We have been planning to build a butterfly garden in He Manu Whenua - The Bird Land. This is the area running the length of the school that Waipahihi Kakariki is transforming into a gorgeous space to attract the native birds back to this area.

After the excitement of watching the caterpillars turn into Monarch Butterfly's last term we have decided to build our own special butterfly garden.

We have decided it should be a raised garden to keep the plants safe but we are still thinking about what shape we want to make it, who we will need to contact to ask for supplies and help, and how we will go about it. It has been a fantastic inquiry so far and I can't wait to see how it progresses!

This will be a long process so it won't be happening straight away (much to the dismay of the children!) but we will definitely be asking for parent help closer to the time. If you know any one who is an expert in building or planting we would love to have you / them in to talk to us about all the things we will need to consider!

For now here are some examples of the plans we have made in the app Show Me. We will choose the final ones later on.

Arty Farty Friday

We are designing and creating creatures from our imagination. We have planned them, practiced with play-dough, and are now ready to make the real thing. Next week we will make them with air dry clay and when they are dry we will paint them! I think they look pretty great so far, don't you?

A fun way to practice counting in 2's 5's and 10's!

Week 1, Term 2

Important Dates:

Week 2:

- ANZAC day (Monday 27 April is a holiday)

- Life Education Trust (Harold the Giraffe and his amazing mobile classroom are here!)

Week 3:

- Life Education Trust (Harold the Giraffe and his amazing mobile classroom are still here!)

- Student Led Learning conferences (you and your child attend a conference about your child’s learning)

Week 8:

- School Photos— Friday 12 June, don’t forget to brush your hair today!

Week 11:

- Learning Portfolios and interim reports home

As you know this year is the 100th anniversary of Anzac Day.  We would like to have a look at what Anzac Day means to New Zealand and have a short memorial service of our own next term. You could help us.  This is a great time to share your own stories with your child. If you have photos of relatives who have fought in a war in the past we would love to have a  photocopy of the photo to put on our memorial wall.  If you have family stories you would like to share with us please do.

Some homework ideas to get you started:  (try finding creative and fun ways to practice reading and writing)

à Use chalk on the driveway

à ‘Paint’ letters and words with water and a paint brush outside

à Use felts, crayons etc on large paper

à Find letters and words around the house or on a car trip

à Play ‘I spy’ or ‘hangman’

à Write the names of friends and family

à Make or buy word and letter flashcards and play ‘snap’ or ‘go fish’ or ‘memory’

à Make or buy letter and/or word bingo

à Cut words and letters out of newspapers or magazines

à Write captions under family photos

à Find pictures of things that interest them and write labels or captions

à Keep a diary. Just one or two sentences about something that happened that day.

à Write and posting letters or emails to friends and family.

à Write stories on the computer

à Read a variety of books, magazines, comics and poems to themselves and others

Week 5

Wow half way through the term already! Where has the time gone?

This week in maths we have been focusing on our number knowledge. We have been learning to write numbers in the 100's (e.g. 123, 235). We have also been learning our "friends of 5" facts (2+3=5, 4+1=5, 5+0=5, 1+4=5 etc.).

It would be wonderful if you practiced these at home this week. You might go for a walk and read the numbers on mail boxes, practice in your homework book, or make a game to help you remember. I am looking forward to seeing how creative you can be!

We have been talking a lot this week about managing ourselves. In the mornings it is our responsibility to bring our book bag inside, unpack it, and choose a new book from our buzz box. In class we manage ourselves by listening to the speaker, starting work quickly and quietly, and always trying our best. We also manage ourselves by eating at the right time (not eating all our lunch before school),and going to the toilet at break times. There are lots of ways we manage ourselves at home and school, talk about the way you manage yourself with someone in your family.

I have LOVED seeing your homework books this week, so many people are practicing their essential words! We had a spelling test yesterday and I was very impressed with the amount of words you could spell. I will put these in your learning portfolios so we can see how many words you learn to spell throughout the year.

Have a great week!

Cloe / Miss Woodfield

Week 4

Well done to everyone who has commented on the blog or sent in photos! Fantastic to see!

Today we were learning about the app 'Pic Collage' and we worked with our learning buddy to make a poster. We had to choose a background, take a photo, write some words, and put some 'stickers' on it. We are such fast learners! Today was all about learning how to use the App so we can use it in the future to make posters about our learning: like books we have read, maths we are learning, our inquiry... . Have a look at out first attempt at Pic Collage!

Room 14 - Maybe if you have an iPad at home you could ask Mum or Dad to download the free App and have a play at home. Make a poster about your reading book, fractions, your family, or maybe your pet! Post it on the blog for us to see.

