Room 19

Welcome to 2012 in Room 19.

2012-01-13T10:45:00.002+13:00

The holidays are flying past and I am looking forward to seeing you all in a couple of weeks. I hope you are keeping up with your reading and getting in some relaxation. If it is a rainy day, check out some of the maths and literacy links at the side of this blog.

When you arrive at the classroom, please hang your bag and hat up on a hook in the cloakroom and come in and say hello. When you have located your desk please bring in your school equipment and put it tidily into your desk.

On the first day we will be starting with a pōwhiri and then spend time getting to know each other and the classroom routines. To make this easier, please ensure that you have all the items listed on the Year 3 Stationery List sent home last year. You will also need a pencil case, your Reading Bag and your pen drive - the one you used last year will be fine and some have already been passed onto me. You will be using your own equipment rather than working from a class set and are responsible for looking after your own things. Making sure your name is on every piece of equipment, and your uniform, will be a big help to you and everyone else.

Below is a list of the subjects and books to help you with the labeling. If you choose to cover your books, please make sure your name and the subject are clearly visible.

1H5 Maths - Strand
1H5 Maths - Numeracy
1I5 Writing
1I5 Handwriting
1I5 Topic
1I5 Reading & Word Exploration
1A5 Poetry
1A4 Workbook
1B4 Homework

Enjoy the last weeks of the holidays.

Mrs D.

2012-01-04T20:22:00.004+13:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-18T16:05:00.000+13:00

Thank you to everyone for an amazing year. Your support for your children, me and the school has been invaluable.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday.

End Of Year Awards

2011-12-18T15:59:00.002+13:00

Rain, rain and more rain. It was definitely a squeeze in the hall for our final assembly. Thank you to the parents who came along to support their children, and thank you to the parents who would have liked to join us but stayed away to provide room for the family of the award recipients.

Congratulations to Julius and Thomas who received the Class Awards, keep up the great work.

Summertime Reading Club

2011-12-11T19:09:00.001+13:00

Want to become a reading whizz and maybe win an iPod Touch? Then check out the Summertime Reading Club run by the Christchurch City Libraries. Click on the link below or on the picture at the side of this blog. Their blog has some great ideas for books you might like to read over the holidays too.

http://www.christchurchcitylibraries.com/Kids/SummertimeReading/

Year 3 & 4 Celebration Gathering

2011-12-08T15:54:00.001+13:00

Today the Year Three and Four classes went to Christ's College to sing for family and friends. The singing was beautiful. Thomas and Niamh did a great job reading out our verse of A Kiwi Jingle Bells, Thank you to everyone who helped us on the trip and to our audience for coming to listen to us.

Book Characters

2011-12-07T15:47:00.000+13:00

Today we all dressed up as a character from a book.

We told the class about the plot and our character and now we have some more ideas about what we might like to read over the holidays.

Don't forget our book fair in Room 1.

Jellie Park Trip

2011-12-05T19:22:00.001+13:00

What a fabulous day - the weather could have been better but everyone had a great time in the pools and on the hydroslides. I was very impressed with the way everyone behaved and your great manners. You did yourselves and the school proud. Well done! Thank you to all our parent helpers, Jane, Kristi, Michael, Scott and Sharon. You did a great job in the pool and on the slides!

Here are some extracts from our writing that show "pizzaz!'

The bus was bursting with excitement - Beth

I emerged shivering from the water - Sam

I felt like a torpedo being fired out of a cannon - Thomas

I went racing around the corners and finally SPLASHED into a warm shallow pool - Samantha

It was hard to breathe because water was splurting into your face - Niamh

It was so cold I felt like an ice cube - Grace

We were excited but scared - Anastasia

I was shivering from top to bottom - Julius

Jellie Park

2011-12-05T06:56:00.000+13:00

Our trip today is still on, please make sure you wear warm uniform. You might even like to wear your swim wetsuit if you have one. Make sure you still bring ALL your clothes, togs, lunch, drinks, sunblock etc. We are looking at returning to school by 1.00pm instead of 2.00pm.

Jandal Day

2011-12-03T17:27:00.001+13:00

On Friday it was Jandal Day. We wore jandals and mufti and brought along a gold coin to donate to Surf Lifesaving. In the morning we did Jump Jam - this was very tricky in jandals! If you want to find out more about this great organisation, check out the link below.

http://www.slsnz.org.nz/Front/Front.aspx?ID=2587

Assembly Certificates 2nd December 2011

2011-12-03T17:13:00.000+13:00

The Year 3 Assembly this week was held in Room 17. We really enjoyed the welcome and the singing, thank you for organising it.

The Achievement certificate was awarded to Willow and the Heart of Achievement was awarded to Ziggy.
The Room 19 Calendar Art Prize went to Samantha and Julius received a Highly Commended.

Orana Park Animal Adoption

2011-11-27T15:21:00.001+13:00

Last week Toby from Orana Park sent us an email thanking us for our donation to the park. The children were very excited to learn that the money could be used to adopt an animal. But how could we choose which one? Everyone had to write a letter to persuade me to choose a particular animal. It was a very difficult choice and there were some great reasons. I had to pick one and letter selected was written by Grace. Well done Grace.

Dear Mrs D

There are many animals at Orana Wildlife Park that deserve our help.

In my opinion we should adopt the kiwi. The most important reason is that they are endangered and nearly extinct. Kiwi are one of the most precious native birds in New Zealand.

This is why I believe we should support the kiwi.

From

Grace

Gift from Southwest Arm Academy

2011-11-27T14:18:00.004+13:00

THANK YOU!

