Celebrate Summer on PhotoPeach

We did some pastel art work to help decorate the school hall that reminds us of the colour and fun of celebrating summer in N.Z. - we hope you enjoy looking at what we produced.

The dazzling SOLAR ECLIPSE

WOW - what an exciting morning we had checking out the Solar Eclipse - it was so cool!!! 
A.B. from Room 17 let us look through a special viewing board his mum made and we could see the Sun looking like a little red dot before the eclipse started.

Then later it looked like an orange with a slice taken out of it as the Moon started to block out some of the Sun. 
                                         
When the eclipse was at its best at 10:25am it felt darker than normal which was awesome, especially when we turned the lights off in the classroom. 
We were also kind of lucky that it was a little bit cloudy at 10:25am so we got to look at the crescent shape of the Sun without feeling blinded by the light - because the cloud acted like a filter to reduce the Sun's brightness.

We wrote about it all for Newsboard and we found out that it won't look this good in Auckland again until 2035.  
So we felt pretty fortunate to see it and we can't wait to watch it on the news tonight!! 

GUY FAWKES celebrations

As part of our Inquiry we've been looking at various celebrations and what they are about.  We did a couple of things related to Guy Fawkes this week because it's coming up on the 5th of November - YAY!  We each made a poster showing how to celebrate safely with fireworks, and we also wrote some descriptive pieces using the word 'FIREWORKS' - here's a few of them...

Friends and family meet to celebrate.
I see big huge colourful explosions.
Rain drops that are beautiful colours fill the dark sky.
Eee arr I say as fireworks go by.
Watching as a firework ends and colourful rain drops fall.
Owls and animals get frightened.
Roaring big huge bangs.
Keep a safe distance away from buildings and homes.
Steak and sausages sizzle on the blazing barbecue.
(R.W.)

Flaming sparks launch into the sky like a rocket.
Interesting sorts of steaming hot flames.
Roaring people screaming and shouting like a bear.
Explosions lighting up the huge dark sky.
Wonderful colours shining bright like gold in the cold night.
Orange firefighters patrolling the long streets.
Relaxing while watching the ginormous fireworks.
Kids running crazy with steaming sparklers.
Sadly Guy Fawkes ends and all that fun is over.
(J.H.)

Fizzling fireworks shooting high up in the sky.
Icky smoke everywhere.
Roaring fire exploding and flashing.
Extremely loud bangs and really, really loud booms.
Why do dogs and cats stop wagging their tails?
Outside is really cold and breezy but warm by the bonfire.
Racing fireworks zooming up in the sky.
Knocking on doors annoyed about the racket.
Sizzling steak and sausages smells yum on the BBQ.
(K.C.)

Our transport models on PhotoPeach

For homework over the past four weeks we designed and made our own transport model.  We used mostly recycled materials and are pretty proud of our finished products.  Leave a comment on what you think about our work.

Keep up the reading!

Teachers vs Students...

The annual teachers verses students soccer match was played today in perfect conditions and was, as always, a closely fought affair!  In fact, it was so close this year that it was a 2 all draw!!  The teachers were a bit short of players and so were helped along by a brilliant performance from Cameron and Josh.  Mr Hayward looked cool, at times, but got slower and lazier as the game wore on.  Here's an excellent photo of him in action -

Okay so that's not really him - Mr Hayward is taller than that and he earns a lot less than this guy (Lionel Messi)! Here's the real photos from today...

DROP-COVER-HOLD

Along with the rest of the school (and with students from all over NZ) all of us in Room 16 participated in the ShakeOut earthquake drill today
at precisely 9:26am. 

So we feel well prepared now should an earthquake strike... Drop-Cover-Hold!   

Gravity egg trick/experiment!

Mr Hayward showed us today what happens when gravity's effect on some eggs comes up against the speed of a people/mop powered tray - luckily gravity won and no eggs broke! The only problem was the person videoing it mucked it up a bit so here's some footage of Mr Hayward doing it a couple of years ago! CHILDREN... DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME - but maybe dad could give it a go sometime if he wants!?!

Fun with Maths on PhotoPeach

On Friday morning we took the opportunity as a school to let dads, grandads and uncles know how much we appreciate them by putting on a breakfast and assembly in their honour - just because we reckon they're cool and they deserve it.

In class we also made vouchers for our dads that they can use sometime to get us to do stuff for them... wash the car, weed the garden, clean their football boots, give them a massage, allow them to have a sleep in, etc.

