The Gates Primary SchoolYear 4- Woodpeckers: Blog items
Lower Key Stage 2 - School Councillors
Date: 6th Oct 2020 @ 12:49pm
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School Council Elections -
Lower Key Stage 2 have held their elections this week! The children produced some fantastic written speeches which were read and spoken so very well. The teachers were extremely proud of the way the children committed themselves and there were some extremely talented and very honest individuals. Some of these could have easily made it to parliament! Well done to all who put themselves forward.
Woodpeckers - Times tables challenge
Date: 25th Sep 2020 @ 9:25am
Mrs Latham set the children the challenge of creating arrays to show the 3 times table. We had great fun creating arrays and models using lego, loom bands and even breakfast cereal.
Woodpeckers Setting Descriptions
Date: 25th Sep 2020 @ 9:16am
The Woodpecker class have been enjoying their new class novel 'Running Wild' by Michael Morpurgo. We have come across some excellent descriptions of the settings within the story. We have used these descriptions to create our own pictures of what we think the setting will look like.
We then labelled our work to show the description taken from the text.
Date: 25th Sep 2020 @ 9:08am
This term the Woodpecker class are busy learning about 'The Rainforest'. Already we have had some brilliant homework sent in from rainforest jars to pictures galore and even a model of an elephant.
Beautiful work children!
Science in the Woodpecker Class
Date: 18th Sep 2020 @ 4:10pm
The woodpeckers have had a great afternoon classifying vertebrates. They even made their own classification key choosing their own questions .
Date: 18th Sep 2020 @ 1:01pm
The woodpecker class have been working super hard! In Maths we have been working hard to master the column method for addition. In a English we have started our new novel and made some story cubes to show some of our favourite books.
We are getting used to our classroom routines now and all of the children are presenting their work beautifully and showing excellent attitudes towards their learning.
Date: 18th Sep 2020 @ 12:45pm
We have had a wonderful week this week. All of the children have worked really hard and have made a great start in their new class!
Here are this week's superstars.
Our star for this week has works really hard and always joins in with the class discussions. That golden jumper is well deserved!
We also have 2 children who were nominated for the headteacher's award. Both children have worked really hard, have brilliant manners and have made great start to the year.
Well done to our superstars this week!
Date: 10th Sep 2020 @ 12:33pm
The Woodpecker class have had a fantastic week back. It has been amazing to see all the children together in class and we have had lots of fun!
We have completed some Maths activities and created some story cubes based on the story from one of the books read in class this week.
We have also created dream jars, had a go at some Science and decorated hands to show what we can do to be kind.
Woodpeckers New Class Blog 17th July
Date: 16th Jul 2020 @ 9:19pm
Good morning Woodpeckers,
Today is our last class blog before the holidays. Thank you for all of your hard work over the past 2 weeks, it has been brilliant to get to know a bit more about you all.
We hope that you all have a fantastic summer and make lots of memories. We can't wait to hear all about you time away from school in September. If you do go anywhere or do anything which you would like to share in class in September, we would love to hear your stories. Perhaps you could bring in some pictures or objects to share too.
Here is one last fun task which you may like to try at home! Enjoy :)
Draw a black dot about the size of a £2 coin on a piece of blank paper. Now we want you to turn this dot into some art. I have attached some images to give you an idea but we would love to see what you can come up with. What will your dot become?
Have a great day. See you in September Woodpeckers!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Woodpeckers New Class Blog 16.7.20
Date: 15th Jul 2020 @ 8:30pm
Happy Thursday Woodpeckers!
Your work yesterday was amazing, you have all worked so hard. Well done.
Today’s task:
Today we would like you to make an imagination portrait. In the bottom right hand corner, draw or stick a picture of yourself.
Then, draw a cloud and inside it draw all the things that you can imagine. The pictures can be anything! What do you like to think about? Do you have any special places or people in your mind that you could draw? Take a look at this image for more ideas.
Don’t forget to blog them so that we can see you wonderful work. We would love to display these in September too so keep them somewhere safe for when we return.
Enjoy your day children!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Woodpeckers New Home Learning 15.7.20
Date: 14th Jul 2020 @ 9:01pm
Good morning Woodpeckers,
It is already halfway through the week, we can't quite believe how quickly our transition days are flying by!
