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BABY TREES

15.05.2020

I love a freebie (don't we all!) and back in October I noticed that the Woodland Trust were giving away free trees to schools and communities. Our application was successful and 60 tree saplings arrived at Stanbridge at the beginning of March; a mixture of Silver Birch, Rowan and Wild Cherry trees. I must admit, I was expecting them to be a lot more substantial when they arrived so was surprised to see 60 'sticks' in a small box. Check out the photos below!

Year 2, along with several other children from across the school, helped to plant the tree saplings. We decided to plant them at the bottom of the school field where they would be more protected and so that we can extend our forest school area. It was a fantastic opportunity for the children to be able to plant a tree and they are excited to see them grow during their journeys through Stanbridge. They have been doing a lot of learning about plants and also climate change so it felt great to be able to do something positive in terms of this global issue. Trees help fight against climate change as they absorb pollutants and emissions from the air and store the carbon. In return they release pure oxygen! This enables wildlife to flourish and provides a stable environment.

I have to admit- since we've been on lock down- I've been a little worried about the baby trees surviving. However, I am delighted to say that they are in fact flourishing and now look a lot more like baby trees as opposed to sticks! Thank you to all of the staff and children who have been religiously watering them during the lovely hot days we have had over the last few weeks.

AEROSPACE BRISTOL

04.05.2020

On Friday 13th March, Year 5 were lucky enough to go on a free school trip (funded by South Gloucestershire council) to Aerospace Bristol. The visit was really relevant to their science curriculum this year as they had already completed topics on space and forces. Both the children and the teachers had a brilliant time. It was interesting to find out about Bristol's aviation history as well as see the infamous Concorde! We felt lucky that we were able to go on the trip; just a week later, schools across the UK closed indefinitely to curb the spread of coronavirus. Aerospace Bristol is a great day out so we would definitely recommend it for a family trip! One of our pupils, Krystie, has written her account of the trip below:

Our trip to Aerospace Bristol was the best trip ever! When we got there, we all exited the coach and the teachers split us into groups. I was in Rory’s mum’s group and was pleased to be in a group with my best friend! We all went into the museum. Firstly, we looked around and had to collect information about the different planes. A few of them had been cut in half (like the Britannia). Some of the planes were made out of wood and only had two seats- one for the pilot and one for the passenger! Later, we had a little snack before heading to visit the Concorde. It was giant and probably the biggest plane I have ever seen. Rory's mum said we can go inside. Everyone was jumping around with excitement! When we went inside, it felt like we were ascending. We looked around and it was amazing to actually be inside the Concorde! Next, we went outside to have our lunch. After lunch, we got to play in a little playground with an aeroplane climbing frame. Finally, before heading back to school, we did a rocket workshop. In the workshop, we learnt about Bristol’s aerospace history, pilots and engineers. We then designed and launched our very own rockets!

COVID-19

27.04.2020

Welcome to Stanbridge's very first science blog post. We are aiming to bring you fortnightly blogs covering exciting news and discoveries from the Cosmic Cabin and beyond. To keep things interesting, we are also going to be inviting some of the pupils to write blog posts too. Watch this space..!

As we enter our fifth week on lockdown, it seemed appropriate to start with a post about COVID-19. Life, as we know it, has become very strange and different for all of us during this global pandemic. Many adults are struggling to explain the current extraordinary situation to children, many of whom are frightened and confused. I believe that it is extremely important for children and families to have access to good and reliable information in this unprecedented crisis. Unsurprisingly, there are an overwhelming amount of resources available on the internet about the virus. However, I recently came across a free ebook for primary school age children that I wanted to share with you. It has been written and published by Nosy Crow with expert input from Professor Graham Medley (of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) as well as two head teachers and a child psychologist. It is illustrated by Axel Scheffler, illustrator of The Gruffalo, which makes it particularly accessible to children due to the familiarity of his well-loved illustration style.

I felt this ebook hit the nail on the head when explaining COVID-19 to children in an informative, honest way without being too overwhelming. This pandemic is changing children’s lives across the globe and will have a lasting impact on us all. Helping children understand what is going on is an important step in helping them cope and making them part of the story.

The book answers key questions in simple language appropriate for KS1 and Lower KS2:
• What is the coronavirus?
• How do you catch the coronavirus?
• What happens if you catch the coronavirus?
• Why are people worried about catching the coronavirus?
• Is there a cure for the coronavirus?
• Why are some places we normally go to closed?
• What can I do to help?
• What’s going to happen next?

I hope you find the book useful. You can read it digitally or you might like to print a copy to keep at home too.

In addition, a few days before schools closed, I was contacted by BBC Radio Bristol to do a short piece on how to explain the coronavirus to children. You can hear it again below in case you missed it the first time!

Take care everybody and stay safe.

Miss Hoddinott