Newsletter
Issue 22
|
Friday 28th February 2014
|
Dear Parent/Carer,
I hope you all had a
wonderful half term. I for one am ecstatic that Spring finally seems to be
coming. I noticed the crocuses out in the school grounds and arriving at and
leaving school in daylight is a joy to behold!
We have just 5 remaining
weeks until the Easter break, which I am sure will be as fruitful as ever.
There has been an incredible start to the new topics already experienced this
week; Key Stage 1 enjoyed their day with Sir William Petty, dressed as children
from London at the time of The Great Fire; Year 5/ 6 have enjoyed a trip to
Wagamamas in Leeds to kick start learning around the Japan topic and everyone
has been enjoying Dodge ball in P.E which will result in an interclass
competition at the end of the half term.
Spring 2 assemblies
The remaining assemblies for the half term are as follows:
Friday
14th March - Training day, Friday 21st March -
Year 5/ 6, Friday 28th March - Reception, Weds 2nd and
Friday 4th April - Nursery, Friday 4th April (10 am) -
Year 3/4 (Easter Service - Lofthouse).
Summer 1 assembly dates will be
announced soon.
World Book Day
Just a reminder that
World Book Day will take place next Thursday (6th) and children will
be required to dress up as their favourite book character. Please also come
along to the Reading Breakfast event, which will start at 8:15 am. Past events
have always been very well attended and we really appreciate for your support.
The Life Channel
At last our Life Channel
is up and running. You may have noticed that the large screen outside of school
is now showing wonderful examples of children’s learning in each phase. Each
half term, the content will change to show new learning from the children. We
are showcasing examples from a variety of curriculum areas and I am sure you
will really enjoy seeing the outcomes. We recognise that not all parents are
able to pick their children up from school and cannot therefore, see these fantastic videos so you can also access
them via the website by clicking on the “Pupils” tab then clicking on the tab
entitled “ See our learning”. This is yet another way of improving our parental
engagement as promised, this year. Happy viewing!
DEVOS trip to Finland
Next week we say goodbye
to Miss Thackeray and Miss Lambert for 4 days as they embark on a trip to
Finland as part of the research based project “Developing Outstanding Schools”.
The ladies will be visiting schools in the city of Rauma and attending the Snow
Edu conference which will focus on quality teaching and learning. I am very
excited to hear about what they have seen on their return.
PTA News
Just a
reminder that the blue bags for Bags2School will be with you by now.
Please fill these bags AND any others you have with all clothing,
paired shoes, handbags, ties, belts, hats & soft toys & jewellery that
you no longer have a use for. The bags need to be at school by 9AM
on Tuesday 11th. Please do not bring any bags to school before this day
as there is no storage space. I will be back next week with a date for our next
meeting and fund raising idea. As always you can contact us at robinhoodprimarypta@gmail.com.
Have
a great weekend everybody.
Mrs Dale
Don’t forget! Next Coffee Morning
The next Coffee Morning
will take place on Monday 17th March at 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. The agendas
for discussion will be:
·
How could we improve our
school environment?
·
What could make playtimes
better/more enjoyable?
·
How well are the children
looked after in school?
I look forward to hearing
both parent and pupil views on this one.
If you are unable to
attend but would like your views to be known, as usual you may email me: gaynor.dale@robinhood.leeds.sch.uk
Nursery newsletter
NEWS ROUND UPWelcome back to another busy and exciting half term! We hope you are all well rested and raring to go. Thank you too for the super Red Riding Hood home learning we received; we can’t wait to get them up on our display wall! Have a look at our blog at: http://foundationstagenewsatrobinhood.blogspot.co.uk/ to see this week’s super home learning.
