Year 6 – Frozen Kingdom Hook
For the next six weeks, Year 6 are learning about the Arctic and Antarctic. To inspire us and tell us a bit more about the polar regions, James Moore came to talk to us about his experiences.
James helps to make sure that expeditions to extreme places are safe from a medical point of view. He spoke to us about a specific expedition he had planned and attended as the medic. He showed us where he went, how far he had to travel and some of the equipment he had to take with him.
Both classes found it an inspiring start to our learning journey. We could not believe that the expedition toilet blew away in a storm!
Some of us got to try on his equipment – it was very bulky!
James also made us think about some of the big questions related to the polar regions. These included: Is all polar tourism bad? Who owns the polar regions? What can I do to have an impact on global warming?
We hope you enjoy looking at some of the pictures.
What a fantastic start to Year Two Apple Class had.
We spent a large portion of the day hunting for minibeasts high and low. We found them when we shook trees, we found them under logs and we even found them in the pond.
Can you remember the names of any of the creatures you found?
Can you remember the names given to the equipment we were using and how to use it?
This morning Cherry dissected owl pellets. We learnt where the pellets came from. They are regurgitated by an owl between meals.
First, we had to soak the pellet in warm water for 10 minutes to soften them.
Then, we pulled the pellet apart to see what the owl had eaten. Some of us were fascinated and some of us were less than pleased by what we found. We found all sorts of bones including feet and skulls. We used a bone identification chart to identify the animal skeletons.
Can you remember which bones you found?
Year 3 have been busy learning all about their favourite creatures since our first trip to Paignton Zoo. In school today, we finished writing up our leaflets which we are sending to Matt at the Zoo. Other visitors from the Zoo can then learn more about these fascinating creatures like we have been.
@Paigntonzoo
Today, Year 4 had an amazing day at Plymouth Aquarium. This was to celebrate the end of the learning journeys Predator and Blue Abyss that the children had been learning about during , and after, Lockdown.
A great big thank you should go to all 62 pupils who were a credit to our school! They showed great respect towards the aquarium staff and general public and were able to showcase their new learning effectively!
Well done Year 4! 
Today we went to Plymouth Aquarium on a coach. In the first room we visited there were 38 Starfish and we used our maths skills to work out how many Starfish legs there were. There were 190 in total! We saw a Catshark and learnt they take 9 months to hatch from their purses. We also met Friday the Turtle, he swam over our heads. We found him in the Atlantic Ocean zone. The largest Jellyfish is called a Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, we learnt that the their tentacles can wrap around the walls of the aquarium. We learnt that Jellyfish don’t actually swim, but they drift on the currents. There was a species of fish called Humphead wrasse the first was called Cooper and the second was called Mini. In the Great Barrier Reef zone we found there were 3 types of coral: Cabbage Lever coral, Mushroom coral and Staghorn coral.
Year 5 continued their learning journey, Stargazers, by visiting outer space in the amazing Space Odyssey mobile planetarium. Simon from Space Odyssey was very impressed with the knowledge that year 5 were able to display. The children were able to experience simulations on the Moon and Mars and inside a space station. We discussed black holes, phases of the Moon, star constellations, the size of our solar system, day and night and so much more.
We have had a busy and exciting start to our predator topic so far.
Over the last few weeks, we have been carrying out a science investigation to test the conditions that plants need to grow. We have looked at no air, no water, no light and no soil. From the photos below which plant has continued to grow the best? Why do you think that is?
We have also looked at seed dispersal. Can you tell how the seeds in the photo below disperse?
In computing, we had to create programmes for our cars to avoid the predators. If we made a mistake we had to adjust our programme and try again.
The most smelly learning so far came from investigating owl pellets. We had to use our careful observation skills to identify the animals that the owls had been eating. We were also able to identify some of the different types of bones. Which bones can you see?
Our butterflies were ready to be released today into our garden. We hope they will come back to visit us one day.
All of the children enjoy Special Weeks in Foundation. We follow the children’s interests, and create some really engaging experiences. Our children are very passionate about saving the planet. We think this is fabulous at only 4 and 5 years old! The children were discussing how important it is to rid the sea of plastic. The children brainstormed ideas to fix this problem. They created some excellent drawings of their ideas and products.
