Reception: Wonderful Writing
Our children have really enjoyed our under the sea topic. It is wonderful to see how much progress they are making with their writing. The children have been writing sentences independently in continuous provision- well done!
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Year 3- Science -Why is doing different exercises regularly good for our health?
Today in Science, Year 3 scientists explored the question: Why is doing different exercises regularly good for our health? They discovered how activities like football and swimming benefit the body, while sleep plays a crucial role in supporting the brain. The class also learned that dogs need regular walks and fresh air to stay fit and happy, while giraffes exercise by walking long distances to find food and stretching to reach high branches. This investigation linked well with Children's Mental Health Week, reinforcing the importance of physical activity for both body and mind. Our Science Ambassadors, Cassidy and Naomi, took their roles seriously, proudly wearing their lab coats to support their peers. They provided guidance and assistance to those who needed extra support, ensuring that everyone could engage in the learning and investigation.
Year 4 - Science: Air Pollution Investigation
On Monday, the Year 4s went out into the local area to conduct an investigation into levels of air pollution. We placed cards smeared with Vaseline outside school, in a park, near a factory and close to the main road. We predicted that the cards that are nearer to traffic or plant machinery will be dirtier due to more air pollution being produced. We always used data loggers to measure the sound in decibels in these areas. The children predicted the noise levels in each area too. We will analyse the results next week and write up what we found out.
Year 4 - English: Debates
We love a good discussion in Year 4, and with our new English topic being “Debates”, we certainly have a chance to shine! After a little research into deforestation, we recorded some of the reasons mass tree felling occurs, followed by a look at the positive and negative effects. We then went on to sorting the effects into two piles - for and against. It became evident to the children that there were more reasons not to fell so many trees than to continue, we will see what their finished balanced arguments look like.
Year 4 - Life Education
Our Life Education session today was called ‘It’s Great To Be Me’. In Year 4, the children learned about the importance of looking after their bodies and not putting harmful substances in them. They learned about drugs, including medicines and how they must only be taken by the intended person and in the dose advised. The children were particularly excited to see Harold the Giraffe again. They saw a short film with Harold and his friends resolving conflict and celebrating each others’ differences.
Year 4 Geography - What are the main features of a rainforest?
Today’s Geography lesson focused on recognising features that make up a rainforest including specific rainforest food and animals. We looked at a range of both food and animals, labelling examples and adding these to our collection. We then moved onto classifying the animals into reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals.
Year 2 - Our body and feelings
Today we had a very exciting workshop from Life Education. Even Harold came to visit, which was lots of fun! We spoke about our bodies and why it is important to look after them. We also spoke about how to protect our bodies from things that could harm us. To finish we discussed how different situations make us feel. We explored a story where Harold had accidentally hurt his friend’s feelings without realising. In year 2, this is something we speak about often. Sometimes your feelings can get hurt and it might not be on purpose but an accident. We are learning to know that if we talk to our friends we can resolve our problems without falling out!
Year 5 - Day and Night
Today, Year 5 embarked on an exciting hands-on activity to deepen their understanding of Earth's rotation and how it causes day, night, and time zones. The children created their own model, using a ball of clay to represent Earth, a dowel to demonstrate its axis tilt and rotation, and a torch to symbolise the Sun. Through this interactive experiment, the children were able to visually explore how Earth rotates on its tilted axis, causing different parts of the planet to experience sunlight or darkness at various times. The children also discussed the significance of time zones and how Earth's rotation impacts the way we measure time across the globe. As the torch illuminated one side of the clay Earth, the children observed how light represents daytime, while the shadowed side represents night. This hands-on approach helped them connect scientific concepts to real-life and why we have day and night.
Reception: PSHE
Karen from Life Education visited Reception today. She explained how we need food, drink, exercise and sleep to stay healthy. Karen explained how we need to make sure germs don't get in by washing our hands with soap and water. We might need some medicine and we need to ask a grown up. We watched a video of Harold. Before he ate his breakfast, he washed his hands. Karen brought Harold's wash bag to show the children what he uses to keep clean. Harold has a flannel, soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste. Karen explained how it is very important to brush our teeth at least twice every day. Harold felt a little bit sad. Karen explained that if you feel a bit sad, you could cuddle a toy, play with a friend or talk to someone. Talking really helps when you feel sad and it can help you to feel better. Karen discussed a good bedtime. She explained how it is important to get an early bed time. We then took part in a calm and relaxing activity. At the end, we got to meet Harold, what a treat! Harold sang a song to us all about looking after our bodies and mind. Thanks Karen for a wonderful session.
Year 1 PSHE- Life Education Visit
Today, Year 1 had a life education session with Karen and Harold the Giraffe. We learnt that there are lots of different food groups that we need to be eating to ensure that we are consuming a balanced diet. We learnt about dairy foods such as cheese and yogurts which help to make our teeth and bones strong and healthy, protein foods such as chicken, fish, beans and eggs which support muscle growth, fruits and vegetables such as peas, broccoli, peppers and bananas which provide our body with vitamins and minerals to keep us fit and healthy all over and carbohydrate foods such as pasta, cereals, rice, porridge and potatoes which are good for giving us energy. We then talked about our organs (where they are located and what are their functions). We learnt that our ribs look after our heart and lungs, our heart pumps blood around the body, our lungs help us to breathe and our stomach breaks down our food which is called digestion. We learnt that our body absorbs the ‘good stuff’ from our foods and the ‘not so good stuff’ leaves our bodies when we go to the toilet. We then had a look at a packed lunch that Harold the Giraffe had packed. We talked about how his lunch box included bread (carbohydrates), tuna (protein), cheese (dairy) and a yogurt (dairy). We agreed that it was a great lunch but it could be improved by including a portion of fruit or vegetables. Alayna, Cici and Percy then shared their ideas for a balanced lunch. Alayna said that she would have an egg sandwich, apple, banana and a yogurt, Cici said that she would have a tuna sandwich, cucumber, carrots, grated cheese and orange juice and Percy said that he would have a ham sandwich, apple, yogurt and a boiled egg. To end our session, we watched a video and explored the the friendship between Harold the Giraffe, Kiki the Kangaroo and Derek the Penguin. We learnt that we must always think through what we are about to do before we do it to make sure that there is no risk of us upsetting or hurting anyone. We also talked about the importance of sleep for resting our brains, helping our bodies to grow and rebuilding our energy. Thank you to Harold and Karen from Life Education as Year 1 thoroughly enjoyed the session and learnt lots about how to stay fit, healthy and be a good friend.
Year 1 Science- Material Properties
This afternoon, Year 1 explored the properties of materials in their science lesson. They explored the following vocabulary: soft, hard, rough, smooth, shiny, dull, bendy, rigid, stretchy, stiff, transparent and opaque. Some of the words were new to the children such as dull, rigid, stiff, transparent and opaque. Therefore, the children chose to find materials and\or objects that these new scientific words would describe. For example, several children chose a glass jar or plastic bubble wrap to describe as transparent, a wooden building block to describe as opaque, an elastic band or white tac to describe as stretchy, a rock to describe as rigid and so on.. Well done Year 1!
Reception: Challenge Champions
This week in Reception, we are focusing on the story, Sharing a Shell. The children have been really busy in provision completing challenges. They have been attempting to write sentences, strengthening their muscles in the fine motor area, creating rockpools, drawing fish, painting using the skills of Pointillism, counting shells to play a subitise game and moulding the playdough to create different characters from the story. Well done!