Room 18's Sharing Space

To the best class of 2012 ...

2012-02-02T19:08:00.000+13:00

Hi Room 18! Welcome to our class blog space for 2012.

This will be your first posting area and you will use this as a place to introduce yourselves. You have to read the class blogging rules and understand that our thoughts, ideas and information are available to be read from anywhere in our world.

Here are the rules - Read these with your family:

There are a few rules to remember though ... here are our blog guidelines.

In working with this blog and any other webspaces, all students need to ensure that they follow these important guidelines. They are designed to make sure that you enjoy these spaces.

• Only ever use your first name or a nickname when you are writing on this or other blogs or wikis.
• Never use any other student’s last name.
• Never post any personal information–such as your home or cellphone number or home address on this or any other blog or wiki.
• Never share any of your usernames or passwords with anyone and never log in as another student.
• Always tell your parents or teacher right away if you come across anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Remember the “grandma rule” that anything you put on the internet could be read by your grandmother so only write things you could say to the nicest of grannies.
• Be a good online citizen and never write or post anything that could hurt anyone else.
• Always check with an adult if someone asks for your phone number or to meet you.
• Never make arrangements to meet anyone over the internet. Always talk to your parents or teacher if this is an issue.
• Make sure you publish only your own work. Don’t under any circumstances use other people’s work and call it your own.
• Make sure that you read over your writing before you post it to check the spelling and that it reads okay.

You can publish without a Google account, but it's best if you sign up with one. If you publish without a Google account, you MUST include your name. If your name is not included in your post it will not be published. Please include your first name when posting without an account.

So, now it is time to write a brief introduction about yourself. Include these things:

Your first name, and your year level.
Some family information – for example who you live with – no names please.
You may wish to name the area you live in. For example – Mt Albert, Sandringham, Mt Eden, Balmoral.
If you have links to other countries tell us about them. Maybe you have lived in other countries?
Some of your interests.
Set yourself some big goals for 2012 – they can be class related, sport related or even outside of school. What is it that you really want to achieve this year? We can look at these and aim to achieve them!

I am really looking forward to our blogging journey and can’t wait to read your comments.

Let’s get blogging Room 18!!

School Holidays

2011-12-18T12:43:00.000+13:00

Wow! What a great year we have had, and now Room 18 is on holiday until 1st February 2012.

We had our final school day on 15th December, which turned out to be rainy for most of the day. We spent our time inside all day and watched a short movie, did Youtube karaoke and reflected on our year.

It is sad to see our Year 6 students leave, but I know they will do very well in their new schools. I look forward to teaching all of our Room 18 Year 5's again next year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Here is a Justin Bieber song which was used during our karaoke session on our last day.

Year 6 Graduation

2011-12-01T16:19:00.001+13:00

We are currently preparing for our end of year poroporoaki (farewell) for our amazing Year 6 children, with the event occurring on the 9th December 2011.

It is during these times that we realise how much learning, how many great friendships, and good times the children have had here during their primary school years. It is a time to be reflective about our learning journeys and a time to look forward to many new adventures.

Year 6 - what is a great memory you have of your time at primary school?

We are the champions!

2011-10-31T22:19:00.001+13:00

Will the All Black win against France be one of those events that you will remember exactly where you were and what you were doing in years to come? Did you celebrate this Rugby World Cup in a memorable way? Did you have a World Cup experience during any of the tournament?

WELCOME BACK TO TERM 4

This term will be a very busy term, filled with many other events that may be memorable to you. Some will centre around sport, while others will be more academic. For the Year 6 students, Poroporaki is going to be one of those occasions.

Write a blog comment about either an event you are looking forward to this term, or perhaps about a memorable moment for you about the Rugby World Cup.

Always be ready to shout "Go the Mighty All Blacks!"

Ulearn 2011 ARTRAGE, GIMP and PICNIK

2011-10-22T21:06:00.004+13:00

During the school holiday break 5 teachers from Balmoral School will be attending the Ulearn 2011 conference held in Rotorua. Suzanne and Andrew are running a workshop on their use of Art Rage, GIMP and Picnik with students.

