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12 June 2015

This week’s homework is creative.

I know what grows in my local environment.

As always, be as creative as you like. 

We would like children to look around the local environment to find particular flowers, plants and trees. 

• Do they know the name of them?  If they don’t, how can they find out? 
• Have they found any unusual plants?  If so, where were they?
• What do they notice about leaves from different trees?

12 June 2015

Here are this week’s spellings.  There will be a spelling test on Friday 19 June.

Dance at Allerton Grange

This morning we visited Allerton Grange High School and were taught a few dance routines by the students there. A special mention to Brandon, Edward and Matthew who all demonstrated some great moves.

Volcanoes

Our topic this half term is ‘Extreme Earth‘. We’re studying how the earth is made up of different layers and tectonic plates. Our focus has been volcanoes and what causes an eruption.

Work has begun on our very own volcanoes using plastic bottles and papier mache. We had lots of fun creating these and are really looking forward to our very own eruptions later in the week.

Take a look at our progress so far.

This week we begin our new SEAL theme, Changes

Following our focus on manners last week, we now begin the SEAL theme of Changes. This theme aims to equip children with an understanding of different types of change, positive and negative, and common responses to change. It aims to develop knowledge, understanding and skills in three key social and emotional aspects of living and learning: motivation, managing feelings and social skills.

The key ideas and concepts behind this theme are:

• Change can be uncomfortable, because it can threaten our basic needs to feel safe and to belong
• Change can also be stimulating and welcome
• Both adults and children can experience a range of powerful and conflicting emotions as a result of change – for example, excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, loss, anger, resentment
• Worries about change can be made worse by uncertainty, lack of information, or misinformation and lack of support from others
• People’s responses to and ability to cope with change are very variable, and might be influenced by individual temperament, previous experience of change, and the nature of the change – chosen or imposed, expected or unexpected, within our control or out of our control
• Some children may welcome most forms of change and dislike routine and predictability. Other children may find even small changes very difficult.

Within school, children, who are coping with or have undergone significant change, are supported in a variety of ways:

• Our positive ethos within school
• Support systems, from staff and peers, for children who have undergone change or who maybe new to the school
• SEAL and circle time sessions where children feel safe to talk about their feelings
• Class SEAL boxes for children to record any concerns
• Preparing children wherever possible for planned changes for example, a change of class teacher, Key Stage or even school

£182.60 raised

Thank you for the donations, as part of identity day, during our latest themed week, Who do you think you are? and for entries to the Who do you think we are? competition.

A total of £182.60 was raised and this will be split between one of our school charities, St Gemma’s Hospice, and the Nepal earthquake appeal.

Moortown botanists

Lab coats went on yesterday as we all turned into botanists. It was time to find out once and for what plants need to grow so we set up an experiment. We planted the same seed and gave it different conditions to see which would grow and which would not.

Here are the conditions we set up:

• soil, water, light, warmth, air
• no soil, water, light, warmth, air
• soil, no water, light, warmth, air
• soil, water, no light, warmth, air
• soil, water, light, cold place, air
• soil, water, light, warmth, no air

Plant news

Having planted all sorts of seeds last week, let’s see how they’re getting on. We’ve had them sat on a sunny window sill and they’ve been watered everyday.

The sunflowers have started growing very quickly but we’ve also got tomatoes shooting through the soil and some marigolds and courguette poking through too. They’ll be planted outside next week so you’ll be able to come and have a look.

Making it through the maze.

We’re trying to make our way through mazes in maths by using lots of directional language.

• forward
• backward
• left
• right
• quarter turn
• half turn
• three-quarter turn
• clockwise
• anti-clockwise

Return of Leeds Sky Ride

Join the cycling revolution in Leeds as Sky Ride returns for its third year bringing thousands of cyclists and spectators to a traffic free city centre.

The free family friendly mass-participation bike ride takes place on Sunday 14 June 10am – 3pm. Registration is now open at  and people are being encouraged to sign up fast as places are filling up.

Previous years have proved to be very successful attracting more than 8,500 people of all ages and abilities, with many more lining the streets to cheer along friends, relatives and loved ones.

For those not jumping on a bike there is plenty to get involved with thanks to the return of the “Tricks and Tunes” area featuring top DJs as well as pro BMX and mountain bikers performing jaw-dropping stunts not for the faint-hearted.

Riders can look forward to starting from the same point, on The Headrow, as cycling legends during last summer’s “Grandest of Grand Départs”. They will also pass iconic city landmarks from Leeds University to the town hall and First Direct Arena.

Riders can challenge family and friends in the Sprint Zone, experience the sensory tunnel and find out more about cycling opportunities in Leeds. Bike experts at Halfords are offering a free bike safety check to everyone who registers and will be on hand to help out with any last minute problems. Join the cycling revolution in Leeds as Sky Ride returns for its third year bringing thousands of cyclists and spectators to a traffic free city centre.

The event is one of 15 to be held nationally and is part of a continuing partnership between Leeds City Council, British Cycling, Sky and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority which aims to encourage more people to get cycling.