Some children thought a magnet could get all the rubbish from the sea. We created an experiment to test whether a magnet would work under water. We discovered that it will work under water. However, it didn’t pick up non-magnetic objects. The children decided we might need a new solution.
We will keep working on different ideas. Well done Foundation!
At the start of the week, Oak Class set up a trail camera in the forest school area to see if we could capture any predators in our local area.
Take a look at what we captured.
Which of these do you think is a predator? Can see see any after their prey?
Over in Little Acorns, we have been planting sunflowers, sweet peas, marigolds and lobelia in the hope to make it look beautiful and bright, and to try and entice the butterflies.
The sunflower shoots that they planted, were grown from seed. The children have been really interested to learn all about the life cycle of a sunflower.
Year three spent the day monkeying around at Paignton Zoo. We went in search of the fiercest predators. At crocodile swap, we found out and drew on a map where the different species of crocodiles live in the world. We also used our map skills to locate the different animals enclosures using a 4 figure grid reference. There was time for a little play too.
The Little Acorns have been caring for 5 caterpillars over the last 2 weeks. We have observed them carefully and watched them grow. During this incredible period of growth, they have shed their exoskeletons four times and have grow more than ten times their original size!
The caterpillars have now changed into chrysalides, so have been safely transferred to their hatching net whilst they harden. This is a very delicate time so we will let them rest peacefully whilst the amazing process takes place!
We can not wait to see them soon emerge as beautiful butterflies!
This afternoon, Oak Class spent some time investigating the predators that could be found in the pond. We had lots of fun! We found many creatures we’d never heard of or seen before. The leaches, newts, frogs and blood worms were some of our favourites. We used identification keys to help us name some of the animals we found. Do you recognise any of the creatures in the pictures below?
Year Three have been having fun with mirrors and exploring their reflective properties.
We had to decipher Mrs Jeffery’s secret message and then created some of our own. We needed a bit of resilience for this task. We used our mirrors go guide us around a path on the playground. It was very hard not to cheat and look at the floor. We also used them to shine light in different places around the room, see things that were on our backs and look what was on the table when we were under it.
The Little Acorns children have been enjoying our new water-based mini topic- Splash! They have been exploring different types of water play and learning about the different forms of water. They have learnt about freezing and melting, they have investigated with objects to see whether they float or sink, they made their own waterfalls, and they have even made their own scented water by squeezing sliced citrus fruits.
The children enjoyed blowing bubbles in watery paint to make their own bubble paintings, and had great fun being graffiti artists by flicking and spraying coloured paint onto a large sheet of paper!
In science today, we discussed the importance of sun safety. We talked about why it’s important not to look at the sun and different ways we can keep safe. We then had some special beads that we needed to keep safe from the sun. We would know if the sun’s light energy had reached them because they would change colour.
We thought about different ways of doing this such as:
- suncream
- under sunglasses
- in the shade
- covering them up (in different ways)
- in water
This led us to other questions as well. We wondered if covering them in shiny paper would be better as it might reflect the sun away. We wondered why the suncream didn’t work as well as we expected.
What would you try?
What a busy week in Ebony Class!
This week we have been #geographers. As a part of our topic – ‘Hola Mexico’, we researched the similarities and differences between their physical and human geography and ours in the UK. We then presented this information in fact files.
We have also been #scientists. As a part of our topic, we looked at the way the Mayans built the Temple of Kukulcan. They observed the sun and built the temple so that it looked like a snake was climbing down the temple. We then reminded ourselves how shadows were made and experimented with how shadows change when we change the angle and distance of the light source. We observed and measured the changes.
Finally, we have been continuing to develop as atheletes. We have been working on key skills including: shot putt, discus, hop, skip and jump. This week we were developing our hurdling skills – in very heavy wind!
I hope you enjoyed reading about our week.
Big Wide World!
Today in Little Acorns, the children created their own ‘Planet Earth’ picture.
After studying pictures, we filled a circular dish with shaving foam. Then very carefully, the children used pipettes to slowly drip blue and green food colouring onto the foam. Next they lay a piece of paper over the foam and gently tapped their fingers around the circle. They were amazed at the prints that had formed! They look just like Planet Earth!
In Apple class, we explored plants and did some observational drawings of them. Firstly, we watched ‘Austin’s Butterfly’ and talked about how we can plan, monitor and evaluate (metacognition) our work and improve it through several attempts. We had to look carefully at the size, shape and texture of the plants and work together to give each other effective feedback. We had lots of fun and enjoyed using colouring pencils, wax crayons and art pencils to complete our drawings! 
