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• BLOG

Welcome to your wiki blog for 2015.

This is where I shall share with parents and students of Room 3 students, Waiau Pa School and the wider world what is happening in Room 3, and what is coming up.
In addition there are pages of useful websites which can be used for practice, homework and just for fun. Students will also have their own wiki pages where they can share work samples and reflect on their learning.

Week 9

This week we have been enjoying some Christmassy activities including a webquest whereby the class researched Christmas traditions and origins- very interesting. We did a Christmas quiz, won by Samantha and also used thinkers keys to create and design variations of Christmas things. We have also been making some tree decorations using a variety of materials resulting in paper, glue and glitter everywhere.

We have been having practices for prize-giving culminating in Prize-giving on Thursday night. Congratulations to Riley and Samantha for being our Workers of the Year.

We held our RICH reward celebration on Wednesday with lots of chippies, biscuits and sweet treats followed by a swim and games outdoors.
We broke up on Friday with a short assembly where 2016 house leaders and Dux and Sportsperson of the year were introduced to the whole school.

It has been a frantic term and we are all in need of a relaxing holiday. I have enjoyed my wonderful students this year and look forward to hearing more of their successes in the future. Thank you for the many lovely gifts and cards.
I wish all families a Merry Christmas and a restful holiday with quality family time.

Week 8

We enjoyed our first swim of the season - a bit chilly but refreshing.
This week we have been extra busy focusing on completing our performance task for our topic, Harnessing the Sun. The students had to use all the know;ledge they had learned from our investigation and experiments and apply it to their design of a solar oven made from a pizza box and available materials. A piece of bread with cheese on top was placed in the ovens and then they were placed in the sun to capture the suns's energy and hopefully melt the cheese. It has been fun and a challenge with many metres of cling film, aluminium foil and sellotape being used.

Using the solar ovens was very weather -dependent and we could have done with longer exposure and hotter sunshine to produce significant results. The students did a great job of writing up their reports and also instructions for making their ovens then evaluating their performance. I'm so glad we managed to complete this while the weather was conducive to harnessing its energy.
Congratulations to James and Abi , our Workers of the Term. and to James and Riley for earning special Mathletics medals for having huge scores in Mathletics.

Reports went home on Friday- I hope parents found these informative and held no big surprises. Please remember that the learning folders are not portfolios as we used previously; instead they are a collection of test results and samples of work. The report is designed to show what the students have achieved, where they are at in relation to National Standards and what their next steps are in their learning.

Week 7

The students are enjoying studying and reading poems and learning about the language features poets use. We have also been writing some poems of our own focusing on using onamatapoeia. Samantha and Ben wrote amazing ones using rich language and images.

We have undertaken 2 more short experiments to do with the sun's energy. Since both involved chocolate biscuits, the students were very motivated as they got to eat them afterwards. They now what a fair test is and how to write up a scientific investigation.

Week 6

We had a large contingent of students go off to North Group Athletics Well done to Lakeisha who blitzed the field at the North Group Athletics and Gracelin who both qualified for Zone next week.
Those that stayed behind enjoyed the Eli Sharplin art workshop learning to draw cartoons. Using only 8 lines, he made it seem so easy and all children accomplished drawing some funny cartoon figures including Spongebob and a Minion.

We did more testing to gather data for end of year reports . We also managed to do some experiments for our topic- testing out different forms of insulation to keep a 'cup of coffee" hot. Other experiments were weather dependent and the weather was not cooperating!
We all enjoyed a game of T-ball on the EC field on Friday
Abi was our Team Player of the week as she always gets on with her work without making a fuss.

Week 5

The week has flown by. In our topic we learnt about insulators and conductors and will do an experiment to test out different materials. We have been planning and carrying out investigations to do with our topic and learning to read thermometers. Our coloured bottle experiment did not provide conclusive results so we will repeat it with different resources. Chelsea and Ben made a Prezi about what the world would be like if there was no sun and presented this at the school assembly on Friday.

Athletics was the big event of the week. We held our track events on Tuesday morning followed by the field events. There were fantastic performances from Riley, Lakeisha- what a speedster,and Xander in particular and about half the class qualified for Group Day. Fantastic effort!. Unfortunately they will miss out on the art workshop which coincides. Please may we have payment and permission slips for the art workshop or the North Group Athletics Day as soon as possible.

We were fortunate to score a PE session with Youthtown leaders on Thursday afternoon so the class enjoyed a game of 3-step dodge ball.

Our Star of the week this week was Ben who also achieved his Achievers medal- a wonderful achievement for a year 5- all for academic success.James, also received a special certificate for his Mathletics prowess. Our Team Player of the Week was Hugo for a consistently good effort and for challenging himself
in Maths .
.

Week 4 term 4

Another golf lesson and the last . Thanks to Vaughn and Leonard from Orange Monkey Golf who made this so much fun. There is wonderful opportunity available to any students who want take this further - at Clarks Beach Golf Club they are having 2 afternoons - on 15th Nov and 22nd Nov when children can have free lessons on the driving range and green then on the course. You do not even need to supply clubs as these will be provided. Some our students were getting into this and it would be good to see them take it further.
We got stuck into reading testing this week and it was rewarding to see progress by some pupils while others plateaued and clearly need consolidation at that level, especially developing comprehension of the text at a deeper level.
We continued to practise our field athletics events in preparation for our Athletics Day on Tuesday of next week- weather permitting. Parents are welcome to come along to this. We will try to get as many of the events run as possible and what does not get finished will be held on Wednesday.
As the term nears its end, behaviour is becoming more of an issue with some children being disrespectful and pushing the boundaries. Parents please talk to your children about expectations and keeping focused on their work until the end of term.

Our Star of the week this week is Tasha while Lakeisha was awarded the Team Player of the Week for showing encouragement , kindness and leading by example. She always takes the initiative to do helpful things- much appreciated.

