Tech

Check out the cool things the sewing group made!

Look at what the Year 8 boys have made - how clever are they?

Please enjoy watching these movies the ICT group made today:

Teachers vs Students - Netball

Yesterday the A netball team faced the teachers in the annual netball match.  It was a very physical game, and the students raced out to a 5-nil lead by the first break.  The teachers came back strong though (they took awhile to warm up) and showed glimpses of brilliance!  The game was really tight for the rest of the match - what a game!

Here is a slideshow made by Emma H:

TV Fame

There were one or two familiar faces on TV tonight!

Self Portraits

We have completed some awesome self portraits this week!  They are a little unique though, because we drew them with our EYES CLOSED!  Can you tell who is who?

Fun With Umajin

Interschool Sport vs South Mak

We piled onto the bus and headed for South Makirikiri School for our annual winter sports exchange today!  We were all VERY excited.  We played rugby, football and netball and we won some and lost some.  Everyone showed excellent sportsmanship and we certainly had a lot of fun.  Thank you to Mr Hunt, Mr O'Fee and Mrs Sinclair who helped with the coaching and refereeing, and to all those parents who came along to watch.  What an awesome day!

Netball Action:

Football Action:

Hammer Throw Champs

After watching the Hammer Throw event at the Olympics, we were inspired to make our own 'hammers' (a tennis ball and wool did the trick) and have a go at hurling them across the field.  It would be fair to say most of us would need to practice quite a bit if we ever wanted to give it a go for real.  We had a lot of fun though!

Gymnastics Display

What an awesome gymnastics display the students of Halcombe School put on for all our visitors on Friday afternoon!  Well done everyone!

Tech ICT

It was make-an-animation day in Tech ICT today!

Random Art

We have finally finished our latest piece of art - Random Art!  We've been working on this off and on since the beginning of the term, and now it's done!  First we drew lots of random/weird/wacky shapes, then used pastel to colour them.  The final step was to paint the background black.  They have turned out really well, and look awesome up on the wall.

Reading Activities - Response To Text

Created with Padlet

Created with Padlet

Blog Comments

We are fast approaching 4000 comments on our class blog - will we get there by the end of the year?

Room 6 Olympics

Over the past four weeks, we have been competing in a series of challenges - our own mini (but VERY serious) Olympic Games.  We were divided up into teams and had to select the right people for each challenge.  There was everything from rod towers to ten pin bowling to flicking cards with rubber bands to climbing up the fireman's pole to target throwing - all sorts and something for everyone!  We had loads of fun trying to to ace all the different events and there was heaps of talent on display.... and some flukey luck too!

A super massive congratulations to Heath, Leah, Te Ata and Greer - the gold medalists!

Interschool Sport vs Colyton

We were super excited about our first ever interschool sports exchange with Colyton School - and it was an awesome day!  We faced them in rugby, football and netball, and we won two games and lost three.  There was some wonderful talent on display and there were some pretty fancy goals and tries scored, as well as some great defence.  Everyone competed hard and showed excellent sportsmanship. After the matches, we had match reports from the team captains, before enjoying a delicious afternoon tea.  Thank you to Mr Howie, Mr Lynch and Mrs Sinclair who came along to help with coaching and refereeing, to Ms White who helped set up the afternoon tea, and to all those parents who were able to come along and support us.  Bring on 2017!

World Records

Today we set up the world record for the high jump and long jump, and wow!  INCREDIBLE!  The men's high jump world record is 2.45m - even the tallest people in our class could barely touch it when jumping.  The men's long jump world record is 8.95m.  We were able to line everyone in our class up along the 8.95m, and we could fit easy peasy!

Rugby & Soccer Balls To Fiji

You will remember raising money earlier in the year to buy rugby and soccer balls to send to people in Fiji who were recovering from Cyclone Winston.  Well, they have now been delivered by Mr and Mrs Prior, (people who live in Halcombe who are visiting Fiji at the moment).  Below is a picture of Mrs Prior handing over the goodies.  Awesome!

Flippaball

We have two teams entered in the local Flippaball competition, played at the Makino Pool each week. The five-week season kicked off on Friday, and both teams did really well.  The Red Team had a good win over Feilding Intermediate, and the Black Team went down to Waituna West.  Thanks to our coaches, Mrs Alcock and Ms Lord and all those who came to support us at our first game.  Good luck for the rest of the season - only four more games!

Drama Show - Dr Seuss

We were superbly entertained by our Drama Club on Friday afternoon!  They performed a number of short skits based on well known Dr Seuss tales and poems.  Leah, Catherine, Emma H and Emma J were all star performers from Room 6!  What a talented bunch of kids we have at Halcombe School.  A huge hank you to Miss Jeynes for 'coaching' the Drama Club.

