Nature Walk

Today we were out on a walk with Lindsey Taylor from the RSPB to look at the plants and animals in the local environment.  We soon discovered there were lots of plants and birds near to the school and we learned the names of some of them.

Well done Anchor Boys

Well done to all the P1 Anchor Boys who were presented with a green badge last week.  Well done especially to Murray who got a plaque for good attendance and Ronan who was chosen as the Best Boy.

Owls

Yesterday we had visitors from the RSPB in our class.  They were telling us about how owls survive in Orkney.  We learned that owls are birds of prey and they have sharp talons and a sharp beak to help them catch and tear into their prey.  They eat small birds, mice and shrews but their main source of food in Orkney is the Orkney vole.  Owls can't digest the bones and fur of their prey so it is regurgitated.  This ball of fur and bones is called an owl pellet.  In small groups we worked with cocktail sticks and tweezers to pull the fur apart and see if we could find any vole bones.  We had to put the  bones onto a picture of a skeleton.  It was very interesting and we couldn't believe how many bones we found!  

Chicks

P1 have been making up their own 'chick character.'  They had to give their little chick a name and think about what it might like and dislike.  They then had the challenge of making their chick a home using junk materials.  We are now enjoying playing with the chicks and making a street with roads and houses in the sawdust.

Bendy Plants!

P1 have noticed that our plants are not just growing, they are bending too!  Through discussion, we discovered that they are bending towards the window to catch the sun.  We tried turning the tray around and guess what - the plants moved and started to bend towards the window again.  Miss Pirie said the plants in her greenhouse aren't bending and Sofia thought that would be because the sun is coming in the greenhouse roof so they point upwards.  I think we will need to move our plants into bigger containers soon.  Look out for them around the school.

The marigolds grew two round leaves first and have now grown two spiky leaves.