Some 'Acrostic Writing' related to our Inquiry... 

Motor making heaps of loud noise.

Oil burning with horrible yucky smells.

Terrific fun riding free in the breeze.

Officer catching you when you speed.

Roars like a lion when you turn it on.


Big huge wheels that make it look cool.

Ice cream falling off its cone on a hot summer's day when you take off too fast.

Keeping on going and going until it runs out of gas.

Engine roaring furiously as it zooms down the highway.

(J.H.)



Propellers spinning really fast into spinning action.

Lively motors roaring hard.

Action packed wheels full of air.

Nice Pilots who show the way.

Endless lights that shine extra bright.

(K.C.)

We all enjoyed supporting our Kiwi Olympic athletes at the London games - and didn't they do us proud with a massive haul of 6 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze medals!!  According to our maths that's 13 medals in all which placed us at 15th in the world - an awesome feat for a country of about 4 and a half million people.  Now we can't wait for Rio in 2016 when we'll all be at Intermediate school - freaky!

We got to check out KC's very cool Quad bike today in class as part of our Transport Inquiry. We learnt about shock absorbers, knobbly tyres, 2-stroke motors, kill switches, disc brakes, pull starts - and loads more.   We also decided that (ATVs) All-terrain Vehicles have been designed for fun and to help people in their work or on their farm.   Thanks for sharing your toys with us KC - Mr Hayward enjoyed it too! 

Our Year 3 and 4 Production Under the Sea last week was a huge success and a lot of fun.  We're still trying to get hold of some photos to post, but have a look at some of the things that we learnt from the whole experience. 

Well done to everyone involved - you're awesome!! 

Production posters on PhotoPeach

Good stuff Room 16!!

Define Map on Transport

Today we talked about things that we felt were relevant to the topic of Transport, and things that we thought weren't. Then using post-it notes we put our ideas into a 'define map'... only problem was we struggled to get the post-its to stick properly to the whiteboard. 

Fun with wheels

Friday afternoon was really cool because we got to ride scooters, bikes and skateboards - and in school time too! 
It was all part of introducing our exciting new Inquiry topic on 'Transport'.  
We were also lucky enough to have a visit from Eleanor - that's the name of Cory's very sweet 56 Chevy.  Cory's mum brought her along so that the kids could have a look at her and she told us all sorts of interesting facts as well.  Mr Hayward thought it was a shame some of the dads weren't there to check the car out. 
So a good day was had by all; and we're looking forward to doing lots of learning about this topic for the rest of Term 3!! 

Environmental Writing

As part of our 'Animal Inquiry' we watched a cool video that showed some clever Gannets catching their prey. Then we wrote a poem about what they do using similes, adjectives and adverbs to make our writing more interesting to read and colourful. Here's a couple of finished products for you to enjoy - just click on the picture to have a closer look.

Descriptive Piece

(S.D.)  Two eagles perching on the dead dry branch with sharp gold powerful claws and fearless fiery eyes.  They have a pointy sharp beak, white head and a big brown feathery body.  They look cruel and deadly as they wait to attack their next prey.     

Ben's Day at School

(J.H.)  I liked how Ben was so furry like he was a big pillow.

(R.C.)  When Ben visited my school and I opened the door he jumped on me and he could do lots of cool tricks.

(L.S.)  I liked Ben's visit because Mr Hayward's dog did really amazing tricks.

(O.R.)  I liked Ben's visit because he is amazing and he is very fluffy and very good.  He is the best dog in the world!

(K.C.)  I liked Ben's visit because he showed us cool tricks.

(M.P.)  Ben was so cute that when I got home I begged mum and dad for a golden retriever.

(R.W.)  He was so cute and as fluffy as a teddy bear.

(C.M.)  I liked it when Ben licked my hand.

(S.D.)  I liked Bennie because he was kind and friendly.

(R.F.)  When I came in Ben was doing amazing tricks.

(B.C.)  It was fun when Ben was at school.

(H.M.)  Ben was cute and cuddly.

(M.B.)  I liked Ben's visit because he did spectacular tricks.

(K.F.)  My favourite trick was when Ben did a roly poly.

(M.T.)  I used to be scared of big dogs but Ben made me not so scared anymore.

(J.W.)  I liked Ben because he was kind to children.

(J.L.)  I liked Ben because he was so cute and fluffy like a soft woolly sheep.