature. This week, we have also used nature to inspire ourselves. Using a selection of leaves, we have completed observational drawings. Whilst sketching, the children had to consider proportion, line, tone and shade. The children were able to complete some excellent, accurate drawings. They were also very confident at looking at each others artwork and talking about strengths and weaknesses – What could the person do to add to their sketch?
