Level 4 Swimming Assessment

After weeks of training, today was the big day - the day of our swimming assessment.  We travelled to the Makino Pool in Feilding and were tested on the following:

• 100m freestyle
• 100m backstroke
• 50m breaststroke
• 50m sidestroke
• 200m non-stop (any stroke)
• 50m fully clothed (this was interesting!)
• tread water for 3 minutes
• float on back for 3 minutes
• diving

Congratulations Room 6!  You can be really proud of your efforts, we know it was exhausting!  Hopefully you'll never have to use these skills to survive, but if you do, you'll be able to handle it.  After our assessment, we had loads of fun in the diving pool!

Dealing With Tough Times - Round Two

Today we continued our work around dealing with tough times.  We talked through our ideas about what we could do to deal with the 'bad' things.  We know that everyone is different and that not all strategies will work for all people.  Miss Simpson was REALLY proud and impressed with the mature way we approached this activity and we all hope our thinking will help us in the future.  Here are our ideas:

·         Stay calm, try not to be angry.

·         Don’t hide away from others.

·         Make the best of the situation.

·         Talk to someone who can help(family, friends, an ‘expert’ such as  a  doctor/therapist/councillor).

·         Don’t take things to heart.

·         Don’t let the ‘bad’ stuff get to you.

·         Realise you’re not the first person this has happened too.

·         Think about other things.

·         Ask others for advice.

·         Think positive.

·         Don’t feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders.

·         Carry on with life.

·         Know that it WILL get better!

·         Join in activities to keep your mind off it.

·         Believe in yourself.

·         Learn from your mistakes.

·         Speak up for yourself.

·         Think what you can do to help yourself.

·         Suck it up (in some situations).

·         Try to make the right decisions.

·         Don’t blame yourself.

·         Don’t let it ruin your life.

·         Pick positive people to hang out with.

·         Know that there are other options/opportunities in life.

·         Take a minute to pull yourself together and take a deep breath.

·         Consider what your role model/s would do.

·         Make the most of life.

·         Don’t take it out on other people.

·         Look ahead to the future, don’t look back at the past.

·         Get out and about, don’t sit around feeling sorry for yourself.

·         Don’t be afraid to show your emotions, even in public if necessary.

·         Know that people care about you and that they will support you.

·         Don’t hold a grudge, forgive and forget.

Interhouse Flippaball

Our interhouse flippaball competition is well underway, with two rounds completed already.  The competition has been super tough with all teams working hard to secure points for their team!  Here are some photos from today's action:

Old Blogs

Today we had a bit of a chuckle looking back at old class blogs.  Don't forget you can access these from our school website.  In the meantime, click on the links below for a trip down memory lane!  You can see the 2013 posts by clicking on the links in the archive section of this blog!

 

ROOM 6 BLOG - 2012 - CLICK HERE

ROOM 6 BLOG - 2011 - CLICK HERE

House Meetings

It's time.  Time to see which house will dominate.  Time to join in.  Time to encourage your team mates.  Time to have awesome house spirit.  Time to battle it out against the other houses.  Time to see who will be champions.  Time for fun! 

Our interhouse competition will be starting up next week with the Fun Swimming Sports.  Today we split up into our house groups for the first time this year so we could practice our chants and register for our events.  For our brand new house captains, it was their first experience of being the boss!  Well done team and bring on the Fun Swimming Sports next Thursday!

Dealing With Tough Times - Round One

Today we discussed the first part of a two-part lesson around dealing with tough times.  Unfortunately bad/unpleasant/sad/negative/tragic things happen to all of us and we need to be 100% ready for anything life might throw at us!

We started our discussion by writing a massive a list of all the 'bad' things that could happen:

 

 

Next we discussed what can happen when we don't have any strategies for dealing with 'bad' stuff:

 



 

 

Tomorrow we'll be discussing strategies we can use to deal with tough times!

Scenario Time

After taking the time to reflect on our Key Competency goals, we worked in groups to discuss a range of different scenarios.  It is really interesting to hear the ideas and opinions of our peers! 

Scenario 1 - Jasmine, Blair and Trevor
While you are trying to concentrate on your work, your friend, who sits opposite you, starts tapping her pencil on her desk.  You ask her to stop, but she doesn't - she just smiles at you.

Suggestions:

• We would say "Please stop it, I'm trying to work.  You're being immature".  If that didn't work, we'd tell the teacher.

Scenario 2 - Hannah, Jago and Olivia
In the past, you have not been very helpful.  Now you have become more mature and know it's time to 'step up'.  You want to prove to the teacher that you are responsible and reliable.

Suggestions:

• Ask the teacher if there are any jobs she would like done.
• Do what you are asked to do, don't pass the job on.
• Use your initiative.

Scenario 3 - Sophie, Victoria and Tammy
One of the boys in your class is always the last to get ready, loses things and seems to be in dreamland most of the time.  He is always holding up the class.  It is really annoying.

Suggestions:

• Politely ask him to hurry/go a bit faster.
• Ask if he needs help.
• Encourage him to speed up.

