Something Big Is Coming...

An Epically Awesome Day!

SUPERHERO DAY
Today was the day we had been waiting for - Superhero Day!  After a lot of talk about who would have the coolest costume, it was awesome to be able to see everyone in their superhero outfits.  Most people had put a lot of thought into creating original and unique 'superheroes'.  During the parade, Room 6 had the best dance moves by far!  People were asked to bring a gold coin, and all money is being donated to the Make A Wish Foundation.  We raised just over $200 - very impressive!  Well done to the Student Council for organising such a successful event.

PNBHS Band
We had a visit from the Palmerston North Boys High School band today too.  They performed all kinds of different music and songs, which was very entertaining.  One of the highlights was the bagpipes and snare drum performance.  Thanks PNBHS!

Photo Hunt - Team Challenge
We also had a team challenge today - a massive photo hunt around the school.  We had to identify the location of where 24 photos had been taken.  The problem?  The photos were VERY close up and we had to hunt high and low to find out where they had been taken.  It was great fun!

'Big Game' - Dan Smith

At the moment, our shared novel is 'Big Game', by Dan Smith.  We're all LOVING this book, and can't wait to find out what happens next.  One of the things we talk about, is the importance of making pictures in your head, while Miss Simpson is reading. This helps us to understand what is happening in the book.  Last week, we had to pick our favourite scene from the book so far, and draw what we thought it looked like!

Creative Thinking - 'The Lost Thing'

We've been working on a creative thinking task over the last couple of weeks.  We read the book, 'The Lost Thing', by Shaun Tan.  It is a pretty unusual book about a 'thing' that becomes lost in the city, and about the journey he takes to find his rightful place.  A few years ago, the book was also made into an animated movie, which we watched too.  Our task was to create our own 'lost thing' - and use the full power of our imaginations!

Wednesday Sport - Rippa Rugby

Today we started our Winter Sport rotation, where we learn and play a new sport each week.  Rippa Rugby was first up.  Most of us have played this before, so we knew what we were doing - pretty much!  First we warmed up with some relays and 'ripping' practice:

Next we got stuck into the games.  The teams worked really well together, and there were some EPIC tries!

Photographer:  Joshua

Hedge Fun

It's our turn in the hedge this week, and some of the students from Room 6 have been making the most of their time to build huts and have heaps of fun!

Sunset

A pretty cool sky at the end of the day too!

Good Morning!

When Miss Simpson arrived at school this morning, the sky was so clear and was displaying some pretty cool colours!  In the the first photo, you can see the sun is starting to rise in the east.  The second photo is looking out to the west - who knew the sky could be purple, blue and pink!

Fun On The Kaitaki

Those people who attended our class camp to Nydia Bay in November 2014, will remember traveling from Wellington to Picton on the Kaitaki, one of the Interisland Ferries.  Check out the photo below - it was taken today.  It was obviously a little rough in Cook Strait!  Glad we weren't on board!

Art Exhibition

Using the way JR displays his photography as inspiration, we set up an 'art gallery' on the swimming pool fence today.  We videoed the area during break times!  Have a look at the time-lapse video below:

JR Art - Photography

One of Miss Simpson's all time favourite artists, is JR, a French photographer.  JR travels all over the world photographing people's faces.  He asks them pose however they wish, and often people pull funny faces.  JR then blows the photos up to make huge posters, which he hangs in unusual places all over the cities of the world.  Some of the places he has worked have had terrible problems with war or poverty, and his art brings light to some dark places.  Here are some examples of his work:

Today we created our own photography, based on JR's style.  Tomorrow we'll be displaying our work around the school to see what kind of reaction we get!  Check it out!

To learn more about JR, CLICK HERE

Animation Time

The Tech ICT group made animations today.  Check it out!

Te Reo Kori - Assembly

Today we shared some of the learning we've done in Te Reo Kori over the last few weeks.  The girls showed off their poi skills, while the boys performed a mau rakau routine.  Well done team!

Photographer:  Mrs Alcock

Jorja, Madison and Sophie also reminded us about SUPERHERO DAY, next Thursday!

Buddy Class

Today we had our first buddy class for 2015!  We're so pleased that Room 3 is our buddy class - they're a cool bunch of kids!  Our first activity was a trust walk - where one person is blindfolded, and the other has to lead them safely through an obstacle course.  Phew, what a mission!  There were one or two bruised shins, but nothing too serious!  What a fun afternoon - we're definitely looking forward to doing more activities with our buddy class soon.

Superhero Day!

Big Game - Paddlet

Tech - Week 4

Tech was 100% awesome again this week!

The ICT group had loads of fun exploring different art sites today.  They also made some cool music using Incredibox, and movies using Movie Maker.  Check out the awesome 'art' they made using a site called Kaleidoscope Painter:

KALEIDOSCOPE PAINTER - CLICK HERE

Green Group - You Tube Update

Greenies - you know what the image below is all about... competition ends at the end of the 2015 school year.

Tech Challenge

It has been a long time since our last Tech Challenge!  The task this time was to construct a table and two chairs, capable of holding the weight of a half-full drinkbottle.  We were divided up in groups of four and had five minutes to discuss our ideas and make a plan.  We had limited supplies; cardboard, sellotape, scissors and a craft knife.  With one hour to complete the task, there was no time for mucking around!  Almost all teams were successful when it came time to test the tables and chairs - awesome!

