Wet Birsay!

We had great fun at Birsay on Thursday 26th May. Anne Bignall talked to about the coast and we looked at how this shoreline is different from the one at Cara.
We learned how to look properly in rock pools and take care of the creatures we found by leaving their habitat as we found it. We made sure we put all the creatures back in the pools and were careful when we lifted the stones to find them. We didn't want to damage them as we replaced the stones!
We found different types of starfish, butterfish, a scorpion fish, lots of crabs and many other creatures.




These rocks have patterns of leaves on them and we wondered if they were fossilised.

Different types of starfish and a strange stone!

This one had strange holes in it. I wonder how they were made?

What type of worm could this be?

A shore crab and an edible crab (parton).   We had to be really careful catching them as a nip can be quite sore!

This was the biggest starfish we found and everyone loved the purple one!

We didn't mind the rain as we all got wet anyway! Some of us fell in the pools (it was slippery!) and some people's boots were too short!

Thank goodness for spare clothes and an understanding bus driver.

Lots of recording and identifying to do when we got back but it was an excellent trip. Many thanks to Anne Bignall for coming with us and helping us to find the best spots for rock pooling.

More trophies!

Gregor has been very successful at scrambling and has won a trophy - just waiting to get his name inscribed on it now!

Conrad has had a very successful year in the Boys Brigade this year with lots of medals and badges.

Well done boys!



A trip to the beach!

On Wednesday 18th May we went to the Ayre of Cara to investigate the shoreline. We were accompanied by Anne Bignall who is a ranger for the Scapa Flow Partnership group. We started at the totem pole and followed a map to find some points along the shore, spotting plants and other interesting things as we went.



The totem pole



Some of the plants we found.




Dandelion clocks are everywhere!

The strangest find of the day!

A buoy or a helmet?

Bendy seaweed

A bird's egg...

and some whelk eggs!

We stopped at a wrecked ship and learned all about block ships being used in the war.

When we reached the light station we learned that it was used to watch for German submarines in the war. Everyone thought this beach had been here for a long time and we were surprised to learn that it is only about 70 years old and just started to form when the Churchill Barriers were built.

We walked back along the shoreline, looking for shells as we went.
Now we need to get our seashore books out to do some identifying!

Knex workshop.

On Friday 13th Ruth Falconer came to set us a challenge with Knex construction material. She asked us to work in pairs or threes and build a Viking longship.
First we drew a plan and then we built the model. Good teamwork was needed and it was important to listen to each other's ideas too.

We all cooperated and worked really hard. When time was up we all had boats made - lots of different shapes and sizes, some with sails and some with oars!

Fingernotes

On Wednesday 11th May we had a music workshop with Mr Miller and Pete Sparks who came to show us a new way to read music. The system uses shapes and colours for notes and we found that it was easy to follow a rhythm or tune on our instruments.

First a warm up session, following the rhythm.

Concentrating on the xylophone!

Keeping the beat with percussion.

Even more medals!

We have two more great achievers in p4!

Craig won a variety of cups and medals at the Boy's Brigade recently.He was best recruit, had perfect attendance, won a sports medal and efficiency cup! Well done Craig.

Ryan won his medal for being first with 4 holes in a golf competition. It's great to see people trying out and learning new sports.

Jetski Challenge!

We're following the progress of the Orkney men who are raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support and the Make a Wish foundation by jetskiing all the way from Orkney to Monaco.
They will follow the coastline all the way down through UK, cross the English Channel, round the coast of France, Spain, Portugal, through the Straits of Gibraltar and on to Monaco.
We wish them lots of luck and good weather!
Follow their progress at:

http://www.europeanjetskichallenge.co.uk/map.asp