Lostock Gralam C of E Primary School
Skylarks: Blog items
Wednesday 8th July Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 7th Jul 2020 @ 7:42pm
Wednesday already? Good morning Skylarks class I hope that you are all well today?
After seeing a few of you yesterday, I know that some of you can worry about drawing. Since being back at school after lockdown, I have been teaching Year 6 and they have really loved ‘Drawing with Rob’. I will post the link for you to follow and he teaches you how to draw. You will love it! Here, have a go: http://www.robbiddulph.com/draw-with-rob
Maths
Today, I would like you to have a look at how you calculate angles on a straight line. To follow this lesson then please click on the following link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zrvm8hv
English
To support your speaking and communication skills, I felt that this would be a good lesson for you to do this morning. In some careers, you have to present information to other professionals in a range of ways. This lesson teaches you how to share a presentation using charts and graphs. To follow this lesson: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zb2fxbk
Today, Mrs Rice would like to read you a lovely book called ‘And Tango makes Three’, this story is from our No Outsiders scheme and helps you all to understand how we are all different but we deserve to be treated as equals. Please click on the following link to have a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d50xjPmHgvM&t=21s
Message from Mrs Powell:
Explorers
Freya Stark (1893-1993)
Stark went where few Europeans, especially women, had ever been before. A British explorer and writer, her travels led her into remote areas of Turkey and the Middle East. While living in Baghdad, she explored and mapped uncharted areas of the Islamic world. Hers were some of the first accurate maps of the region. She moved on foot, on donkeys, on camels and by car – camping along the way. Stark is the author of more than 24 travel books, covering local history, culture and tales of everyday life. In spite of age and illnesses, she never stopped travelling. In 1972 she was honoured as Dame Freya Stark! Wow!
What adventures would you go on? Why?
Take care everyone and see you soon!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Tuesday 7th July Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 7th Jul 2020 @ 8:12am
Good morning Skylarks and I can’t wait to see you at some point today!
Today, I will be out near the car park area waiting to greet you with your reports and a new home learning pack. It would be lovely to see as many of you as possible.
Maths
Today, to start off your morning with a bit of maths it would be lovely if you could have a go at drawing some angles, on this website there is a virtual protractor for you to use so you will not need to physically have one. Please click on the following link to access this lesson: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zdsrsk7
English
Here is a lesson which you may want to have a go of. It is based around writing adverts and brochures using comedy. Something I know you will be good at as you all have a great sense of humour. To follow please click on the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zdsrsk7
Today, Mrs Elson is going to read you a lovely story called ‘Silly Billy’. I had never heard of this story before I recorded Mrs Elson reading it and I thought it was a really nice story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnUdvdAfS_k
Message from Mrs Powell:
Good morning! This week, we are going to find out about amazing people who have done amazing things. As you read the stories, just imagine what you will do when you are older… all these amazing people once sat in a classroom just like you!
Gillian Ayres
In the 1970s, she became the first woman ever to run an art department in a British Art School! When she was older, she moved to North Wales. In Wales, she started to use oil paint again rather than acrylic paint to make her artwork. Oil paint is really thick and sometimes she would apply the paint so it would be inches thick! While she lived in Wales her artwork became even bolder and more joyful.
Gillian Ayres wanted people to be happy when they looked at her art and the world around them. Does her art make you feel happy? What other emotions do you feel?
Gillian Ayres was obsessed with painting. She is one of the most famous British abstract painters. Being an abstract painter meant you didn't care about artworks looking like real things, like people or buildings, but you care about shapes, colours and emotions. Someone asked her once what her artwork was about, and she just listed random things like ice cream, cakes, seaweed, shells and hats!
L.S Lowry
L. S. Lowry (Laurence Stephen Lowry) was born on 1st November 1887 in Stretford, Lancashire.
- Lowry had an unhappy childhood. He wasn’t very popular at school, didn’t have a very close relationship with his parents, and he had few friends.
- The Lowry family moved to the industrial town of Pendlebury in 1909. The landscape was dominated by textile mills and the chimneys of factories, and this imagery left its mark on the young L. S. Lowry.
- Lowry had taken art classes as a child and he went to the Manchester School of Art and then Salford Royal Technical College.
- In 1932, Lowry’s father died and he looked after to his mother. After his mother fell alseep, Lowry started to paint, often finishing at 3 a.m.
- Lowry’s paintings often featured industrial Pendlebury and they captured scenes of life in industrial England. His landscapes are often populated by stylised ‘matchstick men’ figures.
- Lowry didn’t complete many paintings of London. However, his 1960 painting of Piccadilly Circus sold for more than £5 million in 2011.
- Some of his most famous works include: Industrial Landscape, Going to the Match and Coming from the Mill, The Viaduct and The Football Match.
- Lowry became an official war artist in 1943 and he was the Official Artist of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.
- Lowry was a massive fan of Manchester City Football Club just like Mr A!
