Topic – Art
LO – I can use visual and tactile elements to achieve my intentions
In topic this week, we have been looking at artwork by Orla Kiely. We have been annotating her work highlighting visual and tactile elements, such as colour, line, repeated patterns, symmetry and shape.
We then created our own mono prints using a leaf design. The children really enjoyed the activity and showed off their creative sides. The work produced was superb (much better than Mr Kilner’s).
Help at home – Look at designs by Orla Kiely. Ask your child to highlight any repeated patterns or lines of symmetry. Which designs do they prefer, why? How do the designs make them feel?
Online safety
We talk a lot about online safety in Year 5 and Year 6. It is crucial that the children are aware of how to stay safe, how websites keep us logged in and the role that cookies play.
Below are links to explain pop-ups and cookies in some detail:
When online, here are some key principles to keep safe:
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Limit your screen time.
Avoid clicking on ads.
Clear your cookies frequently.
If you want to spend money, set a reasonable limit but ask yourself – is this really worth it? Will I want this in a year’s time? Can I use the money for something else?
Science
We are really enjoying our science lessons in Year 5 and 6. This term we are studying electricity. Today we tested whether the number of bulbs effected the brightness. The children worked well independently and in groups whilst always maintaining that they worked safely.
Help at home – Ask your child about their findings. Did adding more bulbs effects the brightness. How did they keep themselves safe? How did they maintain a fair test? What did they enjoy about today’s lesson?
Hockey at Wetherby High School
Our Year 5 children attended at hockey event last Thursday at Wetherby High School.
They took part in an array of activities and were able to demonstrate their fantastic skills and understanding from recent PE lessons. It was mentioned on multiple occasions how well behaved our children were and how talented they are too. Mrs Senior and I were so proud of the children and it is clear that we have some future hockey stars in our class!
Anti-bullying Week
At St James Primary, we define bullying as:
‘Where you hurt someone, physically or emotionally,
Several Times On Purpose.
If we do experience bullying, we all should:
Start
Telling
Other
People
During Anti-bullying week ,we discussed the importance of being an upstander and standing up and supporting others. We looked at various scenarios and talked about the best ways to deal with often difficult situations.
We also celebrated our differences on Odd-sock Day.
Help at home – What is an upstander? How can you help someone who is being bullied? Where can you go if you feel you are being bullied?
Tempo FM visit
As part of Me and My Community week, Year 5 were invited along to visit Wetherby’s Tempo FM. The gentlemen who run the station made us feel very welcome and the children enjoyed reading some of their work, local weather and making song requests.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon and some of our children were naturals behind the microphone. I’m sure the Wetherby community thought so too as they tuned in to listen.
Here are some of our radio highlights:
Migration – The Red Cross
Olivia, from the Red Cross, came in to visit us as part of Me and My Community Week. She taught us about the PUSH and PULL reasons why people migrate to other countries. Sometimes, people are pushed away from their country due to war, racism and poverty. On the other hand, people may be pulled away from their country due to better jobs, climate or improved healthcare.
Olivia read about a boy named Tesfay, who travelled from Eritrea to the UK. She spoke about the struggles and difficulties he faced. Individually, we then wrote a letter to someone who was new to our community to welcome them. Children mentioned places they love to visit like Ask Italian, The Wetherby Whaler, Leeds United and the local parks and green spaces.
Finally, we spoke about how we will treat people within our community and who are new to our community.
Help at home – Ask your child about how we should treat people, especially those who are new to our community. Write a message to someone within our community – this could be someone you know well or someone who is new to the area.
Diversity Roleplay
This morning, Lyndsey from Diversity Roleplay visited our class to talk about how we should treat people within our community and how we can respond when we see/experience things that are ‘unfair’.
Two key words Lyndsey taught us were:
- Bystander – Someone who watches or sees bullying, unfairness, or unkind behaviour take place but they do nothing to help.
- Upstander – Someone who does something that stops or reduces unkindness, unfairness or bullying behaviour they see. Also, someone who helps another person who is being treated badly by showing them kindness.
We related what she taught us to our own lives and communities. Lyndsey was keen for us to be Upstanders and ‘challenge unfairness’ when we see someone being treated unfairly. This was a good opportunity for us to reflect on ourselves and how we have responded to things in the past.
Help at home – What is a bystander? What is an upstander? Can your child think of a time when they were a bystander? What could they have done differently? Is there a time when your child has been an upstander?
British Values and Protected Characteristics
In Year 5 and 6, we have been focussing on British Values and Protected Characteristics. And as part of Me and My Community Week we have been lucky enough to have Zoom sessions to discover and explore what these things mean in more details.
To help us remember the British Values we learnt a saying:
I really do matter.
We spoke about how we display these values in our everyday life at school, at home and within our community.
There are 9 Protected Characteristics and, as a class, we are confident about what they are and what they mean. We learnt about the Equality Act 2010 and how that helps people within our community.
We were introduced to 2 words:
- Discrimination is unfair treatment of one particular person or group of people. Usually the different treatment is because of the person’s sex, religion, nationality, ethnicity (culture), race, or other personal traits.
- Stereotype is an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic.
Help at Home – Ask your child if they can remember the 4 British Values and how they can display them. What are the 9 Protected Characteristics? What does each one mean? What does discrimination mean? What does stereotype mean?
Me and My Community Week
Wetherby Brass Band
On Tuesday, we were lucky to have a visit from Steven from Wetherby Brass Band. He spoke to the whole school about the benefits of playing in a band and being part of a community within the Wetherby community.
Steven, brought in some instruments and some of us were lucky enough to play some of them – some made hilarious noises.
The band play during many events in the Wetherby community, including the Remembrance Parade. They also play every Sunday at 2.30-4.30pm from the end of April to the end of September.