How to set up a tent

Today we wrote instructions which explained how to put up a tent or how to make a free standing shelter with a ridge pole. First we had to  the success criteria for the instruction writing then we went outside to put up the tent and make the shelters (remembering what we did that was successful for later!).

Making the free standing shelters.

 



Putting up the tent.

The nice thing about putting up tents and making shelters is that you HAVE TO have hot chocolate with marshmallows when you have finished as a reward for all the hard work.

We can all fit in!

Some people worked really hard today, concentrating on getting the job done and thinking hard and persevering - well done! You have earned Learning Rule points. Throughout the day lots of people visited the tent and enjoyed being inside. Thanks to Mrs Humphries and the local Guides for allowing their tent to come to Glaitness for its second career. We will make good use of it!

Instructions for making Brushbots

We made brushbots! It looks simple but we had to pay attention to all the details in the instructions. We are getting better at writing our own instructions by trying to follow instructions we are given ourselves.

The first day of autumn at Muddisdale

This week we returned to Muddisdale to go on a nature walk to try to identify some of the trees that grow there. We walked round the path and found Sycamore, Rosa Rugosa, Birch, Alder, Whitebeam, Willow and Hawthorn. We had drawn the leaves in class and made identification tags with our drawings, so when we were certain we could identify the trees we hung the labels on them and made a quiz for our family visitors to try out later.

Then it was time to build shelters, this time we tried to build a teepee type of shelter with a tree in the centre. Some groups remembered that they had to try to make their shelter big enough for everyone and made a tepee which was not symmetrical - it worked really well! After lunch we made 'mini- Muddisdales' in trays which needed to have all the parts we had seen - trees, paths, the burn, grass. One even had a mini- teepee shelter!

 

We ran out of time to make our 'tree troll' and our art letters, but we will go back and do that next time. Back at school we practised orienteering so that we knew what to do on our next Muddisdale trip. Thanks to our parent helpers and family visitors, we hope you enjoyed the trip too.

More 3 minute talks, measure and music

bikes, skateboards and bearded dragons!

 

 

measuring wiggly lines

 

 

trash band practice

3 minute talks and a special visitor

If your photo isn't here - don't worry look at tomorrows blog post about the talks.

Today we started our 3 minute talks. We learned about a few of our pet cats, horse riding, swimming, ballet and hip hop, boats and rabbits! Everyone was enthusiastic and made good eye contact with the audience. Once they got going the speakers were relaxed and confident too! More tomorrow.

We had a special surprise visitor at the end of the day too!

 

Our first trip to Muddisdale

Today we went to Muddisdale our local woodland, where we built some shelters in our groups - 'Willow', 'Rowan' and 'Sycamore'. We had to carry a lot of equipment up with us. When we had built our shelters most of us had hot chocolate made with hot water from the Kelly Kettle - we all used the fire steel to make a spark.

Next we played Kim's Game and then did our Woodland Workout. After lunch we created some gruesome woodland creatures - we are not sure if they were trolls or trows...

Energy in the wind

 

We know that there is lots of energy in the wind and renewable energy from wind turbines is important in Orkney. Recently there has not been lots of that kind of energy around! How unusual! So, to feel some of the energy in the wind we made some kites that work with hardly any wind at all.

 

We had to listen and understand and follow instructions carefully and step-by-step. We worked in small groups and pairs to help each other. We made some successful kites!

Kakatsitsi

Kakatsitsi, the world famous drummers came to our school today and gave a performance and a drumming and dancing workshop.

Indigenous people website describes them like this:
'Their music takes traditional rhythms and chants from their own Ga tradition and those of a variety of other West African cultures, rearranging them in a modern and accessible way. Since 1996, Kakatsitsi have toured the UK 11times, working with a wide variety of festivals, arts centres and local authorities. The recent addition of a strong dance element, to complement the already outstanding drumming and singing components, has established Kakatsitsi as the leading African traditional group in the UK, with the leading Ga singers, drummers and dancers among their number'.

 

It was very energetic! We had to concentrate and listen very carefully to the rhythms and remember the dance moves and keep up! The video is quite long because we will be using it to help us with drumming and creating our own 'Trash' bands this term.

 

 

We started with the Scrapstore materials this afternoon!

 

 

Kitchen Science workshop.

Is there friction in space? Can you measure the speed of light in the kitchen? Why do astronauts wear space suits? Why does the moon not fall to earth? Is the universe getting bigger or staying the same size? Can space really be warped? Wow! Did you know you could find the answers to these questions using things you can find in your kitchen....?

The team from Aberdeen University get scientific in the kitchen!

Our Dynamic Earth and a story

 

Today we had a visit from 'Our Dynamic Earth' as part of the Science Festival.

We learned about 'Scotland's Time Lords' - how old the earth is and how Scottish scientists found out.

We saw dinosaur poo and a real meteorite from outer space!

 

 Here is our timeline:

We finished the day with a story from Ruth Kirkpatrick, and we thought carefully about what skills a good storyteller needs to have. These are skills we may need soon...

 

Windpower technology

This week we have been finding out about the technology used in windfarms. Some of these windfarms are offshore and need ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) to do jobs under the water and on the sea bed.

The wind turbines are enormous!
We measure out how big the Hatston turbine is in our school playground.

The height of the turbine from base to tip of blade when it sticks straight up - 67m

The length of one blade from the centre to the blade tip.

We have done lots more estimating and measuring this week too.

and more work with electrical circuits...

 If you are feeling energetic this weekend why not get out on your bike and work on those foundation skills! Here is some inspiration from Danny McAskill. and more here talking about how he made the video.

Observational Drawing

This term we will be going up to Muddisdale to find out about the variety of living things there. It is important to be able to look carefully and see the detail in the things we find. Here are some of the drawings we did of the leaves, flowers and berries of some of the trees that grow there.

Could you identify the trees from our drawings?