Take care everyone
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Monday 6th July Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 3rd Jul 2020 @ 5:26pm
A very good Monday morning to Skylarks class,
I hope you are all still smiling! These final two weeks of the school term have approached us a lot quicker than we expected. It has been a really unusual time for everyone and I hope that this comes as some good news to you. On the Newsletter that was sent out last week, it states that you will have the chance to come back to school during a few different days to see your current teacher and new teachers. I know I am super excited to see you all as I have missed you so much.
On Tuesday 7th July (tomorrow) you will have the opportunity to come to school to collect your reports and a new home learning pack. If you would like to come into school sometime between 9:30am-11:30am or 1pm-2pm.
On Friday 10th July, you will also have the opportunity to meet with your current and new class teachers and to have an outdoor PE lesson with Mr Ault. Our timeslot for this is 12:30-1:30pm. Please where appropriate footwear, your own clothes and bring a water bottle.
Finally, the last opportunity for you to come into school to see myself and your new class teacher will be on Monday 13th July 9:30-11:30am. It really would be lovely to see you all back for this as it will really help you moving forward into Year 6 and I would love to see you all before I leave before the Summer holidays. 
Maths
This week, it would be nice for you to have a try of this new topic at looking at angles. It is useful for you to have some understanding ready for Year 6 but if you are struggling with this at home then instead complete some of your home learning pack. Today’s lesson is all about measuring angles: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zyfrsk7
German
Since we haven’t been able to continue our German lessons with school closing. I thought it would be nice and a bit of fun for you all to complete the following German lesson on BBC bitesize which will hopefully recap some of your prior learning: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6g8bqt
Mrs O’Marah has decided to read you the very famous story known as ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’. To have a listen to the story please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-0xCovsrKA
Take care and stay safe!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Friday 3rd July Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 2nd Jul 2020 @ 4:28pm
A happy Friday to you all!
SAVE OUR SEAS
Listen to The Snail and the Whale with Mrs Powell today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLqBBeLFnYs
Maths
Today, continuing with our properties of shapes learning, I would like you to have a go at the next lesson on Oak National Academy. By the end of this lesson you will be able to identify regular and irregular polygons by reasoning about equal sides and angles. To follow this lesson please click on the following link: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-identify-regular-and-irregular-polygons-by-reasoning-about-equal-side
Today, Mrs Powell has decided to read you a story about a famous and extraordinary woman named Marie Curie. She felt this tied in very strongly with what has been going on at the moment and the story that Mrs Powell will share gives you a brief overview of who she is and what she did. To listen to the following story please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VEISPlRks4
Take care everyone and have a lovely weekend.
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Thursday 2nd July Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 1st Jul 2020 @ 11:34am
Good morning Skylarks class,
SAVE OUR SEAS
Listen to Big Blue Whale with Miss Beattie today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjS9AT2HrsQ&feature=youtu.be
I hope that you are all still smiling and staying a safe as possible. Have you all been enjoying the Save Our Seas project this week? It has been lovely to hear and see some of the work that you have been producing on this subject.
English
For today’s lesson before completing your learning on Save Our Seas. Please have a look at the following lesson on BBC Bitesize that focuses on creating characters. You are very good at this as we have done lots during this academic year and your previous year. We have created ‘Role on the wall’ which is where you write everything about the character you are creating. You can see an image of what this looks like below to help you to remember. Inside we usually wrote how the character feels and their character traits and around we wrote what the character does and looks like. To have a go at this lesson today click on the following link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zp76wnb
Today, Mrs Ahern would like to read you a story called ‘The Everywhere Bear’. To listen please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Lm3RA0pFg
Message from Mrs Powell:
Georgia’s Story
Georgie is 21. She’s a scuba diver and underwater photographer.
Introduced to fishing by her dad, Georgie made her hobby into a career when she followed her obsession with the ocean all the way to the sea bed.
Georgie’s dad is a keen pike fisherman and introduced her to wildlife conservation at a young age. As she grew up she became more and more fascinated with the ocean.
Wanting to improve her diving and marine identification skills, Georgie joined a project called Seasearch which encourages divers and snorkelers to record the marine life they see during their underwater adventures. Their findings are used by the Marine Conservation Society to make important management decisions.
The ocean covers around 71% of the world’s surface, so knowing what’s going on beneath the waves is just as important as knowing what’s going on above ground. And that’s where marine conservationists come in.
Marine conservationists play a crucial role in keeping our oceans healthy. Through monitoring marine life and underwater ecosystems, they can help us make better environmental choices. They can highlight the impact of plastics on the ocean, for instance, or identify which beaches are and aren’t safe to swim at.
Their findings can help protect endangered species or habitats.
How could you help our oceans? Could this be your job? What could you do now? How could you make a change?
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, that you created such a beautiful place for us to live.
We pray, Lord, that we may live out
the trust you put in us to look after your world for you.
