To begin our new science topic of the Solar System, Sycamore class looked at the structure and features of the Solar System.
To explore the size and structure of the Solar System, Sycamore class created a model of our system using fruit to represent the size of the planets and then measured distances using trundle wheels to demonstrate how far each planet is from the sun (represented by Evie-Mai). This helped them to understand how far away planets (such as Neptune, represented in the distance by Freya) are from our Sun.
Autumn 1
Marvellous Mechanisms
Year 5 have been making toys involving a cam a follower to create a moving mechanism. They designed and made this for a target audience that may visit Drayton Manor theme park's gift shop. Have a look at our brilliant final designs and how we worked as part of a team to design, make and evaluate our final products.
On Friday 25th October, Year 5 visited Drayton Manor Theme Park. Not only was this extremely fun, but we also learned lots about forces too. Scan the QR code to see what we discovered about forces and how they help rollercoasters to move.
Year 5 had great fun completing the Now Press Play experience all about forces. This was a great opportunity to revise what we have been learning, and to immerse us into our next piece of writing - a non-chronological report about forces, including gravity and friction.
Sycamore 5 enjoyed sharing their class assembly with the other children, staff and their adults from home this week. They shared what they had done as part of National Poetry Day, as well as sharing many wonderful things about October (including the change of season, Halloween and celebrating Black History Month). Well done, Sycamore 5!
Sycamore 5 have had a great time celebrating National Poetry Day. We have read and written poems, and have enjoyed sharing our outfits that represent us.
Sycamore 5 have combined their French learning with their computing skills to show how they are feeling. Can you use your language detective skills to translate their sentences?
As part of their final Design Technology topic and to support their stall at this year’s Farmers Market, Redwood 4 took part in some market research and taste testing to support their designs to create a healthy pizza. They then selected and used equipment, skills and techniques to make the pizzas, ready to sell.
As part of Birchwood’s ‘Governor Day’, Mr Potts came to speak to them about his mountain expedition to Ima Tse (Island Peak) in the Himalayas, Nepal. He had heard that they had previously been learning about mountains and rivers in their geography topic and decided to talk to them about his first-hand experience of climbing a mountain. The interesting talk allowed Redwood to recap their own knowledge about mountains and learn more about the dangers of mountain climbing and the area of Nepal.
Year 4 (including the staff) absolutely loved their rock concert! It was a great reward for their constant efforts in 'Battle of the Bands' on Times Tables Rockstars and for learning their times tables so diligently.
Redwood were extremely lucky to have Mr Bailey working with them as a reward for winning the Year 4 ‘Battle of the Bands’ times tables tournament. He showed them how to use Microbits, along with their knowledge of electrical circuits, to create a working ‘electric’ guitar.
We were inspired by the art of Yayoi Kusama and our learning about the Vikings to design and create these fabulous, decorative brooches out of clay.
The final Consumer Club session compared a range of cheese and tomato pizzas. Unanimously, the cheapest pizza was voted the tastiest (although the adults did not agree with this one). Once again, we discovered that the most expensive item is not necessarily the best.
Session 6 of ‘Consumer Club’ compared a range of jelly babies. Most expensive brand, Maynard’s (usually priced at £1.65) turned out to be the least favourite. Most of the consumer club felt that whilst coming in at third place, the closeness of the vote meant that ASDA jelly babies would be the best value for money.
Redwood 4 took part in some practical maths to start off their ‘Measurement’ topic. They investigated choosing and using appropriate units of measure for capacity, length and mass.
Session 4 of ‘Consumer Club’ compared a range of chocolate Bourbon biscuits. This was our toughest challenge yet as the biscuits all tasted so similar. First place this week went to the Aldi brand, which also happened to be the cheapest.
During session 5, the ‘Consumer Club’ compared a range of cornflakes. Once again, the most expensive brand did not result in being the favourite, with Kelloggs only coming in as fourth favourite.
Redwood 4 have enjoyed using the Purple Mash text-based coding language 2logo during their computing lessons to create a range of shapes and patterns. They learned the common commands and then composed algorithms to create mathematical shapes. Finally, they investigated the most efficient ways of drawing shapes and patterns using the ‘Repeat’ command and building procedures.
As part of this half term’s ‘Viking‘ topic, Redwood 4 have been working hard with their writing skills. They created some brilliant Kenning poems and exciting Viking sagas.
As part of their BASE activity, the Year 4 ‘Consumer Club’ will be comparing a range of different food products. They will look at branding and packaging, predicting which product is the most expensive before taking part in a very thorough tasting session.
For their first session, they compared a range of tomato ketchup sauces. While they didn’t all agree on the order of their favourite sauces, they were surprised that the most expensive (Heinz) was not the brand that they found the tastiest.
