Ruma tekau banner presentation- Kotahitanga Week

For Kotahitanga week each class had to design a  banner, to be hung in the Hall

 through 2014.  Here, Grace and Hannah are presenting our banner to the school.  

They speak about the meaning of the design and how the various pieces of the jigsaw

 represent the joining together of all the different personalities in class.  Well done

 girls.   Also, a big thank you to Manreet whose design this is, and to the many pupils 

who  helped paint the banner in the week before camp.

After camp we're back at school. It's Kotahitanga Week and the class is practising rakau stick games

The girls have mastered some of the basic moves and have decided to be more adventurous.  They're being patient and hoping E. gets more proficient in passing the rakau.

Jimmy getting into the swing of things.

Here are videos of the Magic (!) Carpet ride- dust and fun, what could be better?

Camp...again (and again).

The dusty but exhilerated Group 4 after their magic Carpet rides

Everyone had an opportunity to push their personal boundaries whether it was sliding down the 50m waterslide, grimly hanging on to the mat in the Magic Carpet ride, or abseiling off a 22m cliff.  There were many activities for everyone to experience- one thing was sure, everyone wanted to keep on going.  Many pupils wished the cliff was 50m high (but only when they had reached the bottom)!

This photo of Maddy and Emily gives some perspective to the height 

of the cliff- there's still 5m to go before the safety of the base is reached.

Camp!! We survived!

Nepia and te Kanawa Year 8 classes recently spent a week at Lakes Ranch camp just outside of Rotorua.  The bus was unuaually quiet on the journey north- could 'The Simpson's Movie' and 'Megamind' dvds have had anything to do with this or was there some pre-camp apprehension? The photos might provide an answer.

        Water-based activitiesfeatured quite heavily during the week- a mud run followed by thermal pools on Monday night was a great way to end the first day at camp.  Later on, the water slide, raft building, kayaking and various pool-based water activities proved 'interesting' and enjoyable!

Our Transformation maths unit began with this Youtube clip

Using the Actively Learn reading programme in class

We are using the Actively Learn website as part of our reading programme.  Room 10 pupils link into the site through their class 'portal', and then read a selected text.  To read on they must answer questions as they appear and these are later graded by myself.  There will usually be a relevant video at the end of the reading.

Our first task was the Maori myth, 'How Maui slowed the Sun'.  Below is the video clip with subtitles.  These will often be used so students can read the text in time with the narration.

A great day at HNI athletics

The Nepia year 8 girls show everyone how to win a tug-of-war competition.  Overall we had an enjoyable day with success across the board.  Here are the boys enjoying some downtime.

This is Izzac's pepeha. It has been translated from English to Maori using Google Translate.

Izzac- My name is a biblical name, it also stands for laughter.

Sea\river - The beach that really reminds me of home is the one in Coromandel because we go up there every year for a family holiday and I love going up and down the beach finding awesome shells and rocks/crystals.

Mountain- My mountain is the kaweka’s (forest) because I used to live pretty close to them and we go hunting there all the time. There are also natural hot springs up there. I remember sitting there at night looking out to the Mohaka and watching the shooting stars go pass.

Waka- My family has lived in New Zealand for many generations.

Mihi

Izzac- Ko te ingoa te Bibilia Izzac toku ingoa, tu hoki i te reira no te kata.

Sea \ awa- Ko te tātahi e tino fakamanatu ki ahau o te whare ko te kotahi i roto i Moehau no te mea e haere tatou i runga i reira nga tau mo te hararei whānau me te aroha e ahau e haere ana, ka heke iho i te one te rapu anga whakamataku me toka / tioata.

Mountain- toku maunga ko o te kaeaea (ngahere) no te mea e whakamahia ana e ahau ki te ora tata tino ki a ratou, ka haere tatou i whaia i reira i te wa katoa. I reira he ano hoki etahi puna wera taiao ake ki reira mahara ahau e noho ana i reira i te po titiro i roto ki te Mohaka me te te mātakitaki i te whetu shooting haere haere.

Waka- Kua ora ai a Wakataku whānau i roto i Aotearoa mō ngā whakatupuranga maha.

James's Electronics Technology circuit.

For Electronic technology we are making small 
compact circuit to use as a burglar alarm or an 
alarm clock. Today we finished measuring and 
cutting the copper tape, so now we can stick it 
on following the instructions within our booklet. 
After we finished, our Electronics teacher 
Mrs Houghton told us to solder our first wire. 
Then roup HH connected the wire to our plastic 
switch that we had poked through a hole in the 
left side of box part. After the lesson I had my 
switch connected to my wire and my copper tape 
stuck on.

We have been learning about the various types of 'average' there are in Statistics.

Hers's Mr C helping the class understand the three types of average- the mean, the mode and the median. He looks like he's having a good time and obviously believes Maths should be fun!

Weekly Timetable

This is the normal timetable for Room 10 this term but sometimes there will  be changes because of House assemblies or outside sports coaching etc.

Time	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
P1   8:45- 9:00	ASSEMBLY	PEAK TV	PEAK TV	PEAK TV	PEAK TV
P2 9:00- 9:45	READING	TECH	READING	MIND GAMES THINKING SKILLS	READING
P3 9:45- 10:30	LITERACY	TECH	LITERACY	MATHS	LITERACY
INTERVAL
P4 11:00- 11:45	MATHS	MATHS	MATHS	READING	MATHS
P5 11:45- 12:30	TE REO	PE	SCIENCE	LITERACY	INQUIRY
LUNCH
P6 1:30- 2:10	PE	INQUIRY	(WK) TECH/ INQUIRY	ART	INQUIRY
P7 2:10- 2:50	LIBRARY	INQUIRY	(WK) TECH/ INQUIRY	ART	ASSEMBLY

Room 10's Softball Skills

In room 10 we have been doing softball skills with Grant Hastings. Here is the i-movie we made...

Week 2 Geometric Designs.

While Mr Jordan took the class he engaged the students in developing their drawing skills by using compasses to create a range of geometric designs.  They add colour and vibrancy to the classroom wall and showcase some of the artistic talent within Room 10.

Cyber-safety video: What NOT to do online!

Today we watched some youtube clips on keeping ourselves safe online.  We all agreed that this clip showed what NOT to do to anyone!  Other clips looked at the consequences of people posting inappropriate (although quite funny) behaviour to social media.  Over the next few weeks we will re-visit these important messages to ensure we all have a thorough understanding of cyber-safety and its implications.

Patu by Tim Tipene. We are reading this novel in class as an introduction to this year's learning. The book introduces concepts of change and how obstacles can be overcome with open-mindedness and the willingness to step outside of your comfort zone.