Welcome to Alder Class 

Happy summer holidays

Big Maths Beat That Challenges

Big well done to the following children for having completed their Beat That Challenges last week (WKB 27th July):

Monique

Ibrahim - 10/10 for CLIC

Kimiya

Momusu 10/10 for SAFE

O'Daine.

Well done and keep it up!

Big well done to the following children for having completed their Beat That Challenges last week (WKB 20th July):

O'Daine - 10/10 for CLIC

Zahra - 10/10 for CLIC

Idara - 10/10 for CLIC

Kimiya

Ibrahim - 10/10 for CLIC

Monique

Camron

Well done to Momusu for completing her challenges this week and 10/10 for SAFE.

Keep it up.

Happy summer holidays

Hello Alder class, soon to be Mahogany class,

It was lovely seeing some of you last Friday when handing out reports. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a fun, relaxing and safe summer holiday.  I am looking forward to seeing you all again in September.

Can I please ask that you continue to complete your Big Maths challenges each week and to try and do 3 reading comprehensions on First News Ihub each week..

I hope you have all received your reports and homework by now.  Have fun completing it.

Take care and stay safe.

Lewisham Music - Free Zoom Choir

Would you like your child to take part in a free Zoom Choir?  If so, take a look at the poster below which tells you about a free zoom choir for children which starts on 28th July. In order to take part, you will need to sign up and agree to the read and comply with our online safety policy. You can find all the relevant information at https://www.lewishammusic.org/zoooom-choirs/.

School Closure Gallery

You are all very creative and I would love to see what you have been doing and post it on our class page to share with and inspire others.  Send in the work you are doing at home and I will put it on the class page so everyone else can see it too.  If you can, attach your work to an email and send it to me via Purple Mash. 

Jessie's mum has been teaching Jessie how to use glass paints.  I am sure you will all agree that the results are fantastic!!

Delphi's Umbrella-Hat Presentation

My name is Delphi Baker and I’m the inventor of the Umbrella-Hat and I’m pitching today for an investment for a share in my business. 

Imagine that you are out in the country side and it started raining and you had left your coat at home, but you won’t get wet because you have the umbrella hat.

I think the umbrella hat would be very popular as its very useful because it looks like a normal hat, but by a click of a button it will open as an umbrella and a light coat, that is a plastic made using wood and a secret see through material.

The umbrella is powered by solar panels and if you go somewhere it might rain, you don’t have to carry an umbrella so you can carry things without having to hold an umbrella. If you get cold the coat will automatically warm you up.  

The hat can be used in different working situations maybe someone that works outside like people who sell food at a food market because you wouldn’t have to carry an umbrella so you can do two things at once.

People will buy one because it is fun and exciting and practical, it looks like a normal hat, it helps save the environment as it is powered with solar panels, it has a built-in coat, it heats up and there are many different designs.

Leona is our latest Baker...

She has made a microwave cookie mug cake!  Here is her recipe:

One egg yolk.

One table spoon of Melted Butter.

1/4 of a Tea Spoon of Vanilla Extract.

1 and a half table spoon of Brown Sugar,

1/8 of a tea spoon of Salt, mix it up, 3 table spoons of all purpose flour or just flour.

1/4 table spoon of Baking Powder.

Chocolate Chips – it doesn’t need to be chocolate chips. It can be Oreos, sprinkles, chocolate, melted chocolate, anything!

Put all the ingredients into a mug and mix, and if you want add more chocolate Chips (or whatever it is you are using).

After that, put it in the microwave for 1 minute.

Take it out and you have your cake in a mug!

Add any toppings you like.

Enjoy this recipe! 

Please send in your photographs if you do have a go and make it.

Microwaved Chocolate Cake

Jessie is the latest pupil to be baking.  She made a chocolate cake in the microwave all on her own.  I am sure you will agree with me that it looks absolutely delicious.  I have asked her to send me the recipe; I will add it to this page so anyone who fancies trying it out can do so.

Bailor's Artwork

Bailor has been getting creative with her sister and together they have produced this beautiful piece of artwork.

Sonny's Fudge

This weekend, Sonny was enjoying combining maths and baking.  He, along with his mum, made some delicious looking fudge.  He has very kindly shared the recipe they used.  Any budding bakers out there up for a challenge??

