The Cockle Bay Colour Run

This year, the school's main fundraiser is the Cockle Bay Colour Run.  Year 3 students had to run as many laps of the colour run as they could in 15 minutes, and their sponsors funded them for each lap they completed.  Runners who registered will be collecting their sponsorship money over the next week or two, and receiving their Fun Run prize later in the term.  Please send in your money if you had a good time!

Highest jumper was Summer!

Most paint on a T-shirt was Alyssa

There was a group photo of the whole school after all the runners had finished.

Mothers Day Flowers

We know that all mothers like flowers so instead of making a card for Mothers Day, we made a flower - but not just any flower.  When these paper flowers are floated on water, they slowly open their petals to reveal a special Mothers Day message.

First we made practice ones with Room 2 and tested them in water.  We discovered that paper is made of small fibres.  When these absorb water, they swell up and the paper expands.  This makes the creases flatten and the flower opens.

Then we made our Mothers Day flowers - if you look very carefully you can read our special messages before we folded their petals.

Looking after the vegie patch

All classrooms have a garden to look after at Cockle Bay.  Room 18 has the garden just outside our classroom where we have planted our flower seedlings and mint.  We also look after the vegie garden by the front of the school near the main school entrance.  Sometimes we go and do some weeding before school, so that the vegetables have lots of space and sunlight in which to grow.

When we were at the front of the school, we were amazed to see how many mushrooms were growing under the trees.  Last year, the school brought in some new soil to improve our native garden, it looks like it had a LOT of mushroom spores in it.

We identified the mushroom using Mrs Bear fungi book.  It is Armillaria limonea.  Some people call it the honey mushroom because of its colour.  It grows in groups on rotting wood under native and introduced trees throughout New Zealand

Easter Bunny crystals

The last day of term 1 just before Easter was SO busy with our team trip to see The Man Whose Mother Was A Pirate that we forgot about our Easter crystals!  They were waiting for us when we returned after the holidays.  We were so excited to finally take them home, that Mrs Bear forgot the photos - only one was snared! 

First we made a rabbit shape with pipe cleaners. Then we tied our shapes to pencils from the Lost and Found with a thread.  We needed to write a label on the pencil as well, so we knew which one was which.  Mrs Bear dissolved borax in hot water to make a saturated solution.  We hung our crystals on their delicate threads into bowls of borax solution . . . and waited.

It was interesting to see how many crystals formed on the pipe cleaner frames.