Saplings

Welcome to our class

Sound

Saplings classroom has been alive with the Sound of Music this half term. We had a creative inspiration day making musical instruments from junk materials with Nick Penny. We had great fun investigating pitch and volume with these - they really work! We've also learnt about noise pollution and designed ear defenders after testing a selection of materials and discovered that sound is a vibration.

Come along to our Ancient Egypt exhibition...

This week we will be showing off some of the artefacts we have made and learnt about during this half term's topic. We are real experts that are excited to share our knowledge about sarcophagi, canopic jars, amulets and death masks. Here is a sneaky peak of what you can look forward to seeing....

Who wants to be an archaeologist?
Ancient Egypt Inspiration Day

On Friday, the Saplings were transformed into archaeologists for the day to explore artefacts from Ancient Egypt. We entered the tomb of Tutankhamen as Howard Carter had done and described the 'wonderful things' we saw to our team mates. Later, we searched through sand to find pieces of pottery with a secret message in hieroglyphs and learnt how important the Rosetta stone was to solving the mysteries of Ancient Egypt. The Pharaoh Photo Booth was another highlight.

Lots of fun and discoveries to start this brilliant topic.

Our Class Book

This half term we have been reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. It is an excellent children's classic that the Saplings are really enjoying. We thought we would share some of the work and displays that have been inspired by our book study. Please have a look at our spider's web weaving work, chapter summary writing and work making inferences about the character of Charlotte. Today we carried out a maths investigation into organising sheep on Mr Zuckerman's farm and we've included all the solutions we were able to find!

Welcome to the Saplings Rock Museum

On Tuesday afternoon, Saplings welcomed parents to their end product day 'Museum of Rocks'. Parents, school staff and the Acorns class had the opportunity to view displays made by the children on rocks and fossils and to talk to a paleontologist from the past, Mary Anning. Saplings also helped their parents to take a 'Rocks and Soils' quiz and to draw some fossils.

We Will Rock You!
Summer Term Inspiration Day

The Saplings welcomed a visitor to their class this week to kick start their new topic 'Rocks and Soils'.

Dr Tom Dijkstra, a geologist from Loughborough University, brought in a variety of rocks which he had collected on his travels around the world. He explained to the children how the different types of rock had been formed and how they could be classified. We never knew that rocks could be so exciting!

Saplings have been reading a story about yetis called 'The Abominables' which has been the inspiration for many of our reading and writing tasks this term. The children have written newspaper reports, persuasive letters to the Queen, descriptive narratives and even held a protest to 'Save the Yetis' in the story.

Dr Dijkstra had just returned from a month long trip in the Himalayas and showed the class photographs of a yeti skull and foot prints he had discovered in the snow! Imagine our excitement discovering that yetis might actually exist!

Dr Dijkstra has certainly inspired a few of the Saplings to become geologists themselves. A big thank you to him from Cossington School.

End Product Day

Last Friday, Saplings were joined by their parents, siblings and grandparents to celebrate their learning about the Romans. The children proudly showed off their work, sang a song and taught the visitors how to play a traditional Roman game. We even tested their knowledge about the Romans in Britain and asked them to help us decide what the Romans had done for us. After reading about cultural changes as a result of the invasion, teams debated their importance to modern day life and ordered them in a diamond nine. Do you agree with their choices?

Romans visit Saplings

Today is Roman Day! An expert on Rome came in today to help inspire our topic learning. He brought with him artefacts, maps, weapons and costumes to bring the Romans into the 21st century at Cossington. Today we have acted out the story of Romulus and Remus, trained to be in the Roman Army and played Roman games. It has been a great day. Thank you for dressing them up. Didn't they look great?

The Romans are coming!!!

Next Friday 26th January the Romans will be invading Cossington. On the day there will be a Roman impersonator visiting the school to teach the children all about Roman life and history. To help the children engage with the learning on the day we would like them to come dressed as a Roman or Celt. Click on the picture of the Romans opposite to see some costume ideas for next Friday.

The Rainforest
End of Unit work

This half term the Saplings have been working hard on their topic about Rainforests. We have become experts about rainforest animals, learnt about the different layers of the rainforest and used atlases and globes to locate the tropical rainforests around the world.