Help us to love and care for those around us
both near and distant.
Amen
Take care everyone and keep smiling!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Wednesday 1st July Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 30th Jun 2020 @ 9:10am
Happy Wednesday to Skylarks class,
The month of July is here, can you believe it?
SAVE OUR SEAS
Listen to a Sea Turtle Story with Miss Thwaites today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IOIi1kFHSU&feature=youtu.be
I hope you have all managed to get onto our class discussion page. This is a great way to gain contact with your friends and with myself to talk about your home learning or share anything that you have been doing. To access this, you will have had an email sent out with your username, password and verification code. Once you have entered in all of these details you will see the discussions listed over a number of days so far and they will have a date associated with them.
Maths
Continuing on from the learning you will have completed on Monday about the properties of shapes. Today, I would like you to have a go at the second lesson which goes into more detail about 2-D and 3-D shapes looking at parallel lines and lines of symmetry too. To access this lesson please click on the following link: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-identify-describe-and-classify-shapes-based-on-the-properties-6537fa
Today, Miss Gillam has decided to read you a lovely story called ‘How to catch a star’. To listen to her reading this story please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_lDCNQfwBo
Message from Mrs Powell:
At the age of 11, Tom Gregory became the youngest person ever to swim the English Channel.
It was 05:00 on 6 September 1988 and Tom Gregory stood on the tip of France. Behind him was his coach, John Bullet. In front of him was the vast, black, English Channel. Tom, in swimming trunks, faced the water. Out there, somewhere, was home. On the water, a light appeared in the dark. A small boat came to shore. Tom put on his cap and goggles, and walked into the Channel. He followed the boat, and, when it got too deep, he started to swim. He didn't stop for 12 hours.
Tom was 11 years old, this record has never been broken!
Wow! What do you think he saw? How do you think he felt? What would have been his biggest challenges?
Take care everyone!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Tuesday 30th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 29th Jun 2020 @ 9:25pm
A very good Tuesday morning to the whole of Skylarks class,
SAVE OUR SEAS
Listen to Mrs Evans reading about a Marine Biologist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a21-zC2B3I8&feature=youtu.be
As you can see above there is an image known as ‘The Curiosity shop’. The Curiosity Shop attracted the strangest of visitors, drawn to the unique range of peculiarities within. There was certainly more to the shop that met the eye, and people travelled from far and wide to peruse the bizarre collection.
Here are some questions for you to discuss on our class discussion page:
What is it that Mr. Obediah is going to say?
What kind of man do you think Mr. Obediah is? What do his clothes tell you about him?
Why does he hold one hand behind his back?
What do you think the Curiosity Shop is? Is it just a shop?
What do you think the shop has inside?
Can you explain the presence of the wanted poster?
Why might Mr. Obediah display it on his shop front?
Is there something behind Mr. Obediah?
Can you spot the ladder? Where might it lead?
English
For today’s learning I will attach a lesson for you to complete before continuing with the whole-school project. In today’s lesson, you will learn about writing a comic using parenthesis. Within this, you will learn about the different features that you will need to use: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zvmmkty
Today, Mrs Judge would like to read you a story called ‘The Worrysaurus’. To watch this please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odHMuoH6yws
Message from Mrs Powell:
The Story of Jesus Calming the Sea of Galilee:
One night after a long day of preaching to the people, Jesus decided to get into a fishing boat with his disciples and go across a sea to the other side. Leaving the crowd behind, Jesus and his friends got into the boat. When they had sailed to the middle of the sea, a storm began to kick up waves. The boat rocked back and forth and up and down over the waves. The storm grew stronger and more furious.
Jesus had fallen asleep almost as soon as the boat left the shore. Even though the sea was tossing the boat around, he was still asleep. But his disciples were beginning to get really afraid. They tried lowering the sail and throwing out the anchor, but nothing worked. They bailed out the water, but still the storm raged. The boat was close to sinking.
Finally, they couldn’t stand it any longer. Jesus was still sound asleep, so they woke him up. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
With that, Jesus stood up in the boat and shouted out, “Quiet! Be still!” The storm died down, the waves grew calm, and the boat Jesus was on stopped sinking.
Jesus looked at his disciples, who were now soaking wet and shaking with fear. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Didn’t you believe that I would take care of you?” The disciples were no longer afraid, but they were amazed. They turned to each other and asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Jesus is the Son of God, creator of the universe. We can count on him to calm the storms in our lives. When a fear seems to take hold of us, we can call out to Jesus in prayer and know that he hears us just as he heard the disciples’ cries for help.
Dear God,
Please accept these gifts.
We know that you can do all things, including taking away our fears.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Take care everyone!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Monday 29th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 26th Jun 2020 @ 1:09pm
Good morning Skylarks class, I hope that you had a lovely weekend and managed to chill out and enjoy some family time.
