Newport SOCOs solve baffling case!

Today some pupils from Newport got a taste of what it is really like to be a  scenes of crime officer (SOCO)  or crime scene investigator(CSI).  As part of the Rushmoreable programme coordinated by Mrs Fieldgate, the children were given a fabulous  "hands on" opportunity to learn about the  key forensic techniques used to locate, record and recover evidence from crime scenes such as  chromatography, fingerprint identification, alongside footprint and chemical analysis . Dressed from head to toe in  the protective clothing needed to avoid disturbing evidence, the young SOCOs were briefed about the crime (The theft of a lap top from a staff room), visited the actual crime scene and then given a raft of evidence to sift through.
"It really made you feel as if you were really were a SOCO", commented Pippa. Jack appreciated that the evidence had to be carefully analysed, " I had to make sure there were no absolutely no loose ends so the right person would be prosecuted for the crime!" . Brianna liked the very practical nature of this very important job.

Ipads were used to present the SOCO's findings , take pictures without disturbing the crime scene and taking notes whilst analysing results back in the laboratory. After a busy morning, the criminal was successfully identified by each of the teams and a folder of overwhelming evidence presented. A big thank you to Tower Hill Primary for hosting this wonderful workshop.

 

 

 

 

Bringing Shakespeare up todate....

This morning Newport Year 5 pupils were joined by talented writers from four other schools across the area to explore some of the works of two famous and hugely talented writers. The workshop, run by Mrs Fieldgate, examined in detail John Lennon's iconic peace anthem, Imagine. Using the lyrics as a framework pupils produced  their own poems detailing how they would make the world a better place.The importance of improving your initial ideas was stressed and everyone gave constructive criticism on their peers work.After break, Shakespeare's Seven ages of man was bought up to date by this team of talented writers. " It was great working with other children from other school" , commented Mitchell from Cranford Park Primary . Newport pupils were brilliant hosts and pupils are very  much looking forward to their visit to Tower Hill Primary next week. Well done: Oliver, Billy,Amy, Isabelle, Alex, Charlotte, Pippa, Leanne, Jonny and Jodie

Here are some of their modern interpretations of selected verses from The seven ages of man from Shakespeare's  play "As you like it".

First comes the infant wailing like a police siren.

Snuggled up in his mother’s arms makes him feel warm and cosy.

Looking everywhere wondering how the world works.

 Endless nappy changing and milky bottles fill his day.

 

 

The final showdown!  

Pottering around the minute   garden , visiting the doctors almost every day.

Aimlessly wandering around the shops until  closing  time.

Waiting patiently in a daze for the ghost of death to come and take his soul.

The ancient have lost their own teeth, their once eagle eyes, their terrific taste buds and now all their possessions.

Performance poet gives pupils top tips

Neal Zetter, a professional performance poet, passed on his top tips for writing both poems and raps to some of Newport's talented Year 5 writers. During the day long workshop, held at William Cobbett school in Farnham, pupils worked extremely hard to polish their own poems under Neal's expert eye. He also enthralled the audience with his own poems; Devon, Isabelle and Alex especially enjoyed I wish I was a Sumo wrestler , I'm a bee and The detention rap.  
Pupils from schools across Hampshire were astonished to discover that it takes Neal about 40 minutes to write a poem however he spend up to a day editing it! He also encouraged the workshop's budding poets to experiment with words and take risks , avoid using rhyming words and establish a beat to a poem using a repetition of a word or  short phrase.

 
Poetry fans can read more of Neal's latest poems (he has produced 800 poems since  the tender age of eight!) in his new book "Bees in my bananas-lots of funny poems". A copy of which will be in the school library for everyone to enjoy.

Living the dream!

On 9th June twenty six children from across the Newport and Belle Vue Federation visited the Farnborough Wind Tunnels  to learn more about flight and how these special buildings have shaped the world we live in today.These magnificent , listed buildings haven't ever been open to the public until today.

Pupils from Yrs 2-6 learnt about how aircraft work and are tested for safety (air worthiness). Will Avison, from Surrey satellites based at Surrey University, gave a fact filled talk on how satellites are manufactured and launched into space. Satellites can be used as surveillance cameras enabling photos to be taken to see how people or natural events such as a  tsunamis have affected the earth. Did you know that satellites can travel at 17,000 mph? To round off the morning's talks Russ Allchorne, Vice President of TAG Aviation, gave a presentation about his spectacular,high  flying career. He wanted to be a pilot at the age of seven; joining the RAF at seventeen he flew an amazing array of aircraft-Typhoon, F15 throughout his RAF career.Russ even flew a Spitfire ( the only one left in the world that capable of flying) over Buckingham Palace.He now flies jet setting celebrities and business people around the world in luxury jets from Farnborough airport! Every single pupil was inspired by him. He finished his talk by saying, " Don't give up on your dream job.Someone has got to do that job so why not you!" This certainly made everyone think about their own dream books back at school.

An action packed afternoon consisted of creating  basic rockets and firing them up into the air. "I really enjoyed this workshop and found it fun playing with forces", stated Molly, a year six pupil. Practising take off /landing in a Piper Tomahawk simulator also proved a memorable experience.

Mrs Fieldgate, Miss Moody and Mrs Pearce were immensely proud of the all the pupils who asked some very interesting and thoughtful questions throughout the day.

The Final Countdown!

This year has flown by, we are now in the last term of year 3! This term we have an exciting trip to Kew Gardens planned - hopefully the weather will be lovely!

 

 

We spent last half term researching places around the country and this half term we will be looking at plants & how things grow. In English we will be reading Kaspar Prince of Cats by Michael Morpurgo.
 

 

Towards the end of half term we will find out who our new teachers are and we will spend some time getting to know them.