THIS WEEK
We are sharing the story of
Little Red Riding Hood and encouraging the children to develop their sequencing
and storytelling language using puppets, props, books and audio CDs. We have
been talking about the opening (Once upon a time), the end of the story (and
they all lived happily ever after) as well as the story setting and the
characters. In our phonics sessions we have been working with Metal Mike – The
Robot and sounding out words using a robot voice and in numeracy the children
have been introduced to the concept of division using the principle of sharing.
NEXT HALF TERMNext week we will be sharing the story of The Three Little Pigs and again we will be encouraging the children to retell the story in their own words using puppets and props. To support the children’s learning it would be great if you have a copy of the traditional tale at home and can share it with your child. In numeracy next week we will be continuing to learn about sharing (division) and about ordinal numbers when the Three Little Pigs have a race. In phonics we have identified some children who are not yet confident with rhyming words so we are sending home an ‘odd one out’ game and it would be fabulous if you could have a go at this with your child. For home learning over half term please can you make a Big Bad Wolf mask using whatever medium you choose.
PLEASE NOTE the following diary dates:
Next Thursday March 6th is World Book Day and
your child can come to Nursery dressed up as their favourite book character.
Nursery will be CLOSED on Wednesday 2nd July
2014
HOW YOU CAN HELP US
·
Keep reading for 5 minutes every day if you
possibly can.
·
Keep practising writing the first letter in
your child’s name and beyond as soon as they are ready (some children are now writing their first name independently – which
is amazing!)
·
Please complete the home learning task with your
child (see above) and bring it in on their first day back.
Thank you for your continued support and have a great
weekend.
Mrs Steel, Mrs Chin, Miss Fox and Mrs Beckwith.
Reception newsletter
NEWS ROUND UP
Welcome back to another busy
and exciting half term! We hope you are all well rested and raring to go. Have
a look at our blog at: http://foundationstagenewsatrobinhood.blogspot.co.uk/ to
see our super new areas.
THIS WEEK
We are sharing the story of
Little Red Riding Hood and encouraging the children to develop their sequencing
and storytelling language using puppets, props, books and audio CDs. We have
been talking about the opening (Once upon a time), the end of the story (and
they all lived happily ever after) as well as the story setting and the
characters. In our phonics sessions we have learnt to read the sounds ai, ee, igh and oa and to read the words; don’t, old, I’m, time, by and house. In numeracy the
children have been introduced to the concept of division using the principle of
sharing. Little Red Riding Hood was very kind and shared her cakes with the
wolf, her Grandma and then her mum so by the end of the week the children could
share by 2 (half), 3 (third) and 4 (quarters).
NEXT HALF TERM
Next week we will be sharing the story of The Three
Little Pigs and again we will be encouraging the children to retell the story
in their own words using puppets and props. To support the children’s learning
it would be great if you have a copy of the traditional tale at home and can
share it with your child. In topic the children will be carrying out an
investigation to find out which material is the best for building the pig a
house and they will test this using a ball pump to replicate the wolf’s huffing
and puffing. In numeracy our starter
activity will be counting in 2’s to 20 or further if they can. We will be
continuing with sharing but rather than using the counting strategy (one for
you, one for you) we will be looking where we need to split the cakes into 2, 3
and 4 groups. In phonics we will be
learning to read the sounds; oo
(look), oo (moon), ar (car), or (corn) and to read the words; about, your, day, made, came and make. In phonics the children are now expected to be writing simple
sentences (e.g. It is a car.) with finger spaces, capital letters and full stops.
Please support your child with this as much as possible. If your child is a
confident writer please encourage them to include one conjunction in their
sentence e.g. and or because.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US
·
Keep reading for 5 minutes every day and
don’t forget to access bug club too.
·
Please support your child in writing their
full name.
·
Please help your child count to as far as 100
if they can and write their numbers to 20.
Thank you for your continued support, your input has a
huge impact on your child’s learning. Have a great weekend.
Miss Lambert, Miss Pyatt and the rest of the Reception
team.
Key
Stage 1
|
Home Learning
This week’s activities are the following:
·
To
practice reading and writing this week’s spellings for Monday’s spelling
test.
