Reporting on Our Learning

As we come to the end of 2014 it is useful to look back on the year and reflect on our learning. Where have we made great progress? What areas do we need support to develop? Which work are we particularly proud of? Is this the work we enjoyed the most? What were the challenges?

Not likely for any of us!!!

The Year 7/8 Inquiry group are compiling a report on their own learning aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum Key Competencies. To provide some support to this process you can use the links below to see what these competencies are and view several examples of reports written by others.

Find out what these Key Competencies are and what they mean.

See how other students have reported on their learning.
Example 1 , Example 2 and Example 3

Can Eating Insects Save the World BBC full Documentary 2013 ( Insect eat...

Well, what do you think? The idea of eating insects made most of us feel a little squeamish but after watching this documentary our whole group is feeling pretty keen to at least give them a go! Hey, if it's going to save the world...!

Breathing Fire

Did you know fire needs oxygen to breathe? Today we did an experiment to show how important oxygen is to a fire? Without it, it dies! We put a small, a medium and a large jar over a burning candle and timed how long it took fr  the flame to go out each time. We discovered that the flame burned longer in the largest jar. Of course this is because the largest jar contains the most oxygen!

Your Voice, Your Choice

Have you ever wondered what the Elections are all about? How do we choose who governs our country? Who gets to have a say?
2014 is General Election year and on September 20th people all over New Zealand, and New Zealanders all over the world, get the opportunity to decide who will govern New Zealand for the next three years.
But did you know that in 2011 more than a quarter of eligible voters didn't exercise their right to vote? Does it even matter?
Follow our page Your Voice, Your Choice to see what we think about all this as we investigate some of these ideas this term.

Measure Yourself

When you are gifted so much of what you are asked to do comes easily, with little thought or effort. And even with this minimal thought and effort you are able to achieve well in your area of talent, be it on the sports field, in an artistic arena or in the classroom. How often do you stop to take the time to think about just what you are capable of?

A Particularly Chewy Chocolate Fish Challenge

Today we tried using the numbers 6,6 and 1 to create all the counting numbers to 10, but we just couldn't find a way to make 4 and 8. Can you? Chew over it for a while and tell me if you deserve a chocolate fish.

Two Sixes and a Two

Today we tried to use the numbers 6,6 and 2 to create the all numbers 1-10. We struggled to find ways to make 5 and 7. Can you do it? If you can find a way let me know and you'll deserve a chocolate fish!

Hidden Wonders of the Natural World

We live in a world of unseeable beauty, so subtle and delicate it is imperceptible to the human eye. To bring this invisible world to light filmaker Louie Schwartzberg bends the boundaries of time and space with high speed cameras, time lapses and microscopes. At TED 2014, he shares highlights from his latest project, a 3D film titled "Mysteries of the Unseen World," which slows down, speeds up and magnifies the astonishing wonders of nature.

Those Amazing Romans

Today, at student request, we played around with Roman numerals. We very quickly became experts at converting between Arabic and Roman numerals on the Fact Monster Roman Numeral Challenge. We also learnt, much to the students' surprise that our "English" numbers are in fact Arabic numerals!

You're A Nerd? So what?

Some of us love reading. Some of us love rugby. Some of us love science. Some of us love music. And sometimes we are judged for the things we love to do. Watch this you tube clip as actor Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation TV Series) responds to a young girl when she asks how to respond to people when they call you a nerd.

Disappearing Shells

Eggs are amazing! Today we investigated the principles of OSMOSIS and DIFFUSION so that we can better understand what is happening in more experiments we have planned. Did you know eggs have a membrane inside the shell?
This membrane allows some substances to pass through while keeping other substances out. This is called osmosis. We experimented with this idea by mixing salt and lentils and then passing them through a sieve to simulate the membrane. Only the tiny particles of salt were able to pass through the sieve.

Next we looked at diffusion. We put a couple of drops of food colouring into a glass of water and watched. When first dropped into the water, the part of the water that shows colour has a high concentration of food colouring. Over time, the colour begins to spread throughout the water to areas with no colour (low concentration of food colouring). Eventually, the colour is evenly spread throughout the entire glass of water.

 

Chocolate Fish Challenge

Today we used the numbers 5,5 and 3 to create all the counting numbers to ten but just couldn't figure out a way to make 9. If you can use all three numbers to make 9 I will give you a chocolate fish!

How Strong is an Eggshell?

 We all know eggs are very fragile, right? Today we did an experiment to see just how easily they break. First we emptied the egg and cleaned out the shell. We drew a line aroung the egg and then broke the shell off down to the line. We had to be extremely careful because the shell was very easy to break. Once we had four eggshells ready we placed them on the tray and started loading books on top of them! We were pretty sure they would break but we had THIRTEEN books stacked on top of the eggshells before the first one cracked. Eggshells were much stronger than we realised so the wee chicks inside are kept safe. We also found some building structures that use domes and arches to give them strength.

Where in the World?

Challenge yourself to work out just where in the world you are with this fun game using Google Street View. Cities all over the world are shown, and you can turn around, walk down the street or look round the corner to see if you can find clues to your whereabouts. Look at the signs on buildings, streets and vehicles. What language are the signs on the buildings in? What are the people wearing? What are the shops selling? Which side of the road do they drive on? Can you see any familiar landmarks in the background? Beat your score.
Have a go with www.gr8ctz.com  Good Luck!

Monsters Under the Bed?

Have you heard of Rube Goldberg? Very briefly he was an American cartoonist best known for his cartoons depicting deliberately over engineered gadgets that perform simple tasks in convoluted ways. Many people have created their own Rube Goldberg machines and contraptions, even kids! Have a look at what Audri has created to trap a monster!


Have a go yourself. We would love to see a cartoon or a construction of your very own Rube Goldberg machine. What are you capable of?

Quest is Fun

For those of you requiring a little inspiration to start 2014 take a look at this TedXYouth@Auckland presentation by Tristan Pang. Tristan is a remarkable young man driven by curiosity to understand the world around him. He has clear goals and is well on his way to achieving them. Be inspired!