For their second session, the ‘Consumer Club’ compared a range of chocolate bars. Nearly everyone predicted that their favourite would be Cadbury but unanimously, Lindt came out on top. After comparing prices, they felt that third favourite, Tesco, was the best value for money.
Session three of ‘Consumer Club’ compared a range of ready salted crisps. Again, we had some surprises over which was our favourite. ASDA crisps came up on top and were a whopping £1.15 cheaper than second place Walkers.
Redwood 4 used equipment to replicate the functions of the digestive system during their science lesson. This helped to support their understanding and develop their scientific explanations.
After eight weeks of following the Fishkeeper Fry programme, Redwood 4 have set up an aquarium, welcomed Cherry Shrimp, Nerite Snails, Platies, Corydora, Neon Tetras and a Clown Pleco, safely cleaned and checked water levels and been awarded their diploma of fishkeeping.
As part of their Design Technology cooking project, Redwood 4 used the claw and bridge technique to cut and slice vegetables. They also blanched and peeled tomatoes and crushed garlic. The result was a delicious Ratatouille.
Redwood 4 had a lovely afternoon visiting Polesworth library and thoroughly enjoyed looking at the wonderful selection of books. They also had chance to revise some of their geographical knowledge during the journey by looking out for the human and physical features around the River Anker.
During their Forest School sessions, Redwood 4 learned about the respect position to help them stay safe when lighting fires. They then safely started their own fires using flint and steel. Next, they safely used potato peelers to help them whittle wood which they then used to help them build miniature shelter structures.
During their science lessons, Redwood 4 have been learning about the different types of teeth they have in their mouths and what their main purpose is. They also investigated the main causes of tooth decay and looked at how thoroughly they were brushing their teeth with the help of some disclosing tablets.Finally, they made some predictions about which liquids might be most harmful to our teeth using eggshells to represent the tooth enamel.
'I predict that the cola will cause the most damage because it is fizzy and contains lots of sugar,' Lucas.
'I think that the tea will stain the eggshell as tea can stain teeth,' Freya.
'I think that the milk will make the eggshell stronger because it contains calcium which is good for our teeth,' Sam.
'I think the vinegar will crack the eggshell because it contains acid,' Harry B.
'I predict that the orange juice will crack the eggshell and create holes as it contains lots of citric acid,' Daisy S.
'I don’t think that the egg in the water will be affected as water does not contain anything harmful to our teeth which is why it is good to drink and rinse our mouth with,' Sorana.
Redwood 4 started the new half term by getting in touch with their creative sides and participating in an art day. They explored the work of artist Claude Monet, observing how he uses the techniques of ‘broken colour’ to achieve his Impressionism style of art. They investigated and tested some of these techniques before recreating his famous painting, ‘The Japanese Footbridge’. As you can see, the results were amazing.
Spring 1
Misty Mountains, Winding Rivers
Redwood 4 have had lots of fun completing the first half of the ‘Fishkeeper Fry‘ project. After setting up the aquarium, we now regularly test the water to ensure it is safe for living creatures. We have been particularly excited to welcome four Platies who have joined our five Cherry Shrimp. They all seem very happy in their new home and we can’t wait to find out which fishy friends will be joining them next.
Redwood had a fantastic time at Carsington Water. They took part in a river study to find out whether it would be a suitable habitat for a water vole by measuring the width of the river, the depth of the river and the speed of the river flow. Later, in the Wildlife Centre, they learned how to read OS maps and use grid references to find different locations.
We have had lots of fun exploring different materials as part of our ‘states of matter’ science topic. We have investigated changing states through melting and observed the properties of unusual substances to justify their state.
To celebrate National Storytelling Week, Redwood 4 delivered a fabulous class assembly involving a range of our favourite story characters, songs and a poetry recital.
This half term, Redwood 4 have been taking part in the Fishkeeper Fry project which
links science and PSHE subjects while teaching us how to look after a range of tropical fish. So far, we have set up the aquarium, tested the water, added plants and introduced 5 Cherry Shrimp to their new environment. We can’t wait to meet more of our fishy friends.
Autumn 2
Anglo-Saxons
As part of their music topic, Redwood 4 had fun using percussion instruments to explore making sounds to accompany the Pink Panther soundtrack. They then experimented creating soundtracks for their own sketches.
Redwood 4 enjoyed receiving their winter book gifts and couldn’t wait to make a start on them.
We made these amazing light-up Christmas cards as part of our Design Technology lessons. We designed our own card and created circuits including a homemade switch. They’re sure to brighten up the recipients’ Christmas!
During our science lesson, we looked at how sound travels through a medium to our ear. We then investigated whether we could hear sounds through solids and liquids.
