DRAGONS ATTACK! 'Dragons' were the focus of our latest 'Igniting Writing' theme. The topic fired the children's imaginations and inspired their writing. Many of the final stories were entered into the BBC Radio 2 500 words competition which provided a real purpose for writing. Year 6 researched different types of dragons and then went dragon hunting on Burley Moor. The experience really helped their writing, providing lots of describing words for very cold, very wet and very windy!!! Year 5s and Year 3s worked together to make Play Dough models. The recipe for the dough wasn't up to scratch but much fun was had by all creating a somewhat sloppier version of a dragon than was first planned! The models were then used as a starting point for their story writing. Year 2 worked with Year 4 and created giant scales which were then combined to create one huge dragon. Year 2 continued the theme back in their classroom where they created paper mâchÊ dragon eggs and produced instructions on how to make them. In Reception and Year 1, Igniting Writing motivated the children to describe their own dragon which they had already drawn and made models of.
THE LUCKY VIKING Year 3/4 wowed their audience with a performance of a musical titled the 'Lucky Viking'. The story followed Leif the Lucky, one of the unluckiest Vikings in his village. He decided to prove himself a successful explorer by finding the mythical new land spotted by a merchant, 15 years before. With the help of the Norse Gods, Odin and Thor, Leif finally made it to the new land, which he called Vinland. However, Loki God of Mischief persuaded the local people to fight off this new Viking invasion.
WORLD BOOK DAY The children helped celebrate World Book Day by coming to school in their pajamas (or for the majority - onesies!) as this year's event was focused on the promotion of bedtime stories. We were joined by Vicky Orton, a story teller, who visited every class and completed a whole school assembly sharing some of her fabulous stories.
HABITAT HEROES We continue to build our partnership with Habitat Heroes to help develop and learn from our school's natural environment. This term, 1B and 5/6CS worked together to create bird feeders and to go out bird spotting. It was the first time Habitat Heroes had ever run the session in a school and a heron landed in the school's grounds! 5/6S developed the skills of willow weaving which they will now keep applying to our willow dome, fence and tunnel. 3/4BM worked in the outdoor classroom renovating our minibeast hotel.
5/6 MEDIA TRIP Some of our Year 5/6 children spent a day in Bradford studying Media. The morning was spent at the Media Museum where they had the opportunity to look around the museum and take part in a workshop looking at how TV programmes are made. In the afternoon they went to the Alhambra Theatre to see a production of James and the Giant Peach.
"THE VIKINGS ARE COMING!" As part of their Learning Challenge Curriculum, Year 3/4 have been answering the question, "Did Vikings wear horned helmets?". To enhance their learning, the children spent a day as a Viking at Murton Park. The photos show what a great fun and educational day was had by all.
PEDAL POWER Our school is currently taking part in the 'Big Pedal' which is a campaign to encourage children to cycle or scoot to school. Over the last few weeks, our cycle shelter has been overflowing as the children compete in an inter school competition based on the number of children cycling or scooting each day. To help encourage the children further, on the first day our 'Bike It Officer' Emily ran a raffle with some great bike-related prizes. Emily also ran a 'Bling your Bike' competition where the children had to decorate their bike in a spring style - well done to everyone who turned up on a very unspring-like day!
ON THE BUSES Year 6 visited the Metro Culture Fusion Centre in Bradford to complete a workshop which helped them prepare for using public transport, prior to their transition to secondary school. They learnt about staying safe and how to plan journeys.
CLOSE UP SCIENCE As part of Year 5/6's Learning Challenge (How will I look in 2050?) the children have been looking at the organs in the body. Parent and science teacher, Mrs Day, supported the children with their learning by completing a dissection session. The children got a close up view of the heart and lungs of a sheep. They gained a lot from the sessions and showed that they have strong stomachs too! Thanks Mrs Day for giving up your time.
FORSTER HERITAGE TRAIL A group of Year 5 children are currently working on a project with local historian, Dr Denis Warwick, to help raise awareness of the campaign to replace William Forster's headstone. They have completed two history walks with Dr Warwick where they have learnt about the story of William Forster. Their challenge is now to create a history trail which people can follow around Burley to find out about Forster - the owner of Greenholme Mills and the man who created the Education Act in 1870 which was the start of compulsory education.
YOUNG VOICES In January, 44 of our Year 5/6 choir members had an amazing day at Sheffield Arena - taking part in a Young Voices concert. The day started with over 5000 children meeting in the Arena for a rehearsal of the songs they had been learning in school. On the night, the arena was packed full of children, their families and teachers. The children sang a wide variety of songs, including classical, rock, pop and gospel. The audience were also treated to a performance by Randolph Matthews and the African Children’s Choir who joined the children to perform their Diamond Jubilee hit ‘Sing’.
