WPS Room 12

Changing Circuits

2009-11-25T09:48:00.000+13:00

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Design your own Cereal Box

2009-06-16T16:52:00.002+12:00

Click on the picture below to be taken to a game where you can design your own cereal box:

Food Animal Sculptures

2009-06-04T12:14:00.001+12:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

All about Vegetables

2009-05-11T15:29:00.002+12:00

Click on the picture to be taken to a village.
Then click on one of the seven areas you want to explore — community centre, home, farm, restaurant, school, vegetable shop or marae.

The person(s) representing that area will introduce themselves, then you will be able to start exploring the area by clicking on various objects. Most objects will take you to further information, with text, photos and video. Some will be animated objects that are there just for fun. The control bar at the bottom of the screen provides easy navigation.

Each area is represented by a person — community centre (student), home (two students), farm (grower), restaurant (chef), school (teacher), vegetable shop (retailer), marae (kaumatua).

Measuring - Posting Parcels

2009-04-30T15:34:00.000+12:00

Length Games - click on the pictures

2009-04-30T15:28:00.006+12:00

Easter Egg Writing

2009-04-09T08:30:00.003+12:00

Shiny, gold and red tinfoil sparkles up at me. I start to unleash the egg from the tinfoil. It is a dark, furry chocolate ball. I pick it up and take my first bite. My mouth starts to water. It tastes really creamy and delicious.

By Zachary

I unravel the wrapping paper slowly. Suddenly I rip the glimmering, colourful wrapping paper into little bits. The creamy, brown chocolate dribbles down my chin. I hear myself crunching. The chocolate has started to turn into a stream in my mouth. The marshmallow is huge and chewy. I take another bite and another. "Yum!" I say. Then the Easter egg is all gone.

By Travis

The eggs have a smooth and crinkly texture. I slurp on one to get all the chocolate off. My mouth waters because of the lucious feeling of the coffee brown chocolate on my tongue. I look very hypnotised and dreamy at the rest of the eggs. Some look colassal. Mmmmm! One has a toy inside. I scoff them into my mouth. This gives me a stomach ache. "Oh! Ouch!" I yelp and howl. But Easter eggs are a nice chocolate treat!

By Erina

I can't believe my eyes. They are glimmering like the stunning blue sea. The golden wrapper is shining on my face when I look at it. I take a big, slobbery lick. I feel like I'm dreaming. The rich, dark chocolate is crashing in my mouth like a wave. It melts on my tongue.

By Erica

Frog Life Cycle Dance!!!

2009-04-01T11:59:00.003+13:00

Watch this space! Danielle has been busy on Wednesday's working with Room 12 putting together a dance about the frog life cycle. They have spent a lot of time looking at SPACE, LEVELS and TIMING. I was very lucky to have the class perform this dance to me today. I was amazed at what they have done and really impressed with it. We are planning to video it next week so that we can post it on the blog for everyone to view!

The Frog Princess Drama

2009-04-01T11:42:00.004+13:00

Last week we did some Drama about a book we read. We focused on Role on the Wall, Hot Seating, Freeze Frame Images, Spoken Thoughts Aloud and looked at the elements of drama. These are some photos of us in role performing our freeze frame images to the class. We will self evaluate our efforts over the next few days.

Click on this link to go to a website explaining these Drama terms:

http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/engageinarts/drama/glossary.php

Take a Look at some of our Save the Frog Posters

2009-04-01T11:27:00.014+13:00

Save the Frog Posters and Brochures

2009-04-01T11:17:00.003+13:00

We have been busy creating Static Images lately. We decided to make Save the Frog posters. We looked at lots of different posters/advertisements and decided what made them appealing to the audience and what didn't. We felt really passionate about designing Save the Frog posters because we have found out that a lot of frogs are endangered and we need to protect them to ensure no more species become extinct.

We decided on the following criteria for our posters:

Bright, attractive COLOURS

Tidy, sensible LAYOUT

TITLE that stands out

A BORDER that frames our work

Correct SPELLING

Relevant, interesting INFORMATION

Relevant GRAPHICS

MOTTO or SLOGAN to gain attention

LETTERING with good size and shape

Capital Letter Games

2009-03-26T16:15:00.003+13:00

Click on the pictures to practice the capital letter games.

