Room 5's Blog 2010

Our completed playgrounds

2010-11-22T20:31:00.001+13:00

Our Playground Inquiry Designs and Models

2010-11-22T20:09:00.002+13:00

Once we had finished researching different types of playground equipment and how they move, we decided to design and make our own! We started by drawing a plan and had to include as many different types of movement as we could. For example twisting, turning, swinging, sliding, pushing, pulling, up, down and climbing. We also had to consider what colours to use to attract children to play on them. Here we are at the planning and building stage:

A special thank you goes out to our lovely Room 14 Buddies who came and helped us in the final stages of our playground construction :)

Our Playground Inquiry Investigations

2010-11-22T19:29:00.005+13:00

We have been on several playground equipment treasure hunts to investigate the equipment in the Muritai Junior School and Senior School Playgrounds as well as Bishop Park's playground. Interestingly we have found many similarities and differences in all three playgrounds. We got some great ideas for our own playground designs and models!

Our Playground Inquiry

2010-11-22T19:16:00.006+13:00

This term our Inquiry focus has been: 'Moving in our Playground".

Context: When asked for suggestions for improving our school a bigger playground was a popular request.

Big Idea: We could design a playground we would like!

How could we make our playground more fun? What kinds of equipment would be suitable and safe?

We brainstormed what we liked about our playground:
and also what playground equipment we would love to add to our Junior Playground using Wordle:

Swimming has begun!

2010-11-22T19:05:00.001+13:00

Room 5 will be swimming on Mondays and Wednesdays for the rest of the school year.
We need to remember to bring our named togs, towel and goggles.

Our Armistice Day Exchange

2010-11-22T18:41:00.004+13:00

This year we were very fortunate to take part in a special remembrance service for Armistice Day at 11 am on the 11 day of the 11 month (November).
First we went out to our war memorial and were joined by two members of the RSA. We waited patiently for 11 o'clock to come and then lowered our flag. We then had one minutes silence to remember those who took part in past Wars. Next we raised the New Zealand flag and and finally placed poppies below the memorial.

Our Buddy class at St John the Evangelist School in Clevedon, North Somerset, England also took part in a remembrance service. We have exchanged photos with them and they sent an email to us outlining what they did:

Last Thursday all the school gathered together in the hall for a special remembrance service. Last year we held this outside but unfortunately it was very wet and windy.
First we filed one by one into the hall carrying a poppy with our own special message of thanks.
Next we formed a horseshoe.
Our service began, with an introduction from the Head, followed by a two minutes silence (when each child's poppy was collected and placed on a table covered with the Union Jack)
After that a dance choreographed by Year 6 using flags.
Finally prayers and a presentation to our visitor, Major Stewart of a beautiful hand crafted blanket to be given to a vetran with thanks from St Johns.
It was a very poignant service and the children were a credit to us all.

The Life of Riley - Our 2010 School Production

2010-10-06T15:30:00.003+13:00

We had a lovely time performing in our production this year. It was based upon the picture book

The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley by Colin Thompson and was lots of fun to act out and dance too.

We were food loving children who love to dance! In our items we came onto the Food Glorious Food and had to mime eating food and be tables and chairs. Then we switched characters and became giant pizzas. The girls were the pizza bases while the boys were either tomatoes, cheese or sprinkling herbs. Finally with a quick prop addition - our mango hats - we danced the mango tango!

We were sensational on stage and can't wait for our next school production when we are in Year 4 in 2012!

Completing our Inquiry Journey on Food Changes

2010-10-06T15:20:00.011+13:00

To complete our Inquiry we answered our questions form our Wonder Wall and completed our mini inquiry booklets. We also completed an assessment task in which we had to identify and match food changes such as: decaying, dissolving, cooking and growing.

Growing mould - yet another food change!

2010-10-06T15:04:00.002+13:00

We set up experiments around our classroom to see what would happen to food if we didn't store it correctly!
First we left a piece of bread uncovered on our Inquiry shelf and within a few days it turned very crisp like bread crumbs but to our surprise, it didn't go moudly.
At the same time we left a green banana on the shelf to see how long it would take to ripen and change colour from green to yellow to brown. It took just over a week for the green banana to turn yellow and approximately two more weeks to turn brown.
Next we placed several pieces of bread in plastic bags around our classroom. After a few days the bags had condensation inside them and the bread started to grow mould. We now know that the bread needed to create moisture inside the bag for mould to grow.
Finally we accidentally grew mould on top of our jelly experiment because we left them out of the fridge. We now know why it is so important to store food properly to prevent it from decaying. It was interesting to see that the mould on the bread was very different to the circular mould growing on the jelly.

Changing food by adding heat - making pikelets!

2010-10-06T14:39:00.002+13:00

We had a lot of fun making pikelets. First we had to guess what we were making by looking at the ingredients on the table. We wrote our answers inside our Mini Inquiry booklets. Lots of us guessed correctly and that the change for the day was to 'cook' by adding heat in the frying pan to the raw pikelet mix.
In table groups we took turns measuring, mixing, cooking and eating our pikelets. They were very yummy especially with melted butter and jam on top!

Changing food by adding heat - making pop corn!

2010-10-06T14:30:00.001+13:00

Dissolving Coffee in warm and cold water by Mika

2010-10-06T14:26:00.001+13:00

Today Room 5 had a go at making coffee. We put water in cups and stirred the coffee.
We stirred warm and cold in two cups. We waited for the coffee to dissolve.We put it into the fridge. We know that coffee dissolves faster in warm water.

Making Jelly by Tilly

2010-10-06T14:16:00.004+13:00

Last Tuesday room 5 made jelly. First we put warm and cold water in two cups. It was lots of fun. I liked it. Next each table took turns stirring and holding the cups. I held the cup and Yasmin and Scott stirred the cups. Red tables warm one didn't work that well. The warm worked the quickest and the cold didn't work that well. But Mrs skilton put the mouldy jelly in the bin. and also the ponky bread. Because Mrs Skilton forgot to put it in the freezer the jelly grew mould on top!

