Today is…

Earth Day

What is Earth Day?

Earth Day, celebrated on 22nd April each year, is the annual event dedicated to awareness about the various environmental challenges that face our planet.

Co-ordinated by the Earth Day Network, 193 countries around the world have their own version of celebrations.

In many places, Earth Day forms part of Earth Week: a longer period of climate awareness that includes activities and campaigns.

The 2021 version of Earth Day will be the 50th anniversary of the event.

History of Earth Day

The idea of Earth Day first originated among the people fighting the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.

It is said that American senator Gaylord Nelson, one of the main proponents of the event, was flying over the disaster in an aeroplane and was so shocked by the scale of it that he decided to create a Day to help prevent future cases.

The first Earth Day, held in 1970, saw millions of people around the world roam the streets with the desire to make a stand for environmental change. Many think of this as being the beginning of modern environmental activism.

Since then, the Day has gone from strength to strength, with the Internet helping to distribute its message further than was ever possible before.

Its crowning achievement perhaps came in 2016, when the Paris Agreement came into force for the majority of the World’s countries, ensuring increased environmental protection.

Earth Day is now the world’s largest civic event.

How is Earth Day celebrated?

Each year, Earth Day has a variety of themes, signifying a new focus on a particular environmental concern.

In 2021, these themes include:

• Volunteering: millions of people will take part in Earth Day, and it is hoped that many will volunteer to improve the environments where they live. This could involve anything from cleaning up litter to help plant new trees.
• Artists for the Earth: to help spread the message of environmental urgency, art can play a huge part in capturing the public’s imagination.
• Education: it is only by focusing on the next generation that the environmental fight can continue to be fought.
• Events: awareness events, such as street rallies and marches, will bring the causes of Earth Day to the doorstep of homes throughout the World.

Today is…

Watch TrueTube’s animation of the story of the formation of the Khalsa. It is a fantastic way to learn about Vaisakhi.

Vaisakhi is the ancient harvest festival in the Punjab region. It is also the start of a new solar year, and new harvest season. Baisakhi is a Sikh religious festival. It falls on the first day of the Baisakh month in the solar calendar, which corresponds to April 13 in the Gregorian calendar.

Learn more about Vaisakhi here.

Today is…

It can be scary to hear about a disease outbreak, but learning the facts can help ease your mind. Find out more about how viruses work, and the best ways to prevent them from infecting more people. Viruses can’t spread without our help, so click play to learn how not to help them!

Launched in 2020, the BrainPOP blog aims to inform, inspire, and entertain a growing community of caregivers and educators aligned on one goal: providing children with the tools and skills needed to thrive in tomorrow’s world.

Take a look at the BrainPOP animation and other fun activities.

Today is…

Easter

Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Christian history, Jesus was crucified on a Friday and rose three days later on Sunday. Easter is held on the first Sunday after the full moon in March, which is why Easter can land anywhere between the 22nd of March and the 25th of April. Read the fact file below for more facts about Easter.

• Easter is a Christian holiday. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Christian history, Jesus was crucified on a Friday and rose three days later on Sunday.
• Back in 325 AD, the “church council of Nicaea” decided that Easter should be made a true holiday. They also stated that it should be held on the first Sunday after the full moon, after the 21st of March, which is the Equinox. This means that Easter can land anywhere between the 22nd of March to the 25th of April.
• The holiday’s name is actually derived from a “goddess” named Easter. She was the symbol of the rabbit and the egg. This symbolism is fitting for a holiday that signifies rebirth.
• Many of the early Christians used to exchange red eggs in particular to symbolize the ending and resurrection of Jesus’ life.
• The myth of the Easter Bunny actually dates back to an old German tale about a woman who used to decorate eggs and leave them for her children to find. This story was based in a time when a famine was plaguing the land; therefore the eggs were considered a valuable and surprising gift. It is reported that as her children found the eggs they saw a bunny rabbit hopping away. Naturally, the children thought the bunny had left the eggs for them!
• The first Easter baskets given were meant to imitate a bird’s nest when eggs were placed inside.
• Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting. From the very early times, egg has been considered to be the most important symbol of rebirth.
• Each year witnesses the making of nearly 90 million chocolate bunnies. In the catalogue of kids’ favorite Easter candy, red jellybeans come in first place.
• When it comes to eating chocolate bunnies, it is the ears that are preferred to be eaten first by as many as 76% of people.

The story of Easter

Laudato Si’ animation

Pope Francis has written a letter addressed to every person on the planet, asking us all to protect the earth. Will you play your part to protect our common home? 

Easter facts for kids

Chinese Food Tasting

Year Six had a topic treat recently where we tasted food typical of Chinese cuisine following our Chinese New Year topic. We enjoyed a lot of the food but, from some of our faces, there were bits of food that we weren’t too keen on!

April’s Maths Challenge

Please have a go at the maths challenge below.

https://mathsatprinceedward.wordpress.com/2021/04/01/problem-of-the-month-april/

End of Term Celebrations

Well done to all of Year Six who have been working their socks off this half term but an especially well done to the children below as they have excelled and received certificates for standing out for different things. Great work! Enjoy your holidays Year Six.

