Anzac Poster Competition

On 25 April 1915, eight months into the First World War, Allied soldiers landed on the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula. Every year we remember this important day in New Zealand's history. A day which helped New Zealand to define itself as a nation.

This year the New Zealand Defence Force is running Operation ANZAC Spirit 2012, a design competition for Year 7 & 8 students.Click here to find out more.

Chocolate Fish Challenge

Who among us can resist a challenge? Especially when the prize is a quintessentially New Zealand chocolate fish!
Some of the students in the GATE programme are resisting the opportunity to reflect on their learning through their blogs so I decided a little encouragement (AKA bribery and corruption) might just do the trick. Katie was today's lucky chocolate fish spot prize blogger. Who will be next? All you need to do is reflect on your learning or encourage your friends and family to comment on your reflections and it could be you!
Comment now on KIDBLOG.

Bug Lunch

Did you know that different insects have very different mouths depending on what they eat? Some insects chew, some suck and some lap. You can watch several insects at work through the links below, but watch out....when you are an insect you need to keep your eyes open or you might BE lunch!

House fly

Wart-biter Cricket

Bullet Ant

Monarch Butterfly

From Slum Dweller to Brain Surgeon: The Amazing Story of Dr Ben Carsen

Wow! On Tuesday Team 4 were fortunate enough to get the opportunity to hear the inspirational story of Dr Ben Carsen. Ben Carsen was raised by his mother in poverty in inner-city Detroit but against the odds became a gifted neurosurgeon at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and was the first surgeon in the world to successfully separate siamese twins conjoined at the back of the head. He has been in New Zealand sharing not only his incredible story, but his beliefs about how to achieve success and reach your goals.  Follow the links below to hear more from this inspiring man.

The Ben Carsen Story in 5 Minutes

Inspiring Words From Ben Carsen

For the full story watch "Gifted Hands: The Ben Carsen Story."

Watch excerpts from the movie below.

 

Intriguing Insects

With summer here the crickets and cicadas are singing up a storm. A small group of children are working to find out about the insects around us. Below there are several links to some short videos explaining the life cycles of different types of insects.
 The Life Cycle of a Butterfly
The Amazing Life Cycle of a Cicada
The Life of a Praying Mantis
Once you have watched the video clips see if you can complete the Metamorphosis Quiz to reveal a close up picture of one member of our intriguing insect world.

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.