Summer competition

Before the Summer holidays, we invited you to take a picture of objects in the environment that represented the letters for St James. We’ve enjoyed looking at the photographs sent in-there were so many creative ideas! We announced our winners on Friday. Well done to all the families who took part. Check out some of the entries.

Our weekly message: Friday 13 September

We got some good news this week… We had our School Games Mark revalidated and we continue to have Gold status.

Our Living and Learning theme this week… has been around our 8Rs for learning – all ways to promote good learning behaviour. Help at home: check out our short guide and then talk with your child at home about times when each of the Rs can be especially important.

Governor recruitment

We’ve a vacancy for a new parent governor…

The position will start properly on 20 November 2024. However, the new governor will be invited to attend our Governing Board meeting on 13 November as an observer. Any parent or carer is encouraged to express an interest; governors are especially interested in hearing from people with a financial background.

Look out for a separate email with more information later on today. The first stage is to complete an online expression of interest. If there’s more than one expression of interest, we’d open the recruitment to a vote and part of your expression of interest would be made available to all parents across Sphere Federation to help them decide who to vote for.

The rest of this week’s message comes from Mr Wilks, our Sphere Federation Topics Leader. The message is all about our new KS1 and KS2 topic…

We’re historians

What do we mean by topics?

Topics are the vehicle for delivering much of the learning in foundation subjects (eg Art, History, Geography). Each half-termly topic has a driving subject – the main focus for teaching pupils knowledge and skills.

What is this half-term’s topic?

This half-term, we’re historians. We’ll develop our understanding of the past, both in Britain and the wider world.

Each phase has age-related specific knowledge, skills and vocabulary. See pages 26 and 27 of our Topic Curriculum Guide.

Each phase also has key historical concepts which will feature within most lessons. These historical concepts are themes that are revisited, strengthened and deepened during your child’s journey through the history curriculum. See page 23 of the Curriculum Statement.

Years 1 and 2 

In this topic, children learn about a significant British historical event: the Great Fire of London. Children will learn about life at the time of the Great Fire of London. They’ll learn where the fire started and how it spread so quickly and the innovative ways that it was extinguished. Importantly, they’ll learn about the different sources of evidence that have helped us answer these questions, including Samuel Pepys’ diary. Finally, they’ll learn about the significant changes that occurred as a result of the fire, such as legal changes about the way houses were built and the beginning of a fire service in London.

The key concept that children will learn about in this history topic is innovation.

(Help at home… As well as thinking about History, talk with your child about ways to stay safe around fire.)

Years 3 and 4 

In this topic, children learn about Ancient Greece. Children begin by sequencing periods of British history and seeing where the ‘golden age’ of the Ancient Greek civilisation sits alongside. They’ll then learn about two contrasting city states: Athens and Sparta. Children will learn about the type of government these states had and what the lives of the people living there were like. They’ll then debate which city state was the best.

Importantly, they’ll focus in on the influence that Athens has had on the world: democracy, mathematics, philosophy, literature, culture… Finally, they’ll learn about how the civilisation ended.

The key concepts for this topic are power and innovation.

Years 5 and 6 

In this topic, children learn about Stone Age to Iron Age Britain and contrast it with Ancient Egypt. They begin by looking at and creating timelines which sequence the periods of British history and also placing Ancient Egypt on this timeline. They’ll learn about the advances and innovations that occurred during the New Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age. They’ll learn about and understand that the sources of evidence we have are limited to archaeological evidence. They’ll then learn about the Ancient Egyptian civilisation and contrast this with what was happening in Britain at the same time – it’s a stark contrast!

The key concepts for this topic are innovation and power.

How can you help?

Talk to your child about what they’ve been learning in class. The Class News pages of the school website are a good place to go to find out more about what the children are doing.

Find some books from the library which match what your child is learning. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of books about the history your child will be learning about.

Watch television shows about history. Horrible Histories is great (regardless of your age!).

The BBC Bitesize history webpage have some really good pages about the different KS2 units being studied this half-term.

For KS1, there’s an excellent website about the Great Fire of London. As well as a game for children to play, there’s information for adults as well.

