This term, as part of our mountains topic the Base took a trip to Clent Hills. The children had a choice of the simple walk up the hill or the adventure trail to get to the top. The children chose the adventure trail.

There were balance beams,

Stepping stones,

Limbo bars,

and tall ladders.

Once we had walked through the adventure trail we found ourselves in a wide open space with beautiful views that everybody could appreciate.

After a long walk, everybody was feeling tired and hungry so we decided it was time for lunch so we found a perfect spot where everybody could relax.

After we had some food we decided to have a bit of fun so we did some hill rolling and exploring.

We even took the time to look out into the distance and rest for a while with Henry, our PAT dog.

We had a very long day with lots of adventures but we were very tired. It was time to take a slow walk back to the cars and drive back to school.

This week the whole school took part in internet safety day and to highlight the importance of internet safety, RB2 took part in and created a play centred around the safe and unsafe use of the internet.

The theme of the play was performed in the style of the 90’s tv show This Is Your Life. Oliver played the host of the show who took us on a journey on Sam’s (played by Oscar) history of using the internet while Nathan played different characters from his past.

Some of the very important issues raised in the play included online gaming and online chat sessions. It is interesting to note how some children use the internet without fully understanding the perils and dangers that could lie within. That is why days like this are a strong reminder of the positive things we can do to make children and parents aware of safer internet use at home and at school.

Last December, the school had an enquiry day and the theme was human rights. As part of a group, the children decided we should do a Christmas cafe after the success of our summer cafe. The children wanted to give all the proceeds to charity and it was decided that the chosen charity would be Refugee Action. Oscar was very confident and phoned the charity in London to request their details.

Fast forward a few weeks later and we were well into the final preparations for the Base Christmas Cafe 2016.

Hot chocolate was being mixed…

Cakes, wreaths and decorations were being made…

And we were ready for business!

Everybody had a wonderful time and all of our visitors were extremely impressed with all the hard work and effort put in by all of the children.

Once the cafe was finished we counted up all the money and managed to raise a total of £103.78. The children were really pleased that all their hard work paid and off and were able to raise money for such a worthwhile cause.

Last week the school received a letter from refugee action.

So a big thank you to all the children in the base because without their work we wouldn’t have had such an amazing event and thank you to all the mainstream children and staff who showed up and donated.

This week the West Midlands Fire Service came to the school to teach the children all about fire safety.

The base children were all very excited and answered some very interesting questions and made some excellent comments about fire safety, what the firemen do and how important their role is in society. They were even more excited once the sirens started blaring and really felt like they were part of what was an important demonstration.

This week the children are trying to solve a mystery. A strange suitcase has arrived in RB2 and it has been up to the boys to rummage through the contents and find clues as to who the owner could be.

We found some hi-tech binoculars,

Some earpieces,

a camera, clothes and a notebook containing case files for a very interesting case.

The boys compiled all of their clues and in true Sherlock Holmes style deduced that the owner of this mysterious package is a 12 year old child under cover in a school called Ashley.

To delve into this mystery, the boys are going to write their own story to determine what actually happened to Ashley and bust this case wide open!

In science this term, RB are learning all about light. So far we have been studying the sources of light and where it comes from…

The RB2 boys demonstrated how we see objects from a light source.

We also did an experiment to test how large shadows get the further away a light source is…

Here are their findings;

We will continue to shine a light on this phenomenon and research further to see where this exciting topic can take us.

Today in Forest School we were set the challenge to build a shelter. We were given tarp, rope, pegs, mallets, bamboo cane and all the resources of the forest. We split off into groups and selected the site we wanted to use for our shelter. Once we had made our plan, we collected the materials we needed from the store and set to work. As teams, we made fantastic dens, cooperating and creating together to achieve a shelter we could share together. Look at the amazing results!

We had an amazing morning with Google Expeditions! We used Google Cardboard glasses that have a device inserted inside. When you wear the glasses you are able to experience virtual reality and go to places you may never be able to in real life. First we took a tour of Greece, which we will be learning about this term. Next we dove underwater and swam with sharks. Finally we explored an active volcano! The children had an incredible time and were truly amazed at what they saw.

Here’s a great animation. Are you dizzy yet?

This week the whole school have been trying to solve a mystery that has left everyone baffled. A tent has mysteriously appeared in the tyre park and nobody knows how it got there or who pitched it…

RB1 and RB2 both went out to investigate the tent and its surrounding areas, what we found was interesting. We could hear some snoring from inside the tent and a note left outside.

This led to many, many different theories. Little Tommy B had his own monster theory,

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The children had a wander around the area and found what could be some interesting clues, some of the children suggested the authorities would be better trained for this kind of work…

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Once the children had a look and had some theories, we returned to our classrooms and discussed what we had found. Some children thought it may be time travelers, some thought monsters but most agreed on aliens.

I guess we’ll find out eventually…

In RB2 we have been writing information texts. We really enjoyed researching and writing about Roman gladiators. Miss Haddleton challenged us to design and write about our own ultimate gladiator to defeat her creation, Victorious the Great.

Below are our entries…

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Who do you think will be the champion?