Angelica's new rabbits

Last week, Angelica got home to find that she had two new pets. Bogard is the light gingery one and Alvin is the grey one. Here are some photos of them playing around and ofBogard is on Angelica's lap.

Book Week Dressup

On Friday you could come to school dressed us as your favourite book character. Tom dressed up as Harry Potter. Sadly for him I dressed up as Madam Hooch from Harry Potter so there was no escaping making him go for a broom-flying lesson as part of quiddich training. Aleisha also dressed up in a costume that was made by her grandma and a couple of people sprouted eats and whiskers and came as a mouse from Geronimo Stilton. It was lots of fun and I think a lot of people went home from school on Friday wishing that they had dressed up too!

Interesting reading locations

Kiranjeet sent some great photos of her reading in interesting places during the holidays:



Remember that the draw will be on Monday morning. E-mail me your photos or bring them in to class!

Millie's Acrostic poem

The Red Tree

Troubled, like the little girl crying in the corner
Hanging, as if nothing to say
Empty, like the young dog howling in the wind

Re-do, as if your life is upsetting
Egg shells, looking for an empty spot where the egg shells no longer crunch
Dead, as if your life s a sad, dead life

Tied, all tied in knots not knowing how to get out
Radical World, your world around you is crazy and you don't understand
Evil, your life is evil you never have good luck or pleasure
Everlasting, even though your life is everlasting there are always ting bits of pleasure to enjoy.

By Millie

Halfway though the holidays...

Hi Rm 22,
I hope that you are all having safe and enjoyable holidays. What interesting things have you got up to? I am hoping that some of you are making some time to keep up the excellent writing that was happening in class last term!
I had a great time in Auckland getting to feel a part of the Rugby World Cup fever and spent the weekend in Akaroa where I bumped into Kobe and his family:-) Tomorrow I head away to the beach for 7 days. I hope that like me, you are all enjoying getting to read lots of books. Remember to take a photo of you reading a book in an interesting place for our prize draw on the first day back.
I'm looking forward to the rugby semi-final tonight (although I'm feeling a bit nervous too!). Maybe some of you will be allowed to stay up late to watch this game.
Go the All Blacks and see you all back at school in a week and a bit.
Ms Watson

Happy Holidays!

Thank you for a great term Room 22.
It has been an eventful term with the snow storm, tennis coaching, basketball coaching, turbo touch, Early Canterbury, athletics, cycle safety (and that is only listing some of the great things we have done as a class).
I hope that you all have a great holiday and get up to lots of exciting things, whether you stay in Christchurch or go away on holiday. If you are in Christchurch make sure you check out some of the free holiday activities around the city including visiting the museum.
Please also e-mail me anything interesting that you would like to share with the class during the break. Some of you are in the middle of some wonderful writing at the moment and I would love to think that you might continue working on this over the holiday.
Also, remember our competition for a photo of you reading in an interesting place. I will try and take one too! E-mail me anything at: bethwatson25@gmail.com I won't always have internet during the holidays (especially the second week when I will be in Golden Bay with no phone or internet) but I will upload things as soon as I can.
Finally, we wish Thomas and his family all the best for their move to Nelson. We will miss Thomas and his incredible running ability and all the interesting facts and ideas that he shared with us.
See you all next term. Stay safe and look after your families.
Ms Watson

A-Z Early Canterbury

A-rrive
B-oat
C-rying
D-eath
E-inglend
F-lat
G-irl
H-illy
I-ll
J-oy
K-illd
L-ucky
M-uddy
N-ew
O-pportunities
P-loshin
Q-ueen
R-ives
S-ad
T-ransport
U-p set
V-ery swamp
W-avey
E/X-cited
''Y-HA
Z-oos yet to come

It must be almost time for the holidays...