This week’s blogs are going to be slightly different, rather than setting Maths and English work daily. You will do one of the subjects and alternate these daily, this is because as a school we have thought that it would be nice to do a project together that your siblings in different year groups could also access with you. Our project will be called ‘Save Our Seas’.
SAVE OUR SEAS Project
This week is a special week for us as we come together (virtually) as a whole school for our whole school topic SAVE OUR SEAS, the lessons will form as your afternoon project for this week so look at the word document attached too.
Each day there will be an ocean themed story or link this blog.
There is a sheet with lots of different resources which will form your timetable for this week. There are lots of activities and ideas for you to choose from on there to have a go at across the week.
Today- find out about the problems in our seas and oceans with Sir David Attenborough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLx4fVsYdTI
Please have a read of the attached document First News pages 7 and 10.
Maths
I would like to give you a bit of a break from concentrating on decimals and percentages and we will come back to this in the following weeks. For today, I would like you to complete the following lesson which is based on learning the properties of shapes. In today’s lesson, you will learn how to identify, describe and classify shapes based on the properties: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/to-identify-describe-and-classify-shapes-based-on-the-properties
This morning Mrs Esling would like to read you a story called ‘The Invisible String’. To access this please click on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlwgA17RaWw
Message from Mrs Powell:
This week we are celebrating our wonderful oceans.
The UK is surrounded by the sea, and our waters provide the habitat for over 44,000 different species of sea life, yet often our wonderful beaches are covered in litter.
Point out that scenes like these show us that all is not well in our oceans. Marine scientists have discovered that many plastics that find their way into the world’s oceans are toxic. This means that these plastics can damage the animals and even kill them. Another problem is that wildlife such as seabirds can get entangled in bits of plastic or even become stuck in plastic bottles.
Fortunately, scientists, marine conservation societies and the UK government agree that we need to do more to protect our seas and oceans, particularly where the use of plastic is concerned. They suggest that we can all take some action – even if it is something as simple as taking home our rubbish after a day at the beach. We all need to do the following:
Invest in a reusable water bottle rather than relying on single-use ones.
Take a bag with you when you go to the shops, rather than paying for single-use plastic ones.
Look for alternatives to plastic containers.
Time for reflection
Many world faiths believe that we all have a responsibility to look after the world in which we live.
Christians believe that God made the world and wants us all to care for it: this is known as stewardship.
The Bible says, ‘The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it . . . for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.’ Christians believe that this means that we have no right to abuse God’s creation. Instead, we should act responsibly, realizing that we are privileged to have such a wonderful place in which to live.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the beautiful world in which we live.
Thank you for the amazing variety of animals and plants.
Thank you for the sea and the beaches.
Please help us to think carefully about our responsibility in the world.
Please help us to care for the environment.
Please help us to think before we act.
Amen
Friday 26th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 26th Jun 2020 @ 9:20am
It is that time of week when you get the Friday feeling!
Mrs Powell would like to read you a story this morning called ’The Ugly Five’. Please click on the following link to access this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0_qn4bSgMA
Maths
Today, why not have a go at the weekly challenges which will consolidate your learning over the past week: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6csm39
English
To conclude your fantastic learning about how to write a diary entry this week. Today you are going to follow the next lesson on Oak Academy which requires you to write a diary entry: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/diary-entry-write-a-diary-entry
Take care everyone and have a safe weekend.
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Thursday 25th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 24th Jun 2020 @ 2:04pm
A Terrific Thursday to you all!
Mrs Campion reading Little Owls first day- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRFtO4lZQWg
Maths
Today, it would be lovely if you could attempt dividing by 10, 100 and 1000. This is brilliant recap for you all, to follow this lesson click the following link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/ztxy6g8
English
Lesson four in our learning of how to write a diary entry has a spelling, grammar and punctuation focus on formality: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/diary-entry-spag-focus-formality
Something that is very important in writing as where you place a simple comma can change a sentence totally! Have a look at the following picture I have attached that will help you to understand how a sentence can mean something different with the same use of words but punctuation placed differently.
The first one reads as though the speaker is going to eat their Grandma!
Message from Mrs Powell:
Our Wonderful World!
Please enjoy this poem!
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe
Big blue planet, what can it be? What can it be?
It’s the planet earth, it’s the planet earth.
It’s the planet earth, it’s the planet earth.
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe,
Big blue planet, what can we see? What can we see?
The great blue waters and the great green land
The great blue waters and the great green land
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe,
Big blue planet, what can we see? What can we see?
The great blue waters and the great green land
The great blue waters and the great green land
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe,
Big blue planet, what can we see? What can we see?
The great blue waters and the great green land
The great blue waters and the great green land
Big blue planet, swinging through the universe
God loves the planet
Loves the land and loves the sea
Loves the land and loves the sea
Loves the people, that’s you and me
Loves the people, that’s you and me
We’ll love it too, it’s our planet EARTH
We’ll love it too, it’s our planet EARTH
How can you help to keep God’s world a wonderful place? What could you do?
