Finished frames
During our topic work we have looked closely at the artwork of Quentin Blake. The children have done their own paintings in the style of this very famous artist. Adding to that, we then went on to make a frame to showcase this super artwork. Year 4 have all worked incredibly hard on designing, making and decorating their photo frames. We now have our own art gallery in the classroom. Please feel free to pop in and take a look.
PE
During this half term, we have three students from Leeds Beckett University leading our PE sessions on Fridays. The children are focusing on multi-skills, teamwork and getting enjoyment from sport. Here are a few pictures of yesterday’s lesson.
‘Power for good’
Next week is national Anti-Bullying Week.
The theme this year is ‘Power for Good‘ with the following key aims:
- To support children and young people to use their Power for Good – by understanding the ways in which they are powerful and encouraging individual and collective action to stop bullying and create the best world possible.
- To help parents and carers to use their Power for Good – through supporting children with issues relating to bullying and working together with schools to stop bullying.
- To encourage all teachers, school support staff and youth workers to use their Power for Good– by valuing the difference they can make in a child’s life, and taking individual and collective action to prevent bullying and create safe environments where children can thrive.
Our school definition has recently been reviewed by the School Council and remains unchanged.
‘Bullying is when you hurt someone, physically or emotionally, several times on purpose.’
We also encourage children to use their ‘Power for Good’, if they were to experience or witness bullying, by using another STOP message, start telling other people.
In class, children will discuss these aspects of bullying:
- Our definition of bullying (above)
- Types of bullying – cyber-bullying and prejudice-based bullying related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion and belief, special educational need and disability
- What to do if children experience bullying. The key message is to tell someone (start telling other people)
Recently the School Council responded to this question, ‘What would you do if you were bullied‘?
- ‘Start telling other people – tell someone who I trust and who I can talk to.’
- ‘I would tell someone I trust (family member, member of staff or friend).’
- ‘If I were bullied, I’d tell my parents, a friend, a teacher and if nothing changed I would phone ChildLine (08001111).’
- ‘I’d tell a teacher, maybe a friend and put in a worry in the ‘worry box’. Also, I’d tell a parent.’
- ‘I would tell anyone I trust: my friends, my mum or dad or a member of staff. They could sort it straight away.’
- ‘I’d tell my mummy and daddy.’
All classes have access to their class SEAL box or a whole school worry box where they can tell an adult any concerns about bullying or any other issues.
For further support, bullying resources can be found at…
- http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/resources/disablist-bullying/resources-for-parents/
- http://www.childline.org.uk/explore/bullying/pages/bullying.aspx
- http://www.bullying.co.uk/advice-for-parents/
- http://www.youngminds.org.uk/for_parents/worried_about_your_child/bullying
Woodwork
Work has begun on making our frames that will showcase the Quentin Blake artwork completed before half term. Accurate measuring, complete concentration and staying safe were some of the skills need for this activity.
Well done to Aina, Pia and Danny who were experts at sawing and helping others. Great for building muscles!
Christmas dinner themed menu
Catering Leeds, our school meal provider, will be running a special Christmas themed menu on Thursday 15 December.
Please contact the office, by 30 November, if your child would like a school dinner on this day.
8 Rs for learning – our new SEAL theme
This half-term, we’re thinking about the ‘8 Rs for learning’. This theme is about promoting good learning behaviour for your child.
Each week, we’ll focus on different ‘Rs’. We use an animal to symbolise each ‘R’, which might help your child remember all eight – can your child remember which animal matches the correct ‘R’?
You can support your child at home – we’ve listed a few ideas to help you below. Ask us if you’ve any questions or comments.
Download top tips for promoting the 8Rs for good learning behaviour.
I take a safe risk.
Talk about the difference between a safe and unsafe risk. At school, we want your child to take a safe risk by having a go at answering, even if unsure; trying something new and attempting harder learning.
I take responsibility for my own learning.
Provide time and space at home so your child is able to organise themselves: their PE kit, reading book, homework, spellings and tables… Don’t organise everything for them!
Make a link between rights and responsibilities: your child has the right to a great education, but needs to be responsible for their own learning.
I respond to feedback.
Ask your child if they remember their ‘stars’ and ‘steps’ in English and Maths.
I can show I am ready to learn.
Make sure your child is at school for a prompt start of 08:50.
Make sure your child has had plenty of sleep so they are alert and ready to learn at all times.
Encourage your child to ask lots of questions – that shows they want to learn!
I am resourceful.
Encourage your child to be organised so they can play with a range of different toys.
Encourage your child to try new ways to solve a tricky problem.
I am resilient.
Encourage your child to keep going! Set a tricky challenge or puzzle for your child to do.
Encourage your child to think of different ways of doing things.
Don’t let your child win when they play a game – they need to experience losing, too!
Celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn – be happy that your child found some learning hard and encourage them to ‘bounce back’ and learn from the experience.
I remember.
Make sure they have time to learn spellings, number bonds and times tables – a little practice daily is best.
Play memory games:
Kim’s game: show them objects for 30 seconds… can they remember all the objects?
Can they build up the sequence, ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple’… ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple and a bike.’… ‘I went to the shop and I bought an apple, a bike and a cucumber.’ etc … Take turns!
I reflect about my learning.
Talk with your child about what they’ve learnt, asking questions about:
how they learnt
why they learnt it
when they’ll use their learning
how they would teach this to someone else
what learning might link with what they’ve learnt today etc
Welcome back
Welcome back.
This half term is going to be just as busy as the last one. The whole class have shown maturity, enthusiasm and a super learning attitude – keep it up!
We have had great fun with our topic so far. This half term, we’ll be designing and making our own picture frames. When complete, these will showcase the children’s wonderful Roald Dahl-inspired art work done in the style of Quentin Blake. Look out for our own Year 4 art gallery.
We also look forward to cooking this half term – you’ll have to wait and see what delights will make your taste buds tingle!
Please note a change of PE day from Thursday to Friday. The class are going to be taught by some students from Leeds Metropolitan University. An outdoor kit is essential as we hope to be outside whenever possible.
Parents’ evening
Many thanks to all who attended parents’ evening this week. It was great to meet you all.
As we said on the evening, please feel free to pop in and see us if there’s anything else we can help your child with.
Homework
Yet again, Year 4 have shown how creative they can be. We looked carefully at each other’s work and the children enjoyed commenting on work that particularly stood out to them. It was an absolute pleasure to see how much thought and creativity had gone into the homework produced.
We’d like to share some of them with you.
Buddies
In our class we have several different options of what to do when we are a little stuck with our learning. We call this Brain, Buddy, Boss. Here is a great example of a buddy supporting someone.
