Month: June 2017

This term in history, we are learning about the Tower of London. This week, we learnt about William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The first part of the Tower was built soon after, in 1078.

We wrote letters from William the Conqueror to his builders, instructing them to build him the fortress.

Here are some of our letters:

Dear Builders,
I would like you to build me a fortress because I would like to keep those little London pests out. It should be built in London near the sea. It should be made from strong stone. The walls should be exactly ninety feet tall and fifteen feet thick. I’m writing this letter because I can’t come to London until the fortress is built. The windows should be so thin that only an arrow can fit through. There has to be a castle in the walls that is called The White Tower. Some of the stones should be from Normandy.
From King William the I.
(by Grace)

Dear Builders,
I want my castle to be in London. Make the walls to be ninety feet tall so those Londoners those nasty things don’t get in. I demand it to be made out of stone from France. Can the windows be small so the arrows can come out of the gaps?
From William the First.
(by Sebastian)

Dear Builders,
I want a tower to be built with stone from France. I want to have a castle because I don’t want any of those Londoners saying that I am not the king. So I need to protect myself. I want it to be built in London near the River Thames. I want the windows to be built like a cross so no people can get in. I need the walls to be very thick and tall as thirty metres.
From William the Conqueror.
(by Beatrix)

Dear Builders,
I need a castle built just outside London. I need it to have two hundred and ninety six steps on the stairs. The windows will be thin and it will be ninety feet tall. The walls will be fifteen feet thick. The stone will be from Normandy. There will be a huge wall around it with jails. I want those filthy Londoners thinking I’m strong and that I’m a good king.
From William the I.
(by Josh)

Dear Builders,
Build me a tower so it can protect me from those Londoners. It should be at the edge of London. The wall should be fifteen feet thick. The windows are narrow and the height is ninety feet high. Bring me stones from France because it is strong. I don’t want to die. You can also make it big and make an opening so good people can come inside. Build the tower big and build the tower strong.
From King William the Conqueror.
(by Danielle)

This week in maths, we linked our work on pattern and symmetry to Rangoli patterns, traditionally used in Hindu households to welcome guests. We worked in groups to create patterns, and challenged ourselves to create patterns with more than one line of symmetry.

Can you spot the lines of symmetry in these photos?

Here are some lovely photos of our class in international costumes.

Today we made Irish soda bread. Here are the instructions (written by class 2).
Ingredients:
One cup of flour
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
half a cup of yoghurt

Method:
Heat the oven to 200 C.
1. Measure the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Mix well.
3. Pour the yoghurt into the dry ingredients.
4. Mix well.
5. On a lined baking sheet, shape the dough into a ball with floury hands.
6. Cut a cross on the top.
7. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

We used bread to make sandwiches, choosing cheese, cucumber or margerine, or a combination!

Here are our favourite things about international week:

“We’re learning about Ireland and I’m from Ireland!”
“My favourite thing was when we learnt about the nature.”
“My favourite thing was when we got our picures taken because they were all pretty.”
“We got to wear different outfits. Mine was from Nigeria.”
“We got to take our photos because they all turned out really well.”
“We learnt the story of Finn McCool. I liked it when Finn McCool tried to throw a rock but he missed and it became the Isle of Mann.”
“I found out about the shamrock. It is the plant of Ireland and the three leaves look like hearts.”