Brentwood Preparatory School Magazine

54 Brentwood School Preparatory My Trip to South Weald Park Den Building In this exercise, I learnt that making a waterproof shelter is quite hard. To make it waterproof, you either a) have loads of sticks or b) skilfully weave leaves onto your den. Whichever you choose, you’re in for a challenge! The small dens are best because they conserve body heat. Doing this exercise, I realised how important it is for animals to have warm and waterproof shelters. I know this for a fact because while we were making the dens, it started pouring with rain! Insect Investigation Doing this made me think about how many insects there are in England alone. There are so many types you could faint just thinking about it! There were 3 ways to find bugs. One of them was basically just digging for underground denizens. Another was to turn over logs and see what magical mini beasts you would find. The last way was to shake trees. You would put a white sheet underneath a low branch and shake it. Because the sheet was white, the insects showed up well. Someone found a purple beetle. Someone found a newt! And our group found a green caterpillar. What next? Meadow Creatures We had nets and a long, long meadow... The only right thing to do is to look for insects! I learnt that they are so many left unseen and that any day scientists could find monster/alien/ (most likely) new bug. We ran as fast as we could and then came back. Next we peered into our nets and saw what surprises awaited us. Mostly, there were grasshoppers but for the first time I saw ladybird larvae! I thought about how the bugs feel when we catch them in a net... Hmmmmmm....... Holes for Moles and More We saw how animals live underground and their homes. I learnt that underneath the soil all the tunnels connect. Is that not amazing? Moles, badgers, rabbits and more all live underground. We had to tiptoe so we didn’t disturb the animals. I mean, imagine if someone started to thump on your homes. So shush! Some of the holes were so big that you wouldn’t want to fall in but some were so small you couldn’t see them! Lucy and I, on the way there, made a funny story about us falling into a badger sett and looking at the separate chambers. My Year in 4SF This year has gone by very quickly. It seems like yesterday we arrived in the classroom with Miss Frank for the first time. I have many memories from this year in 4SF. I like to go to school to see all of my friends, some are in my class but others are not. In the classroom I sit next to Johnny, Anna-Kaye and Felix. Felix makes me laugh. My favourite subject this year at school is maths because Mrs Ombok makes it super interesting with fun games at the end of the lesson. I really like dealing with anything to do with fractions like simplifying or making equivalent fractions. Through the year I have read lots of books. My favourite book was called “My naughty little sister” by Dorothy Edwards. In science I have really enjoyed watching the baby chickens, only one has hatched so far, we are still hoping some of the other eggs will hatch. I also love art, Mr Garrett has taught me lots of new things. In school we have had lots of visitors this year. I liked Viking day where we helped to make a boat out of wood and metal along with a shield that I made with Anna-Kaye. In the school grounds lots of things have happened this year. I will never forget the Wednesday in the playground when Isabella was eating an apple and then she choked on a apple seed!!! Delilah, Jessica and I helped Isabella. Delilah went and got Mrs Long. Jessica and I calmed Isabella down. Christmas is always a nice time of year at school. Year 4 did a Christmas Play, 4SF were angels in the play. The annual Christmas fair is super fun you play lots of games, buy nice bows and lots more, and the most fun for me is face paint because you get to feel the Christmas spirit. I enjoyed the trip to South Weald Park where we did pond dipping. It hadn’t rained in a while so it was difficult to go pond dipping. So we had a tour of South Weald park instead, it was very hilly and dry. In enrichment week year 4 stayed over at the school, on the fields. First of all we were put into groups of 4 to set up tents. We were then put into 3s to sleep in the tent. I was with Delilah and Corrinne, we had lots of fun. In assembly this year I won most improved gymnast. It was a gold medal with bars and rings on it. I enjoyed representing the school in netball, I played C or WA in most games. Next year I will try to put my hand up more to share my ideas in class, the reason why I don’t put my hand up is I think somebody might laugh at me. I will also read more difficult books. I also want to improve my cross country running so that I come in the top group each time. But for now I am looking forward to my summer holidays! By Olivia Toms A Fly on the Wall - Year Four