Global learning...

We continue to be excited and interested in the postcards that have been arriving. 

Kaydi's card she sent from China arrived today ... almost a month since she got back! We also got one from Lisa & Summer from Cairns.  Earlier in the week we received a lovely card from Ivy, from London.  We also received a big envelope today stuffed full of cards!  The envelope was from Hayley, one of our school's Teacher Aide's nieces. Hayley is working as a Councilor at a summer camp in Maine, United States. Her group at camp sent us all cards.  The students were from all sorts of places including Russia, Boston, New York, Masachussets in the United States.  So cool! 

Check it out...

Ever wonder why your children come home on a Friday smeared in face paint, with gluey fingers and grubby clothes ... with fabulous creations crafted from an array of different materials ... with flushed cheeks, worn out but happy?  Why it's Discovery day, of course! 

Be sure to check out our Junior Discovery Blog to see what they got up to today ... enjoy :)

We've Got Mail...

How exciting ... we have received five postcards so far!

Cooper sent two while he was in Fiji.  The stamps on Cooper's postcards were of insects. We thought this was pretty cool after studying all about insects last term. We checked on the postmarks and found out that both cards took 6 days to arrive here at school...

Rory sent one from Rarotonga. The stamps in his postcard were Cook Island stamps and had pictures of pilot whales on them, which dwell in this area of the Pacific Ocean. Rory's postcard took 11 days to arrive...

We were super-duper excited to get another card a couple of days ago.  It was from 'Lynne' in Maine, United States of America.  She wrote a lovely note on the card - it's warm there (in contrast to our chilly winter), and there are deers in the fields.  We particularly liked the picture of a grand looking animal on the front of the card. We think it might be a moose.  If you would like to find out more about Maine, click here. Lynne's postcard took only 6 days to arrive in New Zealand.  We don't know who you are Lynne, but thank you...

Today we received a card from 7 year old Samantha, from London in England.  Her postcard was very well received with the children recognising the Royals in the picture after our mini-inquiry about the Queen last term, and the couple's recent visit to New Zealand.  Thank you for your postcard Samantha!

Can you find England, the United States, Cook Islands and Fiji on this map?

Our own postcards arrived from the printer, so we happily sent off our first round of requests today (and some special ones for our quadblogging buddies).  If you'd like to receive one of our super-duper postcards, let us know!

International Language Week...

This week is International Language Week and we're also celebrating our school value of Diversity.  Over the year we've been learning to say hello in the different languages we speak in E7.  This week we've been using all of these (and more) to call the roll and greet one another...

Samoan:  Talofa (hello), Tofa (goodbye)

Cook Islands: Kia orana (hello/goodbye)

Telugu: Namaskaram (hello), Velli vasthanu (goodbye to 1), Velli vasthamu (goodbye to more)

Somali:  Salam alaikum (hello/goodbye)

Chinese: Ni hao (hello) Zai jian (goodbye), Xie Xie (thank you)

Sinhalese: Ayubowan (hello/goodbye)

Greek: Kali mera (good morning), Yia sou (hello/goodbye)

Cantonese: Nei hou mah (hello), Joi gin/Baai baai (goodbye)

Skip Counting...

We are learning to skip count by 2's and 5's.  In class today we played a fantastic game to help us practice our skip counting... you can play it from home too. Click here to go to ABCya and play Number Bubble Skip Counting.

Postcard Challenge...

You may have read our earlier post about our postcard challenge, well have we got a treat for our friends and family, our very own E7 postcards!  Mrs P has just ordered a bundle. If you would like one, please send us a postcard and let us know your address and we will send one to you, wherever you may be in the world!  

Let the mailing begin...

Jungle Jam...

Tonight was our Jungle Jam school disco.  For most of our class, this was our first school dance.  Because we are such a big school, we have three discos.  We went to the junior one.  The music was loud and exciting, the lights were bright and sparkly, and we all danced, danced, danced!

Discovery...

Just a reminder that we now have a special blog for our Junior Discovery mornings. Click here to go to it, and be sure to leave us a comment.  Thank you.  

If there are pics of your children on the blogs (our class one or the Discovery one) and you'd like a copy, simply 'right click' and 'save as' onto your PC or laptop (or choose Save Copy on your mobile device). 

Wheels Wednesday...

What a fantastic morning we had today... our letter focus this week is 'Ww' and today, in recognition of  the letter 'Ww' and because it was Wednesday, we had Wheels Wednesday. Students in E6 and E7 were encouraged to bring a bike, skateboard, scooter or skates to school (and a helmet if they had one) and we set up some circuits in the courtyard outside our classroom.

