This week Reception went on a trip to Lotherton Hall, to open our new topic of Nocturnal Animals. We really enjoyed exploring the Wildlife World there and meeting lots of different nocturnal creatures such as armadillos, bats, tapirs and even a kinkajou! We learnt more about nocturnal animals during an interactive workshop – did you know that even though a porcupine’s spines are hard and spiky, they are made out of the same substance as our hair? We were lucky enough to hold these spines and also investigate how the various animals are adapted to living in the dark. Everybody joined in with examining the teeth and skulls of different nocturnal creatures to see how they varied in size and looked different to each other depending on the animals’ diets. As part of our trip, we also walked around the bird enclosures and we enjoyed spotting the Great Grey Owl perched very high up! We were amazed at its big eyes and ability to turn its neck really far around. We cannot wait to meet some more owls when the SMJ Falconry visit school next week! What a super day out we all had, the children made us very proud and showed excellent behaviour throughout the trip. Well done!
Year 1
Year 1 began the week with a walk into the woods. We saw many signs of Autumn as we wandered through. We were very surprised to see Mrs Marshall standing there as if she was dressed for Summer! Mrs Marshall had got the seasons wrong so we suggested items of clothing that were more appropriate to wear during a damp, cold Autumn day. Mrs Dixon then read us an Autumn story all about a little tree who didn’t want to let her leaves go in the Autumn. We finished off our walk with a cup of hot chocolate!!!
In Year 3, we have had a great start to the new half term with our Stone Age Day! We started the day by learning how to build shelters using a range of different equipment. We really enjoyed working in our teams and the final results were brilliant! Later on in the day, we looked at some examples of different artefacts and we talked about how we thought they would have been used in the Stone Age. We also had the opportunity to create a creative piece of cave art using paint. Finally, we finished the day enjoying some delicious marshmallows!!
Great Greeks!
Year 5 have begun to study the history topic – The Ancient Greeks. The children’s learning got off to a flier as a visiting Greek warrior explored a range of exciting themes with the children. Many of the children came dressed as Greek god and goddesses, warriors and citizens. A highlight of the day for them was when Eurithymus (the Greek) demonstrated Spartan weapons and told mythical stories of death, treachery and war! It was an excellent way to begin. The children have continued to to explore their ‘big question' - ‘How can we see the influence of the Ancient Greeks in our modern world?’.
Year 6
What a fantastic start to the new term for Year 6! Year 6 impressed all their parents and carers in their class assemblies this week. The children organised and planned the scripts for the assemblies and proudly showcased their learning from our Front Line topic. The teachers were all very proud of the children's effort and performances.
In English and Science, we have been learning all about how we see and the fascinating process that happens when light enters our eyes. The children were surprised to find out that the image on the back of our retina is actually upside down until the brain flips the image back the right way. The children are planning and writing an explanation text to tell you all about how we see – what this space!
11/11/22 - REMEMBRANCE DAY WORSHIP: CALVERLEY REMEMBERS
This morning the whole school came together to take part in our Remembrance Day Worship. The children showed immense respect throughout the service and the staff were all extremely proud of them all.
The children found out why November 11th is Remembrance Day, why poppies became the symbol of remembrance and heard the poem, "In Flanders Field" read. We also observed a 2-minute silence together.
Each class created a poppy wreath or similar memorial which were processed out to the front of the hall and placed on our memorial space.
In the afternoon a group of children took the poppy wreaths up to Calverley Park with Mr Curran & Mr Hallas and placed them on the War Memorial there where they can of course be seen by parents and members of the public.
Times Table Rock Stars
As a school we subscribe to a fantastic programme called Times Table Rock Stars. This helps the children to learn their times tables in a fun and engaging way. It also includes a programme called Numbots which helps the children to develop other mathematical skills. All the children from Reception to 6 have been given their log in information to allow them to access this, both at home and at school. Please do encourage your children to use this at home to help them with their maths learning at home. We will shortly be giving out certificates in school to encourage the children to learn their times tables. If you have any problems with logging in, please do speak to your child’s class teacher.
Miss O’Hara, Maths Leader
Safeguarding Update
Just a reminder that there is a Safeguarding Team who are responsible for all matters related to Safeguarding and Child Protection. The team includes: Mr Minett who is our Designated Safeguarding Lead, (DSL) as well as Miss O’Hara, Mrs Haigh and Miss Wilkinson. If you are ever concerned about the safety and wellbeing of someone at our school, please come and talk to one of our DSL’s.
Next week is AntI- Bullying Week (14th -18th November), in school. We will start the week with a whole school assembly about this. The theme of the week is ‘Reach Out’ and focusses on what to do if you feel that you or someone else is being bullied. Just a reminder that adults and children can choose to wear odd socks to school on Monday 14th November. This is to celebrate the fact that we are all unique.
We have been dealing with a number of safeguarding incidents in school in the last couple of weeks around the inappropriate use of mobile phones and social media. Please can we ask that if your child has a mobile phone to be vigilant about how your child uses it and the importance of online safety. Please can you continue to be aware that some of the Apps that the children may be using on their phones have a legal minimum age limit. For example, the legal minimum age in the UK to use What’s App is 16. If you would like any further support and advice around the safe and appropriate use of mobile phones and online safety, please look at the school website or come and speak to a member of the Safeguarding Team is school.
Platinum Jubilee Tree Planting
The children were super excited yesterday as they planted trees in our wonderful school grounds. Expertly supported by Mark Harkins - the children dug, scraped and planted a wide variety of species. These trees will be there for generations for everyone in our community to enjoy. The children were also joined by Mrs Chris Sooley, who used to work at Calverley CE for many years until her retirement. She planted trees at the bottom of the school grounds all the way back in 1973! Chris reminisced with the children about her experiences. There was further excitement when a news reporter from the Yorkshire Evening Post arrived - look out for the news item in future editions!
PE & Sport
Year 6 recently took part in a friendly football competition held at Calverley C of E against Farsley Springbank. It was fantastic to see the great sportsmanship on show from all children involved and everyone who played had a great time, even when the rain made it muddier than expected!
Our Kickboxing club started this week and it was awesome to see the children embrace the new opportunity. We started off with some
warm up games, learnt how to strike, put them together in a combo and finished with some group games. All children are looking forward to the next few weeks.
We also had a few sporting superstar visitors in school last week to bring to an end our whole-school inclusion topic based on the RLWC currently being held. We had our librarian, Mrs Harkins, who is a Hockey Masters World Cup medalist for Scotland and has also represented Scotland for Judo talking to Year 5. Year 5 and Year 1 also spoke to Bradford Bulls mens and womens players Jordan Lilley and Manina Spurr, whilst Mr Harkins visited Year 2 to talk about representing Great Britain in Tag Rugby. Year 4 were able to ask questions to Ross Peltier, a member of the Jamaican RL World Cup squad. We also welcomed David Jones, former headteacher and historian, in Year 6 and Victoria Denton, the wife of C of E’s Reverend, with Fudge the therapy dog talking about the inclusion of people struggling with mental health issues in Reception. All the children presented the art and writing they had created during an assembly on Friday; this was based on a country involved in the World Cup and an area of inclusion. All of this could not have been possible without the hard work and organization of Mr Gardner, thank-you.
Wednesday 16th November - 1.30 pm Prospective Parents
Friday 18th November - Children in Need (non-uniform)
Friday 18th November - Friends Christmas Jumper sale
Wednesday 23rd November am - Year 4 Assembly (details to follow)