30 Active Minutes - Wake Up, Shake Up (WUSU)
We’re committed to playing our part in ensuring children have at least 30 active minutes at school. The government has directed schools in Childhood Obesity : A Plan for Action to ensure :
Every primary school child should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day. At least 30 minutes should be delivered in school every day through active break times, PE, extra-curricular clubs, active lessons, or other sport and physical activity events, with the remaining 30 minutes supported by parents and carers outside of school time.
The whole school meets outside at 10am every day for Wake Up Shake Up (WUSU). On Fridays, each class will have a chance to lead WUSU and will be able to choose the two songs that we do. 5,6M went first, dancing their socks off to 5-6-7-8 by Steps and Can’t Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake.
We’ll also be launching the 30:30 Wristband Challenge in the new year to encourage children to complete the 30 active minutes out of school, too.
3 2 1 Dodgeball!
We entered a Year 5 team into the East Leeds dodgeball competition this week and they were fantastic! Mr Gledhill accompanied the children and was amazed by how brilliantly they performed, particularly commenting on their teamwork, resilience and determination. It was tough getting photos that weren’t blurred as they were moving around so fast! They came second in their group. Well done!
Scholes in Bloom - Silver Gilt award
The school was happy to support Scholes in Bloom this year and contributed to the achievement of a Silver Gilt award in the Britain in Bloom judging. The marks are divided into 3 sections :
- Horticultural achievement- silver gilt
- Environmental responsibility – silver gilt
- Community participation – gold
In the written feedback, the judges said,
Excellent work with the school with the design a bed competition.
The use of recycled material on the school fence is a good educational example of engaging young people with recycling.
Thank you to all the children and families who support Scholes in Bloom and who came to the judging day in August.
Homework review - thanks for attending
Thanks to all of you who came along to the Homework Review session last Thursday 22 November. Feedback was really positive:
- ‘I think this was the most useful opportunity for parents to come into school… it will really help with homework problems at home and puts homework into context.’
- ‘I liked seeing all the children’s ideas for their homework.’
- ‘It was a very nice and welcoming session.’
- “It was good to see children learn from each other.’
- ‘A lovely, meaningful session.’
In the 2018 annual survey of parents and carers, the vast majority supported our Homework Policy, although a small number had some concerns that it was not marked. Our Feedback Policy states:
Research shows that feedback which is as immediate as possible is recognised to be the most effective way to impact on children’s progress / attitudes. As a result, circulating to give verbal feedback on a one-to-one or small group level, and use of the visualiser on a whole-class level, will be used. Equally, we encourage parents / carers to provide similar feedback at home (including comments in the child’s Homework Books).
Peer assessment is a particularly appropriate way to provide feedback as it is a chance to share and celebrate learning.
We recognise the expectation from parents of at least a tick. However, staff should prioritise verbal feedback and peer reviews because of the above evidence. As a result, homework activities may not always be marked, but they will all have been reviewed and effort will be celebrated in some way.
Parents / carers who came to the Homework Review session will, we hope, have been reassured. Many of the comments afterwards suggest they were:
- ‘The comments by children when they were discussing their homework went well… they really knew what was good and this meant they could get more ideas from others for next time’
- ‘It was a good opportunity to see how feedback is given and gain insight into my daughter’s learning.’
One parent commented the homework and review process would be better if there was somewhere for parents / carers to add their own comment eg on any difficulties their child encountered. As you can see from the extract from our Feedback Policy, above, we encourage parents / carers to provide feedback – we’ll do more to remind you of that… just adding a short note at the end of the page, regardless of what type of homework (Creative, Talk Time or Practice Makes Perfect), is really helpful. Thanks for that helpful prompt.
These open sessions in school are an important way to gain understanding and awareness of expectations so you can support your child at home and track their progress alongside school. Please do keep making every effort to attend – coming up are:
- ‘Watch us while we work’ – a chance to see some English and Maths teaching on Wednesday 27 February at 9am
- ‘Topic review’- a chance to look at Topic Books and join in the review of topics on Monday 25 March at 2pm
Reading workshop - thanks for attending
Thanks to the Y5,6 parents and carers who came along to our Reading Workshop this week – it is great to know your child is being supported at home in this core life skill.
David Owen, the Sphere Federation English Leader, led the presentation which was also attended by Y5,6 teachers. Read his PowerPoint.
The feedback was really positive:
- ‘We were really pleased we came along. It was a very informative workshop. The slides were great and explained well… All our questions were answered and we were given some great ideas…’
- ‘It was useful to go through the SAT texts… I did not realise how much they needed to read.’
- ‘The workshop was very informative. It set the expectations and explained how we (parents) can help.’
In the annual survey of parents and carers, respondents told us we could do more to provide you with information about your child and their learning. These workshops are an important way to gain understanding and awareness of expectations so you can support your child at home and track their progress alongside school. Please do keep making every effort to attend – thanks again to those who did come along.
Sports Hall Athletics Competition
Some key stage 2 children represented our school at the area heat for Sports Hall Athletics on Monday. They used their Living and Learning skills and showed resilience and resourcefulness throughout the competition. We are proud to say they came 3rd. Well done!
"It's awesome!" - multi-use activity wall
I love it. It’s so good having it on the playground.
Year 6 were pleased to be the first on the rota to use the new equipment. It certainly made playtime and lunchtime extremely active!
Homework review
Don’t forget on Thursday 22 November we are inviting you to come and watch our homework review.
Homework reviews happen every week, and they’re an opportunity for teachers and fellow pupils to share and celebrate (and offer constructive feedback) homework. This is your chance to watch how we review creative homework – a session where you visit your child’s own class.
No need to book in advance – just turn up for a 2.50pm start.
Children in Need
A huge thanks for the amazing sum of money we managed to raise on Friday. By coming to school in pyjamas or by wearing your own clothes, we managed to raise £310. I’m sure this money will be put to very good use.
Tree planting - thank you
Thank you to the Scholes in Bloom team, Scholes Countryside and Wildlife Preservation group and Janet Horkan for coming to help plant trees around our school grounds. We now have a crab apple orchard, elders near hedgerows to encourage birds, willows near the natural spring at the bottom of the field, dog roses along the top fence and some birch trees near the existing trees at the bottom of the field. We also found a horse chestnut tree that had been secretly growing near one of the classrooms which we moved to a better spot. We hope they grow into lovely, large trees – making our school and village a happy and healthy place to be!
