Beach Safety - Rips

Today we learnt all about rips.  A rip can happen at the beach and put swimmers in great danger.  We started off our learning by listing all the ways to recognise a rip and identify the things we should do if we're ever caught in one.  Here is the list we made together as a class:

We also learnt another important rule - don't try to rescue someone caught in a rip, as this can put you in danger too.  Instead, alert the lifeguards or call 111. 

This diagram, from Surf Lifesaving New Zealand helped us to understand rips:

Next we moved on to learning/reviewing how to draw a labelled diagram.  Here is the list we made:



Finally, we created our own labelled diagram of a rip.  Here are two great examples by Madison and Olivia:

Lunchtime Swim Awesomeness!

Beach Safety Rules

Our trip to Foxton Beach on the 18th of February is fast approaching and today we began our preparation activities.  We started by working with a partner to identify ten key safety rules:

Always swim between the flags.
The space between the flags has been checked by the lifeguards and is patrolled by them too.  It is the safest place to swim at the beach.

Make sure an adult supervises you while swimming.
They can help to keep an eye on you and make sure you're safe.

Always listen to the lifeguards.
Keeping people safe at the beach is their job - these experts are there to help you!

Never swim alone.
If you are in danger, there is noone there to look out for you.

If in doubt, stay out!
You need to make smart decisions about whether it is safe to swim or not.

Be sunsmart.
If you do not protect yourself from the sun, you could get burnt or worse.

Learn to recognise rips and stay away from them.
Rips can be dangerous and can drag you out to sea.

Use beach equipment safely.
This includes body boards, surf boards, paddle boards and floatation devices.

Never swim when tired or cold.
When we're tired or cold, we don't always make smart decisions.

Always consider other people at the beach.
The beach is there for us to ALL enjoy.

Important Announcement

Check out Room 2's class blog to find out what our younger buddies have been doing:

ROOM 2 CLASS BLOG - CLICK HERE

Juicy Time!

Key Competencies - Learning From Movies!

After watching three short animated movies, we did some serious thinking about the deeper meanings and messages within each one.  Working in groups, we discussed and recorded our ideas.  We discovered that when you look and listen closely, there were little hints all through each movie on how to be 100% awesome!

Movie One:

Our Ideas:

Movie Two:

 

Our Ideas:

Movie Three:

 

Our Ideas:

Bus Monitors

Today our bus monitors spent some time with Constable Cree, from the Feilding Police.  She came along to talk about how to keep the students on the bus safe and what to do in lots of 'what if...' situations.  Afterwards, the bus monitors made a list of key things they discussed:

• If someone is trapped after a crash, it is better not to move them.
• In an earthquake, don't get out of the bus.
• Don't talk to or distract the driver while he is driving.
• Ask responsible senior students to walk down the road to warn traffic if there has been a crash or flat tyre.
• Bus monitors can sit at the back of the bus to get a better view.
• In a crash, evacuate the students (if possible) to a nearby paddock with no bulls about 100-200m from the bus.  Use the drivers phone to dial 111 or go to the nearest house.

Swimming Time

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful school pool - thank you to Mr Martin for whipping our pool into shape over the summer holidays!  We have set all kinds of goals around the following things we're expected to be able to do at Level 4:

• 100m freestyle
• 100m backstroke
• 50m breaststroke
• 50m sidestroke
• perform a safe dive
• tread water for 3 minutes
• float on back for 3 minutes
• swim 50m fully clothed
• swim 200m non-stop

After swimming 40-50 lengths every day this week and working up a real sweat (is this possible in the pool?), today was FUN-DAY-FRIDAY.  It was a chance for us to compete in lots of different races and challenges, as well has play around with an underwater camera!

Circle Art

One of our first jobs of the new school year was to get some artwork up on our rather dull looking classroom walls.  After brainstorming our ideas, energising our creative skills, discussing great colour combinations and reviewing how to blend pastels effectively, we created this stunning art.  It looks awesome!

Introducing Room 6!

My oh my, what a good looking bunch!

