Hello Year 5 ,

I hope you are all still safe and well at home. This week, the teachers are back in school; I am writing this letter from my desk in an incredibly quiet Year 5 block!

Leighton Middle is one great big team of teachers, pupils and their families, and being able to see some of them again is fantastic after 10 weeks away.  So this week I’ve been thinking about our 5 star quality of team work, and I started by asking our Year 5 form teacher team how they’d been using it at home…

Team Waite……

This week I had a huge shock when I realised that I would have to wear my ‘teacher’ clothes soon and  my ‘ home’ uniform of shorts and flip flops would need to be replaced. Due to lockdown marathon snacking sessions EVERYTHING felt a little tight and uncomfortable! After consoling myself with a cake or 2, Mr Waite decided that the whole family should try to be supportive in mission ’GET MUM BACK IN HER TROUSERS!’ We have been trying to eat a little more healthily  hard with this weather as all I want is ice cream) and going for long walks. We went for a 9 mile walk around Woburn and got to see the giraffes. We also visited Ivinghoe  Beacon , Ashridge Forest and Barton Springs- the views were stunning! We are so lucky to have all these areas surrounding us. 

The plan seems to be working...... everyone is encouraging me to make the right decisions, I’m cycling to school instead of driving AND .... the trousers ( nearly )fit! 

Team Holmes….

I hope you're all well and have all been making the most of the lovely sunshine! I really enjoyed speaking to you all on the phone and hearing about all the things you've been doing whilst you've been at home. Here's something that I've been up to that should be been easy, but turned out to be a little trickier than we thought...

We're currently in the process of trying to sell our house but nobody has been able to come round for viewings. This has meant that we've had to become a little more inventive and make a video tour, using all our videoing skills to ensure that nobody was accidentally in the video! After the first take, we thought we had it nailed until the kitchen door slammed in the middle of filming... and so the process started all over again. 

We all then went round the house to make sure all the doors were open and that our route through the house worked.. second time lucky? So we thought... a certain little kitten decided to have a starring role in the second take - I think you can probably guess who that was!

So, would it be third time lucky? All the doors were open and the kitten was distracted with her lunch to make sure she stayed out of the video, so we whizzed round and managed it on our third take! It took a fair bit of team work but we managed it.

I hope you have all been working together and being kind to each other whilst you have been at home. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again when we can - make sure you keep reading!

Team House ….

My little girl turned 8 on Sunday and she was upset that her party was cancelled. Luckily, she has an amazing group of friends who worked together to make her day as special as possible. When she woke up in the morning she discovered that one of them had crept to our house over night to put a birthday message on our window. Throughout the day they took it in turns to drop of cards and presents which kept her spirits high. That afternoon, they had a virtual party with cake games and lots of giggles. One friend had designed a virtual scavenger hunt and another a quiz. By all working together, despite not seeing each other, they made sure she was a very happy 8 year old!

Team Solomon…

Living with a two year old, teamwork becomes very important between myself and Mrs Solomon. It has been lovely to be able to spend more time than I would usually have with my little boy but it does also take a lot of hard work! Myself and Mrs Solomon have had to work as a team to make sure that our son is safe, entertained and enjoying himself whilst also allowing us to do the work we need to do for school. This has meant that at times we have had to take it in turns to look after him and provide the entertainment. When it has been my turn, I've enjoyed going on walks and spending some time in the garden with him. During these times my little boy and I have worked together to spot different wildlife and appreciate the nature around us. Here is a toad we found…

Team Schofield…

This week team work became even more important than usual. During a local walk with my children, I slipped into the river. Yes, how? I have no idea, but I found myself... within seconds - fully clothed, huge earrings, glasses on, shoes floating, my handbag firmly attached - floating in a river. I couldn't touch the bottom with my feet, so I needed my family members to remain calm by helping me. My son managed to grab my handbag and my daughter reminded me to save my shoes from floating downstream. I needed to remain calm and reassure them, so that they were calm enough to listen and help me. I managed to swim to the bank further downstream and was lovingly welcomed by 2 very upset children. My daughter said to me afterwards, why did you tell me to stop crying? I explained that it was very important -  that we remained calm, listened to one another and worked together. 

I’m sure you’ll agree they are some very different (and unexpected) ways to use teamwork! I’m not sure I have a story to rival Mrs Schofield’s dip in the river, or anything as slimy as the toad but the ability to work together and help each other is something I think is really important for all of us.  This week, think about using Teamwork at home- is there something you could help with? Something that would be more fun if you did it together? Can you set a teamwork challenge to work together and complete?( like this header challenge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSR7Fp3VBkU)

Have fun, stay safe and see you soon!

Mrs Price

Year 6

Hello to you all! We hope that you were able to enjoy half term and the amazing weather that we had!

All of the teachers are back at school and are getting ready to welcome some of you back this week J

For those of you continuing learning at home, the online learning will still be available and the LMS Facebook page will be updated regularly. 

Here’s a few messages from your form teachers:

Beech 6

Just a quick hello and check in. I hope you are all keeping well. It was lovely to talk to you all before half term, I really enjoyed catching up with everyone and finding out what you have all been doing!

