Outdoor day with Andy Peck

This term we have been learning about the Anglo-Saxons in History and this was the theme of our outdoor day with Andy. He showed us some Anglo-Saxon weapons like swords, axes, spears, bows and arrows and knives and armour including a helmet. We used the flags from the different kingdoms, shields and javelins and acted out a battle between the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans that meant the end of Anglo-Saxon rule in England. The battle was won by the best tactics. We also played some typical board (wooden) games that would be played in Anglo-Saxon times which needed a lot of strategic thinking.

Global Outdoor Classroom Day

On Global Outdoor Classroom Day, everyone in school joined in with some outdoor learning. We made leaf ID dials and then went out to use them to see how many leaves and trees we could name. We also completed a Maths trail, searching for answers about shape, measure and arithmetic on the school grounds. After collecting some different natural materials from outside, we made natural mandalas in groups.

Trip to Science Oxford

Although it was a very long journey, it was worth it! We had a workshop where we heated various materials over a burner and observed the changes. Using our Scientific knowledge, we guessed what the different materials (such as salt water, soap and solder) were. In the theatre, we learnt about how light travels and how shadows are formed. The show included lasers and smoke machines! In the Exploration zone, there were loads of different hands-on scientific activities. We watched  ice crystals forming (under a microscope), made parachutes which flew through air currents and created electrical circuits to work fans, lights or buzzers, to name just a few. This was such a great trip.

Year 5

On our Year 5 Science trip, there was a bunch of fun, cool and fascinating activities. There were 3 activities: a light show, an investigation and an exploration zone. The first activity I tried was  the most interesting: it was a collection of gems and fossils and you had to guess what they were based on some questions that you asked your opponent. The light activity was amazing – the was a laser and when it was covered in smoke, you could actually  see the light travelling to where the laser ends. Awesome! On the last activity, there were containers filled with mysterious things. We heated the things over a small burner to see if it burnt or melted. Then we had to guess what the substance was. All of us had a good time!

 By Keanu

After half term. We went to Science Oxford. There were many interesting and fun activities that helped us learn new things such as force, friction , states of matter and much more! There were three rooms with different activities. The first room had many activities including architecture, freezing, magnetism, electricity. In the second room, we had a light show. Did you know that if you spray smoke on a laser , you can see the light travelling in a straight line? In the final room we learnt about the states of matter. In conclusion it was a great trip and we all had a fantastic time!

 By Aminah

Andy Peck from Oaken Education delivered a session about trees. We learnt how to identify trees by looking at their bark, berries and leaves. We did some art involving leaf rubbings and talked about how trees can be useful to humans and why we need to look after them. After that, we tried different ways of estimating the height and age of some of the trees in our grounds. Some of them were older than the school!

On Global Outdoor Classroom  day, we had a day filled with outdoor activities. In the playground , we created road layouts which included tunnels, bridges, roundabouts and more. WE investigated a mysterious crime scene and used our imagination to tell the story of what had happened. We practised our French with a matching activity and used our Geography skills in an orienteering game with map symbols.

 We went on a trip to Dunstable Downs where we had lots pf fun in the fresh air. We made the most of the wind high up on the downs to fly kites. A few groups were expert kite flyers ad kept their kites high in the air for ages. We made some sketches: some people sketched the amazing views whilst others focussed on particular plants and flowers for a detailed small sketch. We also had a scavenger hunt in the flower meadows.

 Linked to our Science work about changing materials, we made rainbow cookies. After mixing up a dough, we added different colours to the dough and mixed it together. We rolled out our dough and made it into the right size and shape. Once the cookies were cooked came the best part: eating them - they were delicious!

 Year 5 had a fantastic time on our trip to Science Oxford. The trip included three different activities, one being the Exploration Zone where we got to explore and investigate lots of hands on activities. The second activity was doing different experiments seeing what would happen when we heated things over a flame. The third activity was a mini theatre where we tested things. There were lots of questions and many answers but the one question that hasn’t been answered yet is “What’s in the box?” Find out more on the Science Oxford website.

 Inspired by the impressive Maya pyramids which remain standing to this day, we worked as a whole year group to create tetrahedral using sticks and elastic bands. We joined these together to create bigger and bigger structures. In the end, we had a huge pyramid which was taller even than the teachers!

During Science week, we did a variety of different scientific activities and had an assembly where Mr Bright showed some exciting experiments, making a cloud and extracting DNA from strawberries.

Along with the rest of the school, we had a challenge to build the strongest bridge using only paper and a little tape. Each group had different ideas and had a chance to test and adapt their design to make their bridge stronger.

We became Crime Scene Investigators investigating fingerprints , taking our own fingerprints and examining them with magnifying glasses. Did you know that every-one has unique fingerprints, even identical twins?

Other activities included investigating the phases of the moon, making moon clocks and creating a balloon rocket which would cross the classroom. All in all it was a great week!

 We enjoyed Outdoor classroom day with Andy Peck in October. We learnt more about the Anglo-Saxons, had a chance to examine some replica weapons, like swords and daggers and some people dressed as Anglo-Saxon warriors. Their helmets and protective gear were extremely heavy! We learnt about some of their politics by re-enacting how the  Vikings tried to take over. The cunning King Alfred managed to use tactics to fight back victoriously and unite most of the different Anglo-Saxon  tribes.

 We spent some time outdoors looking at the change in the seasons. Leaves were turning all sorts of beautiful colours and falling from the trees. Trees were producing seeds, like acorns and conkers, which were dropping, trying to create new trees. Having used all our senses to explore the autumn, we went back inside to create some amazing autumn poems.

 Year 5 made the most of the unusual amount of snow we had this year. Although it made getting around more difficult, it looked stunning out of our first floor windows.  We had to have indoor break, but we managed to go out separately and play on the top field. It was great fun to play and make snowmen, even if our gloves did get soaking wet!