Bush Explorers Trip to Zealandia

Our school was selected to take 50 kids to Zealandia - it was a case of the first 50 names in and I've never seen such a quick response!! What an amazing time we had. We must try to get the whole school here sometime! Many thanks to the awesome staff on the Education Team at Zealandia - you are fabulous!

Click on the photo to see more from the trip.

Yucky Bugs!

Here's a neat video we watched this afternoon - all about bugs! (Part of our Inquiry topic this term)

Lightbot

I went to a 'STEAM' workshop last week. (Science/Technology/Engineering/Art/Maths)
Came away with lots of ideas!
Here's a coding game that we tried yesterday.
Lightbot 
Warning - it is highly addictive! (Do let the kids have a turn as well!)

Life Education

This week, the Life Education Truck came and visited us. This is a classroom specifically set up to promote the Health curriculum.

We learnt about healthy eating and how to read the labels on food packaging - what's a treat and what's not.

Koraunui School's Bioblitz

A group of us were very fortunate to be invited over to Koraunui School's Bioblitz today. What an amazing time we had - checking out bees in the "Lab in a box" identifying plants and insects over at the Horoeka reserve and then over to the community hub for all sorts of things! All the while being transported around on a fancy-decorated bus!

Many thanks to Di Christenson and her team for inviting us! (Click on photo to see more)

Tawa Zone Athletics

Well done everyone who presented us at the Tawa Zone Athletics, Newtown Park today.

You all performed fabulously! Results on our Sports Wiki.

...and then the Bumble Bees!

These Bumble bees arrived today - we've got them set up by the leaf cutter bees now.

Leaf Cutter Bees

We are setting up a bee hive area - and learning all about bees and pollination.

These Leaf cutter bees were posted to us in a small container - they hibernate over winter. Here they are being put in their new nest and then into the garden home (which was shifted to where they would get more sun later on)

Puriri Moth

Did you know there are over 1500 different Moths in New Zealand?! Well, the biggest (and I think the most beautiful!), the Puriri Moth,  turned up at school today.

The Puriri Moth  has a wingspan of up to 15cm. It lives in the forest - especially in the Puriri Trees. As a caterpillar, it feeds on the wood of the tree and digs a burrow up to 30cm long. This caterpillar stage lasts about 5 years. When the adult moth finally emerges, on warm evenings from September-November, it only lives for a couple of nights to breed. This one here was found in a rather poor condition on the footpath outside school so (in the name of science!) we decided to keep it to show everyone. The Puriri Moth cant eat because it doesnt have a mouth.

Popsicle Chain Reaction

This is a great way to show potential and kinetic energy. As we built the chain, weaving the sticks together, we were building potential (stored) energy because the sticks were bending slightly – creating the tension. Once we finally released the chain, all that stored up energy turned into a chain of kinetic energy.

(Took great patience and resilience building this!!)

Our Major Production item - Six Months in a Leaky Boat

Here are a couple of videos of our item in the Major Production - both taken on the first night. Apologies for the quality at the start of the first one - it does get better!!
So proud of everyone!

Split Enz - filmed from the back from Mrs B on Vimeo.

Split Enz from Mrs B on Vimeo.

Sign Language Taster session

We were very fortunate to have Miggy come and teach us some NZ Sign Language today. Miggy is deaf and it was fascinating watching and learning off him!

Here are some links to learning NZSL at home

Deaf Aotearoa

TKI - Sign Language

Grandparents Day

What special visitors we had join us today!

Kemly's grandmother told us all about going to school as a litttle girl in Vanuatu. She went to school by boat!

Caitlin's great grandparents told us all sorts of things about what it was like going to school when they were younger. Caitlin's Great Grandad went by coal train - and he got the cane once for turning the taps on and blocking the drains in the bathroom! Caitlin's Great Grandma went to lots of different schools growing up. At one stage she had to walk for 2 hours to get to school!

We also had Josh's grandmother tell us about growing up in Cambodia and Ellarose's grandmother told us about life in the Hutt.

Such a special time! Thanks so much for coming to Room 4!

Football Skills

Today we had the first of 4 sessions with coaches from the Tawa Football Club. (Click on photo for view more)

Matariki Stars

Matariki Celebrations happen a bit late this year - June 25 is when they officially start. We've got in a bit early with creating these beautiful Matariki Stars

See here for more information about Matariki. Hampton Hill is having our own celebrations for Matariki on 29 June. A community evening sharing in fun activities - including a hangi and viewing the night sky with Chris Monigatti from Tawa College. 3.30-6pm. More info in the school newsletter.

STEAM!

We try to have Steam sessions each week for an hour if we get the chance. 

STEAM stands for:

Science

Technology

Engineering

Art

Maths

Pataka Trip

We had a beautiful day for our trip to Pataka today. What fun we had pretending to be pupils at an olden day school, looking at old implements, washing and ironing, and dressing up!

 Click on the photo to see more from the day.

Science Challenge 2017

A great time tonight at our annual Science Challenge. This year people had to come up with a device that would launch a ping pong ball into the air and stay airborne for as long as possible. Hmmm! Lots of different designs - not as easy as you'd like to think!

Way to go everyone!

Surface Tension

Here's a really easy experiment - using water tension, a little like the milk mosaic one.

Start off with a plate of water. Sprinkle pepper on the top. We noticed that it just sat on top. 

Then we added some detergent - look what happened!

Milk Mosaic

Today we made wonderful marbling patterns with food colouring and milk!

Try this at home!!

