28th February 2020
Rock Stars!
Year 3 began their new Science topic this week – Rocks and Fossils. They played a game called Hard Rock Challenge, classifying various rocks, before settling down to try their hand at detailed observational drawings of six different types of rock. Finally they had to work as a team (Billy Bee) to read definitions of the rocks so that each could be labelled correctly. One ‘rogue rock’ caused a bit of a stir amongst the group with Henry W, Teddy L, Issy DD, Zara SW and Hannah W, but all was well in the end! Mrs E was impressed with their focus today.
Year 3 Scribes
As part of their Learning Journey topic on Ancient Egypt, 3E ‘scribes’ each created their own ‘cartouche’, adding hieroglyphs of their choice. They planned first before drawing these pictures and symbols onto papyrus. Mrs E loved the way they worked so independently in the lesson, accompanied by some very atmospheric music.
14th February 2020
They’re Electric
Y4 were exploring with the electrical equipment on Tuesday. They had to work out which circuits would make the light, buzzer or motor work. They predicted first and then built the circuit to test their theories. They were very good investigators.
Louise Barrett
Year 4 GARGOYLES
We have been looking at architectural features by drawing parts of the school, from ceilings to drainpipes. It is amazing what you can see when you spend time looking closely at the things we pass every day. Gargoyles are features added to churches for the purpose of scaring away evil spirits. Year 4 used clay to model their creatures – perhaps a little too convincingly!
7th February 2020
Saving Water Collaboration
The Year 4s visited Year 2 to teach them all about the importance of saving water. They shared their posters and then Mrs King and Mrs Barrett quizzed the Year 2s on what they had found out. Year 4 loved being in the Pre Prep, especially as there were so many Pirates about!
Louise Barrett
Find Your Brave
Lots of Juniors were included in this week’s Good Copy Break. The children loved the pancakes and ice-cream served with chocolate sauce and golden syrup. As the sun was shining so beautifully the children played in the Melon Garden garden with the dogs and chickens.
Liz Powis
31st January 2020
The story of Zacchaeus
As part of their RS studies on Christianity, Year 4 have written their own script for the story of the tax collector whose life changed for the better when Jesus met him in Jericho. Characters included butchers, bakers, fishmongers, silversmiths and a fruit seller, together with a couple of narrators, some fearsome guards and, of course, cool celebrity Jesus and a friendless Zacchaeus.
We performed the play outside as the sun shone on us! I was so impressed with the ‘villagers’ as they improvised convincingly during tax collection time; Zacchaeus (Isla M) climbed a real tree safely in ‘Jericho’ (phew!) to catch a better view of Jesus (Victor J) over the crowd. Finally Jesus persuaded ‘him’ to change his lifestyle and all was well. We even captured the attention of a Year 5 class who came out to watch! Well done 4B.
Carina Everist
Poles Apart in Year 3 Science
3E continued their magnetic investigations in science this week by doing six activities in which they explored ‘attraction’ and ‘repulsion’. Billy Bee collaborative skills were put to the test, as well as Ollie Owl as they reflected on what they had discovered.
24th January 2020
RS – Singing Bowls
As part of the Year 5 studies in RS this term, the children are learning about Buddhism and have really taken to playing the Tibetan singing bowls at the start of their lessons. This requires focus and persistence, like Terry Tortoise, never giving up; there is a definite skill needed which means it may not happen instantly!
Learning Journey: Are all coins magnetic?
This question really got the Year 3 brains buzzing this week! It led to a further investigation from Archie M: ‘Are cleaner coins magnetic while dirty ones are not?’ Frankie F thought it might be to do with the age of the coin, so another investigation followed and we discovered much about how the Royal Mint have changed the material from which coins are made, thus meaning we had to look at the year each coin was minted.
Great thinking like Ollie Owl, curiosity like Cassie Cat and teamwork like Billy Bee – well done 3E!
Carina Everist
17th January 2020
May the force be with you!
Year 3 have been thinking about forces in Science. They planned fair tests to find out the answers to questions like these: Which is the strongest magnet? Are magnets as powerful under water as in air? Most of them worked super hard with their group, just like Billy Bee. Well done, 3E!
Carina Everist
Science – Year 4 have learnt a lot about sound over second half of last term. To complete the topic they made ear defenders to muffle sound. They were very creative and scientific. To start with they investigated which materials were best at muffling sound and then they created the ear defenders using the materials they thought were the best.
Louise Barrett
22nd November 2019
Year 3 Maths
Frankie F explained and demonstrated her method of subtraction to 3E (see picture below).
