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Friday football returns

Our Friday Football Club is open to everyone in school, from Reception to Year 6. The new season starts on Friday 18 September.

This is a great way to get younger children to learn the basics of football – passing, control and dribbling. The sessions are delivered in a fun and engaging way, ensuring all players get lots of touches of the ball in a non-pressurised activity, encouraging them to use both feet and develop their fundamental skills.

For the older children, they train like the professionals in the unique Total Footballers Clubs; they work through a fun skills and games programme developed by an in-house ex-professional footballer and delivered by qualified F.A. coaches. They’ll learn new skills as well as develop the ones they already have. Most importantly, they’ll have fun doing it with a football at their feet.

Want to sign up? Please follow the online booking process.

Want to know more? Please contact TSC Sports and Dance Coaching on 0113 3226115 with any questions you may have, or ask Paula or Nicky in the school office.

Grammar, punctuation and spelling

The last news post about reading offered you lots of different ways to support your child’s reading. Here are some more ways to help your child whilst reading; these are more related to helping your child’s understanding of grammar, punctuation and spelling.

Word

• What does … mean?  Can you think of another word that means the same/similar?
• Which word tells you that… ?
• Which word describes… ?
• Find two verbs / adjectives / adverbs on this page.
• Pick a descriptive word from the text, write it down and, using a thesaurus, write down five synonyms (different words with almost identical or similar meanings) and antonyms (words of opposite meaning) for that word.
• Write down any words you had difficulty reading.
• Write down any words that you don’t know the meaning of, then find them in a dictionary and write the meaning.

Phonics

• Can you write a list of other words with the ‘oo’ sound in (or choose a different sound, depending on sounds in book).
• Using one or two words from this list, write your own sentence.
• Can you find these sounds in another book?
• How many words can you find on this page beginning with ‘c’ or ‘br’ or ending in ‘ck’ (again, choose a letter string that is appropriate – think about what spellings your child has recently been learning).
• Play ‘I spy’ with words that begin with ‘br’, ‘cl’, ‘dr’ for example.

Punctuation

• Can you find the speech marks, exclamation marks, question marks, full, stops, commas?
• Can you write some sentences using some of the above punctuation?

Welcome back

Hello all and welcome back.

It will be great to see everybody back in school having had a long summer to refresh ourselves. I’m excited to be in a new classroom and year group as, I hope, our new Year 5s are, too. We’ll be diving straight into a great mini-topic based on a picture book by Shaun Tan (more below) which has some amazing artwork. Each week, I’ll post on here an overview of what we’ll be focussing on in English, Maths and Topic. This means that people at home will be able to get an idea of what the children will be learning and what they might need support with.

English starts with us recapping our grammar, recognising nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, prepositions and conjunctions while we enjoy our class picture book. This will run alongside developing our skills in descriptive writing by using all of those different word classes effectively. To help at home, test each other on what type of word is on a road sign or in a recipe. Here’s a list of definitions and examples if you need a refresher too and there are some posters in the playground…

noun – can be an object (the table, a book, an orange), a place or person (Miss Rushbrooke, Leeds, Moortown Primary School).

adjective – gives information about a noun (large table, clever Miss Rushbrooke, wonderful Moortown Primary School).

verb – an action word (to play, to sneeze, to hink). These might have ed or ing added to the end, too.

adverb – gives information about the verb. You might say how (play nicely, sneeze extravagantly, think carefully), where (play on the grass, sneeze in assembly) or when (play after dinner, sneeze all through the night).

conjunction – joins two sentences together (We went to bed because we were tired. It’s raining so I’ll get an umbrella.).

preposition – indicates where or when (in, around, under, through, after, whilst).

Maths will be kicked off by ensuring we are able to read numbers up to 1,000,000 and we understand what each digit in that number is worth. This will involve ordering, comparing and rounding numbers before then applying this knowledge to real life contexts. To help at home, notice numbers around you and say them out loud. Decide which is bigger or smaller and test each other by asking what is 100 more or 10 less.

Topic will be focussed around Shaun Tan’s ‘The Lost Thing‘.  We’ll look at art by Salvador Dali and take on the role of news reporters as we write a class report on the discovery of the ‘lost thing’.

SEAL New beginnings

As we start the new school year, our SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) theme focuses on New Beginnings.

We have three new members of staff making a new beginning at Moortown, Mrs Wells, Mr McKeon and Mr Lawton, alongside new children joining our school and our new Reception class.

‘I make someone feel welcome‘ is the first SEAL statement to launch the theme.

New beginnings allows children the opportunity to discuss and reflect on how they or others may feel in a new situation or setting. This SEAL theme offers children the opportunity to see themselves as valued individuals within a community, and to contribute to shaping a welcoming, safe and fair learning community for all.

During the theme, the key areas of learning are empathy, self-awareness, social skills and motivation.