Scenario 4 - Ffion, Quaid and Luke
The teacher has asked everyone to hand their KIT Books in.  You have forgotten yours again.  You used up your last chance last week and know you're going to get in trouble.

Suggestions:

• Be more prepared - pack your bag the night before.
• Tell the teacher (be honest) and accept the consequences.

Scenario 5 - Cody, Kyle and Madison
One of the kids in your class is really immature.  He plays a lot of fantasy games at lunchtime and even pretends to shoot people!  It was cool to play these games when you were eight, but not now.

Suggestions:

• Introduce him to others and help him to make friends.
• Encourage him to play different games.
• Make him feel welcome if he wants to join in with your games.

Scenario 6 - Jade, Jorja and Darian
There was a pretty major incident in the playground at lunchtime.  While the teacher was questioning students about what happened, you realise that one person lied.

Suggestions:

• Ask the person why they lied.  Remind them that you'll get into more trouble for lying.
• Tell the teacher if they don't tell the truth.

Scenario 7 - Danielle, Bethany, Logan and Jordan
Someone who sits near you has poor hygiene.  Their hair looks dirty, they smell, their fingernails are dirty, they have been wearing the same socks all week and they never clean their teeth.

Suggestions:

• Have a quiet talk to them (ask the teacher for advice on how to do this first).
• Tell the teacher about the problem.

Scenario 8 - Joshua, Jed and Ashley
You have tried to learn your eight times tables, but you keep getting the answers wrong.  It feels like you're the only one in the class who can't get it right.  You feel ashamed and want to get better.

Suggestions:

• Ask the teacher for help.
• Practice at home.
• Say your BF over and over.  Write them down.
• Don't give up.

Self Portraits

As part of our Keeping Ourselves Unit, we've been celebrating our individuality in lots of different ways.  We know we should love ourselves 'warts and all'!  Creating these self portraits allowed us to celebrate the fact that we all look so different (thank goodness).  Even though we are far better looking in real life, we reckon our art work is awesome!

Week 5 - Te Reo

Each week, we will have a short phrase/word/saying/question to learn in Te Reo.  Did you know that Te Reo is an official language of New Zealand (along with English and Sign Language)?  Here is the phrase for the week:

Kei te pehea koe?  How are you?

Kei te pai ahau!  I'm good!

Me koe?  And you?

Have You Ever?

We've been writing poetry in Room 6!  After reading 'Have You Ever?' by Courtney Richardson, we wrote our own poems using hers as an example.  Have a read of these cool examples by Logan, Jago, Ffion and Blair:

 

 

 

Have you ever been smashed over by a wave?

And the wave is racing towards you all frothy and foamy,

And you try and outswim it but it’s closer than before,

And it’s right behind you, then suddenly it swarms over you and pushes you,

And you feel so pumped that you want it to happen again?

LOGAN

 

 

Have you ever been caving?

And it feels like the roof is going to fall on you and crush you into a bazillion pieces,
And it feels like you’re stuck when you go through a small hole,
And you feel like you are going to die there and get eaten by the weta,
And then you see daylight and you feel so proud of yourself?
JAGO


Have you ever been surfing?
And the excitement of standing up comes to you,
And the wave is crashing right down on your surfboard,
And the wave brings you all the way in to the shore?
FFION


Have you ever been on the luge?
And you feel like you’re jet gliding down a huge mountain,
And you think you’re going to fall out and die when you go around the corners,
And afterwards you believe that you were superman,
And you can’t wait to do it all again, because you’re so full of excitement?
BLAIR

Student Council 2014

We are pleased and proud to announce the Student Council for 2014.  A massive congratulations to:  Kyle, Tammy, Quaid, Ashley, Trevor, Logan, Olivia, Hannah, Jago, Blair, Victoria, Cody and Jasmine.

Student Council Leaders:
President - Jago
Treasurer - Cody
Secretary - Jasmine

House Captains:
Kauri - Hannah
Matai - Jago
Rimu - Blair
Totara - Trevor

We look forward to joining in lots of fun activities the Student Council organises for us.  The first will be the Fun Swimming Sports on Thursday 6th March (Week 6).

Buddy Class

It was time for Buddy Class again today!  After sharing the highlights from our beach trips, we helped our buddies to use Comic Life to display their favourite photos.  We were very pleased to be able to help!

Beach Trip Follow Up

After checking out the photos from our trip to Foxton Beach, we wrote captions to go with our favourite images.  Here are some great examples from De Quante, Darian and Sophie:

The One And Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate

We have just finished reading this wonderful novel.  Please share your opinion of the book here:



Check out the book trailer:

 

 

FOR INFO ABOUT THE REAL IVAN - CLICK HERE

 

Hot! Hot! Hot!

We're in the middle of a heat wave!  Jandals all round for us!

 

Beach Trip

Today was BEACH DAY!  We piled into cars and drove to Foxton Beach, where we met the lifeguards who were in charge of our day.  After learning about the role of a lifeguard, we headed down to the beach for some crazy games!  Next we spent some time going over the Top 10 rules to keep us safe at the beach as well as checking out some of the awesome equipment the lifeguards use.  After lunch, it was the moment we had all been waiting for... SWIM TIME!  We had loads of fun, even though the waves were tiny.  What a great day!