 

2014 HAS ARRIVED!

Welcome back to school!  Hopefully you've had a fabulous holiday and are relaxed, recharged and ready for a year of awesomeness.  Bring it on!

Blog Closed

Wow, what a year it has been!  We have done so many cool things, learnt lots and had heaps of fun along the way.

Thank you to all our friends and family who have supported our blog this year - we appreciate the interest you've shown and the comments you've made!

To the Year 8 students - have the most AWESOME time at high school.  Work hard.  Make lots of great friends.  Have fun.  Make good choices (and learn from the times you don't!)  Be nice.  Most importantly, don't be stranger!  We wish you the best of luck.

To the Year 7 students - see you in six weeks!

Year 8 Lunch

Today the Year 8 students had their traditional end-of-year lunch at Essence Cafe in Feilding.  Lunch was provided by our school PTA - thank you!

Social

On Friday night, we held the social.  Everyone looked awesome and scrubbed up pretty well!  We had lots of fun dancing, eating supper and playing crazy games.  What a great night!

Athletics Day

Wow, what an awesome morning!  We started off by doing a huge variety of activities - everything from a dress up race, to sack races, to an obstacle course, to target throwing.  It was heaps of fun.  After morning tea, we held the finals of the 100m for the Athletic Championships - congratulations to Elen and Stefan for winning these races.  Following that, we had loads of sprint races and the final of the 400m - congratulations to Elen and Alex for winning these really tough, exhausting races.  The final events were the house chants and relays.  Well done to Matai for winning the Junior relay and Kauri, who won the Senior relay.

Here are some highlights:

Little Drummer Boy

 

 

 

Heights

We've been keeping a track of how much we've grown this year.  We measured ourselves in Febuary, June and December.  Today we analysed the information:

• Average Height February:  1.50m
• Average Height December:  1.56m
• Average Growth Girls:  6.38cm
• Average Growth Boys:  5.90cm
• Olivia C has remained the shortest person at 1.34m
• Stefan has remained the tallest person at 1.80m
• Alex grew the most - 10cm!

House Relays

We have been busy practicing our sprinting and baton changing technique in preparation for the house relay finals to be held on Wednesday.  It is very exciting!

Firewise

Today we had a special visit from Mr Darling and Mr Johnson from the Halcombe Fire Brigade.  They reminded us about some really important fire safety messages.  We all agreed it was good to be reminded of these things!  We also watched an incredible but tragic video clip of a fire that destroyed a stand in a football stadium in England in 1985.  Many lessons were learnt from the disaster and it was good for us to discuss what happened.  Key messages to remember are:

• if you realise there is danger, ACT STRAIGHT AWAY
• never assume that someone has dialed 111 - better to do it than not
• if you see an emergency exit has been blocked, inform someone
• do not judge people for the way they react to a disaster

Here is what some of us had to say:

• I thought the fire was scary and it was sad that 56 people died.  I learnt not to be afraid to call 111 and that I should talk to my parents about our escape plan.  Hannah.
• The film reminded me of just how dangerous a fire can be and I was also reminded of some really important things that could potentially save my life.  Jago.
• The film was very graphic and I didn't know a fire could spread so quickly.  Seeing the people on fire was quite alarming.  Tammy.
• I was shocked to see how big the fire got in such a short space of time.  I was reminded to 'stop, drop and roll' when you are on fire.  Victoria.
• I thought the DVD was really interesting as it was real-life footage of how people reacted.  I can't believe that 56 people died, because the police did a good job of getting everyone out.  Elen.
• I was surprised that noone took action when they saw the fire.  Kyle.
• The movie was pretty hard core, because I've never seen a fire grow that big before.  It was also scary to know that people caught on fire from the heat and not from actually touching the fire.  I learnt that I should never underestimate a small fire.  Cody.
• I learnt that if someone is on fire, you shouldn't try to put it out by flapping material at them - this will make it worse.  Jasmine.
• I found it quite shocking that all the fire exits were locked.  It was good to reminded of how to be firewise.  Trevor.

