Technology Presentations

Computers are incredibly helpful, however they are not capable of creative thinking as a means of problem solving.  As part of our Inquiry unit, the fantastic kids in Room 2 have been working hard, researching and developing new ways of solving age old problems .

Weeks have been spent constructing their inventions; producing advertising campaigns and writing pitches.

Finally we have started presenting.  This is the fun part, and everyone loves fun!

'Make-up Gun' by Nicholas.  Nicholas conducted research and discovered women spend between ten and sixty minutes applying make-up every day.  He took inspiration from The Simpsons and designed this time saving device

'The Equipment Collector' by Jacob and Travis.  This clever device seeks out lost items and then stores them safely until they can be retrieved.

A.P.F. (Automatic Pet Feeder) by Liam.  This invention is equipped with a firing device that shoots out food for cats, dogs and pet rodents.  Inspired!

Cam Ed. (Camera Education) by Ruby and Nadia.   These creative girls also built a website to market their invention.  Well done!

Creativity is King

'Ball off the Roofer' by Soph and Karthiga

'Mail Collector and Deliverer' by Brayden
The 'Ding-a-ling a-Bot' by Nessa

Marketing Team at work

Manufacturers at work ... and play

On the assembly line

Creative Chaos

Mrs. Venville talks design with Ruby

Working together in order to lighten the load

Careful construction by Jasmine

A Hive of Creative Activity in Room 2

Jacob and Travis are working on their concept.

Olivia and Angie are in the process of constructing their robot.

Carol is designing a slide show as part of her advertising campaign

Nicholas is working on his 'make up gun'.

Ever the perfectionist, Brayden works on his prototype

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

It has been a busy couple of weeks in Room 2 as we have focused on the art of innovation and design. 

             Last week we came up with designs to meet two briefs.  In the first task, the kids had to design a butterfly trap.  In order for it to be deemed successful, it had to meet certain criteria.  First and foremost it had to trap the butterfly safely - not damaging its fragile wings in any way.  There needed to be some kind of storage facility in the contraption, it need to pay homage to the old style butterfly net by incorporating some form of netting, and it had to be user-friendly for single operator use.  

            The kids, who were working in collaborative groups, had to pitch their designs to their classmates.  They had only one minute to 'sell' their idea.  Following the presentation, they accepted five questions from the floor.  The questioners were looking to find weaknesses in the design. Designers had the right of reply.  It was very intense but also fun.

              In the second task, the kids had to design systems to get people quickly and efficiently around a busy airport.  Their design had to include buttons, safety had to be prioritised through thoughtfully applied safety features, their design had to be based on current technologies (no more than fifty years in the future), and any 'vehicles' had to fit an average sized kiwi family (four or five people).  Some of the thinking was out of this world!  The ability of the kids to think divergently in order to solve a very complex and real world problem was truly impressive.  

                 This week we have discussed the reason for inventions and inventing (and also scientific exploration and discovery).  Inventions are about addressing human need; about identifying and resolving problems that hinder us from moving forward.

                 Today we considered problems that we see currently exist in our homes and in our school.  Again we worked in collaborative groupings to brainstorm all the problems, and by extension all the possibilities.  An automatic pooper scooper was a fantastic idea, and what about our school lunch orders being delivered via zip-line to Mrs Coombes?  Kids loved the idea of an automatic bed maker... and why wouldn't they?  Isn't walking the dog a total pain?  Why hasn't anyone ever designed a robotic dog walker?  These are the big questions...... Forget what is the meaning of life?!

                We will start with concept drawings soon and will begin researching the possibilities to see whether our ideas have popular appeal or are even 'do-able'.  

                Gee whizz, it's all go, go, go in Room 2 as we race towards the future.

    

Looking to the past when we anticipate possibilities for the future

MOTAT is New Zealand's largest transport and technology museum.  Today the pupils in the senior school visited it in order to discover just how far things have come since settlers first came to New Zealand. If you were given a huge number of cogs, could you arrange them to operate in unison to do work?  The trip's purpose was multi-dimensional - we also explored the way technological development has transformed the way we live now, and will continue to impact our lives as we move towards the future.

