Class 4 - Solar System work!

This week in Science we have begun looking at the topic of 'Space'. We started by learning about early astronomy, such as the Greek astronomer Ptolemy who believed that all planets orbit the Earth and that the Earth doesn't move - the 'Geocentric theory'. 

To help us visualise the scale of the solar system we also used a roll of toilet roll to demonstrate how far apart relatively each planet is! The inner planets fitted comfortably in the classroom but we soon had to go out on the yard to fit more planets in and then finally, to include Neptune, we had to stretch out the toilet roll almost across the full length of the school field - from this demonstration we could clearly see why some planets are labelled 'inner' and others 'outer', as well as the relative distances. 

This was the launch, pun intended, for our next piece of work - to draw a scaled representation of the orbits of the planets around the sun. 

We started with some measurements which were all scaled so that the radius of Earth's orbit was equal to '1' - pupils then decided what one unit was worth - they had to be careful though as the radius of Neptune's orbit was thirty times that of Earth's! We took giant pieces of paper and began creating our images. 

 Using chalk and string we were able to construct circular orbits, keeping the radius consistent. This was a great way to bring in the terminology for circles which is part of the new Maths curriculum (e.g. diameter, radius, circumference).

 This group were first to finish stage one of the task. They opted to put the sun in the corner of their work to allow them a larger scale.

 Adding the planets....

 Then we began the next challenge - plotting the movement of each planets using statistics of the orbital velocity relative to that of Earth's. For example, if Earth travels a distance of 1, Neptune would have moved a distance of 0.182 in the same time. This meant that we we could plot the Earth's movement in say 10 cm steps and do the same for the other planets (e.g. Neptune would move 1.8 cms in the same time). Here you can see scaled markings on the diagram to plot the relative, scaled movement.

We hope to take use this piece to create a short animation film demonstrating both how the planets orbit around the sun and how their speed is relative to how far away they are from the sun. This was quite ambitious work but we've done well so far so I'm optimistic that at least one of the groups might take this next step and capture the animated version! 

Pharaoh Well to the Pop-up Museum

 Fantastic! Amazing! Better than Cairo! These were just some of the comments Class 3 received on their visitors' board for their pop-up Egyptian museum.

Visitors to the museum were treated to a mummification workshop, had the opportunity to dress as an Egyptian and even had the chance to uncover priceless treasures in the desert sand.

The children had all worked so hard to research their particular area of Egyptology. The depth of their knowledge was evident from the confident way they set about sharing their learning with our museum visitors.

All those who were not of a squeamish nature were invited into the specially constructed Ibu (place of purification) to take part in a mummification.

Guests were welcomed by one of the pyramid builders who had all the facts on the great pyramids at his fingertips!

The other classes visited the exhibition and were keen to enter into the spirit of things. It would seem we have a boy pharaoh of our own!

Mrs. Gregson bravely took part in the ceremony; here she is removing a lung!

Our scribes taught our guests about the number system the Egyptians would have used as well as sharing the secrets of hieroglyphics.

Thank-you to all the parents that came along and helped to make the afternoon such a memorable experience. Especially those who were adventurous enough to try the make-up and wigs!

Our pop-up museum has now popped off - however many of our artefacts are still on display in the classroom so if you didn't get chance to see them, please pop-up to see us!

The Great Cup Challenge ~ Class 4

The first school challenge for Class 4 of the Archbishops Trust Youth Leaders Award was to complete the Great Cup Challenge!

 

 

They had to work together as a team to make a tower out of the cups using only the elastic band device. They were not allowed to touch the cups or the table with any part of their body.

 

 

The children needed to work as a team to pull the elastic contraption so that the central band opens and closes that enables them to pick up the cups and make the tower- they need to work this out for themselves though!

 

 

 

 

A great deal of concentration and determination was needed, but the main skills required were cooperation, communication and team spirit!

 

 

 

Their perseverance paid off and they were soon rewarded for their efforts which was a very satisfying feeling!

 

 

Well done Class 4 for conquering the Great Cup Challenge! 

 

 

Class 2 Outdoor Learning Area ~ Official Opening

On Monday 16th November 2015 the Class 2 Outdoor Learning Area was officially opened by the Reverend and Mrs Wilton and Mr Stewart Hartley on behalf of the Lady Hastings Trust.

 

 

The children in Class 2 were very keen to show off their new learning environment to the visitors and enjoyed telling them all about the different learning areas.

 

 

We were presented with a special plaque which will be displayed in our playground as a reminder of the support that the Lady Hastings Trust have given to the development of our outdoor learning.

 

 

It was a very special occasion and we feel very proud to have such a wonderful outdoor environment in which to learn at Harewood Primary School.
 

Archbishop's Trust Youth Leaders Award ~ Launch Assembly

On Thursday this week Class 4 took part in their Archbishop's Trust Youth Leaders Award Launch Assembly.



 

The Youth Leaders Award is a unique active citizenship programme which empowers young people to make a difference in their local community whilst growing in key leadership skills at the same time.

 

 

The Archbishop of York Youth Trust is a charity based in the north of England which began it's life in 2008 when the Archbishop of York Dr. John Sentamu announced his vision that rather than being part of the problem facing some of our communities today, young people were actually the answer.

 

 

The Youth Trust believes in young people and that they have the potential to change our world for the better.

 

 

As a charity the Archbishop's Trust exists to help resolve issues through reaching out to young people, engaging with young people and empowering them to be the change they want to see.

 

 

Throughout the awards there will be lots of challenges set to help you serve others and be the change you want to see.

 

 

There will be 4 school challenges that will be completed as a class and 4 mini personal challenges that will be completed at home.

 

 

Finally there is the community challenge that we will all work together as a class to organise. This will take place in the summer term and will complete the award. This will be our way of serving the community.

 

 

All the challenges will be recorded in our Archbishop trust scrap book as a way of evidencing the challenges we have completed and celebrating our success.

 

 

When all the challenges have been completed and we have shown that we can be good leaders and make positive changes in the world, in our school and in our families we will be presented with the Key stage 2 Archbishop Trust Youth Leaders Award in our final assembly in July.

 

 

We hope that you now feel well informed about the Youth Leaders Awards and we look forward to sharing our progress with you throughout the year.