Here is a selection of the wide range of work we have completed including weather reports, performance poems, graphs comparing rainfall in different locations, artwork inspired by Henri Rousseau and even recordings of our vocal orchestra performance of the sounds of the rainforest.
We have been busy!

Rousseau inspired artwork:

Sounds of the Rainforest- Sapling's Vocal Orchestra

Rainforest Poetry

We wrote poems to perform out loud based upon Alan Ahlberg's Heard it on the Playground.

Heard it in the rainforest
Heard,
Heard it,
Heard it in,
Heard it in the,
Heard it in the rain,
Heard it in the rainforest.

The rainforest the rainforest,
The rain, the rain, the rainforest

ZZZ,
Sleepy sloths,
ZZZ,
Sloth sleeps all day,
ZZZ,

Heard it in the rainforest.
Wind blowing,
Sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh,
Wind swooshing by
Sh sh sh sh sh sh sh sh.

Heard it in the rain forest
Roarrrrrrr!
Heard,
Heard it,
Heard it in,
Heard it in the,
Heard it in the rain,
Heard it in the rainforest.

Neve

Heard it in the Rainforest
Heard,
Heard it ,
Heard it in,
Heard it in the,
Heard it in the rain,
Heard it in the rainforest.

The rain forest the rainforest
The rain the rain the rainforest
Pitter patter
Thunder crashing down

Patter, pitter
Rain hitting on the leaves.
Drip drop.
Thunder booming through the trees.
Heard it in the rainforest.

Heard it in the rainforest .
Roar, roar.
Tigers scaring his prey.
Arrr tigers coming.
Roar, roar Arrr arrr arrr

The rain, the rain, the rain, the rainforest
Isaac W

The Rainforest explorer
Inside my blue tent I lay down in peace,
I wake up, go outside,
I’m like a little ant under the giant trees,
There are drops of rain,
Coming from the clouds above me,
It sounds like rocks carefully hitting the floor.

The air tastes like a fresh bottle of water,
It sounds like a bird tweeting next to me,
As the cool wind pushes the trees slowly and carefully,
The grass swishes on the ground beneath our feet,
Small leaves hover over my head like a baby pigeon,
The ants trot along on that rainy day.
by Zavier

Caythorpe Court 2017

The Saplings visited Caythorpe Court for a two night residential that was packed full of of outdoor adventurous activities. Across the three days they took part in archery, shooting, climbing, completing an assault course, raft building and even zoomed down a giant zip line. Have a look at the pictures below to see what a fantastic time we had!

Mr Baker also enjoyed the trip!

Frida Kahlo

For the last few weeks Saplings have been learning about the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.

We are in the process of creating a self-portrait in her style and have written a short biography in our English lessons. These will be on display at our exhibition to parents on October 9th.

This week we took inspiration from this self portrait which Frida produced on metal using paint and collage. We did ours on tiles using a photograph and tissue paper. We hope you like them!

Saplings Cartoon Gallery

Saplings have been learning computer programming using a free piece of software called Scratch. They have all been working really hard, and were able to come up with some great cartoons!

Click the button below to see our work.

Saplings Cartoon Gallery

European Inspiration Morning

Last week, Saplings had an inspiration morning to begin their European topic.

They began by responding to the register in German, followed by a French breakfast of hot chocolate and pain au chocolate.

Many children brought in objects for discussion from European countries they had visited - some of these can be seen below

The children learnt about the countries, flags, capital cities and anthems of Europe. They even learnt to say a few words in a different language! Click on the videos on the right to hear some of their efforts.

Exploring Prehistory at Flag Fen

On Tuesday, Saplings visited Flag Fen Archaeology Park near Peterborough to learn about life from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.

They handled artefacts from prehistory and learnt about how prehistoric man travelled, ate and built shelters

They even got to make their own pots, which they brought back to school!

At the end of the day they sat in a Bronze Age roundhouse and listened to a story. They then got to make a wish on the Dragon Sword from the story. Will their wishes come true?

Who knows? They must keep them secret!

Our Trip to Bradgate Park

On Monday, Class Saplings enjoyed a day out at Bradgate Park, containing the former home of Lady Jane Grey. We arrived on a bright, sunny morning, and spent the whole day enjoying the weather.

