03 December 2010
Your homework this week is Talk Time:
I can talk about whether people eat too much junk food.
In class, we are working on balanced arguments. Discuss with your parents your opinions about the statement above. Think of and discuss points that you agree with and points that you disagree with.
Also think about a conclusion or summary.
Make notes in your homework book to show the things you discussed.
Homework is due in on Wednesday 08 December.
To close or not to close…?
The BBC website has described the dilemma headteachers face regarding whether they should close their school or not. Schools can’t please all parents on this issue: this week, most parents have praised us for staying open whilst many other Leeds schools haven’t, but there have been one or two parents complaining that we should also have closed. Today, many parents wanted to know if we would be open tomorrow – but closing our school is a last resort and a decision I don’t take lightly.
The article lists many different factors and conflicting opinions that have to be considered. For example, people have today been advised that they should only travel when it is “essential”. The Department for Education regards travelling to school as essential and says both staff and pupils should try to do so safely, but the National Union of Teachers disagrees, arguing that “essential” should mean emergency services, gritters etc.
When making a decision to stay open or close, my main priority is safety: the safety of children, obviously, but also the safety of parents and carers who need to collect their child, the safety of staff who face challenging journeys home, and even the safety of our neighbours on Shadwell Lane, a road that can get severely clogged up with traffic (this has in the past blocked emergency vehicles from gaining access).
At Moortown, we’re lucky in that many staff live locally. Teachers and support staff stayed for as long as they could today: Mr Owen and Mr Wilks, for example, stayed until after lunchtime so that they were around to provide extra supervision, and then faced very long journeys home on foot, whilst Mrs Weekes, Mrs Wilson, Mrs O’Malley, Mrs Sherriff and Mr Wilson stayed throughout the day ensuring those children still at school were safe, and that parents need not dangerously hurry to school.
I’m extremely grateful to all staff for their efforts and to parents who collected their child as soon as it was safe to do so.
Please continue to be patient and check our website for the most up-to-date information, which will be in the blue Twitter box. You might also like to receive the tweets on your mobile phone – text follow moortownprimary to 86444. This is free and works for all networks except T-Mobile.
The boys hard at work!
Playing on the field.
Having fun in the snow!
Fun In The Snow
Vile Victorians Assembly
Thank you to all the parents for the positive comments about our Vile Victorians assembly. Here are a few of the comments we collected during the assembly:
One mum said, “Fabulous as always.”
Another thought that the assembly was excellent, especially the shoe polisher!
“I really enjoyed it. The children looked wonderful,” was another comment.
Again, many thanks for your comments.
All Aboard!
SEAL statement 29 November
This week our SEAL statement is ‘I can use peaceful problem solving to sort out difficulties.’
As part of our Getting On SEAL theme the children look at the peaceful problem solving process to sort out any ‘getting on’ problems with each other.
This approach to resolving problems encourages children to:
- ensure they both feel calm (using calming down techniques)
- tell each other how they feel
- come up with their own solution to solve the problem
Look out for the Peaceful Problem Solving poster displayed around school and reminder cards can be found on keyrings in all classrooms. (Download it, too, so you can use it at home.)
Curriculum Morning – Tuesday 30 November
There will be a short meeting at 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning for those parents who were unable to attend the evening meeting. The meeting will give you the chance to find out how we teach reading and writing in Reception and give you ideas for helping your child at home. We hope you will be able to attend.