On Monday 14th November, Willow's mum Kristi came to see us. She had a letter explaining that a school in Canada been learning about the earthquakes in Christchurch. Willow's Grandmother has an online friend who knows a teacher at Southwest Arm Academy in New Foundland. Her name is Sandra Laite and she teaches a Grade One class. There are 7 students in the class and it was their idea to do something to help us. The whole school has only 95 students and they decided that they would donate their recess money to us instead of spending it. They raised $200 to help a community on the other side of the world. Check out these maps which show where their school is.

We thought that was a great effort and really thoughtful of them. We wanted to do something really special with the money. We think we have come up with the perfect idea. At St Albans School we are creating a Memory Garden outside the Oakleaf Cafe. This will be a spot where we can go to remember the hard times we have gone through and to celebrate the way we are working together to rebuild our homes and communities. We hope to start work on this soon and will put up photos of the finished garden as soon as we can.

Harry's Hair

2011-11-14T19:32:00.002+13:00

We have been learning how to persuade people. Last week we read the book Harry's Hair by Jane Buxton and we wrote letters to Harry to persuade him to cut his hair or not to cut his hair. Here are some of the reasons we used to try and persuade Harry to listen to our opinions.

You have too many animals in your hair. It is getting out of control. (Aidan)

I think you should get a haircut, make a zoo and put the animals in it. (Henry)

You don't want more animals in your hair because they will lay eggs and go to the toilet down your neck. (Riley)

I think you should get a haircut but keep the pets. It would feel so much better. You would smell nicer and it’s not a very good place to keep pets. (Grace)

In my opinion if you keep the animals your hair will smell bad. If you comb your hair you’ll be a normal kid. (James)

You must have a shower so you don’t smell bad with poop down your neck. You need to comb your hair down every day. (Hannah)

I believe you should get a haircut but keep the animals in your hair. Brush your hair and wash your hair so it doesn’t get smelly. (Jacob)

The chinchillas might bite and the birds are laying eggs. Please just brush or comb your hair! (Willow)

You should wash your hair once a week and take the animals out and then put them back in. (Sam)

Your hair is driving the citizens of the city mad. In my opinion you need to put your “pets” in a zoo. Listen to your Mum! She told you to get a hair cut – so get a haircut! (Thomas)

Even smelling you has made five people faint already. In my opinion you should get a haircut. (Niamh)

In my opinion you should keep the animals in there. My suggestions are get the animals potty trained; get them perfume and deodorant; give them cubby holes in your hair; store some food for them and get them shade. (Maiya)

The animals damage your hair. I think it would be best to shampoo your hair and brush it a lot. You should keep it clean. (Laila)

In my opinion you should get a haircut. The animals are making you smell really stinky. If you cut your hair people won’t crowd around you and it’s a bad place to keep animals. (Beth)

I believe that soon you’ll want to be a normal kid again! Otherwise people will point and laugh at you. I think it would be best if you let the animals out of your hair. (Samantha)

I think that you should get rid of them. If you don’t the animals might get crazy and rough. (Julius)

We recommend you read this book and then tell us what YOU think Harry should do.

Market Day

2011-11-07T20:43:00.001+13:00

What an awesome day!

The weather was lovely and lots of people came along to the school market day. The children had made some great pen toppers to sell and the cola sherbet was particularly popular. We made a profit of $81.90 which we are sending to Orana Wildlife Park to help support the animal communities there. Thank you to everyone who purchased one of our pen toppers or sherbet bags and thank you to the parents who came along and helped us to make the items or supervise the stall.

Assembly Certificates 4 November 2011

2011-11-05T20:31:00.000+13:00

Congratulations to Julius, Ziggy and Hannah who were awarded certificates at our assembly on Friday. You have all worked hard and demonstrated our school and class values. Well done!

Thank you to our assembly presenters, Anastasia and Hannah, who stepped into the role on very short notice.

Athletics Day

2011-11-01T20:39:00.002+13:00

What an awesome day! The weather was great and everyone threw themselves into the events. I am very proud of you all for the hard work you have put in over the last few weeks. Huge thanks to the seniors for setting out the equipment and packing it away. Thank you to Mr McKenzie, Ms Woods and Ms Archbold for all their hard work in organising the event.

Well done to Grace, Sam, Aidan and Julius who were the top scorers in our class.

Room 19 Reflections

Today I found out that:

Sometimes the things you think will be easy aren't. (Sam)

If you think tall, it helps you jump higher. (Grace)

When you are a bit taller it helps you jump higher. (Maiya)

If you believe you can do it, it helps a lot. (Thomas)

Even though we didn't win the relays, we were still great because we tried our best. (Hannah)

You can be surprised by what you can achieve. (Samantha)

Persuade Me!

2011-10-26T21:10:00.000+13:00

We have been looking at persuasive writing this week. We had a debate on the topic 'School holidays should be longer'. Here are some of the reasons we came up with to support this statement.

I think it is important that school holidays are longer because some people's families live overseas and when you go to see them it takes a while for you to get used to them. (Beth)

I think it is important that school holidays are longer because then if your older brother is in a different country then you have more time to visit. (Laila)

I think it is important that school holidays are longer because we get to see out family more often and have no homework. It would be fun. (Jacob)

I think it is important that school holidays are longer because ...
1. You can wear your pjs outside when it's warm.
2. You can catch up with friends.
3. You can sleep in late.
4. You can secretly turn on your lamp and read.
(Maiya)

I think it is important that school holidays are longer because you need time to recharge after all the hard work we've had to do. (Thomas)

I think it is important that school holidays should be longer because you can have a break off school and you can sleep in. You can go to places overseas so you can see some old friends that you haven't seen for a long time. I hope I succeeded in convincing you that we should have a long holiday. (Hannah)

Folk Dancing

2011-10-18T11:44:00.000+13:00

During the second half of term 3 Room 19 were learning different folk dances. Have a look at us folk dancing in our video. We had lots of fun!