A massive THANK YOU to our wonderful parents who helped keep an eye on us today.  We really appreciate your support!

Green Team Blog

Check out the blog of the Halcombe School Green Team!

GREEN TEAM BLOG - CLICK HERE

Design Your Body!

Sixtus Lodge

Our three days at Sixtus Lodge were awesome!  During this time, we really bonded as a class through doing loads of fun, challenging activities.  Highlights included:

• Competing in teams as part of Room 6 Survivor.  Challenges such as prone bridge, target throwing, strength, balance and brain power tested us all.
• Building dams in the creek.
• Catching an eel.
• Participating in lots of different competitions, including rock tower building, balloon relays, leap frog, capture the flag, rounders, an obstacle course and human towers, were heaps of fun.
• Activities such as our tallest tower tech challenge and bivouac building gave us an opportunity to work together and build relationships with our peers.
• Swimming in the ice-cold water of Cone Creek.
• Each person presented a speech and this was an awesome way to find out about the talents and hobbies of our classmates.

We did a lot of work around what it means to be a great role model.  Firstly we defined the term 'ROLE MODEL'.  Here is what Trevor and Cody came up with:

Next we worked in teams to identify the qualities of great models:

After that, we combined our ideas and created a list of nearly 40 qualities!  Then came the hard part:  narrowing the list to 26.  We discussed our ideas and opinions and debated until we finally agreed!

Please enjoy watching this short video of special moments from camp:

Now that we're back at school, one of our follow up activities is to make a display of our favourite camp photos using Comic Life.  Here are some great examples from Ffion, Victoria and Madison:

A Special Visitor

Today we had a special visitor - the Mayor of the Manawatu District Council, Mayor Margaret.  We invited her along to hear her ideas about how we can be 100% awesome, and gee did she have a lot of great advice and words of wisdom!

• A key message from Mayor Margaret was as a leader, you should not be bossy.  You should listen instead of talk.  I found it interesting to hear about how she helps so many people in the Manawatu.  Madison.
• Mayor Margaret told us we can be whatever we want to be.  Luke.
• Don't be lazy - having lots to do is best.  Victoria.
• We need to make our own decisions and we should care for others.  Quaid.
• I enjoyed listening to her opinion about the difference between patience and tolerance.  Joshua.
• I was really surprised at how much a Mayor has to do.  She has to be patient and tolerant of people who can be very rude.  I learnt that as a leader, it is more important to give than take.  I was inspired to try a whole lot of things when I'm an adult.  Kyle.
• Leadership is about empowering others.  After listening to Mayor Margaret, I hope I can become a better leader and role model.  Jago.
• I am inspired to help other people.  Ffion.
• Mayor Margaret made me feel better about myself for who I am.  She said that it is awesome to be the age we are now.  Hannah.
• If you are powerful, you should help other people.  Olivia.
• It was interesting when she told us you can't be a role model one minute and a stupid idiot the next.  Mayor Margaret said we should always look to the future.  Darian.
• A leader should not be greedy with their power.  I enjoyed hearing what she had to say about her heroes and role models.  Blair.
• I liked her explanation of how the feather in the opening scene of he 'Forrest Gump' movie represents opportunity.  We can be good leaders by listening to other peoples' ideas.  We are not always right.  Jasmine.
• A key message for me would be to not let anyone else choose my future, because it is my decision.  Trevor.
• You should follow your dreams and choose your future.  Jed.
• Mayor Margaret talked about the importance of having fun and lots of laughs.  I am inspired to pay more attention and give more.  Cody.
• You need strong values to be a leader and role model.  Always fight for what you believe in.  Mayor Margaret made me feel excited about what I could do in the future.  Sophie.
• I enjoyed learning about Mayor Margaret's job.  Jordan.

Beach Safety - Three Types Of Waves

Today we learnt about the three main types of waves we're likely to see at the beach.  We used Popplet to create a poster giving information about each of the waves.  Here is a great example from Trevor and Joshua:

We also found this diagram that clearly shows what each wave is like:

Buddy Class - Swimming

This afternoon, we had our first buddy class session for 2014.  We spent our time in the pool, helping Room 2 improve their swimming skills and water confidence.  This was followed by some fun games and challenges.  What a great way to end the week!

Beach Safety - The Role Of A Lifeguard

Learning all about the role of our lifeguards was the focus for today's beach safety lesson.  We read an article about a terrible day at Muruwai Beach in 2004.  As well as learning about the tragic drowning of a young man, the article gave us a lot of information about the positive and negative aspects of a lifeguard's job.  We listed our ideas on a chart:

 

Next we learnt about how to use a fishbone diagram to show our thinking - we then created fishbone diagrams to show the positive and negative aspects of being a lifeguard.  Here is a great example from Danielle:

 



Extra Swimming Coaching

Some of the students in our class have been lucky to receive expert swimming coaching from Mr Bramwell.  He has been helping people to improve their breaststroke technique.  Today Trevor and Quaid had their turn.

Wednesday - Juicy Day!

Lots of people enjoyed an ice-cold juicy with their lunch today.  Don't forget they are on sale every Wednesday for $1.