The interactive displays encourage innovative and divergent thinking: given a fairly unlimited number of virtual gadgets could you build a modern day butterfly net?   That's what the students were invited to do when they stepped up to the interactive screens/displays in 'The Idea Collective'.   The children were awed by a very young inventor who built a tool to help you to safely cut wood into kindling for fires.  Another group of young and ambitious inventors had created an interactive game that promotes fitness by being paired to a trampoline you are required to 'play' on.   All of these displays have one purpose in mind - to inspire... and to give the children a glimpse into the future.

Ruby 'playing' on the tramp

We hope to take the learning back into the classroom.  From tomorrow the students will start to think about the way they can affect change through their own technological imaginings, investigation and innovation.

Brayden B as inventor

Snakes for snake's sake

Kids happy 'cause they've got snakes

Key Competencies - Participating and Contributing, Managing Self, Relating to Others, Having Fun
(Okay, I just added the last one!)

There's something about Buddy Class

       Once a week we have buddy class.  Buddy class is great and it's a chance to build bonds between the kids.  It's fun and it develops confidence and social awareness.  

       There's something about buddy class.  I have witnessed it and it's a truly curious phenomenon.  The big kids love to do the crafty activities at least as much, if not more, as the junior kids. This week it was snakes. The sound of kids issuing instructions, folding paper and laughing at the snake expressions they created, filled the room with a vibrant hum.  It was a series of happy moments as I was asked to meet Mr. Giant Snake, twin baby snakes and many snake families (and that was just the big kids).

         The Year 2s packed up and left with their snake families, leaving my kids to ask, "Mrs Wallace, can we make some for us this week too?" 

         Yes, school is about learning, but sometimes that learning can come in the form of celebrating the place of fun, and about laughter, and about finding pleasure in the simple things - like folding two piece of paper to make a snake.  Yes, yesterday the lesson was mine to learn. Remember that your Year 5 and 6 kids are still kids and make sure you acknowledge this need in your planning, Mrs Wallace. Don't forget that frivolous fun is a vital ingredient in making a child truly engaged in the Sunnyhills School experience. 

Yip, kids, snake making is locked and loaded for Friday afternoon!

An Audience with Stu Duval

What an awesome afternoon!  Today the Senior School had the pleasure of hearing Stu Duval give a taste test of his upcoming novel - working title 'The Flax Cross'.  

               Man, it was awesome; it possessed so many of the elements we explored when we studied narrative.  There was the protagonist, Red McAllister, who is sent to Botany Bay in Sydney for stealing bread thrown out by a London baker; the menacing antagonist in the form of the Reverend Scree, who has clawed hands and dresses all in black, and Red's love interest, the beautiful, but downtrodden, Sarah. There was excitement, there was drama .... there was true and enduring love.  I won't give away the story, but needless to say we were all captivated, and a few tears were even shed. I think there will be no argument when I say we are all waiting with bated breath for Stu to finish the writing and editing process, before sending it off to his publisher. 

                There was a quiz and prize at the end of the session.... So which class won?  Well, that'd be the best class in the school, of course.  Thank you Cailan and Jacob for your efforts in winning us this original Stu Duval artwork.  You guys rock!!!!

And the award for outstanding performance in a comedic role goes to.....

Angie for her highly believable interpretation of an interviewer

Best picture award goes to ..... Jacob, Carol and Nicholas

In pursuit of all things green and shiny ...

Amazing leprechaun trap by Jacob.  Wowsers!

The purpose of this collaborative learning task was to help the children to see how by combining the individual strengths of the individuals in a team great outcomes can be achieved.

All the groups have worked on scripts, detailing their interactions with a wily leprechaun, and designed their own menus, offering Gaelic fare, in order to charm the leprechaun out of his gold.
The kids have also designed traps, researched the history of leprechauns, and created a spreadsheet showing how they would spend the pot of gold should they secure it.

All of these activities were designed to promote critical and creative thinking skills.   Those children who excel at maths worked out the capacity of the pot and then worked out how many gold coins it was likely to contain.  They researched the weight of an average gold coin and then worked out the current value of gold in order to calculate how much money they would have to spend.

The menus are beautifully crafted.  The creative children experimented with a variety of fonts and formatting when finishing the carefully researched dietary needs of an Irish faerie.  The history of the leprechaun has been presented in Google Slides and the traps were designed in Google Draw but constructed using hard materials.

