Harewood CE Primary School Web Log

Thursday, 24 November 2011

Super Vehicle Designs

Look at the fantastic model vehicles Class One made to race during their Race Track Project.

This morning the shoe boxes, carefully filled and wrapped by Harewood School children, began their journey to bring Christmas smiles to children in Eastern Europe. A wonderful total of 49 shoe boxes in all were donated. The charity Samaritan's Purse, who organise Operation Christmas Child, will now ensure that they are shipped across Europe in time for Christmas to brighten the lives of children living in poverty. We can be very proud, as a school and individuals, that we have helped this great cause.

Monday, 21 November 2011

Christmas Below Stairs

Class 4 went to Harewood House to experience what a Victorian Christmas "below stairs" would have been like. We started in All Saints Church, singing carols, as the servants would have had to attend their own service on Christmas morning.

Mrs Sharp, the Housekeeper, kept a close eye on us and made sure we were behaving as we should. She told us about how many of the Christmas traditions we know were introduced in Victorian times, such as Christmas trees, presents, crackers and cards.

We were kept hard at work all morning in the Kitchens (decorating mince pies)

and around the House (making crackers and Christmas cards).

We were allowed the odd rest, seeing as Christmas is a special day.

Later we played parlour games like the minister's cat and the ha ha game.

And, back in the modern day, we did get to enjoy the adventure playground before walking back to school.

Friday, 18 November 2011

Class 4 have their work published in Thailand!

Class 4 have recently begun an exciting school link between Harewood Primary School and Bangkok Preparatory School in Thailand. Pictured above are Class 6E who we have been corresponding with.

As part of this project, new blogs were set up which are separate to the school's normal blog and allow pupils from Class 4 and form 6E to share work and ideas.

Harewood were first to post with their wonderful stories on the theme of 'Being Lost'. Unfortunately, due to the flooding in Thailand recently, Bangkok Prep School was closed for three weeks. Luckily, no-one was harmed in the floods and much to our delight, the pupils returned to school this week and have loved reading and commenting on our stories.

Mr Evison, the class teacher of 6E remarked "We read some of the stories together as a whole class and we were all very impressed by the quality of them. Some were excellent and inspiring to some of our best writers!"

I have to agree. I was very proud to share some of our outstanding creative writing with Bangkok Prep School and we anticipate their first blog posts, which should arrive next week, with excitement. Well done Class 4 for publishing such wonderful work and for having it reviewed from the other side of the world!

Class One's Race Track Project

In Class One we have been working on our first group project. It began after a discussion when Rey suggested we make a race track in the garden. Some of the children got busy straight away with the big bricks and soon more ideas and plans began to form. In our project talks we are thinking about how to work together as a team as well as how to share our ideas and listen to each other.

This week the children have chosen photographs and written a caption for the blog to show how the project has developed so far.

Abigail - I put the bricks in the trolley.

After building the first (and second) track in the garden Rafe said he wanted to build something to race with.

Soon everyone wanted to build their own vehicle and things took a new direction.

Everyone thought carefully about the type of vehicle they wanted and each one was completely unique.

We now have amazing trains, cars, buses, tractors and even a horse drawn carriage. In subsequent project talks we decided how all our different vehicles can race against each other.

Rafe - I made my model.

After finishing our models we told our friends how we made them. Some of us changed our plans and amended our vehicles.

Oliver - I showed my model.

Ewan - I showed everyone my tractor.

Erika - I painted three horses black.

Because this is our first project we also thought about the rules for group project talks and made a display to remind us.

Edward W - We made pictures to remember the rules.

Eleanor - We listen to each other.

Isabelle - I helped to make the signs.

We wrote our signs on the computer.

Rey - I shared my Thomas with Andrew and Rafe.

The project has developed in lots of different ways and we plan to have the "Big Race" on Monday afternoon.

Rosie - We made flags. We used colours to colour our flags.

We chose numbers for our vehicles and wrote them on the class list.

Edward R - The traffic lights say stop and go.

Andrew brought his traffic lights from home to use in the race. We practiced working them.

Harriet - This is my medal.

Harriet brought a medal from home for the winner.

Before the race on Monday we will have to decide the best way to time the vehicles. We will let you know how it goes!

P for Pudsey

Charlotte Addy in Year 6 had a great idea for raising money for Children in Need this year; everyone should come dressed as something starting with the letter P (for Pudsey Bear). As ever, the response was wonderfully enthusiastic and brilliantly creative. We had scary punk rockers, severely damaged patients, Puss in Boots, pop stars, princesses, pirates, lots of pinks and purples, Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter and many more.

A Puppy