Reception had such a lovely afternoon last Wednesday, when some owls came to school with Katie from SMJ Falconry. We met Fluffy the tawny owl, Bugs the long eared owl, JD the barn owl and Bobby the little owl. We also learned lots of new owl facts, for example did you know that it takes two tawny owls to make the sound “twit-twoo”? The children explored owl feathers and how these look and feel different to eagle feathers. We watched how one of the owls could fly super silently and everyone took turns to carefully hold Bobby the little owl. It was amazing to feel how light he was! This has then gone on to inspire our classroom learning, as the children helped to create our owl reading display, made fluffy owl collage pictures and also used their phonic knowledge to label an owl diagram. Well done, Reception!
In Year 3, we have been working with Leeds Rhinos over the last couples of weeks to practise and develop our skills in Basketball. We have been working on dribbling a ball in order to keep control and possession in a game. We have also learnt how to use a range of different passes and we have been able to use these skills effectively in mini games. This week, we have worked in teams to play bench ball and we had to make 3 accurate passes in order to try and score. We had to use the space around us really well and work effectively to keep possession of the ball. We have shown excellent team work in our basketball lessons and we are looking forward to building on our skills in the next few weeks!
Can Cook, Will Cook
This week, Year 5 have been channelling their inner Mary Berry and Gordon Ramsey. They have been learning to cook! The week began by exploring the ingredients of bolognese, then finding out about the source of the ingredients. The children learnt about ethical farming practices – thinking about the welfare of animals in a piece of work we called ‘From Farm to Fork’. Later on, they worked as a collaborative group, honing in on their perfect bolognese recipe! After this, the groups worked together in our pop-up kitchen to create their master pieces. The most enjoyable part of the day followed when the children ate their creations!
Year 6 have recently been enjoying their learning in art. At the start of the term, we were inspired by the work of Romero Britto, a Brazillian artist, whose artwork promotes messages of hope, love and understanding. We created our own pieces to promote equality and inclusivity for all in sport, linked to our whole school project all about the Rugby League World Cup. We have also just begun our new art topic: Make my voice heard, which explores Ancient Maya art through to modern-day street art and the children will be looking at how artists convey a message. As part of this unit, we will be exploring imagery, symbols and expressive mark making and consider audience and impact to create powerful drawings to make our voices heard!
Sports Newsletter:
Year 6 boys took part in football World Cup competition against other local schools from across Pudsey. After cruising through the group stages and quarter-finals with four victories, heaps of goals and four clean sheets, we came across our local rivals in the semi-final: Parkside. Early in the game, we conceded our only goal of the tournament, but were denied a chance at penalties through a controversial decision regarding a possible ‘hole’ in the side-netting. All the boys who took part showed fantastic resilience to this set-back and kept putting in 100% to the final whistle. We are eagerly looking forward to the re-match we will no doubt have at some of our other competitions against them.
Year 3/4 girls also took part in a football skills festival, playing against 5 other local schools. They all played fantastically well, sharing the goals, assists and time in goal equally amongst the team. It was brilliant to see everyone trying their best and showing off their awesome skills. It was great to see a lot of them are already part of our local football club, Calverley United.
For some of our children in school on the SEND register, we were able to attend a ten-pin bowling event held at Hollywood Bowl, in conjunction with the Panathalon Foundation. All the children took part in a game of bowling, with the team average used to calculate an overall winner. Unfortunately, we did not win, but our very own Edith was one of the top scorers with 100. Everyone had great fun, taking part and representing our school in a fantastic manner.
Over this half-term, our children in Year 3 have been working with Brad from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and the Leeds Wells Schools Partnership on their basketball skills. They have learned various passing techniques, how to shoot and dribble. Brad will be back in school in the Spring term working with another year group as part of their PE lessons in school.
Friday 2nd December - Non-uniform day in return for raffle donations (details to follow)
Friday 9th December - The Friends of Calverley CE School Christmas Day & School Christmas Lunch - See separate sheet for other Christmas Festivities.