Azonto

The Wooden Horse

Synchronised Swimming

Solar System Song

Here are some excerpts from our Middle school production.

We are all in this Together

School is Fun

Ukulele Group sing Haere Mai

Totara Park

Totara Park - create a slideshow with music

Narrative

Batman, Blizzard Barbie and Bananas
On a freezing night, Batman was trapped in Mr.Freezer’s icy coldbase. Even with pick a locks he can’t pick the lock because it wascolder than Antarctica. Luckily Aquaman came to the rescue.“Hello old chum… well it’s freezing here,’’ said Aquaman. He tore thechain apart.“Well, well, here we have Aquaman… let me introduce BlizzardBarbie,’’ laughed Mr.Freezer.
Whoosh! Swirl! Powerful blizzard struck the base rapidly! Zing!A surprising blur carried our heroes to safety. The blur was… TheFlash!!! But there was no time to celebrate. The Batman reachedfor his weapons, but Mr.Freezer took them away. Flash was eatingbananas. Suddenly Batman had an idea.
‘‘Flash I need your bananas,” said Batman. “Why would you wantbananas? You’re not banana man,” asked Flash.
Batman snatched some bananas he tossed it at the Barbie. Splat!Splat! Splat! The banana skins stuck on the Barbie’s face so Barbiecouldn’t see! She ran into the 3 heroes. Batman threw a bananaon the ground. CRACK!!! The Barbie cracked. UnfortunatelyMr.Freezer escaped. But our heroes were fined for throwing litter!
THE END

Personal Narrative

An Awesome Boring day

It was a boring old day at home. I live in Dunedin and my next door neighbours were moving to Christchurch.

I heard a little canary singing its lovely bird song so I looked outside to try and find it. But instead, I saw a huge, big, yellow bulldozer trundling past my house. 

“Well, that must be the bulldozer picking up my neighbour’s house,” I thought. I sat down to watch some TV.

But all of a sudden the TV turned off! The house moved! 

“What’s happening?” I yelled. “This must be an accident! Maybe they have got the wrong house!” I screamed.

Now, I’m just going to try and imagine and I’m going to make this NOT TRUE! I tried for hours and hours but when I stopped imagining, I was in the centre of Christchurch! The builder was just about to drill the house into the ground when I yelled, “STOP!”

He could not hear me so I just stayed in the house. I remembered my mum gave me a promise that she would come home at six o’clock for a family reunion. I bet she’ll be wondering where the house is! She’ll be asking, if it’s really necessary.

 “Oh well!” This is the hugest experience; I’ve ever had in my life! But I think I want to stay in Christchurch forever.

Ukulele group practising Haere Mai.

Long Jump

We have been having lots of fun practising long jump.

Koru Calendar Art

 Our koru calendar art is looking bright, bold and beautiful.
Don't forget the last date for orders is Thursday 22 November.

Unicycle!

Wheels Day

Last Friday the children could bring toys with wheels to school.

The Nogard

Our student teacher Miss Neal, read us a story and we had to draw a picture as she read.

Another Science Experiment

Science Experiments

Science Experiments - slideshows

Term 4

Term 4 is a very busy term with lots of exciting events planned.

Monday, 22 October - Labour day holiday

Friday, 16 November - Files of Work go home.

Thursday, 22 November - Last day for Calendar orders.

Friday, 30 November - Middle school prize giving / performance.

Thursday, 6 December - Middle school athletics.

Wednesday, 12 December - Reports home.

Friday, 14 December - Last day of school for 2012

My Dad

My Mum

My Dad

My Grandfather's Army Medals

My Cross

My Dad

My Nana

My Mum

My Dad

Club Penguin

My Tablet

My Necklace

Lollies

My Cat Patches

My Rabbit Sally

My Aunty Courtney

My Mum

Speeches

This week we will be presenting and listening to speeches. So far 4 hard working children have presented their wonderful speeches. You can listen to their speeches and we would really love you to leave a comment.

My Dad

My Mum

Speeches

Quadblogging

We have joined a quadblogging group for the first time! Our group has two classes from England and one from USA. Every week a different blog will be the focus for the others to explore and comment on. This week we will be looking at Mrs Maudlin's class at Llewellyn School, USA. Have a  look on the side bar for the links to our quadblogging buddies.