Life Education

2010-09-20T19:07:00.000+12:00

Puss n Boots Mixed Media Art

2010-09-20T18:47:00.003+12:00

This term our art focus was - Mixed Media. We have created our own versions of the wonderful Fairy Tale character - Puss N Boots. To create our wonderful mixed media artworks we had to complete the following process:
1. We drew our puss in pencil.
2. We traced over our pencil lines with a vivid marker.
3. We enlarged our cats on the photocopier.
4. We coloured in our cats with pastel.
5. Painted the backgrounds with dye.
6. Tinfoil mosaic collaged our designer boots.
7. Tissue collaged the hats.
8. Attached the hats and boots to our puss.
9. Attached sequins, buttons, glitter and feathers to complete our mixed media.

Lastly we shared our artworks at Junior Assembly.

Hosting Our Term 3 Assembly

2010-09-20T18:36:00.002+12:00

It was Scott and Evie's turn to host the Term 3 Junior Assembly. They were wonderful presenters and were proudly supported not by us on the day. They were well prepared because they had practiced their lines at home and school, spoke clearly and looked at the audience. We do this at our news time each day in class too:

WALT: (We are learning to):
* speak clearly and engage with the audience
(look at the children we are presenting to)
* join in class and group discussions
(share our ideas and answer questions)
* listen to the teacher and our peers
(listen with our eyes and ears)

We also shared our Puss n Boots mixed media art and taught a Waiata to the rest of the Junior classes.

The Junior Duathlon

2010-09-20T12:24:00.004+12:00

On Monday at 10 o'clock we went to the area next to the big kids playground. Next it was our turn to run and bike to the finish line. The Year Zeros went first in the race. Then the Year 1s and then the Year 2s. We went around the fire station and then we went around and came in the fence. We got on our bikes and biked around the field and then to the finish. Then the teacher put times on us of how long it took us to finish.
by Katie

On Monday at ten o'clock everyone walked outside and sat down at Muritai School's big kid's playground. First we checked our bikes were ready and walked to the start line to wait for the clapper. Next we heard the clapper so we ran past the fire station and to our bikes. Then we quickly put our helmets on and got our bikes. Furthermore we raced round the far field and to the finish line! Everyone looked tired, but at the same time proud!
by Sammy

The RNZ Ballet by George

2010-09-20T12:01:00.003+12:00

On 8/9/10 half of our school went into the hall to watch the RNZ Ballet. First we watched the warm up on the bars and they were so flexible. Next they did the flower dance and it was romantic. Then it was the crutches dance and it was funny! Further more we watched the contemporary dance. They wore black clothes. Finally it was the Lady Ga Ga dance. It looked cool. It was fun watching it and I hope there is another one.

Beginning our Inquiry Journey on Changes in Foods

2010-08-06T13:04:00.020+12:00

We have started our Inquiry Journey on everyday things around us that are changing. Food is an important part of our lives and we can change it in many ways.

We began our Inquiry thinking by group brainstorming what we know about food and what we would like to find about preparing food to eat and exploring the changes in our lunchbox food:

Changes that have occurred in our lunch box food

Cooked:

Bread – flour

Bagel

Beef

Biscuits

Cupcakes

Raspberry

Jam

chippies

Grown:

Peanuts

Oranges

Apples

Grapes

Banana

Carrots

Pears

Cucumber

Lettuce

Dried:

Apricots

Raisins

Ripened:

Banana

Apple

Orange

Milk - Yoghurt and fruit added

Next, we conducted an experiment with dissolving lollies!

What has happened to our lollies? Dissolving the sweets.

What do we think might happen to jelly beans and M & M lollies when we place them in water?

Our Predictions:

1. The jelly beans might change colour.

2. The M & Ms might melt.

3. The jelly beans might sink.

4. The M & Ms might go yucky.

5. The M & Ms might go darker.

6. The jelly beans might rot.

What happened:

Outcomes:

1. The M & Ms lost their colour.

2. The colour dissolved into the water.

3. We could see the brown chocolate

underneath.

4. They all ended up white.

5. The water dissolved the colour.

6. They got smaller.

Theo's Holiday in France

2010-08-06T12:48:00.003+12:00

Theo and his Dad Fred recently holidayed in France and spent some time with their family and friends in a beautiful village. They enjoyed swimming, fishing, shopping, petanque and many other cool things! While they were there they made a movie and we got to view it on our data projector screen. Fred and Theo told us lots about how French people live, what they eat and what they do in their spare time. We now know where France is on our World Map and are all very keen to travel there ourselves one day! Thanks Fred and Theo for a very entertaining show and tell news session. :)

Acting out in class!

2010-08-06T12:45:00.000+12:00

Sometimes as part of our Reading Programme we get to act out stories in class! It is so much fun performing for our classmates and being part of an audience too.
WALT: (We are learning to):
* use expression when we read
* read aloud clearly
* use actions to help tell the story
Here is the Kea Group: Theo, James, Luca and Chevron acting out the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Soccer Tournament

2010-08-06T12:08:00.002+12:00

We had a fabulous time this week competing in the Sport Zone Soccer Tournament. The weather was very kind to us and it was a perfect 'Spring-like' afternoon. We had three Room 5 teams competing: The Taniwhas, The Strikers and The Lightning Bolts and all played 7 games each. It was lots of fun and so nice to see everyone giving it a go and trying their best for their team.

Fractions

2010-08-06T11:46:00.003+12:00

So far this year we have learned that:
* fractions are equal parts of a whole
* to be an equal fraction we need to share it out evenly
* the bigger the number is on the bottom the smaller the fraction piece is!
* the smaller the number is on the bottom the bigger the fraction piece is!

This term we have been learning multiplication and now know our 1, 2 and 10 times tables and are attempting to learn the 5 times table. We have been using the Camel Times Tables on BBC Bitesize to help us understand and learn that multiplication is really just repeated addition and skip counting!
Give it a go yourself:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize/numeracy/multiplication/index.shtml

Junior School Cross Country 2010

2010-07-25T20:02:00.003+12:00

Here are a few 'snaps' from our recent Junior School Cross Country.

