It was an exciting start to a new week at Earls Hall today for the children in Year Three and Foundation Stage as they took part in two curriculum enrichment activities, one in school and one off site.

The children in Year Three spent the day investigating Ancient Egypt with the help of the team from ‘Portals from the Past’. The children and staff had all come to school dressed in an array of magnificent costumes; either as Egyptians or as Archaeologists. Their day began with them finding out some facts about the time of the Pharaohs in Egypt, both as a group in the hall and in their classes back in the classroom, and then after playtime they took part in a carousel of activities. They studied a variety of ancient artefacts, took part in an Egyptian quiz and played a game called ‘Hounds’.

In the afternoon the children learnt all about the process of mummification and saw first hand how the organs were removed and how the bodies were preserved. They investigated the ceremony of the priestesses and found out which special items became buried in the tomb.  The day ended playing a hunting game throwing javelins at various animals collecting points to demonstrate how hippos, crocodiles and ducks were all hunted during Ancient Egyptian times. It was a fantastic day which all of the children enjoyed. Thanks to the PTA for funding the day and to all of the parents for supporting the fun by sending the children to school dressed in such wonderful costumes!

Meanwhile, down at the seafront, the children in the Foundation Stage took part in a school trip which saw them taking part in activities at the ‘Sea Life Adventure Aquarium’ and the beach itself. On the beach the children worked with Mrs Mellish and miss Chandler to take part in a series of ‘Beach School’ activities which included creating beach works of art through sculpting the sand and arranging shells, seaweed and other natural objects they found and searching for small creatures such as crabs. They also investigated how the beach can be polluted by waste materials, such as plastic, by people when they visit the area.

At the ‘Sea Life Adventure Aquarium’ the children were challenged to identify a series of creatures and find out facts about them whilst visiting the various tanks on display. They also enjoyed visiting the tortoises and meerkats in their dry enclosures and were challenged to remember as many facts from the day to continue their learning back in school. It was a fun day which saw the children all behave beautifully. Thanks to all of the parents who gave their time to come along and help on the day.

In the evening the downstairs hall played host to our annual ‘Secondary Showcase’ event which saw representatives from local secondary schools come along to chat with parents and children from Year Five about the provision they can offer in KS3. Thanks to everyone who made it along; both parents and representatives of the schools.