Science Week 2023
We have been celebrating Science Week and the 2023 theme is connections. From exploring plant growth to thinking about how we communicate with each other, the pupils have been taking part in lots of interesting investigations and asking some great questions.
Zephaniah Class learned about Morse code and sent messages to Orwell class next door through the wall. They also sent messages through torches before both classes joined together for a group exercise using semaphore to send messages from three naval bases. The boys in both classes showed a great aptitude for signalling in Morse code and semaphore.
Jupiter Class have been looking at the circulatory system in science and went out into the playground to get their heart rates up using exercise. They also talked about the effects of sugar and caffeine on their heart. Saturn took part in various science activities and, using the story ‘Supertato’ by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet for inspiration, the children created a supermarket role play area. They added real fruit and vegetables to the shop and explored the connection between how vegetables grow and how they end up on your dinner plate. They grated, peeled and chopped the different vegetables, and added all the ingredients to a pot to make vegetable soup. A few of the boys (and some of the adults) tasted the vegetables and tried the soup.
In Titan the boys went on a great walk and spotted different species of birds, animal tracks and wild animals which has been connected to the work they have been doing on the food chain. Neptune class have been building kites which they flew in the wind and investigating the connections between animals and their habitats. They discussed how ecosystems are communities of living and non-living things in an environment, that can include things like animals and plants as well as water and soil.
Nova Class also took advantage of the windy weather and made parachutes, finessing their designs and finding the windiest places to fly them. They discovered that a single parachute was not enough to pull a go-kart but modified their design to build a four parachute contraption from a long pole that kept the parachutes away from the go-kart rider’s body. The results were amazing.
In Pluto class the boys have been looking at bridges and their connections to humans, animals and vehicles. The boys watched some videos, looked at photos of interesting bridges around the world, and then then built and drew some of their own.
