Katie from Science Buddies visited year 6 to dissect some lamb hearts with us. This is part of our Science learning this half term linking to ‘Circulation’. We explored the weight, shape and size of the heart and appearance. We discussed and identified chambers and heart strings and thought about how the heart serves us. It was so extraordinary to be hands on with an actual heart. What amazing science fun!
Year 3 children took part in an Ancient Egyptian workshop with That History Bloke. We found out about the role of a pharaoh and what the Egyptians believed about the afterlife. We enjoyed writing our own names in hieroglyphics using ink and played an Ancient Egyptian game. We had a great time!
In Art, Year 5 have been learning about installation art. We explored everyday objects to create an installation, considered how ordinary spaces can be transformed and we tried alternative solutions as we constructed our 3D artwork. We thought carefully as we created our masterpieces and thought about how we were able to adapt everyday objects and make them interesting for the viewer. We had to make lots of changes and try new ideas when something didn’t work first time. We did this by moving objects around within the space to find the best way to display it. We were really impressed with our installation art pieces and we had fun giving them names which included ‘The angel of knowledge’ and ‘The Perfect Playtime’.
We had an amazing name with Robbie (Aka Big Nose) and learned lots about the Maya people. We learned how to say hello, and we counted to ten. We learned about their beliefs and creation story. We loved taking part in a drama session where we got to re-enact an area of Maya life from sacrifices to chocolate! Robbie brought some Maya artefacts for us to look at and we had the opportunity to ask questions about them as well as use our artistic skills to sketch them.
Year 3 visited the Laing art gallery in Newcastle. We spent some time looking at the art work and following a trail to discover some exciting features. We also took part in a watercolour workshop where we used pens to draw pictures which were inspired by art work around the gallery and we then used watercolours to paint them.
Year 5 enjoyed a trip to the Laing Art Gallery. They took part in a print making workshop. They enjoyed a tour of the gallery and loved engaging and interacting with the art works.
As part of Science Week the whole school took part in a competition that centred on this year’s theme ‘Time’. Children could be creative in their presentation of this poster with some choosing life cycles over time or how over time, the planet is being destroyed as their focus. There were winners chosen from each class who were presented with an award and congratulated for the excellent efforts. Winning entries were also sent to the British Science Week 24 and we await to hear if we have any winners in early summer.
Year 6 visited Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead on Tuesday 16th April. We had a thoroughly enjoyable trip where we completed a workshop based on texture and materials. It was interesting to study cotton and wool and feel the consistency of both materials. We then went into a workshop area where we separated wool finely to make a 3D backdrop and then added some brightly coloured wool to express our creativity in the form of landscapes or animals for example. We covered this next with white mesh and then added warm soapy water. We firmly pressed this down to create a flat felt like image and peeled off the mesh: it left a funky coloured artistic felt pattern design which was them left to dry. It was great fun to work with this different Art medium. We also had the opportunity to explore the rest of the art gallery and loved seeing an incredible painting that showed Jesus washing his disciples feet prior to the last supper. It was lovely to appreciate different art forms and experience a trip to an art gallery.
In our session with Katie from Science Buddies, we made predictions and investigated how shadows can be changed. First, we investigated whether we could make shadows smaller or larger then we investigated whether we could change the shape and colour of a shadow.
We found that a shadow can be made smaller when the object is further away from the light source and the shadow is larger when it is closer to the light source.
We found that the shape and colour of the shadow could not be changed.
