Thursday 13th December

Today we decided on the order for our play performances.

10:15am  -          Spiderella
   then -               The Cheetah and the Sloth
   then -               Popsicle Girl

11:00 - 11:20 - Morning tea

11:30am  -           The Red Robin
    then -               The Brementown Rappers
    then -               Goldilocks and the Three Bullfrogs


Note: Times are approximate. We will be aiming to be starting at 10:15.


Following the conclusion of the plays we will have a shared lunch.

Let the good times roll.

Mr F.

Wednesday 12th December

Kia Ora all

Today we really got into our play preparation. Boxes were flying, paper was snipped and trimmed, colour pencils and crayons worked overtime as we finished off our props ready for performance day on Friday.

We also managed to finish off 5 of the flags. We only have a couple to go.

Tomorrow is PYJAMA DAY for those who wish to come dressed in their pyjamas. Students can either come to school dressed in their PJs or come in school uniform and change at school.

Conversely, those who don't wish to wear their PJs should just come along in their normal school uniform. It is not a mufti day, nor do students need to bring any money as a donation.

WINNING HOUSE- Trip to Halswell Pool

Students who are in Kowhai will have the chance to go to Halswell Pool on Monday for a fun day.
A permission slip was given out yesterday by the co-ordinator, Bryan Brown. This needs to be returned by FRIDAY. If this notice has gone walkabouts, please let us know so we can arrange for another copy to be sent home.

                                                   Click here to see the notice.

Tuesday 11th December

Today at 10:00 - 10:30 Room 12 went to the hall for a blow test.
We got split into groups of 3 and started to rotate around and play some musical instruments.
We had a piece of paper that had some faces on it. When we finished playing the instrument we colored in the smiley face of where we thought we were at playing the instrument.


HERE ARE SOME OF THE INSTRUMENTS WE PLAYED:
 The Flute
 The clarinet
 The Saxophone
 The Trumpet
 The Trombone
 Tuned Percussion
 Percussion - Drums
 Bass Guitar

There were some kids from a different school who helped us play the instruments.
If they thought we were good at playing the instrument they gave us a little sticker.
 
Some of them were really hard like the Saxophone because you had to cover you bottom teeth with your bottom lip and make a buzzing sound.

When we had finished playing the instruments the lady asked  who liked playing a different instrument.

BELOW ARE SOME PICTURES OF US PLAYING THE DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS:


                                           Dominic, Riley and Jayden playing the drums

      
                                            Honor, Sam.W, Jake and Josh playing the Flute
                                   

                            

                                                    Ella, Bella and Fenella playing the clarinet.

 

Thursday 6th December

Kia Ora all

Today we did a full dress rehearsal of our cultural dances for the gala. Hopefully the weather will be on our side with the sun out and shining.

We spent quite a bit of time today painting our flags. Most of the paint managed to end up in the right place. although the carpet does have some 'rainbow' patches. The paint is water based poster paint which will wash out.

We also got into our 'play' groups and started the process of perfecting our script and thinking about how it will be presented. There was a lot of fantastic team work, problem solving and CARE vaues on display. Well done everyone.

I have even scored myself a role as a duck, the Lazy Duck. I am excited about performing and am gong home to practise my lines this evening.

See you tomorrow.
Mr F.

Monday 4th December


Here we go with week 8.

Tomorrow and Wednesday we will be making flags for the gala and our classroom. 

Today students took home one of 3 plays we read today. Tomorrow we get ourselves into 'play groups' and begin the process of choosing which play to perform and the all important costume and set design.

Today I received a little 'gift' - two unicycles. Not actually for me to tell you the truth - rather they are for the school, but I have been dropping hints for about 3 years. We will take them out and see what happens tomorrow. Many schools in Japan have unicycles, and while I was there I tried in vein to ride for more than 10 metres unaided - didn't work out too successful. No doubt students will be on them and away riding in a matter of minutes.

Tuesday 13th November

Kia Ora all

Wow! I am sitting here still amazed at the effort Jonathan put into his South Korea presentation.  The animated clips such as the plane moving on the screen was brilliant and the movie clips of the Kings and Queen's gardens was fantastic.

Unfortunatley we had a few technical issues with the display of the powerpoint on our new TV but I will get that sorted out as soon as I can.

I have added a copy of the powerpoint presentation onto the United Nations of Room 12 page. I had to convert it to a video, which makes the slides go quickly. Also, you can't view the animated clips or mini videos. Sorry about that, but this is the limit of my technical knowledge.

Today we started off with a bit of a sing-a-long. We listened to, and then sang along to, Live Forever by Oasis, a famous English band. We also listened to a version sung by Stereophonics - Mr Forman's favourite Welsh band.
If we can get the singing and playing of instruments humming along, we might be able to throw in a performance at the Rising Stars Got Talent - kind of like half time entertainment. But I will need to ask Miss Tait is that is OK.

Students in group 2,3 and 4 have read ( and group 3 and 4 have brought a copy home tonight) an African folktale. Like most folktales, it has a moral, or a message. Tomorrow students will begin some activities based on this. It is all glued in ready to go.

Oh, and there will be time to do some independent country research.

Tomorrow afternoon room 9 will be with us in the afternoon. We are going to do some reading in the garden, sport on the field, and some gardening.

See you all tomorow
Mr F

Monday 12 November

Kia Ora all

Today we moved back to addition and subtraction.
Most students completed a sheet where we highlighted ALL the strategies for add/sub/mult/div and fractions that they have covered.

We will be reviewing these, as well as working on the strategies that have not been covered.

We also did  a basic facts grid - and will be doing these each day to increase our speed and accuracy.

In the afternoon Isabella shared some more interesting facts about Taiwan.
We learned that Taiwan used to be called Formosa, from the portuguese sailors who named her Ilha Formosa - Beautiful Island.

We also learned that Taiwan is made up of the main island of Taiwan and 21 other small islands. In fact, we learned that another word for made up of is comprised. That's called a synonym - a word that has the same or similar meaning.

Taiwan

The Taiwan reading is now in the United Nations of room 12 page.

South Korea

Tuesday is South Korea day. Jonathon will be sharing facts about South Korea, teaching us a few Korean phrases and teaching us a traditional Korean game.

Thursday 8th November

Kia Ora everyone

Today I was at Hillmorton High School helping with the athletics sports. Oaklands students did very well and we had a number of first placings.

Fenella competed in the high jump. We are very proud of her effort - not many year 4 students get to represent their school at the Zones. So well done, Fenella.


MOVEMBER

Today I asked the reliever to do the Movember reading with you. Mr Forman is officially a MoBro. There was a follow up activity for you to have a go at - design a Mo for MoBro Mr F.

I have seen some of the designs and they look COOL. Tomorrow you can finish off your creations as the deadline is lunch time FRIDAY.

Next week we will choose the COOLEST and that will be what appears on my face - even if it has a bit of colour.

I have created a NEW PAGE -  MoBro MOvember.  I have added the reading you did today here.

Tomorrow we will take pictures of some of the designs and post them on our blog.

Friday

Friday is TAIWAN day. The wonderful Isabella will share her experiences of life in Taiwan and we will have a fact sheet to share.

So get started - search Taiwan and see if you can find some interesting facts to share.

Remember that there is a COIN TRAIL to raise funds for haemophilia. You receive a red bracelet if you donate.

We have a poem about being a MoBro and a sport challenge to win against room 13.

See you tomorrow.

Tuesday 6th November

Kia Ora all

Today we did a room 12 'makeover' so that we are all able to see the new TV monitor when we are sitting on the mat. We will stick with the new seating arrangements until Friday and then discuss making any other changes.

Today we had a many discussions about our EXCELLENCE values and it was fantastic to see everyone working hard to show these. A special mention to Jake and Jayden who got stuck into their reading activity and brought their positive attitude to their reading group.

Today Monique received an EXCELLENCE tick for her wonderful work on her HENNA activities. She aimed high, took pride in her learning and did her best. As a result, her learning is on display at the front of the room as a role model for quality work.

Note: all the underlined words are those from our excellence display.

WALES

Today we learned many facts and interesting bits of information about Wales. We listened to a male choir, Tom Jones, Stereophonics, as well as taking a look at Cardiff Castle using GoogleEarth.