What can we do to help the frogs?!

2009-03-11T17:31:00.001+13:00

Check out this awesome website about how we can help save the frogs. There are awesome photographs of frogs and facts for you to take a look at:

http://www.savethefrogs.com

Tree Frogs - SAVE the FROGS!!!

2009-03-11T17:29:00.001+13:00

Burrowing Rain Frogs

2009-03-11T17:26:00.000+13:00

Add/Sub Games

2009-03-07T15:58:00.004+13:00

Spot the Frog

2009-03-07T15:46:00.004+13:00

I found this picture on the DOC website. Kara Goddard from Hamilton Zoo took this picture on a field trip to the Bay of Plenty. How many frogs can you see in this picture?

There are three Hochstetters frogs in this picture, two green ones and a tiny brown one only 12 mm long. They are amazingly camouflaged and rely on sitting still so that their predators (or humans) cannot see them.

Maud Island Frog - Native NZ Frog

2009-03-07T15:42:00.002+13:00

The Maud Island frog is one of only four native frog species in New Zealand and they’re not what you’d expect from frogs. They have no webbing between their toes, don’t croak, and there are no tadpoles. Click on the picture to be taken to a video about this special frog.

Frogs are Environmental Indicators

2009-03-07T15:38:00.004+13:00

Click on the frog picture to be taken to an interesting video from TVNZ about NZ native frogs!

James and the Giant Peach

2009-03-05T15:44:00.003+13:00

We are reading Roald Dahl's book James and the Giant Peach in class. Click on the picture to go to Roald Dahl's official website.

Croaking Frogs

2009-03-03T08:47:00.000+13:00

What do Frogs Eat?

2009-03-03T08:43:00.000+13:00

The 3 R's by Jack Johnson

2009-02-27T15:31:00.002+13:00

Three it's a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number
Because two times three is six
And three times six is eighteen
And the eighteenth letter in the alphabet is R
We've got three R's we're going to talk about today

We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

If you're going to the market to buy some juice
You've got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste

And if your brother or your sister's got some cool clothes
You could try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we've got to learn to reuse

And if the first two R's don't work out
And if you've got to make some trash
Don't throw it out
Recycle, we've got to learn to recycle,

We've got to learn to
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Because three it's a magic number
Yes it is, it's a magic number

REUSING!

2009-02-27T15:21:00.003+13:00

This week Room 12 has been busy working with Simon from Waste Busters learning about all the ways we can REUSE things to help reduce the amount of rubbish we are putting into landfills. It has been lots of fun and really interesting for the children and the teacher. Today we got to create a desk tidy or a piggy bank by reusing items we had at home. We got some really creative looking contraptions!

We are also learning a really cool, upbeat song from the Curious George movie called the 3 R's - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It requires us to sing really fast (rap) which is so much fun! Ask your child to sing it to you. The words will be posted up soon.

Frog Brain Teaser Game

2009-02-26T17:27:00.002+13:00

Have a go at this tricky brainteaser! Click on the picture.

Have a go at this Frog Quiz!

2009-02-26T15:36:00.000+13:00

Click on the picture!

More Time Games - Click on the Pictures

2009-02-26T08:22:00.005+13:00

Time

2009-02-23T17:02:00.007+13:00

Click on the pictures to be taken to the websites

Statistical Investigations

2009-02-18T18:01:00.008+13:00

We have been studying graphs, tables and surveys over the last few weeks. On our last day we presented our findings to one of our statistical investigations. Some children were independent investigators and they got to complete their graph using 'create a graph' which is a simple to use website that makes electronic graphs.
Click on the link to go to this website:

We worked really hard on writing detailed statements about what we discovered from our investigations. Here are some photos of our presentations.

Frog Booklets - thinking of questions

2009-02-18T17:58:00.003+13:00

We completed a frog booklet to record our ideas about what we already know about frogs and what we want to know about frogs. We talked about fat and skinny questions and tried really hard to come up with fat questions for our inquiry. At the end we will complete the back page - what we have learnt about frogs. The booklet is a bit like a KWL chart.

