Science

Welcome to the Lady Bay Primary School Science Page.

At Lady Bay School, we aim to provide children with exciting, interesting  and fun science sessions with plenty of practical activities and discussion around the subject, relating their studies to what is  - and has been - going on in the world around them. Certainly the past few years have brought  microbiology and virology to our attention! With Coronavirus restrictions now lifted, we are firing on all science cylinders, back to practical activities, collaborating in group work, going out on educational visits and aiming to offer plenty of magical science moments!

Science Subject Overview

Have you ever wondered how science learning develops through your child's years at Primary School? Why are they learning about plants again in Year 5 when they have already 'done' plants in Year 2? How many times does a person need to investigate animals and their habitats? The attached document might help you  to see the bigger picture - an overview of each topic covered per half term per year group, with each lesson subject and the skills being taught in that lesson. 

This is a work in progress and there may be adaptions and changes as we continue to review the curriculum, to make it as interesting and informative as we can  and to give the children the best start to their science education possible. 

Combined with the Progression Ladder, this should make clear the skills development from the very beginning in Foundation Stage through to  independent investigation and hypothesis in Year 6.  

Science Week 2024!

OK, so it is a bit early and there is another major event rapidly approaching before thisoccurs, but let's start preparing to make this Science Week one to remember! Science Week is actually celebrated over 10 days, from 8th - 17th March 2024. The theme selected for 2024 is .......... Time! This is a wonderfully broad theme because time impacts on every strand of science in the curriculum and beyond. If you work in a STEM - linked profession or have an interest/hobby that you could discuss with children, please keep these dates in mind as we will be calling for members of our community to share their science experience with the children. 

In addition, there is the annual Poster Competition!! We were not in the winning batch this year, so all the more reason to start thinking about Time- related possibilities: how the body ages over time; what happened to the dinosaurs?  Is time relative? How do fossils form over time? What time is it on other planets? etc 

Look on the British Science Week web-site to see this years winners. They are amazing!!! The bar is set very high - but you have plenty of time to cogitate and plan for a stunning poster! More info to follow, nearer the event.

Things to do - Rushcliffe Wildlife Watch: Bushcraft in Ruddington!

There are a lot of interesting events for families coming up, run by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Look at their website:  https://www.nottinghamshirewildlife.org/events

for more information.

The Bushcraft is at Rushcliffe Country Park on Saturday, 13th May 2023. It starts at 11am and finishes at 1pm and is for children from ages 8 - 13 years.

Science Week Poster Competition

Once again, there were some wonderfully creative entries for the Science Week National Poster Competition. There really is strong competition for these prizes and last year, we were VERY lucky to have a winning entry. This year, none of our entries have gone forward into the 'People's Choice' voting category - but if you want to see what did get through, have a look at the British Science Week  website - and perhaps put your vote in. We are still waiting for the completion of the judging in the Year Group categories - so fingers are still crossed!

It was all happening in Science Week 2023!

As usual, Science Week was jam packed with activity - not to mention that it was also Assessment Week, just to add to the brew! We were exceptionally fortunate to have some wonderful visitors, sharing their science life experiences and giving us an insight  into how science permeates all aspects of our lives. Thank you all so much ! I certainly learnt something from the sessions I was able to attend and there was a lot of interest and discussion after the visits. Have a look at some of the activities in the slide show .

Notttingham Festival of Science and Curiosity (6th - 17th February)

Science activities all over Nottingham if you'd like to give them a try! See their website for the programme of activities and their venues.

Science Week 2023 10th - 19th March

(13th -17th March in school!)

Once again, Science Week is rapidly approaching and the theme for this year is 'Connections' - which gives us plenty of scope to link some of the suggested activities with our science curriculum!

As usual, it is always a pleasure to welcome parents - and interested parties - into school to talk to the children about their links with science either as a profession, job, hobby of to lead a science-based activity. If you can volunteer to come into school during Science Week to lead an assembly or talk to individual classes, please send an email to the office or contact your child's class teacher.

Science Week - results of the Poster Competition!

It's been a long time since our Science Week on the theme of 'Growth', but the results of the Poster Competition have just been announced! This year, most of the prizes have gone elsewhere with some very good winning posters - which you can see on the 'Announcements' page of the British Science Association's website- but Thea from the Foundation Stage did receive a very interesting bundle of prizes for her lovely poster which was entered into the Popular Vote section! Well done, Thea!

Next year's theme has  already been decided and it will be ... Connections. Plenty of time to get thinking about how that could relate to different areas of science and to a really striking and interesting poster! 

