Linthwaite Ardron CE (VA) Junior and Infant School

Poetry for Mothering Sunday

After looking a kennings, Year Five integrated some into their prayers for Mothers' Day, which they then read out at the church service. Have a hanky ready when you read Poppy and Jordan's lovely poems for their mums.

Handwriting

Linthwaite Ardron is proud at the progress our pupils make in handwriting as they make their way up school. From learning how to hold a pencil correctly in Early Years, they progress to having handwriting lessons, with additional support and intervention programmes for those who require it.

All our pupils are desperate to earn their coveted ‘golden pen’ and below you can see some proud recent recipients with their writing. This is something they all aim for and means they can write in cursive legible script, joining correctly. Well done all!

Year Six Informal letters - Evacuee!

As part of their World War topic, Year Six read the book 'Friend or Foe' by Michael Morpurgo and imagined that they were evacuated from London to Devon, just like David and Tucky. Have a look at the wonderful letters home to Mother they produced from the role play that also helped them get into the mood of 1940!

Year One's Dinosaur Danger Writing!

In Year One, the children have been working on fictional stories about their journey through a dinosaur-filled jungle. The children focused on using adjectives to add great detail to their writing. The children came up with brilliant twists and turns to excite the reader. So please have a read as we are sure you will be wowed!

Have a listen to Charles Darwin's Monologue

Mr Charles Darwin has been insulted while giving a public talk about his new book, 'The Origin of Species' and he is not at all happy about it!

Listen to his monologue, as explained to his wife Emma, and written and performed by two of our Year Sixes, who have come up with some wonderful turns of phrase in their writing.

Darwin's Monologue

Mr Charles Darwin has been insulted while giving a public talk about his new book, 'Origin of Species' and he is not happy about it! Read some of his thoughts, as explained to his wife Emma, as written by Year Six.

Poetry Writing and Performance - local history

As part of their performance for the annual 'Leadboilers Festival', which takes place in our community each year, Year Five wrote, learnt and performed their own poem based on this fascinating local legend. Each child took a verse each. Have a read, if you can manage to understand their use of language to show Yorkshire 'speaking' dialect! 

'Leadboilers' Whole-school Writing

 Each July, Linthwaite hosts the 'Leadboilers' Festival. Know who, or what, the Leadboilers were? No? Well, have a look through some of the writing produced across school, which will let you know a bit more about this fascinating local legend. 

Formal Letter-writing

Years Five and Six wrote formal letters which they then sent to our local MP, Jason McCartney, inviting him to come along as a special guest of honour, to our tree-planting ceremony. Mr McCartney wrote to Linthwaite Ardron in the Autumn, inviting us to participate in the Queen's Green Canopy Initiative, to plant a tree to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

School then requested a tree from the Woodland Trust charity and we are delighted to have been given fifteen trees to plant in our school grounds.

Read Year Five's formal letter of reply to Mr McCartney's below. Thanks to Parker-Maye.

Year Five Viking Writing!

Character descriptions to tie in with our history topic and class reader, 'Viking Boy', Viking kenning poems and our own Viking myths. 

Art and History Poems - 'Guernica'

Year Five studied the artwork 'Guernica' by Pablo Piccasso using his monochrome technique and they then wrote some poetry based on their reactions to his painting. They are quite dramatic poems I think you'll all agree!

Year Five Figurative language

 As well as being super scientists in their 'Earth and Space' topic, Year Five have been using figurative language to creatively write some 'out of this world' poems about the Moon. Using similes, metaphors, alliteration and personification, they have really conjured up some emotive images involving goddesses, wolves and motherhood to name just a few. 'One giant step' for their progress in writing; we are 'over the Moon' with these!

Author Visit - Jenny York

Professional author Jenny York visited school to share some of her stories with us on our Well-being Day, which had a focus of 'Reading for Pleasure'. She brought some of her stories and characters to life using puppets, costumes and props, with help from our amazing pupils, who acted out her stories with gusto. Jenny then did a book sale and signing for parents and carers after school.

World Book Day 2024

Design a book cover, book reviews and characters, plus a fun assembly and parade made books the focus of activities in school this World Book Day

Whole School Pantomime Visit

 Thanks to the hard work and months spent fund-raising of our PTFA, we were able to fulfill one of our school's aims: to engage our pupils with the wider world and creative arts and visit a real-life theatre production. The whole school had a hoot at the Lawrence Batley Theatre watching their annual pantomime Cinderella ("Oh no they didn't! Oh yes they did!)

 Actors Bring Books to Life

Linthwaite Ardron started a new half term with a bang, with  professional actors coming into school bringing to life some well-known stories by a classic author.

School was thrilled to welcome the actors into school and, knowing how expensive theatre visits are, we were lucky to be able to offer this amazing experience at no cost to our pupils. We know it helped fulfill school's aim; to inspire our children into reading and enjoying books for pleasure.

There were thrills, spills (literally!), laughs galore, silliness and even some disgusting tricks or two, with the children going home with tales of 'disgusting adults behaving like real Twits!'

Greater Depth writing at Linthwaite Ardron

See below for an example of greater depth writing from Year Six, which shows how we progress writing in school; from joining us aged four in Reception to being 'secondary- ready' for the next stage of their education.

