A message from Miss Quarmby
Well, we have certainly kick-started this half term with a bang! Our WOW mornings were such a fabulous way to start the half term, and I must thank all of the staff involved for their outstanding commitment to making them purposeful, memorable and exciting for our children. It was most definitely my favourite day at Whitkirk for a long, long time, and it's something that we intend to continue the first morning of each new half term. Then, before we knew it, we were at Thursday and celebrating World Book Day. As you know, we've had a focus on classical texts this half term, so children have covered texts from Alice in Wonderland to the Secret Garden to Dracula.
Thank you for your patience whilst we’ve been finalising our staffing succession plans following the changes that have taken place at our school. As promised, I am now able to share with you exciting information regarding the Deputy Headteacher post at Whitkirk. Mr Sadler, from Templenewsam Halton Primary School, will join Whitkirk after the Easter holidays. Mr Sadler is highly thought of within our Trust and local community due to being a longstanding teacher and member of the leadership team at our most local primary school. Mr Sadler’s post will be a secondment until at least August 2023 in the first instance. We’re excited for him to join our Whitkirk family, and strengthen our collaborative work within the Trust between ourselves and Templenewsam Halton Primary School. Here is a message from Mr Sadler himself:
Hi! My name is Mr Sadler. I'm so excited to be joining the Whitkirk family; I've heard many great things about what goes on at the school and I can't wait to see it all first-hand! I grew up on a farm in Cheshire, but now live in Bradford. Up until now, I've taught in schools across Leeds, Bradford and Harrogate and am currently a teacher at Templenewsam Halton Primary. Outside of teaching, I love performing, baking and running (although not all at the same time!). I look forward to meeting you all very soon.
As always, as soon as Mr Sadler starts after Easter, he will be outside on the playground before and after school for you to begin to get to know him too. Mrs Lovell, our new SENCO, has also started this week and it feels as though she's always been a part of our team. You will also find her outside at the end of the school day, either on Templegate Walk or the Whitkirk field entrance/ exit, so please do come and say hello, she would love to meet you all.
Finally, whilst we are geographically far away from the events currently taking place in Ukraine, we know that some of our families will be directly affected and may have families or roots in the region. The news and social media feeds are filled with the latest information, and some of it is very upsetting and worrying. Children listening and viewing distressing images can become frightened and fearful. Here are two resources that you may find useful if you're discussing this with your child at home:
- Supporting your child if they see upsetting content online about what is happening in Ukraine (Childnet) https://www.childnet.com/blog/supporting-your-child-with-upsetting-content/
- Help for teachers and families to talk to pupils about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how to help them avoid misinformation (Department for Education) https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/25/help-for-teachers-and-families-to-talk-to-pupils-about-russias-invasion-of-ukraine-and-how-to-help-them-avoid-misinformation/
Wow Days!
What a start to our half term! On Monday morning, excitement filled the air as the children took part in their "Wow Day" to launch their curriculum theme. Every classroom was set up, ready for the children to discover what their Big Idea would be for this half term. From Ancient Greek athletes to archaeologists, the children had a fantastic morning immersing themselves into their new learning. Each curriculum theme will now begin with a 'Big Idea'. This gives the purpose and context to the ideas behind 'why' we are learning this. Our Wow Days aim to inspire thought, promote questions and give all children the motivation and aspiration to find out more. Here is a snapshot of what we got up to -
Reception - Was it a happily ever after?
In Reception, the children entered the classroom to find lots of mysterious objects. They worked together and identified that the items all liked to traditional tales. The children then went on a hut around school to find different traditional tales. They found, Jack and the Beanstalk, including big giant feet and a beanstalk!' Little Red Riding Hood' with a wolf in grandmas night cap! 'The Gingerbread Man', and lots of gingerbread feet in the flour. Finally, 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff', a bridge and a terrifying troll! The children mapped out their findings using a map and impressed all EYFS staff with their spelling, and map skills. By the end of the morning, the children were extremely excited for their learning this term and were exploring their new role play castle in the classroom using key vocabulary from the texts that they read throughout the morning.
