Below are some of the ebooks Year 7 students have created in Science this year.
Year 11 Prize Winners
Year 11 Prize Winners
Year 11 Prize Winners
Year 11 Prize Winners
Year 11 Prize Winners
Year 9 Class Photos
Year 9 Class Photos
English Language Learners
Science
Science and Technology Forum
In January, Becky Bennett and Daniel Nieuwenhuize were chosen to attend the 2021 Rotary National Science and Technology Forum. They were asked to write about their experience.
We were given the opportunity by the HOLA of Science, Miss Mora. As Rotary describes it, it is an annual two week camp for high achieving Year 12 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) students who are interested in widening their knowledge in where STEM can take them through university and beyond. Normally, there are around 180 students and about 20 people making up the staff, so it’s quite a big event. It was based in Auckland. We stayed in the university dorm and got to travel around to different universities. We both found staying in a university dorm with the kind of people we expect to be surrounded by at university very valuable. The dorm we were in was essentially a 16-story 5-star hotel. We had such great food and accommodation while there.
We gained a lot of knowledge over the 20 different modules at the University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology and Massey. It wasn’t just learning the whole time though, every module was really interactive and interesting. There was also a forum volleyball tournament which was very competitive and a lot of fun. As well as all the time in between modules spent making friends with some of the smartest students from all around the country.
We both found it really difficult to pick one favourite part of the forum, but here’s one thing from each of us that we really enjoyed.
Becky: I really enjoyed doing the sheep heart and lung dissection at Auckland Medical School during the BioMed module. We each had our own set of organs to dissect and the teacher was really knowledgeable and walked us through each step of the process in great detail. She was instructing us on screens that were around the lab on the ceiling that showed a close up of what she was doing. We also did another activity where we split into groups of 3, learnt about something, in my case, it was the human heart and how it works, and we then presented it to everyone else.
Daniel: I really enjoyed doing the medical school recreational option. The rec-options were 3 chosen activities that you hopefully got to do if there was space. I was very fortunate to get medical school as it was the most contested one. There were three parts, the first was playing skin cancer bingo and we learnt about it and genome sequencing. Then we got taken around medical labs where we got to see cancer cells under a microscope. We were also shown all of the expensive medical equipment and we got to talk to a forensic pathologist. Afterwards came the best part, a room with the human body parts! It was so interesting getting to see all of these organs, body parts and what happened to them.
Our time at the forum was really insightful and loads of fun. We talk to our friends that we made there every day and we make sure to hang out with the ones who live here in Christchurch. We would like to thank our respective Rotary clubs and especially Miss Mora for giving us this opportunity.
Pūhoro STEM Wānanga
On the 8th of April, 16 senior students from LCŌ attended the first Pūhoro STEM Wānanga along with Cashmere High School, Shirley Boys and Avonside Girls High.
Students were able to connect with Scientists from ESR (Institute of Environmental Science and Research) and ARA while participating in activities such as bridge building and forensic science.
They were also involved in learning Tikanga and how Māori incorporated science into their daily activities. All the students thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Level 2 Biology Field Trip to
Arthur’s Pass
In term 1 students from the Level 2 Biology class visited a section of beech forest near the Linwood College school house at Arthur’s Pass.
The purpose of the visit was to collect data and make observations of the beech forest to prepare them for an Achievement Standard assessment. Students surveyed the different species of plants found along a 20 metre section of forest, including heights of all plants, light levels, humidity, and evidence of herbivores. Students enjoyed the experience and were quick to learn the names of the different plant species present in the beech forest.
During day two, students were lucky enough to also visit the University of Canterbury’s Field Station at Cass where they got to work with scientists in the field of Freshwater Biology and Botany. Here they learnt to identify plants and identify invertebrates living in the stream.
Year 12 Physics Trip
In April our Year 12 Physics class went to the University of Canterbury to learn about Rutherford’s experiment and radiation for our Year 12 Physics topic “Atomic and Nuclear Physics.”
Students performed a dramatization of Rutherford’s experiment, Fabian, Chelsea and Hamida were the radioactive sources while Felix, Gilberto and Jesin were the gold foil and Omar was the scientist, Geiger, counting the radioactivity. There is a photo of Students investigating the history of the atom. Students also tried on lead vests which are used to protect people from radioactivity.
Researching the history of the atom
In the middle of the day, we tested out physics equipment. Sophie Watson proved her braveness by lying on a bed of nails and then allowing Paula to stand on her! Ivo tested the strength of his stomach and the law of conservation of rotational Torque with a gyroscope on a spinning chair.
Paula stands on Sophie on a bed of nails
Spinning top on spinning chair, Ivo finds out what happens next
We also saw cool infra-red cameras and geology models used in Antarctica. In the afternoon we went to the radioactive labs where we held rods of Uranium and used Geiger counters to discover that carrots could stop some types of radiation. One of the most popular activities was playing with liquid Nitrogen. It was a great day of learning and experiencing the University of Canterbury.
He Puna Pūtaiao
Linwood College students were again involved in the He Puna Pūtaiao programme for Year 10 Māori students at The University of Canterbury. Puna means to well up or to flow, so symbolically represents youth or rangatahi. It’s meaning may also incorporate research because in a sense research is meant to flow out and create meaningfulness so as to fill the kete or baskets of knowledge. Pūtaiao is science, so He Puna Pūtaiao denotes research, youth and science.
He Puna Pūtaiao engages Year 10 Māori students in the culture of Science by involving them in scientific research. Using the context of water quality in Te Waihora (Lake Ellesmere) the students were mentored in literature reviews, and collecting and analysing data in the field, such as pH, Dissolved Oxygen, temperature and conductivity, while also taking kick net samples and water for turbidity testing. They then presented their findings both in e-book format and as a research poster displayed at a Pō Whakanui at the end of the programme.