Science Room's blog

This term, as we all know, is very short and busy.  The year 7 students only have four lessons in Science, this is because of other events in our programme like Outdoor Education week, The Havelock North Intermediate Exchange, and Orientation day.  But we are making the most of our four sessions and learning about the digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems of the human body.

During the last week of term the year 8 Science classes are participating in a series of five experiments all involving magnetism.

1) The Floating magnet.

2) Attract or Repel.

3) Hang Loose.

4) Length and Strength.

This has been a very exciting and interesting week in the Science Room.  In the Art Enrichment programme called Quality Products we have been making soap.  The Option one programme, Lets Experiment, was a very interactive lesson as we examined our crystals from last session and made lava lamps.  In the Syndicate Enrichment programme called Let's Investigate we made models of atoms and finished our lessons about the Periodic Table.  The Year 8 class lesson on Electricity and Magnetism involved an experiment called What's the Force?  This involved testing six

Today I recorded my blog post as an audio file:

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During week four of the term, in the Science Room, we used the battery powered electrical circuits that we made to test various items.  The testing showed us whether identified items were conductors or non conductors (insulators).

On Wednesday afternoon we had an interesting Art Enrichment session when we designed and constructed walnut wobble creatures. The criteria stated that one part of the walnut wobble had to be constructed to wobble.  The result was a collection of colourful, well planned and made creatures.

What a very different week this has been at MIS, The first science class on Monday morning began with only three students.  Part way through one student had to catch the bus home.  

We have been having fun this week in the Science Room using static electricity.  Classes have been learning about atoms, protons, neutrons and electrons. We have learnt that protons have a positive charge and electrons have a negative charge.  By rubbing a pen on woollen material we gave the pen a negative charge and were able to pick up paper, which had a positive charge.  Following this experiment we found out that different charges attract or pull towards each other and some charges repel or push away from each other.

Welcom back to the Science Room in Term 3.

Our Teacher is Mrs McKinstry.

We are having a finishing of session for all uncompleted work this week. The last section of the Science video 'Shaky Beginings' The shaping of New Zealand is been shown. This video describes the Origins of New Zealand's landscape and vegetation and the forces f nature that shape them. It looks at the seperation of Gondwang land, New Zealands position on th Auistralian and Pacific continental Plates, earthquakes, volcanoes, weather, landscape, Glaciers, Erosion and limestone caves.

This week in Science we are learning about the tectonic plates and some of the happenings that have shaped the geoiogy of New Zealand. To help us we are veiwing a video called 'Shaky Beginings'. The shaping of New Zealand.

For thoose students that have completed their Mastery test for the term and have achieved their personal best in their Science exercise book we have reward. This involves Sherbet making.