Epro8 Challenge Heats Year 5 and 6

On Wednesday morning it was back to the College Street school hall for the next Epro8 Challenge Event, this time for our year 5 and 6 teams.

The Whakarongo Tornadoes (Hunter Kennedy, Louis Crawford, Hannah McLean and Adiel Ngirazi) tackled a magnetic magicians table with huge success, then moving on to produce other great solutions to the range of challenges available to them.  The four students worked exceptionally well together and were strong contenders throughout the duration of the event, earning a marvelous 2nd place!

The Whakarongo Champions (Charlotte Burt, Lejla Arnautovic-Wootton, Aidan Harris and Prya Simon) showed tenacity and resilience as they built their bed for 'Uncle Bill' and its accompanying solar powered alarm clock.  When the final buzzer sounded they ended up in a sudden-death tie breaker with two other schools seeking a place in the semi-finals.  It was a hard-fought structural challenge and they were just pipped in the final seconds to come 4th equal.

Both teams represented Whakarongo School admirably and made their watching parents and whanau very proud.

Here are some photos from the event:

Epro8 Challenge Heats - Year 7/8

What a fun night!  It was a real privilege to join with parents and whanau to watch our terrific Year 7 and 8 teams work their magic at the Epro8 Challenge Regional Heats.

The Whakarongo Brainboxes (Axis Simon, Emma Mildenhall, Johanna Halcox and Noah McCallum) showed resilience and super problem solving as they worked to create a solar alarm clock, a fire engine with a ladder and a hurricane-proof dog kennel.  They were supportive of each other, and of their fellow teammates and they were more than deserving of their 2nd place finish.

The WhakarongoTechnological Turtles (Caleb 'Cable' Woisin, Zac Doyle, Maddi Brown and Riley Best) were the first team of the night to get points on the board.  They were swift and decisive as they worked through their challenges.  They exhibited seamless collaboration which made the audience extremely proud.  They ended the night in 3rd place - securing their spot in the Regional Semi-Finals.

Here are a range of pictures from the evening:

Epro8 Challenge Team Preparation Year 5 & 6

Today the eight students who will be representing us in the upcoming Epro8 Challenge event began their preparation.

Epro8 is designed so that teams can enter 'cold' - the electronics and construction systems used are exclusive to the competition which ensure an even playing field.  We began with basic circuit construction today, using our 'Brainbox Electronics' kits and explored fan making, radio circuits, lighting bulbs with different kinds of switches - and the inevitable problem solving when something isn't quite connecting correctly.

For challenges from previous competitions and to give you an idea of the scale the students will be working on, check out the website at www.epro8challenge.co.nz

Check out:    Hannah and Charlotte's Fan

Great work everyone!

I am a Seed of Potential - Student Voice

Over the last two days we have begun our first GATE initiative for the year with Haepapa, Kahurangi and Navigator Centre GATE Students.  (Tautoko will begin later in the term).  We are investigating the concept of inherited potential - those areas of interest / strength in our lives which come to use through the generations, inspired by the passions and skills of our ancestors.

The students are basing their inquiry on this Maori Proverb.

The   Year 7/8 students were asked to consider the following question and offer a response.
"How do you feel, as a seed, planted in the place of potential?"

Here are their responses:

Axis: being a seed means you’re not fully grown which means you can be influenced by

many different things.

Kaija - It means you grow as a person...and mentally as well.

Nicolas - [it's about] becoming a person and the seed is the embryo.

Noah - [It means] to grow and be nourished by your family and the people around you.

Zac - [It means] to grow in the world and experience new things.

Caleb - [It means] to grow in my initiative and what I know and to do stuff.

Jojo - [It means] Being in a place where you have the potential to do anything

Emma - [It means] to be born into a family that leads you and helps you grow - to make you who you are.

Maddi - [It means] to be loved by your family and to grow at a good pace every day

Riley - [It means] growing to show potential in life.

Tautoko's Tiny Houses

Tautoko have been looking at Tiny houses over the last several weeks.  Their models have been under construction and were completed today.  Have a look at their interesting floor plans.

Hamiora McLean

My favourite part of my house is my TV because it is huge - gigantic!  I didn't have room for a bed so I sleep on the couch.