Palm Class were learning all about the parts of a plant yesterday. What better way to learn than taking apart the plants themselves and investigating what they can see under a microscope. Palm Class were amazed at what plants and flowers looked like under the microscope and how different types of flowers varied. The children were fantastic investigators and showcased some excellent scientific discoveries.
As part of our learning topic “The Scented Garden’, Apple Class brought in lots of flowers, herbs and plants to recreate our very own Hazeldown Garden centre. We talked about the properties of the plants, how they grow and how we can look after them, asking plenty of scientific questions. We enjoyed discovering the enchanting fragrances of flowers and herbs too, using our 5 senses to explore the plants in different ways. Some of us did some observational drawings, smelt the plants, take close up pictures, look through a magnifying glass and dissect some flowers. We found it fascinating and we are excited to continue our learning topic! 
Our new learning journey is called ‘The Scented Garden’ and today we went on a walk around the school to discover what flowers we ready have growing in school. We found daffodils, daisies and buttercups but we couldn’t find geraniums or hydrangeas. We had a conversation about why this would be. It was so lovely to be in the sunshine and we now can’t wait to create our very own garden centre later this week.
The children at Little Acorns have really enjoyed our most recent topic- Dangerous Dinosaurs! We have discovered interesting facts about herbivores and carnivores! Became palaeontologists as we dug for dinosaur fossils in the sand! We have explored frozen dinosaur eggs! We have built our own dinosaurs from junk modelling! What an exciting topic!
The children at Little Acorns have been making their own rainbow potions made from coloured water, glitter and flower petals. They have also been planting cucumbers, sunflowers, primroses and pansies to make our garden look pretty. We hope the cucumbers will grow to be nice and juicy so we can enjoy them at snack time!
The children in Foundation had a fantastic afternoon learning all about capacity. We had a ‘capacity race’ and moved the liquid from one container to the other. We collaborated and supported our team mates. We used key vocabulary such as ‘full’, ‘half full’ and ’empty’.
Well done Foundation! 🙂
Fir Class have really embraced Forest School this half term. They have been learning new skills and also carrying out a range of science based activities as a follow up to Science Week.
This afternoon, Year 4 have been learning about and creating their own ocean food chains. The children were investigating the predator/prey relationship and learnt how green plants turn energy from the sun into food.
Foundation had a fantastic time during their PE lesson. They used tweezers to develop their fine motor skills and collaborated with their friends to collect the ‘dinosaur eggs’ and sort them into the ‘nests’. The children used their problem solving skills to move the eggs carefully and quickly. We then played a game of ‘hungry dinosaurs’. The children sat in a circle and took in turns to collect as many eggs as possible. We used our subitising skills to see who had collected the most eggs.
The dinosaur themed learning continued this afternoon in Foundation! We experimented with some frozen dinosaur eggs. The tiny dinosaurs were encased in the ice and we used different tools to free them. We predicted that the eggs would melt quickly if we poured the warm, soapy water over them. Our hypothesis was correct and we had freed all 6 dinosaurs in no time! We then had a go at using some metacognition to explain our hypothesis and debated with our friends!
Ash and Beech have had some very exciting visitors this week. On Monday, an incubator arrived with 10 chicken eggs. The incubator kept the eggs warm and we watched as the chicks started to hatch from their eggs. The chicks started off looking rather soggy but soon warmed up and got very fluffy! We learnt all about the life cycle of a chicken and shared our own knowledge with our friends. We linked this in with our learning for science week. We learnt that the orange/brown chicks are females (hens) and the yellow chicks are males (cockerels).
When the chicks were dry and strong, we moved them to the brooder box with a special heat lamp to keep them warm. The chicks huddle together to keep warm.
We used the chicks as inspiration for our literacy writing and wrote some independent sentences about the chicks. We used some of our fantastic adjectives and were resourceful by using the vocabulary wall. We loved challenging ourselves to up level our sentences and encouraged one another to be resilient.
We also developed our oracy skills by debating! We used the question ‘are eggs alive?’ as our hook. We discussed our ideas and decided that not all eggs are alive as you can eat chocolate eggs! We used some fantastic metacognition reasoning to elaborate and justify our opinions. We then extended our learning even further by discussing some statements. We found ourselves in a cognitive conflict but collaborated as a team and got out of the learning pit!
