Having Fun With Computer Science Coding

Hello all,

Yesterday, I survived my day with Mr Knight and I am back in for day 2!

Via parentmail yesterday you should have received some extra home learning for your children. If your child has finished the original pack that was sent home then they complete the extra tasks that were sent. However, if your child is still working on the SATs and Pop Art packs don't panic, they can continue to do so this week. We just want to make sure that we send out enough work to keep all children busy!

We now have a year 6 email address that you can contact us on if you have any queries about the work and one of the year 6 team will get back to you as soon as possible: year6@alderwood.hants.sch.uk (this is the same for all other junior year groups if you wish to contact them)

Now for children today, I have chosen something inspired by Oliver in my class and let me tell you that I have had great fun playing on it this morning. I have found a computer science website where you can practise your coding skills just like you do on Scratch! It has very simple instructions to follow (even I can manage them without Oliver's help!). This morning I have been making my own dance party with cats and sloths but there are other activities on there that I haven't had a chance to try yet including one based on Minecraft. To be honest with you, I may have to get Mr Knight to teach today so that I can continue with my coding practice! Have a go yourselves on: https://code.org/athome

Oliver I'll give you a call if I need you!

Enjoy your day, hopefully it doesn't stay this chilly all day!

Miss Parker

Year 4 Home- Learning

Hi Year 4!!

We hope that you have all now settled into this 'working from home' routine- it has definitely taken some getting used to for us teachers. We miss working with you in the classroom and seeing lots of happy faces walking through the door in the morning!

We hope everyone has enjoyed learning all about the Vikings as part of the home learning project given out for these 2 weeks- this is one of our favourite history topics! Remember you can find out more about them by using this fantastic website: https://www.jorvikvikingcentre.co.uk/discover-from-home/

This morning, we sent out additional Easter packs via parentmail for anyone who would like something else to get stuck into over the Easter holidays! These are additional and optional to complete alongside your Viking packs. Please note that the original pack sent out used the school font which we now realise is incredibly tricky to read on computers at home. We do apologise for this and have now changed it to a default font which should be much easier to read at home now.

Do remember you can now drop us an e-mail at year4@alderwood.hants.sch.uk. If you have any questions/queries regarding your home learning or just want to update us with how you are getting on! We would very much like to hear from you. Any photos/videos of home-school working welcome too! Your Year 4 teacher will respond to you as soon as they can.

In the meantime, we hope everyone manages to stay safe and tries to enjoy this time at home as much as possible. 

The Year 4 Team 

Week 2 of Home Learning

Good morning!

It is week 2 of home learning and by now you are no doubt experts at working from home!

Team B are in school this week, which means I have to put up with Mr Knight all day - wish me luck!  Although, he does look rather funny sat at the small infant tables! Mrs Woodward and Miss Eccles will be joining you working from home this week and I have set them both lots of jobs to do to keep them busy!

In school, we are having lessons with a Harry Potter theme so I thought I would give you a Harry Potter treat today as well. I discovered this last week but haven't had a chance to complete it yet so might give it a go today with Mr Knight and the children we have in. So, for you today I have a virtual Harry Potter escape room! Click on the following link to access it: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSflNxNM0jzbZJjUqOcXkwhGTfii4CM_CA3kCxImbY8c3AABEA/viewform?fbclid=IwAR10iBRN3qfwd779mRqPvQcq2eaJErTczzMxuICYRBl5zRIepN-Kj4UTAYk

If this link doesn't work, you can access it through the following website: https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/136211/digital-escape-room-harry-potter/

I hope you manage to escape! Enjoy and have fun but make sure you do your work first!

A Virtual Day Out for Day 5!

Good Morning All!

I woke up extra early today because I was so excited about what I was going to blog about! I actually discovered the idea yesterday afternoon and almost did a second blog about it yesterday because I was that excited!

