Sail Away - Parts of a Boat

 We have been trying out Yachting NZ's 'Kōkōkaha' sailing education programme. No better time, given Beach Week is upon us! Goals are being set and Māhutonga Matariki are about to get out on the water. 

In this rotation we thought about the different parts of a sail boat and how they contribute to the stability, power and movement of it. 

We connected to last year's learning around Polynesian Navigation. Many of us were aware of how double-hulled boats give more stability for ocean voyages. He waka hourua tēnā! 

Learning about the keel (or centreboard in the boats we'll use) was especially useful for those of us who worry about capsizing! We prototyped, testing our designs in an icecream container and blowing a gale at them. 

Celebration of the Arts 2017

It's been a busy time but it was all worth it! Thanks to all the great effort that was put in by the students, with some support from home we had a beautiful and successful evening. Please watch this video to get a feel for many of the spaces. There was a wide variety of art on display as well as poetry and wind sculptures. The movie and popcorn were very popular! There was a sense of the process we went through, including prototypes, diagrams and explanation writing. Thanks for the fabulous community support.

Talk by Dr James Renwick, climate change scientist

We were very lucky during the week to have Dr James Renwick visit us to talk to us about wind. He works at Victoria University and specialises in climate change so we were also able to ask him some questions about that.

We had a good general discussion about the wind and what causes it, with many of our students showing they are building a good base of knowledge from the experiments they have been shown and undertaken themselves, readings and our sculpture walk. James also brought some interesting slides to prompt discussions about pressure on our body, hurricanes, etc.

He finished with a simple way of showing how wind is created, moving air from high pressure to low pressure: take one balloon and blow it up (hold it tightly closed), then let it go and watch the air move - from the high pressure system inside the balloon to the low pressure system in our atmosphere!

Thanks very much to James for visiting with us, and to Debs for organising his visit.

Learning to read weather maps

Today we learned about how to read weather maps. We learned about what the different symbols on a map mean and how we could understand the weather from knowing them.

We watched this clip to understand about reading weather maps:



Next, we tried to make sense of a weather map of New Zealand and Australia. We talked it through in small groups and then some of us tried being weather presenters.

"I really liked learning the different colours for the symbols and trying to work out what it meant" - Janne.
"I liked that now I've learnt lots of stuff on the weather forecast because my family watches the weather forecast and now I actually know what they're saying" - Liam.
I liked it when people came out and tried to be the weather presenter - Hayley.

Wind Sculpture Walk.

Wind Sculpture Walk

A crazy wind was blowing……but we’re not scared.

We went looking for wind and, man, did we find it!

It is all part of getting inspired for our ‘Wind Power’ Inquiry. Looking at the sculptures along Cobham drive, seeing how they move, figuring out how they work and asking questions about how and why the works were created.

Back and forward it bends trembling, like the mast on a tall ship.

The wind

I felt the wind go past my face

The leaves were dancing in disgrace

I was in the alley where the wind rushed by

I heard it echo down the chimney  

The boat was leaning and the sail was slick

I was biking with a gust on my back

The corn was bowing as the howl arrived  

by Chester

                      Wind

I hear you howl at my door.

I fell you freezing breath pass over me.

I see you shaking the tree’s like a rattle.

I taste the gravel as you pass me.

I smell the dirt you pulled up from the ground.

You are invincible, invisible, unstoppable.

Wind

by Arabella

Looking up at a giant and the clouds make you dizzy.

Local Wind Sculpture Walk

 Today we went on a huge walk (about 9 km) down to Cobham Drive and saw the wind sculptures there. It was fun and inspiring (Janne). Ollie's feet started to hurt. It was cold because of the strong and powerful wind. The wind was strong, almost blowing us off our feet (Alex G).

The zephyrometer was very, very tall. Some of us think it was 12.5 meters tall, others 20 metres and others 25-30 metres.

We're all very tired now!

 

Wind... and Sailing

We have started our Inquiry into Wind Power. One of the things we looked at this week to get an understanding of how wind is exciting and relevant to us is an optimist sailing boat. Thanks very much to Glen Stanley and Worser Bay Yacht Club for loaning it to us this week. We looked at what the parts of the optimist are called, and wondered how they work and how the yacht harnesses the power of the wind to make it move.

We're looking forward to our walk to see the wind sculptures along Cobham Drive tomorrow!