Here are some examples that they will be sharing with other teachers:

Picnik Link
Media Fire Link
Che Yourself Tutorial
Change Hair Colour Tutorial
Basic Introduction to Layers

Rugby World Cup 2011

2011-09-11T14:28:00.000+12:00

In Room 18 we have been very excited due to the amazing celebrations happening during the Rugby World Cup. We have had flags hanging in our room, and have been supporting not only the All Blacks but other teams from around the world that are competing.

Watch this video and answer these questions with detail.

1. What is your favourite team at the Rugby World Cup and why?
2. Explain what you will be doing during the Rugby World Cup?
3. What do think the Rugby World Cup will mean to New Zealand?

Doodle for Google 2011

2011-08-26T13:06:00.004+12:00

Room 18 is working to enter this years 'Doodle for Google' competition. The theme is 'My Wish for New Zealand', and already we have had some very creative designs.

Here is a link to the Google outline that you can use or go to the official site and download the resources here.

What is democracy?

2011-08-15T17:58:00.004+12:00

We have watched this video in class and taken some notes about it's main points. For this task you must answer these questions in a clear and sensible way. Try to explain your thoughts in detail, so that any reader can understand your points.

1. What do you think the children in this clip are saying about democracy?

2. What is your personal reaction towards the children's ideas?

3. How does democracy apply in your life?

We are back!

2011-08-01T18:07:00.003+12:00

Room 18 students returned to school today with smiles on their faces and ready to learn many new things.

This term our focus topics are:

Reading - comprehension.

Maths - measurement, fractions, decimals and percentages.

Writing - letter writing, argument, and later this term explanations.

PE - continuation of our syndicate sports and fitness activities.

Rich Task - systems within the structure of justice and rights.

Arts - drama.

Along with news board, spelling, music and technology we look forward to a busy and eventful term.

Have a great holiday!

2011-07-15T12:18:00.002+12:00

Room 18 are now on a two week holiday break.

Everyone has worked hard and what a great term it was!

Carey Park 2011

2011-06-27T18:36:00.002+12:00

What a wonderful time we had at Carey Park. Many new adventures were had and many new achievements were gained.

With amazing activities, great food and excellent company - what else could have been this good!

Children of the dump

2011-05-29T13:32:00.003+12:00

This subject links with our Philosophy discussion and our Rich task topic.

You may even like to do some extra research, and find out about these children and families in Cambodia who live in this rubbish dump.

Remember an informed opinion gives you greater understanding of others.

Please watch this youtube clip, and share your thoughts, and feelings about what you see and what you may think could be done.

Trash

2011-05-26T15:13:00.005+12:00

Room 18 is currently studying sustainability and recently analysed the waste that students are putting into our school rubbish bins.

Unfortunately, a huge amount of food is simply being thrown into the trash rather than being eaten or taken home. We also found that plastic rubbish, which is non-recyclable is also a problem.

Read the student's comments about what they found out ... they will be adding their comments shortly.

Rich Task - Taking Culture

2011-05-03T11:08:00.007+12:00

We have been looking at heritage over the past term, and looking at the fertile question; My heritage, their heritage, our heritage - whose future?

In many instances in the world, one culture can dominate and take over another culture. In some cases in history people have been forced into a culture different than their own, such as Australia's 'Stolen Generation' and even when the Europeans first arrived in New Zealand a lot of them aimed to change the Maori into 'civilised' people by forcing their religions and beliefs onto the Maori.

My question to you is;

Is it right for one culture to be taken over by another?

I look forward to reading your thoughtful comments and please remember to justify your ideas.

Holiday Break

2011-04-16T07:39:00.006+12:00

WOW! What a great term we have had in Room 18, and now it's time for the children to have a well deserved break.

I would like to congratulate each and every one of you for your hard work this term. You have each learnt many new things and have become more aware of the requirements and skills needed to be successful learners.

You have worked well with each other and we really do have a great learning environment in our class.

I am really looking forward to our new learning in the new term.

See you soon.

Andrew.

Creative Writing

2011-03-13T20:19:00.012+13:00

Creative writing is an art. Like any good artist you take words, treat them like clay or paint and mould them into interesting pieces. Your audience should see your story like they would a picture or film.

You will show what you know about adjectives, simile, metaphor and personification.

This challenge consists of more than one part, but you can chose to do all of them or just one. You chose.

