So it's been a while...

This year, after a year of part-time work and working across the school, I have the pleasure of teaching Valour class. I have loved getting to know the Year 3 and Year 4 students. They are so full of life, questions and energy!

Thank you adult helpers!

Today I posted the thank you cards students worked on last week.

Let's Make this place better!

This week the entire class (excluding a few who have not completed work) presented their indpendent project work. This is a presentation about linking last year's learning to our projects today.

Signal Change Pest Control by Lana Giesbers

Last Year's conservation project - this year and what it has achieved!

I am so proud of how this project last year has made the bush a safe zone for kiwi and other native creatures. Looking forwards, I wonder what our class will work on

What will you do with the talents and abilities God gave you?

 

Irish Poems

 In class we have a goal to know different types of poems and their features.

Check out the poems the class have written and posted to their blogs!

This is the limerick I wrote about my husband, Peter

A long time ago I met a young man from Kaeo

He had the kindest, most beaufitul heart that I did know

We hung out all of the time

I thought this guy could be mine

I married that man from Kaeo 

Ki o Rahi Tournament Term 2 2022

Last week on Thursday we took two teams to Tautoro to compete in a tournament. Overall the day was

fantastic. Each game that was played by our 'Give it a Go' team they improved their tactics and confidence.

Standout players were Gianni and Zoe. Our 'In it to Win It' team played well. They worked as a team

to do their best. Their last game, playing for third place, was a fight to the very end. It was indeed

an action-packed high intensity game. I am proud of the way they played. Player of the day goes

to Charlie. Tautoro came out overall champions for good reason: they had excellent skills and

strategies, worked well as a team and displayed exemplary sportsmanship. If something happened

to an opposition player, they would show awhi and check that they were okay. 

It never feels good to lose. In the face of defeat we must guard our hearts. We don't let bitterness or bad

attitudes cloud our minds. We respect those who beat us, say 'well done', reflect and look to the future

to learn and to grow and to become better.

Well done Tautoro School for putting on a fantastic day that ran smoothly and was enjoyed by all.

You deserve to be called Champions of the Tournament. We look forward to playing again.

Whaea Lana

Learning Outside the Classroom - conducting experiments and understanding rivers.

This term Year 7 & 8 Science learning has focused around how scientists conduct experiments and how gathering valid results are vital to outcomes. Our context has been learning what feeds and shapes rivers. 

Last week the class went to Waitangi River to gather data about the velocity of the river and to notice natural phenomena such as sedimentation, erosion and soil type. 

Next week students will be deciding what aspects of their learning they would like tso share and how. Some students have started learning about creating info-graphics using Google-Draw, others are learning how to create graphs. I look forward to seeing different aspects coming together and being presented over the next two weeks. 

 Here are a few pictures of the day. 

Interview with a glass of water...

Last week the class read a great play from one of our school journals and thought it was so good that we should put it into a play. When we read it we separated the fact from the fictions. A big, "well done' to Dechie, Alice and Zoe for creating this by themselves. I hope you enjoy it!

Water wonderings

 This week we started our Science topic - Water wonderings

After a revision (for some this was brand new learning) of the water cycle and some fact finding the class started to explore 'wonderings' about water. 

Liam's wondering was this. When you put a glass of water down and leave it, why do bubbles form overtime in the water?

Let the learning begin.

One of a Kind Term

 Well this term has been a bit different. We started with a small class, it grew as the late comers arrived and it buldged as we were blessed with new students. Then Covid caused a lot of disruptions and illness. Finally we are ending on a high. 

It was lovely having full attendance and being able to finish the term strong. Here are some photos of this term's highlights.

I wish everyone a wonderful, restful and safe Easter break. Remember He is the reason for the season. 

Throughout the term we have swimming lessons twice a week most weeks.

Our community garden has been planted with autumn crops. Here are the boys watering our grape vine

A stringline was used. Think that means all our veges are in a straight line? Nope!

Last Day of Level 3!

I am so pleased to be done with distant learning. It has been full of technical issues and takes so long to get anything done. I look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday. Bring a mask to school if you want. From Year 7 upwards, mask wearing inside is encouraged.