Redwood 4 followed the Birchwood poetry trail, which led to many wonderful poems written by children in our school across each of of our year groups. Each poem focused on a theme linked to our one school rule ‘Consideration and Respect’.
‘The Inn Crowd, Year 3 & 4’s Christmas Performance’
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‘The Inn Crowd, Year 3 & 4’s Christmas Performance’
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‘The Inn Crowd, Year 3 & 4’s Christmas Performance’
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‘The Inn Crowd, Year 3 & 4’s Christmas Performance’
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‘The Inn Crowd, Year 3 & 4’s Christmas Performance’
As part of our Design Technology project, we created a variety of gingerbread biscuits to sell at our Christmas Fair. We used skills of weighing, mixing, rolling and cutting to make them and used our artistic creativity to decorate.
Redwood 4 were visited by The History Squad and took part in an Anglo-Saxon workshop lead by Saxon, Haydn. They learned fascinating facts about Britain during the early Middle Ages. They later enjoyed looking more closely at the weaponry used during the era and had great fun testing the strength of the steel and wood.
Autumn 1
Roman Britain
To finish off their science topic on electricity, Redwood 4 used their knowledge of creating circuits, electrical insulators and electrical conductors to build their own circuits including hand-made switches.
As part of their art and design project, Redwood 4 enjoyed designing and making their clay sculptures inspired by ancient Roman vessels and the artist and sculptor Elizabeth Fritsch.
Scan the QR codes to watch us demonstrating some of our sculpting skills including creating coil pots, scoring and using slip to attach clay pieces and engraving to decorate.
As part of their DT learning, Redwood 4 made a fantastic fish pie. They practised skills such as peeling carrots and potatoes, grating the zest of lemons, mashing, measuring and using the bridge and claw techniques to chop and slice. They also enjoyed eating it.
'This is so much better than my mum’s cooking,' Nathan.
'I’ve never really tried fish before but I like it in this pie,' Theodore.
'This was really tasty. I’m definitely going to try making it at home with my family,' Harry.
To support our history topic of ‘Roman Britain’, we visited Lunt Fort in Coventry. We spent some time in the granary, which housed the museum, where we learned about the lives of soldiers at the fort. Here, we were given the opportunity to handle Roman objects and discover more about the nature and function of Roman armour and weapons. We then visited the gyrus. Led by our uniformed commander, we experienced life as a Roman soldier including touring the fort and taking part in battle drills where we used wooden swords and shields to practise authentic Roman military manoeuvres.
Scan the QR codes to see us transform into Roman soldiers and learn how to fight.
Redwood 4 really enjoyed spending some time with poet Ash Dickinson. He shared some of his own poetry with us and inspired us to create our own haikus and poems inspired by the local Elizabethan poet Michael Drayton.
Scan the QR code to listen to Ash Dickinson’s poetry performance
Redwood 4 loved working with artist Darrell Wakelam, creating some fabulous pieces of artwork to display around our school and practising lots of new art techniques.
RIOTOUS ROMANS!
To begin our new topic about ‘Roman Britain’, we started by joining a Roman Bootcamp, where we began our training to become Roman soldiers. We pushed ourselves to the limit with long-distance jumping, marching distances, spear throwing and chariot racing whilst also applying our mathematical knowledge of measure to real-life situations.
We then visited ‘Birchwood’s Roman Museum’, where we explored a range of real ancient Roman artefacts including fragments of various ancient pots, Roman coins, an oil lamp, bronze broach and an iron stylus. These helped us to make deductions about what life was like in a Roman times.
Finally, after researching what made the Roman army so powerful, we put our Bootcamp training to the test and created our own Roman army legions, where we practised some of the famous ‘Orb’, ‘Testudo’ (Tortoise) and ‘Wedge’ formations.
Welcome to Oak 3!
2022 - 2023
Mrs Brelsford - Class Teacher
Mrs Calloway/Mrs Whitlock - Teaching Assistants
Summer 2
Scrumdiddlyumptious
and
Take One Author
Willy Wonka asked us to create a healthy snack he could produce at his factory so we decided to use the same thing for our Farmers Market. First Year 3 conducted research and a questionnaire to find out what would be best thing to sell at the Farmers Market. They found that chocolate covered fruit was the best option. When designing the packaging for our product we looked at different shell structures to decide what would be best. We decided to use the net of a cube. We then used computer aided design to plan and make the boxes for the chocolate covered fruit to go in.
Year 3 loved investigating what happened to shadows at different points in the day! They also enjoyed investigating what happened to a shadow when the light source was at different distances from the object.
