Technicraft - Scientist at Work!

Techicraft

Have I caught your attention?
Year 8s were in an interesting lesson at Technicraft, the subject being, science. The lesson was to teach the students about the structure of a bubble, how different chemicals and ingredients affect the life of a bubble.

A plastic drinking straw was required to blow into a solution composed of sugar, water/H2O, and detergent. The previous experiment was almost similar if not the same, with the exception of the presence of sugar. Considering that detergent increased the longevity of the bubbles, the sugar would either decrease or increase the time of evaporation and dehydration of the bubbles.

However, when the air was forced into the solution, it had formed a big bubbly mountain of bubbles. The shape of the bubbles no longer consisted of spheres as the shapes were now connected with a decently sized wall and having a honeycomb-like shape.

After cleaning up the bubbly and wet mess, the next experiment was ready to begin. The task was to observe what occurred when bubbles were formed inside a bubble and to see the possible amount of bubbles that are able to be fitted into one (volume). The students felt desperate with every bubble blown but looking at it from a scientific perspective, many changes could be seen. An example of this was when a bubble was blown inside a bubble. The expanding bubble could cause the other bubble to dehydrate or evaporate and in most cases expand at almost the same rate.

The last and most difficult experiment was to see the measurement of time and distance the bubble could cover in a life. The experiment proved that the size of the bubble can affect the life having bigger ones evaporating and dehydrating before the more smaller sized ones.

Science - Technicraft - Term 2

Science - Soap Bubbles Experiment!

Today was the first day back to Technicraft, this term we are doing science! And this is the experiment...

Experiment:

• Grab 2 beakers and pour 100ml in each.
• Put a straw in one of the 2 beakers.
• Blow a couple water bubbles and observe.
• In the other beaker pour the detergent, wait for a minute and observe the changes.
• Mix the detergent in the water.
• Blow a couple bubbles in the same beaker and observe.
• Notice the differences in the soap bubbles and water bubbles

Explanation:
When the regular water generates, the bubbles trap the air, but they immediately dehydrate and evaporate because the air is always expanding outwards so as soon as the water bubbles reach the surface the bubbles dehydrate. After the detergent is poured into the water, the detergent sinks to the base of the beaker due to the fact that detergent is a lot heavier than the water.

After mixing the detergent the water becomes temporarily protected by the detergent making it sturdier. But the air is still repelling the fluids and the detergent forms a soap bubble around that captured air. A regular soap bubble consists of a thin layer of fluids and an air pocket inside forming a sphere. Meanwhile the thin layer is slowly evaporating after creating the bubble due to the air pocket always expanding and the fluid layer is getting thinner and those fluids  funnelled to the bottom of the bubble, until applying so much pressure that it dehydrates and pops.

It was a very entertaining and educating time and I really enjoyed it, especially while doing the experiment with my partner!

Mangroes - By Xyril

WEDNESDAY, 12 APRIL 2017

Mangroves can last for over 100 years!

We are learning about our local river and the interrelationship between plants and living creature in that habitat.

Volunteering in the Panmure Library - by Cheska

Volunteering in the Panmure Library

WALHT write a descriptive writing.

It was Monday the 24th of April, my cousin (Jane) and I volunteered at the Panmure Library as a sign for our St John cadet community service.

“Ring, ring, ring ring”. Out of nowhere, a loud and obnoxious sound came buzzing in and through my ear. I woke up in shock as if a loud marching band came right past my room intentionally to wake me up. I looked down my bunk and saw Jane who slept past the deafening sound of the alarm clock.

Looking at the time it was 8:30 am which gave us 30 minutes to get ourselves ready.

15 minutes past and we both were still in our life grabbing devices until we realised that we only had 15 minutes left to hold. Rushing through the hallway we ate our breakfast in a world record of time, then rapidly wore new clothes and brushed our teeth with moments of time passing we were out our door and on our way to the Library. The hot humid sun glazed upon our eyes and melted our feet that held us back miles away from our destination, each step I took the sun beat against my chest.

The glaze of the Library filled us with joy, we raced to the door and the second we stepped inside the Library freshened our body and spirit by the penetrating breeze from various air-cons surrounding the Library. We rushed to the counter and politely asked for a task to do and in a blink of an eye, the Librarian speechless burst with words and immediately informed us our task. We were asked to cut out a variety of shapes from coloured paper for the holiday program (making robots).   Squares, circles, triangles, rectangles, stars, trapezoids and shapes made by our own imagination were made by numerous colours.

