Class Four

The Human Network

 in Class Four / Computing by

In their computing lessons, class 4 have been studying how computers can link together. We use computers in this way more and more in our interconnected world as the internet forms a larger part of our daily lives. Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

Computers on the internet all have their own IP address. This stands for internet protocol which is a set of rules for how computers should communicate. Computers work best with numbers, so this looks like a long string of numbers. For example, the IP address of the computer which stores our school website is 5.61.120.34. That’s kind of difficult for humans to remember though, so we also give websites names in words which get translated to an IP address later.

 

Once you know which computer in the network you want to talk to, the message you want to send is given an “envelope” with the information needed to get it to the destination. This is called a header. Messages on the internet are usually broken up into lots of very small pieces (called packets), so it’s important to make a note of what order they should go in and how many are being sent!

Finally your message is ready to send. All of the packets of information are sent, one by one, towards their destination. This usually starts over WiFi, through a router or server and along telephone lines. Messages often make several stops along the way to their destination, being sent on by other computers in the network. In class we acted out a very simplified version, with each child standing in for a computer. It took a while for us to remember that computers cannot move, and so must send their messages by passing them through the network!

A Collaborative Classroom

 in Class Four / PE / SCARF by

It has been lovely to welcome Class 4 back to Levens! This term, much of our curriculum has a focus on collaboration and working together. It’s the theme for our SCARF unit of work, the purpose of our PE lessons and even comes up in Computing as we explore how computers connect and work together.

To kick us off, we have completed two teamwork challenges and thought about how well we worked as a team and how what sorts of things make working in a team more effective and more fun.

The Art of Landscape

 in Art / Class Four by

Years 5 + 6 have been exploring different techniques used by different artists to create movement, fluidity and texture in the landscape taking inspiration from our local area, and particularly our recent visit to Ullswater.

We have taken a closer look at mark making by Vincent Van Gogh and watercolours by William Heaton Cooper.

Scrawlers!

 in Class Four / Class Three / Design and Technology by

What can you make if you have a cup, some sellotape, felt-tip pens, a motor, a rubber, a battery and some crocodile clips? That’s exactly the question which was posed to class 4 last week! It wasn’t much to go on, but then they were given a prototype of a “Scrawler”

A Scrawler is an automatic drawing robot! A motor on top of the robot spins with an offset weight, causing it to vibrate. As it vibrates, the pens making up the “legs” of the robot wobble across the page and draw patterns as they go.

Class 4 wasted no time in taking the prototype to pieces to discover how it worked. With no further instructions, just some reverse-engineering, small teams got to work building a Scrawler of their very own!

Once we had perfected and tested our own versions, we took them apart for a further challenge. Was it possible to teach Class 3 how to make one of their own, without using our hands? That meant no pointing or touching, and no getting frustrated when somebody else was doing the wrong thing! With only 20 minutes to complete the project time was not on our side, but I think the gallery below proves our success!

Musical Extravaganza

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

After missing performing for two years, we were delighted to be entertained on Friday morning by our marvellous pianists  and violinists. We enjoyed solos, duets as well as small group performances introduced and supported by our first class instrumental teachers Mrs Rainbow and Mrs Hurley.

All year 2 pupils have learned to play the violin this year and the group who have been keen to continue presented a selection of pieces showing many different ways to produce sound on the violin including pizzicato (plucking the string) and arco (bowing). Our year 3 violinists showed their beautiful smooth bowing action that produced a lovely mellow tone.

The pianists all played different tunes, solos and duets that really got our feet tapping and produced smiles all around the appreciative audience. Well done to all performers and those who have supported and encouraged them this year – the fruits of that labour were clear to see thi

 

 

Police Visit to Class 4

 in Class Four / History / SCARF / Whole School by

As Class 4 arrive at the end of their learning journey on Crime and Punishment this term we were all treated to a visit from the rural police.  James and Pete spent the morning in School describing what it is like to be a police officer in 21st century Britain; and this enabled our pupils to make some interesting comparisons with the first police known as the ‘Peelers’ or ‘Bobbies’ after Robert Peel.

The children had pre-prepared some interesting questions…….

Q: Have you ever been frightened?

Q: Do you think there are more crimes today than in the time of the Peelers?

Q:  Would you recommend a career as a police officer?

Q:  Do you have to always abide by the law?

Q:  Have you ever used your taser?

They explained and demonstrated the uses of their equipment and described the types of rural crimes or incidents that they might be called to.

A thoroughly interesting and informative morning.  Huge thanks to our visiting ‘Bobbies’ for talking to us this morning.  We learnt lots, but let’s hope it’s the first and last time any of us are put in handcuffs!!

 

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…