Part One:

Using the activity you have done in class about explaining what it is like to be in a a running race, recreate that story here on our blog or take another one and explain using sight, sound, and feelings. An example could be a swimming race, bike jump, skateboard trick, or any other physical challenge.

Part Two:

Adjectives. Like the task in class, you are to chose a noun or pronoun to begin with and then add in adjectives and descriptive features to make it really interesting. Check out the ones on display in our room for insipration. Some starting nouns may be - house, door, field, window, winter, trees, flower or bicycle.

Part Three:

Study the picture below and use these three things. Make one true statement, one descriptive statement and one thought statement. We have done this in class also, see the activity on our wall for inspiration. I will do a quick example for you.

True: The woman's head dress is multicoloured.
Descriptive: One thousand dark memories show in her eyes and haunt her, like lost dreams that she cannot quite remember.
Thought: I am, I can, I will.

Use this picture:

Write on Microsoft Word or Google Apps first. Have a parent check it, make sure there are NO spelling errors and your punctuation is correct. Then copy and paste it into our blog posting area.

Have fun and looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us.

Christchurch Support

2011-02-28T21:50:00.003+13:00

On Friday 25th February Balmoral School organised a fundraiser in support of those affected by the Christchurch earthquakes.

We donated coins and notes for the cause and also showed our respect and support by dressing in black and red - the Canterbbury colours.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Balmoral fundraising for Christchurch.

View more presentations from room182011.

Our Mihi

2011-02-16T11:30:00.008+13:00

Room 18 are learning about the importance of culture and heritage. We have begun to learn about Maori introductions and children have needed to work with their families to find out more information about their own history and ancestors.

Room 18 - HERE IS COPY OF THE MIHI IF YOU NEED TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN.

Our 'The Leader in the front, the followers behind' discussion is really interesting.

To our overseas viewers - please post to us in our introduction section two entries down. We love seeing where people have come from on our feedjit, but would really love to hear from you. We have noticed Kansas, Dubai and Michigan recently... Please drop us a note.

Keep posting Room 18!

The leader in the front, the followers behind.

2011-02-13T17:54:00.003+13:00

Ko te amorangi ki mua,

Ko te hapai o ki muri.

The Leader in the front,

the Followers behind.

This is a continuation of our rich task focus and our philosophy focus.

There may be some of you who agree, or disagree with the Maori proverb, but just like any philosophical discussion, you will need to explain your reasoning behind your response and you must also refer to, discuss or challenge another poster’s point of view.

State whether you agree? Why? Do you disagree? Why? Ask questions and explore this proverb.

Welcome to 2011!

2011-01-30T23:34:00.003+13:00

Hi Room 18! Welcome to our class blog space for 2011.

This will be your first posting area and you will use this as a place to introduce yourselves. You have all read the class blogging rules and understand that our thoughts, ideas and information are available to be read from anywhere in our world.

You can publish without a Google account, but it's best if you sign up with one. If you publish without a Google account, you MUST include your name. If your name is not included in your post it will not be published. Please include your first name when posting without an account.

So, now it is time to write a brief introduction about yourself. Include these things:

Your first name, and your year level.
Some family information – for example who you live with – no names please.
You may wish to name the area you live in. For example – Mt Albert, Sandringham, Mt Eden, Balmoral.
If you have links to other countries tell us about them. Maybe you have lived in other countries?
Some of your interests.
Set yourself some big goals for 2011 – they can be class related, sport related or even outside of school. What is it that you really want to achieve this year? We can look at these and aim to achieve them!

I am really looking forward to our blogging journey and can’t wait to read your comments.

Let’s get blogging Room 18!!

End of School 2010

2010-12-14T08:29:00.003+13:00

On December 15th Balmoral School closes for the Christmas holidays.

Farewell to all of our wonderful Year Six children, who now move on to intermediate school. Remember to aim high, work hard, and continue being the amazing and unique children you are.

Kia Kaha - Be Strong.

Athletics Day 2010

2010-11-10T19:37:00.003+13:00

The Auckland weather treated us well and the Whetu and Hiringa syndicate enjoyed a day in the sun with our annual Athletics day.

There were some fantastic athletes amongst the group, but also most importantly everyone enjoyed themselves.

Check out these great pictures.