One hour of crafting dragged like watching grass grow, the last piece of paper was shaped into a triangle (we were permanently done). As we told the Librarian we were finished with our task, two pieces of red velvet cake were held up given to us, our mouths dropped down to the earth’s core. We thanked her with all our heart and soul. We delicately packed the cake into our bag as if it was worth $1000 and walked out the Library with pride (feeling satisfied after the good deed we accomplished especially the cake we were given). The sliding door opened and a gasp of heat wave rushed through our bodies, our satisfaction flipped into a body collapsing mood.

Doing a good deed in the Library felt great and next time doing more than one would be the biggest goal I’ve ever accomplished and hopefully, you would too.

My School Holiday

FRIDAY, 5 MAY 2017

My School Holiday!

One icy, arctic day, I felt as if I was trapped inside an iceberg and at the brink of being paralyzed, I spent some quality time with some of my family members. (brother, sister, and mom.) Although it was frosty cold, it didn’t obstruct my excitement to go to the cinema.

Before we went to the cinema we bought food to snack on while we were enjoying the movie.  My mom and sister choose the third row from the front seats to sit in to ensure we had the best viewing positions.

When we arrived there at the Sylvia Park complex, we were actually planning to watch Beauty and the Beast, but there were no seats available. Consequently, the decision was made to watch the new Guardians of the Galaxy 2 movie.

The movie was about a band of time traveling, galaxy warping, universe surfing mercenaries. They go on quests for kings and overlords from different planets and are rewarded for various different services. These relentless mercenaries are called, James, Rocket Raccoon, Drax, Gamora, and Groot. Rocket Raccoon is a highly-intelligent Raccoon and is considered a mechanical engineer, James is a half-human and half-god hybrid, Gamora is an alien born from the god Ragnarok and Groot is a living manifestation of a tree.

On first sight of the movie, I thought that it was just going to be a follow up from the previous movie, but it was a completely other story and galaxy. Groot and Rocket Raccoon is the only characters in the film that were completely CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). And by far, they are the most interesting and funny characters throughout the film!

I really enjoyed the holidays, it was really amusing. Although it was as if I was underneath a glacier, I really enjoyed the contents in the film and the action and adventure that was included in the film.

Glossary:

Ragnarok - An extraterrestrial god and the keeper the infinity gauntlet.

Infinity Gauntlet - A glove that grants mortals immortality.

Mercenaries - People who are hired and given a reward for their services.

Hybrid - A living organism that combines the genes of the two different species.

Walht: Include a broad range of sophisticated vocabulary to add quality to our written work and maintain audience interest. 

Painting Fences on a hot day

• • Plan:

  • Extremely hot
  • Brother
  • Hard
  • Sand paper
  • Paint brush
  • Brown, strong smell and brown

  
  

  On a scorching moist hot holiday, my brother and I went to my little sister's godmother's’ house and being asked to paint her fence. On that day it was a really blazing hot day that had my skin burnt like a umu that was on a flame.

  
  

  

  So we swiftly hurried and got our sandpaper and a varnish sparkly brown paint that had my attention thinking of mo la la land. So my brother said, “Vaughan! Sand the fence,”  So I snapped out of it and sanded the fence so my brother and I could paint the fence.

  

  My tummy was rumbling because it was starving but, I could hardly not make my way out from my brother. So I kept on sanding with a unfed tummy. When my brother finished his half, his body was slimy and roasting skin that was like an oil in a frying pan.Then I quickly sanded my part and carried on to the other half. When I completed my side I  sprinted to the shops and bought my brother and I a drink. After that my brother painted the whole fence by himself. It was a really exhausting hot day so I said, “I trust in you!”

  
  
  

  So he cheerfully finished his whole fence and we got paid 40 dollars each. And my brother and I were so proud of ourselves that we had faith that we would complete the job. After that my brother and I walked home and had rest.