Tī Rākau

2011-10-18T11:32:00.000+13:00

During term 3 Room 19 were learning the tī rākau actions to E Papa Waiari. Have a look at our video!

Market Day

2011-10-08T12:41:00.000+13:00

Market Day in Term 4

You will be aware that next term the PTA is running a Market Day on Saturday the 5th of November. As a follow-up to our Term 3 Inquiry on Community Roles & Responsibilities, our class will be having a stall to sell items to raise funds for a community organisation.

At a class discussion on Friday the children decided they would like to donate the funds raised on our stall to Orana Park to provide some enrichment toys for the animals. On the side of this Blog you will find a new link to a linoit wall where you can add some ideas of what we could have for sale. We will be working to a tight time frame, so the items will need to be popular sellers, cheap to make and easy to put together. I have put up a couple of ideas to start the ball rolling - and I know Mrs Warren would like the fudge and I think the "I Spy Jar" is a really cool idea.

So, get your thinking hats on, you might even like to start making things over the holidays. Keep me updated via the linoit wall.

Our Big Day Out at Orana Park

2011-10-05T19:39:00.003+13:00

Here is a slideshow of our Orana Park trip. Read all about our learning adventure in the Our Stories tab.

Big Day Out - Orana Park Trip

2011-10-04T20:36:00.001+13:00

Rain or shine, our trip to Orana Park is on tomorrow. Bring your raincoat, bring your gumboots, don't forget to bring your lunch and make sure you are at school by 8.45!

Rugby World Cup Day with our Buddies

2011-10-04T20:24:00.002+13:00

Everyone was very disappointed that the weather prevented the planned activities for the Top Town Rugby World Cup Day. Instead we had a fun day with our buddy class. We had a team quiz based on South Africa and the Rugby World Cup (It was a very close result), then did Jump Jam in the Hall with the teams from Australia, England and Argentina and taught them The Jambo Song.

At the end of the day we had a secret vote on who had the best costume. Beth was the winner of the Room 19 SpringBlock Trophy! Well done Beth.

Rugby World Cup 2011

2011-10-01T18:20:00.000+13:00

This site has some fun activities that you might like to try.

ttp://www.ruggerland.co.nz/

Talented Artists in Room 19

2011-09-29T19:24:00.000+13:00

Well done Anastasia, Grace, Hannah, Julius and Samantha who participated in an Art Extension Day with Ms Lythgoe this week. Your artwork is great. Some examples are on display in the classroom, others will be up in the office shortly.

The Real Richie McCaw

2011-09-29T19:02:00.001+13:00

We read an article in the School Journal today about Richie McCaw. Here is the movie clip from YouTube that accompanies this article.

There was an old lady who swallowed a bat???

2011-09-29T18:49:00.001+13:00

Today during library time we read a funny book about an old lady who swallowed some very strange things. When we got back to class we watched a clip on You Tube narrated by Cyndi Lauper called There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I bet many parents will be familiar with this tale.

Super Similes

2011-09-27T11:43:00.001+13:00

We have been looking at similes in class today. Click on the links below to practise what you have learnt.

This is the link to the game we played in class. Go to the blue writing that says Main Lesson Part 2.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/using_similes/eng/Introduction/

And here is another online game using similes that you might like to try out.
http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/similiframe.htm

There are also a number of games you can use for practising your grammar at the side of the blog under Literacy Games.

Keep learning and you will be as wise as an owl.

Roles & Responsibilities - Scout Leader & PTA Treasurer

2011-09-22T14:21:00.000+12:00

On Wednesday we had two more special visitors to the classroom. Grace's mum discussed her role as a Scout Leader. Everyone was very excited to learn about Keas, Cubs and Scouts. Sam's mum also came in and talked about the role of the PTA and her role as Treasurer. We have discussed the difference between paid jobs and volunteer jobs and the important role both play in a Cool Community. Thank you for coming in to help us.

Roles & Responsibilities - Interviews at Home this week

2011-09-19T19:43:00.000+12:00

Today the children will have brought home a notice explaining that they need to interview a family member or friend about their role (paid or volunteer). We have developed a series of open questions that will give us nice 'fat' answers and lead to follow-up questions.

Some examples of questions you might be asked are;

What are your responsibilities?

How does your role help the community?

How long have you done this role?

Why did you want to do this job?

What training did you need?

What do you like most about your role?

What do you like least about your role?

What tools or equipment do you need to do your job?

What can other people do to help you?

Community Roles & Responsibilities - Librarian

2011-09-19T19:36:00.000+12:00

This afternoon, James' mum came and answered our questions about the role of a librarian. We found out that there are about 1,000,000 books in the Christchurch City Libraries - and about half of them (that's 500,000) are out on loan being enjoyed.

Thank you for answering our questions - and for letting us know about International Talk Like A Pirate Day. We had lots of fun thinking up pirate names for ourselves. ARRRGGHHH!

Community Roles & Responsibilities - St John Paramedic

2011-09-19T19:24:00.000+12:00

Today we had a visit by Jacob's Dad who is a Paramedic for St John Ambulance. We asked open questions about the responsibilities of a Paramedic and learnt a lot about the valuable role of the Ambulance Service in our community. One of the highlights for the children was getting to have a close-up look at the inside of the ambulance.

Community Roles & Responsibilities - Police Dogs

2011-09-17T16:58:00.000+12:00

It was very exciting on Wednesday when we were invited to participate in a visit by some special visitors.

Follow this link to see the video on Room 17's Blog. http://seventeen2011.blogspot.com/

Christchurch City Libraries Travelling Road Show

2011-09-10T17:29:00.003+12:00

On Tuesday we went to the hall to hear some stories. Two librarians came out to share some excellent books with us. Some of us got to do some acting.

One of the books read to us was called Moo-Cow Kung-Fu-Cow. We thought it was very funny and clever.

