Half Term Round-up: 2023/24 Term 5

Burton Leonard 10K

We enjoyed a wonderful sunny day on the BL 10K during one of the weekends we had. We saw a wonderful amount of children pushing themselves to go above and beyond with some of those children exhibiting great athleticism and sportsmanship. We are incredibly proud of both all our children who ran the race and pushed themselves hard to do so as well as those children who came to help with the refreshment stalls run by our FoBLS team!

Curriculum Meeting

At the end of last term, we had a curriculum meeting to talk to our current parents and carers through the exciting changes and revamp we are giving to our curriculum here at school. We had a wide array of rooms full of information and had excellent feedback from the parents who came about the changes and that it felt easy to understand and that we had a clear vision for what our curriculum needed to do in the future.

Ripon Cathedral Choir Visitor

Dr Krippner, the Director of Music at Ripon Cathedral, visited our school to talk to the children after collective worship one day about the Cathedral itself and the possibilities of how to become a Cathedral Chorister. All the interested KS2 children were invited to see Dr Krippner after the assembly for an informal audition (they were all fantastic to hear from my office!) Being a chorister is a fantastic opportunity, so it was very much worth considering especially with some of our school friends already being members!

Ralph's Art Competition

Ralph did an excellent job in Term 4 but we weren't able to share the amount he raised until now! We are so very proud of him and the over £160 he managed to raise for Alopecia UK. Bravo Ralph!

Potato Competition

The children this term have been working very hard on the potatoes for the church's potato growing competition. Well done to all the children who have helped with this and we look forward to seeing whose potato comes out on top!

Goodbyes

This term, we had to say a teary-eyed farewell to Miss Dunster who had joined us to teach our Kestrels. We were so sad to see her go but wish her all the best with her new baby and pray for a healthy boy to join us! We are so thankful to Miss Dunster and everything she did for the school in the time she was here with us.

Owls

English - Y1

Y1 - In English this half term we have been reading the story Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers. In the story, there is a boy who finds a penguin at his door. The boy decides the penguin must be lost and tries to return him but no one seems to be missing a penguin! So, the boy decides to take the penguin home himself, and they set out in his row boat on a journey to the South Pole. Linking to this story, we have been busy learning:

- How to write a character description incorporating adjectives

- Joining words and clauses using ‘and’

- The suffix –ed

- Instructional writing – learning the features of instructions (a title, numbered steps, time adverbials, imperative verbs) and writing our own set of instructions

- Non-chronological reports – learning the features and writing our own non-chronological report about a penguin (like the penguin from our story!)

- Talk 4 Writing – creating story maps and actions to help us remember the sequence of the story and using these to help us write up the story

EYFS

EYFS - In Reception, we have been busy with our Drawing Club sessions! These sessions form the basis of our writing lessons. Drawing Club incorporates story sharing, speaking and listening, drawing, writing, vocabulary, mathematics, imagination and collaboration. This half term, our theme has been ‘How Does Your Garden Grow?’ Linking to our theme, we have been reading books such as, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Tiny Seed and The Secret Garden.

In our exploring learning time we have been learning things such as the parts of a plant, planting/growing and which fruits grow in our country and which fruits do not. We have also been enjoying watching the vegetables we planted grow in our outdoor area.

This half term we have also been learning about the life cycle of a caterpillar. To really bring this to life, we got our own class caterpillars! We have enjoyed taking care of them and watching them develop and grow. We are looking forward to them becoming butterflies and us being able to release them in our outdoor area!

Science

In Science this half term, we have been learning about plants. We learnt the difference between a bulb and a seed and how to plant them. Children then made their own storyboards to show how to plant a seed. We then moved onto looking at the parts of a tree and a plant and the difference between an evergreen and deciduous tree. Children drew and labelled their own beautiful flowers! We then spent time investigating the seeds from different fruits and vegetables. This helped the children to understand that fruit trees and vegetables are varieties of plants. To finish this topic, we designed an experiment to discover what plants need to grow. We decided we would plant a seed and give it water, sunlight and soil, plant a seed without soil, plant a seed without giving it any sunlight and plant a seed without giving it any water! We will monitor this over time and see if/how our seeds grow and change. We will then record our findings.