Today I am going to share an idea with you that is definitely my favourite so far. As my class know, in fact probably the whole of year 6 do, I have a small obsession with rhinos so what better virtual day out than at a zoo! That is right Chester Zoo are doing a virtual day out at the zoo today live on their Facebook page!

I was lucky enough to visit Chester Zoo last year and it is by far one of my favourites having watched the TV show The Secret Life of a Zoo (if you haven't watched this it is also something for you to do while you are home learning - it is shown on channel 4). Here is what Chester have to say about their virtual day out:

As you can't come to the zoo right now, we’ll bring the zoo to you!

Join us LIVE on our Facebook page from 10am when we'll be throwing open our 'virtual gates.'

So, break up the boredom of being at home and, for the first time ever, enjoy a whole day of animal antics, live from your sofa! 🙌

We'll be featuring many of your favourites...

10:00 👉 Red pandas 🐼
11:00 👉 Rothschild's giraffes 🦒
12:00 👉 Asian elephants 🐘
13:00 👉 Butterflies 🦋
14:00 👉 Sun bears 🐻
14:30 👉 Sumatran tigers 🐅
14:45 👉 Humboldt penguins 🐧
16:00 👉 Aquarium* 🐠

Come and join the fun. The animals are waiting...

(*Running order may be subject to ever so slight changes... and there may be more surprises throughout the day!) 

I will definitely be joining them for a day out today. I am sure Mrs de Sausmarez will see this as important work for me to do or maybe I'll hope she doesn't read this!

If you are unable to have a virtual day out at the zoo today, there are many other zoos across the world that have live webcams set up so you can still enjoy the animals from the comfort of your own homes. Here are just a few: 

Also my personal favourite safari park, as it is where I first fell in love with rhinos, has three live webcams. Unfortunately, they are not on the rhinos but you can see the lions, tigers and cheetahs. I will put the links below:

Lion cam: https://www.aspinallfoundation.org/cubcam/ 

Tiger cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wgAIfW-si0

Cheetah cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDJp1IsZ1gc

Pictures of me feeding Rosie the rhino at Port Lympne - this was a paid for and supervised experience, when zoos are back open please don't walk up to a rhino and try to feed it!

Parents, if you would like an educational activity to go alongside these live videos then the children can use their area and perimeter knowledge from maths to design their own zoo complete with their own enclosures like the one below:

I really hope that you enjoy your virtual day out at the zoo! It will be like taking you all for a school trip without me telling any of you off!

Miss Parker

Celebrity Take Over on Day 4!

Good morning all!

It's day 4 of home learning and it is time to give your parents a break!

Many celebrities are helping out while schools are closed with free daily lessons; here are some of the ones that I have found so far. Obviously, some we have previously mentioned like PE with Joe, which is still my morning work out like so many other adults across the country - children you are not alone! There is a mixture of ideas on there from cooking to history to dance and my personal favourite wildlife! There is something for all of you!

For those of you who like a bit more structure to your day, here is a rough timetable of when the daily lessons are and some links to get you started: 

9.00am - PE with Joe Wicks https://youtu.be/6v-a_dpwhro
10.00am - Maths with Carol Vorderman www.themathsfactor.com
11.00am - English with David Walliams https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/
12.00pm - Lunch (cooking with Jamie Oliver) https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/category/get-kids-cooking/
1.00pm - Music with Myleene Klass https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQh2wgJ5tOrixYBn6jFXsXQ
1.30pm - Dance with Darcey Bussel https://twitter.com/diversedancemix/status/1241098264373592065
2.00pm - History with Dan Snow (free for 30-days) https://tv.historyhit.com/signup/package
4.00pm - Home Economics with Theo Michaels (Mon/Wed/Fri) https://www.instagram.com/theocooks

Non-daily events include:
Science with Professor Brian Cox, Robin Ince & Guests https://cosmicshambles.com/stayathome/upcoming-schedule
9.30am Wednesday 25 March - Geography with SteveBackshall https://twitter.com/SteveBackshall/status/1242058846941712385

Finally, for our football lovers out there, there are many free home learning resources on the Premier League Primary Stars website including some with some celebrity faces: https://plprimarystars.com/news/home-learning-activities-school-closures

Parents, enjoy having a break today and children have fun learning with celebrities!