I know that some of you will be returning to school and I’m looking forward to seeing you around the grounds. Some of you might not be ready for that yet and I look forward to seeing you when you return too. By now I imagine you’ve all become quite good at social distancing and have a good routine. Now is a very important and exciting time as you may be able to meet up with other people whilst staying socially distanced. Staying sociable is so important for your happiness and mental health so please do make efforts to contact friends and family (even if it’s virtual). I hope you’ve been doing a variety of things to keep busy - I’ve been reading a book about Helium... I couldn’t put it down...

• Mr Hatfield-Shaw

Cedar 6

Hello again Cedar 6! I hope you're doing well and keeping busy. I think the key thing, during times like these, is to give yourself plenty to do and also some structure. Try to be up at the same time each day, go to bed at similar times, and to set time aside each day for your learning. 

As well as that, though, set time aside for things that bring you joy each day. There's so many amazing shows to watch at the moment, for example; 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' has just landed on Netflix and I've always thought that show has some amazing lessons, as well as being awesomely written. I've got the whole last season of Doctor Who still waiting for me because I missed it when it aired, so I'm keeping hold of that for a time when I really need a pick-me-up. Even if you're playing video games, as long as it's for a healthy amount of time and in a way that doesn't cause a problem for others, that's a great way to relax.

I was glad to be able to speak to the majority of you by phone a couple of weeks ago, and, to those to whom I couldn't get through, I'm sorry we couldn't chat. It was interesting to hear what you've been getting up to and I particularly glad to hear most of you had spent time chatting with your friends, over the phone or safely on social media. It's great to stay in touch so that you know you're not alone, and that you're going through similar things.

I'm writing this from school now and I'm looking forward to seeing some of you in lessons, but if you're not coming back just yet there will be work going up on the website. I've been asked to read and record another book, so I'm going for something a little longer this time - I'm sure we will let you know when it's ready to listen to. If you didn't catch the last two audiobook readings, they're on the school's Facebook page!

Until we chat again, take care!

-Mr Cook

Linden 6

Dear Linden 6,

Hello again!  I hope you are all staying healthy and happy and enjoying the wonderful sunshine we've been having recently.  It was lovely to speak to most of you a couple of weeks ago and hear about all the things you have been doing at home.  It seems like we will have a very fit and healthy class and lots of accomplished bakers by the end of lockdown!  For those of you I was unable to speak to in person, I hope you received the messages I left for you.

Some of you will be coming back school this week and I am looking forward to seeing your smiling faces again, even if we are not all together as a form.  Things are very different here but we are getting used to it and enjoying the chance to talk to others outside of our families again.  For those of you who aren't coming in, we will still be thinking of you and missing you and hoping to see you as soon as possible.

I have enjoyed getting fitter with lots of running during lockdown, and I now need to work out how to keep that going now that I am back at school.  What have you done during lockdown that you would like to make a permanent part of your life in the future?  Let me know when I see you 😊

Stay safe,

Mrs Saunders

Maple 6

Hello Maple 6,

It was so lovely to talk to some of you on the phone and I’m so proud that you are all keeping on top of your work. It was great to hear that you are still keeping fit and healthy too.

Last week, I had some time to enjoy some sunshine and also think of some work you guys could be doing at home. The teachers are now back at school; we are very busy working and preparing for new times in the next few weeks. Things feel a little different here, however, I’m sure we will all get used to it soon.

I planted some strawberry plants at home at the start of lockdown and we are just starting to see some fruit on them. Can’t wait until they turn red so we can pick them and try them out!

Stay safe

Mrs Ellaway

Hello Maple 6,

I hope you are all well and enjoyed your half term! 

I have spent most of my half term outside enjoying the lovely weather. I have been running, gardening and discovering new places for long walks. My favourite places were Rushmere Country Park, Ouse Valley Park and Batford Springs Nature Reserve. 

Keep up the good work at home. Everyone at school is really looking forward to seeing you soon. 

Keep smiling and stay safe.🙂 

Miss Perry 

Willow 6

Hello Willow 6, 

We hope you are all keeping well, enjoying the sun while it lasts and are filling your days with interesting things to do. We know that we’ll be seeing some of you back at school very soon and we are excited to hear what you have been up to, for those who are not - we will catch up soon enough with another phone call! 

Both Mrs Solomon and Miss Guy been spending lots of time outside and in the garden. Mrs Solomon seems to have become a master BBQ’er in the recent weeks and hopes that the warm weather lasts long enough to try more BBQ recipes – she’d would love to do a smokey BBQ beef brisket! She is also currently reading Dracula and loves to see how vampires were portrayed 100 years ago and how much of what was written has been incorporated into vampire mythology and storytelling today.  Miss Guy has also been reading and has nearly read all the Harry Potter books (again!). Her favourite is still Book 1 – The Philosophers Stone – the magic created in it when we first visit Diagon Alley and Hogwarts are her favourite scenes!

So, in the time before we see each other again, stay safe, stay active and we'll see or speak to you soon!

Miss Guy & Mrs Solomon