Week 3 term 4

It was great to have the extra long weekend to relax and prepare for the week ahead. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the Sunday sunshine and spend some quality family time. Of course, the highlight was the semifinal with the All Blacks just managing to beat the burly Springboks.
This week we had another Blackout day yo show our support of the home team.
Rimu students had another golf lesson this time working on their finish position.
The students did their Term 4 writing sample and i spent many hours one evening marking them.
Our Star of the week this week was Zara while Samantha was awarded the Player of the Week for her wonderful writing which continues to amaze me.
It was a pleasant surprise that Ben achieved credit in NSW Maths while Zara topped that with a High Distinction- wow!

Week 2 Term 4

This week the Room 3 students enjoyed another golf lesson - we have some natural talent within the class as both Xander and Chelsea to name a few were hitting the balls with ease and correct posture and technique. In PE were rotated through long jump, high jump and throwing discus and shotput , practising for our Athletics day in week 5.
We tested on basic facts and it was pleasing to have a handful of student qualify to move up a level. Imp[roving basic facts scores has been an extra focus this year and I am pleased with results even though some students did not progress. I am confident that most of the class has improved on their times table knowledge considerably with all the practice and quizzes we have had.

We did some practices of descriptive writing in preparation for our writing sample .- mixed results here. Students need to be mindful of checking their work for sense, punctuation and that their writing meets the criteria for the genre. We do however have some talented writers who amaze me with the calibre of their work.

Looking forward to the long weekend and hopefully having a short break in the sun and watching the ABs in the RWC even if it means an early rising. Have a great Labour Weekend.

Week 1 term 4

Welcome back everyone to the last term of this year. it promises to be a hectic one with loads of assessments going on, Athletics, end of year prizegivings etc , kicking off with Calf Club.

This week the all the Rimu classes enjoyed the first of a series of 4 golf lessons with Sam and Vaughn from Orange Monkey Golf. These give the students a taster and chance to develop some basic skills, and attitudes which are applicable to any sports. They began with a rotation of activities involving balance, the golf posture, aiming, and agility as well as trying to hit the balls off a tee. There were some promising golfers emerging.

On Tuesday we enjoyed a shared healthy lunch of filled rolls or wraps and fruit milkshakes. This was courtesy of the healthy eating programme which we participated in last term- we were given a $60 voucher to provide a healthy lunch for the class. It was quite a challenge to trim our menu , calculate amounts required and keep within the budget. Some students were most helpful in the food preparation and cleaning up afterwards.

We introduced our topic about Harnessing the Sun. In discussing what we already knew, I was impressed by some of the statistics which some of the students knew (yet to be verified!) We learnt about the legend of Maui catching the sun and how many ancient civilisations invented stories to explain physical phenomena which they did not understand like the passage of the sun across the sky.

At 9.15am on Thursday we all dived for cover under the tables to Drop, Cover and Hold as part of the nation-wide Shake-Out earthquake drill. We preempted the "earthquake " and took cover before the bell warning even sounded!

Thursday saw all the children outside making their floral entries for Calf Club day. The benches in the morning looked like a flower shop with buckets of flowers and foliage. The class room displays look awesome and it was great to have the students finish painting their clay art work.

Calf Club went off without a hitch although numbers were down on last year. The classrooms looked attractive and colourful and the projects in the EC were both creative and skilfully made. There seems to be a trend towards having chickens or projects as these seem to be the easier option or more manageable option especially when people do not have large sections to keep larger animals. I enjoyed catching up with parents , past pupils and locals. Some of my former pupils now have their own children attending the school.

Week 10

Roll on the holidays. It has been a long , busy term with lots of bugs going around and around. I have had a hoarse voice myself this week , the aftermath of yet another cold. Hopefully everyone will be able to rejuvenate during the break and come back refreshed .

We finished off our topic this week, shared our projects. and did an evaluation. We have all looked through our learning folders and set goals for term 4. The students are very aware of what they need to work on to improve in the core subjects.

The whole school went out this morning for our Jump Rope Jump Off and each syndicate showed off their skipping skills.
Most students enjoyed a movie or ICT time as a RICH reward while a few others completed the planting out in the tree unit so that work is all up together. it's good to be on top of that workload.
Freddie was our Star of the Week

At our special assembly, Alexandra and Ben were awarded certificates for Worker of theTerm. Zara achieved a distinction in NSW English while Ben and Samantha achieved credits for writing. great accomplishments!


Those children with animals will be busy training them for Calf Club and those doing projects will hopefully only need to add the finishing touches now

Have a wonderful holiday everyone.

Week 9

On Thursday we buried the time capsule beside the memorial. Thanks to Gary for his digging and advice about preserving the contents.

We have been trying to complete our topic research and presentations in time for the open afternoon and shared learning evening next week.

Check out this awesome video and song for Cure Kids. Don't kids have great imaginations? I wondered how .the adults managed to keep such straight faces

curekids/all black anthem and video

We had fun on Friday listening to the video and singing along to this catchy song.

We had our special Reunion open afternoon however only a few visitors came to our class while we enjoyed doing some arty Geometry. We performed a Maori song at the assembly then finished the day with a game of Chinese Wall since the performance did not take as long as expected.

Week 8

This week has flown by. We finally managed to have the other half of the class do their clay art and it has now been taken to be fired. While it was fiddly and required perseverance to get it right, the students were very pleased with the results. They have been taken to be fired.s

We have been writing about our selves and our hopes for the future and will add our writing to the time capsule which we have been compiling. So far it contains junk mail, newspapers, school information booklets and plans, lots of photos, contributions from other classes as well as some small toys. Although lots of people recall the burying of the previous time capsule , its exact location remains a mystery.

Our Star of the week this week was Virraj while Gracelin was Player of the Week for her improvement in her writing and for showing initiative and helpfulness.

Week 7

The week has started off very wet and doesn't look very promising. On Tuesday Rimu syndicate students visited MOTAT to learn more about schooling in the past. We arrived late due to the pouring rain and heavy traffic.
They dressed up in period costumes- boys in waistcoats and caps and girls in mob caps and smocks then had a lesson in spelling and handwriting using slates and quill. pens and ink.
Unfortunately one pupil who tried writing with his left hand had to stand with his nose pressed against a chalk mark on the blackboard. The students were quite scared of the strict teacher who certainly made them sit up straight and the strict rules of the school.

We looked closely around the Victorian Village, learning about how people lived in those times- the small cottages, the lack of running water and electricity, the fire risk, the long drop toilet and the wash house with its copper and wringer. After lunch we viewed some of the other exhibits- Laser maze, the Antarctic display, the beam engine pump and tried some hands on machines before enjoying a tram ride to the end of the line and back.

On Wednesday we had groups of children doing their clay art. It was very fiddly and they had to persevere with getting it right. I realised that children these days are not used to playing with play dough or Plasticine, shaping and modelling so it was frustrating at times. I'm confident the end results will be worth it.

We did our writing sample based on our experience at MOTAT on Thursday and I am hoping for some exceptional pieces of writing that show application of what we have been learning about sentence structure, rich language and organisation of ideas.

On Thursday afternoon we had two local, elderly gentlemen come and share their experiences of WPS when they were students here. I think the students appreciated how fortunate they were to be at WPS these days.

This week our Star of the Week was Alex while Elizabeth was Player of the Week for taking care in her art and writing an interesting recount.

At assembly Ben was presented with a distinction certificate for NSW spelling while Samantha earned a high distinction- excellent results.






Week 6

We have been learning about tessellation in Maths and we found out that curved shapes CAN tessellate. We looked at some of MC Escher's prints and tried to make our own tessellating art.

We are researching what schools in NZ were like in the past.Country kids these days have it easy- no chores before school, and a bus ride to and from school.

We did Jump Rope for PE and will alternate between this and Jump Jam now that cross country is over.

North Group Cross Country was held this week and about 10 children from Room 3 competed in this, with Chelsea and Riley( 1st in year 5 boys) qualifying to go on to Franklin Cross Country.

We have been charged with creating a time capsule for the reunion so would welcome ideas of what to include.
Star of the week this week was Sharni while Shakira was Player of the Week for her great skipping, willingness to have a go at combining sentences and for her awesome effort in cross country.




Do go along to the Franklin Arts Festival to see the wonderful work of local artists on show including some fabulous art from a group of Waiau Pa Students.

Week 5

This week the weather has been very unsettled so we made the most of the fine afternoon on Monday to tackle the plants in our tree-growing unit. We sorted the dead from the living plants, rearranged the crates to make more room, weeded and put some new seedlings into root trainers. It was a huge relief to make such good progress and feel that the backlog of work is now in hand. I was especially grateful to my lovely girls, Nikita-Soli, Abi, Chelsea, Shakira and Grqcelin, who gave up their lunch time so willingly to make a head start on the work.
We continued to train for cross country doing the Sky Tower run. We walked the course on Tuesday, through paddocks on Mr Farley's farm. On Thursday after a dowsing of rain as we were about to go out, we went ahead with the cross country. The course was boggy, slippery, smelly and wet and naturally the students got filthy. Despite that, most enjoyed it. A mucky kid is a happy kid and they did not seem to mind the mud and splatters. I hope they cleaned their own shoes! Well done to all the Room 3 students who competed with perseverance and gave it their all. I was so proud of all of them.


We have booked a trip to MOTAT in week 7 and notices about this have gone home. Please keep the permission slips and money coming in.

The children have all chosen their Calf Club options and now it is imperative they fill in entry forms which can be obtained at the office. Please see to this immediately .

From this week homework has been pared back to just learning spelling words and maintaining reading practice. Students are expected to be working on their animals, gardens and projects as homework.
I have talked to the class and recommended they start planning their projects- researching countries and their special features and symbols, checking out what materials are available to use and sketching designs.
We expect a high standard and the project should reflect the amount of time that has been allowed to complete it and not be a 5-minute wonder thrown together at the last moment. It is suggested that children work on this regularly and if it is completed before the end of term , then they can enjoy a stress-free relaxing holiday.

We have been learning our times tables and made these videos showing some cool tricks for learning some of these.

Nikita-Soli and Abi talked at assembly about our work with Trees for Survival- well done, girls.
Once again James has topped the country in Mathletics and received another special certificate from Mathletics. John and Riley were 2nd and 3rd on the ladder after James this week. Room 6 beat us for the Mathletics trophy since all the students earned high points not just having one person earnjng all the points for them.
Chelsea was our Player of the Week because she was a willing volunteer helping with TfS and for her enthusiasm while Elizabeth was our Star of the Week.

It's the Pa Hop this weekend - hope to see you there.

Week 4 term 3

This week we have been learning about Healthy Eating from a facilitator from the Food for Thought programme. The students learnt about portion sizes, the food pyramid, eating 5+ a day of fruits and vegetables, the sugar content of various drinks, the effect of various foods on our bodies and how to read labels to check the salt, sugar, fat and dietary fibre content.These were fabulous interactive lessons. The students were surprised at the amount of sugar in Coke and even apple juice and this was supported by a film clip that was in the Herald about a pharmacist boiling coke until the water had evaporated and was left with a thick gooey syrup which formed a sweet lollipop!
Do ask them questions about what they have learnt. Le'ts hope they remember the main messages and make better food choices in the future.

We have been learning our times tables using a variety if methods including the gypsy method which helps to overcome the problem of learning the 6,7,8,9 x that
children usually find the most difficult. Ask them to show you or check it out on the Numeracy wiki page.

James has once again topped the class in Mathletics this week with 9331 points, ahead of Riley and Tasha.
Abi was our Star of the week while Virraj was awarded the Player of the Week for his contributions to discussion and for sharing his work. Well done.
\
We have started planning for our Enquiry topic into the history of Waiau Pa School. The students will have to look beyond Google to find the answers to their questions this time.

Week 3 term 3

This week we finally went tree planting, thanks to the fine weather. Room 3 students walked down Saddleton Rd and planted native trees and flax on the sometimes steep banks of a gully where old pine trees had been felled. We saw earlier plantings which are flourishing and providing food and shelter for birds and beautifying an other wise unproductive and ugly piece of land.
The students worked well in pairs and enjoyed getting dirty, some to the point of having boots full of water or their shoes being sucked off their feet by the mud.