Our KCS ex-student, Sarah, is following her passions and smashing it at uni!

It is times like these, in lockdown, that we need to think beyond the now and make good decisions for our future. What is it that you want for your future and that of your family? Dare to dream, dare to think big, develop healthy habits for your future is bright! 

I encourage you all to set aside time for reading the Bible, praying, working on learning tasks, getting exercise and talking to friends.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Proverbs 6:6-8 ESV

Unusual visitors and unwanted predators

 Kiwicoast Visitors

On the 16th of August, two people from the Kiwicoast named Andy mentor and Lesley Baigent came to Kaikohe Christian School to talk to us about New Zealand’s mustelid problems and how to prevent them from eating away forests and our native birds’ habitats. Mustelids were introduced to New Zealand to stop the growing rabbit population now their population has escalated worse than the rabbits ever have and will. Possums are a huge predator and contributor to the endangerment of New Zealand’s native animals.

They left us with two rat traps called alligator traps. We have not yet decided where to put them.

By Taylah

What do you know already?

Yesterday Mr Prickett’s class joined us for our topic - conservation and communication. 

We started by getting into groups and brainstorming what we already knew about NZ native birds and how they are coping. It’s quite clear that this topic is new to many students (either that or many were too shy to communicate their ideas). 

We will revisit Fight for the Wild documentary and discuss some key ideas it presents. Over the next few weeks, reading homework will often be connected to this topic. From there we come up with our questions that will shape where our topic will head. 

Nutrient Impact Experiment

Learning through science. 

Estuaries play an important role in a healthy environment. They are the connection between land and sea; they are teeming with life - the nursery of sea. 

Rivers carry nutrients out to the estuaries and into the sea, but what happens if too many nutrients are getting into water systems and estuaries? 

Our class was tasked with coming up with a way to explore this question. Hawaiki’s, Zoe, Hunia and Khody talked through their idea and the class adopted it. 

Our Plan

Create two mini environments that model living plants in the soil and living plants in rivers. Feed one water and the other water with nutrients. Watch and observe over the next few weeks.

The class learned that fair testing during an experiment makes the results reliable. We wouldn’t have different plants or amounts of water in the two models as results could be due to those variables. Because of this, everything was measured carefully.

Getting our Hands Dirty

This week in class we had an ‘arts intensive’. From lunchtime to 4:30 we learned how to make a Maori musical instrument called puoro. 

To successfully create the puoro we needed to listen carefully and watch demonstrations that Whaea Ra gave to us. 

When crafted correctly, the clay sphere is able to produce a unique, calming sound. Tumu and Taitokerau both found the technique second nature;  others had to persevere to play the puoro. 

Here are some photos. Soon students will post their instructions on how to make a puoro to their blogs. 

Science - the joys of discovery

How do plants get the nutrients they need? 

Exploring ideas by working through the scientific method, research and hands on task brings a greater understanding of ideas. 

The initial hypotheses of the class were very limited, ranging from a “I don’t know’ to a ‘nutrients are soaked up through the roots because that’s how they get their water”. 

Plan the Experiment 

Make Observations 

40 minutes later

How do we build suspense as writers?

 This week children have been trying to create a feeling of suspense or excitement in their writing.

After examining Paul Mason's story Chicken, techniques to try use are the following:

questioning

Short phrases for impact

Figurative and descriptive language

Planning the most exciting part towards the end

Here is a snippet of Hunia's recount...

Sea Week

Today we had an interesting visit from NZ Fisheries officers. They taught the class why it’s important to gather kaimoana within the rules and guidelines of recreational fishing. 

Some ideas that the class could do with exploring further are: What is a marine reserve and why is it important that we have more, what are phytoplankton and coral and how are they linked to other parts of nature, what does ecosystem mean?

Some students have watched Seaspiracy on Netflix. I encourage other to watch it too. The ideas of bycatch, the unsustainable nature of worldwide commercial fishing and the human and environmental impacts of overfishing are explored in the documentary.