On Thursday 8th June Year 3 visited Cadbury World in Bournville. They had a wonderful day exploring the factory. They learnt all about the journey of the cocoa bean, how John Cadbury started out in Bull Street making hot chocolate, how chocolate is made and also got to taste some very delicious chocolate! They also enjoyed visiting the 4D cinema and went on a whirlwind adventure with Freddo the Cadbury frog and the Cadbury's Caramel Bunny. A fantastic day was had by all!
Visit this fascinating European country with us and find out about the weather, landscape, landmarks and culture. Travel back to Ancient Greece to discover how our lives today have been influenced by this exciting and important time in history. While we’re there, we’ll take part in some exhilarating Olympic events and discover a fantastical world full of mythical creatures and legendary heroes. Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis and Zeus reign almighty from Mount Olympus, watching mere mortals on dusty Athenian streets. Meet Theseus, the hero, and Helen of Troy, the beautiful face that launched a thousand ships. Explore the terrains of Greece, where in pure blue skies, the Sun scorches waxen wings and melts the fortunes of Icarus and Daedalus. Then decide your own fate when a mysterious box is found and stirs your curious mind.
Spring 2
Rocks, Volcanoes and Earthquakes
On Thursday 23rd March, Year 3 enjoyed a fun-filled day at Birmingham Thinktank. Pupils were able to explore all the areas of the Thinktank, including the ‘Future’ gallery, ‘Our World’ gallery, ‘We Made It’ Gallery and ‘The Past’ Gallery. The children were certainly fascinated by all the areas and were amazed by the Spitfire and Hurricane World War Two planes hanging from the ceiling in the museum! The Science Garden was great fun, as the pupils learnt about pushes and pulls, engineering, mechanics and transportation. The ‘human hamster wheel’ was also a big hit with the children!
A fantastic day was had by all!
Year 3 had lots of fun exploring the science garden at the Thinktank.
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Year 3 had lots of fun exploring the science garden at the Thinktank.
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Year 3 had lots of fun exploring the science garden at the Thinktank.
Come and join us on a magnificent adventure where we discover what is beneath our feet. We learn all about soils and different types of rocks. We follow the adventures of the famous fossil hunter - Mary Anning. Year 3 also meet Charlie. Charlie loves a challenge - he's addicted to video games and an expert at figuring out how to get to the next level. But sometimes the real world can seem a bit dull. Then he finds himself on the slopes of an active volcano, with red-hot lava heading his way!
Year 3 really enjoyed the assembly and workshop with Sarah from the Dog's Trust. They learned how to be safe around dogs and about being a good role model for other people!
We arrived back to school to lots of different metal objects lying around. We also found 'The Iron Man' text! We used our scientific enquiry skills to sort and classify the different bits of metal into a variety of different categories.
Hogarth and The Iron Man from our key text ‘The Iron Man’ are our guides through our Forces, Magnets and Metals theme. We learn all about different metals and what they are used for, explore magnetism and how this works, along with focusing our scientific investigations on forces.
Autumn 2
Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age
To finish the year off Year 3 made Christmas cards for their families and created a calendar ready for 2023.
The Year 3 team and children would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year!
Firstly, we are so proud of Year 3 for their successful Nativity performance with Year 4 on Monday! The actors and singers all did a fabulous job!
The children created hot chocolate reindeers with marshmallows which went down a storm at the Christmas Fair!
The children all got into the festive spirit when opening their Winter books gifted to them by school. There were so many excited children who could not wait to start reading their books and have not put them down since opening them!
Thank you Team Birchwood for our winter books. We love them!
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Thank you Team Birchwood for our winter books. We love them!
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Thank you Team Birchwood for our winter books. We love them!
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Thank you Team Birchwood for our winter books. We love them!
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Thank you Team Birchwood for our winter books. We love them!
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Thank you Team Birchwood for our winter books. We love them!
Year 3 are thoroughly enjoying the class text 'Stone Age Tales: The Great Storm' by Terry Deary. The story takes place in Skara Brae, over 5000 years ago! Year 3 have used atlases to locate the fascinating, prehistoric village of Skara Brae. The children learned that the preserved Neolithic village was uncovered in 1850 by a great storm which exposed the site and then in 1860s archeologists dug further to uncover four buildings.
Year 3 thoroughly enjoyed their Stone Age Day! The children became junior archaeologists when visited by Dr Ian Parker-Heath. They dug up and then researched interesting artefacts from the Stone Age (Palaeolithic - Old Stone Age, Mesolithic - Middle Stone Age and Neolithic - New Stone Age), Bronze Age and Iron Age.
The children then tried to put together broken bits of artefacts to recreate the original object. They got to ground grains. The children also created clay pots using the tools Stone Age people would have used (their hands and nails).
Finally, the children created a timeline to help see how long ago the Stone Age was and for how long the Stone Age was.
