Summer Fair Success!

On Saturday, it was the Kings Copse Summer Fair! The week before, Year Six were busy preparing their stalls ready for the big day. They all came up with their own ideas for a stall, and considered how best to advertise it around school and on the day.

On Saturday, everyone arrived early to set up their stalls and before long, the customers had arrived!

It was great experience working with the customers, especially when having to give change from our money floats!

The shoot out stand - how many hoops can you shoot?

 SPLASH! Warning - you will get wet!

 This wheel of fortune game was a great way to win prizes! Could you match your numbers?

 The dog breed quiz - how well do you know your furry friends?

 Fancy some golf? This stand tested your putting skills.

It was lego mayhem at this stall! There were lots of different activities to test your lego building skills.











All the children participated brilliantly on the day, working well in their teams to make a profit!

The winners of the competition to see who could make the most profit were the Can Attack team! Well done girls -enjoy your meal at Frankie and Bennys!

We are Historians

On Wednesday, Year Five and Six visited the British Museum! It was a fantastic opportunity to see lots of the artefacts we had been learning about in class up close. Despite a long journey, the children were fantastic and it proved to be a fascinating visit!

The first area we explored was the Elgin Marbles. These were used to decorate the outside of The Parthenon in Ancient Greece. We studied the panels carefully to see how they told the story of Athena's birthday. We discovered that the Elgin Marbles were taken from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin and subsequently sold to the museum. 

Do you think they should be returned to Greece?

The architecture of the museum itself was also interesting - it felt as though we were standing by a real Greek temple!











 We also looked at the Nereid monument which is a sculptured tomb from South-West Turkey created in the Greek style.

 We also looked at various Greek artefacts and pottery. We discovered that there were lots of different shapes and sizes of pots and each was used for a different purpose. It was particularly interesting to look closely at the images to see what scenes and stories they depicted.

After we had finished looking at the artefacts, we wandered through Ancient Egypt to have a look at some of the mummies on display!

We then got back onto the coach ready to continue our 'London i-spy' quizzes on the journey back.





The children were brilliant throughout the day and should be very proud of the way they represented the school. A massive thanks to the parents who came to support the visit too!

Ancient Greek Games

We've been learning about the different games that the Greeks played for entertainment and had the opportunity to have a go at some of them! As we played each one, we thought about the similarities with games that we play today.

Toy Soldiers
Each child sets up an army of toy soldiers. Players take turns trying to roll marbles into their opponents' armies. If a soldier falls to the ground, it is dead and removed from play. If it falls on another soldier, it is wounded and can continue for the next round.

Knucklebones

To play, a child places four knuckle bones on the ground, keeping one as the "jack." They toss the jack into the air and pick up one knuckle bone before the jack before hits the ground/or they catch it. Play continues in the same way until they have picked up all the knuckle bones or drop a bone. Other variations include trying to pick up groups of two or three knuckle bones or the whole set all at once.

Passé-Boule

One simple game involved trying to throw a ball, made of an inflated pig's bladder, through a hole set into the ground. We didn't want to make lots of holes in the field so we used hoops instead!

Ephedrismos
Two players face off, taking turns throwing a stones at an upright stone some distance away, attempting to knock it over. When a player does not knock over the stone with his throw, he must be given a forfeit. The unsuccessful player's eyes are covered as they attempt to run to the stone and knock it over. The round is over when the player touches the stone, and the throwing resumes.

Abarisa

Each team has a home base. One attacker and one defender from each team call, "Abarisa," before leaving their team's home base. The attackers cross into enemy territory and try to reach their home, while the defenders try to tag the attackers and send them to jail. To free a teammate, the jailed player's team must call tage them. The game is over when the team touches the opponent's home base and cries, "Abarisa!"

British Museum Visit - Ancient Greece

Today, we went to the British Museum in London. It was quite a long journey but it was worth the wait! As part of our Ancient Greece topic, we went to look at statues, pottery and architecture which is over 2500 years old!

As you read this post, you can click on the images to make them bigger.

We began by looking at the different types of pottery used by the Greeks. We found out that there were lots of different shapes because the pots were used for different purposes. We also spotted lots of different animals and gods painted on the sides and they often told a story. The colours the Greeks used to decorate the pots also changed over the years - sometimes they were brown, sometimes terracotta and occasionally even black!

We then went to look at the Nerid Monument and studied the different elements carefully, looking at the columns, the frieze and the pediment. This was also the ideal opportunity to pose for a class photo!

We also found various example of tombs used to bury different Greek kings. We found out that this tomb used to be on a plinth that was over 9 metres high!

We then went to look at the Elgin Marbles. These used to decorate the outside of The Parthenon in Ancient Greece. We studied the panels carefully to see how they told the story of Athena's birthday. Although they look very plain now, they used to be decorated in bright colours.

Before we caught the coach home, we had a quick walk to the Ancient Egypt galleries too! The children really enjoyed seeing all of the mummies! Whilst our coach drove through London, everyone enjoyed trying to play 'I-Spy' - most of us managed to spot red buses, black taxis, an underground station and even the BT Tower!

Thank you to all of the adults who supported our trip. And a huge well done to Year 5 who represented the school superbly. We will be using all of the things that we found out today to support our learning in class.