Pulleys and levers and telephones
Lots of exciting science this week. Year 5 experimented with pulleys and levers and Year 4 built string telephones and tested lots of theories with them. Such a creative group of children.
Year 3 Poems
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White Tiger White Tiger prowling the mountains On a dark night The white terror of the mountains Fishing in the river The animals shiver As he lumbers onto the scene Fluffy is his fur Growly is his voice A white tiger Is he the mighty one? |
The Silver Birch Down in the valley, You gently sway To the soft breeze in the evening, The sun gradually fading To a heartbeat in the distance. Your trunk swaying slowly, In the wind it sounded lowly, Swaying slowly, Swaying slowly. |
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Wolf Wolf as black as night Wolf as scary as a lion Wolf claws as big as a bear Wolf Aoooooooooooooh! |
White tiger A white tiger up a mountain He said I’m getting thinner and thinner I must find my dinner! |
15th November 2019
Following Instructions:
Year 4 had a lot of fun and did exceptionally well following recipe instructions in English/cookery on Wednesday. They worked in teams to make chocolate cakes, gingerbread men and garlic bread – all in the nick of time to take a portion of each home! The lesson was following on from studying recipes and finishing the book ‘Horrid Henry’s Birthday Party’.
Maths: Adding with renaming and regrouping
Year 3 continue to develop good communication skills as they use the base ten Dienes blocks to show the addition of three digit numbers.
Science: Year 4’s Day Out
Drama in RS with Year 4
As Year 4 continue to explore the miracles of Jesus, as part of their lessons about Christian beliefs, they acted out the story of The Paralysed Man. Needless to say, no holes were made in the roof of the De Beer block! Arthur G was very trusting as his ‘four friends’ (Max, Kingsley, Alessandra and Grace) lifted him on his ‘bed’ and took him to the house where ‘Jesus’ (Orlando) was holding forth, ably assisted by one of his friends, Theo. The ‘crowd’ were all narrators and improvised very willingly, as ever in role play lessons! Hopefully this story will now be one that the children remember for a long time. Mrs E certainly will!
Just So Stories – Year 3 visit Year 2
Having composed their very own ‘Just So’ stories, Year 3 visited the Year 2s this week to read them aloud, as Rudyard Kipling intended his own to be read. The Year 2s were very appreciative and offered some positive comments:
‘I like the beginning – Many, many moons ago …’
’That was a good part where the parrot got his colours in the tree’
‘I liked: It was a magical, misty morning …’
Thank you Year 3, and also Pre-Prep and Mrs King, for allowing us to come. It was ‘JUST SO’!
8th November 2019
Let there be Light!
Year 3 have begun to explore a new topic in their Science lessons – LIGHT. They undertook a variety of investigative tasks this week discovering, amongst other things, that ‘Darkness is the absence of light’, ‘Light travels in a straight line’ and ‘We need light in order to see’. Much interactive learning took place in the classroom, involving torches, boxes, bubbles and more! They particularly enjoyed seeing white light refracting into seven colours; thank you to Dr Moore for setting up the prisms and lamp in the Science ‘dark room’ upstairs.
18th October 2019
Geography
Year 5 pupils enjoyed an ice lolly whilst learning about glacial erosion. Quite a current issue with the recent visit of HRHs William and Kate to Pakistan.
Nick Butcher
Science
Shadow experiments for Year 5 with the only bit of sunshine we have had all week and edible homework. Space themed biscuits – what a delicious lesson we had! Thank you Year 5.
Charlie P very cleverly made a very realistic moon out of a poppadom.
11th October 2019
Science
Muscles need oxygen – Year 3 discover how much their lungs hold!
Breathing deeply in Year 3 was part of Science this week, as part of our topic, ‘Animals including humans’. Setting up our own equipment (helped by Sister Kate’s sterilising Milton to clean the tube each time!), the children measured their own lung capacity. Thanks to Mrs Lomas for ably controlling the five litre bottle and long tube! Collecting data is such fun!
Dem Bones, Dem Bones …
Year 3 have been finding out about bones in Science and, along with new vocabulary and facts, they have made their own dancing skeletons! Next it will be muscles …
Life Skills
Year 3 had to cooperate and work as a team this week to make carrot cars. We had to discuss ideas, listen to each other and take turns to build our cars, before testing them out to see which ones rolled the furthest. Some were more successful than others but we all had lots of fun and enjoyed working as a team.
Geography
The Cuckmere River
Finally Year 4 managed to go on their trip! The sun didn’t quite shine, but it didn’t rain and it was a mild day and perfect for our visit. However, it was rather muddy (sorry about the tracksuits) and quite flooded, but we could still see the features of the river.
