science fair evaluation

righto you lot- you perfomed better than any other class that i've seen - an excellent science fair with many extraordinary products. i am amazed at what you have achieved.
have your say here.
personally i thought the judging left a little to be desired in some instances, but we also have to be aware of what the judges were seeing that maybe we didn't. also, there are certain limits to how many entries can go in, etc.
be positve if you can, but constructive feedback is good too.

Skipper Bob

Skipper Bob's comment about her Sailing regatta challenge is re-posted here for you to read and comment...

"for a challenge i will be designing a tecnology challenge to build a boat (sail boat) i have not got far but...here are some rules for the boat challenge:you have to have a sailyou are not alowed a motor apart from one to turn the rudders (a long board at the back of the boat which turns from side to side for steering)you can not just buy a fancy modelit must be specified size (i will say size later)can be trimaran (a boat with 3 floating bits joined by a net)catamaran (same as trimaran but 2 bits) or monohull with keel (1 bit and a keel is a heavy wieght down in the water to stop the boat from tipping (like team new zealands buzzy bee)must not be made of papermust be propelled by the wind and inclued a mast and boomhelp!does this make sense?do i use to much sailing language?can you understand the rules????? "
- Skipper Bob

and Room5ians link to this website could be useful:

http://www.huntington.edu/education/lessonplanning/sailing.html

pyramid maths and info

this site has the explanation of how the pyramids were built as well as some activities relating to the maths of pyramids.

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/pyramids/story/main.html

please do the activities and enjoy :-)

pOWerfUL people

who are some of the powerful people who have influenced our culture in ages past?

great philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, Socrates and Pythagorus.

powerful families like the Medicis.

city states and merchant empires.

the power of Popes and religion in Europe.

have you heard of The Renaissance?

The Man from Atlantis?

There used to be a silly show on tele called the man from atlantis. Someone mentioned Atlantis today as a mystery to investigate.

Atlantis was a supposed to be a fabulous city that disappeared into the sea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis

More mysteries of ancient egypt:

http://www.geocities.com/tasosmit2001/ancient.htm

and more...

http://www.ancient-mysteries.com/

and the man from atlantis himself!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_Atlantis

;>)

There are also other comic book guys from Atlantis who were much cooler than Patrick Duffy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namor_the_Sub-Mariner

science fair alert!!!

the other teachers in Kakepuku have decided to delay the science fair until next week.
You now have until Monday to get it done. EVERYONE must have a science fair project to go with their observational drawing. Either a wallchart, scientific photography, tecnological innovation or experimental investigation.

CONGRATULATIONS and my apologies to those who worked hard to get theirs done on time. However, you can now feel good that you did the right thing and can concentrate on your next assignment; The mighty inquiry assignment.

I loved the ideas some of you came up with. It is the best thing for a teacher to see kids thinking striving for excellence and becoming passionate about their work. The champions of the future are the people who will be creative, passionate, persistent and hard working.
Their are many such folk in Room5.

Mammoths, Cyclists and Mental Toughness

See info on a baby mammoth that has been found...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/07/11/siberia.babymammoth.reut/index.html?eref=rss_tech

Have you heard of Le Tour - the Tour de France ? It is cycling's greatest race and we have one Kiwi rider in it. The race has lessons we could learn from it about team work, mental toughness and not giving up.

http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.aspx?id=74773&cat=1042

Mental toughness? What is it? Why is it important and who do you know who exhibits it as a powerful personal trait for success?

I think it will be a key element in the Rugby World Cup - can we beat the Australians? They have such self belief!

science fair due Monday

Please bring all your bits n bobs for science fair on MOnday. DO NOT stick down info until it has been looked at by me at school. Bring your board and glue, titles, pictures, carefully typed and proof read info, references, results, log books, etc so we can discuss how to make it perfect BEFORE you glue anything down. If you have already and it is perfect then don't stress.
I won't be giving any more advice before Sunday afternoon because I'm going to internet free Kawhia for the weekend starting today.
Have a great last few days before school.

oh! Remember to bring resources for the Ancient Egypt knowledge attack as well please.
Mega points to the most organised desk groups.

I can't wait to see your shiny faces again. 8>)

Seattle is cool - why?

I have always heard that Seattle is a cool place. And now it is showing up as the place from which we get viewed the most, outside of NZ, although i have no idea why as no one leaves us any comments...

check out Seattle and make comments regarding why it might be one of the more interesting cities in America. I can think of one reason from the nineties - Grunge music as epitomised by bands like "Nirvana"

Polls

apparently Blogger has a new element available - polls - which can be added to your side bar. i just had a quick look but couldn't find a poll to add under the add element bit of the customise blog layout setting thingy so there will be a prize to the first person to work out how to do it.

i was going to add a poll on topics for term three and four.

please add ideas as comments for now.

and please make your comments meaningful and intelligent - i am going to invite the most sensible bloggers to participate in an advanced online discussion with a university lecturer and expert in online learning, in conjunction with some other GATE kids of your age from nearby schools.

and don't forget to use the wiki - again, use it sensibly.

start gathering resources for your ancient egypt inquiry knowledge attack. bring them to school when you return. by scouring a range of interesting resources we can come up with some really exciting essential questions that will form the basis of our inquiry.

sub topics that may relate to our topic are:

who killed king tut?

why was cleopatra so famous?

who were the pharoahs?

how did they make the pyramids?

magical powers and the mysteries of the pyramids

the curse of the pharoah

mummification

why did they like cats so much?

what's under the sphinx?

where have all the ankhs gone?

heiroglyphs

aliens and the pyramids

what do sirius and orion's belt have to do with the pyramids?

pyramids from other civilisations

what was life as an egyptian 11 yr old like?

geometry and the pyramids

film/documentary making

[the image above comes from this site]:

http://doernenburg.alien.de/alternativ/orion/ori00_e.php

kawhia carving

kawhia carving
Originally uploaded by mr w00dy

you squidlets liked the maori carvings at the museum so here's one from Kawhia. Please excuse the 'rude' bits. That is traditional and not intended to be offensive.
I hope you're enjoying your holidays. I'm super busy!

create your own world

as you grow up, you will realise you have the power to create your world they way you want it to be. make good choices.

"The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create."
- Leonard I. Sweet [never heard of him before, but i like the quote]

JFK once said...

"Some men see things as they are and ask 'why?'. I dream of things that never were and ask 'Why not?' "
- John F. Kennedy [former US president]