If you have read a really good book, add it to our Linoit Wall. It might be an old favourite or a new discovery. Click on the link that says"Great Books we have read".

Share a book today with someone in your family and tell us about it.

Our Plays

2011-08-28T11:50:00.004+12:00

The children were excited to be organising and presenting a play to the class. They decided on parts, made or organised their costumes, props and stage settings by themselves. These plays were recorded and viewed together to identify aspects that were well done, things they would like to improve on for next time and what they found interesting about the experience. This was collated onto an online wall of Post-it notes. See the link below.

Please watch these plays and add your own comments to our PMI. (Positives, Might do differently next time, Interesting)

Zapped!

By Hannah, Jacob, James, Riley, Sam & Ziggy

Full Stop.

By Aidan, Anastasia, Grace, Maiya & Malakai

Queen Bee Blues

By Beth, Julius, Niamh, Thomas

PMI on our Plays

Year 3 Assembly - 24 August 2011

2011-08-25T11:44:00.000+12:00

Thank you to Room 18 for hosting the last assembly. We really enjoyed the new song you taught us. Those tongue twister parts were very tricky!

Congratulations to Niamh and Thomas who were awarded certificates.

The Littlest Caterpillar Book - Manawaru School

2011-08-25T10:46:00.011+12:00

We have been given a wonderful book written by a group of children from Manawaru School. It is called The Littlest Caterpillar.

We looked up Manawaru school on Google Maps and found it is in the North Island.

Everyone has really enjoyed reading their book and it has inspired us to write stories of our own about some bees.

These are some of the story beginnings the children have written.

The hive was alive and buzzing. The scout bees had just come back from their daily patrol. They said to the Queen" Quick, run, hide! The wasps are coming." There were cries of "We're going to die!" and "Run for your life!"
(Thomas)

"Quick, scramble, get into your positions. The venomous wasps are coming to attack us. Hide the crystal!" yelled the guards. "Protect the queen!"
(Sam)

The bees zoomed across the countryside, the wasps gaining on them. One by one bees were injured by the wasps. At last they reached the tree. It wasn't just any tree. Inside a secret entrance was an elevator.
(Julius)

They were coming. The bees all knew it. The wasps were coming. But they knew who to call - the hero who saved all. Ding Dong. "I'm here!" called Buzz the hero. " Uuggh" cried Bumble the Queen's assistant. "When will you ever learn to bust through the door." "Sorry," said Buzz. "We have a situation!" cried the Guards.
(Samantha)

We liked these beginnings because they grab the reader's attention, use interesting language and show the authors personality. We are looking forward to reading the rest of your stories.

Jumping Jellybeans

2011-08-12T19:32:00.000+12:00

The children were jumping with joy this morning when the winner of the Jellybean Estimation Challenge was announced - ROOM 19!!!!!!

We had estimated 718 jellybeans were in the jar; the actual number was 707. There are 20 students in the class so we worked out that each student would get 35 jellybeans with 7 left over.

I hope you remember to brush your teeth afterwards!

Wheelie Day

2011-08-10T20:36:00.000+12:00

Everyone had a great time with their wheels. Thank you to the senior school students who helped organise and supervise the event.

Syndicate Assembly 10 August 2011

2011-08-10T20:26:00.001+12:00

Congratulations to Grace, Thomas and Beth who received awards at today's assembly.
Keep up the great work!

Lego Surprise!

2011-08-08T16:29:00.003+12:00

On Friday the children received a pack of Toy Story Lego from the Salvation Army and Lego. They were very excited to get the present and would like to say ...

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

I was sitting at my desk when the door opened. A year 5 came in carrying 3 boxes full of Lego. I thought, "How strange Lego at school. That has never happened before." At the end of the day everyone got a Lego set. When we got home the first thing I asked was, "Can I make my Lego set?"

By Thomas

Maths Week 2011

2011-08-06T20:16:00.001+12:00

On Monday the children will be bringing home a note with a username and password on it for them to use on the Maths Week site. Please help them to take advantage of the games and challenges available for the week. Click on the picture below to get to the website.

Are you checking the Blog?

2011-08-06T18:12:00.001+12:00

Here is your chance to earn a Room 19 dollars. Write a comment on this post.

(It must be a comment - not just a reaction!)

On Monday you will be rewarded with a Room 19 dollar. (Competition only open to Room 19 children).

Shape up!

2011-08-06T17:50:00.001+12:00

Our maths topic for the first two weeks of the term is geometry. Click on this image to check out this cool site that will help you learn.

What a Cool Community!

2011-08-06T17:25:00.000+12:00

This term our Inquiry focus is on communities and the roles and responsibilities people have within them. We are looking for a variety of people to interview in Week 6 or 7 about their jobs - both paid and unpaid. If you think you might be able to help, please let me know.

We took a photo of these cool kids in our classroom community. Love the attitude!!!

I LOVE SNOW DAYS!!!!

2011-07-25T09:52:00.001+12:00

Wow, what a surprise I got when I looked out the window this morning! I was taking a few photos and I thought it would be fun to have a Snow sculpture challenge. So get your warm clothes on and get out in it.

Send me a photo and I will put it up on the Blog!

This is my entry - Cat in the Hat!

Trapped like flies in a spider web!

2011-07-24T16:48:00.001+12:00

As I was sorting through the photos, I found this one that I thought you would enjoy.

On this day, the Tuatara Reading Group had been reading a book about White-Tail Spiders. We found out that although White-Tails don't make a web, they do use other spider's webs to trick them into coming close enough for the White-Tail to catch them and eat them.

Look at the strange creatures we caught in our spider web!