This term for Health and Physical Well Being we will be focusing on:
* Jump Rope for Heart - developing our skipping skills and fitness
* Duathlon - cycling and running
* Soccer tournament
* Large Ball Skills - developing dribbling, passing, catching and kicking skills through fun games

Painting Gerberas

2010-07-25T19:35:00.002+12:00

Recently for art we focused on developing our painting skills and this term we are experimenting with Mixed Media. Here are our finished painted gerbera artworks for you to respond to!

Mini Inquiry Sharing with our Room 14 Buddies

2010-07-25T19:14:00.003+12:00

Completing our Inquiry Journey on Changes

2010-07-20T19:44:00.007+12:00

We have now completed our Changes Inquiry and can now explain how some living things from our past are extinct and some living things from our present are now endangered.

Each of us have completed a Mini Inquiry booklet and have shared these with Mr Bird, our Room 14 Buddy Class and our families.

Here are some photos of our work for you to have a look at.

Our Writing Blog

2010-06-07T19:12:00.004+12:00

Have you checked out our Writing Blog yet?

Click on the link to read some fantastic recounts, explanations and stories!

Heart Jam 2010

2010-06-07T18:53:00.004+12:00

We had a lot of fun taking part in this year's Heart Jam. It was a great way to keep fit, practice our Jump Jam routines and most importantly raise money for Heart Children New Zealand.

To see more of us in Heart Jam action click on the following link to Muritai TV!

Our Wonder Wall

2010-06-07T18:43:00.003+12:00

We have all thought of a question that we can investigate as our own 'Mini Inquiries'. First we had to choose an animal that lives or lived in New Zealand. It could be a native or introduced animal and could also be endangered, common or extinct. Once we chose an animal to investigate we then thought of our questions which are displayed on our class Wonder Wall.

Learning Goals

2010-05-18T19:10:00.003+12:00

Today in class we brainstormed possible learning goals for ourselves in Maths, Writing and Reading. We discussed the importance of setting learning goals for ourselves and compared it to scoring a goal in a soccer game. We have each selected a goal for each learning area and are very keen to achieve our goals and to be the best we can be!

In Maths we want to:

* answer maths questions quickly.

* get better at counting on.

* add numbers in the hundreds.

* get better at skip counting.

* get better at skip counting in 5s.

* get better at adding and subtracting.

* get better at skip counting backwards from 100.

* skip count in higher numbers up to 1000.

* get better at counting backwards.

* get better at using maths games.

In reading we want to:

· have a guess at a new word before an adult tells us

· get better at reading chapter books

· try harder with tricky words

· read non-fiction books for information

· read with expression

· fix more mistakes before reading on

· sound out new words

· read long stories

· slow down and not rush

· get faster at reading

In writing we want to:

· put in more WOW words to make it interesting

· write longer stories

· put lines under words we have spelt wrong

· get our rocket words right

· remember to put full stops at the end of sentences

· remember capital letters in the right place

· check it makes sense

· remember to insert missing words with the ‘mountain’

· remember our finger spaces between words

· better at reading the story first

Aren't we clever at identifying our next learning steps!

Training for our school cross country

2010-05-17T19:58:00.002+12:00

For weeks now we have been busy training for our School Cross Country on Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 8.40!

* First we start with warm up games which are a lot of fun, get our bodies warmed up and ready to run.
* Next we stretch from our heads down to our toes.
* Then we wait for our year group to be called and line up on the start line.
* Finally Mrs Cody says "on your marks, get set, GO!" and we race around the field twice.

We have learned to start out strong, pace ourselves around the first lap and half of the second and sprint when we see the finish line. We are aiming to be the best that we can be and improve our times each day.

Hosting Our Term 2 Assembly

2010-05-17T18:52:00.004+12:00

It was Mika and Abigail's turn to host our Junior Assembly this time. They did an impressive job presenting and were proudly supported not only by us, but their families as well! They had to be well prepared by practicing their lines at home and school, speaking clearly and looking at the audience. We do this at our news time each day in class too:

WALT: (We are learning to):
* speak clearly and engage with the audience
(look at the children we are presenting to)
* join in class and group discussions
(share our ideas and answer questions)
* listen to the teacher and our peers
(listen with our eyes and ears)

Amy, Sabine, James, Luca and Saxon were our 'Mini - Hosts' and explained how we created our painted aliens by tinting and shading primary colours.

Our Inquiry Visit to Zealandia

2010-04-29T12:22:00.006+12:00

We have continued our Inquiry Journey by traveling to Zealandia in Karori to gather more information.

Here were our learning intentions for the trip:

- investigate exhibition hall for ‘changes’ that have occurred in New Zealand’s history since the settlers and introduced animals arrived by ship

- explore sanctuary for endangered NZ animals

- ask (Educator Brian) questions about extinct and endangered animals of New Zealand

- take notes and draw observations to use at school

We found out a lot of information about changes that have occurred in New Zealand and the reasons for these changes. We also found out what these changes have done to our endangered and extinct Native New Zealand animals.

We had a wonderful time at Zealandia and wish to thank the fantastic educators: Brian and Tracey for showing us around, telling us amazing stories about our animals and answering all of our questions!

Endangered or Extinct: Group brainstorm

2010-04-29T12:02:00.009+12:00

We now know that when an animal has completely died out like the New Zealand moa, it has become 'extinct'. When there are only a small group of one type of animal left in our world, they are called 'endangered'.

We decided to do a group brainstorm on our prior knowledge of extinct and endangered New Zealand Native Animals. We had to remember the group brainstorm rules:

1. Only one person speaks at a time

2. One person is the scribe (writer)

3. We accept all ideas - no put downs

4. One person reports back/shares their ideas to the rest of the class

We then did Table group brainstorms:

- animals they think are now extinct

- animals they think are endangered in New Zealand

- reasons for animals becoming extinct or endangered - what changes have occurred?

Here is what we collectively think:

We now need to check if we are right!