I think I have told you all before that I know that it must be time for the school holidays when the pile of books beside my bed gets huge. Well right now, the pile of books is so big I am afraid that I might get attacked by them all in the night. The books demanding that I make time to read them before they hold me captive and don't let me leave my room until I have read them!
Do you have any books that you are looking forward to reading in the holidays? It would be great if over the holidays you used the blog to share book recommendations with each other. I am reading 'Hugo Cabret' at the moment and if someone is very lucky I might lend it to them over the holidays to read. BUT you will have to be someone who can promise me that you will take very good care of the book.
Ms Watson

Reminders

Remember that you need to bring your bike, helmet and bike lock this THURSDAY and FRIDAY for cycle safety if you are participating.

Next week you need to bring a bowl and spoon on Tuesday for Ms Mumm's surprise!!

How the Canterbury Landscape Affected the Early Settlers

In class we had to think about what the natural environment was like when the early settlers arrived in Canterbury. We then had to think about the impact of different features of the environment on the people. Here are some of my thoughts:

Rivers
+.V.E= water for drinking, washing etc.
+.V.E= transport
-.V.E= pollution
-.V.E= could drown
-.V.E= flooding

Rocks
+.V.E= Help build shops
+.V.E.= Help make roads (use as gravel)
-.V.E.= Turnes into boulders
-.V.E.= could fall off the hills and damage things

Animals
+.v.e.=for food
+.V.E.=wool
-V.E.=could run away
-V.E.=be a pest

BBC Language Website

This is a great kids website that you can use for your French, Spanish and Mandarin (Chinese).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primarylanguages/

Happiness

Today we had a very interesting discussion about happiness. We explored/discussed some of the following questions and statements:
- what is happiness?
- is happiness the most important thing in life?
- is it good to be happy all the time?
- is it ok to sometimes be unhappy?
- where does happiness come from?
- do we need other people to be happy?
- what does it mean to say that "happiness is a gift"?
- can other people make you happy?
- are animals happier than people?

Here is an interesting article about which countries are the happiest in the world:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10656485

- What do you think about the ways they measured happiness?
- If you were doing a survey on happiness, what factors would you consider in peoples lives?
- Is being a happy country a good thing?
- What would you suggest to John Key if he asked you what to do to make NZ a happier country?


Above is a quote by Thoreau, a famous American writer.
- What do you think he means by this description of happiness?

I would love you to share some of your thoughts with the class. You might like to include some of these questions as part of your home learning.

Millie's haiku poems

Sitting In The Clouds

Sitting in the clouds
wishing this would never last
but tine to go home



Splashing Waterfall

Splashing waterfall
down down down like drops of rain
into my sandwhich


by millie

Mum and I

Rueben is part of Miss Tuxford's extension writers. This is his piece of writing for contemporary fiction that he has worked on at home:

We lived in one of the biggest cities in New Zealand. It was just Mum and me. Having just a Mum was nice because she read books to me with great expression like when she read 'Heidi' to me, I could imagine everything throughout the story like I could imagine the wind blowing through the fir trees and Peter pushing down the wheelchair and smashing to a hundred pieces. She also taught me how to cook and bake. Once when I tried making a fruit smoothie I accidentally added too many mangoes and then it exploded everywhere like someone put a bomb in the blender and lit it! It covered everything and everyone. Mum was furious! She shouted at me but smoothie got in her mouth and she accidentally swallowed. "Yum!" she said. "But now I'm gonna teach you how to clean." She handed me a mop and a bucket and said, "First you move your mop forwards. Then you move your mop back." After one hour of torture I finally finished the floor. "Okay, now the walls." said Mum. It took forever but I finally finished everything. "There. Now you know how to clean." Mum said.

But there were some problems about just having a mum. In winter I decided I'd play soccer. My first game was terrible. We lost 1-10. So Mum and I practised in the backyard. Mum tried her hardest but landed on her bum a few times. Or like when I needed to go to the bathroom in a mall I have to go into the ladies' room because Mum is too scared for me to go into the men's room because she thinks a boogie monster's going to eat me. Or when my bike needed a new chain my Mum went down to the shop and got one but when she tried to put it on it got all tangled and it still wasn't attached to the bike!

