Ride2school

0n 25 March 2009 the school participated in the Ride2school initiative and completed a HandsUp! survey to log the results.




The breakdown of who did what on the day can be seen in the results of the HandsUp! survey completed in each classroom by the teachers and collated by the P&C.



A pie chart showing the proportion of students that rode bikes or scooters, walked, caught public transport or came by private car is shown below:

Wheat

There is a garden bed in the ELA reserved for Kindergarten to plant a crop and incorporate it into their learning for the year. In 2008 we planted a crop of wheat to tie in with a "Healthy Choices" subject. The idea was to demonstrate how long it takes wheat to grow, how much grain is produced, how much space is required for each loaf of bread that we eat. We learned some other lessons along the way!



The first challenge was to source some grain to grow and a parent with farm connections came to the rescue. Next was the big question of when to plant! and while there were a lot of different theories it was discovered that Australian wheat needs the cold of winter to germinate so on the 13th May the grains were planted in tidy rows.

Seven days later we had growth tips!

Click on the following thumbnails to see how the wheat looked after 7, 13, 42 and 85 days.




Just when we were counting on a bumper crop we had a visitor to our wheat field!


In fact many visitors arrived one afternoon to install a scarecrow. The intention was good: to protect the crop from harm. Birds will often eat grains before they have a chance to germinate and young shoots are often eaten by kangaroos, reducing the size of the harvest a farmer might get. Out ELA crop was unlikely to be threatened by kangaroos and seemed to have survived the birds too but it was not so lucky with the many enthusiastic feet that trampelled over it to install the scarecrow.


Farmers also risk having their crops flattened in the course of it's growth. If cattle get in to a crop from adjoining paddocks they can trample the wheat. Summer hail storms have been known to flatten and ruin crops just before they are ready for harvest which can be very disappointing for the farmer.

We were disappointed to see much of our crop flattened but the stalks that remained upright continued to ripen and by November we had lovely golden grains ready to pick.



The original plan was to process the grains to make flour and then use the flour to make bread with Kindergarten. While we were offered use of a mill that would turn grains into flour we have not yet devised a way to thresh our wheat heads and turn them into grains.

Stay tuned.



In March 2009, Year 4 learnt about where bread comes from and how it's made. They made pretzels in class as part of the lesson. Here is a drawing showing how bread is processed:



Activity: Draw the last two steps in the process.

Lunchtime Garden Club

Lunchtime Garden Club was established in 2009 as a way of keeping up with all the growth in the ELA. Not only is there a lot of produce to harvest but there are many weeds to keep in check too.

Students are taught how to pull out weeds with their roots and how to shake off excess soil close to the ground (so it doesn't end up in eyes and mouths). They are also encouraged to distinguish between weeds and other plants but sometimes you have to be quick to intercept as a native grass can look just like any other grass to an enthusiastic kid!

5 March - students weed the long side garden, preparing it for a potato crop.



5 March - students and Mrs Scott pick basil leaves for pesto making.



12 March - students gather around the pasta bowl to try the pesto spaghetti.



12 March - students sit quietly and listen to gardening instructions before dividing into groups to weed, harvest beans or prepare the potato patch.



12 March - the bean crop and the small fraction of the harvest that wasn't consumed on the spot.

Rainforest Gully Garden

The school recently turned an unused and weed-infested slope at the rear of the school into a Rainforest Gully Garden featuring local provenance plants, bush tucker and plants found in rainforest gullies in the Sydney region. The aim was to increase the amenity and biodiversity of the school grounds providing an enriched and educational experience for pupils living in a highly urbanised area.

We added a number of enhancements to the project:

(a) a path was constructed through the garden providing access for students;

(b) rainwater was diverted from a nearby down pipe into a swale at the top of the slope, allowing it to infiltrate through the site, both improving conditions for the plants, and reducing stormwater run-off to the Cooks River; and

(c) we consulted with Carol Green, the Local Aboriginal Educational Consultant, and the school’s Koori community in relation to incorporating Indigenous stories and knowledge into the garden.

Once the initial planted area is consolidated, we plan to extend the garden on both sides along the slope. We are considering adding some birdbaths to attract fauna. We are also interested in adding artworks and educational features.

Study of plankton

During World Environment Week, Year 6 students went on a Grime Scene Investigation to Georges River. During a river cruise, water samples were collected for studying under a microscope back at base.

We learnt that plankton is the start of the foodchain in the marine environment. The water samples we gathered were studied under a microscope and projected onto a screen for all to see. Unfortunately, in all the samples studied only one type of zooplankton (animal) was found in amongst the phytoplankton (plant). This was compared to a chart and determined to be Veliger (larva of the limpet) [image 1 below].





DVD footage of previous zooplankton finds was then screened and students identified those from the charts as well.

Activity - Click on the images below to view large versions of the charts and use them to identify the zooplankton in images 2, 3 and 4 above.






















Answers: 2=m (second chart) 3=b (second chart) 4=f (first chart)

Why is plankton important to marine food chains? Because it is the starting point. Without it, there would be nothing for fish to eat; without fish there would be nothing for water birds to eat.

Fish dissection

During World Environment Week, Year 6 students went on a Grime Scene Investigation to Georges River.

A very popular part of the day involved disecting fish!

Grime Scene Investigation

On a particularly grim and grey June day in 2008, nine Year 6 students attended a Grime Scene Investigation on the Georges River. The day started with a river cruise looking at activities around the River's edge and the impacts of these on the water. Historically the main post-European river activity was oyster farming.

The following diagram (representing the same area as the aerial photo above) had locations A to H marked and, listening to the commentary, students had to identify the types of landuse activities from the key below.


KEY: 1 = factories/industry 2 = residential (housing) 3 = water sports/clubs 4 = open spaces /parks 5 = natural vegetation 6 = boat moorings 7 = landing ramp/wharf

Answers: A=4, 7 B=6 C=4 D=2 E=2, 4, 7 F=1 G=5 H=3


We learnt:
- that there are 235 different organisms in the water!
- that sea grass is the estuary supermarket being home to many of these organisms.
- that the catchment area for George's River is 960 square kilometres (which is a lot of stormwater run off)
- there is a 50km stretch of saltwater before the weir at Liverpool

Environmental issues include:
- stormwater drains emptying into the river, many without gross pollutant traps (GPTs)
- unnatural edges around most of the Bay prevent saltmarsh plants and mangroves from growing
- pollution from sewerage leaks, chemicals from boat washing get into the river
- Kogarah Council collected 113 tonnes of litter from one GPT in one year!
- litter from waterside picnic areas (particularly plastic bags which are eaten by birds mistaking them for jellyfish)

Environment solutions include:
- the use of boom nets to contain pollution (for eg at waterside building sites)
- installation of more GPTs
- fines for polluting practices
- establishment of "no wash" zones (eg Sylvania Waters)















During the cruise, water samples were taken for studying back at base.

See Study of Plankton for the results.

See also Fish dissection.








The excursion required certain roles to be played by the students. They were:
biologist
ecologist
water quality chemist
environmental scientist

to be continued...