Breakout!

This Afternoon Room 7 took part in a 'Breakout'. This meant that the students had to solve a series of clues in order to unlock a number of locks that were attached to a treasure chest. This Breakout was maths themed and the students had to solve a number of maths problems using their place value knowledge.

To start off, Miss Stone presented the students with a picture frame that contained a picture of a Pythagorean tree. Some of the students realised that their had to be something more to this picture, and found a secret note hidden inside.

Hidden in the bookshelf was another clue, this time it was a quote by Pythagoras. Once the students worked out which word was missing from the quote they were able to remove the word lock.

Some of the students were searching the classroom around this time and Jayden managed to find two keys under some of the chairs, while some of the girls found a smaller locked box in the cushions. Once they opened this box they found a maths problem and key inside.

The students also found a series of cups that contained a clue. Once they placed the cups in order it spelled out a word which lead them to find another key.

Another group of students found an ultraviolet light hidden in the bookshelf. They also found some 'blank' paper and realised that their was something written in invisible ink. This sheet was a key for the directional lock and the students solved a maths problem and converted it to the directions.

This was the last lock to be opened before the students claimed their prize. They finished with ten minutes left on the clock which was a great time.

Room 7 Scientists

This week Room 7 have taken part in a couple of Science experiments with twists: the scientific concept that we were told that we were experiencing was not what was really happening.

On Tuesday we conducted an experiment called "Light vs Sound" where we blew up balloons filled with icing sugar and popped them to see if we would see the balloon explode before we heard it, as light travels faster than sound. However, when we are so close to an event like this, our brains cannot perceive the difference . Some of us where sure we heard the balloon first, while others were unsure. We were all interested to learn that the experiment was flawed.

On Wednesday we tried to see sound.  We created mini drums out of glass jars with balloons stretched over the top of them. We then placed sugar granules on top of the balloon and hummed, trying to see if we could make the sugar vibrate.  The science book we have told us that the sugar would vibrate because of the sound we were making, but it asked us to hum quite close to the jar. Some of the students then realised that it was their breath that was causing the vibrations instead of sound. We then watched a video about how we could see sound, but the scientists performed this experiment on a much larger scale.

Karaoke!

This afternoon the children in Room 7 split up into their houses and were asked to sing a song for the class. Each group came up with a different song from a different genre which made the performance really interesting.


Rata performed a cheer-leading song (Petty). It was great to see that all of the students were included and played a part in the routine.
 

Kowhai performed "We are Young" by Fun. They were very prepared as they had printed the lyrics and knew the song well.

Kauri performed "Light of mine" and had choreographed a few actions to support their singing.

Nikau perform Lean and Dab and had quite an impressive dance routine!

Our next step will be to move away from 'karaoke'. Instead the students will be singing without the support of the YouTube videos. We are really looking forward to hearing the learners sing!

Volcano Experiment

This morning Pukeko and Kakapo reading groups created a volcano. The children have been learning about volcanoes over the past few weeks as part of their reading programme. Pukeko were learning about the science of volcanoes while Kakapo learnt about famous eruptions, such as Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii.

To complete this unit, the children decided that they should create a volcanic eruption. They created the volcano out of clay with a small jar in the centre of it. They then placed baking soda, washing up liquid and vinegar into the jar to watch the volcano "erupt". This happened because the baking soda and vinegar released carbon dioxide as they reacted.


Have a look at our video of our experiment below!