MiddleSchool+Sharing

=Orini - Year 4 -8 Camp= Our Concept was Conservation, the Context was Conservation of Oceans, in the setting of a Marine Reserve at Goat island. First students participated in a [|Learnz Virtual Science Feild Trip] to examine the importance of the foodchain and the interdependence of each species to sustain an ecological balance (consulting a Marine Biologist at Goat Island). We developed a visual record (photos taken by students and parents) of camp activities and used these to provoke reflection on return to school. The students worked in mixed age groups and discussed, planned and created multimedia shows (powerpoint) to highlight the key aspects of their learning at camp. Most of these became simple recounts rather than focus on the uniqueness of the site and the environment ie. The importance of maintaining a Marine Reserve. The presentations were then shared with parents, and students explained what they had learnt by participating in the various activities.

On reflection this was our first attempt at using Powerpoint over multi-levels and quite a lot of time was taken up teaching the younger group members how to use the different tools within Powerpoint. Of course the intention was to focus on the learning, not on the tool but we have found that intially a lot of time was spent on discovering how to use it to do what we want. Once a basic knowledge has been established, good teaching leads us into focusing more on the task, eg. effectively conveying the student's developing understanding of the learning. This term the same group of students will be experiencing another EOTC camp at Totara Springs. We intend to repeat the Presentation process and this time we will ensure that these are more focused on reflecting the learning that has taken place rather than simply recounting what we did. =|| Group1 Learning Reflections about the Marine Reserve || Group2 Recount of Camp Activities || || || || || ||=

=Orini - Cyber Safety Agent Missions=

Continuing our school wide Conservation topic, our context was Conserving our mind and body. As our school is introducing a new LMS (KnowledgeNet) we wanted our students to be aware of how to use Internet tools in a protected environment and to know what to do if they find themselves in a situation of feeling unsafe or bullied. After our Homegroup meeting in Cambridge led by Jill Hammonds we investigated the