Body Boarding Merc 2017

Bodyboarding

At Merc 12 students were so eager to immerse themselves in the water to face the challenge of bodyboarding for the first time and to get themselves covered in goosebumps. Bodyboarding can be an addiction for young and old people who enjoy being in water especially children like me and my friends.

Whistle instructions were given out, the first whistle- stop look, listen and the sound of  2 whistles signaling that it was necessary to evacuate the water immediately and the listen closely and quickly to follow the instructions given out by the instructor. It is essential to listen to what instructions that were given out so that we knew what to do id and when a rare emergency occurred.

The water was freezing at first but it turned out to be warm after all the movements that made from the activity were accomplished. After instructions were given out by the instructor, it was time to catch some waves. It was confusing at first because we expected to be given lessons but, instead, it was about using the knowledge about swimming within the waves and enjoying our day at Merc- Long Bay. It was difficult to go through the waves because of the force as they crashed into the shore and quickly spread and became calm.  It was like the heavy tunnels of waves that had challenged each rider had not happened.

As the petrifying waves formed, riders quickly and impatiently jumped on top of their bodyboards to swim with it. Squeals of excitement filled the air, the water was so cold and it felt like sliding across the ice. Everyone wore wetsuits, fortunately, which kept the riders warm. For some of the children in room 8, it was a challenge something they have never tried in their lives before and they overcame their own fears of being around enormous waves. For most, it was their first time to have the chance to swim with waves like swimming with dolphins.

Our instructor, while being in the water, kept an eye out for any possible rips in the water because it can be very dangerous and they can be located anywhere at the beach. It can be near or far and can lead to people being pulled down under the water.

Instead of swimming or going on top of waves, many riders immersed themselves under waves, diving and then coming up with the waves  rolling over their heads and sliding off their backs. Waves passed and carried the riders back to shore, whistle instructions were blown out and bodyboarding was over.

Everyone had a great time and for many, it was their first time experiencing bodyboarding, all riders look forward to doing bodyboarding again.

A snap shot of excitement Merc 2017

Technicraft!!

 WALHT: Observe what happens when the constants are combined.

As I catch up with my experience at Tech, our experiment was to combine all constanttogether to observe the reaction that affects the icing sugar, sodium bicarbonate, vita fresh, citric acid, tartaric acid and when their all combined.

When the sodium bicarbonate (which was baking soda) was tasted, it was bland and could not smell it because it wasn’t very strong to make the smell visible. Icing sugar looked crystalline and slightly powdery. It tasted like sugar a bit sweet. It was then mixed into the sodium bicarbonate using a rod. Following that, it was then combined together into one big container mixed.

Then vitafresh was pink orangish colour and tasted exactly like raro. It was sweet then the after taste was sour. It was also poured into the other mixture together with the 3 constituent (icing sugar, sodium bicarbonate). Citric acid had a similar look like sugar but smaller. Once it was tasted it was extremely sour that the vita fresh. The tartaric acid was the same as the citric acid but more sour. It was very white but opaque which wasn’t translucent enough to be able to see through like a window.

When all constant was combined it tasted sour then sweet, after it was fizzing. When they were mixed there was no reaction until water was added.

The Big Jump!

Walht: use critical thinking skills to: identify, analyse and evaluate articles and stories that involve ‘Facing Challenges’

After reading this story, I have created the following P.M.I. graphic organiser where I have identified key ideas through analysing and evaluating the text in relation to

Facing Challenges.

The Big Jump SJ Part 4 Number 1 2002

With an overcoming fear two boys were faced with a petrifying flying fox that they never expected.

Plus	Minus	Interest
Overcoming fears helps to gain more confidence and this helps the person  to grow and encourages  new learning. Facing challenges  gives people the opportunity to attempt  new things.	Some people suffer with Phobias which makes it more challenging for people to get passed. Facing fears can be risk taking and  can result in  harm or death particularly if people don’t follow instructions	Bullies sometimes aren’t  as strong as we expect. It is amazing that the character of people can change from confident to insecure and via versa, when facing challenges.

Te Reo!

Golden Syrup!

I can’t eat it!

The Year 8’s had an awkward day at Technicraft, not just unusual but awkward, it included golden syrup, a methylated spirit burner, matches, safety goggles and test tubes. The  objective was to observe if the smell of the golden syrup increased and melted faster while in a solid and frozen form inside a test tube.

In its solid state, the smell of the syrup wasn’t really noticeable. Placing the test tube with the golden syrup inside it, underneath the armpit for 1 minute and then taking it out -  the syrup actually melted but not as fast as had been predicted. Using a hand motion to allow the aroma to waft into the air increased the sweet smell further.

Following that, rubbing the test tube in between our hands, the smell increased more together with the speed at which it melted. Every time something different was tried, there was a minimal change that affected.

Eventually, the burner was lit and  the test tube (held by test tube holder), was cautiously held above the flame and rotated.  Bubbles started to sizzle. Close observations showed the bubbles in the syrup began to form  rings down the test tube, which was fascinating.

Observing the changes that occurred when the golden syrup was heated was a fascinating and inspiring experience.

Which bubble is going to last the longest?

The time is ticking!

At Technicraft year 8 experienced an interesting group of lessons, involving making and testing 6 different substances to figure out which one (Glucose, glycerine, salt, sugar, water or detergent) would allow bubbles to last the longest without dehydrating and evaporating.

The glycerine had a lot of  viscosity (syrupy)  and was  transparent. Observations were like syrup  but white in colour.  When poured into a cup, the smell was a bit hideous.

5 cups and a plastic straw including a timer were part of the experiment to observe how long a bubble lives when it’s blown out of the straw. The detergent is combined with water and then poured  into the cup.

Following that as the salt, water and detergent were trialed and also timed. Unfortunately the bubble did not last very long (less than a second.) Salt does not create bubbles!

Later on, after testing all the substances and looking at the time they lasted. Unfortunately salt was the least bubble to stay the longest because salt can’t make a bubble. The glycerine should’ve lasted the longest, but  it was the sugar that proved to be most effective in sustaining the life of a bubble.  This result however, was very unusual.

To get long lasting bubbles, I recommend that your bubble mixture should include: glycerine, water and detergent.

Acrostic Poem!