Frog Life Cycles

2009-02-18T17:42:00.003+13:00

Yesterday we looked at the Life Cycle of a Frog. We found out what an Amphibian is. It is an animal that needs both water and land to survive. Frogs are amphibians! We had to cut out pictures showing the different stages of their life, match them to the correct description and put them in the right order.

The Life Cycle of a Frog:
1. The female frog lays thousands of tiny eggs in the water. It takes about 10 days for the eggs to hatch.
2. The eggs hatch into tiny tadpoles. They swim, eat and grow. They use their tail to swim.
3. As the tadpole grows it sprouts back legs. It is now called a froglet. Its tail begins to shrink.
4. The tadpole continues to grow and front legs appear. At this stage the lungs are beginning to develop to help it breathe of land. The tail continues to shrink.
5. When the tail finally disappears the froglet becomes a frog!. Now it can leap onto the land and live out of the water.

Frog Descriptions

2009-02-17T13:22:00.002+13:00

WALT: write creative character descriptions.

Today we described frogs. Lara and Hayley want to share their writing:

I live in swamps and on lily's. Splash! Into the light blue pond. Jumping on the lily pads. My skin is glinting in the moonlight.
By Lara

Hopping around on the bright green lily pads on a beautiful Summers day. Gliding through the light blue water. His skin is as lumpy as goody goody gumdrops icecream. His stripes on his body are like stripes on a candy cane. The frogs tongue is as rough as sandpaper.
By Hayley

First Day Back

2009-02-02T16:12:00.004+13:00

Today was a great day in Room 12. We spent time getting to know one another. We learned that we all have different strengths and when we put them together, we can accomplish anything. We talked about why we have the day off on Friday because it is Waitangi Day and we are going to make our own class treaty tomorrow. We read an awesome story called "Chrysanthemum." Over the next few days we are going to look into our own name origins, where they come from and why they are special to us.

Our theme for the first half of the term is going to look at the Living World in Science where we will study FROGS! Click on the frog pictures to be taken to some fun frog games.

WELCOME to 2009 in Room 12

2009-02-01T14:18:00.002+13:00

Welcome to Term 1 in Room 12 for 2009. I am very excited to get to know all the children in Room 12 this year. We have a great bunch. I am looking forward to hearing all about your Summer holidays. This term we will be busy getting to know one another for the first couple of weeks where I have lots of fun activities planned.

To the parents: I have an 'open door policy' where I invite you to come in and see me or make an appointment whenever you have any questions or queries about your child's learning. Keep checking out this blog throughout the year to keep up to date with what's happening in the classroom. I look forward to working alongside you all and your children in 2009.

- Raewyn (classroom teacher)

Santa Stories

2008-12-15T09:57:00.007+13:00

Santa's waving, long beard appears from the chimney, a big cloud of ashes and smoke rushes down after him. Big, black boots falling from a big fluffy cloud. Blood streams from top to bottom, a big buckle around his wobbly bowl of jelly. "Ho ho ho," he laughs, sending a Merry Christmas throughout the world.
By Erina

On the night before Christmas, Santa visits everyone and all of us with our presents. Squeezing down the chimney, popping out the end, covered in ash. His belly is as sloppy as a bowl of jelly, his lips are all dried up. Filling up the stockings and placing presents under the tree. Picking himself up and gathering his sack he hops on his sleigh. Away with a push of the reindeers hooves. Soaring through the sky, back to the North Pole. When the children awake in the morning they awake to a happy day with all of their presents and time with their families.
By Jenaya

Who is he?
He has a scruffy beard and he can be found checking his list. He has reading glasses. He wears white or black gloves. He has blue eyes. He has a red and white hat. He has white, long hair. He has red and white sleeves. He loves milk and cookies. He is... Santa Claus!
By Emily

Santa Claus zooms down the chimney like a buzzy bee flying to the nectar flower. His beard is as white as a mountain of snow, he rides his sleigh, flowing through the snow. His eyes are as blue as the sunny sky. His reindeer fly over the sky pulling his sleigh . His red, red coat is like a ripe cherry. He spreads good wishes which make everyone merry. Santa fills the childrens stockings, making sure the reindeer don't leave droppings.
By Mackenzie

