Living and learning: I know how to seek help.
Our living and learning lessons this week have been about being safe – this follows on well from our previous learning about assessing risks. The NSPCC promote the idea of ‘Speak out Stay safe’ which is a programme that promotes safeguarding. The children have understood the forms of abuse that can take place, how abuse is never a child’s fault and where to get help if needed. It also talked about big and small worries and how these can build up and cause a child to feel worried, upset or anxious. The children were confident at identifying who their own trusted adults are and felt comfortable that they could ask for help. We also talked about how to start a conversation with a trusted adult, as this can sometimes be the hardest part.
Below is the link to the NSPCC website if you would like any further information.
Help at home: talk to your child and find out who their trusted adults are. Do they know who to go to if they need help or support? Ask them about the video. Can they remember who the NSPCC mascot is? What were the main points?
Science: Out of this world!
As part of our Science topic of Space, we have been looking at the planets which make up our system and exploring the idea that the solar system is heliocentric (that the sun is at the centre of the solar system).
To help us understand this more easily we can use models to bring these concepts to life. To show the sizes of the planets in relation to one another, we have used various fruit to make a model of the solar system. In terms of the distance of each planet from the sun, we used a roll of toilet paper to measure each planet’s distance from the sun, and used differing number of pupils to show their size. Understanding the position of each planet in relation to the sun helped with our final model where we replicated each planet’s orbit speed. The key learning point from this model was that the closer the planet is to the sun, the quicker its orbit speed due to an increased gravitational pull.
Our pupils have had a lot of fun this week bringing the solar system to life in various ways!
PE: moving
We were very excited this week to get the apparatus out for PE. The children set up stations in which they would have to use different moving skills. They were using balance and coordination to move safely across the apparatus and even thought of creative ways to move across the equipment. The most popular activities were the rope ladders and ropes. These both require a lot of upper body strength to get to the top. The 8 Rs for learning were definitely applied in this lesson! Some children faced their fears too – overcoming their fear of heights to tackle the activities. An important part of the lesson was also talking about how to be safe on the equipment so no-one got injured – the children knew how to safely move the equipment.
Leeds United Positive Choices Workshop
This morning, year 6 had a visit from Vicky at Leeds United. During the session we discussed a range of topics: anti social behaviour, legal ages, making positive choices, using social media safely and consequences for our actions.
Class 5/6A News
A whirlwind week in Class 5/6A has seen us travel all around the world and beyond, plan to rob a train, and get to grips with multiplication. Let’s take a closer look.
In Maths, Year 5 have begun to look at multiplying four digit numbers by a one digit number. Having a solid knowledge of times tables will be essential for our pupils to succeed with this learning. How to help: Support your child’s learning by encouraging use of Times Tables Rockstars at home on a daily basis. The Soundcheck option allows pupils to test all of their times table knowledge, or they can choose to focus on a particular number.
Our Writing focus has been on using speech to convey a character’s personality and advance the plot of a story. The pupils have been using the short silent-film ‘Ruckus’, based on two thieves looking to rob a train to steal a jewel, to come up with a script to develop their skills in advancing the plot. They then acted this out in front of the rest of the class. I was really impressed with the quality of their dialogue, mix of colloquial expressions, and variety of ways to convey feeling.
In Topic we have looked at the effects of climate change on two separate parts of the world; Greenland and the Solomon Islands. The concept of interdependence, and how events in one part of the world can affect another, was our focus, as the melting ice caps in Greenland, are contributing to the rising sea levels which puts island nations such as the Solomon Islands at risk.
During our circle time as part of Living and Learning, we have been continuing our discussions around understanding what a drug is, and providing strategies to handle peer pressure. We had a very enthusiastic and thought-provoking discussion around how young people can be influenced by many different parties when it comes to drugs, and role-played being able to make good choices around our health.
Science saw us explore the planets within our solar system, and come up with memorable mnemonics to help us remember the order. My personal favourite is My Very Elderly Mother Just Served Us Nachos (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).
There’s just time to congratulate our certificate winners this week.
Great Learning – Gene. Consistently showing a great attitude to learning, and excellent presentation.
P.E – Esme. A real team player. Gives 100% in each task, and wowed with her basketball dribbling.
