Mini Olympics
Peace Class had a brilliant time during their mini Olympics on Friday afternoon thanks to our Argyle sports coaches. We managed to miss the rain shower, thankfully. The children were excellent at demonstrating our sporting values, including team word, respect and honesty.
Sports Day
The children had a fantastic time at Sports Day yesterday and the whole class behaved beautifully with everyone earning themselves 4 Dojos! I am so proud of how well they worked together in their teams and the support that they offered one another. They are now eagerly awaiting Achievement Assembly on Friday to find out the winning house team.
RE
In our RE lessons this term, we have been learning about the Jewish festival of Passover. This week, we freeze-framed part of Luke's gospel to make links between his account of the Last Supper and the first Passover in Exodus.
Geography and PE
As well as the whole school assembly with our explorer mentioned in the previous post, he also had a session with each KS2 class to develop their map skills and outdoor adventurous activity learning. Adrian taught the children about different ordnance survey map symbols and how to read a compass. The part of their session that Peace Class enjoyed the most though was hunting for the tiny flags that he had hidden around the playground (look carefully in a couple of the photos and you'll spot them), using their scaled maps to help them.
Geography
Last Monday, I arranged for the Arctic Explorer, Adrian Hall, to come to Keyham Barton to share with the children his experiences of visiting the Arctic. Everyone listened brilliantly and they loved learning about what he needed to pack in a single rucksack to survive for weeks at a time, without any shops nearby. For many of the children, his stories about being bitten by a lemming and his multiple run-ins with polar bears were their favourite parts.
Science
In this week's science lessons, the children were learning about what rainbows are and how they are formed. As well as conducting some secondary research, they had great fun creating their own rainbows. They shone a torch through a prism (we promise it worked despite what the picture shows!) and blew bubbles whilst a torch was shone on them. All the children thoroughly enjoyed getting involved.
DT
Yesterday we had a collapsed DT. Our design brief was to design and make a toy from fabric that could be sold as a souvenir in a Dartmoor gift shop. I was really impressed with the children's attempts at running and over stitch. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for completing our toys this half term, but we will finish them off on the first afternoon back. The children are keen to show you their great designs.
PE
On Tuesday, we completed our current unit of dance. The children have been working on creating a movement phrase in a pair, which used machine-based actions e.g. a fast outward movement followed by a slower returning movement to represent a piston. They had to think carefully about which movements would be best performed in canon and which would be better in unison. Here are some photos of the children performing half a class at a time.
Science
In our science lessons this term, we are learning all about light through the context of a diamond earring theft. The children have become heavily invested in the case and are determined to catch the criminal (although some children are convinced it's a duo!).
They have learnt that light only travels in straight lines, so only objects directly in line with the only torch would have been visible when the lights went out.
They have then conducted an investigation into which colours are the best reflectors of light, so that they could eliminate some suspects in brighter clothing.
Last week, the children found a mysterious note that had been written in mirror writing that led them to the location of the earrings. They also had a go at writing their own messages to one another.
They have learnt that light only travels in straight lines, so only objects directly in line with the only torch would have been visible when the lights went out.
They have then conducted an investigation into which colours are the best reflectors of light, so that they could eliminate some suspects in brighter clothing.
Last week, the children found a mysterious note that had been written in mirror writing that led them to the location of the earrings. They also had a go at writing their own messages to one another.
Dartmoor Trip (Geography and English)
The children were brilliant on their trip to Dartmoor today and the staff are very proud of them. The guides commented on their energy and enthusiasm for learning and being out on the moors.
After that slightly rocky start due to our bus breaking down, the rest of the day went well. The children were split into two groups to explore different aspects of the moor. Both groups learnt about what a National Park is and saw first-hand some of the different aspects of its physical and human geography. We also started to learn about the impact of tourism on the moor and how this impact can be reduced.
Once we had lunch, the children enjoyed the interactive activities and films within the visitor centre. I was so proud of my group when they chose to collectively thank the lady behind the desk for letting them explore, without any prompting from me.
After that slightly rocky start due to our bus breaking down, the rest of the day went well. The children were split into two groups to explore different aspects of the moor. Both groups learnt about what a National Park is and saw first-hand some of the different aspects of its physical and human geography. We also started to learn about the impact of tourism on the moor and how this impact can be reduced.
Once we had lunch, the children enjoyed the interactive activities and films within the visitor centre. I was so proud of my group when they chose to collectively thank the lady behind the desk for letting them explore, without any prompting from me.