Amazing Race Week 9

This week is the final week of our Amazing Race - students have worked well over the last 9 weeks and this week they are able to choose their destination and road block. You can't go to a country we have already visited.

Good luck, the points are very close amongst our top teams!

French Brunch!! (Notice)

The students have been enthusiastically studying French this term. With the term coming to an end a Quiz/French Brunch is planned for Wednesday 10th December.

The cost of this event is $3 per student. Each student will get a drink and a croissant or pain au chocolat. The money need to be paid to the classroom teacher before the event.

Thank you for your support you have shown the students as they have engaged in the new French Language Programme at our school this year.

Regards - Ella Murdoch, Lead Tutor French Programme

Balmac Year 7 "Top Town" 2008(notice)

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter, the ‘Year 7 Top Team Challenge’ will take place next Friday 12th of December. The students will be divided into school house teams to participate in a range of group challenges as an end to our term four focus on communication and teamwork. This will take place on the school grounds from 9am until lunchtime. The students need to come to school in correct PE gear (navy shorts/trackies and school PE t shirt) and can bring house colours to wear too. If your child does not have correct PE gear, they will need to come to school in their uniform. Students will also need to bring a towel (some activities involve water) as well as a big lunch and drink for the day.

Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather – if the weather forecast looks poor for next Friday, we will make a decision early next week about a postponement day.

Natalie Paterson - stream report

Stream Report
On every Thursday, most of the time this year our class - room 13 has been going down to kaikorai stream to do water testing on Kaikorai stream. At kaikorai stream there were lots of tests you could do; P.H., conductivity, G.P.S. and clarity. I was in a group with Sammy, Jessie, Jacinda and me at the start our group job was G.P.S. where we measured air and water. Then when Sammy moved to Kaikorai Valley College our group became Jessie, me and Jacinda. We stopped doing G.P.S. and started doing conductivity which to me is a lot more fun than G.P.S. Also it’s a lot easier because all you have to do is scoop up a cup of water from the stream and put a little measure thing in the cup of water. It will then come up with a number on its smallish screen which yo write down, then you repeat 3 times and BINGO! You’re done. Stream testing is always fun and I’m glad we had the chance to try it this year.
By Natalie.

Jordie & Arnold - Stream Report

Water testing 2008Room13 have been doing water testing down at the Kaikorai stream. We have been testing clarity, temp, ph, con, do2. We have been going down to the Kaikorai stream since the start of the year, trying to make a difference. We go bug testing a lot and find out the good and the bad. I have learnt a lot in this year about the steam and that you are killing the fish. We have about 5 people that go down to the stream every Thursday. Some of our class went out to blow line to plant trees and we sprayed fish on the ground meaning (if you put rubbish on the ground you are kill most of the fish in the sea which means no sushi).also when the class went to bowl line for the stream (there was rubbish every where)! So this is what I expedients at water testing 2008.By Arnold Te Kawa and Jordie Beres!

Amazing Race Week 8 - PERU

This week the amazing race takes us into the stunning South American Landscape to Peru! Your road block this week is to produce a poster A3 size or larger of information, images and facts about the famous "Inca Trail" You should have information relating to Geography, History and People. Your poster should be a visual masterpiece of Information - Good Luck with this weeks challenges!

Will and Nathan's Stream Work Summary

We have been doing water testing for nearly the whole year weekly. We have been involved in two things like when we went behind bowl line. When we were there we planted plants cleared the field heaps of rubbish we also painted fish beside every drain we could find. The other thing was a massive bug hut at the kaikorai stream which took the whole morning. We found lots of bugs and found out how to identify different bugs. We have found lots of info and we put it in the globe website to show other schools around the world. We have lots of fun doing water testing and we hope we can pass our info to other class’s.

Year 7 Speech Semi Finals...

On Tuesday there was the Year seven speech semi finals, from room 13 we had Paddy, Meg and Marco representing us. Everyone spoke well and from the speakers Ms Summers and Mr Clarke judged their 3 top pics for the Final on Friday in Assembly... Well done Paddy, your speech on Sports Injuries was picked in the top 3, so good luck for Friday's final!

Otago Athletic Sports

Well done to Kay and Meg who were competing at the Otago Athletic Sports last week, super effort to get this far. A big well done to Meg who won the High Jump with a winning jump of 1.34m! Awesome stuff girls

Week 7 Amazing Race - Canada

This week has teams arriving in Canada to carry out their work. This week there is no road block task, instead extra points are to be given to teams who show good TEAM work and put a good effort into producing work of a very high standard of information and visual quality. Remember TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More!!

Class Speeches

Well there has been lots of great work going into the preparation of class speeches. Hopefully by now people are starting to really get into practising these at home. Our class speech presentations will begin on Wednesday 18th November and we will have completed these by Monday 24th November!

From the class 2-3 students will be judged and chosen to compete in the Year 7 competition on Tuesday 25th November and from this finalists will go into the school final on Friday 28th November!!

Remember 3minutes is the desired time for your speech, so keep working hard and it will be great to hear all these next week!