Adrift

Life saving Lesson

More Adrift stories

I was in my huge, wooden boat when I saw that I was not moving! Then I heard a wierd, howling sound, "Arrahrah!" There was something heading for me. It was as huge as a whale! It was coming closer through the steam and clouds, roaring it's sound over and over again.

Summer

The ship wouldn't fly. It was drifting any old way. Suddenly a green, spotted turtle came flying past. The old man started to run for the long rope. 
Swish! Swish! Swish! Weeee! The rope caught the turtle. Unfortunately the rope caught on something sharp and it began to rub on the sharp thing...   Snap!

Jin Hui

Adrift

We watched the video "Adrift" on Literacy Shed.
Here are some excerps from our writing.

Once upon a time there was a man on a ship hunting for animals to eat and treasure to be rich. Suddenly his ship would not go. "This thing is broken and I just fixed it now," he said. 

But then he heard something. "Who is there? If you are trying to hunt treasure you'll have to fight me, then you'll go past." 

Suddenly, there was a huge turtle flying through the cloudy sky.

Revanda.

I got a big, fat, long rope. I was going to use it on an elephant. I threw the rope. I got it. The elephant pulled me far but I didn't notice the rope was getting thinner, then finally it snapped. I was all alone. Nobody was going to get me down.

Jamiel

One man was flying with a plastic boat. He was up in the sky and the boat was not working. He stayed there. He got a rope. He put the rope around the turtles neck.

Ramsina

I'm in a flying boat all alone, feeling so bored. I heard this sound. It was a flying turtle. I was so surprised, so I ran and got the rope. I threw the rope at the turtle. The turtle pulled my boat. I'm free!

Connah 

Once in a lifetime I was in the sky. My boat was made out of steel. The shark was gray, scary, fierce and freaky. I jumped on the shark. I thought I would die. Then Jamiel came to help me with his huge elephant.

Richard

 

Middle School Talent Quest

Room news

Last week was the Middle School talent quest. It was AMAZING! There was singing and dancing, big group to small groups and then there was single people dancing like Ezira. She did a Miley Cyrus dance. Jess played piano. That was so fantastic. 

Then there was the juggling group, Brooklyn, Taylor and Donavon. Everyone loved them!

 In Room 16 we're doing a painting of a beautiful sky with 3 big hills and swirls. We did a dark blue with a dry brush under and over the swirls again but in mid blue. Now we're up to the yellow big dots for the stars. That’ll be fun. I can’t wait until we take our paintings home and show our families.

Room News Week 4

Swimming Lessons

 On Tuesday we went on a bus to Sykes Road swimming pools. We went there so we can learn how to swim and be a good swimmer. We learned how to rescue people and how would it feel wearing a safety life jacket. We had to get into pairs. One person had a noodle and the other person had to go in the water and put their hands up like they were in trouble. The people who had the noodle had to throw it to their partner and their partner had to catch it.  Then we had to pull, pull, pull the person to safety.

Diary writing - The Haircut

Why do we have Night and Day?

At Night time, we can all nap, eat dinner, and take a hot shower. At day time we can all eat breakfast, eat lunch, go to school or work, and also have fun. So what’s the difference between day and night? The answer is day is light and night is dark. 

But how is day and night formed? It is formed by the sun because when it shines on our half of the Earth, its day time for us. But, when it shines on the other half of the Earth, its night time for us. The sun doesn’t move, it’s the Earth which rotates on its axis. It takes 24 hours for the Earth to rotate once. The moon doesn’t have its own light, it gets its light from the sun. The moon is actually very small. It’s only a quarter of Earth’s size. 

Many people think the moon causes day and night. Well, the moon has nothing to do with day and night. We only see the moon because the sun gleams on the moon. The moon does nothing but orbits Earth. 

Why is day and night so important to us? Its important because at day time we can keep fit, and do many other important things. Night time is time for a rest after an exhausting day! Also, without sun light nothing can grow, we’ll end up dying and so does every other living thing!

Room news Week 2

In Room 16 we have been learning about the Earth, Moon, and Sun. Did you know that the Moon can turn red? Madison found out that it turns red because the light that was hitting the moon from the sun had to go through Earth’s atmosphere. The atmosphere scatters blue light and what comes out the other side is red. This reddish light bounces off the Moon. It comes back to Earth and straight into our eyes. This will be happening in 2013!

