Reports
Year 5 reports have been sent out to parents/carers today. I’d like to start by saying how proud I am of all the children this year. It’s been a pleasure to teach all the children and they should be really proud of themselves. I feel privileged to have played a small part in their continued development, both with their academic learning and their journey in being happy, healthy and successful human beings.
Please, if you have any comments, questions or concerns, contact me – I’m always happy to help.
Thanks, parents and carers, for your continued and fantastic support of your children at home – it really does make a difference.
Take care
Mr Freeman
Living and Learning: RSE Update
Year 5 are coming to the end of their RSE learning block. We’ve had some really positive and mature conversations about growing older, puberty and changes to expect in our lives.
“I’ve really enjoyed learning RSE. I really like the Ask-It Basket because it lets me write questions that I don’t like saying out loud.” – anonymous
“RSE is important because everyone will go through changes and I’ve learnt how to deal with them.” – anonymous
“I feel safe in school if anything were to happen unexpectedly. I have lots of trusted adults I can turn to like my teacher.”
Help at home:
Please keep allowing your child to talk about this learning. They may have further/ongoing questions as they transition into high school, so keep an open-book policy at home. Children struggle to talk about this learning as it makes them feel uncomfortable and strange, so please encourage a happy, healthy and safe talking environment.
Wetherby Tennis Club visit
Year 5 and 6 were lucky enough to visit Wetherby Tennis Club today. We were invited along to hone our skills and display some of the attributes we have learnt in our PE lessons. We all thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon in the sun and we made all the staff proud.
Help at home – can your child show you some of the skills they have learnt today? Can you play a game as a family in your garden or at the park?
World Cup Writing: The Last Penalty
To help us get into the World Cup spirit, Year 5 took part in a writing workshop this week. Our goal was simple: to imagine the final penalty to win the World Cup was down to us. One chance, one opportunity. We wanted to create suspense and tension by describing the final moments before taking the penalty. The pupils enjoyed and engaged with this writing really well. When we had finished, the children used table partners to check, edit and improve their writing further. We then wrote up final pieces in books (examples below). Although the children didn’t have much time to write this piece, the pieces themselves are superb! We’re really pleased with how they read and we now understand what it might feel like to be in that situation for the players!
Here are just three examples, but well done to everyone in Year 5!
Emily M
Beau
Isla
Living and Learning: Relationships and Sex Education
This week, Year 5 have begun learning about relationships and sex education (RSE). Our first session (and circle time) was about the following learning objective: I know that ingredients for a happy and healthy relationship.
We began the session with some class rules. Rules are important because they help keep us happy, healthy and safe. The children now understand fully how to act and respond in our RSE lessons. Here area few of our rules:
- We will talk to someone we trust if we feel there’s a need to get help.
- We can use the ask-it basket box to ask questions .
- It’s not OK to ask personal questions of each other or the teacher.
- We will be kind and supportive of each other, listening and not interrupting.
- We will respect different opinions, situations and backgrounds.
We then discussed our thoughts and feelings around learning RSE. All feelings shared were absolutely normal and ok to feel. Some children may feel nervous, whilst others may be curious to learn more – whatever feelings we have are accepted and we’ll all fully respect each other.
Finally, we introduced the Ask-it Basket. The basket is a safe space for pupils to write down any questions, worries or concerns during our RSE learning. These will be checked after each section by the teacher and acted on accordingly. We’ll keep our questions anonymous as to not break any of our rules above. Once checked, if the teacher feels any questions may be appropriate to relay to the whole class, they may be discussed and learnt about together.
Help at home:
Please give your child opportunities at home to talk about their learning and to bring up any questions or concerns they may have. This can be a difficult and confusing part of life for children to learn about, so support both at home, and in school, is vital.
Forest School Safety: Supporting our younger pupils
As part of our Staying Safe themed week, Years 5 and 6 have been learning about staying safe within our school grounds. This half-term, it’s the turn of our younger children to experience Forest School. When speaking to Sarah and observing some of the younger children outdoors, we noticed that they might benefit from some guidance on staying safe.
So, off we went to Forest School to take some pictures of the activities available and any potential risks to educate the younger children about. We returned to make posters on staying safe whilst outdoors (examples below). Here at St James’, it is all of our responsibilities to keep our school a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe. With that in mind, we decided to visit our younger pupils to show them our posters. The conversations between children were fantastic and the younger pupils loved learning more about staying safe outdoors!
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.
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?
Reading – The Amazon Rainforest
This week, Year 5 have been learning all about deforestation impacts on the Amazon Rainforest. To do this, we’ve used an advert by Greenpeace UK called ‘There’s An Orangutan In My Bedroom. There is also a book for this story by James Sellick. Here’s a link to the video if you wish to watch it at home together:
there’s a rang tan in my bedroom – YouTube
In this advert, we find a confused yet inquisitive orangutan in a girl’s bedroom. It seems to be messing up her living space and becomes very annoyed seeing a chocolate bar and some shampoo containing palm oil. After initial anger, the girl becomes invested in why the orangutan is in her room. She learns that the orangutan has nowhere else to go as there are humans in the Amazon, destroying it’s home. The girl feels sympathetic and motivated to then help the orangutan with this issue. Finally, she calls for anyone watching to join the fight against deforestation and for us to be wary and mindful of the items we’re buying for our homes.
The learning from Year 5 around this issue has been fantastic. For example, we began by thinking about how the girl’s emotions change through the video and why this may be (shown below).
Then, we decided to do some acting of our own. The children split into groups and had some time to plan out their recreation of the advert. They then performed to the rest of the class, and all acts were absolutely brilliant! After lots of positive and constructive feedback, we created some reflective statements to use when performing.
When performing, it is vital to look up at the audience.
When performing, it is vital to share speaking parts equally.
When performing, it is vital to project your voice and use actions.
We were so proud of our performances, so we decided to take it one step further – to perform to the whole school in Friday’s collective worship! Year 5 were absolutely fantastic and had clearly taken their feedback on board. Here are some pictures of the performance!
Help at home:
Watch the video at home together. Is there anything you could do to support the prevention of deforestation? Next time you go to the supermarket, are there options that don’t contain palm oil? Maybe a healthier alternative over a chocolate bar, too?
Perhaps you could explore James Sellick’s book on this issue – There’s a Rang-Tan in my bedroom.