Amazing Race - Week 5 - INDIA

This week (10th-14th November) on our Amazing Race journey we are heading to India. The "Road Block" for India is that your group will have to put together and perform an Indian dance for the rest of the class. We were luck enough to see some Indian dance a couple of weeks ago here at school, think back to this as well as doing some research and you should be able to put together something to WOW the rest of the class! You will be given the piece of Music to use. Good luck!!

North Zone Athletic Sports

Well done to the Room 13 Students who competed in the North Zone Athletic Sports on Tuesday 4th November. Representing the school from Room 13 we had... Jamie Scott, Ashley Ryder, Kay Rickerby, Meg McKay, Sarah Whitmore and Joel Smith.

Places were gained in the finals by;

Meg McKay - 1st Discus, 1st High Jump, 1st 75m Sprint

Kay Rickerby - 2nd Shot Put

Kay and Meg were both members of the Girls U12 relay team who were placed 3rd!

Well done to all our competitiors, the next event for the place getters will be the Otago Champs in a few weeks!!

Singapore - Road Block - Week 4 - 3rd-7th November -

Research a traditional craft from Singapore and make a sample of it (everyone in group). Then on Friday share with the class how it was made and if it is possible everyone make one

The Amazing Race

Here are the details of the AMazing Race work that the students have been given to work on as their weekly homework group challenge!! All work is due for presentation and marking on a Friday morning unless told otherwise - Good Luck and remember to work effectively as a TEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More.

Over the next ten weeks you will be working together, completing an amazing race around the world. Each week you will be given a new country with tasks that need to be completed, in order for you to gain points for your team.
Great prizes are up for grabs for the winning team.

The aim of this is teamwork. The better your team works together the more points you are likely to be awarded. The more points awarded to more rewards your team will win.
Each week there will be 30 points awarded to questions and tasks. An extra 5 bonus points will also be given for presentation, extra information and effort. Be as creative as you want remember teamwork is the key.

You will need to collect information and pictures for each week’s questions and tasks. You could use reference texts, travel brochures, adults, the internet, and other information sources to help you on your journey. Who knows you may have even been to the country before.

It is up to your team how you work out who is doing what questions. Everyone needs to do their part. Good luck.

Your team has been given a clearfile which can be used to present your weekly information in. However you can present the information however you want.

Each week, a team’s work will be selected as the work of the week. This will be displayed on the wall around our world map to show where we are traveling. Every week counts!

It is important to use your own words and not copy chunks of information from the internet or reference texts.

You will also be given the new country on the Friday so you
can start gathering information over the weekend.

Good Luck team. Let’s go travelling!!

WEEKLY TASKS TO COMPLETE

Locate on world map where the country is and draw connecting line from the previous week’s country. (1)

Draw the Flag (2)

What is a symbol that represents this country? (1)

Choose 1 thing you would take with you when traveling to this week’s country and explain why.
(Try to be creative. Bonus points for clever thinkers) (2)

Choose three souvenirs you would buy to remind you of your time in this country. (3)

Find out about a famous person from this country and write about what they were famous for. (4)

What money will you be using in this country? (1)

What is the capital city of this country? (1)

What languages did the people of this country speak? (1)

What is a food that you might eat in this country? (2)

Write down the names of some landmarks you saw?
They can be natural or man made. (4)

Name 2 native animals you saw while in this country (2)

Road Block – A road block is a question or task given to you each week. (6)

Presentation, extra information and effort (5)
Total = 35 points

School Athletic Sports

Well done to everyone who took part in the School Athletic Sports on Friday - a fantastic day! It was good to see everyone putting in great efforts and having fun. Well done ot the following Room 13 students who were placed in events:

Kay Rickerby - 1st Shot Put

Meg McKay - Placed in all events!! 1st High Jump, 1st Discus, 1st Long Jump, 2nd Sprints, 2nd Shot Put, 2nd Hurdles

Arnold Te-Kawa - 3rd Hurdles U12

Alex Philips - 3rd Hurdles U13

NIck Curran - 3rd= High Jump

Term 4 - Communication

Well we are all set for another busy and exciting term. Week One is the School Athletic Sports - Friday 17th @ Caledonian Sports Ground - this is always an enjoyable day. Our Amazing Race work begins on Monday when students will find out their teams!! More info soon....

Spinning with Marco

Well the Challenge was to spin the basketball for 1 minute on his finger for the prize of a Moro Gold! Not only did Marco spin the ball for one minute but 3 minutes and 9 seconds!! winning him 2 Moro Golds! The challenge is there for anyone else to try if they think they can, nice skills Marco!

Oh Deer - 11th September

Today a surprise visit came from a deer in a chill box the organs where a liver the kidneys, one testicle (gross) the lungs and the heart. We where allowed to touch the organs and the lady who brought them in told us about the organs and how they are not so different from a humans. She demonstrated by getting mister sloan to cut open with a craft knife the inside was porous and like a tree because the middle had thick branches of air sacks which then thinned out to become thin slivers of air everyone (nearly) touched the lung and a lot of people picked up the smaller organs like the kidneys and even the testicle. Everything was covered in blood after looking at that I don’t think anyone was up for venison tonight!