We have really enjoyed our Zoom chats with you this week children, thank you so much to each and every one of you who joined us. It was lovely to see you all.
Today's task continues from yesterday. We asked you to research a topic which you are really interested in and then create a poster to show everything that you have found. Here is an example:
Enjoy your day!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Woodpeckers Home Learning 14.7.20
Date: 13th Jul 2020 @ 3:54pm
Happy Tuesday children!
Super work yesterday, we were very impressed yesterday by your creativeness. Superstars! Take a look at some of the dream homes sent in. Imagine living in some of these! We have also shared a couple of the book reviews from Friday.
Great house Emmy! I love the different rooms and good use of colour for each one.
Felix built his from Lego and his house has a secret lever!
Hayden included a car and garage in his dream house - great idea Hayden!
So much detail Keiji, I love all the different rooms and yours even has a lift.
Bea completed her book review about her favourite book. So much detail Bea.
Eli also shared his book review. I love the illustration Eli. Well done.
We have really enjoyed the Zoom calls with those children in the Monday groups. We are looking forward to the Tuesday Zoom meets later today.
Today’s task:
This is a 2 day task so will take up today and tomorrow. We would like you to tell us all about something that you are interested in. Maybe you are really interested in a certain sport or hobby, perhaps you enjoy finding out about animals and nature, maybe Science or History is something you enjoy.
We would like you to research and find out more about what it is you enjoy. You could do this today and make notes (habitat, diet, different breeds, looking after them - animals OR sports equipment, different moves, competing, famous athletes etc - sports).
Then tomorrow, you could make a poster or do some writing to tell us all about what it is you enjoy. Make it really detailed and as bright and colourful as you can. Try to use pictures and words to show and tell people all about your subject.
We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Woodpeckers Home Learning 13.7.20
Date: 13th Jul 2020 @ 8:58am
Good morning Woodpeckers!
Welcome to a new week. I really enjoyed getting to know you all last week and I have some more exciting tasks for you to complete this week!
Today’s task:
If you could live anywhere, where would it be? Build, draw or paint your dream house. Perhaps it’s a castle or a tree house. Maybe it is as tall as the sky and has a slide for you to reach the bottom.
Write 5 sentences about your house to tell us more about it. Talk about the colour, the rooms, the height, the size ….anything you like
Don’t forget to blog them when you have finished. Keep them somewhere safe for September too!
Zoom Calls:
Just a reminder that our zoom transition calls are today and tomorrow. Don't forget to bring something that is special to you and as it's the first time I have met some of you, please make sure the name shown on the screen is your own and not a parents.
Have a a great day!
Mrs Latham
Date: 10th Jul 2020 @ 8:40am
Today will be our last day of the Virtual Health and Fitness Week - in my opinion it's the best one yet. I would like to start by thanking all of you who participated and challenged yourself this week. I have honestly been blown away by how many people participated this week and I hope that you have all had fun. Hopefully, some of you may have taken something from this week that has inspired you to try and make every week a Health and Fitness week in the future!
Activities for today
1) Let's get warmed up with a 5 minute workout from Joe.
If you are feeling an extra challenge - you could try one of his full workouts on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m5DlVnxLjk
2) Activity Bingo - today is your last day to finish the activity bingo - can you get gold?
3) Balloon Tennis -
Challenge someone in your house to a game of balloon tennis! I used two chairs and tied a piece of string to make a net. If not, a piece of string, ribbon, scrunched up t-shirt etc. would do the job! Try not to let the balloon land on your side of the 'net'!
Extra challenge - tie an old rag or dishcloth into a knot and use that as a slightly heavier 'ball'. You could use an even heavier pair of socks for an even harder challenge!
Water Bucket Shuttle Run
I saw this idea on Twitter and thought this would be great fun. Get two buckets, one empty and one full. Place them at opposite ends of the your garden. See how much water can you transport to the other in 5 minutes. Measure the water you have transported at the end and let me know how you got on - I am going to give this a go tomorrow! (A bit of Maths involved in there for you too Mr Simpson!)
@PEStJamesNN5 PE challenge with wather and sponge made Wiktor very tired and excited;););) Enjoyed so much !!! pic.twitter.com/l6Sg1Tiiqo
— joanna (@joasia8522) April 27, 2020
Home Olympics - Final Event
In my opinion - the hardest yet! They may look simple but this is a very tiring activity which will test your core stregth and stamina. This is a core activity that many professional athletes do daily to help keep them super fit and healthy.