Room 18 Drama Term 4

2010-11-07T16:30:00.007+13:00

As part of the arts curriculum this term, Room 18 children have been learning about role play. They have learnt about being able to stay in role, creating a believable role and also fitting into a group of other children who are also in role. They have had a theme to follow and have all taken part enthusiastically.

Tony, our student teacher from The University of Auckland has been running this great unit and this photo slide show is a true representation of the children's enjoyment and learning.

Balmoral Art Festival

2010-11-02T15:05:00.002+13:00

The amazing art festival ended with a magnificent art show. In these images you will witness the great art produced by creative students and inspiring teachers.

Balmoral Great Day Out

2010-10-28T17:42:00.002+13:00

Once again the famous Balmoral school fair is set to rock Auckland with a range of events and activities designed for ultimate fun.

Whether you are old or young there is something for everyone at this years Balmoral Great Day Out to be held on November 13th.

Be there!

Room 18 is currently collecting BBQ themed gifts for the fair. We have a box set up in our room and hope that you can send along any new goods you have to help raise funds for our amazing school. Thanks!

Balmoral Intermediate Japan Trip

2010-10-07T09:52:00.005+13:00

14 students, Matt and Mary are now on their way to Japan. What an amazing experience for everyone involved.

If you are interested in keeping up to date, following and commenting on their journey then check out this site.

BALMORAL JAPAN 2010

Explorers and Pioneers

2010-08-29T19:38:00.003+12:00

As part of our Rich Task and Reading learning, we have been finding out about many interesting and inspiring explorers and pioneers from the past.

For this task you are to find out about someone you have not studied in class, and write out what you found interesting about them.

Answer these questions as part of your learning:

- What personal characteristics did/do they possess? Eg: determined because ... enthusiastic because ... and so on.

- How has what they did in the past changed the present?

- How do you think what they achieved will impact on the future?

We are on Skype.

2010-08-14T09:22:00.010+12:00

Dear Visitors,

We have just set up Skype in our room, which has hopefully opened some doors to more learning opportunities for the children.

We are currently studying famous explorers and pioneers and as part of their learning the children are encouraged to seek experts to help them with their research.

If you are from another school, classroom or are a student from another country and would like to make contact with Room 18, leave us your Skype address as a post (we won't publish it).

You can alternatively add us to Skype as a contact: room18balmoral - but to be safe, please leave us a message about who you are and where you are from.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Room 18.

Rich Task - Teaching Room 23

2010-07-03T14:46:00.004+12:00

As part of Room 18's learning this term they planned to teach a group of younger children about the importance of fitness. Here are some pictures of some of Room 18's wonderful fitness instructors in action.

Dance Pictures - Friday July 2nd 2010

2010-07-03T14:25:00.006+12:00

The Anzacs - Remember

2010-06-20T17:57:00.005+12:00

The Year 5 and 6 Film Club recently entered a competition run by the Auckland City Museum called 'I Am Making Movies'.

It was a great experience for all children involved, and we were even short listed to be among the best documentaries featured in the competition. Although we did not win a main prize, we learnt a lot about film making and digital learning.

Here is a copy of our film.

Carey Park Camp 2010

2010-05-26T18:11:00.003+12:00

What a great time we all had last week. Carey Park is an amazing place for new learning, new social skills and pushing your personal boundaries.

Before camp we set some goals, many of which were about persisting when times became tricky and hard and I am sure that most of you had one or two moments when you really had to focus on what it was you wanted to achieve.

For this post, use it as a place to describe the things you liked and the things that really challenged you. Did you overcome those challenges?

Tell us about the exciting times that you experienced at Carey Park Camp 2010.

Dance Term 2

2010-05-13T18:33:00.005+12:00

Room 18 has been involved in creative dance as part of their arts focus this term. We have been focusing on learning some key vocabulary and skills associated with dance techniques.

In these videos you will see cannon, unison, levels, and body paths to name a few. Ask your child about what these words mean. The dances seen here are after one session with the song and are representative of around 45 minutes of work.

So far we have danced to a range of music chosen to highlight different rhythm selections. We have had 'Put your records on' by Corrine Bailey Rae, 'Heavy Cross' by Gossip - as seen in this video, and are now working on a slower song by Sinead O'Connor called 'Nothing Compares'.

We aim to work on one main dance to present at the end of Term 2, and will begin our work on that after we return from camp.

