Issue 33 2013-14

Dear Parent/Carer,

I hope you all had a wonderful half term break and are ready for the exciting lead up to the summer holidays.
There are lots of exciting events taking place this half term. The dates are posted on the “Calendar” section of the school website for your convenience.
With our Finnish visitors and our Year 6s return from the Residential trip this evening, the half term has got off to a very busy start. Year 6 set off bright and breezy on Wednesday morning to Robin Wood and Miss Gascoigne has been giving me regular updates on the fabulous time had by all. We hope that the children came back full of enthusiasm following their adventure.

Message Board

Just a small reminder that the message board is available on the website for non-urgent school based queries. Once you have posted a message, it needs to be approved through our admin then I can reply. I do try and check the message board every few days so that replies are timely. As recommended at the recent parent coffee morning, we have also included a link to the message board through the “contact us” tab.

Website update

We have moved the tab “See our learning” to the front page of the website for easier access. This tab showcases some of the learning that has taken place in each phase. I feel strongly that you as parents are aware of the wonderful learning which takes place in classes. We have enjoyed a fabulous increase in attendance at phase celebration assemblies but we want to ensure that those parents who may be unable to attend do not miss out on what is happening in their child’s phase.
There has also been some useful E-Safety info added into the “Parents and Carers” tab. This includes some websites which may be useful when teaching your child about E-Safety at home.

Shorts

I have noticed that a small number of pupils are coming to school in black shorts as the weather turns warmer. These are sometimes unsuitable in length. Please be reminded that girls are to wear skirts or long trousers to school as is policy. As the weather is warmer I am happy to accept knee length shorts. Thanks.

Voices Foundation Assembly

A special assembly will take place on Friday 20^th June to showcase the fabulous outcomes of school’s involvement with the Voices Foundation program. Foundation and Key Stage 1 will perform between 2:30 - 2:45 and Key Stage 2 will perform between 2:45 - 3:00. You are all more than welcome.

PTA News

In connection with the Active Team at school we are holding a sponsored event to celebrate the "Tour de France".  This will take place on the 23, 24, 25 and 26 of June.  To enable this event to go as smoothly as possible we require a little help from any parent/carer who is available during the morning or afternoon of the above dates.  We appreciate that many people do work during the day, but if anyone happens to be available to help out please contact robinhoodprimarypta@gmail.com.

The above mentioned “Tour de Robin Hood” will be a fantastic active opportunity to raise money which will be used for equipment for our new and improved lunchtimes next year. If you can support at all, I would be so grateful.

Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Mrs Dale

Nursery newsletter

NEWS ROUND UP
Welcome back to the last half term of the year! It was lovely to see everybody back today and all full of stories about trips and activities they had been involved with over the holidays. Our classroom looks amazing; we have a busy seaside area, travel agents (where I booked a sneaky holiday!) and a fabulous caravan.

Please keep looking on our blog for the latest information and to see what has been happening in Nursery at http://foundationstagenewsatrobinhood.blogspot.co.uk/

THIS WEEK
We jetted off on an aeroplane to Spain this week. It was very hot so we were lucky we had thought about summer clothes and how to keep safe in the sun. We have been writing postcards about our adventures and are really focusing on writing down all the sounds we can hear and making sure we form all letters correctly. Names are coming along brilliantly so thank you for your support with that. In numeracy we have been recognising numbers, counting and matching and writing numbers all by ourselves!

NEXT WEEK

We will continue with our Journeys theme and will be travelling by boat to the Arctic Circle. We will be deciding what to take with us and packing our suitcases. We will also be writing a postcard to tell you about all the things we saw and did. Again we will be focusing on hearing and writing initial sounds in words. In our topic sessions we will be making some ice lollies and talking about what happens to water when it freezes and then thaws out again. For home learning can you encourage your child to ‘dress’ the attached person in appropriate cold weather clothing. They can use any medium they like so we are hoping to see paint, gel pens, collage materials and chalks (or anything else they choose). The most amazing ones will be on display in Nursery.