The task is to see how many you can do in one minute.
Have a rest in between and try this 3-5 times to see how high you can get your score!
There will be a survey sent out on School Spider later today to submit your final scores for the week. Then we can see which class has won this years Home Olympics!
Have a great day everyone. I hope you enjoy the activities planned. Send in your pictures and videos for me to check out and repost.
Mr Horsley
Here's a video I found which might brighten up your morning...
Woodpeckers New Class Home Learning 10.7.20
Date: 9th Jul 2020 @ 4:29pm
Happy Friday Woodpeckers!
I hope that you have all enjoyed your first week following your new class blog. You have worked super hard and myself and Miss Wardle are mightily impressed. Here are some more star work shares:
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These are just a handful of pieces, we have been spoilt for choice. Keep sharing your wonderful work Woodpeckers!
Today's task:
Today we would like you to complete a book review about your favourite book from yesterday. Use a piece of A4 paper. Draw a picture and write the title of your book in the centre. Then, around the outside, use bubbles, sections or clouds to tell us about the characters, setting, the main events and why you like it. When you have finished, colour it in! Don’t forget to blog it when you have finished.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
HEALTH AND FITNESS WEEK - DAY 4
Date: 9th Jul 2020 @ 8:41am
Good morning everyone!
I absolutely loved seeing your Yoga pictures yesterday. There were some amazing efforts across school and at home in the Washing Basket Challenge - it is safe to say that I did not win with my wonderful score of 4. Congratulations to Miss Southern who won the teachers competition - she scored 27!
Today's activities
1) Activity Bingo
Remember to try and tick off as many activities as you can! I've seen some great photos of your activities at home so far.
2) Mindfulness Day
Being healthy is not just about looking after your body, it's about looking after your mind. Although exercise is one of the best things you can do to keep a healthy mind, it is also important to be mindful and take time to think about the world around you - something which can be very difficult with the pace of modern life and the lure of technology/screens.
Here are some activities which can help us to be mindful, maybe you could try one today.
Click here for more details on these activities.
https://biglifejournal.com/blogs/blog/5-fun-mindfulness-activities-children-breathing-exercises
Some other activities:
1) Yoga is also an excellent activity for both your mind and your bodies. If you enjoyed it yesterday, try this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZpkRAcgws4
2)Meditation is a nice way to relax and relieve anxiety after a busy day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOHcGF1Tmc
3) Colouring! Spend 15-20 minutes colouring simple patterns. This is a great way to focus your mind on a relaxing task.
4) Turn your phones off and go on a nice walk - what sounds can you hear?
Activity 2 - Horizontal Rock Climbing
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Find as many pairs of clean shoes or socks and scatter them across your carpet like grips on a rock climbing wall.
Can you try to get across the carpet by only placing your hands and feet on the shoes/socks?
You could challenge each in your house by making tricky routes for them to pass through.
For an extra challenge - try and keep your body as low to the floor as possible when moving. Can you try and make a course around your whole house? You could be creative with what you use for grips - phone cases, shin pads, books, coffee cup lids 
.
Try and make it as long/tricky as possible and send me what you have done!
Home Olympics Challenge - Day 4 - Star Jump Challenge
This challenge is simple as it only includes one movement, however it will test your stamina and quick footwork.
How many can you complete in one minute? Keep a record of your scores to complete tomorrow.
I will try my attempt this morning and then post the teacher scores later on in the day - keep posted!
Good luck everyone and have a great day!
Mr Horsley
Have a great, active day everyone. Keep sending in your pictures and videos.
Mr Horsley
Woodpeckers New Class Home Learning 9.7.20
Date: 8th Jul 2020 @ 6:46pm
Happy Thursday Woodpeckers!
We’ve nearly completed a whole week on our new class blog. Thank you so much for everything that you have blogged so far. A big shout out to Lucas, Harrison, Eli, Keiji, Max and Isabelle for their fact posters about Woodpeckers yesterday. We definitely learned something new. Take a look at some of them:
Today’s task is all about reading.
What is your favourite book? Do you have a book ready to recommend to another child in our class?
