Full fat fun filled Friday for sure!!!!  What a fabulous way to end the week! Well done to all the year 2s for an incredible week.  You ALL were amazing in our end of year production of "The Next Big Step".  You certainly shone like the stars that you are. 

We had a fabulous day out at "The Look Out Centre" in Bracknell today.   The weather was very kind to us and even though rain was predicted, we stayed dry.   What's more it wasn't too hot either, so a perfect day.   The children looked around the discovery centre which was very 'hands on' with a variety of activities to explore.  They were able to make things fly, build roofs, sort tiles, direct boats through a river, and so much more.   They then went on a bug hunt using giant nets and caught a variety of wildlife which they then put into containers for a closer study.  They then released the bugs and beasties back into their natural habitat.  We had lunch in the sunshine and then a walk in the coolness of the woods. 

Behaviour was impeccable and you were all a credit to the school.  Well done everybody. 

You will certainly sleep well tonight!  We know we will!   

A huge thank you to our parent helpers, we hope you had as an enjoyable day as we did. 

Have a fabulous weekend and see you all Monday for your final week at Prestwood Infant School!

You're off for "The Next Big Step" in your learning journey......  

It's Activity Week Folks! 

On Monday Year 2 had a fabulous day with the Image Musical Theatre group.  The day's focus was a workshop and performance of Robin Hood.  Some of our year 2s were lucky enough to be chosen to take part in the play itself.  Whilst they were whisked away with some of the other year groups, the rest of us learnt the songs needed for the play.  All the children had a fabulous day. Please see the photos below. 

Tuesday has been our Art and Design day with a Masquerade Ball.  The children have been preparing their masks in readiness for today.  Today they found out their focus was Plants and Nature.  So the children got designing their perfect mask.  Once they were sure what they wanted to achieve, they painted and glued to their heart's content.  We had some fabulous designs and we have included a few of them below.  Once their masks were complete there was a Grand Parade and each year group were able to show off their fabulous creations to the rest of the school.  Well done to Harriet and Alfie from Oak Class and  George and  Riley from Sycamore, who were voted the best masks in class by their peers.  They then stood with the other winners from Year 1 and Reception.  Final decisions made and well done to Harriet from Oak Class who won first prize.  In second place was William Jesse from Maple class and finally in third place was Emily Ray from Cherry class.   All the children had a fabulous time creating their masks and although they are rather delicate we hope they've made it home safely. 

Wednesday was SAVE OUR PLANET day.  The children took part in a workshop which was great fun.  They learnt how Bad Bopper had destroyed Party Land by not taking care of the environment.  They discussed ways in which they could convince the evil Bad Bopper to change his ways and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle more.   Once back in class there was lots of discussion about Biodiversity and Global Citizenship.  The children designed posters and wrote about what they would miss if their planet was damaged.  Lots of fabulous discussion which has resulted in some Eco Monitors who will be making sure we switch the lights off when not in the room and recycle our paper and fruit waste more efficiently. 

Thursday was another amazing day for year 2 (and the rest of the school!).  We met an amazing woman called Szandra Szogedi, who was an Olympic athlete.  She represented Ghana in Judo at the Rio Olympics in 2016.  She explained how she got into the sport itself and how much training and effort she has put into her sport, even continuing training when she'd injured herself six months before the Olympics were due to start.  Szandra put the children through a tough circuit training session and they loved it!   In the afternoon the children took part in Scooting Workshop run by Team Rubicon.  The children were kitted out with knee, elbow pads and the most important of all helmets to protect their heads.  Safety brief finished, the children learnt how to ride their scooters safely.  Another fantastic day had by all.  

Friday is Sports Day and the children are all super excited.  Don't forget to bring your sunhats and bottle of water with you.  We look forward to a fabulous morning. 

Science Week Mould Experiment update!

Finally on Monday we had our first signs of mould appearing in both classes.  Over the week we have seen a vibrant variety of colours appearing especially on the bread in Sycamore class.   Oak's hand experiment has shown that child A definitely had the dirtiest hand! Amazingly still no sign of mould on Child B's hand.  Their hand must have been very clean!

In our test tubes we can see there is more mould growing on the bread in the tube with no lid, than with a lid.  However, the pear with a lid has more mould than the pear without a lid!   The children have been thinking why this is......

Was there more oxygen in the test tube?  Was it placed in too cold a place?

Our carrot top continues to grow.  We are hoping we can keep it growing any maybe eventually plant it out.  Check out the pictures below to see how much mould has grown in a week.

Science Week - Day One

SOUND!

Year 2 had a great start to their science week today with the focus being on "Sound". 

How is sound made? How can we change the volume of a sound?  How can we change the pitch of a sound?