Throughout this half term, we go 2.6 million years back in time by reading ‘The Great Storm’ by Terry Deary. We learn about the exciting discoveries, particularly during the Neolithic period. We learn about changes in diet, tools, art and housing as we venture through to the Bronze Age and Iron Age, making comparisons to how we live nowadays.
Autumn 1
Road Trip USA
In science, year 3 have explored the topic of plants. We have learnt about the life cycle of a plant, how seeds are dispersed and what plants need to grow.The children sorted a wide variety of seeds into categories depending on how the seed is dispersed.We observed the transport of water through a stem by putting carnations in coloured water and watching the flower change colour.We completed an investigation and observed the effects on plants when we deprive them of the requirements for growth.
Year 3 performed their dance to an audience during the final week of half term. The children enjoyed learning a routine with Embody Dance to the song “New York”. They included freeze frames and canons within their routine, and learnt to tell a story through dance.
Year 3 had a great time building bridges in DT. As we are learning about the USA, we have learnt about the Golden Gate Bridge, engineered by Joseph Strauss. We began learning about different types of bridges before building triangular and square frameworks whilst learning about how to ensure a bridge is strong and stable. The children used their knowledge to build a bridge out of new and recycled materials. We tested our bridges using a toy car and evaluated the appearance and strength of the bridge.
When Year 3 returned to school we received a letter from Larry the dog and his owner Pete inviting us on a road trip around the USA. Before the adventures began we looked on a world map to see where we would be heading. We found that the USA is located in the continent of North America. We couldn’t wait to start exploring but we hit a problem! Larry kept getting lost so Pete needed out help to find him in the different states. We have already explored California, discovering the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and then we went sighting seeing around New York finding famous landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Central Park and much more. As we continue our journey we look forward to visiting Washington DC, Texas and then finally Los Angeles to take a walk along the iconic Hollywood walk of fame, it will be quite a journey! Along the way, we will research iconic American people, make traditional American dishes and identifying physical and human features of North America. We even have a go at designing and building our own bridges after finding out about the world famous Golden Gate Bridge.
Welcome to Larch 2!
2021 - 2022
Mrs Clarke/Mrs Bayliss - Class Teachers
Miss Richardson - Teaching Assistant
Summer 2
Beside the Seaside
Larch class were lucky enough to receive some comments from the authors of Sam Silver, responding to the stories that the children have written and sent to them.
'It was lovely to meet you on Zoom. We really enjoyed working with you all.
Thank you so much for sharing these stories with us. You’ve all worked very hard. We love the illustrations in the stories and the covers are very exciting. We would love to know what happens next to your brave heroes.
Have a great summer holiday!
Charlie Winwood
We love the title. We think it was clever to start your story with a question – ‘Have you ever met a pirate?’ It makes the reader feel part of the story immediately. We were taken to the action straight away. We like how you described the contrast between the dark cupboard and the bright deck - ‘When Nick’s eyes adjusted to the brightness’. And Nick’s dilemma with only salt water to drink was very real and made us worry for him. It was a good cliffhanger.
Evie
We think you set the scene well with Violet on the beach collecting shells when she finds the bottle. You introduced this cleverly by talking to the reader. ‘Did you think you would ever find an old rusty bottle, well Violet did.’ And ‘if you were Violet, would you believe it?’
You have written effective descriptions - ‘dark as the night sky’ ‘clouds turned grey’.
We think you built up strongly to the arrival of the Kraken and the encounter was terrifying. You used ‘show not tell’ by having Violet remember learning about Krakens at school.
Samuel Smalley
It was a clever idea to use the dog to start the action. We enjoyed reading about how the dog barked at the bottle as if it knew something was wrong. We were taken very quickly into the action. We like the way you used ‘show not tell’. Instead of just saying ‘it was bright’, you said, ‘It was so bright he could barely see’. And instead of saying Jake Sparrow was scared you wrote ‘a shiver went down his spine.’ You described the pirates very vividly and your story moved along quickly.
Maisie
It was an intriguing beginning to have Maisie Silver thinking she is imagining the bottle and then finding it’s real. We like your descriptions, ‘ruby red bloodstains’ and ‘deep dark water’. And we enjoyed reading as the tension built up - ‘footsteps getting louder and louder’ ‘bandanas that glowed in the darkness.’ We were thrilled by the cliffhanger where Maisie Silver’s friends had been eaten and she was left alone.
Conrad
Kraken Attack is a good alliterative title. We like how you use questions to build up the tension - ‘Where was I going to stop spinning round? Where was I going, I wonder?’ Your ‘furious pirate team’ and ‘rough fight’ are strong words that give us a great impression of movement and danger. The Kraken sounds terrifying with its ‘mouth sharper than a knife’ and the ‘deep murky water’ adds to the tension.
