Monthly Archives: February 2023

Kenilworth Castle

Class Work, History

Kenilworth Castle is a castle in the town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire, England managed by English Heritage; much of it is still in ruins. The castle was founded during the Norman conquest of England; with development through to the Tudor period. It has been described by the architectural historian Anthony Emery as “the finest surviving example of a semi-royal palace of the later middle ages, significant for its scale, form and quality of workmanship”.

The castle was built over several centuries. Founded in the 1120s around a powerful Norman great tower, the castle was significantly enlarged by King John at the beginning of the 13th century. Huge water defences were created by damming the local streams, and the resulting fortifications proved able to withstand assaults by land and water in 1266. John of Gaunt spent lavishly in the late 14th century, turning the medieval castle into a palace fortress designed in the latest perpendicular style. The Earl of Leicester then expanded the castle during his tenure in the 16th century, constructing new Tudor buildings and exploiting the medieval heritage of Kenilworth to produce a fashionable Renaissance palace.

We learnt a lot and of course, enjoyed ourselves as well!

Chemical changes in materials

Class Work, Science

 Our new topic of Science this week is ‘Materials and Chemical Changes’. The children started off by having a go at separating a bowl of substances such as: paper clips, sand, sugar and marbles. it was a testing challenge for them but they eventually solved it. They removed the paperclips with a magnet, tipped the remaining substances into a sieve to remove the marbles and then poured the sand and sugar solution through filter paper. The remaining sugar & water solution is sitting by our radiator waiting for the water to evaporate. It was a fabulous lesson and the children have written some very comprehensive instructions to prove their understanding. Well done Kestrels!

 

Creative Composing

Class Work, Music

Upon reaching the end of our music topic, Kestrels had the opportunity to produce some wonderful songs that they composed on their glockenspiels. They have been studying ballads and I’m sure you’ll agree, we have a few budding musicians in our school! Enjoy!

 

Natural and Synthetic Products

Class Work, Science
Last week in year 5, we learnt all about natural and synthetic products and how synthetic items such as plastic chairs are actually made from a natural resource – Petroleum. The children demonstrated their knowledge of how overusing natural resources will eventually destroy our planet.
They also learnt the damaging effect that producing synthetic items can cause, as these are unable to biodegrade and will eventually end up in landfill (Mrs Calbreath’s least favourite thing in the whole world!) The children then collected some natural resources of their own and had a chance to produce some very lovely artwork. take a look.

Battle of Hastings

Class Work, History, Uncategorized

This week Kestrels learnt about how things went at The Battle of Hastings. They produced a very precise timeline and then went outside to re-enact the battle. Things got pretty scary as the Normans played very tactically and overthrew the Britains. It was great fun and the activity will certainly help them to remember all the important facts and figures!

Children’s Mental Health Week

Class Work, PSHE

Last week Kestrels took part in Mental Health week , and we discussed how staying connected with people and chatting can help with worries. The children discussed who they have available for them to talk to if they need to share their worries or feelings and then we played a great game of bingo. The children had to complete their bingo sheet containing their favourite things; hobbies, foods, lessons etc and were asked to talk their way round the classroom finding people with the same interests. It was great fun!

Visiting Vikings

Class Work, History
This week, year 5 were lucky enough to have a visit from ‘The History Man’.
He brought along all his artefacts associated with the Vikings.
He taught the children some very interesting facts and they were able to share their recently acquired knowledge on invaders, with him.
The children were involved in various activities such as: dressing in Viking clothes, building a replica Viking bed and playing Viking board games.
The reinacting of a battle scene was fabulous fun and they even received guidance on how to protect themselves in a sword fight. Have a look at some of the photos from our amazing morning!