Challenge: Ramadan Lantern

Ramadan remembers the month the Qur’an (the Muslim holy book) was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. The actual night that the Qur’an was revealed is a night known as Lailut ul-Qadr (‘The Night of Power’).

Most Muslims fast between dawn and sunset.

During Ramadan, it is common to have one meal (known as the suhoor), just before sunrise and another (known as the iftar), directly after sunset.

Almost all Muslims try to give up bad habits during Ramadan. It is a time for prayer and good deeds. They will try to spend time with family and friends and help people in need. The end of Ramadan is marked by a big celebration called ‘Eid ul-Fitr’ (the Festival of the Breaking of the Fast). Some families light lanterns during this time, linking the theme of light to Ramadan. So, now you know a little more about Ramadan, why not get creative and make your own lantern, and explain to an adult what it represents?

You will need:

• a rectangle of card or thick paper (A4 is fine) plus a little extra for a handle
• wax crayons
• watercolour (or watery) paint
• scissors
• sticky tape

Step 1: Start by drawing a design on your rectangle of card or paper, using wax crayons. You can make repeating patterns, a traditional Islamic geometric design, crescent moon and stars, or anything other design you like.

Step 2: Next, using some watery paint, cover right over the surface of your wax crayon design. Watch how the wax resists the paint and see how your design pops through the paint.

Step 3: Once your paint is dry, fold your paper in half, long side to long side. Then use some scissors to make cuts all along the folded length. Just cut half to two- thirds of the way to the other side. Finally, open up

your card and roll it so the two longer sides meet to form your lantern shape. Fasten your lantern in place using some sticky tape. The cuts you made will open out to give you a great lantern design.

Step 4: Use an extra piece of card / paper to make a handle for your lantern and attach it with some sticky tape.

Step 5: You can use a flameless LED candle inside to light your lantern, or string them up across your room like bunting.

Challenge: DISAPPEARING Egg Shell!

Investigating is a great way to find out more about a subject. Scientists investigate all the time – why does something happen? How does it happen? What affects how fast or slow the change happens? It’s good to ask questions as this will help you learn more. It’s also good to try and think of the answer beforehand – try and come up with an explanation if you can, or make a prediction about what might happen and why. This makes a great science experiment, so here’s a challenge to get you thinking (and speaking) like a scientist – the Great Disappearing Egg Shell Experiment! You could record your predictions as well as your observations. Ask an adult to help you – they could be your assistant!

You will need: An egg White vinegar Glass jar Pencil and paper (optional)

Step 1: Take your egg and gently put it in a glass jar so the shell doesn’t crack, then

put some white vinegar in the jar until the egg is covered (prediction 1: will your

egg float or sink? Talk to your adult about why you think this. What did they predict? Who was right?)

Step 2: Leave your egg in the glass for a while (prediction 2: What do you think will happen?) Keep watching the egg and you should start to see tiny bubbles forming on the egg’s shell. (Did you guess this would happen?) This is due to the release of CO2 (carbon dioxide). This is similar to that chemical reaction which happens when you open a bottle or can of fizzy drink.

Step 3: Put the lid on the jar and keep it somewhere safe for 7 days. Keep checking on your egg and recording the changes you can see (prediction 3: what do you think will happen? What did your adult think would happen?) Something called ‘osmosis’ takes places making the egg start to swell and you should see the colour of the eggshell fades from brown. A scummy layer is formed on the surface and it is good to change the vinegar solution when you see this happening (but don’t worry if you don’t – it will still work)

Step 4: It’s time to empty the vinegar from the jar and take the egg out. Wash off any remaining eggshell. You should be able to see the egg without eggshell. It should now be soft like a sponge and light in weight and it’s probably swollen a little too. If the remaining eggshell is hard to remove, just

add some fresh vinegar and wait a few more days. The soft egg should now feel rubbery to touch and you should be able to see through the egg which still contains the yolk. Why do you think this happened? Does your adult know why?

Step 5: The acid reacts with the shell and “eats” away at it. The shell is made up of calcium carbonate and this gets dissolved by the acid (vinegar). The egg also swells up, because some of the liquid seeps

inside. Clever eh? Prediction 4: What do you think would happen if you added food colouring to the vinegar? Why not give it a try?

Today is…

World Water Day

This day, declared by the UN General Assembly, aims to promote awareness of the extent to which water resource development contributes to economic productivity and social well being. The focus for World Water Day 2020 is water and climate change, exploring how the two are inextricably linked. The key messages for this day in 2020 are:

• We cannot afford to wait. Climate policy makers must put water at the heart of action plans.
• Water can help fight climate change. There are sustainable, affordable and scale-able water and sanitation solutions.
• Everyone has a role to play. In our daily lives, there are surprisingly easy steps we can all take to address climate change.

• WWF’s KS2 Activity Handbook is a powerful way to engage with the role of the oceans in our lives and why healthy oceans are so vital to our future.