In our history we have been looking at how life has changed over the last 100 years. We looked at old photographs of Blandford to see what we could discover about times gone by.
We found that 100 years ago there was a steam train that brought goods and people to Blandford. These were then collected from the station by a horse and carriage. There were very, very few cars! Children were safe to play in the streets and swam in the river [which was not safe!] The market was there and a few shops selling basic ingredients.
Now of course the town is full of cars and carparks! We have a whole variety of little shops and several large supermarkets. We can't play in the streets or swim in the river but we do have a nice heated pool at the leisure centre!
We found out what a day at school would have been like. We looked at a slate and slate pen that was actually found on the site of the old school. We learnt about canes and dunces caps and didn't like the sound of them! We are glad that the UNCRC article 28 states that discipline in school should respect a child's dignity!
We are glad we are a Rights Respecting school!

Vehicle designers

We looked at different types of vehicles and how each is designed specifically for its purpose. We investigated different axles and trhen designed and made our own vehicles usig recycled materials.

Fair tests

We investigated if the height of a ramp affects how far a car will travel.

 We learnt that to create a fair test you must only change one variable. Then in our groups we planned our own investigations into what affects the distance a car will travel.  Our ideas included the surface of the ramp, the weight of car, the type of car and the size of a car

We wrote up our experiments using a scientific explanation. 

  

Forcing the tissue!

In our science work we have been investigating forces. We exerted forces on different materials to see if we could change their shapes. Here we are pulling, pushing, twisting, stretching, squashing and squeezing!

What makes a home?

This half term our topic is Families and neighbours. We have created our own family treees and auto biographies. Today we discussed 'What makes a home?'. We listed the physical materials that were used to build our homes. Then we listed as many different types of homes as we could including caravans, lighthouses and teepees! We realised they can be built of very different materials and come with many or few facilities.
This is what we thought every home needs though......

This reminded us of the  UNCRC article 27 Children have i right to 'a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and mental needs'
Today, however, is 'Children In Need' day when we think about children who are not enjoying their home life. We raise money to support families through difficult times.

 Happy to help!

Patterns on the page.

 In our literacy lessons we have been exploring poetry. We have found out that poetry involves patterns of sound, shape or lay out.  We have looked at poems and discussed how they work and what makes them successful. We have taken poems and changed them or added to them to make them our own. The first is a rhyming poem that we added our own verses to.......... 

  

What are little children .........?

I am not a sugar and spice child 

An all things nice child.

A do as you’re told

Good as gold child.

I ‘m a climbing trees,

Dirty knees, child.

A super writer,

Read at nighter. Child.

A quick to trick and love to kick 

A football child.

I ‘m a usually mild,

Sometimes wild, child!

A really sporty,

Sometimes naughty, child!

I am a love to play

Too much to say

Child!

By Polar Bear Base.

Our next poem is adapted from Cats Can by Coral Rumble. It works because certain words have been given special shapes. Our version is all about Polar Bears!

Making a drama out of an article!

In our topic work this half term we have looked at Article 24 of the UNCRC which states

'Children have the right to good quality health care and to clean water, nutritious food and a clean environment, so that they will stay healthy.

Rich countries should help poorer countries achieve this.'

We have been learning how to achieve a healthy lifestyle. We have researched which foods are good for us and planned balanced meals. We have considered the importance of exercise in keeping fit. We have looked at the most effective ways of keeping clean and protecting ourselves from illness. We have discussed when it is appropriate to take pills and medicine.

Finally we looked at the last part of the artyicle. We acted out a story of a child growing up in the Island of Negros in the Phiiipines. She lived on a sugar plantation. When the need for sugar suddenly decreased there was no money for her or her family.

At three years old she nearly died of starvation.

Fortunately the story ended happily because emergency aid workers flew in with supplies and stayed to train her people into managing their own small pieces of land and how to start small businesses.

We found out about some of the agencies that work to support Rights for all children and included them in our collage.

Pizza Making.

We looked at the ingredients that we need to make pizza and found out which countries they were from. We used a globe and maps to find how far some of the foods have to travel to get to us.
In our literacy we have been looking at recipes and learning how to write instructions.
Here are Polar Bear  Base instructions for making pizza.

You will need
A pizza base
Cheese
Tomato puree
Onions
Mushrooms
Sweetcorn

First wash your hands.
Secondly spread the tomato puree on the pizza base.
Then peel and chop the onoins and place on the base.
After that slice the mushrooms and add them to the pizza.
Next sprinkle on the sweetcorn.
Lastly grate the cheese onto the top of the pizza.
Bake, eat and enjoy!

Best comments of the day!

'I think we should rename our class to 'Pizza Base''

'This has been the best day ever'

'It's been like a beautiful dream all about food!'

A balanced Diet.

We sorted foods into different groups and found out how these foods help to keep us healthy.

Open publication - Free publishing - More art

Food For Thought

Our topic this half term is 'Food For Thought'. We thought of lots of questions we would like to answer about food.

and many more!

School council representatives

These are our school council representatives. We had our first council meeting today. First we talked about The new idea we have across the school of having 'eco bugs'. These are chosen to help everyone remember the importance of caring for our environment and conserving energy. In our class a new 'Eco bug' is chosen weekly. The 'Eco bug's job is to ensure that all lights are switched off, windows and doors are closed in winter, computers are closed down properly, waste paper is recycled, paper towels are used sensibly and that all resources are carefully looked after.

We then discussed some ideas for making rights and responsibilities charters for lunchtimes, the playground and the astroturf.

To Be The Best That We Can Be!

Hello Everyone!

We have had a fantastic first week back at school!

We have spent some time this week talking about what we want our classroom to be like so everyone can  'Be The Best That We Can Be!'.

We have thought about our 'Rights' those things which everyone can expect; the right to be safe, the right to feel comfortable, the right to learn, the right to have our say, and the right to be respected.

We then split up into groups and each group discussed how we must behave so that everyone can enjoy these rights. These are our 'Responsibilities'.

We then created our Class Charter and everyone signed their names to show we agreed with our 'Rights and Responsibilities'.

Welcome!

Welcome to Polar Bear Base Blog!

Mrs. Rees and Mrs Gibson are looking forward to September. We hope you are too!