Dear God
Then let the sun come out and
fill the sky with rainbows.
Let the warmth of the sun heal us
wherever we are broken..
Let the warmth and brightness
of the sun melt our sadness.
And let the light of the sun
be so strong that we will see all
people as our friends.
Let the earth, nourished by rain,
bring forth flowers
to surround us with beauty.
And let the mountains teach our hearts
to reach upward to heaven.
Amen
Keep smiling we are so proud of you all!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Wednesday 24th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 23rd Jun 2020 @ 8:04pm
A happy Wednesday morning, you are already half way through the week nearly!
It was lovely to see some of you yesterday when you were picking up your home learning packs. It made me realise just how much I have been missing you all. I can’t believe how tall you have all grown, each and every one of you has shot up! If you missed out on coming yesterday, we will be doing the same thing again in a couple of weeks with a newer pack again. As you know, I will be leaving at the end of the academic year and will be moving to a bigger school in Warrington. You have all been a massive part of my Lostock Gralam story! I hope that you can all come down and see me the next time we invite you into school as it would be lovely to say a proper goodbye to you all! Looking forward to the future though, you all look so ready for Year 6 and Mrs Downing and Mrs Whittingham are very lucky to be teaching you next year.
I am so proud of each and every one of you and the work that you have been doing!
Mrs Hulse has decided to read you a fun short story called: Thank you baked potato- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sipCbCwyu_k
Music
I understand that a handful of you do not have your Cellos or violins at home, however, if you play any other instruments or you want to have a look at some of the learning you would have been doing in music lesson. Please visit the following link: https://edsential.com/first-access-at-home/
Maths
Have a go at today’s lesson based on multiplying decimals by 10, 100 and 1000: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z82tjsg
English
In today’s English focus lesson, I would like you to have a look at the next lesson in the series of learning how to write a diary entry on Oak Academy. Today, you will look at a diary entry and identify different features of the text: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/diary-entry-identifying-the-features-of-a-text
Message from Mrs Powell:
Honesty
My Mum used to tell me and my brothers and sister this story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKWktweAZb0
What would you have said to the boy to help him?
Jesus told his disciples a story to teach them about honesty. He told them about a rich man who had a manager, and the manager was using the man's money for himself. When the rich man discovered that the manager was wasting his money, he called him in and fired him. After telling this story, Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
If you and I make sure that we are honest in the small things, then we can be sure that we will be honest in the big things. If people know that they can trust us in small things, they will know that they can trust us in the big things too.
Dear God
Please help us to remember what Jesus taught about honesty and help us to be honest in every situation big or small.
Amen.
Take care everyone and remember to keep smiling you are all doing a fantastic job!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Tuesday 23rd June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 22nd Jun 2020 @ 7:58pm
Happy Tuesday morning Skylarks,
Good morning, I am hoping to see as many of your smiley faces as possible this morning. Myself and the teachers from other year groups not returning to school will be sat in the car park handing out the next home learning pack and to have a chat with you all. Please feel free to pop down any time between 9:30-11am this morning!
Over the weekend I came across the following picture and I think is just shows how we all succeed and develop but at our own pace, striving for perfection cannot be rushed.
Today, Mrs Simmonds will be reading Shark in the Park- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL3kIMjXRYk
How did you all get on with reading the newspaper article on Malala Yousafzai? She is a pretty remarkable young woman isn’t she?
Maths
Continuing with the decimal work we have been doing. Today’s lesson is based on subtracting decimals with different decimal places. This is where you have to be careful about the layout you are using. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6t3hcw
English
Following on with developing your skills ready to write a diary entry by the end of the week. Please have a go at today’s lesson which is based on Reading and learning how to retrieve facts: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/diary-entry-reading-comprehension-fact-retrieval
Message from Mrs Powell:
Kindness
Mark Twain said "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
Kindness is something we can all understand. It generates a great experience as both giver and receiver.
In Greece, kindness towards the elderly is very important; they believe the older you are the wiser and more valuable you become. In Japan, people show their kindness and gratitude by bowing to each other. The younger person bows to the older person. A simple act of kindness can create an endless ripple effect!
How do you show your kindness? What are you going to do today?
Take care everyone and stay safe!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Monday 22nd June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 21st Jun 2020 @ 1:31pm
A good Monday morning to Skylarks,
I hope that you all had a lovely weekend, it looks like the sunshine is creeping back out for us for the rest of this week!
Mrs Hoskins reading Sharing a Shell- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_uXH6K2q58
Over the weekend, I discovered something that ties in very well with our research on a particular individual that we did at the beginning of our home learning. Last week, Malala Yousafzai graduated from Oxford University. This is something that is a fantastic achievement for her after years of campaigning for women’s education. Please have a read of one of the following newspaper reports to start off your Monday morning:
Home learning timetable
This week I have attached a weekly timetable that consists of activities as part as your ‘Young Leaders Award’, which you would have completed during this year. The activities are based online and it is a great way for you to develop confidence and an understanding of what makes a team leader.
