A Message From Miss Quarmby
Hello! It’s been a very proud week here at Whitkirk. As part of the Red Kite Alliance, we take part in a Peer Review every two years, which provides valuable external validation of our work as a school. Following their visit on Wednesday, the team were extremely impressed. They spent time exploring English with Miss Dougan across Key Stage 2, Maths in Early Years and Key Stage 1 with Mrs Moxon, Pre-School with Miss Emery, History with Miss Tomlinson and Miss Odor, and Inclusion with Mrs Downes. They were particularly proud of our children’s learning behaviours, amazed by the quality of some of our writers, and loved seeing how strong foundations are built in Early Years – including Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle. They also praised the leadership team’s strong knowledge of the school and the shared passion across the team to be the very best we can be – something we truly live and breathe every day. Slightly less cheery news: we have received an update from Leeds City Council confirming that they are now processing third‑year attendance penalty notices. This applies where a child has 10 unauthorised absences (the equivalent of 5 school days) within a 10‑week period, commonly known as “10 in 10”. In the majority of cases, this relates to families who have already received attendance fines in previous years, most often for taking holidays during term time, and who are now reaching the threshold for a third fine. Regular attendance is essential. Time away from school, even for short periods, has a significant and lasting impact on children’s learning, progress and wellbeing, and missed learning cannot be recovered. Where families are experiencing difficulties that may affect attendance, we encourage early communication with school so that support can be offered. Looking ahead to next week, Year 6 are heading off on their residential, and we are delighted to be hosting the Year 5 Leeds Debating Competition here at Whitkirk on Thursday. Have a super weekend!
Parkrun Primary
Since becoming a Parkrun Primary School, many of our children have been reaching fantastic running milestones. Over the past two Sundays, Miss Emery joined Oscar and Joseph as they achieved their Half Marathon milestones -an amazing 13.1 miles of running through Parkrun! It has been wonderful to see so many Whitkirk children taking part each week. We are incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, dedication and healthy habits our children and families are building together. Well done to everyone!
Attendance
This week, finishing in first place with 99.07% are 1VM. In second place are 4AB, with 98.86% and in third place are RJS with 98.75%. A shout out also goes to RLE, 1LR, 2CH, 3RD, 3JC and 5AS who have also finished the week above our school target of 96.5%. The whole school attendance this week is 96.54%: can we beat this next week? The only way to do that is if we all come to school as often as we can. Please remember look at the NHS guide Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk) This is used to determine which reasons for absence will be authorised or unauthorised.
let's take a look at what each year group has been up to this week!
EYFS
This week, our Pre-school children have been full of wiggles! They have practised this movement as the Squiggle of the Week, developing the muscles in their hands and bodies to prepare them to become superstar writers! Throughout the week, the children enjoyed wiggling to music with flipper-flappers and exploring lots of different ways to make marks with a range of tools. Inspired by our artist of the half term, Hervé Tullet, the children collaborated to layer wiggles on large rolls of paper and discovered how the colours mixed where their bright lines crossed over one another.
This term and into the summer term, the children will be learning all about life cycles. A kind Reception family brought in some frog spawn for us so the children could watch the changes happen right in our classroom. Over the past two weeks, the children have already seen the frog spawn change from tiny eggs into wriggling tadpoles. It has been lovely to see how excited they are each morning to check on them and see what has changed. The children have been having some wonderful conversations, sharing what they notice and asking lots of questions. It has been fantastic to see their curiosity and excitement as they watch the tadpoles grow and change.
LOWER SCHOOL
In Year 1, we’ve had a fun and busy week full of exploring and discovering! In maths, we measured using non‑standard units and were introduced to centimetres. We took this learning into Forest School, measuring natural objects with tape measures. In science, we investigated plants and had a closer look at their roots.
This week, Year 2 have been busy exploring measuring in metres and centimetres during their maths lessons. In science, the children created their own food chains and enjoyed learning how animals and plants depend on one another. They also compared different sources to discover how life in the past differs from the present in their history work.
In Year 3, we have been enjoying writing instructions on 'How to train your Dragon'. We have used time adverbials, subordinating clauses and imperative verbs to inform dragon trainers! In Science, we investigated what makes a shadow darker. Using our torches and various objects, we found that opaque objects make the darkest shadows!
UPPER school
Year 4 have really impressed us so far this half term with their descriptive writing. Using Charlotte's Web as a stimulus, we have been crafting sentences using key grammatical features, e.g. fronted adverbials, modal verbs, subordinate conjunctions. The children's creative ideas and powerful vocabulary means that whoever reads their sentences has a really clear picture painted in their mind. Great work Year 4... you are authors in the making!
In Year 5 English this week, we used a 'conscience alley' to explore what Macbeth might have been thinking as he debated whether to kill King Duncan. The children took on the role of the different voices in his mind, giving reasons for and against the idea as Macbeth walked through the middle. We were really impressed with the children’s positive attitude to learning and the brilliant teamwork they showed throughout the activity.
Year 6 have had a really creative this week, whether it's been writing about a factory accident during the Industrial Revolution, exploring TinkerCad to create 3D computer designs, or becoming 'bridges' in gymnastics lessons. No matter what challenge we throw their way, we are always impressed by their resilience and ability to adapt to new learning. Well done Year 6!