Freya
We think it was clever to use Hugo sinking into the sand to go back in time. That was very original. You build up the tension by asking questions and you set the scene on the ship with good descriptions, ‘the shining sun went straight into Hugo’s eyes.’ Your pirates sound scary - and so does the Kraken. And you left us on an exciting cliffhanger with the coin missing from Hugo’s pocket.
Bobby Goddard
You took us very quickly into the action. Your pirates were scary in their ‘ripped clothes’ and armed with cutlasses and flintlock and matchlock pistols. You have given us a vivid description of the Kraken with its ‘gigantic tentacles’ and ‘powerful suckers’. And we felt the terror of losing the ship as it ‘disappeared in the darkness’. We like your cliffhanger where Steve had the coin but feared it might not take him home.'
Year 2 had a fantastic day at Weston-Super-Mare last Thursday. Their topic is all about the coast so it was brilliant to experience the beach, see geographical features of the coast and learn about holidays of the past. The children visited the Grand Pier, played with kites and beach balls, built sandcastles, ate chips and ice-lollies, buried each other and ultimately had the time of their school lives. Many children commented that it was their best school day ever and we could tell because many bought socks full of sand and a huge smile back with them. The weather was excellent and so was the behaviour of the children with people even stopping us on the boardwalk to comment on how considerate our pupils were. A trip that we will most certainly repeat.
Larch 2 had a royally good day solving maths problems to help the Queen find her missing brooch as well as enjoying a cake (or two) with the rest of the school on the playground. We looked very regal too!
We were sent a top secret mission by the Queen! She sent us clues based on the human and physical features of different seaside resorts in the UK and we had to identify where on the coastline of the UK Captain Redblood had buried his treasure. After looking at maps we discovered it was at Weston-Super-Mare! We are very lucky as we will also be visiting the seaside resort later this half term as a thank you for all our hard work.
During Summer 1, Year 2 had a swashbuckling pirate day! We met Captain Jake from ‘The History Squad’ who taught us lots of interesting facts about pirates! To begin with he made sure we were familiar with special pirate vocabulary such as ‘stern', 'bow', 'port' and 'starboard'. Captain Jake then gave us orders of jobs he needed us to do on the ship. We climbed the rigging, swabbed the deck, hoisted the Jolly Roger and dropped the anchor. Captain Jake then showed us different pirate artefacts. We held gold doubloons, pieces of eight, different types of pistols, a cutlass and a 300 year old canon ball! Captain Jake then taught us about famous pirates in the ‘Golden Age of Piracy such as Captain Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Calico Jack! Year 2 loved their pirate day and would like to say a big thank you to ‘The History Squad’.
Sam Silver Undercover Pirate: Skeleton Island was our driving text for Land Ahoy! This book is written by the wonderful author Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler (who have written over 200 children’s book). Year 2 have loved joining Sam travelling back in time and finding himself on Captain Blade’s ship so were thrilled when they found out they had a zoom call with the authors Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler! We told them we were about to write our very own pirate adventure story and they gave us some fantastic advice. Jan and Sara were very impressed when we showed them the moving pictures (when learning about mechanisms in DT) we had made to go into our story books. They even asked us to send some of our finished books to them so they could read them. You can see some of our moving picture books and the letter we received from Jan and Sara after our Zoom call below.
Larch and Juniper did a science investigation as their introduction to Land Ahoy, a topic about pirates.
Spring 2
Under the Canopy
As part of our learning on rainforests we visited the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham. Here we were able experience what a rainforest is like and learned about lots of different types of plants too. The trip also helped us with our artwork linked to Henri Rousseau as he was also inspired after visiting the Botanical Gardens in Paris.
We read 'There's A Rang Tan in my Bedroom' and found out all about the orangutans in the rainforest and how their homes are being destroyed because of palm oil. We then made orangutan friendly cereal bars in DT that used honey instead of palm oil and wrote a speech asking for companies to be responsible when growing palm oil. We also wrote non-chronological reports about orangutans too. In Geography we have been learning about the location of the world's rainforests and what the climate is like there and around the Equator. In our dance lessons we have been learning about other rainforest animals, where in the rainforest they live and how they move in different ways.
An orang-utan has travelled all the way from the rainforest because they need our help as their home is being destroyed! We will learn all about the rainforest, the animals that live there and how we can help protect them. We will also find out why rainforests are so essential to all life on earth.
Spring 1
Muck, Mess and Mixtures
It’s time to get creative in your afternoon theme of ‘Muck, Mess and Mixtures’! We will be joining Roald Dahl’s George by mixing our own marvellous creations. By mixing colours and applying materials we will create our own unique masterpieces and have some fun getting messy in the process. Thinking about mess we have lots of scientific investigations to perform and we will create our own healthy recipes to form part of a balanced diet.
