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• Busy Bees at Garden Club

  Fri 26 Oct 2018

  Garden club have been learning about bumblebees and ways in which we can help them. There are a lot of different types of bees in the UK, but over the last 100 years we have lost 13 species of our native bees and another 35 species are under threat of extinction.

  We thought about why we need bees in our environment and the reasons why bees are having a tough time. We learnt some interesting facts along the way:

  • Bees love flower rich meadows, and we have lost 97% of these since the 1930s.

  • Most of our fruit and vegetables are pollinated by bees and if we lose them it could cost UK farmers as much as 1.8 billion pounds to do the work of our busy bees. Bees are even responsible for the tomatoes that make tomato ketchup. Can you imagine a world without tomato ketchup?

  • Bees can be harmed by the use of some chemicals such as pesticides which are sprayed on crops.

  • Did you know that ‘Dumbledore’ is the Cornish word for bumblebee?

  We decided to help our bumblebees survive through the winter by making bumblebee shelters. We used plastic pots, tubing , roof tiles and straw. We have buried these special homes amongst the shrubs in Maria’s Meadow and hope that they will find some occupants soon.

  For more information about bees please visit click on the ‘Friends of the Earth’ bee link below

  https://friendsoftheearth.uk/bees

  

• Y2 Stories and Toys

  Fri 19 Oct 2018

  In English we had fun acting and playing games assisting The Jolly Postman deliver his letters. This helped us to understand what makes a traditional tale. We became authors; writing our own stories using fantastic adjectives to help our readers picture our settings and characters in their heads. Our imaginative writing was improved by studying toys through the ages. Everyone (even the adults!) learnt something after exploring the amazing historical toy box from St Neots museum and listening to Ann from The Farmland Museum. Many of the children went home and raided their parents and grandparents attics to share some lovely old toys and compared them to their own toys, using big voices and answering interesting questions too! We also investigated which material was best to make an umbrella to keep teddy dry and used our number bond knowledge and measuring skills to create a moving, model vehicle using a chassis, axles and wheels.

  

• Y6 Prepare for Remembrance Day

  Wed 17 Oct 2018 T Moss

  Our topic this term is World War One and we have been exploring how it affected people through our humanities, English and art learning. We have learned about a young hero called Jack Cornwell, studied Michael Morpurgo’s novel War Horse and will be learning poems written by young soldiers after half term, as well as creating paper poppies. As is our tradition in year six, we will be leading two Remembrance Services this year: one to the school and one to our parents and carers. In addition to our paper poppies, some of year six have made ceramic poppies for us to plant in the reflective courtyard – another year six tradition.

  

• Y6 Visit Cambourne Village College

  Wed 17 Oct 2018 T Moss

  Last Tuesday, 12 year six pupils visited Cambourne Village College for an art workshop. We had previously worked with clay slabs to make ceramic poppies in preparation for our Remembrance Service so were ready to develop our skills further. Mr Yeates taught us how to make pinch pots, join them to make a hollow egg shape and then use a range of clay tools to turn our shapes into amazing aliens. We can’t wait to collect our fired models and glaze them.

  

• FS2 Courtyard Makeover

  Mon 08 Oct 2018 O Nightingale
  We had some volunteers from AstraZeneca come into the FS2 courtyard on Thursday 4th October and they have made such a difference. They spent their day working very hard to make it a really special place for the children to be. They completed so many jobs including: staining the wood, removing the old, tired letters and blackboard from the wall, moving and painting the shed, creating an amazing herb garden using bark, tyres and soil, painting the sand pit, creating a 'water wall' using the old wooden fences and some drain pipes, as well as weeding and sweeping the whole area. The children have loved exploring the new outdoor area and are very happy with the changes.. One child's response was "WOW? I just love the trees!" Huge thanks to the Vine Volunteers for funding the project too!
  
   

  

• THANK YOU EVERYONE - TOGETHER WE MADE A DIFFERENCE!

  Sun 07 Oct 2018

  This week we held our Harvest Service and were able to donate our contributions of food, drinks and toiletries to Jimmy’s Night Shelter in Cambridge!  Full story http://www.thevine.cambs.sch.uk/local-community-1/

  

• Y3 Stone Age Day

  Wed 03 Oct 2018 A Foster

  On Wednesday 26^t September, Year Three travelled back in time to the Stone Age…

   

  We became Cave Men and Women for the day and arrived to school in our amazing costumes. We all looked very scary!

  As Hunter Gatherers, we began the day by waking up next to a warm fire, surrounded by our tribe. Then, because we were hungry, we went foraging for fruit in the orchard for breakfast. We found lots of ruby red apples, juicy blackberries and delicious pears. We even found some grapes! After that, we chopped the fruit and cooked it in honey to make a yummy fruit stew. Later in the day, we sat down to eat. It was delicious.

  As Cave Men and Women, we completed a variety of Stone Age activities throughout the day. These included hunting using a bow and arrow and spears, singing a Stone Age rock song and creating cave painting hand prints. We had lots of fun!

  Year Three had an amazing day as Hunter Gatherers. However, we were glad to return to the modern world. Living in the Stone Age is hard work!