Which was when I started to wonder about having a Dad. With a Dad I could practise sports, watch sports, plant things in the garden with him, build things or walk to school with him. When I went to my friend Phil's house I played with his Dad on the tramp and the Nintendo Wii and I really enjoyed myself but it made me even sadder because I didn't have a dad to go home to. So I got sadder and sadder about not having a dad. As I got older I kept drawing what my dad could look like. One of my pictures was the best. My picture had green eyes, black hair, nice clothes, light skin, grey pants and grey shoes. Anyway, at Scouts (which is a group for boys) I started crying during a movie which was about a boy and his dad going off on an adventure to find treasure. The leaders asked me, "What's the matter?" I answered, "This movie is too sad. I don't have a dad." They answered back, "We'll stop the movie." After they stopped the movie everyone shouted "Boo!" except for me. I game the leaders a thumbs up quickly. At the end, the leaders told Mum about the movie and on the way home she asked me what was going on. I answered, "I'll tell you at home."
"Okay" she said.

At home Mum told me to sit down at the table with her. Then she asked me what was going on. I told her what happened from the beginning to end. Once I told my story, she gave me answers to the questions I had. I found out his name was George and his last name was Smith. She wasn't married to him, he ran away when he found out I was in Mum's stomach. She also told me that I definitely was not adopted and I was hers. But I had a newer question that she couldn't answer. That was, "Why did George leave me?" I asked if we could find him but Mum said, "If you really want to look for him, I'll help you through it, but you need some time to process the information inside your brain so when you think you're ready, come and talk to me again. Oh, and don't forget you can always share your wonderings and questions with me."

I was OK with that and she kept her word and always helped me whenever I had problems. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll ask Mum again about finding him. But for now, I'm happy with just Mum and me.

By Reuben

Seeds

Today Tom and LJ planted the first veges in our class vege garden. It is a selection of cauliflower, spinach, lettuce and brussel sprouts. We now need to work out what else we would like to plant in our garden. I was having a chat with Liam Joseph's dad after school and he thinks that we can probably start planting carrots, radishes and broad beans. In a few weeks we could probably also think about planting some peas or beans (and creating some stakes for them to grow up). It is your garden, so feel free to bring in any seeds or seedlings that you have at home. I might head out in the weekend and buy some seedlings/seeds too.
We will also need to think about drawing up a plan for our garden so that we know what we have planted where. We also will need to create some labels that we can put in the garden for each row of plants.
I think this will be a really exiting project to have as a class and I know that a lot of you have gardens at home so you will be able to share all of this knowledge and experience with the class.
I hope that your Friday goes well. See you all on Monday,
Ms Watson

limericks

In Room 22 we have been making limericks. this involves five lines on an AABBA repetition. this means that the first two lines rhyme, then the second two lines rhyme, then the last line rhymes with the first two lines.

Big Bob
There once was a man named Bob,
who really was a fat snob.
And whenever he sang,
everyone ran,
so he went in the corner and sobbed.

Canoe man
There once was a man from Peru,
who decided to make a canoe.
But he got a big fright,
to see such sight,
that he forgot to use waterproof glue!

swordsmith
there once was a man who was bored
who decided to make a sword
but he didn't have stone
so he had to use bone
and he got no thanks from the lord.

By Liam Johnson

poo man
there once was a man at the zoo
who sat in a pile of poo
he had a great laugh
but he was not so daft
when he found out the poo was new!

bats and hats
there once was a man with a hat
who also owned a great bat
but he found that the bat was atracted to the hat
in a most frightful manner to!

by jackson seemann

Posh Josh
There once was a man called Josh
he was incredibly posh
he ate a bee
fell from a tree
and exclaimed oh my gooly gosh

By Chevy Hira

Lame Jame
There once was a guy called Jame
he had a sty what a shame
he had 10 cents
and no pence
and that's what made him so lame

by Kobe Mallon-Marsh

Everything is Possible (New Version)

Here is the link to the clip we watched the other day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CVMqTPlYZ8
Do you have a skill that you think is pretty impressive that you would like to share with the class? Or is there something that you have always wanted to learn to do? Now might be the chance.