New Library Furniture

Our library has had a bit of an upgrade over the last week.  In addition to the new carpet, we've done a lot of rearranging and sorting out of books.  The Student Council has made a significant donation to the library, with the purchase of some cool furniture!  Thank you Student Council!

Cotton Eyed Joe

Here is the video, as promised! 

Bush Walk Opening

Over the past couple of months, the Green Team has been working very hard on creating a special bush walk at our school.  Not only have they made a cool bark path, but they have planted loads of native trees and bushes on either side.  Today we officially 'opened' the bush walk and everyone had a chance to walk through.  Well done to the Green Team and Miss Campbell, it looks awesome!

Sexuality Education

Today we had our first session of our Sexuality Education programme with Rachel Hansen.  We learnt all about our weird and wonderful bodies, it was very exciting!  Here is what some people had to say:

• It was funny and enjoyable.  I learnt a lot about puberty.
• My favourite part was when we talked about how we don't have to be 'fake' and stereotypical to fit in.
• I enjoyed it because we got to write cool things about ourselves and others.
• I learnt that the models in magazines don't really look that good.
• It was fun and not as weird as I thought.  I definitely want to learn more.
• It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  It was really interesting.
• I enjoyed it, because I learnt new things and it isn't scary at all, knowing that these things are going to happen.
• This session was a new experience and I've learnt a lot about what girls go through, though I wasn't a fan of when we learnt about the boys.
• I enjoyed it, because it was not as embarrasing as I thought it would be and I learnt lots.
• It wasn't that scary, because people started to relax and not freak out.
• It was really fun learning everything.  I already knew a bit, but I learnt a whole lot today.
• I learnt that it is okay to be yourself!

Athletic Championships

Over the past two days, we have held four events as part of the 2013 Athletic Championships.  Students have the opportunity to sign up to compete in discus, shot put, long jump, high jump and the 100m sprint.  If you place first, second or third, you earn points - the overall winner will be announced at the end-of-year prizegiving (it remains a closely guarded secret till then!) 

A highlight was when Stefan broke the Halcombe School shot put record with a massive throw.  The old record, set in 2000, was 10.05m.  Stefan threw 11.80m - well done and congratulations Stefan!

Here are some photos from today's long jump action:

Photographers:  Hannah and Victoria

Camp Follow Up - Powerpoints

We decided to use Powerpoint to record our special memories from camp.  We created slides about each of the major activities we did.  Here are a couple of great examples:

(pause the video to read the information)

 

Memorable Moments From Camp

A really funny thing that happened was . . .

• It was so funny watching Jago trying to say "What does the fox say?" in a funny voice.  All he could do was laugh.  OLIVIA C.
• We were at Kuratau and Alex tackled me off the jetty and into the water.  I thought of backing out when he was charging at me, but I decided not to.  KYLE.
• Realising that abseiling is not actually a water sport.  AALIYAH.
• On the way to abseiling, we were dancing to the music in Mr Short's car.  We challenged Miss Simpson's car to a dance battle and George got out of the car and started dancing.  GRACE.

A place I'd like to go back to is . . .

• The Tongariro River, because I would love to jump off one of the bridges.  I think that would be really fun and exhilarating.  OLIVIA D.
• The beach on the Lake Rotopounamu walk.  The scenery was picture-perfect and it was very quiet.  Perfect for swimming and sunbathing.  GRACE.
• The Okupata Caves.  I had a tiny passage named after me, because I was the first child to go in it.  Apparently it goes on for longer that I was able to explore.  JAGO.
• The Okupata Caves, because I loved the adrenaline rush you got from being 15m under the ground, shimmying through small gaps of rock.  NELLY.
• Taranaki Falls, because it was amazing to see a waterfall that close up, with the water spray in your face and the miniature rainbow glowing up from the pool of water.  TREVOR.

The most challenging part of the week was . . .