By Rory Harvey

Longbeach Photos

More Longbeach Photos

Longbeach Trip Tomorrow...Wednesday 27th August

A couple of things to remember for tomorrow - TORCH - you will need to bring a torch with you for one of our activites. Remember lotsa of warm clothing and a warm hat!

If we have to postphone due to weather there will be a cancellation on More FM in the morning. Hopelully we will strike it lucky with the weather this time!!

Longbeach Trip - Wednesday 27th August

Well we are hoping for some good weather next week for out trip to Longbeach on Wednesday 27th August. As planned earlier we will be leaving school at 8.50am in order to get out to Longbeach and into activities by 10am.

Students will need to bring a good lunch, warm clothing(hat & jacket), and suitable footwear. Students should not wear jeans! Track pants or shorts are more suited to the activities we will be doing.

It is great to have some parent helpers coming with us to make all of our activities possible.

If you would like to come along with us and haven’t already let me know please let me know asap, it would be great to have some more people along with us.

We will be returning to school between 3.00pm -3.30pm

Any questions about this trip send me an email asloan@balmacewen.school.nz or call and leave a message at the office.

Otago Science Fair - Prize Winners

Well we have had some great successes at the Otago Science Fair which has been held down at the Otago Museum this week. Balmacewen has scoped up a large number of the awards at this. From Room 13 we had 4 pieces of work go to this and everone has won a prize or mrizes in some cases!!! A super effort. the awards are listed below. The prizegiving ceremony wil be held this Sunday at the Museum. Awesome effort and results!!!!!

Prizewinners
Meg McKay – Does breakfast make a difference?

• 2 X Children and Young Persons Research
• Cluster Group Award
• Aurora Award

Joel Smith – Sea or Sewage

• 2 X Department of Marine Science University of Otago
• NIWA Award

William Pelet – Skateboard stand

• Aurora Award

Will Davidson – No pain no gain

• Asthma Award

Check out this cool site...Brain Pop

This cool site has some great info relating to some of the learning we are doing about the human body at the moment. It has interactive quizes as well which are great o test your knowledge.
The address and login/password are below. (the log in is for a one week trial) Once this trial expires i will load a new one to use.
www.brainpop.com
user name: room13balmac
password: attack

They are fast!!!

Hicham El Guerrouj (Morocco) 3:26.00 Rome 14 July 1998 The world record for the 150m run is 3min 26sec. We went out as a class today and ran 100m each in relay style until we had ran 1500m, our time with 15 students running 100m each was 4min23sec, not even close to the fastest individual for this event!!

Beijing 2008 - Homework 1 Athlete/Team Study

Homework – Olympic Games Athlete/Team

You are to carry out and complete a project on one of our athletes at the Beijing Olympic Games and produce a wonderful piece of work to show your findings and followings of the athlete/team.

Include
1. Name(s) and Profile – beginnings/history, past successes, photo/drawing an info on the athlete.
2. What sport/events entered for Beijing 2008.
3. Info-graphic (full page)
4. Results – follow through all the events of this athlete/team recording their results and reports on events (this may also include information and reports from papers, websites etc). You need to write your own summary of the athletes performances (at least half page).
5. Add and include any other interesting information and findings relating to this athlete and there sport at the Beijing Games.
Timeline/Guide of Sequence
1. Decide on Athlete/Team.
2. Read/listen note take in exercise book.
3. Write up information to present – NO power points.
4. Presentation to class 2 days after games conclude.
You must
1. Show evidence of research and following of the athlete/team – in your exercise book you should have paper clippings and info found.
2. Notes recorded in book.
3. Work written in your own words
4. Neatly and clearly presented in an organised way.

Our Bones

We were lucky enough to have a look at and name some real human bones today, these bones are about 120 years old and have been passed through several doctors while learning human anatomy, ver interesting seeing all the detail of real bones!

New Date for Longbeach Rockclimbing Trip

Well hopefully the rain will ease soon! We have booked a new date for climbing and hope that this date will be sunny and fine! We are now going to be going to Longbeach on WDENESDAY 27th AUGUST. We are still looking for some more helpers, so if you are available and would like to join us for the day it would be greratto have you accompany us!

The Human Body - Homework Task Due 6th August

Your task is to choose a body part, organ or system.
Gather all the information you can on this body part, organ or system.
You are going to have to present your findings about this on an A4 sized page.
You will need to include on your page:
· DEFINITION of the body part, system or organ.
· DIAGRAM/DRAWING of the part, organ or system.
· EXPLANATION of what this part, system or organ does for us and its importance and relationship to other parts of the body.
· DID YOU KNOW BOX with some interesting/possible uncommon knowledge facts.
You need to be prepared to share your sheet of facts and information with the class on Wednesday 6th August.
A high standard of presentation is expected along with a detailed knowledge of all of your information.

Rockclimbing postphoned...

