Orakei Marae Trip

Here are some pictures of our trip today.  We will add a caption tomorrow.

 Us sitting listening to stories about the history of the whenua

 Bastion Point

 What a special place this is

 Orakei Marae

 Worm Bins

 The Nursery

 Did you know Orakei Marae have a zero waste policy?

 Wow what a collection of punnets

 This whenua is truely amazing!

 Composting at Orakei Marae

 Listening carefully

 Defence post - for the Russian invasion

 Room 32 helping to weed the City Mission Garden at Orakei Marae

Smiles at the end of a busy but rewarding day.

Look at all the trays we filled!

America's Cup Hysteria

Room 32 have caught the New Zealand wide America's Cup excitement illness!! We have eaten a delicious breakfast at school for the past few days, while eagerly watching the America's Cup races. This morning at 8 o'clock the whole hall was filled with chattering children who wanted to watch the America's Cup races 12 and 13. Many early birds got to the higher seats and many late kids and parents got the lower seats or the free space on the floor. After lots of confusion we realised that the second race was postponed.  While the Year 5 and 6's waited for the reporters to explain to us what was happening to the race, we all joined in a game of Splat!  Later, in the class again, we noticed that everyone had disappointed faces on and they were not as cheerful as before. Sadly, we have lost our chance of winning the glorious trophy today.
By Stella and Emily

Eating breakfast and watching the race on Thursday

In the hall on Friday...hoping to win our final race

Wow look at the turn out

Solar Panel Pump

The solar panel pump group in Room 32 had a blast building the solar panel pump for our sci tech project. We made a pump that gets energy from the sun and powers the solar panel which works the battery. The battery then powers the water pump and forces the water in the tank up the pipe and squirts the water out and into a cup. When the cup is full it tips into another cup and tips back into the tank then it restarts. We had to get heaps of materials we got a tank, pipes, water pump, the massive battery and cups that we made from recycled milk bottles. The solar panel group were thinking of joining a water wheel to the pump but there was not enough space for the wheel. We took the pump outside and tested it but the problem was the cups were tipping backwards.  We fixed it with adding another stick through the cups and it worked perfectly. At sci tech we had a little malfunction
on our pump... the pipe fell right off!  We had similar problems with the other pumps because lots of children were keen to use them (which was great).  We fixed it by adding some glue around the base so it would stick.

By Logan and Izzy

One tipping bucket

Two tipping buckets - just like the Cuba Street one in Wellington

Oh no not again!  Crash!

Our cool water wheel

Putting the water wheel in the container

Mike heating our pipe for us to bend it

Final touches to our tipping bucket structure

We needed two sticks to stop it from tipping backwards

Finally it's working

Rm 32s Kaleidescopes

Yesterday Room 32 made Kaleidoscopes. We were donated the sets to make them by a company who didn't need them anymore. The set came with:

• 4 different sized cardboard tubes, one tall, one medium, one tiny slit, and one white one to hold the rest in place.
• Assorted beads for inside the kaleidoscope.
• 3 glass lenses, one frosted, one clear, and one small one for the eyepiece.
• Coloured paper for decorating.
• 3 mirrors and foam packing, also for the inside.
• Black fittings for the eyepiece and connectives.

Here is how you make them...

1. Take the medium sized cardboard tube and fit one of the black fittings (the one with only the rim) into the bottom of it.
2. Put the frosted lens into the bottom of the tube.
3. Add the tiny cardboard slit into the tube, then add the beads that you want in your kaleidoscope.
4. After you add the beads, add the clear lens on top, then set the tube aside.
5. Get the longest tube and slide the white cardboard pipe onto the bottom of it, then glue it in place.
6. Once the glue has dried, add the other black fitting (the other one with only the rim) onto the top of the white cardboard tube and fit the medium tube (from steps 1-4) on from underneath.
7. Get the 3 mirrors and tape them together in a triangular prism shape.
8. Then add the foam packing around the mirrors.
9. Insert the mirrors into the tube and put the small lens on top.
10. Insert the black fitting with the little hole in the middle and you have completed your kaleidoscope!

View the from inside of the kaleidoscope 

Outside of the kaleidoscope

By Holly and Gretta

Paddy Pump

A few weeks ago we were testing our paddy pump outside the classroom. We noticed when we were testing that the chain kept on slipping off.  We decided to tighten the rope.

We also had to fit a water wheel somewhere in the pump so we spent the afternoon designing where we would put the water wheel. We decided to put the water wheel under the pipe and cut a hole in the pipe and block off the end. After we cut a hole in the pipe we fixed the water wheel to the pump.

We had to get the Paddy Pump ready for the Sci Tech exhibition in the hall. We started to paint the Paddy Pump white and then went over it in truffula tree colours.  We had to work all day to get it finished and to get it up to standard.