Santa Claus has a white sparkling beard and a black belt. He has a bright, red hat with a pom pom on the top. He has a round belly that reminds me of a big bowling ball. He delivers toys to everyone on Christmas Eve. Santa makes people feel happy and grateful.
By Tom

One night I heard a stomping noise on my roof. Suddenly I saw someone. He bounced down the chimney and landed on the soft, brown carpet in front of the fire. He was wearing red and white clothes and a black belt around his belly. When he finished placing presents under the Christmas tree he climbed back up the chimney like a strong wrestler. He landed on the thick, white snow outside, on the roof and flew away with his reindeer.
By Morgan

Signs for the Playground

2008-12-15T08:31:00.004+13:00

We have been busy identifying hazards in our playground and designing safety/warning signs for technology. We looked at whether our signs needed to be standardized or not. We also looked at how you can tell if a hazard is permanent or temporary by the sign (its colour). We had to laminate our signs to ensure they were weather proof. Take a look out some of our creations.

Photos Term 4

2008-12-15T08:29:00.000+13:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

Christmas Crackers

2008-12-15T08:09:00.003+13:00

Did you know a man called Tom Smith invented Christmas Crackers in 1847? On Friday Room 12 made their own Christmas Crackers. We had put Christmas jokes, confetti, lollies, pom poms and stickers inside. We used a toilet roll, crepe paper, ribbon and cello tape. They were very easy to make and we think they will be great to open on Christmas Day. Click on the website below to read a bit about the history of Christmas Crackers.

http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-symbols/crackers.html

Santa Claus

2008-12-11T15:51:00.002+13:00

Click on Santa to learn more.

'The Night Before Christmas' but originally it was titled 'A Visit from St Nicholas'

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his sack.
His eyes how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face, and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.
He was chubby and plump,--a right jolly old elf--
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.

Written by Clement C. Moore in 1822 as a Christmas present to his children.

Letters to Santa

2008-12-11T14:16:00.003+13:00

Today we wrote letters to Santa. We thought it was important to tell Santa about what we have learnt this year, what we want to get better at and any special questions we wanted to ask Santa rather than writing a big list of things we would like. We also discovered a NZ Post Website where you can email Santa or send him a letter in the post. Some of us have emailed Santa and hope to get a reply from him in the post. Room 12 children will be bringing letters home today as Raewyn doesn't have enough stamps to post them so I have asked them to get their parents to check their letters are all correct and show them how to put a stamp on and post. The postal address is: Santa Claus, Santa's Workshop, North Pole 0001.
Check out the NZ Post website and email Santa!

http://www.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/Personal/Christmas/SantaForm.htm

Merry Christmas!!!!

Pinky V Caramello

2008-12-11T09:32:00.008+13:00

Room 12 have been learning how to write arguments over the last few weeks. We pretended that Caramello and Pinky were the only bars in the world. We had to pick a bar and write why it is the best bar. Here are a few of the finished arguments. See if they convince you!

PINKY

Pinkies are the best when you're feeling like a treat. They make your mouth water!

Firstly I think that Pinkies are great because they have less fat and that's good for you.

Secondly I think that if you like marshmallow, you will like Pinkies because they also have pink marshmallow in the middle and are coated on the outside with chocolate.

Thirdly Pinkies are squishy so it is easy to eat because it's soft on your teeth.

I truly think that Pinkies are a great little snack.

By Bennett

CARAMELLO ROCKS

I believe that Caramello chocolate is the best chocolate in the whole wide world.

Firstly Caramello chocolate has 322 kg of energy which means you have energy to run around.

Secondly Caramello chocolate only has 10% of sugar. That's great so your teeth won't rot too much.

Thirdly in one pack there are 15 bars. What a treat!

Most importantly you can give your taste buds a bath in Caramello Cadbury chocolate.
Keep your kids happy for only three dollars! There are 15 in a pack so there is enough for the whole family!

By Nicole

CARAMELLO DAIRY MILK CHOCOLATE IS THE BEST!

I think Caramello chocolate is the best chocolate bar.

Firstly it has 10% sugar which is not that much so you won't become overweight.

Secondly it's a treat sized bard for a bit of energy before a bike ride, walk or any physical activity.

In addition it's only $3 for a packet of 15 whcih is a very good deal.