We had lunch on the beach and then the children sailed the cork boats they had made in the morning. On our return we found the ‘best conker tree ever’ and the children doubled the weight of their backpacks with conkers.
They were all beautifully behaved and it was a pleasure to be in their company.
Louise Barrett
4th October 2019
The Juniors in Year 3 and 4 headed down to the outdoor learning area by the fire pit on No Pens Day for some collaboration and rivalry in the woods. In their Houses, they worked well as teams to forage for a long list of items such as ‘something fluffy, something yellow, something beautiful’, before displaying these in an imaginative way for us to see. Hot chocolate and marshmallows proved a popular treat as we sat around a flickering fire under the dappled leaves in our lovely grounds.
RS
Year 4 have been learning about illuminated script this week and Mrs E was very impressed with their focus. They designed some intricate and detailed patterns which they wove around their initials, to the accompaniment of some calming Latin plainsong. The choir on the recording certainly helped them to stay in the ‘green zone’, ready to listen and learn.
Year 3 tasted figs, olives, grapes and dates as they imagined what it must have been like in Israel two thousand years ago. Some children ate everything and some tasted things and then spat them out! All a learning curve for them. Oh the joys of being a Year 3 teacher – and not a writing implement in sight!
27th September 2019
Science:
This week we looked at how matter can change its state by adding heat or by cooling. The children predicted what would happen to yellow and blue ice cubes and they all used a thermometer to read various temperatures around the classroom.
RS
Year 5 have started exploring Judaism and have been revising stories from Year 4. In 5PA Milo P was ‘God’ and Albie G ‘Abraham’, while Rosie D was an ‘angel’ telling Albie not to kill ‘Isaac’ up the mountain. In 5PW Rafe acted as ‘God’, Alfie was ‘Abraham’, Lucy Platt ‘Isaac’ and Christopher N another ‘God’!
Maths
Please see our write up on the Junior mathematicians who took part in the St Andrew’s maths challenge this week. Please click here
20th September 2019
Science:
We had a great Year 4 science lesson exploring gases this week. We acted out how each state would behave, felt gases and even managed to weigh them! It was great fun and the children worked hard (with a little nagging) to record what they had discovered.
Learning Journey:
In Year 4 Learning Journey we used the tablets to try to track a river from the mouth to the source. It was rather challenging and not many succeeded, but they did learn a lot along the way.
After their trip to Battle Abbey School last week, Year 3 painted their own shields in Learning Journey this week, having studied some pictures first to look at the different designs possible. Mrs E was impressed at how calm and ready to listen and learn the children were during this practical lesson (they were all in the ‘green’ zone!). The results are shown below – what a variety of designs!
13th September 2019
Learning Journey:
Step Back in Time with Year 3
We travelled back in time to Battle Abbey school where ‘Brother James’ met us for a tour and quick history lesson on the Abbott’s Hall, the Battle of Hastings and weapons used at the time. With some super-attentive children and chocolate rocky road for a snack, this was a great start to our Learning Journey topic of local history and geography. Thanks to Mrs Payne for driving the time machine for us!
Science:
Science – Animals including Humans – Year 3
After a game of Diet Riot in the sports hall, sorting omnivores, carnivores and herbivores, Year 3 collected data from a fictional character before presenting this as a bar chart. One group found out how much sugar in a week the person consumed, while the other group counted the number of portions per week of fruit and vegetables that she had in her diet. It was an eye-opener to the children how much ‘hidden’ sugar is contained in different food types! Great team work, Year 3!
Y4’s Science topic is States of Matter – quite tricky!
We spent much of the lesson exploring different materials and talked about what ‘state’ they were in. It was very messy, but great fun. Thank goodness for Mrs Lomas (except for when she confused jam with honey!)
Louise Barrett
In Science Year 3 collected DATA to answer the question, ‘Do some people have stronger muscles because they use them more?’ Year 3 counted their sports sessions per week, including the weekends, and then we counted (as accurately as we could!) how many star jumps they could do before collapsing in a heap!
Much scientific deliberation followed and we recorded the results in a class scattergram, but used stickers to mark the spots as it was No Pens Day! Great fun and a lot of learning – well done, Year 3!
Y5’s Science topic is Earth and Space
What a great topic this is. I hope everyone has handed in their slip about our trip. By now all of Year 5 should have learnt the names and the order of the planets from the sun. I wonder if they have found out any other interesting facts?
Louise Barrett
