I cannot believe we are 1/2 way through already!
Once again, there is so much happening!
I was really excited (and nervous) to have a special trip to Wellington to talk at an ERO forum for science... in the first week. It was a great experience and I felt like I got a lot out of the experience. I also managed to visit Wa Ora and see what they are doing (a specialist Montessori school in Wellington).
Meanwhile... back at class... the students started work on their science projects to get them ready for the school science display. The boards came out great. They learned a lot of new skills (in science and related to visual presentations) and they were really proud of their work. The projects were research based but had models and experiments that went with them and the students focused on following the scientific method, design processes, and using their capabilities
Here are the list of projects:
Amelia and Kai's GLOBAL WARMING and solar oven smores
Alina, Jessika, and Hunter's history of Chocolate, How it is made (Bean to Bar) and designing their own chocolate bar (after doing market research and experimenting with different filling ideas).
Jaezarn, Zayed and Jace's project on Robotics and Mechanics used in food production with models of a conveyor belt and gears.
Jennika and Leila's project on Chickens complete with a plasticine model of the Life Cycle (and Leila even made a SCRATCH coding life cycle).
Lucien and Raniera's Root Vegetable Lapbook and investigation (the carrot is still trying to grow!).
Snigdha and Alyssa's SUGAR research, experiments and investigation (including a blind taste test where they made a surprise discovery, which hopefully you will find out about on their blogs).
Reda and Ihaka completed a science board about their Evolocity Project and had their prototype model on display (and they and Amelia did another build day a couple of weekend's ago at Toi Ohomai again).
James and Christian investigated energy used to mill bread. They completed Lapbooks and James made a waterwheel model while Christian made a windmill model.
(They will also be making Bread in a Bag soon!)
And last but not least, Tyse and Riley's project on CHEESE - it's history, the process of cheesemaking and some fun facts. They even tried to make their own yoghurt and make it into Labneh (a Lebanese style cheese), and make a white cheese.
This Friday we are having an expert come in to help us make real Feta... yum!
And that was just the science display!
We're also working on Te Reo, core maths skills, improving our writing (especially using correct speech conventions and figurative language), learning Chess, working on our Book Club books (so we can have 'Kahoot' quizzes to test our learning!), working on winter sports skills, trying out CANVA and InspirARTion and constructing our Bee Garden... and we rearranged the room a little to fit in room for 9 AQUABOT teams (underwater robot with a tether, ready for the competition our previous classmates were and are National Champions in!). So much to do... it's just as well we know how to work hard! Go Room 13!
Once again, there is so much happening!
I was really excited (and nervous) to have a special trip to Wellington to talk at an ERO forum for science... in the first week. It was a great experience and I felt like I got a lot out of the experience. I also managed to visit Wa Ora and see what they are doing (a specialist Montessori school in Wellington).
Meanwhile... back at class... the students started work on their science projects to get them ready for the school science display. The boards came out great. They learned a lot of new skills (in science and related to visual presentations) and they were really proud of their work. The projects were research based but had models and experiments that went with them and the students focused on following the scientific method, design processes, and using their capabilities
Here are the list of projects:
Amelia and Kai's GLOBAL WARMING and solar oven smores
Alina, Jessika, and Hunter's history of Chocolate, How it is made (Bean to Bar) and designing their own chocolate bar (after doing market research and experimenting with different filling ideas).
Jaezarn, Zayed and Jace's project on Robotics and Mechanics used in food production with models of a conveyor belt and gears.
Jennika and Leila's project on Chickens complete with a plasticine model of the Life Cycle (and Leila even made a SCRATCH coding life cycle).
Lucien and Raniera's Root Vegetable Lapbook and investigation (the carrot is still trying to grow!).
Snigdha and Alyssa's SUGAR research, experiments and investigation (including a blind taste test where they made a surprise discovery, which hopefully you will find out about on their blogs).
Reda and Ihaka completed a science board about their Evolocity Project and had their prototype model on display (and they and Amelia did another build day a couple of weekend's ago at Toi Ohomai again).
James and Christian investigated energy used to mill bread. They completed Lapbooks and James made a waterwheel model while Christian made a windmill model.
(They will also be making Bread in a Bag soon!)
And last but not least, Tyse and Riley's project on CHEESE - it's history, the process of cheesemaking and some fun facts. They even tried to make their own yoghurt and make it into Labneh (a Lebanese style cheese), and make a white cheese.
This Friday we are having an expert come in to help us make real Feta... yum!
And that was just the science display!
We're also working on Te Reo, core maths skills, improving our writing (especially using correct speech conventions and figurative language), learning Chess, working on our Book Club books (so we can have 'Kahoot' quizzes to test our learning!), working on winter sports skills, trying out CANVA and InspirARTion and constructing our Bee Garden... and we rearranged the room a little to fit in room for 9 AQUABOT teams (underwater robot with a tether, ready for the competition our previous classmates were and are National Champions in!). So much to do... it's just as well we know how to work hard! Go Room 13!