Mathex Awesomeness

A number of people from our class competed in the Manawatu Mathex Competition on Friday.  They have been training for weeks, and were excited when the big day finally arrived!  The Year 7 team placed 21st out of 39 teams and the Year 8 team placed 1st = out of 41 teams!  What an amazing achievement!  Thank you to Mrs Simpson for preparing our teams for Mathex again this year.

Tech - Week 3

What a magnificent day to be out of the classroom enjoying our Technology programme!  We love Fridays!

It was Photography Day for the ICT Group - check out some of their creations:

Room 6 Olympics

Our class has been competing in the Room 6 Olympics!  We have done all sorts of weird and wonderful challenges.  We'll tell you all about it when the competition is finished, but we HAD to share details about the event we did today.  The challenge?  Climb to the top of the fireman's pole as many times as possible in two minutes.  After an excellent demonstration by Miss Simpson, everyone knew exactly what to do.  Congratulations to Marie who managed to climb up the pole 15 times - very impressive!

Gymnastics

We are now well into the gymnastics groove, as we start getting serious about the big display we're putting on for parents next week.  Here are a few action shots from today.

Photographer:  Emma J

Halcombe School Olympics

We had a massive afternoon at school today... it was the Halcombe School Olympics!  The students in Room 6 organised some fun and challenging activities for the other students to enjoy.  There were obstacle courses and bowling and trust walks and target throwing and soccer!  Everyone had to work flat out to keep things running smoothly.  Well done Room 6, you did good!

Maths Trail

To celebrate Maths Week, the Senior Team gathered together to complete a huge maths trail. We were split up into teams and had to zoom around the school to find the answers. It was lots of fun! Congratulations to Heath, Holly, Eddie and Lexi, the winning team!

New World Netball Tournament

Our A Netball Team attended the New World Tournament at North Street School in Feilding today.... and they WON!  It is the first time Halcombe School has ever won this tournament, so everyone was pretty pleased.  The girls played North Street, St Josephs and Ashhurst, and had good wins in each match.  Thank you very much to the parents who provided transport and who were able to come along and support the team.

Photographer:  Mrs Chapman

Chin Up Champs - New School Record!

A huge congratulations to Jensen, who set a new chin ups record on Friday.  He smashed out 40 chin ups, which bet Rhianna's 2015 record of 35.  Well done Jensen!

Tech Highlights

It was movie making day for the ICT Group.  We hope you enjoyed the movie they made:

Gymnastics - Fat Mat Action!

We stepped up our efforts on the fat mat in gymnastics today.  Nearly all of us attempted dive rolls or hand springs, and some people had a chance to practice their flips too.  It is awesome to see people pushing themselves outside their comfort zone, and being willing to take risks and try new things.  Keep up the great work Room 6!

Chess Club

Chess Club started today!  

NZ Playhouse - The Fairest Of Them All

We were very well entertained by the NZ Playhouse today.  Tahlia, Rebecca and Ben are three uber talented people who could act and sing and dance and everything!

Special Visitor

Today we had a special visit from Ash, who is a Communications Warfare Specialist in the New Zealand Navy.  He talked to the students from Rooms 5 and 6 about life in the navy and here is what some of us had to say about his visit:

Ash’s visit was awesome!  My favourite part was when he taught us how to march.  I thought the navy would be all about shooting at other boats, but Ash told us all about what they have to do, and it is mostly about helping other people.  I don’t think I could ever be in the navy with all that training!  GUSSIE

I learnt how to do some morse code and that …---… means ‘save our souls’.  I was surprised about how much training they have to do.  It was really cool when we all stood up in lines and Ash taught us how to march.  It was funny when he said we could march better than some recruits!  SINEAD

I have learnt a lot of things about the navy thanks to Ash.  My favourite part was when we all attempted to do some marching.  I think Ash is very clever to come so far in the navy, it’s definitely  not an easy job by the sounds of things.  I was surprised about how easy it is to do something wrong and have to be punished.  MYA

The best thing about Ash’s visit was when he talked to us about all the things he has learnt in the navy.  I learnt about some of the commands in the navy.  I was surprised to hear that you have to stay away from your family for a long time.  I enjoyed looking at the awesome photos.  A highlight was the marching.  LEVI

The coolest thing about Ash’s visit was when he showed us the pictures of their celebrations of when they ‘passed out’.  I was surprised to learn about how they are punished when they do something wrong.  I enjoyed the part when Ash showed us how to march.  TEATA.