Note: Due to some children being absent one group is not shown here. However, they will be seen in videos to come.

ENJOY!!

Welcome back to Term 2

2010-04-20T17:48:00.002+12:00

After our 2 week holiday break the Room 18 children are back with vigor and enthusiasm. It is great to see a great learning attitude and open minds ready to get busy with this new terms learning.

Here is what is happening in Room 18 this term:

Arts: We will be doing creative dance and learning many new dance terms and composition skills.

Writing: Narrative Myths and Legends, as you will see below this is a theme that runs through many of our core subjects this term.

Reading: to begin with we will cover Myths and Legends. The children are about to use 'Thinkers Keys' as part of their learning about a range of Myths and Legends from around the world. Wondering what 'Thinkers Keys' are .. click this LINK.

Oral Language: Story telling. Children will learn about techniques used in effective story telling and will tell their own stories in presentations to their class.

Mathematics: We are learning about statistics as part of our strand work this term and have already begun collecting data about our pulse rates. We will also be concentrating on Multiplication and Division as our number focus.

Rich Task: Is fitness worth all the fuss? That is our big question and children are learning about 5 key body systems -circulatory, digestive, respiratory, muscular and the nervous systems. The second half of the term will focus on body health and fitness. Ways to improve and maintain good health in the body.

Camp: Children will spend 4 days at Carey Park in Henderson Valley in Week 5 of this term. It will be a great learning experience for all involved.

Stay tuned for more updates and more awesome Room 18 learning!

Our Wonderful World

2010-03-19T12:51:00.012+13:00

In Room 18 we are lucky to have had some contact with another teacher from Argentina, her name is Florencia.

Her students are wanting to know about New Zealand and Auckland - so it is our opportunity to tell them about our wonderful country. We live in a beautiful place, a place of freedom with so many wonderful and unique things about us and our culture. Be proud Kiwi's and share your country!

For our Argentina friends - can you tell us about your beautiful country too?

As an extension you can also choose one other country you are interested in and find some things out about it. Be sure you look where it is in the world on a map. Here is a link to Google Maps.

DO THESE THINGS FOR YOUR TASKS:

- Write some information about your life in New Zealand. What are some unique things that we do here that may not be done else where?

- Find out some interesting facts about another country in the world … At least 10 things. You could do it as a ‘Did you know?’ if you wish to.

Anti- Whaling

2010-02-22T18:04:00.006+13:00

Last week we discussed the issue of Japanese whale ships in the Southern Ocean and their hunt to kill whales for 'scientific reasons'. Now, although it has been proven that whale meat does in fact make its way to Japanese markets, these ships still hunt and kill whales.

Since we spoke about it a New Zealand protester boarded one of the Japanese ships as part of his protest. He is now in Japanese custody as a prisoner, because he broke laws and trespassed onto the boat. He is now being called a 'pirate' due to what he has done.

For this post you have a few things to do. Answer the questions below after reading the article here.

What do you think of whaling in the Antarctic? Is it OK or not?
Is it fair that the New Zealand protester Pete Bethune is being held as a prisoner?
What should happen next?

YOU MUST also make a comment on something someone else said. For example: I agree with Johnny when he said ... OR Johnny I would like to ask you about what you said when ...

Keep up the awesome work Room 18, and we are looking forward to hearing about your ideas.

Welcome back to a brand new year!

2010-02-01T16:55:00.012+13:00

Welcome back!

The school holidays have finally come to an end and I am sure that each of us had a great time and a well deserved holiday break no matter where we were.

This year, with a brand new class, Room 18 will continue to update our wonderful blog site, and continue to enhance our learning through the use of this online learning space.

There are a few rules to remember though ... here are our blog guidelines.

In working with this blog and any other webspaces, all students need to ensure that they follow these important guidelines. They are designed to make sure that you enjoy these spaces.

• Only ever use your first name or a nickname when you are writing on this or other blogs or wikis.
• Never use any other student’s last name.
• Never post any personal information–such as your home or cellphone number or home address on this or any other blog or wiki.
• Never share any of your usernames or passwords with anyone and never log in as another student.
• Always tell your parents or teacher right away if you come across anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Remember the “grandma rule” that anything you put on the internet could be read by your grandmother so only write things you could say to the nicest of grannies.
• Be a good online citizen and never write or post anything that could hurt anyone else.
• Always check with an adult if someone asks for your phone number or to meet you.
• Never make arrangements to meet anyone over the internet. Always talk to your parents or teacher if this is an issue.
• Make sure you publish only your own work. Don’t under any circumstances use other people’s work and call it your own.
• Make sure that you read over your writing before you post it to check the spelling and that it reads okay.

