Relationship and sex education
Year 5 have begun their learning on RSE this week. These are really useful, purposeful lessons in which the children learn about the changes they will go through during puberty. We begin by setting some really clear rules to create a safe, respectful place in which all the children feel comfortable. The sessions this week have covered the biological terms for the female and male body parts and then we moved onto learning about puberty. We talked about the changes girls and boys will go through physically and emotionally.
Help at home: Ask your child about their RSE learning. What can they recall? Do they have any questions?
That’s a wrap!
After a morning of SATs tests, 2C thoroughly enjoyed making some wraps in Food Technology this afternoon.
We made sure that before we went into the Hub, we tied long hair back and washed our hands.
Each child was given half a wrap and the option to add their own spread, salad and protein. We thoroughly enjoyed eating our wraps at the end of the lesson!
Hot and Cold countries
Following on from our discussions about journeys and holidays, this week, we looked at some photographs of hot and cold countries. We talked about the weather and thought about which animals live in hot places and which live in colder areas.
We used the animal stencils in the mark making area; it was quite tricky to hold them and trace around the edge but we persevered! We also enjoyed practising our cutting skills as we cut around different items of clothing to choose which we’d need to pack if we were going to visit a hot or cold place.
In the dough, we rolled long and short snakes and compared their lengths with our friends. In the Creative area, we mixed different shades of blues and thought about which colours remind us of hot and cold things. Finally, in the sensory area, children loved playing with the penguins and polar bears in the ice.
Next week’s learning
We’ll read ‘Sharing a Shell‘ and talk about our trips to the seaside. If you’ve been to the beach recently, please email us a photograph to share at snack time over the next few weeks. Thank you.
Nursery rhyme of the week – Row, row, row your boat
Phonics – We continue to learn about rhyming words. Can you think of any words that rhyme with cat?
Seaside Poems and environments
This week, we’ve explored differences and similarities between cities and the seaside.
Literacy
We’ve been reading Seaside Poems– collected by Jill Bennett. We used the poems to explore features of coastal environments- the seaside.
Later in the week, we were introduced to our word of the week: city.
We sorted pictures of cities and the seaside.
We revisited the name of the city we live in and some features that Leeds has, that makes it a city.
In our writing, we also compared the environments of the city and seaside. We wrote about what we would see in each.
Maths
We have focused on deepening our understanding of numbers to 10, including the composition of each number.
Phonics
This week, we’ve continued to focus on phase 4 words with long vowel sounds.
In provision, we’ve been reading words on boats and matching them to the correct picture.
Art; Watercolour landscapes
We’ve been painting coastal landscapes, using famous existing paintings as our inspiration!
Poetry Picnic
Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is called I Have a Little Frog.
click here to watch Reception recite this week’s poem
Check out our other learning…
Transition to year 1- Zoom meeting
As the weather becomes brighter and we near the end of the academic year you may be thinking about your child’s next steps as they journey into Year 1. Moving to Year 1 is perhaps a less significant change for children, and that’s because we’re a happy and healthy place to learn where we all know each other.
A zoom meeting for parent’s starts our transition process, here you will meet the Key Stage 1 staff and find out about the Year 1 curriculum.
The zoom meeting is on Monday 17 June at 6pm please follow the link that will be emailed to you.
The next step is for your child to spend some time in the Year 1 classrooms. They’ll meet the teachers and join in with the learning, they’ll get a taste of what it’s like to be in Year 1. The whole-school transition, later in July, completes the process, by spending a morning with their new class teacher.
This is a really exciting time of year, moving on and taking those next steps whilst continuing to strengthen the effective learning behaviours they have established in Reception.
Reminders and Dates
-A little reminder to please encourage children to come into class on their own each morning, in preparation for transition to year one. There is a more detailed explanation of why we encourage this on a previous post. Thank you for your support.
Swimming
Rainbow- 26 June, 10 July
Sunshine- 19 June, 3 July, 17 July
Design and technology – running stitch
In Years 3 and 4 we are learning about design and technology this half term, with a focus on sewing. We have been learning about the design process and how a product comes into being, before now moving onto the more practical side of things. We are practising the skill of using a needle and thread first with a binka (a firm piece of fabric with holes in to help beginners learn to sew). We’ve found that this takes some resilience! We’ve done really well though and were able to sew a ‘running stitch’.
Help at home: why not have a go at mending that hole or missing button? 
Living and Learning
This week our Living and Learning statement is ‘I seek help if I am unhappy with a relationship’.
In 2C we had a good chat about all of the different things that we can do if we are unhappy in a relationship. We know that we have many different types of relationships like families, friends, peers ect.
Signs of feeling unhappy in a relationship might include:
- feeling disrespected
- feeling left out
- feeling unheard
- being made to feel sad or uncomfortable
Today, each table group brain-stormed lots of ways that we could help ourselves if we did feel unhappy within a relationship. Here are some of the ideas we came up with.
Water Safety
This morning, we in Y6 had a visitor who came in to talk to us all about water safety.
We covered lots of different important subjects during the morning:
- water safety (this included how to be safe in and around bodies of water)
- dangers of open water (what dangers may we encounter whilst in or around open water and what we can do to avoid these)
- how to say safe (the water safety code)
- land based rescue
After a short break, our Y6s then learnt all about:
- dealing with emergency (what to do in an emergency, how to help someone, which numbers to call)
- unconsciousness (checking for danger, recovery position including how to get check their breathing and get them into the recovery position)
Well done, Y6!
Happy and Healthy playtimes
In KS1 we talk a lot about what a happy and healthy playtime should look like, sound like and feel like. Before playtime and lunch, teachers ask the students to name some ways we can achieve this.
We talk about things that we should not do and also things that we can do! Here are some of the ideas that children often come up with.
A happy and healthy playtime should:
- Look: happy, children smiling, no one is left out, everyone chatting to friends.
- Sound: laughter, fun, excitement, relaxation.
- Feel: enjoyable, friendly, kind, fun.
We are proud to be a happy and healthy place to learn at Scholes Elmet Primary School!
Design and technology: running and back stitch
Children have been sharpening their sewing skills. They all expertly threaded their needles and remembered the running stitch from year 3/4. They learned how to create a continuous stitch by using the back stitch.
At home: have a go at mending that missing button; sew up that hole in the cushion; or just practise sewing in a straight line. 
More photos from Robin Wood
