Kestrels are working super hard!

A huge well done to the kestrels in Group B who have worked super hard today!  They have produced some fabulous ideas in English; thought logically in maths and put heaps of pride into their continent fact files for Geography as well as finishing off their brilliantly colourful lock down montages!  Wow - what a day!

Kestrels visit the Natural History Museum

Kestrels had a fantastic day yesterday in London visiting the Natural History Museum.  We were primarily there to explore the 'red zone' Volcanoes and Earthquakes displays (including the earthquake simulator) and to take part in a workshop learning more about natural disasters and how scientists can predict volcanic eruptions and keep people safe in areas of volcanic activity.  However, we also took the opportunity to explore the rest of the museum and loved seeing the large mammals (including the blue whale) and the dinosaurs.  We were also lucky enough to have a hands-on investigative session where the children were able to use powerful microscopes to look more closely at a range of really interesting specimens. It was lovely to see all the children really engaged and motivated by the activities.
After leaving the museum we were treated to a little tour of some of the sights of London, including Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, The Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, The London Eye and The Thames.
It really was a fantastic day out!

Kestrel's ring of fire!

Today was the day....our volcanoes (Set out to recreate the ring of fire around the Pacific rim) erupted!

Owls fly to Itchen Valley!

Phew - what a day!  Owls class flew all the way to Itchen Valley today for an amazing day of Science and Geography.  This morning they went on a woodland walk to identify trees such as oak and beech and to compare what we know about rain forests to a more local one.  They also got the opportunity to do a "meadow sweep", which was the highlight for many!  They caught shield bugs, crickets, grasshoppers and even snails!

 This afternoon they went on a trail around the park looking for clues to crack the code!  We were particularly looking for non-flowering plants and how they reproduce - finding spores on ferns and male and female pine cones.  We had the chance to closely observe and sketch them to help with our learning on life cycles in Science.

They had a fantastic day, made possible by our helpers, so a big "Thank you" to them.  The children were exceptionally well behaved too, so well done Owls!

Rooks Test Wood Lakes Adventure!

On Friday, Rooks visited Test Wood Lakes Nature Reserve.  This term, in our Geography and Science topics we have been studying Rivers and States of Matter, including the water cycle.  The aim of this visit was to link both subjects together, look at and identify the features of a river, and also learn more about the water cycle and the role our rivers play in it.

Read on to find out about our exciting day

The morning began, with us map reading our way around the nature reserve.  After leaving the centre,  we were each given a map to help us navigate our way around the site.

 We crossed over the River Blackwater

 We found ourselves at the faster flowing River Test.

 We all had a game of Pooh Sticks - it got rather competitive!!

 After returning to the center, we ate our lunch.  As part of Test Woods desire to protect the environment, we looked at how much of our lunch waste we could recycle and how much would need to go the the landfill.  Although we were not officially taking part, we managed to win a silver award - well done Rooks!!

After lunch, it was time to play with water.  We created our own water cycle using sponges for clouds, drain pipes to deliver the water and squirty water bottles to act as evaporation.  The three teams had to repeat the cycle and label up the different parts of the water cycle.  Luckily the sun came out, so we dried up quickly.

Finally, if that wasn't enough fun, we headed off to their wooded area to practise our map reading skills.  We had to follow another map and find different parts of the water cycle hidden within the woods, these were clearly labelled on the map but it was quite tricky getting our bearings!  Again competition was fierce, with one team completing the challenge and several others coming close second.  We even had some of the local deer join in the hunt!

After our map reading dash around the woods and an enormous 'Thank you' to the staff at Test Wood Lakes for hosting our day, it was back to the mini buses to head back to school.  

A great day was had by all!