Goodbye from Us Guys

It's the last day of school for 2014!!!

Have a great holiday everyone.
See you bright-eyed and busy-tailed next year.
Stay safe and have a great Christmas break.

From the totally awesome 'Room Threeers'

Junior Prizegiving

Yesterday we had the Junior Prizegiving assembly.
Congratulations to the following students who received a certificate:

Joshua Te Whatu - for significant progress in Maths and Writing. You can be very proud of the effor you've put in a home and school. It has certainly paid off.

Freda Kimura-Elers - for being such a positive, kind student who relates well with your peers. Your self-confidence has blossomed this year  and it's great to see you participating in all activities with 100% enthusiasm and effort

Olivia McIntyre - for signficant effor and progress in Maths and Writing. Your writing flows easily now and it's great to see you taking risks with a wider, more interesting vocabularly. You can be proud of the effor you've put into learning basic facts.

Briar Higgie - for being such a positive, out-going class member. You join in all activities and disussions with enthusiam and are never afraid to take risks.

Rhianna Jukes -  for hard work, diligence and hgh achievement in all subject areas. You consistently produce top qulity work with quiet humility.

And .... well done to Jasmine Hoskings for receiving the Riordan Citizenship Cup. This cup is given to someone who displays qualities of INTEGRITY, HONESTY and KINDNESS, and who is a role model for others.  Well done Jasmine!

And to top the afternoon off... we had a visit from Santa, who gave out lollies for all the children!

Athletics Day

Yesterday was the school Athletics Day. We had lots of fun doing High Jump, Long Jump and sprints (and of course doing the fun races).
Here are some photos of our day...

Disco This Friday!

Cricket Skills

Today we were very lucky to have Tim, from Cricket Manawatu, come and teach us some cricket skills.
First we played a warm-up game of 'snowball tag', then we practised the correct technique of catching a ball.
After that, we practised hitting the ball off a cone with a bat.

Thanks Tim. We learnt a lot in a short space of time. Some of us are going to join cricket in Feilding next year!

Room 3 Camp

We had an awesome time on our Room 3 camp.
On Wednesday, we went to Te Manawa Museum to learn about Dinosaurs and Fossils. We got to touch real fossils of dinosaurs and had fun digging in the sand to find dinosaur bones. (Well, replicas of their bones).

We had fun playing at the Esplanade, then it was back to school for a photo hunt challenge and team-building challenges and games in the hall.

On Thursday, we headed off to the Manawatu Gorge to walk the Tawa Loop Track. We walked down to the slip site and learnt about how the 2011 slip affected people and businesses in the area and how quickly it was repaired. Just 6 months!
Then it was off to Ashhurst Domain for fun on the playground, a game of Go-Home-Stay-Home and Soccer.

What a fun camp! It was great for us to go 'out of our comfort zone', discover new places, try new things and work together on fun challenges. Thanks to all the parents who provided transport and stayed overnight. Without you, our camp wouldn't have been possible!

Buddy Class

Today Room 3 and Room 5 children buddied up for a fun game of ...

HUMAN BATTLESHIPS!

We split up into 2 teams. We lay down on the floor (like battleships at sea) and bombers from both teams had turns at trying to bomb the other team's ships. They had to throw soft balls over the large mats which prevented us from seeing our 'targets'.

It was great to see how the Room 5 buddies encouraged the younger children and made sure they had lots of turns at throwing the ball too.

 

Mixing, Melting and More!

We've been learning about the 3 states of matter - liquids, solids and gases and how they can change.

We've been busy experimenting changing liquids into solids by the process of FREEZING, then turning it back to it's original state by MELTING.

We discovered not all subtances can change back to their original state. Once a liquid egg is HEATED, it turns into a solid, but can't change back to a liquid.

We've been studying subtances up close with magnifying glasses and microscopes, and recording their shape, texture and colour.

Here are some photos ...

The best part was getting to smash the ice!

Working in our Garden

Oh dear! After planting vegetables in our garden, just before the holidays - we came back to school to find our garden had been gobbled up by some hungry critters! Chooks? Rabbits? Possums? We weren't too sure.

So today some of us (with the help of some wonderful Room 6 buddies), got stuck into our garden.

We planted snow peas, tomatoes and parsley. We also planted some flowers in our round tub outside our class.

Now our garden is looking a bit healthier. All we need to do now is put up  'critter-proof'' netting around the outside.

Pet Day

Today was Pet Day! Lots of children brought lambs, calves, dogs, cats, chooks etc ... to school.

Luckily the rain stayed away, and everyone got a chance to show off their special pet. Here are some photos of the day ...

Over the past 2 weeks, Room 3 children have been working on creating artworks for Pet Day. We made farm animals from using paper plates, and then got creative with pet rocks.

A Rainy Cross Country

On Friday the heavens opened and it poured ... just in time for Cross Country!
After some quick decision-making - we decided to have our Cross Country at school so children could shelter in their rooms while waiting for their races.

Despite the rain, everyone gave their best - well done for coping with change everyone!

Here are some pics ....