Year 2 had a visit from two modern day policemen today. They were able to share with them all they had learnt about Sir Robert Peel and were able to find out about policing today. We even got to see and hear the sirens!
Year 2 have been learning about the different types of Scientific Enquiry they will encounter at Birchwood.
To help us better understand the significance of Sir Robert Peel: a former local MP, former Prime Minister and founder of the Metropolitan Police, 2 members from The Peel Society visited Year 2.
Two members from The Peel Society visited Year 2 today.
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Two members from The Peel Society visited Year 2 today.
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Two members from The Peel Society visited Year 2 today.
Silly old Paddington Bear … he packed his bags for his tea party but he spilt marmalade all over his invitation. We had to help him using our inference skills by working out where he was going and who he was visiting.
We have been very busy ‘visiting’ the landmarks in London and designing a vehicle to help him get to the Royal Tea Party at Buckingham Palace! He can’t be late for the Queen!
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details of users as integrated by our providers at Wonde via your MIS (if applicable to your package). For further information on integrated data please see our Data Sharing Agreement
2.2 Before you disclose to us the personal information of another person, you must obtain that person's consent to both the disclosure and the processing of that personal information in accordance with the terms of this policy.
2.3 eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. For further information on how you can manage and set your cookie preferences, please see our Cookie Policy.
2.4 Information submitted through the online contact form on a school website is processed via eSchools, and passed directly to the school in question. This data is held by eSchools for 30 days (or in the case of failed messages, 90 days) before deletion. Once passed to the school this data is held by them and subject to that school’s privacy policy.
2.5 Schools are also able to add analytics tools and can therefore gather information on visits to and use of their website (including but not limited to, IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths). Individual visitors can manage their preferences through cookie preferences, as mentioned in 2.4.
2.6 Session IP addresses are retained to monitor and safeguard against improper usage of our services.
2.7 Content on the platform (added by staff, governors and students) and website content is added directly by School Users. This information is only used for to display on the platform in the way the user intends and is not used for any other purposes by eSchools. At a time when a school ceases to use our services the content is removed within a 14 day period as detailed in our agreement with the school.
2.8 Some of our services require the school to provide access to information they require for use with those services. For example a school using our communication tool, Letters Home, which enables schools to contact parents by email regarding important school information. In this situation a school will provide eSchools with access to the email address(es) they wish to send their communication to. Schools have granular access to ensure only the required data is shared and accessed by eSchools. The data is frequently updated to ensure that eSchools only retains up-to-date data.
3. Using your personal information
3.1. We may use your personal information to:
administer our services
enable your use of our services
troubleshoot and problem solve
send you email notifications that you have specifically requested. You can manage your preferences at anytime through your eSchools dashboard.
keep our services secure, safeguard against improper use of our services and prevent fraud.
3.1.1. For the purposes of providing you access to your eSchools platform and app (ie. forgotten password/login)
3.1.2. By registering for updates, School Staff/Governors are able to subscribe to our regular communications.
3.1.3. We will use any contact details supplied in an online form for the purposes explicitly detailed in said form. For example troubleshooting and problem solving or the provision of live online training as explicitly requested by you, the user.
3.2. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
3.3. eSchools understands our obligation to be mindful about the data we process and only process data that is required to fulfil our obligations in providing our services; to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user.
3.4. We will not pass your information to third parties; except for the purpose of fulfilling our services to a school who enters into an agreement to use our services and you, the user or where we are required to do so by law.
4. Disclosing personal information
4.1 We may disclose your personal information to any of our employees, officers, insurers, professional advisers, agents, suppliers or subcontractors insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.
4.2 We may disclose your personal information:
to the extent that we are required to do so by law;
in connection with any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings;
in order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk);
to any person who we reasonably believe may apply to a court or other competent authority for disclosure of that personal information where, in our reasonable opinion, such court or authority would be reasonably likely to order disclosure of that personal information;
to the school in the case of improper use on the platform by individuals
4.3 Except as provided in this policy, we will not provide your personal information to third parties.
5. International data transfers
5.1. Data directly collected by eSchools may be stored and processed in and transferred between any of the countries in which we operate in order to enable us to use the information in accordance with this policy. Any third party we use is within the EEA or they hold an existing EU SCC, as in line with requirements under the GDPR. No other third party are permitted to access the school’s data.
5.2. Personal information that an individual adds to our websites may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use or misuse of such information by others.
6. Retaining personal information
6.1. This section sets out our data retention policies and procedures, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal information.
6.2. Personal information that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
6.3. Data collected through analytic cookies will be retained for 26 months. Individual visitors can adapt the data collected through cookie preferences, as mentioned in 2.4.