On Thursday, we got to have chick cuddles! We were very careful and patient with the chicks and loved holding them.
The children at Little Acorns have really enjoyed our most recent topic- Dangerous Dinosaurs! We have discovered interesting facts about herbivores and carnivores! Became palaeontologists as we dug for dinosaur fossils in the sand! We have explored frozen dinosaur eggs! We have built our own dinosaurs from junk modelling! What an exciting topic!
Year 6 have been enjoying Science Week this week! At the beginning of the week, we tried an ‘Odd One Out’ activity. We had to look at the similarities and differences between three pictures and then discuss which one we thought was the odd one out and why. Another activity we tried was ‘Zoom In, Zoom Out’ in which we saw a picture of something zoomed in and after each ‘zooming out’, we had another guess as to what it might be thinking carefully about the appearance, texture, colour etc. Here are some of the guesses we had:
Our final activity for Science Week was to create a ‘Robo-bug’. We had to think very carefully about the ‘why’, or the purpose, of the robot and then design it focusing on the features it would need to achieve its goal. Here are some of the designs.
This week is Science week and today we looked at pictures and discussed what we thought was going on in them. In one of the pictures, we thought that a group of people were dancing and we talked about what is different about the dancers, how children might dance compared to adults and how bodies move. We listened to a variety of music types and even had a dance with Mr Quint! It was lots of fun! 
As you know, this week is Science week and year 5 turned into scientific investigators yesterday to learn about the reproductive parts and functions of a flower. Have a look at the pictures below:
For one of our activities in science week Year 2 have been having discussions about the odd ones out!
They had to look at the 3 images and discuss as many similarities and differences as they could. They thought about:
- appearance
- what they do
- where they might be found
Then, as a class we decided which one is the odd one out and why. The class thought about justifying all of their answers … there was no wrong answer! Palm class then had a go at creating their own.
Year 2 have been investigating how the level of water in a glass bottle or jar affects the sound made when either tapping the glass with a pencil, blowing across the top of the bottle or running a wet finger around the rim.
They have been making predictions about how they think the water will effect the sound and finding out how full the bottle or jar must be to make a high-pitched sound or a low-pitched sound.
Here are some photographs of some of their experiments as well as their findings.
This afternoon, year 3 began their new topic of Rocks, Relics and Rumbles. We became geologists as we studied a range of rocks to find out if they were metamorphic, sedimentary or igneous. We first used our excellent observations skills on the rock’s appearance, then we used wire to investigate if the rock was hard or soft. Finally, we used pipettes to drop water to test if the rock was permeable or impermeable. All of these tests led us to discovery the rock type. We had a lot of fun and we’re excited to learn more about our topic.
Foundation have been very busy this week! We have been learning all about 2D and 3D shapes in our maths learning. We went on a shape hunt, created some shape pictures and even challenged ourselves to create repeating patterns. In phonics, we have been practising our tricky words. We extended ourselves using our oracy skills to put the tricky words into context! In literacy, we have been learning about the North and South Poles! We made some beautiful pictures and labelled them. We have also been creating our own winter themed songs and used our metacognition minds to challenge ourselves in all areas of our learning. Some children had a go at redrafting their work to make it even better! We have really enjoyed our Cornerstones topic “Starry Night” and this week, we completed some interesting ice experiments! We even wrote our hypothesis (vocabulary word)! Well done Foundation for your amazing enthusiasm, eagerness and positive attitude towards your learning. You are superstars and we are so proud of you!
We watched a video to celebrate and reflect on all of our brilliant learning. Here is a short snippet:
A huge thank you to all of the parents and carers of Ash and Beech for your continued support! Have a lovely half term! 🙂
Have a look at our incredible learning below:
Wow, another fabulous week in Foundation. In our cornerstones learning we have discussed how we see the moon. We decided on what materials would make the texture of the moon. We tried making the mixture several times. We evaluated our mixture and improved upon it.We loved getting our hands dirty to create the texture of the moons surface.
We have really enjoyed reading our up-levelled ‘Dear zoo’ story map. The children loved using the vocabulary ‘quickly, immense and stretchy’. The children are extremely proud of their performances.
