What a day today has been (Wednesday)…we had to be resilient as it was like a return to winter!  Thankfully, most of the children had the right gear on so we were able to make the most of our session (fingers crossed things improve in time for half-term). 

Lower School have started their sessions with a leaf ID challenge – 15 trees to identify by looking at their leaves…top score so far: 13/15…would you know your ash from your rowan or your Swedish whitebeam from your oak?

Following our starter and HC, we undertook three challenges: modelling and mapping a number of famous stone-age constructions; making horse-hair paint brushes and replicating cave art; pond dipping. 

With the pond dipping, we found a range of incredible creatures, but a highlight for me was finding a beetle larvae – a first from the TB pond!  It had mandibles like two Samurai swords!

Upper School children have started with a leaf rubbing experience – it always amazes me how engaged the children are with this challenge…it’s like they’re discovering treasure with each swipe of the wax crayon!  Their challenge was to create a representation of an animal by selecting and configuring a range of leaves – we had dragonflies, turtles, fish, rabbits – creativity and inquisitiveness were through the roof!

After HC and story, children began sewing the clothing for their puppets, cast new Rota boards or explored and made Greek pottery. 

As part of our Stone Age topic, writing unit on instructions and marble treat reward, Team Resilience enjoyed making their own “Stone Age Chocolate Rocks”! The children worked collaboratively to follow a recipe, discussing imperative verbs and time adverbials as they sequenced each step carefully. At the end of the day, the children enjoyed eating their treats outside in the sunshine. Some of the boys were also particularly enthusiastic about hoovering up the leftover crumbs afterwards!

Well done to the boys, girls and TAs receiving awards in today's Achievement Assembly.

Having shown numerous visitors around school this week, it makes me so proud of the culture we have at Kilburn Junior School and the way the calm, purposeful, friendly, polite and hardworking attitude of the boys and girls helps to demonstrate this.

A special mention to Mr Hill for completing his first ever bouldering pink run.

Oooooooh…the little blue-tit eggs hatched today (Wednesday)…we think there are about seven chicks…I’m sure they’re going to keep mum and dad busy for the next few weeks!  If you fancy a look, pop into the library and see them on the big screen!

In TB, Lower School children have started their session with a stone-age hunting / cooking experience; a parent kindly supplied us with a couple of skin on, organs in, recently harvested wild rabbits, which were used to teach the children how to skin, section and cook a wild animal – something stone-age man was pretty good at!

During the preparation, the children had the opportunity to hold and examine lungs, a heart, the diaphragm and kidneys, and they were told information about how these organs worked.  We also looked at the joints, bones, ligaments and tendons of the animal and we discussed how these worked. 

Children who thought the cooking experience wasn’t for them explored leaves in the wood and then undertook leaf-rubbing, being set the challenge of using a range of leaves to create a rubbing monster!

Following this, children undertook three challenges: making and adding daub to the wattle walls of the round house; exploring stone-age monuments of the UK and making model representations of them; making horse-hair paintbrushes, studying cave-art and making imitations thereof on our concrete wall. 

Upper School have kicked off their sessions with a challenge to find the perimeter and area of a series of rectilinear shapes constructed with carpet tiles, each made to a different scale with different units of measurement. 

As the challenge progressed, it was interesting seeing how different children organised their working on the page, and the amount of different mathematical knowledge that was needed in order to be successful – if children weren’t secure in the basics, it was difficult for them to achieve in the challenge, even if they understood what was required of them!

Following this, some children painted Odyssey puppet-heads and selected, marked and cut material for the clothing (sewing next week), others carved and painted Rota boards, with the remainder exploring and making Greek pottery using clay. 

The boys and girls in Team Endeavour gave local legend Mr Wilby a wonderful surprise this morning ahead of his special birthday.

Thank you parents and children for helping make his 30th Birthday a special one.

(He's had a very tough paper round)