In the morning, we split into groups to carry out experiments and take measurements of the river Lin. This has helped us to understand how rivers move and change.

Artwork by Ffion and Gracie

After lunch, we walked up to the Old John Tower and enjoyed the view from the top. The weather couldn't have been better!

We were also lucky enough to have been joined by Mrs Nicholson and her children for part of the day.

Take a look at our photo gallery below.

The children behaved well and enjoyed being out in the fresh air. Everyone managed to get to the top of the hill, and we were all very worn out by the end of the day!

The Journey of a River

We hope you enjoy reading our writing on 'The Journey of a River'.

Below is a gallery of work by Lara, Robyn, Lily, Beth, Poppy and Jake.

Background artwork by Lily and Ffion.

Mardi Gras

This week, Saplings celebrated Mardi Gras.

'Mardi Gras' is French and means 'Fat Tuesday'.

We made Mardi Gras masks which we are going to send to our partner school, Ecole Michelet, in Rouen.

Saplings decorated some cinnamon rolls with purple, green and gold icing (the traditional colours of Mardi Gras). We really enjoyed eating these!

Have a look at some of our photos from the day below.

PE - Learning Hockey Skills

This year has been an amazing year for hockey with Team GB's women's team claiming a dramatic gold at the Rio Olympics. In Class Sapling we have been learning how to play hockey and have been working hard with Mrs Dearson and Mr Townend to learn a range of skills. We have been concentrating on dribbling, passing, shooting and tackling. The photos and video below shows what we can now do. Take a look and see if you can spot ant team GB players of the future.

Greek Theatre Inspiration Day

Saplings began their day by sharing some Greek Myths. Mrs Wilson then read the story of 'Theseus and the Minotaur' which led on to some drama work.

Take a look at our freeze frame scenes we created.

Comedy or Tragedy?

Did you know that the Greeks invented the theatre? Only men could act in the plays and the actors wore huge masks. Saplings made their own masks and you can see some of them in the pictures below.

We ended the day by watching the beginning of the classic film 'Jason and the Argonauts'. How many parents remember this film first time around?

Sound Inspiration Day

The children in Sapling Class had a great day learning about instruments and the various sounds they can make. We had a chance to use a range of instruments with our sound expert Nick Penny. We also made our own instruments out of everyday objects and used these to make sounds of our own. Have a look at the pictures of our exciting sound based day.

Welcome to the Sapling Ancient Egyptian Museum

This morning the Saplings welcomed parents and grandparents to their class museum for a guided tour of the incredible artefacts they had been learning about and making in class this term. Visitors had to enter the exhibit through the tomb door to see the 'wonderful things'.

On display were death masks, amulets, canopic jars and sarcophagi made by the children and accompanied by beautifully presented non-fiction writing. After a guided tour of the exhibition the curators invited the guests to write their name in hieroglyphics!
Well done Saplings and thank you to our visitors it was an absolutely brilliant way to celebrate all our hard work this term.

Egyptian Inspiration Day

We dressed up as archaeologists for our first Inspiration Day of the year! We looked at artefacts from Ancient Egypt and took part in a drama activity where we imagined what it would be like to be Howard Carter crawling into Tutankhamen's tomb for the very first time. Please have a look at some of our descriptive writing about entering the tomb below...

Inside the tomb

I felt brave when I walked to the entrance of Tutankhamun’s tomb. I felt a bit nervous when I crept slowly down the dark, sandy steps. It felt hot and dusty when I scraped my hand on the wall.

A few moments later I broke through the tomb door. I heard banging, crumbling rocks falling from the dusty wall. I smelt of a gassy, rotten, damp smell. I saw misty, gloomy shadows. I kept walking through and I heard echoes and footsteps. I heard voices...

I could see hieroglyphics and a sarcophagus. I could smell a dusty, gloomy, mist smell. When I got further on there was gorgeous jewellery. The hieroglyphics made me think of diamonds, gems and gold.

Jack

Today's the Day

The next day we were still digging. I got herds of people to help me, it was unreal. I went back down the sandy, old steps then I called everyone to help me. They brought their pick axes to mine the sand. I was shivering on the brick wall, it felt like bedrock. I saw this tunnel we had to slither like a snake through it.

