Food tasting at Harvester restaurant
Some of the Year 3 and 4 pupils recently visited Harvester restaurant at Colton, Leeds. This was part of our drive to make packed lunches at Moortown Primary even healthier.
The session involved tasting different fruit and vegetables and learning all about how important it is to have these in our diets.
The children came away with a selection of vegetables and lots of knowledge about healthy eating. They were very keen to encourage their family to eat well, too!
We’ve already noticed quite a few with extra portions of fruit and vegetables in their packed lunch. Children tell us they want to try healthier foods – why not try something new and nutritious each week?
Class Assemblies
With only one class assembly left in the year, you might like to read some of the comments parents and carers have made this year so far…
‘We really enjoyed learning lots about how to stay safe.’
‘Fantastic counting in French – it was clear and the accent perfect. I really enjoyed the assembly, as usual.’
‘Entertaining and factual… Very educational.’
‘Fantastic interpretation of Shakespeare into bite size three minutes definitely got all the children switched on and engaged with Shakespeare.’
‘Great assembly, especially when the pupils speak so loudly and clearly.’
SEAL statement 14 June
This week our SEAL statement is ‘I can get better at my learning.’ Which of the following circle time skills could you improve to get better at your learning?
- Looking skills
- Listening skills
- Thinking skills
- Speaking skills
- Body language
- Concentrating
SEAL statement 7 June
Our SEAL theme this half term focuses on Changes and the first weekly statement is ‘I can cope with an unexpected change.’ With the end of the school year approaching, this SEAL theme helps to prepare children to deal with changes they will face at school. These may be a new high school, a new Key Stage or a new classroom and teacher.
Winning at Moortown!
Well done to Theo Raseta in Year 1, who won a prize in the Education Leeds Give it 100% competition. He wins a pair of sledging vouchers for SnoZone in Castleford. In total, 121 pupils from Moortown Primary School achieved 100% attendance rate during March 2010 – that’s fantastic and these people have really helped make a difference to our attendance as well as being happy and healthy learners. All of these pupils earned a certificate. In the authority, there were 27,000 entries from 139 schools.
Also, well done to all our talented tennis players! At a recent tournament between local primary schools, Moortown won due to the great skills and talents of many of our pupils. We already knew Kiran in Y4 is a great tennis player, but Mrs Maver was very impressed with many of the others who took part. Well done to all, and thanks to Mrs Maver for organising this.
Next half-term, we have more competitions and events to look forward to. A sneaky peak at the Year 6 routine suggests we’re in with a good chance of winning the local schools’ competition for best Wake Up Shake Up performance!
Goodbye…
As you know, Miss Beatson leaves us at the end of the year to take up a leadership role in London. Sadly, the time has come for two other teachers to also be moving on.
In July, Miss Kieran leaves us for a sabbatical year. She is moving to Stockholm, Sweden to work in a school there. Miss Kieran has delivered wonderfully creative lessons and adds sparkle and fun to whatever her classes do. She has led the way with the development of our more creative curriculum and also led on initiatives such as Moortown’s Got Talent and My Money week. We hope that she will return to Moortown after her year away.
Mr O’Leary also leaves us at the end of the year, but to go to a school much closer to home! He will be part of the leadership team in another Leeds school, continuing his responsibility for ICT throughout the school, a role which he has successfully developed here at Moortown. He has ensured that the children in his classes have achieved very well each year, and has contributed a good deal in his extra role as Subject Leader for ICT. He also took up the management of the football team and set up many matches with our local schools.
Miss Kieran and Mr O’Leary both started at the same time as Mrs Weekes and me – the four of us joined in September 2007. We shall miss them both. They started here as newly qualified teachers and have contributed an enormous amount to the school.
We have recruited four new teachers to join us in September. The children met three of the new teachers, Mr Owen, Mr Redfearn and Mr Wilks on Friday 28 May. The fourth teacher, Ms Hazell, is currently teaching in a London school.
SEAL statement 24 May
During the last week of our Relationships SEAL theme, children will be nominated in our Friday Celebration assembly by showing, ‘I can take responsibility for my own behaviour.’
Packed lunches
As discussed in my recent letter, this term we are looking at how we can improve packed lunches within school. Thank you to all parents and carers who attended the Health and Well-Being Development Group meeting and for other comments that have been returned to school. We are still interested in your comments and some questions to consider include:
Do you feel your child’s packed lunch is healthy?
How do you think we can make packed lunches healthier within school?
What do you feel prevents parents and carers from providing healthy packed lunches?
Which foods do you feel should be discouraged within packed lunches?
Please forward any comments to the school office. Thank you for your help.
SEAL statement 17th May
This week, as part of our Relationships theme, our SEAL statement is “I can feel proud of others.” How might you show you feel proud of something your class mates have done?
SATs: a personal response
You may be aware that there is considerable controversy and divided opinion about the Key Stage 2 tests, popularly known as SATs. I have decided that pupils at Moortown Primary School will sit the tests this year. It has been a difficult decision to make; this is how I’ve made it.
Arguments against SATs
This year, it’s estimated that up to 50% of headteachers in Leeds plan to boycott the SATs as part of their union’s campaign to have them abolished.
Those against SATs argue that the tests:
- are poorly marked and therefore an inadequate measure;
- measure a child’s performance as a ‘snapshot’ on one particular day and therefore fail to take into account the child’s wider performance;
- skew the primary curriculum so that the child’s final year at school is taken over with SATs preparation;
- the data from SATs is presented to the public in league tables which hide a school’s real effectiveness (for example, a school in a deprived area might be very successful in teaching children in that the children make great progress, whereas a school in a well-off area might have a children who start school already above national expectation and make little progress, and that progress may be as much due to private tuition than effective teaching).
The NAHT union favour some sample testing of schools (which, from this year, will happen in Science assessment) – a sample selection of schools would be chosen to provide some form of performance measure of schools nationally.
My view
In my experience, it’s true that the tests are often poorly marked. I know this because when the tests are returned to school, I thoroughly re-mark them. Last year, two children’s levels were successfully upgraded as a result of errors I found in the marking. Poor marking is an issue which needs to be addressed, but in the meantime, by re-marking in school, the levels which children at Moortown eventually receive are accurate.
The tests do indeed measure just a snapshot. We must all be very clear about this. However, the alternative can be vague. If we don’t have externally marked tests, we rely on teacher assessment. Whilst this is good, it can vary considerably from school to school and teacher to teacher. I believe we need both. I also believe the teacher assessment should have a greater importance – perhaps being combined with the SATs score to give a balanced overall level for a child’s attainment.
In many schools, SATs preparation takes over the curriculum. This does not happen at Moortown. This year, Miss Kieran and the Year 6 class have enjoyed two engaging, creative topics (Meet the Greeks and Snowbound) – you only have to read their views in the Year 6 Forum to know that the children have been enthusiastic and positive. In addition, there have been drama projects, food-tasting, sporting events – the rich and varied curriculum that is what makes Moortown a happy and healthy place to learn.
I believe it is the league tables that should be abolished, not the SATs outright. SATs have contributed to raising standards in the past. I am happy for SAT data to go to the local authority, the government and to Ofsted so that a school’s performance can be measured. However, the data should be considered along with many other important, contextual factors. League tables are poorly understood and do not help parents / carers to make informed decisions. Parents / carers tell me that they base their decisions as to which school their child should attend on many criteria – very few mention league tables. At Moortown Primary School, most people are attracted by its size, its atmosphere and its reputation which goes from strength to strength.
As always, please contact me if you have any questions, comments or concerns. In the meantime, good luck to all our Year 6 children – they must be congratulated for their excellent year so far.
