Thursday, 1 November 2012

Making Faces

Children who had completed their homework were given the chance to make icing faces. With Coral-Mae they made coloured icing and used lollies to make faces. These are our creations! Yummmmmmmm!


Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Paint a Visual Picture with Words

Broken window by Josh

On one hot summer day Jarvis was kicking his black and white rugby ball around his backyard. "Yaa," he said.
Jarvis wanted to have one last gigantic kick. Up went the ball, up, up UP! and the ball went so high that Jarvis said, "that ball will have snow on it when it comes down."
Down came the ball. Down, down, down... SMASH!!! just as Mum was peeking out the door beside the window. Mum came stomping out the door and yelled, "Jarvis, you naughty little boy." Jarvis had his hands on his ears because of the loud shattering noise that came from the window and because of the shock he was in.
He was crying so hard that  there was a huge puddle around his feet.
"Jarvis, you're grounded for a whole two months and you'll be paying for that window," said Mum.
"I'm so, so sorry Mum. I didn't mean to break the window."
If I was Jarvis I would be kicking the ball at the rugby park.

Athletics by Renee

I find athletics quite interesting but there's one thing I dislike, and that thing I dislike is high-jump.
Now you're probably thinking, "why doesn't she like high-jump?"
Well I'm not actually as tall as a nine year old is supposed to be, I'm only 1 metre 36 centimtetres. So, of course it's going to be hard if the pole's taller than you.
Back to the subject. The thing I dislike is high-jump but now I'm going to tell you the thing I cherish the most. It's long jump, because I'm small I have an advantage! I can run quite fast and jump quite long.
"Now you're probably thinking that, if she's fast them why doesn't she like sprints?"
...well, sprints take all your energy.


Visiting Storyteller





Term 4


Room 5
Huia Range School
23 October 2012-10-23
Dear Parents/ Caregivers,

Our last homework for the year lasts for two weeks and is due in on Friday 2 November. Each child has to plan 5 school lunches, which in total cost no more than $20. Each lunch must be healthy and does not include canteen orders. It would be helpful to go to the supermarket to find actual prices for particular products. For example one loaf of bread for $2:00 would be enough bread for the whole week. Each day you would list bread as $0: 40.
Make a menu or table for your lunches and present it in an interesting way, perhaps use pictures from pamphlets or magazines. This is just budgeting practice and is not real, some children were worried they couldn’t have canteen this week!
Reminder: frequent athletics practices- bring shorts, drink and a sunhat.
Kind regards
Lee Gibbs                                                                        
Examples of healthy lunches.
There are websites that will help you plan for the week such as


Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Swim to Survive

Treading water


Non contact rescue 
Swim to survive aims to  reduce the number of drownings in New Zealand. Room five has walked to and from the pools each afternoon. After just 5 days there has been a noticeable increase in skills. Our 3 instructors work on fitness and stamina, concentrating on kicking effectively, breaststroke, floating, treading water and sculling. Each student has practiced contact and non-contact towing, taking turns to rescue and be rescued.
Above: Contact towing requires a steady breaststroke kick. Below: Learning how to kick  effectively.



Spider Poetry

Our writing this week has followed the adventures of a spider. Today's writing follows firstly the beauty of the web, the spider that created it and then its' destruction. The children have written both in narrative and poetic styles.

In the early morning light a carefully balanced web lay in the corner of the barn-yard with its' delicate threads glistening in the sun-light. It sparkles like diamonds with dew-drops among the shining lines of thread. 
Hiding beneath the leaf on a branch on a tree lay a big black tarantula ready for tea. It's as still as ice waiting for its prey to come along BUT...
...he does not see something yummy, he sees a big bluebird who wants a big tarantula for supper and tea! The big bluebird grins with delight but is soon is blinded for the spider has covered her eyes. Spider thinks he is safe and sound again but as he turns around he sees his wonderful web has been destroyed.
The spider cried out, "why? Oh!, why?"

I see a wonderful web destroyed.
I hear the threads ripping.
I taste despair within.
I feel broken, thin thread.
I smell the stench of a ripped web.
I feel melancholy.
By Renee

Hanging high up in the tree is a delicately balanced web. This web is covered in dew drops in the early morning light. These dewdrops sparkle like diamonds and glimmer like a rainbow.
Hiding in between two leaves waits Dog Spider. As he waits he becomes hungrier and thirstier, then all of a sudden... "DINNER!" cries Dog Spider happily. As he eats his prey he becomes hungrier. He licks his lips and hides between two leaves...
The victorious spider turned to look at his web BUT!!! it was torn to pieces and not lovely and shining like a diamond. It was dull and colourless.
Dog Spider cried, "My wonderful web, it's tattered and looks old and ugly."
As true as this may be  Dog Spider could not believe it.
Dog Spider was heartbroken.

I see my torn web.
I hear nothing but my cries.
I taste salt water tears.
I feel nothing but tatters.
I smell no more dew.
I am heartbroken.
By Leah

Some of the children imagined that webs had been destroyed by careless humans breaking them.

I hear the footsteps coming.
I taste death coming to me.
I smell revenge coming.
I touch my web
before it dies.
By Titan


A spider web
hangs
sparkling like diamonds
swaying
in the wind.

Fangpire Spider waits, stuck to a leaf, searching the horizon for prey.
"Where be a juicy fly," he whispers to himself, then he spots a fly and he is lured easily to his sparkling web. Now spider prepares to kill... and eat blood.

Spider
waits standing still
focussed on its' target
he moves with cunning skill and gets
his prey.

The victorious spider turned to look at his web. But... it was a hideous mess. the silk was ripped and the once silver web was a dusty grey. Spider howled, " my web. My beautiful web is gone. My kingdom." Now the web is just a ruin.

I see a lost kingdom.
I feel the silk and despair.
I hear my screams.
I taste tears.
I smell the bitter air.
I am heartbroken.
By Dylan

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Making Worms Work


Today Room 5 made mini composts using milk containers and carbon/ nitrogen waste. Students layered up waste on base of compost like a sandwich, worms included. The final step was adding lime to activate the compost and a little water. Now the worms will set to work and change scraps into new soil. Go worms!