WW2 Evactuation

To kick off our WW2 topic to a great start, the children in Year 6 packed a suitcase with all their formal documents and some personal items too and were ‘evacuated’ into the countryside. We made the long journey to a safer place and when we arrived some kind adults (and some not-so-kind adults) arrived to give us new homes. Some of us had a lovely time and were safe and cared for - others of us were made to work for our keep. We all wrote postcards home about our time. Air-raid sirens sounded during our lessons too and we had to climb under our tables to be safe!

Summer 1 - D.T. Picnic

We planned, cooked, tasted and evaluated the most wonderful picnic and even the rain held off for us to enjoy it!

To start, Year 6 made summer rolls (thank you Rahila!) and melon balls (thank you Katie!). For our main course, we all enjoyed a delicious bulgar wheat salad (thank you Fatima!) and finally, we had a healthier twist on an Eton Mess for dessert (thank you Miss Thomas!). A big thank you also to Sharmeen and her design team for all the lovely decorations they made. What a great day we had!

SAVE OUR SEAS!

Save Our Seas! In Spring Term, we went on a protest around Well Street to raise awareness of the damage being caused to our seas.

Here is what Jubel said about our march:

“Our march was one of the most eventful and enjoyable days I’ve ever had in Year 6. It felt empowering doing what was right for both me and my planet. We were fighting for a good cause and most people in our area were moved by our message. It is an outrageous action to throw rubbish in our beautiful ocean. Our governments are very ignorant when it comes to protecting our environment so we must take action - and that’s exactly what we did. We took to the streets and spoke our mind; shouting and screaming our hearts our while showing off our wonderful posters which were also fun to create. We used cardboard boxes and paper to make our protest posters and we even got to decorate them in a nice environmentally friendly way. At the protest was a wonderful leader shouting out chants like “STOP THE POLLUTION, THAT’S THE CONCLUSION!” At the end of the day, it was a great experience and made a great impact”.

What should we protest next?

An electric start to Spring 1!

We are having a sciency return to school and Sycamore are having a great time investigating circuits in our electricity lessons. We began by drawing some circuits and have got simple circuits working including: bulbs, fans and buzzers. Some of us even included a switch! Now we are busy investigating the effect adding additional wires has on the brightness of the bulb.

RAF Hendon Trip (Autumn 2)

Sycamore Class were a dream to take out on our trip to Hendon to the RAF museum. We had a fabulous day, even though our journey to get there took a long time! We saw many different aircrafts used during WW2 and took part in a brilliant workshop which allowed us to experience a day in the life of a schoolchild during WW2. We wrote using ink from an inkwell, we learned how to convert pounds to shillings, we even had to hide under our tables when the air raid siren sounded! The teacher we had for the day was very strict and the classroom had none of the modern amenities that our classroom at Berger has!

Forest School Autumn Term

We were lucky enough to get to attend forest school twice during the Autumn term. During our first visit, we built shelters inspired by the Anderson shelters we studied during our WW2 topic.

For our second visit, we built a fire and toasted marshmallows and brioche buns. They were delicious!

WW2 WOW Day 2021 (Autumn 1)

We began our WW2 learning by having a WOW Day, where we learnt about the evacuation of children and vulnerable people from London (and other big cities) to the countryside, where it was safer. After we had packed our suitcases, we journeyed around the playground and some kind adults came to take us in and gave us tasks to earn our keep!

World War Two: An Evacuation

Sycamore Class were transported back to 1942 today when they found out what it may have been like to live in London during WW2. They sheltered from bombs as they heard the air raid siren and made their way to the nearest Anderson, Morrison or Public shelter.

They packed a suitcase with their most treasured belongings and began the long journey of an evacuee to safety.

Finally, they learnt and performed a war time song to boost their morale as they left.

Beyond the Lines

We used a film clip called Beyond the Lines as a stimulus for some brilliant writing in Year 6. We did a drama lesson which allowed us to imagine what it may have been like landing on the beaches in Normandy.

The Formation of the Khalsa

We used freeze frames in drama to act out the story of how the Khalsa was formed as part of our learning about Sikhism and what Sikhs believe is important.

D.T. Anderson Shelters

Sycamore Class worked in groups to design, make and evaluate an Anderson Shelter. First, we researched Anderson shelters and investigated materials which would be possible for us to use. We also found out how the structures were typically put together and began to think about our own designs. In order to be successful, our designs had to meet certain criteria: size test (Can a lego man fit inside?); weight test (Can it withstand a 1kg weight sitting on top of it?) and a waterproof test (Can it survive being drenched?). We built our shelters and then tested them using the criteria listed above. Finally, we evaluated our designs and thought about how we would improve them if we were to do the project again.

CPR Workshop

Sycamore Class were visited by two doctors this week. They taught us the basics of CPR and what to do to help in a situation where someone is unconscious and not breathing.

It is a great life skill to learn and we learnt a lot from the experts who came in. We were full of enthusiasm and asked many questions about different scenarios and the best course of action in different situations.

Finally, we all had a go administering chest compressions on one of the specially-made dummies.

Maths Learning

We always try to make all our lessons as hands on and interesting as possible. Here are some photos of Year 6 working creatively, through the lens of the arts, in Maths.

RAF Hendon

Year 6 visited RAF Hendon yesterday as part of their World War Two topic. They learnt about the different planes and helicopters that were used during the war as well as seeing all sort of artefacts in the museum.

They spent some time in a 1930s classroom where they completed classroom activities peacefully until an air raid siren went off! They took cover underneath the tables and experienced what it may have been like to be a child living in London during World War Two. Children also learnt about how and why many children were evacuated from London (and other big cities) during the war for their safety.