Ash- Star Writer! 12.01.18

In Ash class, our star writer for this week is Ethan Himuyandi!

Ethan has shared his brilliant ideas both for and against animals being kept in zoos with the class. He has produced some excellent writing using 3rd person, formal tone and present tense. Ethan has also shown his reciprocity skills by carefully planning his work and supporting his partner.

Well done Ethan, you are a super star! Keep up the excellent work!

I can't wait to read more of your writing, Miss Daly :)

Ash class visit the Rainforest!

Yesterday afternoon, Ash Class were treated to a visit from Jungle Jo - an expert on rainforest animals. She arrived with 6 fantastic live creatures...

Did you know that NO animals hibernate in the rainforest?

First, the class met Brian, a giant Africa land snail. A snail can lay eggs when it is only 6 months old.



"The snail was my favourite because it felt sticky on my hand." Tyrell B

Next, Ash class met a millipede. We were shocked to know that a millipede actually has no eyes.

The millipede had travelled all the way from Madagascar!



"I liked the millipede because it felt like a toothbrush tickling my hand!" Charlie I



We also met Curly Sue the tarantula!

Jungle Jo explained to us that her tarantula is very sensitive and very gentle.

A tarantula eats their food by grabbing it in their mouth, then it adds venom to the food.

When the venom hits the animal it turns to liquid and finally the tarantula sucks the guts out of the animal.

Samuel was selected by Jungle Jo to hold the tarantula.

"I felt happy holding the spider as I have held a tarantula before. When it moved I could feel the hairs on my hand." Samuel

Next, the class met an animal that was originally from a cloud forest in China- The Chinese mossy frogs, called Noodle and Rice.

Did you know that due to deforestation the first animals to die are amphibians?

We decided as a class we would try to eat less chocolate to save the rain forest!

"The mossy frogs were great because they could climb up the wardrobe. It was also really funny when the frog shot water all over Jungle Jo." Kaden N

Jungle Jo told us that the most dangerous animals in the rainforest were actually the black and white bullet ants.

We were also lucky enough to meet a Gecko. It changed colour dependent on the temperature and whether it is wet/dry.

"I loved the Gecko because his skin was rubbery and its belly felt like slime." Evie C

Finally, Ash class met Rosie the snake. Jungle Jo explained that snakes are really well adapted to the rainforest and can save themselves by rolling their bodies into a concertina shape.

"Rosie the snake was the best animal yesterday because she had dry scales that were smooth and I couldn't believe how big it was." Steven D

We were so pleased that Jungle Jo came to visit our school. All of the pupils showed reciprocity being kind to both the animals and each other throughout the workshop.

Miss Daly was very impressed by how brave the class were and pupils conquered some of their fears of snakes/ spiders.

The Rainforest Comes to Birch Class and here's the Proof!

This afternoon, Birch Class were treated to a visit from Jungle Jo - an expert in animals from the Amazonian rainforest. She arrived with a number of fantastic live creatures...

First there was the giant Land Snail, then the millipede, and even a tarantula! Melisa and Tyler were the lucky students who were chosen to hold the hairy spider themselves...

Jo also brought out a tree frog (Mr Nicol's favourite) and a New Caladonian giant gecko which gave Adi and Alex a bit of a scare!

James, who was also celebrating his birthday, managed to touch his favourite animal of all time - a green anaconda snake!

Birch class were thrilled by our visitor and gained much content knowledge that will be built on this term.

Year 3's Star Writers

Congratulations to our super Star Writers in year 3, Leo and Bonnie!

Leo wrote a fabulous opening to his Science Fiction story by engaging the reader straight away. Bonnie, however, was awarded the Star Writer accolade for her description of the perfect robot.

Both of the aspiring authors ensured to use superb adjectives to create a clear image in the reader's mind and Leo even used emotive language in his opening to describe how the two robots felt.

"My favourite part of my opening was the part when I said the robots were bored out of their rusty, metal minds" Leo 

"I made sure to use lots of exciting adjectives to describe my perfect robot" - Bonnie

Great job Leo and Bonnie! We are all very excited to read your finished stories!

Natural History Museum Trip - Year 3

On Monday 8th January, Year 3 had a fantastic day at the Natural History Museum! The children had an action packed day inside the museum, exploring and searching for fascinating facts in the mammals zone, blue whale room, the human biology lab and we had privilege of seeing the impressive whale skeleton hanging in the main hall of the museum.

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Whilst exploring the blue zone of the museum, we were lucky enough to see some dinosaur bones and hold some of them too!

"I can't believe I got to touch a dinosaur fossil, and then I found out it was fossilised dinosaur poo!" - Vinnie O'Leary, Hazel

The children also ventured up through the giant Earth to the Earthquake and Volcano exhibition. It was brilliant to see Year 3 experiencing what it would feel like to be in a shop during an Earthquake as they entered into a Japanese shop at the time of an Earthquake.

We ended our time at the museum by being shown an Earthquake and Volcano demonstration. Pupils were told how earthquakes and volcanoes can occur. Some children were lucky enough to be picked to test out different equipment that measures earthquakes and volcanoes! 

" I really loved creating a Volcano's lava flow in the show!" James Olatunji - Sequoia

Year 3 had an amazing day exploring and discovering new fascinating facts! We're sure that by the end of this term, all of the children will become volcano and earthquake experts!

Year 4's Spellings W/C 08.01.18

Please find below Year 4's spellings for this week. Please encourage your child to practise every night so that they are prepared for their test on Friday.

Miss Daly and Mr Nicol :)

Year 3's Spellings W/C 08.01.18

Please find below year 3's spellings for this week. Please encourage your child to practise every night so that they are prepared for their test on Friday.