Maths
Continuing on with our learning of decimals, I would like you to have a go at the following lesson which is about subtracting decimals (which again is very important in terms of money). Please follow the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zk4kvwx
English
This week as part of your writing and reading, I would like you to follow the lessons on Oak academy for writing a diary entry. Today’s lesson is linked to your reading comprehension focusing on the skill of inference: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/diary-entry-reading-comprehension-inference
Message from Mrs Powell:
Tolerance
Today we are thinking about Tolerance. Look at this video, it made me smile!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2PJ6T7U2eU
Which characters were being intolerant?
How do you think the big bird felt?
Why were the little birds mean to the big bird?
What could the little birds have done to make the big bird feel welcome?
Now read this poem, could you make a poster of it for our sharing window?
We are all born
In a different way
How we look
And what we say.
From different countries
Around the world
Of different genders:
Boys and girls.
Of many sizes
And colours too,
The things we like
And the things we do.
If everyone
Were the same you see
You wouldn’t be you,
And I wouldn’t be me!
Take care everyone!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Friday 19th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 18th Jun 2020 @ 11:37am
A Happy Friday morning to all of Skylarks,
Computing
Due to us all becoming more involved with technology and using it more frequently than what we would normally do. It is still extremely important that you are protecting yourselves from any harm that may be caused and knowing when to tell an adult when you are uncomfortable with something is important too. I would like you to complete the following lesson that ties in to our e-safety learning. We have discussed in school lots about how things can appear to be different online and they may not always be the truth.
By completing the following lesson you will learn how to know if you can trust a website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zpxp7yc
Maths
Following on from your work you may have done yesterday on percentages, please have a go at the following activity which is focusing on adding decimals using the formal method: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zsmmkty
This is something that is very important to you as you will see that decimals are used in money. Money is something that as you get older is used almost every day and it is important to be able to add money up, therefore this lesson is very useful.
For today’s special treat Mrs Powell would like to read you an extract about a person from the book ‘The Day the Crayons Quit. To watch simply just click on the following link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA4fDaafVBU&t=3s
Take care everyone, have a lovely and safe weekend!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Thursday 18th June Skylarks Home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 17th Jun 2020 @ 3:37pm
Good morning to you all,
Please read all of the positive affirmations above. Believe in yourself and you will be the best person you can be!
Maths
Today for maths, you can either carry on with work that is in your home learning packs or you can access this BBC Bitesize lesson which is continuing with your learning of percentages. You will be learning how to write percentages as fractions and decimals: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zynhjsg
English
As you have been working on poetry over the last few days, it would be great if you could complete the following lesson which is based around writing nonsense poems. It would be lovely if you could share some of the poems you have created via twitter or on our discussion page: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zjt296f
For today’s special treat Mrs Brennan would like to read you an extract about a person from the book ‘Visionary Women Around the World’. To watch simply just click on the following link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0JNLQntC0U
Message from Mrs Powell:
Geordie has been on countless adventures in his young life, in August ’18, he cycled 22,500 miles over 430 days through 4 continents.
Geordie decided to set his sights on this ambitious venture when he was 17 and had no climbing experience.
The Seven Summits consists of:
– South America: Aconcagua
– Africa: Kilimanjaro–
Europe: Elbrus
– North America: Denali
– Antarctica: Vinson Massif
– Australasia/Oceania: Carstensz Pyramid
– Asia: Everest
When discussing his adventures he said that the reading books about adventures and going on adventures are very different. He challenges us to all make our own adventures and discover whether this is the same as you think. Have you read about somewhere or seen something you would like to do? Remember Alex said at the beginning of the week that we all have our own challenges whether this is riding a bike or a maths question. We all have our own Everest to climb and challenge us!
Take care everyone!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Wednesday 17th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 16th Jun 2020 @ 5:11pm
Happy Wednesday to my special Skylarks,
Geography
You know how much I enjoy walking on the weekends and during my holidays. So I thought for today, you would enjoy finding out about one of my favourite places to go in our country. BBC Bitesize have put up a Geography lesson that is all about ‘The Lake District’. Have you been before? Would you want to go to this place? It is home to the largest lake in England.
If you would like to find out about this magnificent beauty spot then please follow the link which will take you to the lesson: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6jqcmn
English
Continuing with the theme of poetry, today I would like you to complete the following lesson that is based around different types of language that are used in poems and how they work. Within this lesson it will recap different language techniques you have learnt about in the past and will also throw in some new ones you may never of heard of: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6n6dp3
For today’s special treat Mrs Evans would like to read you ‘The Watcher’. To watch simply just click on the following link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njoiXEV_FkM
Message from Mrs Powell:
Mark Ian Macleod Beaumont BEM is a British long-distance cyclist, broadcaster and author. He holds the record for cycling round the world, completing his 18,000-mile route on 18 September 2017, having taken less than 79 days. So many of you have learnt to ride a bike over the past few months and have been going on really long bike rides. What could your challenge be?