·
To
log in your child’s reading record each time they have read. This can be
books or the bug club.
·
To
practise division facts for 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. For example 10÷ 2 = 5
·
Feel free to look at 3’s and 4’s if you
fancy!
Please log any learning in to the reading record.
|
LONDON!
What
a wonderful start we have had to our new topic! Firstly the Key Stage One Team
would like to say thank you to all the parents and carers who provided their
child with a costume for our visit back to 1666. The children both looked the
part and acted the part fabulously! We had an action packed Monday with Sir
William who helped explain the Great Fire of London in great detail! The
children enjoyed using their acting skills pretending to be a house and setting
other houses on fire. They also learnt how the people of London worked as a
team to be as efficient as possible to throw water on to the fire to try and
put it out. Many children already knew some interesting facts about this time
in History and were keen to share these with their classes. The children had
fun trying to learn a cockney accent using the following video from You tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnjGNJ5JL8w
Have
a go at home with your child, it’s hard to speak like a cockney if you are true
northerner!
World Book Day
Thursday
6th March is Robin Hood’s Annual world book day. We kindly ask if
your child can dress up as their favourite book character for the day. There
will be a reading breakfast between 8.15 – 8.45a.m. followed by a fun day all
about reading! In Key Stage One the children will be spending the day reading
and sharing their favourite books with their friends. The children will be
reading and also using their acting skills to learn about the popular fairy
tale “Cinderella” and the topic of bullying. It is important for children to
understand what bullying is, how serious it is, how people can be bullied and
the impact it can have on people. We hope by the end of the day to be able to
share some short drama pieces created by the children sharing the knowledge of
this story with you.
Leeds United After
School Football Club
Mr
Malley has kindly informed Key Stage One that the new free Leeds United
Football Club after school is now full! Places have been given at a first come
first serve basis so we apologise if your child has been unsuccessful in
joining the club. We do hope to continue to offer these fantastic
extra-curricular opportunities again in the next school year.
Dodge ball After
School Club
From
this week the children who received a letter stating that they were placed in
the second group will now be starting their turn on taking part in the
after-school dodge ball club. If your child was in the first group this has now
finished so please pick your child up at the normal time of 3.10pm. This term
there will be a whole school Dodge ball competition which you will receive
details on across the next few weeks. We are really excited for this and know
that the children who have been involved in this club will be super at helping
other children learn this fun and energetic game!
Literacy
This
week the children have started a new unit of work called “Recounts”. This is
where we write about something that has already happened, in order and in
detail. The children have been using their learning of the Great Fire of London
and reading Samuel Pepys diary to help them write their own diary entry next
week. The children are really enjoying learning about this significant part of
history and we look forward to reading their writing!
Numeracy
Across
this half term the children will focusing their learning on division and
multiplication. The children have started this unit by showing how they can
share or group objects. Please support your child in helping them divide small
amounts of objects in to groups of 2’s, 3’s, 5’s, 6’s and 10’s. You could do
this by sharing sweets, cubes or pennies.
Have
a lovely first few days of March this weekend, how quickly this year is already
going!
The
Key Stage One Team
Lower Key Stage 2 Newsletter
Welcome
back to everyone. We hope you all had a wonderful half term break. Our first
week back has been jam-packed with fun and engaging learning. From discovering
the mysteries surrounding Bigfoot, to learning how to play netball and dodge
ball – it has really been a busy week. Well done to those children who chose to
complete some holiday home learning about world mysteries. We have been so
impressed to see so many varied outcomes about the Bermuda Triangle, the Loch
Ness Monster, UFOs and even the lost city of Atlantis. These outcomes will soon
be appearing on our phase blog.
Next
Thursday we will be joining in with the fun of World Book Day. We would like to
invite all children to come into school dressed as their favourite book
character and bring in their favourite book to read. If you have any children’s
books at home that you no longer need or want, please bring them in for our
book swap. Thank you.