If it’s a rainy weekend and you’re looking for something to do, why not spend a morning or afternoon in a museum? A visit to Leeds City Museum (next to Millennium Square) would be great for all children but especially for Y3,4 and Y5,6 children as it has some Ancient Greek and Ancient Egyptian exhibits, including Nesyamum, the 3,000 year old Leeds mummy!

Our weekly message: Friday 06 September

It’s been great to see you at the school gates and to welcome the children back to school – and to welcome new children joining us, too. Children have all settled really well.

Summer competition

Did you enter our Summer competition this year?

Thank you to those of you who did. We invited you to send in a pic of each letter that makes up ST JAMES – each year group had a different letter to work on. We’ve loved checking out all the wonderfully creative ways to make an S, a T, a J etc! Today was the deadline to send in a pic – we’ll be deciding the winner next week.

Attendance update

Our attendance this week has been great – 97.9% is a great start to the year. Thank you.

Here’s an important update from Leeds City Council about absences from school…

One of the things to be aware of is that if a parent takes their child on holiday during term-time every year, then the penalty notice is higher the second time and by the third year, they’ll face legal action.

The impact of five days off school is significant. In our Weekly Messages over the year, we’ll feature examples of lost learning in different subjects.

Our website

As it’s the start of a new school year, we thought it might be a good time for a quick ‘tour’ of some of the key pages of our website.

The Find Out section is there mainly for the key information you need to know about. Particularly useful pages are:

• the Calendar: at the start of the year, we send home a list of key events across the year but for a fuller and up-to-date picture of what’s going on, check out the calendar (have a look at our weekly Living and Learning theme at the start of each week in the calendar, too – this week, our theme’s been ‘I follow the school rules’ so please talk about these at home)
• Policies and Other Points: this page contains lots of information, including our Positive Relationships policies and our Uniform policy – important ones for you to know about
• Meals: check out the current school dinners menu here!

The Join In section describes lots of different ways that you and your child can get involved, from wraparound care and clubs to any job vacancies we may have. There’s information about our Governing Body in this section, too. (Look out because we’ll have a vacancy for a new parent governor soon!)

The Learn More page is where to go for ways to support your child’s learning. The Class News pages are always the some of the most visited pages – they help to keep you up to date with what your child’s learning. Other pages give you information about different subjects – Reading, Writing, Maths and other curriculum subjects. If you’re a parent of a child in Nursery or Reception, check out the Early Years page, too.

Talking of supporting your child at home, next week we’ll talk about our new topic for children in Years 1-6. It’s a History topic – start asking your child now what they’ve been learning in History!

This half-term’s Christian value is…

…perseverance.

At St James’ CE Primary School, we learn about Christian values that help us to become well-rounded citizens in society. Each half-term, we have a new Christian value that will be embedded into our collective worship and our reflection areas.

This half term, our Christian value is perseverance.

‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.’ (Galatians 6:9)

Endurance is needed when standing firm in the face of any difficulty. It is the special gift that we have when life is difficult or painful that helps us not to give up. Difficulties might include hardship, persecution or scorn, although we hope these difficulties do not arise in our school. We use it more in the context of ‘keeping going’ and ‘not giving up’.

Help at home by talking about and encouraging perseverance…

• How can we show perseverance in school?
• How can we show perseverance in home, or in other situations?
• Who do you know that shows lots of perseverance?
• What does perseverance look like to you?
• Tell me about a time when you showed perseverance

Our last weekly message of the year (Friday 19 July 2024)

We’ve reached the end of the school year…

Thank you…

…for attending all the events we’ve held across the year, whether that’s events to help support your child’s learning like our Watch us While We Work sessions or productions and PTA events. All the key events for 2024-25 are already in the calendar (including training days).

Thank you…

…to all those who completed the 2024 survey of parents and carers. We’re delighted with the results, including 100% of those who expressed an opinion saying they’d recommend St James’ CE Primary to others – fantastic! We’ve spent some time reviewing the suggestions, too – we can’t act on all, but we’ll certainly look at some of them more closely.

Thank you…

…for all your support throughout the year. Whether this is a simple smile and greeting at the school gate or something more, we’ve really appreciated it.

Have a lovely Summer break. Don’t forget our Summer Competition (in case you missed details, check back to last week’s message). See you all on Tuesday 03 September!