Take care everyone!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Tuesday 16th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 15th Jun 2020 @ 11:08pm
A good Tuesday morning to you all,
How did you all get on yesterday settling back into another week? If you are finding it tricky to get into a work mode within your house environment, then please see these helpful tips that could help you to work better within your own home.
Tips:
- Establish your own routine- Try to follow your usual routine when coming to school as a normal day. Get up, get dressed, have breakfast and begin your day with some reading perhaps before you start your work. I know someone from out of school whose children put on their uniform every morning and this is really helping them to keep to a routine.
- Make a dedicated workspace- it can be difficult to separate your chill time from your work time when working in the same space. Therefore, it would be useful to make a space in your home e.g. the kitchen table or a desk to work at during the day. Then during breaks and the evening have a different space you go to so that you can relax, e.g. bedroom or lounge area.
- Give yourself a break- you may feel you have to work most of the day and even longer than you normally would in school. Take regular breaks and have short bursts of work to keep you motivated and to make sure you are staying on task. Your mental health is very important and it is important to be motivated to do the work and not to be told to do the work.
- Stay connected- Make sure wherever possible that you are able to speak with the people that you love. You may take part in our school spider discussions as this is a safe way to stay connected. You may go out on a socially distance walk with your friends. Or use technology to phone or video call.
- Set boundaries- it is important not to get into arguments with family members around the work you are doing. Share with them in a calm way your worries or struggles and let them help in a calm way as shouting can make your worries get bigger.
- BE KIND TO YOURSELF- remember this is an unusual situation and things will not feel ‘normal’. Be kind to yourself and be realistic about what you want to achieve each day. Do not bombard yourself with lots of walk. Stay active and keep your mind and body healthy.
Maths
Yesterday, I wanted you to focus mainly on Refugee week and those tasks. Therefore, we will now be following the lessons on BBC bitesize a day behind. Today, I would like you to complete this lesson based on recognising and understanding percentages: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zhntwnb
This is something we have not spoken about this year, but this should be a gentle way to lead you onto the topic of percentages. If you are finding this too difficult then please remember you can alternatively complete work from your home learning packs.
English
Do you remember at the start of year 5 we performed poems describing what the woods were like in ‘The Lost Happy Endings’ story? You were all very good at this. Therefore, I would like you to complete the following lesson that teaches you to analyse and perform poems: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zmf8qnb
For today’s special treat Mr Cliff would like to read you ‘The Story of Zacchaeus’. To watch simply just click on the following link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sVF3VfI2KQ
Message from Mrs Powell:
Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner has been climbing mountains since she was just thirteen years old.
In adulthood she became a nurse, but kept climbing as often as possible: She was always working to save up for her next climbing trip. She eventually became the first female to climb all of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks (and above) without the use of oxygen. Wow! Just remember you can achieve anything if you want to do it. What will you do?
Take care everyone!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Monday 15th June Home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 14th Jun 2020 @ 7:56pm
Good morning Skylarks class,
I trust that you are all well and had a lovely weekend, the weather is hopefully starting to get better and improve.
Here is today’s positive thought of the day:
Today is an important week, it is Refugee week. So I thought it would be nice to ease you in to a new week through doing some activities related to it this morning instead of your usual maths and English work. This year’s theme is to look at resources and ‘imagine a kinder world’. This ties in really well to current things in the news and the current pandemic that really gets you to think about how it is important to be supportive and kind towards others. During this activity you will look through a range of different resources:
- Developing understanding and building empathy
- Adapting to challenges
- Family and community
- Sharing stories
All of these aspects really help you to develop a sense of understanding of the wider aspects of our lives and then lives of others.
The learning outcomes of these activities will be:
- Think about the meaning of and how to build empathy
- Explore how understanding people is a kind act
- Reflect on how empathy can create a kinder world.
Looking at these three outcomes there is an important word throughout ‘empathy’. If you are unsure of what this word means to begin with then here is the following definition.
Empathy- the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
To access this learning then follow the link where all the resources can be downloaded: https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources/refugee-week-imagine-a-kinder-world## There is a PowerPoint that will guide you through the activities this can be found on the link or here I have attached it 
(just double click the icon).
