Different Types of Fossils

Trace Fossils
Some of the most interesting fossils don't even belong to the animal. They are the marks the animal has left behind, they can be footprints, impressions of the skin or droppings. These are called trace fossils and can be very useful to scientists as they can tell how the animal lived. Nests and eggs also give information of an animal's lifestyle. It is usually easier to identify a particular animal from a nest or fossilized egg rather than from a trace fossil.

Mold Fossils

This is an imprint of an animal or its trace. A shell can make an imprint in the sand. After the sand hardens the shell can dissolve and leave a spave in the shape of the shell. This space is called a mold fossil. When the sediment hardens into rock a fossil is formed in the same shape as that shell.



Fossils

Our new inquiry topic is Fossils and we are loving it.
When an animal or plant dies it's usually eaten or rots away to nothing. Sometimes its remains can be buried quickly and may be fossilised. This usually happens if the aninal has died in or near water.

This is the Process of Fossilisation
1.  Before the bones break up in the sun, the water rises and covers them with a layer of sand.
2.  The soft body parts such as muscle and skin rot away and the skeleton falls apart but bones
and teeth remain.
3.  Minrals in the bones are dissolved and are replaced with minerals from the ground.  Over time the sand and mud layers build up and harden to form sedimentary rock.  This can take millions of
years.
4.  Soil is washed away which can expose the fossil and can be found by
anyone.                                

Wire Scupture Athletes on PhotoPeach

Cross Country

Cross Country on PhotoPeach

LEOTC - Enviro Art

We started by viewing artworks by Environmental artists who use objects found in nature to create sculptures. Their works usually focus on shape, space, texture, and colour. Two of the artists we looked at were Martin Hill from Wanaka and Andy Goldsworthy.  We walked down to Bremner Bay and created our own amazing works of art.
Here are a few, tell us what you think.





































Before coming back to school we collected driftwood to make mobiles - what do you think?

Art - Making Wire Sculptures

Today we began making wire scuptures of Olympic athletes.

First we looked at Elizabeth Berrien, Helen Godfrey and a few other artists who create some amazing work from wire.

We sketched what we want our sculpture to look like and then began our own sculptures.

LEOTC - Bike Skills

On Thursday, 2 August we had a bike skills day. We started off by being put into groups of four and then were given the challenge of construction a bike out of newspaper and sellotape. For some, this was indeed a challenge.

What do you think of some of our results?

Then we jumped on our bikes and moved around in groups completing bike skills. Phil Vink also came along and did bike and helmet checks for us and showed us how to ride on the road safely.

LEOTC - Mt Iron Walk

On Thursday, 26 July we left school at 9.15 am and walked to the base of Mt Iron where we had a morning tea stop. A few of us wanted a drink, but the fountain was still frozen. We made our way up Mt Iron in a long line - some of us fitter than others, but we all made it eventually. We had lunch at the top, a bit of a look at the view and some even got their sketch pads out as they were so inspired by the view.

We made our way down again (a lot faster than going up), had a quick stop at the bottom for a drink and then continued on our way to school.

Hunter was so proud of himself as he said that is the furtherest he has ever walked in his life. Way to go Hunter