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
Athletics club and competition
There are places available on the athletics after-school club, starting after the half term, if your child would like to come along.
The club will run on Monday 31 October and Monday 07 November, 3.15-4.15, in preparation for a local competition on 23 November.
Please inform the office if your child would like to join. We particularly need girls to join the team.
The first half term
Well, the first half term of Year 6 comes to an end and what a great one it’s been!
We finished our planes and, although we came up against a few design faults, we were really proud of our finished products.
We’re about half way through our class novel, The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas, and are enjoying it whilst learning lots of news, words and facts about the war as we read.
Perhaps most of us would say the highlight of the term has been completing our independent projects which the children took great ownership of. They produced some incredible pieces of work too.
After the half term, our topic continues for another three weeks. Having sent an email to my grandma this week, we’ll be hoping to read her response; as we all love an opportunity to dress up, we’ll experience a day as war time children; and we’ll get the chance to finish the class novel and find out how it ends – though we do all know it’s a sad one.
Have a lovely break and, although there’ll be no homework, it’s our class assembly when we come back (which we hope to see you at – 02 November) so take the time to see whether your child knows their lines and what they’ll be doing for it.
Cookery after-school club
At cookery club this evening, the recipe was a simple vegetarian curry. Hope the children enjoyed their tea!
For those who didn’t attend, here is the recipe to try at home.
Bonfire Celebrations themed menu
Catering Agency, our school meal provider, will be running a special themed menu on Wednesday 02 November: Bonfire Celebrations. Please contact the office if your child would like a school dinner on this day.
School Saving Club
Does your child have a School Saving Club account in association with Leeds Credit Union?
If so, our next paying in date is this Thursday 13 October 3.15-3.45pm. If you can’t make this date, then the next one will be on Thursday 08 December at 3.15-3.45pm.
Children must be accompanied to the sessions.
If you can’t attend the date, you can bring money to the office in a sealed envelope marked School Saving Club for the attention of Miss Hale.
School Saving Club accounts can still be opened. Please ask at the office for an application form.
Children who are in Year 3 will have their account credited by Leeds City Council with £10 once opened.
New triathlon satellite club
This new club has recently started on Mondays from 4pm-5.45pm at Middleton Park bike hub and is suitable for all abilities.
Bikes are available if needed and the fun sessions will focus on improving running and cycling.
Looking at our homework
Written by Natalia, Y6:
This week’s homework was to write ten sentences about our trip to Eden Camp. We all looked at each others’ and marked them. I swapped with Mia, Ava and Sarah. When we were marking them, we chose our three favourite sentences – they were amazing. We always write a star and a step which helps tell us what we are doing well and what we are doing not so well.
This is my favourite one that Mia wrote: “Quickly, scared but exited, we rushed through the Blitz a number of times.”
Who knew we were all potters at heart?
At the beginning of our Class Novel topic, we discussed what learning we’d like to do across the eight weeks. Design and Technology was a clear favourite so this week we’re designing, making and evaluating our own toy planes.
We started our project by exploring images of WWII planes and from this designed our own models, thinking about how we could make it work if modelling it with clay.
Tuesday afternoon saw us donning aprons and testing our pottery skills. It was a fab afternoon with a lovely atmosphere, focused minds and smiling faces.
Jorja really focused on the detail. Here’s her plane. Look at the cockpit and the propellors.
And now we wait… Once they’re dry, we’ll looking again at our designs and think about how we want to finish the overall design.
Eden Camp
What a great day we had at Eden Camp. Here are a few photos for you to enjoy of our day. I’m not going to tell you too much though because the children are going to be writing a recount of their day on Friday this week so we’ll publish a couple of those to give you a better idea of what we got up to.
Stay tuned for our full recounts – coming soon!