Your task is to draw a picture of the cover of your favourite book and colour it in. Just like this:
"My favourite book is Harry Potter because I love the description used by the author when she describes the characters and the settings. I particulary love the description of Hogwarts."
Once you have drawn your book cover, I would like you to then blog it and write on your blog about why you like this book. A bit like I have done above.
You could always make a book mark too, to use when you are reading at home or in school.
Health and Fitness Week
Don't forget to follow Mr Horsley's posts. Perhaps you could create your own game to play in the garden!
Have a great day!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Date: 8th Jul 2020 @ 9:29am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucaUU7-9N9o
Whats the highest score you can get?
I'm going to keep on trying until I improve! Rolled up socks and a washing basket will be perfect for this challenge!
HEALTH AND FITNESS WEEK - DAY 3
Date: 8th Jul 2020 @ 8:42am
Good morning everyone!
What an amazing day again yesterday - I cannot believe how many photos and videos were submitted yesterday. I'm so impressed with the effort and resilience I have seen displayed at home - it looks like we have some excellent jumpers in school and some excellent dancers in school...although if you ask my Bubble they might not have appreciated my Bollywood dance moves so much yesterday.
Today's activities
1) Activity Bingo
Remember to try and tick off as many activities as you can!
2) Let's get dancing!
There are two Yoga sessions for you to try today - one aimed at KS1 and one aimed at KS2. Why don't you try and research about Yoga first before you try it. Where was it created? What is it used for? Why is it good for you?
.Yoga always surprises me with how tiring it actually is! It is great for your body and mind.
KS1 - Yoga https://imoves.com/home-learning/1329
KS2 - Yoga https://imoves.com/home-learning/1339
Home Olympics - Event 3 - Washing Basket Throw Challenge
Today's event will test your throwing and your agility!
For this task:
1) Find a washing basket, box, bucket - any target you can find around the house
2) Find three rolled up pairs of socks.
3) Stand 9 steps back from the target.
4) Set a timer to one minute - when you start, throw the three bean bags and sprint to collect them. Then run back to your throwing point.
5) Repeat until the timer runs out - count how many pairs of socks you get in the target.
6) Keep a record of your best scores for Friday. Challenge other people in your house to see what they can get.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucaUU7-9N9o
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Have a great, active day everyone. Keep sending in your pictures and videos.
Mr Horsley
Woodpeckers New Class Blog 8.7.20
Date: 7th Jul 2020 @ 4:05pm
Good morning Woodpeckers!
We were really impressed yesterday with your self-portraits, you are very creative! Well done children and please continue to share what you get up to at home :)
Today’s task:
We are in the Woodpecker class. What can you find out about woodpeckers?
Search on the Internet or look in a book and find out what you can about this wonderful bird. Can you find out:
What do they eat? Where do they hunt to find their food?
Where they live? Why do they live there?
Do they have certain colours or patterns in their feathers?
Do the males and females look the same or do they have different colours or markings?
Then present your findings. You could draw a picture of a woodpecker, write a paragraph or some sentences about them, brainstorm facts or make a fact file. Here is an example completed yesterday by a child from one of the other KS2 classes:
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Don’t forget to blog you work and keep them safe ready to bring them into school in September. We can’t wait to see you in the Woodpecker class!
Health and Fitness Week
Please take a look at Mr Horsley's blog about Health and Fitness week for some activities to try at home.
Have a great day! Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Date: 7th Jul 2020 @ 4:00pm
Well done to all of the new Woodpecker class for their excellent work over the past 2 days. Your self potraits especially have blown our socks off! We are so impressed by the detail which you have added and the colours used.
Here are some star work shares just for you!
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Well done children, thank you for sharing. Please continue to share on the blog the work that you complete at home. We love to see it!
It was also lovely to speak to parents today. If you didn't get the chance, we will be in touch before the end of term.
Have a lovely evening!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Health and Fitness Week - Day 2
Date: 7th Jul 2020 @ 8:39am
Good morning everyone!
I was so blown away by your responses at home to yesterdays challenges. It seems like so many of you got involved and really enjoyed challenging yourself and others. I have attached some pictures that were sent in yesterday.
Today's activities
1) Activity Bingo
Remember to try and tick off as many activities as you can!
2) Let's get dancing!