As you will be aware we have postphoned the rockclimbing due to weather related issues, we are in the process of rescheduling these trips and hope to confirm new dates asap. It is likely they will be in week 6-7 of this term

Did you know..... Some interesting facts about the human body!

Some interesting facts listed below, possibly all true?
Your ears never stop growing
The human thigh bones are stronger than concrete
The human body is 75% water
The heart can squirt enough blood 30 feet
Your brain is 70% water
The strongest bone your femur is hollow
Blood isn’t red it is yellow and called plasma
People who have a high number of moles live longer
1 drop of blood is made of 5 million red blood cells 7,000 white blood cells and 300,000 platelets
You can lose 90%of your liver and still live
Your lungs contain 750 million tubes and capsules
Your heart beats 2.5 billion times in 66 years
Some people have over 206 bones
People who spend most of there time riding horses grow extra bones in there thighs
An average person farts 16 times a day
You lose 60 hairs a day
Pound for pound human body produces 5 times more energy than the sun
You can cut the brain directly in half and not fell anything
You shed 600,000 particles of skin every hour
It takes 15 months for the body to fully recover from even a moderately bad sunburn
If you unfold and flatten a set of human lungs they would cover a tennis court
All babies are born colour blind.
Urine is made up of 96% water. The rest is protein and salt.
Babies are born with 300 bones.
If you took out all of the water in your body then you would weigh 40% of your body weight.
Your thigh is stronger than concrete.
Each eye weighs 1 ¼ ounces.
In a child there are 600 miles of blood vessels.
A new born baby’s brain weighs 3 ounces.
In the 1850’s, a man from Paris had a brain injury and all he could ever say ever again was tan.
The brain weighs 1.3 kg.
The left side of the brain controls the right and vice versa.
Ancient Greeks thought that the heart did the thinking.
The world sneezing record is held by a girl that in the 1980’s sneezed 1,000,000 times per year for 2 ½ years from 1981 to 1983/
Stomach acid is strong enough to melt through copper.
Nails are made out of protein called keratin !!!
More than 2,500 gallons of air flows through the average of a adults nose in a day!!!
The human body has 6 ponds of skin!!!
Each hand has 27 bones: eight in the wrist five in the palm and 14 in the fingers!!!
A newborn baby has300 bones, some of which fuse together to make the further 200 in the adult!!!
Every day your fingernails get longer by 2 hairs a day and if you did not cut them they would get up to 28 meters of nail during a life time each piece of hair grows 1 centimetres per month!!!

Class trip to Longbeach!! Copy of Notice

24 July 2008

Dear Parents/Caregivers

As part of the outdoor education programme the year 7 classes will be looking at self confidence and communication skills through rock climbing.

Classes will be split into three groups. Rock Climbing, where a professional rock climber will
take one group, a cave challenge activity and a third activity involving photography and sand sculpting. These are all held at Long Beach and the students will take part in each of these activities throughout the day.

We will be leaving school at 8.45 sharp and will return to school approximately 3.30pm. Children will need to take their own lunch, drink and suitable outdoor clothing.

The need for parent support, in order to keep our students safe, and also the need for transport is very important. Busses now cost between $200-$300 dollars per day, in an attempt to keep the cost down, I was hoping that we could use private vehicles and the school van rather than a bus.

The cost for this day without the use of a bus would be $14. If you are available to help on this day please return the form as soon as possible.

Room 3 = Tuesday 29th July
Room13 = Wednesday 30th July
Room 11 = Friday 1st August
Room 1 = Monday 4th August
Room 7 = Tuesday 5th August
Room 5 = Friday 8th August
Room 10 = Monday 11th August

Push Play!!!

Push play
It is recommended that kids try and do 60 minutes of push play (physical fitness) every day.
Room13 is going to participate in the push play classroom challenge.
The classroom challenge is to record 4 weeks of the fitness we do each day e.g. one person might do 20 minutes of fitness and another might do 30 minutes of fitness.
We will all try to do 60 minutes of fitness or more, at the end of the 4 weeks we will hopefully be fitter and ready for the school cross country!

By Jessie Sims

Term 3 Parent Interview Notice

Students should have come home with a notice outlining interview times for the start of next term, here is a copy of the note just incase it is still in the bottom of a school bag!!

27TH June 2008

Dear Parents/Caregivers

An important part of our reporting programme is the mid-year parent teacher interviews. This is an opportunity for you and your child’s teacher to discuss the progress and achievement of your child and to further home /school communication.

Interviews are at the following times:
Tuesday 22 July – 1.30pm - 5.30 p.m.
Wednesday 23 July – 3.15 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. and 6.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Thursday 24 July – 9.00am-10.15am and 3.15 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.

Please complete the form below and return it to your child’s teacher as soon as possible. Your child will bring home the attached confirmation slip with your interview time. If none of the above times are suitable, please contact the school.

Well Done to Our Award Winners!!!

These People won school awards for their Science Fair Projects today...

Joel Smith - Best year seven project - well done Joel!!!

