Today we learned that energy is any source that creates a change in matter. We learned about the two different types of energy renewable and non-renewable. We then researched sources of renewable energy and thought about where we can find them in our community before moving on to creating models of consumers of energy and energy sources.
Today we explored renewable energy and looked at the different energy sources in our community. We then had lots of fun using ‘Steam Park’ and ‘Superpowered’ LEGO to build a range of energy based objects.
Here are some photos of our exciting day!
Today we started our STEM week in year 1.
The aim of the week is to introduce the children to the fundamentals of STEM while working together to solve fun challenges and building models using LEGO DUPLO bricks.
In year 1, we are looking at energy, where it comes from and how we use it.
Today the children explored the STEAM Park pack and discussed different sources of energy in our community. We then worked in teams to make our own wind turbine using the building card.
We visited Scotswood Community Garden in Newcastle to investigate how plants reproduce. First, we learned about the parts of the flower which are important for pollination and reproduction. Our challenge was to use natural objects to recreate the parts of the flower and label our model.
Next, we became pollen hunters, visiting the bee hives and learning about the importance of bees and why to protect them.
After lunch, our main activity was to make pots out of newspaper and then planting seeds which would eventually encourage bees to our gardens to help plants reproduce. We also made natural potions, explored the gardens finding interesting insects and made dens using sticks and leaves. Overall, a fantastic day learning about plant reproduction.
As part of our ‘How Livings Things Grow’ topic, Reception visited Hall Hill Farm. We saw and fed many different animals. We went on a very bumpy tractor ride and even milked a cow! We had a fantastic day!
Y5L had a fantastic day at Scotswood Garden.
We started out by talking about the process of reproduction in plants:
Then we made a model flower using what we could find around the garden and labelled the parts:
Since we had talked about bees being pollinators, we became pollinators ourselves. We had sticky bees on our fingers which we used to collect pollen while exploring the garden. We got to see the vegetable patch, the pond, the flower garden and the beehives. There are around 300,000 bees in the hives at Scotswood Garden!
After lunch, we had a chance to do some activities around the garden:
Tree climbing
Making our own biodegradable pot and planting a sunflower
Potion making with herbs from the garden
Den building
Minibeast hunting
We had so much fun!
In Year Two, our current science topic is living things and their habitats. This week we have been learning about microhabitats which are small, specialised habitats such as a clump of grass, under a rock or leaf litter. We went outside to identify and investigate microhabitats including the different organisms that live in them. We were very careful and made sure we put any organisms back where we found them and put rocks back so we didn’t change the conditions in the microhabitat.
Year 1 Science our topic this half term is plants. In class we have been exploring seeds, we looked at them under a magnifying glass.
In our school grounds and allotment we have been observing different plants.
All of the children planted a bean, we have kept a diary each week to see how our bean has grown and changed.
We have been finding out about wild flowers, we walked around our school grounds looking for examples of wild flowers. We found lots of daisies and dandelions, clover and buttercups.
The Harton Primary Puzzlers visited Harrogate Convention Centre on 22nd April for the 2022-23 First Lego League UK and Ireland national tournament. The theme this year was Superpowered and was centered around finding efficient ways to generate, store and transport energy. The Puzzlers took their Skipatron 5000 working prototype along, and had queues of children and adults waiting to have a turn! They were interviewed by TV presenter, Maddie Moate, who even had a turn and came second on the leaderboard after Mrs Ratcliffe!
During the robot game, the team scored their highest score of 245! Commentators noted how efficient the team were throughout the game. Maizie was even invited to join the commentators to discuss the team’s strategy for completing the missions.
Out of the 69 teams from across the UK and Ireland, The Puzzlers emerged as the top ranked team from the North East of England, securing an overall position of 15th place, based on: their innovation idea and presentation; display of core values throughout the day; and their score in the robot competition. They were also in second place for a special judge’s award as well as being in the top 20 for their innovation project and core values.
We are all so proud of Jacob, Ella, Seamus, Mia, Darcie, Maizie, Max and Ellis for being absolute superstars throughout the day. They were a true testament to Harton Primary School.
Reception had a special visit from Zoolab. We listened to the story ‘We’re Going On An Animal Hunt’ and learnt interesting facts. We sat patiently and quietly to stroke and hold each creature. Look how brave we were.