HOW YOU CAN HELP US

·       Please complete the home learning task to prepare your child for next week’s learning (see above)

·       Please ask your child to read to you for five minutes every day. By now they should be working on spotting the sounds we have learned in phonics and a couple of the tricky words (I, no, go, into, my etc.)

·       Keep practising writing their full names and numbers 1-5 then 1-10

PLEASE NOTE the following diary dates:  Nursery will be CLOSED on Wednesday 2^nd July 2014

We will be holding Garden Parties/Graduations for the Nursery children on Wed 16^th July times to be confirmed.

We will also be doing outdoor PE this half term so please can you send your child in trainers each Wednesday? Thank you for your continued support, have a lovely weekend.

Mrs Steel, Mrs Chin, Miss Fox and Mrs Beckwith.


Reception newsletter

NEWS ROUND UP

The children bounced into school on Monday eager to tell us all about the adventures they have had over the holidays. They are really enjoying our new topic of journeys! We have a busy seaside area and a bustling airport and aeroplane.

Please keep looking on our blog for the latest information and to see what has been happening in Reception at http://foundationstagenewsatrobinhood.blogspot.co.uk/

THIS WEEK

We jetted off on an aeroplane to Spain this week. It was very hot and we have all been making sure we are being safe in the sun. We have been writing a diary recording all of our adventures whilst we have been in Spain. We are now really focusing on the children’s handwriting so please help them practise their handwriting as much as possible.  In numeracy we have been working out addition and subtraction problems using different methods including, objects, fingers, numicon and number lines to ensure that they understand the two concepts. In phonics the children have been learning the long i sound ie (pie) and i_e (lime).

NEXT WEEK
Next week we will be boarding a boat and heading off to the cold Arctic Circle. We will be deciding what to take with us and will be busy packing our suitcases.  We will be recording our adventures in a diary using our best handwriting. In numeracy we will be practising counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s and we will be grouping objects into groups of 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. We have an exciting week of topic planned! We will start by locating the cold countries on maps and then we will be making ourselves some very yummy ice lollies. We will also be carrying out an investigation to see what happens when we put an ice cube in a coat! What do you think?

PLEASE NOTE the following diary dates:

Reception Seaside Party on Friday 20^th June from 11a.m. - 12p.m. The children will be selling all of the wonderful summer items they have made and then we will all be going for a picnic together on the field.
Miss Lambert’s graduation will be in the hall from 9a.m. - 10a.m. on the 15^th July.
Miss Pyatt’s graduation will be held from 2p.m. - 3p.m. on the 15^th of July.

HOW YOU CAN HELP US

·       Please ensure your child can write their first and second names.

·       Please read and engage with the home learning as this informs you what your child must be able to do to reach a good level of development.

·       Please read with your child for 5 minutes every day (your child’s new book band is on Bug Club) and please share all their holiday adventures with us using the learning log.

·       Please note we will be doing outdoor PE this half term so please ensure your child has an appropriate outdoor PE kit and trainers.

Have a fantastic weekend.

Miss Lambert, Miss Pyatt and the Reception Team.

 

Key Stage 1

Home learning

This week the children have been working incredibly hard in preparation for our assessments next week. We have been very impressed with how much quicker the children are becoming at mental recall. They are learning to pick out the key terms/information from problems in order to answer questions. Please can you spend some time this weekend practising rapid recall of number bonds. Begin with number bonds to ten (7 + 3), then move into number bonds to 20 (17 + 3), then multiples of 10 that make 100 (80 + 20), and finally mixed digits that make 100 (47 + 53). Understanding and rapidly recalling these number patterns will help the children to solve all kinds of different problems.

Seaside trip

Let’s hope the rain disappears before our trip to Scarborough on July 10^th and July 11th! Please can you return your permission slip to the office if you haven’t already done so. Without this permission slip your child will not be able to go. If you need another letter, Mrs Holland in the office will be able to help you.

