Our York trip got off to a fantastic start! After arriving safely, we enjoyed our lunch in the YHA cafe. Before long, we were on our way towards our first venue: The Dig. At The Dig, we learnt all about archeaology and Viking artifacts. Many were found from York itself. On our hands and knees we had a go at using a trowel to uncover our own historical finds. Our next adventure began at the Jorvik Centre where we were shown around and treated to a private viewing of the time capsule exhibition that has been recently installed. A ride in the underground model village was an absolute thrill. Afterwards, we were given two talks about some of the recognisable artefacts on show and how money played an important role in trade. Once back at the hostel, we had dinner and then completed our final activity of the day: designing and making our own viking shields demonstrating our understanding of Viking motifs. After a much needed sleep and a generous breakfast, we got started on our 2nd day’s activities. Our class began by decrypting runes from an old eipic. Then, we enjoyed performing famous Norse mythology about Valhalla and Ragnarok. Our final activity before lunch involved working as a team to build viking longships and then racing them against each other.
In our mathematics, we have finished our decimals unit by rounding to 1 and 2 decimal places. With great concentration and imagination, we have started our independent writing relating to The Explorer by Katherine Rundell. In PE, we have continued to perfect our balance; specifically, we practiced and demonstrated partner balance including some counter balances.
Across the wider curriculum, we have developed our use of microbits to include programming techniques such as selection, iteration and variables. Many in the class programmed their microbit to, upon the input of a shake, play rock, paper, scissors. In History, we learnt about Alfred the Great and the vital role he played in history. We explored, researched and discussed how he earned his namesake.
With rhythmic timing and enthusiasm, we learnt about a new composer: Anna Meredith. She is a Scottish composer who writes electronic and acoustic music. She likes to work with orchestras, bands and choreographers to create music that uses clapping, stamping, shouting and beatboxing instead of instruments.