Problems - My back door opens into my stove - that was badly placed, I have a big window in my bathroom and part of my TV goes into the bathroom.

Modifications for next time;

• I would not put the stove in front of the back door
• I would add a bed

I think it would be quite hard to live in a house this little - you just can't fit in enough stuff.  I would add more drawers.

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Wairangi Galloway

My favourite part of my house is my roof because of the design that it has got on it.  Inside my house, I like my couch.  It's a half circle - a walk-in couch.  I also like my front door because of the artwork on it.

Problems - I drew my fridge the wrong way and put it on the floor.  I should have put it on the wall.
I forgot a bathroom wall so my toilet is in the lounge.  My TV is a bit crooked.

Modifications for next time;

• I would change my windows next time.  I would put them close to the doors and make them bigger.  
• I would make a bathroom wall.
• I would move my bed away from the window.

I think it would be pretty hard to live in a tiny house.  You have less space - not much storage space.  I wouldn't like to try it - I'm fine with my house.  It would be good for a couple that is old because old people don't have many things in their house - they don't take up much space.  Young people have heaps of toys and heaps of clothes.

 Weston Morrah

My favourite part of my house is the fact that the couch is lined up with the TV.  If you need to wake up in the night the bathroom is really close.

Problems - There isn't very much on the walls and my windows are a bit high.

Modifications for next time;

• I would change my window spacing 
• I would add some more walls in and not keep it all open
• I would add more bushes and trees.  This time I decided to just keep it all concrete.

I think it would be pretty hard to live in a tiny house - you wouldn't have much space to put everything.  There isn't room for lots of drawers, or a very long table, or a huge TV.  I think it would be ok with me to try and live in a tiny house - as long as I have a house in general.

     

   

Josiah Lo

My favourite part of my house is the half couch / half bed that I created.  I like that when you wake up you can just roll onto the couch and watch TV.  I like the hanging down mirror just beside the doorway.  It looks pretty.

Problems - If someone walks in they could accidentally knock down the mirror and it could break.

Modifications for next time;

• I would have more windows.  This time it was hard to picture the walls in my head so I didn't know where to put the windows.

I think it would be fun to live a tiny house for a short time.  It would be hard to fit more toys in.   It might be easy for my family if it was just for a short time.

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Callum Swindells

My favourite part of my house is my dangling light on my roof.  I also like my little gardens around the corner of my backyard.

Problems - I put the TV on the floor instead of on the wall.  You can't really see my green pillows on my couch and there wasn't quite enough room for my fireplace - its a bit squished.

Modifications for next time;

• I would change my back door so it is not behind my couch
• I would make more room for the fireplace
• I would colour in my bushes a bit more.

I think it would be cool to live in a tiny house because then you can have more expensive stuff (because tiny houses cost less).  You can have a couch that flips into a bed and you can get cupboards to hide things and have secret places to hide from robbers. 

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CREST - BP Technology

A number of students from Haepapa and Kahurangi are undertaking their Primary CREST awards this term, based on the challenges of the BP Technology scenarios.

We had our first session yesterday, looking at two challenges, creating stilts (to avoid poisonous plants) and creating a 'papminton' set, suitable for playing a game.  We had a lot of fun, there was some good collaboration developing and it was interesting to see the students engage with simple materials.  We began to look at how something as simple as paper can be used to create dense, strong structures.

Here are the goals we have set ourselves for the duration of this initiative.  We were thinking about what we need to work on in the areas of creative thinking and collaboration.

Callum - I need to share my ideas more confidently

Amelia - I need to work on problem-solving and be able to come up with a plan that will fix things and be better than the first idea

Hannah - My goal is to speak up and tell people if I have ideas and be confident in my ideas

Cameron - I need to improve on my problem solving - especially when things break and I don’t know how to fix them

Ben - I want to collaborate well - I can be bit bossy sometimes.

Rachel - I think I need to work on collaboration and not being bossy

Aidan - I want to work on my creativity and making new ideas

Lejla - I want to work on my creativity and get better at making the parts

Jack - I need to work on problem-solving by thinking of a back up plan if my plan I was sticking to, fails.

Prya - I need to work on my collaborating cos usually I just use my ideas and not theirs and I need to.

Images from the morning's work...