A busy week ahead!
We have a very busy few weeks ahead of us as we reach the end of term.
Balanceability
These sessions will be held on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Please make sure your child has long trousers and suitable footwear.
Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
Please send your child in their school uniform and with a packed lunch. It looks like it will be a sunny day, so please send your child with a hat and apply sun cream before they come to school.
Topic
The children are enjoying learning about oceans and the animals that live there.
They have been role-playing in our ‘ice-cream shop’ and reading in our ‘under the sea’ reading area.
The children have been visiting the Year 1/2 shared area and enjoyed finding new equipment and challenges.
Welcome back!
Welcome back. We hope you had a great half-term!
We can’t believe we have reached the last half term of the year and the children will soon be heading off to Year 1!
This half term is always busy with lots of exciting things to look forward to.
This term our mini-themes will be:
Let’s make a splash!
As we move into the final term of the year, the weather is much warmer (we hope!) and we begin thinking about days at the beach. The water area is a favourite in our provision and has lots of learning opportunities. As a scientist, your child will investigate floating and sinking, making predictions and testing theories. They’ll also investigate materials in terms of being waterproof. As a geographer, your child will look at a seaside town and find it on a map, learning that a seaside town is always on the coast. They’ll talk about the things that they see at the seaside that they don’t see in Leeds. Finally, as a historian, your child will learn about seaside holidays of the past, identifying differences in clothing and entertainment by looking at old photos and videos.
Where in the world?
Summer holidays are on our minds during these last few weeks of term. This theme enables us to develop an understanding of travel. We will think about the different ways people can travel to holiday destinations: by car, coach or aeroplane, for example. Your child will find out how much travel has changed through history. They will become travel agents in role-play situations, too.
In addition we will be thinking about change and our transition to Year 1. The children will be given the chance to visit their new classroom areas.
Phonics
We are continuing with phase 4 learning. The children will be reading more challenging words and sentences and gaining more confidence and fluency. They will use their knowledge to write simple sentences independently.
Where has this half-term gone? It seems to have flown by!
Lots of learning in Reception last week about animals and their habitats. The children have enjoyed looking at maps and naming countries and continents
Phonics
We are learning within Phase for of Little Wandle Revised Letters and sounds. In this phase the children will be blending words with adjacent consonants and learning more ‘tricky words’.
The reading books we use in school and send as an ebook are closely linked to the phonics learning. It is important that your child reads and re-reads these books to help them gain confidence and fluency.
Junior Leadership Team
Congratulations to our newly elected Junior Leadership Team representatives and well done to all the children who took part. The speeches were amazing!
This week we will be learning about different habitats and reading the book, ‘Walking through the jungle’. The children will look at atlases and maps and find out about different habitats and the animals that live there.
Our caterpillars are growing fast and we are waiting for them to form a chrysalis.
Maths
This week, the children will continue to develop their understanding of the composition of numbers to 10 using different representations. They will deepen their understanding of a ‘whole’ being made up of smaller parts through games and practical experiences, such as investigating different ways to represent 10 sausages from the counting rhyme, ‘10 Fat Sausages’. The children will also use their fingers and 10-frames to explore ‘5 and a bit’ numbers to 10. Composing and de-composing numbers involves the children investigating part–part–whole relations, e.g. seeing that 7 can be made of 5 and 2 more. Using these structures, and making links between them, will provide practical and visual experiences to further consolidate their understanding of the composition of numbers between 6 and 10.
Living and learning: mindfulness
As a happy and healthy school, we encourage pupils to look after their mental health as well as their physical health. Read our mindfulness newsletter for ideas and techniques to try to support this.
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Chirpy, in Chapel Allerton, are hosting FREE after school Mindfulness Moments For Minis workshops. A time for children to reconnect and calm their minds.
Wednesday 11th May 4:30pm – 5:15pm Age 5-10
Thursday 12th May 4:30pm – 5:15pm Age 5-10
Friday 13th May 10am -10:30am pre school
Bookings can be made here.
By teaching mindfulness to children they learn the skills they need to build self-awareness, confidence and cope with stress. Mindfulness can help children deal with tough emotions and help them learn ways to relax and calm the mind and the body.
Mini-beasts!
We hope you all enjoyed the long weekend.
This week we will be continuing our mini-topic on minibeasts and the children will be going on a bug-hunt outside.
Phonics
The children will be learning to read longer words including compound words such as; laptop, marching, popcorn.
We are really noticing a difference in the children’s reading and there is a great deal of enthusiasm for our reading practise sessions.
