Independence Day

June 2014
Mon 30th
	Rehearsal for PG... All day taking groups out
July 2014
Tue 1st
	Pre Prep Fun swim
	Year 5 trip to The Workhouse
Wed 2nd
	Salterford House Cross Country
Thu 3rd
	Years 3456 Swimming Gala
	No swimming for Years 1 and 2
Fri 4th
	Youth Games - finals for Gedling events

Friday is the 4th of July.  It is American independence day. 

History Behind the Holiday

In the beginning of U.S.'s history, 13 colonies were ruled by the King of England, King George III. These colonies were tired of having a king 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean. Two acts of defiance made history. Tea was purposely dumped into the Massachusetts Bay (this event, known as the Boston Tea Party, was a reaction by the people to England raising their taxes) and, in Boston harbor, British soldiers fired into a crowd after being jeered and stoned. The number of people killed was exaggerated (only a few people died), but the event became known as the Massacre.







Happy Fourth of July!
The Big Vote

Virginia took the first step and voted to set up a group to represent the colonies. The first meeting was in 1774 and a draft of a document that would give them freedom from England was written. This document, called the Declaration of Independence, was considered treason and the 56 men who signed it were in some serious danger of being executed. But, they stood by what they believed in - the right to independence.
The First Fourth of July

Things didn't happen overnight. It took years for the final draft of the Declaration to be written. At the same time, the American Revolution was taking place. The draft was finally accepted on July 4, 1776. Over the next month, the document was read to the public and people celebrated whenever they heard it. In 1783 the war finally ended and Independence Day was made an official holiday.

Celebrations

Every July 4 Americans have a day off work and stuff themselves full of food at picnics. There are activities in the afternoon including baseball games, music and more food. Some cities have parades. Then, at dusk, people watch fireworks displays. This is one birthday celebration you don't want to miss.

Cranedale 2014 Day 4

Cranedale Day 4

Another gloriously dry day in the Yorkshire Wolds. 

The children spent today studying a course called “Field to fork”.  This involves learning about the importance of good quality soil, crop rotation and sustainability.  We started off in the classroom looking at all the ingredients of a meat feast pizza.  Each item of the meal would, at some point, start in the soil.  For example, a pig eats corn – corn grows in the soil.

After our lesson, we headed off to a local farm about ten minutes from the centre.  The farm is managed by Ruth.  Ruth is a straight talking, Yorkshire woman.  The children were introduced to the intricacies of animal husbandry and the realities of raising animals for meat. 

Ruth’s farm is home to an unusual breed of cow – The English Longhorn.  These are well known for their ability to eat rough coarse grass and also for their pleasant disposition. We managed to walk amongst the cows and even stroke them.  This took place under the watchful eye of the herd’s bull.  Jack found the cows a bit too friendly and was taken by Miss V to an adjacent field.  Mr Britten tried to take “a cow selfie”.  Having never taken a selfie before, the cow didn’t quite understand the concept.  When I get back to school, I might put the “selfie attempts” on the blog. 

After talking to Ruth, we spent the day exploring the farm and playing a variety of different games.  One game involved flapping like a bird and collecting worms.  James flapped with the rapidity of a humming bird while Callum preferred to swoop like an eagle. 

The children also looked carefully at “The Nitrogen Cycle” and played a fun game involving collecting stickers.  The stickers had various picture of places where Nitrogen can be found.  “I’ve ended up as poo!” exclaimed a disappointed Danielle although Max didn’t seem that bothered.  Henry managed to avoid the poo and ended the game as a beautiful flower.  All the sticker collections were gathered by Miss V and will be appearing in a geography book near you soon.

The sun has continued to shine on us.  There are many red faces, necks and even ears on display.  The group were positively glowing at evening meal.

Starter- Vegetable soup and roll

Main Course – Lasagne, garlic bread and salad.

Dessert – Fruit crumble

Cheese and biscuits

The children will spend the evening dissecting an owl pellet. They will then be setting a moth trap in the local park.  If there is any time left, they will also be watching a bit of football.

Cranedale Day 3

Cranedale Day 3

A slightly slower start to the day this morning.  A few sleepy looking children crawled into breakfast and quietly consumed their fry up and cereal. 

We have spent most of the day exploring the North Yorkshire Moors. The learning has involved looking at ways nature adapts to its surroundings.  The area of the moors where we were studying is about an hours drive from the Cranedale Centre.  We set off at about 10.00am and it was not long into the journey when the sound of snoring could be heard from Bryce.

Refreshed from his power nap, Bryce with all the others climbed off the bus and began a walk down a “v-shaped” valley looking for water.  During the walk down, the children found various dead animal skeletons and took the opportunity to take many photos.  Euan and Jack attempted to take the most artistic photograph.  James had other ideas.  He decided he would record his thoughts on video.  Obviously inspired by Bear Grylls, James became more enthusiastic as the journey went on.  Even after his fifth fall of the walk he was still determined to record every moment.

