Room 13 camp at Weka Point

As the pile in the centre of our class just grew and grew, it was becoming increasingly hard to believe the amount of food and luggage we were taking for the three days!  Miss Pitt took a roll call, organised the transport groups and the children piled into the cars, ready for departure to Pandora to begin the first set of activities.  For some, this was fun-yaking in the inner harbour in 
3-person inflatables.  One of the most popular activities, fun-yaking usually results in a 'soggy bottom'. 


For others, it was a 4.5km rogaine around the Pandora Pond estuary or abseiling at Sturm's Gully on Bluff Hill.  Serah led the way over the 15m drop, and Ben demonstrated that it's all about the way you hold your tongue. 
We travelled out to Weka Point Camp, at Rissington, ready to set up the tents and have some much-needed dinner.  

By now the drizzle was constant and pitching tents resulted in some wet interiors, as well as some      interesting leans as loose guy ropes became the order of the day. 



Oh well, time for some food!

As it was, nearly everyone decided to sleep in the main shelter to avoid a long wet first night. Instead, what we managed was a long noisy night!

Day two continued with Kiwi Adventure providing the water safety, rafting and ArcherySoft activities for two groups, and the other group had the flying fox and waterslide rotations.  

Girls, I think you need water

All of the activities were a hit with the kids.  There was even time for an archery battle among the parents- not sure who won!  

Some learned the hard way you should keep your mouth closed when entering muddy water.

 Although everyone had a chance to ride the waterslide, not all did. 

Understandable- it was fast and steep, although Bruno managed to keep his hat on, taking 'sun sense' to a whole new level.

The flying fox was a favourite. About 100m long, it ran from the top of the waterslide, through the trees than across flat land.  The fastest ride was just under 16 seconds, and a competition ensued to better this.

As the activities came to an end, thoughts turned to the nights meal.  Pupils had spent time in class organising recipes and ingredients for a mince-based meal.  This was to be cooked by them over a gas cooker, so anything under- or overcooked would be their problem.  No blaming the adult chefs tonight!

A safety briefing was listened to before the chopping boards came out and the organising began.  Must admit, some of the meals looked delicious and were obviously enjoyed by all of the groups.

The duty groups had a monstrous ordeal cleaning all the pots and dishes, and a few grumbles could be heard.  Time to set up the Burma trail.

After all the dishes were done and it was suitably dark, the children were led back to the bridge where the trail started.  There was a short walk in the dark (no torches allowed) from the queue to the rope. A lantern had been set up so the kids could find their way.  From this point on it was one hand on the rope and feel the track with your feet, or beware.  Parents were stationed along the track, some to help and others to scare!  Screams started almost from the first steps as they followed the track up, down and across the hill, between trees and over roots.  As all the camp lights were out the only light was from a beautiful star-lit sky.  After hot milos it was into the tents for a much-quieter night.

Wednesday, games were played as gear was ferried back to the top of the hill in the gondola, ready for departure.  As a final gesture of goodwill, considering all of the wood we had burned staying warm, everyone carried firewood back to the shed, ready for the next group.

Time for last photos, a goodbye to our camp follower 'Sweetpea', and it was up the track and back to school after a great few days at Weka Point.  

       

 A BIG THANKYOU to all the wonderful parents who made this camp possible.

Powhiri to begin Kotahitanga Week

This is Kotahitanga Week at HNI.  It begins with a formal Maori welcome to the year 7 students (manuhiri) from the year 8 students (tangata whenua).  After this we have the unveiling of each class's pou.  The week culminates in the Year 8's visiting Matahiwi, HNI's marae near Haumoana.

 Yana and Eleanor spoke about their Piwakawaka (fantail) design, why it was chosen, 

and how te caracteristics of this delightful native bird represent the class. 

Poetry- 'Remember when?'

These draft poems are modelled on a Sheena Cameron activity and are yet to be edited.

Remember when we made snow angels, and how they looked terrible?

That was winter.Remember the crisp white puffs of breath as we walked outside?Remember the cold dry air?  That was winter.Remember Amber hitting me with a snowball way to hard and it hurting for ages?  

That was winter.Remember jumping on iced-over puddles and the crunching sound that it made? Remember running around in uncomfortable sodden clothes? That was winter.Remember seeing the melted gray slush at school and stomping in it with friends? 

That was winter. Alice.

That was summer

Pool

We put the pool up

Swam with friends

It was cold

Just stood there

Park

Picnic At the park and family friends

Picnic smelled nice

Playing on the playground

Games with family friends

Home

Inside watching t.v

Drawing for fun

On the family computer

Went to bed and it felt good to sleep Anna

Remember when we were in the middle of Taupo we could smell the salfa leaking out of the ground?  

Remember when we were roaring up Mount Ruapehu in the car?

Remember when we felt the icy breeze on our hands and our face going down the steep slopes?

Remember when  we could hear our snowboards skimming up the snow behind us?

Remember when we could see the brisk clouds of our breath floating up into the white sky?

Remember when we tasted the chocolate of our milo swishing in our mouth? Toby

Remember the long road trips, the wind blowing into your face,

mum and dad singing in the front, me eating ice cream?

That was Summer

Remember the dirt smashing into your face the crowds cheering and

the engines screaming and eating hotdogs and chips at the speedway?

That was Summer

Remember trying to get the biggest splash in the pool?

Remember spending days on the beach?

That was Summer

Remember talking and laughing drinking soda?

Remember putting a helmet and ripping up the dirt and going blazing fast?

That was Summer

Remember cruising along on our bikes hearing our tyres hitting the tarmac?

Remember meeting family members and having a big feast?

