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27 June 2014

Number Bonds - A Magic Trick!

Here is a really quick way to calculate number bonds up to 100,000.  It is SO easy!

An example of a question would be 36 + ___ = 100.

The ones column has to add to 10.  For example:  6 + 4 = 10

The tens column (and anything higher such as hundreds), has to add to 9.  For example:  3 + 6 = 9.

So . . . 36 + 64 = 100

Credit for this awesomely quick strategy must go to the teachers at Auroa School, in Taranaki.

Fun With Umajin

Check out this cool image Cody made using Umajin!

Horizons Presentation

Recently we had four students enter a colouring competition to celebrate World Fish Migration Day, run by the Horizons Regional Council.  Today we had a visit from Anna, who gave us ten native plants in recognition of entries.  Well done Tammy, De Quante, Jed and Darian.

26 June 2014

Tangimoana Beach Clean Up



We spent the day cleaning up a short stretch (approx. 1km) of Tangimoana Beach.  We filled 15 rubbish bags with all kinds of rubbish - everything from fishing nets, to glass, to toothbrushes.  It was disgusting.  While it made us sad that so much rubbish was on the beach, we also felt pleased to be able to do something about it.  Well done team!  I'm sure the sea creatures of the world would thank you if they could too!

Thank you to our wonderful parents for providing transport and carrying the heavy rubbish bags!  Your support is very much appreciated.




A trailer load full of rubbish - yuck!




During our lunch break, we took some time out for the all-important hut building competition:








Jago's Travels

Jago and his family have just started their exciting overseas adventure!  He plans to update us on his travels through his blog.  Check it out!

25 June 2014

Sunshine Art

We have completed another piece of spectacularly awesome art.  Due to the recent gloomy weather, we decided it was time to brighten things up - we've named our art SUNSHINE ART.  Now that we've perfected the art of blending pastels, we are able produce work like this:

Kahurangi Dance Theatre

Today we saw an AWESOME show by the Kahurangi Dance Theatre.  This group travels around New Zealand (and the world!) sharing Maori taonga (treasures) through waiata and dance.  They were very talented and we loved the show.  Most people agreed their favourite part was when Cody, Reuben and Mr Ricketts had to get on stage, be a Maori warrior and show their taiaha technique!  You can read more about what we thought about the show on our blogs.

Miss Simpson's favourite part was when one of the ladies did the DOUBLE BUTTERFLY with the poi - most of us can barely do one!  It was really impressive.

18 June 2014

Winter Sport - Rippa Rugby

We've had soccer.  We've had netball.  Today it was... rippa rugby!  You can see what we each thought of rippa rugby by reading our blogs.  Check out the photos:

Photographer:  Mr Ricketts

Geometric Cubes

In maths, we've been learning about lots of different kinds of shapes.  Today we finished our cubes - we had to cut out the net, fold the tabs and glue it all together very carefully!  It will be interesting to see what happens when we have to make our own - from scratch!

16 June 2014

Awesome Video!



Blob Art

Here is our latest art - BLOB ART!  Check out our blogs for a close up image of our artwork.


Geometry

Our maths class began a new unit today - it is all about geometric shapes.  We started off by identifying a wide range of 3D shapes.  Then we learnt about faces, edges and vertices.  We created the chart below to help us remember the details!

13 June 2014

Te Reo - Week 7

Here is a list of common objects that are a part of our daily lives.  Memorise the words and be ready for a quiz later in the week!

Buddy Class - Trust Walk

What an interesting buddy class session we had this afternoon!  We had to put our faith in our partners, as they lead us around the obstacle course.  We learnt about the importance of giving VERY specific instructions.  Even though there will be one or two bruised shins, we all had lots of fun!