The children were shown how to safely grab a nettle, eat sorrel and wipe themselves with moss.  This last skill would prove useful after the children discovered that there were no toilets on the moors and we would be spending six hours away from the centre.

Something wonderful occurred at 12.10pm.  An object was spotted that has not been seen by Salterford children at Cranedale since 2010. The sun made a welcome appearance.  Not only did it appear, it stayed with us for the rest of the day.  After four years of moaning about the rain, it would be churlish of me to moan about the sun.  But it was a bit warm.

At the bottom of the valley, the children found a stream and were given the opportunity to find various life forms present. Flies, nymphs and shrimps are easy to find.  Fish are a rarer commodity.  However, there was much excitement when Callum, Macy and Danielle all found fish.  Ryan, however, topped the lot when he found a frog.  Miss V remarked that no one had ever found a frog in twenty plus years of coming to Cranedale.  This needed investigation.  Textbooks were scoured, Google searched and field study charts perused. It came as a bit of a disappointment when it was finally discovered that we had found, the obviously misnamed, a “Common Frog”.  One in twenty years?  Not that common!

Evening meal

After everyone had showered, it was time for our evening meal.

Starter – Tomato and coriander soup with a roll.

Main – Ham quiche, chips and salad.

Dessert – Fruit salad

Cheese and biscuits

It is fairly quite at the Centre at the moment.  Two schools left this afternoon.  They have been replaced by an A Level group from an all girls school in Kent.  Apparently the girls have been very excited to find out that there would be “boys” staying at the centre.  I’m not sure our current year six is what they had in mind.

Day 2 At Last

Cranedale Day 2

After a good sleep, most of the group were up already to go at about 7.30am.  Unfortunately, breakfast wasn't served until 8.15am so it gave them the opportunity to tidy their rooms.  Something tells me that the children won't be so keen tomorrow.

Breakfast consisted of a variety of different cereals, cooked breakfast, toast and orange juice.  Many empty plates later and we were ready for our first activity of the day.

The children were given a short lesson on sea-birds and how to spot them.  The varieties included the fulmar, herring gull, kitty wake, puffin, gannet and razorbill. 

It is with great sadness for me to report the death of a ancient tradition.  Generations of children has found great delight upon hearing the name of a certain black cormorant.  I'm sure all parents reading this will know which bird I'm referring to.  However, this morning there was not a smirk, giggle, nudge, wink or guffaw. Clearly, language has moved on and this joke is now well and truly dead.  I can only hope that the seventh planet in the solar system can hang to its status amongst children.

The reason for the lesson was soon clear.  We were on our way to Bempton Cliffs.  Bempton is a RSPB protected area which is the nesting place for thousands of sea-birds.  The children were given a set of binoculars and spent most of the morning spotting a variety of different birds.  Only one variety proved difficult to spot – the puffin.  We were about to give up all hope of spotting one when two appeared on a cliff about 20m from where we were standing.  This encounter lead to an amusing conversation between Ryan and Jack.  The puffin's colourful beak is designed to attract a female companion.  After the mating season, the male puffin discards its beak. 

“I'd keep mine all year” said Jack.

“I bet you would!” said Ryan.

After the excitement of the puffins, we got back on the bus and drove a short distance along the coast to Flamborough Head.  We had lunch on the top of the cliff and then made our way down nearly 200 steps to the bay at the bottom.

The children spent the first part of the afternoon looking at coastal erosion and landforms.  Flamborough is famous for its arches, stacks, stumps and wave-cut platform.  The children had a lesson in an open topped cave and were able to remember various different methods of erosion.

The second part of the afternoon was spent looking at the variety of different species who have made the rock pools their home.  This allows them the opportunity to learn about life cycles and food chains.  There is another name for this activity - “The Great Salterford Crab Hunt”.  At first, it seems like we were to be unlucky.  The crabs were ready for us and had hidden themselves well.  It took a good twenty minutes to find our first one.  However, after that first find, it became much easier.  We even found a lobster which was mainly blue in colour.  Despite Mr Britten's protests, the  lobster was returned safely to the sea instead of going to the kitchen at Cranedale.

After all the fun, we climbed the 200 steps back to the top and decided we needed a reward for all our hard work.  Luckily, an ice cream kiosk was conveniently positioned at the top of the steps.  Dylan bought his body weight in ice cream whilst Francesca consumed a mountain of raspberry ripples complete with flake, sauce and sprinkles.

Evening Meal

Starter – Minestrone soup and a roll

Main Course – Roast pork, roast potatoes, carrots, peas and gravy

Dessert – Chocolate sponge, chocolate sauce and cream

Cheese, biscuits and grapes

Our evening lesson was called “Stop Motion Animation”  The children used ipads and plasticine to make short animated films about food chains.  Max, Dylan and Euan would probably still be making their film now if given the opportunity.  I'm sure we can expect them to grow up to be the next Wallace and Gromit.  I hope they like cheese and crackers.