Sorry Mums, for the muddy clothes but couldn't keep them out of it.
The students have written some awesome stories based on a short video clip. Since these have been saved to their wiki pages, they can be shared with others.They were all very proud of their efforts.
Today we learnt more about 3D shapes and looked for shapes in our environment and made geometric shapes.

Our star of the week and Player of the week was John. He worked so well with his partner and made such a good job of tree planting this week.
I look forward to seeing everyone at the disco tonight.

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Week 2 term 3

It's been a frantic week for staff this week with the visit of the ERO team and endless consultative meetings. The students have been great, carrying on as normal , regardless.
Our tree planting did not eventuate due to a wet weather forecast and has been postponed to Tuesday 4th, next week- weather permitting of course.
Next week we will also have 3 sessions from an outside agency, focusing on Healthy Eating, a very relevant and topical subject.

This week was Maori Language week and we practised our greetings asking Ke te pehea koe? Virraj very ably represented Room 3 in a quiz on Te Reo at assembly.

Room 3 students are enthusiastically beginning a piece of writing inspired by a short film clip. I am hoping they will apply what they have learnt about using longer sentences, precise and rich language. It is so rewarding to hear kids say they are keen to write or " I'm enjoying this writing."

We did the termly basic facts test this week and a number of students progressed to the next level. Well done to Jacob, Jordan, Nikita-Soli, Abi, Zara and Quinn. Those that did not, need to practice their add/sub facts and times tables regularly. It would help if parents were to get involved with this.

The children are enjoying their novel studies and finding the chosen chapter books entertaining and funny. I am expecting them to be self-managing, filling in reading logs, carrying out various related tasks and sharing their ideas within their groups.

Our Star of the Week was Xander and Tasha, our new student was Team Player of the Week for her wonderful attitude to her work and impressing with her reading responses.

Week 1 term 3

Welcome back everyone. Hope you enjoyed the break despite the cold and rain. It took most of the holidays for me to shake off the cold virus that laid me low at the end of term.
Team 3 seemed keen to get back to school and into work and have made a great start. We welcome Tasha to Room 3 - she has settled in quickly and already made new friends.
We have been working on adding detail and using rich vocabulary in our writing and the students are proud of their latest efforts.

In reading this term we are doing a novel study with each reading group reading a different novel by a well known children's author. From their comments the students are looking forward to getting stuck into them.

We are not continuing with cross-grouping this term. In Number we are focusing on multiplication and division. I would encourage parents to help their child learn times tables and quiz them from time to time.We have started our Geometry strand work and been learning the names of 2D shapes and the language of Geometry.

On Tuesday, weather permitting, we are going to a local property to plant the native trees we have nurtured from tiny seedlings. We shall see also how well other trees from previous plantings are progressing. Thank you to those parents who have offered to come along and help.

With this in mind we have been learning about the importance of plants and trees especially our native trees.
Ben Mercer was awarded the Player of the Week award because he impresses me with the high calibre of writing that he produces - sophisticated vocabulary and he challenges himself to use better words and write longer sentences. Shakira is our Star of the Week.

Week 11

An irregular end- of -term week with lots of finishing off of our project work. We devoted Monday to building our bridges in groups with mixed results. It was interesting to observe the dynamics of group work and how the students tackled the challenge. Check out our bridges on the Bridges wiki page
Tuesday was a long day with interviews in the afternoon and evening- I hope it was informative and helpful for parents and that you found the new format of reports easier to understand.
There have been a lot of winter bugs and illness going around and I have come down with it too. I benefited from a day at home in bed on Thursday rather than soldier on feeling unwell and miserable. Mrs Dorizac ably relieved for me. We had some students out at the Tough Guy/Gal challenge- a new experience which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Apparently everyone got in the spirit of book character dress-up day with a range of costumes including Fantastic Mr Fox with a sack of geese, Gangsta grannies and Wimpy kids. Well done everyone. I don't think I would have been able to come up with such wonderful ideas.
Our week ended with Grandparents Day. The students enjoyed sharing their learning and showing their classroom to their grandparents as well as entertaining them in the special assembly.
Once again James topped the World and NZ briefly in Mathletics this week.

Our star of the week was Hugo and Freddie earned the Team Player of the Week for coming prepared with tools and resources and taking an active role in the construction of his group's bridge.




I hope everyone enjoys a well-earned break and starts the next term feeling revived and rearing to go.
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Week 10

It was Onesie or PJ day on Monday- because it was the shortest day- Mrs T declined to take part- been there , done that once before and felt really stupid when I had to get some petrol after school! We had quite a menagerie of animals though- rabbits, zebras,pigs to name a few.
The students have enjoyed practising and performing plays this week in their reading. Here is green groups performance of Celebrity Reviver.

The students have edited and published their fantastic writing based on a film clip of an owl attacking a mouse. Our focus was on using precise and descriptive words, detail and avoiding repetition while using AAAWWUBBIS sentences. Impressive writing.

The students constructed truss bridges on Monday using their knowledge of shapes and bridge types to make structures much stronger than their first efforts. Unfortunately there were a few fingers with spot burns from the hot glue guns- inevitable!



Riley was top in the world on Mathletics on Monday of this week, putting Room 3 on the leader board again. He was sick at home so spent the time constructively!

At our special assembly Zara and Jordan were awarded Worker of the Term certificates for their awesome progress and hard work this term.
Ben received the Powerful Learner award for an outstanding report where he is achieving above standard in all areas.
Then again James received a special certificate and band from Matheltics for coming top in NZ several weeks ago. Riley has also been trying to compete with James to earn a huge number of points so enabled Room 3 to win the Mathletics award for the class with most points since the last assembly. Well done boys- you are inspiring others to do the same. The other classes don't seem to stand a chance as long as these two are accumulating such high scores!

What an awesome bunch of students!

Week 9

Students in Room 3 made huge progress in learning to tell the time in 3 easy steps in one lesson this week. It was exciting to see understanding click into place. Parents, ask your children what the time is occasionally to keep them practising.


