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!