It was an amazing time and everyone loved it in the Sci Tech exhibition and the Paddy Pump group are very proud of what we have made. Look up How to Make a Paddy Pump if you find it you should definitely try making one !!!

By Anna, Darlene and Nico.

Constructing the paddy pump

Testing it in the pool

Designing how the water wheel would be connected

Testing our design

Yay it works!

Hedgehog Fun

Yesterday me and Ray made hedgehogs.  We need orange and skewers and some marshmallows.
I snapped some skewers in half and push a marshmallows.  I  made a 6 marshmallow skewers and cut the orange and push the skewers into the orange to make the hedgehog's prickles. Now eat your hedgehogs!!!!!!!

 

By Jay

Heron's Fountain Pump

Room 32 love building and science!!! So when they were given an opportunity to show off their skills by building a heron's fountain they happily took up the challenge. We got to work straight away. We collected some chemical containers and attached them to each other, added plumbing parts and attached wire to our little bike wheel to make it hover over the raised container. Later on we glued milk bottle caps onto the wheel for more detail and easier functioning for our water feature.
We tested it and there were about a million leaks so we raised the top container onto a piece of wood. It worked and it just shows a little modification can go a long way!!!

Caitlin and Caleb

Club Ski Champs - Gemma

 My dad calls me to wake up at 5am.  We are going to the mountain for the club ski champs, but first we have to drop my sisters at the swimming pool for training.  We then drive south, and I fall back asleep.  When we go to Otorahanga we had to stop for a short break as I felt sick from the windy roads.  Finally 2 hours later we get to Mount Ruapehu.  We get on our ski gear, and put on our rucksacks, and go and stand in the chair lift queue.  We line up in the queue, and while we are there we get scanned to check we have our season passes for the mountain.  We finally get on the chairlift and ride up to the Ruapheu Ski Club Lodge where we are staying.  We then drop our gear in the lodge, and then go out west skiing.  It was such a hot day we had too much warm clothing on.  We ski the Turkey run and then go up on the T bar to the top, and ski down the Black Magic.  But, we ski down too far and we have to hike back up again carrying our skis.  That night we have dinner in the lodge.  I sleep in a top bunk, and my dad sleeps in a bottom bunk.  The next morning, it is RSC club champs.  I have my breakfast then put on my ski gear.  The first race I do is the slalom.  When I do the slalom I didn’t go too fast between the poles as I had seen lots of people who went before me crash.  One the giant slalom I went really fast as the gates are further apart.  That night it was prize giving I found out that I came first in the Giant Slalom and Slalom for the under 10 years old, and I won a huge trophy and a medal.  I also came second in the under 13 years old category and won a medal. 

By Gemma

Energy House Trip

On Monday Room 32 went on a trip to the Energy House. It was near the train station. First we went near the train station to see the solar panels which provided the energy for the house. Then we were lead into the house and travelled up stairs to the wetback. Lots of people (including me) noticed it was warmer then the usual home.  Simon (the house owner) then explained how mostly every wall had 3 layers of insulation! Now that's warm. then we split up into our groups. I was in Jo's group. First we had a closer examining of the wetback. I thought you lit a fire in it because there was a large hollow like a fireplace. There were 2 thin pipes coming out the back which I thought the heat energy went and heated the hot water. There was also a very tall funnel coming out the top which I thought lead to the chimney. It didn't. Instead it lead to the hot water cylinder which is where most of the water for the house was kept. We had a look at the kitchen with it's radiator, fridge with the thickest walls for insulation, different types of solar panels on display on the bench and some different types of lights. There were some questions for us to answer; however, and some were tough. On the deck/veranda, though, more questions bombarded us! We went to go see the water cylinder buried under the deck/veranda, answered a question then went over to the other end were we saw some pipes. There we answered a question then headed back inside to the freezer which had walls which were noticeably thick. After that we waited for our turn to go up the ladder to the attic where we saw the hot water cylinder. It had wires from it leading to all the different places in the house. Then we went back to school

 

The pipes out the back of the wetback.

 

The buried water cylinder.

One of the many lights.

A solar panel.

 

By Matt

Pizza Day

G2T was awesome. We made pizzas and hunted for pine cones all morning!! The chefs first made the dough and then rolled it. Topping was then added and the pizza was cooked. The gardeners; who had great fun, tramped into the center of the gully and hunted for pine cones... there were kids all over the place but luckily the bell went and that sent them running. The gardeners then went and got some fire wood, to add to the pine cones because the blocks would keep the pizza oven burning. The outcome was delicious pizzas in record time!!! G2T was awesome!

By Caitlin