Home Learning and News Term 4, Week 6

Our Athletic Sports Day was a great day for all concerned. If you are in school this week, check out the photo story on the window of the classroom.

Today we had Ross Bailey in to talk to the two Intermediate classes about fire safety. He was excellent value and I am sure the students will want to discuss the messages and video from today's session. Next week we are going to be following up on this talk with a visit to the station. We will be walking down and back. Could you please write in your child's home work diary to let us know whether they have your permission to go. Also, as we will be starting the return trip back to school at 2:30 pm, you may wish your child to come straight home after the visit rather than return to school. Please indicate in their diary if this is the case otherwise they will come back to school first.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we are heading off to enjoy a day of individual and team building challenges and activities at Whenua Iti. It promises to be a great day. We got an email today from the activity manager asking us to add a rain coat to the list of things to remember as lately there have been passing showers of rain every day.
Check out the news sheet for more information about the week ahead.

News and Home Learning tasks Term 4, Week 5

Our students are using the key competencies to live, learn, work, and contribute as active members of their learning community. We are looking forward to another great week to extend our thinking, develop our use of language and symbols, learn more about managing self, relating to others in a positive way and participating and contributing in a variety of activities.

Speaking of participating, it is good to see students are preparing for the forthcoming talent quest. This is a time for other students to develop a risk taking attitude and approach - feel the fear and do it anyway! This event is always a highlight of the fourth term, so hope you can make it to see some of our talent on display.
Please remember to get the Whenua Iti notices back as soon as possible so transport can be sorted.

News and Homework tasks Term 4, Week 4

Room 7 students rule! They have received heaps of compliments for their attitude and achievements. They really are living out the school vision, To Be All I Can. Way to go guys.

Do remember to check out the movie section of our language wiki to see the results of our script writing and Spanish language learning.

The paintings above are two of Lucy's Artrage ePaintings. How about leaving a comment to let her know what you think of them.

News and Homework tasks Term 4, Week 3

A short week this week with two special highlights.
The first one is the school band taking part in the Primary School Band Rockfest on Tuesday. The purpose of this event is to develop confidence, networks and inspiration - it is not about competition. The programme includes opportunities for each group to perform 2 or 3 songs and Waimea College music students will be attending to give demonstrations and workshops on specific instruments. It promises to be a great day for all.
The second highlight is the Moutere Intermediate students meeting for a day of fun team building activities designed to get them interacting and problem solving together. This event is on Wednesday and runs from 11 am through to 2:30 pm. We will start with the team building games followed by lunch on the beach at approximately 1 pm. Rock/sand sculptures and a swim (weather permitting) will round off the day.

We would love to hear your thoughts on our creativity extender - What if human brains could be transplanted into other bodies? We would love it if you added to our brainstorm by leaving a comment on the blog.
Thanks

News and Homework Term 4 Week 2

Another great week ahead.
Hope you are enjoying discussing the puberty topics covered in class.

Homework and news Term 4, Week 1

It is great to be back with the students. Everyone looks relaxed and happy. A great Term ahead with lots on. (Check out the school website for a copy of the Term's calendar of events.) I am looking forward to catching up with you all over the next few weeks at the various events coming up.

Week 9 News and Homework tasks

The penultimate week of Term 3 is here already... holidays are in sight!
Meanwhile check out the news sheet for this week's happenings.

Week 8 News and Home Learning Tasks

Hope you had a great weekend with the family. Fantastic weather to be out and about with sports and recreation activities.
Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our parent interviews this week.

Week 7 News and Homework tasks

Week 7 already! Time sure flies when you're having fun.
Last week certainly ended on a fun note. We started the day filming our Spanish language movies (which should be ready to go up on our language wiki by the end of this week), had some fun with balloon volley ball and relay games, technology was next on the timetable and after lunch we watched the Room 5 performance assembly. There were some very entertaining items from each class. It was a great way to end the day.
The GATE Reading group met for an hour after lunch and discussed books they had read with war as a setting or theme. Some of the books discussed and recommended as good reads were: Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, The Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan, Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden and The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. These books have given the students an insight into what life is like for those caught in a war zone. We read the story The Wall by Eve Bunting as a group. It is a touching tale, with beautiful muted watercolor illustrations by Richard Himler. In the story the boy's feelings of loss for a grandfather he never knew, and his father's quiet remark, "He was just my age when he was killed," brought home the impact of war on families whose lives have been changed by the loss of a loved one. there were several other characters, each impacted in a different way through the war. A simple but powerful tale, well worth reading.

Check out more about last week and the week ahead on our news and task sheet. (Remember that you will need $2 for the hip hop lessons.)

Week 6 News and Homework tasks

Another great week ahead. Some highlights are students taking part in the Nelson Science Fair, Mathix and the GATE readers' group. Check out the rest of the week's programme and tasks on the home news sheet.

Everyone had heaps of fun on the snow - nice style on the toboggan Maddie!

