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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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:

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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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!

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!