It smells like the most rotten flesh ever. I heard people shivering like mad, it was hot and we mean really hot. I nearly passed out and then there were rocks sealed though it was a door, it was a hole, I put the torch on and I saw WONDERFUL THINGS! We wanted them so badly.

Lewis

The Discovery

When I walked down the rocky, stony steps I felt excited and a bit nervous as well. I put my hands out on the bumpy, hot wall and strolled down the stairs. When I quietly walked down the stairs I heard footsteps. I saw the hard, wooden door and scratching as well. The smell was damp and rotten on the floor. I could smell it inside the tomb. It was dusty and gloomy and piles of rocks lay everywhere. I hammered the wooden door open and rocks tumbled on the sandy floor.

I walked down the passage way and I thought the roof would fall on me and there were echoes around me. I smelt gas coming from outside and it smelt old. It was misty everywhere and sand was blowing in my face.

Inside the tomb the echoes were loud and clear. It was dusty and damp on the floor, my feet trod in the dust. There were hieroglyphics and glittering jewellery and there was a beautiful sarcophagus.

Kiera

Today's the Day

I stood at the top of the stairs, I felt nervous and excited. I looked down, it was gloomy and dark, I shivered. I felt the wall it was soft, pieces of the wall crumbled down. I looked down, there was lots of steps to go. Finally I got to the door, I could hear some rocks thumping and pieces of the wall falling down. I smelt dust and sand coming from the corner. I saw through a little hole diamonds in one corner and two statues it looked like they were guarding something.

I broke through the door, it was as hard as steel on a knight’s bit of armour. It felt so hard I never thought I was going to open it.

In front of me was a passage way, I walked down all the way, it had pretty pictures. They looked beautiful until I stopped and I got to a door. It had all jewellery inside and all kinds of jewels and pictures again and so many things were in there.

Robyn

Sapling
Smoothies

On Monday the Saplings made their smoothies. They had been learning the names of different fruits in their French lessons and wrote a list of ingredients needed in French to test out their knowledge. All the children successfully managed to convey what they needed to their parents and brought the correct ingredients into school! They designed their smoothies in pairs and there were some interesting combinations of fruits! When made and tasted they wrote a brief evaluation, adding a phrase in French to convey what they thought of it. Have a look at some of our photos, planning and evaluation sheets.

What's inside a flower?

This afternoon the Saplings answered this question by dissecting a tulip. After making careful observations they used reference books to look up the parts of a flower and then made some excellent diagrams of what they found out.

Jaques et le Haricot Magique

Before Easter Class 3 read the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ but in French! You too can listen to the French version of the story if you open the 2 PowerPoints attached. See how many of the French words your child can remember and translate for you.

We also each planted a bean to grow and were curious to find out who had ‘les cinq haricot magiques,’ (the 5 magic beans).

Unfortunately it appears that the bean seller was not very honest as we only had 4 magic beans, not 5! Davis, Emma, Hannah and Fia’s beans all grew. However, Fia’s bean did not survive long as her cat decided to eat it! Luckily she kept a photographic diary which you can see here. Davis grew the largest bean, a huge 1m 38cm. Emma’s grew to 40cm and 15.5cm.
As you can see Mrs Wilson, Harriet and Lewis were disappointed with their beans. Despite looking after them there was no growth at all. Quel dommage!

Class 3's Summer Inspiration Day: Rocket Seeds Launch

The seeds have arrived, been planted and today a few have germinated!

Class 3 and 4 have worked together on a number of launch activities: exploring what life on board the International Space Station is like for Major Tim Peake, learning about why plants are central to many of the experiments taking place in Space and making predictions about the seeds we are growing at Cossington.

The seeds arrived in two packets, one red and one blue. Which ones have been up into Space? We all had a guess...

Please have a read of our predictions and look at the mission badges we designed for our exciting experiment.

