Friday 28 February 2014

Issue 22 2013-14


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 UP
Welcome 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 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 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.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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