The KS1 children from Lydford Primary joined the Tawny Owls today for a science morning. It started in school by looking at how humans have learnt about space. We spoke about many things such as sending animals into space and the moon landing in 1969, before designing and making our very own rockets!
We then walked up to the hall and had a planetarium experience. The children learnt many facts such as how to find the North Pole star, the phases of the moon and that 100 Earths could fit across the diameter of the sun. 

The Tawny Owls had 4 very different visitors in class today! Every child enjoyed the interesting, engaging and informative talk from Marie from Animals 2 U Southwest. They learnt about the different classifications of animals, their features, what they eat and where they live. This will be a great reference point for the children when we learn about habitats in the summer term. 

The children have been busy creating stop motion animation videos in the KS1 film club. Here is one of the films that was made this week - enjoy watching! 

As part of our entertainment through time topic, the Tawny Owls have been learning about how large public events have entertained and united people over the years. 
We looked at a variety of festivals and parades such as the Queen's Jubilee, as well as the current Chinese New Year celebrations. 
The children completed a variety of activities based on the Chinese New Year which then ended with a parade through the classroom, which the children thoroughly enjoyed!

On a very icy morning, the Open the Book team welcomed us to the Chapel for a story from Jesus' young life. Bentley put in an admirable performance as the 12 year-old who was lost by his parents and found in the Temple. As usual, all the performers made the story both entertaining and thought-provoking.

The children got wrapped up and enjoyed being out in the snowy weather this week for forest school. They made clay animals and sat around the fire eating s'mores. The Tawny Owls always love their time with Ranger Rob!

In film club, we are looking at stop motion animation. This is a technique used in filmmaking where you move and manipulate objects in small increments (taking pictures as you go) to bring them to life. So far, the children have enjoyed watching a variety of short films and worked in groups to create the frames for a caterpillar eating a leaf. Now the children are beginning to understand this technique, they are going to create their very own short film over the coming weeks.

The pupils enjoyed a demonstration on why it is important to be specific when making a set of instructions. Mrs Lammas became a robot and the children had to help her make a jam sandwich. On the children's first attempt, Mrs Lammas ended up with jam all over the place - even on her face (which the children thought was incredibly funny)! On the second go, the children worked together to create a good set of instructions with precise wording to make a great sandwich. This activity leads on to computer programming, making a set of instructions (algorithms) for a robot to perform. 

The Tawny Owls began their ball skills work today with a game of Junkyard Clear Up. The class were split into 2 teams with bean bags scattered across the playground. When the whistle went, each team had to tidy up their side of the playground by throwing the bean bags to the other side. The team with the least amount of 'junk' on their side at the end of the game were the winners. The children then went on to work in pairs to practice their throwing and catching skills. It was great to see fantastic teamwork throughout!

The Tawny Owls have designed, made and evaluated their fantastic windmills in Design and Technology this half term.

The Tawny Owls looked fantastic today, while raising money for Save the Children. 

Each child in the school decorated a wooden disc to hang on the village Christmas tree. The Tawny Owls and Owlets visited it at the same time to place their baubles on. 

The Snowy Owls used their design sheets from the previous lesson to build their own panels for the structure of their pavilion. They reinforced their structures using triangles. The children reflected on their designs and made changes in light of what they had learnt. In the next lesson, the children will construct their free-standing frame structure and complete their pavilions with cladding. They will also be given the challenge of creating a landscape in which the pavilion would be found in. 

We enjoyed sharing all of our fantastic learning this half term.

The Tawny Owls have been looking at what makes a good photograph. The children worked in pairs to take photographs of a variety of subjects and then we reviewed these as a class. We spoke about positioning, framing and the subject. The children then went back and retook the photographs to improve their work. You can really see the difference it makes when you analyse work as a class and become a critical friend. Here is an example of the progress in one lesson.

At the start of term, each child decorated part of a paper plate in a style which represented them, their personality and uniqueness.  The plates have now been joined together to symbolise that everyone is important in our school and together we all fit together to make it a special place. 

​This week in our final mindfulness club session for the term, we made our own glitter jars. Sometimes our thoughts and emotions get all stirred up and it makes it hard to think clearly. A glitter jar can be a good tool to help you settle your feelings. The group enjoyed watching the glitter in the jar and listening to calming music – a great way to end our day at school.  

The year 2s have had a challenge this morning, subtracting a 1-digit number from a 2-digit number crossing the nearest 10. They have used their previous learning to help understand to partition the 1-digit number to get to the nearest 10 efficiently. Then they have to use their number bonds to 10 knowledge to get to the answer. Well done Tawny Owls!

In RE this term, the Tawny Owls have been looking at why Christmas is important to Christians. Alongside learning their nativity play, the children have written or sequenced the Christmas story. In the coming weeks, they will move on to looking at how Christians use this story to determine their actions over the festive period. It was fantastic to see the children taking great pride in their work during this activity. As you can see from the picture, children showed beautiful handwriting skills alongside, spelling, punctuation and grammar. 

The year one pupils have been working incredibly hard over the past few weeks on their addition and subtraction unit in maths. They have been using manipulatives and images to help build upon their understanding. As you can see from the pictures below, they have also been working on improving their presentation. It is fantastic to see the great progression taking place!

The Tawny Owls have been learning about polar regions, rainforests and deserts. They have looked at the similarities and differences between the food, shelter and animals in these areas. This week, the children independently wrote fact files about the knowledge they have learnt so far. Brilliant work Tawny Owls!

We have learnt about BBC Children in Need this morning and the reason we are dressed in spots! There were good discussions about disadvantaged children and how the money raised for this charity help and support them and their families. 

The Tawny Owls have been learning the basics of invasion games this term. Last half term they played tag rugby and now they have moved on to football. Today's session was all about how to control the ball without using their hands. After learning how to dribble the ball using light touches, they had a game of tag football. I was impressed with the progression made by all!