Science | St Mary's Catholic Primary School

At St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Personal, Social, Health, and Economic (PSHE) education is embedded within our

overarching curriculum that prepares our children for many different aspects of their lives.

Our overall goal is to help our children to become well-rounded individuals with strong character, who will eventually go out into the world of adults and be actively and positively involved in society. In order to do this, we are striving to create a conducive environment around the school and this year we have created our own specific Personal Development Curriculum that is entwined with our academic curriculum.

Our curriculum aims to provide engagement and enrichment and through this, we aim for all children to have equal opportunities to thrive together.

Feathery friends

Our lovely little school had some special, feathery visitors today. The Bird Man came for his annual visit with his spectacular birds of prey. As always, it was a fantastic, informative experience for the children.

Sendak class - classifying animals

Our science topic for this half term is classifying animals and their habitats. We began the topic by having a think about what me already know about classifying animals and what we might like to learn. After this, we read through our knowledge organisers which will be our reference point as we move through the topic.

King Class have been learning about different materials and what they are used for.

Can you see the light?

Shelly Woods class are seeing the light this week. Our Science topic is light and refraction and our writing task for this week will be creating an explanation text outlining how we see and the work by Isaac Newton.

Understanding the World

In Daley Class we have been talking about growing up and how we change as we grow up. We can do lots of things now that we couldn't do when we were toddlers!

As we grow up...

In Pelé class today we have been looking at the difference between weight and mass. We have spoken about Issac Newton and his discovery of gravity. We then measured the weight and mass of different objects around the classroom and compared our findings.

King Class had a visit from the dentist today to teach them all about looking after their teeth.

Science Day in King Class-We wanted to help the 3 bears by designing a chair strong enough for all of them to sit in, We investigated which materials to use, made the chairs, tested them and evaluated them.

Our UCLAN adventure

Today was an extra special day for Shelly Woods class. We visited UCLAN for a morning of forensic science/policing activities. The children took fingerprints, examined CCTV footage for clues about a robbery, analysed footprints and looked at facial recognition techniques. As if all this wasn't enough, we then enjoyed a spectacular tour of the campus. It was a memorable day, the children will never forget having visited a university. After such a great visit, our hope is that they may even have been inspired to go to university themselves!

Today in EYFS we chose Floating and Sinking as a theme, and did our learning both indoors and outdoors. First we predicted whether some objects such as coins, cotton wool, pencils and wax crayons would float or sink. Then we tested each object and compared results. We were correct on every prediction!

Then we went outside and investigated for ourselves some other objects which float and sink. Indoors we made boats out of recycled plastic and cardboard. We had lots of fun! Tomorrow we are going to test our boats on water to see if they float or sink.

EYFS Floating and Sinking

Science Day!

Today our school is celebrating Science. Each class will be completing various STEM activities (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and each key stage will enjoy a spectacular science assembly.

Woods class were tasked with creating a 20 second timer, based on the idea of helping Cinderella to tell the time so that she can leave the ball on time. The children worked in small groups to complete the challenge. It wasn't easy and they did a fantastic job, the winning team managed to produce a 22 second timer (impressively close to the target time).

KS1 science day assembly

Fairy tale Stem engineering in King Class-evaluating our bridges to see if they are strong enough to hold 'Fred Frog' and discussing how we could make them better next time.

In our STEM engineering today King Class started to investigate which materials were the strongest to use to make a strong bridge for the Billy Goats Gruff. When we have completed our bridges we will test them and evaluate them.

King Class-Today in science we started our engineering fairytale topic. We watched the story of 'The Billy Goats Gruff' and then discussed the problem we had to solve. We decided that we needed to make a new bridge so the goats could cross safely.. We discussed what equipment we could use to make them, then in pairs designed our bridges and labelled them.

LEGO Builders Workshop - Science Circuits

We LOVED our morning with the LEGO builders workshop - we built a LEGO city, made circuits and lit it all up! We even made the train move forwards and backwards!

Creepy Crawly Roadshow 2023

We loved our session with the creepy crawly roadshow! We learnt about different creatures and then did a question and answer. Some of us were lucky enough to have a snake around our neck!

Blackpool Gazette

In the Autumn term, some children attended a science project at Blackpool Football club. We have just received news that the day has received a write up in the gazette. Well done! You can find the link below.

https://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/people/the-future-of-fylde-coast-is-bright-after-being-left-in-the-hands-of-local-schools-3974920

Is there anybody out there?

Today was a unique and interesting day for our children. The Planeterium was in school and each class enjoyed a session, in which they learnt all about the delights of the solar system. It was a fabulous experience for our children, both fun and informative. It was mesmerising and the children were enthralled!

Parental Engagement & Science Celebrations

Thank you to our parents who celebrated our science success with us and stayed behind after assembly to look at our projects.

The ‘Road to Riat Challenge'

Our class took part in a special challenge today. The ‘Road to Riat Challenge’, delivered by the RAF, allowed us to create and test our own rockets. We planned our design, made it and tested it with different ‘loads.’ This challenge enabled us to work as a team, work individually and work scientifically. The ‘Road to Riat Challenge’, delivered by the RAF, allowed us to create and test our own rockets. We planned our design, made it and tested it with different ‘loads.’ This challenge enabled us to work as a team, work individually and work scientifically.

Building bridges

Our enhancement week activity for today was bridge building. The children looked at various famous bridges and discussed features of their design. We then worked in small groups to design and build a bridge – each group working with different materials. Teamwork and communication were the highest priorities, as well as a sturdy bridge design.

Science STEM Enthuse Project - Shelly Woods Class

Saving Blackpool sea front! We were lucky enough to take part in Blackpool's Enthuse project at Blackpool Football Club. The children had to come up with innovative ideas that would eventually become a reality in the future. We came up with a salt water sensor, turbines on the tower and an illuminator app and device that created kinetic energy. The judges were very impressed and we had a great day presenting our ideas, watching a science show and then working as a team on two STEM activities.

King Class had a visit from a vet today to help us learn how to look after our pets.

In King Class we have been learning all about predators and prey in food chains. We know that a food chain starts with a producer and that some animals are carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.

King Class described different habitats around the world and the animals that live there.

STEM Enthuse Partnership - The planning stage!

We have the opportunity to take part in the STEM Enthuse project at Blackpool Football Club. We are currently in the planning stage but our project ideas are top secret! We will keep you informed along the way! We cant wait to take part in the science project in a few weeks!