Mummification!

 Source: 123gifs

Last week, we started to learn about mummification in Ancient Egypt. We played this fantastic (if rather gruesome) game, then wrote some detailed instructions, informing our readers how to mummify someone. Click the picture below to play the game again:

 Source: http://oi-archive.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/ED/mummy.html

Then, we found out about the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, which the Ancient Egyptians believed was the final test to see whether a person's spirit would reach the afterlife. We made some fantastic cartoon strips to explain what the Ancient Egyptians believed happened during the ceremony.

Source: gwydir/jo/egypt/anubis.htm

Can you remember which gods were involved in the ceremony?

Keep an eye on the blog- there will be some pictures of your instructions for mummification and your cartoon strips about the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony soon!

This week, we will be learning more about the afterlife- and starting a "mummification" project of our own! On Thursday we will be visiting the Horniman Museum to see some real Ancient Egyptian items- it will be a very exciting experience! Make sure you have returned your permission slip!

Stop the Clock 3!

Stop the Clock has become more difficult! Are you ready for the next level? Take on the challenge and try to 'STOP THE CLOCK'- it will now test you on 5 minute intervals (eg. 7:55 or 3:25), not just o'clock, half past, quarter to and quarter past. Good luck! Let me know how you get on!

Source: http://resources.oswego.org/games/stoptheclock/sthec3.html

More Animation!

On Thursday, we continued learning about animation. This week we used a program called 'Voki' to create some speaking characters. We had to work in groups to decide how the character should look, what they might wear, where they should be and how they would speak. Then, we used 'text-to-speech' to make our characters talk. It was quite tricky, as some words had to be spelled one sound at a time (phonetically) so that the computer could pronounce them properly.

Click the pictures to see each table's fantastic animations. These are all animations of Rhodopis from our class book- click to see what they think she would be saying!

 Table 1

 Table 2

 Table 3

Table 4

Table 5

November in St. George's Class

November is an important month. Every year we remember and reflect upon the impact that wars have had on people around the world. On 11th November every year, we stop what we are doing and remember those who lost their lives in war. This year is particularly significant and important because we are remembering that it has been 100 years since the beginning of World War One.

Last week, every child in the school made a poppy which was displayed in the hall. All the poppies together look very powerful and are a reminder of the importance of November this year. We were inspired by the poppies installed at the Tower of London.

 Source: bbc.co.uk

Here are our poppies on our prayer table, before they were added to the Remembrance display in the hall.

On Tuesday, there was a special service in school for Remembrance Day. We also had a competition to design a poster to mark the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War One. Here are our entries:

In November, we also celebrate Bonfire Night. We learned all about the story of Guy Fawkes in two special assemblies (well done, St. Peter's Class!) and for homework we made some beautiful firework art. Here are some spectacular pieces of firework art:

Wow! Very well done!

Ancient Egypt: Hieroglyphs

We've had another fantastic week exploring Ancient Egypt in St. George's Class. This week we learned about the Ancient Egyptian gods, learned how to read and write using the hieroglyphic alphabet and even played an Ancient Egyptian game called Seega.

We used this fun website to learn some of the 700 hieroglyphic symbols, then used them to write our own names. Click the picture to play at home:

We learned that pharaohs would have tablets with their names carved in hieroglyphs- they have often been discovered in tombs. These special tablets are called 'cartouches'. On Friday, we made some cartouches with our own names using clay.

Here are some great examples:

We played Seega this week- which is similar to noughts and crosses mixed with draughts! It was lots of fun and is easy to play at home if you would like to. Perhaps you could show someone in your family how to play.

 

Source: BM&AG

Ancient Egypt

We've started our exciting new topic! We will be learning all about the Ancient Egyptians this half term. There are lots of exciting projects coming up, all building towards our final extravaganza!

This week we began by finding out where and when the Ancient Egyptians lived. We researched how the society was structured and looked at some of the roles and jobs people had.

Yesterday we learned about Queen Nefertiti. We admired the famous statue of Nefertiti, then turned ourselves into Egyptian royalty! We took our photographs side on, then added spectacular headdresses and necklaces. They looked wonderful. We have a class of Pharaohs now!

Stop the Clock!

This week we have been learning to tell the time! Keep practising this weekend- tell your family what time it is, work out how long you have left until bedtime, or test yourself playing our new favourite game, 'STOP THE CLOCK!'

The fastest time we managed yesterday was 17 seconds (well done, Isaac!)- can you beat that time at home? Leave me a comment to let me know how quickly you managed to complete the game. Good luck!

Source: http://resources.oswego.org/games/stoptheclock/sthec2.html

Puppet Pals Animation

On Thursday we started learning about animation. This half term we will be making some animations of our own, using different techniques. We will be creating some films about Ancient Egypt... watch this space!

This week we used an app called 'Puppet Pals' to experiment with animation- we recorded the movements of the characters, selected and changed backgrounds and added voices to tell the story.
Here are some fantastic (and very funny) examples!

By Bella and Mia

 By D

By Emily

Fun Firework Game!

To celebrate Bonfire Night this week, why not try this fun Disney game? You can make your own fireworks display; choosing the fireworks, changing the colours, deciding when they explode and picking the music too! It's lots of fun and you can make some spectacular fireworks displays!

Source: http://www.disney.co.uk/disney-create/fireworks/

Firework Safety

This week I am sure you have been hearing lots of fireworks! Tomorrow is Bonfire Night.
I hope you all have a wonderful time watching fireworks, but follow these rules to make sure you stay safe.

Remember that fireworks are exciting and beautiful, but they can also be dangerous. We need to follow the Firework Code to make sure we enjoy fireworks safely. Click on the picture below to see the full Firework Code.

Source: bis.gov.uk