Award Winning Projects

William Pelet

Meg McKay

Will Davidson

Highly Commended

Alex Phillips

Gemma Lowden

Paddy Ou

Jessie Sims

Gabby Norton-Poole

Class Effort Awards

Meg McKay

Gabby Norton-Poole

Some Science Fair Projects

Science Fair is Here!!!!

Well it is great to see so many wonderful science fair investigations arriving at school today. We have begun our presentations to the class and there are some wonderful projects that people have been working hard on as part of homework over the last 7-8 weeks.

Science Fair Projects will be on display in the hall for viewing from Wednesday this week. You are more than welcome to com ealong and view these from 3.00pm - 7.00pm on Wednesday and 3.00pm through till 7.00pm on Thursday and on Friday morning up until 10.45am.

Science Fair....

Well I imagine this could be a very busy week for some people. Science Fair Projects are due to be at school at the start of next week for presenting to the class and they will then go on be displayed in the School Hall from Wednesday 25th. As this has ben the major homework focus for the last 7 weeks the quality of these pieces of work is expected to be high. I am looking forward to seeing what investigations have been carried out and the resuls and conclusions that have come from the work!

Two puzzles for the week...

Puzzle 1.
What am I.....

I know what my job is,
The point has been made.
You say I have a big head,
And you're right, I'm afraid.
So put me in my place,
And then leave me alone.
What I need most,
Is someone to drive me home

Puzzle 2.
As fast as an eagle, as slow as a slug. As tall as a tree, as small as a bug. Sometimes in front, sometimes behind. Never on top, and always aligned. What is it?

Email your answer to asloan@balmacewen.school.nz or give me a note with your answer on it before friday 13th June

We have a winner.... Jessie Sims!!

Well only one person was able to solve our brainteaser correctly (I was a little disappointed at the lack of people engaging their brain to solve this one!!)

Jessie managed to get the correct answer!!!

So it goes like this..... Today is January 1st, Jenny was 7 the day before yesterday(December 30th) her birthday is on December 31st where she turned 8, this year (as it is Jan 1st) she will be turning 9 so that means that next year she will be 10!!

A tricky one but yes it was possible!!

A Brainteaser to work out...

See if you can work out the answer to this one, you can email your answer to asloan@balmacewen.school.nz or give the answer to me on a piece of paper by friday 6th June! get thinking!!

The day before yesterday, Jenny was 7 years old. Next year, she'll turn 10. How is this possible?

Healthy School Canteens

Today the Government introduced new guidelines for the sale of food in school canteens, ruling out some of the fatty/sugary unhealthy options. the link below is an article on the tvnz website relating to this.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1825639

What are your views on the food that is being sold in school canteens, especially in our canteen here at Balmacewen? Feel free to leave you thoughts in the 'comments' part of this posting. You can also vote on the poll at the side of the main page.

Science Fair Project Progress.....

Well it is great to hear and see so many students under way with their testing, investigations and work related to the Science Fair. Just remember this is a major piece of work and needs a decent effort put in for homework to come up with satisfactory projects and findings. By now you should be well under way with your testing and starting to plan out how you will present your findings and conclude your work. (Science Fair begins on Wednesday 25th June).

Display boards are available for purchase from the school library for $10.00 - these boards are perfect for displaying your work - I will up-load a couple of example photos asap of some previous boards for you to view.

Remember you need to have completed and sent off "Ethics Approval" forms along with permission slips and an explanation of your work if you are using human or animal subjects in you work/testing.

Remember if at any stage you are unsure of what you should be doing - just come and ask for help and guidance!

I am looking forward to seeing these wonderful investigations when they are complete!

Harry Potter Science Experiments

Today we did some Harry Potter science experiments, we were in 5 groups and the experiments were; swirling milk, table tennis water balls, magic layers, quidditch and floating letters! below are some photos of the experiments.

By Gabby

Some Camp Photos From Term 1

Some Photos of Our Water Quality Testing

Below are some photos of us down at the Kaikorai Common carrying out some of our water quality testing. To find out a little more about what we are doing down there you can click on the link at the right of this page.

Science Fair

It has been great talking with students this week and hearing about their plans and progress with their investigations, testing and inventions. By this stage students should be well under way with their preparation and testing, remember any difficulties with ideas of how to create fair tests or even get ideas going in the right direction JUST ASK!!

Helpful Website for Science Fair Projct Ideas....

This website link has heaps of ideas and examples of projects you might find useful.
http://www.all-science-fair-projects.com/

Science Fair 2008

Balmacewen Science & Technology Fair 25th - 27th June 2008

The Science Fair is designed to help you develop your scientific knowledge, skills and attitudes, and further develop your investigative abilities.

Your Science Fair project is the biggest and longest homework assignment for the year. It is due by WEDNESDAY 25th JUNE and it is important to realize that NO extensions are possible due to the School Science Fair beginning on that day.

In class we will introduce the science fair and teach you the skills needed to complete this project.

It is important that you have chosen a topic you are interested in and begin your investigation, model or invention by the end of week two Term two. If you have any questions regarding appropriate topics please consult your class room teacher.