That was Summer Sam

Science Tech rotation- watch how static electricity can affect gravity!

Cameron and Jordan playing around with the fundamental 

forces of nature.

Burger designing at Food Tech

Science tech rotation

Room 13 class leaders for terms 1 and 2

L to R:  Cameron Broad (class leader); Oliver Barclay (sports captain); 

Zoe Adams (sports captain); Lola McDonald (class leader). 

Congratulations to these four students who now have significant leadership roles

 in class, within Te Kanawa House and in the wider school community.  Ka Pai!

Science group A having fun in learning.

Padlet of the 'Arrival of the British'- Inquiry

Created with Padlet

'GetWise' financial literacy

Today we had a visit from Kimble, from the ASB bank, and he was running a course on financial literacy in the library.  He had Rooms 13 and 15 entertained with his anecdotes and information in the hour-long session.

 He admitted not all of the stories were 'true', but they were used to get our students thinking about their own choices and how these could affect their futures.


The second part of the hour was based on taking a Hawaiian holiday, with choices around the package deal, medical insurance options, and being involved in some dramas.  The winning team had the most money left over from the $2000 budget.

A very worthwhile hour and we now know Kimble washed windows when he had the aim of saving for a bike. The low-rider Chevy Impala was a different story!

Ben's Mihi via 'Chatterbox'

Some fun at Science Tech

And no, this is not the trial of the new school uniform.  The bags are 

to keep students dry (no guarantees).

First day of Science tech was Nucleation- not as dangerous as it sounds....? Ask Ben.

Teacher reading- The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I have started reading to Room 13 this fascinating novel by Brian Selznick, about Hugo Cabret, an orphaned boy who lives in the Paris Railway Station. The book's primary inspiration is the true story of turn-of-the-century French pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès, his surviving films, and his collection of mechanical, wind-up figures called The book's primary inspiration is the true story of turn-of-the-century French pioneer filmmaker Georges Méliès, his surviving films, and his collection of mechanical, wind-up figures called automata.                                                                                                                                                 Admittedly, the class was a bit taken aback when I told them Part 2 of the story started at page 257 (how long would it take to read the novel?) but at the end of day one we had reached page 80 because of how the book is constructed- lots of illustrations and some pages have very few words.                                                                                                                                                            As we read we build on our knowledge of the story, the characters and the plot by expanding our concept web.  This is to help students understand how they can improve their own writing by determining all the myriad details, and the connections between them, at the beginning of the writing process.  Over the next few weeks the web will grow as I add new connections.

Some illustrations from the book:

Photos from the T.K. House swimming trials- it was NOT all serious!

More photos from the swimming trials-

'Workspace' - an example of how Homework might be issued.

This is a page from the class workspace, a Google Drive enhancement enabling me to outline work, projects and completion dates for any of the curriculum areas.  Students complete the work as per the page, watch clips or find and add their own.  This should be a great tool this year.

Today in history- the Hawke's Bay earthquake, 1931

After watching a video of the Hawke's Bay earthquake, groups had to consider three issues and comment, and recount some facts.  The issues were: benefits of earthquakes; problems following earthquakes; and interesting things occuring after earthquakes (i.e. dead fish when the land uplifts (Pandora Pond)). There was some interesting discussion and knowledge-building happening.
Today's learning will build into an understanding of how landscapes are formed over time by natural processes.

Here they are in all their glory: Room 13, 2016

Room 13 Honours Badge students 2015

Back row:  Sophie, Cassia, Lily P-B, Eva;
Front row:  Rebecca, Mankaran, Lily W.

These six students have met the school's expectations across all areas- cultural, sport, service, academic and technology.  Their Honours badges were well-deserved and reflect on them as engaged students who look for challenges. Sophie and Mankaran represented HNI at the regional Science Fair, with Sophie winning an award for her project on the most effective dilution of 'Worm Wee' as a fertiliser.  Rebecca won the national under 16 category for writing in the Rangitawa Publishing short story competition.

Forensic's and the police

Te Kanawa House had a special treat this week with Detective Constable Kate Hyde and Senior Constable Gavin Cross visiting as part of our Inquiry- 'Exploring the Unexplained'.  They were here to talk about the role of forensic science in their jobs and how new technologies are making crime-solving more accurate and faster.  Constable Kate took us through a burglary scenario with Constable Gavin going into the crime scene investigation itself, and the role DNA, fingerprinting and footprint lifters would have in determining a likely suspect.  The role of neighbours was covered, as in this scenario a neighbour had seen a local person acting suspiciously at the time of the burglary.

TK looking at evidence of a crime

Linda dressed in a containment suit

One thing many students found fascinating was the shape of their own fingerprints- arches, loops or whorls.  Overall, a fascinating insight into the various roles forensics plays in crime solving.

HNI Inter-House athletics day

The day got off to a cool start although we weren't shrouded in fog like last year.
However, as the day wore on the sun came out and we ended up with warm, pleasant weather.  The Houses assembled and moved through their rotations of 100m, 200m, shotput, discus, high jump, vortex throw, long jump and the much-needed rest area.
The day ended with the much-anticipated 32x100m relay race.  Houses were organised into teams of 16 girls and 16 boys, running along the 100m track and exchanging the baton.  The lead changed several times as fast runners overtook slower ones or, as happened all to frequently, a baton was dropped.  The cries from the teams made clear the anguish they felt as valuable seconds were lost.  Fortunately, T.K. showed it's true mettle and ran out worthy winners.
Now we just have to wait for the final individual and House results as assembly.
A school team has been chosen to compete at the SuperSix event at the Hastings Sports Park on 25thNovember.