Term 4 Here We Come!

Where did those holidays go??? More to the point, where has this week gone! Week one is done and dusted! We have had some great learning experiences this week, including gardening (in our Whanau groups) in an attempt to get our beautiful gardens up and running.

This week Room 5 has had the chance to dive into financial literacy through a program called Money Time. We are learning about the importance of earning and investing, how interest is paid, how we can spend money and save money, and the class have taken to this activity so well that I have had to lock modules to keep them from rushing ahead!!! As well as a fantastic learning tool, Money time gives students the chance to earn money, make financial decisions and to compete against others. Ask your child about this! It is a great starting point to beginning to save for that rainy day.

This week also saw us launch into Space - we are using a program called Alien Rescue that is run through the University of Texas. We are so lucky to be able to try this activity. Students have to problem solve in groups to be able to work out what new planets will suit a range of aliens. It is not an easy task, as students need to find out about atmospheric conditions, learn parts of the periodic table and make hypotheses before launching space probes to find information. We are also looking at planets and using research skills to find out the information needed. Those students who worked really hard and completed assigned tasks were able to help construct a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle of the Solar System. They were in class early and reluctant to go out to morning tea and lunch - they wanted to finish that puzzle! They finished it in 2 days!!!

This week saw the collection of our Samaritan Boxes. We collected items to fill six boxes for children in developing countries. I love it when our class are so thoughtful and show such compassion.

It's been a fantastic start to Term 4 which is shaping up to be exceptionally busy. Stay tuned!

Building up to the Senior Social

I must apologise for not updating sooner!! We have been swamped with Senior Social practice, Cross Country, Top Team, Speech Competitions and general learning!

Tomorrow night is Social Night!! We are getting very excited in class. Students have worked so hard on their dances and have made such an effort to step outside their comfort zones and learn new moves. Girls are excited to be heading to the hairdresser tomorrow, new dresses, shoes, pants and shirts! It's all happening!

We are so very proud of our Speech winners. We had the pleasure of hearing Sarah's speech (1st place in SOHS Speech Competition) again in Assembly last week, and also Olivia's (3rd place) from Room 7. Both girls did an outstanding job in the competition and Sarah really deserved her win. She is proof that setting goals and working hard towards them, can and does happen! Sarah set the goal to perform her speech without using palm cards, freeing her hands up for the all important gesturing!
Super proud of Sarah!

We had several students take part in both Polyfest and Otago Cross Country last week - with some students having to make the choice between these two events. It is great to see well-rounded students.

Writing So Worth Reading!!!

Today we turned out attention to producing a "quick write" to describe something. This was so much fun and the writing was AMAZING!!!! So much so, we want to share some!

"He sat down on the bench, pulled off his cap and scratched his snowy, white hair. The man pulled off his shoes after a long day playing golf which revealed old, wrinkly skin. After putting on some different shoes he slowly struggled into his 1994 Volkswagon Beetle before driving to his grandchildren's house. He made himself a nice, warm cup of tea before settling down and telling his grandchildren their favourite story from WW2".   Alec Mills

"The fierce, crashing waves feel like ice cubes. The icy water is biting the edges of my wetsuit. It slowly seeps into my toast warm wetsuit. The vicious sea spray washes my face like a cold shower. The bitter cold makes me shiver. My teeth chatter, my body quivers in the chilly water. On the shore the rough wind gusts blow sand into my eyes. The freezing air rips at my face. The icy wind slashes my body" Greta Luke

"The beach was dark, the sun was going down. The dark clouds were rumbling in. I needed to put my jacket on. The ice cold sand was seeping into my shoes, making my feet grow numb, my arms were covered in goosebumps and my legs were shaking in the strong wind. The waves were hitting the shore, making loud, echoing booms throughout." Pagan Buchanan

This is just a sample! There were so many great ones and I will continue to add these as time goes on! We are currently working on our speeches and also trying to work towards entering the Intermediate Writer Awards - this is really exciting - stay tuned for that one!!!

It's been a fantastic week - Week 3 done and dusted - next week we put on our dancing shoes!

We're Baaaaaack!!!

Term 3 has begun and we are a week down already! This week has been hectic, we are going to be in for a busy Term with Cross Country, Rippa Tournament, Netball Tournament, Teacher Only Day (next Friday) and the Year 7/8 Social towards the end of term. All students will begin to learn the dances for the Social and it is always a great night!