In class we will discuss the setting out and presentation of projects as well as viewing videos on past Science Fairs. Planning sheet, hint and guides will also be provided to students.

HELPFUL HINTS
Think ahead and get your project well underway in the next two weeks.
Place all your ideas, background research, scientific data, notes, sketches and planning in a log book that is to accompany your final project.
Ask questions that you are interested in and look for real answers
Remember you are the scientist in this project and you will be required to present your ideas to the judges and your class.

YOU MUST GET ETHICS APPROVAL FOR PROJECTS INVOLVING ANIMALS OR HUMAN SUJBECTS – PLEASE SEE THE TEACHER IN REGARDS TO THIS.

Term 2....!!!

Well Term 2 will be another busy and exciting time for students at Balmac.

This term our Topic focus is Science, the first half of the term we will be looking at some chemistry and carrying out experiments and scientific investigations. A major teaching point of this work will be the concept of carrying out fair testing and hypothesising about the results and outcomes students exprect from their scientific experiments. Alongside this the major Homework focus is going to be "Science And Technology Fair" Students will have to find something of interest in relation to science and technology and from this write an Aim, Method, Hypothesis, carry out an investigation and finally write a conclusion and summary of findings. This work is always challenging yet rewarding as the process is carried out. (More info will be posted here and sent home with students soon).

The Second half of our Science focus this term we will be looking at "Weather" and all the science and technology associated with this.

Writing - Narratives & Procedural Writing
As part of my own professional development this year i am carrying out some action research relating to childrens writing. The topic of my research is "How can we use blog-pages to enhance students writing" We will be using a blog page as a place for students to post draft writing and have peers read and help with editing and feed-forward ideas to improve their final pieces of work, I will have more on this as the process of this research develops. We have a class writing page (the link is on the top right hand corner of this site).

Maths - Multiplication/Division, Statistics(related to Science & Technology Fair)

Physical Education - Large Ball Skills and applications to various sports.
Fitness - Personal Goal setting and fitness improvement plan!

As always lots will be happening and you support is always welcomed so if you feel you have any skills you are able to offer us at any stage please feel free to gret in touch!!

Our Inquiry work

Well Term One is coming to an end very quickly. There has been some great Inquiry work going on in relation to our topic of "History, Herstory, Our Stories.." Students have been busy finding out significant things about their families and history using the ASPIRE model to gather and sort through their work, very interesting stuff is being found out and presented to the class.

Balmacewen History

Students have discussed and looked at parts of our school life that have changed and talked about the way school was here in the past. Over the next week everyone has to interview someone who has had a long involvement with Balmacewen or is an ex pupil of Balmacewen. They will conduct an interview and make comparasions on their findings witht he way Balmac is in 2008!! We have come up with a wide range of interesting interview questions. We will be sharing our findings on Friday 11th April so all interviews and write ups of findings will need to be done by then.

Homework - Early Settlers - Due 19th March

Early Settlers who came to New Zealand.

We have now started to look at and take notes on some of the first explorers to find New Zealand. Your task is to now find out about some more of the early immigrants who came to New Zealand. I would like you to consider and include in your findings…

Who is the Person/Group of People you are going to research?
Where did they come to NZ from?
What was their reason for coming to NZ?
Where did they settle in NZ?
Are there any Modern day places or significant landmarks related to this person/group of people?
Did these immigrants build factories, set up businesses and what skills did they have on arriving to NZ?

You need to be prepared to talk to others in the class and in small groups about your findings as well as having some from of written report or information poster or timeline of the Immigrant/Early Settler you chose to research.

Remember any extra information you are able to share and find is welcomed, my questions are just a baseline guide to what you need to find out!!

Early Settlers Museum Visit Notice

asloan@balmacewen.school.nz

6th March 2008

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

As part of our Early New Zealand unit each year 7 class is attending a day trip to the Early Settlers Museum. The year 7 classes have been on this trip each year and it is a valuable and exciting experience.

Room 13’s day for this visit is Wednesday 19th March
Programme.
8:50 Meet at the Early Settlers Museum
9am-10:30 Museum Activity
10:45-12:15 The Scottish Story
12:15-1:15 Walk the city & lunch
1:15-3:00 Otago Identity

To keep costs down it is hoped students will be dropped off and picked up from the museum. Staff will be able to transport a small number of students who are unable to change transport routes.
We will require parent help during the day, if you are able to spare some time please fill in the time that suits.
Please fill out the permission and transport form below and return it to me as soon as possible.
Regards

Andrew Sloan
___________________________________________________________________________
I give permission for ______________________to attend the Early Settlers Day.
I am able to drop off at 8:50_____ Pick up at 3:00_______Will require transport_____
I am able to help during_____________________time.
Signed______________________Phone______________

Parent Interviews

Just a reminder - Parent interviews next week (March 11-13) Time slots are filling fast, if you haven't made a time yet and would like to do so, information of times is on a previous posting below. Send a note along with some preffered times and i will confirm a suitable time for you.