• Abseiling, because I did not know what to expect.  It looked like it was going to be really tricky to get down the rock face.  TAMMY.
• Kayaking, because when I sat in the kayak, the lifejacked puffed up in my face.  It prevented me from sitting up properly so I could not get much power when paddling.  CODY.
• Getting through the caves without hitting your head on the rocks above!  BLAIR.
• Abseiling, because it was difficult to get your feet in the right place.  At one stage I got stuck in the bush and had to stop and think how to get out of it.  KYLE.
• Abseiling, as it was really challenging going over the edge and putting your trust in a harness and the person at the top.  I was scared stiff.  MOLLY.
• Kayaking.  If our competitions were about spinning around in circles, I'd ace them.  NELLY.
• The first few down hill parts of the mountain biking track, because braking down the hills was hard before you got the hang of it.  Going around corners on the downhill was really hard!  JULIET.
• Caving, because I was terrified the whole entire time.  I was scared of never being able to get out, because the path was blocked.  I found this activity very scary.  ELEN.

Some skills I learnt/developed were . . .

• How to turn around fast in my kayak!  OLIVIA D
• That there are different techniques to make you stay in the boat when white water rafting.  ELEN.
• I've been mountain biking before, but never on terrain like this.  My skills improved a lot.  JAGO.
• Abseiling with control.  I wasn't very good to begin with.  JULIET.
• How to get on and off your bunk bed quickly, without hurting yourself.  ALEX.
• Being more fearless, because I usually don't like to try new things or step outside my comfort zone.  Thankfully, I outgrew this fear.  NELLY.
• Mountain biking, because I did lots of cool moves like drifting and speeding along the crazy track.  STEFAN.
• I learnt how to kayak standing up!  QUAID.
• To go to sleep when Alex says to go to sleep.  GEORGE.
• To be alert at all times when doing the activities.  BLAIR.
• How to kayak in a straight line!  HANNAH.

An activity I would like to try again . . .

• Abseiling - I was so nervous.  If I could do it again, I would relax and have more fun.  TAMMY.
• Rafting, because it was so much fun.  Next time I would go more extreme.  OLIVIA C.
• Caving, because it is really awesome underground and looks like you're in another universe.  BLAIR.
• Caving, because I loved looking at the glow worms and wetas.
• White water rafting, because it is loads of fun going high into the air and crashing and splashing with the other boats.  KYLE.
• Mountain biking, because I fell off a few times and I wasn't very fast.  I would try to go a bit faster and steady myself when I thought I was going to fall.  JASMINE.
• I would like to try kayaking on a better day, because the wind made it very hard to stay in one spot.  ELEN.
• A more extreme version of white water rafting, because I love huge rapids!  JULIET.

Why should Halcombe School continue to visit Turangi for camp?

• It is such a fun and active camp.  I personally really enjoyed doing all the activities, because it was my first time doing almost all of them and it got me into a couple of things that I would never have thought about before.  OLIVIA D.
• The whole experience is so different to anything you would have done before.  JULIET.
• It gives 'tasters' of different activities and encourages you to do extreme things and push yourself to your limit.  ALEX.
• Turangi is an action-packed camp.  We did so many activities, we were all exhausted at the end of the week.  ELEN.
• It is fun and teaches people to overcome their fears and go out of their comfort zone.  There are lots of skills involved in all the activities and learning new skills is important.  JAGO.
• Other classes will enjoy this trip and it feels cool knowing that not all schools do cool camps like these.  AALIYAH.
• It is cool to be able to hang out with your mates while doing some pretty hard core activities, testing your stamina, strength and endurance.  All of us kids LOVED camp.  NELLY.
• You don't get to do these kind of activities on other camps.  QUAID.
• It gives children a chance to try some outdoor activities to see if they like them or not.  It is an amazing camp and future Room 6 children will love going to Turangi.  LOGAN.
• Turangi is an excellent place to go for a school camp.  TAMMY.

Musical Challenge

This week we've been experimenting with making music using different instruments.  Here is a video of the best group performing their 'music'!  Well done Jago, Aaliyah, Trevor and Victoria.

