Sensory Garden

Work began on Friday on our Sensory Garden, and the veggie patch received an overhaul with a new coating on woodchip on the paths, and the beginnings of a strawberry mountain. A number of children were keen to help get efforts underway, and a group of volunteer parents are due to do some of the more back-breaking labour over the Easter holidays. Check back soon for an update.

Animal Homes

The Wildlife Group have spent the last few weeks making homes for wildlife, out of plant pots and milk cartons. This lunchtime they chose where to place them in the conservation area. I wonder who will choose to live in a house like this?

Butterfly Conservation

Now you have no school for the next six weeks, no doubt you'll soon find yourself getting bored. Why not try your hand at the The Big Butterfly Count and keep yourself busy. You can find details by following the link.

Enjoy the sunshine and count those butterflies!

Mrs Exton

Pond Dipping

Following our science work on making keys to classify different animal species last week, we put our skills to the test identifying some less exotic, but perhaps even stranger species in the school pond. The children took turns to dip the nets into the pond and study the weird and wonderful creatures to be found within. They then used keys to work out what their creatures were.

We discovered newtlets, freshwater hoglice, water boatmen, and copious water snails. We were also visited by some beautiful damselflies and some much uglier looking leeches and larvae.

Return of the Persistent Chaffinch

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to announce that the persistent chaffinch has returned and taken up his usual spot on the door handle outside Blue Class. He visited us this morning to learn about division - presumably so that he could ensure he was getting a fair share of the bird seed - and again for phonics, where he brushed up on his dictionary skills.

We hope to see him regularly over the coming weeks, and I will keep you posted about his progress in class!

Christmas Crafts

We have been making use of our natural resources for some Christmas Craft activities this year. Our willow house was in need of a trim, and we decided to use the off-cuts to produce some woven Christmas stars. The children decorated them using floristry ribbon and will be bringing them home soon. We hope you like them.

Caterpillar Diary

 Explored environment. Found food!

 Hungry, ate.

 Made silk, got hungry, ate.

 Environment seems to be getting smaller. Still hungry.

Busy making a silk sheet and sticking it to the lid.  All this hard work is making us...................hungry!

Hustle and Bustle in the Conservation Area

It's that time of year again when the conservation area is buzzing (literally) with life. Enjoy a few snapshots of the many species of bee, bug, fly, and even a frog, that visit or have made their homes in this little corner of our school.

Very Hungry Caterpillars!

Earl Soham is taking part in The Butterfly Effect 2012, an educational programme supported by Butterfly Conservation and M&S to get everyone involved in the Big Butterfly Count.

This is a nationwide public survey that will take place from July 14th to August 5th, however, because children are such great spotters, they can start counting from the beginning of July til the end of August.
Keep an eye out in your child's bookbag for their butterfly spotter poster and more information.

Part of this activity also means having our own butterfly garden hatching kit and our 'very hungry caterpillars' arrived yesterday. They are currently cocooned in Mrs Sayer's office, where she will be keeping a watchful eye on them over the next couple of weeks.  Be sure to ask Mrs Sayer how they're getting on, if ever you're in the office.


Once they have become chrysalides, we will transfer them into the Hatching Habitat and wait (anywhere between 7 to 14 days) for the butterflies to emerge.  As soon as all the butterflies have emerged, we will wait for a warm day (may take a while) and release them in the conservation area.


Watch this space for photos of our caterpillar gang as they grow...

                                               ..........not very big at the moment are they?

Wildlife Club

 The children at after school Wildlife Club pictured settling into their willow nest (below) and some rather rowdy hatchlings (above) in need of food!

Some More Photos of our EcoTech Trip

Many thanks to Mr Bosley for sending me the photographs he took on the trip. Here are a sample. All the photographs can be found in our Picasa Webalbum.

Class Visit to the EcoTech Centre

Today, Blue class visited the EcoTech Centre in Swaffham. The children were welcomed with a short video explaining how power has traditionally been produced and some of the ways in which more sustainable alternatives are being sought.

The children then split into two groups. They each took part in a recycling activity in which they had to sort a variety of different types of waste into the correct containers -something which proved more difficult than it first seemed. The other morning activity involved a tour around the Eco-Centre building where they learnt about the importance of using sustainable materials in its construction.

After a short break for lunch, we had the exciting opportunity of climbing to the top of the world's only publicly accessible wind turbine. This meant a climb of some 305 steps, but the view from the top was well worth the effort. The children learnt that a single turbine of the type they climbed was capable of providing power for over 1000 homes. We were surprised by how quiet the turbine was. Even standing right beneath it, the noise from the road several hundred yards away was far louder than the occasional gentle swish of the majestic turbine blades.

The children also had the chance to build their own model wind turbine and test it using a fan. They experimented to see which configuration of turbine blades could generate the highest power output.

Everyone had an enjoyable day, and my only regret is that we didn't have longer to spend there.

Working at the Allotment

Potato Harvesting and Fruit Picking

Fluttering Butterflies

Following weeks of nurturing our caterpillars which turned into chrysalises (or chrysalides), have now grown into beautiful butterflies. 'Painted Ladies' are simply wonderful with fantastic orange, black and white wing markings when their wings are fully extended. This morning they were released into the Conservation Area and merrily fluttered away to the delight of a group of children.

Allotment Takes Shape

On Sunday, a hardy bunch turned up at the school allotment in the village to prepare it for the growing season. Planning is crucial to success.

Jennie trying to find oil

It was a beautiful day as spades, forks and a rotavator (well skippered by Jean-Pierre) roared into life. After two hours of work, the allotment is now ready for final design and planting.Mr Pearce is allowed to have a go with the big boys' toy!

Many thanks to everyone who gave up their time during the afternoon, especially Mrs Exton who organised it, and to Glenn Warren who had previously cleared the ground for digging.

Eco Council Water Assembly

Yesterday morning the Eco-Council gave their first assembly on the topic of saving water. Each of the council read out some facts about water, explaining how the water cycle works, and how water is treated. Children were invited to think about their own water use at home and to take part ion a water-cycle colouring competition.

Mr Mansell finished off the assembly by leading the children in singing 'Hair, shoulders, knees and toes' which went like this:

Hair, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

Hair, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

And face and neck and under the armpits,

Don't forget the other bits, other bits!

This was repeated, with one or more words omitted each time, to last four minutes - the recommended length of time for a shower.

A big thanks to Mrs Exton for her hard work in preparing the Eco-Council for their assembly, and to all the children who took part for giving up their time for the good of the school.

NO POWER FOR AN HOUR!

From 1.15pm - 2.15pm, the whole school went about its daily routine WITHOUT POWER! Based on a suggestion by the School Eco-Team, everything was switched off.










The computers...










The photocopier...










The interactive white boards...










The lights...









And even Mr Pearce's stereo!

And do you know what happened? Nothing! All the children had a great time singing, orienteering and doing nature studies. It certainly made all of us think.
Many thanks to Mrs Exton and her Eco-Team for putting forward such a great idea.