Building a Waka.

Some of our students have been reading a story called 10 Waka For Christmas.  There were instructions explaining how to make a waka so they decided to give it a go.

It was fun testing the wakas to see if they floated.  Everyone then discussed why some wakas floated and some didn't.

This is a story about making a waka.

Today we made waka and it is another name for boats.  Margaret helped us.  We needed wire and sticks then paper for the flag.  It was hard but then Margaret helped me.  It was lovely for her to help me.  Then we had to stop because it was almost lunchtime and then we tested it very quickly and then we played and then the bell rang.  We went inside the classroom then I started reading and then the teacher drummed the drum.  The whole class went down on the mat then Brenda said, "The Waka Team come here."  Then Brenda took a video and it was about the waka.  We went outside to do the video and we went in the forest.  We started videoing then it was home time.  We tidied up the classroom then we went on the mat in a circle.  The bell rang then we went home.  Then it was night time.  I went to sleep.

Avaria

Getting Ready For The Dance

SPOILER ALERT! In 2 weeks, we're going to a dance. There's going to be lots of dances, like Locomotion, Hound Dog, Surfing Safari, Rock Around The Clock and She's a Mod. And lots of others. I'm a little nervous. It's going to be fun. I can't wait! By Alex

Motor For Snails

Today we made a motor for snails. We got an engine. If you pull the string the fireworks come out. It was awesome making the motor.

Onomatopoeia

Today we learnt about onomatopoeia. We learnt that onomatopoeia describes words that make the sound they say. We watched a video about onomatopoeia.

Then we looked at comic strips with onomatopoeia, and art by Roy Lichtenstein who used Ben-Day dots to make art, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s.

We used Photobooth on the computers to take a photo of ourselves posing like we were in a comic strip and made our own onomatopoeia phrases with bubble letters. Come and check out our art in the Arts Festival in week 10!

Hippo Making

Today we made hippos and we read a hippo poem. First we coloured the hippos in. Then we cut them out. Then we sellotaped them and glued them together. We put sticks on them. We stuck teeth on them. We get to take them home today. We can show our mums and dads. Here is our poem.

Reading Programme

Our reading programme is always very busy, and full of changes. The students are making great progress with their reading, and we do a whole lot of literacy activities while groups read with the teachers.

We learn about word families and make real (and sometimes silly) words by putting the start and end of words together.

Cross Country

Room 12 have been training hard for weeks to prepare for the Tawa School Cross Country that was held on Tuseday.  We were so proud of everyone that gave it a go and many students did their personal best.  What a great effort Room 12!

We are gymnasts!

We have had an AMAZING time at Big Air Gym this term. It has been stunning to see how much progress we have made in our confidence, strength, coordination, balance, and general motor skills. The instructors at Big Air Gym have been fantastic, and they helped us to learn so much. Look at us go!

Warming up:

In our classroom

We are lucky to have different teachers and different furniture in our class. We have teacher aides who help us with our work, and other teachers who come in sometimes.

We also have jelly bean tables to work at and one even has a whiteboard top so we can do our work straight on it!

See us working in our class.

Big Air Gym

Every second Monday this term we have been walking to Bigair Gym.  Room 12 has enjoyed learning how to use the different equipment and they have been practising their gymnastic skills.  They have been practising things like balancing and flexibility while also learning new skills and increasing their fitness.  The students are slowly being challenged which has been great for their confidence.

Insect week!

This week we have been learning about insects. We have had a few people show us insects they've seen, or videos about insects so we wanted to learn about what an insect is. We watched this video and learnt that insects have three body parts, six legs, and often have wings.

Tomorrow Room 12 will be watching this video about wasps.  Emma and her mum took this video when they were doing a tramp recently.  It would be wonderful if you could look at the video tonight and discuss it with your child.

Dragon stories

On Wednesday our writing lesson was writing letters about what we were looking forward to or hoping to do this year in Room 12. The students didn't have an awful lot to say about that, so a lot of our writing didn't get past "Dear Becca and Brenda"...! On Thursday, we decided to shake it up a bit and Brenda got everyone to think about this picture: