Mini Scientists at Margaret Wix Primary School

Read all about our awesome Science Week at Margaret Wix Primary School! Prepare to be amazed!

Monarchs have had a fantastic science week, immersing ourselves in workshops, investigations and lessons that have enabled us to learn more about the seventh UN global goal: to ensure access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for all. Over the course of the week, we have thought about how we use electricity in our homes and how we can try to reduce our energy consumption. We learned about a variety of renewable energy sources, including wind and hydropower, and modelled how these work by making our own wind turbines and water wheels. In addition, we had an amazing workshop with NHS Blood England that gave us the chance to test blood, learn about blood types and talk about blood in our bodies. We even took part in a virtual reality experience in which we became a scientist in a laboratory, involved in transfusions - it was a fascinating and unique experience!

Admirals Class have had a fantastic week looking at global goal number three: healthy bodies and well-being. We kick-started the week with an excellent workshop focused on pollination and how important it is. We learnt all about the key pollinators and played a game, which supported us to understand how pollen moves between animals, plants and fruit. We also had the chance to take part in a calming yoga session. We practised breathing techniques and ways in which we can support our mental health when feeling stressed or challenged. We also had great fun trying to balance in some of the trickier poses! In class, we have been studying the question, 'What would happen if we ate the same food every day?' We learnt about healthy, balanced diets, created bar graphs, and even designed our own healthy menus. We discussed the nutrients; fibre and vitamins needed to keep our bodies and minds healthy and watched an eye-opening clip about a man who ate McDonalds for 30 days! It has been a brilliant week immersing ourselves in all things science!

Cardinals class have enjoyed an amazing week of science. We started our week learning about what happens to all the waste we produce in our homes, places of work and recreational activities. We considered if the way we deal with waste currently is sustainable and what we can do to help reduce the amount of waste we produce. We found out about more environmentally friendly ways of dealing with all our rubbish, such as Energy for Waste plants (EfW's). We decided to write to our Prime minster to ask him to consider sustainable waste management as a priority. We looked at how all the animals and plants are connected to our own well-being and how even the earthworm is important to help us produce our food in nutrient rich soil. We found several of our wiggly friends on the school field. Did you know that Charles Darwin was obsessed by the earthworm? We have ended the week connecting our learning together and understanding how the waste and gases we produce are causing greenhouse gases that have negative effects on our local plants and animal and human populations. We are ready for action and know how to help!

In Science Week, Emperors Class have been focusing on the unit title 'Zero Hunger' and looking into answering the big question 'If we can grow our own food, why do people in the world go hungry?' We have spent some time looking at how all the different types of food are grown and the process some of them go through to get from farm to fork. We then discovered a list of reasons as to why, sadly, so many people in the world are unable to have access to some or most of these foods. We have touched up the negative effects on the environment that some processes have and we have begun to realise that it is best to eat local where we can. We have managed to tie all this learning really nicely into our geography unit and are lucky enough to be housing the gardening club's self-planters in our classroom. This has made for good discussion about how we can grow our own food. We then ended the week looking at how we can be more self-sufficient and understand the importance and process of food preparation by making our own bread! Alongside all of the learning we have taken part in an interesting workshop with Rothamsted Science to learn about pollinators, heard from a nutritionist about the importance of a healthy diet, and spent an afternoon with Miss Abbott designing and building bridges.

This week Hummingbirds have been learning all about life under the sea!  We have been making a class display, as we have been finding out more about all the different animals and plants that live there.  We have written fact files about the sea life, but also learnt about the threats posed to those lives.  We have loved drawing sea creatures and making different plants to add to the display and we can explain how important life under the sea is for the whole world. We also enjoyed a visit from a nutritionist who helped us all to look at healthy eating.

During the week, Firetips have had the best fun! We have loved having visitors from Rothamsted and we loved playing a game exploring pollination and the importance of creatures on land. We also enjoyed a visit from St Albans Community Pantry and learnt about food waste. We were very lucky to do some food tasting and even got given free bread! Yum! Yum! Our goal that we were focusing on was life on land. On Monday, we created animal masks after reading ‘Dear Zoo’ and had the chance to discuss the good points of keeping animals in captivity. On Tuesday, we created birdhouses that we are going to put out to help protect and keep our birds safe. Yesterday, we took part in a litter picking activity to ensure the environment is safe. Today we are creating fact files for the various animals we have spoken about this week. Wow! Even our littlest learners have smashed it!