Griddle/Girdle Scones

Great baking today team. Now you have an idea of the kinds of things that people would have eaten and cooked in Early Canterbury Times. The griddle was what they would cook the scones on. In Scotland they called it a 'girdle' so that is why they are often called girdle scones.
Here is the recipe for Griddle/Girdle Scones

1 Cup Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon butter
approx 1/2 cup milk.

Mix dry ingredients.
Add butter and mix through until it is like breadcrumbs.
Add milk until it is a soft dough.
Spread out onto a floured board and a circle shape.
Cook in a greased pan.
Turn over.
Serve warm with butter and jam :-)

Roald Dahl Website

Danielle has just messaged me to recommend the Roald Dahl website. You can find it at: http://www.roalddahl.com/
There are all sorts of things to explore on it including tips for writing, outlines of his books, cool facts and even a teacher section. I took the test 'Are you a Miss Honey or a Miss Trunchbull?' - lucky Rm 22 - I am a Miss Honey:-D
This is his recommendation for writing:
"As you write your own stories, I would keep three things in mind:1. Don't ever bore your reader.2. Don't worry if you don't have the whole story worked out in your head before you start. The story will grow as you write if you use your imagination.3. Give yourself enough time to write. Work on your story at home. Lie in bed and think about how your story could develop. Good ideas are very hard to come by. I couldn't write anything worth reading in an hour or class period." ROALD DAHL
There is an activity on invented words that you might like to do as part of your home learning:

Containers for making butter - Tuesday

Hi Room 22,
I hope that you are enjoying the start of your weekend. It was great to watch the All Blacks win last night - it was hard to keep track of all the tries that they scored!

I am in the middle of marking your Home Learning and I am very impressed with the effort that some people have put into it. Mathew drew two excellent cartoon strips as a way of showing he understood his spelling words and Misty and Natasha both produced excellent booklets on the English and French rugby teams! I know that some of you are going to hand in your Home Learning on Monday so I look forward to more excellent work then:-)

I just wanted to remind you that you will need a container to make butter in for Tuesday - it might be a small cream bottle or a 1L milk bottle or a jam or sauce jar - just something that is not too big and is easy to shake (for quite a long period of time!). If any of you have an electric frying pan that we could use on Tuesday that would also be very helpful (I have one and I am going to see whether Ms Mumm has one that she can bring too).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and be ready for a book-club style sharing time next week - you will need to be able to talk about one of the books that you are reading at the moment and why you are enjoying it (I will be telling you about the Hunger Games series that I am LOVING at the moment!).

I have encountered a couple of 'alot's in the home learing I have marked!!!! And another cartoon about its vs it's - because I have noticed this mistake too! And another one about their/they're/there - there seem to have been a few confusions about this one too!





See you Monday,

Ms Watson

Horrible Histories Website

I know that most of you enjoyed the Horrible Histories video clips and stories that I read today in class.
Here is a link to their website which has all sorts of cool things to explore:
http://horrible-histories.co.uk/

You can also go on yourtube and search 'Horrible Histories' there are literally 100s of clips for you to explore. Here is the plague song to get you started:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KHlIWpyJrQ

Wahine Disaster

While most of the class were at choir this morning the rest of the class had a chat about the Titanic. This then led me to ask the class if they knew about the Wahine Disaster. The Wahine was an inter-island ferry that travelled from Christchurch to Wellington.

According to Te Ara:
'On the morning of 10 April 1968 a tropical cyclone sweeping south met a southerly front, producing freak winds of up to 125 knots around Cook Strait. The Christchurch–Wellington ferry Wahine was driven onto Barrett Reef, at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.

Its starboard propeller was knocked off in collision with the reef, and its port engine was out of action. The 8,948-ton vessel drifted into the harbour before leaning to starboard. Because of the heavy list, only four of the eight lifeboats could be launched, and most of the inflatable life rafts flipped in the savage seas.

The Wahine finally capsized at 2.30 p.m. Most deaths occurred on the Eastbourne side of the harbour, where people were driven against sharp rocks by the waves. Of the 734 passengers and crew, 51 died.'

Here are a couple of youtube videos that you can watch to find out more information:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlcA1dQWw14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9l4MjqplpQ&feature=related

Imagine....

