We are learning about all things science this term and today we decided to do an experiment to see what happened when we mixed oil and water. The first experiment was a bit of a disaster because all of the food dye came out of the oil and sank down into the water. It ended black. WE did it a second time and decided not to put colour in with the oil which meant that the separation between the oil and water was more obvious.
WE wrote the experiment up in our Writer’s Notebooks. Looking forward to doing another experiment tomorrow!!
What’s your favourite experiment so far?
On Wednesday we all went to Scienceworks because our Inquiry topic this term is how changes in temperature effect solids, liquids and gases.
We were able to look at the different exhibitions such as Sportworks and Think Ahead. We went to the Planetarium and learnt about the seasons and the night sky (identifying the stars in the Southern Hemisphere).
The highlight for me was the presentation at the Science Stage. Gordon did a few different experiments using liquid nitrogen. When he mixed water with dishwashing liquid the bubbles became frozen. He explained that liquid nitrogen is extremely cold and when it comes into contact with the dishwashing liquid most of the nitrogen disappears, it changes its state, contracts and spreads around.
He put liquid nitrogen into a bottle, then put a balloon on top. The cold air inside mixed with the warm air and caused the balloon to blow up.
When solids (such as a metal ring) were placed in liquid nitrogen it contracted slightly and could fit through the ring but once the ring went back to its normal state, it could not fit through.
A squash ball and blutac nail, placed into liquid nitrogen became so hard and brittle, that they could be smashed by a mallet!
We learnt that when gases cool down, they contract, when they warm up, they expand.
It was fascinating!!
What was your favourite part of the day?
We had an entertaining performance of The Little Mermaid today!
The story was one that we all knew but it was such a great experience for us all having live entertainment with real actors! The costumes were colourful, the music was loud and I really liked the way the actors asked the audience questions to keep us engaged! It was a mesmerising performance!
What did you enjoy most about the performance?
We were very lucky to have Martin Heppel from “The Resilience Project” visit us today.
Martin spoke to us about gratitude. He told us about two young people he knew who were the happiest people, yet they did not have what many of us take for granted. One boy, Jeremy, could not eat or drink and moved around mainly in a wheelchair, yet he had the greatest sense of humour and was always looking for the positive side of things. The other boy live in Nepal and thought that he was incredibly lucky to be able to go to school even though he only got to go for 2 hours a day and there were no pencils, paper or rubbers at his school.
Martin told us about flipping our mood by thinking of the many good things that happen on a daily basis rather than focussing on the (very few) negative.
He believes that four things are integral to everyone’s happiness and these are; laughter, dancing, music and exercise. He also touched on mindfulness and meditation which he suggested we should all try to do more often.
Martin was an inspiration to us all!
What did you take away from Martin’s talk?
Outside our classrooms we are lucky to have thriving vege gardens. Mr Haslam and Mr Burdess tend to these gardens and at this time of the year they are blooming with kale, broad beans, lettuce, silver beet, parsley and much more.
We picked kale and silver beet. After washing germs, Sunny’s mum came and set up the staff roo. For us all to cook! We rolled, chopped, broke eggs, mixed and whisked. Our frittatas were put into the oven. At lunch time, Sunny’s mum delivered the frittata to us in the classroom. The verdict?
What do you enjoy cooking and/or growing?
Today we were lucky to have Gerrard Cafe from School Performance Tours come to our school. He told us stories about Australian history and folklore. He explained to us that these things have shaped our identity. Many students were able to go up onto the stage and participate. There was a didgeridoo, sheep shearing and lager phones to make up a bush band.
We learnt about Bush Rangers and some students got to put a tucker bag and billy on the swagman as quickly as they could!
Gerrard told us about Australian heroes including the Anzacs, lifesavers, firefighters, farmers and sportspeople. This complemented this weeks character strength focus on courage. Heroes are people who have believed in themselves and had the courage to reach their goals often when faced with adversity. They are people who others look up to and admire.
Gerrard sang songs and read some poetry. He was really funny, we laughed a lot but we also learnt a lot!
What did you learn about Australian Folklore?
What did you like most about the performance?
This week we have been learning about Persistence, one of the 24 Character Strengths.
Persistence means working hard to finish what you start and not giving up.
We had fun learning how to juggle. Juggling is an activity that requires persistence and we are going to practise our juggling until we see some improvement.
We read “The Most Magnificent Thing,” a book about a girl who shows determination and persistence to reach an outcome.
Persistence is closely linked to “Growth Mindset”.
We’ve enjoyed watching the “Growth Mindset” series on Class Dojo. These short videos were put together by Carol Dweck, the lady who developed the idea of “Growth Mindsets” to help children to learn.
People with a growth mindset understand that through effort and persistence you can change and grow your brain to achieve success. The more you try, the brainier you will become because the brain has the ability to grow and change. It is good to make mistakes because mistakes enable us to improve and learn. Instead of saying “I can’t do it”, people with a growth mindset say, “I can’t do it yet.” The final film is about “The Dip” which is like a hole that you can fall into when you first try something new. Although it might be frustrating, people with a growth mindset are determined and eventually climb out of the dip. They end up proud of their effort.
Can you think of a time when you had a growth mindset?