Home Learning
As
well as the children reading daily and practicing their weekly spellings, we
would also like everyone to be learning their Times Tables, especially ahead of our numeracy learning next week.
The times table we will be testing next week is the 9 Times Table. We are really impressed with the children’s
continued effort with learning their times tables and all the children who are
getting 12 out of 12 are celebrated on our blog ‘Wall of Fame’ on a weekly basis.
Numeracy
This
week the children have been practising their doubling and halving strategies.
We have been using our partitioning and recombining skills to tackle all sorts
of numbers and have applied these skills to answering some worded problems. A
few sticking points this week included halving multiples of 10 and odd numbers.
Visit this link for some extra practise: http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=dartboarddoublesandhalves. Next week we will
be looking closely at the use of the grid method for multiplication, examples
of which can be found on our phase blog. If you would like some support on helping your
child at home with fractions, Miss Thackeray and Miss Gascoigne will be holding
a parent workshop on Monday 10th
March. If you are unable to attend, hand-outs are available to download via
the school website.
Literacy
This
week in literacy, the children have been exploring what makes a journalistic
piece of writing. We have been looking at the structure of a news report and
the key features that need to be included. The children have written their own
news article about the mysterious appearance of Bigfoot in the school grounds
over the half term (see the blog for more details). Next week we will be delving
into the mystery of the Loch Ness Monster and writing another newspaper article
to share an eyewitness account.
Spellings
These
Spellings will be tested on Monday 3rd
March.
Group 1: seen, been, night,
down, first, next, after, again, new, now
Group 2: break, breakable,
reverse, reversible, straight, straighten, strength, strengthen, tight,
tighten..
Topic
This
week we have begun to delve into the world of mysterious and curious phenomena.
We have studied footage of the infamous Bigfoot and have created our own
information posters to help members of the public identify him. Next week we
will be trying to solve the mystery of the Loch Ness monster. Have you or
somebody you know ever seen it?
Science
This
week we began our topic all about plants. We have studied the structure of the
plant carefully and have identified the key roles each part plays in plant
survival. Next week we will be devising our own investigation into how plants
survive in varied conditions.
RE
This
week we began our study of the Easter story, identifying why Shrove Tuesday,
Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Lent are so important. We will continue to study
the story over the next few weeks on the lead up to this year’s Easter service
on Friday 4th April at
10:00 am at Lofthouse church, which Year 3/4 will be hosting. We look forward
to seeing you there.
Reminders
· Year 3/4 will be hosting this year’s Easter
service on Friday 4th April
at 10:00 a.m. at Lofthouse church therefore there will be no showcase assembly
this half term.
· Next Thursday,
6th March, is World Book Day.
· Please ensure your child has an art shirt in
school at all times.
· The current weather is very changeable and so
we ask that your child brings a suitable coat to school every day.
· Please ensure all of your child’s belongings
(especially PE kits, hats and gloves and school jumpers) are clearly labelled
with your child’s full name.
· Remember the children have two PE units a
week now, one indoor and one outdoor so please ensure they are bringing the
correct kit each week.
Don’t
forget to check out our blog where you will find lots more information about
this week’s learning as well as important reminders and dates for forthcoming
events. http://year34rhps.blogspot.co.uk/
Have
a wonderful weekend!
Team
3/4
UKS2 News
Roundup
A huge congratulations to the children in the phase
for being such excellent role models on behalf of our school on the trip to
Wagamamas in Leeds this week. We all had a fabulous time trying new foods and
juices and learning all about the running of a Japanese restaurant! Well done
Year 5/6!
We have really enjoyed hearing all about what the
children have learnt about Japan over the holidays; we have seen some genius
ways of presenting outcomes - well done! We have also been very proud of the
Year 6 children who have been completing their Splat the SAT’s packs, don’t
forget to speak to your teacher or Mrs Dale during the Splat the SAT’s sessions
if there was something that you found particularly tricky – we are here to
help!
