Levens School

Reception go wild!

 in Class One / Geography / Science by

Reception have had a wonderful time at the Wildlife Oasis in Milnthorpe today. We enjoyed learning about some less well-known creatures and their habitats. The first workshop was about conservation and fitted in nicely with our topic about Sir David Attenborough. We learnt about the habitats of stick insects, millipedes and the fascinating leaf insect! All these animals originate from the Amazon Rainforest and we thought about why they were suited to this habitat. A tower of Jenga blocks all being removed at the same time was a great visual representation of what might happen to these animals when the trees in the rainforest are cut down. A second game of Jenga, which involved replacing blocks as well as removing them, showed us how planting a tree for each one that is cut down can help sustainability. We also learnt about everyday products which come from the rainforest and were very surprised at some of them! We then enjoyed getting up close to a blue tongued skink, leaf cutter ants, meerkats and lemurs to name just a few!

Patterdale Field Studies

 in Class Four / Geography by

Since our residential trip to Patterdale, we have revisited the experience in our geography lessons. While at Patterdale Hall we created a field sketch of the local area to explore the geographical features we could see. We’ve also looked at the area on an OS map, linking the places we have been to regions on the map, and identifying the key features that can be seen in real life and on the paper. Contour lines have also been an area of study, thinking about how these 2d lines show us the shape of the landscape.

All of our work has been presented on a large poster – take a look at some of the brilliant examples below!

End of Term Treats!

 in Class Four by

Wow, what a busy week! All sorts of things have been happening at school this week to celebrate the end of term and make some final memories for Year 6 before the big transition to secondary!

Monday evening was the Leaver’s Tea. A true Levens tradition, to send off our year 6 in style we ask Year 5 to prepare, cook and serve a full meal to Year 6, who are waited on hand and foot! Year 5 certainly had their work cut out for them this time with so many people to cook for!

On Wednesday, we went to Brockhole on Windermere for the Year 6 to participate in their leavers treat and for Year 5 to practise their orienteering skills in a much bigger environment! While Year 5 were off hunting for the checkpoints, Year 6 were high above in the trees on the treetop nets! New this year was a leap of faith from a tiny wooden platform into a giant airbag!

Super Sporting Morning

 in Class Four / Class One / Class Three / Class Two / PE by

What a fantastic morning we had on Thursday! Our sport’s day this year started with a race for nursery and their teddies. Then the rest of school were split into four teams to complete a carousel of activities, for which they could win points for their team. During the second half of the morning, the children participated in more traditional events such as balancing races and running. Throughout the whole event, they supported and encouraged their team mates wonderfully. The morning concluded with the always entertaing Year 6 novelty race, adult races and not forgetting particiption from the youngest members of the audience in their race. It was a brilliant morning full of fun and exercise, made even better by the support and encouragement of parents, friends and the Levens community.

Outdoor swimming in Lake Windermere

 in Class Four / PE / Whole School by

Fabulous day wild water swimming at Fellfoot for years 5 + 6 with Waterwise!

The day started with lessons about how to stay safe if you are swimming in any of our local lakes this summer.

There are lots of rules that are part of the code for outdoor swimming including: wearing a bright-coloured swim hat so that you can be easily spotted by boats, paddle boards etc; attaching a toe float as a buoyancy aid and another way of making you distinct whilst swimming; not going into the water to help someone else, but raising the alarm to attract attention and to get support; only swimming in the summer months when the water is not dangerously cold.

We were soon in the water putting some of this learning into practice and splashing around.  We had relay races to retrieve rubber ducks before getting on with some serious swimming and finally the opportunity to jump off the jetty for those brave enough!

Once we were dry and dressed, it was off for a lovely picnic in the grounds of the park and some fun exploring the playground and beautiful environment by the shores of Lake Windermere…

Heaves Farm Visit

 in Class Three / Science by

Wow, what an amazing day we have had at the Westmorland County Agricultural Society Farm Open Day at Heaves Farm. We were complimented often on our good answers and questions and we listened carefully and showed excellent manners throughout the whole day.

Here is what some of the children had to say on our return…

I loved it when a calf came and licked my hand. It felt slobbery! AB

Did you know cows have 4 stomachs? ER

My favourite thing was seeing the piglets and the lambs. GH

I liked seeing the sheep dogs as they are my favourite animals. They are well trained, MAB

I liked to see how the dogs rounded up the sheep . He showed us which whistles meant left, right, walk and lie down. CH

I really liked the baby animals – the chicks, the piglets and the sheep. CR

I enjoyed listening to Storm the dog’s heart beat using a stethoscope at the vets. FH

I enjoyed pretending to help the sheep give birth. PH

I enjoyed the little sheep. They were very calm when you touched them. All the animals were well trained. HR

Thank you so much to all the farmers and helpers who made the day a really memorable one for us all.

A visit from the vet

 in Class One / Science / Whole School by

Class One were very lucky to receive a visit from Jen the vet a couple of weeks ago. She came to tell us all about her job, the types of animals she cares for and why they might sometimes need to see a vet. We enjoyed looking at photographs of some of the animals she has treated and finding out about them. We also learnt how to care for guinea pigs, finding out what they need to have provided for them, what they like to eat and play with too. Our favourite part of her visit was getting to have a cuddle with Fudge and Brownie and feeding them strawberries and peppers!

All Things Electric

 in Class Three / Science by

Class 3 have had a wonderful day, learning more about Electricity by visiting Heysham Power Station Visitor Centre. The staff there were super impressed with Class 3’s great thinking skills, their understanding of electricity and the way they approached the activities. The sessions we did were perfectly pitched to embed their existing learning in school and make links with other areas of science, engineering and maths to deepen our understanding and curiosity about the world.

We learnt how Michael Faraday found that electricity could be made by spinning magnets in a circle of copper wire using turbines and steam and this is still what happens today inside the power station. In a safe and controlled way, we learned why water and electricity are such a dangerous mix – because water is a good conductor of electricity. We had great fun making different circuits using special kits and even made human power stations! We learnt which appliances in our homes are the greatest guzzlers of electricity per hour of use – very useful information at a time when we all wanting to save electricity too. Do ask some of Year 3 and 4 for their advice if you’d like to know more!

Patterdale Hall Residential

 in Class Four / Whole School by

…and we’re back! Just like that, three whole days of fun and adventure have come to an end. Everyone has had a great time getting really stuck in to all of the different activities on offer – there’s lots to talk about and stories to tell, from canoeing, to climbing, gorge walking, bushcraft, table football, room inspections, incredible food and more. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves and leave you with the photo gallery below.

A huge thanks to all of the staff at Patterdale Hall who couldn’t have been better hosts, and to all of the children for sticking together, working as a team and showing kindness, compassion, leadership and determination in everything they did. I don’t think I would have survived without you all looking after me!

Class 2 at YMCA

 in Class Two / PE / SCARF by

Class 2 had such a fantastic day at YMCA! The children challenged themselves both physically and mentally. They worked co-operatively to problem solve and succeed. The support and encouragement they gave to each other was amazing to see. They also helped Miss Robinson to step out of her comfort zone and experience the blue tubes! Well done Class 2!