And because we're a competitive bunch, someone (Joshua) suggested we load each table up with dictionaries to see which one could take the most weight before collapsing.  Believe it or not, most of the tables could hold more than 15 dictionaries!  Impressive!

Interschool One Day Eventing

Yesterday Bethany represented our school at a horse competition in Palmerston North.  She had to compete in cross country, show jumping and dressage.  There were more than 100 competitors!  Good on you Bethany!

Hatchet Book Trailers

The Green reading group finished reading 'Hatchet' recently - this is an awesome survival book.  They had to create a book trailer to advertise the book.  Check out the videos below:

Super Short Stories

One of our fun writing tasks this week has been to create SUPER SHORT STORIES!  Using pages from our class novel, 'Max The Mighty', we had to select words to form a story.  It is not as easy as it sounds, but they have turned out really well!  Have a read of the examples below:

Awesome Writing

We've been working really hard on our writing over the past couple of weeks.  We have talked about (and practiced) lots of different ways we can improve our writing.  One of our tasks was to write an advertisement to 'sell' a house.  Have a read of these awesome examples:

Cottage In The Mountains - Tyler

Are you looking for the house of a lifetime? Look no further because this is the house for you. There is a view of the mountain tops from every window in this modern cottage.  It will do nicely for explorers, hunters or people who love the outdoors. With all the space around you, you’ll find lots of walking tracks in every direction.  With the freezing snow reaching your doorstep in the winter and the fresh mountain air in the summer, your kids will no longer be telling you they are ‘bored’. There are no noisy neighbours to bug you in this perfect family getaway.  So get in quick before this great chance disappears.

Up the Mountain To An Adventure - Sinead

This house is for people who can deal with heights, because it is located on a mountain top and is very high up. If you like to see fantastic views, this house is the one for you. There is beautiful, scenic bush that surrounds the house. You’ll have very peaceful days, without any annoying neighbours to constantly bug you. Luckily you will be able to get a great relaxing rest, because there won’t be much noise that will wake you up. But wait there’s more! You have the lovely singing of the birds in the morning sun to look forward too. Buy this house today! This is the perfect house for you and your family. 

Peaceful Lifestyle Available - Mya

If you are looking for a quiet, peaceful house, look no further. This house is perfect for someone who is looking for a modern house, away from the city. With the beautiful waterfall followed by a crystal clear river, and the sound of nature surrounding you, it would be like coming home to paradise every day. This is a very private property with the bush surrounding you. This house has three bathrooms, six bedrooms with ensuites, two lounges, a kitchen and a spa. Once you arrive you will never want to leave!

Tranquil Sea Side House - Jack

Are you tired of your irritating neighbours and want to get away from all the commotion? If so, this is the perfect tranquil home for you. Settled in a sunny location, with no trees or neighbours to block the light, the glass walls on three sides let in an astonishing amount of light. This means you can save an enormous amount of power. If you love looking out at fantastic views, this is the house for you. With its spectacular scenic views looking out to the crystal clear ocean from all four spacious stories, and a refreshing heated spa pool, this house is extremely relaxing. It has an elevator going from top to bottom of this luxurious house.  The surroundings make it brilliant for rock climbing, and if you enjoy fishing, you can fish straight off your doorstep!  So come in quick to claim your dream home, and we’ll throw in an exclusive Mini Cooper for free.  Price by negotiation.

Tech Week 2

Here are some photos of today's action in Food Tech, Hard Materials and CO2 Cars:

The ICT group was hard at work too.  They made some comics, and used GoAnimate to make some simple animations.  Lots of fun!

Koru Art

Wow, how impressive is our koru art?  You can have a look at our individual reflections about our art on our blogs. They look 100% awesome up on the classroom wall, so call in and have a look!

Rad Rhythm

We're into our second week of a new music programme - Rad Rhythm!  We've learnt a lot about music and drumming in the first two sessions, and really enjoyed our practical lesson with the 'drums' today.  We have some practice to do around keeping in time and keeping a beat, but we'll get there!

Gallipoli Comic Life

Have a look at these awesome posters made by Catherine, Jed, Bethany and Leah!

Key Competencies

Today we watched two short animated clips.  Then, working in groups, we discussed the moral or message in each clip and what we might be able to learn from watching them.  It was very interesting!

Brilliant!

How about this for our next assembly item?

Assembly

Our class hosted assembly today, the first of 2015.  Jensen, Emma, Leah and Jack did an awesome job of running the assembly and didn't panic during the microphone glitch!  Some students also performed an item - check out the video!

Tech: Week 1

Our technology programme started today!  We'll have tech every Friday morning for Terms 2 and 3, and during this time, we will rotate through four different activities:

• hard materials (woodwork), with Mr Stoneley
• food technology (cooking), with Mrs Nevile
• CO2 cars, with Mrs Alcock
• ICT extenstion, with Miss Simpson

We'll bring you updates throughout our tech programme about how we're getting on and share some of the things we learn and make.  Here are a few photos from hard materials and food technology today: