Convection Currents with Mr. Simon

Last Monday we headed upstairs and collaborated with the upper school science teacher, Mr. Simon. He invited us into the science lab for our very first science experiment. It was a wonderful experience and the students really got a good understanding of convection currents and how they move the tectonic plates. Thank you so much Mr. Simon for volunteering your time, expertise and enthusiasm!!!

If you would like to try some more experiments with convection currents, check out these videos and links below.

Home Learning: Convection Currents
Heat Convection in Liquids

 

Video Conference with NASA

Tomorrow eventing, Saturday September 19th is Look at the Moon Night. Yesterday we were lucky enough to be connected with NASA for a webcast about the moon in celebration of this exciting night. We had a live video conference with the US to talk to Mr. Anderson about the moon. He shared information about the moon that covered not only science, but history, art and music. The kids really enjoyed watching themselves on the screen and talking to someone in real time from thousands of miles away. Parents and students, I encourage you to have a conversation about what you learned!

I encourage you to go outside on Saturday and look at the moon. You might see the "man" on the moon or the craters with the naked eye. Grab a pair of binoculars and you will see even more, and a telescope would make the experience even better. If you do go out and look at the moon on Saturday, comment below and let us know what you saw.

 

Learning About Gandhi

Last Friday we had a parent come in to teach us about a person who inspires her. Ms. Sona shared a wonderful powerpoint with us about Gandhi's life and talked to us about all of the amazing things he did. Thank you again for coming in and also sharing the powerpoint. We appreciate it!

Gandhi Powerpoint Grades 2-4 from Rorey Risdon

 

Visiting Teachers from Iringa

The past two days we have been lucky enough to have two guest teachers visiting us from Iringa. Ms. Tiffany was in class yesterday helping with our math games (more to come on that later) and Ms. Megan was in class today. It is lovely to have two teachers in the classroom visiting, helping out and sharing some ideas. Today Ms. Megan even read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to us at snack. Thanks for visiting!


 

PYP Plant Unit Guest Speaker

 On Tuesday, Grade 3 had the pleasure of hosting Arran's dad, Mr. Daniel, from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. It was an exciting presentation and the students were captivated by the interesting content, numerous props and audience participation. Mr. Daniel gave a good overview about plants and discussed the plant he works most closely with, the banana.

We learned that the banana actually does not have seeds and farmers need to plant them using cuttings. The difficulty is that banana plants get sick because of nematodes. His organization helps farmers by growing bananas in the lab and giving healthy plants to farmers so that they can have a healthy crop. It was great to learn more about local plants. Grade 3 sends a warm asante sana!

 

A Visit from Mr. Hall

Last week we asked our school director Mr. Hall to come in and speak about some of his heroes. He found us in the computer lab and sat down for a chat. He shared with us three heroes he admires and shared a little bit about each one. He explained that his heroes are people who were not necessarily in the limelight but still did great things.

 
We were surprised to make a connection with one of his heroes, Walter Sisulu. He is a hero that worked toward ending apartheid in South Africa and was an inspiration to Nelson Mandela. Mr. Sisulu was featured in a autobiography we read about Nelson Mandela. You can learn more about Walter Sisulu here on Wikipedia.

Another one of Mr. Hall's heroes is his father. We made a connection to that too because Ms. Rorey's mom is one of her heroes and some of our parents are our heroes too! Thanks for coming in to visit Mr. Hall!

 

Thank You Doctor Erwin!

Last week, we had another parent come visit and share with the entire grade 3 team what he does as a doctor in Tanzania. Dr. Erwin runs the CCBRT Hospital here in Dar es Salaam. CCBRT is a hospital that specializes in helping individuals with disabilities. The students were fascinated about his job and the commitment he shows to patients and the community everyday.

The students were interested in all aspects of his job and loved looking at the x-rays and prosthetics he brought in. He told us about a child named Santino who was born unable to walk upright. At CCBRT Santino had treatment on his legs. Santino put in large amount of effort and commitment to strengthen his body. Through his hard work and persistence, Santino can now walk upright. The students were so surprised to hear that not only will braces and prosthetics help people walk, but after a while, some people can even play football!

After watching the video below, some of them even made a plan to take action by raising money for surgeries. Say tuned to hear about the plan that is in the works. Hopefully some time soon, 3R can help people in need with a donation for some surgeries.

Thank You Dr. Roland!

3R was lucky to have Dr. Roland, Louise's dad, come in and teach us more about the human body how the body systems are interconnected. He also talked to us about what doctors and nurses do for you when you are sick. He brought in some medical tools for us to explore and left a friend with us in the classroom. Harry the skeleton, our newest addition to the classroom, has fit right in and has been a gracious guest. He has helped us to learn about the skeletal system and given us a tool to use when determining where organs are located in the body in relationship to the bones. He has been keeping us company and watching over us as we learn. Everyone is happy to have Harry visit for a few weeks!

Each student got to go up and use the medical tools and learned what each specific tool was for. The faces they made when the first heard a beating heart or saw the inside of the ear canal was priceless!

Overall, the morning was wonderful and 3R sends a huge "asante sana" to Dr. Roland for giving us an hour of his time. Each student took a moment to write a thank-you letter to Dr. Roland to show our gratitude and appreciation. Below I included a wonderful letter showing lots of enthusiasm and creativity. Check it out.... all I can say is "WOW."

Thank you again Dr. Roland!

Jane Goodall Visits Grade 3 at IST!

Our grade was lucky enough to get Dr. Jane Goodall to come visit for an hour, while visiting Dar es Salaam and her visit tied in nicely with our current PYP unit about heroes. About a month ago, we studied Dr. Jane during our environmental heroes week before we even knew she was coming to Tanzania for a visit. Once we saw that she would be speaking to the IST community during an evening in February, we sent out a huge wish to have her come. Our team leader, ms. McKillip emailed the woman organizing and asked if she had time to visit with grade 3. It was still not decided until the day before, but as Dr. Jane encourages students, we reached for the stars and it paid off.

The students were very impressed that a true, living, breathing hero was coming to visit. Dr. Jane started by teaching the audience how to greet and say hello in "chimp." The kids got a kick out of it and it was the favorite part of the presentation for many students. Each class composed and asked some terrific questions to ask Dr. Jane and listened to her speak about how to make the world a better place for future generations. Dr. Jane, also gave information about her environmental program called Roots and Shoots. It is a wonderful group that encourages children to make a difference in the world by organizing and participating in community service projects focusing on animals, the environment and people in need. She also shared with us some lovely childhood stories that we will remember forever. You should ask your children about her chicken story. It was really funny! After visiting with her, we now know more reasons why Dr. Jane Goodall is a true HERO!

Once we returned to class, we wrote thank-you letters to Dr. Jane. In the letter, the students shared with her their favorite parts of the presentation, what they learned and how they are going to take her message with them in the future. We compiled a book for her and when I went to see her that evening, my students that were also there, gave it to her. I really think she will love it! Great job 3R!

A huge thanks is necessary for Dr. Jane and her staff as well as Ilana, the secondary school librarian for helping to schedule the visit. Asante sana!

For more information please visit:

• http://www.rootsandshoots.org/
• http://www.janegoodall.org/