Beach Fun Day

2011-07-22T15:47:00.000+12:00

The Year 3 Big Day In was all about the Beach! The weather was sunny but cold and there were some great outfits. Congratulations to Beth who won the Beached As Award for the best outfit. We made some funky sunglasses, groovy grass skirts and a beach scene placemat. For lunch we shared Fish & Chips outside on our towels. Thank you to all the parents and other helpers who arranged outfits, helped with the crafts and managed the food at lunch time. We couldn't have done it without you!

Red & Black Day

2011-07-09T15:50:00.001+12:00

Ginger Beer

2011-07-09T15:47:00.002+12:00

This week we made some Ginger Beer as part of our Bubble Fizz Pop Science Unit. We made it in a bucket and left it overnight for the yeast to work it's magic. Then we strained it and put it into bottles. When we felt the bottles they were quite squishy. The next day they had become a lot harder. That is because the pressure is building up. We are hoping it doesn't pop! Next week we are going to share our Ginger Beer with our buddy class - Room 25.

Click on the link below to the Suzy's World Website if you would like to make some Ginger Beer at home.

http://www.suzy.co.nz/suzysworld/Factpage.asp?FactSheet=95

Wearable Aprons

2011-07-09T13:39:00.006+12:00

Thank you to everyone that was able to come in and help us with our aprons!

Look at our CREATIVE aprons!

Poetry - Part 4

2011-07-09T13:34:00.000+12:00

James, Maiya, Thomas

Poetry - Part 3

2011-07-09T13:30:00.000+12:00

Julius, Kennedy, Riley, Samantha

Poetry - Part 2

2011-07-09T13:23:00.001+12:00

Beth, Sam, Anastasia, Laila

Poetry - Part 1

2011-07-09T13:12:00.002+12:00

Jacob, Malakai, Hannah, Willow

Wearable Apron Art!

2011-06-25T10:45:00.000+12:00

We are starting our Wearable Art Unit this week and are looking for some bits and pieces to make our art more exciting. If you have any of the following, or other items you think would be useful, we would love to have them for Thursday. We would also like each child to bring a coat hanger so we can hang the items safely while they are being made. We are looking for some extra pairs of hands to help with the construction of these items so if you could spare about an hour to help out, please let me know. Session times will be Friday 1st July1.45 - 3.00 and Thursday 7th July 1.45 - 3.00.

Buttons Cotton Sewing Needles Ribbons Lace

Elastic Material Fake Flowers Wool String

Newspaper Plastic Bags (Large rubbish and supermarket bags)

Poetry Competition - Week 10 - 7th July - 11.30 to 12.30

2011-06-23T21:26:00.001+12:00

It's Poetry Time!!!!! Do you know a really good poem to share with the class? Have a look at the sites at the side of this blog; check out your bookcase; search the library; ask Mum or Dad; pick Grandma and Grandad's brains, or write your own.

Over the next two weeks we will be focusing on poetry and on presenting poems. The poem you present must be at least 7 lines long. Choose a poem that you really like. If you enjoy it, then your audience will too. You will get the chance to present your poem to the class and the best presentation will be selected to represent the class at the finals in Week 11.

Parents/caregivers are welcome to attend the class poetry presentation which will be held in our classroom on the 7th of July from 11.30.

Coke & Mentos Geyser

2011-06-23T19:30:00.004+12:00

Things have been fizzing in Room 19 this week. We have been investigating chemical reactions and have had lots of fun doing it. Before we started we had to hypothesise about what we thought would happen. We used our SOLO thinking levels to make our predictions then we headed outside to see how accurate they were.

Be warned - this gets messy. Make sure you check with Mum or Dad first.

What you will need:
2L Bottle of Diet Cola
1 pkt Mentos lollies
Geyser Tube (Optional - available from Nature's Discoveries in Riccarton)

What you do:
1. Go outside.
2. Put the bottle of cola on the ground (or dug into a little pile of liquefaction!)
3. Load the geyser tube and pull the trigger OR VERY QUICKLY tip 7 mentos lollies into the cola.
4. STAND BACK.

Photo by Julius

Wonderings:
Does it work with different flavours of mentos?
Would it make a difference if we used different brands of cola?
Will it still work if we used lemonade?
Could you use other types of mints?

Thank-you to Jamie from Room 20 for recording our investigation.

Check out these sites to find out about the science behind the excitement.

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/original-mentos-diet-coke-geyser

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kme9UQAphmY

Ice Cream Science!

2011-06-17T19:19:00.002+12:00

Home-made ice-cream was a popular investigation in Room 19 today. Our second experiment achieved much better results than the first rather slushy result and the addition of some extras was a special treat in recognition of the bumpy week.

Basic Recipe
What you need
100 ml full cream milk
2 tlb sugar
2-3 drops of vanilla essence
2 cups ice
2 tlb salt
What you do
1. Pour the milk into a small snaplock bag.
2. Add the sugar and the vanilla essence.
3. Seal the bag.
4. Put the ice and salt into a medium snaplock bag.
5. Put the bag with the milk mixture in it inside the ice bag.
6, Seal the bag.
7. Put both bags inside a container and shake until the milk turns into a solid.
8. Carefully rinse the outside of the ice cream bag to remove any salty residue.
9. Eat and enjoy

Questions we have for further investigation are:

Would we still get ice cream if we used a different brand/type of milk?

Could we use different essences to get different flavours?

How much faster does the salt make the ice-cream freeze?

Would it work without the salt?

When we kept shaking it, it got softer again - is this because of the shaking or the because the ice had turned into water?

Investigate one of these questions over the weekend if you get a chance. Send me some photos of your findings and I will add them to the blog. Have fun?

Check out this site to answer some of the questions we had.

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/homemade-ice-cream-sick-science?tab=video&utm_source=Steve+Spangler+Science&utm_campaign=cea99341c2-EOW_20110622&utm_medium=email

Wonderings?

