Roundhegians Open Day
Roundhegians Rugby Club, who kindly host our annual sports day and other sporting fixtures, are having an open day on Saturday 7th July.
Being Healthy themed week 2 July
Our next whole school themed week, based around Being Healthy, will be taking place from Monday 2 July 2018. Our key message will be how to be healthy; both physically and emotionally. A variety of events and visitors are planned to help us deliver this key aspect of education. We are looking forward to a very busy, healthy week!
Our School Council have been considering ways to support our school charity, Make-A-Wish, and as skipping has been taking off at school, we will be running a beat your personal best skipping challenge. On Friday 6 July, this will culminate in a Make-A-Wish day with all children invited to wear blue and bring a £1 donation to support our charity while trying to beat our personal bests.
There are also some opportunities for parents and carers to get involved in the week.
Monday 02 July 3:15pm – 4:15pm Health fair
Our Health and Sports Fair in the hall is to promote health and sport opportunities and services in the local area.
Come along with your child/children after-school to find out more.
Tuesday 03 July Sports day Key Stage 2 9:30am Reception/Key Stage 2 1:30pm
You are welcome to come along to support our annual sports day at Roundhegians RUFC. We require adults to help walk the children to Roundhegians so please contact the office if you can help with this.
Thursday 05 July 2:30pm – 3:15pm d:side drug education parent information session
Dave Hill from d:side, a health education provider, will be running an information session about drug education following his sessions with all classes during our themed week. Parents and carers from all year groups are welcome to attend. Please contact the office if you would like to reserve a place.
Following our recent walk to school week and the Big Pedal scooter and bike week, this themed week is a good opportunity to continue to think about healthy, active ways to travel to school. We will be encouraging children to use a sustainable method of transport, maybe parking further away from school, scooting, biking or walking to school.
Finally, can you help? Does your job involve an aspect of health? If you are able to support our Being Healthy themed week by coming into school, please contact your child’s class teacher directly or the office to arrange this.
Thank you for your support to keep Moortown a happy and healthy school.
Assessing
At the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage each year, schools must report how each child has achieved across 17 different areas. Whilst the government plans to introduce a statutory assessment on a screen, at the moment this assessment is based on teachers’ (and other adults’) observations of what a child can do, and anything the child might do on paper and in books.
Because it’s teachers assessing, there’s obviously room for different judgements and interpretations. That’s why Mrs Burke and her team attend lots of meetings across the year to share assessments with other schools – we call this ‘moderation’.
Every four years, Leeds City Council also carries out some moderation, and it was Moortown’s turn this year. The meeting went well – teacher assessments were agreed. Here are the conclusions of the report:
The provision in the setting was well thought out and provided a variety of challenges for a range of abilities. The wood work station was a particular strength and gave the moderator some solid evidence around moving and handling [one of the 17 strands] and shape, space and measure [another strand].
Floor books were used to encourage children to contribute their ideas in the construction area.
Practitioners that participated in moderation had a sound knowledge of all the children discussed and could identify the next steps in their learning.
The profile of [a child with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities] included some effective examples showcasing the learning journey of that child and how provision is planned for his specific needs.
From a floor book based around ‘the world’, it was clear that practitioners plan a wide range of experiences to move learning forward such as hatching chicks and potion making.
There are two ‘next steps’, neither of which relates to the quality of our provision: to gather greater evidence for children in a particular strand, and to continue to involve parents / carers:
It was agreed it would be useful to capture more responses and comments from children to add in to the maths floor book together with more of their mathematical graphics. This would provide useful additional evidence for both strands of maths throughout the year. The moderator suggested keeping a note, for example, on a class list of which children had contributed so that the book provides evidence for all learners over time.
The reception teacher is considering other ways to involve parents and gather additional evidence from home.
Well done to Mrs Burke and all her team – and to our wonderful 2017-18 Reception children.
And more... Fab feedback!
Just a day after a lovely email from a parent, we’ve received another. This one (also anonymised, so ‘they’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’) is from a Y5/6 parent commenting on the rich curriculum at Moortown Primary:
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and your team for making [my child] so happy at school. This month in particular they are buzzing about the fantastic opportunities they and their class are experiencing. What a fabulous curriculum!! …Sailing at Yeadon Tarn where they laid across the bow of the boat and touched the water, being selected for [a competitive event] and then finally to cap it all off a day at…Headingley cricket ground.
It is so joyful when your child gushes to tell you about their school day and the things they are looking forward to. Thank you!
Fab feedback (again!)
We’ve recently received a lovely email from a parent whose children will soon be moving on to a new school. Here’s an (anonymised) extract:
I and my kids have thoroughly enjoyed our time spent at Moortown… I will certainly miss the daily commute, playground banter and friendly faces, especially some of the teachers who were around [for all my children]. I thank you and all the staff for allowing my children to grow and develop in a wonderfully healthy school environment and I firmly believe that the robust primary education they received has helped them to flourish and become the lovely little people they are today.
Sports day 2018
This year’s sports day will take place, during our Being Healthy themed week, on Tuesday 03 July 2018, at Roundhegians Rugby Club.
Key Stage 2 events will take place at 9.30am and Reception and Key Stage 1 at 1.30pm. Children will be walking to the field, escorted by adults. We will require additional adult helpers so please let the office know if you can help with this.
If weather conditions mean we have to change the date, the reserve date is Tuesday 17 July.
The format of this year’s event will be competitive races and field events with children having the opportunity to compete for medals. However, all children will be rewarded for taking part.
Our teams will be: green, blue, white and red. If possible, please could your child wear a t-shirt to wear to match their team colour. Pupils may wear PE kit for the whole day.
As we are off site, please could you provide your child with a carrier bag to sit on. If you are coming to spectate, you are welcome to bring rugs or chairs to sit on.
Please could you ensure your child has their water bottle and a cap/hat at school; it would also be useful if you could apply sun cream before your child comes to school.
Normal lunch time and end of school collection arrangements will still apply on this day.
In the event of bad weather, updates will be sent via Twitter and posted on the website.
Your support is valued to make the event memorable and we hope you are able to come and cheer your child on at sports day.
Tennis for free
A community sports charity is offering free tennis coaching every Saturday at Cross Flats Park. These are fun sessions for all abilities.
Cycling events
Recently, some of our Key Stage 2 children enjoyed taking part in the Brownlee triathlon at John Smeaton Leisure Centre. It is always one of the most popular events on our competition calendar.
This weekend, it is the real thing and the World Triathlon Series returns to Leeds. Starting locally at Roundhay Park, this is a perfect chance to see the athletes as they head to the city centre.
There is also a Let’s Ride pop up ride at the Brownlee Centre on Sunday.
Whether you want to ride for fun or fitness, the free monthly pop-up events gives you the chance to ride a traffic-free cycle circuit as many times as you want, at a pace that suits you.
The event is open to all ages and abilities and the circuit is easy to ride, with volunteers on hand throughout, ensuring peace of mind and safety for all cyclists.
Annual survey of parents and carers - new deadline
The annual survey of parents and carers is open for you to tell us your views. Thank you to the parents and carers who have completed a survey so far.
We’ve extended the closing date for the survey to 22 June to give even more of you a chance to tell us your views.
Thanks
Have you responded to our annual survey yet?
At Moortown Primary, we’re always keen to hear your views.
Visit the survey site and respond to a series of statements – either agree / agree strongly or disagree / disagree strongly (or say that you don’t know). There’s also the opportunity to add any comments you may have. The survey should take you about five minutes – maybe a bit longer if you add lots of comments. The survey is open until 11 June.
Thank you for sharing your views.
