Science Fair – Caladenia & Wattle Grove

To celebrate National Science Week for 2014 the PAC and MAAC, from both Caladenia and Wattle Grove Primary School, came together to display a myriad of science concepts and experiments.

These incredible pieces of work have been produced over a period of just five weeks in preparation for the presentation day. With the ultimate support by both parents and teachers, it was an extraordinary result for all students of both schools. With given only a short length of time to conduct an experiment and explore each subject in depth– it sure was a challenge!

On the day of the occasion, there were multiple stalls set up to entertain our guests in the undercover area and around each alcove. This was a great opportunity for the students to test their public speaking skills while interacting with the various parents and teachers who came along. Also joining us were Mr Nathan Morton (MLA for Forrestfield) and Ms Jo Watkins (Member of the ESWA); it was an honour to be in their presence. 

We all thoroughly enjoyed the event.

Many stated the event as being ‘an extraordinary day of mind-blowing science’- Khaled 

While others acclaimed ‘The Science Fair was very engaging and fun to communicate with the audience.’ – Henry 

Rhian described the occasion as ‘an exciting and overall amazing experience.’

At the end of the event there were several award winners for each of the categories: Outstanding Presentation, Commitment to Science and Interesting Investigation. It would have been hard to judge these awards because we believe that many of the students excelled on the day.

- Elycia and Mikayla

Inset:
Elycia & Mikayla ready to meet and greet.

Bianca & Alyssha with their investigation on the conductivity of liquids.

Mini Scientists being addressed by Mr Nathan Morton.

Blake & Kai working together to keep everyone up-to-date with the forces of friction.

Khaled trying to master the properties of sublimation.

Henry & Peng sending home a strong message about the corrosive nature of soft drinks on teeth. 

Rhian discussing her investigation with Mrs Hoskins and a few students from Rm 16.

Deckard, Qian Jet & Sean detailing the strength of plastics made from the humble milk. 












 





The Science Fair was a huge success.

Adam & Intisar looking very scientific

Bella is doing a great job discussing her topic with a couple of Year 5 students

Well done to all students from Wattle Grove and Caladenia who participated.

Book Fair Parade – 2014 – Avengers Assemble

 

Where would you be able to see multiple jellyfish, a walking Wonka chocolate bar & The Avengers all in one area? You don’t know? Well, I’ll give you the answer: it’s the annual Wattle Grove Primary Book Week Parade, 2014!

 

This annual event took place on the 25^th of August 2014 in the main undercover area, which was packed to bursting point as many classes exhibited their extremely ingenious costumes in a wonderful show of creativity.  There was everything from sea creatures & jungle animals in the Kindy/PP classes, to fairy-tale parodies, Alice in Wonderland and the Avengers in Year 7. 

Some of the teachers also couldn’t miss the fun- Miss Hoskins made a wonderful chocolate bar and Mr Petch dressed up in a striking Thor costume (such a shame he didn’t bring a hammer.) As you may already know, Room 22 dressed up as The Avengers, although there were some DC 


and Leeming Senior High School superheroes as well. We had heroes from Captain America (complete with star-spangled shield) to Wonder Woman (actually, there were two of them!) I would like to congratulate the school and Room 22 on an amazing Book Fair Parade- it was a fabulous event! 

 -  Bella

"It was great to see an array of characters from a wide range of books." - Lachlan

"I really liked how the children connected with their chosen book. This year, every class had to present their book to the school; it was wonderful to see the children of all ages stepping up and showing such interest." - Rhian

"What a finale for our Primary School Book Fair. It was fun to dress up as our favourite Superhero and lead the class in the Book Fair Parade." - Sean

CROSS COUNTRY

Cross Country

At school we had six separate cross country races (Junior: boys and girls, Intermediate: boys and girls and Senior: boys and girls). The Senior races composed of boys or girls from both Years 6 & 7, and took place at the end of the day on Friday the 8^th of August (Week 3). The top three children from each year and gender went to the Interschool Carnival with fourth place being a reserve. The weather was respectable with slightly clouded conditions.

Competitors in our class for the girls’ race were: Lucy, Mikayla and Rhian.

Lucy came in first overall with a 60 metre lead that she crafted during the race. Mikayla came fifteenth with Rhian completing her second cross country close behind.

Competitors in our class for the boys’ race were: Blake, Henry, Sean, Amos, Khaled and Lachlan. Blake came in first overall by at least 75 metres after a surprising sprint finish. Henry came in second after a slow start. Sean ran his very first cross country and managed to pull off a seventh place with Khaled two positions behind him. Lachlan didn’t complete the race but has only raced in a cross country once before.

Interschool Cross Country

Interschool Cross Country took place at Dawson Park Primary on the Friday of Week 4. It was a similar distance to the one the competitors ran at school (1.6 km) so the only obstacles our competitors faced were the other schools’ champions and the uneven landscape of the track. The day was perfect for running (not a cloud in the sky but because of the month, the air was pleasant). The top three place getters got a ribbon and will get a medal when they are ready. All representatives did especially well and managed to secure 3^rd place for the school overall and 5^th in the handicap scores.

Representatives for our school in the girls’ race were: Lucy, Isabella and Cass. Lucy pulled of a nail bitting win in the last millimetre with the other two girls coming in a comfortable 3^rd (Isabella) and 6^th (Cass) place.

Representatives for our school in the boys’ race were: Blake, Henry and Aidan. Blake secured second place after pulling off his now infamous sprint finish which he applied speed to after passing third. Henry reigned in at 5^th place after overtaking a few people. Aidan finished a few places behind Henry. The two events will be etched in my memory for a long time to come.

 - Blake

MATHEMATICS EXTENSION - L.S.H.S.

This term, at Leeming Senior High School, we are building AN ENTIRE COMPUTER?! Indeed we are, using only a fish tank, some Paraffin oil (also known as mineral oil), computer parts and some rocks. Although, it is not as simple as that, as there is plenty of maths involved to keep us thinking. We don’t simply put oil in the tank then drop in the computer parts and sprinkle in some rocks, oh no, as there are many specific variables that we must consider. We must find out the volume of the fish tank to find out how much oil to put in. That’s that done, right? Not quite. We must also find out the volume of the computer parts so we can find out how much oil they will displace and change the amount of oil needed accordingly. Finally, we’re done, yes? No, time for the rocks! Just put in some rocks until it looks nice, right? Wrong. What if you want 180 rocks, but the computer can only handle 169? Can those extra 11 rocks really make a difference? Probably not, but we cannot take the risk, as a few rocks is not worth an exploding computer.

Now it’s time to talk about the computer parts. It is absolutely vital to know the essentials of a computer. The problem is that if you put too much weight on the fish tank, it could crack, causing the Paraffin oil to leak out, and thus ruining the entire project. You must find the perfect balance between what is absolutely necessary and what can be replaced. For example, you could potentially replace a CD-ROM with a USB Port, as it is lighter and not much less convenient. This project has been a blast and it has enabled us to apply many mathematical skills we have learnt along the way. It has also helped us look at the world of computers and technology in a new way.

- By Adam