Merlins

Make a Difference Day

Merlin children started our 'Make a Difference Day' last half term. We planted seeds into containers and for the past 6 weeks we have watered, nurtured and watched in wonder as our little seeds sprouted and grew into plants. We decorated some plant pot covers and wrote a class poem together. We took the plants around the village and we left them on random doorsteps. Our intention was to brighten someone's day, hopefully we achieved that! We have had some lovely feedback from residents in the village who were touched by the act of kindness from Merlin Class.

Clay Houses

Our Art topic this half term was 'Clay Houses'. Merlin children have thoroughly enjoyed exploring clay and how to squash, roll, mould, impress and work in relief. We studied the artwork of Rachel Whiteread and learnt how she made sculptures based on negative space. We learnt techniques such as how to join two pieces of clay using the 'slip and score' method. We made some beautiful pinch pots and some tiles of clay houses using our 'impress' and in relief' methods. The results are beautiful!

PSHE and Online Safety

In Merlin Class this half term we have been exploring 'Safety and the Changing Body'. We have had a huge focus on online safety and how we can keep ourselves safe when using the internet. We learnt a rhyme to help us when we are unsure what to do, "Before you tap and click, you need to stop and think and TELL SOMEONE!". The children have been thinking carefully about how they use the internet outside of school as well and identifying which trusted adults we can turn to when we are unsure about something. Well done Merlins!

Kites

History

This term we've learnt about Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period. We took this from when the Romans left all the way up until the Viking invasion. We were visited by Olaf who taught us in the ways of a Northman living in Northumbria and trained us how to fight in a shield wall to fight against King Athelstan!

Art

During Art week, we have been experimenting and creating 3D Art. Looking at sculptures and abstract themes, we've learnt what positive space and negative space is and how we can use this to design, create and evaluate our own abstract sculptures.

PE

In P.E. this term we have been learning throwing and catching skills. We practiced the dos and don'ts and thought about our aim before choosing our type of throw and technique. We then moved this on to creating our own games, rules and activities to run for the rest of the class. The Kites worked brilliantly at this - they created really fun, engaging games for everyone and worked together so well.

Kestrels

British Values and Diversity Workshop

The class started the term with the North Yorkshire Healthy School British Values and Diversity workshop which reminded us to live out our school vision by respecting each other's values and showing curiosity when others may present as different from us. We attended a live workshop via Zoom, where we heard various stories about what diversity looks like in North Yorkshire from teachers, teenagers, and children. Importantly, we reflected on our everyday inclusive practice and how we can continue to make a positive difference to others who may have come from different social and ethnic backgrounds, religions, disabilities, and genders. Kestrels proudly read aloud our Performance Poetry based on the theme of 'Our Wonderful World', it was safe to say everyone who took part put their best foot forward and developed their public speaking skills. A well-deserved congratulations to Marin for his moving sung rendition of 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong - you brought us all to tears!

SATS Week

Our Year 6 students worked tirelessly as the SATs examinations loomed and showed the whole school how to tackle a challenging week with resilience, determination, and crucially by supporting one another with sensitivity. Well done Year 6! Our Year 5 students had a meaningful insight into the everyday life of SATs week with Mr Stace and showed their support and patience throughout the week. We know you will all have a fulfilling year as you transition to Year 6. In an inclusive spirit, the whole class celebrated such a momentous achievement in the school year by hosting a class party where everyone prepared a rainbow spread of party food, engineered midget gem towers, and partook in their favourite party games. It was a joy to see everyone in such high spirits!

Pajama Day and Transitions

The class was so passionate about Make a Difference Day, we organised our very own Pajama Day in aid of the local charity chosen by the children, Dementia Forward. We are thrilled to announce we raised over £100, a huge thanks to everyone in the school who participated and did their part. As Year 6 transitions towards their new secondary schools, they will be visiting them to attend transition days. These are crucial moments for the children to gain an insight into their new learning spaces, teachers, classmates and daily routines, we look forward to hearing all about them. Mr Stace has been holding auditions for the up-and-coming KS2 play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by William Shakespeare. Every single Kestrel has been reading and highlighting their scripts so they can practice for the parts they are hoping to audition for, good luck everyone!

Burton Leonard Church of England Primary School

Burton LeonardChurch of England Primary School