Beginning our Inquiry Journey on Changes

2010-04-29T11:42:00.006+12:00

We have started our Inquiry Journey on everyday things around us that are changing.

Have you ever wondered what actually happened to the New Zealand moa? We were wondering about this too and have begun to inquire about this ourselves! We decided to use our thinking skills: Think, Pair, Share to help us find out the answer.
These are the answers we came up with:
Our next step is to consult an 'expert' to check if we are right or wrong with our thinking. We also thought we could check in books and use the internet too.

Changes

2010-04-26T19:44:00.004+12:00

This term we will be learning about Changes all around us!
So far we have learned:
* In Art we can change colours when we paint by blending primary colours to make secondary colours. Have a look at us painting our crazy creatures with red, blue and yellow primary colours and purple, green and orange secondary colours.
* In maths we have learned that there are seasonal changes every three months.
* In writing and ICT we have been explaining changes that happen in a frog's life cycle!
* This Wednesday we are traveling to the Zealandia/Karori Wildlife Sanctuary to see for ourselves how people and animals can cause change to animal populations and landscapes.

ANZAC Day

2010-04-26T19:41:00.001+12:00

Room 5 remembered ANZAC Day in lots of different ways:
1. Sue Fields (our Librarian) read a story to us about a soldier.
2. For news Scott showed us a couple of very old photos of his Nana McIntosh's Dad who was a soldier in 1915 during World War 1. His name was Martin Hogan and and he was only 17 when he enlisted and fought in Egypt and in France. When he came back to his family in New Zealand he was 21 years old.
3. Some of us wore red poppies.
4. We attended a special School Assembly to remember those who fought in World War 1 and World War 2.
5. We visited our Memorial to see the New Zealand flag and the wreaths of flowers that people left behind after the ANZAC Service. Some of us also attended the Service outside our school with our families on Sunday.

Maths Revision Online Games

2010-04-07T11:30:00.004+12:00

Hi everyone!
Are you bored with the holidays already? Have a go at visiting these BBC Bitesize Maths Online Games. They should be familiar to you as we visited most of them in class last term :)

For more practice with Statistics: tally charts, bar graphs and pictographs click on this link - Animal Island Data

For more practice with Number: number identification, ordering and place value click on these links -
Forest Ordering
Adventure Sequences
Safari Units
Mend the Number Square
Starship

For more practice with 2D and 3D Shapes click on these links -
Shape Lab
Identifying 2D Shapes
Identifying 3D Shapes
Everyday 3D Shapes

Have fun!
Mrs Skilton

Is Our William the New Wiggle?

2010-04-07T11:21:00.003+12:00

William and his family met the Wiggles at the Wiggles Concert in Wellington recently! William was very excited and even gave Murray Wiggle a big 'high 5'!

Visit to Eastbourne Fire Station

2010-03-24T11:20:00.004+13:00

Last Friday as part of our 'Being Safe in My World' Inquiry, Room 5 and Room 6 visited the Eastbourne Fire Station to learn about Fire Safety. We had a great time exploring the Fire Station, fire engines, tools and equipment and trying out the hoses!

We are all keen to create and practice our Escape Plans at home now with our families.

Thank you to the Eastbourne Fire Fighters who took the time to explain Fire Safety to us and for the special bags of 'goodies' we took away with us!

Fire Fighter Teresa Video Footage

2010-03-24T10:57:00.002+13:00

Fire Fighter Teresa taught us all about Fire Wise Safety including: Stop, Drop and Roll; Escape Plans; and Get Down, Get Low, Get Out!

Visiting Lifeguards Chris and Jeremy

2010-03-18T11:15:00.002+13:00

On Monday two Lifeguards called Chris and Jeremy spoke to us about water safety and their jobs as Lifeguards.

Part of their job is to save people if they are drowning. They shared some pool safety rules with us. They also reminded us to make sure we can always put our feet on the bottom of the pool. If we can't reach the bottom we must be in dangerous deep water.

We learned lots of Water Safety from their talk.

Thank you Chris and Jeremy.

Hosting Our Term 1 Junior Assembly

2010-03-11T18:26:00.009+13:00

Room 5 were very lucky to be asked to host our Junior Assembly!

Samantha and Clayton were our hosts and had to learn their lines at home. They then practiced with our help, before saying them for 'real' at Junior Assembly. They had to learn how to project their voice and talk slowly and clearly.

Clayton and Samantha did an amazing job and we were very proud of them. Maybe they will host one of the Whole School Assemblies one day!

Ethan, Theo, Scott, Katie, Evie and Yasmin were our 'mini-hosts' and shared a slideshow about our Black Hat Thinking Hazard Hunt. They were fabulous too!

Choosing Time

2010-03-10T21:03:00.003+13:00

Every second Friday between morning tea and lunchtime, we have Choosing Time. We get to choose what we would like to do!

Last Friday we could choose between:
* Kidpix, Comic Life, Letterland, Photoboth on the Pod Laptops
* Painting
* Drawing with coloured pencils
* Activities from the maths and reading cupboard
We can't wait for our next Choosing Time!

Celebrating our success!

2010-03-10T20:51:00.004+13:00

We have been learning how to be good listeners in class and when we are part of an audience. To be good listeners we need to:
* face the listener - it is rude to turn our backs on someone who is speaking to us
* listen with our ears and eyes - always give the speaker eye contact
* show our appreciation by clapping when someone has finished talking to us or performing

We are obviously doing really well as we have won the best class at Junior Assembly and School Assembly this term. We won the Junior Assembly Bear and the Muritai Bear. It was fun to have them as part of our class for a week.

Kapa Haka with Mrs Mills Smith and Room 6

2010-03-10T20:36:00.001+13:00

Sea Week

2010-03-10T11:12:00.004+13:00

To celebrate Sea Week Room 5 visited a really cool website via Mrs Chao's and Room 11's fantastic blog. We decided it would be fun to visit with our Mums and Dads at home too!
Here is the link: http://www.fishandkids.org/play_mates.php
Click on the link to read information about living creatures of the sea. Try wearing your White Thinking Hat to go on a fact finding mission!