Living and Learning – Bethenny. Mature, composed and considerate, she is a valuable contributor to each of our group discussions.
Have a great weekend!
Mr. Robson
P.S below are two incredible pieces of artwork by Esme Clarke in Year 5. She has drawn some superb pictures of Wednesday and Tyler from the film “Wednesday”.
Topic: What are the causes of climate change?
The children are busily enjoying the geography topic and have this week been learning about the causes of climate change.
The children read articles and watched a video about how increased food waste, deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels are contributing to the increasing temperature of the Earth. Methane and carbon dioxide are the main contributing gases that are destroying the ozone layer. The year 6’s were given the opportunity to show off their creative sides and create a booklet that shows their knowledge of this topic.
Here are some lovely examples of what they produced.
Help at home: Ask your child about the causes if climate change. Do they know the vocabulary for this term? Can they give you any definitions?
Class News 5/6A
Happy New Year to all pupils, parents and families! I hope you have all had a restful and happy festive period. It has been great to be able to welcome the children back into class. It may have been a short week but we have packed a lot in. Let’s see what they’ve been getting up to.
Our main Topic focus will be geography this half term, in particular ‘Environment and Natural Disasters’. We have been looking at the difference between weather and climate, and exploring the causes of climate change. The Year 6 pupils have filmed their very own version of ‘Newsround’ to report on what is leading to increased global warming across the world.
In Science, Earth and Space are our focus for the next seven weeks. Together we have been looking at the orbit of the moon around the Earth, and the different phases it goes through. Help at home: For their homework, the pupils have been asked to take a photo of the moon each night for the next 28 days. Please remind your child to do this at home, and from a position where they can clearly see it. By the end of this, we will be able to make a “flick book” of the moon’s orbit around Earth.
Help at home: Our times table focus for this week is the 3 times table, and spellings are based on homophones. Daily practice of times table and spellings can make a significant impact on your child’s performance at school. It could be at the breakfast table, on the journey to school, or when chilling on the sofa.
Finally, let’s see who our certificate winners were for this week.
Great Learning – Travis. Resilient, respectful and resourceful, he has shown a fantastic attitude towards learning all week.
Living and Learning – Amelia. Mature, composed and considerate of others, she always makes mature and well thought-out points in our class discussions.
Sport – Louis M. Great basketball skills this week. Controlled dribbling, and accurate shooting. Great job!
Have a great weekend!
Mr. Robson
Living and Learning: I know what a drug is.
Over the next couple of weeks in our Living and Learning sessions, we will be focusing on “Being Safe”. Our discussions this week have centred around what a drug is, and how they might handle the pressure of being asked to use these by friends or peers. As a class we discussed the various strategies young people have at their disposal; passive, aggressive and assertive, and looked at a number of scenarios to see how they might react if they found themselves being put under pressure to take drugs.
Help at home: ask your child if they know where to get help if they’re worried about drugs or being safe. They could talk to a trusted adult. Do they know who their trusted adults are? They could also contact Childline on 0800 1111 or even contact the police using 111.
Reading stars!
This week, I have been blown away by the dedication of year 5 with their reading. Some children continued to read during the Christmas holiday and have been reading daily this week too. They have even completed a reading task. This is amazing and well done!
Help at home: please continue to read daily with your child at home. This really helps to improve their fluency and understanding. Don’t forget that there is a task set each week that needs to be completed in the journals. Please make sure you sign the journal too.
Here are some examples of the work from over the Christmas holiday.
Living and learning: I know what a drug is.
As part of our ‘Being safe’ theme, we have been discussing what a drug is, including alcohol. The children were encouraged to think about how they would manage risk and deal with influences and pressure. We talked about why people might choose to use drugs, smoke or drink alcohol. What would they say if they were placed in a scenario where they were offered any of these drugs? When discussing how to manage such scenarios, some strategies they could apply included being passive and not actively joining in. Other options included being more willing to confront people about what they were doing.
Help at home: ask your child if they know where to get help if they’re worried about drugs or being safe. They could talk to a trusted adult. Do they know who their trusted adults are? They could also contact Childline on 0800 1111 or even contact the police using 111.