Term Three is half done!

 Wow...time is flying, even with these Level 2 restrictions we seem to be super busy. We had a great trip to the Otago Museum in Week 5, and the Planetarium Experience was fantastic. We also were able to complete the Museum treasure hunt, which was a great conversation starter about our history and the history of other countries in the Pacific area. We were lucky to have a great bunch of parents come along with us, which always makes the day!

Room 9 have been using their Design Technology skills this term, and the Maths Games have been designed, constructed, modified and tested. I am most impressed with the thoughtful feedback (both positive and things to work on) given by students to their peers. Improvements included adding more features to a game, adding more colour or even more squares so the game lasted longer. These games are going to be gifted to younger students to help with their maths skills. The testing has been a great time in the classroom, and it has made student realise just how specific they need to be with their instructions, as that is really all the players have to go by! 

We will soon begin social dance practice - and hope to hold the social in Term 4. It is always a highlight of our year and it is great to see so many Year 8 student willing to help the Year 7 students learn the dances! Stay tuned for more on this event as we get closer to the day.

Here We Go Again!!!

 New Zealand has done so well to avoid Community Transmission of the Covid-19 virus, however, today we are heading back to Level 2. This means we will be making sure we sanitise, sanitise, sanitise. Students are washing hands upon entering our class, sanitising on the way out, and hopefully this will keep us as safe as we have been - and maybe even help eliminate the nasty gastro bug that seems to be doing the rounds!

We have had a great couple of weeks - students had their day at the Science Fair and 6 students were awarded prizes, some students multiple prizes! I am super, super proud of our budding scientists. It is a passion of mine, and we really enjoy anything "science" related!

Next Thursday we are heading off to the Museum in Dunedin for.....you guessed it.....SCIENCE!! We are heading to the Planetarium to be mesmerized by Space! A notice will go home with students today so please look out for that one. We will need parent helpers, so if you want to be amazed by the Cosmos...come and help out.

Our students have begun the Education Perfect "Stealth" challenge today - it is a cross-curricular competition where they can show their knowledge and skills across the curriculum. We will spend a little bit of time each day working on this. Students get choices, and we know how much they love that, so this should be a fun activity! We are focusing on reading for meaning this Term, so we have been looking at this through the lense of New Zealand history - and really enjoying learning about our country from its beginnings. 

We are also focusing on writing, as this seems to be an area students really struggle with. Not so much the quality of the writing, but getting students to WANT to write - we have a few tips and tricks up our sleeves, so stay tuned.

For now...enjoy a few happy snaps of Room 9 students....(Sadly Willow was unable to go due to illness, but her board went!)