STRIKE!

2010-02-23T20:33:00.003+13:00

We were so lucky to see 'Strike' perform for us on Friday. They were so talented and very LOUD! They played a lot of different drums and even invited some of our teachers and students to join in. We were amazed when we helped to create a rain storm using our hands to click, rub and pat stormy sounds.

Interviewing Constable Julie and Officer Ted

2010-02-23T20:05:00.006+13:00

Our Inquiry Topic this term is called ‘Being Safe in my World’.
Our Big Idea is: Everyone needs to know how to keep safe in a range of places.
As part of our investigation into Road Safety we interviewed Constable Julie and Officer Ted!
Here is a our interview transcript:

Saxon: How fast are you allowed to drive your car when you are chasing someone?

As fast as we feel safe.
Mika: How do you arrest someone?
We say ‘your under arrest!’
Scott: Do you have handcuffs?
Yes I do. So people can’t fight back or run away.
Clayton: How do you keep safe if someone hurts you with their car?
My seatbelt.
Theo: How do you keep everyone safe?
Wearing helmets, reminding people to keep safe and not do silly things.
George: How do you train the police dogs?
By rewarding them. Trained for nine months at the dog training college. Doing things over and over again. They get toys when the do something right. Just like children!
Luca: What’s your favourite part of your job?
Going into classes each day. It’s very exciting and I know Mrs Buckley!
Evie: How hard is your job?
Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Great food and milkshakes.
Emily: How do you keep yourself safe?
Self defence training. Police radios to get help.
Auriel: What do you like about your job?
I get to meet nice people everyday.
Katie: What do you during your day?
I’ve got the best job in the world! I talk to children in schools or help people who get hurt.
Samantha: Where does your uniform get made?
It’s made in New Zealand.
Yasmin: Is it part of your job to find animals?
Yes it is! Sometimes animals run away and I try to find them. Dogs and horses maybe.
Abigail: Can you tell us about your uniform?
It’s blue. I wear it all the time so people know who and what I am.
Sabine: Do they have guns?
Yes but they are locked up in police stations.
Amy: Do you have your own police dog?
No, only police dog handlers. They live at home with them.
Chevron: How do you get cats down from trees?
Call the fire brigade – get a ladder.
Ethan: How do you stop noisy people?
Ring up the council and they have a machine to measure how loud the sound is.
James: Who teaches you how to drive so fast?
We have a driver’s licence. Defensive driving course and get trained at the Police station.

Constable Julie also reminded us about how to keep ourselves safe around roads and cars:
Sneaky Driveways – watch out for traffic, always look into driveways for cars. Drivers can’t always see you.
Walk on footpaths
Wearing Seatbelts “Make it click”

Our Buddies

2010-02-17T20:09:00.004+13:00

This year our Buddy Class is Room 14. We have met them already and are so looking forward to spending time with them all this year. You can check out their blog by clicking on the link in our 'Useful Links' menu.

M & M Maths Investigation

2010-02-17T19:51:00.002+13:00

We have been learning to record tally marks, transfer and display information onto bar graphs and interpret our results.

Here are some photos of us on one of our Statistical Investigations about M & M colours! We had to sort the M & M chocolates into colours, count and record as tally marks and then display our findings on a bar graph. It was a very yummy experience!

Art Workshop

2010-02-17T19:23:00.003+13:00

Today we attended an art workshop in the hall with a 'real artist!' Her name was Jane Lloyd and she taught us some sketching techniques based upon Graham Braddock's drawings and paintings.

We learned how to sketch still life objects so that they were realistic sizes and in proportion. We also learned how to shade and add shadows. It was great fun and we can use these new skills for more drawings in class and at home.

Our Class Treaty

2010-02-17T19:17:00.002+13:00

This year in Room 5 we have all agreed upon a class treaty.
We have decided that the only way to be 'the best that we can be' is to:

* be helpful, kind and caring
* try your best and give everything a go
* take turns and share
* have great manners and be polite
* be sensible
* ask questions

We have added our pictures and names to the treaty and will all try our best to do all those things when we are in class.

Swimming

2010-02-07T20:08:00.001+13:00

Room 5 will be swimming on Mondays, beginning Monday 8th February. Yay!
We need to remember to bring our named togs, towel and goggles.

Statistics

2010-02-07T20:04:00.002+13:00

Over the next two weeks Room 5 will be studying Statistics at Numeracy time!
We will be:
1. Conducting investigations, using the statistical enquiry cycle:
posing and answering questions;
2. gathering, sorting, and displaying category and whole number data;
3. discussing results
4. communicating findings based on the data.

Try some statistical investigations at home by clicking on the link below!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/data/interpreting_data/play.shtml
Then click on full screen and follow the instructions on the screen. Have fun!

Introducing Room 5 2010

2010-02-07T19:45:00.002+13:00

We are a Year 2 class at Muritai School in Eastbourne, Wellington, New Zealand. There are 11 boys and 9 girls and 20 children all together. Our teacher is Mrs Skilton.

Welcome to Room 5!

2010-02-07T19:15:00.002+13:00

Welcome to Room 5 2010!
We are going on a wonderful learning journey together this year and we hope that you come with us, by visiting our blogs and leaving comments for us to share.

Merry Christmas from Room 5!

2009-12-17T14:15:00.001+13:00

Merry Christmas everyone from Room 5!
Have a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends.

The Christmas Concert

2009-12-10T20:08:00.002+13:00

What a fantastic concert we had! Well done Room 5 - you certainly were the best that you can be today and I am very proud of you all.
Mrs Skilton :)

For a little bit of well deserved fun, have a go at the Santa Jigsaw Puzzle in our 'Useful links'!

Photos from Kelly Sports and Junior Athletic Sports Day

2009-12-10T19:50:00.000+13:00

Delivering Our Santa Letters

2009-11-24T14:33:00.003+13:00

In the afternoon, we all walked down to the Post Shop to mail our letters to Santa.
McKenzie and Charlotte posted the mail into Santa's Mail box.
It was a happy occasion and we can't wait to hear back from Santa!

