Round the World Clipper Race

Reported by Adnan and Lloydie, Year 6

This morning, on 9^th January 2015, we had the chance to go on a real life Clipper boat, named Garmin. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

When we arrived at St. Katharine’s docks, a man named Jim met us, he was the skipper of the boat. He introduced us to the boat and showed us around every nook and cranny. We started off my using the grinder to pull up the yankee sail. This was a competition, and luckily the boys seemed to win! After was very exciting…we went below deck to have a look at how they slept, ate and played. The living space was very small, and because there were not enough beds for everyone, they had to ‘hot bunk.’ This means that it is always used, by more than one person! In the kitchen, there were two taps; one was for salt water, which you would use for washing up, and the other was drinking water. They had a special mechanism on board that turned the salt water from the Sea around them, into drinkable, pure water. Cooking was particularly tricky when the ship is rocking from side to side, so the oven and hob were on a see-saw, which meant that the pots and pans would always be upright.

Once we had looked inside, Jim asked us if we would like to climb out through the escape hatch. We all shouted “Aye aye!” We had to climb a ladder straight upwards on to the deck again. It was quite tricky, but a brilliant experience!

It was then time for question and answers with the skipper and his crew. We asked him if he has ever seen an iceburg, he replied that he has, in the North Atlantic ocean. He also informed us that on the race, they visited over a whopping 40 countries!

The trip was then over and it was time to say goodbye, but not before a quick photo up on deck!

Thank you very much to Jim and the rest of his crew for showing us around and GOOD LUCK for the 2015-2016 race!

Winter Fair

 

Today at Robert Browning, we had our Winter Fair and what a fantastic day it was! We kicked off the Winter celebrations with whole school and choir singing, as well as a performance from the KS1 nativity. We were then lucky enough to see a brilliant performance from Frozen by Foundation stage and an amazing dance by our dance club!

After everyone had finished their wonderful performances, it was time for the fair to begin. We had everything from popcorn stalls, to candy floss and even gingerbread decorating! A HUGE thank you to all members of the PTA for their help and support throughout both the planning and the event itself. 

Take a look at some of our photos...

Ice Skating at the Natural History Museum

Years 5 and 6 are ice skating at the Natural History Museum today. We are having a brilliant time (once we learn how to stand up!)

                              

                             

 

Mental Maths Bootcamp!

Complete this mental maths boot camp at home, just click on the day and complete it every day for 2 weeks to improve your mental maths skills!

Created by Compare4Kids

Copyright Compare4Kids (UK)

Clipper Round the World Race comes to Robert Browning!

Wow! IN Years 5 and 6, we were lucky enough to have a visit from Jim, a former crew mate on the Clipper Round the World yacht race! He told us all about his journey from London, via Africa, South America, Australia, Asia and North America all the way back home!

Here are some of the questions that we asked Jim, during his time with us:

Micah: Which was your favorite destination?
Jim: Sydney, when we took part in the Sydney to Hobart boat race!

Quayyum: Who inspired you to take part in the race?
Jim: Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the man in charge of the Clipper race, and the first man to ail the world non-stop single handedly!

Sarah: What was it like living with so many other people on board?
Jim: Everyone was different and brought something different to the boat, which was great. We obviously would fall out and disagree but as soon as a huge wave came we would have to put it all behind us and get on with it. They were a great bunch of people!

Ben: Did you get to sleep often?
Jim: Everything was done in 3 hour shifts, so you would have 3 hours up on deck, working and navigating, then 3 hours to sleep, wash and eat, and again, and again...

Hameed: What was the scariest part of the race?
Jim: When the spinnaker sail became stuck. I had to be hoisted to the top of the mast and try to unravel it. It was so windy and incredibly high. I was exhausted and terrified!

Top Tips for the Grid Method!

In years 5 and 6, we have been learning to use the grid method of multiplication in Numeracy. We have become experts! Not only can we use the grid method for multiplying 3 or 4 digit numbers, but we can also use it to multiply decimals! 

Here are Ajdin's Top Tips to becoming a Grid Method expert:

Step One- lay out your grid

Step Two- Place your numbers on the grid in the correct place (remember to partition them)

Step Three- Calculate the answers one by one. You can start in the top left grid and then top right and work your way down.

Step Four- Add the answers up in their columns. 

Step Five- Once you have your  answers at the bottom,  draw the column method of addition at the the side and put your totals in (you have to make sure you line the numbers up).

Step Six- Add them up to get your answer.

Step Seven- Give yourself a pat on the back!

We have met Michael Faraday!

Today, all of the classes in Years 5 and 6 travelled to the Science Museum as part of their Science unit this term, electricity. We took part in an energy competition to discover lots of exciting facts about energy on our planet today. We also had the opportunity to meet Michael Faraday, the father of electricity. He taught us about electrons and how they move. We also learnt about Benjamin Franklins first encounter with electricity...lightning!

Here are some fascinating facts that we have learnt today:

"Electrons are TINY and negatively charged" Joey, Year 6

Christmas has arrived on East Street Market

This afternoon, the Christmas lights were turned on on East Street market for the start of advent. The choir and after school club were asked to perform a few christmas carols at the event and they did a fantastic job! Plenty of market stall traders and shoppers stopped to listen to their beautiful singing and join in the celebrations. There were even mince pies and presents for everyone!

Take a look at some of our photos and video!

Year 6 School Journey Video

Take a look at the video of our Year 6 children going on School Journey in September! They had a fantastic time, but now they will be passing on their knowledge to the Year 5's who will also be going to Kingswood in September.

There will be a meeting for Year 5 parents on Wednesday 3rd December 2014 to learn more about the school journey and have any of their questions answered.

