So what does skip counting, repeated addition, groups of and multiplication all have in common?

  PhotoPeach

Thinking like an environmentalist

Thinking like an environmentalist on PhotoPeach

We have been thinking about what makes a good, healthy safe environment.  We can all make a difference to our environment.  Let's keep it good, healthy and safe for generations to come.

Leaf Poems

Leaf Poems on PhotoPeach
We have been learning to use descriptive words to paint a picture about a leaf for the reader.  We learnt about nouns, verbs, adverbs and adjectives.  Can you spot them in our poems?
When you read our poems you will see how clever we have been at shaping the words.  Our poem starts with one word, grows to two, grows to three and then finishes with four words.  We think that we have been strong writers!

Autumn Art

Autumn Trees on PhotoPeach
We are learning to make an Autumn Collage. A collage is when you use different materials to create an art work.  We blended Autumn colours to create the background. We tried to balance our art work by using all the space on our page.  We are learning to layer materials to create texture and interest.

Shaping the Earth

Shaping the earth on PhotoPeach

After reading about how the earth is shaped we still had difficulty understanding how water eroded the earth.  We decided to do our own experiment to watch how water can change the shape of the earth.  We now have a better understanding of what erosion means.

What does multiplication look like at stage 4?

So what does multiplication look like at Stage 4? on PhotoPeach

Great thinking everyone.  I liked they way you were able to show your thinking in different ways.

Bonds to 10

Bonds to 10 on PhotoPeach
2 apple trees, 10 apples.  How many different ways could the apples be sorted on the trees?

Images of Autumn

Images of Autumn on PhotoPeach

We have  been exploring the camera function on the ipad and ipod and some children have taken photo’s showing signs that Autumn is coming.

Clay Face Sculptures

Clay Face Sculptures on PhotoPeach

What fun we had on Friday creating our face sculptures through clay.  Many thanks to Melanie who shared with the children examples of famous artists work, one being Picasso, and also finished examples of clay faces.  The children enjoyed exploring and feeling the pieces.  They were each given a small handful of clay to manipulate, mould, squash, squeeze and poke.  The concentration was wonderful and most children produced two finished works.   It may take a few weeks but we are hoping to get the faces fired in the kiln. 
 

STRIKE

STRIKE! on PhotoPeach
The whole school went to a show today called "STRIKE". Look at the photo's and think about why the show was called STRIKE.

Softball Skills with Mr Hastings

Softball Skills on PhotoPeach
We are practising our throwing and catching skills with Mr Hastings.

Mushroom Compost

Brandi and Jaimee brought in a bucket of mushroom compost from the mushroom farm and we started to do some noticing, remembering, questioning and wondering!

All the mushrooms are white. Millie

Some mushrooms are poisonous and you shouldn’t eat them. Nathan

The mushrooms are on top of each other.  They are close. Jess

They are growing in mud. Aarohi

I wonder if they can be different colours. Caleb

They grow in my sandpit. Lachlan

They can be red with white spots or brown. Oskar

There is white stuff in the bucket.  I wonder if the mushrooms will grow there. Bruno

All mushrooms are different. Charlie

They grow in dirt.  The dirt is black and it is not dried up.

Mushrooms can be bigger than those.  They can be grey and different sizes.  They can be different colours.

I know that mushrooms start off as pince, they grow into buttons and then into cups and then into flats.  Jaimee

The skin on the mushroom has cracks on it. Tayla

Red mushrooms with white spots are poisonous.  Brown mushrooms you can eat.  Those little mushrooms in the bucket are growing on top of each other. Tilda

I know the white ones have dirt in them.  There is some white stuff with the dirt. Jack

The mushrooms are growing in compost.  James

Some mushrooms can be orange. Ranui

I counted 36 mushrooms in the bucket. Amy

The mushrooms are a circle shape. Tia

How big can mushrooms grow? Mrs Jarvis

Some mushrooms can grow as big as your hand. Oscar

They like the dark so they do lots of growing at night time. Jaimee.

Can you eat mushrooms raw? Tayla

How do you tell if a mushroom is poisonous. Mrs Jarvis

Discovery through Clay-Clay through Discovery!

Clay through Discovery on PhotoPeach

Over the last 4 weeks we have had enjoyed discovering  the properties of clay.
The children have displayed amasing qualities such as perseverance, problem solving, creativity and patience.  
Different techniques have been explored and perfected.

More Discovery

More Discovery on PhotoPeach

Perseverance was our big focus this week.  That means keeping on going even when tasks get tricky!  We are learning that if we come to a problem there are things to help us move forward.  We can think about trying a different solution, asking our buddy to help, asking an expert, watching what others are doing and think about whether that might help, or we could ask the teacher.  Can you see us persevering in these photos?