11 June 2014

Spelling

Today Mrs Simpson asked us an important question - how do you learn to spell a word?  Together, we came up with a great list of tips:



Winter Sport - Netball

What a lot of fun we had playing netball this afternoon!  First we spent some time learning about the key rules of netball and doing some drills that allowed us to practice these things.  Then, we were into a game!  Even though there were loads of laughs, some serious netball was played too.  Check out the photos:
 


09 June 2014

Te Reo - Words Of Praise

Watch out for these sentences that may appear in your books this week:

tau ke tena whakaaro - what a great idea!
 
ka pai - good!
 
koia, koia - well done!
 
ano te pai - that's excellent / great / fantastic!
 
ehara mai - awesome!

06 June 2014

Reports

We've been hard at work writing reports this week.  After reviewing how to process information (a complex process that takes a lot of time), we have all written reports.  You can see our reports in our blogs.  Here are two really wonderful examples:


The Southern Royal Albatross – Logan

The Southern Royal albatross is the world’s second largest albatross, rivalled only by the true Wandering albatross. It is endemic to New Zealand and has a white body with white and black wings and a white tail. The leading edge of the inner upper wing becomes whiter with age especially with males. Its robust bill is light pink with a creamy tip and a black cutting edge to the upper mandible. Juveniles have blacker wings than adults with white bodies and black flecking on back, flanks, crown and tail. The ‘sky-call,’ is a high pitched screaming bray given during gams. Gams are gatherings of socialised birds such as courting birds, breeders and gatherings of immature birds on the breeding grounds. Young birds display in gams on the breeding grounds. A variety of postures are used during mating displays including, aggressive bill snapping, clapping and gulping. It has a wingspan of 3m and weighs 9-10kg. Approximately 8500 birds’ nest on Campbell Island with less than 100 on the Auckland Islands. A few more share with the Northern Royal Albatross at the Tairoa Head in the Otago Peninsula. It takes nearly a year to rear a single chick. Non-breeders and juveniles fly across the Southern Ocean to feed in South American waters. They eat squid, pelagic octopus, fish and crustaceans. They live until their 40s.

The population was seriously depleted when the population on Enderby Island was wiped out by humans after the great sheep farming era (1890-1931).  The population on Campbell Island was depleted as well, after the burning of vegetation, grazing and degradation of habitat. They were hunted and killed by the farm dogs and the people. They are easily caught by long line fishing as they dive for the bait then get tangled up in the line. They’re vulnerable to fisheries by-catch too.

We can help the Southern Royal albatross by stopping long line fishing as a lot of them get tangled in the lines each year. We could also stop littering, as when they dive for fish they could choke on a piece of rubbish floating in the water. We need to keep protecting their habitat, especially Campbell Island and the Auckland Islands. We should try to stop by-catch as this is also another threat to the birds. If the seafood demand rises, more fish will be caught, then more birds will be caught as by-catch.




Great Hammerhead Sharks – Darian

Great hammerhead sharks are spotted really far off shore and near the shoreline. They often migrate in really large groups during the summer, searching for cooler waters. These sharks are usually found in tropical or temperate waters, and they can survive in estuaries, coral reefs, sandy plains, fresh waters and kelp forests. Theses sharks are distributed throughout the world in quite a few places and you may just catch a glimpse of a great hammerhead shark wherever you are in the world. Hammerhead sharks eat various animals such as other sharks, squid, crabs, sardines, boxfish, groupers and their favourite meal, rays. They hunt twice a day around dawn and dusk. They are carnivores which mean they are meat eaters. Their heads are the shape of a hammer, that’s how it got its name. Their wide – set eyes give them a better visual range than most other sharks. The positioning of its eyes gives the hammerhead sharks a 360 degree view on a vertical plane, letting them track and spot their prey both above and below their current position with great accuracy. They also have rows of really sharp teeth which they use to catch their prey. Hammerheads use their wide heads to attack stingrays, pinning them against the sea floor. They can also sense electric fields and can detect stingrays under the sand on the sea floor. Hammerheads give birth to a live young after a gestation period of around 11 months. They can give birth to up to 55 pups at once, but they usually give birth to around 20 - 30 pups. Hammerheads can live up to 50 years (half a century) but some die in their second or third decade if they aren’t caught by fishermen.