Firstly, thanks to those parents who came along this week to chat about their child's learning. It is always really great to touch base with you all. Please do not just wait for Parent/Teacher interviews to have a chat, pop in whenever you can, read our writing wall, enjoy the art work and just have a chat. You are always welcome! For those few parents who didn't make it this week, please get in touch and make a time to catch up, I am available before and after school most days.

Science Fair projects are in - and I am impressed by the effort the students have made! It was proud teacher moments as they all came in on Monday morning, with the exception of just a couple. Great work and I will let those know who are going through to Dunedin early next week.

We have worked on Symmetrical Art this week, using the age old art of Origami. Students used three folds and made some amazing pieces of mathematical art. Scroll down and check them out!!

At the very end of last Term we welcomed a new Year 8 student, Malachi, who is a fantastic edition to our class. He is fitting in very well and it seems like he has been here a lot longer than a few days. We have a class of 26 now, 13 Year 7 students and 13 Year 8 students!

Our focus for the first few weeks of Term is the annual speech competition. We are working hard on persuasive writing and formatting for speeches. Students have all chosen their topics and are sharing their work with me so I can offer feedback throughout the process. I love this activity and I make no apology for that. We will have the Room 5 Speech competition running between 22-24th August, so we have a lot of time to get these speeches tuned up and rehearsed. From there the class winners will compete with Mr Tuhou's class winners, and from those we will choose the students to go through to South Otago on September 3rd. Stay tuned!

Okay.... Week One - Done and Dusted!!! What a great week we've had too.

The End of Term Two!!!

Kia Ora Parents/Whanau/Caregivers!

What a huge term we have had. This week saw Enterprise draw to a conclusion and I could not be more proud of these young entrepreneurs! We have learned so many new skills and polished up some old skills throughout this term through doing our Enterprise.

• Budgeting and Profit and Loss (Maths)
• Advertising (Technology, Visual Arts, Persuasive Writing)
• Collaboration
• Team work
• Writing - loan application and reflection
• Providing constructive feedback to other teams

It was an amazing project. I can't believe everything sold out and we could of sold even more if we had stock. Students were a little disappointed but we only had a $20.00 budget to buy materials. We did make more than $400 profit!!!! We will, as a class, decide how best to use this money.

SCIENCE FAIR

Just a reminder that all Science Fair Projects are due in on the first day back - this is not an optional project! Students should be close to finishing as most of the work has been done in class and with the outstanding help of Rob Mills.  If you have any concerns over the holidays please email me and I will try and help as best I can! 

ROAD PATROL

For those students who have stood out in miserable weather this term to do their Road Patrol duty, I really thank you! Your dedication to keeping our students safe is fantastic. However, sadly, many students have decided that their nice warm beds are the better place to be and have not been showing up for their week long duty every month. This is letting down your team and other students who have done their share are volunteering to fill in the gaps, but they shouldn't have to. If you signed up for Road Patrol for this year, please do your absolute best to come in on time in the morning and do your duty after school. If, for some reason you cannot, please organise to swap with someone or get someone to fill in so we have a full team out on patrol morning and afternoon.

ENJOY YOUR BREAK!!! HAVE A GREAT TIME AND STAY SAFE

Enterprise is Coming........

This has been the highlight of the term - we are almost ready to launch our Enterprise Sale. This will take place on Wednesday 4th July at lunch time in Room 6. Students have been working so hard to set up their small business. Why did we do this?? So much authentic learning has taken place this term! Learning with a purpose.

First up was a business idea - what could teams make as a "business" and how could they best work to achieve this. A lot of discussion went on and a business plan was drawn up. A loan application letter was sent to the bank manager for approval and once finance was granted we discussed how it had to be paid back, even if it meant selling items at a "sale" price to recoup costs. Students then set about the fun task of sourcing items - I have never seen children shop quite like this lot! Ali Express was hit hard!! We compared items, compared prices, discussed why cheapest is not always the best and then made selections. My post box was well used that's for sure!

Promotional material was the next step. Posters were drawn up, persuasive language discussed and logos were designed. Labels had to be made for items being sold, logos had to have an element of symmetry (this saw plenty of designs go back to the drawing board to meet the criteria), and colours were chosen.

