Issue No: 3 25th September 2020

NEWSLETTER Message from the Head

Dear Friends of Moorlands,

What a week . . . and that has just been the weather. From the sunshine and warmth

of the first couple of days, to torrential downpours, a markedly autumnal feel and

then finally . . . trying to drive home last night down a distinctly wintery Pool Bank,

following the thunder and heavy hail of the late afternoon!

As I have mentioned previously, we have been really impressed by the way that our

Moorlanders have settled back into school life. However, what we have started to be

increasingly aware of are the questions, uncertainty and anxiousness that some

children are still experiencing around the current and ever-changing COVID situation.

These have come out through individual conversations and class discussions and

covered a range of things including: whether school might be closed again; feeling

uncomfortable being around other people; family members being tested for COVID;

whether the key worker bubble might be reinstated and the awareness that

significant announcements have been made by Government, but not being sure of

the impact of these.

As questions arise, staff are dealing sensitively with them but we are aware that you

may have concerns at home or be dealing with similar queries. A really useful

website to refer to is the NHS ‘Every Mind Matters’. This has some excellent advice

and practical suggestions, should you need them, and the link is below:

https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/childrens-mental-health/ Thank you to the MSA for funding a new interactive whiteboard for the Year 3 classroom, this is being very well used! Look out next week for information regarding Parents’ Evenings and we hope that the newsletter is giving you a good flavour of the variety and quality of all that is taking place in Moorlands at the moment. Have a good weekend! Jacqueline Atkinson

News from Science! Year 5 and 6 are learning all about light and have been modelling how we see light from a light source and how we see objects through a mirror!

Bushcraft Year 2

Despite the rainy weather,

Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed

their bushcraft session in

The Hollies, building some

really quite impressive

shelters!

Year 3 have been getting fully involved with the chocolate topic and have been looking at the price of chocolate, baking chocolate items, investigating the melting points of different types of chocolate and even creating their own golden tickets! We have also been studying Ghana and Brazil and how they are known for their enormous cacao production because of their tropical climate. We are reading ‘The Great Chocoplot’ by Chris Callaghan and are all very worried about the potential of a ‘chcopocalypse’! I think it’s fair to say that this topic is being investigated fully and thoroughly enjoyed.

Foxes and Year 5 faced the rain to meet up (at an appropriate social distance!) on the

playground this week. They were all very excited to find out who their buddy would be. Year

5 then made some lovely cards for Foxes, telling them a bit about themselves and their

interests.

Year 6 celebrated the Autumn equinox with a morning walk in

the Hollies - as inspiration for some seasonal poetry. After

studying works by poets such as John Clare and Emily Bronte,

the class are writing their own poems, using techniques such as

symbolism and personification. We look forward to reading

them!

Year 4 are very much enjoying their English lessons and class novel, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. As well as producing some excellent drawings of the main characters - Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Hagrid, Dumbledore and Bellatrix Lestrange - amongst others, they have also written some fantastic descriptions of Dumbledore himself, using adjectives, similes and alliteration. Year 4 are very excited to attend their own Hogwarts feast and sorting ceremony today .... more on this to follow next week!

NEWS FROM THE MSA A warm welcome back to school and hello to all new parents who have joined the school this year; I hope that you have come to feel at home at Moorlands. Although the MSA events are going to look a little different this year due to Covid-19 restrictions, rest assured, the MSA are looking at ways we can still hold some fun events for both the children and adults and hopefully raise some funds for the school in the process. Watch this space and we will share details as soon as we can! PRELOVED UNIFORM STORE Our uniform store is OPEN and parents are allowed booked access. So if you need to stock up of a few extra bits, you need to contact school reception to book a time prior to your visit. As autumn arrives, we also have a supply of black gloves available for purchase (£2) in school reception along with a selection of hair accessories. Thank you to all parents for your continued donations. If anyone has any unwanted items including bags, sports kits and waterproof overalls, please leave them at reception, clearly marked for the attention of the MSA team.