Cranedale Day 2

We are all having a great time.  The weather has been O.K and the food excellent.  I'm having a problem uploading yesterdays diary entry.  Hopefully, it will on here sometime this afternoon.

Cranedale 2014 Day 1

Cranedale Day 1

We set off from school just after 9.00am and made very good progress up the A1 towards Yorkshire. Despite the positive weather forecast, Mr Britten was a bit perturbed by the appearance of a few rain drops on the bus window.

The driver announced at 11.00am that we were only 2 minutes away – a new record! The only problem was that we were in the middle of an industrial estate and 8 miles from the Cranedale Centre. The Sat-Nav was the culprit. The postcode to the centre ends with the letters BD, the driver had entered DB. A simple mistake which ended up with us being in the wrong location. Luckily, he had typed YO and not OY or we may have ended up lost in Germany.

After arrival, we had a quick tour of the centre. The children have four locations to remember – bedroom, dining room, common room and classroom. There are other minor locations such as bathroom, drying room and boot room. If your child come home dirty with wet clothes, you will be able to work out which rooms they failed to find.

Lunch had been pre-ordered. It was a picnic lunch of sandwiches, crisps, doughnuts and fruit. All was quickly consumed and we were able to unpack and get prepared for the afternoon session.

The afternoon was spent locally. We started off with an orienteering lesson. An understanding of maps and compass points was of utmost importance. The children worked in pairs, following a series of letters hidden around a large area of fields, woods and paths. James and Jessica formed a formidable partnership and were victorious. Everyone else worked very hard and improved their map reading skills. Maybe the coach driver could do with a week at Cranedale.

The second part of the afternoon was spent on a low ropes course. The children have to work as a team to navigate across a series of obstacles. Communication and cooperation are the key skills needed to be successful. “I'm the only one working as a team” claimed a voice. After about an hour of falling, laughing, swinging and more falling, the children began to appreciate the importance of team work and finally began making progress.

Evening meal

One of the many highlights of coming to Cranedale is the superior food on offer. The children have a choice of breakfast and lunch that can please even the fussiest of eaters. Evening meal is a four course affair.

Starter – Leak and potato soup with a roll

Main – Jacket potatoes with a variety of toppings (butter, cheese, tuna, beans, sausages, vegetable curry, salad)

Dessert – Pineapple upside down pudding with custard

Cheese and biscuits

The evening activity was a picture trail. The children were given photos of different locations around the centre. They had to find the location the photograph was taken and answer a question related to the location. It was a lot of fun and gave the children the opportunity to become better acquainted with their surroundings. Rosemary and Max answered the most questions and were promised a prize sometime later in the week. Maybe an ice cream at the beach tomorrow!

The weather forecast continues to promise a rain free week. However, Mr Britten is sure the infamous purple cagoule will be making its annual appearance...

Cranedale Week

Mon 16th
	Year 6 visit to Cranedale for a week
Tue 17th
	Year 6 visit to Cranedale for a week
	Y5 trip to the Peak District
Wed 18th
	Year 6 visit to Cranedale for a week
Thu 19th
	Year 6 visit to Cranedale for a week
	Year 3 to swim at 9a.m. with Year 5
Fri 20th
	Year 6 visit to Cranedale for a week
	Pre Prep trip to Brackenhurst

Year 6 are away from school this week at Cranedale. There will be daily updates of their adventures on the blog.
Here are a few photos of their home for the week.

We always have a fantastic time at Cranedale.  However, we don't often get the best weather.
This week's forecast, whisper it softly, looks good!

Sporting Action

Two teams have been in action at school this week.  Enjoy!

World Cup Starts on Thursday

June 2014
Mon 9th
	Y6 Holocaust Trip
	Y 1/2 Tennis Festival
Tue 10th
	Junior Athletics - Alexander Stadium
	No swimming for Pre Prep and Year 3
Wed 11th
	Y5/6 Tennis Festival
Thu 12th
	ISA mini tennis
Fri 13th
	9.45am Year 6 Class Photograph
	Year 2 Time Travelling at Southwell Minster

This week, the World Cup starts in Brazil.To get everyone in the football mood, Mr Britten has chosen his top five World Cup goals.  "I have only chosen goals from my lifetime, so 1970+"

In reverse order

Goal 5 Michael Owen England v Argentina 1998



Goal 4 Archie Gemmill v Holland 1978



Goal 3 David Platt England v Belgium 1990



Goal 2 Diego Maradona Argentina v England 1986



Goal 1 Denis Bergkamp Netherlands v Argentina 1998



I absolutely love the Dutch commentary on the last goal!

Let's hope we see plenty of goals in Brazil as good as these five.