Because of the range of activities, and the varying skills required for successful task completion, there was something for every type of learner.



Jared, Karthiga and Samuel presenting their leprechaun script. The audience loved it and it was laughter all round.  Well done guys.

The Teacher as a Learner

A picture paints a thousand words ...

Proof that you are never too old to learn and that a growth mindset is critical in setting up our 21st century learners.  Thank you Mrs Poole for giving me a shove in the right direction. #codingiscoming

Go New Zealand!!!!

Our promotional brochures are progressing nicely.  The kids are working collaboratively? Check. The kids are learning how to use new forms of technology? Check.  The kids are increasing their knowledge of our unique kiwi culture?  Check. The kids are learning to format their work in a challenging new way? Check. Emirates Team New Zealand won the America's Cup today? Check.

So, all and all, another great day in Room 2? Check!

Or should that be check mate? ;-)  Or check bro? :-)  Or check... heck...

She'll be 'right mate!

What does kiwi culture look like?  

Today the kids had to brainstorm what kiwi culture looks like.  They formed into groups of four, where the rules dictated no discussion was allowed.  Each person had to contribute to the list their ideas on what our culture looks like. Piece of cake, right?  Yeah, nah bro.    

          A voting system was then used to decide on the five most important items on the list. (The photos attached were taken prior to the voting process.)  The kids did not know it then, but from tomorrow they will begin shaping a marketing campaign that will promote New Zealand culture and identity to an international audience. Reckon it'll be sweet as, but they'll have to go hard out, eh?

        The kids will have to decide on a marketing strategy and then present their ideas to a panel that will consist of the teacher (me!) and three of their peers (whose names will be pulled from a hat).  Reckon that they'll be mint,eh?  It'll be choice cuz!

              As part of their campaign, they will have to sell the idea of New Zealand's unique culture, and so in keeping with this, we will also be looking at Kiwi colloquialisms/slang and iconic New Zealand attractions (specifically the kiwi obsession with sculptures of big fruit, veges and animals).   

          Selling our natural beauty would be too easy.  Here's hoping they'll be all good. 

Chur!

The Cat's Tail

Don't worry peeps, it's a pun not an error!

Cats in the city... that was never the intention when I was told to pick a theme/artist for our Visual Arts week... in fact, I very earnestly wrote down that we would study Piet Mondrian (Abstract) and then later on changed my focus to art inspired by James Rizzi (who does colourful cityscapes).  Mrs Fowler, however, had other ideas.  

              In a serendipitous moment, and because she was in rascal mode, she changed my theme to Cats (when I had Mondrian) and then later to Cats in the City (when I had decided on Rizzi).  I did change it back (numerous times, believe me!) but, in the end I accepted that I could no longer prevail against her determined effort.

          I relented and I'm pleased I did!

          In poetry (Term 1) we spent a lot of time exploring juxtaposition - that's the placing of unlike things together to provide contrast - and so this project provided the perfect platform to revisit those ideas but in a visual art context. 

            The juxtaposition is happening in multiple ways:  in the city that is monochrome, while the cat pops in colour, but also in the subject: the city is a symbol of man containing, controlling and altering the environment, while cats, although domesticated, can never been contained despite ongoing human effort.  (For arguments against cats see Gareth Morgan! :-))

           The kids are pretty stoked with their efforts, and I reckon they deserve to be.  Guess this just adds to the mounting evidence that Room 2 really is the very best class at Sunnyhills School.

By Fiona
The colourful motifs were borrowed from the artwork of  Heather Galler

By Karthiga

By Jasmine

The moment of truth ....

Such focus and task commitment, Jacob

Karthiga - sweet taste of success after finding her inner design engineer

Jasmine's wallet has a clear cover for an iPhone.  Her attention to detail is evident in the card pockets

Nadia proudly displays her prototype and the final product

Brayden's nifty catch idea worked a treat!

Joseph holds a prototype and  his wallet.  Well done, Joseph!

Wallets - our designers are hard at work!

The wallets have to house at least three plastic cards

Rulers and scissors a must.  Those without creative and critical thinking need not apply

Joseph shares a prototype.  Happy, he's ready to move on

Skylar and Cailan - the road to success is paved with 'nearly theres'

Nadia works alongside her plan and prototype.  She's nearly there!