Through discrete SEAL lessons, circle times and across the curriculum, children will explore feelings of happiness and excitement, sadness, anxiety and fearfulness, while learning (and putting into practice) shared models for calming down and problem-solving.

New Beginnings supports the development of a learning community in each classroom where all members feel that they belong. Class contracts, produced at the start of the year, allow children to contribute to how they feel they can achieve a safe and fair learning community.

Reading

Just as the summer started, the papers were full of articles about ideal holiday reading for adults and children alike. (I think ideal holiday reading is any reading you want to, whether it’s in the holidays or not!)

How many books has your child read this holiday? More importantly, what sort of discussions have you had with your child about what books you’ve been reading, and of course what they’ve been reading. (I’ve already had chats with Mrs Weekes and Miss Valentine about my summer reading. including a great children’s book, ‘Grace‘ by one of my favourite authors, Morris Gleitzman.)

As we approach the end of the holidays, it’s an ideal time to reflect on what we’ve read – and start the new school year off taking a positive, encouraging approach to your child’s reading.

Encourage your child to read anything and everything: a story, leaflet, brochure, comic, flyer, advert… It could be for pure entertainment, or with a different purpose: to use a recipe, make a shopping list, read street signs, or any kind of text!  The more varied reading your child does, the less likely they are to be put off reading a text.  Don’t be too pushy either – texts which are too difficult can put children off (harder books might be best left to bedtime reading); all children should be able to read their reading book 90-95% accurately and fluently in order to enjoy and gradually progress in their reading.

• Build reading accuracy – as your child reads aloud, point out words they miss and help them sound out and read them correctly.
• Build reading comprehension – talk with your child about what they’re reading, asking about new words and what new information they’ve learned.
• Read together every day – don’t forget reading aloud to your child at bedtime reading can count, too!
• Don’t overlook non-fiction texts – spend time talking about pictures and diagrams.
• Visit the library regularly – did your child take part in the local libraries’ Summer Reading Challenge (see News article on 13 July 2015)?
• Use the Internet – find out more about the books your child has read or would like to read next, and just enjoy surfing the internet for facts and figures about whatever interests your child.

Enjoyable, regular and short practice is the best way for your child to progress and learn through reading.  Make sure your child spends 10-15 minutes reading each day and use the guidance below to ensure (s)he is getting the most from every book they read.  The questions will need to be varied according to the book and your child.  The book may lend will to developing knowledge, phonic, punctuation, writing or comprehension skills.

Don’t attempt to try to cover all the bullet points! It might be a good idea to focus on just one of these areas every few days or so, or just choose a question from two or three sections.

Comprehension

• Did you enjoy the story – why?
• What happened at the start / in the middle / at the end?
• Was there a problem?  How was it resolved?
• How would you have resolved the problem?  Can you think of another way?
• What would you do if …
• What was the main idea of the story?
• Can you summarise the story in a couple of sentenced?
• Try to predict what will happen before the story ends.
• Write about a memory or experience of your own that is similar to something you’ve read in your book.
• Write a letter to someone telling them about the book and your opinion of the book.
• Construct a time line to fit the story.  Include all the main events

Characters

• Who are the characters?
• What do they look like?
• What kind of clothes do they wear?
• How did the character feel when …?
• What kind of mood was the character in?
• What kind of personality do they have? Kind, caring, nasty, bully, liar, friendly, quiet, noisy …?
• What does it say in the text that makes you think this?
• What do other characters think or say about this character?  Why do they feel this way?
• How does your character treat other people in the book?  How does the character change throughout the story?  Explain and give support for your answers.
• Can you re-write the story and include your own character?
• Write a description of the main character – their looks, the way they dress, the way they talk and their personality.
• Draw and label a character or a setting from a description in the book.

Story setting

• Where is the story set?
• Imagine you are in the story …
• What can you see?  What can you hear?  What can you small?  What can you feel?
• Can you write a description of the story setting using adjectives?  eg I found myself standing in the middle of …
• What is the weather like?

Non-Fiction

• Research the subject further using the internet or local library.
• Write down in your own sentences some facts you have learnt from the book.
• Can you think of anywhere we might be able to find additional information about this?
• What do the pictures or diagrams in this piece of information add to the text?
• How are these different to the pictures you might find in a story?
• Can you point out: a heading, sub-heading, caption, diagram, introduction, contents page etc?
• Why has the author organised the information in this way? (You could refer to sections and sub-sections, bullet points etc)
• How do you feel about …?  Can you explain why?

Reading really matters

We’re loving the new website to support parents and carers with reading: Read on. Get on.

It contains lots of great advice and help, including story starters and lots of hints and tips. There are links to other useful websites and there is a way for you to check your child’s progress.