If you wish to change or add to these rules please post a comment with details of our reasons.

Use this first post as a way to introduce yourself and your family. Include - your first name only, the suburb you live in, your year level, your interests and hobbies, what makes you unique and special, your family information - how many brothers and sisters you have, maybe even something interesting about your mum and dad, and of course tell us what goals you want to achieve this year in the wonderful Room 18!

Have fun and welcome to Room 18, 2010!!

Haiku

2009-12-08T09:37:00.004+13:00

Room 18 is finishing the year with haiku.

They have been making some wonderful poems, with beautiful words and images.

Injustice ... Justice

2009-11-23T08:46:00.007+13:00

This next assignment is to research about injustice/justice.

IDEAS: Stolen generation (Australia), Slavery (USA), Zimbabwe conflict, NZ land wars, Treaty of Waitangi settlements, Berlin wall destruction, Apaertheid (South Africa), Freedom of Nelson Mandela…and many more.

Include facts and references and your own personal points of view – eg An “I think statement…”

This will help you with Rich Task in the coming weeks.

Make at least 1 reply to someone else’s response or article.

Room 18's Pouch Pocket

2009-11-07T09:52:00.008+13:00

On Saturday November 14th Balmoral school will be hosting their Big Day Out. This is a great day for the family, with a range of fun fair activities, food and drink, and a wonderful selection of entertainment.

As part of our learning in Term 3, Room 18 designed a technology product and chose to produce the 'Pouch Pocket'. This term they have also been studying aspects of advertisement in the form of print, sound and moving image.

Here are a few samples. If you are in Auckland ... be sure to come along to the Big Day Out and get yourself a funky Pouch Pocket.

Pouch Pocket Advertisements

Room 18's Podcast

Well done Zach!!

2009-10-20T18:00:00.007+13:00

We have some great news regarding a competition we entered called 'Doodle for Google'. One of our awesome students has been successful in getting into the top 20 for his age group and with enough votes - he can make it into the final!

Our school has the chance to win an interactive whiteboard and $10,000 worth of technology equipment. So your vote is very important - support Zach in his achievement and support our school.

VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED - BUT GO AND CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.google.com/intl/en_nz/doodle4google/vote.html

Robotics Club

2009-09-21T17:16:00.011+12:00

Balmoral School has recently set up the opportunity to be involved in a Robotics Club as part of the Lego Mindstorm for education initiative. This is the first year we are looking into entering a team of children to take part in the robotics competition. The competition not only involves programming a Mindstorm robot to enter a set series of challenges, but also involves a large research project.

This entry is to allow you and your teams to discuss and contribute to the ideas around community, and what it is. See the out take from the site instructions. Use this post over the holidays to share your ideas about this big idea.

Begin your project by describing your community. This season, it is up to your team to define your community. Is it your school? your neighborhood? your city, village, or town? your country? the world? Be prepared to share how you defined your community.

Rich Task - Our Inventions and Innovations.

2009-09-07T11:47:00.010+12:00

Room 18 has had a busy term looking at inventions and innovations. The children were placed into groups and within these groups had to come up with a product that could be made and sold at this years Balmoral Big Day Out.

Each child had to take on a role in this collaborative technology effort and a number of considerations had to be taken into account. Such as cost, sale price and profit, the ease of creation, the design and materials, whether it suited a particular market, whether it was a need or a want, how it worked and the promotion of the product to our class. We had seven great ideas - The Pouch Pocket, The Broominator, Velcro Rope, V - Belt, Sticko-Towel, Beads and Bracelets, and even the Funky Brush.

Room 18 this task is to comment on the invention or innovation you and your group have come up with. It does not matter whether it was the one we will make as a class or not.

Tell us about your role in the group and the information you shared with the class – Cost/Profit, Need/Want, Market, What it does, How it is made and so on. If it was your job, post about it – the world should know!

