Thursday 30 March 2017

Redwood Learn About The Water System

On our trip to Anglian Water today in Chelmsford, the pupils got up and close with the water system! We learnt the basics about how the water cycle works, investigated what sewage actually is and discovered how to use water sensibly. 

It was really cool to make our own 'sewage soup' so we could learn how different food and household substances can affect the water system and the effectiveness of the sewers. It's important not to throw fat, oils and grease down the sink as they solidify and can block drains. 
Kaine Painter 

The only thing that should get flushed down the toilet is loo roll as nothing else has been designed to break up and disintegrate. Cotton wool buds are a definite no-no as they can clog the pipes and filter system!
Rose-Anna Weaver 

One of the most shocking parts of the day was seeing how much water is wasted if you leave the tap running while you brush your teeth. In one minute a whopping 13 litres could go down the plug! Remember to switch taps off and not waste water!





Monday 27 March 2017

Larch Star Writer

This week in Larch our star writer is Athenkosi Nombeko. Athen has produced a fantastic flashback story about a boy who was attacked by a wasp at a party because he had jelly in his hair instead of gel! Athen has used some fantastic sentence openers, a range of conjunctions and very detailed descriptive language. A great job Athen well done!!



Year 6 Spellings: 27-31st March

Below are the Year 6 Spellings for this week.

Students are expected to practice their spellings for 15 minutes per day as well as practice their times tables and read at home. Children are encouraged to search for the definitions of the words and use them in sentences in order to gain merits for their trackers.



Wednesday 22 March 2017

WE Day2017


We have arrived safely at Wembley Arena and found our seats. Hands are clapping, flags are waving, one minute till show time. 

Monday 20 March 2017

Larch Star Writer

This week in Larch our star writer is Oliver Hatwell! Oliver has made a fantastic start to his flashback story of Danny, a boy who had run out of hair gel before his big school party. Oliver has used a range of openers, powerful adjectives and a relative clause in his writing. A brilliant start Oliver well done!!



Friday 17 March 2017

Year 5 20.03.17-24.03.17


Below are the Year 5 Spellings for this week.

Students are expected to practice their spellings for 15 minutes per day as well as practice their times tables and read at home. Children are encouraged to search for the definitions of the words and use them in sentences in order to gain merits for their trackers.





Thursday 16 March 2017

Larch Science Week

This week in Larch to celebrate science week we carried out 'the dirty penny' experiment. The children filled a cup with white vinegar and salt, then placed a dirty copper coin into the solution. After having left the coin to react with the solution the children then took the coin out. To their amazement the coin was sparkling as if brand new again!! 


Wednesday 15 March 2017

Why Is the Statue of Liberty Green?

To celebrate British Science Week, Year 6 participated in an experiment to learn how to clean pennies and then turn them green!

Pennies are made from copper or copper and zinc. They look dull or dirty when covered with copper oxide which is formed when it reacts with oxygen in the air.
Kaine Painter, Redwood 

The pupils started with the dirtiest pennies they could find and made predictions as to what would happen if they put them into a solution made of white vinegar and salt. The vinegar created an acetic acid and the sodium chloride of the salt was added to produce sodium acetate and hydrogen chloride which stripped the copper oxide from the coins and made them shiny!

The children then attempted to turn the pennies from shiny to green. The shiny pennies now have exposed copper which reacts with the oxygen in the air to form a layer of copper oxide again. As the pennies continued to react with the oxygen, a green-blue compound called malachite formed!

I really enjoyed this experiment, it allowed us to understand why the Statue of Liberty is green! Originally, it as copper coloured but that reacted with oxygen to form malachite.
Isaac Wright, Redwood

Have a look at the results below...








Monday 13 March 2017

Year 5 Spelling 13.03.27- 17.03.17

Below are the Year 5 Spellings for this week.

Students are expected to practice their spellings for 15 minutes per day as well as practice their times tables and read at home. Children are encouraged to search for the definitions of the words and use them in sentences in order to gain merits for their trackers.






Larch Star Writer

This week in Larch our star writer is Alffie Pilcher. Alffie has made a fabulous start to his narrative of 'Icarus and his wings' including lots of powerful adjectives and a variety of sentence starters. I look forward to reading the finished products this Friday during Big Write!



Friday 10 March 2017

Year 6 Spellings: 13th - 17th March

Below are the Year 6 Spellings for this week.

Students are expected to practice their spellings for 15 minutes per day as well as practice their times tables and read at home. Children are encouraged to search for the definitions of the words and use them in sentences in order to gain merits for their trackers.




Monday 6 March 2017

Larch Star Writer

Our star writer this week in Larch is Iasha Sillah after her heart-warming and emotional thank-you letter to her idol                   . Iasha used emotive language and personal feelings and memories to explain how this person has inspired Iasha throughout her life. A great job Iasha and good luck in the competition along with the rest of Larch class!!


Friday 3 March 2017

Redwood Star Writer

Harry Vincent is this week's star writer in Redwood class thanks to his heartfelt and genuine letter to his best friend Joshua! Last week, we took the time to show our gratitude to those who do a lot for us and make a difference to our lives and the pupils had to choose who to write their letter to. Well done Harry for including a range of fantastic openers and interesting reasons to support his gratitude. 




Year 6 Spellings: 6th March- 10th March

Below are the Year 6 Spellings for this week.

Students are expected to practice their spellings for 15 minutes per day as well as practice their times tables and read at home. Children are encouraged to search for the definitions of the words and use them in sentences in order to gain merits for their trackers.





Thursday 2 March 2017

World Book Day in Year 6


Today in Year 6, there was an array of exciting book characters in place of our normal pupils. We had Willy Wonka, Gangster Granny, a detective, Alice in Wonderland, Dennis the Menace and many others too.

During the morning, the pupils searched for Wally and his friends in the school, who had been stealthily hidden by Mrs Nicholls and Miss Sparkes. We also read extracts from Beatrix Potter and continued our class story 'Holes' by Louis Sachar. Well done to all the children for making such a fantastic effort today!

Dressing up for World Book Day was really fun! The event is a great way to remember and be thankful for all the wonderful books that have been written and enjoyed over time.
Jessica Sampson, Redwood