FRIDAY 3RD APRIL 2020 GORDONBROCK WEEKLY

Dear Parents/Carers and Children,

I hope you’re all keeping well and like the changes that we have made to the weekly since closing on Friday 20th March 2020.

Don’t forget to keep visiting the Gordonbrock School website. This week we have included a link on the learning page called “Keeping in touch”. There you’ll find something from your teachers.

Everyone at school has been doing 5-a-day fitness to stay fit and healthy, I hope you are doing the same at home too.

Mrs Wright.

Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Tree Now

Loveliest of trees, the cherry tree now Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten, Twenty will not come again,

And take from seventy springs a score, It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom

Fifty springs are little room, About the woodlands I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow.

A.E. Housman

It is an Easter tradition to wear white clothing and

in Housman’s poem, it is the cherry trees that are

dressed in white, first in blossom, then in snow. The

poet thinks of life, ‘threescore years and ten’. He

infers we should be enjoying the beautiful mo-

ments, not just in spring, but in winter too. This is a

‘carpe diem’ poem that urges us to ‘seize the day’.

Explore Meaning

bough Eastertide bloom score

‘Fifty springs are little room,’

How old is the poet?

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if

they were not familiar.”

Percy Bysse Shelley

Writer’s Activity:

Change either the nouns, verbs or adjectives in the poem. Play with different choices and consider how the meaning changes. You could create your own poem about the beauty of the world.

Can you solve these problems using the Bar Model method?

There were 30 biscuits in the tin.

Now there are twenty-five.

How many have been eaten?

Each week, we’ll be bringing you interesting Science news, facts and activities (which will require as little equipment as possible)!

1. Sprinkle pepper on the surface of the water in the bowl.

2. Put a drop of washing up liquid on the toothpick or your

finger.

3. Dab the toothpick or your finger into the middle of the

water.

What’s happening? The pepper will move away from the

toothpick/your finger.

Why? The pepper floats on the surface of the water because

there is an invisible ‘skin’ on the water created by surface

tension. When you touch the water, you break the surface

tension.

Surface tension in nature:

What do Lady Gaga and this treehopper bug have in common?

A strange looking insect known as a treehopper has been given an unusual name by Brendan Morris, who is training as an entomologist. He called the insect ‘Kaikaia gaga’ after the singing star, Lady

Gaga. Lady Gaga is famous around the world as an award-winning singer, but her outfits and costumes have attracted almost as much attention as her music. They certainly got the attention of

Brendan Morris, a long-time fan of the singer.

Entomologist: Entomology is the study of insects. An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects.

Gordonbrock has a great bunch of children with so much talent!

Lewisham Swimming Gala

Friday 22nd March 2019

There was a mixture of emotions among the swimmers as we got ready to go to the gala. The year 6’s, who have been before were more relaxed, while the year 5’s were nervous but excited. We were all grateful to Friends of Gordonbrock for providing the swimming hats this year. The Gordonbrock Logo made it easy for us to spot our swimmers in the pool.

There are no finals in the gala now, so we looked at our position in the heats and we were obviously interested in the times. Here are the results:

The relay races came at the end of the gala and this was also a very exciting event where four children had to work as a team. First, we had the Mixed 4x1 Freestyle Relay. Our swimmers were Eddie, Joseph, Casey and Daniella. Bit by bit the swimmers drew ahead of the rest of the teams and they finished in 1st place with a time of 84.71.

The mixed 4x1 Medley Relay followed and the swimmers were Butterfly: Eddie, Breaststroke: Joseph, Backstroke: Honor, Freestyle: Bea. This team came 3rd with a time of 1:40.

As usual it was a thrilling day, Jason and I enjoyed watching the children swim in this very competitive environment.

A quote from Esme summed up the day ‘I’m really happy I did that because I was really nervous before.’

Well done to our star swimmers: Cate, Eddie, Honor, Joseph, Casey, Daniella, Bea, Isaac, Esme, Lottie, Lauren and Vijeef. Thanks to Jason for coming with the team and cheering them on.

Name Event position Time Name Event position Time

Eddie Year 5 Freestyle 2nd 18.98 Eddie Year 5 Butterfly 2nd 22.45

Isaac Year 5 Freestyle 5th 24.56 Lottie Year 5 Butterfly 4th 27.37

Joseph Year 6 Freestyle 4th 24.33 Eddie Year 5 Breaststroke 3rd 26.76

Vijeef Year 6 Freestyle 6th 34.99 Isaac Year 5 Breaststroke 5th 39.76

Cate Year 5 Freestyle 2nd 20.66 Joseph Year 6 Breaststroke 3rd 27.37

Bea Year 5 Freestyle 1st 20.56 Vijeef Year 6 Breaststroke 5th 46.65

Casey Year 6 Freestyle 3rd 20.94 Lottie Year 5 Breaststroke 4th 27.58

Daniella Year 6 Freestyle 2nd 20.46 Esme Year 5 Breaststroke 6th 35.82

Eddie Year 5 Backstroke 1st 20.80 Daniella Year 5 Breaststroke 8th 32.20

Lauren Year 5 Backstroke 6th 30.65 Honor Year 5 Breaststroke 3rd 27.76

Honor Year 6 Backstroke 4th 25.18

Gill Norris, PE Coordinator

What did the big flower say to the little flower?

Hi, bud!! - Anonymous

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Fri 03.04 Last day of Spring Term

Mon 06.04 - Fri 17.04

Easter Break

Mon 20.04 Start of Summer Term

Fri 08.05 Early May Bank Holiday / V E Day

Tue 21.07 End of Summer Term

MRS WRIGHT’S READ OF THE WEEK

It’s A Great Big Colorful World by Tom Schamp

One winter morning, Otto the cat looks out the window and sighs, "Why is everything so gray today?" Luckily his friend Leon the chameleon is around to show him just how many colors there are in the world. In these exciting and funny spreads filled to the brim with brilliantly illustrated objects, Leon and Otto identify people, places, and things of every hue.

ONLINE SAFETY : TIP OF THE WEEK

Always ask your parents' permission before using your full name,

address, telephone number or school name anywhere on the

Internet.

Riddle...

Some months have 31 days, others have 30 days.

How many have 28 days?

Think, think, think !!

What becomes wetter the more it dries?

Buy Fruit & vegetables loose

In the supermarket, try to buy vegetables and fruit lose, instead of packaged in

plastic. You could even try to find a green grocers or farmers’ market near you.

This week in history… 1889: The Eiffel Tower, or the Tour Eiffel, was opened on 31st March 1889, and was the work of a Gustave Eiffel, who was a bridge engineer. It was made for the centenary of the French Revolution and was chosen instead of over one hundred other plans that were given.

1916 - 1918: World War I Battle Of The Somme.

1918: British Royal Air force is Founded.

1946: Hawaii Earthquake and Tsunami.

1959: The spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, has crossed the border into India after a 15 day journey on foot from the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, over the Himalayan mountains seeking asylum. This follows the Chinese repression of the rebellion by Tibetans in Lhasa. The Dalai Lama, is granted political asylum in India.

1966: Harold Wilson wins sweeping victory as the Labour party wins the general election with a majority of about 100 seats in the House of Commons.

1970: Banning of cigarette advertising on television and radio becomes law.

1981: First London Marathon organised by Chris Brasher is run.

1986: The GLC or Greater London Council is abolished after 97 years of local rule in London, England.

1999: Eleven countries in the European Union adopted the Euro as a common currency.

2000: Vladimir Putin was elected president of Russia.

2010: Apple Releases Ipad.