Christmas Day in Room 5

We listened to Christmas music, we played some games, we stuffed ourselves with junk food, we watched a movie, we shared gifts, and even Santa turned up.  Got to be a perfect Christmas Day, surely!

(Sorry guys, still not sure why the rotated ones upload this way - I've spent ages rotating and resizing them, and Blogger won't get them right.  Turn your computer on its side, eh.)

I haere mai mā runga...

In Te Reo Māori today we learned how to say 'I come [to school] by...'

There were a few words we were missing:

walking
running
train
scooter

Choose one of these to find out how we say it in Te Reo and post your findings as a comment on this post.  Remember to include a reference (where you found your information) - either a website link, a book title/author/page number, or the name of a person and how you know them.

The problem - How to save Ruby?

The problem that needs resolving in our read to book is now becoming very clear: How to save Ruby from her cage?

Imagine that you are Ivan.  Come up with a plan - how would you try and get Ruby out of Mack's 'zoo'?

How many days for you?

So Ivan has worked out how the number of days since the start of his life with humans - nine thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.

I started working mine out and remembered I had to think about leap years too!  It worked out as eleven thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine.

What's your number?  How many days since the start of YOUR life with humans?

Our first limericks

We have now learned the rhythm and rhyming patterns for limericks.  Here is our first attempt, starting with the word 'pig':

There is a big pig
With tickets to a gig
He went to the gig
and found a lady pig
They trotted away to have some figs

There once was a pig named fig
He really really liked to dig
And chew on a mug
And drink from a jug
But then he tripped on a fat twig

From America there was a young pig
Who wanted to go to a gig
He fell off the stage
Got zapped by a mage
And could not be resurrected by a fig

There once was a super fat pig
Who really liked to chew on twigs
He liked to eat hay
For the whole long day
That made him extremely big

There once a little pink pig
Who found he loved to dig
He once dug a hole
And found a mole
Then decided to eat a fig

There was a pig who loved to dig
He was very big and wore a wig
His first name was Red
He loved his big bed
His favourite food was big fat figs

Mailbox Project

The mailbox you are designing for home learning this week should be designed with Gregg & Jo in mind, something that represents their personalities.  If you have any questions you’d like to ask us, to help refine your design, you can post them as comments here for us to reply to.

Poetry Home Learning

Poetry runs through all our lives. But perhaps the most obvious use of it is in music. Choose a song that has some great lyrics. Post a link to the Youtube version of the track as a comment here. Next to the link, I would like you to write out your favourite part of the lyrics and a short paragraph explaining why this is your favourite part.

Here’s some from a song called ‘Cortez the Killer’ by Neil Young that I really like:

And his subjects
Gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see

I really like the imagery Neil Young paints with these lyrics, really painting a picture in my mind of this character. I almost feel like I could now write a story about this scene.

The Rhythm of Limericks

Today we started to learn about the rhythm pattern of a limerick:

da DUM da da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM
da DUM da da DUM da da DUM

Limerick's are usually silly.  Here is another example:

There was a bold pirate of Boulder
Whose cutlass was slung from his shoulder.
He’d mighty fine notions
Of plundering oceans,
But his mom said: “Perhaps, when you’re older.”

by Graham Lester (http://grahamlester.webs.com/kids.htm)

Try reading it out loud with the correct rhythm.  Can you do it?

What else do you notice about this limerick?  What is the rhyming pattern - which lines rhyme with which?

What do you think of this limerick?

Holst or Walker?

We listened to two pieces of music during our SSA session this afternoon.

One was 'Entr'acte' from Much Ado About Nothing Suite by James Walker, the other was 'Venus, the Bringer of Peace' from The Planets by Holst.

Which did you prefer?  Why?

You can listen to these tracks again if you want to remind yourself:

Entr'acte: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GJnAAOG6nQ
Venus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1f8HjIkU3M

Representing art in dance

We were lucky enough today to be able to watch the results of Whanau Koru's Rich Task.  They had a visit to the Auckland Art Gallery, where they were inspired by paintings and created dances inspired by the paintings.

Which did you think best represented their chosen painting?

Room 1: 'Butterflies' by Salvador Dali

Room 20: Abstract art by Piet Mondrian

Room 24: 'Composition VIII' by Wassily Kandinsky

Room 21: 'Spring' by a New Zealand artist

Room 23: 'Lilies on a Pond' by Claude Monet

Room 22: 'Starry Starry Night' by Vincent Van Gogh

Stella's future

It's prediction time: What do you think the future holds for Stella the elephant?

The next chapter we will read has the title 'The Promise' - Stella will ask Ivan to promise her something.  Based on what we know already, what do you think she will ask?

Liz van der Laarse

How exciting!  Today we got an email from Liz van der Laarse, the author of our previous read-to book, 'Not Even':

Kia ora Joanna and Room 5,

I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading Ms. Odds' questions and your comments about my novel 'Not Even'.

When I write I am by myself, with pictures in my mind of how the story goes. But of course I write to share the story with kids just like you. It was very cool for me to see how you felt about the characters and the story.

