Present – Anna, Mia, Becky, Elliot, Jermaine, Riley, Billy, Martha, Lenny, Mathilda, William, Louis.

We looked through the playground pal applications. We have chosen:

Y3 – Bobby, Elouise, Aisha, Jack TR, Frank.

Y4 – Frankie, Faye-Louise, Ruby P, Lily, Emile.

Y5 – Renee, Wilson, Erina, Billy, Shevarnie.

Y6 – Will, Ayesha, Jahi, Kyra, Shenice.

We cannot decide on year 2 because we cannot find the folder. So year 2 school councillors will decide in their class council meeting.

Also at the next class council meetings we will be discussing homework and reading journals.

Dear parents,

   We hope that you all enjoyed the Easter break. This letter will just outline some of the information you may need this half term, and give you an idea of the kinds of things we will be learning about. I have re – attached the Y3 long term plan to give you some idea of the topics your child will be working on.

This half term we have a focus on our history. We are looking at Vikings and about how and why they came to Britain. At the end of the topic the children will complete a small DT topic. They will be making their own Viking pouches. Over the next few weeks the children will be asked to carry out research about these as part of their homework. The children will need to complete these tasks and have their homework book in school the last week of this half term so that they can complete the project.

   I will teach the class most of the time and Mrs Sanders will teach the class on Thursday mornings.

   PE days are Mondays and Thursdays. During the summer term the children will be doing most of their PE sessions outside. Please could you ensure that your child has the correct kit for these lessons, this includes suitable footwear. (White t-shirt, black or navy shorts, pumps for indoor PE, trainers for outside – jumper and tracksuit bottoms for cold weather outside PE).

   Homework will continue to be set every other Friday, to be handed in 10 days later on Mondays.  

    If you wish to chat to me about anything further, please call in and see me at the end of the school day.

   Yours sincerely,

   Caroline Mitchell

   Aga Chudzik

Dear Parents/Carers,

We hope you have had a lovely Easter holiday and we are looking forward to some warmer weather this term!

Our topic this half term is called ‘Wild at Heart’ with a focus on Science. We will be learning about habitats around the school grounds and how different animals are adapted to where they live, as well as learning about conservation issues around different habitats. In ICT we will learn how to use a data logger to record the conditions of the habitats we find and will make a branching database to sort different animals. In Design Technology we will make a pop up book about a habitat using different mechanisms and then we will make a book trailer of our finished books.

Our Literacy topic is information texts and we will be using research techniques to find out about different animals using e-books and written texts. Later on this half term we will study poetry. In Numeracy we will be focussing on fractions, decimal numbers, different methods of calculation, patterns in number, graphs and directions.

Swimming begins next Tuesday for the term and the children will be learning fielding and striking skills in Outdoor Games. In French we will be learning about pets and in RE we will be learning about symbols in Christianity and Judaism. In Music the children will be making compositions and in PSHCE learning about relationships.

In the Summer Term Year 4 have the opportunity every year to go to the School Allotment on Ash Road. This will take place every Thursday afternoon beginning next week. The children visit the allotment in groups of 10 so will go once every three weeks. They need to wear suitable outdoor clothing including a waterproof coat (even if the weather looks fine) and sensible shoes. Fingers crossed for some lovely weather so we can produce vegetables and fruits to cook and sell!

We look forward to a wonderful half term with Year 4. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to ask.

Yours Faithfully,

Amy Houldsworth

Jan Sanders

Elena

Krissie

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to a new term, here is some information about what will be happening in Year 1 this half term.

Our topic this half term is Minibeast Mayhem

We will be learning about different minibeasts and their habitats. We will be exploring the school grounds to find out the different conditions that minibeasts prefer and carrying out a survey of the types of creatures we can find around school. We will be looking closely at the features of different minibeasts and doing some research to find out more information about them. As part of our literacy work we will be writing an information text about a minibeast and preparing a presentation using ICT. In music we will be learning songs about minibeasts and accompanying them with instruments and will also prepare a class composition. Our art and DT also link to this topic, we will be sewing and decorating butterflies and making fridge magnets of animals.

PE

Please ensure that your child has their PE kit in school at all times – white t-shirt, black pumps, dark shorts- and that each item is clearly labelled with their name. PE will be outdoors on Tuesdays. On Mondays we will be doing dance indoors linked to our Minibeast topic. Your child may wear jogging bottoms for outdoor PE but they must also have shorts in school for Monday’s PE lesson. If your child wears tights for school, please ensure that they also have socks to change into.

Literacy

We have started reading and writing poetry about animals and will continue with this through next week. After that we will be looking at information books and researching minibeasts ready to write our own information text. We will then be using this information to prepare an ICT presentation.

Phonics, spelling and handwriting work is ongoing. Group guided reading takes place every week with books and questions matched to the abilities of each group. It is also important that you continue to hear your child read from their home reading book as often as possible and write in the reading record book. These can then be changed when your child puts their book in the box. Our class library day is Monday when children may select a book to take home from the library.

Maths

This half term we will be concentrating on securing number facts and methods of calculating. We will use these to help us solve problems. We will also be collecting and presenting data and using tables and bar charts to answer questions. We will continue to use different mental methods and practical resources to support learning.

ICT

ICT is used throughout the curriculum. We will be developing our presentation skills and learning to control Beebots.