We were lucky enough to have Mr Darvill with us today and he brought along an acoustic guitar, an electric mandolin, tuning forks, a jaws harp, music boxes and elastic bands guitars!  The children had great fun investigating how sound is made using these different pieces of equipment.  The children then spent time with Mrs Reid-Jones making Squawking Chickens!  A lot of time and patience was needed for this and quite a few mastered making their chickens squawk!  Hopefully they made it home safely and you have managed to have a go yourselves. 

Day two!  Exploring Plants

Day two of science week and we have been looking at plants.  Key questions for the children were, "Are plants just for eating?"   "How does your garden grow and what do plants need to survive?"  We also asked "What is inside a plant?"   The children spent time dissecting a daffodil and naming all the parts of the plant.  The children then created displays of their dissected plants.  Next time you see a daffodil ask the children to name the parts of the plant!

The children also set up a celery experiment today.  Celery has been put into a pot of water and a pot with coloured water in it.  The question asked was,  "What do you think will happen?"   The children came up with some lovely predictions, for instance:

"We think the stalks of the celery will change colour."

"The celery will absorb the water and the leaves will change colour."

"We think the celery will die because the water now has chemicals in it!"

There is not much to report on our decomposition experiment at this time.  However it was noted that the carrot had absorbed the water and we need to top it up! 

Day Three!  Microbes and Germs

Day three of science week and it was all about germs!  What are germs and how do they spread?  Many children were amazed at how small germs are and how easily they can be spread.  This was demonstrated in our Handy Hygiene game.  One child had a mixture of flour and glitter on their hands and they shook their hands allowing glitter to fall on to another child's hands. This was then repeated so this demonstrated the spread of germs. They were amazed how far and easily germs can travel.  there was lots of discussion about hand washing and why it is so important to our health!

We are still waiting on a development of mould on our bread, which can only be good thing, as it means the children who pressed their hands into the bread have a good hand hygiene routine!   Our carrot's tops are starting to sprout, but not much activity with the celery as yet.

Year 2 also took the opportunity of good weather to plant the plants left by Chiltern Rangers today, so hopefully we shall have a good crop of wild strawberries to look forward to.  

Day Four - Balloons!

Todays science focus was all about balloons.  How do hot air balloons fly? How do you know air is there?   This brought forth lots of discussion about air, oxygen, and helium.  How the air thins and is colder the higher you are. 

For their experiment today, the children made Balloon Rockets.  They fed a cotton thread through a straw and attached a balloon to the straw.  The balloon was released and they watched what happened.  The variables changed were, different types of straw were used (bendy or straight) and different types of thread.  Did any of these changes impact on the movement of the balloon?  Lots of animated discussion on what made a fair test.

Mould update - Still no mould!!  We obviously have some seriously effective hand washing happening in year 2!

Day Five!  Electricity

Today's focus was all about Electricity.  What is electricity and where does it come from? 

We discussed how electricity is used in our every day lives and how some places in the world still don't have electricity.  The children were able to explain many different ways in which electricity is gathered from wind farms and solar panels.  They also discussed what would be a good conductor and an insulator.  How electricity travels down wires to make things work.  We had sometime in groups to create circuits which would make buzzers sound and bulbs light up!   We also looked at safety and discussed many hazards that may be around the house.   Again lots of wonderful discussion and sharing of known knowledge.

Monday 19th February 2018

What better way to start the half term than with a visit from the crew of High Wycombe's Fire Station. White Watch to be exact! They brought along a fabulous new fire engine for the children to explore. The children were amazed that the fire engine had fire hoses on both sides of the tender. Can you guess why?  The children were shown the various equipment stored on the tender.  For instance the jaws of life, the elephant nail clippers, a bag that inflates to lift incredible weights.  

“I really like the equipment inside the engines, especially the elephant nail clippers and the axe!”

“It was fun seeing Mrs Reid-Jones through the heat camera. She looked like a ghost!”

"I liked climbing inside the fire engine" 

The children also spent time with White Watch comparing how we fight fires today and how fires were fought in the Great Fire of London.  The children were given the opportunity to ask some very pertinent questions such as, "What emotion do you feel when you are fighting a fire?"  
 

Our thanks to all of White Watch we had "AN EPIC DAY!" 

Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service will carry out a free safety check and fit free smoke alarms where needed.  To book one of the checks ring 01296 744477 or email cs@bucksfire.gov.uk or visit www.bucksfire.gov.uk .

Forest Rangers Day

On Monday 26th February, Year 2 braved the cold to spend some time outside with Chiltern Rangers. First class to brave the cold and snow flakes were Oak class, who were split into groups. Each group had tasks to complete using shears, rakes, and loppers and sheer brute strength! Some of the children built fires ready for toasting marshmellows after lunch. We all enjoyed a packed lunch around the campfires and the marshmellows went down a treat after all their hard work. After lunch it was Sycamore’s turn. A huge thank you to the parents from Oak and Sycamore who braved the cold to help with the more challenging tasks. And our thanks to Paul and all at Chiltern Rangers the children had “the best day ever!”.