Fenella taught us how to say, in Welsh, the longest train station in the world.

Fenella also taught us how to say good morning, how are you?, my name is ..., goodbye. We will continue learning Welsh.

We also watched a part of a Welsh myth from the first website link on the WALES reading.

Unfortunately I made a few mistakes on the reading, such as calling Northern Ireland - Northern Island.
There is also a typo in the Prince of Wales section, and I have the feeling there might be a couple of extra letters attached to words that shouldn't be there.

Sorry about that -  I am still working on my proofreading skills.

Tomorrow

Mrs Casey is in tomorrow. Have a great day and keep showing those awesome EXCELLENCE values.

Goodbye
Da bo ti 

Monday 5th November

At full school assembly today, Ella and Victor AND the awesome Josh were awarded their SILVER CARE certificates. Well done.

Jonathan received a credit certificate for the maths test he took as part on an international test. Only two were awarded at Oaklands. We are very proud of your awesome result, Jonathan.

We managed to get down to room 23 to do buddy reading. It has been a while, but at least they still remembered us.

Things to check out

UNITED NATIONS of room 12 page: I have added the country challenge print so you can do it at home as well as school.

NOTICES and NEWSLETTERS: I have added the week 4 home learning print.

WRITING: I have added the FIREWORKS challenge for Tuesday and Wednesday.

HANNAH: I have written a message, on behalf of room 12, to Hannah.

CARE focus - excellence

We have identified 6 important qualities for this term and will be really focusing on them. Here they are.

Thursday 1st November

Kia Ora all

Maori

Today we had a visit from matua Rihari to help us with our Maori language skills.

We have been learning our mihi and matua worked on how to ask the questions to get that information. For example, in our mihi we say " Ko Mr Forman toku kaiako" - Mr Forman is my teacher.
So, today we practised asking the question - "Who is your teacher?"  = Ko wai to kaiako?

We learned that  < to > means your

We also learned to ask, "How old are you?"
In Maori you say, " E hia o tau?"

E hia = how many
 o  = your ( the plurar form)

We also learned that "No tehea to kura?" means, " What school do you go to / What is the name of your school?"

Writing

Today we shared sentences we had written. We have been identifying the verbs and adjectives. We put a triangle over top of the verbs and a circle around the adjectives.

We got into pairs with one being the teacher and the other the student. We shared our sentences and pointed out the verbs and adjectives. The ' teacher' then signed their name if the sentence was correct, or gave us advice if we had missed out any verbs or adjectives.

Here are some pics of us in action.

Wednesday 31st October

Kia Ora everyone.

Wow! What a warm, sunny day. When I was doing sport today with the Junior Sport Academy,


 I could hear the excited, screams of sporty students as they dived and zigzagged to avoid being stung by the small, yellow, rubbery ball.


How is that for a descriptive sentence with lots of verbs and adjectives.

Here is a challenge. Tomorrow morning write all the verbs and adjectives I used in the sentence on a piece of paper, hand it to me, and you go in the draw for a prize from the 'prize bag'.

Thanks for your awesome effort today with the testing.  You did some spelling, basic facts AND reading. You must be exhausted!

And... I didn't get to see your NEW dance - the kung fu one. I am looking forward to seeing it tomorrow as we have dancing from 2:20 - 2:50pm.

Speaking of dancing, did you see the picture and text about the Rising Stars dancing in the school newsletter. If not, you can check it out on the NEWSLETTERS and NOTICES page.

See you tomorrow

Oh, I almost forget. Miss Tait has asked if we can locate (perhaps on you tube) a traditional Zimbabwean dance that the Rising Stars could learn.

Can you help me with that?

Tuesday 30th October

Just a reminder that I will be out of class tomorrow - Mrs Casey is in.

P.S - Sorry Dylan - i had to change the template design as there was a problem with the one you chose -  it made many of the PAGES disappear.


What a busy day today.

MATHS

For maths the proportions group learned how to work out fractions like 2/3 of 21 or 6/9 of 81.


The ratios group worked on an activity called "Which is bigger?" - This involved working out whether 2/5 is bigger than 3/7 etc.