Hosting Our Term 4 Junior Assembly

2009-11-15T09:38:00.003+13:00

This Friday was our turn to host the Junior Assembly for Term 4. Phoebe and Alexander were our hosts this time and made us very proud. They spoke very clearly and were quite the entertainers!

Alexander, Macey, Eva and Lincoln recited their simile poems and then we all shared our origami 3D fish art.

Finally, Macey, Olivia and Eva performed their chosen violin pieces for us.

It was a fabulous assembly - a real team effort by all of us in Room 5!

Green Gold Enviroschool Celebrations!

2009-11-15T09:15:00.006+13:00

What a day! Full of fun, sun, singing, laughter, yummy food and pride!

We started our celebrations outside with the Kapa Haka welcoming our guests with another superb Powhiri full of waiata, speaking and of course the haka.

Next we went into the hall to listen to our very talented Enviroschool Top 6 passionately speak to us about our achievements as an Enviroschool. Mr Eames and Mr Skilton congratulated us too and were followed by Karen Burgess who is an Enviroschool's facilitator. She was a very funny speaker and got us all involved. Karen also presented us with a rata tree which some children later planted on our school field. We will treasure our rata tree and hope it lives for at least five hundred years like the rata trees that provided the seed for our little tree! Then we were finally presented with our Green Gold Flag which we will hang with pride.

At 11.30am we ventured outside to see the hangi unveiled. The smell was delicious, wafting around the school and teasing our tastebuds! We waited patiently in the sun to be served and then excitedly stood in line with our plates and cutlery. We had a choice of chicken drumsticks, lamb chops or pork chops with lots of yummy stuffing, kumara, pumpkin, potato and cabbage. It was truly scrumptious and tasted quite earthy and smoky. We all agreed we would love to have another hangi one day as the food was so yummy - some of us wanted a second helping!

Just when we thought the day couldn't get any better - the Fire Service arrived to help cool down the smouldering ashes and simmering hot irons. Jake's Mum helped to hose down the hangi pit so that it was safe for us all once again.

We all had a fabulous day and will remember it as one of our best ever! Have a go at making your own hangi by clicking on the link 'Make a Hangi!' in the Useful Links pop down menu.

A sneaky preview from our writing blog!

2009-10-17T18:39:00.004+13:00

Snow by Macey

When we were coming back from our holidays we stopped because we could not drive any longer because of the snow storm . Luckily we stopped in Ohakune where my friends Meike and Lea have another house there . When we were driving along we saw lots of snow flakes , blocks of snow and sheep the poor sheep were getting cold . I had never seen snow before . We stayed the night at my friends the next day we went on atoboggan . Before we came to their house they had built a snow man . It was a bit annoying because the boys Myles and Felix were talkinga lot at night . The snow was very cold . Then the next day we went home . On the way home it was getting less and less cold and the hills were having less and less snow . When we got home it was half past five in the afternoon and I was very tired.

The Zoo by Maya

Yesterday I went to the zoo I saw wild dogs and two otters. I also saw a blue tongue lizard and two cheetahs and lots of bats. I love animals they are really cool. My favorite one was the kiwi. My favourite dog was the wild dog. It was funny because my daddy pushed a coat near them and they ran away.

Going to America by Charlotte

On the holidays me and my family went to America. The first plane took 2 hours to come the 2nd plane took 4 hours to come. Then we were there. First we went to Disneyland. The first ride we went was Matterhorn I thought it was fun but I thought Slash mountain was better. I got lots of things. We saw a big big waterfall and you can go under it. I loved my holiday.

Malaysia by Edie.

I went to Malaysia it was fun. I saw monkeys and one stole my dads apple! I thought it was funny! Next I went for a jungle walk. My shoes got mud on them. I got sweaty. We hear wild pigs. It was freaky. Every time you stop, you get itchy from coloured bugs. We stayed at four hotels. I love Malaysia because it is hot.

If you would like to read more of our writing please click on the link to our Writing Blog.

Jump Rope for Heart

2009-09-24T20:35:00.002+12:00

Here is our PMI about taking part in the Jump Rope for Heart we did for the Heart Foundation. It shows the good things, the bad things and the interesting things we thought of about taking part. Thank you if you were one of our sponsors!
If you click on the image you can make it bigger and easier to read :)

Balloon Bear Probability

2009-09-23T20:24:00.004+12:00

Today we explored Probability at Maths time. We had to guess which balloon colour the bear would most likely choose and which balloon colour he would least likely choose, if he wasn't looking! It was lots of fun because you get to play it on the internet. We used our data projector so we could all play together and took turns predicting and checking our answers.

If we predicted all the answers correctly, we then went to another screen where we could paint the picture and pose new probability problems for ourselves.

If you would like to have a go at home, click on the link "Balloon Bear" in our Useful Links list.

A postcard from Charlotte!

2009-09-14T15:06:00.005+12:00

Yay! Today we received a postcard from Charlotte who is on holiday in California!

Buddy Beach Clean-Up!

2009-09-13T17:32:00.006+12:00

This week we helped to clean up Eastbourne

Beach with our Room 13 Buddy Class. We
held the rubbish bags while our buddies
picked up rubbish with their gloves on.

We were pleased to find that the beach was pretty clean really. Let's hope people keep it this way!

Ella and Zoe Host Junior Assembly

2009-09-13T17:26:00.001+12:00

This week, Ella and Zoe were our hosts at Junior Assembly! They did a wonderful job by speaking clearly and waiting for the audience to listen each time, before they spoke - like professional hosts on a Television show! You certainly made us proud Zoe and Ella :)

Also at Junior Assembly, Macey, Maya, Phoebe, Alexander and McKenzie introduced and explained our Myth and Legend retelling and Kid Pix pictures. Lincoln, Maya and Phoebe then read out their stories and shared their ICT pictures with the audience.

A wonderful job by very talented role models - well done Room 5!