Arts week

At the beginning of July the children in KS1 are very lucky to be taking part in Arts Week. The work the children produce throughout the week will form part of ‘Arts Award Discover’ – the first stage of a nationally recognised, accredited qualification in the arts. The children will have the chance to work with professionals from a range of different fields: art, photography, ballet and song writing. The week will culminate in a showcase demonstrating the wonderful things they have achieved. The showcase will take place during the afternoon on Thursday 3rd July. There will be more details to follow but we wanted to give you this date should you wish to make arrangements to attend. It promises to be a fun filled and extremely creative week.

Literacy

We have experienced just how sneaky and mischievous the children in KS1 can be this week! At the beginning of the week the children watched ‘The Black Hole’ video as a stimulus for writing. Your child will be able to tell you all about it, or you can watch it for yourself if you type ‘the black hole’ into YouTube – it’s great! The children wrote their own creative story detailing all the weird and wonderful things they would do if a black hole were to come into their possession. They have been pinching from Greggs, reaching into Kinder Eggs and even sneaking through the door of Morrison’s staff meeting! Their stories were engaging, interesting and beautifully presented. They really were a joy to read – thank you and very well done! Shortly we will be starting a poetry unit which will involve performing, reciting and writing lots of different poems.

Numeracy

Very well done to all the children in KS1! They have had a very busy week consolidating all the skills we have learnt through the year. It’s very rewarding to see how much the children have learnt and are able to apply in order to solve a range of problems. We’re feeling very proud of you all. After assessment week we will be learning all about time. Perhaps you could have a look at some digital and analogue clocks around your home to familiarise the children with the basics of telling the time.

Topic

The children have applied the listening skills they have been learning in Philosophy to work collaboratively on a project this week. Our new topic is the seaside, which the children have been very excited about. They have watched videos, looked at pictures and read lots of information about the seaside in order to form an argument for or against the question: ‘is the seaside the best place to live?’ We allowed the children free reign as to how they presented their argument. Some groups made posters, others devised a puppet show and some produced news reports. We have been incredibly impressed with how mature and sensible the children have been working independently in this way. We are very much looking forward to watching your final presentations next week.

Have a lovely weekend. Fingers crossed for sunshine!

The KS1 Team

 

Lower Key Stage 2 Newsletter

What a fantastic week we have had this week in year 3/4. The children have all returned after the half term break with enthusiasm and excitement as we embark on another fun-packed half term. We hope to share many of our outcomes at the end of the half term at our Showcase Assembly on Friday 27^th June at 2.30pm. Thank you to all parents and carers who attended our showcase assembly at the end of last half term. I’m sure everyone who attended will agree that is was a wonderful event and the children were extremely proud of their achievements over the half term.

Residential meeting for the current year 3’s

We will be holding a residential meeting for the parents, carers of the current year 3 children who are interested in going on residential next year. The meeting is to share information about the dates and cost of the trip and we will be sharing a video of the centre. The meeting will be held on Tuesday 17^th June at 3:30pm in the school hall. If any parents or carers are unable to attend the meeting, we will put all of the information onto our phase blog; http://year34rhps.blogspot.co.uk/

Home Learning

Once again, we have been inundated with learning logs from the half term break. It has been wonderful to see so many children taking a lead in their own learning and completing such a variety of tasks during their own time. Many examples of these fantastic outcomes will be shared on our blog as well as at our Showcase Assembly at the end of the half term.  

We would also like the children to continue to read daily and ensure they are recording this in their reading records so we can reward their efforts with stickers! In addition to this, the children should be practising and learning their spellings and Times Tables as this was the key skill that has let many children down when trying to calculate multiplications, divisions and fractions this half term. The times table we will be testing next week is the 8 Times Table.

Numeracy

This week the children have been practicing our written strategies for solving problems involving the four operations. The children have then applied these methods when solving word problems involving money and measures. Next week we are looking at position and direction. We will be learning how to read a compass and following directions and plotting co – ordinates on a grid.

