Science 

The science of Biology through the eyes of a spiny leaf insect and other living things

This Term, four spiny leaf insects have joined Trinity to help students learn about the characteristics and life cycles of living things. Before they arrived each class talked about what characteristics all living things possess and how scientists classify living things into different kingdoms.

Each class had the opportunity to discuss their thoughts and ideas about how living things survive and then conduct their own research on how they will care for our leaf insects. This also opened a conversation about stewardship and the love and care of all creatures.

Students were able to draw spiny leaf insects in their science books based on their research. 

When our leaf insects arrived this week there was a lot of excitement and each class was able to compare their drawings from the previous week to what they looked like in real life.

Some more independent research provided even more interest in these odd creatures and some students discovered an interest in taxonomy (the science of classifying living things). It has been inspiring to watch each student discover an interest and then be motivated and excited to learn more through their own research. The science room was a noisy hub of fact sharing and ‘wows’.

Our new insect friends even blessed us with 50-60 eggs on their first day. We are now hoping to learn how to provide the perfect environment for these eggs to hatch - although this could take up to nine months or even longer.

Term two will be a busy one as we will also be studying the growth and life cycle of plants. Students will have an opportunity to design their own experiment to observe how different factors affect the growth and health of plants. We will look at what is actually living in our rivers and creeks under a microscope, grow some mould and understand the microscopic world of bacteria. We are all looking forward to diving into the living kingdoms and understanding the balance of our natural world.