And we're off...

Today some of us wrote a short statement about what we hope to achieve through the GATE programme this term. You can view our ideas through the Kidblog icon at the top left of the page. We have also made a start on our Inquiry topics. You can see the Year 5/6 inquiry task here and the Year 7/8 inquiry task here. I am keen to see how the Year 7/8 groups manage their shared task and look forward to the Year 5/6 group developing their research  skills. It was exciting to hear the enthusiasm of the students as they set off on these tasks today.

Competitions Galore

Many of you love to compete in your area of expertise and unfortunately there is not enough time in the GATE programme to enter everything that comes our way. Below is a link to the TKI site which lists all sorts of competitions you may be eligible to enter. Some of them need to be run through school so if you are interested in them please come and discuss the possibility of entering. If the competition is limited to a particular age group, then that is noted beside the link. Competitions galore!

Student Page 2011

The two posts below have been added so the Student Work and Science Fair pages can be emptied for current work. The entries from these pages have been added as posts so they will be archived rather than lost.

     Emma's blog raising awareness of those who show academic excellence

Rani's blog advocating Free Range Frog Farming




                            Caitlyn and Courtney's Video on fighting for animal rights.

Science Fair 2011

Every year interested students from Years 7 and 8 can enter our school Science Fair. This year 14 students thought of a variety of projects. They ranged from creating natural dyes from a variety of vegetables to measuring the effectiveness of liquid and bar soaps in removing bacteria. Everybody worked extremely hard on their projects and can be congratulated on their efforts. The projects, along with scientific drawings of native plants by children from all levels of the school, were displayed in the School Science Fair on Wednesday 10th August. Thanks to Mrs Dunn and Mrs Elvin who acted as judges.

And the winners of the School Science Fair were:

 1st Place Bubbles Vs Bacteria by Kirsten Maclaurin and Sonya Fenton

 2nd Place Making the Cut by Emma Harris and Caitlyn Dawbin

3rd Place Trick or Treat by Courtney Creighton and Elena Stephen Rouvi

These people took their projects to the Waikato Science Fair held at the Hamilton Gardens Pavilion on Thursday 18th August. We were thrilled to hear that all three projects were to be awarded prizes at this regional level. All the girls attended the prizegiving held at the University of Waikato on Friday 19th September where they were awarded the following prizes:


Third Place Making the Cut by Emma Harris and Caitlyn Dawbin
Highly Commended Trick or Treat by Courtney Creighton and Elena Stephen Rouvi
Highly Commended Bubbles Vs Bacteria by Kirsten Maclaurin and Sonya Fenton
Congratulations and well done to you all. You can be very proud of your achievement.

Welcome back

2012 is well underway and I am looking forward to another exciting year working with the students involved in the GATE programme. Follow our blog and see what we get up to in the weeks ahead.