Science Week @ Glenbrae School

This week we have been focusing on Science. Room 7 students have been moving around all the senior classrooms learning with the different teachers about chemical changes. 

Also each class has come to Room 7 to learn about the chemical change that happens when you bake bread using yeast or baking soda. 

We followed the scientific process and practiced asking questions and hypothesising. 

We asked How does yeast make bread rise?

We hypothesised that Heat and time make the yeast rise/produce gas. 

We observed a lot of things with the bread making process. We observed the yeast foaming, it looked like oatmeal/porridge and smelled yuck - like beer! 

When we added the flour, we all got to help knead the dough and feel the elastic-ness of it. It turns out that some of us have the potential to be master bakers and were very good at this step. 

Once we had kneaded the dough, we decided to test our hypothesis and split the dough in two. One part of dough was set aside to rise (time) as per the recipe, and the other dough was put straight in the oven (heat) to rise and cook. 

Meanwhile we did another experiment using two plastic bottles and balloons.

In one bottle we put a mixture similar to the bread (1tbsp yeast, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tbsp warm water), and put it aside for an hour on the sunny windowsill

In another bottle we put a vinegar and baking soda. 

What we observed was that both balloons blew up, filled up with air. But how could the air get into the balloon, while it was sealing the top of the bottle? It was a chemical change. 

The vinegar and the sodium bicarbonate mixed and the elements changed their chemical bonds to create different chemicals. 

CH3COOH + NaHCO3  → CH3COONa + H2CO3

vinegar + baking-soda (sodium bicarbonate) → sodium acetate + carbonic acid

We created sodium acetate and carbonic acid. But the carbonic acid isn't very stable on its own and breaks down into carbon dioxide and water, we could see the bubbles of the carbon dioxide.

H2CO3  → H2O + CO2

carbonic acid → water + carbon dioxide

 We discovered that is a living organism that needs sugar to react. Together they change into water, H2O, and alcohol (just a little bit - which burns off in the baking process).

We also observed that the two breads we baked were very different.

The bread that went straight into the oven was smaller, denser (more tightly packed) and had a slightly sweet/sour taste - probably from the under-developed yeast.

The bread that was allowed to rest before baking was lighter, less dense and had little air holes throughout from where the carbon dioxide had formed. It also didn't have the sweet/sour taste like the other one. This was our favourite.

To enjoy our bread we also made fresh butter from shaking cream and a pinch of salt in jars. We were left with lovely soft delicious butter and a milky liquid called 'buttermilk'.

Stay tuned to our personal blogs for actual photo's of the experiments that we conducted throughout the week.

Healthy Living Everyone

In room 7 we explored what it takes to keep our bodies fit, strong and healthy.

We know we need to keep our hands, clothes and fingernails clean. 

We know we need to exercise to keep our heart, lungs and muscles fit and healthy. 

We also know we need to eat healthy food everyday to give us all the vitamins that we need to power our brains, muscles and immunity. 

As part of our healthy study we learned about the different fruit and vegetables that we can eat to keep healthy. We each got to draw one to contribute to this wonderful 
5 + a Day Healthy Poster. 

We have some very talented artists in Room 7! Ka mau te wehi! 

Matariki - Māori New Year

As the shortest day of winter approaches so to does the star constellation known as Matariki. Matariki is also known as many other names in different parts all over the world. In Tonga it is known as Mataliki, Samoan: Matali'i, Japanese: Subaru, Hawai'i: Makali'i, just to name a few. It's ancient astronomical name is  Pleiades.

In New Zealand Matariki symbolises the time for food crops to be harvested and storehouses to be stocked for the approaching winter. It is also the time to plan for the upcoming year, and is known as the Māori New Year. 

As with other common New Year traditions, it's a good time to reflect and think about what we might want to achieve in the year to come. So in Room 7 we each set goals to make plans to achieve. 

Many of us set our goals around Mathematics, and what stage we would like to achieve, while others set their goals around positive respectful behaviour and becoming active listeners. 

You can also see all our goals proudly displayed in the corridor outside Room 7, have a look and be sure to ask us how we are getting on with achieving them! 

Kei te pēhea koe?

How are you? Is a question that we ask every day, and in Room 7 we have been learning to ask and reply in te reo Māori. 

Each morning instead of our usual roll call we practice greeting and asking how we are in te reo Māori saying 

Ata marie Mary, kei te pēhea koe? 
Good morning Mary, how are you? 

We have been practicing replying with a range of words, sometimes we are sleepy, hungry, hungry, sick, sad, frustrated (hōhā), exhausted (ngenge), happy, and luckily not yet angry!  

Some of us have learned the words so well that we have even incorporated them into our writing work in class. What a great transfer of knowledge. 

Reliability

As part of our weekly Kiwi Can programme we are learning about reliability. We talk about what it takes to be reliable, and when we might need to be.
Then we've been practicing reliability in a range of team activities.
This week we had to make rhythm with body sounds, clapping, stomping, drumming, anything that made a beat. We had to work together, participate and help one another.

Afterwards we went outside to play handball - with a twist - quickfire teams. Each player had to count on the rest of the team to be successful.

Photographers of Room 7

Room 7 were learning about what it takes to take a good photo. We learned about the rule of thirds and used our creativity to take the following photo's. 
We really enjoyed this challenge and were able to work together with others to complete it. We also learned how to embed a presentation into our blogs while doing this. 
Enjoy!

Subtraction strategies

Today in maths we learned a new subtraction strategy using an analogy about a policeman and a robber. This strategy helps us to subtract numbers by making the number we are taking away into a tidy number. Then we also need to change the other number the same way... watch this great video to see what to do. Once you are finished try the problem below. 

There are 54 apples in the fruit box. 

We eat 27 at morning tea. 

How many are leftover? 

We created our own writing rubric

Over the last few weeks some of the Room 7 learners were busy making this rubric. 

They made the rubric by reading lots and lots of recounts and deciding what makes good writing and what things are needed to improve writing. 

Now everybody in Room 7 uses this rubric to help us to edit and self-assess our writing.

Thank you and congratulations to Trent, Fasi, Alex, Pelenise, Salote & Setaita for creating this wonderful learning tool for us. 

May Blogger of the Month: Davarni!

Congratulations to May's Blogger of the Month Davarni!

Davarni puts screenshots of her work into her blog to make sure that they fit nicely, she replies to comments, and always puts a relevant label on her blogpost. She also describes what she found difficult in a task. 

Well done Davarni! Keep up the blogging. 

Click here if you want to visit Davarni's blog.

This month our blogger of the month will be somebody who also uses labels, and makes sure the blog layout looks good by hitting 'PREVIEW'. So get blogging!