Lastly, the most important reason is it has a delicious dairy milk chocolate coat, filled with oozing caramello inside. Doesn't that sound yum?!

So eat Caramellow Chocolate today!

By Porsha

Christmas Activities

2008-12-10T15:37:00.004+13:00

We all know the 25th of December is just around the corner! Have a go at these games by clicking on the pictures! Merry Christmas!!!

Pantomime Slideshow

2008-12-02T09:00:00.001+13:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Time Flies!

2008-12-02T08:36:00.001+13:00

Wow it is already December! Room 12 has been so very busy this term with the Pantomime, School Gala and more. 3 weeks of school left until the Christmas Holidays. Over the next few weeks we will be finishing off our Rocks inquiry and beginning a new technology inquiry.

Athletics Day

2008-11-04T16:04:00.001+13:00

BubbleShare: Share photos - Craft Ideas

Rock Cycle Video - Teachertube

2008-10-16T16:26:00.000+13:00

Who am I? Identifying Rocks

2008-10-07T14:57:00.003+13:00

Click on the picture to have a go at this "Identifying Rocks" Game. It is tricky but it is a fun way to learn about rocks and their characteristics.

Rocks and Soils

2008-10-07T14:45:00.002+13:00

Click on the picture below to be taken to an online activity about Rocks and Soils. We will be looking at rock and erosion this term.

Suna the Greedy Giant by Wilfie, Tom and Morgan

2008-10-07T13:43:00.001+13:00

The Butterfly and the Crane by Nicole and Reanna

2008-10-07T13:37:00.001+13:00

Suna the Greedy Giant by Amy and Ellen

2008-10-07T12:02:00.003+13:00

Dress Up Day

2008-09-23T08:52:00.001+12:00

WPS dressed up last Wednesday in their PJ's or as a celebrity. R12 had Shania Twain, Lola, Miley Cyrus, Bad Jelly the Witch, Gabriella and more.

Wheel and Axle

2008-09-16T08:44:00.006+12:00

We looked at wheel and axles last week. We made spinning tops which were lots of fun. A wheel and axle is a lever which rotates around a centre point or fulcrum. Spinning tops are an example of a wheel and axle.

Trust Power Kool Kids Care Show

2008-09-16T08:30:00.003+12:00

Yesterday we were very lucky to have Elgregoe and his wife perform an 'optical illusion' magic show for us. The theme was anti bullying. There was heaps of laughing involved! We learnt about six important values: respect, helpfulness, honesty, fairness, responsibility and caring.

Felix loved the part with the endangered parrot.
Morgan loved the part when the giant white rabbit disappeared.
James liked the part when he got to be a volunteer where Elgregoe tried to make his shoe stop smelling and made it disappear!

We know now that we have the power to make a difference and to always treat others how you want to be treated.

Room 12 is full of proud students who care!

Friction

2008-09-15T15:38:00.003+12:00

Click on the picture below to be taken to a website to learn about friction.

Calendar Art

2008-09-05T16:53:00.003+12:00

We followed our Tropical Fish theme for our calendar art. We used collage techniques that included: vinyl, newspaper, watercolour paints and layering. We looked at the story "The Rainbow Fish" to help us paint our backgrounds. We hope you like our creative end products.

Levers

2008-09-05T15:57:00.001+12:00

Today we looked at the simple machine; levers.
We made catapults using iceblock sticks, pencils and winegums. The pencil was the fulcrum or pivot point.

We discovered that the iceblock stick acted as a first class lever and that the further away the winegum was from the fulcrum the bigger the force was and the higher it flew in the air!

Some people had a few problems with their winegum flying so high that they got stuck in the rafters... sorry John you may find some mouldy winegums at the end of the year when you clean up!

We learnt that a lever has 3 parts:
- load
- fulcrum or pivot point
- effort

Cause and Effect - TeacherTube

2008-09-03T16:32:00.002+12:00

Cause and Effect

2008-09-03T15:45:00.009+12:00

Have a go at the cause and effect game by clicking on the picture. We are learning how to write explanations over the next few weeks. One important part of explanations is showing 'cause and effect' in our writing using connective words such as:

because, so, consequently, therefore, due to the fact, since, as a result, the reason for, thus, nevertheless

Improve your spelling!