Athletics: High Jump

We've been developing our athletic skills all week - today it was time for high jump!  After doing a warm up that involved running and practicing our scissor kick on both sides, we headed for the high jump mat.  Most of us got into the groove really quickly, with the best jump of the day being 1.25m by Elen and Stefan.  Check out the photos!

Comic Life - Camp

One of our follow up activities to camp was to create a collage of our favourite photos using Comic Life.  We have printed them on A3 paper and laminated them, making a cool reminder of our week away in Turangi.

Turangi Camp

Wow, what a week!  During our week in Turangi, we have been abseiling, caving, kayaking, tramping, mountain biking, swimming and white water rafting.  A massive congratulations to Room 6 for facing your fears and for showing grit and determination during these pretty challenging activities.  We also visited the hot pools, held a most excellent concert night and had a lot of fun and laughs along the way!  A huge thank you to our awesome camp parents - Mrs Alcock, Miss Atkinson, Miss Bloemendaal, Mr Short, Mr Durston and Mr Ireland.

We would also like to acknowledge the assistance of our PTA which helped to make our camp possible.

 

Interhouse Tug Of War

Today it was time to test our brute strength as each house battled it out in an Interhouse Tug of War competition.  We didn't think too much about technique, we just pulled and pulled as hard as we could!  Here are the final results:

Matai - 1st with 3 points (unbeaten!)
Rimu - 2nd with 4 points
Kauri - 3rd with 5 points
Totara - 4th with 6 points

5 WEEKS TO GO!

Over the past couple of days, we've done a lot of talking about what we need to do to ensure our last five weeks of the 2013 school year are a really positive experience for everyone.  It is very important that we maintain our high standards so we can have lots of fun along the way.

Today we created a list of things that we should try to remember.  Here is the TOP 10:

• show respect to others - use your manners and be nice, kind and encouraging
• take pride in what you do
• be mature
• no slacking off - give 100%!
• be organised and onto it
• be responsible and trustworthy
• have a positive attitude
• show a bright, bubbly, fun-loving personality - have a sense of humour!
• listen
• work before play!

Yummy Sticker Reward!

Throughout the year, many students from our school have been collecting yummy stickers.  Mrs Otter gathered them all up and sent them off to get counted.  In return we get FREE sports gear!  This year we asked for touch balls and cones.  Thank you to the students who collected stickers and to Mrs Otter for organising the whole thing! 

Here is a photo of our top six collectors:

Bird Art

Last week we created this awesome Bird Art with Mrs Bremner.  After deciding on the kind of bird we wanted to draw, we sketched the shape onto our paper.  We used hot and cold coloured pastels to colour the bird and background in.  They look stunning!

Hunterville Interschool Cross Country

On Friday, a group of 19 students represented our school at the Hunterville Interschool Cross Country.  Even though it was a lovely, sunny day, it was almost too hot!  Most of us felt very nervous and were worried about the killer hill before the race.

We achieved some wonderful results - congratulations team!

Year 6/7 Girls:  Olivia C - 23rd and Victoria - 27th
Year 6/7 Boys:  Jago - 39th
Year 8 Girls:  Elen - 3rd, Molly - 14th and Nelly - 19th.
Year 8 Boys:  Alex - 20th and Tyler - 25th (Stefan had to pull out due to injury)

Photographer:  Miss Campbell

Interschool Speech Competition

The night of the annual Interschool Speech Competition had arrived! 

Over the past month, Hannah and Molly have been preparing for the competition and both girls learnt their speeches by heart - not an easy thing to do! 

Finalists from St Josephs and North Street School arrived and the competition began! 

Well done girls, we are really proud of you.  Double congratulations to Hannah, who won the Year 7 competition - awesome work Hannah!  The Year 8 competition was won by Gabriella from St Josephs.

Tug Of War!

This afternoon we had a mighty tug of war challenge!  We divided ourselves into four equally strong/tough teams and faced off.  After that we had Year 8's vs Year 7's and finally, a house competition.  What a lot of fun!

The technique of this team is NOT recommended!