Don't Give Up

Click on the below link to watch Room 3 and 4 sing Don't Give Up!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-3Izoa2QsFATC1rbDUycGlsQVk 

The Spring has Sprung!

"Makey Makey" some Music

With the world changing so quickly, it is hard to tell what skills will be needed when our children choose careers.  What we do know though is that a sense of curiosity, an ability to problem solve and a good dose of creativity will more than likely become even more important in the future.

Today in Room 5 we experimented with a "Makey Makey" kit.  This kit is based on the science of circuits and allows for children (big and small) to become inventors and turn simple things into really cool inventions.  Lemons, some wires with alligator clips, a laptop and our makey makey controller became a real live piano!

The children in Room 5 were wide eyed and totally engaged.  Lots of great discussion about how it all worked, and what our next invention may be - we are thinking an interactive dance mat / piano! Can't wait to write about our inventions.  Love your work Room 5.  Keep it up.

Check out the quick video made by Riley.

Term Two In Room Six

Check out what Room Six has been up to in Term Two!

Term 2 Highlights

Kia Ora everyone.

Term 2 was so busy we didn't have a chance to update the blog very often!  There was so much for the children to get involved in:  gymnastics, Scooter Day, Matariki celebrations, watching an umu being prepared and hockey skills... and that's before we think about what we got up into in the classroom!

Above, you will see a couple of snaps and a video of just a few of the things that enriched our children's learning.  Term 3 promises to provide even more opportunity to try new things!

Tena Koutou

Room 5 Teachers

Who said maths has to be boring?

Paddock to Plate

From the Patumahoe vegetable garden and fruit orchard to our plates....mmm!

We cannot thank our wonderful volunteers enough!  Without you, this exceptional programme would not exist at our school.  

There were many misconceptions about where food comes from.  This created the opportunity for rich discussions about the world around us.

We discussed waste, sustainability and recycling and the importance of all three.

We discussed food...a lot! 

Where do fruits and vegetables come from?

Where do breads, muesli bars and rice come from?

Most importantly and to no surprise, where does chocolate and ice-cream come from?!

We learned how to care for our garden, how to compost, how to feed our plants, how to prepare meals from food in our garden and much more.  

Check out Room 5 having a blast!

Camp at Patumahoe School

The sound of tents being assembled filled the air.  Dome tents, pyramid tents, vintage tents, princess tents, you name it we had them all!

An adventure to the waterfall was next on the cards, spotting the native birds and trees along the  way.  Our weary legs then carried us home for songs by the campfire and roasted marshmallows.  Next we were off to play hide and seek in the bush.  What a day!

Before...

After...

only the remnants of the bonfire remain.

Fun Friday!

                                       

Friday's are known as Fun Fridays in Room 5!

 Maths involved creating tally charts and turning this information into a bar graph.  It's so much more fun when you are counting m&ms!

Once we'd made a splash in the pool it was time for "FabLab".  FabLab is a time where Room 5 are given hands-on challenges to complete in small groups.  This one was to make a tower using only the materials given.  Activities like these are a great way for children to realise that things don't always go to plan... and when this happens, we have to think about how we can adapt our plans to make it better, or more appropriate.  Tonnes of fun, and a heap of learning!  Watch out world, I think Room 5 will have some amazing engineers in a few years!

Old flag or new flag?

New Zealand is about to make a very important decision!

 Rm 5 has been discussing this and we decided that making a decision involves having a choice.

The choice we have is to decide which flag we want to represent our country. 

The old one or the new one (both can be seen from our classroom windows).

We discussed what a flag is, why they are important and what they stand for.  We talked about whether we care about having a new flag.  The  answer was YES!!  Then we finally took a vote.

Rm 5's Results