Session 5 - Santa's Solar System Solution

Mrs Lynch led our fourth session where the girls had fun learning about the Solar System. They first had to think of a mnemonic to help them remember the planets in order of their distance from the Sun. The girls came up with some funny and imaginative mnemonics and Mrs Lynch chose her favourite. 

Mother
Vowed
Everything
Must
Just
Stay
Uniquely
Neat

The girls then learnt about the features of each planet. The girls were told that if the solar system is colonised then Santa may have to modernise! He had a long list of requirements for his new home and the girls had to sift through all the information on the planets’ distance from the Sun; time to spin on axis, time to orbit the Sun, diameter and temperature of each of the planets to decide which 3 planets would be the most suitable for Santa.  Santa had a list of requirements for his new home, he didn't want to live on a planet which had temperatures below -150oC or a gas giant.  He did want a planet with a long year for the elves to make the presents and a small planet so he could travel all over it in one night.  

The girls all agreed that Mars would be the most suitable planet for Santa to visit and they wrote a letter to him to explain why Mars would be most suitable. The girls then made Christmas cards showing Santa in his new home and in a new different coloured suit!
 
Thank you very much to Mrs Lynch for leading such a fun session. Miss Ladbrook, Miss Burns and Mrs Coughlan would like to wish all the girls and their families a very Happy Christmas and look forward to seeing you all on the 14th January 2017!









































































































Posted by A Coughlan

Location:Merchant Taylors' Girls' School

Session 4 - A Religious Journey with a Difference

Mr Wilson led a Religious Studies session on pilgrimages, the girls shared information on places that are special to them, they were encouraged to think about the reasons behind their choices and how it makes them feel. They learnt about a variety of special places that are important to people of different religions such as The Western wall in Jerusalem and The River Ganges in India.

Mr Wilson showed them some special Jewish clothes including a prayer shawl and a Kippah and explained the symbolism of each. They discussed pilgrimages for Muslims, Jews and Christians and looked at Muslim prayer mats and talked about pilgrimages to Mecca and visiting the Kabah. The girls finished the session by playing a game Muslim children might play as they make the journey to Mecca, called the Hajj board game.

We all learnt lots about pilgrimages and even got a chocolate cookie as a souvenir of the pilgrimage from Mr Wilson. Thank you so much for a great morning Mr Wilson.






























































Posted by A Coughlan

Location:Merchant Taylors' Girls' School