Milk Mosaic
Materials
 Milk (whole )
 Dinner plate
 Food colouring (red, yellow, green, blue)
 Dish-washing liquid
 Cotton buds
Procedure:
1. Pour enough milk in the dinner plate to completely cover the bottom to the depth of about 1-2 cm. Allow the milk to settle.
2. Add one drop of each of the four colours of food colouring - red, yellow, blue, and green - to the milk. Keep the drops close together in the centre of the plate of milk.
3. Find a clean cotton bud for the next part of the experiment. Predict what will happen when you touch the tip of the cotton bud to the centre of the milk. It's important not to stir the mix. Just touch it with the tip of the cotton bud. Go ahead and try it. Did anything happen?
4. Now place a drop of dish washing liquid on the other end of the cotton bud Place the soapy end of the cotton bud back in the middle of the milk and hold it there for 10 to 15 seconds. Look at that burst of colour
5. Add another drop of soap to the tip of the cotton bud and try it again. Experiment with placing the cotton bud at different places in the milk. Notice that the colours in the milk continue to move even when the cotton bud is removed. What makes the food colouring in the milk move?

Super Cold Bag

Today's experiment was an endothermic chemical reaction! Check this one out!

You Need:

·  Citric Acid

·  Baking Soda

·  Tap Water

·  Zip lock bag (15cm x 10cm)

·  Measuring cup

·  Plastic spoons

Perform this experiment over a kitchen sink. There is a small chance the zip lock bag will burst making a wet mess! Zip lock bags of different sizes can be used, but the quantity of chemicals added will vary. Trial and error will uncover the correct amount to use to blow the bag up fully.

What to do:

1.  Put one level teaspoon of citric acid in a zip lock bag.

2.  Put one teaspoon of baking soda in the same zip lock bag. And shake the bag gently to mix the two chemicals.

3.  Fill up the measuring cup with cold tap water (about 30ml).

4.  Here's where you have to be quick! Pour the water into the zip lock bag and snap it shut fast.
Not only does the bag blow up, it also becomes super cold! So don’t forget to feel its temperature.

5.  You can try putting about 20ml of vinegar and a flat teaspoon of baking soda into a zip lock bag and snapping it shut quickly. Compare the difference between this and the other combination of chemicals.

Why is it so?

Mixing citric acid, baking soda and water together causes a chemical reaction. The new chemical that is made is carbon dioxide gas. This gas fills the bag and causes it to blow up. You’ll also notice the bag drops in temperature as part of the chemical reaction

IMG_7294 from Mrs B on Vimeo.

Cross Country 2017

Great effort everyone today at Cross Country. Such an awesome effort - I'm so proud of you all!

Results found on our Sports Wiki 

Air Cannon Experiment

This week is Primary Science Week and that means loads of Science all week long!

Today we looked at how air moves with an air cannon. Using a bin (clean) with a hole in the bottom and a sheet of plastic tight over the top. Air is forced out by hitting the plastic hard - and can force the air to knock a paper cup off someone's head!
Air can be described as a fluid the way it moves around.

Here's a link to how to make a miniature version of this at home - let us know how you get on!

Powhiri - Welcoming Mr Worboys and the new students to our school

This morning we had a special powhiri to welcome new students and Mr Warboys to our school. Mr Worboys is our Relieving Principal while Whaea Kelly is on maternity leave for Term 2 and 3.

Albatross web cam

We are still looking into various Native Birds. Here is a fascinating clip of some DOC workers weighing a Royal Albatross chick at Taiaroa Heads (near Dunedin)

This next webcam is in real time

How much do Native Birds Weigh?

Part of our learning how to write an Informational Report took us to finding out about the weight of Native Birds - fascinating comparisons!

The Bottle Flip!

The Bottle Flip has taken a craze over the last year! We've had a crack at it in class- looking at the science behind it as well :)



 Click on this photo for more - and if you want to leave a comment (and please do!), leave it at the bottom of this post thanks.

Year 3/4 Sports Day 2017

What a perfect day for our Year 3/4 Sports Day today at Redwood Park. (A bit too hot maybe!!) A great time had by all! Many thanks to all the parents who helped us walk - and to Tawa Intermediate Sports Group for excellent leadership again!

Click on this photo for more from today

Name Art - Reflection and Rotation!

This was a great activity - folding paper into eighths and writing our names in one segment. Then copying the name- reflecting and rotation as we went! (Click on the picture to see more)

Swinging water around - and not getting wet!

What’s happening here?

It looks like the water in the cup is magic! Gravity is pulling the water down but it is also pulling the cup down.

While the water is falling, the cup is falling too – catching the water.

What keeps the cup and water moving in a nice circular path is the string. That is called the centripetal force. Be careful though – if the cup stops, the water will fall out!

This is what happens when you are on a roller-coaster – it’s not the seatbelt that is holding you in place but the centripetal force! (I wouldn’t recommend going on one without a seatbelt though!)

Athletics

We had our school athletics today - much earlier than previous years but it gave us lots of time to prepare (rather than being squeezed into Term 4). Here's a wonderful collection of photos that Rox took on the day. Grab a coffee and enjoy!

Portraits

Amazing Cicada life cycle - Sir David Attenborough's Life in the Underground

Summer's finally here when you hear cicadas!

We've been looking at the fascinating life cycle of the cicada. Here's a terrific clip from Sir David Attenborough- he talks about a 17 year life cycle of a North American Cicada. In NZ, we dont know exactly but that life cycle is more like 3-5 years.

Leap Year

Here's a short video clip we saw today that explains what a leap year is.

Garden tidy up!

Our vege garden sure needed an overhaul after the holidays!

Civil Engineers in the making!

Friday mornings we join the other Year 4,5, and 6 classes. Today we designed water ways with pipes, water wheels, and dams. A bit of rain didnt put us off!!