We had a great time, zooming around in circles, weaving around cones and trying out one another's wheels.  Everyone was happy to share and give others a go and many got to try something new, like riding a skateboard, for the first time.  

Dehan and Jerome in their helmets, ready to ride...

For writing later this morning, we wrote about Wheels Wednesday...

 Today was Wheels Wednesday.  I had a ride on someone’s scooter. I had fun.  I liked it.  By Anvesha

Today was Wheels Wednesday.  I got to take turns on my scooter.  I had fun.  Me and Cooper took turns on each others scooters.   By Dehan

At Wheels Wednesday I brought a scooter.  I gave my scooter to Faisal.  I can jump on my scooter.  By Georgia

I didn’t have much fun today because I didn’t have my scooter.  I had a  turn on Scarlett’s scooter.  That was fun.  By Alex

On Wheels Wednesday I did bike and scooter riding.  It was fun.  My favourite thing was balancing on the skateboard.  By Ollie

At Wheels Wednesday I went so fast.  It felt like I was going into the wall.  It was so fun.   By Sophia

On Wheels Wednesday I got on Dehan’s scooter.  I had a lot of fun.  Then we had a photo.  By Cooper

I went on my scooter.  It was fun.  I think it was cool.  By Jerome

Wheels Wednesday was today. I liked it.  I rode my scooter, it was really fun.  By Kaydi

Today was Wheels Wednesday.  I rode my scooter.  When I rode my scooter I crashed into Mrs Pescini!  By Violet

Wheels Wednesday is fun.  I had my helmet and my scooter.  I can scooter.  By Mohit

Today was Wheels Wednesday.  I had so much fun on my bike.  It was fun.  By Luka

On Wheels Wednesday I got to go on Georgia’s scooter.  It was fun.  It was pink.  By Faisal

Today was Wheels Wednesday.  I brought my scooter.  It was fun.  By Peter

Today I rode Kaydi’s scooter because it was Wheels Wednesday.  It was so much fun.  I also rode Anvesha’s scooter too.  By Scarlett 

What a great morning and special to share it with our friends in E6 too.  

Yay ... we hope we might have another Wheels Wednesday some time...

NZ Maths Week...

This week is New Zealand Maths Week ... although anytime is a good time to do maths and develop your numeracy skills!

If you want to take a look at the Maths Week website and have a go of some awesome numeracy games, click on the picture below.  You will need to scroll down to find the games section.  Enjoy...

Sensational Sound...

These week we have been 'tuning in' to our Inquiry about sound.  We've had lots of great discussions and shared some wonderful insights about sounds and our senses. We watched this great little clip (a very old one that Mrs P can even remember from when she was at school), that tells us all about our five senses...

Our five senses are touch, sight, taste, smell and hearing.  We've thought long and hard about what we can use these senses for and what we like and don't like.  Check out some of our super-duper senses poems...

"I like the taste of creamy icecream.  I like the smell of coloured flowers.  I like the feel of warm hugs.  I like the sound of pretty music.  I like the look of a rainbow." ~ Nicholas

"I like the taste of sweet and sticky lollies.  I like the smell of giant lollies.  I like the feel of fluffy cats.  I like the sound of pretty music. I like the look of a big, happy smile." ~ Jerome

"I like the taste of my mum's dried fruit.  I like the smell of flowers.  I like the feel of silky hair. I like the sound of chirping birds. I like the look of my mum." ~ Sophia

"I like the taste of crispy biscuits.  I like the smell of clean laundry.  I like the feel of cats.  I like the sound of river water.  I like the look of my favourite toys." ~ Luka 

We wanted to show you what the five senses are.  They are...

Taste...

Touch...

Smell...

Sight... 

Hearing...

What sense is most relevant for our inquiry?  Hearing...

We spent some time resting our eyes and really 'tuning in' with our ears.  What sounds could we hear? Were these loud or quiet sounds?  Sweet or harsh sounds? What made the sound? We shared our brilliant ideas with the class and wrote some fabulous stories about what we could hear and how those sounds made us feel.

Today we got to try some very cool experiments that explored sound...

Sophia and Luka experiment to see if they can produce sound waves in the water...

Can you see the sound waves? 

Nicholas and Jerome try out their paper-cup phones...

Our Sensational Sound Inquiry Wall