Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

Brentwood School Preparatory 50 My Fungi Trip to Thorndon Park We were guided around Thorndon Park by tour guides called Helen and Crow. This is my group. We learnt lots of facts about fungi. Facts We learnt that we can’t eat many types of fungi because some are poisonous. Fungi normally grow in autumn because they like the colder, wetter and darker weather. We found out that fungi needed water, sunlight, decaying wood and leaves to get food from. Fungi use mycelia to take in the food that helps it to grow. We found lots of different types of fungi. There are bracket fungi, earth balls and gill fungi. My group made a fungi picture out of leaves, sticks, bark and seeds. In the afternoon we learnt about trees. My group were given the beech tree to study. Facts about the beech tree We learnt that you can identify a beech tree by its trunk. It looks like an elephant’s foot. Beech trees produce a nut called the beechnut. It has a spiky outside and the nut is inside. They are a main part of forest animals’ food. Beech trees can survive for over 400 years. Build a pyramid In History, Year Three learnt all about the ancient Egyptians. They learnt how the Egyptians moved the heavy stones from the quarries to the pyramids by using wooden sleds and clay. Once the heavy blocks of stone arrived at the site, the highly skilled stonemasons fitted them into the perfect pyramid shape and topped it with a capstone. Year Three also learnt about mummification. It took 10 weeks to mummify a body and involved many grizzly processes like putting a hook up the nose and pulling out the brain. There were four special jars called Canopic jars that had four different heads. The human head held the liver, the jackal held the stomach, the falcon held the intestines and the baboon held the lungs. After all that learning it was time to put it all into practice. The school had a visit from an Egyptian who helped them to build a pyramid and prepare a mummy. It turns out all the children were naturals and a beautiful pyramid was built in no time! A Fly on the Wall - Year Three