Its a Viking Raid!

Last week, the children in Year 6 used their knowledge of Viking weapons and raiding techniques to plan and carry out their own raid!

On one side of the playground, we had the Vikings, straight off their boat from Scandinavia.

On the other side, we had the English villagers, ready to defend their homeland. 

It was a long, tiring battle; the Vikings appeared to be winning with the use of their double edged axes and meter long spears, but then the English caught them by surprise with their archers hiding in the bushes!

Here are some photos, take a look and then leave a comment telling us who you think should win the battle!

British Museum

Last week, Years 5 and 6 visited the British Museum to learn even MORE about Vikings! We discovered Viking artifacts, a buried ship and even jewelry. Take a look at some of the photos...

Wire Modelling

In Years 5 and 6, we have been learning how to use wire to model figurines. As our topic is The Seven Seas this term, we have been creating passengers from the Titanic and molding their figures from wire. 

Next week, we hope to cover them in newspaper and then mod-roc over the top. After that, we will add clothing and paint on the features. Keep checking our blog to keep updated!

Endangered Species Dress Up!

Today has been Endangered Species dress up day at Robert Browning and all of the children made a brilliant effort! From Sea Lion's to Panda's, our corridors have been full of endangered species from all around the World. 

Not only did we all dress up, but we had a Harvest Assembly to raise awareness of our school charity, Seeds for Africa. In preparation for the assembly, everyone made a leaf out of recycled materials, then on the count of 3, 1....2.....3........

What a magnificent sight!

It has been a fantastic day and all the children have made such an effort with their costumes, but we had to choose one winner from each class overall.

Take a look at the winners from Year 5 and 6...

               

        

               

         

Tea Party!

It was Years 5 and 6's turn to host their Parent and Carer Tea party today, and it was a huge success!

Not only did our special guests enjoy refreshments and some cake, but they had the opportunity to join a book club! We discussed our class novel of 'Kensuke's Kingdom' with the Parents/Carers, sharing our favorite characters and chapters, as well as listening to their views on the book.

After Book Club, it was time for some Humanities skills, so together with our visitors, we mapped out the journey that Michael made with his parents on the Peggy-Sue. We managed to find Rio Di Janeiro, Cote D'Ivoire and even Fiji on our maps (with a little help from our adults)!

Thank you very much to all of the Parents and Carers that attended the event and we look forward to seeing you at the next one!

Who is your favourite author?

In Year 6, we have been thinking about who our favourite authors are. We have been thinking about everyone from Roald Dahl to Jeff Kinney!

We have created a survey below for you to vote for your favourite author. Have a go!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Monster Mash Party!

After much preparation and planing, the ASC club celebrated their Monster Mash party last night. There were plenty of ghoulish games and freaky food, with many prizes to be won! The children had a fantastic time and even had the chance to show off the brilliant masks they made last week, as well as those amazing dance moves!














ASC Club runs on a Monday from 15:30-16:30pm with Miss Saunders-Cross

Ahhh! Viking Invasion!

Don't panic, but the Vikings have invaded Years 5 and 6 at Robert Browning!

As part of their Creative Curriculum topic 'The Seven Seas,' Years 5 and 6 have been learning all about the Vikings, from what the climate was like in their homelands, to what they ate whilst sailing the Seas!

Last week, the top floor was turned into a Viking settlement, and our Year 6's had to live a day in the life of the Vikings. All of them had to change their names to new, Scandinavian names, and complete all of their daily work and chores. 

This included:

• weaving a new roof
• washing and mending clothes
• baking bread
• grinding rye
• picking crops
• feeding and cleaning the animals

It was a hard days work, and the Year 6's realized that being a Viking was tougher than they thought! 







Keep checking to stay updated with what is going on in our Viking settlement on the top floor! 

Primary Proms

Blog written by: Ashiyah, Year 4 Iguana Class

Yesterday, 500 people were at the Royal Albert Hall, maybe even more, because of the Primary Proms! The Primary Proms is run by Music for Youth, and is a School Music Festival at the Royal Albert Hall on 10^th, 11^th and 12^th November 2014.

Children from Years 4 and 5 are going to be singing in the Primary proms, so we went to look around the Royal Albert Hall. This is so we wouldn't be shy when we went there on the real day!

There were so many schools there from all over England, and lots of teachers who were dancing to the singing! We were really lucky because Barney from Blue Peter also came to speak to us about performing in the Primary Proms. It was really exciting.

Now, we need to keep rehearsing at school so that we can sound brilliant on the day!

To find out more information about the Primary Prom, please speak to Miss Groves, or take a look at the website here.

Years 5 and 6 become Scientists!

Over the past week, each of the classes in Years 5 and 6 have been visiting the L'Oreal Young Scientists Institute at the Royal Institution. They had been using their knowledge of changing states to create their own lip balms and bath bombs!

  

We started by making sure we all looked like real scientists, so we popped on our white coats and safety gloves. After, we learnt all about the PH scale and tested different liquids for their acidity levels. It turns out that lime juice has a very high acidity level!

Before long, we needed to get working on our bath bombs, using all of the knowledge we had about acids and alkalies. We started by measuring out our citric acid and sodium bicarbonate, before adding a few sprays of witch hazel, and of course our colored dyes and scents. We had so many scents to choose from, from mint chocolate chip to coconut!

After lunch, whilst our bath bombs were baking, we learnt about how to make lip balm. We started by melting bees wax, from solid pellets into a liquid, this was then mixed together with either avocado or almond oil. Once our solution was got, we then had the opportunity to add our scent and colors. Vanilla was very popular!

We had a fantastic day at the Royal Institution, and have very much enjoyed testing out our lip balms and bath bombs at home!