Planet Leeds is coming…
Here’s a few words from Sarah Napier, who’s a volunteer helper for a forthcoming event in Leeds…
Planet Leeds multicultural street festival returns to Leeds city centre on Saturday 16 June 2012, 11am-4pm.
It’s a free annual street festival, featuring performers from diverse cultures and communities across the city.
And everyone’s invited!
The festivals have previous featured: Iranian guitarists, homeless theatre groups, belly-dance, Congolese drummers, Chapeltown poets and hip-hop artists, Irish and Indian dance, Eastern European klezmer music, folk, and much more. And Planet Leeds 2012 promises to be even bigger and better!
How did it start? What’s it about?
Planet Leeds started life in 2007 as a positive response to unease and disconnection between the diverse communities of the city: showcasing the high-quality talents of people from a range of backgrounds, and especially those who are typically marginalised, unseen or under-valued. Instead of focusing on the negatives, Planet Leeds provides a positive platform for a range of performers – new and established, young and old, mainstream and niche. And by hosting it in the city centre, it’s an event for all; we live in a fantastically culturally rich city, and have much to celebrate! Indeed, Leeds is the most culturally plural UK city (that is, we have more cultures and ethnicities living alongside one another here) outside of London. Yet too often, we don’t get the opportunity to see, enjoy and appreciate that diversity! Together, we can make a more mixed, connected and vibrant city.
There’s nothing to do but shop…
As well as celebrating Leeds’ diversity, the free festival also aims to help ‘reclaim’ the city centre. Many people are frustrated that the city centre isn’t family-friendly, isn’t a civic space – and is only good for shopping.
So, by taking place in the very heart of the city (Briggate), Planet Leeds seeks to revitalise the city centre: bringing different people together to enjoy themselves at a vibrant, community-led event – without needing to spend a penny!
And we’re looking to work with others over the coming years to develop a summer-long programme of similar events that bring life, colour and community spirit back into the heart of Leeds.
Planet Leeds is an increasingly established event on the Leeds calendar, bringing together some of the city’s most diverse performers.
It’s community-led, run on a shoestring budget by volunteers.
It’s an event for everyone.
Designing bank notes
It’s Money Week at Moortown Primary. Our Y6 pupils visited the North East Leeds City Learning Centre (based beside Allerton Grange) to get creative with currency!
Eating Hardtack
Hardtack was a typical biscuit eaten by pirates. Whilst it didn’t taste too good, pirates chose to stock up because it lasted for months and months. Our Y3 friends baked some recently – here’s their reactions…
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOfXQalhPfE&list=FLEe9dReTlOizIg1tnmOO_sg&feature=mh_lolz”
Reception children get messy…
…and relax!
25 May 2012
Our spelling list this week is linked to ‘Money Week’, which takes place next week.
These words will be tested on Friday 01 June.
| coin |
| money |
| pence |
| pound |
| safe |
| cash |
| check |
| lend |
| pay |
| cost |
25 May 2012
This week’s spellings are a mixture of our three main spelling rules. For the tenth spelling, children should think of their own word which fits any of the three rules.
| Double up for a short vowel sound | |
| 1. | snapping |
| 2. | madder |
| 3. | terrible |
| Drop the ‘e’ for ‘ing’ | |
| 4. | making |
| 5. | surprising |
| 6. | frustrating |
| Drop the ‘y’ for an ‘i’ | |
| 7. | nastily |
| 8. | craftily |
| 9. | moodily |
| 10. | ???????? |
25 May 2012
This week’s spellings are words beginning with ‘mis’. Your child will be tested on Friday 01 June 2012.
- mistake
- misbehave
- mishear
- misplace
- misread
- misuse
- misfire
- misunderstand
- misspell
- mislead
Oui, bien sûr!
An exciting new French project for Year 4 children will be starting this week.
A teacher of English from a school in the Champagne region of northern France contacted Moortown Primary to see if we could write back to the 30 children in one of their classes so they could practise their English writing skills.
We replied, “Oui, bien sûr!”
We have received 30 wonderful postcards from the children from their village school in Grauves, and Year 4 will be individually responding to each child. We’ll reply first of all to their questions in English and then, to put our skills to the test, we’ll be replying with one or two of our own.
As-tu des frères ou des soeurs? par exemple.
It’s a great way to bring our French learning to life and the teacher, Monsieur Jérôme Eyffred, has sent us some pictures of their beautiful setting, library, classroom and even classwork so we can compare notes! Already we know the school has 130 pupils, five classes (Year 2 to Year 6) and only one interactive whiteboard – it’s a relatively new concept in France, says Jérôme.
We’ll keep up the correspondence until the end of this term and provide any further updates on this new partnership between Moortown and Grauves.
18 May 2012
Our spelling list this week looks at words that end in ‘nk‘.
These words will be tested on Friday 25 May 2012.
| bank |
| pink |
| ink |
| drink |
| sink |
| tank |
| blank |
| oink |
| plank |
| think |
18 May 2012
This week’s homework is creative. It’s due in on Wednesday 23 May 2012.
I know about labels and captions.
Your child has been comparing fiction and non-fiction books this week. Labels and captions can usually be found in non-fiction books, close to photographs and diagrams.
By the way, it’s useful to encourage your child to read a wide range of books, both stories and factual.
