Class 7 presented their Mandela Day task to the Primary School assembly and Class 7 parents:
We decided, as a class, to do a beach clean-up for Mandela Day this year. His campaign is all about the fact that each individual has the power to transform the world and we can each make a difference. We want to make a difference by reducing the amount of rubbish that floats in our oceans, to bring awareness to everyone that we can each help the sea creatures by removing plastic, glass, paper etc. that lies on our beaches.
You carry Mother Earth within you. She is not outside of you. Mother Earth is not just your environment. – Thich Nhat Hanh
With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live. – Sylvia Earle
Even the upper end of the river believes in the ocean. – William Stafford
In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans. – Kahlil Gibran
When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water. – Benjamin Franklin
We have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it, we are going back from whence we came. – John F. Kennedy
There’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away. – Sarah Kay
There’s nothing wrong with enjoying looking at the surface of the ocean itself, except that when you finally see what goes on underwater, you realise that you’ve been missing the whole point of the ocean. Staying on the surface all the time is like going to the circus and staring at the outside of the tent. – Dave Barry
I have a dream… I dream of undoing the damage we’ve done. I dream of clean water, clean air and clean soil. Will you dream with me? – Brooke Hampton
Humans merely share the earth. We can only protect the land, not own it. – Chief Seattle
Man is still the greatest miracle and the greatest problem on this earth. – David Sarnoff
The waves of the sea help me get back to me. – Jill Davis
No one owns the water
No one owns the land
No one owns the oceans
No one owns the sand
These are given by our Mother
Our planet provides for free
Only by the hands of the greedy
Does the earth require a fee?
Sooner or later, we will have to recognise that the Earth has rights, too, to live without pollution. What mankind must know is that human beings cannot live without Mother Earth, but the planet can live without humans.
Life! In all its mystery comes out in chemistry! Things boil over, change colour, explode, stink, and thrill in many ways in chemistry experiments. “Experiential Learning” is one way Waldorf teachers describe their approach to young people. This term takes on especially powerful facets in grades six and seven in science. By then the child becomes a self-motivated learner, capable of independent projects and research.
‘Chem-mystery’
This term our Imhoff Waldorf Class 7 children were introduced to the magic of chemistry by stepping back in time to the ancient practise and art of alchemy. Alchemy is defined as the process of taking something ordinary and turning it into something extraordinary, sometimes in a way that cannot be explained.
An example of using alchemy is a person who takes a pile of scrap metal and turns it into a beautiful piece of recycled art.
As a practical experience, we set up an outdoor chemistry classroom and a ‘forge’ was created out of an old 25 litre paint tin. The incredible heat of the little forge was used to melt aluminium tin cans and the class were able to participate in the process of melting and reshaping the recycled tin cans into useful moulds.
Outdoor Colourful Chemistry Lab
12 little jars were laid out along the outdoor chemical laboratory table and each was filled with a solution of diluted red-cabbage juice (which turns an exquisite aquamarine colour when diluted with water). Our resident peacock looked on as the Class 7 students used straws to blow carbon dioxide into their cabbage juice jars. Wow! Their outbreath turned the blue juice into a dreamy pink colour. All sorts of discoveries were made as we tested various substances in the diluted cabbage juice – and the colours in the jars ranged from dark green, through yellow, blue, pink and red.
Teacher Glenda