Have a look at the gallery of images attached to this post. They are the statues on Easter Island. Use your computer to complete some research (5-10 min should do) and then answer the questions below.

Some of the questions are ‘Head’ questions asking your opinion so make sure you explain yourself as well as you can for the reader.

Good Luck!

1. Where is Easter Island?

2. What are these statues known as?

3. What do they think these statues represent?

4. How were they made and where were they made?

5. Some images show the statues in damaged states. Should they be fixed and re-erected in their original locations?

6. How would you get to Easter Island?

We had a great time at Scienceworks last week. After an early start and lengthy bus journey we arrived ready and raring to go. After a quick introduction to the rules and processes we needed to follow we split into our two groups and headed off for the first of our 4 activities. Across the day all students got to experience:

• The planetarium show ‘Tilt’ which taught us how the Earth’s tilt impacts on our season and weather.
• A ‘Cool Stuff’ science display using liquid nitrogen to freeze a variety of items.
• An energy and light display in the Lightning room.
• Free time in the Sporty Science and Maths Science area of the venue.

Students are to be congratulated on their behaviour. It is terrific to take a large group of students away and have them respect and participate in activities in a positive way.

A famous and rich man has decided to fund your endeavours to climb Mount Everest. You need to put together a plan and training regime that will prepare you for this journey. Put a response together considering the following questions:

1. What would you take with you on the trip?
2. How many people would you employ to work with you?
3. What jobs/roles would these people have and why?
4. How long would you plan to be training for and preparing for this trip?

Remember to number your answers to each of the questions so that it easier to see what you are answering.

Good luck!

This week for homework we had to conduct an experiment with pepper, water and dish washing liquid. Students were asked to complete a write up about what they saw happening and why they thought it was happening. We spoke about the science of surface tension and density of liquids that influenced the outcome of this experiment.

For a bit of fun and to learn more about surface tension we then ran a competition to see who could put the most drops of water on a coin using an eye dropper. When we looked at the coin with the water on it we could see the surface tension holding the water up in what looked like a bubble on the coin.  The students all had fun trying to get more drops than anyone else on their coins.

Our class record score for each denomination of coin were:

5 cents – 44 drips

10 cents – 63 drips

20 cents – 88 drips

50 cents – 156 drips

$1 – 76 drips

$2 – 58 drips

Check out the photos below. All students were concentrating so hard to get the elusive class record.

This week, and next, our year 6 students have been fortunate enough to participate in a presentation from a group of Horsham College students related to transition to year 7 next year. The students spoke about the opportunities that students will have, sporting pursuits that are available to students and they gave lots of hints and tips about how to behave and interact with others during the first days and weeks next year.

Our year 6s were given the opportunity to ask questions about any area of the transition they will experience. The session was a worthwhile experience for all students.

The session concluded with a fun game of Golden Child which came down to the wire at the end.

We had the chance to video conference with Scott Kneller and chat about his Olympic aspirations next February in Russia at the Winter Olympic Games. Scott represents Australia in Ski-Cross events. Ski-Cross pits 4 competitors against each other in each downhill race. It is fast and furious with corners, jumps and plenty of bumping taking place.

Scott spoke about his background, his travels, his training and diet, his friends and competitors and then answered a number of questions related to his sport and life. We speak to Scott again later this year and again during the Winter Olympics.

We know we will be watching Scott with interest during the Winter Olympics.

Last week our class had the opportunity to attend our local Secondary College for a day. We were welcomed to the school by Mr Spiel and then taken on a tour by some of the Year 9 SEALP students. Following the tour we then participated in the regular timetabled classes that a Year 7 class would normally attend on this day.

During the course of the day our class participated in Humanities, German, Technology (woodwork) and English classes. The activities were enjoyed by the students and everyone seemed to learn something new during the day.

The day certainly has us thinking about our secondary schooling next year.

A big congratulations to Mr Bush and the school house captains for putting together a wonderful push cart derby event. From my vantage point, at one of the changeover points for Darlot house, all I could see were smiling and laughing students as they raced past. To run an event in which every student in years 3 to 6 gets a go is a great achievement.

Check out some of the action…..

This week for homework students were asked to complete a creative art craft or drawing response to one of their nights of home reading. I received an email asking if it was ok for one of the responses to be a cooking activity that could then be shared with the class on the last day of term. I thought that was a great idea…..

BUT…..

I never expected this……

How amazing does this cake look? I can tell you it tasted very nice as well!

Thanks heaps Jack (and Mum)….I am very pleased you are reading ‘The Hobbit’ by J. R. R. Tolkien and enjoying the book.

Our curriculum in maths asks us to learn about data collecting and graph making. To make this activity a bit more fun we decided to use a fishing rod and measure how far we could cast this rod. The following steps were taken in this activity:

1. Cast the rod and measure the distance achieved in metres (working to two decimal places).
2. Sort the data by using the Microsoft Excel program.
3. Create a graph using Excel.
4. Make sure your graph displayed the data accurately and included a heading, axis titles, a background picture and was clear and readable.
5. Print your data chart, graph, a heading and then answer some questions related to the data.
6. Present all components of the activity on a poster for display in the gallery.

Check out the style and skills of the students as they cast.