Kia ora Whānau,

Athletics

Our Athletics Day on Monday was fantastic! The sun was shining, our tamariki were smiling, and it was so lovely to see the whole school out on the field showing, 'We Love Challenge' together by participating in all of the athletics events.

A massive 'thank you' to all the parents, caregivers, grandparents, whānau, and friends, who came to cheer on and support the children while they were participating in the athletics events. In our Koru team, the children got to have a go at running races, bean bag throw, high jump, and the gumboot throw.

It was wonderful to see the children demonstrating 'We Get There Together', by supporting and encouraging each other.



 We even got to sit and relax in the shade, at the end of the day, to support and cheer on the children, teachers, and parents in the sprint finals and House Team relays.


Ngā mihi mahana kia koutou
Elizabeth, Jo, Kristika, Noelene and Stacey

Kia ora, whānau,

Welcome to term four and to an exciting, busy one at that!

Our Discovery provocations, relating to nature and the environment, have been welcomed with keen interest and creativity. During week one we introduced 'Creepy Crawlies,' followed by 'Habitats,' in week two. If only there was more time in the day to research and explore, as it is proving to be a very strong interest for many.  Building bug hotels, bumblebee sketching and creating a variety of other little critters, are just a few of the recent 'Learning Through Play,' activities.

'Bring a soft toy to school' has been a hit this week! Thank you for the variety of boxes that were brought in. There were beds, houses, vehicles (some fancy enough to have TV screens), and other comforts, imagined and created. Measuring and comparing each toy created a fun way to strengthen mathematical knowledge. In the Junior years, measuring length is introduced by measuring in units (such as cubes) versus centimeters, so for the larger toys that was a lot of counting!



































Tino pai, tamariki. It has been a fun two weeks!

Thank you,

 Elizabeth, Jo, Kristika and Stacey

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Another couple of weeks of fun and learning in the Koru team!

Kōmanawa's fourth space is up and running, with Stacey's Home Group finding a home space. Welcome to our newest tamariki and their whānau. We also welcome Noelene who will be in for Stacey on Thursdays.



Spring

Spring means daffodils and blossoms! We carried out some observational drawing and painting of the daffodils.  There was also an experiment to see if you can change the colour of the flower by using dye in the water. A group of children decided that the tree in Kōmanawa needed blossoms - it's looking beautiful.








Which angle is the best?

Testing was carried out to see which angle made for the fastest ramp and the greatest distance. Various ramps around the school were tried.




It was determined that the greater the angle the faster and more distance you could travel. Some ramps weren't steep enough and the trolley would go only some of the way. The Tahaki ramp was the most successful, followed by the dirt pile. The dirt pile was the most fun!

Construction

There have been a variety of constructions over the past couple of weeks. With plenty of questions to answer.
What makes them the most stable so they can go high?
How can cars best be housed?
What design makes the best palace for fancy marbles?







What other buildings do you find in a town?


What is the best way to secure a tarp? How can the roof be made high enough so that movement is easy? What will add comfort to the hut?



We are looking forward to what fun and learning the next two weeks bring.

Ngā mihi mahana kia koutou,
Elizabeth, Stacey, Kristika, Noelene and Jo

Kia ora ki ngā whānau,

What a glorious few weeks we have enjoyed recently! The children have been very actively engaged in their learning and are determined to make a difference in all aspects of their school life, including their social, emotional, physical and academic growth.

The Pūkaki Play Space:
We are delighting in the new Pūkaki Play Space, and loving the exciting opportunities it provides us. We've been involved in lots of planting (hanging baskets, sunflower seeds, succulents and beans, peas and sweet pea seeds), not only in order to 'decorate' the area, but also because the children had requested, at the end of Term 2, that they have the chance to learn more about, and be involved in, gardening and nature in general. The children love their Play-based Learning activities in this new space, some of the favourite activities being potion-making, building and exploring in the sandpit, building models on the platforms...

Working with our Ferndale friends and Friday's preschool visitors from Pebbles

Potion-making: chocolate or strawberry cake today?

Strawberry cake, it is!

More essential ingredients being added into the mix

Reaching and balancing

Beautifying the space

And who is this flexible wee one?