Here is a link to an activity that helps students to get an understanding of whether a fraction is more than a half, same as a half, or more than a half.


more,same, less than a half


The fractions group did an activity on the computer called Melvin's Make a Match. Here is the link to it if you want to give it a go.


Melvin's Make a Match



WRITING

Today we shared our sentences and looked at which words in our sentences are VERBS and which are ADJECTIVES.

Some students have published their sentences under the respective photos on the WRITING PAGE.

We are also publishing sentences on paper to put up on the wall. We will take a photo of these in a few days and put it up on the blog.

READING

Group 2 focused on using a dictionary and thesaurus to look up words from the ZIMBABWE reading.
Group 1discussed how Ina felt being new to a school in NZ, all the way from Rarotonga - and how she joined the Polynesian Dance Group at her school. This made Ina happy because she could do the 'Ura dance.
We tried to look up the dance on You Tube but You Tube wasn't working well so we will try it on Thursday.


We also checked our Zimbabwe facts. Some students had found information about festivals. We didn't get much of a chance to share these although some students, for their independent research, went on the internet on search of information on festivals.

We will discuss these on Friday as students are still doing research.

Some students searched for information on vegetable gardens while some got down to the business of designing the bird platform.

DANCING

After lunch the Rising Stars met in the hall to learn the 2nd of 3 dances for the gala. This one was a traditional English (England) folk dance. This was done in large circles.


INDIAN CULTURE

After the dancing we were invited by room 13 to joint them and listen to Jessica Patel's mum talk about Indian culture and Diwali - the festival of lights.

We learned many things about life in India, schooling -  they still have the strap -, food and a heap about Diwali.

We also got to sample some authentic food from where Jessica's mum was born. Delicious.

Here is a photo of Jessica, her brother and mother.

Monday 29th October



Today we managed to get out into the garden and do some weeding. 3 classes of students = 75 students = many weeds pulled out in a short time.  Thanks year 4 students - awesome effort.

For reading today we read about ZIMBABWE as this is a country with which room 12 has a close connection. We learned that Zimbabwe is located in Southern Africa and is landlocked.

We looked at picture of the Zimbabwean flag and made educated guesses of what each colour or image meant.

Joshua was ' right in the button' when he predicted that the bird might be a symbol of Zimbabwe, a bit like our kiwi or silver fern.

Well done, Joshua.

Rudo helped with information about Zimbabwe that we hadn't included.

I did leave out the part about FESTIVALS in Zimbabwe - asking students to help me out. Hopefully some will come with information tomorrow.

Below is a picture of the flag, and a copy of the reading we read.

Zimbabwe facts - reading for 29.10.12


Writing 

We are learning about describing events using our 5 senses. Today we went outside and used a massive parachute to have a bit of fun and also inspire us to write.

Here is a picture of use outside with the parachute.
Students wrote many interesting sentences using powerful verbs and adjectives. We will be publishing some of them tomorrow to put in display in the room. Some students will also publish on our blog, on a NEW page called WRITING

   

Thursday 25 October


 Dancing - preparation for the school GALA

I liked that we did some zumba dances today - Sammy W

I liked learning about the new dances -  it was really cool -Dylan

I liked learning new dances because it was from different cultures and was really cool - Isabella

 WRITING

We are focusing on increasing our vocbulary - specifically powerful verbs and adjectives, as well as adverbs.

Today we had two pictures that we could write about. Before we wrote we brainstormed as many verbs and adjectives related to the pictures as we could think of.

Here are some of the words we came up with

 Map Skills Session

Today we used different types of world maps to locate all the countries associated with Room 12.

Sean, Alex, Cameron and Jonathan are proud to inform the girls that they were first finished and have scored one point for the boys.

 

Wednesday 24th October

READING: 

Today we started a journal article called "Finding China". We read part of it as a class and had some discussion about what it would be like for Yani to go over to China by herself. The text may prove challenging for some students, so it is OK to share the reading of it.

Tomorrow we will be dong some Q and A questions to show our comprehension.

Then we will use the text to focus on our reading goals - vocabulary development (powerful verbs, adjectives and adverbs), using a dictionary and thesaurus.

