Ageas Bowl

Year 6 were very lucky to go to the Ageas Bowl today to see some special visitors. As part of their tour, the pupils had the opportunity to meet players from the Under 19 Sri Lankan cricket team. When we got to the Ageas Bowl, Miss Blackburn helped us to learn a little more about Sri Lanka. We found out that it has been ten years since the devastating tsunami which tore through the country which destroyed thousands of homes and killed hundreds of people.

We worked in teams to work out where Sri Lanka was on the map. It took us a little while to find it - we discovered that it was a small island off India, in the continent of Asia.

We then learnt about two people who lost their parents in the tsunami. We found out that they came back to the UK but wanted to do something to help the people of Sri Lanka recover from the awful disaster. They set up a business making flip flops called 'Gandys' - all profits from the sale of their shoes help to build an orphanage over in Sri Lanka.

We then had a go at designing our own Gandy flip flops. We used iPads to find out about different Sri Lankan art and tried to incorporate it into our designs.

Here's a small selection of our fantastic designs!

After lots of creative thinking, we had the chance to eat our lunch and watch Hampshire play Essex in a County Match. 

In the afternoon, we had then opportunity to ask two of the Sri Lankan team about their life and what inspired them to take up cricket. We found out that they lives were quite similar to ours but they also had lots of differences - they go to school at 7.30am and finish at 1pm!

To round off a fantastic day, we also had the chance to play a fast-paced game of Cage Cricket!

Even though the sun didn't really shine, it was a very interesting, fun packed day. Many thanks to Mrs Pellett for supporting our visit.

Gear Up!

Year 6 had some special visitors in this week. A team from Halfords came in to talk to us about the importance of bike maintenance and how to keep our bikes in excellent condition.

We learnt about lots of things that help us to keep safe on our bike and how to ensure we have a smooth ride.

We investigated how the gears worked and what to do if the chain came off or was damaged.

We also looked at checking the brakes to ensure they are tight and grip the wheel correctly.

We also had to use a lot of energy to pump air into the tyres so that they were firm and were at the correct pressure.

Finally, we also found out how you can use a bucket of water to check if the inner tube has a puncture. We looked at how a puncture repair kit can stop the problem and save the cost of having to buy a brand new tyre. 

Trip to our local Tesco

As part of our exploration of  food, we decided to have a class picnic and make our own sandwiches and snacks.

We visited our local Tesco shop, which is just down the road from school, and the staff were very welcoming and helpful. We would also like to say a big thank you to them, as we also got some free treats for our picnic.

Sadly, as it was raining, we had to have our picnic inside, but we still had lots of fun and our sandwiches were delicious!

Year Four Soil Detectives

Soil Detectives

 

Today we have been soil detectives.

 

We went out to the school grounds and observed the different soils.

 

 

Mrs Warland used a PH tester to tell us if the soil was more Acidic or Alkaline.

 

 

 

We collected samples from all different locations.

 

 

 

 

We sieved them and obsevered what would would happen when we added water to the soil.

 

 

Some of us were true scientists and got out soil study dirty!

 

 

Our trip to the River Ober

We had a great visit to the River Ober, in the New Forest this week. As part of our geography work on rivers, we investigated what a real life river was like.

We began by looking at the source of the river which is made on the moors near the main channel of the Ober. We went to Redhill Bog to see how the ground was saturated with water and formed the start of a small stream.

We then began our studies of the river. We stood in the water to experience what the force of the water was like. Some people were quite surprised that the water was faster in some places than others. 

We then began to conduct measurements to see how wide and deep the channel was. Even though it looked flat, we soon realised that some places were deeper than others. A couple of children discovered this at their peril and ended up with water inside their wellies!

We also wanted to see how fast the water was flowing. We played 'Pooh Sticks' from the bridge and timed how long it took for the stick to travel along the water. We noticed that because the water was quite deep, the current was quite slow.

After a bit of lunch alongside the New Forest ponies, we then went to look at another section of the River Ober. We decided to look further upstream at Puttles Bridge.

Not only was the water shallower, the current was much faster too. We also noticed the Silver Stream tributary where water was flowing off the moor from Redhill Bog.

It was also good to explore the river by having a great splash around!