Super Science Day!
My task during Super Science Day was to make slime by causing a chemical reaction to happen between different materials. The children worked brilliantly together to make some pretty disgusting, gooey slime!
Spring has sprung!
Spring has sprung…well it’s supposed to have done.
Even though spring is not quite here, Year 1 have been springing all term and have made a lot of progress. The learning continues to impress us along with the changes we are seeing in attitudes and general behaviour. Here are some of the changes we have seen this spring term:
- Abdullah and Pohnum are trying to be much more independent
- Daanyaal and Abigail are making fantastic progress in maths
- Matteo, Nico, Hibba, Harry and Pippa are impressing us with their use of phonics
- Archie, Owen and Elias have been learning some new art skills
- Megan has found a new talent: creating art using photos
- Grace and Oliver have become our new school councillors and have already been to a few meetings
- Handwriting is no longer a chore for Zach and Enya – we’ve seen a massive improvement
- Noah and Aleena have noticeably improved their listening skills while Sam and Stan have taken on more responsibility
- Neive and Hannan showed some great writing skills when writing instructions (Neive was allowed to be bossy!)
- Well done to Matthew: he has improved his spelling scores this term
- Pavan and Saleem have made excellent contributions to our SEAL lessons showing how we should think about other people
- Isobel, Edward and Nishaan have started to take ‘safe risks,’ meaning that they are contributing more and not so worried about making mistakes
As you can see, we’ve been very busy this term. Have a relaxing holiday and come back for more learning on 15 April.
Super Science Day Talk Time
We don’t normally set specific homework tasks in the holidays, but we encourage you to spend some time discussing the nine science activities your child will have taken part in, especially considering what they have learnt. The learning objectives were:
- I know that dyes are made up of other colours
- I know why objects float
- I can create a gas with a solid and a liquid
- I know that static electricity creates a charge
- I know about irreversible changes
- I know the effects of a chemical reaction
- I know what exercise does to my body
- I am aware of acids and alkalis
- I know what happens when you mix water with oil
Check out the pictures from the day to help jog your child’s memory of each activity… Can they match the learning objective to the photo?
More Super Science Day
Is it magic? No! We learnt that opposite charges attract so the balloon’s negative charge is attracted to positive charges on clothes, hair and walls. This is what makes them stick to each other.
Super Science Day
We used static electricity to make the can roll without touching it!
Jumping into art
Jumping into Art was exactly what Years 1 and 2 did today. Splats came in today to help us with some drama based on ‘Katie’s Picture Show‘ by James Mayhew. We explored five different pieces of art by pretending we were actually in the painting – we thought about how it would feel to be involved in the scene. The whole day was spent making props and learning different parts resulting in a short performance for an audience. This will be followed up in class with some descriptive writing, recounting our day. Aaron from Splats said that this was the first school where he had time to rehearse the performance because the children were so responsive and well behaved: “An excellent school and excellent 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.
What is a treasure?
This is the question we have been asking for a few weeks now. On Monday 11 March we are having a drama day looking at art and how it is treasured by lots of different people. “Katie’s Picture Show” looks at different pieces of art through the eyes of a young girl. Splats are a company we have worked with before and we would like to invite you to share the learning of the day. There will be a short performance at 2.30 pm on 11 March; please come along if you can.
Thank you.
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.