The Great Big Meal for Easter

Class 3 visited Loughborough's Baptist church on Thursday 17th March to learn about how Jews celebrate the festival of passover and to explore what happened with Jesus and disciples at the Last Supper. The children learnt about the message of passover, made four (blackcurrant) toasts whilst sampling the foods on a Seder Plate. At the end of the session the children shook hands with the leaders and wished them peace in the custom of Bulgaria!

Romans End Product Afternoon

This week Class 3 reflected upon all the work they have done as part of our Roman topic. They selected poems, mosaics, reports, facts and maths tasks that they were proud of to share with their parents. The children wrote their own introductions and presented their learning along with some catchy songs they had been learning. At the end of the afternoon the children enjoyed a Roman feast with their parents. Please have a look...

Poetry Corner

Welcome to our poetry corner. Mrs Wilson and Mrs Nicholson have been delighted with the fabulous poetry Class 3 have written this week. After learning about the Roman Gods and Goddesses and their sacred animals they have written Kennings. Please have a read....

Diana’s Stag
Elegant leaper,
Fearsome fighter,
Proud prancer,
Antler basher,
Grass gobbler,
Forest dweller.

Freya Jane Sharrock

Jupiter’s Eagle
Cloud hider,
Sky diver,
Limit breaker,
Human eater,
Bird stealer,
Claw clasher,
Sky scraper

Johnny Wait-Hathaway

Minerva’s Owl
Mouse snacker,
Speedy flyer,
Steep swooper,
Worm killer,
Sky diver,
Graceful glider,
Insect spotter,
Cloud breaker.

Lily Wosley

Jupiter’s Eagle.
Fish invader,
Smooth flyer,
Smart fighter,
Tremendous biter,
Fastest racer,
Sharp chewer,
Sky hider,
Scary hunter,
Death eater,
Menace gobbler,
Dominating diver,
Speedy swooper,
Free mealer,
Eye gleamer,
Strong striker,
Peace erupter,
Nest stealer,
Smooth glider,
Nest builder.

Sebastian Elliot Davies.

Neptune’s Dolphin

Fish consumer,
Seaweed snacker,
Swift swimmer,
High jumper,
Ripple maker,
Shiny shimmer,
Squeaky speaker,
Elegant leaper
Fish catcher,
Speedy swimmer,
Friendly talker.

Written by Louis Burton

Jupiter’s Eagle

Feathery flyer
Super-dooper seer
Fish eater
Beak snapper
Wing glider
Awesome spotter
Mouse catcher
Sky-high soarer

By Shaign and Layla

Pluto’s Dog
Three-headed snarler
Teeth glinter
Hunting prowler
Human eater
Deep growler
Soul burglar
Talon clawer
Elegant pouncer
Snarling snacker
Cave summoner

By Lewis Taylor

Pluto’s Dog
Earth consumer
Heart killer
Fast listener
Quick hearer
Nasty nasher
Sharp biter
Super-dooper grabber

By Jake Woodriffe

Minerva’s Owl
Snow waddler
Fluffy cuddler
Wise wonderer
Low swooper
Elegant fighter
Nest conqueror
Sharp snatcher
Top hunter
Limit breaker
Taxi taker

By Eloise Piper

Neptune’s Dolphin
Sealife saver,
High jumper,
Fish eater,
Mermaid lover,
Fast swimmer,
Neptune’s helper,
Shimmering jumper,
Elegant leaper,
Shark scarer.
Lilia Boocock

Three headed Dog

Teeth gnasher
Snarling snacker
Snagging sniper
Claw clasher
Soul stealer
Human grinder
Three-headed snarler

By Andrew Preston

Jupiter’s Eagle
Soaring swooper,
Loop the looper,
Sky invader,
Even braver,
Spider eater,
A bit of a cheater,
Brave stalker,
Loud talker,
Mouse cruncher,
Not a leaf muncher.
Poppy Salisbury

Neptune’s Dolphin
Shiny flasher,
Water slayer,
Fish catcher,
Fish diver.
Lewis Fitch

Juno’s Peacock
Tail fanner,
Shower-offer,
Bumpy walker,
Head nodder,
Sharp pecker.
Harry Sketchley Adams

Pluto’s Three Headed Dog
Snagging sniper,
Snarling snacker,
Hairy looker,
Claw clasher,
Soul snatcher,
Sneaky sounder.
Evan Flavill

Pluto’s Three Headed Dog

Sharp biter,
Fast cheater,
A good digger,
Cat chaser,
A meat-eater.

