Forest Lakes 2012

Tomorrow we will be back at school. It seems like just yesterday we were at camp, chilling, laxing and having lots of fun. Well done to Rm 17 - everyone conquered great things and personal goals that you set. You should be very proud of your 'can do,' attitudes that saw you overcome fears, obstacles and barriers. You can safely say everyone in our class knows how team work looks. I look forward to reading your blogs with comments, photos and videos you choose to upload.

Science

Congratulations everyone on getting your display boards finished. I particularly am proud of some of the topics people chose to investigate. It can be very easy to find an investigation on the internet or in a book that looks fun and exciting. However many of you thought carefully about problems and issues in your everyday world and were able to tie this into a question you wanted to investigate. Keep up the commited level of thinking Rm 17 are renowned for!

Mathsweek 2012

Yah it has finally arrived! This morning we kicked maths week off with a battle against Rooms 15, 16 and 17. We had x20 questions and only 25 minutes to answer them - NO PRESSURE! To say the questions were challenging was an understatement! Congratulations to all of the participants. Rooms 16 and 17 came out equal champions both on 7 points. Can't wait to see what the rest of the week brings!

Making Ice-cream

Ice-cream - How Does Salt Ice Freeze our Liquid?

On Friday we hypothesized about salt ice. We had to make ice-cream and then freeze it inside a snap lock bag with ice and salt. We recorded the temperature of just the ice, then after we added the salt, then 15 minutes after time had passed. The results were varied but we concluded that the ice was further dropping in temperature due to the salt that we placed inside the bag.

BUT HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Ice has to absorb energy in order to melt, changing the phase of water from a solid to a liquid. When you use ice to cool the ingredients for ice cream, the energy is absorbed from the ingredients and from the outside environment (like your hands, if you are holding the baggie of ice!). When you add salt to the ice, it lowers the freezing point of the ice, so even more energy has to be absorbed from the environment in order for the ice to melt. This makes the ice colder than it was before, which is how your ice cream freezes.

(Source: Howstuffworkz.com)

French Cafe - Dining on French Cuisine

Our amazing French tutor Kate arrived at school on Friday with an experience we will never forget. Our hall was transformed into a French Cafe and we got to taste crepes, baguettes, Croisants and Hot Chocolate. All examples of French Food you will find consumed in France. Some people were conversing in French while eating their goodies, the sound system had French music playing in the background and the ambience was surreal. Thank you Kate for your energy and enthusiasm in providing us with an authentic learning experience!

Ambush Claims NZ Soldiers Lives

On Sunday, Miss O'B heard about the terrible tragedy that had happened to two of our NZ Defence force. We read about the tragedy from an articel from the NZ Herald and watched the reports on the news as well. Room 17 wanted to send out a public message to all the families that have been affected by this. Our thoughts are with you all.

The death of someone you love will always be with you. Friends will help and support. I am deeply sorry to hear about this accident.Bella

I am very sorry for your loss of a great family member and alsoa brave soldier. You should be very proud of what he did for us as a country and what he risked his life for. He will
be remembered as a great new Zealander. We are thinking of you all. Monique

There are a lot of brave people in the NZ army and these two were two of them. Matthew

We are all feeling for you right now. They will be remembered as very brave and strong. Brady

Hope all the family is pulling together. It is bad for both NZ and the families affected. Riley

Hope all the family is OK. Bonus

This is a horrible thing to happen. I hope the family is OK and supporting each other. Daniel

This is so sad for the families that have to go through the loss of their relatives or friends. NZ is also grieving at the deaths of these brave New Zealanders. Jack

To the families of those that have died, I hope you are feeling better about this horrible disaster. To all of us (not just the family and those who knew the soldiers) we hope you feel better very soon. Daneille

We’re all deeply sorry about what happened. I’m sorry for the loss of your family member. NZ sends their thoughts. I can assure you, these two men that dies for their country are truly amazing. Laura

I am very sorry for your loss. Hope you get better. Ethan

I am very sorry for your loss of great family members. I am very grateful of the amazing job they did in defending Afghanistan. They will never be forgotten but always remembered in my heart. Brearne

I am very sorry about your loss. I hope you can recover from this loss. Ethan

I am sorry for your loss but don’t forget they will always be with you. They gave their lives but will never be forgotten. Micah

My thoughts go out to the family of the people who were killed and injured. Cody

I’m very sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you during this horrible time. Josie

I’m so sorry. Jacob

Kia kaha to all of the family and friends that have been affected by the ambush in Afghanistan. For two soldiers to be killed and another six injured, it is a phenomenal price to pay. My thoughts are with you all at this very sad time Miss O’B