Class One visit to Harewood Bird Garden

Class One had a fantastic morning on Monday when we walked down to the Bird Garden. We saw lots of different birds and thought particularly about their feet, legs, and beaks. We compared them to the chicks and ducklings that hatched in the classroom and discussed why they were different. James, Mrs Hughes and Mrs Briggs came to help and everyone behaved brilliantly. This is us next to the penguin pool.

The other photos in our blog were chosen by the children who wanted to add their own writing.

We are going to look at the map. by Mika

We were standing for the photo. by Daisy

A parrot was standing on a stone and parrots eat nuts. Parrots sleep in a box. by Billie

The children were drawing a ducks foot. It was fun. by Sebastian

The penguin was swimming in the water. by Sophia

The penguin is swimming. by Zorawar

The owl was on top of the tree. by Annie

Farewell to our little friends

This week saw the final chapter in our classroom chick and duckling experience when our little friends went to their new homes.

We all said goodbye and wished them well. We know they will be well cared for and look forward to seeing some photographs of them as they continue to grow. We have learned such a lot from the experience and will miss the noise, the pecks and cuddles but maybe not the smell!

It was nice that lots of the older children, who have followed their progress from egg to chick, came to see them off on the last day.

The Eggs Files Continue

The ducks went in the water today. One of the ducks dived in the water. The ducks were very, very good at swimming. I like the ducks very much. by Safra

A Warm Welcome at the Sikh Temple for Class 3

Our blog entry has been written by Oscar Reynolds. The class voted and decided that Oscar had written the best report.

On Friday the 21st May Class 3 visited the Sikh temple in Chapeltown.

When we got there we stood outside and looked at a big pole with a flag on it - I'm sorry I forgot the name, but it was neon orange!

Then we went inside. We had to take off our shoes, this was to show we were all at the same level.
We had to go and bow down to the priest. He was reading prayers in his own language called Punjabi.
Then to finish we went to the langar and we had some crisps and juice.

Quack, quack, quack

Class One are proud to announce the arrival of three beautiful baby ducklings. Two hatched on Wednesday night and the third hatched during lunch time on Thursday. The whole class were able to watch the hatching on our 'Duckcam' which was kindly supervised over the lunchtime by some of our Year 5 and 6 friends. Some of the children have been inspired to take more photographs and write even more blogs to keep you all up to date.

The ducks hatched on Thursday 20th May. They are yellow. by Sophia

The chicks are friendly. by Harry

The duck was poking the incubator. by Jessica

More news about the chicks

Some of the children in Class One noticed different things about the chicks and wanted to add a blog with more information. They took their own photographs and were very clear about what they wanted to say.

The chick has long feathers on his wing. by Annie

The chicks were standing in the food and the chicks were kicking the food around the box. by Billie

The little one got hurt in the big box. The big chicks pecked him. We put him in a small box. He is ok now. by Sophia

Happy birthday dear chicks!

It has been very busy in Class One over the past few days. After 21 days or eager anticipation there was great excitement on Wednesday morning when we could hear cheeping sounds from inside some of our eggs.

Soon we saw cracks appearing in two of the eggs and very soon after that our first chick chipped and pushed his (or her) way into sight.

All the children (and staff) were fascinated by the hatching process and we took turns to keep watch in small groups as the morning progressed. By lunch time we had three beautiful, but very soggy little chicks.

By the end of the day on Wednesday our first three babies looked more like the fluffy chicks we were expecting. Overnight we had two more arrivals and, when they were ready, we moved them into the brooder (a safe box with food, water and a heat lamp to keep them warm). This move was preceded by brilliant conversations amongst the children about what the chicks needed to keep them safe and healthy.

On Friday morning we had another two babies, giving us a grand total of seven.

It seems like we have had everyone in the school in our classroom at some time or other over this week, but they have all been very welcome visitors. School staff, Governors, parents and children have all been mesmerised by our new arrivals. Mr Madeley even sang a chorus of happy birthday to them (along with the birthday children) in Friday's Celebration Assembly.

Thank you to all the visitors we have had for being so sensible, careful and respectful during your visits. You are all welcome to pop in any time to help keep an eye on our little brood. It has been lovely for Class One to share their experience with the rest of the school and we are now continuing the countdown to our second hatching (of ducklings) next week. Keep your fingers crossed.

Year 2 Yorkshire Adventure to Bolton Abbey

On Thursday Year 2 went to Bolton Abbey for our Yorkshire Adventure. When we got off the minibus we saw lots of ducks. Mr Madeley told us the rules for walking. On our walk we saw the memorial fountain to Frederick Cavendish, then we went in the graveyard to see his grave and find out more about him. Then we walked around the Abbey ruins. After this we walked along the river side and we saw a blue helicopter landing at the Devonshire Arms. We had a picnic lunch surrounded by dandelions. We went across a bridge. In one field we had a challenge to bring back a dandelion clock with all its seeds still on. Mr Madeley told us about seeds being spread by the wind. We walked through the woodland, up and down some steep hills. We saw a tree with lots of coins stuck into the trunk. Eventually we crossed a bridge over the river and got back to the minibus. On the way home some people were trying to sleep but they were kept awake by the singing. We had a very good day.
Written by Amber Bennett, Katie Mills, Ross Williams and Alex Sykes.

We came, we saw, we conquered!

Blog entry written by Holly Altman

Last Friday Class 3 went on a school trip to a Roman fort called Brigantium, near York, to become trainee roman soldiers for the day. We were met by a roman centurion who took us to the fort where we were split into four groups. Our adults became Optios.

The Centurion told us that we were from a Celtic village, we were going to be trained as roman soldiers. We had to wear a red tunic tied with rope and a black neck scarf. We were also given a helmet, shield and spear. The class were trained to march - sin (left), dex (right). Weapons training was also included, we learnt how to use swords and javelins.

We also had to learn to how to protect ourselves byputting our shields around and above us. As part of our recruitment, we had to fill in application forms using roman writing and roman numerals. With Flavia, we made oil lamps out of clay.

In the afternoon we took turns to guard the fort. But we were rudely interupted by a Celtic villager who said we should go back to Rome so he could have his Celtic village back. To get him away we marched towards him as a group and he ran away. Centurion was so pleased with us he paid us for our good days work with one silver coin each!

It was time to go home so we became school children again and our Optios became adults again. We had a great day out! Hail Caesar!!

One week until hatching time in Class One

This week Class One had a visit from Robert, who brought us the eggs from Meanwood Valley Urban Farm two weeks ago. He candled the eggs for us, which means he shone a very bright, specially designed torch into the eggs so we could see what was inside. We invited Class Two and Class Three to come and have a look at the eggs with us. It was fascinating to see the bright red blood-vessels that had been formed around the yolk by the chick in order to provide it with the nourishment it needs to grow. In some of the eggs we could even see the chicks (which looked like a shadow at one end of the egg). I think Robert was impressed by the fantastic questions we asked. There were only a few eggs that didn't have anything inside so we are all very 'eggcited' about the imminent hatching next week. Keep your fingers crossed.

Making Kebabs

Last week class 2 made fruit kebabs! It was an introduction to "instructions." The children had to read and follow a set of instructions carefully in order to make their own kebab. When the children had completed making their kebabs they ate them and loved all of the fruits they had chosen. They all certainly had their five portions of fruit that day.

The following day the children followed up the work by writing instructions (recipe) for their own dish.