Our weekly message (Friday 12 July 2024)

It’s our penultimate weekly message of the year. It’s a bit of a cliché, but has to be said – we can’t believe how fast the year has gone.

Themed week

This week has been our Staying Safe week.

Of course, staying safe isn’t just about one week of the year. Check out these Summer safety tips. and this clip about staying safe near water.

This week is also a good time to think back to previous Living and Learning statements. For example, does your child know the two STOP messages about bullying from Autumn 2 (Several Times On Purpose and Start Telling Other People)? Does your child understand the importance of permission / consent? What online safety tips can your child tell you about?

Every year, we have two themed weeks. Next year, it’s the turn of Me and My Communities and Being Healthy themed weeks.

Moving on…?

The close of the school year sees Year 6 friends getting ready to move on to secondary schools. There’ll also be children in other year groups moving on, too – perhaps you’re moving house and therefore your child is switching schools.

Whatever the cause, this change can be a source of anxiety. It’s a perfectly natural response to a new environment and a new society into which to fit. With this in mind, Childline has published advice to help children deal with their feelings as they move on.

Our Summer competition

Have you and your child started to think about our Summer competition?

Take a pic of one particular letter in ST JAMES – each letter is for a year group in school. This list refers to current years, with children in Nursery and Year 6 sharing the first S…

• S – Nursery and Year 6
• T – Reception
• J – Year 1
• A – Year 2
• M – Year 3
• E – Year 4
• S – Year 5

The winning entry will be a letter that’s been ‘found’ or created in an unusual way. There’s a £10 book token for one winner in each year group.

To enter, email your pics to stjamesoffice@spherefederation.org by Friday 06 September. Enter ‘Summer competition’ as the subject.

Get caught in the Breeze

The Breeze people write:

Are you ready to have some fun this summer?! Breeze in the Park is back to bring family fun to a park near you this summer holidays.

We’ve 26 events plus 8 relaxed events, all jam-packed and ready to bring the sun, fun, chills and thrills to your holidays!

Expect sports, games, arts and crafts, interactive play, food, entertainment and, of course, their famous inflatables. Plus, much much more!

The events, which are aimed at 0 to 19-year-olds, will run as two separate sessions on the days. The first session takes place from 12pm to 2:30pm and the second session runs from 3pm to 5pm.

Along with the open sessions, eight of the events throughout the summer will also be hosting relaxed sessions for children and young people with additional needs. These sessions will run from 11am to 12pm and will have additional staff, minimal queuing and reduced crowds.

Tickets for Breeze in the Park are 50p per child and must be pre-booked in advance. Fast track five times on our most popular inflatables with a Breeze Pass…the best accessory for this summer giving you discounts, giveaways, offers and early access to many venues and events!

Book your tickets now and avoid disappointment.

Finally this week…

A big thank you…

…to everyone who has helped out on our PTA this year. Check out the 2023-24 annual report (including the treasurer’s report). A special thank you must go to our fantastic Chair, Heidi Moment. Heidi’s stepping back from the role of Chair, but thankfully will still be a part of the PTA. Please have a think about stepping up to volunteer for the PTA – maybe even as Chair!

Have a happy and healthy – and hopefully dry – weekend.

Our weekly message (Friday 05 July 2024)

With just two more weeks left of the school year, it’s time to start thinking of our Summer Competition!

Summer competition

Each year, we invite you and your child to take part in our Summer Competition. We’ve asked for pics to show extreme reading, happy and healthy, smiley faces… This year, we’re inviting you to think about our name. More specifically, take a pic of one particular letter in ST JAMES, but one which is hidden away or created in some unsual way.

Each letter is for one year group in school. This list refers to current years, with children in Nursery and Year 6 sharing the first S…

• S – Nursery and Year 6
• T – Reception
• J – Year 1
• A – Year 2
• M – Year 3
• E – Year 4
• S – Year 5

The winning entry will be a letter that’s been ‘found’ or created in an unusual way. There’s a £10 book token for one winner in each year group.

To enter, email your pics to stjamesoffice@spherefederation.org by Friday 06 September. Enter ‘Summer competition’ as the subject. All entries will be displayed in school, and there are prizes for our favourites.

Here’s an idea to get you thinking…

Uniform

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve featured our updated Uniform Policy to help you to start preparing early for the new school year. Please read the latest version.

