Kia Ora Mark Bradley: Learning about Matariki

Mark Bradley came in to Mahutonga and Matariki and taught us about Matariki. We learnt some  new Te Reo Maori words associated with celebrating Matariki. We also started to learn a new Haka. This Haka is significant to us as some of us have been involved in the writing process. By Zoe
Matariki Celebrations - Thursday, 18 June

Food is to be ordered for 18th June online on WrapItUp. Please note that orders will close on Friday 12 June to allow time for organisation/purchase/people power, etc. Go to:

https://wrapitup.co.nz/store/worserbay/activities Please order your own food under your child's name.

Coding Experts

Some children in Matariki and Mahutonga have been becoming coding experts so that they can teach others how to use Scratch. 

They can: 

Move the sprite up, down, left, right

Move the sprite using degrees

Add more sprites

Stop sprites from moving over the edge

Program sprites to talk to each other

... And much more!

Coding at WBS from Matariki on Vimeo.

Thank you to Milton who came to talk to us about bees and beehives

Emma. M’s Grandad (Milton) came in to talk about bees and beehives.

First, he talked about all the bees and about himself. Drones are the boy bees and the lazy and bossy bees. Also, they can’t even feed themselves! All the other bees kick them out at the end of the season.

Next he talked about the gear and how important it is to wear it. He even made Blake wear the suit (he looked very funny).

Then Milton spoke about the design of the hive and why they built it that way.

The cone (where all the honey is made) was passed around so everyone got to feel and see what it is like.

By Hanne and Sophia

Shaky Wellington

Deb came in today to talk about the physical geography of Wellington. 

She showed us this Gondwana animation:

http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Ferns/Sci-Media/Animations-and-Interactives/Gondwana-animation

The Ring of Fire is an area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is on the Ring of Fire. 

Why is New Zealand wildlife unique? 

What is significant about flightless birds such as the Kiwi and the Takahe?

Antarctica: Cool Science in Action

We are enrolled in a virtual field trip to Antarctica from 3-7 November. 

Introduction to Antarctica - cool science on ice from LEARNZ on Vimeo.

Here is the field trip plan:

Monday 3 November	Jump aboard the US Airforce C17 Globemaster aircraft in Christchurch and begin your journey to the great southern continent of Antarctica. Complete your Antarctic Field Training so you are ready and equipped to safely work with scientists out on the sea ice.
Tuesday 4 November	Explore Scott Base and meet the scientists from Otago University to discover more about how science is done down in Antarctica.
Wednesday 5 November	Get your ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) clothing on and travel out on to the sea ice to investigate Sea Ice Microbial Communities (SIMCO) and dive below the ice to collect samples.
Thursday 6 November	Visit seal haul outs and penguin colonies to collect samples to see how SIMCO contribute to the diet of these animals.
Friday 7 November	See how scientists manage the challenges of working in Antarctica and find out more about how this research will help us to better understand the impacts of climate change.

Each day Nicola will run a workshop looking at video diary entries and we will be taking notes and writing about it on our blog. We will be able to ask questions to experts who are working in Antarctica.

On that note, Eleanor's dad is working over there at the moment! 

"I am down here now at Scott Base and the weather is diabolical.

I have attached a photo of our field camp site from last year at Cape Evans (the site of Scott's 1909 Hutt, you can see it in the foreground of the photo). My sleeping tent was the little triangular yellow one on the very left hand side of the photo.

I will send some photos to if you like when we get back at the end of November.

Say hi to Ellen for me! 

Neill" 

Created with Padlet

If you want to find out more:

http://www.antarctica.org.nz/ Antarctica 

www.heritage-antarctica.org Antarctic Heritage Trust 

www.antarctic-link.org.nz  Antarctic Link Canterbury 

www.antarcticanz.govt.nz Antarctica NZ

www.victoria.ac.nz/antarctic Antarctic Research Centre 

www.coolantarctica.com Cool Antarctica 

www.anta.canterbury.ac.nz Gateway Antarctica