Retelling Myths and Legends

2009-09-13T17:21:00.006+12:00

Maui and the Sun
Retold by Lincoln

One day the sun was going too fast around the sky. Maui had an idea. He went to grab a rope. He went over to the sun. He went to get his brothers. He threw the rope at the sun. the rope went round the sun.

The sun stopped. The sun got angry! Maui spoke to the sun. ‘Please stop going fast in the sky.’ And the sun said ‘Yes.’

‘Now everybody can work now.’ Thank you Maui for doing this.

The Battle of the Mountains
Retold by Phoebe

Once there were seven mountains that were close together. There were two cities and five adult mountains. One adult mountain was a girl mountain. But one day three mountains wanted to marry the girl mountain but the other boy mountain was already married to her.

So the three mountains started to tease him and at last he stood up for himself. The three mountains were scared so they ran away.

The Echidna and the Shade Tree
Retold by Maya

One day there was an echidna and there was a kangaroo and a lizard and a snake too. The animals went hunting for food. But the echidna didn’t go with them. When they came back, he only got the scraps. But the other ones got the good pieces of food.

He was so sad he moved the shade tree. The animals ran after him. They said stop but he didn’t stop. They were so hot. They threw their spears at him. Now the animals were sorry for him.

Bird came and said ‘where do you want your grave to be?’ ‘I want to be behind some rocks please.’ He lay in there for a long time and that is how the echidna got his spikes!

Muritai School Art Exhibition

2009-09-01T20:01:00.003+12:00

We are very excited about having some of our art works on display this week. If you have not seen them yet be sure to pop in to the hall and see for yourself!

Our art works are mixed media Seascapes motivated by pop-up picture books. We have used a variety of art media to produce them including: dye, salt, vivid, tinfoil, pastel, paint, felt-tip pens, jovi and cardboard.

Farewell for Andrew

2009-08-29T16:43:00.003+12:00

Sadly, we had to say good bye to Andrew, as he will be living in France with his family for the rest of this year. The good news (of course) is that he is returning to Muritai School at the beginning of next year! Yay! To farewell Andrew and to celebrate all the hard work we have done so far this term, we had a shared lunch. There was a lot of really yummy food and a good time was had by all.

Skipping to keep fit!

2009-08-29T16:30:00.003+12:00

This term we have had a wee break away from Jump Jam as our main fitness programme and have become very skilled at jump rope skipping. We have learned how to skip forwards, backwards, while running and hopping! Some of the jumps we are perfecting at the moment include: the bell jump, the skier, long rope skipping and jumping in pairs.

At the end of this term we will participate in our School Jump Off Day to support the New Zealand Heart Foundation. Maybe you could sponsor one of us!

Te Wiki o te Reo Maori - Maori Language Week

2009-08-02T09:20:00.004+12:00

This week was Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori - Maori Language Week. All this year in Room 5 we have been learning lots of Te Reo, including greetings, farewells, colours, waiata (songs) and poi (action songs). We know how to greet and farewell eachother in Maori, can count to tekau (ten) and now know most of our colours in both English and Maori. Our next learning step is to learn the days of the week and months of the year in Maori.

This term as part of our Inquiry and Enrichment Programmes we have been learning Maori Myths and Legends, such as: Ngake and Whataitai the Taniwha of Wellington Harbour and the Battle of the Mountains Taranaki, Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Pihanga.

Holiday Recount Writing

2009-07-23T20:52:00.004+12:00

Check out our holiday recount writing by clicking on the link to our Writing Blog!

Learning the 2 Times Table

2009-07-23T17:10:00.006+12:00

Today we made a video of us learning the 2 Times Table. We have used our knowledge of skip counting in 2s to help us learn the 2 Times Table. We now know multiplication is really just repeated addition.
For example: 2 x 2 = 4 is the same as 2 + 2 = 4
4 x 2 = 8 is the same as 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8
6 x 2 = 12 is the same as 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 12
Next we are going to learn the 5 Times Table and finally the 10 Times Table!

Water Dance at Assembly

2009-06-20T10:35:00.004+12:00

This week we performed our water dance routine at our Whole School Assembly. It was a very exciting way to finish our dance lessons with Mrs Hooke.

For most of this term we have been so lucky to work with Mrs Hooke each Thursday, to fine tune our dance skills and create our own dance moves to music. Mrs Hooke selected music that sounded like 'water' because our Inqury Topic this term is 'Where's the Water?' We were encouraged to create our own 'moves' which included waves crashing, twirling, spinning, freezing, rain pitter pattering and much more! When we all agreed which dance moves we wanted to include in our dance, she then choreographed them into a routine, which we then practised and performed in front of a live audience at Assembly.

Thank you Mrs Hooke. We can't wait to spend more time with you later on this year!

Room 5's Writing Blog

2009-06-13T16:13:00.003+12:00

Have you checked out our Writing Blog yet?

Click on the link to read some fantastic recounts!

Digital projector and screen

2009-06-13T15:57:00.003+12:00

On Thursday our new digital projector and pull down screen were installed! We are so excited to have them in our room to help us with our learning.

We tried them out on Friday when we were learning how to operate Comic Life and Photobooth Software programmes on the laptops. Mrs Skilton modeled what we had to do on her laptop and then the digital projector projected her screen onto our 'big screen'. It sure is a fun way to learn, because everyone can see what to do and what is happening, no matter where you sit on the mat! We are really looking forward to using it throughout our days in class to make learning in Room 5 even more interesting and fun!

Room 5 Competing Gymnasts

2009-06-06T16:48:00.004+12:00

Congratulations Phoebe, Lucy and Eden on your successes at the recent gymnastics competition. We are very proud of you all!

Dance with Mrs Hooke

2009-06-06T16:12:00.004+12:00

Muritai School Cross Country

2009-05-28T20:19:00.003+12:00

Room 5 were all brilliant athletes today at the Muritai School Cross Country!

Everybody tried their hardest and achieved their personal best times and the speediest running ever seen before by Room 5 children. House Groups were chanting, parents were cheering and Mrs Skilton was beaming with pride!