Slow cooker chocolate smarties fudge

One tin of condensed milk 395g
400g of milk chocolate
One tsp vanilla extract
A knob of butter

Break the chocolate into pieces and put into the slow cooker.
And all the other ingredients to the slow cooker and mix.
Cook on low for about 2 hours stirring every 15 minutes.
Line an 8 inch baking tray with baking paper (you can use a larger or smaller tin depending on how thick or thin you would like your fudge to be).
Pour your fudge into the tray and leave to cool.
Put your fudge into the fridge for a few hours to set.
Once it has set remove it from the tin and cut into bite size pieces and enjoy.
 

Ibrahim's Japanese Katana

Ibrahim has been being creative, together with his dad and sister, Belkisa,designing and making a Japanese Katana (sword).  I hear Ibrahim is very much in the Japanese mode at the moment and he might even be making some sushi - I hope he shares his recipe and photographs like Sonny.  Ibrahim, I look forward to seeing your culinary talents!

Ibrahim’s  Gardening Project and Fun Activities

Planting seeds - we’ve been busy harvesting avocado and sweet pepper seeds. We’ve planted the seeds and we’re making careful observations each day. We’ll share the growth chart with you shortly.

We’ve noticed some blobs of frothy white foam on our rosemary plants this morning. Our initial prediction was that this might be a spider’s web nursery like in the story of Charlotte’s web. Our prediction was wrong! We’ve researched and found out that a Spittlebug is enjoying eating the rosemary plant. We used a small stick to see what’s inside the frothy foam and we’ve managed to capture the little hungry invader! The little pale Spittle nymph was happy to allow us to take a quick picture 🐛

We’ve also had a visitor today in our garden - a Starling eating some juicy and yummy earthworms. 

Sonny’s Data Handling Project

Sonny went on a walk and drew up a tally chart of things he could see. He also got to have some fun on his heelys. We are going to use the information he gathered to draw up different types of graphs and use the information to ask and answer questions.

We look forward to seeing his graphs and questions from his data handling activity.

Recreating pieces of art work from every day objects around  the house.

Welcome to the Spring Term and 2020

This term, our topic is 'A Cosmic Adventure'.  The children will be learning about the sun, earth and moon as well as other planets in our solar system.  

In addition, we have some exciting projects coming up this term too:

• The World of Work Week - beginning 27th January
• The Barbican Box Project - beginning 25th February - a cross-curricular project linking maths, art, science and history.  The children will be working on the project from 25th February to 24th March.  Within this time, they will have three sessions (at school) working with an artist) more information to follow.
• Bow Arts Project - linking science and art to make sculptures.  The children will explore changing states from liquid to solid through casting techniques.

It is going to be a busy and an exciting term.

Today (12th March), Alder class learnt about Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man theory and tested it out on themselves.  This involved lots of team work, measuring different parts of their body: armspan, height, width of their palms, length of their hands, length from fingertips to elbow, length from hairline to bottom of their chin and then doing various calculations with some of their measurements to see whether they fit in with the Vitruvian man theory and the perfect ratio.  However, as this theory is based on adults their findings were quite interesting.

They also worked hard on actually drawing a Viturian man themselves.  Below are some examples of their work.

World Book Week

What a great array of cosutmes for World Book Week.

Barbican Box Project

Barbican Box - Second Visit

Yesterday (10th March) Sara Heywood visited Alder class for our next installment of our Barbican Box Project.  This week the children incorporated their Fibs (Fibonacci inspired poems) into their StopMotion animations.  They had a fantastic time becoming film makers.  They now understand just how time consuming producing a short animation can be!!

As part of Alder’s Barbican Box project, they learnt about zoetropes today.  A zoetrope, a Victorian invention, is a cylinder with vertical slits.  Inside, it has a set of still images that, when the cylinder is spun, create the illusion of motion.  The children drew their own space or Fibonacci inspired set of images and spun them to see whether they managed to create the illusion of motion in their art work.

Barbican Box - First Visit

This first week back after half-term is a busy one.  Today (Tuesday 25th February) we had the first visitor in Alder class to introduce the Barbican Box Project.  We are lucky to have an artist, Sara Heywood, working with us.  Over this coming half-term, Alder class will be participating in lots of creative activities based on the Fibonacci Sequence.  Here is a taster of what they got up to today.

Bow Arts Project

Year 5 have been lucky enough to be involved in a Bow Arts Project this term.  Alder are working with an artist making sculptures.  They are learning how to cast and have been working with silicon and recycled moulds.  They have used pigments to colour the plaster and have had fun experimenting with mixing colours and quantity of pigments to strengthen the colour.   

