Monthly archives: November 2022

Elleray Orienteering 2022

 in Class Four / PE / Sport / Whole School by

Getting out of bed this morning, Mr Dean shuddered at the thought of spending all day outside. The rain was beating against the windows as the wind howled down the street. Miraculously though, by the time Class 4 arrived at Windermere School there was nothing but blue sky!

Today we took part in the Windermere School Open Orienteering event! Tooled up with maps, punch-cards and dibbers we raced off into the forest on the hunt for the elusive red and white control squares. A huge well done to all Class 4 students who took part – excellent behaviour, sportsmanship and effort when slogging through the muddy fields. You worked as a team, kept each other safe and gave all of your effort to doing your best.

Thanks also to Mr Reedy and all the team from Windermere school for organising the day!

 

Children in Need

 in Church / Whole School by

We have enjoyed two incredible days of fundraising for Children in Need and have reached our best every total of £404.24!

Thank you to all our pupils and their families for supporting this amazing charity with huge enthusiasm and generosity.  Your efforts will make such a difference to children all across the UK.

Class 3 visit Castlerigg Stone Circle

 in Class Three / History / Whole School by

What an amazing day we all enjoyed in Keswick last week, which began with a visit to Castlerigg Stone Circle in the morning.   Despite the wet, windy weather blowing across the clearing, we were able to get up close to the stones as we considered what their purpose might have been 4500 years ago.

We have several theories – it was certainly a place of very special significance – perhaps of religious importance or a place for people to gather and trade!  Other stone circles around the UK, are believed to have been burial grounds, but not Castlerigg, as no human bones have every been found in the locality.

During the afternoon, we moved indoors to enjoy three workshops with the museum staff.   We were able to handle ancient stone axes that had been found in a cave on the Pike of Stickle which were believed to have been the remains of a stone-age axe factory!  We learnt about how hunter gatherers during the neolithic period survived in ancient Britain and we also became real archaeologists searching for hidden artefacts in the earth.

See us here, learning more about life in Stone-Age Britain and how historians have been able to piece together so much information about this time long before writing was invented!

 

The Great Fire Of London Role Play

 in Class Two / English / History / Whole School by

Class 2 have had a great morning travelling back in time over 350 years to 1666 and experiencing what it was like during the Great Fire of London. Laura and Adrian from Imagining History brought us an exciting workshop involving drama and role play. We created the kitchen in the bakery on Pudding Lane and then used a range of methods from the past to try and put out the raging fire. We threw leather buckets of water at the blaze, used squirts and water carts. We even tried to create a fire break by using dynamite to blow up the burning houses but to no avail. We took on different roles including King Charles 2nd, James, the Duke of York, scared Londoners and Samuel Pepys to create a big picture of the event, then tested our knowledge with a quiz about the key facts.

Design And Technology Week

 in Class Four / Class One / Class Three / Class Two / Design and Technology / Whole School by

What an amazing and busy time we had last week! The whole school took part in different Design and Technology projects. Class 1 were developing their cutting skills and exploring a range of different junk modelling materials. Class 2 were learning about fruit and vegetables, using their senses to explore them and then creating their own smoothies. Class 3 explored how to use a simple pneumatic system to make box monsters. Class 4 were learning about different ways to join fabric including different stictches, before designing and making their own soft toys. Each class enjoyed learning new skills, acquiring new knowledge and had opportunities to design, make and evaluate their work.

Class 4’s Soft Toys

Class 3’s Monster Boxes

Class 2’s Smoothies

Class 1’s Junk Modelling

Monster Creations at Art Club

 in Art by

Art Club got off to a ‘monster’ of a start last week when we were able to let our imagination go wild creating creatures inspired by the characters in ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak.

We began with a collaborative activity where we drew a feature or body part and then passed our drawing on to the next person to add another detail. This included exaggerated heads, curly claws, horns, prickles, bristles and more. It was great fun.

Next, we went on to build our own imaginary creatures using graphite sticks and watercolours.

We have already started to celebrate our work in our Art Club Display board in school.

This week we are looking forward to exploring monoprinting techniques.

Bonfire Night Safety

 in Class Two / SCARF / Whole School by

On Tuesday we were lucky enough to receive a visit from some of the officers from Kendal Fire Station to talk to us about how to keep ourselves and others safe on Bonfire Night. We found out some interesting facts around the history of the celebration as well as some important tips about handling sparklers, being around bonfires and leaving it to adults to handle the fireworks!

Class 2 then also had the opportunity to look around one of the engines they had brought along and the equipment on board. What a lovely way to begin their Fire of London topic!

Woodmatters

 in Class One / Whole School by

Reception have enjoyed an incredible visit to the National Trust Footprint site today on St Catherine’s estate in Windermere. The day began exploring the woodland, finding leaves from different trees and collecting a range of different sized sticks. They found out about how to build a campfire safely, learning that fires need oxygen, fuel and heat. They used flints and steel to create their own sparks and mini fires before toasting apples dipped in sugar.

After lunch, they learnt about willow, used loppers to cut their own pieces which were whittled using peelers and added to the fire to create charcoal. Whilst the charcoal was on the fire, there was just enough time to learn how to use a saw safely to create their own keepsakes of the day.

I think everyone will sleep well tonight!

Salty Science

 in Class Four / Science by

Before the break, Scafell began an experiment to see if they could grow Salt crystals in the classroom. We explored substances which dissolve, and then asked the question “how can we get it back?”

Dissolving salt into water, we then watched and waited as, over time, the water slowly evaporated. As it did so, the salt we dissolved in was left behind!

We did have some unexpected results as the salt crystals formed on the outside of the glass instead of the string as we’d expected, but we certainly got a lot of crystals forming!