These sharks are endangered because of overfishing, bycatch and finning. Overfishing is driving sharks to the brink. Many of the shark’s populations are down by 90 percent. 100 million sharks are killed every year for their meat, liver, fins, and other products. Bycatch while fishing for other commercial species poses a significant threat to sharks. Shark fins usually fetch a higher price than shark meat, providing an economic incentive for the practise of ‘finning’. Finning is often associated with overfishing. They also take sharks for:

  • Shark fins for a bowl of soup
  • Shark teeth for jewellery
  • Shark jaws for tourist souvenirs
  • Shark skin for leather wallets/ belts
  • Shark liver oil for cosmetics/ skin care products
  • Shark cartilage capsules and powders for phony medical cures

With 90 percent of the world’s large shark population already wiped out, sharks are dying faster than they can reproduce. Sharks are important apex predators. They have shaped marine life for over 400 million years and are essential to the health of the planet.
 
We can help the hammerhead sharks by not polluting the ocean and you can raise awareness. Direct conservation efforts for the hammerhead sharks are close to non-existent, though shark fin soup is illegal in the European Union, the United States, and Australia. Much work remains to be done and the highly migratory nature of the shark makes it difficult for specific nations to provide adequate protection.

Cinquain Poems

We've been writing poetry!  Cinquain poems to be exact.  We learnt about the specific format for writing these poems - there are rules about the number of words you're allowed to use in each line.  Check out these great examples:

Polar bears
Strong, magical
Scrambling up ice
They are magnificent creatures
Snow bear
(Tammy)
 
 
Set-Nets
Death machine
Suffering and drowning
I HATE these nets
By-Catch
(Sophie)
 
 
Rubbish
Yuck, disgusting
In the sea
Sad, worried, angry, disgusted
Litter
(Luke)
 
 
Turtles
They’re endangered
They need help
Feeling sorry for them
Animal
(Quaid)

All Blacks vs England

We're all a bit excited about the first test match of the year being played in Auckland on Saturday night - it's the mighty All Blacks vs England.  We've all taken a guess at the score, with the person who makes the closest guess winning a special lunch on Monday!


Wheels Day

The Student Council ran a really successful Wheels Day today.  This year, the track was extended and included two jumps!  It was awesome to celebrate the end of the week with this wheelie fun activity!



Thank you Student Council!

05 June 2014

Drama

This week, it was time for some drama in Room 6!  We split up into groups and were given some random things to act out - silently!  After our little skit, the rest of the class had to guess what we were doing.  Most teams were very creative and clever with the way they chose to act.  Check out the videos:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

04 June 2014

Soccer

We started our winter sport rotation today - first up was soccer!  Check out our blogs to see how our session went.  Here is a slideshow of photos:

Photographers:  Miss Campbell and Miss Sutton
 


03 June 2014

Debate Time

Today we debated four issues relating to our Theme work.  Everyone was expected to have an opinion, as well as justify and share their ideas.  We reviewed what it meant to be an active listener and learnt about rebuttal.  We definitely did not all agree, and it was awesome to see some passionate debating happening!  We all enjoyed this and will give it another go next week.

What do you think about the issues we discussed?

A permanent underwater town has been built. Over a thousand people can live there.  What are the positive and negative implications of this?

Sharks kill between 30 and 45 people around the world every year.  They are dangerous and should be hunted to extinction.

In many countries, raw sewage is pumped straight into the sea.  Most of these countries are very poor and can’t afford to fix the problem.  What should be done about this?  Can this problem be solved?

The Japanese kill whales to sell as meat.  This has been done for hundreds of years and is a strong tradition.  Is it fair to say they shouldn’t kill whales?