Will our boats float?

Talent Quest:
A reminder that in the Koru team we shall be holding the 'heats' for the Talent Quest on Friday, September 13th, and that one or two acts will be selected to perform in the Talent Quest itself, which is going to be held on the final Friday of term, September 27th, 1:40 - 2:45 p.m.
We shall be in touch with the families of those children who will be going on to perform on that final Friday.
There is mounting excitement and a lot of practice taking place!

Jump!

Wow - great skills

Keep practising - you can do it!

...and fantastic skills here too!

Book Character Day:
Book Character Day was absolutely fabulous and we all had enormous fun. Check out the school Facebook page for a selection of photos, and below, you will find even more, depicting our wee ones (and one or two older ones) 'dressed up to the nines'!

Guess who!

That mischievous cat!

Recognise this book character?

One very cute scarecrow

Thing 1 (or was it 2 or even 3?) came to visit us

And who might this be?!

Te reo Māori:
The children continue to work hard on their mihi practice, and many are now able to fluently introduce not only themselves, but also their parents, and are building up to including their family name (surname) as well.
The children are also confidently singing waiata and, a week ago, even led the whole school in the singing of Kia Ora Ra!
We're also looking forward to Te Wiki o te Reo Māori which begins on September 9th and runs through to September 15th. Christchurch City Library has many amazing resources to support this special week in our calendar. Teachers will be supplementing what we already have with the resources on offer through the library website.

Eco and Waste Warriors:
We all participated enthusiastically in the Clean Cubby Competition which has been running over the past fortnight. In the Koru team, children put their hands up for the job of Cubby Monitor and made regular checks throughout the day, ensuring that - yes - bags were zipped up, folders tidily tucked within and no clothing was left to fall out on to the ground or veranda. All children have been devoted to the notions of cleanliness and tidiness, and have vowed to continue to maintain their high standards. The Koru team won the cubby competition twice over the fortnight and was mentioned as an example, to some of the older students!
Many members of the Koru team also like to ensure that not only are their learning spaces clean and tidy, but also the wider outdoor spaces are litter-free. Thank you to our 5- and 6-year-olds for displaying the school values of 'We Care' and 'We Make a Difference'.

Keeping the veranda in pristine condition

...and the floor indoors as well

A vacuum cleaner at work!

Tidying the book shelves

Stacking chairs

...and cleaning the children's 'teaching station'

And last (photo), but not the least, as you will see...

Little (Peter) meets Large (Benjamin) - Netherland Dwarf and Flemish Giant

Week 4

Wow, almost half-way through Term 3 already!
The provocation of 'Change' has filled our recent weeks with a busy variety of topics. Some of them have been about the change of temperature (freezing versus heated objects), colour and growth.

Look out for ordering your child's Calendar Art, these are great for Christmas gifts.  This too has filled the afternoons with expression through creativity and lots of hard work.

Our new outdoor space is beginning to show more colour and plant life with each passing week.  We are still on the look out for any large planters or containers for the transfer of seedlings.  A big thank you for the donated containers and baby plants so far.

Creating at Discovery Time

Focussing at writing time

Working as a team at Discovery Time

Skip and Bounce handwriting

Making potions

Literacy time

Calendar art preparation

"Look at my handwriting, Kristika!"

More team work

Caring for our plants

Proud of our new hanging baskets

Seed sprouting experiment

Friends showing We Care

Preparing for the seed sprouting experiment

Quiet time in the Chill Zone

A Discovery Time challenge

Roctopus fun!

Mindfulness activities

Experimenting with vinegar and baking soda

Look at our amazing volcano!

The result of changing runny yogurt into frozen yogurt - yum!

Experimenting with colour mixing

More experimenting with colours

Who would have thought you could change the colour of a flower? How does this happen?

Showing We Care for our learning spaces

Showing We Care by tidying the book shelves

Showing We Care by stacking the chairs

Showing We Care by cleaning and tidying the children's teaching station

Creating our very own experiments with food colouring

Preparing the pots for seed planting

Planting the seeds (sunflowers)

Making truffles: what sort of change is this?