Month: April 2023

Term 2 Inquiry – Changes Matter

This term was exciting, because we were looking at States of Matter – solid, liquid and gas.

In our respective classes Room 9, 10 & 11, we were able to rotate between our classes and look at the States of Matter.  Our learners were able to participate three experiments pertaining to Solid, liquid and gas.  Our students investigated the properties of matter that involve chemical reactions, such as liquid to solid, solid to gas, and gas to liquid changes.

Our students used their hypotheses to test what they had learned.  One of the experiments we did was to investigate how cream changes to butter when pressure is applied. What are your thoughts on this experiment? What examples of states of matter changing have you seen in your classroom or home?

Here are some examples of states of matter changing:

Liquid to solid: Water freezing into ice, chocolate chips melting and then hardening again
Solid to gas: Dry ice sublimating into carbon dioxide gas, water boiling into steam
Gas to liquid: Water vapor condensing into clouds, dew forming on grass

Check out Shwe Shwe’s blog about ‘liquid’ experiement: https://peskhaishwem.edublogs.org/2023/04/27/liquids/

2023 Fiafia Cultural Night

The atmosphere at Pt England School was electric on Fiafia Night. I’m not sure how our 500+ performers were feeling, but you could sense a exhilarated vibe!

When you entered the school, it was greeted with a handful of food stalls (operated by whanau) in the car park. There was so much variety to choose from, but my favourites were the seafood fritters, chocolate doughnuts, and delicious Tongan Otai fruit drink.

As a staff member of the Tongan Boys Group, I had the privilege of seeing the changing room filled with our families helping out, getting ready for our performance. The intensity was tangible, but a sheer sense of excitement buzzing through the crowd.

When we were called to head over to Te Kapua (where the stage was set up), the adrenaline was pumping. The whole school was excited for this event that we had been practicing for so long.

All the students looked amazing in their cultural attire, and the Tongan Boys Group were glowing from the coconut oil and excitement.

After 7 weeks of practice, we were all ready to put our best foot forward to showcase to our families and community.  You can check out our website for all the recorded performances.

I’m so proud of everyone who participated, and all the work that the tutors put into the items. It was absolutely outstanding, those were seen and unseen – Well done to everybody!