I have just republished 'Not Even' as an ebook/ibook and given it a new cover.

It's facebook page is:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Not-Even-by-Liz-van-der-Laarse/394054784057169

Thanks again for sharing,

Liz van der Laarse

We will definitely write back to her.  What would you like to say or ask her? 

Waterwise Day 2

Wow, how lucky were we with the weather today!

Another amazing day of watersport skills and fun.  The photos say it all.

Thank you again to Shona, Rachael, Glenys, Adam and Nicola for coming along as parent help.

Waterwise tomorrow

If the weather doesn't follow the forecast (which is for thunder storms!), tomorrow most of us will head back to the Basin for more Waterwise education outside the classroom.

What are you looking forward to most?

Art lessons with Ivan

Ruby asks a lot of questions!

Today she had a conversation with Ivan:

"I've always been an artist.  I love drawing." [I say]
"Why do you love it?" Ruby asks.
I pause.  I've never talked to anyone about this before.  "When I'm drawing a picture, I feel... quiet inside."
Ruby frowns. "Quiet is boring."
"Not always."

(excerpt from 'The One and Only Ivan' by Katherine Applegate)

Is there an activity you love to do?  Or a place you love to go?  Why do you love it?

Diamante Poems

Today we created some collaborative poetry, using Diamante form.

Noun

Adjective, Adjective

Verb, Verb, Verb

Noun, Noun, Noun, Noun

Verb, Verb, Verb

Adjective, Adjective

Noun

Here's a video of our first effort - a synonym Diamante poem about Monsters.

We performed an antonym Diamante poem about Superheroes at assembly too.

Ruby

Today we read about Ruby, the baby elephant arriving at the Big Top Mall.

Reread this chapter:

Guessing (p.58, excerpt from 'The One and Only Ivan' by Katherine Applegate

Bob fears our new neighbour will be a giant cat with slitted eyes and a coiled tail.  But Stella says a truck will arrive this afternoon carrying a baby elephant.

"How do you know?" I ask.  I sample the air, but all I smell is caramel corn.

I love caramel corn.

"I can hear her," Stella says.  "She's crying for her mother."

I listen.  I hear the cars charging past.  I hear the snore of the sun bears in their wire domain.

But I don't hear any elephants.

"You're just hoping," I say.

Stella closes her eyes.  "No," she says softly, "not hoping.  Not at all."


Why do you think Ivan thinks Stella might be 'just hoping'?  Why do you think Stella says she is not hoping?

Waterwise Day 1

What a lovely day for it!  The wind was a bit funny in the morning for those of us trying to be all Dean Barker and sail our Optimus dinghies, and the windsurfer team, but all in all a great day was had!

A few choice pictures to give you a flavour of the day.

Waterwise

The gear you need to bring for Waterwise:

If the weather is fine, please wear shorts, sun hat, t-shirt/rash vest

If the weather is cold/wet, please wear rash vest or warm jersey, raincoat.  Youthtown has some wet suits we can use.  If you have your own wetsuit you’d like to bring, bring that.

Extra items to bring:

Sun block, sunhat, insect repellent, change of clothes, drink bottle, snacks, packed lunch.

The bus leaves at 8.45am, so be at school on time or you will miss out!

Will the slobberers get them?

We've just heard from Rory in the middle of being chased by the slobberers...  Next we'll be hearing from Dawn again.  What do you think she is thinking at the moment?

How was your holiday?

Day 1, Term 4 already.  The holidays almost feel like a distant memory in some way!

I told you a little about some of the things that happened on my holidays, so tell me about yours.  What were some highlights for you?

Happy Holidays!

A great end to Term 3, thank you Room 5!

Remember to check out Khan Academy for some maths learning and see what you think.  You should have received an email with your personal login earlier this week.  If not, go to the Khan Academy website, and select 'log in using Google', then put in your Balmoral Google account details, see if that works.

Here are the videos resulting from our Social Justice Rich Task, for any of you who would like to watch them again:

Berlin Wall discussion

For today's blog discussion, please visit Sophie, Miranda and Leah's blog about the Berlin Wall and Freedom of Movement.  Their most recent posts give you a personal story from the Berlin Wall, and invite you to think a little deeper about your responses to their poll: WHY did you vote yes, no or not sure in response to the question "Does anyone ever deserve to be kept in one spot?"

So, have a think about that question, and post your thoughts and discussion on the Freedom of Movement Project blog here: http://thefreedomofmovementproject.blogspot.co.nz/2013/09/your-thoughts.html

And if you have a chance, have a look at the rest of the blog and leave some comments.

Dawn or Rory

Dawn and Rory are each taking it in turns to tell the story of the Slobberers.  They don't seem to like each other very much.

Which of the two characters can you relate to the most?  Which one do you like?  Why?

Calendar Art

Over the past week, Room 5 has had free choice to create their calendar art.  Below are the results.  If you would like to order any calendars, cards or diaries featuring this art, make sure you complete and return the notice sent home a week or two ago.  If you don't have one of these notices, there are plenty of spares at the office.