Play and Learn and Transition

We have really enjoyed these sessions and appreciate the parents who have been able to come and join us. Unfortunately these will not be continuing this term as we start to prepare the children for the move to Year 2. On Friday afternoons, alongside our art work we will be helping the Reception children to prepare for Year 1, so half the class will be swapping with half of Reception each week. This is always an enjoyable time for both classes and I am sure that Year 1 will be a fantastic example to Reception!

Lost Property

We seem to accumulate a huge amount of lost gloves, jumpers, hats etc in Year 1. Any that have not been claimed have been placed in the pink bin by Reception’s outdoor area. Please can you ensure that items are named as this makes it a lot easier to return them to their owners.

Finally if you have any questions or queries we are always happy to have a brief chat after school, however please be aware that we may have to ask you to wait while we see all the children safely out of the door. If you need a longer chat then please make an appointment so that we can discuss things fully.

Mrs Mills

Mr Wrankmore

Mrs Loulie

Dear Parents/Carers,

 We hope you had a good Easter break. Below are some news items as we start the summer term.

Kate Garman and PTA

This week the  school gave a card made by the children and flowers  to Kate Garman who has been our chair of the Parents Teachers Association ( PTA ) for the last five years. In this time she has ably led the PTA in organising our wonderful summer and Christmas Fairs so enjoyed by the whole school community. The fairs along with other PTA events have also supported school funds to buy extra items for the school and  enable more trips and activities to take place,  the last of which was our brilliant whole school pantomime experience in December. There will be a meeting of the PTA soon to plan future events:  we will communicate this with you via letter and text.

Attendance Letters

All parents and carers will receive a print out of their child’s attendance and punctuality so far this year. Thank you for supporting the school in its aim to improve this area.

Collaborative Work with schools and universities

You may have noticed many classes working with LawnswoodSchool and LeedsUniversity over the last term. As an outward looking school we are making links with other educational providers to widen and enrich the experiences our children have in school. We hope to have specialist teachers from Lawnswood working with different classes this term and will update you as these events are put in place.

Use of former Leeds Girls Grammar School Playing Fields and Facilities

Parents and carers may be aware that the former playing fields and facilities at the Victoria Road / Chestnut Avenue site near our school are the subject of discussion in the community at present. The Hyde Park Olympic Legacy Action Group was set up in 2012 to preserve the facilities for community sports use. We have information leaflets on this on our notice board and in our information rack in our entrance hall. We also have a petition passed to us by the group which may be signed by any parents or carers, also in our entrance hall.

Health and Sports Week

Our Health and Sports week this year is 8-12 July.  Mr  Wrankmore, our PE co-ordinator, is organising events for the week. If you have a sporting or health related expertise or know of someone who would like to join us during the week supporting or leading a session with children please let me or Mr Wrankmore know.

Michael Brawley  

Events:

Monday 13- Thursday 16 May Y6 SATs

20-24 May Y6 Ingleborough  Residential

8-12 July Health and Sports Week

Friday 19 July last day of term.

                                 Please find below some items of news.                                                                                  

Parent Consultations and Questionnaire

As you should know next Wednesday and Thursday are our second Parent/Carer-Teacher consultation evenings. If you have not yet returned your letter requesting a day and time please do so as soon as possible. During the meeting, as well as discussing your child’s learning in school,  you will be given their latest assessments in reading, writing and maths and how well they are progressing towards their end of year targets. During the evening you will also have the chance to fill in a questionnaire on how we can further improve different aspects of our provision; this year, as well as questions about our school  we are asking your views on how we might improve communication and  whether we should change our policy on school  uniform. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Due to Parents’ Evenings there will be no Gym Clubs next week and no Y4 Football club on Thursday. Y5 and Y6 football clubs on Tuesday and Friday will take place as normal.

Marie Curie Yellow Fair

Thanks to all the school community who came together to make last Friday’s Yellow Fair such a  success. We had a beautiful display of daffodils in pots and a huge variety of yellow wares for sale. A total of £742.00 was raised for the Marie Curie charity- a huge thank you to everyone who helped reach this brilliant total and a special thank you to Mrs Lewis for co-ordinating the whole event so well. A mention must also be given to the Year 6 children who contributed all of the profits from their  wonderful newspaper Spring Bank News, made in their lunch hour,  to the charity: well done!

World Book Day Events/ Oxfam Writing Competition

We have had a brilliant week for reading and writing. Children in school have written funny stories for the Oxfam writing competition; Mike Bird will come into school next Thursday after having had a good laugh reading all the entries and will name the winners. All classes have also been making an ever lengthening Book Worm to curl around the door to their classroom. The bookworm is made of circular book reviews of books read by the children. The class with the most reviews won and the result, announced by Mrs Ward today, was: in third place Y5, in second place Y3 but in first place with an amazing 150 different reviews Year 6. Well done to them and thanks to Mrs Ward for her excellent introduction and organisation of this event.

Red Nose Day Friday 15 March

Next Friday is Red Nose Day. We have red noses and bands in school that children can purchase for £1. For the day itself children and staff may wear something red and/or wear a red nose if they wish with a  donation  to the charity.

Michael Brawley  

Events:

13, 14 March Parents’ Evening 4-6pm

Monday 13- Thursday 16 May Y6 SATs

20-24 May Y6 Ingleborough  Residential

Amount raised last year - £1005.00

Amount raised this year - £800.00

Thanks to everyone who made this day a success!

    Year 5 came third, with 78 bookworm segments, followed by Year 3 with a very impressive 92. Overall winners, however, were Year 6, with an incredible 150 book reviews! Well done, Year 6!