Here are some top tips listed on the website. Although it’s all about supporting reading, it’s interesting to see that these tips are ways to support your child’s speaking and listening skills (so they should really help with Talk Time homework tasks, too!).

• When talking with your child or looking at books together, help them to focus on what you are saying: Turn off the TV, the radio or the mobile. Removing distractions helps your child
• Get down to the child’s level or bring them up to yours. This helps get their attention. Young children find it difficult to listen while they are doing something else.
• Say their name first to help them stop and listen. Make sure your child can see your face when you are talking together. The gestures and facial expressions help give clues about what you’re saying. For example, a smile, a ‘thumbs up’.
• It’s important to talk at the right level for your child. If your child is mainly using one word sentences, use one or two words sentences with them. An example is ‘Find shoes’ when looking at a story page with a picture of shoes.
• If your child uses longer sentences to talk, use longer sentences with them. Ask ‘Find the man with the black hair’‘, or ‘Where is the rabbit jumping?’
• Conversations are more than questions and answers. When you talk to your child, try to comment on what they say and do. In the park, say something like “I love going down slides”. Then wait to hear what your child says next.
• When sharing stories together, comment on what your child shows an interest in. Repeat back to your child what you know they meant, even if they didn’t say it quite right. This helps encourage them to keep trying.
• Children need time to plan what they are going to say. Say something to your child then wait for them to put their thoughts together before answering. Always show your child that you are listening. This shows them that you are interested and like talking with them.

Farewell, Year 3

Well, it’s the end of our year and what a great one we have had. It has been an absolute pleasure to work in Year 3 and I will miss the children dearly. Throughout the year, I have been so impressed by improved behaviours, mature attitudes and impressive learning. I am incredibly proud of each and every child and have written a poem to give a quick mention to them all. Enjoy…

Well, Year 3, our work is done. Just look how far you’ve all come.

Edward, you make me smile every day, and with anyone you will play.

Fancy a challenge, then ask Nico. He’s never afraid to give it a go.

Always wanting a chat to share something new, Pippa, without this, what will I do?

Zack’s head is bursting with fascinating facts. Ask him a question and he’ll be quite exact.

Happy to always keep things fair, Grace, you should be proud of the amount you care.

Umaimah’s swimming has been great this year. You deserve a great big cheer.

Grinning from ear to ear, Aleena will always be a friend that’s near.

Matteo, you are such a good sport, an eager learner, a pleasure to have taught.

Noah, a happy chap who tries his best, not content to sit back and rest.

A great friend you will have in Stan, a popular boy with lots of fans.

Nishaan always gives his all, and my goodness how you’ve grown so tall.

Oliver is growing into a confident young man, his attitude is “I will if I can!”

Elias, always caring and kind, another like him would be hard to find.

With confidence oozing through her veins, Pavan is thriving and making  great gains.

Archie just loves to kick a ball, and if Leeds United are stuck they should give him a call.

Her reading has become an absolute joy, Pohnum, it’s a pleasure that I enjoy.

An amazing year this young man has had, Brandon, you are just a super lad.

A great character in Neive you will find, with super manners – if you don’t mind!

Daanyaal, you have worked hard all year. Your reading is just lovely to hear.

Megan you are a shining star. I have no doubt that you will go far.

Give this boy a ball and he is content. Abdullah, footballer in the making – I think that is meant.

Enthusiasm runs through him like a fire. Owen, keep working hard and never tire.

Determination through gritted teeth, Enya can tackle what lies underneath.

Hibba who works so very hard, has quite a sense of humour – a bit of a card.

Harry is a person who… is always willing to try something new.

You’ve come so far, Isobel. Well done! Just keep working on those tricky sums.

Saleem, a kind, gentle boy with manners to show. Keep up the good work and far you will go.

A chatty young man with lots to say, Sam, you’re progressing along the way.

Matthew can listen with a caring ear, and is willing to help those who are unclear.

And Zeewa, well what can I say? I will miss you each and every day.

Well done, Year 3. I’m proud of you all. And by golly we’ve had a ball!

Enjoy the summer and see you all in September!

Final thoughts on a great year!

Well, that went quickly!