I lost count of how many times I have been asked "Can't we just make the items now?" Finally the day came where everyone's shipped items had arrived and we could begin to make things. We have a wide range of items, that's for sure.

Greta, Holly, Sydney, Jess and Pagan are "Body Works" and are making bathbombs and lip balm (both wind up and pottles).

Michael and Eli are "Convenient Cookies", producing gorgeous jars of pre-made cookie mixture where the purchaser only needs to tip into a bowl and add butter and milk.

The "Survival Gang", Oliver, Nick, Aymaan and Blake have made some amazing survival bracelets with paracord. If you get stuck, shoelaces break, forgot your belt or need to lash something together, you can undo this bracelet and the cord is strong enough for many tasks! These will sell out fast!

"Bubbilicious", Madi, Katey, Evie and Sarah are making both Sherbet Straws and gorgeous beaded bracelets. These will also sell quickly!

"Eskatit Brothers" are baking fresh cookies, Subway Style. Jonny, Eden, Jackson and Sol are eager to get into the kitchen to get started.

"Sugar Rush", Jack, Nate, Alec and Chase have made a delicious blend of Sherbert with a Lollypop Dipper. I've tried this Sherbet and it has just the right amount of zing! Raro is the base.

The "Ooze Crew" have come up with an amazing Flubber Soap for children to use at bath time. This smells beautiful and is packed in little pottles that can be sealed for future use.

We hope you will come and see your child's Enterprise Activity. Our next task will be to write a business report on completion, reflecting on businesses and profit/loss made. We will then decide, as a class, how best to use any profits made.

We hope you will support our little "businesses", Room 5 are very proud of their achievements.

Making Bath Bombs

Hand crafted beaded bracelets

Survival Bracelet

Sherbet Dippers

Science Fair, Science in Class.....

We have had a fantastic week (so much so that I needed  the weekend to recover and catch up!). We are preparing for our Science Fair projects. All students have been given a little booklet and a timeline, as well as one being emailed home. If you need another, just let me know. The students are coming up with some interesting topics to investigate too!

This week we have been looking at water quality and how we could filter water on the off-chance we were stuck somewhere and needed to do so. We discussed what types of materials might filter water if we were out in the bush somewhere and needed to drink. We made a list of items such as grass, sand, stones, charcoal, gravel, bark chips or leaves. Each student had a 2 litre empty soft drink bottles, and they had to cut the end off. With very little help from me, they had to plan and carry out their own investigation. It was great to see them talking to each other, comparing their layers in their bottles. The outcomes were even more fascinating! We lined up the filtered water and checked and compared results and discussed why they may be so different - great discussions and even better ideas! Nate had the clearest (let's not confuse clean and clear!) water. We decided to put the water back through the filters to see if we could clear it up even more.

Before filtering

A range of filtered water samples after 1st filtering

Nate's sample after filtering twice

Week 4 - Where does time go???

Kia Ora!
Wow...we are already at the end of Week 4 - this term is vanishing before our eyes!! We have been busy, REALLY busy, but have been having a lot of fun along the way. We had our second lesson by Constable Rochelle around laws, rules and honesty - these lessons are great. The first lesson had students deconstructing "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" - wow...Goldie sure did break a lot of laws!  We have also had our second hockey lesson with Julia - she is a fantastic hockey player and is teaching us some amazing skills. The laughter and encouragement during these lessons is fantastic. We are building on skills to prepare for the hockey tournament later this term.

In class we have been focusing on writing. We have completed a writing sample in the narrative style and some students really were stuck for ideas! This often comes back to the amount of reading they do, and I can't stress enough the importance of reading at home on a regular basis. It not only helps to calm down after a busy day, but it fills heads with images, vocabulary and ideas! We have continued on with weaving - students are finishing their round weaving sample - these are great fun. We are building up to felting, which will happen before the end of term.

Items required for our "Enterprise" have started arriving - each little package brings great excitement. We have to wait until ALL items are here before we begin the actual production of items. That will be a great week!!! Students have written their letters to secure a loan (and were all successful), have designed their company logo (with symmetry involved) and most have now worked out how much they need to "break even" and how many items to sell to make a profit!

