Books, Glorious Books
We are very lucky at our school to have a library full of wonderful books to borrow and enjoy. Over the past few weeks, we have been re-stocking our library with some lovely new books. We now have 300 new books on the shelves in the library. Every child has a library session each week where they can select any book they want to borrow and enjoy at home. Happy reading!
Design & Technology
In our topic lessons this half-term, we’ll be learning all about design and technology. We’ll follow the process that people working in DT complete in the real world: we’ll research and design our product, we’ll make our product and, finally, we’ll evaluate it.
We’ll making a small prototype of a go-kart using tech card – so we’ll get plenty of opportunities to be creative and practical.
Help at home by asking your child what they’ve been learning about school. Encourage them to use the vocabulary they’ve learnt, too (shown in the below table).
Super Scientists!
This half-term, in our science lessons, we’re studying biology. We’ll be learning all about animals (including humans) with a specific focus on teeth and eating.
Help at home by regularly asking your child what they’ve learnt in their science lessons recently. When discussing their learning, encourage your child to use the correct scientific vocabulary. The below table shows you what words we’ll be using alongside the definition we’ll be using in class.
| canine | A pointy tooth used for gripping food. |
| incisor | A flat, sharp-edged tooth in the front of the mouth that’s used for cutting and tearing food. |
| molar | A tooth used for grinding food at the back of the mouth. |
| enamel | The hard covering of the tooth. |
| digestion | The process of breaking down food. |
| energy | Used to help us move, grow and repair our body. |
| stomach | A bag of muscle used in the first part of digestion. |
| oesophagus | The scientific name for the food pipe. |
We don’t like cricket…we love it!
We have Yorkshire Cricket coach, Jamie Sykes, coming into school over the next half term. All classes from Year 1 to Year 6 will receive some cricket coaching over the next 6 weeks. He set some very important ‘homework’…to watch some cricket, if you can! #chancetoshine #yorkshirecricket
Living and Learning: Body Image
What is body image?
Body image describes our idea of how our body looks and how we think it is perceived by others. This can include our thoughts and feelings about our height, weight, shape, skin, colour, and our appearance and attractiveness more broadly.
We’ve been discussing this topic for this week’s Living and Learning session – and what a great discussion it was!
Overall, we decided that there art ways in which we are different from each other, like:
- different heights,
- weights,
- body builds,
- complexions,
- hair colours,
- eye colours,
- preferences,
- likes/dislikes,
- abilities,
- interests,
Some of these we, 1) can’t change, 2) can change with practice, 3) can change over time;
So, we thought about the things we are good at and compared them.
We may look very different but we often share similar strengths and weaknesses.
Living and Learning: I know what a drug is
Our Living and Learning statement for the last two week has been about Drug and Alcohol education. Schools must now cover drug and alcohol education as part of statutory Health Education.
In these session, pupils build age-appropriate foundational skills and underpinning knowledge including:
- Safety rules at home for medicines and household products, including what medicines and vaccinations are and how they help to keep people healthy
- The risks and effects of using tobacco, alcohol and other drugs
- Managing pressure and influences including that from peers and the media
- How to seek help and support for themselves or others in relation to health and/or substances
Our discussions in class were mature and sensible.
Here is what the children said:
Drugs are there to prevent illnesses and some drugs can be harmful. Doctors advise patients to take prescribed drugs to make them feel better. Paracetamol is a drug which helps to relieve pain.
Children use Calpol and it is not a drug.
You shouldn’t take anyone else’s medicine.
Pupils reflected on their learning in the lesson.
• What has this lesson made them think about?
• What has it made them think about their health now?
• What has it made them think about their health for the future?
Pixel Art – Year 3/4
Computer Games have great graphics that are created using pixel art. This has been a fabulous addition to our Computing topic and the children have such brilliant ideas.
Pixel art is a form of art, created through the use of software where images are edited on the a pixel level. In most pixel art, the colours used are extremely limited in size, with some pixel art using only two colours.
We’ve been trying to recreate some in class using a few colours on squared paper. Lots of counting, repetition, sequencing and decomposition – lots of crossovers with out programming vocabulary.
Here are some of our efforts – they’re awesome! The children are very proud of their results.
Terrific Computer Games
Our Computing topic has been a huge success.
We’ve been very busy making computer games using Scratch software.
There are so many skills that we have learned and words that we can now use confidently.
The children were asked to design and create a crossy road game, where we had several sprites (characters) that needed programming.
The aim of the game was to get the cat sprite to cross the roads and get to the other side without being hit by a car.
A challenge was to get the cat sprite to go back to the beginning if it hit a car.
Why don’t you ask your child about their game?
Some children have decided to explore this app at home too.
Here are some examples of our finished games done in school.
Scholastic Book Party
We have an exciting new online book fair starting this week. You simply follow the link below to order books from Scholastic at great discounted prices. School will then get 10% of all sales to buy books for school.
https://book-parties.scholastic.co.uk/party/scholesprimary
The link can be shared with family and friends and is for anyone to use. The more we order through the link then the more books we will get for our school.
You can either choose home delivery, which is free when you spend over £25 or you can select free group delivery. Group delivery means the books will be delivered to our book party host Laura Fieldhouse. Laura will contact you for collection from school.
Laura is happy to help select books for gifts, choose age appropriate books or help with any queries. Please contact her on 07840455397. Alternatively, visit Laura’s facebook page ‘Laura’s little bookworms’, where you will find lots of recommendations.
Living and Learning: Health and Prevention Year 3,4
In our Living and Learning sessions over the last couple of weeks, we have been learning about the importance of dental health and getting enough sleep.
I recognise the importance of personal hygiene including handwashing.
We discussed regular brushing to keep our teeth clean and protected.
Good dental health habits include:
- brushing teeth at least twice a day
- eating low sugar foods (and drinks)
- visiting a dentist regularly
I know the importance of sleep.
We know that sleep is important because it helps us to stay happy, feel healthy and make good decisions.
Some of our top tips for making sure that we get a good night’s sleep include:
- keeping a routine
- spending time outside during the day to help us burn off energy
- doing something to relax before sleeping
Can you remember any more top tips?