I was really looking forward to teaching the class again this year and they have not disappointed. I’ve had a great year and have thoroughly enjoyed teaching them again. There have been so many highlights this year. Here’s an A – Z of favourite memories:

• Ahmed’s absolute desire to always reach the top of the learning mountain in maths lessons.
• Archie body popping his way to the Moortown’s Got Talent title.
• Arran’s scene-stealing performance in the production, wearing a strap-on tortoise shell!
• Bailey’s brilliant, last minute Mouse performance in the production.
• Brandon’s growing obsession with Bear Grylls.
• Ethan’s incredible drawings of Robo-Dog.
• Henry’s great writing progress whilst continuing to be the ‘human calculator’.
• Ibrahim’s funny, yet annoying, cricket sound effects.
• Isabella’s brilliant performance in the production (She even knew most of the lines from Act II as well!)
• Jahneil’s blossoming fractions confidence in maths.
• Jaskirat’s great creative homeworks
• Jawaad’s many pets and Fighting Fantasy books.
• Jennifer’s amazing homeworks and Scratch creations.
• Lanas’ superb learning behaviour.
• Lennox’s solo singing in the production – and his scream!
• Levon’s deadpan humour.
• Linda’s enthusiasm!
• Molly’s fabulous performances in the school sports teams.
• Oliver’s sense of humour.
• Pavan’s singing and all round performance in the production.
• Ravinder pulling his shorts up to his chest in PE lessons and acting as if it was perfectly normal.
• The shock that Rayhaan doesn’t love Hondas anymore!
• Roshan’s laugh.
• Sam trying not to giggle in RSE lessons.
• Shahban’s Malteser song: “Malteser. I’m gonna tease ya! I’m gonna eat ya! Malteaser!”
• Simran laughing so much that she starts to cry.
• Sofiah’s love of Jacqueline Wilson.
• Tayshaun’s “Make way for the King and Queen of Hearts!” in the production.
• Yahya’s very slow reaction time when Lennox poured water on him at the Mad Hatter’s tea party.
• Zachary becoming the first Prime Minister of Year 5 in our election.

Thanks to all for their part in making it a great year. A big thanks also to Mrs Bald who has done a brilliant job. Have a great summer holiday and I’ll see you in September.

Goodbye Year 1….

…what an amazing year we have had!  You’ve all been incredibly hardworking and have been pleasure to teach.  You have all made different contributions and will be remembered for lots of different reasons:

• Well done to Zara and Enas – you are much more confident and will always join in now and, Zara, you are also the best giggler!
• Evie and Alexandra- you are amazing writers and have exceeded all expectations.
• Byron, Alexander, Finlay, William, Sam and Eliza have all made us say “wow” at some point this year with some of their maths.  It’s great to see your enthusiasm.
• Ben, Zakariya and Charlie – your handwriting is so much better. You’ve showed perseverance and determination. Ben, we also have to mention your stylish bed-hair!
• Musa, Daniel, Ahmed and Gurnoor – you ask really interesting questions and always want to find out more. Keep asking questions – that is how you find out more and more.
• Kismat (also known as Bob!), Eve, Rabiya, Kirsten, Natasha and Zidaan: you’ve made so much progress with your writing – you’re now much more confident and can write for lots of different reasons.
• Aisha has to be the most talkative member of Year 1 but she has also made lots of progress in phonics and is now a confident and accurate reader.
• Arundeep has learnt his spellings thoroughly every week and has been determined to get every spelling right each week – he has achieved this on many occasions.
• Poppy, Manpreet, Maggie and Nayaab: thank you for your efforts with your creative homework – it’s always something to look forward to.
• Eleni – your skills in PE are amazing.  You’re competitive but also a really good team player.

Thanks, Year 1, for a brilliant year.  Enjoy the summer and we will see you in September all ready for Year 2.

Goodbye for summer

The end of a fantastic year for Year 2 has arrived. It’s been very sad this week to be taking down displays and giving out books to send the class on to Year 3 but very exciting as well. We’re all ready for moving up the school (and a holiday). A big thank you to all the children who have been a pleasure to teach and get to know.

True to last year’s farewell, I’ve prepared a little poem to say something about everybody.

Farewell, Year 2, it’s been a blast.

If only one more year, it could last.

Farai has grown so very tall

and talks so very much about football.

With Kai he talks, who is quite lovely

sitting next to Martha, who’s rather bubbly.

Want to know about space? Ask Ripley.

In a rocket he’ll go. On the moon he’ll be.

To Thomas and Filip you must go,

if you want to be in the know.

Smiles all round from Grace and Mia.

and what a fab year for happy Zia.

Ethan’s always teaching words anew.

Gabs and Noorpreet are children who,

are ready to go straight away

and with anyone caring Pia will play.

Ben, Humairah and Phoebe are sure

to be there for you to open the door.

So polite are Ishaan and Josh,

and all that rhymes with Josh is posh!

Isaiah and Isaac always try their best,

let’s now hear about the rest.

Theo’s jokes make me laugh (and cry),

About hotdogs Dylan talks, day and nigh’.

Ismail’s presence is such a treat,

And next to him – the wonderful Manpreet.

Lewis and Lory have a fab cheeky side,

and Nicky and Albert, how hard they’ve tried.

I’ve never met some one quite so kind,

and Sachpreet, always keeping others in mind.

And Alex I’m left with, so honest and true.

This poem is over. What a relief. Phew!

Have an amazing holiday, everyone. I’ll look forward to seeing you in September.