EASY FUNDRAISING Did you know you could raise money for Moorlands school whilst doing your usual online shopping at no additional cost! It takes just two clicks – it really is that easy! There are thousands of retailers and services signed up to Easy Fundraising including John Lewis, eBay, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s to name a few. Every time you spend, Moorlands will get a financial donation from the retailer. To date we have raised over £6,179.19 with Easyfundraising! This year we would love to reach a target of £7,000.00!

How to sign-up:

Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk

Click 'Support A Cause'

Click 'Moorlands School Association - Weetwood'

'Create an Account' with your details

Once signed up, every time you shop…

Go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk

Search for the retailer you would like to shop with and click the link to their website

Make your purchases as normal on the retailer’s website

Donations will come from the retailer to Easyfundraising within 14 days of your

transaction. The MSA receives a payment on a quarterly basis.

JOIN THE MSA Settling in to a new school, especially during this current time, and making new friends can be daunting, and that’s not just for the children! That’s why we’d like to take this early opportunity to introduce the MSA to you – it’s a great way to meet other parents, make new friends and become a part of the Moorlands’ community. The MSA organises events, raises funds and supports school activities. Over the past couple of years, we’ve funded Clever Touch boards for classrooms, climbing frames and the new playground; brought the Easter Bunny to visit; provided ice cream vans on sports days; bought new sports team kits, production lighting and backdrops, and tablets for IT, amongst a host of other things. We always need new volunteers to join us, bring new ideas and just get involved. We promise we don’t ask too much of anyone – our team members do as much or as little as works for them – the only requirement is that everyone enjoys themselves! Our team has grown over the past few years from under 10 to just under 30. If you would like to get involved in the fun, then just send us a text or email on the contact details below. Hope you have a great weekend! The MSA Team Contact: Nikie (07921129623) / moorlandsmsa@gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who helped fundraise for ‘Jeans for Genes’, on Friday 18th September, by simply wearing your jeans and contributing a £1, we raised £156.77! Well done everybody. Miss Cooper

Dates for your Diary

September

Weds 30th Bushcraft KS1

October

Mon 5th EYFS Parents’ Evenings during this week

Weds 7th Bushcraft Year 5

Mon 12th Year 1-6 Parent Consultations during this week

Weds 14th Bushcraft Year 6

Fri 16th Harvest Celebration

Fri 16th 4pm School closes for Half Term

November

Mon 2nd School Returns from Half Term

Weds 4th Bushcraft KS1 Flu Immunisations

Weds 11th 11.00 a.m. Act of Remembrance Bushcraft KS1

Weds 18th Bushcraft Year 3

Mon 23rd Year 6 Exam Week

Weds 25th Bushcraft Year 4

Mon 30th Year 6 mock interviews during this week

Autumn/Winter Lunch Menu

Week 1

Days Option 1 Option 2

Side Dish Desserts

Monday Chinese Chicken Curry

Vegetable & Quorn Curry

Rice & Green Beans

Chocolate Crispy

Tuesday Cottage Pie Vegetable Pie Mixed Vegetables

Jam Doughnut

Wednesday Pork Sausages in Tomato Sauce

Quorn Sausages in Tomato Sauce

Pasta & Broccoli Shortbread

Thursday Sliced Roast Chicken

Quorn Roll New Potatoes, sliced carrots and gravy

Choc Ice

Friday Fish Cakes Veggie Burger Chips & baked beans

Iced Sponge Cake

Week 2

Days Option 1 Option 2

Side Dish Desserts

Monday Beef Bolognaise Quorn

Bolognaise Pasta &

Sweetcorn Flapjack

Tuesday Mexican Chicken Mexican

Vegetables Rice, Peppers &

green Beans Chocolate Fudge

Cake

Wednesday Sausage Pie Quorn Sausage

Pie

New Potatoes, garden Peas

Gravy Ginger Crunch

Thursday Beef Lasagne Vegetable Lasagne

Broccoli Chocolate Chip

Cookie

Friday Cheese

& Tomato Pizza Cheese &

Tomato Pizza Chips & Garden

Peas Ice Lollies