AoLE Autumn 2023 REC
The Wales on Sunday newspaper reported that a nuclear explosion had hit Tonyrefail! It was near our school, Cwmlai Primary School. Some of the children were feeling very brave and decided to explore our outdoor environment to see what they could find!
We also checked the Internet to see if any reports had been made of an explosion in our surrounding village. We could not believe what we saw! Take a look!!!
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We took 'Seren' the star back to our class and discussed why she had a sad face and how we thought we could help to make her feel happy again.
We thought of lots of ideas -
Make a rocket and attach 'Seren' to it and zoom her back into space
Give her 'dragon' wings to fly back into space
Attach balloons to help her float back into space
Bounce high on a trampoline and release her into space,
and this is what happened!
We practised launching a rocket into space using Hwb, Jit5 programme
IMG_0826.MOVWe drew maps of the nature area to inform the newspaper, 'Wales on Sunday' where the explosion had happened!
We made our own rockets out of recyclable materials.
IMG_0926.movWe also made rockets out of paper and a straw.
We launched them to see how far they would fly. We measured the distances between the rockets and evaluated why some flew further than others
IMG_0893.MOVWe made launch pads out of 3d blocks to see if we could blast 'Seren' back in to the sky
IMG_1164.MOVAnd suddenly our star was gone! All our wishes had come true. Seren was back in the sky where she belonged. But look how she got there!
We read lots of books about the dark and night-time and some of us are very scared of the dark. We made dreamcatchers to take our fears and worries away from us.
Owl Sanctuary
We had a visit from the Owl Sanctuary. They brought with them 6 different breeds of Owls. We learnt what they ate, whether they were nocturnal or diurnal and what they like and disliked. The pupils got the opportunity to touch some of the Owls.
We tested different materials to find out if they were waterproof. We used a paper towel, a tissue, a plastic bag and an umbrella. We found the plastic bag to be the best waterproof material.
Pudsey Bear sent us a message. He needed a new umbrella and asked if we could help? We decided to design a new umbrella for him using plastic material and colourful designs. Pudsey was very impressed!
We thought about people who work at night, as well as the day. Emlyn's mam and dad are Children's Nurses and work night shifts. They came in to talk to us about their jobs and show us what they do. We wondered how they stay awake all night!
The pupils completed a sponsored puddle jump to raise funds for the Owl Sanctuary. They loved jumping in a puddle for 1 minute! They raised a fantastic amount of money that enabled us to purchase 3 new gazebos to protect the birds when they are out and about on school visits and at festivals. We also presented them with a cheque to repair the owls aviaries that had been damaged by the recent storms. Well done everybody.
