Welcome Back to Term 3!

Year 8 Pecha Kucha Speech Finals 2016

The finals of our Year 8 Speech Competition were held this morning. Following on from our Unit of Inquiry which explored the question, "Because it can be done, should it?" the girls have created Pecha Kucha Style Presentations on a range of ethical issues. There was a huge range of topics from the ethics behind driverless cars to the ethics of not allowing girls to wear make up to school. The judges were so impressed by the calibre and commented that all eight speeches were very well researched, crafted and delivered.

We are excited to announce the winners
First - from 8PR - Alex Tutty; "Homework should be banned."
Second - from 8CS - Lilli Scully; "Clothing brands don't matter."
Third - from 8PR Lydia Pye; "Homeschooling should be abolished."

Well done also to our other finalists - Isobelle Singleton, Madeleine May, Isis Ward, Rose Smith and Abby Mason.

Term 2 - Unit of Inquiry - Tuning In

Refugees on iBook Author

Refugee iBook Blog post - Kizoa Video Editor - Movie Maker

Sharing the Planet - Abbas's visit

Sharing the Planet - Refugee UOI

Market Day

Prototype Day

Unit of Inquiry - Stories by Candlelight

Science experiments for our Unit of Inquiry

Last term our UOI (Unit Of Inquiry) was called “Light It Up” and our central idea was:
“Scientists use their knowledge of how to transform and manipulate basic elements in creating new products or substances.”

We focused on using our ‘scientific brains’ for our experiments, linking the experiments to a story book, whether it be Harry Potter, Winnie the Pooh or Rapunzel in our own science videos, like the one shown above.

We looked at videos of Heston Blumenthal and Nanogirl to give us some inspiration and also to give us an idea of how to do a science experiment in front of a camera, explaining everything clearly and using iMovie to edit, creating transitions and adding sound effects

Here is an example of a video that we watched:

What story would you do a science experiment about? Have you ever done a science experiment that you could link to a story? We would love to hear from you in the comments!

~ Ella, Isabel and Lucy

Lego Letters

A couple of weeks ago, for inquiry, we looked at an article about lego, called “Wait, a toy company published *what* in its magazine for girls?” 

Here is the link: http://www.upworthy.com/wait-a-toy-company-published-what-in-its-magazine-for-girls?c=ufb1 

The article was about how Lego put beauty tips in their Lego FriendsTM section of their magazine.

We had to write letters back to LegoTM and here is a little bit of one. 

“...In conclusion, LegoTM is sexist and should change their moral. You need to send a more positive message to young girls, such as “You build anything you want!” or, “You can have all the adventures you need with LegoTM!” Lego should be for everyone - not “girls Lego” and “boys Lego.” Please bear in mind what we have said, as many we’re sure other girls feel the same way!”

Here is a photo of the planning we did for our letters:

What do you think of the article? Read it and tell us in the comments below!

Essential Agreement

Growth Mindset - Teaching the Year 3 and 4s

“GROWTH MINDSET”

Teaching the Year 3 and 4s

For our U.O.I we have been looking at what a Growth Mindset is, and how we can have a growth mindset. A Growth Mindset is when you challenge your brain to work harder and learn more, and try your best. A Fixed Mindset is when you already think you are good enough or if you think you can’t do it so you don’t try. People with a Growth Mindset will eventually overtake those with a Fixed Mindset.

Last Tuesday we taught the Year 3 and 4 girls about what a Growth Mindset is. Each group from 8PR had designed a different set of activities. There were a lot of different ways to present the information, from videos to puzzles! To teach the year 3 and 4s was quite challenging, but fun. It taught us a lot about how to teach younger kids and also helped up to put into place what we had learnt ourselves about both Leadership and having a Growth Mindset.

By the end of the session the Year 3 and 4 girls had a great understanding of what it means to have a Growth Mindset - they have even put it into their Essential Agreement for this year!

"I can't do it...yet!"