Spring Attendance Competition
St James’ CE Primary is a happy and healthy place to be – and maybe even a lucky one, too!
Look out for our attendance competition next half term. All pupils with attendance of 96% or higher will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Love to Shop vouchers!
So… for the full Spring 1 half-term, Monday 08 January to Friday 09 February (five weeks), if your child reaches a good level of attendance – that’s 96% – their name will be entered into a prize draw. We’ll select one lucky winner on the last day of the half-term (Friday 09 February).
Remember, arriving late for school counts as an unauthorised absence. This affects a child’s overall attendance figure, and that might mean they lose out.
So far this term, 40 pupils have 100% attendance and 80 pupils have over 96% attendance – well done to the children and their families!
Children in Need
Thank you for all your support raising money for Children in Need.
We have raised £140 for the charity.
Anti-bullying
On Monday, we acknowledged Anti-bullying week by wearing odd socks and learning about how we can help to stop bullying.
The children learnt many key messages, including what ‘banter’ is and how it can be percieved. We learnt about how friends speak to each other and how to be an ally for someone who is being bullied.
Here are some pictures of the children creating work to demonstrate their understanding:
Help at home – ask your child about the STOP acronyms. Can they remember our school bullying definition? Who can we speak to if we are being bullied? What is the Childline phone number?
Forest School
At Forest School today, the children have created pieces of art using the natural materials in the woodland area. We have had a great time working together and being creative, all whilst respecting the environment around us.
Me and My Money
What a busy week we have had in the Year 3/4 classroom. We have learnt so many useful skills when dealing with money. We have learnt: the best ways when looking after our money, the many ways of spending money, the advantages and disadvantages of borrowing money (eg. mortgages) and why people use and donate to charities.
On Tuesday, we were very lucky to welcome members of staff from Yorkshire Building Society. With their help, we used a budget to plan a party and made spending choices based on our priorities, needs and
wants.
Help at home – Speak to your child about the importance of spending money wisely and seeking value for money. Help them to set up a way of saving (piggy bank or money jar).
Year 3/4 St James Day
We have had a wonderful start to the half term by learning more about St James. The children enjoyed researching about his life and why Jesus trusted him to become one of His disciples.
Year 3 and 4 also explored our school logo and what the shells represent. In addition we demonstrated our understanding behind our school vision; St James’ CE Primary is a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe.
We had a really reflective, spiritual day and we all learnt lots.
Help at home – Ask your child about what they have learnt. Why is our logo scallop shells? Tell me about St James. Who was his father? What was his occupation? When is his feast day?
Reading: Tom Palmer
This year, some children at school attended an online workshop with author Tom Palmer. Tom Palmer has been in touch to let us know about some local events he is attending in half term.
Message from Tom
For children and families – I am also coming to Leeds on Thursday 2 November 2023 :
* Farsley Book Festival – 10am-11am more here
https://trumanbooks.co.uk/event/flf-kids-day
* Chapel Allerton Library – 2pm
* Pudsey Community Hub and Library – 4pm
Geography – using grid references.
Geography – our year 3 and year 4 children have been learning how to use grid references using easting and northing coordinates. We were able to find places of interest on an Ordnance Survey map using a 4-figure grid reference. We looked in detail at OS maps of Harewood, Golden Acre Park, Ilkley and Wetherby – it was lovely to hear some of the children’s stories from when they have visited some of these places.
Help at home – Ask your child about easting and northing lines on an Ordnance Survey map – what do they tell us, and which is vertical and which is horizontal? Can they remember the rule we use when finding a grid reference? Which other subjects would we need to use grid references?
Loving Latin
The children have really enjoyed learning Latin this week and discovering that many words we use today are heavily influenecd by the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Here are some examples:
Tele (far away) – television, telephone, telescope
Micro (small) – microphone, microscope, microbe
Tri (three) – triangle, triplets, tripod
As a class, we enjoyed learning, collaborating and then sharing our thoughts and findings.
At home, see what your child can remember.
Help at home
Help at home
Geography – Where in the world am I?
- Ask your child to point out major UK cities on a map.
- We have been locating mountains and rivers and I am sure they would love to show you where these are too.
- We have also been learning about the capital cities of the United Kingdom, ask them about what they have learnt and any facts they remember.
Times tables
We are having a big push on consolidating our 2’s, 5’s and 10 times tables as well as learning our 3’s and 4’s.
- Encourage your child to access TT Rockstars.
- Practice for our tests every Friday.
Reading
- Hear your child read through the week and sign their reading record.
- Encourage the use of expression in their reading.
- There are lots of extra ideas, of ways to help, in their reading record books.