Tena Koutou Katoa

This week the Ruma Ono tamariki will be celebrating Maori Language Week.  The theme this year is Ake,ake, ake- A Forever Language.

Part of our reading for this week is increasing our kupu knowledge. Please enjoy this video with your learner as you read along!

Do you know these 50 kupu?  Hopefully, like me, you be will encouraged by how much you already know. Please leave a comment below. How did you and your learner go?

Congratulations to Elijah! He is playing a with Year 4s ( a whole year above) and he has just been awarded Player of the Year. Wow! Keep reaching for the stars Elijah.

Welcome to Term 3!

Firstly, hats off to master architect and interior designer Thomas. CHECK  this out!!! Rosette now has her own house. And what a house!!!! Thomas, let me know when you are done with school ( as in when you get to the end of year 13, not before) and I will hook you up with some timber and paint…

What have our class pets been up to?

Rosette had a lovely time with me over the holidays. She had a spa day and then helped me to remove cat dander from our house for the next 13 days. I think she is right back where she started and certainly keen on a second spa day. But who will  take her home next?

Dancing is the super power of the next person to take home Rosette.

Doggy is equally a bit dirty after 13 days of cleaning at my house. He thought he was going to have a break. But actually, Doggy loved feeling involved. He was pretty good helping Sam bring in the firewood ( he watched and encouraged ). He tried to sweep the floors with me ( he mainly just barked at the dusy bunnies…)

The learner who takes home Doggy is a bit of a pro when it comes to writing. This person has been learning about writing in paragraphs. Are you impressed? I certainly am…

Today we made darts. But, before we did this, Dean ( Zeta’s dad) told us all about planes and how they work. Dean showed us how flight is created when different forces work together.

The children and I were really fasinated by all that Dean shared with us! There were some excellent questions asked that demonstrated critical thinking skills.

So fascinated that I forgot to get a photo of Dean looking very smart  in his uniform.

This photo isn’t Dean… but an example of a pilot….

When we flew our darts, this is what we learnt. We created the thrust by thowing the darts; since our darts don’t have an engine!  There is always some resistance when things move through the air. This is called drag. The lift is created by air rushing across the top of the wing.

Just like a plane, our dart had weight. But much, much, MUCH less. About 20 Tonnes less.  I think we would have struggled with throwing planes in the hall. 🙂

We also had a dart competition. Congratulations to Jacob, Connor, Quinn and Carson who came 1st to 4th respectively.

Families, if you have a dart competition, who would win? Please give it a try and post your comments below.

Happy holidays!

We have been learning about Matariki in class this week.
We had a lot of fun making and flying kites today. Here is a photo of the whole class, running towards me while getting their kites up in the air!

How lovely that we can all spend some special time on Friday wih our families! Happy Matariki everyone.

Meanwhile  solve these mysteries…..

Rosette is actually after a really nice rest. She is looking forward to long sleeps and maybe some baking. The lucky person who is taking home ROSETTE…. is the oldest member of the class

Doggy is looking forwad to a spa treatment. Starting with the washing machine ( don’t worry, he is an amazing ubderwater swimer )  It sound like the person that he will be staying in would like a bit of a spa treatment too… This person is the tallest person in the class.

Please post your answers below.

In order to prepare ourselves for a very special time of the year, Matariki, we have been sharing waiata. You will find some of the waiata that we have been learning in your child’s poetry books. Here is a waiata that we have been learning. Please help your child to access this waiata with you.

This is an excellent opportunity for your child to SHARE with you . Our learning cycle involves: Learning new ideas; Creating learning experiences and Sharing our learning. Sometimes a learning experience starts with sharing what we already know, sometimes it may finish with sharing what we can now do.

Happy Sharing !

Drum Roll Please…. Here is our weekly ‘mysteries’ announcement.

Doggy is super excited about hanging out with someone with a really bright personality.

Rosette is going to be enjoying some time with a class member who has a digraph in their name. They have two syllables and so two vowels. They do not have these vowels in their name: e, i or u.

Parents and children, if you would like to guess our children for this coming week, please leave a comment below!

Firstly, hats off to the children.  Reading is alive and well in Room 6!

I remember wanting to see my own children embrace books and get excited about books. I vividly remember that moment when I realised that the world of books had indeed opened up for them on their terms.

So, how lucky am I to relive this moment again and again in the classroom?  It is always a crazy happy moment for me and I am privileged to have this opportunity all the time. But, behind my appreciation of your children becoming readers, there are parents and wider family who support them. Your hard work really does pay off. Thank you.

I snapped these children in book heaven…

Parents, let me know if the photo is fuzzy! Leave a comment below. Also, ask the children to mime me taking a photo. If you want a laugh, there is one for the taking!

Also craft!! Wow wee! A huge thank you to Dean, Chole and Aimee, 3  Room 6 parents who helped the children make amazing kowhaiwhai patterns. Here are a few children finishing up their creations.

So now for the Mysteries to solve…

Rosette is getting very excited because she will be having a sleep over with a very sporty family. Rosette has already decided which of the two sports she would like to try. Basically, she is keen to do the one that isn’t WET.

Doggy is head over heels to have a sleep over with one of our class members. This class member will go far in life. How can I be so sure? Here is 1 of the things that really stands out- as in, there are quite a few things that really stand out.

1. This person knows that she and everyone she meets, has an opportunity to embrace each day as a learner- some things come naturally and some areas of learning take more effort and time. This class member lives as a learner EVERY day.

We are ready for a really awesome sleepover starting sooooooon!!!! xxoo Doggy and Rosette.

Sandpit Time

The children have had some sandpit time recently. I don’t mean a real sandpit! What it means is time to explore, create and try out ideas. Here is an example. Room 6 are exploring Kowhaiwhai patterns. Their own ideas have been displayed her to inspire future learning. Watch this space!

Mysteries to Solve

The learner taking home Doggy has…….excellent ideas and loves to have conversations!

The learner taking home Rosette is an artist.

A warm congratulations to Elijah and is family. Last Sunday, Elijah had his first Holy Communion. May your faith continue to grow Elijah. May God keep you and bless you.

Do you know all the words off by heart? Can you explain why we are learning this song to your family?