It was cool when Ash told us about the trips he has been on with the navy.  I learnt to march and that the navy is not all fun and games.  You get told off too!  I was surprised by how much marching they have to do in the navy.  HEATH

I learnt how to march and it was fun.  I was surprised by how many ships Ash has been on.  I enjoyed hearing about his job and what he does.  SETH

The coolest things about Ash’s visit was learning about what he had to do to get into the navy, and the marching.  I learnt how to march properly and it was really fun.  I was surprised when he said he had to clean ten stories of stairs for not ironing his clothes properly.  I enjoyed getting to look at lots of photos of Ashley and his crew.  A highlight was getting to do marching and learning new commands.  ALYSSA

A highlight was when Ash tried to teach us how to march properly and it was fun stomping around the classroom.  I learnt lots about marching and that when they do their other training, the leaders are really hard on the sailors.  BRADLEY

I learnt that in the navy, they have gas and radiation training.  I enjoyed seeing the pictures Ash showed us, because I got to see what some of the ship looked like and the kind of uniforms they wear.  JASON

One of the coolest things about Ash’s visit was seeing all the photos of him and his crew and seeing all of the fun and hard times they went through.  I learnt how to do basic marching moves and about what skills you need to have to be in the navy.  I really enjoyed listening about the really cool things about the navy.  A highlight was when we completed the marching moves without any mistakes.  I really enjoyed Ash’s visit.  HANNAH

I learnt what training you have to go through to get into the navy.  I was surprised at how long Ash was on the boats for.  The coolest thing was learning the marching moves.  I enjoyed looking at all the photos.  JENSEN

A highlight about Ash’s visit was learning to march.  I learnt all about being in the navy, including what you need to do and wear.  I was surprised he had not had too many punishments!  Another highlight was seeing all the pictures of what they do on and off the ship.  WILLOW

I learnt how to march and it was fun.  I was surprised how they had a white uniform, because I think it would get dirty!  OLIVIA

I enjoyed learning how to march, and learning about the navy.  I was surprised there was so much training involved for cadets.  I learnt lots about the training they endured.  HAMISH

The coolest thing about Ash’s visit was doing the marching.  I learnt they are strict about doing the right thing in the navy and that you can learn morse code.  I enjoyed hearing all about what Ash does.  WILLIAM

I learnt a lot about the navy, including how they train, their uniforms and their life on board a ship.  I was surprised to hear about the fun things they did like dressing up as ninja turtles and playing cricket on board their ship.  I enjoyed learning how to march and seeing all the photos.  JACK

I really enjoyed Ash’s visit and learnt heaps about what it is like in the navy.  It sounds like they have heaps of fun and go on awesome trips.  I also liked marching, because I have done it lots of times and I enjoy it.  It would be such a great experience to go away on huge ships and be able to travel the world and do things you enjoy.  It sounds like an awesome job to have.  LYDIA

The coolest thing about Ash’s visit was when he told us about a mistake he made and what the punishment was.  I learnt how to march and what the moves were.  It was awesome.  CODY

I really enjoyed Ash’s visit.  The most interesting thing he told us was about how they have to do a lot of training.  I was surprised to learn that while in training, they couldn’t talk to or see their family for five weeks.  A highlight was learning how to march and seeing everyone give it a go.  I enjoyed seeing all the photos and listening to Ash explain each one to us.  GRACE

The coolest thing about Ash’s visit was hearing all about his journey and learning lots of things about the navy.  I learnt how to march properly and really enjoyed it.  I was so surprised when Ashley told us that he had been to lots of places in the world, because I didn’t think the navy travelled that far.  It sounds like the navy is really fun.  GEORGIA

I really enjoyed learning how to march, because I have never done it before.  I was surprised how quickly we learnt it.  I also learnt about the kinds of things you do in the navy.  CARLOS

After speaking to us, Ash taught us how to march!

NZRAF At Halcombe School

Well today we had a wee bit of a special visit from the New Zealand Airforce.  Thanks to a couple of awesome parents who are in the Airforce, we had a visit from a $60 million beast of a helicopter, an NH90.  It was really interesting to learn about the helicopter and some of the things it is used for.  Sooooo cool!  Next time we want a ride!

Fun Times!

Tuesday Sport

With our Interschool matches against Colyton and South Makirikiri fast approaching, we had another great training session this afternoon!

Photographer:  Marie

T3 Challenge

Over the next few weeks, we're having a focus on perseverance and determination.  We've all chosen something we want to learn, and set goals around this.  The purpose of this mission is to set a challenge a strive to achieve it, to try and try and try until you can do it, to have a never-say-die attitude, to be prepared to work really hard to be successful.  Good luck everyone!

Here is a video of us attempting our challenge... before we've done any practice.  No laughing please.