Duffy Role Model

We had a visit from Diana Queenin 

She grew up in Pukekohe and while in high school spent a year in the United States.  She has lived in Melbourne, New York and Los Angeles (as well as Auckland and Wellington).  While in New York she worked as a guide in the Museum of Natural History specialising in  Dinosaurs and Ocean Life. In Los Angeles she attended UCLA University and studied  Bio Geography (the effect of nature on the land) and spent time in the American  deserts among the cactus and snakes. Diana is a certified Scuba Diver and has dived in the Caribbean, the Red Sea, and Thailand and learned much about the underwater world. She joined Project Jonah when she came back to New Zealand and is very interested in Whales and Dolphins (as well as Monarch  Butterflies, Plants, Fishing, Insects, Birds, Travel, and READING BOOKS).  Recently she went to Uganda to the source of the Nile River was fascinating to listen to. She talkeda about and presented some of the interesting things shw has collected over her life time and djuring her travels.

Easter

Easter

We iced Milk Arrowroot biscuits so that they looked like Easter Eggs. We made 80 of them and took them to A-Z Preschool for morning tea today. It was heaps of fun and we got to play with the little kids there. They had made VERY YUMMY cupcakes so we had a really good morning tea( we did have fruit to so it was a little bit healthy).

We also made a gift for each of the little kids, it was a bunny, We made them out of hollow plastic eggs from 'The Warehouse'. We used pipe cleaners to toake the fee and ears, then we put a fluffy tail on the back. We could stick on eyes or drav them with 'Sharpie'. We filled them with 3 small caramel eggs.

                          

 The final thing that we did was wrap them in cellopahne and put a little notice on them wishing everyone 'Happy Easter'. We made 40 of them to take to the preschool and then we made one ourselves to keep or give away to someone in our family.

Statistics Investigations

In our class we had to do some hands on work for maths. We got to build  marble runs and paper planes. We then had to do measuring and male graphs of our results.

Planes

We had to research and make 2 different style paper planes aiming  to make the planes fly as far as possible. Next we had to make a statement on a variable (something e.g. wind)  that might affect flight distance. Next we collected data by trialling each plane and recording the distance it traveled alongside the variable ywe were testing. Then we made graphs on Google Sheets

Marble Runs

We had to make a stable ramp. The ramp could be made using a  wooden metre ruler with a groove down  the middle of it, two metre rulers joined together or other suitable material like cardboard. The ramp needed to remain the same throughout the whole time so we had to be careful not to break it. We put one end of the ramp on books to make a slope and the other end positioned so the marble could roll until it stopped without hitting anything.

We had to roll the marble 20 times, 5 times each at 10cm's, 20cm's 80cms and 90cms. We then had to measure and record the distances the marbles rolled. Last we had to make a graph.

We used heaps of tape and cardboard but it was a fun way to do graphs.

Meditation

Meditation

Meditation Links
Hot Air Balloon ride https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlv6Y1tq1sQ	Butterfly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mX4JBBIcBk&t=37s
Secret treehouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWOHcGF1Tmc	The Magic Sh ell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9PUQcdQ2U

The links above are some of our favourite meditations. If you really concentrate on your breathing and listen carefully you get to go on n imaginary journey. Its a great way to start the day.

Each day our whole school goes to the hall as sson as we have done the roll. We then do a Karakia in Maori and sign language, sing a couple of waiata then meditate. At the start we thought it was a bit weird to sit or lay in the half dark but now we all really appreciate the time to start the day in a positive way. The students who are doing the sound system get to choose our meditation, theres some really cool ones about butterflies and hot air balloon trips. 

We can sit up with our legs crossed and our palms up or we can lay down in a comfotable position. We have learnt to concentrate on our breathing and develop it, breathing in our nose deeply and out our mouth. This really relaxes us. most of us really enjoy meditation ad it lets us leave things behind(especially if we have been arguing at home), quieten down and be ready for learning. 

We think we focus much better after doing meditation and most of us just get to work. At present we have been doing writing straight after this and there are some really creative stories.

Making Brownies

When years 7 and 8 went to High School for Technology the year 6 students made brownies. They were really really yum. We made  enough for the whole school to have a piece and for us to take a piece home for our parents and bothers and sisters.

 We had to measure everything really carefully. First we had to read the whole recipe (someone didnt and made a mistake and had to start again soooooo theres a good tip for you)

   

Heres the recipe you should try it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mocha Brownie

250 gms Sugar

125 gms Butter

1 teaspoon of instant coffee granules

2 eggs

1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence

100 gms flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

(You can put nuts in if you want- you just push them in before you put it in the oven)

In a pot put the sugar butter cocoa and coffee. Cook on medium heat until the butter melts, then cool for 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat by hand until they are mixed in. Stir in the flour baking powder and salt. Grease the tin and then cook for 25 minutes on 180. Cool then add frosting

Frosting

3 tablespoons soft butter

20 gms cocoa

2 - 3 tablespoons milk

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Beat the butter until fluffy then add cocoa. Add the icing sugar beat well then add the vanilla. Lastly add the mil a little bit at a time until it looks right. Put on the brownie and cut