Themed menu
Catering Agency, our school meal provider, will be running a special themed menu on Friday 18 January. Please contact the office, by Friday 11 January, if your child would like a school meal on this day (no action needed if your child normally has a school meal on this day).
Conjunction Investigators
This Term, Year Three are becoming experts at using conjunctions throughout their writing. We have kicked our learning off this year by discussing what a coordinating conjunction is and why we use them. For an interactive video on conjunctions click here.
We discussed that we can use conjunctions to extend a sentence, join two clauses together to make a sentence and to fix or improve a squashed sentence.
We decided to investigate:
- How important conjunctions are – do real life writers of books use them a lot, a bit or not at all?
- Do both fiction and non-fiction writers use conjunctions?
We investigated by looking through the books sat in our book corner.
We found conjunctions are used regularly in both fiction and non-fiction. Therefore we discovered that to be a successful writer and make our writing interesting, we needed to master conjunctions. We focused on the conjunctions: and, so, but and or. Can your child remember any more conjunctions?
Gymnastics
First session each Monday, Year Three now have gymnastics.
The class are working on: balance, moving in various form and forward rolls. All of these skills improve their flexibility, coordination and fitness.
Can they be the teacher and show you these skills at home?
Great gymnastics, Year Three!
Hopes and Wishes for 2019
Yesterday afternoon, Year Three their hopes and wishes for 2018. We then discussed their hopes and wishes for 2019. The children had lots of lovely ideas.
We talked about reasonable, achievable goals for this year. We also talked about unreasonable wishes for 2019. Can your children remember what these words mean and give you an example of an unreasonable wish for for 2019? Is a wish for magical powers reasonable or unreasonable?
Your child took home their 2018 New Year resolutions. Can they reflect on them and discuss how they are going to achieve their goals for 2019?
Living and Learning
- Drug, alcohol and tobacco education (DATE)
- Keeping safe and managing risk
Here are the weekly Living and Learning statements, for this half term, to support this learning.
- I don’t interrupt (with my mouth or my hand).
- I can make things better.
- I know what a drug is.
- I know how to seek help.
- I make safe choices, including online.
- I can assess my own risks.
Keeping active
As part of our commitment to being a happy and healthy school, we’re always looking at ways to increase our pupils’ physical activity both in and out of school.
The government’s childhood obesity plan has set out the ambition for all children to achieve 60 minutes, or more, of physical activity every day (30 minutes in school and 30 minutes outside of school).
In response to this aim, we’ve compiled a physical activity guide suggesting out-of-school physical activities available to families in our local area.
The information on the guide is correct as of November 2018. Keep an eye out on our news and class news pages where will promote any new activities throughout the year.
We’d love to hear feedback about any activities you or your child try based on this guide.
Wake up Shake up leaders
Thank you to our KS2 WuSu leaders who have led our daily WuSu physical activity this term and taught us lots of new routines.
Thank you to Mrs Charlesworth who has helped to run our WuSu after-school club where they have created all of the routines.
Next term, we will be running a KS1 and KS2 dance /WuSu club which will lead into a dance festival after Easter.
Amazing mazes from the Year 3 scientists!
As part of our mini Topic (Forces: Magnets) Year 3 have become scientists and have been identifying magnetic and non-magnetic materials.
We have also been identifying everyday objects that have magnetic components in. We discovered some games use magnetic forces to add to the excitement of playing them.
With this in mind, we decided to make magnetic mazes. The class shared their real-life maze experiences and we came up with a criteria for a good made. This included lots of dead-ends to trick the player and a clear start and finish point.
We started by drawing on the tables!
Don’t worry though, it was only with our whiteboard pens!
Then we were restricted by a smaller square, drawn onto the table, to practise drawing a maze on a much smaller scale.
Then we drew our mazes onto our bottles. The aim of the maze was to get the paperclip out of the bottle without touching it or tipping the bottle over.
We used magnets to attract the paperclips and trace our maze routes. We knew we were successful by getting the paperclip to the finish line.
Can your child remember the word that we use to describe what happens when a magnetic object is placed near a magnet?
Amazing mazes year 3. Well done!
Living and Learning
This week in Living and Learning, the statement is: I respect my community and other communities.
Year 3 explored the meaning of community. We discovered we are part of different communities. We are also part of a shared community at Moortown Primary School. We also talked about the fact that we are able to be a part of several communities at the same time.
Aadil shared that he is also part of a community at his Islamic school.
Harman shared he is also part of a community at his football club.
We discovered that we gain different skills from different communities: swimming, languages, gymnastics, socialising with different people, dance and caring for others and the environment.
We spoke about the fact that it is nice to be a part of a community as it gives us a sense of belonging.
Living Streets update
We are pleased to work alongside the Living Streets local Moortown group to support our aim for children to make healthy, active and safe journeys to school. Here is an update from the group.
A BIG THANK YOU!
Both Living Streets UK and Living Streets Moortown would like to say a big thank you for all the noticeable improvements you have helped to bring about on journeys to and from school this year:
• Reduction in parking in Allerton Avenue (which is access only for residents) and on the double yellow or zig-zag lines adjacent to the school
• Reduction in vehicles mounting the pavement near to the school
• Reduction in vehicles parked with engines idling
• Increase in the number of families opting to Park & Stride from M&S* when driving is unavoidable
* M&S has 200 free 2-hour spaces available and the short walk to school is much safer and more enjoyable with fewer cars passing through key crossing points on the routes to school (such as Allerton Avenue and the
shopping parade entrance & exits).
This is fantastic progress and with continued support from all the families at Moortown we’ll see further improvements in air quality, safer ‘vehicle-free’ pavements and more families choosing to make and enjoy active trips to school.
OUR CURRENT PRIORITIES
While all the improvements we have seen around the school gates are encouraging, there is still a lot to be done. Cars, vans and HGVs continue to be driven up footpaths and recently there appears to be an increase in drivers passing through the main M&S lights while the green man is on so please be mindful of this when crossing.
We are already campaigning to deal with issues like these and the great response we had to our recent survey of parents and carers has helped us to submit a feedback document to the ‘Connecting Leeds’ consultation – a proposal to improve bus and other sustainable travel options in Moortown. We recently met with a representative from the project and are hopeful that some of the suggested pedestrian improvements will be incorporated into the scheme which is due to be delivered next year.
THE YEAR AHEAD…
The Moortown Living Streets Group is still in its first year, but we already have some exciting plans for 2019, including a project to monitor local air quality as well as some great ideas to get Moortown moving!
➢ Register to get involved or receive news here
➢ Access info on walking to school here
Thank you once again for you support to date – it’s making a real difference and we’re keen for that to continue throughout the year ahead.
Season’s Greetings!
From everyone at Moortown Living Streets Group
E: moortowngroup@livingstreets.org.uk T: @moortownlsg
