This week in Science Barn Owls explored organs, tissues and cells within the human body. They used playdough to make and create different organs exploring how these vital organs are within our bodies. 

As part of our new Geography topic - Energy and Sustainability, Barn Owls have become very aware of the amount of plastic within our world and two members have approached the company Terracycle and created their own plastic collection point. They then hope that the plastic they have collected can be sent off to Terracycle and then recycled into school items such as outdoor benches, games items and resources. The children have created a clear list of items that can be included and everyday ensure the rubbish is sorted and cleaned. What excellent eco warriors you are! 

This week in Maths, Barn Owls have been measuring angles. They have learnt how to use a protractor correctly and used their mathematical knowledge and understanding to calculate different types of angles whether acute, obtuse, reflex or right. 

An author of a picture book called, Tank the Tooth Fairy came to visit today. Bethany Finnimore read the story which is a fantastic book that spoke about the importance of being resilient. The book looked at how to turn a possible 'weakness' into a strength which we thought was a great moral. After the children heard the story, they were invited to become an illustrator, creating a new page for the book!

In Science, we are exploring materials and how they can change. Today, the Tawny Owls looked at flexible and non flexible solids and conducted an experiment where they concluded that flexible solids could be pulled, squashed, bent and twisted.

The children at Bridestowe enjoyed an afternoon of gardening with Angela from the 'Food For Thought' project. Firstly, they prepared the beds ready for planting. The Owlets have started to plant seeds ready to put in the raised beds. Bridestowe is linked to a school in Uganda through this project and we will be sending them updates from our school very soon. 

The Owlets enjoyed making pancakes where they demonstrated turn taking and fantastic measuring skills. They chose different toppings and even tried new ones. Great work Owlets!

The children in puzzle club completed a puzzle before half term and decided to do it again today. They wanted to do it quicker than before - they managed to complete the puzzle in 20 minutes!

The Snowy Owls enjoyed their first Forest School last week. Across the term they will focus on activities linked to our Geography topic of 'Water, weather and Climate'. They had to work in teams to make water move using different items they could find in the forest school area. 

World Book Day was celebrated in style this year at Bridestowe Primary School. The dressing up was impressive and it was fantastic to see such a variety of characters being depicted from many books. 
The pupils took part in different activities throughout the day such as, shared reading, writing their own book blurbs, reviews of the books that they brought in and Open the Book told a bible story at the end of the day.
We were also delighted to have the grand opening of our outdoor Reading Shed. The Friends of Bridestowe School (FoBS) have worked incredibly hard to fundraise for this outstanding resource. It was a real team effort to get it ready for today. Parent volunteers, staff and their family members have been very busy over the past few weekends to make sure this environment is perfect for pupils to develop their love for reading. It was a delight watching pupils of all ages explore and enjoy this excellent space. 

The Tawny Owls have looked at the key parts of the Christian story, Easter. They then used watercolour to depict a part of the story of their choice. 

Barn Owls have started their new Science Project - Cells. In order to kick start this new unit of work, they have planted cress seeds into small tubs and cups using cotton wool and a small amount of water. 
Barn Owls discussed the ideal living conditions and how they will take care of their new 'plant babies.' Some of the children are keen to talk, read and whisper to their small seedlings over the next few weeks! 
All the seedlings have been named and Barn Owls are keen to monitor the growth of their new plants considering how they are living things and how they can explore the 7 living processes (MRS NERG) through this growth. 

For our first day back of the new Spring Term; our school volunteer Simon Arnold showcased some of his musical abilities by playing a clarinet. Mr Arnold talked through the different notes as well as how to play the clarinet using a reed. 
All the children were in awe of his musical skills and it has helped start our new school term off with a musically merry note! 

Snowy Owl's visited Springfields, the children took pieces of their English work to share with the residents. It was lovely to see the children showing off their work and being proud with what they had written and the residents enjoyed listening to the children.

Last week was Children's Mental Health Week and the focus this year is 'Know Yourself, Grow Yourself'. The children took part in wear a scarf to school day, each class took part in activities and this week we had an assembly from the NHS Mental Health Team.

During Children's Mental Health week the Owlets talked about how they feel not just in their bodies but in their minds. They learnt about different strategies that may help them to have healthy minds such as dancing, exercise, being creative and listening to music. As part of this learning they are practising relaxation skills through massage. In class we support each other to feel relaxed and regulated through peer massage daily.

In maths the Owlets have been learning about capacity. They used pasta, water and loose parts to test the capacity of different items. They made predictions about which containers would hold the most and least using descriptive language to explain their reasons. 'This one will hold the most because it is tall and wide.' 'This container is shallow so it will hold less than this container.'

The Owlets have been learning about the different star constellations. They then created their own constellations.

The Owlets have been learning about Chinese New Year. They created Chinese dragons and used these to perform a Dragon dance. As part of their learning they cooked and tried different Chinese food with pak choi being a firm favourite alongside prawn crackers. Throughout the week they learnt about the different Zodiac animals and the many traditions of Chinese New Year.

We had our first Open the Book assembly of the year. They told us the story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. The story shows how people can change for the better, especially if someone shows you kindness.

It has been great to see all the children playing games and completing puzzles together. The older children have supported the younger children to learn rules of new games.

Snowy Owls learnt about the Lunar New Year which took place on Wednesday 29th January. They learnt about how the animals were given a name in the zodiac, how people celebrate the Lunar New Year and took part in a dance.

The Owlets have been at the Superhero Academy where they have practised their gross motor skills to learn super skills and made their own superhero masks and capes. They also discussed the real life super heroes that are in our own communities. They had fun dressing up and using role play to create real life scenarios.