Please continue to read the ebooks your child has been assigned.
Maths
This week, the children will continue to develop their subitising skills (seeing the quantity without counting) in increasingly complex arrangements. Subitising is an essential feature when developing number sense. It can support the children’s understanding of cardinality (the idea that the last number in the count tells us how many things there are altogether), and it will also help them to identify groups and units in a repeating pattern.
Don’t forget to use Numbots at home!
Junior Leadership Team
This week we are holding elections for the Junior Leadership Team. Two representatives from each class are chosen democratically by their peers, but Reception are not yet represented this year.
It’s time for children to consider if they would like to stand for election for the Junior Leadership Team(JLT)
Elections will take place on Thursday 5 May. Candidates will have the opportunity to give their election speech to their class on Tuesday 3 May and Wednesday 4 May.
If your child would like to be a junior leader, please help them to prepare a short speech.
What makes a good junior leader has been considered by our current Junior Leadership Team.
‘use all the 8 Rs for learning’
‘be respectful’
‘help others’
‘be a good speaker and listener (to members of your class and in the meetings)’
‘tell the truth’
‘be confident with your ideas’
‘accept the views of others even if you don’t agree’
‘be friendly and approachable’
‘make good choices in class and around school’
Hints for your speech include:
What skills and abilities would a good school councillor have?
What are you particularly good at that would help you to be a great school councillor?
What do you think would make the school better?
What could you do that people would really like?
Think of things that are realistic, maybe that you could do yourself, rather than having to ask other people to do
Good luck to all children who decide to stand in the elections.
Leeds Fun Run 8th May
The Arena Group Leeds Fun Run is back for 2022, taking place on Sunday 8th May.
It offers a great opportunity to get families together, while staying and active and healthy at the same time.
Children of all abilities are encouraged to take part as they wheel, walk, jog or run the 1.3 km route around the city centre.
Catalan Soccer
This week, all classes are taking part in sessions led by Catalan Soccer.
Thank you to the Year 5 pupil, who currently attends Catalan Soccer sessions outside of school, who requested they came into school.
The classes have been brilliant and the coaches have fed back what a delight the kids have been to coach!
The coaches also commented how welcome they have been made to feel by your staff and teachers, so a huge thanks for that!
If your child enjoyed their session, please contact Catalan Soccer to find out more about the classes and holiday camps they run in Leeds.
Welcome to the summer term!
Welcome back. We hope you had a great Easter break.
This term in Reception our theme is, ‘Life on Earth’.
Our learning will include;
Mini-beasts
Children love a bug hunt! This term, we’ll be hunting for bugs and finding out all about them. As a scientist, your child will observe how various creatures develop from butterflies to frogs. Using books and ICT, they will also use their investigation skills to find out more about bugs that are all around us. Your child will also be use their imagination to create their own mini-beasts. Children will work together to design their own mini-beast hotels.
Your child will study the artist Alexander Calder and create their own representation of his butterfly work.
Amazing animals
Where does a tiger come from? In this theme, your child will find out! We’ll find out where our favourite animals originate, finding the country on the map. We’ll look at its environment and your child consider how it is different from where we live. As an artist, your child will mix colours to create an animals’ camouflage patterns. They’ll create their own landscapes for various animals using our small world resources in the classroom, and they’ll create their own scenarios and storylines for their play.
Me and my body
We want our school to be a happy and healthy place at all times. Keeping healthy is the key message in this theme. Your child will learn how important exercise is and how our body feels during and after we exercise. They’ll learn about eating healthily and why this is important; they’ll become aware of the importance of five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. Your child will try new fruit and vegetables and prepare simple healthy foods. They’ll find out how important it is to brush their teeth and what happens if we don’t. As an artist, your child will learn to draw a face and then a figure with increasing detail.
Phonics
We will continue following Little Wandle revised Letters and Sounds. The children will be learning to read longer words, compound words and words with adjacent consonants.
PE
For the rest of the term, PE will return to Wednesday and Friday.
Big Walk and Wheel
Thank you to all the families who have supported the Big Walk and Wheel over the last two weeks.
Overall, we were placed 150th in the small school category, out of 643 schools, with a daily average of 74.29% of journeys to school being active. In Northern England, we were 18th out of 107 small schools. Well done to everyone who took an active journey to help to achieve this.
Over the two week period we actively travelled 1,358 times!
It would be great for these active journeys to continue. Travelling actively (walking, park and stride – Marks and Spencers car park, scooting or biking) is a safe and healthy start to the school day.
