Tuesday 29 October 2019

Term 4 Already!

We've gotten off to a busy start this Term and the Middle Pod can't wait to dig into all the exciting activities that are coming up.

We got started quickly on our inquiry, exploring Digital Technology. The classes have really enjoyed the way we are doing it this term. Each class is beginning with an introduction and then each child gets to choose their own activity to further explore the topics. It was great to see everyone excited to participate and come up with their own ideas.

 
Next week we have EOTC week where we will be going on trips around the community and learning about different topics OUTSIDE the classroom! Stay tuned for more pictures and updates about what we do.

Sunday 8 September 2019

Keith Haring Art

Rūma Whitu has been learning about Keith Haring and working on their own versions of his art inspired by his cartoon line figures. We began learning about Haring and how he was inspired by the graffiti art in New York City. We looked at his cartoon line figures and how they represented different body movements. The class also noticed quickly that he included lines around the body to show how the body moves and to express emotion. We looked at the different figures that he drew and talked about what figure might represent them.




After practising their own Keith Haring inspired figures, each child decided on what figure they wanted to draw to represent them. Once they sketched it out they then drew items inside the figure that represented their interests, before carefully colouring them in.




Everyone in Rūma Whitu is so proud of how their work turned out and it was awesome to see the enthusiasm they had for this project (and how much they remembered about the artist). This project has been just what we were looking for to add to our class wall to have everyone represented.



 


Monday 19 August 2019

Term 3 Workshops!

As Term 3 is almost halfway done, I thought it would be a good time to show what the Kapowai Pod has been up to in Exploration SPACE workshops. This term our curriculum focus is languages, so the main focus of our workshops each week is about Japanese and Māori culture. Each week the children attend at least one workshop that has an activity focusing on activities or vocabulary in Japanese or Te Reo. So far we have done workshops on the following:

Japanese: Kendama, Janken- Guu, Choki, Paa (Rock, Paper, Scissors), Origami, Jump rope and Sudoku.

Kendama Game
Making their own Kendama 

Te Reo: Rākau, Mū Tōrere, Te Reo Bingo, Kapa Haka and Knucklebones.


Image result for mu torere board
Mū Tōrere Game Board

This term we have also introduced Student-Led workshops and each week children have been selected to run a workshop on a topic of their choice. The students running these workshops come up with the topic, plan their lesson and teach their peers. So far we have had a wide range of activities taught and their peers have enjoyed signing up and participating. It has been great to see the children planning and evaluating how their workshops go too. As the children have started to understand what running your own workshop entails, more and more ideas have been submitted to the Kapowai teachers!

So far we have had student-led workshops on: Netball, Running, Biscuit decorating, Chatterboxes, Paper Airplane Contests, Coding, How to draw and Jump Rope.

Netball
Running
Prepping the jump rope workshop.

Wednesday 7 August 2019

Kapowai Pod Swimming

This term the Kapowai is going swimming on Tuesdays. Last week we started our lessons and although there were a few that were unsure at first, as soon as the children got in the water the fears seemed to float away. During the first class, we all got a chance to swim in the big pool and then we divided into different groups. After class, everyone was ready to get back to school and have a snack.

On that note please remember to send extra snacks to eat on Tuesdays as the children come back from swimming quite hungry!

Here are a few glimpses of what's happening at swimming:





Monday 22 July 2019

Calendar Art Update

We have been working hard on our calendar art these last few weeks, which was based on Dean Russo's artwork. The class worked carefully on each step and it was great to see such enthusiasm over the project. There were quite a few steps and techniques used so be sure to ask them how they did it!

Here are a few examples of how the final project turned out and if you are interested in seeing your child's art before purchasing come into Rūma Whitu and have a look.

  
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Thursday 13 June 2019

CDPS Spirits

We have been talking a lot about the school spirits in our class and last week we finally got our spirit board up and running! Each child has their picture on the wall and their picture is waiting to have the CDPS spirits added to it. The school spirits are: courage, creativity, heart, spark, and success.


