Our weekly message: Friday 18 October
As a teacher, one sign of getting old arises when a parent tells you they were in your class as a child. This happened to me the other day. Crazily, I think I’ve still got the tea-towel (now more of a rag, I admit!) with all the pupils’ self-portraits on that the PTA sold back in 2000 or thereabouts. Perhaps I should hunt it down to show his children their dad’s artwork of the time!
This week’s message has four articles: an overview of how we teach Reading in our school, news about the Junior Leadership Team, news about a Leeds competition, and an article linking attendance with social and emotional development.
Reading in our school
At Scholes (Elmet) Primary, we teach reading in a variety of ways in order to promote a love of reading, to develop decoding skills and fluency, or to develop specific reading skills. Each element forms our Reading Diet – all the different learning, activities and skills that we do over the week that involve reading.
For children in Reception and Key Stage 1…
Story time is a hugely important part of our Reading Diet. Enjoying books together and listening to an adult read out loud enables children to access texts that they can’t necessarily read themselves. We often ‘narrate’ what we are thinking as we are reading; wondering out loud what a character might be feeling, describing what a word means or what we think might happen next. We also enjoy reading non-fiction (fact) books in this time, too. They’re often linked to our Topic or Science learning and children can listen to and learn new facts that they can share and discuss.
Our daily Phonics lesson is crucial to children’s reading journey. Words are split into phonemes (sounds) that are matched to graphemes (written letters). This helps children break down words (decode) and begin to read. We follow a systematic phonics programme that has a huge amount of built-in practice. Repeating and revisiting sounds and words helps children learn to read quickly and effectively.
Our Reading Practice sessions happen four times per week. They give the children repeated opportunities to read the same book at least four times, developing their phonics skills. They’re also used to develop decoding skills, fluency, prosody (expression) and comprehension throughout the week. The books are matched to the child’s secure phonic knowledge so they should be reading fluently and with increasing pace as they progress through the books. The fifth session of the week involves a visit to the school library where children can choose a book to share at home and to promote their love of reading.
Our Daily Poem gives us an opportunity to really celebrate our love of reading. We choose all different sorts of poems. Children really enjoy trying to memorise it over the course of the week or read it with the teacher by the end of the week – especially if it’s a funny or silly one!s
For children in Key Stage 2…
Reading is still a big feature right across Key Stage 2. Each class has dedicated Class Novel time where children enjoy simply being read to and discussing language. We develop fluency by reading the same short text again and again over the course of the week. To develop specific skills, Reading Skills lessons happen four times a week and often include learning in other subjects, too. Every class visits the library once a week so make sure you check in with their child about their current choice. Children enjoy a weekly Book Club where they enjoy some relaxed independent reading and complete a directed activity.
Help at home by reading every day with your child for around ten minutes and discuss the words and phrases the writer has used and what they mean. If a child is read a story or book daily, by the time they are 5, they’ll have heard approximately 296,660 words – imagine how many more words a child will have heard by the time they’re 7, 11…!
Junior Leadership Team
‘I take part in democratic decisions’ has been our Living and Learning statement this week. This is in readiness for next week, when we have our annual Junior Leadership Team elections.
Our Junior Leadership Team is one of the ways that children are encouraged to take an active part in school life. The election process allows children to develop an understanding of one of the British Values, democracy.
This week’s whole school homework is all about the election and democracy, ready for the elections next Thursday (24 October).
We’ve been asked by a parent to publicise Recycle Week…
Rescue Me – Recycle!
Did you know it’s Recycle Week?
It’s not too late for your child to get involved by designing a Leeds Recycling Superhero! They can create their very own recycling hero and show everyone how to see recyclable items as treasures, not trash.
And for the rest of us, it might be worth reminding ourselves of what we can recycle here in Leeds. The latest Recycle Now research shows that about nine out of ten people regularly recycle, but nearly eight out of ten of us put one or more items into the rubbish bin that could have been recycled. (Did you know we can now recycle glass in our green bins?)
Finally this week, the first of a series of messages about what a child misses if they’re absent for a prolonged time. We know children are sometimes ill and have to spend time out of school – that’s inevitable – but if we factor in regular holidays, children really struggle…
If your child was absent for five days in a row…
…they’d miss out on loads of opportunities to develop their social and emotional skills. They’d miss out on at least 5-6 hours of pure social time at playtimes and lunchtimes – time to play and chat with their friends. This is time when children can stay physically active, and also time when they learn to interact – making friends, choosing games to play, agreeing and learning to disagree. This is all valuable time to develop confidence, resilience and simply to have fun!
The impact of low attendance…
- Children who miss school miss out on not only learning and education, but also spending time with other children and friends, which helps with developing social and emotional skills.
- Children who miss school more than others can find it difficult to keep friendships.