SPLAT
THE SATS: The timetable for completing these papers is as
follows.
·
Week 2- Numeracy paper B.
·
Week 3- Reading paper.
Hopefully this breakdown will enable pupils and
parents to prioritise which papers to complete.
Just
another reminder about Art: We will be creating something very special in
our art sessions. Therefore each child will need to bring in a plain pillow
case if possible. It will be painted and cut up so unfortunately it won’t
be returned in the same condition. If any parents/carers are able to spare any
more pillow cases, this would be fantastic! Thank you in advance!
World
Book Day: We are celebrating World Book Day on
Thursday 6th March. The children are invited to dress up as
their favourite book character. We will be starting the day with a
reading breakfast which will feature book exchange stalls where the children
can bring in a book that they have read and swap it with another book from the
stall. All the information about World Book Day can be found on http://www.worldbookday.com/. The
timings of the day will be: 8.15 – 8.45a.m. Book Exchange and Reading
Breakfast, followed by an assembly lead by Miss Hinton at 9.00a.m. - 9.20a.m.
Literacy:
In literacy this week pupils have been generating
vocabulary around their favourite food. They have then experimented using
rhyming structure and figurative language to write their own descriptive poem
all about their favourite taste sensation! Some of the outcomes have been
creative, humorous and fantastic to read.
Next week pupils will be learning the key features
of a formal letter of thanks. We will be comparing informal and formal letter
writing styles as well as generating some ideas around our trip to Wagamama.
I’m sure all the staff at Wagamama will be blown away with our thoughtful and
sophisticated writing style.
SPELLINGS: The next set of
spellings are: potato - potatoes, volcano - volcanoes, hero - heroes, safari -
safaris, taxi - taxis, gorilla - gorillas, piano - pianos, replica - replicas,
panda - pandas, umbrella - umbrellas. Your child has received a copy of these
spellings and will be tested on Friday 7th March.
Numeracy:
This week in Numeracy, the children have been learning about angles. We
have been using a protractor to accurately measure and draw angles and we have been
learning how to find missing angles on straight lines and within triangles.
Next week, we will be learning about shape, including properties of 2D and 3D
shapes, rotation, translation and symmetry.
PE:
In
PE this week pupils have been introduced to the Japanese martial art of Judo.
Pupils have been lucky enough to wear a traditional Japanese Gi to learn some
of the basic Judo techniques. Pupils learnt the sleeve- repel grip, how to
break fall, how to pin their partner down and the Osoto-Gari leg sweep.
PE KIT:
Please could pupils ensure that they have tracksuit bottoms or leggings. These
should be able to be securely fastened for the Judo sessions. Judo is a
grappling martial art and it is therefore important that pupils’ legs are
protected. A white t-shirt is fine for pupils’ upper body.
ICT:
This week the children have been experimenting with
the software ‘Puppet Pals’ on the iPads. The children grasped the new skills so
maturely and efficiently and have been able to select characters and
backgrounds to create an animation ready for completing our own animations to
retell a Japanese story over the next few weeks.
Science:
This week in Science, the children have been
learning about electricity and how a current flows in a circuit. The children
have been able to identify the different components used in a circuit and the
scientific symbols used to illustrate this. The children were incredibly
enthusiastic when building circuits and it was wonderful to see the electricity
in the air (pardon the pun) when the children completed a successful circuit,
which enabled a light to glow and a buzzer to sound. We have some inquisitive
scientists in the making here as some children developed their lines of enquiry
even further by exploring other materials that could sustain the electric
circuit!
Topic:
In topic this week the children have been learning
all about the 7 continents of the world. They have located Japan using atlases.
The remainder of the week has focused on Japan’s topography, capital city and
population. Pupils have then used key vocabulary to express their understanding
of Japan’s geography and topography.