2008-09-03T12:32:00.004+12:00

Have a go at these games to help improve your spelling. Read the instructions carefully. Just click on the pictures.

Dr. Skateboard Simple Machines

2008-09-02T16:31:00.000+12:00

Simple Machines

2008-08-31T17:16:00.004+12:00

Over the next four weeks we are going to be looking at simple machines. Click on the picture to be taken to a great website full of information and activities about simple machines.

Some Descriptive Writing

2008-08-27T14:13:00.003+12:00

Today Room 12 was busy writing descriptions about the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Their goal was to write descriptions in an original way using strong adjectives and verbs. Here are a few pieces written by children who gave their best:

Crowded people watching the ceremony as striking fire wooshes by. Drums shatter and make a hugely loud sound. Footprint fireworks are heading to the birds nest then BANG, fireworks streaking out into the night sky! Thousands of people watching lights flashing with glee.

By Wilfie

Lights collide together with fire and creates something new. Drum sticks glowing like one million fire flies. My eyes start to burst out. The fiery tubes start to jump. My eyes burst even wider as the hands hammer down on the drums with a tube of fire. I'm amazed.

By MacKenzie

I saw the start of the Olympic Games. I saw drummers thrashing their drums and flashing footprints. There were holographic Olympic Rings and exploding stars. A flame ran around the nest with the crowd going wild. Man I wish I was there!

By James

Breaking News!

2008-08-26T17:22:00.002+12:00

Here is some humorous writing written today by Phoebe about her experience of winning gold at the Olympics:

Triathlete Phoebe Young has won a gold medal for the New Zealand Team. The match had been presented in Beijing.

Phoebe swam 3 cm, cycled 15 cm and ran 10 cm. She went so fast that she broke the world record by 15 seconds!

Fraction Games

2008-08-20T11:47:00.008+12:00

Have a go at these fun fraction games! Just click on the pictures to be taken to the website.

For "Tony's Fraction Pizza Shop" and "Clara's Fraction Icecream Shop" games read the instructions first then click on the pink PLAY NOW button at the top left hand corner.

The Olympic Rings

2008-08-20T09:08:00.002+12:00

We looked at the Olympic emblem - the five interlocking rings which represent five different parts of the world. Baron Pierre de Coubertin (the founder of the Modern Olympic Games) designed these rings in 1913. To help us remember the colours of the rings we made Olympic biscuits.

The recipe:

Plain biscuits
White icing (icing sugar, vanilla essence, water)
Blue, yellow, black, green and red M & M's or Peebles

Spread the biscuit with the white icing, place the Peebles or M & M's in the same order as the rings on the Olympic emblem and ENJOY eating :)

Share the Excitement of the Olympics!

2008-08-13T11:56:00.003+12:00

The Olympics are underway. I found a great way to keep up to date with the NZ team's results. Check out this website:

http://beijing.sparc.org.nz/downloads.htm

It keeps you to date with the latest news from our Olympic Team in Beijing. You can download the Olympic Tracker to your desktop.

Also thank you to all the parents who have come to the interviews. I hope you all found them as beneficial as I have. Please remember that Room 12 has an 'open door' policy. If you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to come in and see me after school or give me a call.

Welcome Back to Term Three

2008-07-22T17:24:00.003+12:00

Term Three is going to be a busy term with lots of things to get through! We are going to mainly be looking at the Olympics (which begin on the 8th of August) as part of our inquiry. Take a look at the official Beijing Olympics Website for 2008:

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

Room 12 will be heading up to the Snow Farm in week 3 and to Cardrona later on in the term. I'm looking forward to the children teaching me some of their skills as I am a beginner when it comes to hitting the slopes!

We are looking at geometry (shape) for maths over the next couple of weeks.

Don't forget to check the blog regularly for Room 12 updates :)

Online Times Table Games

2008-07-09T16:27:00.005+12:00

Don't forget to keep practicing your multiplication basic facts over the holidays!

Read the instructions carefully - click on the pictures to be taken to the games.