Swimming was awesome! It was fabulous shooting in the water like a huge arrow. We did streamline glide, kicking on our front and back, and rotations!

Margaret Mahy

What is your favourite Margaret Mahy book?... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Swimming

We are looking forward to our swimming lessons next Tuesday. We will be leaving school at 11am, our lesson starts at 11.30 to 12.00 pm. We should be back at school about 12.30pm. Please return your permission slips by next Monday at the latest.

Looking for Earthlings

Touchdown

Out of this World

Saving Planet Stripe

We've Flown Past Mars

Toia Mai

Pa Mai with Miss D.

Magnet Experiment

Question: How are magnets affected by other magnets?

Hypothesis: We think the magnets on the floor will move when we swing the round magnet above them.

Equipment: 4 rectangular magnets, 1 round magnet with a hole in the middle, string, paper. 

Method: Place the 4 magnets on the floor. Place the paper on top of the magnets. Tie the string onto the round magnet. Swing the round magnet above the magnets on the floor like a pendulum.

Results: When we swung the round magnet above the magnets on the floor, the first time, it just swung backwards and forwards. When we swung the magnet closer to the other magnets, the round magnet was pulled in different directions.

Conclusion: When the round magnet was swung close to the magnets on the floor it was attracted towards the magnets which made it swing in different directions.

Friction Experiment

Question: Will the marble chariot go further on the carpet or on the lino?

Hypothesis: We think it will go further on the lino.

Equipment: 2 small cardboard boxes with 4 marbles each.

Method: Sit the cardboard boxes on top of the marbles. 2 children push the boxes to see which one goes further on the carpet then on the lino.

Results: The marble chariots went further on the lino.

Conclusion: The marble chariots went further on the lino because it is smoother than the carpet so there was less friction.

Air Pressure experiment

Question: How does air pressure affect things?

Hypothesis: Air pressure will not stop the ruler going up when we hit it.

Equipment: 1 sheet of A3 paper. 1 ruler.

Method:  Place the ruler on a table with about 2 cm sticking out of the edge of the table. Place a sheet of A3 paper over the ruler. Smooth the paper so it sits flat on the ruler and the table. Hit the edge of the ruler.

Results: The ruler did not fly up when we hit it. It only moved a little bit. It felt like it was stuck under the paper.

 Conclusion:  Our hypothesis was wrong. The ruler did not fly up when we hit it because the air pressure on top of the paper stopped any air getting under the paper. Because no air could get under the paper the ruler could not move up when we hit it.

Hiwi the Kiwi

Two years ago a rich lady called Tracey decided to go fishing for her first time. Tracey did not know anything about fishing not even to wear a lifejacket so she didn’t!

She went to 90 Mile beach in Kaitaia. She just took a little dinghy out to the rough sea. She caught a huge heavy snapper but when the fish got on the boat the fish tipped both of them right over into the water! The fish swam away but Tracey swam a bit further.

To Tracey’s surprise she found an old rusty submarine! It had lots of petrol in it too! So…… she hopped in the submarine and drove it for a week and stopped at an island. Tracey lived there for four days.

Tracey was going for a swim one day when she found a beacon with a small flare in it washed up from the sea. So she let it out with a whoosh! Bam! Bang! The signal went up to a satellite and went quickly to a rescue house. The rescue people came and took her to shore. She got fined $100 for not wearing a lifejacket.

Tracey went home and felt mad and sad. She thought, “Man, I am not going fishing again! Next time I am surely going to wear a lifejacket and I think there are some things I need to learn first too.’’

Native Tree Trail

After lunch we walked along the native tree trail. We looked at many fascinating and interesting native trees such as the Confusing Cousins called Kanuka and Manuka.  Kanuka is kind and soft to touch and Manuka  is mean and prickly to touch.  The Kiekie is a plant Maori used for weaving. It likes to be in a moist, shady place. Rats and birds eat its fruit. The Putaputaweta tree is called that because wetas live in holes in its bark. The Tarata tree used to be mixed with puha to make a type of chewing gum and is sometimes called Lemonwood because its leaves smell like citrus. The Kauri tree can grow 50 metres high. It has female cones which are round and male cones which are long.

We had a busy, interesting and tiring day. We all learnt lots about how nature recycles living things using the F.B.I.