Triathlon and Duathlon

Congratulations everyone!

What a fantastic day. The weather was gorgeous, heaps of parents came to watch, and everyone participated!

Click on the photo below to see all the photos from today's event!

Te Reo Maori with Mrs Stevens

Apologies I had the wrong email address before!

If you want to post to the blog from home to show us what exciting things you have been doing in the weekend, or share photos of you working hard you can email photos, videos or a story you have typed to clojo88.room14@blogger.com and it will magically appear on the blog!!

Fractions

This week we have been learning about fractions.

Today we started with some bits of paper the same size. One we cut into halves, one into quarters, and one we left whole. When we compared the pieces and put them on top of each other we found that 2 halves are the same as a whole, 4 quarters are the same as a whole, and 2 quarters is the same as 1 half.

Your homework this week is to:

•  Discuss what you have learnt with your family. I wonder if you could show me some fractions in your homework book?

• In the comments section I want you to tell me when we use fractions in real life. Can you think of 2 examples? Get mum and dad to help you if you need it!

(click the photos to make them bigger)

Assembly

Today at assembly we shared our self portraits. Jordana, Holly and Lochlyn were very brave and spoke in front of the WHOLE school to explain what we did and how. We thought being on stage was pretty cool!

This weeks notices.

Parent Meetings

Hi Parents and caregivers.

On Tuesday the 17th of February (this coming Tuesday) at 5:30pm all the Junior classes are having their parent meetings. This is a time to learn more about how your child’s class works and ask any questions you may have. If children attend, school age children will need to play outside unsupervised (on the playground, drawing a picture or scootering etc.) so we can meet uninterrupted.

We would love as many parents as possible to attend these meetings so we can meet you, you can meet the other parents, and we can deliver you important information all at once.

The meetings will start at 5:30 and will be no longer than half an hour. If you can’t make it please let the teacher know in advance.

Thanks

Team Ruapehu Teachers

Triathlon & Duathlon

Dear Parents / Caregivers,

Team Ruapehu – Rooms 7, 8, 9, 13 and 14 will assemble in the pool area ready to begin by 11.30pm.   Rooms 11 and 12 will assemble at the pool area ready to begin at 2.00pm.  Triathlon children will race first followed by the Duathlon children.  Children without bikes do the Duathlon.

Please come along and support your child in our Triathlon/Duathlon, and meet us over by the pool. Feel free to watch from the hill overlooking the pool area. Leaving the gate area free will help us to get the children organised more quickly inside the pool area and keep this area clear and safe for our runners leaving the pool. Please do not cross the course when the children are running and biking. Bikes need to be dropped off in the morning at your child’s classroom. Your classroom teacher will set them up on the field before we start the event.  No-one will play or tamper with the bikes. 

Children need to take part in ALL aspects of our Triathlon ie: being a supporter as well as a competitor.  Supporters and their children may meet at the finish line under the Marquee or area at the side of the hall, to support and cheer on their class mates.

Please return the slip below if your child is able to bring a road worthy, correctly sized bike and a named helmet to school for the Triathlon.  There will be no sharing of bikes or helmets.  At the end of the day bikes can be collected from the Classes allocated spot.   

Let’s all have a fun day.

Team Ruapehu Teachers

Don't forget to check out the kids work they have posted!  http://waipahihirumatekaumawha.blogspot.co.nz/

http://waipahihirumatekaumawha.blogspot.co.nz/

This is the link to the sister blog. This will have posts from children only. Today Rylen has typed his story and posted it on the blog. Leave him a comment!

Swimming

Click the picture to see more photos

A New Year

Welcome to 2015

I have set up this blog in order to share our learning journey this year. I will post notices here so you have a digital copy as well as the paper copies that get sent home. Children will be learning to blog as well and there will be a sister site set up for children's posts to be published on. When we have events at school I will endeavor to post photos from the day shortly after for you to see and share with family.

Blogging is great for:

Creating an online community for our students and their parents     Sharing resources and notices     Sharing student's work and learning      Providing up to date information on what is happening at our school.     Integrating multimedia of all descriptions (videos, photo stories, podcasts)     Receiving feedback (we love receiving your comments and suggestions)     Providing opportunities for students to read (posts) and write (posts and comments),     Posting  homework and extra learning experiences Your child will be bringing home a notice asking for  your permission to use the blog and have their photos shared. I have posted a copy below also. What a great year this is going to be! Please comment and follow our blog to help keep the learning conversations alive. Cloe Woodfield Click the image to enlarge