We will be starting on learning multiplication and division next week in cross grouping. It would give students a huge advantage to know their times tables. If these could be learnt and/or practised at home it would speed progress in this area of Number.
I have suggested learning one times table a week by chanting them, singing them along to music, reciting them on the way to school. If parents were to quiz their children on these it would help them to stick.

We are researching different types of bridges and students learnt how to make computer posters with Mrs Vaughn to present their findings on.

Lots of students have gained certificates in the last 2 weeks for Mathletics and Spellodrome and class members are pretty reliable about earning their weekly points.
I think they are keen to hold on to the Mathletics trophy. Look out Team, I hear Room 2 is hoping to win it off us!



We have been learning about FANBOYS joining words in our writing so that we use longer, more detailed sentences. Now we are beginning to form AAAWWUBBIS sentences.

We welcomed Freddie to our class and were sorry to see Tremayne leave to go to a Manurewa school.
Our Star of theweek was Chelsea while Xander was awarded the Team Player of the Week for his improved behaviour and being more focused on his work.

Week 8

Hurray for the weekend! It is a busy time for teachers especially this week as we are working on reports which is a huge workload extra to our usual planning and preparation. Mind you most of the weekend will be spent doing reports! We will have a new report format this year which will mean something new for teachers and parents. We sorted out our Learning folders t his week and these are ready to go home later in the term.

We have been working on measurement in our strand maths and it is pleasing that so many students now know what perimeter, volume and area are and how to calculate them and how to convert units. I am expecting great results in the forthcoming test on work covered.

We are focusing on sentence structure in our writing with the goal of adding detail and description to make them more interesting. We tried making Piclits- short focused descriptive pieces of writing and have shared these on our wiki pages.

We investigated card bridges and used fair testing to determine which was the strongest.




I am disappointed at the effort made by some students with their homework lately. While they might be earning their points on Mathletics and Spellodrome they are not doing any reading or research.These are elements that they should be able to manage themselves so just have to take responsibility for it and manage their time better.
This week our Star of the week was Nikita-Soli while Jacob was Team Player of the Week as he was so onto it this morning sharing his understanding of measurement.


Week 7

It was great to have the extra day added on to the weekend and meant we could have a decent break. This week however has gone super fast.
I have been really impressed with the writing the students have been doing. Our focus was to use precise words, add detail and use different sentence beginnings. I am thrilled that we have some really talented writers in the class and their work blows me away.

The students in Room 3 are competing for top spot on the Mathletics table after James' big achievement last week. We now have a class ladder for Mathletics and Spellodrome and once again Alex and James are the ones to beat. It was quite an achievement for James to top the world last week ahead of 115,000 students from around the world. I think it has become a bit addictive so his mum banned him from the computer last night! I finally worked out how to print certificates for Spellodrome so had a pile to present this afternoon for the last month.
Once again Room 3 won the Mathletics trophy for most points gained in the last two weeks for Mathletics. Keep it up Team.

In our topic we made a suspension bridge out of skipping ropes and with students acting as columns to support the cables they understood the forces involved.

We also tried to use the arch and triangle to make card bridges though results were not so conclusive.



I have been busy testing students on their reading and it was pleasing that most students had progressed, some in leaps and bounds. Stand outs were Zara and Jordan. I cannot stress enough the importance of regular reading at home and parents reading to and with their child.

This week our Player of the Week was Jayden who is a great helper in the mornings and a gentleman. Jacob was our Star of the Week.
With all the wet and cold weather there have been a lot of absences this week.

Week 6

The cold snap has meant a lot of illness among staff- me included .At present the kids remain healthy and attendance is good. The Rippa tournament went ahead at a different venue after having been postponed for a month. The Rimu teams made it to the finals so came back to school buzzing. It was disappointing that so few parents offer to help on such occasions as it is a lot of work for one person in charge to manage several teams. We have barely managed to scrape together sufficient transport at times. The alternative is to take a bus which would be far costlier or not attend at all.

This week we have been learning to add detail to our sentences and turning a simple sentence into an extraordinary sentence. This is a work in progress.
We learnt more about the forces acting on a bridge and the students are starting to identify the different types of bridges now.

I have been busy testing children on their reading and am finding that most progress is made when children are reading regularly. That;s why it is part of homework and it would be wonderful to have parents hearing their children read and even read with or to their child as well.
The class is doing well with their Te Reo learning Maori actions and they had another lesson from the kaiakos this week.

A special prize came in the mail this week for James who topped NZ on Mathletics points one day last week. He received a special certificate and wristbands saying Mathletics Legend on one. Quite an accomplishment and we now have other students try to emulate his success. Mathletics can be quite addictive!

Star of the week this week was Gracelin while James received the Player of the Week as he anticipates what needs to be done and just gets on with it, being particularly helpful at packing up time. Thanks James.

have a great long weekend everyone. I'm hoping some fresh sea air and a break will help to blow the cold bugs away and clear the sinuses.

Week 5

Rimu students took part in the Franklin Schools hockey tournament at Pukekohe. While we were not placed in the grades the students played with enthusiasm, showed good sportsmanship and enjoyed themselves. Many thanks to those parents who transported and helped to manage teams or umpired.




The school speech finals were held on Monday and our own Samantha did us proud by coming 2nd equal in the Year 5/6 section with her very persuasive speech on hand washing.
































This week we did a writing sample to provide more data about our writing achievement and progress. The students wrote letters to their parents trying to persuade them on a range of authentic topics.

It was Rimu's assembly on Friday and Room 3 shared their video about our topic investigation on strong shapes. Check it out on Bridges page.

Player of the week was Nikita-Soli for her positive attitude and for always being on task and trying her best, and James was our Star of the Week. James had put Room 3 and himself on the Mathletics chart coming among the top 50 students in NZ and the world by earning over 14,000 points in one week. Wow! He certainly achieved his goal last week. Hence Room 3 won the Mathletics trophy in assembly on Friday. Just think if every student in the class earned 2000 points we could be the top class by all contributing to the success.

