All children have had a fantastic start to Year 5.  They have been gripped by our space theme and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The National Space Centre in Leicester.  They have been swimming with school for the very first time and have begun to play a new instrument – the cornet.  Children have coped well with all of these new experiences showing the Lyppard Learning Values of adaptability, perseverance and courage. 

Eggnaut Challenge

We were set an exciting challenge to design and make a space capsule to protect their Eggnaut from the perils of re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. To make it more challenging we were given a budget and a specific criteria that we had to follow.

There were awards for:

• The groups who managed to land their capsule without cracking their Eggnaut
• The group who managed to make a successful capsule using the least amount of budget
• The best design
• The slowest falling capsule
• The capsule that landed closest to the landing zone

The children worked incredibly hard, showing excellent teamwork and problem-solving skills. We then had an exciting afternoon testing out their finished products.

Having visited the Space Centre in September, the children brought back lots of ideas to help them create their own exhibit about and aspect of space.  Just before October half term after researching, planning, designing and making the day finally came to share their exhibits with another year group.  Year 5 were fantastic hosts, and it was a pleasure to see how engaged they were with the Year 3 children and how much knowledge they imparted.  They made interactive displays, quizzes using PowerPoint, educational games and even a space related obstacle course!  Their communication skills and teamwork were very impressive.

Visit to the National Space Centre

Thursday 9^th September was a very exciting day for Year 5, as we embarked on our first trip in two years to The National Space Centre.  As soon as we entered the building children were engrossed in the interactive displays and exhibits. They learned about the history of space travel and watched a film in the Planetarium which explained what it feels like to be in space.  They were conscientiously taking notes of items that caught their eye and could give them ideas for their own exhibits.  The workshop gave the children the opportunity to program a space vehicle and use their problem-solving skills to debug their instructions.  Throughout the visit the children were excellent ambassadors for Lyppard Grange, showing great curiosity and exhibiting exemplary behaviour.  The awe and wonder on their faces was a pleasure to see.  We are looking forward to seeing their finished exhibits!

Space Exhibition

Having visited the Space Centre in September, the children brought back lots of ideas to help them create their own exhibit about and aspect of space.  Just before October half term after researching, planning, designing and making the day finally came to share their exhibits with another year group.  Year 5 were fantastic hosts, and it was a pleasure to see how engaged they were with the Year 3 children and how much knowledge they imparted.  They made interactive displays, quizzes using PowerPoint, educational games and even a space related obstacle course!  Their communication skills and teamwork were very impressive.

Visit to Hartlebury Museum

On the 7^th of December Year 5 visited Hartlebury Museum. Each class took part in a workshop that involved attending a Victorian classroom.  The children were seated in rows (a concept they were familiar with) and experienced a Spelling, Geography and English lesson under the stern instruction of their Victorian teacher.  They learned about the Victorian punishments of the dunce cap and back straighteners.  After working hard, they were rewarded with a break where they got to play with Victorian toys such as hoops, diablos, spinning tops, peg dolls and ball and cups.  The children then visited the museum where they saw exhibits from many different eras.  This experience enabled the children to make video clips about the Vile Victorians.  They thoroughly enjoyed watching these videos and it is clear we have some film directors in the making!