If anyone has had a similar experience, we would love to hear from you ( as in come on in and chat with the kids). Just a thought.


GET WISE FINANCIAL LITERACY



Today we had Hollie from ASB who entertained us with stories and scenarios aimed to help us learn the importance of saving.

Rather than go over the things we learned, I have added a photo of what Hollie wrote on the mini whiteboard so that you can go over it with your child.

Hollie was energetic and very entertaining and students really enjoyed having her in.

And here is a picture of room 12 and Hollie

Tuesday 23rd October


Today we managed to get the field events portion of our athletics sports completed.

We kicked off at 10:30 am, and with a stop for lunch, finished just after 3:00pm.

We didn't get time to share our results so we will do that tomorrow. Well done to everyone, though - great to see you out that keeping fit and gaining skills, regardless of where you finished.

I have included a couple of photos that Cameron, our camera man, took.

HOME LEARNING:

We were quite rushed this morning so not everyone may have got their spelling words. Where they haven't we will get it sorted out tomorrow. I will be sending home the list 1 - 6 lists for some students this week - we still need to finish one part of it.

You can also view the WEEK 2 TERM 4 home learning newsletter at the NEWSLETTERS and NOTICES page. I have used a programme called 'youblisher' which makes the uploaded document look all fancy. Enjoy

Garden and Bird Platform Challenge

Kia Ora all

Rain, rain go away, come back another day -  I say.

This morning I went out and took some photos of our garden area, which includes our raised vegetable / flower / weed plots, and the native garden that we use as an area for reading and relaxing.

Here they are below.

Our 5 raised vegetable / flower plots

So far we have 2 lettuce plants and one parsley

It's a start but it is looking very bare - looks like there will be a bit a of a fight over who gets to eat the lettuce leaves when we have a shared lunch

Our AWESOME native garden - reading for summer time reading

Now, wouldn't it look fantastic if there were a bird platform on top of this stump? Imagine the sounds of birds chirping whilst you read outside in the fresh air

Now here is the CHALLENGE

It is in TWO parts.

Challenge ONE

 - PLAN THE VEGETABLE / FLOWER  GARDEN

Mr Muller and I need your help with the vegetable / flower garden.

We know that if you plant seeds or seedlings in the ground, water them and watch out for frosts, then there is a good chance that they will develop into edible vegetables. The only problem is that we are unsure which vegetables to plant and also how far apart we should space them, and which ones can be planted next to each other, and which need to be away from others.

Wow! There are so many factors to consider - but I know you are up for the challenge.

So, we are looking for your help in the layout of the raised vegetable / flower plots.

Your task is the following:
[1] Find out which vegetables are suitable for planting now. Remember that we would like to have a shared lunch towards the end of term where we can eat these vegetables.
[2] Find out how we should plant them - by that I mean, should they be spaced 10cm, 15,cm, 20cm apart? Should we plant certain vegetables next to others so that they have a better chance of growing? Are there some vegetables that can't be planted next to others?
[3] Plan the planting of one raised vegetable / flower plot - do this on paper, labeling the vegetables you have chosen.


To help you with this I have included some links to websites that give you some advice.

http://www.gardengrow.co.nz/

http://www.yates.co.nz/vegetables

http://www.tuigarden.co.nz/gardenersdiary/vegetable-gardeners-diary-october

http://www.tuigarden.co.nz/page/planting-calendar

http://www.yates.co.nz/kids-gardening

Good luck.


Challenge TWO

 - DESIGN THE BIRD PLATFORM


Wouldn't it be nice to have the sounds of birds chirping as you sit in our Rising Stars outdoor classroom reading a really interesting book?

Well, you can experience this, by taking part in this challenge.

We need you to design a simple bird platform that can be built onto the stump in the middle of our native garden.

Your task is the following:

[1] Use the internet / friends and family to gather ideas for a bird platform.

[2] Design your own  - do it on a piece of paper that you can bring to school. Make sure you label everything.

We will choose the 'favourite' design as the one we will build.


To help you with this I have included some images of designs that you might like to consider.

So there you have it.  Are you up for the challenge?