One of our Early Canterbury activities was to imagine how we would feel if we got home from school and found someone at our house who said that they now owned our house and the land. Here is my reflection on this scenario:

Last night I started to cry. Why? Because same people told us it was their land. I had lots of old memories of our home like...How it kept me safe in the EARTHQUAKE! To keep me safe and warm in bed. I was very angry at them so I tried ringing the police but they were the police! They had to kill us so that they had food! So that was the end of the Kingbury family.

Whitesmith

Today we learnt what a whitesmith is as part of our Early Canterbury research. Mr Joseph Free worked as a whitesmith when he arrived in Christchurch. Here is a definition of what a whitesmith is:
A whitesmith is a person who works with "white" or light-colored metals such as tin and pewter. While blacksmiths work mostly with hot metal, whitesmiths do the majority of their work on cold metal (although they might use a forge to shape their raw materials).

Alot Blog

Here is the link to the Alot blog post that we looked at this morning: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

Incredible Photos taken by Miscroscopes

Have you ever wondered what things would look like if you could see them up really close? Check out this collection of incredible photos taken by a high zoom electron microscope: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/8677290/Scanning-electron-microscope-images-reveal-hidden-horror-and-beauty.html
Which is your favourite image or the most interesting or surprising image and why?

Astronomy Photography of the Year

The 2011 Astronomy Photographer of the Year awards have taken place. Click on the link to view the spectacular photos that were submitted for the finalists:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/8750367/The-2011-Astronomy-Photographer-of-the-Year-competition-winners.html

Ski Trip

On Monday 45 students from Team Pohutukawa went on an all day ski trip to Porter Heights. This was a prize for winning an outdoor art competition. It was a long ride there and back. Two hours to be exact! When we were going up the steep mountain it looked as if we were going off the edge of the road! Finally we got there. The bus was emptied out and we were all pumped up with adrenaline. We got our gear and were off! Our lessons started straight away. Once they were finished we could ski freely which we all enjoyed. We had an absolutely awesome time and I will certainly miss the slopes and hope to go back next winter. We would like to thank the parents who came with us. It was sure great to have them help carry our gear and pick us up when we fell. Skiing was a fantastic experience for everyone who went.
Maddie Flynn, Rm 22

Disco and Rugby World Cup:-)

Hi Room 22,
Great to see lots of you at the disco tonight. Reuben, I'm sorry that I didn't get to dance with you before I had to leave. I suddenly realised I had lost track of time and had to rocket out of the hall!
I am now enjoying watching the first game of the RWC - it's great to know that we have so much rugby and celebration to look forward to over the next few weeks.
Enjoy your weekends - I am excited to be heading away tramping in the morning to the Mt Somers area.
See some of you at 7.20am Monday at Strathfield Ave - remember to pack warm clothes, a waterproof layer if possible, sun screen, water, food and a smile:-)
Ms Watson

New Books!!

This evening I went to a course about picture books and how to use them in the classroom, no matter what age you teach. It was a great course and there were so many wonderful books and ideas shared.
SO.........
I have just been online and ordered some so that I will be able to share some of the great stories with you. Some we will be able to use in word study, some for writing, and some may be special ones that we will have as our serial story in class, or if you are very lucky, I might loan for you to take home.
WATCH THIS SPACE:-D

HOME LEARNING

Yesterday you should have all glued in the new sheet into your Home Learning book. BUT if you find that you get home and you don't have your copy, click on the 'Home Learning' tab at the top of the blog and you will find a copy of it there. Click on the sheet and it will enlarge in a new screen so you can read it.
Home Learning is due Friday 16 September.
It is my job to make the next Home Learning sheet so let me know if you have any ideas for activities to put on it.
Ms Watson

Introduction to Poetry - Billy Collins

This is one of my favourite poems about 'analysing' or trying to 'understand' poetry. It is by an American poet called Billy Collins. Have a read of it and let me know what you think:

Introduction to Poetry
Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

I Remember - Millie

Sharing things...

