Jake's frog

Our last Mission to Muddisdale

looking closely at trees and plants

At Muddisdale the Muddisdale all-stars where making and eating the dough twists at the camp fire. They started by they started by wrapping some raw dough around the small end of a stick. Then they put it above the fire. While they were doing that other groups where doing different activities such as: Bark rubbing and tree identification, Build a bridge, clay and stick woodland creatures, campfire song and lots more. Because this was our last trip and lots of people had more than 4 activities because people had been of or sat out something so we had some extra things to do so that everyone could get there mission marvellous Muddisdale award. Most groups had people who needed to extra stuff all except Muddisdale all-stars who had finished everything. In the end I think we all got all our stickers and our mission Muddisdale award and we all defiantly earned it.

Daisy and Paige

the last campfire

Mission Muddisdale continued...

At Muddisdale MMM’s  group were at the campfire making dough twists. It was fun but I think Daisy’s was the best. Tyler’s didn’t go that well because his was covered in smoke. Nature agents made clay and stick woodland creatures, web game, bark rubbing and map of Muddisdale.  Muddisdale All Stars did bark rubbing, kims game, clay and stick woodland creature and campfire song. It was a perfect day.  by Aiden from MMM’s and Scott from Muddisdale All Stars.

Muddisdale Part 3

Nature Agents

Yesterday we went to Muddisdale and the nature agents did dough twist but we had to set up a shelter first. We dug a hole out of the ground for the fire and then we put some stones in the hole. Then we put the pot in then we put small peace’s of wood in. Then we grabbed a long stick’s  then we put some hand gel on then we got the dough and we  made the dough it in to a sausage shape. Then we put it around our long stick’s then we started the fire with the fire steel once we got the fire going we started to roast our dough. We had to make then look brown but some went black then we took turns to roast our dough. Once we finished we all twisted the dough of the stick then we ate the dough  tasted like toast. by Ryan and Cameron

When we arrived at Muddisdale we set up the base around about the middle. Then we set off to do our first activities. Ours was build a bridge for a mini beast. We split into 2 groups and started to build the bridge one group used just yarn and the other used sticks and yarn. Our second activity was Nature Park in a tray which is basically just like a mini Muddisdale and in a tray at the same time. Our third activity was draw a map of Muddisdale and it was quite tricky because there was a lot of turns and twists and because Muddisdale is so big. Finally we did a scavenger hunt and we took turns to tell everyone what to get then everyone had to go and get it. Then we had to pack up and go back to school. The Muddisdale All Stars

By Brogan and Paige

Mission Marvellous

 Muddisdale

On Monday the 16^th of May 2016 we went to muddisdale for are third trip. First we made nature park in a tray, we split are group into groups of 3. Then we made a perfume in pairs, we put flowers, water, mud in are perfume. Cierra had to go in a ditch to get water and got pocked by a pointy bush it was funny. Next we made homes for mini beasts in trees and on the grass / mud and we worked in pairs and 3s. After that we got lost in the trees and had to use a compass to find are way out. But Tyler and Kayden got lost in a thorny bush so Ingrid had to get them out of the bush and fix them up. Then we walked back to school. We had a great time at Muddisdale.

By the M MM’S 

5 minute talks

Our 5 minute talks got off to a great start today with 3 well organised and thoughtfully planned talks.

The subjects were: Violin, How to make corner bookmarks, and baking ( by a Great Orcadian Bake Off winner!). Also we got to participate in a making activity, listen to a tune on the violin and try out some delicious brownies!

We are looking forward to the next ones!

Our Open Afternoon and Class Cafe

On the 22^nd of March we had our Open Afternoon it was all about Space. We took lots of time and effort to prepare for it. There were lots of little stations, like the Baking, Research and Development group, the coding game and the space race and you can also leave a comment on the blog. Then there was wild reading group and reading aloud and last but not least the space buggy making challenge. There was also a Host in every group there was 10 in total the 2 important Hosts were Tyler and Caitlin they made amazing little cards (maps) and so the grown-ups knew where to go.

by Jennifer and Tyler

Designing and making our own spacecraft

Today our own P5 space engineers modelled their own designs for spacecraft and space equipment. Last time we worked in groups and had a strict deadline. This time we had a much looser deadline (some models are still to be completed) and everyone worked individually.

To start with everyone drew a plan of their ideas. There were many very detailed and careful plans, Diagrams were thoughtful and well considered. Everyone showed clearly what a lot they had learned about what humans in space need to survive and how many different jobs a space craft has to fulfil.

Concentration and focus was obvious as everyone took the task very seriously.

Future space travel of the human race is assured.

Spacesuit Challenge

This week our challenge was to plan, design, organise and build a spacesuit.

Here are the teams with their finished astrosuit.

The suit had to have all the life support systems in place and also some extra functions for a spacewalk.

Have a look at our comments below to see what we thought about the task.

The International Space Station

Last week we found out some of the things you need to be able to do to be an astronaut and some information about what it takes to survive in space. The human body adapts to lack of gravity by bones losing strength and astronauts get taller! They need to keep exercising 2 hours each day to stay healthy.

Astronauts in training.

Measurement is really important in space.

This week we have started on our models of the Soyuz rocket, the crew module and the International Space Station. We planned the layout and split up tasks within the group then organised the junk we needed. We have begun joining and finishing the models. They will be painted white first then finally we will put detail on.

Planning the models.

Deciding on the realtive sizes of each part of the rocket.

Later in the term we will design and make our own space station models from junk in a similar way. We will need to present our designs and models and explain the layout and what each part is for - it needs to be able to sustain life! Start collecting your own personal junk!

