In year 4 we had a joyful World Book Day, celebrating our favourite books and characters by dressing up, spending time in our beautiful reading corner, and being lucky enough to have a visit from a professional author! Bemma Akyeampong came and read to us one of her wonderful stories. We had already read another one of her books from the ‘Ayuda’ series earlier in the week, so the class were so pleased to meet her and hear her read another one of these books! Her stories deal with important environmental issues, through the eyes of a sea turtle…
This week is the 30th Anniversary of British Science Week, so the theme this year is Time!
We got off to a super start this morning with our Science Ambassadors leading a whole school assembly. We began with learnig a little about our Science saint – At. Albert the Great, and read a prayer that last year’s ambassadors wrote. They shared the theme and lots of links to our own lifes and science that we can make with science. They launched the Poster competition and ran the lunch-time ‘Gadget Shop’ which will run Mon-Thursday this week, until all stock is sold. Prices range from 50p to £2. Itemised lists with prices are posted around the school.
Phew, and it’s only Day 1.
To enter the competition cosider the following…
Creativity in approach – Innovative angle on the content or creative interpretation of the theme – don’t be afraid to think outside the box
Content – Clear, accurate and informative about a STEM topic
Effective communication – presented and communicated in an engaging way
RULES
Entrants can be teams or individuals
Entries must be one page of A4 or A3 paper only Work must be original and created by the student(s) – please do not use any templates
Include your name, age and Year group
Please hand in to Mrs Byrne before Thursday 21st March
Entries will be uploaded to the British Science Week Website to enter the national competition. See www.britishscienceweek.org/plan-your-activities/poster-competition
We’ve had a wonderful but very busy day at BRW. We welcomed Bemma Akyeampong, author of the Ayuda stories – set in Guinea-Bissau, all about a sea turtle’s adventures and struggles against pollution. She retold her stories to all the children and they had chance to think about what they could do to look after our wonderful world.
We also had the introduction of our wonderful new furniture to spruce up our reading corners in every classroom. This will really help to promote the joy of reading, learning new vocabulary and being inspired to be authors ourselves.
As the photographs show, the reading cafe was immensely popular and the cakes didn’t last long! Thank you everyone for attending and for the cake donations.
Thank you to the Library Leaders for getting our exciting week off to a great start. They told us about Saint Jerome who was asked to translate the Bible so that more people could know God’s word. He did such a good job that his translation was used for more than 1,000 years.
Don’t forget that if you want to be in with a chance of winning a book, return your Scavenger Hunt sheets by Thursday. Good Luck!
Year 4 had a wonderful time getting stuck in to some fun activities learning about Vikings and Rivers at Perlethorpe Environmental Education Centre. The children learnt all about Viking life in Britain and experienced what it would be like to be a child captured by vikings, training to be a warrior! Later in the day, the children ventured into the river Meaden, measuring its depth, width, flow rate, and using nets to search for invertebrates living in the river. It was a joyful day full of learning and new experiences for everybody.
This week, Year 3 and 4 walked to Clifton Village, to investigate the settlement’s features and learn about its History. We were led by our wonderful tour guide, Mr Byrant. He shared his knowledge of the geography and history of the area, taking us on a journey on significant roads and paths and past historical buildings that taught us much about the population of the village throughout time. Some stand out moments were the stables, the old school (which is now the village hall) and the old post office. We also walked by the oldest building in the village, built in the 14th century! The children learnt so much, while applying their knowledge of their topic.
On Tuesday 28th November, Children in Year 1 and Year 5 took part in #Google #BeInternetLegends Day. Year 1 learnt about being kind online and sharing kindness through ‘Kind Kingdom’. Year 5 completed their quest through ‘Mindful Mountain’ answering questions about what we should and shouldn’t share online and learnt about our ‘Digital Footprints’. As an added bonus, our Digital Leaders from all year groups have now been tasked with the challenge of creating their own Legends at home!
There are further family and individual activities, along with support and advice for parents here.
The wonderful children in Year 4 showcased their learning and talents in their first assembly of the year. The children showed how they can come together as a class to create something brilliant. Their dedication to learning songs, actions and lines was superb. A wonderful turnout from parents put a smile on everyone’s faces and the children in particular felt so happy to have such amazing support! Well done, Year 4!
In Year 4 we have celebrated Black History Month by learning all about Nina Simone. Growing up as a black woman in America, she faced many challenges and setbacks, yet still pursued her dream and showed courage and resilience. She used her songs to convey powerful messages of justice for black people in America, supporting the Civil Rights Movement. We have been using art to celebrate her and showcase some of her inspiring lyrics.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Years Three and Four were very lucky to have a lesson delivered to us by Mr. Butler, a volunteer STEM Ambassador who has lots of experience in this field and has visited many schools to help inspire and enthuse children in this field. He certainly did this today!
We started thinking about all the different electricity appliances we use all the time, and how these things are powered. Then we did some investigations into making an energy stick work! (A low-voltage appliance) We discovered that if we held both ends, we could safely create our own human circuit and make the energy stick light up and buzz. We also found we could keep adding children to make bigger circuits, as long as we were holding or touching hands. If we didn’t, then we were acting as switches, stopping the flow of electricity.
We used all this knowledge to apply to a variety of circuits, to work out if they would work, and if not, why not?
This session was a great opportunity for expanding not only our knowledge and vocabulary but also our thinking skills as the children had time to consider different investigations. They are all looking forward to putting this new found knowledge into practise as they begin their Science topic on ‘Electricity’ and in ‘Design and Technology’ when they will be making a reading night light.
