Sunday, May 25, 2014

Kei te whakahihi au i a koe!!! (I'm very proud of you!!!)


Congratulations to: Mystica, Natalia, Brianna, Khaira, Sophie, Eduardo, Dhannis, John, Noah, Preston and Marco, from Room 14, for last week making their First Holy Communion and Confirmation.  The children have undertaken many Sunday afternoons, and additional study, to receive these prestigious awards.  First Holy Communion is an important ceremony for Catholics.  It marks the child’s first reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  The Sacrament of Confirmation is one of the 7 Sacraments of Catholicism, and confirms one's faith.  Special thanks to Bishop Patrick Dunn for traveling up from Auckland to be part of the ceremony.





Seasonal Change - Autumn Trees


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Michael Mangan's Concert

Michael Mangan is a teacher, composer and has a passion for music.  He has nine collections of songs that are widely used in schools and parishes in Australia, New Zealand and North America.  His compositions are known for their "singability" and suitability for liturgical celebrations, especially with children.  Michael tours throughout Australia, New Zealand and North America each year presenting school and parish concerts and "Music in Liturgy" workshops for teachers, catechists and parish musicians.  Last week, Michael visited our school and taught us some of his new songs.  The children (and staff) loved his enthusiasm and love of music.  Thanks, Michael.

Swimming at the Aquatic Centre






Magic Milk Experiment

If you add food colouring to milk, not a whole lot happens, but it only takes one simple ingredient to turn the milk into a swirling colour wheel.  By adding a few drops of food colouring to a plate of milk, then wetting a cotton bud in dishwashing liquid and then placing this on top of the food colouring in the centre of the plate.  See what happens...  Why does this occur?  What is the 'science' behind this simple experiment?  Why don't you try this experiment at home?  All you need is:  whole milk, food colouring (3-4 different colours, if possible) and dishwashing liquid.


Thursday, May 8, 2014

The Day 'Foam' Came to School

Last week, the Whangarei Fire Brigade visited our school to show us how 'foam' is produced.  Foam is a mixture of three parts: foam concentrate, water and air.  It is mainly used as a blanket to control the spreading of fuel in an accident or in a natural disaster. The firemen spread the foam using a special machine onto the field.  The foam looked like puffs of white clouds.  The firemen then chose one child from each whanau to dissolve the foam using normal water sprayed from the fire truck.  There needed to be several children to hold the fire hose because of the pressure of the water.  The end result being that the children saw how foam was made and then ‘changed’ (or dissolved) through adding water.  Special thanks to Fire Officer Ron Wilson and his crew for their time.