2011-06-14T14:00:00.003+12:00

Can anybody else see similarities between oobleck and liquefaction?

If you want to hear the rest of the Bartholomew and the Oobleck story - follow the link below.Bartholomew & the Oobleck Story

Looking after each other!

2011-06-14T10:10:00.001+12:00

Hi Everyone

I was very proud of everyone yesterday - once again you knew what to do, did it quickly and were very supportive of each other. I hope you are all safe as we begin our clean up again.

Keep an eye on this blog and the school website for information - and keep in touch via email or comments on the Blog. Hopefully we will be back in action very soon.

BIG HUGS!

Mrs D

Oobleck

2011-06-03T19:26:00.001+12:00

Is it a solid, is it a liquid .....or is it a non-newtonian fluid?

This afternoon we were investigating the properties of Oobleck. Oobleck is very easy to make and lots of fun to explore. Put 1 cup of cornflour, 1/3 of a cup of water and a few drops of green food colouring into a plastic container and mix it together.

Warning: This will get messy and do NOT dispose of it down the drain.

Check out this site to learn more about oobleck.

http://www.graspr.com/videos/Oobleck-1

Syndicate Assembly 1 June 2011

2011-06-01T20:30:00.000+12:00

Room 19 hosted the Year 3 Assembly today. Thank you to Kennedy and Thomas who did a great job as presenters; Willow who introduced our Modigliani Portraits: and Anastasia, Grace, Jacob, Julius and Maiya who shared their Rain poems. Congratulations to Anastasia, Jacob and James who were awarded certificates - keep up the great work.

Investigating Dissolving

2011-05-30T19:37:00.004+12:00

Today we were exploring a special type of mixing called dissolving. We investigated what happens when you try to dissolve a solid into a liquid. We discovered that:

* some substances dissolve more easily than others
* some substances need to be stirred before they will dissolve
* hot water works better than cold because the molecules are moving faster.

Some of our solutions were very tasty!

Try the quiz about dissolving particles at this website http://ewart.org.uk/science/structures/str6.htm

Week 4 News Reporters

2011-05-30T19:23:00.000+12:00

Riley and Kennedy were our News Reporters on Friday. Thank you for sharing stories about your bears with us.

Volcanoes!

2011-05-23T13:28:00.000+12:00

Erupting Volcanoes

On Friday the Tuatara Reading Group made some volcanoes. Today Mrs DeVries had some white vinegar and some malt vinegar. First we put a spoon of Baking Soda into the volcano. Then Hannah and Kennedy poured the vinegar and food colouring into the volcano and it started to fizz, bubble and burst. The vinegar came out the top and oozed down the volcanoes. It fell on the ice cream container lid and slid onto the table. It moved everywhere.

by Maiya

Big Boom Volcano

Big volcano erupting

Lava bubbling oozing everywhere

Interesting volcano rocks

Vinegar smells yucky

Quickly bubbling

Lava Erupting

The way it explodes

Hannah & Kennedy

Did a good job

Vinegar smell

Malt and white

In each one

Lava

Rocks erupting

More ash and lava

More and more

Boom Fizz Pop Bubble

Tuatara Reading Group is great.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

by Laila

Assembly Certificates

2011-05-23T12:48:00.000+12:00

Congratulations to Grace, Samantha and Hannah who received certificates at the Syndicate Assembly on Wednesday. We are proud of you.

Our fantastic portraits!

2011-05-19T15:48:00.000+12:00

During term 1 and part of term 2 Room 19 have been creating portraits using mixed media. Have a look at some of our fabulous portraits! If you would like to see more come in to our class and have a look.

Solid, Liquid or Gas?

2011-05-16T15:52:00.002+12:00

Today we having been thinking about the three states of matter - solid, liquid and gas. We watched a clip on schooltube that was very cool and then we practiced being molecules. Check out the clip "Phaze Change" under the Science Sites at the side of the blog.

Solid Molecules - tightly packed together.

Liquid Molecules - moving gently around each other

Gas Molecules - Racing around bouncing off each other

A drink bottle (solid) with water (liquid) molecules inside.

Mathletics Reminder

2011-05-14T16:43:00.000+12:00

The last day for registration is MONDAY!!

If you want to participate (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!) go the the link at the side of our Blog.

Moving Milk!

2011-05-14T16:32:00.000+12:00

Our science experiment this week involved some common kitchen chemicals. We had some questions/wonderings at the end of the experiment that you might like to investigate further.

Moving Milk

You will need:
Blue Milk
Assorted Food colourings
Small amount of Detergent (in a milk bottle cap)
Shallow bowl or plate
Cotton bud

Method:

1. Pour milk into the bowl.
2. Put drops of different food colourings around the perimeter of the bowl.

MAKE A PREDICTION!
What do you think will happen when a small amount of detergent is dripped into the centre of the bowl?

Remember to use our SOLO hypothesis format of;

I think ...... because ....... and .......

3. Dip one end of the cotton bud into the detergent and drip into the milk. Do not stir!

OBSERVE
What can you see happening?

INTERPRETATION
Why was the milk moving?

WONDERINGS FROM ROOM 19
I wonder if you can you use different colours?
I wonder if the colour of the detergent make a difference?
I wonder if it works faster if you stir it?
I wonder what would happen if you used warm/very cold milk?
I wonder if it will work with flavoured/different types of milk?

Bridge Challenge

2011-05-14T15:54:00.000+12:00

The Tuatara Reading group have been reading a book called "The Impossible Bridge". At the end of the book was a challenge to make a bridge out of one piece of A4 paper. It could only be cut or torn once and no cellotape was allowed. The bridge had to be strong enough to support a toy car (or in this case a plastic bug). Here are some of the creative ways they solved the problem.

Sam was proud of
how strong his
bridge was.

Grace used some
tricky folding
techniques for her
bridge support.