World of Work Week

The children have become architects, project managers, construction managers, sales managers and presenters; working hard together as a team.  It has been a very packed week with lots of problems to solve.  Today is the big day: buildings have been constructed; presentations are ready; and the judges arrive at 9:30 am to hear each group's presentation and to decide upon the winning team.  Who will it be?  Watch this space to find out...

World of Work Week Presentations and Results

All this week's hard work culminated today in the judging of each group's scaled drawings, model and presentation.

Despite nerves, everyone participated confidently; all groups did a fantastic job and deserve congratulating.  Every child should feel proud of their contribution to an amazing team effort and reaching a successful outcome.  The visitors were truly impressed and inspired by all the children's work.  We were all very proud of the way they were able to answer some challenging questions, totally unprepared, in a confident, mature manner.

I wouldn't have liked to be in the judges places.  There is no way I could have decided on a winning team - in my eyes, they are all winners.

Here are some photographs of their presentations....

Trip to Catford Civic Suite

Alder Class had their introduction to the World of Work Week today.  They met with Team Catford, who are part of the team of people working on the planning and redevelopment of Catford.  The pupils carried out a survey of Catford shopping centre and then went back to the Civic Suite to come up with some ideas for new multi-use buildings they think would be good to have built in Catford.  They have some fantastic ideas and I think Team Catford have 'stolen' a few of their ideas as they were so great!

Homework deadline - 6th Feb

As you all should know by now, all pupils need to complete 6 different pieces of Planets related project work for their homework.

Already, some fantastic examples have already been brought in.  Keep them coming.  This term, the children have really put some thought and hard work into their projects.  Here are some examples of work already brought in...

I am sure you will agree, these children have done a fantastic job.  Those of you who are still working through your projects, use these as inspiration.  

There will be a few small prizes for the best projects handed in.

GET WORKING AND DON'T MISS OUT!!

The autumn term is here already!! 

Our topic for this term is Water, Water Everywhere.  Over the summer holidays the children have been busy researching and creating water related projects in preparation for their learning this term. Hopefully, the children will have a fun and exciting time enjoying their learning this term.  We already have 3 exciting trips booked - more details to follow soon!

Book Flood Day

Today, Alder class participated in Book Flood Day which was adapted from the Icelandic tradition (of the same name) of sharing books and eating chocolate on Christmas Eve.

The children spent the day in their PJs, dressing gowns and slippers, lounging around the classroom reading and sharing their favourite books, as well as enjoying some mindfulness colouring, Christmas themed word searches and mathematical mosaics.

A fun and relaxing time was had by all.

Jewish Festival of Lights

This morning, some of the children in Alder Class have been learning about Channukah, the Jewish Festival of lights.  They have had fun combining RE and Art by making Channukiot out of clay.  A chanukiah is the candle holder used to celebrate the 8 days of Channukah.  Watch this space for more information about this celebration.

Trip to 20th Century Fox

Yesterday, 21st November 2019, Alder class were lucky enough to have a trip to 20th Century Fox for a private viewing of The Kid Who Would Be King.  Last year, Kimiya entered a poster competition and won first prize: a trip to 20th Century Fox for her entire class!!  Well done Kimiya.

Everyone had a fantastic day.  Various members of the public praised the children for their excellent behaviour on public transport and were surprised to see children reading their books silently.  One of the ladies at 20th Century Fox also praised the children for their politeness and fantastic behaviour.  She even said, of all the children and classes they have visit, Alder class were by far the best behaved children she has ever seen. 

Well done Alder class, we are all extremely proud of you. 

Printing in Alder

Today, Monday 14th October, Ms Green was in Alder class and the children had an exciting time printing using polystyrene tiles.  They were inspired by the work of Hokusai and drew pictures of Mount Fuji which were then transferred to the polystyrene tiles.  The children had to use pencils to carefully score their design on the tiles, making sure they didn't go too deep.  Once the tiles were ready, they used a roller and printing ink to create their wonderful pieces of artwork.

Tower Bridge - 26th September

Alder's first trip took place yesterday to Tower Bridge.  Despite the rain, we all had a great time.  the day was split into two different sessions:

• visiting the engine rooms and going into the tower and walking across both walkways and, for those brave enough, walking on the glass walkway
• taking part in a bridge building session using coding to make the bridge open

We learnt some fascinating facts about Tower Bridge and some technical language relating to bridges.