6.4. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we will retain documents (including electronic documents) containing personal data:
To the extent that we are required to do so by law;
If we believe that the documents may be relevant to any ongoing or prospective legal proceedings; and
In order to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights (including providing information to others for the purposes of fraud prevention and reducing credit risk). Data will no longer be kept after the termination of the contract with the school.
7. Security of your personal information
7.1. We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.
7.2. We will store all the personal information you provide on our secure (password- and firewall-protected) servers. The web service we employ has a broad range of accreditations and certifications and the data centres used ensure the data stays within the EEA.
7.3. eSchools use a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) which creates a secure connection and uses two keys to encrypt data in transit. Despite this, you acknowledge that the transmission of information over the internet is inherently insecure, and we cannot guarantee the security of data.
8. Amendments
8.1. We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.
8.2. You should check this page regularly to ensure you are aware of any changes to this policy.
9. Your rights
9.1. You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you.
9.2. We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law.
9.3. You may change your cookie preferences at any time as referenced in 2.4.
9.4. School Staff/Governors who subscribe to our Newsletter may manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
10. Third party websites
10.1 Our websites may include hyperlinks to, and details of, third party websites. We have no control over, and are not responsible for, the privacy policies and practices of third parties.
11. Updating information
We will only provide communication about the eSchools platform to school staff/governors who can manage their preferences at any time through their eSchools dashboard.
Part 2: Cookie Policy
Last Edited: 22nd April 2021
This Cookie Policy explains how eSchools use cookies and similar technologies in our Services. It explains what these technologies are and why we use them, as well as your rights to control their use.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small data files that are placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website. Cookies are widely used by online service providers in order to (for example) make their websites or services work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide reporting information.
Cookies set by the website owner or service provider (in this case, eSchools) are called “first party cookies”. Cookies set by parties other than the website owner are called “third party cookies”. Third party cookies enable third party features or functionality to be provided on or through the website or service you are using (such as advertising, interactive content and analytics). The third parties that set these third party cookies can recognise your computer both when it visits the website or service in question and also when it visits certain other websites or services.
Why do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?
We use first party and third party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Services to operate, and we refer to these as “essential” cookies. Other cookies enable us and the third parties we work with to track and target the interests of visitors to our Services, and we refer to these as “advertising” or “analytical” cookies. For example, the embedding of YouTube and Vimeo videos, as added by individual schools, will require “advertising” cookies to be enabled in order to successfully play them. Schools that, for example, opt to track visitor data using Google Analytics will require “analytical” cookies to be enabled in order to do so. These third party cookies are used to tailor content and information that we may send or display to you and otherwise personalise your experience while interacting with our Services and to otherwise improve the functionality of the Services we provide. We also enable schools to employ cookies and similar tracking technologies in connection with their use of our Services in order to allow them to track visitors to and interactions with their school website.
How eSchools Uses Cookies
eSchools websites may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us and to enrich your user experience. The cookies differ depending on the information. You can adapt your cookie preferences, although please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
User Embedded Content
Our Services allows schools to embed code which may potentially contain cookies. Please note embedded content, if displayed on one of our websites, has been added by the school and not by eSchools. The embedded content added by the school may require additional cookies or tracking technologies to be enabled in order to function.
How can I control cookies?
You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. Be aware that cookie preferences are set on a per device basis; therefore you may need to set your preferences on each device you use.
Initial cookie pop-up banner: You can exercise preferences about what cookies are served on our Websites by selecting your preference from this modal which appears upon visiting an eSchools website/login screen and dashboard. You can also change your cookie preferences by clicking on the link on the footer of any page. The banner will reappear annually (August 31st to coincide with the academic year) to confirm your settings.
Browser Controls: You can set or amend your web browser controls to accept or refuse cookies. If you choose to reject cookies, you may still use our Websites though your access to some functionality and areas of our Websites may be restricted. As the means by which you can refuse cookies through your web browser controls vary from browser-to-browser, you should visit your browser’s help menu for more information.
Disabling Most Interest Based Advertising: Most advertising networks offer you a way to opt out of Interest Based Advertising. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing. If you would like to find out more information, please visit aboutads.info/choices or youronlinechoices.com.
Mobile Advertising: You can opt out of having your mobile advertising identifiers used for certain types of Interest Based Advertising, by accessing the settings on your Apple or Android mobile device and following the most recent published instructions. We will not, without your express consent, supply your personal information to any third party for the purpose of their or any other third party's direct marketing.
How often will you update this Cookie Statement?
We may update this Cookie Statement from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please therefore re-visit this Cookie Statement regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. The date at the bottom of this Cookie Statement indicates when it was last updated.
Where can I get further information?
If you have any questions about our use of cookies or other technologies, please email us at support@.eschools.co.uk.