Anastasia & Riley combined
their resources - and those of
other "engineers" to increase
the span of their bridge.

Hannah explored using
glue on her bridge support.

Kennedy discovered
that a paper bridge is NOT impossible
after all.

Sid's Latest Adventures

2011-05-07T13:03:00.003+12:00

Well, Sid has certainly been getting around New Zealand the last couple of weeks. It looks like his adventure is going to continue for bit longer so I have started a Tab for us to record what he is up to. The first entry is from Samantha, thanks Samantha.

Science Science Science!

2011-05-07T12:08:00.008+12:00

What is in the Box?

Observations Predictions Questions Explanations

This afternoon we saw blue liquid poured into the top of a box and clear liquid came out the bottom. But how did it happen?

Your challenge is to draw and label a diagram to explain what you think is going on inside the box. As an extension you could make your own "What's in the box?" to see if your idea will work.

Give it a go - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

SId is missing!!!!!!

2011-04-23T19:10:00.000+12:00

Hi everybody,

When I popped into school on Thursday there was a note on the board from Sid saying how lonely he was without you so he had decided to go off on an adventure. He said he would send us a postcard - I wonder where he is? I know he doesn't have a passport so he must still be in New Zealand somewhere. Where do you think he might go? Keep your eyes peeled while you are out and about- knowing Sid he could turn up anywhere!

Have fun in the holidays and I will see you again soon.

Mrs D

PS: Could you please start collecting empty cereal boxes - we will need them for Art next term.

Week 11 Update

2011-04-17T20:43:00.002+12:00

Our Inquiry Topic this term has been "All About Us". This has included Statistics, Measurement, Art and English. In writing we have been busy learning about Instructions and have written recipes with Ingredients and a Method on how to make us. The ingredients each child came up with have been posted onto WallWisher (See the link on the right hand side of this page). As you can see, everyone has a unique recipe and we would love to have your comments added to the wall - just double click on the wall and a new "stickie" will appear for you to put your comments on. As this Wall is open to the wider community - I will review the "Stickie" and approve it before it will be available for general viewing.

Have a great break and do lots of fun activities together.

PS: Don't forget the Reading Crusade (See the link on the right hand side of this page).

Trouble in Paradise

2011-04-13T19:29:00.001+12:00

Today in writing the children wrote a story based on a youTube clip called Trouble in Paradise. They were very excited about this short animated film and wanted to be able to share it with family and friends. I love the expressions on the face of the crab! The link is on the side of the blog page.

Week 9 Update

2011-04-09T11:57:00.000+12:00

Thank you to everyone who came along to the Goal Setting Interviews on Tuesday or Wednesday - the fifteen minutes went very quickly and if you have thought of other points you wish to discuss, please let me know. I am more than happy to arrange a time to discuss any concerns or successes.

This week we have been looking at instructions, measurement and self portraits. On Friday afternoon we made Lolly Cake Boulders. Thank you very much to Sam's mum who came and helped. The children had a great time making them and they may even have brought it home to share with you (but probably not judging by the crumbs in the cloakroom).

Cross Country Stars!

2011-04-01T21:01:00.002+13:00

Well done to everyone in Room 19 who ran in Thursday's Cross Country Race. You showed determination and perseverance; and it was great to see how your training over the last few weeks has made such an improvement to your fitness levels! You were awesome! Wananei!

Congratulations to Julius who came 2nd and Sam who came 3rd in the Year 3 Boys race; and to Beth who came 1st and Samantha who came 3rd in the Year 3 Girls race. What a terrific achievement.

Week 8 Update

2011-03-26T18:33:00.001+13:00

Things have been getting back to normal this week with just about everyone back in class now. For maths we have been looking at fractions and working out halves, quarters and thirds of an object and of a group of objects - so now there is no excuse for not getting EQUAL SHARES on Pizza Night.

We have been reading Nim's Island together and learning about Island life and Communication. The Sunrise Pictures and the shoe sketches look great and our buddy class was blown away by the amazing artists we have in Room 19. Here are a couple of examples.

The Doubles Song

2011-03-26T17:57:00.000+13:00

Proudly presenting the latest hit single from the Room 19 Singers ..... THE DOUBLES SONG.

Sure to be a hit with everyone who wants to learn their doubles facts to 20, and guaranteed to stay in your mind for at least 12 hours. (Special Conditions Apply)

Thank you to Room 17 and Ms Ashby for accompanying us.

Back to School.

2011-03-13T20:07:00.000+13:00

It was great to see so many of the children back in school this week. We spent time sharing our experiences and doing some fun activities. Check out our Sunrise over Christchurch pictures when you come into the classroom next. We voted on some names for our frogs and came up with Freddy for the biggest frog, Hoppy for the middle size frog, Ruby for the littlest green frog, and Shaky for the tadpole. (Shaky was named in memory of the recent earthquake)

At assembly on Thursday morning Mrs Warren told us how proud she was of the way everybody handled themselves and looked after each other. Then we got to do some ZUMBA! We have some awesome dancers in our class. On Friday the Funky Monkeys came and did a show for us - they were very funny.

Back to School!!!

2011-03-08T19:00:00.000+13:00

I am looking forward to seeing everyone again on Thursday - I have missed you all soo much. The frogs are ready to return and I gave the aquarium a good clean this afternoon. I will bring some flies with me so you can see their hunting skills in action on Thursday. I have nicknamed the frogs Hit (because s/he always gets the first fly) Miss (because s/he usually misses and has to wait for them to fall into the water) and Sneak (because s/he like to sneak up the wall to grab unsuspecting flies). Beth has thought of a couple of good names too - what ideas do you have? Put your thinking hats on and we will have a vote on Thursday afternoon.