The Year 6 Team

The Land of Theatre on Day 3

Good morning everyone,

I hope you are doing well with your home learning projects and enjoying your pop art tasks!

I have a special idea for you today. Since theatres have closed their doors for the time being in the UK, some shows are making their performances free to stream in the UK. The one I have chosen to share with you is a personal favourite mine as I have a family connection to it - my sister was actually part of the costume department that purchased and made the costumes for the characters! Because of this I was able to watch the show twice and go behind the scenes where I tried on some of the costumes including a foxes tail however my favourite costume are the hedgehogs!

It is a great family watch so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do; I shall be watching it later today after I have done some work. To watch the performance click on this link:https://www.willowsmusical.com/?fbclid=IwAR1P6OJFIP8_CitAPqK2Uap2hcp7GnasaOowal3flv4zYgmdw5qgLFp1-Fw

Parents they have also created an activity book for children to complete and the book is also available for download by clicking on this link: https://www.willowsmusical.com/activities-for-schools-and-home?fbclid=IwAR1VlRDUG14kblv2MTLiKqc1IgspSpj5JAPnw4GS8g4KMxQm3X5HUvI_f54

Enjoy and have a great day!

Moving in to day two!

Good morning all,

Slightly later blog today as I decided to join in with the PE with Joe class this morning. Is anyone else doing this each morning? I feel fully prepared and ready for the day ahead or maybe I should have a little break before starting some work! (I hope Mrs Brock doesn't read this!) I needed to find something to keep my fitness levels up now I don't have to run around the school trying to find where Mr Knight has disappeared to! I shall be joining in each morning live on the YouTube Body Coach TV channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAxW1XT0iEJo0TYlRfn6rYQ

We hope that your first home learning day went well yesterday. After the blog, I heard from Mrs Wiseman who sent me a picture of her home working area I am disappointed to say that it wasn't as tidy as mine and she had a lot of paperwork to sort out so she had a very busy day! It looks like she took everything from the year 6 shared area home with her!

Something new for you to try today: everyday at 11am David Walliams is going to be reading one of his World Worst Children Stories live, so make sure you sit down for a break and enjoy being read to! Let's hope some of you guys are not mentioned in the story! Head over to his website https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/ to find out more!

Enjoy home learning day 2!

The Year 6 Team

Mrs Wiseman's Home Working Area

Home Learning Begins!

Good morning year 6 children,

We just wanted to wish you good luck on your first day of home working! We may not be with you physically but we are definitely there with you mentally, reminding you of your capital letters and quick firing maths questions at you! Although we are not with you, we want you all to know that everything you have learnt with us this year means you are ready to take on this challenge; it is your chance to shine independently (maybe with a little parent help!)

Since Mr Knight and I are part of the Team B Staff and are not in school until next week, we will be joining you on your home working experience this week! The first thing I did this morning was set up a home learning area to work from. For me my desk is under my stairs so I feel a little like Harry Potter today but I have Honey's golden rhino for company and Grace's plant to brighten it up! I am not sure what Mr Knight's home learning area looks like but I think we all know that it won't be as organised as mine! Have you picked a home learning spot yet or are you going to try somewhere different each day? Perhaps, under the stairs like me, or in the garden, or under the dining table or maybe even in the bath! (With no water in it so your work doesn't get wet of course!) Your choices are endless!

The year 6 team will be trying to make regular blog updates to keep in contact with you and support you on this journey so keep your eyes peeled on the school website for more!

Now get going on that first SATs paper while  I will have to go and make my own cup of tea as I don't have Mrs Woodward around to make me my morning drink this morning!

The Year 6 Team

Butser Farm!

