What is a drug?
Continuing with our Keeping Safe week, we had a visit from D:side Dave today.
To start our session, Dave asked the children what drugs they knew – he then put them into categories (medical, non-medical, legal, illegal). One interesting point of conversation was around caffeine. Whilst caffeine has an age limit of 0+, some energy drinks do have an age limit of 16+ (here some establishments may refuse to sell them to under 16s). Drinks that fall into this category include Red Bull, Monster, Prime and Relentless. This is due to the huge amount of sugar and caffeine in these drinks. Here, Dave is showing the children how much sugar is in one can of energy drink:
Following this, Dave highlighted what we should do if a medical drug brings someone out in a rash, for example. Should this happen, we should stop talking the medication immediately and seek medical help. We also learnt that we should never give a drug to someone that is prescribed for someone else.
We spoke about illegal drugs and that if anyone is caught using or supplying them then they could face time in prison and be banned from working in some place. Certain drugs are illegal as they are so dangerous and can seriously affect people’s bodies and mental health. They can also affect the people around them. A shocking fact is that nicotine kills more people in the UK than any other drug.
Finally, Dave showed the class images of people before and after drug use. The purpose was to highlight the effects drug taking can have on someone’s appearance in such a short space of time.
Help at home – Speak to your child about what they have learned today. Is there any key facts they remember. What would they do should someone try to peer pressure them into taking a drug?
Safety Week
During Safety Week, the children explored lots of important ways to stay safe in everyday situations. We discussed how to keep safe at home, around animals, in the sun, on the roads and especially near open water. We were also lucky to welcome some special visitors into school. PCSO Louise spoke to the children about staying safe near roads and highlighted the importance of always wearing a seatbelt when travelling in a car.
We also took part in a Zoom call with Claire from the Canal and River Trust, where we learned about the dangers of being near open water such as canals, rivers and ponds. The children enjoyed spotting potential hazards in different pictures and discussing how to stay safe in these environments.
Can you spot any more dangers in the picture below?
The children came up with some fantastic responses throughout the week and showed a great understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.
Water Safety: Canal and River Trust
As part of our Staying Safe week here at St James’, we had an online meeting with Claire from The Canal and River Trust. The focus of the meeting was to educate us all about how to spot dangers around canals and rivers. The children enjoyed spotting dangers and explaining their reasons.
Claire ensured all the children know what to do should they see anyone in trouble at a river or canal. We should always call 999 in these situations. The emergency services will then aim to be there within 8 minutes!
Help at home – Can they speak about anything new they have learnt today? Visit the canal and river trust website – https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/.
PC Louise
Today, KS2 had a visit from PC Louise from West Yorkshire Police. She came in to talk to us about how to stay safe when we are out and about in our local community.
The first thing Louise spoke about was the importance of telling our parents or a trusted adult about where we are going and what time we will back home. This is crucial as it helps us to stay safe.
The next thing Louise spoke about was the importance of observing signs when we are out and about. Signs linked to roadworks, railway tracks, water and building sites were spoken about. She also mentioned that we MUST NOT enter sites that are abandoned for many reasons.
PC Louise spoke to us about what to do if we see someone acting suspiciously at the park or if there is someone who makes us feel uneasy. We should take ourselves away from that situation and make sure we speak to a trusted adult. If something doesn’t feel right – take yourself out of that situation.
Finally, PC Louise spoke to use about the importance of ALWAYS wearing a seatbelt when travelling in a car. It doesn’t matter if the trip only takes 10 seconds or if we are travelling at 5mph, ALWAYS WEAR A SEATBELT.
Help at home – speak to your child about how they can keep themselves when out in our local community.
Maths – Connections
We’ve been really enjoying playing SQM Connections recently – it’s fantastic.
I promised to share the link so you can play at home. Enjoy!
Red Cross first aid
This afternoon, Year 6 had a visit from Graham from the Red Cross.
During this informative session, children learnt about some of the main injuries experienced by people (broken bones, heavy bleeding, head injuries and burns). We learnt how to deal with these injuries and how we can best look after a patient.
We also learned what to do if we suspect if someone is having a heart attack or a stroke. If someone is experiencing a stroke, we think FACE (Face, Arms, Speech, Time to call 999).
One of the key pieces of information Graham taught us was to act fast and call 999.
Help at home – speak to your children about what they learnt today. Do you have a first aid kit at home? Ask them what to do if someone suffers a burn or a broken bone. What items can we use to help someone if we don’t have a first aid kit?
Fire safety
As part of our school ‘staying safe‘ week this week, Year 5 and 6 had a visit from firefighters from Wetherby Fire Station. We were taught about what the firefighters do and the various jobs they are called to.
We learnt about prevention and the steps we can take to ensure that we reduce the risks of a fire breaking out in our homes – this includes not leaving devices with lithium-ion batteries plugged in.
Ensuring we have a bedtime routine is important too – ensuring ovens are off, devices unplugged, stairs clear and doors shut. The children were encouraged to speak to parents about an escape route should a fire break out, like what we do here at school.
The over-riding message from the visit was: GET OUT, STAY OUT, CALL 999.
Help at home – Ask your child:
- What jobs do the firefighters do?
- What are some of the common causes of fires in the home?
- How often should we check fire alarms at home?
- How many smoke alarms should we have in our homes?
- Which devices have lithium-ion batteries?
- What should you do if there is a fire in your home?
That fun maths game …
I spotted Year 1 playing a fun new maths game and knew that Year 4 would love it! Think Only Connect but for Primary Maths!
We’ve played a couple of games (on the Year 4 setting) in class and I promised to share the link so you can play at home: SQM Connections
Enjoy!
Writing – direct speech
We’ve been working really hard this week to increase our confidence with writing direct speech.
Last week we wrote a narrative to accompany the wordless picture book The Flood by Alvaro Villa. As part of the narrative we included some direct speech.
We’ve only recently learned how to accurately punctuate direct speech:
- Write the words spoken first (remembering to start with a capital letter)
- Add the inverted commas around the words spoken
- Add punctuation at the end of the words spoken and inside the inverted commas
- Add a reporting clause
- New Speaker New Line
Having drafted and edited direct speech in our narrative, we’ve enjoyed recapping the rules again and then becoming more fluent by practising independently.
Help at home – our super writers have really enjoyed the challenge of writing direct speech so if you would like to learn more at home you could look here for more information and a couple of challenges: BBC Bitesize direct speech
Alternatively, when reading together, look out for examples of direct speech. You check if the author has followed the rules we have used in class or think about how they have made the reporting clause engaging.
Mad about Minibeasts
This week our focus book is Mad about Minibeasts by Giles Andreae.
We have looked really closely at spiders this week, we went on a spider hunt and found lots of spiders and some spider webs. We were very careful not to touch and break the webs because they are so delicate.
We talked about spiders and how many legs they have and made some in the playdough area.
“Spiders have 8 legs, they can run so fast.”
“It’s got a big body and so many legs!”
Help at home: Go on a minibeast hunt and see how many spiders you can find? Where do they like to make their webs?