School had their Key Stage Two writing moderated by Kirklees, with a third of our children achieving greater depth in their written work. In the writing below, the class researched and debated an issue in the news that they felt passionate about and then had to write a balanced argument stating both sides of the argument, with a personal point of view reached at the end. Which side do you agree with? Read the work below and see if you agree.

Year Three - Stone Age Comic Strips

Year Three have been extremely busy planning and creating Stone Age comic strips based on this half term's class text, 'UGG - Boy Genius of the Stone Age'. They started off by analysing the features of a comic strip, including: different types of speech bubbles, use of varied fonts and bold letters, using question marks and exclamation marks correctly and how the use of a series of images can be used to tell a story. Once their own version was complete, we then tea-stained them so that they looked like real-life Stone Age comic strips! 

Krindlekrax!

Year Three have been reading all about Krindlekrax (the crocodile who lived in the drains of Lizard Street). They started off by writing letters to Lizard Street Zoo from the point of view of Ruskin Splinter, asking for his dad's job back. They then moved on to story writing, where the children internalised their WAGOLL in order to familiarise themselves with the structure and vocabulary that they were aiming for. The children split into groups to learn the text and here is what they produced. Performed with fantastic intonation, expression and confidence! Another job well done Year 3!

Reading Volunteers

Reading has always been a priority in school and we are always eager to improve even further and create a love of books and reading in our children. Having volunteers in school is invaluable in this and we are asking if any parents, grandparents, carers or even siblings could spare an hour a week to help hear our pupils read 1 to 1.

If any siblings are at college, this is a super voluntary activity that counts towards their college enrichment activities and looks fantastic on university UCAS applications too. Full training will be given and it is a rewarding activity that the children love and really benefit from.

Contact our English lead, Mrs Taylor, or the school office if you can help at all.Thank you!

Kirklees World Book Day Quiz 7th March 2024

Huddersfield Town Hall

Some of our most talented readers took to the stage, literally, representing Linthwaite Ardron CE in the Kirklees World Book Day Quiz, held at Huddersfield Town Hall on March 7th, 2024. Organised by Books Plus, teams from schools across Kirklees are invited to enter this annual quiz, with questions based on a book list selected specifically.

Since Autumn, a group of our Year Six pupils have been working with Mrs Branigan discussing and reading the 20 books, which include a mixture of contemporary authors, as well as classics such as ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell and ‘The Call of the Wild’ by Jack London. From these 11, a team of four were selected and represented us brilliantly, cheered on by staff, family and friends in the balcony. Well done to all of our Year Six students and hopefully you will take your love of reading with you onto high school and beyond.

Space Poems

 As part of Year Five's 'Earth and Space' science topic, they wrote poems about space after learning about the scientific properties of the planets and solar system. They listened to a variety of 'space'-themed songs too and tried to find similes, metaphors, personification and other figurative language features in the lyrics. Enjoy the poetry; it's 'out of this world!'

Poetry Webinars

Year Six took part in four live online poetry sessions in Autumn, lead by professional poet Tomos Roberts, culminating in an online celebration of students’ poetry on National Poetry Day.

Using his inspiring poem ‘Alive with Poppies’ and a range of engaging activities, Tomos supported pupils in drafting editing and performing their own Remembrance poems, via a live stream. The four sessions gave Year Six a unique opportunity to engage with Remembrance through poetry and the expertise of a professional poet, helping them gain a deeper understanding of who, how and why we remember.

See below to read a selection of our finished poems.

 Remembrance Day

In response to the poetry webinars held in November, pupils in Year Six have been learning about the history and writing created related to the First and Second World Wars. This lead to some really powerful discussions, culminating in their class assembly on the 11th of the 11th, which also involved a 'Wow' day, centred around World War Two dancing, baking and social history activities.

Have a look at their moving, powerful and creative poems written by some of our Year Six pupils in response to studying the poems ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, ‘In Flanders Fields’ and ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’

Year Six Writing based on 'Clockwork'

Year Six’s class reader to start the year was the Phillip Pullman book ’Clockwork’, which contains suspense, history, drama and excitement and which kept them all on the edge of their seats to see how the story enfolds. They have written extracts of their own based on a dramatic section of  the book, using a wide range of figurative language including alliteration, personification, metaphor, hyperbole and onomatopoeia. Have a look at some examples below,  and watch our pupils read out their own independent writing aloud too.

Reading at Linthwaite Ardron CE

Reading skills are important to a child's success in school, as they will allow them to access the breadth of the curriculum and improve their communication and language skills. In addition, reading can be a fun and imaginative time for children, which opens doors to all kinds of new worlds for them. 

Reading is one of the key areas in our strategic development plan. It takes place across the curriculum, not just in English lessons and in different ways: as specific reading lessons, in small groups and on a one to one basis. All classes make time to listen 1:1 to individual readers, including those who have been identified as needing extra support, plus those pupils who are being introduced to more challenging texts and higher thinking skills. Some of these pupils undertaking small group reading sessions can be seen in the slideshow below.

We will continue to update you over the coming terms with further reading initiatives.

