December

In December we continued to work hard on our Transport Project.  We went on a few class trips and had fun completing experiments in school.  

Here we are outside the airport! 

Both groups got the chance to visit the Airport Fire Station.  We explored all the different vehicles including the Fire Trucks, Gators and Jet Skis.  We even got to watch the fire hose being sprayed.  The water tank could hold 10,000 litres and could be emptied in approx 2 minutes!  Now that's a lot of water!  

We also went on one of the planes and had a tour of the Cockpit.  There were lots of buttons and dials to look at.  We had a tour of the airport and were lucky enough to get a surprise gift of FlyBe waistcoats, lanyards and a sweetie.

Thank you Kirkwall Airport for having us! 

 We were also learning all about aerodynamics and made balloon rockets to try and make them fly as fast as we could and as far as we could by making them as aerodynamic as possible.  We had lots of popped balloons but it was all good fun! 

To learn about friction we set up some race tracks using a variety of materials including wood, paper, sandpaper, carpet and lino.  We made a ramp and measured how far a toy car traveled on each surface.  We strengthened our measuring skills as well as our team work within this task, 

Ian Richardson was also kind enough to let us visit his boatyard.  We learnt how boats are made and the techniques he uses.  This would come in handy in term 3 when we build our own longships.

Other things happening in December

We were busy organising our enterprise project - Christmas Cards and Gifts

We asked all pupils to draw a Christmas themed picture back in October and sent orders to a company south.  When the orders arrived we had lots of sorting to do.  We unpacked the big boxes and checked off all the items to make sure we received everything,  This was a time consuming task but worth it as we found out there was a few things missing!  Phew! 

We then separated the products into classes and then delivered them.  

Thank you to everyone who ordered a personalised Christmas product.  We raised some money for school resources and learned some good team work skills at the same time.

P4 and P5 went on a visit to the Orkney Monitor Farm this month.  Millburn Farm in Harray offers children the chance to come and learn about what farming in Orkney is really like.  We looked at what is involved in owning cows and sheep and also how to grow crops in Orkney.  It was really interesting and we all learned something new.  The weather wasn't great and it was quite cold but we didn't let it dampen our spirits.  We soon realised that Farming is a tricky job but very important if we want to have food on our plates!  

A Norweigan band came over to Orkney in December to play concerts around the time of the Kirkwall Tree lighting as part of the links between Orkney and Norway.  They played a range of tunes from all over the world.