We are also taking part in a Schoolkit activity to set our own world records. This has been hilarious. We are looking at superlatives (highest, biggest, fastest, most, etc) and an activity to do (throwing basketballs through hoops, watching, skipping etc.) and adding a twist of crazy (backwards, on one leg, blindfolded). We have set a few records and have more to do!

Next Monday our Student Council will be going to National Young Leaders' Day - great speakers this year including Amanda Wilson - so I am really looking forward to that!

Throwing Basketball hoops backwards, while blindfolded

Skipping, blindfolded

Catch and Swing on Tornado

Hockey skills

Term Two has started with a bang!

Week one has gone already! We have so much going on this term, it will fly by. We welcome two new students to our class this term - Oliver (Year 8), who has come from Lawrence and Pagan (Year 7) who has come from Invercargill - great new additions to our class, and both have settled in well.

This week has been amazing! We have been learning about Water - students will be doing a lot on water quality this term, including retrieving water samples and testing them. We will also be making a water filter so any empty 1.5 or 2.0 litre clear soft drink bottles will be very welcome!!!

You may have heard your child talking about our Enterprise (or not!). This term we are looking at Project Based Learning and our class have split into groups and will be building up a business. While this seems easy, students are fast learning that it's not all about "Here is our product - buy it!". So far they have grouped themselves and put together a business plan - what they want to make and where they need to source their materials from. They have been encouraged NOT to bring items from home (there may be an exception or two down the track), but budget for all necessary items. They  have been given a limit of $20.00 (we are not out to make millions here....yet!) Students have all written to me to convince me to finance their project and how they plan to make enough to pay back their "loan".  Skills involved in this are many and varied and include, but not limited to

• Budgeting (Maths)
• Advertising (visual art and literacy)
• Collaborative learning/group work/co-operation
• Marketing
• Technology/science (making their items)

The enthusiasm level is high, however, they do need to be reminded that they have to slow down and put a lot of thought into the process - no prizes for first finished! At the end of the Term we will hold a stall at school to sell our products - stay tuned for updates!!!

This week we tried a "class hot lunch" and prepared slow cookers full of delicious soup. The smell wafting through the classroom was amazing! We prepared two batches of soup - chicken and corn and chicken noodle - needless to say, not a drop was left! We will definitely do this again later in the term.

Preparing lunch

We held a special Anzac Assembly this week to commemorate those brave, young New Zealand soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. Students placed crosses on the stage to recognise the loss of life of local young men. It was a very moving assembly, and the students were so respectful.

Lastly, a Friday afternoon treat!! The young acrobats who are performing in the Cirque Grande in Balclutha this weekend, came to demonstrate their skills. If there is every an opportunity to see, and be totally amazed by these girls who have bodies that are so flexible they literally bend in half, then go and see them!!! The Circus is on Saturday and Sunday. The demonstration was amazing, considering these girls were only between 9 and 13 years of age! They are on tour for two years, away from their families and home. What an experience! 

End of the Term

Where did those 11 weeks go?? The term has all but finished and it has been one full of fun and learning, with the highlight being Camp Iona. We have learned a lot this term and this week we are finishing our Anzac Project, where each student was given an artifact from World War 1 and had to research their artifact, who it represented and their story. This was a fascinating insight into what life was like for these young soldiers and students were very keen to keep working on this. Here are a few samples of our slides

  

We had a visit this week from Detective Kate, who came to talk to the students about cyber safety, cyber bullying and some of the students were quite surprised about how easy it was for their information to get "out there" and how difficult it was to get it back (in fact you CAN NOT get it back). 

Earlier this week we received a package from North Street School in Fielding. We exchanged writing packages with this school and the students were excited to read about our partner school and to share their work on metaphors. We hope to stay in touch with North Street School.

We added to our art wall this week -- Autumn is here (actually I think Autumn has skipped us and gone straight to winter!), students need to remember to bring their school jumpers every day to combat the cold! Next term students are able to wear their track suit pants (plain blue please - no brand logos!). Thursday all students need their formal uniforms for Assembly.

I hope everyone has a fantastic School Holiday break! Stay safe and we will see you back here in two weeks.

We Survived......and Thrived......at Camp Iona!

Kia Ora,
Wow!!! What a fantastic week we had a camp! I was dreading going, as my mind played scenarios over and over before we left, but I need not have worried - the students were amazing, the parents fantastic and the whole experience one that I will remember for a long time!

