Learning about addition in Reception
There are two types of addition situations that children will encounter in Reception.
The first is combining – where two sets are put together to make a new set. Here, the statement ‘I wonder how many there are altogether?’ is appropriate.
The second is counting up, where an original amount is increased resulting in a new total. In counting up it is useful if children can recognise a small number of items without counting.
Children need lots of practical addition opportunities before they are introduced to the formal addition sign. You can help at home by playing board games which involve counting on and providing lots of practical opportunities for addition.
World Book Day
Thank you to all who volunteered to read to the children.
Polling station opens early
As you know Moortown Primary is used for a polling station in May. Tradition was broken this week when we became a polling station on a Thursday in March; the councillors being elected were not from the local government but from each class in school. Well done to all those children who prepared and made speeches and congratulations to those who were elected.
Packed lunch treat
Faizaan, Year 6, shares a recipe and healthy eating information from change4life.
Today, Year 6 have been talking about change4life and how you can make your health better. Why not take a look at their website: (http://www.nhs.uk/Change4Life). Furthermore, change4life looks at how you can swap unhealthy food for healthy foods and check for ‘hidden nasties’ like salt and fat through their ‘Be Food Smart’ campaign (http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/pages/be-food-smart.aspx). There are lots of recipes you can choose, from breakfasts to healthier alternatives to pudding and snacks.
Today we have made apple, apricot and sultana squares, ‘a healthier take on flapjack’, really easy to make and we gave them the thumbs up! The ingredients could even be changed to include different fruits. We’re going to try making them at home.
Ingredients:
- 100g butter
- 4 tbsp golden syrup
- 250g porridge oats
- 1 apple cored and chopped
- 50g ready-to-eat apricots chopped
- 50g sultanas
- ½ tsp ground mixed spice (optional)
- 1 egg beaten
What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/ fan oven 160°C. Grease a 23cm (9inch) shallow square cake tin with a little reduced fat spread, then line the base with baking parchment or greaseproof paper
2. Melt the remaining reduced fat spread in a large saucepan with the golden syrup. Take care that the mixture doesn’t get too hot.
3. Remove the pan from the heat and add the porridge oats, apple, apricots, sultanas or raisins and mixed spice (if using). Stir well, add the beaten egg and mix again.
4. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm. Cool in the tin for about 20 minutes, then cut into 16 squares.
Class assembly!
Don’t forget our World Book Day assembly tomorrow at 2.40 pm!
School Council elections 2013
Today, during our whole class assembly, we launched our annual school council elections.
Our current school council feel these qualities are very important in a school councillor:
- Good listener
- Confident speaker who is prepared to contribute in school council meetings and feedback to their class
- Has lots of realistic ideas and suggestions to improve the school
- Good decision-maker
- Works co-operatively with others
Other key points about the election include:
- Two members of each class, including Reception, make up the school council.
- Current and previous school councillors are welcome to stand again in the elections.
- Children can vote once for one person.
- Children can vote for themselves – just like in a UK election.
- Vote for the candidate with the best qualities to make a good councillor – don’t just vote for a friend.
- Good school councillors represent the class well – always!
If your child is interested in representing their class on the school council, they need to prepare a speech to present to their class. This will be the homework for this week.
Here are the key dates for the election process:
Friday 01 March
Homework to prepare a speech for those children interested in becoming a school councillor.
Wednesday 06 March / Thursday 07 March
Speeches from all the candidates to their class.
Thursday 07 March
Children vote for their chosen candidate. Results counted.
Friday 08 March
New school councillors announced.
Good luck to all children who choose to stand as candidates and thank you to the current school council for their valuable contributions and decision-making over the last year.
Supporting your child with writing
This is the Early Learning Goal for writing. Children are expected to achieve this goal by the end of Reception.
Children use their phonic knowledge to write words in ways which match their spoken sounds. They also write some irregular common words. They write simple sentences which can be read by themselves and others. Some words are spelt correctly and others are phonetically plausible.
Here are some ideas to help you support and encourage your child to write:
- write a reply to a letter or invitation together
- write a birthday card or send a card on-line, working out the message together
- write a shopping list together
- make a message out of magnetic letters on the fridge
- read food signs, road signs advertising and labels. Talk about the purposes of writing
- add messages to a board or calendar and talk about why you have written them. Explain that the messages remind us what to do
Happy Healthy Learning
Look at all the fun we had in the front playground. It might look like we were just having fun but we were also developing all our muscles which will help us when we are writing, drawing and painting.
Try a school dinner
Over this term, we’re offering the chance for you to have a school dinner with your child(ren).
This is open to all children: those who currently have a school dinner and those who’d like to try them.
The dates for these sessions are:
- Years 5 and 6: Friday 01 March, 12.20pm
- Years 1 and 2:Friday 08 March, 12 noon
- Reception: Friday 15 March, 12 noon
- Years 3 and 4: Friday 22 March, 12.20pm
The cost is £2.65 for an adult meal and £1.90 for children in Reception to Year 4 and £1.95 for children in Years 5 and 6. There is obviously no extra charge if they already have a school dinner.
If you would like to sample a school dinner please ask at the office to secure your place as they will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
Baby dinosaurs!
Our dinosaur eggs have hatched! Now… how do we look after baby dinosaurs?