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Pets

Fish Plan: Aquatic Non-mammal Pet Cold blooded Small scally Many children have household pets whether they’re large or small. Whether it’s aquatic or non-aquatic. All pets have a unique style and talent especially fish. There are over 25,000 species of fish in the world and almost 150 species are endangered. These type of pets are cold blooded like reptiles and amphibians as they are l their body temperature. Some fish live in salt water, such as halibut and cod. Forty percent of fish species have fresh water as a habitat. However, less than .01% in the world is fresh water. Most people of the world own a tropical fish as they are one of the most common species of fish. Unlike freshwater fish, tropical fish need a precise temperature of water. The suitable temperature would be 22℃ or lower, as having the opposite temperature slows their system down and can lead to severe stress.This can make them vulnerable to illness and other health issues. Like humans all fish have a vertebra, this helps them move through the water with ease. All fish have a specialized sense organ called the lateral line which works like night goggles that help then navigate in the dark or murky water. Fish have an outstand mark of sense, touch, smell and ‘hearing’. Fish feel the same pain and suffer stress just like mammals and birds. All animals are unique in their own ways whether they're big or small. However fish would be the best type of pet as they would never run away from you.

Life in the mudflats - by Glen

Plan: Mudflat Dwellers Living organisms Segmented worms Crabs Cockles Bacteria Lugworms Mudflats are large, wet muddy areas where some living organisms reside in. It is also essential to providing fresh water through estuaries, the mudflats are providing freshwater through the dissolved nutrients. First, the nutrients are digested by bacteria, lugworms etc, and then they oxygenate the mud allowing the rich nutrients in the mud and convert seawater into freshwater. But there are also other animals that live in mudflats like crabs, cockles and various species of worms and fish. Some crabs choose to live in mudflats just because it is a part of their habitats like the mud crab and the mangrove crab although they are mostly located at mangroves. There some fish that are located swimming near mudflats, those fish are called coastal fish, inshore and shoreline fish.

An Inspiring visitor.

Katie Glynn: By Francheska Pul-oc Year 8 Saint Patrick’s School Inspiration, Determination, Perseverance and Humility. These are the values Katie Glynn has shown wherever whenever whether in the hockey field or outside of it. These values were clearly shown to students of Saint Patrick’s School in her recent visit. She has been engaged with hockey at the early age of five and is now, not only a worldwide hockey champion but a dominant leader who strives to do the best of her ability. “Dream Big”, this quote helped Glynn to become what she is to this very day, making her into the leader and role model for the people; especially for children who look up to her. She is a person who has the capability to ‘never give up’, this helped Glynn to push her limits and face the challenges past her comfort zone. She was involved in a severe head injury caused by a swing of a hockey stick from another opponent. However, this did not stop her from grabbing her victory showing her commitment to her team. During her career, Katie Glynn has competed in all the major leading events, including the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth games, 2010 World Cup, 2012 London Olympics, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth games and the 2014 World cup. Accomplishing an outstanding achievement of 3 bronze and 2 silver medals. Remembering the remarkable 77 goals achieved, making her into the second best female scorer in the country. Unfortunately, Katie has retired from her hockey career, because of her recent back injury while playing in the hockey field. Although she has retired, this will not stop Katie from continuing her career as hockey champion. She now shares her skills to support up and coming future players in her current role of coach.

My boring holiday - by Kayla

It was around about 11am, my eyes were fixed on the blurred transparent windows in the corner of my bedroom. I knew today was going to be the most boring and unexciting day. My parents were working, so I was stuck at home laying my eyes, on anything placed in a position of their gaze. As minutes felt like hours, I was still spiritless to rise from my bed. All of a sudden, I had an idea. Since my parents were busy at work and my grandma would be still enjoying her sleep, I practically had the whole house to myself. “What should I do first?” I thought to myself. The pantry was empty, as well as the fridge I was so sorrowful, I had nothing, not even a hidden stash to feed on. I moved my way into the living room, as the television was gazing at me. I considered my options and decided that “One show wouldn’t hurt me, right!?”. The television traveled to every channel, there was nothing interesting to watch. Now the Netflix button was staring at me, I had no choice but to engage my finger on it. There were thousands, no millions of shows and movies amongst it. I stopped for a moment and observed, a light bulb sparked in my head. “The good dinosaur looks cool,” I said excitedly. Without realising it, I’d obviously fallen asleep and missed a large portion of the movie. Hours had passed, and I recall the distant echo of what I assume was my own my snoring (obviously, apart from grandma, I was the only one home). I woke with the shock, and sight of my mum staring deeply into my eyes. My body went rigid and my heart was beating so hard I initially thought it was going to jump out of my chest! The look on her face was a clear indication that she was irritated and had realised that I had left the television going for more than two hours. I got a growling, it was harsh, but I knew what I had done was wrong. Grandma was still napping with the fairies, I, however, was wide awake as I attempted to make myself look busy so as not to catch the eyes of my mother. Next time I will listen to my own instincts so that I can avoid getting a growling about using too much power.