Whales in the playground!

This term's inquiry topic is The Wonder of Whales and we have been looking at types of whales and their food chain.  Today we talked about migration and how they move with the seasons.

How can they live in such cold water? 

The answer...BLUBBER! Today we put vaseline in a sandwich bag and sealed it up to recreate the effect of a layer of blubber.  Then we plunged our hands into icy water -one hand in the 'blubber bag' and the other in just a single sandwich bag. It was amazing how the 'blubber bag' kept our hand warm!

We also went outside and in small groups drew chalk whales in the playground - a Blue Whale at 30m long, Orcas at 8-10m long, a Humpback Whale at 16m and a Sperm Whale at 18m...AMAZING!

Marine Centre visit

Today we went on our school trip to the Island Bay Marine Centre.  We are studying The Wonder of Whales this term and we learned how there are lots of whales in the Cook Strait and off the east coast of the South Island as there is so much food for them there.

We were met at the Centre by Jules who took us to the aquarium and the touch-pool where we used our senses to touch, smell and look at lots of different starfish, anemones, sea cucumbers, sea urchins and limpets.  We also saw lots of marine animals in the tanks there, including lobsters, octopus, seahorses, and turtles.

After morning tea we said goodbye and piled onto the bus again.  Thanks to  Jules and all the mums who helped out- we had a fantastic time!

Cross Country

After weeks of training every morning, we had our Cross Country today in William's Park, Days Bay.  The sun was shining, and after walking to Days Bay we then had to run the course, before walking back again.
Well done Room 15 ! You ran a wonderful race, paced yourselves and reached the finishing line with no trouble at all.  Congratulations to Henry for finishing 1st in the boys' race and Chelsea for 2nd in the girls', and for all those who finished in the top 10. Good effort everyone, and sleep well tonight!