Hi Room 22,
Thank you for sharing your germs with me. You are all so generous that I seem to have caught one of your colds. So I am spending the day with my new friends Tissue Box and Hot Lemon Drink.
There is however something that some of you do need to share with me. I still need I Remember or Colour poems from:
Nimoe
Bhumik
Mitchell
Chevy
Kobe
I know that some of you might have typed it up on one of the computers in the class, in which case I will just need to transfer it onto my pen-drive when I get back to school. But, if you haven't done this, then you need to hand publish or type up and e-mail to me: bethwatson25@gmail.com or bwatson@banksave.school.nz

I hope that you have had a good day with the reliever, I will hopefully see you in the morning.

Ms Watson

Orange - Alex's Poem

I Remember - Natasha

I Remember - Niko

I remember how he treated us
like air polluted, hurt.
When I was dead,
not there,
just gone away.

I remember smiles,
now just sad,
there's no hope,
or maybe just some...

But now we're sleeping.

I remember the world
with love, friends,
and hope.
We're sleeping in that world,
dream world.

There is hope but not much.

It's nearly time!

Time to FIGHT BACK!

My Clever T-Shirt for Friday

I know that I forgot to wear an interesting t-shirt today because of school photos. So here is one for you....

It's a Ferrous Wheel - ha ha
Why is this funny?
Well the symbols in this wheel are the symbols for 'ferrous' - a compound containing iron
BUT
it sounds like and looks like a Ferris Wheel which is what you would find at a fair or themepark.

So very clever and funny:-)

'I Remember' Poem - Millie

Helpful Spanish website...

I know that some of the SRL students in our class are leaning some Spanish.
Millie has said that this website has been useful when she has been learning with Kiranjeet and Angelica:
http://www.spanishdict.com/flashcards

Estudio feliz! Buena suerte!
Ms Watson

Colour Poems

Green

Wavy grass swaying

Alignment of alligators

Uniform in the light

Dream being drowned

lean beef losing his juice

mean bully punching me

juicy green apple

runny mint sauce

fizzy lime drink

gliding in the wind

growing from the ground

seaweed swaying in the sea

soothing the patient

climbing the tree

Sign of Spring

Red

blood running down the leg

fire-engines flying through the streets

juice of a strawberry running down my cheek

sirens wailing in my ear

Robin squarking at nothingness

fire crackling in the house

chewy fruit bursts

spicy hot chilli

medicine in the jar

heat from the fire

smooth tomato sauce

the cover of my book

burns your face

makes you fall in love

sight of the end

French Website

I know that some of the SRL students are learning French as an extra activity.
Here is a really good website that you could use at home to practise your french. It has activities and games to help you learn your vocab.
http://www.digitaldialects.com/French.ht

This BBC website is also helpful. You can choose from a selection of languages and each site has tutorials, videos, games, lessons, worksheets etc. to guide you through learning the language:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

Home Learning This Week

Well done to the people who did an excellent job on their last home learning tasks. Some people in the class need to start taking responsibility for their learning outside of class. Home leaning is not an option, it is a compulsory part of Team Pohutukawa's programme.

There is no home learning this week, apart from your spelling sentences, reading and maths basic facts work.

Instead you might like to try a science experiment (see howtoon.com), produce a piece of creative writing or explore a question you have always wanted to know the answer to. Maybe you would like to help someone at home make dinner, or do a kind deed for a friend or neighbour.

The next home learning sheet will go out on Monday (5 September).

Sailing - Misty's Early Canterbury Poem

Misty wrote a great poem about the journey out to New Zealand. I like the way she thought of some excellent adjectives to describe the setting.

Sailing

My cabin is dusty.
My cabin is crowded.
I see dolphins and fish,
swimming around.
Up the ladders the sailors go.
Hanging the sails, off we go!

The wind howls all night.
Thunder and lightening gives me a fright!
I feel blue.
What can I do?

"LAND HO!"

Early Canterbury Haiku Poem - Mathew

Mathew wrote this poem as part of his home learning. I really liked the way he thought about what the boat experience would have been like and reflected on it in his poem.

Horrible at sea.
I hated people dying.
It was terrible.