Discovery

Discovery on PhotoPeach
This is what Discovery looks like in Room 8!  Look at the creativity, concentration, perseverance, learning and fun.  We just love it!

Face Sculptures

Face Sculptures on PhotoPeach

Look at the wonderful face sculptures we made using junk and collage material.  We tried to find objects that had a similar shape to the features on our faces.  At times it was quite difficult gluing on the smaller bits and pieces but we persevered and didn't give up.  We think Picasso would be impressed with our works of art.

Abstract Self Portraits

Abstract Self Portraits on PhotoPeach

We have been learning about different styles of art through the artist Picasso.  These pieces of work are based on our faces but they don't look quite different to our self portraits.  We had to be very brave and not take our pencil off the page when we were drawing.  The important thing was to still think about all the features on our face so when you look at our work you will see eyes, noses, mouths, eyebrows, cheeks, ears and hair.  The faces don't look real but they do look like faces.  These are abstract pictures of our faces.

So what does Maths look like in Room 8?

So how can we find out what Room 8's most popular activity was in the holidays? on PhotoPeach

Self Portraits

Room 8 Self Portraits on PhotoPeach

We spent a lot of time looking at our facial features and noticing shapes and colours.  We used a lot of measurement to help us balance our features.  It was fun blending colours together to create our hair, eye and skin colouring.  We are so proud of our efforts.

Room 8 News-week 1 Welcome!

4/2/2013

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Room 8 and the 2013 learning year.  Here’s hoping you and your family have had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday and are ready for the exciting challenges that lie ahead! 

There are always adjustments needed at the beginning of a new school year - be it getting back into morning organisation and routines at home, adjusting to a new class and teacher, different expectations of a new year-level or meeting and making new friends.  I believe it is especially important in the first few weeks to allay any fears or concerns children have and gradually increase the learning “momentum” so that children’s confidence is preserved and that everyone can get into the “groove” of being back at school again.

Here are some gentle reminders to ease you all back into the routine of school life.

The bell goes at 8.55.  Children settle better in the mornings if they are at school early enough to unpack themselves and have a little play.  They need to be seated, ready on the mat when the second bell rings at 9 o’clock. This is an important time for checking that all children are present and accounted for.  If your child is going to be absent please phone the school office in the morning to let us know.   The day finishes at 3 o’clock.  Please ensure that children know where to meet you.  If you are picking children up at the classroom we ask that you wait outside the classroom until they are dismissed as this keeps the child more focused on the end of day routine.

In the morning or after school you are very welcome to view and talk with your child about the work they have been doing.  It makes them feel important and their efforts valued.  

Our room is a NUT FREE ZONE.  Tilda has a severe allergic reaction to nuts and nut products.  This is a timely reminder to only give children fruit or vegetables for brain food. 

A class newsletter will be sent home each Monday outlining any special events and homework expectations that occur through the coming week.  The newsletter will be sent via email, as soon as I can load your email addresses onto my files.  A hard copy will be glued into homework books as soon as stationery is purchased and sorted.    Our class wiki and blog is up and running.  This is where we share our learning with you.  It can also be used to consolidate classroom learning, at home.

http://hnpsjarvis.blogspot.co.nz/

For this week and next, reading, readers and poems will be whole class, shared stories.  These stories/poems will not be independent readers for many children.   Please take time to read to them.  Listen to a small portion of the story if your child is able read it without too much difficulty.   Getting your child to tell you about the story, the characters, or their favourite part is just as valuable.  Children will be focussed on getting back into school routine and it is important to make this a “happy” reading experience.

I would appreciate stationery being purchased as soon as possible so that we can start children working in books.  Purchasing through the school ensures that children have the correct stationery right from the start.  When the children receive their stationery it will be sent home with a separate notice explaining how they need to be labelled.  Covering books is optional.  This year the children will be responsible for their own pencils, rubber, vivid, white board marker and glue stick.  They will need a pencil case to help them be organised and independent.

Our Rich Theme is “Learning Excellence” and the Key Competency is “Managing Ourselves and our Learning”.  More about this later!

Year 1/2 teachers have a busy and exciting year planned and I’ll forward a Term 1 overview in the next couple of weeks.

 I look forward to a long and happy association with you and your family.  Please feel free to speak to me about any concerns or successes you have had.  Please be aware that the mornings are a busy time for settling children and setting up for the day.  As I don’t have meetings on Monday and Thursday afternoons this is a good time to make an appointment.   You can also contact me through my email address which is- sjarvis@hnps.school.nz  

I’m looking forward to working with you and your children this year. 

Please remember chair bags and sunhat, if you forgot today.

Regards,    

Sue Jarvis