The big idea for Term 1 is...

LOCATION
What does that word mean?

Read to Self Fun

In these photos you can see the boys and girls reading to themselves.
If you read, you get really good at reading. It makes you better at reading.
If you read by yourself, you're trying to figure out what the author is trying to tell you. You check for understanding.
When you read you can learn things and you can travel to different places in your mind.
Reading to yourself is fun.

Our Friday Letter - Thinking about athletics

Friday 18 November 2011

Dear Parents,

On Thursday Tony came to our school for PE. We did athletics and it was a lot of fun.
One activity got us thinking.
In high jump, Tony had three different jumps, a high jump, a medium jump and a low jump. We were allowed to choose whichever jump we wanted to work on.
Then Tony made a rule. He said, "If you knock the bar off when you jump, you are DISQUALIFIED and you are out. You have to go and sit down and not jump anymore. You have ten seconds to choose which jump you want to try."
That made us think. Most people went to the low jump or the medium jump. Only one person went to the high jump.
Why? ...because everyone wanted to be able to keep jumping. They didn't want to be DISQUALIFIED and have to sit down.
Next Tony said, "I'm changing the rule. Now the rule is, if you knock the pole off, you don't have to sit down. You just go down one level AND if you get over the pole, you go up a level. You have ten seconds to choose where you will jump."
We liked that rule so much better.
No one got DISQUALIFIED and no one had to sit down AND we had to work harder because we moved up the levels to the highest jump.
That was a much better rule and it meant we could follow Tony's other rule, "Have fun and try your hardest."
Next week, when the Year 4, 5 and 6 children are at athletics day, we are going to plan an athletics afternoon and think how we can use Tony's rule in other activities. We will invite Year 1 and Year 3 children too. Parents can come along to watch and help out to make sure all the activities are safe.
We will send out a notice on Monday to let everyone know about the day.
from Ms Donnell and the early finishers in Room 2

Our Food Riddles

After Harold's visit last week, we were thinking about what our favourite healthy foods are.

We visited this class blog and loved the riddles the children had made. We decided to try to make our own.  Here are our riddles made with Kid Pix Slide Show.

O le pepe - singalong

Show Day Ribbons

Ribbons at Show Day on PhotoPeach

Our Show Day Classroom

Getting ready for Show Day on PhotoPeach


The classroom is ready on PhotoPeach

A song from the Cook Islands

Mrs Haurua has been with our class for the last seven weeks, since the beginning of the term, and for the last three weeks, she has been the main teacher in the class.
While she has been with us, she has taught us a song from the Cook Islands. It is called Kua iti te marama. We have all been practising it and it has been quite a challenge to learn the words and the melody. Today we will be singing it at a special music assembly.
Sadly, Mrs Haurua is not able to be with us today, but she did make a video of the class singing the song, to share with her Cook Island family.

Winter Tree Paintings

Winter Tree Paintings on PhotoPeach

Winter Trees

Winter Trees on PhotoPeach
We have some beautiful oak trees in our school grounds and we have been looking at them as we think about the changes that happen each season.
Here are our pencil sketches of one of these oak trees.