Poem Recitals

Swinging from the Lights

The Ghost

My Cat goes Flying through the Air

My Teacher calls me Sweetie Cakes

Mermaid

Death Cycle

On Wednesday, the 2nd of May, Room 16 drove to the Botanic Gardens on a bendy bus to learn about nature’s recycling. First we had morning tea under the huge covered courtyard with really fat birds. After that, two educators took us through a cold, dark bush walk. We had to pick a green, yellow and brown or skeleton leaf and put them in a line. The educators told us about the death cycle and that leaves have mould on them. Each year the leaves are not piling over us because of the F.B.I. That stands for fungi, bacteria and invertebrates. The invertebrates go chew, chew, chew, poo, poo, poo and the fungi and bacteria go rot, rot, rot and turn the leaves into soil.

Worm Farm

Next we went and did some worm farming. Each group made a worm farm. First we got a container with a hole in the bottom. Then we put in big, flat stones, then little stones, and then mesh so the worms can’t escape. Next we put in wet newspaper because worms need to be wet to live. Then we put in the tiger worms, and then some kitchen scraps for the worms to eat. Finally we put on a blanket, then a lid with air holes. The worm wee drains out of the hole at the bottom and can be mixed with water then put on the garden to help the plants grow.

Making a compost heap

After that we learnt how to make a compost heap. There was a green bin and a brown bin. In the green bin there were green leaves, old cabbage, lettuce, banana peels and apple cores which are all a little bit wet. Grass clippings are green waste too but not too much because it’s no good for the F.B.I. to breathe. In the brown bin there were dry twigs and leaves. We went on a twig hunt for the compost heap. We put some green materials and some brown materials on the compost heap. A compost heap needs to be on the ground so worms can get in. It can get so warm that sometimes cats sleep on it. Compost heaps also need to be moist.

Litter Poem

On my way to school I saw a packet.
It was a chip packet.
It was an empty, chip packet.
It was a squandered, empty, chip packet.
It was a stretched, squandered, empty, chip packet.
It was a diminutive, squandered, empty, chip packet.
It was a gloomy, diminutive, stretched, squandered, empty, chip

packet. 

I picked it up and made it into a skirt for my Barbie.

Litter Poem

On my way to school I saw a bottle.
It was a wide bottle.
It was a stinky, wide bottle.
It was an old, stinky, wide bottle.
It was a blue, old, stinky, wide bottle.
It was a rusty, blue, old, stinky, wide bottle.
And it was lying on the playground so I went 
and recycled it.

Litter Poem

On my way to school I saw a can
It was a spray can
It was a red, spray can.
It was an old, red, spray can
It was a rusty, old, red, spray can
It was a muddy, rusty, old, red spray can
And it was lying on the side of the road
So I picked it up and put it in the recycling bin.

Litter Poem

On my way to school
I saw an apple.
It was a wormy apple
It was a smelly, wormy apple.
It was a microscopic, smelly, wormy apple.
It was a rotten, microscopic, smelly, wormy apple.
It was a red, rotten, microscopic, smelly, wormy apple.
And it was lying in the gutter so I picked it up and 
put it in the worm farm.

Litter Poem

On my way to school
I saw a piece of gum.
It was sticky gum.
It was green, sticky gum.
It was squashed, green, sticky gum.
It was dirty, squashed, green, sticky gum.
And it was lying on the road so I picked it up
and put it in the rubbish.
By Sam

Self Portraits

We hope you like our self portraits. First we practised sketching our features then we made them with clay. Next we learnt where to sketch our eyes, nose, mouth and ears on our face. Then we drew our face on card. Next we copied our features onto card and cut them out and glued them onto our face. We used corrugated card and wallpaper to provide texture for our hair. We then cut out our face and printed it using 1 warm and 1 cold colour.

Week 7 Swimming

Last week of swimming

This is the last week of swimming! The water is a little cold but the children who are still swimming are really  enjoying it. Those children who have bought their togs every swimming day have made very pleasing progress!  We are swimming this Wednesday and Friday, which is the last day for swimming. It would be great if everyone brings their togs.

Middle School Swimming Sports

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

We are about to start our new topic. Here is some vocabulary we will be exploring.
 Follow this link to a visual dictionary to find some of the meanings.     Visuwords

Clay Features

Clay Features

Clay Features

Clay features

Eyes

Eyes - slideshow with music