How 3D printing is being used to support space exploration

Making 3D prototypes to test the mechanics of rovers on Mars. Watch the video on the link below.

Read more by visiting the following url  - Mars Rover

Co-curricular clubs begin

We welcome more students who might be interested in joining any of our clubs.  These are starting tomorrow (Thursday 18 February) and will continue to the end of Term 1.

Robotics Club - Monday p5 and Friday after school
Gadget Girls (3D printing for Y9 - 13) - Wednesday p5
Code Club - Thursdays after school
Internet of Things - Thursday after school

For more information please visit the specific Club pages and also complete the registration form.
Most of the clubs require little prior knowledge.  If you are unsure, come along and check it out over the next couple of weeks.

Co-Curricular Activities for 2016

It is my pleasure to announce that many of the clubs that were running last year will continue for 2016. I hope to add to this these options as the year unfolds.  If you are interested in joining a club for Term One please visit the Registration Form Page for more information.  Clubs will begin at the end of Week 4 and all clubs will be in operation in Week 5.

Expressions of Interest for Robotics

If you are keen to be part of a robotics club either during lunch time or after school please click on this link to register your interest as we begin the process of deciding the best time to run these clubs.

Registration of Interest for Robotics

WELCOME BACK to 2016

Welcome back everyone to a new year.  I am excited to offer you similar co-curricular activities during 2016 as well as some new clubs - watch this space . . .  I hope to publish the days and times for various clubs by early February. A new registration form will be uploaded to this site shortly.  If you have any questions of queries please direct them to Linda Chong : linda.c@stmargarets.school.nz

Year 8 Science

The Year 8 girls have been studying the properties of Light during Term Three.  To make their knowledge come to life they worked in groups to design and use their understanding of how light travels to complete a project of designing and creating either a periscope or light some rooms in a house.

Although there were some frustrations with the electrical circuit not working as well as we had planned, the girls were able to move through the process to apply their knowledge of light.  Time spent on decorating the houses could have been more wisely allocated to testing the electrical installation of the lights.  The periscope groups had a lot of fun adjusting the mirrors to the exact angles to be able to see more clearly.  The deadline for a completed project always creeps up on you well before you are ready, and this unit of work was constantly under pressure but the girls did well to create a couple of video explaining how they constructed their project and how it worked.

Integration of Art and Maori

During Term Three I had the pleasure of working with both the Art and Maori teachers in combining a unit of work with the Year 6 students.  The brief was to use their knowledge from Maori and Art to produce a pendant or magnet.  Through Maori the girls learnt about the patterns depicted in the wharenui.  They discussed the meaning behind the traditional colours of red, white, black and green and chose their object accordingly.  As students drew their images, they were mindful that these pictures held a story and the design of their fridge magnet of pendant had to represent something of personal meaning to each individual.  Through their art classes, they looked at shapes. They were challenged to identify open and closed, positive and negative spaces on their design and use the same image replicated differently with these concepts.  Finally the design was printed using our 3D printers.  We used an app on the iPad called PrintShop which captured a photo of the girls design. From here we were able to resize and manipulate it before printing it.  Many thanks to Maria and Sue for your combined effort to make this unit of work such a success.