Speeches

Speeches are one of those things some people love and many people dread! It takes a lot of courage to push past the fear and be the focus of attention for a few minutes. I know a number of you will be really nervous and will have lots of butterflies in our stomachs before you speak. Nerves are completely OK and we just need to get the butterflies to fly in formation. Feel the fear and do it anyway!

We have been looking at the content of our speeches and will soon look at the delivery. We are doing persuasive speeches and have been discussing the importance of both emotional and rational arguments. A good speech gets both the emotions and the mind going. We have watched and read some high quality speeches and discuss why they are powerful.

The students have been selecting their topics and I am really excited about them. There are some really important messages that people do need to hear. If you put the effort in I am sure you guys will produce some awesome speeches.

Sweet Sweet Honey

Since Finn was sick at the end of last term he wasn't able to complete his Science Fair project. He did complete it over the holidays though. He did a fascinating project on whether honey can help preserve food. He coated some food in honey and compared the mould growth to the same food without the honey. The honey definitely inhibited the mould growth. A detailed and really interesting project Finn. Great how you included the actual food sample you used - as gross as they were! Well done!

What is electricity?

We decided that almost nothing in our classroom would exist if it wasn’t for electricity. We discovered that almost everything in the class would have used electricity to get into the state it is. It has been fascinating to think about a world without it. We have started looking at how it first begun to be identified, harnessed, and created.

To understand electricity you have to look at atoms. Protons and neutrons make up the nucleus. Electrons orbit around the nucleus. The protons (positively charged) and electrons (negatively charged) want to stay together because they have opposite charges. If you have 2 electrons next to each other they try and get away from each other (repel) because they are both negatively charged.

Electrons can be torn away from an atom and when this happens that is what we call electricity.

There are two types of electricity – static and current. Static electricity is created by friction. Rubbing two materials together can knock electrons off atoms and the electrons build up on the surface of the material. They remain on the surface (are static) until they can find something positively charged to attach to. They will jump to attach themselves to a positively charged proton. This is what happens when you get a shock off a trampoline or car. It is also what happens when lightning strikes. The clouds rub together separating the electrons and protons. The electrons want to get back with some protons so they jump to the ground.

We experimented with creating static electricity and seeing if we can attract or repel materials. This wasn’t as successful as we hoped and an interesting question is why it did work really well when Mr Marquand tried it last week but not today? Humidity? We did manage to get some pretty crazy hair.

Current electricity is different from static electricity. It is what goes along power lines and what powers our houses. When an electron is split from its atom it jumps to another atom. The extra electron then forces the electron already there to jump to the next atom and a chain reaction is started. 

Electricity - I WONDER...

Science Fair

We made it! A massive congratulations to everyone. Probably the biggest project you have ever done and you have done amazingly well for your first Science Fair Project. There was so much learning that went on about science and the scientific process, but also around planning, managing time, and being organised. You all deserve a holiday now!

We were lucky enough to have Miriam (a secondary school science teacher) come along and judge the boards. The results were really close for first, second, and third. Here they are:

First: Ieuan - Magnificent Magnets

Second: Campbell - Chooky Chow

Third: Josiah - Loaded Diapers

Highly commended:

Zachary - Erosion Explosion

Antony/Cameron - Drop to the Beat

Connor/Ewan - Sound of Silence

Lola/Tabitha - The Poop Project

The above boards will go through to the Waikato Science Fair.

Kokako Science Fair on PhotoPeach

Leadership part two!

Here are the student leadership positions for the second half of 2017. I am looking forward to seeing you guys continue to grow. Make the most of it, take initiative, and push yourselves out of your comfort zones. Attitude determines altitude!