See you soon.
Mrs D

2nd March 2011 - Frog Update

2011-03-02T11:04:00.000+13:00

We now have another frog! I got up this morning and the newest frog was sitting on top of one of the rocks. Here is a photo of him/her. You can still see what is left of the tail. Our other two frogs are also starting to get a bright green stripe down the middle of their backs which you can see in this photo.

Mrs Simmons has left a comment on our blog asking for help in identifying Room 15's frog. Can you help? Compare the photos on both blogs - do they look like the same species of frog to you? Their frog is called Sophie - I think we need to come up with some names for our frogs, but how do we tell if they are males or females? Maybe we could use names that could be for either boys or girls. Post your suggestions on the blog and we will have a vote when we get back to school.

Learning at home this week.

2011-02-28T10:50:00.006+13:00

Thank you for the messages of support.

I think you are on the right track with the frog identification - looks like we have some budding herpetologists in the class. Our two frogs are growing bigger and one of the tadpoles is very close to being a frog, but the other one is developing a bit slower. If you go to this site, you will be able to hear what they will sound like. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/frogs/3 . I haven't heard any croaks in the night yet - they are too busy eating flies! This morning at breakfast time the littlest frog was very slowly creeping up on a fly when CHOOOMMP! the fly was gobbled up by the bigger frog from underneath the water- just as he was about to get it too. Don't worry though, I have plenty of flies for both.

Are you, or Mum & Dad, looking for some activities you can do at home this week? I have been checking out a few sites on the internet for you to explore. You will find more sites on the side of this page.

Language.
While watching some of the news on tv I have been fascinated by the sign language interpreters and have been trying to learn a few signs. If you would like to have a try, check out this site - see if you can learn how to sign your name before we start back.
http://www.funbrain.com/signs/index.html

Maths.
Last week we were starting a unit on time. Try the Telling Time game at the following site (remember the hour hand also moves when you are doing the 30 minutes/half-past times. ( Don't bother with the difficult times game on the same site as the hour does not move correctly). http://www.netrover.com/~kingskid/clock/clock7hour.html

Basic facts are important to keep practicing - check out this site. It will even keep a record of how much faster you get.
http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/mathfact/default.htm

Reading.
Check out the online stories at this site. I particularly like the story about the Invisible Alligators and Sari - what have learned how to do that you didn't know how to do before the earthquake? (I learnt how to make an outside toilet!!!)
http://www.magickeys.com/books/

Take care everyone and look out for each other.

Frog Brainteaser

2011-02-27T17:29:00.000+13:00

Want to exercise your brain - try this puzzle (without looking at the clues). Remember - don't give up, keep trying. http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/froggame.htm

Can you help identify our frogs?

2011-02-27T16:55:00.002+13:00

I have brought our class frogs and tadpoles home to look after them until we all get back to school. The frogs have been enjoying some flies - I can't believe how big a fly they can fit in their mouths! (They would be a good partner to have for the chubby bubby game!) I have also been trying to identify what species of frogs they are and I think I have worked it out by checking through the clues at http://www.nzfrogs.org/NZ+Frogs/Introduced+frogs.html . Have a good look at these photos and see if you can work it out too. Post your answer to our blog.

Thinking of you all

2011-02-23T13:56:00.000+13:00

I hope everyone is safe. I was very proud of how quickly you all came to the assembly point and how you handled yourselves as we were waiting for your parents to collect you. Lots of you were asking about the tadpoles and frogs - I am pleased to report they are ok. I moved them to a safer position in the class room before I left yesterday. Look after each other until we see you again.
Love from Mrs D

Week 3 Update

2011-02-18T19:32:00.001+13:00

This week we have been learning about statistics. We have been asking questions, collecting data, making bar graphs and commenting on our findings. We have also been continuing our investigations on frogs. Two of our tadpoles are nearly frogs. Soon we will need to catch flies for our frogs. Sid (our class puppet) has been up to his tricks again. This is Beth's story about Sid's latest adventure in Room 19.

Sid the crazy lizard.

Last night Sid was up to mischief, lurking around the room trying to take the marbles out of the jar. He was trying to make sure that no-one would see him.. He crept close to the desk but then Mrs D came in so Sid climbed up the wall and hid behind the curtain. A little while later on the bell rang so all the children came in. Everyone wondered where Sid was but then we found him. Sid had a big adventure.

By Beth

Week Two in Room 19.

2011-02-11T17:19:00.000+13:00

This week we have been learning about our new class pets - four tadpoles. We have been reading books, checking out articles on the internet and sharing our knowledge. We have learnt that NZ native frogs don't hatch into tadpoles - they start as tiny frogs and grow bigger. That makes our tadpoles an introduced species but we are not sure which type yet. Our tadpoles eat fish flakes and oxygen weed. All of them have started to get legs. We had our first choir session today - it was absolutely fantastic!

(I really enjoyed listening to your great singing - Mrs D).

Room 19 Surprise!

2011-02-05T12:53:00.000+13:00

I went out this morning and got the surprise we talked about yesterday. What do YOU think it will be? The clue is in the books we have been reading, the extra hints and some of the ideas your classmates had. See you on Monday when you will find out for sure.
Mrs D

Week 1 Update

2011-02-05T12:40:00.000+13:00

It has been a busy couple of days for everybody in Room 19. We have been getting to know each other and our classroom. On Thursday we thought of some excellent adjectives to describe our class and Mrs D has put them up in the cloakroom area. Check them out next time you come in. Yesterday afternoon we met with our Buddy Class - Room 25. We showed them our lizard pictures and then we went and had a look at their classroom. We also got to play on the Spiderweb. Next week we are on Wombling Duty with them.

Greetings

2011-01-07T16:07:00.000+13:00

Kia ora everyone.
Hope you are all enjoying the holidays. I'm looking forward to seeing you all again soon.
Mrs D