I am sure individual students have talked about their camp experiences with great excitement. There are hundreds of photos shared with all students, and if you want to see them, grab a cup of coffee/tea and sit back and scroll through. Spend a little bit of time looking at the expressions of the faces of the children - lots of smiles, laughter, frustration, nerves - a picture does truly paint a thousand words. I have so many "favourite" photos. Our trip to the Moeraki Boulders was amazing, and they are surely some of my favourite pictures. Watching students push themselves out of their comfort zone also made for great photo opportunities.

I would like to thank the parents; Mark, Adam, Cathy, Keith, Jae, Kyle, Dan, Derek and Suzie, without your amazing help, great senses of humour and adventure, patience and care, this camp could never have been the success it was. It was great to see Sargeant Dan step up in the morning and get those sleepy ones in line and ready for the day and this is something they still talk about. Suzie and Cathy in the kitchen were an amazing team, and no student went hungry! In fact I'm sure some gained a kilo or two! But the biggest thanks must go to the students of Room 5 and 7 because they really did throw everything they had at camp activities, some even spending a large chunk of time, late at night, in the bush. It wasn't easy for some, but they gave it their best shot and came back feeling proud of themselves - rightfully so too!

This week we have been working on various writing tasks relating to camp experiences and will be presenting slide shows at Assembly on Thursday (at 2:20pm if you are free), along with a skit relating to our early morning "boot camp".

If you are missing any baking containers please let either myself or Mrs Ollerenshaw know, and we will try and hunt them down for you.

That's it for this week!

Nga mihi!

School Leaders and Technology

Kia Ora!
The term is fast disappearing and Camp is next week!!! I know the class is really looking forward to all the activities planned and just spending time with their friends in a new and different environment. We are heading to Camp Iona, in Herbert, just south of Oamaru. There is a lot of activities planned and for those parents who didn't make it to the camp meeting, we will be sailing, kayaking, hiking, raft building and looking at water safety. This is fantastic as it ties in so well with our focus on Water for Life.

This last week and a half has gone by so quickly, that I didn't get a chance to blog on Friday, so I am catching up now! We have been introduced to our new School Council, and  this Friday we have speeches to select our School Leaders. Our Council is composed of the following students:
Nic Roy (Room 5), Holly Milne (Room 5), Sarah Bloxham (Room 5), Latoya Hewitt (Room 5), Shaun Bennett (Room 7), Israel McRae (Room 7), Jahnae Palmer (Room 7) and Daniel Burnett (Room 7). What a fantastic bunch of students, and these students are obviously well respected by their peers!

Year Seven students have been learning about using cement in Technology. They have been working on making candle holders across at the High School. I love these! The colours are amazing! They are looking forward to burning their candles in these holders.

Students were introduced to a new story planning software called Mindmup. This is a great way to visually plan their stories and to see what items are related and help building interesting plots and characters. I was really impressed with their first attempt using this software and the quality of their planning. This is a great tool for visual learners and those who enjoy working on their devices.

Student of the week was a hard decision for Week 5! There were so many who stood out this week. I finally decided that Chase just had to be Student of the Week. He always shows impeccable manners, is hard working and is eager to help others. Great qualities Chase! 

That's it for the last week and a half! We have been so busy, getting ready for Camp and Athletics and numerous other things going on! 

One Month ....GONE!!

Kia Ora
Wow....you blink and you miss - time is flying! We have had a great week despite winter coming back to visit a couple of months early!

We are gearing up for camp...three weeks to go. We will be meeting parents next week, the day has changed to Wednesday at 5pm and an email will go out to parents today to notify of the changes.

This week we went back to South Otago High School to help the Year 13's with their sport and leadership lessons - the games were amazing and kept the students warm on a cold day. Great to see such good sportsmanship and encouragement for their team mates too.

I really love spending time up in the senior playground watching everyone sharpen up their skills on play equipment. The monkey bars seem to be hugely popular at the moment and their is no limit to what some children will do on these bars - some days you just want to look away - they have no fear and keep trying to master different skills. Apart from the occasional blister, I've yet to see anyone hurt themselves, although I do shut my eyes sometimes! It is great, healthy fun!

It has been a great week!

Awesome ball games!

A bit of Touch on a cold day!

Student of the Week