Some other inventor/innovator might want to know about it…maybe you will be world famous!

Inventions and Innovations

2009-07-26T17:49:00.007+12:00

Kia Ora to the best class in the universe!

Welcome back to Term 3. Doesn't time go by so quickly? From the stories you have told in class, I know that you all had a well deserved holiday break and are ready to continue with your amazing learning journey.

Over the next 2 weeks you must research an inventor or innovator. Include these things:

- Name

- Date of Birth and Death (not applicable if they are alive ...)

- Details of who they are

- Details of there inventions/innovations

- Personal comment about their personal characteristics

- References of where you got your information from.

Your inventor/innovator does not need to be world famous, but must have changed something in our world for the better or even for the worse.

Example Inventor: Thomas Edison

Example Innovator: Bill Gates

Looking forward to it!

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson

2009-06-30T22:16:00.006+12:00

On Friday we paid tribute to Michael Jackson, shortly after the news broke that he had passed away. I asked the class who had heard of Michael and every hand went up.

We proceeded to fill a wet lunch hour with a range of video clips from Michael's career, including 'Blame it on the Boogie' from his Jackson Five days, 'Black or White' and even the full version of 'Thriller'. Our neighbouring class couldn't resist, and joined us for the final song we played, 'Heal the World'.

Today for news board we talked about this news, and any updates that had occurred since Friday (NZ Time). We discussed a range of topics and someone asked about Michael Jackson's dance moves, in particular the "Moon Walk". Shortly after I cued up a YouTube clip of the famous Motown performance of 'Billy Jean'

Here is that video:

Room 18 - if you have any ideas or thoughts post them in. Or just enjoy this classic Michael Jackson performance.

New Zealand Native Fauna and Flora

2009-06-14T16:36:00.003+12:00

Kia Ora Room 18!

For this exciting task you are to get your research thinking caps on and find out about some of New Zealand's wild life. Be they small creepy crawlies, insects or birds; how will we attract them and support them in our adopted school area.

Firstly, come up with a chosen fauna species; then find out as much as you can about it. We need to know how it will be attracted to our area, and how we can keep them in their natural environment, this means finding out about what fauna we may need to plant.

This is going to be great.

Room 18 - you are excellent scientists, so lets start studying!

Carey Park Camp 2009

2009-06-01T18:18:00.006+12:00

I hope everyone has recovered from our awesome week at Carey Park Camp in Henderson Valley. The weather was great, the activities amazing and the children 100 % top class.

This task is for you to reflect, discuss, share thoughts and feelings about your experiences. Be honest and let us know about challenges you faced and over come, highlights that will stand out in your memories for years to come, or just any random thoughts you have about Carey Park Camp 2009.

Looking forward to reading your responses Room 18!

What's happening in our world?

2009-05-10T19:34:00.011+12:00

This new section is for you to post your ideas about any current events that are happening to you and around you, be they in our country or somewhere else in the world. You may post links to articles that you have found, video clips that may be of interest or anything related to your post. It is also important that you respond to the article clearly and justify your opinions. Post comments and questions related to your current event or to the posts of others. This topic will be ongoing and I hope to see you adding more into here as you find it out.

Some links you may wish to use are: The New Zealand Herald, theStuff news site, TV 3 news, CNN (U.S.A), BBC (U.K), Australian news, TVNZ, or Google news. Any other great sites you find, please include your link.

Rich Task - What is an ecosystem?

2009-04-26T09:51:00.005+12:00

Welcome back to Term 2 Room 18!

As part of our new Rich Task, we will be looking at natural life in our school environment - specifically focussed around plant life.

To start our new term, we will be looking first of all at defining our new topic and creating new understandings about how the natutal world around us works. So, your task for this post is to find out - WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM?

You will need to do some research to find out. If you use books, or internet sites please include a reference for your information.

For example: The picture I used for this post has come from http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2007/20070516_forestboreal.jpg You must post the links for where you have sourced your information from.

If you have used a book, please inlcude the book title, author, illustrator in your post.

Turangawaewae - Share your introductions.

2009-03-23T20:44:00.008+13:00

Room 18 are currently preparing for their final speech for this term.

They have all made amazing progress in their understandings of what makes a great speech. The concept for these speeches is Turangawaewae, in which children explore their own family history, culture, origin and what makes themselves so unique.