Week 4

I think we are all over speeches as it has been our focus for 3-4 weeks.We presented our speeches last Friday and on Monday. Students took turns at commenting on the speeches of their fellow students and were able to make constructive comments about what they did well and how they could improve on the delivery. Some children had made a big effort to learn these and were then able to focus on presenting their speech with appropriate expression and conviction. The videos of these are on the students wiki pages. I was thrilled that most children were able to use paragraphs, structured their content appropriately an use persuasive language features.
We held the Rimu speech finals on Friday morning with James, Harry, Samantha and Alex representing Room 3. Samantha's speech on hand washing was very persuasive and grossed people out. She delivered her speech in a controlled confident voice and kept her audience engaged. Consequently she was chosen to go forward to the school finals next Monday. Good luck Samantha

The Hockey tournament was rained off on Tuesday and is postponed to Tuesday 19th. New permission forms must be returned asap please. Rimu students were out at the soccer tournament at Tuakau on Thursday and while they were not placed, they all enjoyed the experience.

In art the students are painting monochrome pictures based on a koru design with the focus on creating shades and tints and using contrast. Some children are being very careful to keep within the spaces and being neat.

Our Star of the Week this week was Samantha who did so well with her speech and Lakeisha was Player of the Week for always being so helpful and taking initiative.

Week 3

Our speeches have been a big focus this week but we are almost ready for presentation. It's taken a while but the children have pretty much done them all themselves which is a big achievement.
We had another Small sticks hockey session with Mike, and the students have quickly developed some wonderful skills. On Wednesday most of the class took advantage of an opportunity to practise some soccer skills and have a game inside an inflatable soccer pitch. So proud of the class for making the most of this and having some great fun. I'm sure it will stand the students in good stead for their tournament next week. Please return money and permission forms as soon as possible so transport can be arranged.



We started our bridge topic this week with the children making popsicle stick bridges with the aim of making the strongest structure. The kids can't wait to test them out
Well we tested them out with little success. Most only took a few weights before splitting nor caving in but one withstood the weights we put on it without showing any signs of strain. Check out the Bridges page to see the videos

Some children have taken a risk and presented their speeches. Students in the class took turns at critiquing the speeches and all agreed on the standout ones. I have uploaded videos of these to the students wiki pages.

Player of the week this week was Sharni for presenting a speech for the first time and Star of the week was Lakeisha.





We have students out on Tuesday and Thursday at the hockey and soccer tournaments. They need to come prepared with lunch, appropriate shoes and mouthguards and shin pads for hockey. A big thank you to those parents who offered to transport.

Friday 1st May

It was rather nice having a long weekend. The local ANZAC service was well-attended and very moving. It was wonderful seeing the turnout of children with their families and also the way the school leaders participated with pride.


We have had a great week with the students getting down to speech writing. Although we would like the children to write their speeches in class, I am mindful of time constraints and that we need to allow time for the students to learn their speeches for presentation too. With lots of interruptions in week 4, we need to have some speeches ready by the end of week 3. Hence I have said the children can work on them at home but it must be their own work. Parents might put forward ideas, help find information to support ideas and make suggestions but PLEASE do not do it for them.

We had another Small Sticks Hockey session to develop skills. Room 3 students were tested on their Basic facts and while most children made good progress there is real need for them to learn their times tables. We began our strand unit on measurement with the students doing practical estimating and measuring. I saw some fantastic teamwork as they worked in pairs. In our reading we continue to study texts of persuasive language which support our speech writing. We also began to think about our new topic- Balance where we will be learning more about bridges through investigations, construction and research.
Our Star of the Week for week 2 is Jayden while Abi was chosen as Player of the Week for showing initiative and helpfulness and for quietly persevering in her work.

Friday 24th April

I hope everyone had a relaxing break. I enjoyed a long weekend at the beach making the most of the still warm weather to swim, walk and catch up with friends and family. I visited Hobbiton in Matamata one morning and was impressed by the attention to detail of the film sets for the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies. It sure is a magical, unique place and well worth going to. The cider at the Green Dragon pub was most welcome too!


We have been preparing for ANZAC day and our own special school ceremony on Friday. I was surprised that the students knew so little about its significance but after sharing stories about the Gallipoli campaign and watching some film clips, the children could tell me the main facts about it and had a greater understanding of the horrors of war. It would be wonderful if the students were able to take part in the local commemorations to experience for themselves what it entails. Waiau Pa Hall at 10.30am on Saturday.

I hope the children enjoy their homework exercise this week, making ANZAC biscuits.

Starting this term, Rimu classes are targeting Basic facts as something that we want to see a big improvement in so we have been having regular, short, focused sessions working on these. Please make the effort to quiz your children on basic facts knowledge a little and often as improvement comes with practice. It could be 5 minutes at the dinner table or on the ride to school or during a car journey.

Speeches

It's that time of year again when Rimu and Kauri students are expected to present a speech to their class. I emailed Room 3 students forewarning them about this in the holidays and we are working on them in class and as part of homework. We have a tight time frame within which to get these done however it does need to be the child's own work. I am teaching them how to write a persuasive speech in class but students may have to supplement what they do at school with research and further work at home. I have included a page called Speeches on the wiki which gives guidelines. Parents might suggest ideas to their children, point them in the right direction to find information, ask questions to guide them but please do not write it for them. Nor should information just be copied from the internet or books. They need to be making notes, researching and planning by week 2 when we will start the actual writing with support. I am hoping that some children will be ready to present their speeches towards the end of week 3.

I was thrilled that so many children have chosen their subjects and are well into finding information. Great start to the term, Team 3.
On Thursday Room 3 children did some potting on of the young plants in our tree unit. Once they got over the cockroaches and snails that were around they made good progress though there is still a lot of work to be done. Everyone participated and we eventually had a system going. Result: some very grubby children!

Our Star of the Week this week was Harry while Jordan was the Team Player of the Week for his helpfulness and reliability and being so conscientious about completing his work.
Have a wonderful long weekend everyone.