Year 3 have had a fantastic day at Butser Farm; we even had the whole place to ourselves which was amazing! The children stepped back in time, experiencing a real life round house, with a roaring fire, a roman villa, looking at Roman mosaics and creating some of their own masterpieces. The children even got to experience the toilet facilities which did not appeal to any of them! We even made some Roman jewellery using copper wire. The children should be bringing home their masterpieces! The highlight for most of the children was that they got to build a wall using wattle and daub (a mixture of mud, manure and hay) to help construct a new, neolithic house that should be completed next year. What a fantastic legacy and memory for year 3! However, they did wash their hands straight after doing this. We even built a fence, also known as wattling. Finally, the children had a go at chalk carving using flint stones, chalk and leaves for colour. Overall, the children had a brilliant day and were an absolute credit to our school. Thank you to all of the adults who went on the trip! Take a sneaky peak at just some of our photos.

Miss Cooke 

Home Learning In Year 6

SATs and Pop Art Home Learning Packs

After the news of school closures yesterday, your year 6 child should have brought home with them today a rather chunky home learning pack that consists of two parts! 

Firstly, although SATs will not be held in May, we have sent children home with two sets of past papers to complete as we would still like them to experience the tests which they have been working hard towards in lessons. We have recommended that they do one paper a day over the 2 weeks before Easter holidays. The recommended timetable for this is on the home learning task sheet along with the following website link that gives you access to all past papers and mark schemes should you wish to help your child https://www.satsbootcamp.co.uk/year-6-sats-papers/  

Secondly, we have been studying Pop Art in our art lessons this half term and would like children to continue with this theme during their time at home. They have been given a pack with a range of Pop Art related activities; we would like them to complete 2 to 3 tasks each week but they are welcome to do more if they wish. 

We wanted to give the packs out today so that you had a chance to look through them and can come and speak to the year 6 team tomorrow if you have any questions or need further support.

If you would like your child to be some extra work please remember that they should have their Education City logins in their homework books and most children have their CGP Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling books which they can now complete any sections of. Further to that, there are some websites listed at the end of this blog with further resources to support learning.

We understand that you will want to keep your children busy over the following weeks, especially if you are also working from home so we have included some possible 30 day challenges below that they may be interested in completing. Or why not get them up and active by letting them try something like yoga or The Body Coach Kids Workouts to do at Home! There are some great videos on YouTube if you have access to the internet like https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5uIZ2KOZZeQDQo_Gsi_qbQ or https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyCLoPd4VxBvPHOpzoEk5onAEbq40g2-k

Additionally, alongside our PSHE lessons it is important to think of our local community at this time and what we can do to support each other. Therefore, it may be nice for your children to create a picture that can be sent to a local nursing home where they are unable to have visitors at the moment due to self isolating or even hanging the picture in your window to brighten others days! 

We recognise that this is an unusual time for us all but the year 6 team are here to help in any way that we can. 

Miss Parker, Mrs Woodward, Mr Knight, Mrs Wiseman and Miss Eccles

Education Websites

https://www.educationcity.com/

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/ (1 month free with offer code - uktwinklhelps)

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/

https://www.brainpop.com/

https://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/

https://scratch.mit.edu/

https://www.highlightskids.com/

https://creativebug.com/

World Book Day Hits Alderwood Juniors

World Book Day Hits Alderwood Juniors!

On Thursday 5th March, we took part in our annual World Book Day celebrations!

The day involved dressing up as one of our favourite characters from a book! Even the teachers got involved and there were so many amazing costumes arriving at school!

We started the day by sharing a story. Across the school, pupils shared their favourite books with somebody else from a different year group. We talked about our favourite books before taking it turns to read to eachother.

 

For the rest of the day, pupils in the school took part in a whole range of activities including costume catwalks, drama explorations, painting in the style of an illustrator and creating our own poems/raps/songs and stories based on a theme from a book.

Take a look at our photos to see what we got up to.