At least we had food.
Where we slept was really bad.
Not enough doctors.

When we got to land.
I thought it would be better.
But it was swampy.

Science Fun

I have just come across a great website called: Howtoons (http://www.howtoons.com/)
Here are some great science experiments I have found that you could try as part of your home learning:

Cosmic Cooker





Light Puppets


Robo Fingers


Fizzy Drink Bottle Submarine

Weekend Weather:-)

Hi Room 22,

I hope that you are having a good weekend. Today felt like summertime so I made sure that I spent lots of time outside soaking up as much Vitamin D as I could. (Did you know that your body needs UVB rays from sunlight in order to make Vitamin D?)

I have marked your home learning. Well done to: Thomas, Kiranjeet, Natasha, Danielle, Angelica and Isabella who are all in the star draws for Monday. I know that some of you are planning on bringing your homework in on Monday which is fine. Just remember that you need to include 1) spelling sentences, 2) reading log, 3) maths work, 4) at least ONE 'Can Do' activity.

For your next two weeks of homework, some of you might like to do some science experiments. If you do this you will need to write it up including 1) instructions of what you did 2) a hypothesis or prediction about what you think will happen 3) your results (what did happen?) and 4) an explanation (why you think this happened).

Here is a website you might like to use to find an experiment:
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/experiments.html



Have a great weekend. GO THE ALL BLACKS tonight!! See you on Monday (and remember to bring your recorders)!

Ms Watson

Ways of looking poems - Isabella

The snow that covers
my garden
looks like
a cold smooth blanket
cooling it for springtime.

My messy bed
in the morning
looks like
a rubbish bin
that needs sorting out.

The stars in
the night sky
look like
dots of yellow sparks
glowing on me.

My mum's cooking
on my plate
looks like
mountains and trees
waiting for me to crunch up.

Ways of Seeing Poems - Mitchell

The snow that
covers our garden
looks like
the garden has fallen asleep
with a blanket.

The tree branches
bare of leaves
look like
a perfect back scratcher
for a monster.

My messy bed
in the morning
looks like
a deep dark cave
with moss on the wall.

The stars
in the night sky
look like
bats eyes in a cave
looking at you.

Ways of Seeing Poems - Mathew

The snow that
covers our garden
looks like
the garden has fallen asleep
in a blanket.

My mum's cooking
on my plate
looks like
a monster has vomited
on my plate.

My messy bed
in the morning
looks like
a deep dark cave
that has monsters.

The eggs on my plate
that mum cooked
look like
my dad's mad,
crazy eyes.

Ways of Looking Poems - Thomas

The snow that

covers my garden

looks like

a warm bed

waiting for me.

My messy bed

in the morning

looks like

the very

wavy sea.

The stars in the

sky at night

looks like

the billions of the threads

in the carpet.

My mum's cooking

on my plate

looks like

some scribbly

art.

The pile of my clothes and other observations

The pile of

my clothes

looks like

Monsters in

the dark

The eggs on

my plate

look like

eyes in

the cave

The fireworks

in the sky

look like

the Northern lights

in Antarctica

The branches

bare of leaves

look like

A fireplace

waiting to be lit

By Tom

Shadow Promotes the PTA Calendars

This afternoon Shadow came to visit Rm 22. He decided that he liked the idea of PTA calendars so much that he chose to snuggle up on them:-) Here are some photos. Remember to see if your family or friends would like to purchase a calendar. Our underwater artwork is up in the class.

If I were a slug...

If I were a slug

I would jump in a mug

and sit down and sleep all day.

Then I'll go to the shop

and an apple I'll pay.

I'll climb on a wall

and jump off and fall

and land in a small white mug.

By Niko

A few reminders...

Hi Rm 22.
Well done for another great day.

Here are a few reminders for this week:
Thursday
WINTER TOURNAMENT - the buses leave at 8:50am so you need to be at school by 8:40 and ready with all your gear. Invite your families to come and support you at Hagley Park!
CROSS STITCH - we are going to start our cross stitch on Thursday from 2:00-3:00. If you have any family members who would be happy to come down and help, that would be great. Just let me know:-)

Friday
HOME LEARNING - this is due on Friday and includes your spelling sentences, maths, reading and at least two 'Can Do' activities. To be in the Star Draw this week, you must complete these tasks.