Thursday 2nd April

I'm sure everyone is deserving of a holiday break. It has been a busy term and time has just flown by. After our awesome camp it was quite nice to have a short week and then a break to get over it. We ended the week with a Giant Easter Egg hunt where the children in their houses searched for popsicle sticks competing to see which house found the most. It was great to see the senior students helping the little ones and the experience the general buzz of excitement as kids took off in all directions. I think Blue house won but all children received an Easter egg courtesy of the PTA.A great way to end the week.

Sunday 29th March

Last week Rimu students enjoyed an action-packed 4 days at Chosen Valley. I'm sure they all came home buzzing about what they had done.

The students took risks trying new activities and challenged themselves to go higher and harder. It was great to see the big smiles as they zipped down the flying fox and the courage shown when they bailed out on the trolleys. For some children it was the first time in a kayak or firing an arrow at a target in archery. For some children it was a big step being away from their parents and also having to keep track of their own belongings. However all came through with flying colours, most having achieved their goals.
The staff were impressed by our children and their manners and positive attitude- its great when we make a good impression.

I take my hat off to the wonderful parent helpers who were superb, taking the initiative to prepare food, set up tables and get stuck into a huge pile of dishes then running the activities- believe me it is no holiday and like me, I'm sure they were exhausted and looking forward to a quiet weekend.You were amazing and we appreciated all your efforts.

If the kids tell you they went hungry, don't believe them- they were very well fed with wholesome meals and the opportunity to have seconds and sometimes third helpings- what huge appetites! Thanks to all parents for providing home baking, muesli bars or fruit for camp- these were enjoyed at morning and afternoon tea time.
We managed to sort out most of the lost property at camp but there were still a few items left behind .these are now available outside the Rimu block
At the end of camp we held an informal prizegiving and it was a proud moment when so many children from Room 3 were selected for special mention by the parents for their courage, outstanding attitude, manners or caring- Tremayne, Alex, Ben, Lakeisha, Virraj and Hugo. Well done Team 3.You were awesome!





This week there is our Shared Learning Evening on Tuesday evening from 4-7pm. I look forward to seeing most of you there.On Thursday before we break up for the end of term and Easter is our special Workers of the Term assembly at 2pm. Parents are welcome to attend though it will be a short one.

Friday 20th March

Thanks to those parents who attended the camp meeting on Monday evening. We trust that there were no concerns and parents are happy about their children going to camp since there was not a huge turn-out.
We finished swimming last week so had more time to focus on our schoolwork. Room 3 students have been enjoying stories and articles from old journals about life for the early settlers to NZ. These have provided background knowledge for out topic.
We have been learning to write an information report with a focus on using paragraphs. This is a collaborative exercise with the students writing "factually" about a mythical creature. We have been learning about probability and the !likelihood of events happening. We reckon there is a very good chance NZ will win the Cricket World Cup!
The week ended with some students having their hair shaved and everyone wearing mufti to raise money for blood cancer research. There was an awesome atmosphere as this was followed by the finals to the school Cricket World Cup where students competed for their houses. It was great to see a range of ages represented and children who are not avid sportsmen playing. I was impressed by their positive attitude, great fielding and good sportsmanship.There were some big hits too with green house(of course) winning handsomely against Blue house. We were thrilled to have an-ex-pupil, and local lad Michael Schofield whom I taught in year 4 and who now plays/works for Counties Cricket, become the bowler. What a super event that included so many children.





Next week we are at camp and so far all is going to plan. The only thing we have no control over is the weather and it is not looking too flash for mid week. We will have contingency plans in case. We have a great team of enthusiastic parents and I'm sure they will ensure that the camp is a fun experience for all.

Please ensure all your child's gear is named and that they take lunch, snack and drink as per usual for day one. Thanks to all those parents who have offered to transport- drive carefully and have a safe journey.

Our Player of the week this week was Riley who has been a great morning helper and who most enthusiastically challenges himself on Mathletics and is racking up the points. Quinn was our Star of the week. I was thrilled with the poppies and presentations made by most students last week. There were some innovative designs and the standard of presentations was high. Well done Team 3.

Friday 13th March

We are looking forward to camp and counting down. However there is a lot of organisation still to be done hence the need to firm up numbers and have all the paperwork sorted. I would really appreciate having payments made, contracts, consents and health information returned as soon as possible and also the transport forms so I can give notice to parents who are prepared to take their cars.

Room Three students enjoyed two days with Mrs Vaughan following my programme and learnt a few new games. I was at a writing conference where I learnt lots of ideas from inspirational speakers who are writing gurus.

We had our last swim session today - the water has become cooler but if we have more hot days there is the possibility of a lunchtime swim.
Congratulations to Quinn from Room 3 for qualifying at North Group to go to Zone Swimming Competition. Well done to all those children who represented the school so well at North Group. They found nit quite challenging as the pool there was 33 metres long, longer than our pool.

In topic this week we were learning about the treaty and the different views of the chiefs and Europeans toward the signing of the treaty. We watched some video re-enactments about the treaty and the different roles of the people there.

This week and next week for homework the students have been challenged to make a poppy suitable for display outdoors- rather like those that were specially made and displayed at the Tower of London for the 100th Anniversary of Anzac Day. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

This week Tremayne was our Star of the week. I was impressed by the heart-felt and sincere compliments that the students made about him. What an awesome boy. Alex was our player of the week for always taking care with her work, and to present it neatly and to the best of her ability. Another awesome student.

Thursday 5th March

We are now into Autumn though the hot weather doesn't seem to have let up. We held our swimming sports today in sometimes sweltering heat. We were impressed by the high level of participation and the support of the children for those in the same house. Thanks to all those parents who came along to support their children too. The results will be collated by Mr Dean and those children who qualify for North Group will be notified as soon as convenient.

Thanks to those parents who applied to come to camp. Notices about this will be sent home tomorrow. Meanwhile, keep sending in payments please and return all consent, contracts and health information forms- these are essential. We hope all Rimu students will be able to enjoy the camp experience.

