Cockle Bay School

Gifted and Talented Events

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Author and Illustrator Workshop Cockle Bay School was recently represented at a Students Author and Illustrators Workshop by Reuben S, Emma S, and Alice C. "Wow!  That workshop was awesome!  I had a great experience that I shall remember for a long time.  I thought the Authors were more interesting because they talked about story writing strategies.  I enjoyed the workshop heaps."  ~  Reuben "I really enjoyed the Writers Conference.  It was amazing and I learned a lot from the three authors/illustrators workshops I went to.  Jill Marshall, author; Sarah Anderson, illustrator; Melinda Szymanik, author.  Thank you for this awesome experience." ~ Emma S "I really enjoyed the authors and illustrators workshop at Te Papapa School.  It was the best way for me to learn new skills and tips on publishing and illustrating by actually meeting authors and illustrators.  Some of the things they talked about were things I could relate to as well, but some of the things they said were not what I was expecting.  But after the workshop I can't wait to give some tips and ideas a go." ~ Alice C Specialty Lunches Term Three Speciality Lunches Monsters of the Deep was a huge success with around 50 children meeting in MPR2 to view the Te Papa website on the colossal squid.  During the Money, Money, Money week we looked at coin collections.  Thank you to Reuben Y for bringing in his coin collections and sharing them with us. Last term we had a couple of Specialty Lunches.  We had two Fossil Lunches for children who were really interested in fossils, rocks and crystals.  Mr Wellock was an informative guest speaker and he brought along quite a collection of fossils.  These lunches were very successful and more will be held in Term 2.  If you have a special interest you would like to share please contact Jayne de Groot at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Term Two specialty lunches have had the focus of Ancient Egypt.  We have had some interesting discussions about mummies, pyramids, hieroglyphics, and life in ancient times. Meet a Metre (click here to go to the website) 35 children from Year 4, 5 and 6 have nominated themselves to be part of the Meet a Metre project.  This is a New Zealand International Science Festival and Department of Conservation interactive online project offered to year 1 to 10 students throughout New Zealand. This ten-week project takes place from Monday 27th April to Friday 3rd July, in term 2, 2009. The aim of Meet a Metre is to promote good science and the 2010 New Zealand International Science Festival. The project also gives young scientists a unique chance to connect to DOC scientists. Enhanced biodiversity/ecology, increased native flora and fauna, reduced exotic flora and fauna and an increased public awareness/appreciation of the local natural values are also aims. Additional aims could be the attraction of birds to the area, a study of the history of the area and weed control. This is a project that will immerse students in a real and practical opportunity which, while simple, will teach them correct scientific methods and terminology. The brief   Students will: Audit life forms (flora, fauna, fungi) within a metre section of their school grounds Collate and present their findings Formulate a plan to enhance the area Create a new plan in response to feedback given by DOC experts Monitor results   Students will be encouraged to recognise changes over periods of time. Meet a Metre Scientist Task Timeline Week 1 First session First we had to write a letter, email or meet with Mrs de Groot to apply to be on the Meet a Metre team. Then we had to research a scientist over the weekend.. When we came back to school we sorted ourselves into groups and called each group after a scientist.  We took a photo of each year group. Second session We went around the school to do a worm count at various places around the school. We did not find much. 1. Bottom of the bank under the oak tree - clay soil, no worms 2. Top of the bank under a maple tree- red soil, moist, 2 ants , no worms 3. On a dirt pile next to Rm 29- dark soil, rocky, sandflies sitting on top of the soil, no worms 4. Behind the pool- white fungus in the soil, 3 lavae of grass grub (we discovered from one of the sites) no worms 5. School field under the rugby posts- dark soil, one large worm , one small worm YAY! 6.Under the Pohutakawa outside Room 17 - lots of roots and a blue hair tie, no worms 7. Top of nature walk- roots, no worms 8,. Bottom of nature walk- cicada shell, white fungus in soil, 1 ant, no worms. We don’t have very good soil! By Cole Year 4 Weeks 2 and 3 First each group made a quadrat. Mr Want and Mr Botha helped with the quadrat wood work. Then we took them and put the quadrats around the school. We had to look at where the quadrat was, what the area was like, how much sun it got during the day and how shady the area was. Year 4 used the pool area Year 5 went behind Room10 Year 6 are outside Room 30 By Jenna Year 6 Weeks 4 and 5 In weeks four and five we did some testing. Poke,scrunch and drown test: We poked our fingers into the soil to see what it was like, We had to see what the soil felt like by rubbing it between our fingers. It was either clay, sand or loam. Most quadrats were clay. We took some of the soil and drowned in water and detergent to see what happened when the soil was saturated. The soil split into two groups . The lighter bits stayed on top and the heavy bits sunk to the bottom. Sub soil testing: We used our sub soil tester and pushed it into the soil. We took  samples from each quadrat and then analysed it. Some people found worms, grass grubs and some people found nothing. By Liam Year 6 Week 6 This week we are starting to decide what to do to enhance our quadrats. We have a few questions to ask the scientists and we are interviewing Mr Want the caretaker to find out what he puts on the grounds and how often. We have talked about the scientific method. One of the teacher aides was talking to us and she told us that lime can break down clay. Interview Today, Friday, we interviewed Mr Want the caretaker. We asked him lots of questions about what he used around the school to fertilise the grounds and how often. He did this. He talked to us about watering the grounds, fertlising, mulching and weedkillers that he used. Our last task was to start our Enhancement Plans in our quadrat groups. We talked about the scientific method and looked at our research, formed questions and an hypothesis and started discussing what we might do. By Lachlan Year 4 Week 7 We are working had to get our quadrat enhancement plans completed and submitted by Friday 12 June. Mrs de Groot Week 8 The Meet a Metre Scientists have given all of our quadrat enhancement plans feedback.  This week's task is to amend our plans according to their suggestions.  Have a look at the Meet a Metre website to see what we're up to.  TERM THREE - This term we have been monitoring our quadrats and this week we did our final subsoil tests to see if our enhancements plans made any difference to the soil.  Unfortunately the Year 6 Team's quadrats were dug up by the digger, much to everyone's disappointment.

Last Updated ( Thursday, 17 September 2009 )