Tūrangawaewae is one of the most well-known and powerful Māori concepts. Literally tūranga (standing place), waewae (feet), it is often translated as ‘a place to stand’. Sourced from: http://www.teara.govt.nz

In this post Room 18, please write the final version of your introduction to your Turangawaewae speech.

I know already they are fantastic, now share them with the world.

Note: Remember to not post your surnames into the blog for Internet safety.

Speech - Oral Language Examples

2009-02-24T15:08:00.014+13:00

In Room 18 we are currently learning about speaking in the form of speeches. We have been looking at presenting through speech and sharing with an audience through a range of situations and topics so far this year.

As a class we came up with some criteria to guide ourselves while speaking:

We will use good volume by being not too loud and not to soft.
We will be confident in our delivery.
We will be clearly spoken. This could be ensuring we are well practiced, use clearly formed words and try not to hesitate during our speech.
We will face the audience.
We will use eye contact with all of our audience.
We will be enthusiastic.
We will use both body and vocal expression in our speeches. By using things like gesture, movement and facial expression.
We will try to make our speech interesting to our audience. It should be well written and may contain humour, questions, controversy, quoatations and facts or weird things to hook the audience.

We will be using video to analyse our work. Here are the first samples we will try posting:

It would be most helpful to these children if you could post constructive feedback in relation to our class criteria - Be sure to say which clip or person you are talking to.

Home Work Examples

2009-02-20T12:36:00.008+13:00

Room 18 has a range of tasks that they complete for their homework. This week students created collage examples that represent themselves, found out about the Treaty of Waitangi, completed a letter Z research assignment, as well as the usual spelling, and mathematics practice activities.

Daphney even used movie maker to make this cool video.

Here are some snapshots of our work.

June

2009-02-19T14:09:00.006+13:00

June was new at Windy Primary, she had just come from America, but New Zealand wasn't the second country she had lived in. Before America, June had lived in England, Egypt and Germany, but she was actually born in Iran.

When June first came to Windy Primary, her teacher paired her up with Sam. Sam was a lovely girl, she was always supporting those around her and had many friends from many different countries and cultures. The teacher had made a good choice, because when Sam saw June, she didn't notice June's different style of dress, or the scarf she wore over her head. Sam didn't notice June's different accent or religion and the different types of food she ate during break time.

Out on the playground one lunchtime a voice called out. " Hey look at the new girl! Look at the way she is dressed! What a geek!"

It was John, standing on the high part of the playground and looking down at Sam and June, who were sitting own their own having a quiet talk.

He called out again. This time hopping down and walking up to Sam and June. His friends started laughing.

"Ha! Why do you wear that stupid thing on your head! It makes you look so stupid!" John shouted, as he stood in front of the girls.

Sam stood up and confronted John. "Why are you so mean John. Why don't you just go away." She said calmly. John didn't seem amused.

"What's that stupid thing on your head anyway!?" He reached down and snatched the scarf from June's head.

June hid her face and began to cry.

Why do you think John acted that way?

Find out 5 facts about culture in Iran and make a comparison to your own culture - Are there similarities? Are their differences? Explain clearly.

Blog Guidelines

2009-01-29T14:36:00.000+13:00

In working with this blog and any other webspaces, all students need to ensure that they follow these important guidelines. They are designed to make sure that you enjoy these spaces.

•    Only ever use your first name or a nickname when you are writing on this or other blogs or wikis
•    Never use any other student’s last name
•    Never post any personal information–such as your home or cellphone number or home address on this or any other blog or wiki
•    Never share any of you usernames or passwords with anyone and never log in as another student
•    Always tell your parents or teacher right away if you come across anything that makes you feel uncomfortable
•    Remember the “grandma rule” that anything you put on the internet could be read by your grandmother so only write things you could say to the nicest of grannies
•    Be a good online citizen and never write or post anything that could hurt anyone else
•    Always check with an adult if someone asks for your phone number or to meet you
•    Never make arrangements to meet anyone over the internet without telling your parents
•    Make sure you publish only your own work. Don’t under any circumstances use other people’s work and call it your own
•    Make sure that you read over your writing before you post it to check the spelling and that it reads okay.

If you wish to change or add to these rules please post a comment with details of our reasons.