The idea is that the children nominate each other to earn a spirit based on actions they have seen at school. They will leave their messages in the spirit bucket and each week we will read them out and add the spirit arms to each child's picture.


So far the class has been very excited about it and there have been some fantastic nominations. I think this activity might become a weekly highlight. Come in and check it out!

Tuesday 4 June 2019

Experiments!

We have been focusing on science in the Kapowai Pod this term and each week we have been conducting two different experiments. This has allowed us to look at the scientific method and the terminology that is used. It has been great to see how eager everyone has been to sign up for the experiment workshops and how much fun they have while doing them. As you can see from the pictures they have been hard at work following the different procedures, recording results and drawing conclusions. Here are just a few pictures of what the Kapowai Pod has been up to:

Float or Sink?                    Gravity Challenge

  

Gummy Bears in different solutions

If you want to know more, soon there will be more pictures and results up in the learning street about what we have been up to!


Tuesday 7 May 2019

Project Energize!

Patrick and Bubba from Project Energize have come back this term to teach us some PE lessons. Last term with Bubba we worked on small ball skills and began getting ready for Cross Country and now Patrick is helping us with large ball skills.



Today we practiced bouncing the ball properly, making sure not to smash the imaginary bug in our palms. We also experimented bouncing the ball in different ways around the court and moving the ball around our bodies. At the end we played bouncing versions of Red light- Green light, Tag, and Sharks and Minnows.


We can't wait to have them come back again in a few weeks!

Monday 1 April 2019

Book Week Visitors

Last week we were lucky to have an author and illustrator come to visit CDPS.

Emma Peckham came to our class and let us have a go at illustrating a book she had written. We all got a laugh out of her story about Mr. Stokes having a bey blade battle with Mrs. Gusterson. The pictures that the children thought up were incredible and they did an amazing job illustrating each page of the book. Here is a sneak peek of their drawings, but come into class and have a look in the morning if you want to see the whole book!

  

During our English classes we had the chance to meet Philippa Werry and she told us how she started writing when she was young and never stopped. Then we even got the chance to write a poem with her about aliens! Here is the final version, it was a great chance to put into use all the adjective work we have been doing this term in English.





Monday 4 March 2019

Movin' March!

March is here and at CDPS Movin' March is underway! As a pod we have been talking about what Movin' March means and how we can all participate. The class came up with many ideas of how we can get ourselves moving more (biking, scooting, walking, running, etc) but the idea is to also help reduce the amount of cars that we have outside the gate both in the mornings and in the afternoons. To help this cause, the class thought that they could get some exercise in by driving the car part way (especially if they live faraway) and walking/scooting the rest of the way or by carpooling with friends that live near by. There were lots of great ideas to be had and to promote their ideas they buddied up with people from other classes in Kapowai pod to make posters to share their ideas with the rest of the school.

      

Passports have been sent home so that you can mark down when your child walks, scoots, bikes, trains, etc to or from school. If you would like to record this at home please feel free and return the card once it is complete, otherwise you can keep it in your child's backpack and we can mark it each day in class.

Monday 11 February 2019

Welcome to Rūma Whitu!

We have been busy in Rūma Whitu getting to know each other and exploring our new space. From Day 1 everyone was eager to discover what was set out in the classroom and see what the new year would bring. It was great to see the Year 3 and 4 children interacting via games, puppet shows and other creations that they worked on together. Here are some shots of what they have been up to:







This year the middle pod will be known as Kapowai Pod, so of course we had to do some kapowai (dragonfly) art too! Even though it was a challenge to get the tissue paper to stick to the paper and not their fingers, it was great to see everyone persevere and how great they looked in the windows after. It was also a great opportunity to talk about how each person's kapowai turned out different and unique just like us and that each one of us brings different strengths and interests to our room.




Monday 4 February 2019