The fun we had!

I have attempted to make slideshows out of the photos that were taken last week. With 5 different cameras snapping away there is a considerable amount to sort through! Apologies if some of the photos seem duplicated.No fancy editing either I'm afraid - just pictures and music!
I have split the slideshows into activities to make it easier to upload as they would be too big otherwise.

Beach cleaning

During the last three weeks we have all given up some of our lunchtime breaks to go to Scapa beach where we have been helping to clear away rubbish washed ashore by heavy seas and storms.

The beach was littered with bits of plastic, rope, packaging cord and all sorts of assorted 'disposable' items.

Each time we went we found something different! The most upsetting thing was finding creatures that had died and wondering what had caused them to die. Some of us had never seen a puffin before so it was sad that our first sight had to be a dead one.

We came across several birds, a seal and a sheep.

Some of the bits of rope and plastic were buried quite deeply in the sand and it took some effort to get them out.

The boys made a sled with some of the bigger stuff and used it to haul our pickings one day!

Every day we went we half filled the big bin so it was a good feeling to think about how many marine creatures we might have saved and it was satisfying to see the beach looking tidier.

There is still a lot of rubbish along the side of the road so plenty to do yet! I wonder if the council could bring along a machine to scoop it up? I think it calls for some letter writing!

We have had a good response from our posting on the Pick up three Pieces facebook page and all publicity helps.

Follow the link below and if you have a facebook account please like and share the page.

Pick up Three Pieces

Another useful and interesting page to follow is the Orkney Beachcombers page:

Orkney Beachcombing

See some more images of our clean up in the slideshow below.

The Churchill Barriers

The Churchill Barriers were very important to the defence of Scapa Flow in World War 2 so we have been investigating how they were built and who built them.
We had a go at making our own models using wooden blocks of different sizes.

making the models ...

completed and painted!

Playground Design

As an introduction to a real life project that we will be tackling soon, we tried out a challenge to design an imaginary playground.
Working in groups we each had an area of the playground to measure. Next we decided on a scale to use for our plans which we were drawing on squared paper.
We needed to design a piece of playground equipment to put in our playground. to do this we used multilink cubes.
The designs needed to be drawn in plan, side and front view.

Christmas lunch

Wednesday was Christmas lunch day at school and we helped at the first sitting. The tables were decorated with crackers and set out like a party. We served the little ones their dinner, helped them cut their meat and tidy away the rubbish afterwards. Then it was our turn to eat!

Shelter building and canoeing

We had some preparation to do before we were ready to embark on our outdoor adventure. First we needed to be sure that we could build ourselves a shelter should we need it! We practised in school using modelling materials. We were allowed 15 spills, 1 metre of string, some matchsticks and a bin bag sized piece of plastic. Working as a team, sharing ideas and cooperating was very necessary for success in this task.

We tried different shapes of shelters and used the techniques we learned from Kim Foden's visit earlier in the term.
The next challenge was using real sized sticks and building shelters we could fit into.

See more shelter building photos in the slideshow below.


Now we were ready to try the real thing in the wilds of Harray! The weather was reasonably kind to us although the wind rose a peedie bit and meant we had to keep our canoeing close to the shore.
We managed to build two shelters of different types.

After the shelter building, it was time to get the canoes in the water. When we arrived at Harray loch we had to unload the canoes and learn how to carry them properly down to the water's edge. The Voyageurs in Northern Canada had to carry their canoes and supplies over many miles of rough country and snow. This is known as portage. Luckily we didn't have to carry our equipment very far. We were well dressed for the task with our waterproofs and buoyancy aids.

At last we were ready to launch!

We practised trading goods with our teams at the trading posts.

And all this before lunch!

There are some more images from our day out in the slideshow below:

We had a great day even though we didn't quite manage the campfire building due to time and weather. Many thanks to Ron and Ms Mackay for the experience and also to the parent helpers.

Corrigall Farm

On Wednesday 3rd October we visited Kirbuster and Corrigall farm museums. We wore period costumes so that we looked the part! 
After being shown round Kirbuster we went on to Corrigall where we were met by Mr Giles, drama teacher and 'minister' for the day!
Brian Flett took us around the farm and told us many interesting facts and stories and then we had a go at some chores. We cleaned up the barn so that we could eat our lunch indoors and prepared for the Orkney wedding that we were recreating in the afternoon. 
Watch the slide show and videos below to see how we got on.

 

We started the wedding celebrations with a procession down the lane to the barn. All the families followed the bride and groom and the last person dragged a besom for luck. 
Magnus and Jessie Ann said their vows led by the 'minister' and then we had the Bride's Cog and wedding feast. (No alcohol in this cog of course!)

We had a tune on the fiddles and a song by everyone and then we were ready for dancing.
We had the Grand March followed by Strip the Willow and Ninepins. There wasn't much room for dancing in the barn but we managed!
Check out the wedding and dances in the videos. Apologies for the quality and darkness of the videos but there was no light in the barn other than doorways.

                                       

                                      

Everyone had a most enjoyable day! Special thanks to Chris Giles for all his input, to the custodians and the parent helpers too.
For more information on the museums click the links below.

http://www.spirit-of-orkney.com/contents1a/2010/04/kirbuster-farm-museum/

http://www.orkney.gov.uk/Service-Directory/S/corrigall-farm-museum.htm

Stromness museum

On Wednesday 26th September we went to Stromness to search for evidence about the Hudson Bay Company and John Rae. We started our search by looking for plaques on buildings on the street. We found buildings that had been recruitment offices for the Hudson Bay Company and one that was a hospital for sailors coming home with scurvy.

We had a look in Logins well where the ships used to stock up with water before going on their expeditions.

Outside the museum

searching for evidence

John Rae's fiddle

Some moccasins with intricate Indian beadwork 

The scrimshaw on these tusks and teeth is amazing!

Inuit dog sleigh and reindeer - made from bone or ivory

We were particularly interested in the hunting weapons.

Eating our lunch