We were so excited to set off on our school trip to Beale Park on Tuesday 21st March. We had done lots of science learning in the classroom in preparation. We had great fun exploring the park when we arrived and took time to study lots of the animals noting how they are adapted to live in their natural habitats. We also noted down where in the world their natural habitats can be found, bringing our science and geography learning together.
We did wonder as we studied the meerkats whether they were also studying us as they seemed very interested and observed us just as closely as we did them. We met some very noisy small parrots called sun conures. They all flew across their cage towards us landing on the wire in front of our noses and squawking at us very loudly. It was quite a surprise and very exciting. We also enjoyed seeing large green winged macaws, a porcupine who was enjoying munching on his broccoli, some ring-tailed lemurs, a rather hairy and huge tarantula and lots lots more.
We were very lucky that one of the keepers invited us to see him feeding the otters. We were amazed to see their sharp teeth and we were warned about them too! We were very grateful to the keeper who told us lots about the otters, their skill at swimming with their webbed feet helping them and how eating lots of fish oil helps them to dry quickly as it keeps their fur oily and the water runs off it more easily.
After lunch we enjoyed learning with Becky in the Education Centre. We did a workshop all about Amazing Africa. All the keepers who helped us were impressed with our knowledge and we had great fun learning more and sharing our ideas. We even got to meet two wonderful African animals, one very small and one really much bigger: a mealworm, that was very tickly to hold, and a royal python.
We did find time for some relaxation during our day as we enjoyed playing with our Oak friends in the playground at lunchtime and finished our day with a train ride, making sure we spotted the zebras and wallabies on our short journey round the park.
What a fabulous day full of fun and learning. The children made us very proud showing enthusiasm, knowledge and good manners.
This week has seen us exploring space in a planetarium, learning about the solar system, experimenting with materials alongside Science Oxford, and becoming palaeontologists exploring fossils and even meeting some fabulous dinosaurs. What an amazing week!
What an amazing afternoon we enjoyed on Tuesday 8th November. We had ten fabulous vehicles on the playground, including a 1920s Rolls Royce Phantom, a 1970s MG, both a new and a 1950s Triumph motorbike, a vintage tractor and a modern John Deere tractor, and a Tesla. It was a wonderful opportunity for all the children, bringing their learning to life, putting history and our understanding of changes through time into real context. We have been learning about the history of transport and we enjoyed comparing the old and new models, noting differences between each.
All of the owners were very generous with their time, sharing their knowledge and answering our questions, as well as allowing us access to sit in the vehicles. All of the school came out to join us during the afternoon and everyone enjoyed the experience. The weather was not on our side as we experienced a torrential downpour but the children’s smiles made up for the rain – our feet may have been damp but our spirits soared! That rainbow topping off the afternoon seemed very apt.
In addition to supporting our learning, it was a wonderful afternoon celebrating our community. Having such support from the local community is a privilege and staff and children send a special thank you to those who took time to come along with their very special vehicles as part of our Woodcote Primary School ‘family’.
Thursday, 21st July 2022 was the final day of our year together and it was really special as we completed our year with a special trip to Mapledurham after being invited by Mr David Barber, the Queen’s Royal Swan Marker. We enjoyed a picnic lunch and then were excited to see the skiffs arrive and to be able to meet Mr Barber and his team and hear about the swans and how to protect them. Mr Barber was impressed with our knowledge of pens, cobs and cygnets.
We received a special certificate from Buckingham Palace and presented Mr Barber and his team with our beautifully illustrated poem book and some special pictures drawn by us. What a super way to end our year together!
What a fabulous day we all had at Waddesdon Manor! We feel virtuous and blessed as they do say that the sun shines on the righteous and what a glorious sunny day we had. After a slight delay with our departure we started the first part of our adventure. The children had not been on a school trip on a coach before and getting strapped in and sharing our journey was exciting.
On arrival the gasps of thrill were audible throughout the coach as we drove around the North fountain and up the driveway towards the beautiful building. Usually forbidden access except on foot, it certainly made a spectacular sight out of the front of our coach and we felt very important and honoured.
Once we had disembarked and 'freshened up', we were then treated to entry into the house and climbed the rather grand red carpeted spiral staircase, holding the red brocade rope bannister carefully. What grand paintings, furniture, statues and objects we passed on the way as we made our way to a fabulous circular room lined with stunning colourful paintings hung above upholstered red benches. We certainly weren't sitting learning in Beech Class today!
We enjoyed hearing the story of Sleeping Beauty and re-enacting it as we studied the giant illustrations in the oil paintings hung around the room. The paintings, that are 100 years old this year, were by an artist called Leon Bakst who used to design costumes for the ballet. The colours and detail were certainly stunning.
Our afternoon was filled with a picnic lunch taken on the front lawn of the manor and time to explore the grounds. We particularly enjoyed visiting the aviary where we were able to spy some of the rare birds that the Rothschild family, who owned Waddesdon, have worked to preserve from extinction. We also loved the spectacular wooden Asian elephant statues in the grounds, another nod to the conservation of important species on our planet.
Tuesday was a very exciting and busy day. We enjoyed visiting the theatre tent that had arrived on the field. We loved watching and joining in with Animal Rocks. Our favourite characters were the fox and the dinosaurs. The dad tortoise’s dancing to the Strictly tune made us laugh a lot. We have enjoyed writing thank you letters to the actors and the team at Oxford Playhouse. After the show we enjoyed making shakers and joining in with some rhythm fun.
On Thursday, we were thrilled to meet Korky Paul. Having learnt lots about him and used his books and characters as inspiration for our own work in recent months we were excited to meet him and he charmed us all. We enjoyed hearing him read a Winnie story, with a special guest appearance by Winnie herself and her cat Wilbur.
After reading the story to us, Korky drew a special illustration for us. He asked us to give ideas to inspire his picture. It was fabulous watching him bring Winnie to life on the paper, using his pens and watercolour paints so quickly and effectively.
Korky also enjoyed seeing some of our work including our Beech Book of Spells and some of our story writing. He seemed suitably impressed! Having been impressed by all the imaginative interpretations of the entries for the special Korky competitions, he chose two entries as our class prize winners, one for the Big O and one for Winnie's New Hat.
At the end of the day many of us enjoyed a chat with Korky as he signed our books. It was great fun hearing some of the secret inside information behind some of the illustrations and how Korky particularly likes to use his 'happy mistakes' to advantage in his illustrations, like that special kink at the top of Winnie's hat.
Our busy week in Beech has found us getting out and about equipped with clipboards. On Wednesday, we went off to St Leonard’s church to take a good look around. In our RE lessons we have been learning about places of worship and particularly about Christian churches, so it was great to look at the inside and outside noting special features like stained glass windows and the bell, as well as at the special furniture that we find inside and what it is used for. We used our checklists to focus our observations and made drawings and notes about what we saw. Mrs Pearson forgot to take a camera but we have chosen some of our favourite photographs from a website called 'A church near you'. Go and take a look; it has lots of information about St Leonard's:
WOW! What a day and so much to see and learn! Beech class recommend a visit to the British Motor Museum as a wonderful day out.
Tickets can be purchased with Tesco vouchers and the museum offer an annual pass in return for Gift Aid registration on your day ticket. Take a look at their website https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/