Year 1 - Why did the Great Fire of London spread?
Year 1 were welcomed into classroom as detectives and discovered a letter from Police Inspector Horton asking them to interview and investigate who could have started The Great Fire of London. We were very suspicious of the clumsy baker, Thomas Farriner. We then used our chronology skills to look at events which have happened in the past and put them in order using a timeline. We looked at how London has changed and built our own Stuart houses to be added to a London street. The children were very surprised by how close together the houses were, you could almost touch your neighbour who lived in the house opposite!
Year 2 - What can we learn from Mary Anning?
Year 2’s ‘Wow Morning’ was full of sand, fossils, bones, and dinosaur talk! We learnt how Mary Anning was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist. We sifted through sand to discover fossils just like Mary Anning. We dug for dinosaur bones and recorded our discoveries. When Mary Anning was only 12 years old, Anning and her brother made their first big discovery when they dug up a complete Icthyosaurus skull. In class we recreated Mary Anning’s discovery by making our own ‘Stickyosaurus’ using salt dough. Year 2 are all pioneering palaeontologists in the making!
Year 3 - What was the greatest achievement of Ancient Egypt?
Year 3 began by learning about where Egypt is located, as well as where the Ancient Egyptians fit on a timeline. Our first activity explored the historical concept of chronology, through placing events on a timeline. We learnt that there is a cross-over with the Ancient Egyptians and the Stone Age! After this, we learnt some new vocabulary linked to our topic. We completed a fun VocAppulary activity! Then, we created sarcophagus' in groups using gold paint and bright blue paint. In the afternoon, we received a very special delivery from Egypt! It contained Egyptian artefacts and introduced us to our new class text, Flat Stanley and the Great Egyptian Grave Robbery.
Year 4 - What is the legacy of the Ancient Greeks?
The children took part in the Ancient Olympic Games as a citizen from the city-states of Athens and Sparta. Throughout the morning, they discovered the difference between growing up in Athens and Sparta which helped them to really get in role when they began the games. Some of the events they took part in were (thumb) wrestling, chariot racing and javelin.
Year 5- How did the Industrial Revolution change Leeds?
The children were met with a variety of objects on their tables when they entered the room. These ranged from untreated wool, coal and images of canals, mills and spinning Jennies. We then investigated how these were linked to the growth of Leeds. The children then took on the role of a Victorian who lived in a slum area of Leeds. These were researched from the 1832 census. They then found out how many people lived in a room, what grim jobs people did and how unhealthy Victorian Leeds was. Later in the morning, Mr Stout took on the role of a generous Victorian Mill owner (Titus Salt) and children were able to ask him a variety of questions about working conditions.
Year 6 - How has our attitude to Crime and Punishment changed?
Year 6 found out that there had been a break in at Temple Moor High School over the Christmas holidays (all fictional of course!) and the culprits were still at large! After listening to statements from the 3 suspects (Mr Sheriff - RedKite CEO, Mr West - Headteacher at TMHS and Miss Cowlard - Teacher at TMHS), they were given the task of investigating the evidence left including fingerprints and ink samples using modern investigation techniques. Ask a Year 6 who they discovered the criminal to be - we think you will be as shocked as we were!
Attendance
This week, we have 3 classes with 100% attendance! What an amazing first week back! Well done to our winners, 1JL, 2KDI & 6RM. In second place, it’s RJS with 99.5% and third place is 4AR with 98.1%. A big well done to all these classes. A special mention to 3NT who are the most improved attendance from before half term. Going from 82.6% to 90.8%. This is so great to see, Year 3, but remember, we can still be much higher than 90.8%. Our whole school attendance at Whitkirk this week is 96.1%. Let’s see if we can beat this next week! The only way to do this is for everyone to come into school as much as they can. See you all next week for another fantastic week of learning.