Camp Info/Reminders

Thank you to all the parents who have offered to help out on our camp. Great to have your support as I know it can be difficult to get time off with work and family commitments. We will be leaving school at around 9:30 on Monday morning, but the students arrive at school at the normal time with their gear for camp.

Listed below are some reminders.

· Please ensure your child has the necessary gear including lunch for the first day and adequate clothing. (It could be cold so the need appropriate clothing and bedding)

· All clothing and property must be named

· Students should not bring valuables or lollies to camp

· Students and parents who are providing transport need to be here by 9:15 on they day of departure.

· Parents/caregivers staying overnight will need to bring their own sleeping gear. There are cabins with mattresses available.

· If your child requires an inhaler, please ensure they have this with them.

· Any medication should be labeled with instructions and given to me for safe keeping.

Parents/caregivers who want to come and visit us at camp are
more than welcome. You will find the camp by turning left at
Waihola on the road to Taieri Mouth. The camp is approximately
1km along this road, turning right up the hill. The camp buildings
are clearly visible from the road.

Below is a brief summary of what will be taking place on camp
and when, so that if you are wanting to visit, you know what we are up to.

Day 1

Head out to camp at 9:30
Pitch tents
Team activities – based at camp

Day 2

Millennium 6 hour tramp.

Day 3

Based at Lake Waihola
Yachting
Survivor challenge.
Raft building

The prompt payment of camp fees has been appreciated and all is set
for an enjoyable time. We have planned some great activities so hopefully we get fine weather with not too much wind.
Please contact me if you have any concerns or require any further information.

Parent Interview Notice

Email: asloan@balmacewen.school.nz

Term One Interviews – 11, 12, 13 March

To assist us me providing the best programmes for your child I extend an invitation to meet with you in an interview. Interviews will last for approximately 10 minutes and will provide an opportunity for you to share information.

Whilst no formal information on progress will be given, it is a chance to discuss some Learning Goals that may be of use to your child. It’s clear that when home and school work together, learning is enhanced.

Please indicate to me a time frame that suits and i will try to make a suitable time.

Interview times are as follows:

Tuesday 11 March – 1.15 – 5.30 p.m.

Wednesday 12 March – 3.15 – 5.30 p.m., 6.00 – 9.00 p.m.

Thursday 13 March - 9.15-10am, 3.15 – 5.30 p.m.

Camp Gear List

Here is a list of items required for camp next week, quantities of items are an indication of what might be needed as a minimum to ensure a comfortable time at camp.

Bedding
☺ Sleeping bag and extra blankets if required.
☺ Pillow or pillow case
☺ Bed Roll
Clothing and personal items
☺ P J’s
☺ Shorts and T shirt (3-4)
☺ Sturdy shoes suitable for walking (gym shoes are fine)
☺ Another pair of shoes (just in case)
☺
Socks (3-4)
☺ Long trousers/track pants
☺ Underwear (3-4)
☺ Warm top (1-2)
☺ Jacket – waterproof if possible
☺ Wetsuit/Swimming togs(in a plastic bag)
☺ Toilet bag and personal gear (toothbrush etc)
☺ Towel and Tea towel
☺ Sunhat and sunscreen
Other equipment
☺ Torch
☺ Any medical requirements
☺ A plastic bag
☺ Writing gear
☺
Packet of biscuits/cake. Everyone shares this for supper, morning tea etc
☺ Lunch for first day
☺ Water Bottle
Students may not bring
· Radio’s, walkmans cd’s, cell phones, ipods
· Money
· Pocket knives
· Make-up, perfumes, hairspray or other unnecessary hygiene products

A Story by Nathan Foley

It was the last day of school the bell rang I grabbed my bag and ran out of the school gates up the road to the drop off point. My mum wasn’t there I look at my new adidas watch 8:50 oh-no I got to get back to school I told my self. So I started to run back, on the short trip back the vicious dog from number 28 got out and was blocking the path way I remembered that I had a lamb chop in my bag. I got it out and said “beg” then the dog started whimpering. I said “I’ll give it to you if you let me past one bark for yes and two for no”. he barked once and let me past I was about to give it to him but said “psyc” and ran. I didn’t get far before he cut me off “fine I said you can have it” I chucked it to him and ran. I made it to school and everyone kept saying what is that smell I looked at my shoes they had dog poo all over them I said to my self I’ll get that dog if it’s the last thing I do!!!

Written by Nathan

Camp Notice 11th February

As part of our Outdoor Education Programme at Balmacewen Intermediate, the year 7 classes will be taking part in a two night camp at Waihola.

The aim of our camp is not only to provide opportunities for enjoyment, adventure and challenge in the outdoors, but also to develop class sprit, co- operation and respect and to provide opportunities for students and teachers to get to know each other outside the classroom.
Our class will be heading to camp on Monday 3rd of March and will be returning on Wednesday 5th of March.

We will be leaving school on Monday at approximately 9:30.
Our first day consist of activities based down at lake Waihola. Day 2 is will involve a six hour tramp along the Millennium track and Day 3 is based at camp where the students take part in team building challenges before we pack up and head home, arriving back at school at approximately 4:00 on the Wednesday.