There are two dance sessions for you to try today - one aimed at KS1 and one aimed at KS2. Try them out and see if you can create your own dance routine using the moves you have learned. Don;t forget to post your responses like yesterday onto the new discussion feed I have made.
KS1 - Brazilian Samba Dancing - https://imoves.com/home-learning/1545
KS2 - Bollywood Dancing - (KS1 could also try this if they wanted to!) - https://imoves.com/home-learning/917
Home Olympics - Event 2 - Standing Long Jump!
Afterthe extrememly tiring speed bounce yesterday, you will be glad to know that today's event is not quite as exhausting.
For the standing long jump you will need to:
1) Decide a starting point.
2) Stand with two feet together.
3) Bend your knees and swing your arms back.
4) As you jump forward, swing your arms forward.
5) Measure from the back of your foot. (in metres or centimtres if possible).
6) Keep a record of your best scores for Friday. Challenge other people in your house to see what they can get.
Click the link to see my attempt in the wonderful weather. I am going to keep trying and aim for 2m.
https://youtu.be/4opwVGoQYJY
Some updated scores!
Mr Dean - 1.90m
Mrs Jackson - 1.63m
Mrs Forshaw - 1.28m
Mr Horsley - 2.23m (Mr Dean and his class witnessed and measured!)
Miss Fairhurst - 1.54m
Mr Simpson - ????? Surely his added height would be an advantage?
Mr Walmsley - 2.00m
Miss Altham - 1.63m
Have a great, active day everyone. Keep sending in your pictures and videos.
Mr Horsley
Woodpeckers New Class Blog 7.7.20
Date: 6th Jul 2020 @ 4:03pm
Happy Tuesday Woodpeckers!
We hope that you had a good day yesterday and thank you for blogging your work. We saw some brilliant posters on the blog and enjoyed finding out more about you all.
Today’s task:
Are you ready to get arty? Today I would like you to draw and colour/paint a self-portrait of yourself. The best way to do this is to either grab yourself a photo to copy or look in the mirror and copy what you see bit by bit. Include the small details such as eye lashes, eye brows, hair strands, your neck and shoulders and clothes.
Try to make your portrait quite big, about A4 size and please take a picture and upload it onto the blog when you have finished.
Have a great day! Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Woodpeckers New Class Blog 6th July
Date: 5th Jul 2020 @ 9:08pm
Good morning Woodpeckers!
We are so excited to welcome you to your new blog and your new class.
Over the next 2 weeks we will set you some tasks to complete at home to help us to get to know each other and get ready for our new class in September. Anything that you complete at home, please blog it (please write 'New Woodpecker class task' in the title) and also keep it safe. We would love for you to bring them in in September so that we can display them in class.
Getting to know each other:
The activities which we will ask you to complete will help us all to get to know each other. As well as these, myself (Mrs Latham) and Miss Wardle will ring home to say hi. This will be a great chance for you to ask any questions which you may have. Next week we will also meet with you, our new Woodpecker children, over Zoom. If you haven't had an email with a date and time, please mention this when we call.
Today’s task:
Today we would like you to create a poster all about you! You could put a picture in the middle and create sections about your family, your hobbies, your pets, your favourite food, sport or toys and anything else that you would like to share. Take a picture and blog your poster when you have finished.
Health and Fitness Week
This week is also Health and Fitness Week. Mr Horsley will send out a seperate blog about this. It would be great to see you having a go at the activities which he sets.
Have a great day!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle
Date: 3rd Jul 2020 @ 12:48pm
Hi Woodpeckers!
This will be our last blog together as from next week, you will look at the Dove class blog for your activities.
We just wanted to say a huge thank you for all of your hard work over the year, especially during the closure. You have all done yourselves proud and we have been over the moon by the work which you have sent in. So many teachers have commented about the work that you have been completing and the pride you have been taking.
Please take a look back through the class blog page to see all the amazing work on there. It's so lovely to look back on.
We are really going to miss you all. It's been a funny year and our time together finished very quicky. However, we will never forget this year with you. It has been great and together we have achieved so much.
Lots of memories to look back on; the Roman trip really stands out in our minds!
Good luck in Year 5. Miss Fairhurst is great and she is excited to be able to teach you all next year.
Have the best summer holidays and enjoy the next 2 weeks of activities which will be fun for you to complete.
See you in September children!
Mrs Latham and Miss Wardle