All the best for a peaceful Summer. Regards, Meta
Horrible Hands – not just for Halloween… October 2012
Posted: November 5, 2012 in Students' WritingTags: Discovery Time, Science
You must be wondering what Horrible Hands are. Mine was made of water, red food colour and sugar. After I poured the mixture into a glove and tied it up, I put it in John’s freezer. When it was frozen, I got to eat it. I didn’t get to finish eating it, so I got to smash mine with a hammer. I had lots of fun. Jeremy.
We got the experiment Meta got us to make a week ago, called Horrible Hands. She told us to get some scissors and cut off the gloves. Finally when everyone had cut off their gloves, we put them in a container. Then we started eating them. Some people said it was sweet, some people said it was salty, some people’s tasted like nothing. It was really fun. Probably the best discovery ever. YEAH! Nisha
For Discovery Time, we made Horrible Hands. Some people changed the colour of their hand. And put sugar or salt in their hand. My hand was purple with sugar. It was so cold, my hand turned numb! Emma
My favourite part of Discovery Time was the frozen hands, because I smashed mine on the ground and it was really fun doing that. Hannah
How to make a Horrible Hand, by Shambhavi:
1. Take a bowl and make a solution of water, food colouring and salt & sugar (optional).
2. With a helping hand, pour the solution inside a plastic glove and tie the end of the glove with a rubber band.
3. Put it in the freezer and wait for a day or two.
4. Cut off the plastic glove and your Horrible Hand is ready.
The idea for Horrible Hands – a fun Science project – comes from the School Journal. Meta
Thorndon School’s green compost buckets.
On the 23rd of July, Room 7 wanted to know how much compost the school produces in a week (hopefully a lot). We gathered the whole school’s compost buckets, (including the staff room’s and the hall’s). The compost buckets had not been emptied for a week. We weighed an empty bucket – it is 200 g. There are 14 buckets = 2,800 g =2.8 kg.
Next we weighed each bucket and wrote down the weight. Then we added the 14 numbers. The total weight of the compost (with the buckets) was 23,875 g. After we subtracted the weight of the empty buckets, the actual weight of the compost itself was 21,075 g = 21 kg and 75 g.
The class with the most compost was Room 9 with 2,850 g, but the place with the most compost was the staff room, with 3,300 g.
The average weight of the compost was roughly 1,500 g per bucket.
By Shambhavi Choudhury and Stella Saul of Room 7
I was surprised that the school produced 21 kg of compost over a week. I expected it to be more! It would be interesting to repeat this investigation later in the term. Hopefully we all get more into the habit of composting all our fruit/vegetable scraps, instead of accidently using the normal rubbish bin. Meta
We played Goal ball, which is a sport in the Paralympics. It was amazingly fun. I think I speak for everyone here when I say it was AWESOME! Leanne and I set it up for the class, in the hall just after morning tea. Have you figured out who I am yet? No? You will later on.
Everyone was wearing blindfolds, they looked really hilarious. If you took them off or peeked you would be counted as a cheater, and be taken off the game for a while. Everyone went great, I could tell they wanted to take a peek, but couldn’t and wouldn’t. I suppose I should add that fair play is the key to all sport no matter what type of sport.
I was the best there… and I wonder why…? Now you’re probably wondering why you would play or watch this game if they’re blindfolded. What’s the point? Because the ball has a bell in it just so we can hear it. You have to block and score, that’s mainly it. There were teams of 3, not the biggest of numbers, but a big game to watch. You block the ball. One of my favourite strategies was to throw the ball backwards, to catch the other team off guard. It’s not really a standing up game, you only stand up to throw the ball or move around the court. You lie down to block, or you can crouch and slide your legs out. Some people had a bit of trouble, blocking and standing up – it sounded like it hurt. It is like a normal game with scoring and that’s why you have to block, so those rascals on the other team don’t score. Now have you figured out who I am? I’ve given you enough clues. You should know by now.
The court is marked out with raised lines (rope taped down so it is tactile). You have to keep the ball inside the court and try and roll it past the other team. But some people didn’t do too well. They mostly threw out instead of in the goal, because they had trouble orientating themselves under blindfold. I had some experience, so that’s why I was the best.
So apart from the tremendous pain, and epic failures, it was pretty enjoyable for everyone.
C.S. a.k.a my initials just so you can finally figure out who I am.
In Term 1, our Discovery Time was when we kids taught the rest of the class a skill, for example Mia and Maia taught cupcake decorating. Poppy and Emma taught how to make gloop. Other skills were yoga, origami, planting, athletics, guitar, paper planes, Pokemon cards, skipping, crotchet, bath bombs and poi skills. Our favourite thing about Discovery, is that we got to teach something we like to do, to other people.
In term 2, the whole Kakapo syndicate were put into small groups. We practiced new skills and worked in the same group all term. There were 12 groups for example film, cooking, craft, band, Science, woodwork, mural painting, and drama. We had to write a reflection on what key competency we learned and a skill we learned, on a Google doc. We had parents and our 3 teachers to help us.
For term 3 we will be doing Wearable Arts in class groups.
By Mia F. (the cupcake gobbler narwhal) and Poppy (the kebab narwhal)
Paper Quilts made in Term 2. We learned to fold paper squares and cut intricate patterns into them to create symmetrical designs. These quilts are based on Cook Island tivaevae.
Posted: July 12, 2012 in MetaTags: Art
Our joined paper quilt.
Welcome to Room 7 Kowhai’s blog. Here you will find information and updates about the learning in (and outside) the classroom, as well as photos and videos.
Posted: July 4, 2012 in Meta
Room 7 Kowhai, Term 1, 2012
room seven kowhai 