- Children who stay away from school tend to struggle more with their mental health later on.
By going to school, children can meet with their friends for social and emotional development and not become isolated at home.
Being in school is important to your child’s academic achievement, wellbeing, and wider development. There is evidence to suggest that regular school attendance is a key mechanism to support children and young people’s educational, economic and social outcomes. Schools can facilitate positive peer relationships, which is a contributes to better mental health and wellbeing.
School Journalist: FOSP Halloween disco
Why do we celebrate Halloween….?!
I did a little research and Halloween’s origin can be traced back to Ancient Celtic festivals known as Samhain, which was held on 1 November in contemporary calendars. It was believed that on that day, the souls of the dead would return to their homes, so people dressed in costumes and lit bonfires to warn off spirits. Halloween is celebrated on the 31 October every year and it comes the day before All Saint’s Day.
To celebrate we spend lots of time decorating our homes and gardens with things that we associate with Halloween such as pumpkins, black cats, witches, ghosts and lots of other fantastic, scary things so that when the eve of Halloween arrives, we are all ready for trick or treaters! Trick or treats are usually children dressed up in Halloween costumes who are out to have fun on this special night of the year.
We are lucky at Scholes (Elmet) Primary School to have a school disco where we get time to celebrate and have an amazing night with our friends. Dressing up in Halloween costumes is optional but lots of people like to do this. It’s really cool to see how much imagination and effort people put into their costumes!
At the disco we will listen to music and dance. We can also buy drinks and sweets to keep us going. The proceeds from the disco, go to FOSP (our school’s PTA). FOSP are always looking for ways to help support school and our learning. For example, they recently helped us to purchase two new sports kits so we can represent our school looking smart!
Remember Halloween is on 31 October, and this is during school holidays! So, if you are out trick or treating – have fun, make sure you look really scary and stay safe!
By Thea Perks
Wetherby St Joseph’s 2 – 6 Scholes (Elmet)
This week, our Year 5 football team travelled over to Wetherby for their first game of the new league season.
Both teams played some fantastic football and it was an absolute joy to watch; the effort, commitment and skill on show was something many of those spectating will not have seen before.
Whilst there were many goal scorers, and many spectacular goals scored, the thing that shone most was the attitude of the Scholes (Elmet) team. They tried hard, supported each other and stuck together as a team!
Well done to the Year 5 football team – we’re very proud of you!
Our weekly message: Friday 11 October
Most of this week’s message is about our first themed week of the year…
Me and my community themed week
Our next whole school themed week is all about identity, diversity and community. It takes place in the week beginning Monday 04 November. This is the first of two themed weeks in the year.
Children will learn about what it means to belong to a community, from family to national or even international communities. Importantly, our children will also learn to respect and celebrate different communities. A variety of events and visitors are planned to help us deliver this key aspect of our Living and Learning education.
Events and learning during the week will include looking at our own identity including belonging and self-esteem, diversity of people around us including race, age, religion and disability, and children will also be getting out into the community, working with our local Scholes Library and taking pride in the local area for example by litter picking.
New school charity
During the themed week, classes will have the chance to discuss our charity shortlist*. After class discussions, the Junior Leadership Team will have the final vote for which charity they’d like our school to support, replacing our current charity, The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
*This year, we’ve invited all the Sphere Federation admin staff to suggest a charity each.
Can you help?
Maybe you speak another language and you’d be happy to speak to children about this or you’d like to share about your own family culture and heritage. If so, please contact the office to pass on your details. Also, do you have any local community links that may support our week?
Governor election outcome
Thank you if you voted in the recent parent governor elections.
Mr Craig Barker will become the new Parent Governor when Mr Matt Hick’s term of office ends on 19 November 2024. Mr Barker’s period as governor is 4 years from 20 November 2024. His appointment is subject to satisfactory DBS checks.
Please remember…
We’ve two policies that are especially important for you to remember. The first is our Uniform Policy – please make sure you check it out, especially details about what to wear on PE days, what jewellery is allowed, and typing back long hair, too. The other is our Attendance Policy – this is important because it reflects recent national changes around penalty fines for unauthorised absence.
Finally this week, a reminder well in advance… Our parent-teacher meetings will be on Tuesday and Thursday in the last week of the term. Please save the date!
School Journalist: Harvest Festival Update
Harvest festival was on the 6th of October and our school did a collection of food and other household items. Harvest festival is to give thanks for the harvest and the food it brings from all the crops. We are very lucky to have farmers who take time and care into our crops.
Did you know…
Fun fact: Harvest Festival is usually celebrated on Sunday closest to the Harvest Moon, also sometimes called the September moon. This is the moon closed to the Autumn equinox, usually towards the end of September or the beginning of November. The autumn equinox is the two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length – this marks the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. Pretty cool – eh!