This week, we’re looking at what our policy says about jewellery…

Only discreet (ie small, not brightly coloured) stud earrings and items that are absolutely required by a religion are allowed. Advisors recommend no earrings are worn for PE; therefore, we will ask your child to remove earrings before the lesson and put them back in after the lesson. This will be carried out by the child. If they are unable to remove or put their earrings back in by themselves, they must not wear them on the day they have PE.

A watch or step counter is allowed. Any device that connects to the internet (eg a smart watch) or that can record (including taking photos) is not allowed for safeguarding reasons. Such items should be left at home, but can be handed over at the start of the day. Refer to the Positive Relationships Policy for more details of items not allowed.

We don’t accept responsibility for any loss or damage to an individual’s property.

Staying safe

Next week is another Living and Learning themed week: Staying Safe.

The themed week is a good opportunity to continue to think about healthy, active and safe ways to travel to school.  Children are encouraged to travel to school in a sustainable way, keeping safe along the way. For a chance to win a £10 Love2Shop voucher, we’d love to see their active travel staying safe photos, maybe using a traffic crossing or wearing their bike helmet (send photos to stjamesoffice@spherefederation.org). Photos should be sent by 4pm on Thursday 11 July and winners will be announced on Friday 12 July.

Our Living and Learning statement is I make safe choices, including online. Check out these tips for helping children stay safe online.

Next week is also the Key Stage 2 production: Wednesday at 1.45pm and Thursday at 6pm.

Our weekly message (Friday 28 June 2024)

Thanks to everyone who came along to our talent show on Tuesday and our Sports Day on Wednesday – we hope you enjoyed them as much as the children and staff.

Survey

Thanks to the 30 parents and carers who have completed this year’s annual survey. If you haven’t, there’s still time! In fact, you’ve one more week left to complete – the survey closes at 2pm next Friday.

Uniform

Last week, we flagged up our updated Uniform Policy in time to help you to start preparing early for the new school year. Please read the latest version.

In particular, we drew your attention to expectations for PE – it basically only involves a change for the bottom half only.

This week, we’re looking at the uniform itself – please follow the points set out here:

A word from our Junior Leadership Team

Here are some bite-size reviews of the year from our Junior Leadership Team…

• ‘We talked about charity and the things we like and dislike about school. We have been able to speak to the healthy school lady about our school. We have also been able to choose really good play equipment.’ James, Year 5
• ‘I have enjoyed getting the new equipment for the rest of the school.’ Lilly, Year 5
• ‘I have liked being on JLT because we got to choose the equipment. I also like our meetings.’ Arthur, Year 1
• ‘During meetings, I felt good because I feel like my voice was heard.’ Isla, Year 3
• ‘We have discussed and made decisions which have helped the other children in our school.’ Lily, Y5

Finally, a couple of things to look out for… We send annual reports home next week, staggered across the week. And in next week’s message, look out for details of the 2024 Summer Competition, too!

Our weekly message (Friday 21 June 2024)

First off this week… Don’t forget out Sports Day on Wednesday:

• Nursery and Reception – 9.15am-11.00am
• Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 1.30pm – 3.00pm

We’re also excited to be hosting the St James’s Got Talent show on Tuesday evening at 6.00pm. Forget Britain’s Got Talent – St James’ has enough talent to entertain and surprise and intrigue!

Uniform

Every year, we review our Uniform Policy. We know some parents/carers like to start preparing early for the new school year, so please read the latest version.

Please note what we expect children to wear on PE days – it basically only involves a change for the bottom half:

Annual survey

Your views count. Every year, we ask for your views and we follow up on as many as we can. Thank you to the 18 parents/carers who have already completed it. If you’ve not yes, there’s still time: please complete this year’s survey before the 05 July deadline.

It’s not been a great summer yet, has it? With the hope we might enjoy some sunnier days ahead, don’t forget to follow the NHS advice on sun protection for your child.

Summer Fair

We had our annual Summer Fair on Friday and what a great success it was!

Thank you to the  PTA who organised the event and to everybody who came along to support the school.

The total raised was a magnificent £1,645! This is the most we’ve raised at a PTA event.

Thanks again to all involved.