The children have worked incredibly hard to produce their own narrative writing. They have written the ‘Dear zoo’ story using their own ideas.
We have been working hard in Year 6 this week. Not only have we introduced some new skills (in PE and Computing), we have also been embedding some already known skills.
In P.E., we have been using netball as our focus game. This week we were trying to attract the attention of our team mates – without alerting the opposite time. This can be quite tricky! We were also reinforcing our passing skills – using the chest pass and bounce pass.
In Computing, we have been using data from the voyage of the Beagle to create line graphs. These line graphs showed the distance of the Beagle from its home port.
We have also been applying our literacy skill in our SOLE sessions. We had a may to create a poem about the Galapagos. Here are two examples:
Finally, in Science, we have been studying evolution and adaptation. One part of this involved looking at how a specific animal had adapted over time. One of our favourite activities was our beak investigation. Inspired by Charles Darwin’s research on Chaffinches, we experimented with different tools and seeds to see which worked best.
I hope you enjoyed looking at some of what we have done this week.
This week the children have been learning about teeth as part of our work on Bile, Bottoms and Burps.
They have been looking at the structure of a tooth as well as learning about the different types and their functions.
They made collages, posters and fact files of their new learning. Now they are ready to carry out scientific investigations about the teeth relating to PSHE- learning how to keep teeth healthy.
Watch this space for the science investigations carried out next week!
For the Hook day, we had an exciting time learning about the digestive system- including the names of each part such as the oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines as well as the rectum and anus. We learnt how the food enters and moves through our body.
We carried out an investigation to show the journey and we made “poo” !!!
We also made models of the digestive system and posters to reinforce our new learning.
Then we used our IT skills to explore Curioscope – an app which maps 3D views of the internal organs of the body.
By the end of the week, we journaled the Hook and wrote reflections on our new learning including the Learning Values that supported us to achieve!
We have loved learning about the weather and had great fun today learning about Sir Francis Beaufort. He was responsible for inventing a wind scale to help sailors. We were wind detectives and looked for clues in a series of pictures, working out whether it would be safe at sea. Have a look at a few of the pictures and see what you can spot.
We then went outside to the pirate ship and re-enacted how we might stand and move if the wind suddenly became stronger when we were at sea. The children worked hard at using facial and body expressions to show how they would feel.
We are over a week into our remote learning for some children and Year 4 are showing what resilient and resourceful learners they can be! This term’s topic -Burps, Bottoms and Bile! – has got off to a rather gruesome start looking at the digestive system.
Here are some of the things they children have produced to show they learning.
Ash and Beech class have been working incredibly hard in their new bubble. Miss Redwood and Miss Banning have been extremely proud of all the Foundation children’s resilience and enthusiasm this week.
This week we put on our wellies and went on a fantastic nature walk. We discussed nocturnal animals and looked at these animals in more detail. We really enjoyed learning about one more and one less in our maths lessons. The children loved collaborating to represent one more/one less in a tens frame.
The children enjoyed seeing Miss Banning on the ‘big screen’ and playing a game with her. They told her about their week in school with Miss Redwood and what they did for Christmas.
Well done to all of Foundation for a fantastic week!
We have learned an incredible amount during our computing lessons this week.
We used the Chromebooks to create tables to record the data from our science investigations in. Later, we used Google Slides to create a presentation about everything we have learned during this topic. We can now insert images, change the back ground, add extra slides, change the font and more. Most importantly, we can now share our work with Mrs Jeffery and our friends.
Some of us chose to create our won slides all about Christmas during SOLE.
Palm class had fun with glitter today. We did an experiment using glitter as germs to see how easily and quickly germs spread.
One person in the group had glitter on their hands. Everyone then did activities such as colouring and clapping and then we had a look to see how the glitter had spread.
We found that germs spread quickly spread between all the children, over the floor and onto what we were using. Glitter even ended up on our soap dispenser!
Great fun was had by everyone and the classroom is looking very sparkly!
In Foundation, we have been creating circuits. The children have used different components to create circuits. They really enjoyed making the bulb light up and developing their understanding. The children loved answering questions about why things were/weren’t part of a working circuit.
Today in Year 3, we used force metres to measure the magnetic forces of our magnets. We recorded our results into a table to help us remember which magnets were the strongest and which magnets were the weakest. I wonder if you were surprised by how strong magnets can be?
