Wednesday, 5th March 2014

TERM 3

As a follow up to our previous unit: Natural    Disasters; Pak Imam (Rahma’s Dad) gave us avery informative presentation about his job as a Geologist with the Repsol Mining Company. We learnt a lot about tectonic plate movements over time, how studying rock formations can give geologists a better understanding of what is happening below the Earth’s surface, as well as below the oceans. Our students became very good at recognizing patterns in the rocks and could explain what had caused the formation of these rock patterns. Many thanks to Pak Imam for giving up his time to share his knowledge    with us.

The Transdisciplinary Theme for our current Unit of Inquiry is: Sharing the Planet.

Central Idea: Biodiversity relies on maintaining the interdependent balance of organisms within systems. Our Case Study is The Rainforest.

Lines of Inquiry:

·         Ways in which ecosystems, biomes and environments are interdependent.

·         How human interaction with the environment can affect the balance of systems.

·         The consequences of imbalance within ecosystems.

      As part of this unit we visited the Botanical Gardens (Kebun Raya) to study some of the many fascinating trees and plants that grow naturally in tropical rainforests.

Despite intermittent rain we had a great time following a route to study a wide variety of trees, creepers, vines, epiphytes, fungi and flowers,  such as: the ‘Sausage Tree’, Lipstick Palm, bamboo, Strangler Fig, water lilies and lotuses, bananas, rattans, ginger, coffee and nutmeg trees, and the magnificent ‘King of the Forest’ with its huge buttress roots. Many thanks to Helen Henry, who    gave  up her time to accompany us on this trip.

 j

 j  We enjoyed a very informative presentation from Jacqui Sunderland from BOS: The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. This is an Indonesian non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Bornean orangutan and its habitat. It is currently the largest orangutan rescue and rehabilitation organization in the world. Jacqui’s presentation was really moving as she introduced us to some of the many orangutans who have been rescued, enrolled in orangutan classes and successfully rehabilitated. It takes approximately seven years of around the clock care to nurse them back to health and teach them all the orangutan skills they need to be able to be released into the wild. The students asked really thoughtful and relevant questions and showed great empathy for the plight of the endangered orangutans that are at risk of extinction. We really appreciate Jacqui making the time to share her presentation with us.

MATHEMATICS

 

     The three classes are developing their understanding of measurement using both the metric and imperial systems. We are focusing on linear measurement, perimeter, area, volume, time, (analogue and digital clocks and elapsed time). At the moment we are working inside the classroom but will take it outside weather permitting.

                           

READING

      We are enjoying participating in a stand-alone reading unit based on our own personal favourite books. This involves sharing and ‘selling’ our books to others to encourage them to read and enjoy a wide range of books. So far this is proving very popular with all students fully involved in the reading and sharing process.