Literacy

This week in literacy we have been learning how to write a biography. We have looked at various famous people’s biographies to spot the key features and have been practicing writing in third person. The children then wrote a biography all about David Beckham’s life ensuring that their opening paragraph gives a brief over view of his life and then they wrote about his key events and achievements in chronological order. Next week we will be practicing our compound and complex sentences and will be using these to write biographies all about last year’s Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.

Spellings

These Spellings will be tested on Monday 9^th June.

Group 1: want, were, what, when, water, with, where, to, too, two

Group 2:  dance, distance, advance, difference, notice, place, surface, entrance, science, practice

Topic

This week we have begun our very interesting unit titled ‘Sports Report’. The children have been learning all about both the Olympic and Paralympic games. They wrote a recount about the memorable moment by the athlete Derek Redmond, crossing the line with a torn hamstring and created a new Olympic medal. Next week we will be studying the artist Keith Haring and creating sporting pictures in his style. These will be displayed in the Y3/4 mall for you to come and admire.

Science

Our new science topic for this half term is changing states of matter. This week children have been identifying the similarities and differences between solids, liquids and gasses and next week we will be investigating how these can change.

Reminders

·    As part of our history curriculum we will be going on a trip to watch the Horrible Histories production of ‘Barmy Britain’ at Sheffield Lyceum Theatre on Thursday 17^th July. The cost of the trip is £18 and we would like the children to bring a packed lunch and wear their school uniform. If you would like any information regarding the trip please see a member of the 3/4 team at the end of the school day.

 

·    Showcase Assembly on Friday 27^th June at 2.30pm

 

·    The current weather is very changeable and so we ask that your child brings a suitable coat and a water bottle to school every day.

 

·    Please ensure all of your child’s belongings (especially PE kits, hats 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 fabulous weekend!

Team 3/4

 

Upper Key Stage 2 Newsletter

Le Grand Depart

Although year 5/6 has been somewhat quieter this week, year 5 have been enjoying the build up to Yorkshire’s Grand Depart! Through researching and reading about the tour this week, pupils have applied their knowledge and creativity into a number of wonderful outcomes; including their very own clothing range and breath taking poetry! This is just the beginning of the excitement and there will be some wonderful events in the coming weeks.

Road Safety

Earlier this week, our year 6 pupils spent some time with the local road safety team. Through some fun games and activities the road safety team were able to educate our pupils on the importance of being safe on the road. I know that the team were particularly impressed with the maturity and awareness that our pupils brought to all the sessions.

Times Tables Challenge:

The last week of term saw the most gripping finals of the times tables challenge to date. It was so hard to separate the finalists, however after several nail biting rounds; we managed to find our winners. Huge congratulations to Lucy in 5/6G and Danika in 5/6M for their coolness under pressure. Very impressive girls!

Literacy:

This week in literacy pupils have structured their Tour de France ideas into some superb poetry. We are always so impressed with how inspired the pupils are to write poetry- although they don’t always like to admit it! Next week pupils will be developing their Active Leaders applications. Lessons will focus on formal application styles and providing evidence of their own experiences. The spellings for next week are; threw, through, guessed, guest, herd, heard, profit, prophet, allowed, aloud. Your child has received a copy of these spelling and will be tested on Friday 13^th June.

Numeracy

In numeracy this week, pupils have been learning different strategies for mental addition and subtraction. This has involved rounding numbers to the nearest ten, adding and then adjusting. Next week the children will be investigating different qualities that numbers can have including; common factors, common multiples and prime numbers.

Art: Printing

This week Mrs Chin has helped to inspire our year 5 pupils with some Le Tour de France printing. From using a selection of materials and paints our pupils have produced some iconic designs featuring Leeds architecture. The final outcomes were fantastic and the t-shirts produced are colourful, unique and above all cool! Huge thanks to Mrs Chin for helping deliver this wonderful idea.

ICT:

In ICT this half term the children will be looking at photography and film. We kicked this week off with a photo shoot of the school. Children learnt and applied different photographic techniques such as: shots from above, action shots and the rule of thirds.

Science:

Science this half term will be about living things! Pupils will be looking at the different classes from the animal kingdom. Next week we will be exploring the different lifecycles of these classes.