Congratulations to Andrew who came 1st and Dylan who came 3rd in the Year 2 Boys race and Macey who came 1st and Phoebe who came 2nd in the Year 2 Girls race. Hooray!

Building Bridges

2009-05-28T20:00:00.003+12:00

Today the Kakapo Reading Group read 'The Impossible Bridge' by Jane Buxton. Their task was to read and follow the instructions to enable them to build their own bridge. Once their bridge was completed they had to test it's strength with a toy car. Here are the finished products:

Our Caterpillar can dance!

2009-05-28T19:03:00.008+12:00

We were so excited today to see our caterpillar spinning it's cocoon. It looked like it was dancing the hula!

Our Pet Caterpillar

2009-05-27T19:25:00.006+12:00

Eden and her Mum Rachael, very kindly gave us a monarch caterpillar to look after! He or she, is a very healthy caterpillar who has munched it's way through not one, but two swan plants! Yesterday it started to make a cocoon and we have been watching it very closely to see what it does next.

Condensation and the Water Cycle

2009-05-26T21:08:00.005+12:00

We have discovered that if you place ice cubes inside a sealed tin can, condensation will form on the outside. This is called condensation - when gas in the air turns into liquid on the can.

We are also learning about the Water Cycle. There are lots of parts to the Water Cycle that go round in a circle or cycle.

Evaporating Paintings

2009-05-26T20:11:00.003+12:00

We experimented with evaporation by painting water pictures on our deck. We watched as the water evaporated into the air. It took about 15 minutes on a cold, wet and windy day for the water to evaporate and disappear.

Training for the School Cross Country

2009-05-20T20:58:00.006+12:00

Every Wednesday and Thursday morning, we train for our School Cross Country on the school field. We have learned to 'pace the race!' In other words we do not to start out too fast and leave lots of energy for a strong and fast sprint to the finish line. The real race is next Tuesday and we feel fit and ready to race.

Samantha and Macey - Junior Assembly Hosts!

2009-05-20T19:46:00.007+12:00

Macey and Samantha were fantastic hosts at our recent Junior Assembly! They worked the microphone like experts and ran the Assembly seamlessly. Well done girls - you made us all very proud and we won't be surprised if we see you running our whole School Assembly in the future!

We also shared our 'Wonder Tree' paintings with the rest of our Junior Team. Lucy did a fine job explaining the process we followed including blending primary colours, tinting and shading.

Our Completed 'Wonder Tree' Paintings

2009-05-19T21:09:00.002+12:00

Water Cycle Song

2009-05-15T16:10:00.001+12:00

Charlotte's Crocodile News

2009-05-10T16:39:00.006+12:00

Charlotte's second cousin, John Kelly is a policeman in the Soloman
Islands for six months.
Here is a crocodile caught by the local people on the weekend. Crocodiles are a big
problem there, as they steal livestock and are dangerous for the people too!
This one took some chickens and dogs before being caught!

I feel sorry for the crocodile because they shot it on the face and it was bleeding. The people were looking at the crocodile. by Charlotte

Where's the Water?

2009-05-10T10:31:00.005+12:00

This term our Inquiry Topic is Science based and is called 'Where's the Water?'

We already know that water is a very important part of our everyday lives and are keen to learn more about it. For example where does water come from? Where does water go?

We have begun experimenting with changing water states. We now know how to change water into ice, in other words 'liquid into solid,' and how to evaporate water - 'liquid into gas'.

To change liquid water into solid ice, we poured water into ice cube trays and froze them in the staffroom freezer overnight. We correctly predicted that the water would freeze into ice cubes.

To change liquid water into gas (evaporate water), we placed our hands into a bucket of water and made wet handprints on a paper towel. We then traced around our handprint with a felt tip pen. We correctly predicted that the water would dry up or disappear! The water had evaporated by changing it's state from a liquid to a gas.

Blending Primary and Secondary Colours

2009-05-09T15:38:00.020+12:00

We have been learning how to blend and mix colours using pastels and paint. We now know that red, blue and yellow, are the primary colours and that we can mix them to make secondary colours like green, purple and orange.

When we add black or white to our primary and secondary colours we are able to tint and shade.

After reading the 'Great Grumbler and the Wonder Tree' we drew our own wonder trees with black vivid and then painted them. We were only given the primary colours and black and white. It was fun mixing our paints to get just the 'right' colours for our trees.

WHACKY COLOURS AND MAYHEM DAY

2009-05-09T15:19:00.003+12:00

This Friday was Whacky Colours and Mayhem Day at Muritai School. Some of us in Room 5 came to school dressed in whacky coloured clothing or costumes. Some of us even had whacky hairstyles!
Each of us brought a gold coin donation to help raise money for Autism New Zealand.

Visual Art

2009-04-28T21:28:00.001+12:00

Observational Drawing

Recently we refined our observational drawing skills by drawing Cameron's bike.

W.A.L.T:

1. Make observational drawings of simple objects using line and shading.
2. Use a variety of tools to demonstrate different techniques such as shading.

We took special care to add detail, lines and shading. We had to use our pencils in many different ways to add colour and shading.
BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Lights, camera, action!

2009-04-07T16:22:00.002+12:00

Our Kereru Reading Group performed a play for us today. It was called 'The Little House' and the talented actors were Phoebe, Charlotte and Andrew.

They have been practising their parts this week at home and at school during reading time each day. They were very good at acting out their character's actions and lines.

Aren't their masks wonderful? Can you guess who is behind each mask?

Macey and Olivia

2009-04-03T19:55:00.002+13:00

Congratulations to Olivia and Macey for their wonderful violin performance at our School Assembly today!

We really enjoyed listening to you play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Well done girls, you made us all very proud and we can't wait to hear you both perform again!

Introducing Miss Logan

2009-03-31T21:03:00.006+13:00

We have two teachers in Room 5 at the moment! Mrs Skilton and Miss Logan will be teaching Room 5 for the rest of Term 1 and the first four weeks of Term 2. Miss Logan has been reading some of her favourite stories and has been on two trips with us.

Welcome Miss Logan, we love having you with us!