This half-term's Christian value is...
…forgiveness.
Sometimes, we accidentally break things that belong to ourselves or others. Sometimes, we use something so much it wears out. Some things that are broken cannot be mended, but it’s often possible to mend things that we’ve broken. When you fall out with one of your friends, you can’t mend that friendship with a needle and thread, or some Sellotape, or glue or a puncture kit or a sticking plaster. This half-term, we’ll learn all about forgiveness and hear stories from the Bible to help us.
The Church Council chose peace as a Christian value because ‘because Jesus forgives his disciples.’ (Y4 Church Council member).
Home challenge:
Discuss as a family: Why is it important to forgive?
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ God forgave you.
(1 John 13:18)
Is your child in Year 4?
The government is introducing a new assessment for Year 4 pupils. In June, each child in Year 4 is set to complete an online multiplication tables check (MTC). Read more about this new assessment.
There will be 25 questions covering the full range of facts children are expected to know, which means questions going up to 12 x 12. However, there’s slightly more weighting towards multiplication facts involving 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 due to these being the most difficult to learn. For example, there will be between 2 and 4 questions involving multiplying by 6.
For each question, children are presented with a multiplication fact and an empty box. This may be written as __ x 6 or as 6 x __ .
If you’d like to practise at home, our own website has lots of spreadsheets you can download.
There are also lots of websites that you can use. This one is very similar to the MTC. It’s possible to alter the settings on this website to focus on particular times tables.
Another exciting way to practise times tables is through the ‘Times Tables Rockstars’ website. Every child has their own individual login details that enables them to access their account at school and at home. Feedback so far is that this is proving an enjoyable way to practise times tables facts at home!
Staying safe online - guides for parents/carers
Today is Safer Internet Day. What can you do at home to make sure your child is safe online?
The e-Safety Office has produced twelve guides for parents, covering a range of topics including app safety, YouTube, cyberbullying and selfies. Check them out.
Does your child Swiggle?
Swiggle is a child-friendly search engine – it’s aimed at children in Key Stage 2.
Swiggle gives children a great start in encouraging responsible online searching. The internet is a vast resource, and some content is not appropriate for children.
The search engine has been designed and developed by South-West Grid for Learning, a charity dedicated to empowering the safe and secure use of technology. SWGfL recommends adding Swiggle to your browser or put the Screen Cover link on your bookmark bar.
It’s powered by Google Custom Search, the results are filtered using Google SafeSearch, and SWGfL has configured the results to prioritise educational resources. Swiggle also filters the search terms to check that it’s not being used to search for inappropriate content.
Childline - not just a 'line'
Childline isn’t just about making a phone call!
The Childline website has lots of valuable information, but one area we like is their Calm Zone. The activities aim to help children feel better when they’re feeling anxious, scared or sad. Although children could be encouraged to visit the website themselves, these are good techniques for you to use with your child. Ideas include breathing exercises, a ‘let it go’ box and creating a ‘sense drawer’.
Living and Learning: I know what a drug is.
This week, our Living and Learning statement was ‘I know what a drug is’. As part of our learning, Dave from D:side came in to talk to each class about drugs. With the younger children, he spoke to them about medicines and how we can keep our bodies healthy. In KS2, he delivered workshops on smoking, alcohol and drugs.
Following on from this, each class discussed the issues and dangers around passive smoking and what they could do if they felt uncomfortable about it. The NHS website has some excellent information about passive smoking and the risks for children.
Period products
You might have read that the Department for Education has launched a scheme which will provide access to free period products in schools in England. Alongside this, Leeds Council launched a similar scheme a few months ago.
This scheme will ensure that period products are available to young people if they need them, when they need them. This will include supporting those who have started their period unexpectedly, forgotten to bring products with them and those who can’t afford to buy them.
Although there are some restrictions around how many products we can order, we’d like to assure you that the products are in school if your child needs to use them unexpectedly, or has forgotten them, or can’t afford them.
Fab feedback...
Thanks to those of you who visited us this morning for another one of our popular Watch us while we work sessions. We hold these so you can come into school and get a flavour of what we do, which will hopefully help you to support your child at home, too.
- ‘I really appreciated the opportunity. All the teachers are very welcoming.’
- ‘I enjoyed watching the different methods of teaching. This will help us at home when doing phonics and maths.’
- ‘The methods of teaching were excellent. The pupils remained calm and focused.’
- ‘I enjoyed seeing how much pupil interaction there is.’
We're in the Leeds top ten best primary schools!
In case you missed our news story last week…
According to the GOV.UK website, we’re one of the very best primary schools in the Leeds area for per cent of pupils meeting expected standard.
Check out the article in Yorkshire Evening Post.
Tell your family and friends about how good we are!
Is your child in Year 2 or Year 6?
If your child is in Year 2 or Year 6, they’re in the final year of Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2) or Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6). This means that towards the end of the year, they’ll be doing end of key stage assessments, often called the SATs.
These short videos help to explain more – just be aware the videos are a couple of years old so some details like dates won’t be accurate.
In the past, parents have said they’ve found the videos helpful. Nevertheless, if you’ve any questions, comments or concerns, speak with your child’s class teacher or Miss Beatson.