Many thanks to all the scientists and technologists who gave their time to come in and talk to the children - it was fantastic to be able to open up the school to visitors again as it does make a real difference with children very engaged, enjoying the experience and most importantly, continuing to talk about STEM after the visits!

Just about every child in school was measured in many different ways to find the average Lady Bay Child in each class and year group. Creating that average child in paper proved difficult - there is still a strange green alien lurking in my classroom- but a lot of measuring, scale, calculating etc went on!

Looking forward to next year!

Here are  the five posters selected as our competition entries:

Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity

7 - 16th February 2022

Children will be coming home today with the Festival Magazine and Events Listing for this exciting event! Lots of activities in the magazine - and events happening in many different locations!  Extract DNA from a strawberry at the Meadows Library, admire the Garden of Just Because at the Broadway or undertake a 3D Antibody Challenge in Hyson Green!

Enjoy!

RSPB Great British Bird Watch 2022

Don't forget this year's Great British Bird Watch, January 28th/31st 

Sign up on the RSPB website:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/birdwatch-take-part/

Get your free bird identification kit and away you go! 

Science Week 2022

This year, British Science Week - actually a ten day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths - will take place between 11th - 20th March 2022. 

The theme for 2022 is 'Growth' - so plenty of scope for all manner of science activities and investigations and we can't wait for the activity pack to be released in January!

Although there is a theme, now that we can once more welcome visitors into school, it would be great if some of our parents involved in the sciences  - or in technology - could come in to talk to the children about their jobs/professions /hobbies, either in an assembly or to specific classes or year groups. We are very keen to encourage children to think about science outside of the confines of school  and to get an idea of just how many opportunities there are to use science in their futures. Do think about offering your expertise - we will be sending out more information nearer the time!! 

We have achieved the PSQM Award! (At last!)

Way back in 2019, the school embarked on a science journey that no-one could have expected would turn into a real marathon! Gill Willson and Nicki Crowe arrived at a school in Leicester in September 2019, enthusiastic, convinced that we were starting from a strong position with science teaching and learning and looking forward to collecting our evidence and having the portfolio done and dusted by the end of the school year.

But then there was a global pandemic - and that affected everything: how we could work, how we obtained evidence, who we could invite into school - and then there was home learning! It has certainly been a learning experience!

 So, nearly two years later, we have just heard that we have been awarded the Primary Science Quality Mark. Many thanks to the staff who have  provided photos, worked on practical science in difficult conditions, taken onboard the feedback from our visits to training sessions and produced some fantastic floor books!

Here is the press release sent today !

British Science Week 2021

British Science Week runs from 5th - 14th March and the theme for this year is 'Innovating for the Future'. As you will appreciate, we are still working around Corona virus restrictions and this will be our first week back as a whole school. To give all the children a little time to settle in and to get back into school routines without additional disruption, we have decided to postpone Science Week  until the Summer Term, when the weather will (hopefully!) allow us to use the outside space for investigations, activities and perhaps visits from scientists outside of school!

We are always very grateful  to parents who  come into school to talk to the children about their science - based professions and the children enjoy the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about the scientists and technologists amongst us! Nearer the time, if the restrictions have eased, we will be putting out a request for willing volunteers!

Watch this space!

Take part in the Big Garden Bird Watch for the RSPB ! 

Spend just one hour of the weekend from 29th - 31st January 2021 taking a tally of the different birds visiting your garden or that you can see from the window or balcony of your home!

Attached are an identification chart of the most common birds you are likely to see and a form to send off to the RSPB who will collate all the information to get a good idea of the British bird population! You can also complete this on line so look on the website!

Something to do on a lockdown weekend that will provide valuable scientific research data! Happy Birdwatching!

Year 2 and the Great Mini Beast Hunt - Science outside the classroom

Science Week 2020

Just before we went into Lockdown, we did manage to fit in at least some of Science Week 2020 - the theme was 'Our Natural World' but we included  a broader range of investigations and experiments. Here are some pictures of current Year 6 in their youth as Year 5! 

Science Week Homework

As part of our Science Week activities, children across the school were asked to do a piece of homework that related to the Science Week theme. The results were amazing, with a wealth of research, imagination and creative flair producing so many brilliant pieces, there were far too many to show here. Our aim had been to have an end of Science Week celebration, open to parents so that all of the work could be viewed. Hopefully next year, we will be able to fulfill this ambition. Meanwhile, here is just a snapshot !