This camp will only go ahead with the support of camp helpers. If you can help out for the whole camp or even for part of the time your help and support is greatly appreciated. Please fill in the form below if you can assist. As an added bonus helpers don’t have to sleep in tents like the rest of us. J

In order for us to keep costs down and to make it easier to transport students to the Millennium track and back we are relying on parent transport, as well as using the school van, to get students to and from camp. Also indicate on the slip below if you can help out in this area and the number of students you can transport.

Cost – Payment is set at $55.00. This is to cover the cost of using the camp facilities, food, resources and yacht hire. This can be paid directly to the office or to your classroom teacher.
We know it has been an expensive start to the year, please speak to the office if you have concerns regarding payment options.

Swimming Notice

Here is a copy of the latest notice regarding swimming.

7 February 2008

Dear Parents/Caregivers

Once again Balmacewen Intermediate have decided to use Moana Pool’s ‘Swimsation’ programme for our swimming lessons this year. We feel this is more beneficial for your child’s swimming development.

Swimsation coaches will take a half hour session with each class at Moana Pool, four times during the next four weeks. The school swimming sports will be held at the conclusion of these sessions on Friday 14th March.

Room 13’s sessions are as follows:

Session 1
Tuesday 12th Feb 11.00 – 11.30am
Session 2
Tuesday 19th Feb 11.00 – 11.30am
Session 3
Monday 25th Feb 10.00-10.30am
Session 4
Monday 10th Mar 2.00-2.30pm

Our Class will be walking to and from the pool and we require 2 adult helpers per class in order to meet safety requirements. Please complete the form below if you can assist with this.

Children will need to bring their togs and towel to school and they will walk down to the pool and return to school in their correct PE uniform. You will notice that one swimming session concludes at 2.30pm. Students will be able to walk home from the pool for this session if they have parental permission. (Please indicate on the form below).

The cost of swimming has increased slightly this year due to Swimsation and will be $3.25 a session. Please pay no later than one day before each swimming session. Or alternatively you can pay $13 before the first session.

Please complete the permission slip below.

Kind regards

Andrew Sloan

I give permission for ____________________________ to take part in class swimming sessions.
I give permission for ____________________________ to walk home from the pool at 3.00pm following an afternoon swim.

I am able/unable (circle) to help with _________________________________ swimming sessions.

SIGNED: __________________________________

"ME" Introduction Project work.

Below is a copy of the first piece of work to be completed in order to get to know eachother in the class. Students will have until Monday 18th February to complete their work.

ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME ME
Welcome to Room 13 2008!! So, Who are you???
This autobiography/project will introduce you and some of your skills to those who read your work. Below are a series of tasks you are to complete…
All the tasks are investigating you and your special characteristics! Use creative ways of presenting your work; after all it is all about you!!!
o TITLE PAGE – Include your name and photograph of self portrait.
o BEGINNINGS – You may need to ask for some help with this one! Write about the day you were born. When and where were you born? What were you like as a baby? Are there any special stories about your babyhood?
o YOUR FAMILY – Name, Illustrate and describe you family. You may include your extended family and pets.
o Research your FAMILY TREE; complete the sheet with names, dates and places of birth where possible.
o EARLY MEMORIES - Write about an outstanding memory you have – 1st day at school, a success story, a sad time, an accident, losing something, an argument, first freedoms…
o Make an A4 COLLAGE about yourself using magazine pictures and cuttings of words/letters – Be creative with this page – This page will be displayed on the classroom wall so be sure to include your name somewhere in it!
o SPECIAL EVENTS - Write about a special event in your life. Try to express your feelings and describe the occasion through your senses. What did you SEE, HEAR, TOUCH, SMELL & TASTE?
o CHARACTER – What sort of person are you??? List TEN positive qualities/attributes that you have. Is there anything that you don’t like about yourself?
o CHARACTER REFERENCE – Get a family member or close friend to write a character reference for you, they will describe how they see you as a person outlining your qualities.
o A HELPING HAND – Everyone does some things better that others. Divide your page in half and list the things you do well on one side and the things you would like help with on the other. Can we help each other?
o ROLE MODELS – write a letter to a person who has positively influenced your life and tell them why. It may be a family member, friend, neighbour, teacher, coach or someone famous in their field.
o HOLIDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, WEEKENDS - Select at least one of these to complete; What I do at/on…, What I’d like to do at/on…, My ideal….
o THE FUTURE – Where will you be in 2020? What are your hopes, dreams and ambitions? What skills or education will you need to achieve them?

Include a contents page in your work.
Your autobiography is to be presented in your Project Clearfile.

Welcome to Room 13 2008!!

Welcome to the Room 13 blog site, here you will find regular updates of learning and happenings in Room 13 along with any notices or important dates. Some posts will involve your input into commenting and giving your opinions on things happening in and around Room 13.

Lets have a wonderful year in Room 13!!! Watch this space!!