Week 5 News and Homework tasks

Another fun week ahead full of interesting learning opportunities for everyone. The highlight of course is going to be our trip to the Rainbow ski field.

Term 3, Week 4 News and Homework tasks

We had a great week last week and this week promises to be just as good. Good luck to our cross country competitors as they go head to head with students from other Motueka schools.
Looking ahead on the calendar time to remind you, if you haven't already paid, that Snow Day payments are due this Friday.
As well as checking out the news and task sheet, check out the PTA card design competition on the info sheet. I am looking forward to seeing your creative designs.

Term 3, Week 3 News and tasks

Hope you managed to check out the short movie clip of some of the presentation skills students are working on. If not, scroll down past Week 2's news and task sheet and have a look at the movie Renee put together for us.
Check out the news sheet to find out what we are up to this week.

Week Two News and Weekly Tasks

Hi everyone
Have you ever clicked on the class Clustr Map on the right? try clicking on it now and finding out where in the world our visitors are and how many we have had from each country. Find out how many visitors our blog has had in total. Also check out Fabian's latest news. What an amazing camp - anyone for major fundraising to get us over to take part in a pentathlon camp in Switzerland?
Good luck with getting those career books completed by Friday. I am looking forward to marking them.

Wa hey! Term 3 is underway

The hot goss this week is going to be what was on top activity wise during the holidays. Can't wait to hear what everyone got up to. Yes holidays are over - sigh. Reality check and back to work. The good news is that we have some really great sporting, cultural and academic activities lined up for Term 3. Check out the Term 3 Overview handed out today to see what I mean.

And check out the rest of the news and home tasks on this week's sheet.

Week 10 news and home work tasks

Wa hey! I have read all your homework arguments and, yes you have convinced me - this week is a homework free week. Congratulations. I was most impressed with your progress and achievements in persuasive writing. Your work shows you have learnt the correct structure, format and effective language tools of persuasion. There were some pretty wild exaggerations, lots of emotive language and good rhetorical questions to get readers thinking. Well done Room 7 - I guess I'm going to be in trouble now because you know how to use the tricks of the trade when it comes to persuasion! Parents be warned!

Week 9 News and Home Learning Tasks

The penultimate week of Term 2! Holidays just around the corner - yay! Everyone has worked hard and we are feeling really pleased with our learning achievements.

Week 8 News and Home Learning Tasks

Week 7 News and Home Learning Tasks

Another great week ahead. Everyone is looking forward to the work experience day on Thursday. Check out the rest of our news and homework tasks for this week...

Week 5 News and Homework tasks

Two short weeks coming up - this week due to Teachers’ Only Day and next week due to Queen’s Birthday weekend. Hope you have something nice planned for the four days.

This week our Numeracy, Literacy and Topic learning intentions are:

* efficient strategies for solving addition & subtraction problems - main focus will be algorithms

* using questions to gain deeper understanding of texts
* understanding the importance of verbs in sentences and reviewing use of question marks

* finding out about the world of work - increasing their knowledge of work opportunities and skills in demand.

I will be ringing everyone this week to find out who still needs a work placement for Week 7. Many thanks for your support with this. The students are really looking forward to this authentic learning experience.

Part of this week and next week's homework is preparation for the Mask Parade at the beginning of Term 4. Now that might sound like a long way off but experience has shown us that it takes a long time for students to go through the process of making a mask, choreographing moves and composing a ‘sound track’ for the occasion. The first step in this process is to get the students to have a say in what the masks might look like. The staff will then select a design that fits the criteria - able to be assembled by 5 - 12 year olds, can be made within timeframe available, exciting eye catching design, has good visibility when worn and is comfortable to wear for an hour or so. This will enable us to order the materials prior to Term 3, the term that the masks will be made, ready for Week 1, Term 4. They will have 2 weeks to plan and make a prototype of a mask to be entered for consideration for our school entry in the Nelson Mask Parade.

A big thank you to all the parents who used our poll to indicate whether their child is eating their lunch. It appears that most students are eating their lunch all the time - 76% of those who responded. Remember you can still write a comment in the homework diaries if you are concerned about the lunch issue.
Have a great week everyone.

Regards
Teressa

Students' Tasks
Maths Mate
Term 2 Sheet 5 or cycle 13
Due for marking and discussing on Thursday.

Spelling
Learn the words identified from your writing. Check the dictionary meanings of your words.
If you do not have any words to learn then you can help us do away with overused words by finding alternatives. Over the next 2 weeks look for words to use instead of scared and mad.

Mask Parade - Planning ahead, have your say
Time to get the creative thinking cranked up! Week 5 and 6 will be a time for you to research, plan and create a prototype of a mask for the Mapua School entry into the Nelson Masked Parade.
Your first step is to read through the brief and plan sheet.
Think about how the themes might be interpreted - ideas, shapes, colours???
Second step is to check out books and websites for ideas.
Thirdly complete the planning sheet.
And the last stage is to make a prototype to show us clearly what your plan is all about.
Good luck with your design.