Term 4 Inquiry - Change - First Ideas & Shadows

Change...what do we know about it? 

We always start any new inquiry and provocation with our fist ideas, any idea is welcomed. 

This is what we came up with:

"If you get a puppy, it turns into a dog"

"You start off at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 20"

"The earth spins, we move"

"People get smarter and get bigger brains"

"Chocolate can change by melting. Ice blocks can melt as well"

We also asked what we thought the difference was between a liquid, solid or gas. 

Here are some of our ideas:

Solid - pen, wall, metal, chocolate, us, wood

Liquid - melted chocolate, blood, water, acid

Gas - is like a fog coming from a pot.

We started our first experiment looking at shadows - what are they and how are they formed?

We went outside in the morning sun and drew around our buddies shadow

We thought that our shadows would change as the sun moves across the sky, but we also found out that this is because we are a solid and the suns light cannot pass through us! 

In the afternoon we went and traced around our buddies shadow again. 

We found out that they were longer as the sun moved further away in the sky and that the shadow were almost exactly a quarter turn after 4 hours. 

We predicted that if the sun was still shining in another 4 hours, it would be exactly opposite to where we started. 

Unfortunately we won't be at school at that time of the day to test our theory though!

Antarctic Explorers!

We were lucky enough in Tautoru to have a science lesson with Dr Natalie Robinson, Antarctic researcher and explorer. She left her desk at NIWA to talk to us about her Antarctic research. She specialises in icicles forming under the sea, and what these mean for our planets future.

It was interesting to learn all about life in Antarctica, including how many layers you have to wear to keep safe in the freezing temperatures. It never rains in Antarctica, it's much too cold for that and snow falls instead. The ice in Antarctica can reach up to 4km deep! We saw the tents that Antarctic scientists have to sleep in. There's no floor in these tents as the ice is much too cold to melt underneath them! 

Big thanks to Natalie for coming in and passing on all of this incredible knowledge.

Tāwhirimātea and the power of the wind

We have been learning about some of the Māori Atua (Gods). 

One of these is Tāwhirimātea who is the Auta of the wind.

As part of this, we have been learning about wind turbines and how they generate electricity.

We made our own mini wind turbines too. This is how we did it:

1. Take a piece of paper and fold it to make a square. 

2. Cut along the edge.

3. Colour both sides of your paper.

4. Fold your paper into two triangles to find the centre.

 

5. Put a dot in the centre and 4 dots along the folded lines. Use your fingers to measure.

6. Cut along the folds to your dot and then fold 4 edges into the centre and secure with blu tack.

7. Use a pin to secure the centre and attach it to a pencil with an eraser on the top.

You have a windmill!

Getting organised for the Visual Arts Celebration next week...

WBS Bi-Annual Celebration of Visual Art

Tues 13th September 6-7pm / Wed 14th September 5-6pm

We have been working hard in Tautoru (and throughout the whole school) with many visual art pieces for our Celebration of Arts in week 9. 

Our focus has been linked to the Atua (Māori Gods) we have been learning about and links to our environment. We have tried, where possible, to re-use and re-cycle, creating new and exciting pieces. Many of these ideas have been created by the children and we are excited to show you!

There will be collaborative art

Painting

Clay

Diorama

Large installations

And More!

Even Frank the Cat has been helping...

Please come along and see our amazing creations and how hard we have been working.

Exciting Sports Times!

We've been lucky at Worser Bay School this week to welcome Amber from Wellington Softball Association. She ran a lesson with our year 3's where they learnt the fundamentals of the game. This involved learning about the bases, how to score a home run, and most importantly showing lots of sportsmanship whilst batting and on the field.

Amber is coming back again next week to further extend our skills. We will be practicing hitting with a bat and quick reflexes- running as soon as the ball has been hit!

In a couple of weeks some of Tautoru (along with the rest of the junior school) will be heading to Ākau Tangi for the Inter-school Futsal tournament. To prepare us we've been practicing our soccer skills, including kicking, dribbling, and how to score a goal. Our PE program has a games focus and our tamariki have loved playing against each other, making sure their Positive Relationships and Teamwork are at the centre of all play!

Sports are so important for our tamariki's wellbeing. Students physical wellbeing is a critical aspect in our schools vision of supporting the whole child. We can't wait for more opportunities to play sport and have fun while doing so!