Monthly Archive for March, 2011

Term 1 in Mahoe

Published on March 15, 2011 in Mahoe - rm 7 - Gillian Menaker. 0 Comments

Wow, what a busy term so far!  I’ve lost track of the number of trips we’ve been on already (and we’re not done yet!), but they have all been fantastic.  Below are some photos from the recent day at the beach.  We had so much fun.

 

We also had a good day when we went for a walk around the city, looking at, and learning about famous landmarks in our great city.  The rest of term one will be spent learning more about some of these landmarks, in preperation for doing a short presentation to the class about our favourite one.

Mahoe has a new environmental responsibility this year.  Under the guidance of Dave the Caretaker, we will be learning all about air, and how we can look after it and share our knowledge about it with the other classes.  In an upcoming assembly, we will share what we have learnt so far.  Here are some photos of our first experiments with Dave…

 

We had to lie down and concentrate on what we could see, hear and feel.

Then Dave dropped two objects: a light piece of polystyrene and a heavy brick.  We had to predict how they would fall.

 

We learnt that the wind could blow the piece of polystyrene, and that we could predict which way, but that the brick was too heavy.   I wonder what we will learn next???

I enjoyed meeting all of the Mahoe parents last week in our interviews, and sharing how well they are all doing.  Feel free to pop in at any time over the next 3 weeks for a catch up or chat.

Adele Murray

KIA ORA FROM TI KOUKA 2011

Published on March 8, 2011 in Ti Kouka - rm 6 - Monica Mercury and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

2011 has arrived and I was  very excited to meet my new class after the Christmas school holidays.  There are 31 children in the class this year and they are a fantastic bunch of people.  They are friendly, fun-loving and hard-working too!  We have been very busy with the class sitting lots of tests to see where they are at with their knowledge and skills in various areas.  We have played lots of fun games and we have also done lots of interesting activities, stories and artwork. 

I have a Class Release Day every Thursday to catch up on some other duties, so Ti Kouka have the pleasure of being taught by our very own Jos Abernethy, who is an integral part of our wonderful school.  Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about anything at all. 

Keep smiling – Monica Mercury

2011 – The New Ngaio

Published on March 2, 2011 in Ngaio - rm 8 - Peter Holmstead and Uncategorized. 28 Comments

It’s been a busy start to the year, with Experiencing Marine Reserves underway on the first day – measuring the whole class for wetsuit sizes. Then off to the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre for snorkel training in Week 2. The snorkeling was the easy part. Getting into the wetsuits was the most difficult. 7mm neoprene keeps you warm, but has the stretch of a tractor tyre – just ask the parent helpers how their hands were afterwards.

Getting suited at the pool

Posing for the camera

             

Two Mermaids???

                                                                                                                                                    So then it was off to Island Bay. Meeting at the Surf Club, we split into three groups. One to snorkel in the bay beside the Marine Education Centre, another to learn about environmental impacts, and the third to do a beach cleanup.                                                                                      

Taking the plunge...

                                                                                                                                             We saw lots of sea life – banded wrasse, spotties, paua, wandering anemones, kina, kahawai, starfish, brittle stars and much more. Plus, there were lots of different jellyfish. Some safe and some not!

Two Paua

  

The transect line - 5m deep

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Although the water wasn’t super-clear,we still saw plenty.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Drifting around and checking it all out

 

A brittle star plucked from the depths

                                                                       

Then it was over to the Marine Education Centre for some hands-on stuff. Holding sea slugs and hermit crabs was ok for some, but others preferred to just watch. The octopus feeding was interesting – how does it do that through-the-hole trick?

Finally, hot chips at the Surf Club before going back to school for a rest. An exhausting day.

Welcome Back to 2011!!!

Published on March 1, 2011 in Nikau - rm 3 - Liz McLean and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Nikau has begun the year with a great positive attitude and heaps of enthusiasm. I am really enjoying getting to know the children and am learning new things about them each day.

 

We have begun the year looking at developing new friendships and good communication skills. We have really focused on being an active listener. We have looked at different types of listening –the children found great amusement when I demonstrated ‘busy’ listening and ‘me too’ listening.

 

We have also started looking at our class environmental responsibility which is the school veggie garden. This is situated down behind sandpit and at present has beans, carrots, spuds and beetroot in it. Our caretaker Dave has just built us a new garden which we will be filling with dirt, compost and mulch in readiness for future planting.

 

Later in the term we are going to study landmarks of Wellington with a trip into the city to have a look at some and learn about their history. Look out for some photos in a few weeks time.

 

The children have really got into practising for the cross country-they are enjoying running through the rain forest and around the field. The school cross country is on Tuesday 8 March at 9.30am.

 

The children have been busy last week making a poster of their name as well as a timeline of their days. We have also put up images of ourselves that we made by cutting up photos and sticking them back together to make them look like they are woven. These are now up in the classroom so do come in for a look.