This game is for Whetu group members:

Maths Challenge

2008-07-09T16:04:00.002+12:00

On the last day of Term 2, Room 12 undertook a maths challenge of all the learning that has taken place so far this year. Everyone had a partner to work with - it was wonderful to see everyone co-operating and bouncing ideas off each other. The winners were the first group to complete all 20 questions correctly. James and Phoebe won the challenge! It was a great way to find out what we need to continue to practice and to also see what we are really good at in maths.

Tropical Fish

2008-06-30T15:18:00.005+12:00

Today we painted our tropical fish that we had sculpted from clay. They all look so bright and colourful. We now have to add our chimes and decide how we are going to fix the broken bits.

Chocolate Moulds

2008-06-11T14:41:00.003+12:00

If any parents out there by any chance have some plastic chocolate moulds (preferably in the shape of shells, fish, flowers - to fit in with our Pacific Island theme), Room 12 would love to borrow them. Send them named in with your child and we will let you know closer to the time what we will use them for.

Tapa Cloth

2008-06-11T14:08:00.002+12:00

We have been busy learning about traditional tapa cloth from the pacific. We discovered that the process is a dying art now because it is a very complicated process to make the cloth and also because many of the plants used for making and decorating the cloth are becoming scarce!

The steps for making traditional tapa are:
1. Paper mulberry trees are harvested by men when they are about 2 years old.
2. Women strip the bark and separate the dark outer layer from the white inner layer.
3. The white bark is soaked in water.
4. The women then pound the strips of bark with a wooden beater until they are thin - this is a very noisy part of the process as the thudding echoes throughout the villages.
5. Each sheet is then glued on top of the other using arrowroot sap.
6. The sheets are then beaten again until they are thin and a large, flat sheet has been created.
7. The cloth is then decorated with traditional patterns that are based on the local environment using dyes that are made from clay, nuts and bark off trees.

We are making tapa cloths our own way in Room 12 at the moment - as it is a bit tricky to do it the traditional way!!

Our Wonderings!

2008-06-11T11:45:00.007+12:00

Room 12 has been thinking hard about all the things that we want to find out about the South Pacific. Here are some of the things we have been wondering about:

Jenaya:

How many people live in the pacific?
Does it snow in the pacific?
Why is it so hot there?

MacKenzie:

What are some of the traditions?
What games do the children play?
Are there any schools?
What are there native plants?

Courtney:

Is the South Pacific one if the biggest oceans?
Do they have a winter?
How many people live in Fiji?
What types of food do they have and drink?

Porsha:

How long does it take to get to Fiji and Samoa?
How far away is Fiji from New Zealand?
What is the population of Fiji and Samoa?
How big is Fiji and Samoa?

Campbell:

How do they make a vaka?
Why do they give people flower necklaces?
Is Hawaii part of the Pacific Ocean?
Why are the islands in the South Pacific warmer than NZ?

Tom:

What is their money like?
What do they eat and how do they eat?
How many people live in the Pacific?

Bennett:

Why are the Pacific people brown?
Does it snow in the Pacific?
How many people are in the Pacific?
Where are their ancestors from?

Felix:

How did the people get to the Pacific?
What language do they speak?
What do they eat?
How many countries are there?

Casey:

What is the capital of Tonga?
How many people live in the South Pacific?
What kind of drinks do they drink?
What kind of food do they eat?

Amy:

Do they have books in the South Pacific?
How do they catch their seafood?
Do they have pillows?
What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?

Emily:

Do they have beds?
Do the boys have long hair?
Do they have cakes?
Do they have a hospital?

Reanna:

How do they make grass skirts and necklaces?
What language do they speak?
What are all the islands in the Pacific called?
Where are all the Pacific islands?

Cole:

How much do coconuts cost?
Is there a lot of chocolate in the Pacific?
What do they sleep on?
Is Milo made there?

Ellen:

How long does it take to make a hula skirt?
How did the people get to the islands?
How do they cook their seafood?
How do they build buildings

Phoebe:

What are the flower necklaces called?
Do they eat vegetables?
Why don't they have a lot of money?
Do they eat meat?

Nicole:

Do they have shops with expensive things?
Do they have to build their own boats to use on the sea?
Do they have medicine to cure themselves?

Survival on Niu Island

2008-06-08T15:51:00.004+12:00

Have a go at this game - Survival on Niu Island. Put your knowledge about the Pacific Islands into practice! Click on the picture.