For today’s special treat Mrs Downing has decided to read you a story called ’Franklin’s flying Bookshop’. To watch simply just click on the following link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFwOWhgOB6w
Message from Mrs Powell:
Alex Staniforth
Alex has had many barriers in his young life but found that he had a passion for the outdoors at a very young age. He found that if he was outside he was happy and chose many challenges including two attempts up Everest which failed due to an earthquake and avalanche. He said that we can’t always choose our challenges but we can choose how we respond to them. He says that Everest was just one step on his journey and his mission is to help others discover their own Everest in life and go for it. Alex is an amazing person, remember you can achieve anything in life that you want to do. Many years ago Alex went to school in Cheshire just like you do, I know because I taught him. I wonder what you will achieve and what your Everest will be? He and I would both say, you can do anything! I have emailed him recently and he has promised to come and talk to you all in school when it is safe to do so.
Take care and stay safe!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Friday 12th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 11th Jun 2020 @ 11:13am
Happy Friday to my fabulous Skylarks,
Thank you to those who have participated in sharing their work through the school spider login area. It would be lovely to see more of your work and more Skylarks joining in on the discussions, this will help you feel like you are back with friends at school and may encourage you when you are feeling unmotivated. Remember, it is okay to be not okay. You may be feeling lots of different emotions and maybe even some new ones you have never really felt before and that is okay!
I have attached to today’s blog a pdf file that has a link that you can log in to My Happy Mind. This is something that we do every week in school. So today, why not start it off through focusing on your breathing and following some of the online lessons.
This link gives you free access: https://myhappymind.kartra.com/page/ParentKitBundle
Maths
Today, here is something a little bit different for you to do and I know a few of you will enjoy this. It is based around time and you need to calculate the times in football. This is good practice to support your understanding of the time: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zbdwg7h
English
Carrying on with your reading work you did yesterday today you are going to focus on word meaning: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/set-of-instructions-reading-comprehension-word-meaning
Today’s special treat for you:
I have decided to read you an extract from a book called ‘Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls’. Please click the following link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf1ZlyePsg4
Message from Mrs Powell:
Today and every day we would like you to enjoy story time from one of our teachers or teaching assistants!
Have a lovely day and remember we think you are amazing!
Take care and have a safe weekend!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Thursday 11th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 10th Jun 2020 @ 5:20pm
Good morning Skylarks class,
As you are aware, you would be having cello and violin lessons in school. I know a few of you did not take your instruments home when school closed. Therefore, Edsential who teach you have put together a timetable of lessons you could where you learn about musical terms and go through different activities. Please see attached to this blog the document.
For my birthday, my partner bought me a ukulele and I know how fantastic you all are at the Ukulele, maybe there is something you could teach me? You could share these with me on our discussion page. Maybe you could write a song?
Maths
Continuing to develop your knowledge of decimals please complete this lesson today which requires you to compare and order decimals: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z68rn9q
English
Have a go at this reading comprehension that focuses on the use of language: https://classroom.thenational.academy/lessons/set-of-instructions-reading-comprehension-language
Today’s special treat for you:
Miss Beattie has decided to read you a story this morning called ‘Dogs don’t do Ballet’. Please click the following link to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5h7VQfaGQo&feature=youtu.be
Message from Mrs Powell:
What would you like to be when they grow up? Many people have dreams about the future and that is good. Have a look at the following video: https://youtu.be/ECP87EFic48
The video below tells the story of Joseph, a famous dreamer from the Bible. When Pharaoh put him in prison, Joseph dreamt of being let out, but it wasn’t until Pharaoh had some dreams of his own that Joseph was called upon to help and secured his own release from prison.
It is good to dream of being happy when we are older: happiness is vital! However, Jesus pointed out something important about happiness.
Jesus said that people would be happy if they did the following
- care about other people
- always try to be fair and just
- are kind and show mercy
- work to make peace
Dear God,
Please help us to work hard to achieve our ambitions and to become what we want to be.
Whatever we do or however we live our life, help us to remember the needs of others.
Help us to care about other people, to be fair and just,
To be kind and merciful and to make peace, wherever we are.
Amen.
Further activities you could have a go at… you could try making a dreamcatcher to catch your own dreams. There are some instructions available at: https://tinyurl.com/y7acpruh
Have you read the book The BFG by Roald Dahl? Why not try making a BFG dream jar? There are some instructions available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52xhSTjBea0
Take care everyone, stay safe and keep smiling!
Miss Thwaites and Mrs Hulse x
Wednesday 10th June Skylarks home learning, by Miss Thwaites
Date: 9th Jun 2020 @ 5:02pm
Good morning to all of Skylarks class,
I hope that you are all looking after one another and continuing to try hard.
On the weekend, I went to a place called Buxton in the Peak District. Whilst I was walking around, I came across something unusual that I was blown away by. It was called the Covid-19 snake. I have found an article that shows you what it is about and why and who has decided to do this. I wanted to share this with you: https://explorebuxton.co.uk/covid-19-snake-2/
Here are some of the photos that I took that I wanted to share with you. I would love for you to all make your own stone of art and decorate it with something that is a key memory to you or something you love that can represent what has been happening as this will be a key part of history in the future.