"USE IT OR LOSE IT!" A selection of our Year 5 children worked with Year 6 children from Burley Woodhead School on a joint project with Burley and District Chamber of Trade. The aim of the project was part of the 'Use it or Lose it' campaign and allowed the children to investigate and increase awareness of the wide range of businesses that operate in Burley. By the end of the project, the children had produced presentations which highlighted their discoveries.
SPORTING SUCCESS A huge well done to our Year 6 Girls' Football Team (which included some Year 5 girls!) who won the Wharfe Valley Football Cup after a fantastic tournament at Ben Rhydding Astro Turf. The cup tournament came at the end of a league that the children have played in since September. Well done for winning the cup and taking part in all the league matches on Friday nights - many of which were freezing cold, with torrential rain or both! The Year 6 Boys' Football Team have also finished their league. Although the league table suggests we were not very successful any spectators would tell you that their effort, enjoyment, team spirit and development has made it hugely successful. Other sporting competitions we have entered this term have included dodgeball, handball and netball. Many of our children have also entered the inter school cross country competitions which run on a Saturday morning. A special well done to William (pictured left); he won all the races that he entered. A big well done also to our tennis star, William (pictured right), who plays for Ilkley Tennis club. This year he has won a league which was based on 7 tournaments - he won 46 out of his 49 matches. WOW!
MUSICAL SOIREE Our Musical Soiree is the opportunity for the children who have music lessons in or out of school to showcase their talents. We had over fifty children take part on a wide range of instruments including acoustic and electric guitar, cello, drums and piano.
RED NOSE DAY A huge well done to Year 6 girls Lucy, Aimee M, Amy B, Roxana and Maya for raising ÂŁ155.82 for Red Nose Day by holding a cake sale. It was great to see that the girls felt strongly about supporting the charity and used all their enterprise skills to independently organise, promote and run such a successful event.
E - SAFETY This term we have been reviewing e-safety in our school. We have looked at how we teach it and the procedures we have in school to ensure that we are 'e-safe'. We will be using this magazine in future editions to share with you the work we are doing. Look out at the start of next term for our first ever E-Safety day. If you want help and advice on how to help your children be safer when using the internet, this website offers helpful advice: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/Primary/
PIRATES ATTACK BYRON Our Year 1 children, and pupils from Burley Woodhead, travelled to Byron Primary School for a fabulous pirate themed day. Children took part in 3 team building activities – building a pirate ship, completing a treasure hunt and taking part in pirate PE games. At lunchtime, they enjoyed a shared picnic in the hall. A great time was had by all – our children didn’t want to come home! We look forward to welcoming our new friends from Byron back to Burley Oaks soon.
RECEPTION'S LEARNING Reception started off the Spring Term thinking about the topic of water. They investigated floating, sinking, freezing and thawing. The Chinese New Year was another area of learning celebrating Chinese culture with a morning of creative dragon activities shared with Year 1 children. The children enjoyed wearing their Chinese animal masks in the classroom and also in their parade. The 'Chop Stick Challenge' proved very competitive. They finished off the term licking their lips with pancakes and tasty fillings to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. The 'Open Afternoon' provided to be a huge success. Our Reception children acted as guides for their parents, showing them around the unit and explaining what they had been learning. After half term they began their Spring topic, finding out about eggs and what might come out of them. They had a Spring walk to look for the 'Signs of Spring' and artist Marie Parry came into school to show the children how she creates her pictures. We then had an afternoon making observational drawings of spring flowers. Finally, the 'Hatch it!' chicks were delivered. hatched in one night! All are healthy and noisy!
Seven
PTA NEWS Once again our PTA have been tirelessly busy running and organising events to raise funds for our school. Because of their hard work, they have been able to support the school financially, with two of our projects, by donating £3000 to each. The first project was to improve the ball court - a suggestion from the School Council. The area now has goals, basketball hoops and target boards. In the playground is a new musical board. The second project is to install large sliding doors between the hall and the dining hall. To be able to join up the two large spaces will make a huge difference to our larger events when we have class assemblies and performances. This term, money was raised through the Quiz and Curry Night and through the children's discos. The events to look out for next term are: o Spring Ball – Saturday 27th April o Summer Fair – Saturday 29th June o Bags to school- Wednesday 10th July Tickets are now on sale for the Spring Ball. This year has a 'Hollywood' theme and guarantees to be a fantastic night out with live music and a superb meal. Keep any eye on the PTA notice board in the entrance hall and follow them on twitter (@BOPSA1) to get the latest news. The next PTA meeting is on Monday 29th April at 7:30pm. Everyone is welcome - please come along. Our PTA numbers are dwindling, without extra help (however small) we may be unable to organise as many events in the future.