Taipa Sand Dune trip

We have been learning about the importance of protecting the sand dunes. Annabelle Giorgetti helped us to organise a trip to the sand dunes. We went to Taipa beach where we met up with Laura and Rachael from the Northland Regional Council. We learnt how to identify the native plants that we need in the sand dunes and how to identify and pull out the weeds.

We learnt about the bird and animal life that depend on the sand dunes. 

Jo Shanks from CBEC was there too. We learnt about how important it is to not litter and to pick up all pieces of rubbish that we find at the beach as the tiny bits can be just as dangerous to sea animals as the bigger pieces. 

The egg experiment

This was our experiment

Predict what you think will happen if we put an egg in a glass of water.
Put the egg in a glass of water.
Observe what happens.

Stir lots of salt into another glass of water.
Predict what will happen when you put an egg in this glass.
Observe what happens.
Why do you think this happened.




We used the Mangonui Learning Process for this learning.

• Being curious
• Collecting information
• Connecting information
• Creating  
• Communicating ideas.

We wondered what would happen when we put an egg in the water.
some ideas were:

• it would explode.
• it would crack
• a chicken would come out.

We collected information by observing what happened.

• The egg sank to the bottom
• We stirred in lots of salt.
• The salt disappeared. It dissolved into the water.

We connected information.

• We realise that even though we cant see the salt it is still in the water.
• We think that it is the salt that is holding the egg up.
• The egg is floating.

We created and communicated out learning by writing, drawing and talking about what we observed and why we think it happened. 

We love science!

Trip to the star dome and the gym

Pukeko and Nga Ringa Awhina went for a trip into town. To extend our learning about Matariki we visited the star dome at the Te Ahu centre. We got to see images of stars and constellations on the roof of the dome. 

We even got to hold a meteorite. This one has come from millions of miles away from outside our solar system.

 While we were at Te Ahu centre we visited the library and had a quick look at the museum.

Next we visited the gymnasium in Kaitaia. What a fun place to exercise, play and explore!!

Then we enjoyed out lunch at the park. What an education, adventurous and funfilled day we all had!

Shadow Investigation

We have been learning about the earth, the sun and the moon. We talked about and watched a demonstration about how we get day and night on earth. We went outside, found our shadows on the ground and drew chalk around our shadows. We went back outside later in the day to see what had happened. This is what we found...

 Our shadow was gone from the chalk. It went to the other side. The sun moved in the sky.

By Te Ahere

The earth was moving around.  It moved our shadow.

By Cody

The shadow moved.

By Mikayla

The shadows moved because the earth moved.

By Josie

 The shadows were moving. They got big. The earth was spinning around.

By Tohe

It was funny how the shadows moved. They went from side to side.  The planet earth was moving.

By Cooper

The sun moved, my shadow moved too,
By Shiloh

The earth pushed the sun away. The shadows went on somebody else’s chalk because the sun moved.

By Joevarn

The earth moved on its own axis so the shadows moved.

By Samuel

The earth moved so the sun moved in the sky.

By Jordan

When I came back I saw the shadow had moved somewhere else. Because we are moving around the sun – the earth.

By Thomas

The shadows turned the other way because the world turned.  Our shadows were where we were standing.

By Leah

The shadows moved.

By Whetu

The shadows moved when the earth moved.
By Mackenzie

The sun turned.
By Bentlee