In the comments below you can read what we think are the most interesting facts we have learned so far.

Christmas Celebrations

On Monday 14th December we had our final rehearsal for the whole school Christmas concert and Nativity in the morning, and in the afternoon we performed and sang to an audience of parents and family.

We finished the cathedral picture outside the classroom.

Our twiggy stars look great!

Muddisdale in December

Today we went up to Muddisdale again to prepare for poetry writing and to play at our den area. We took the trolley with cups and water and the Kelly Kettle and had chocolate and snack after we had walked around the path and through the trees. While we were walking we stopped and listened and felt textures and looked and smelled, gathering words as we went.

 Lots of us thought that it was surprising to be in such a familiar place that was so different to the last time we were there. The leaves were gone. We could see the masses of twigs against the blueness of the sky. On the ground there were lots of sticks, and leaves which were squishy and soft and very wet. They smelled of the earth. Some of our structures were there from the last time we visited. We rebuilt some and created some new ones and climbed the trees. Some people adopted trees and gave them names!

Viking model house challenge

Where did the Vikings eat, sleep, rest, cook, play and tell stories? Where did they store their precious jewellery, weapons and make their clothes? Where did they care for their animals? 

Making the model houses in groups.

Our challenge was to make and label a typical Viking model house in an hour showing how the Viking home provided these things. Some of the houses even had outdoor toilets! 

Our finished models.

You can read our comments about the task below..

Class 5 storytelling Festival

Our five groups finalised their stories today and performed them in class.  Two of the groups went outside to tell their stories in the storytelling tent. Their audience was P2/3. Perhaps they will leave some comments below to share their reactions!

Drama - The Story of St Magnus

This week we had our second drama session with Mrs Linklater exploring the story of St Magnus.

You can see the range of emotions we had to think about in some of the photos below.

Everyone got into role very well and we saw some good understanding of the range of feelings the characters involved might have felt.

Next Wednesday is our open classroom afternoon so we won't be having drama again until the last week of term. Next term we will be visiting the cathedral and continuing our work on the story there,

Return to Muddisdale and The LIDL Bus

We returned to Muddisdale to finish a few activities we didn't have time for last week.

We looked at the biodiversity of the trees and plants and minibeasts. We found that the best place for large numbers and  different types of minibeasts was in the leaf litter.

The place with the least biodiversity of plants and animals was the grass.

We found a place that was full of wildflowers and different plants and decided that it had been too wet to make into a field so had been left wild. Muddisdale woods was planted in a field and the grass and clover that the farmer had sown on the field was still going strong! 

The grass is mown too which helps it look green and tidy, but we found most biodiversity in plants and animals in the long grass. 

We also found a good example of slime mould - it could be 'dog's vomit' or it might be the species discovered by Glaitness pupils which we named 'troll snot'. 

Can you spot it in the collage above?

We are pleased with our journey sticks and willow weaving - they will remind us of the plants we saw on our trip today.

In the afternoon we visited the LIDL bus to make healthy smoothies which were delicious too.

We measured our heart rates before and after some exercises and games and found out how much harder our hearts work when we exercise.

Preparing for shelter building

We have been practising working in groups to build models and thinking about what makes structures strong and stable so that we are ready for our trip to Muddisdale next week. We are looking forward to making a real shelter that we can all fit inside!

Welcome everyone!

Welcome back to school!

We have a new url - that is the address up in the bar at the top beginning with http:// Why not add it to your favourites! We hope parents and family members will look at our blog regularly and leave comments. Please finish your comment by signing off with your name so we know who you are if you are using the anonymous option.

We started the term with a newspaper challenge - building pylons using paper spills. First we had to make the spills which is not as easy at it looks, though everyone got better at this quite quickly. Then we had to think about the structure and shape of pylons. You can see the skills involved in this activity as labels at the bottom of the post. You can look at the comments below to see what everyone thought about the challenge. We will all be writing a quality blog comments regularly - please join in! If you would like to know more about how to write a quality blog comment have a look at the video in the sidebar. 

Everyone learned a lot about stable bases and strong shapes, how important joins are, and got used to working in groups again. Lots more structural challenges coming up!

Blackhouse Challenge

Today we had an hour to make a model which showed the inside of a blackhouse. There were extra points for good layout. The most successful teams communicated well and managed their time effectively. Well done everyone - there were some super details in each of the houses.

The Water Horse

We have been watching The Water Horse based on the novel by Dick King Smith. The author used traditional Scottish legends about kelpies and The Loch Ness Monster to creaste a story about a boy who finds a mysterious egg on the shore.

Now it is our turn to write our version of the Scottish tale. I wonder what kind of creatures will be in our stories? Who will the main character be? What will happen to them in the story? Stay tuned to find out!

 

In maths we have been estimating and measuring weight using a 2 pan balance, and recording grams and kilograms in different ways.

Meanwhile some of us have gone down to the Nursery for the last three weeks on Thursday afternoons to read to the youngest children in our school. Have a look at their blog here.

 

 

St Magnus Cathedral tree lighting diorama

Thank you electrical engineers!
We have been working on a diorama, or model, of the cathedral with the tree and Christmas lights. Our three electrical engineers have completed four lamp posts with a circuit using bulbs and a torch battery. It looks quite magical when the classroom lights are switched off. Please visit this post again to see more photos - we will be finishing off the diorama over the next few days, and adding 'ourselves'.

 

 

Here we are in our own diorama...

 

 

and here we are at the real cathedral!