Dress Up Day

2008-06-05T15:37:00.005+12:00

We dressed up for World Environment Day. Room 12 students looked stunning dressed in things like newspaper, plastic bags and leaves!

Multiplication Basic Facts

2008-06-04T16:02:00.006+12:00

Have a go at some of these games

Check out this website to find some other fun maths games to play :

http://www.multiplication.com/interactive_games.htm

World Environment Day

2008-06-02T14:21:00.007+12:00

Thursday the 5th of June is World Environment Day! This year the theme is to "kick the habit... the carbon habit". Wanaka Primary School is an Enviroschool. Room 12 talked about ways we can help reduce our carbon footprint. We discussed things such as sharing transport, biking or walking to school, planting more trees, saving water and electricity, picking up rubbish and reduce, reuse, recycle. Click on the pictures to play some environment games.

Try these Measurement Games

2008-05-30T15:46:00.003+12:00

Click on the pictures and you will be taken to a website to practice your measuring skills!

We Miss Emma

2008-05-30T15:37:00.004+12:00

It has been one week since Emma left Room 12. She has gone back to France. We hope she has had safe travels. We can't wait for her to email us and let us know what she has been up to!

SNACKTIVITIES!

2008-05-30T11:03:00.004+12:00

We have been experimenting with the some new physical activity ideas. These are called "snacktivities" which are bite sized activities to get us up and active! Room 12 had a great laugh today trying to stand up back to back with elbows linked and then sitting back down again... it was a rather tricky task!

Some technical problems!

2008-05-29T08:06:00.000+12:00

We are having a few technical problems with our blog - Raewyn will try to sort it out asap! A big thank you goes out to Carol Ayres...thanks for posting a comment Carol but also an even BIGGER THANK YOU for allowing Room 12 to borrow your awesome costumes and props for our assembly last week :) Room 12 did an amazing job in our Pacfic themed assembly!

2008-05-09T21:50:00.001+12:00

For those who want to practice their subtraction basic facts, check out this game:
http://www.primarygames.co.uk/pg2/sumsense/sumsub.html

Is it a Fruit or a Seed?!

2008-05-09T18:52:00.009+12:00

Today we found out about coconuts! Did you know that they are both a seed and a fruit? Coconut trees are referred to as the "tree of life" because they are very valuable due to their many uses. Raewyn brought a coconut to class for us all to share....but our first mission was to break into the hard, furry outer shell. We used a hammer and screw driver to make holes to drain out the coconut milk. We then wrapped it tightly in a towel and hit it very hard to break it into pieces. We all got to taste the fresh coconut. We then wrote descriptions about what the coconut tasted like. Some of us loved it, some of us really did not enjoy our coconut tasting experience! Here is some of our descriptions, see if you can guess whether the author liked or disliked the taste of coconut:

The coconut tasted like rice. It reminds me of a soothing milk drink. It is rich and it can be used to make rugs or houses. Bon appetite! - Cole (Year 3)

The coconut melted in my mouth. It started to dribble down my throat. I found my body at the rubbish bin spitting it out. I ran back to my desk to get a drink! I don't want to eat it again. -Rosanna (Year 3)

Today we bashed a hairy, brown coconut. It reminded me of a hard, heavy bowling ball. It was so crunchy it rusted my jaws. It tasted like rock and cement. The coconut was creamy white with bits of wood on top. It was so revolting! It tasted worse than rotten fish! - Amy (Year 4)

Martin Curtis Concert

2008-05-07T13:15:00.003+12:00

Today Room 12 went to a concert in the church down the road. Martin Curtis was the performer. We sang heaps of songs. They were about gold mining at Cardrona, a Hoiho (Maori name for Penguin), Keas and many more. Our two favourite were the Ping Pong song and the song about all the animals that rhymed. It was really entertaining. We were so lucky to have such a talented performer share his songs with us!

Welcome to Room 12's Blog!

2008-04-30T13:05:00.004+12:00

Welcome back to Term 2 in Room 12. We now have our blog up and running to keep people who are interested, up to date with the exciting learning that is happening in Room 12!

This term we are going to be discovering who our neighbours are in the Pacific. We are all looking forward to finding out how people live on the Pacific Islands.