Polar launch day
We were very excited to welcome a visitor – our polar ambassador Terry Kirk!
First, we had to find the Arctic before we could dive in.
But who really sits at the top of the food chain? We worked in groups to discuss the right order.
It turns out it’s a lot more complex than it seems! A more accurate term is food web. We were tasked with creating a food web mobile to demonstrate the pecking order. This required teamwork and problem solving. It was really tricky at first but we were extremely proud of our results!
Challenge question- what would happen to the animals that eat fish, if the fish were poisoned?
To get inspired by Boaty McBoatface and find upcoming events and activities, visit STEM Learning.
Chick Cam 3!
We’ve now got seven chicks! We’ll start moving them to the breeder box today.
Chick Cam 2!
The streams on YouTube only last for 8 hours, so here’s the next one!
It’s 17:10 and we now have three chicks with one more arriving very soon! Once hatched, the chicks need to stay in the incubator for about 24 hours to ‘fluff up’ before they are moved to the breeder box.
Chick Cam!
Good morning. Click on the following link to watch the chicks in our incubator. Two chicks have hatched already and there should be more hatching today and tomorrow! Stay tuned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSUKPotLzS4&feature=youtu.be
What would happen if…?
- “What would happen if we used Coke instead of water?”
- “What would happen if we used card instead of kitchen roll?”
- “What would happen if we used cold hot chocolate instead of water?”
- “What would happen if we used lemonade?”
- “What would happen if we used melted chocolate?”
- “What would happen if we put our cups in a line?”
LO: To make predictions and perform a test.
Firstly, we predicted what would happen giving reasons to justify our opinion. For example:
- “I think the kitchen roll will disappear and dissolve because Coke is fizzy.” – Phoebe
- “I think the kitchen roll will go brown because the cold hot chocolate is brown.” – Emma
- “I think the water won’t go into the other cup because card is heavier than kitchen roll.” – Noah
We took safe risks as we had no idea what would happen.
Next, we set up our experiments according to our plans and by remembering whose role was whose.
It was important to be responsible and work well within our teams.
We had to be ready to record observations at certain points in the day.
There was progress in some…
… but less so in others!
Either way, we reflected on our experiments at the end of the day by describing what went well and what we would change for next time.
Have you ever heard of walking water?
Happy new year and a warm welcome back!
To get our brains back into gear, we’ve started this week with Science.
We were posed with the challenge of moving water from one cup to another – without touching the water or the cup, using only the following equipment:
A pipe cleaner, a square of kitchen roll, a plastic glove, packing peanuts, string, an elastic band and a newspaper.
Do you think you could crack the case?
After lots of (mostly failed) attempts, the answer was finally revealed…
It was the kitchen roll all along!
The walking water absorbed by the kitchen roll created this lovely rainbow effect which is so easy to recreate at home!
This got our scientific juices flowing, and we started to ask “What would happen if…?” to help us plan our own version of the experiment!
Here are some we came up with:
Watch this space, as we launch our own investigations in the coming week!
Living and Learning
- Drug, alcohol and tobacco education (DATE)
- Keeping safe and managing risk
Here are the weekly Living and Learning statements, for this half term, to support this learning.
- I don’t interrupt (with my mouth or my hand).
- I can make things better.
- I know what a drug is.
- I am aware of risks.
- I make safe choices.
- I stay safe online.
Be mindful
At this busy time of year, mindfulness can help children to take control of their emotions.
During our recent themed week, all children took part in mindfulness workshops to learn a variety of techniques to use at school and at home. Here’s a reminder of a few of them that might be useful for over the holidays. A mindfulness newsletter/parent guide will be sent out in the new year.
Breathing hug
Start with both arms in the air. Put one hand across your tummy and the other on your shoulder. Breath slowly in and out.
Breathing tree
In a standing position, raise your arms as you breath in and release your arms back down as you breath out.
‘Ok’ breathing
Make an ‘o’ sign on your tummy button to represent that it is ok to feel different emotions. Slowly breath in and out.
Mindfulness bottle
This is a bit like a snow globe. Shake it up and watch it. Simply watch the disturbance as it begins to settle – as does our mind.
Take a bottle, add glitter and food colouring and seal tightly.
Looking to Christmas and beyond…
This week we’ve been feeling both festive and creative whilst making our Christmas cards and 2018 calendars! Check out our artwork below:
We’ve been inspired by Frosty the Snowman…
… and the Chinese New Year! Did you know, 2018 is the year of the dog?
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all!
Year 3/4 new class novel
Next term, Year 3 and 4 will be diving into two class novels.
The first will be a Fighting Fantasy novel, which is the title given to a series of interactive books, also known as gamebooks, that were developed by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. This book will certainly be intriguing and memorable because the children’s participation and the choices they make directly affects the outcome of the story!
The second will be Akimbo and the Elephants, written by Alexander McCall Smith. Here’s the blurb for a sneak peak:
Ten-year-old Akimbo lives on a game preserve in Africa. His father is the head ranger, and Akimbo is eager to help him whenever he can—even if it means getting into some pretty dangerous situations.
In Akimbo and the Elephants, ivory poachers are killing grown elephants for their tusks and leaving the calves to die. When the authorities fail to turn up new leads, Akimbo sets out to save the elephants by posing as a hunter himself.