I will be on a writing course on Monday and Tuesday and Teresa Vaughan will be taking my class in my absence. i'm sure the students will enjoy her as she continues my programme.

Friday 27th Feb

On Friday it was Rimu's turn to organise the assembly and Room 3 students acted out a role play demonstrating water safety with a clear message- how to recognise a rip, how to swim out of one, how to signal for help, the safest place to swim and not to panic if you get into trouble. Riley and Chelsea had the starring roles while the rest of the students were people sunning themselves on the beach or swimming in the water. A small group of girls took part in a dance routine which they had learnt with coaching from Mrs Taylor's daughter, Maddi, who also performed an amazing hip hop solo.

Next Thursday we are holding our swimming sports in the middle block from 11 am. We hope parents will come along to support their children and cheer them on.

Wednesday 25th February

Some children had a productive lunchtime on Tuesday getting down and dirty as we weeded some of the plants in our tree growing unit. There's a lot of work to be done to get it into order- mostly weeding and potting on larger plants into individual containers but we have made a start and student volunteers were keen although easily distracted by a few slugs or worms.We will have another session next Monday lunchtime and hope to make some inroads.
I managed to catch up today those children who had missed or not saved their PAT tests so they are finally completed.

Some children still have not brought a library bag to school so that they can take home library books. Please provide a nylon book bag or even a plastic supermarket bag for this - it is just to protect the books.

We have been working on breaststroke in swimming and practising for our up coming swimming sports.Thee will be held in week 6.

It's Rimu's turn to organise assembly this Friday so Room 3 are planning an item based on water safety where we will share our learning with the rest of the school. We hope it gets across the main water safety messages.

Room 3 students have completed some awesome artwork with Mrs Taylor that involves using pattern and either hot or cold colours. When combined they resemble a patchwork quilt and look stunning gracing our classroom walls.





Friday 20th February
This week has been busy with PAT testing but hallelujah, they are are now all done except a couple of catch ups. For the first time the students sat these online and we had instant results. I could even watch progress as the children were answering the questions!

I invited in an experienced lifeguard from Karioitahi Surf Club to give a talk and demonstration about water safety. Ask your child how to signal for help, how to tell where a rip is and where is the safest place to swim and what is the most important thing to do if you get into trouble. Hopefully they will remember these. They attempted to rescue each other in the pool using a tube and found it not so easy after all. It would be wonderful if the session inspired some children to become nippers and eventually lifeguards. I can thoroughly recommend this to young people since there are 7 trained lifeguards in my family. If your child is a strong swimmer you might like to consider it.

We began cross grouping this week and so far it has gone well with the children being challenged. Next week Room 3 students will be doing spelling activities on Spellodrome rather like Mathletics and similarly, they are expected to earn 1000 points each week. They can challenged themselves on harder words and compete against other children round the world.

We ended the week with the house tug of war- results to be announced at the next assembly. Once again the staff team beat the school leaders in a dramatic finale- mind you they had been worn out first so I guess the staff had the advantage.

Wednesday 11th Feb

This is our first full week after the long weekend and holidays.
I have been impressed by the general positive attitude of the students though a few students are starting to show their true colours now the honeymoon period is over and we are getting down to business. I am expecting homework from everyone and would prefer to see some done than none at all. There has been lots of testing going on as we learn more about the students, where they are at and their individual needs. Next week we start cross grouping in Number which should better cater for the wide range of abilities within the syndicate.
This week we finalised our classroom treaty and introduced our Ladder of Success where students hope to move up the ladder by displaying a great work effort and attitude or our RICH values.
We have some very able swimmers in Room 3 while others need to improve their style and technique. Everyone is giving it heaps in the pool sessions. Swimming sports are not fa away.
We will be having our first school assembly this week.

Team 3 students hard at work painting patterns in hot or cold colours


Our shields about ourselves and our mottoes and writing entitled ' I am.' Our class treaty

Thursday 5th February

Room 3 student s are settling in well and seem eager to please.
It was lovely to meet some of Room 3 parents at the Meet the Teacher evening. I hope it was helpful. I sent home introductory letters to parents who did not attend and would appreciate the return of your email address so we can maintain effective communication.

I was thrilled with the students' writing efforts this week and can see that we have some talented writers.
We had lots of Maths tests this week including an online test which will provide data for cross grouping and for identifying gaps and needs.This one was most frustrating as there were lots of little problems to iron out with the computers however we will hopefully know how to remedy them next time.
The students enjoyed their first music lesson today with Mr Cowan , the new music teacher and they had a library session so all should have a book to read however a book bag is required for them to be taken home.

We have been discussing rights and responsibilities and almost come up with a list of rules for Team 3.
It would be great if the students could follow and/or watch some of the activities taking place to celebrate Waitangi Day on Friday to give them some understanding of its significance.

Have a wonderful long week-end.

Friday 29th January
The first short week of the new term is over. I have been impressed by the students enthusiasm and eagerness to be back at school. Initially we are taking time to get to know each other, establish routines and doing assessments to provide data for sorting groups and and identifying needs. We welcomed two students, new to Waiau Pa, Sharni and Harrison and they are quickly settling in.
It was great to see all the students already prepared with their stationery so we sorted out and labelled books on day one.

Our library day will be Tuesday and children need to have a book bag to take books home.
We will be swimming everyday except Thursday however I have advised the children to bring togs everyday in case there is the prospect of a lunchtime swim. With the hot weather I'm sure they will be glad of a refreshing swim. Togs and towel should be in a named plastic bag.

I was pleased to meet some of Room 3's parents on Thursday and look forward to seeing you all at the Meet the Teacher evening on Tuesday night at 7pm where you can learn about what happens in Rimu syndicate.

I hope everyone has enjoyed a relaxing summer holiday and all are refreshed and ready for the term ahead.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family and friends in Tauranga and a Coromandel beach. I enjoyed being out of routine and not governed by the clock and was able to make the most of the wonderful weather to swim and sunbathe and hang out with friends. I read lots of books and magazines, walked the Karangahake Gorge and climbed to the top of Mt Maunga for fabulous views of the Mount and Tauranga.