Why is reading so important?

Studies show that reading for pleasure makes a big difference to children’s educational performance. Likewise, evidence suggests that children who read for enjoyment every day not only perform better in reading tests than those who do not, but also develop a broader vocabulary, increased general knowledge and a better understanding of other cultures.

In fact, reading for pleasure is more likely to determine whether a child does well at school than their social or economic background.

What difference can I make as a parent?

You can make a huge difference! Parents are the most important educators in a child’s life – even more important than their teachers – and it is never too early to start reading together.

Even before they were born, babies learn to recognise their parents' voices. Reading to your baby from birth, even for just a few minutes a day, gives them the comfort of hearing your voice and increases their exposure to language.

Building vocabulary and understanding

Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what is printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. It is important for them to understand how stories work too. Even if your child does not understand every word, they will hear new sounds, words and phrases which they can then try out, copying what they have heard.

Irrespective of whether your child is only just beginning to learn to read or whether they are fluent, you can play an important role in helping to keep them interested in books. Find out what interests them, help them to find books that will be engaging and fun, and spend time reading the books they bring home from school together.

'The Masked Reader'

As part of Linthwaite Ardron's World Book Day celebrations, the children all had great fun playing 'The Masked Reader' game: trying to guess which mystery member of staff was hidden behind the disguise and from which famous children's book they were reading. Can you guess who is reading in the clip below and which book it might be?

School Book Fair 

Book, books and more books were the theme, when the Scholastic travelling book fair came to Linthwaite Ardron. All pupils in school visited the book fair, had a good look through the selection and wrote wish lists for their favourite books.

Parents and carers could then either come along to browse the selection of books in school or order online from home. A percentage of all books sold went to school, which means that school then got over £400 of free books for our class libraries. Have a look below at some of our enthusiastic bookworms (can you spot the cheeky title?) 

World Book Day - March 2nd 2023

We all enjoyed one of our favourite days of the year in school; World Book Day, held on Thursday 2nd of March 2023. 

Staff and children were invited to come to school dressed as characters from their favourite books and the day was packed full of reading and book-related activities, including each class writing a chapter of an exciting whole school book. Watch this space for the finished book, it is now having its illustrations added!

'Recommended Reads'

We are often asked for help in suggesting appropriate reading books for our children. Click the link below for some great book suggestions, sorted into year groups and with links to buy copies for yourself. 

https://www.thereaderteacher.com/

Viking character description

 As part of Year Five's Viking and Scandinavia humanities topic, Year Five have written a selection of writing; kenning poetry, a narrative description of a Viking raiding Lindisfarne (based on the real-life raid of 793AD) and their own Norse myth. A selection of these are below. Only read on if you aren't squeamish!

Persuasive Writing - Linthwaite Travel Brochures

Come to sunny Linthwaite!

Following our Pilgrimage walk around Linthwaite, Upper Key Stage 2 all wrote tourist leaflets about our lovely local area, mentioning Florence Lockwood an early suffragette who lived nearby and local mill owner George Mallinson. Read all about it in these persuasive leaflets below.

Y5 Informal Letter Writing

Based upon their class reader 'Street Child',  Y5 pupils have written letters in character as Jim Jarvis,  the real-life urchin who inspired Doctor Barnardo. Listen to our dramatic story tellers as they read out their letters. 

Year Six Informal Letter Writing

 Year Six read the book 'Clockwork' by Phillip Pullman and then wrote a letter from the character Karl in the book. Have a look at their super work.  

Examples of writing in Year Two

Please look at the photos below to see some examples of writing in Year 2 throughout the year. We have been working really hard to make sure our handwriting is neat, has the correct punctuation and uses interesting description. 

Remembrance Day - November

Upper Key Stage Two studied the First World War poems 'Dulce et Decorum Est' by Wilfred Owen and 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae and came up with their own poem about the battlefields of Flanders. The series of lessons were very moving and thought-provoking and both texts are challenging to tackle, so we are very proud of the work that came out of this. Read them and think about the sacrifice of those young soldiers over 100 years ago.

Remote learning - Year Five reading comprehension - 'War Horse'

National Poetry Competition Winner

We have a prize-winning poet in our school! Congratulations to Kiki, winner of a national poetry competition organised by the Premier League and Primary All Stars earlier this summer.

Year Five all entered the poetry competition, set on the theme of ambition, using poet  Karl Nova's poem 'Ambition' as their inspiration.

Kiki's poem impressed the judges so much that she won the Yorkshire and North of England region and her winning poem, on the theme of the environment, has been published in a book (read Kiki's fabulous published poem above). She shares her pages with footballing stars such as Rio Ferdinand and Alan Shearer, who have also contributed poems for the anthology.

Both Kiki and school have received fabulous prize goody bags full of books and stationary from the Premier League.

Year Five Informal Letter Writing

 Year Five read the classic story 'Street Child' by Berlie Doherty, based on the real-life orphan Jim Jarvis, the penniless street child who inspired Dr Barnardo to form his charity.

In this writing they have written letters from the workhouse as Jim, begging to be rescued from the hell-hole. They are moving and emotive pieces of writing, please do have a read!