Other
3-WAY CONFERENCES - your goal sheets need to be returned to me by WEDNESDAY (tomorrow). Also, make sure that your families have booked a 3-way conference with me. If they need to book another time they can call or e-mail me.
VISITING PRODUCTION - remember to hand in your $2 and permission slip for the production that is visiting to perform on Monday 5th September.
RECORDERS - make sure you have these with you each day, especially on Monday for Ms Savage.
RECIPES - if you have any recipes you would like to share with the class, bring them in and you or I can add them to the blog:-)

See you in the morning. I have just made myself some choco-hoto-pots for dessert before I get underway with a big pile of school work!

Ms Watson

Alliteration Poems

We have been writing alliteration poems in class. Each line needed to have: 2 adjectives, 1 noun and one verb which started with the same letter of the alphabet.

Here is Aleisha's poem - 'At the Zoo'

An annoying, acrobatic antelope acting.

A big, bouncy baboon bouncing.

A cute, camouflaged camel counting.

A dumb, delighted deer dancing.

An energetic, excited eagle eating.

A flying, funny flamingo flapping.

A great, gymnastic goat growling.

A happy,hilarious hippopotamus howling.

A irritating,intersting iguana icing igloos.

A jealous,joyful jagur juggling.

A kind,keen kangaroo knitting.

A little,lonley lion liying.

A marvellous,miserable monkey memorizing.

A nasty,nameless newt naging.

A occupied,oval octopus opening oranges.

A puney,perfect platypus playing.

A quzzical,quite quzar quacking.

A ripe, resting rabbit racing.

A strong, slimy snake sliding.

A tall, tough tigger telling tales.

An upset, useless unicorn umpiring.

A violent, violet vulture vaulting.

A white, wonkey whale walking.

An excellent, experienced xylophone x-raying.

A yakking, yellow yacht welling.

A zippy, zig-zagged zebra zapping.

Scintillating Sentences

In room 22 we've been learning to make sentences more interesting. First we got a sentence like 'Mum drove the car' and asked ourselves 'how could we get this more interesting?' and kept changing the sentence until we got to 'Mum raced the 4 wheel drive way faster than the speed limit which was 50 because she was 30 minutes late for work.'

Here is another example:

I went to bed.

I jumped into bed.

I leaped into bed.

I leaped into my nice, cozy warm bed.

I leaped into my nice warm cozy feather bed because I was tired.

I leaped into my nice warm cozy feather bed because I was too tired to do anything else.

New species of eel linked to first eels 200m years ago!

A new species of eel found in the gloom of an undersea cave which is a 'living fossil' astonishingly similar to the first eels that swam 200m years ago, biologists reported. The strange find was made last year in a 35-metre- (113-feet) deep fringing-reef cave off an island in the Western Pacific state of Palau.

Check out other interesting photos and discoveries at this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2011/aug/19/week-in-wildlif-in-pictures#/?picture=378069840&index=0

Millie's Information Report

Here is Millie's information report on Cleopatra. She has used very clear sub-headings to divide up the main parts of her life.

Thinking tools and the universe

Hi Room 22,
I hope that you had a good afternoon with Ms Savage. I am looking forward to hearing (literally) how the recorder is going.
I learnt some excellent new thinking tools at my course this afternoon so we will be trying these out in class in the next few days (a bit like we tried out PPMI last week).
Also, have a read of this article. It was interesting to learn about the way galaxies are running out of gas and how this impacts on stars.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/5486519/Stars-fade-as-universe-runs-out-of-gas

Maddie's Information Report

Here is Maddie's information report on Ancient Egypt. She has an impressive amount of information included in the report and it is well organised into sub-sections. I also really liked the way she wrote it in a style which really drew the reader in.

Tom's Information Report

Here is Tom's report on Ancient Greece. I like the way he used sub-headings to organise the different sections of his report.