It’s still not too late to contribute to our school collection. It would be helpful to brings things such as:
Long life milk
Canned food
Toiletries
Cleaning products
Tinned fruit
Rice
These are products that have a long use by date that mean they can be stored until they are needed. All the donations will be sent to the Wetherby Food Bank who will then make up food parcels for families and those in need.
Thank you for your donations and help for this wonderful charity.
Happy Harvest!
Thank you for your generosity – our harvest collection was amazing!
All your donations were collected by The Wetherby and District Foodbank.
We should get a certificate in the next few days giving us a few more details about how much we collected. Your donations will make a massive difference to those who are struggling to put food on the table.
Our ‘clothes’ harvest was also successful. The morning collection alone saw about seven large bags full of great quality clothes. All your donations were sent to The Clothing Bank.
A huge thank you to everyone for a very successful day.
Wildflower garden
We planted more seeds in the wildflower garden this week, which will hopefully add to the beautiful display we enjoyed this spring and summer.
There are Corn Chamomiles, Corn Marigolds, Corn Poppies and Night-flowering Catchflies.
A big THANK YOU to the Garforth and District Lions for donating the benches for us too.
Scholes in Bloom Coffee Morning
Please help us celebrate our community by attending the Scholes in Bloom Coffee Morning.
Our new school journalist: Thea!
Our new school journalist is Thea. She’ll be keeping you updated on lots of events happening around school. Her weekly article will provide some insight into school life: it could be interviews with adults, interviews with children, updates about events, or even, ‘a day in the life of…’.
Either way, we’re sure you’ll love her updates and we’re incredibly pleased to bring you her first article…
An Interview With Miss Gilliland
Miss Gilliland is a new teacher at Scholes and has been teaching for a month. I’ve been catching up with her to learn a little bit about her and to see how she is finding her new role.
Something you might not know is that Miss Gilliland was born and raised in Northern Ireland which is part of the UK. Miss Gilliland also has a dog called ‘Schnauzer’ – I wonder what breed this pooch might be!
Miss Gilliland was originally a trainee teacher and worked at Moortown Primary School which is a part of Sphere Federation. Since being at Scholes, Miss Gilliland says she loves learning new names and Wake Up Shake Up dances (or WUSU). She personally thinks Scholes (Elmet) Primary school is a happy and healthy place to study for children and adults. She cares for children every day by showing us all care and respect.
I am sure my friends across the school community will join me in saying a massive ‘Welcome to Scholes’ and that we wish her all the best with her new class this year!
Our weekly message: Friday 27 September
This week’s Living and Learning message is a great one to think about at home: I know that rights come with responsibilities…
- At school for example, children have the right to play, and that comes with the responsibility to play alongside others safely and respectfully.
- Think about this at home. For example, in your house, it might be that your child has the right to be online, but the responsibility to be online for a limited amount of time each day.
Food in school
This week, we want to flag up a page on our website you perhaps don’t visit much – Food in school. This page has lots of information about school dinners (including the current menu), free school meals and packed lunches.
- We’ve a general policy on food in school, setting out some key points, including the importance of water and we don’t allow birthday foods.
- If your child has school dinners, please check out whether they may be entitled to free school meals.
- If your child has a packed lunch, have a look at our packed lunch guidance.
On the subject of food in school, don’t forget to alert us to any allergies that your child may have.
Staying healthy…
Last week, we mentioned the West Yorkshire NHS website Healthier Together, launched to provide consistent advice from local health and care professionals.
Linked to this, check out this guide to keeping your child healthy from the UK Health Security Agency.
…for good attendance
It’s worth thinking about what your child might miss if they were absent for five days in a row…
For younger children learning to read, they’d miss five, half an hour phonics lessons – that’s a full two and half hours of phonics teaching. In this time, they’d miss out on learning four new graphemes (eg ay, ou, oi, ea) and practising reading and writing these in words and in sentences. They’d miss learning up to four new tricky words, too. Your child would also miss valuable time to practise the previous week’s graphemes and developing fluency in reading words containing those sounds. As well as the phonics lessons, your child would miss four reading practice group sessions and would not have the time to read and re-read the physical book in school. In these sessions, we develop fluency, prosody and comprehension. They’d also miss the library session and not be able to choose a new book to take home.
Before deciding to keep your child at home, remember to check this NHS site: Is my child too ill for school?
Governor recruitment
We’ve had two expressions of interest from parents who are interested in joining our Governing Board. This means we now have an election. Please take a couple of minutes to read each of the two candidates’ written statement and make your vote. Thank you.
Finally, a quick reminder…
We’ve another Watch Us While We Work session next week – Tuesday morning. This is the first of two opportunities in the year to see some Maths and Reading being taught in school so that you can support your child at home.