Chelsey-May Harris

Jupiter’s Eagle
Sky conqueror,
Mouse murderer,
Sky hawker,
Mouse invader,
Meal snatcher,
Cloud dominator,
Bird ruler,
Nest stealer,
Peace erupter,
Sky glider,
Cloud soarer,
Limit breaker,
Swift killer,
Bird attacker,
Fear striker,
Silent swooper,
Sudden killer.
Joesph Millar

Jupiter’s Eagle
Mouse gobbler,
Speedy flyer,
Cool predator,
Flesh eater,
Sky invader,
Peace erupter,
Rapid racer,
Smart sneaker,
Sky hider,
Smooth glider,
Clawed conqueror,
Blood slurper,
Best biter,
Death killer,
Fright diver,
Fast swooper,
Eye stalker,
Brilliant hunter,
Animal stealer,
Amazing striker.
Jamie Copson

The Roman's come to Cossington

To kick off this term's topic, Class 3 experienced an exciting day dressed up as Romans and Celts to welcome to school a real life Roman! Look at the photos of us acting out Roman Myths and history, joining the Roman army in a military drill and playing Roman games.

Class 3 have been celebrating ‘La Fête des Rois’ or ‘Three Kings’ Day.’

La Fête des Rois is a celebration in France that takes place on January 6th,Twelfth Night. It includes a king, a queen and a special cake.

The ‘galette des rois’ is a cake made from puff pastry with almond paste inside and is eaten on this day. Mrs Wilson prepared this in advance for Class 3 to try.
Everyone in the family has a piece of the cake and someone gets to be the king or queen for the day.

A little plastic or china figurine is placed inside the cake before serving it, and whoever finds it becomes the king or queen.
Originally a bean was placed inside the cake, which is une fève in French, and the word is now used for the figurine too. Mrs Wilson hid 2 sweets inside the cake instead just to be on the safe side.

Lily and Lewis were the 2 lucky children who found the sweet in their slice and so became King and Queen of Class 3! Just for today though….

Ancient Maya

This half term Class 3 have been finding out about Ancient Maya. Last week we studied some artefacts from the Museum. Here are two of them......
Can you guess what they were for? If not ask your child-can they remember?

This week we tasted some Mayan foods and decided which ones were our favourites. We made a bar chart of our results in our maths lesson. Have a look and see what we found out!

I don't think Freya or Eloise were too impressed with the butternut squash! Well done Johnny, a clean plate!

Click here to see a Mayan recipe to try at home

Recipe 1

Recipe 2

Trip to Caythorpe Court

Have a look at the photos from our residential trip to Caythorpe Court. On day one we arrived by coach, had lunch and settled ourselves into our rooms. After that we spent the afternoon climbing the climbing wall and shooting rifles at targets. Some of us even made it to the top of the wall to ring the bell! The evening was spent completing wacky races and drinking hot chocolate. After a good nights sleep we began day two with breakfast and then set out to tackle the ground level challenge course and super scary high ropes. The children were very brave on the high ropes and encouraged each other well around the challenge course. After lunch we built rafts and tackled the giant swing. The rafts were great fun and nobody minded getting a bit wet. In the evening we sang songs around a camp fire before bed time. The final day started with packing up our rooms and having another excellent breakfast. We then set out to try and climb Jacob's ladder and learn how to ride quad bikes. These activities were a great way to end a fab trip!

Minibeast hunting

In Class 3 we have been making the most of our beautiful school grounds (and the fine September weather). Our Science topic is Living Things and we have been learning key scientific skills such as observation, classification and recording. We have been looking at the habitats around school and bravely looking under leaves, logs and stones to find a wide range of minibeasts.

Our Amazing Art!

Class 3 have been colour mixing in their Art lessons and learning to mix shades of one colour. The children have studied Picasso's 'Rooftops of Barcelona' and used this as an inspiration for their own paintings. What do you think? Mrs Wilson and Mrs Nicholson think Picasso may have some serious competition! The paintings are on display in the KS2 cloakroom if you would like to have a closer look.