We warmed up back in class ... by the heater .... brrrrr!

Goodbye Mrs Stroud

Today was a bit sad for Room 3. Mrs Stroud (our lovely teacher aide), who works with Jack, had her day with us. She is leaving Halcombe School after working here for 3 years.

We made her a card and wish her all the best for her new job in Feilding.

Goodbye Mrs Stroud!

Cross Country Practice

Welcome back everyone! What a lovely, warm day to return to school on.

Today Room 3 joined Rooms 4, 5 and 6 for cross country running practice. School Cross Country is only 9 days away (Friday 24th October).

Here are some photos of us training ...

Don't forget to bring your RUNNING SHOES every day.
Don't forget to bring your drink bottle!

Feilding High School Visit

Today the school was treated with a special concert put together by some Feilding High School Students. We listened to them sing and play a variety of music. The best part was the end ... a bit of grunge.

Some of us got up and jumped around to the music. What a fun visit!

At the end of today, our buddy class joined us in Room 3 to explore some apps on our new i-pads. We experimented taking photos, recording our voices to create characters and scenes with Telegami. It was great to have our 'big' Room 5 buddies helping us.

Hot Dog & Spider Day Coming Up

Transformation and Orientation

In room 3, we are learning about moving shapes using sliding ( translation), turning (rotation) and flipping (reflecting).

Here is an example ...

With a buddy, we played a 'robot' game. One person had to guide their buddy through a maze made out of chairs. They had to use the words turn right, left, a quarter turn, half turn, forwards, backwards, etc to get their buddy from one side of the maze to the other.

Parent, can you help us at home with using the words 'left', and 'right'?

Welcome Jonti

We have a new addition to Room 3. His name is Jonti Leary. He is a Year 3 student who has come to us from Ashhurst School.

The boys are excited to have another 'lad' in the class.

WELCOME JONTI

Gymnastics Display

On Friday, the whole school demonstrated their gymnastics skills in front of parents.
It was great to see the clever routines the senior children could do, and also to watch the younger students. We have some very talented gymnasts at our school!

RED DAY FUN

Today was RED DAY! The whole school dressed up in RED in support of the Blood and Luekaemia Foundation. We started the day with a parade around the netball court. Each of the classes got to take their turn at dancing around the court to some pretty cool beats. Everyone donated a gold coin.

Then the Student Council judged the two best dressed from each class. (That would have been a tough job because so many children put so much effort and thought into their clothes). The winners from Room 3 were Dylan and Briar! Here are some photos ...

 

 

 

Sewing Art

Over the past couple of weeks, Room 3 children have been focussing on creating Material Art.
We created sewing pictures by stiching black wool into hessian, then cut and glued felt material into the shapes to create 'zing!'

Miss Jeynes drew some pictures in chalk. We had to sew the stitches. Our learning goals were:
* Thread our our needle
* Tie our own double knot
* Sew even, tidy stiches (about the width of our finger)

Here are some of our beautiful artworks...

After our pictures were finished, we reflected on the learning goals using Thinkers Hats.

RED DAY COMING UP

Mini Commonwealth Games

Today the school was treated to a fun morning of Halcombe School Commonwealth Games.

Each class participated in fun events like ... an obstacle course that involved holding ice, running with a cup of water, while dancing and climbing over obstacles, a balloon popping race, tug-o-war, and much more...

Here are some photos of our fun morning.

We had so much fun. Thanks so much to the student council for organising this event.

Rap-unzel Show

Today the school was treated to a show in the hall called 'Rap-unzel'.
Three actors from The Playhouse Theatre Company (based in Christchurch) entertained and delighted us with their hilarious show.

Unlike the traditional fairytale, Rap-unzel ends up being locked away in a tower by the devious Simon Cow (who also robs her of her singing voice). She ends up escaping and rapping with Rupert - a young rapper-prince.

We thought the show was brilliant!
Thanks to the PTA for funding this special event.

Gymnastics Fun

We started Gymnastics this week with Room 4 and are learning how to perform ...

* vault routines
* walking across a balance beam in different ways
* turns on the high beam
* forward and backward rolls safely
* running, jumping and landing safely

As our confidence grows, we are trying to push ourselves and try more challenging routines.

It's great to have so many parent helpers. Thanks for helping out!

Welcome Back - It''s Term 3

It's great to be back at school - even though it's a bit chilly!

To kick of this term, Room 3 have just started learning about the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
We started off our topic by brainstorming everything we knew (or thought we knew) about the Commonwealth Games.

Once we started sharing ideas, we realised there's a lot we DON'T know about the games. So next we got into groups and wrote questions that we want to find the answers to.

Over the next 2-3 weeks, we will be following the games and finding answers to our questions by reading books, researching information on the internet and by watching some of the sports action!

Spreading the Word About Plastic Pollution

Yesterday Room 3 children braved the cold, and distributed pamplets around Halcombe. (And we picked up litter on the way).

We were shocked to learn that plastic can take up to 1000 years to break down! A lot of plastic ends up in waterways which flow to the oceans. Thousands of sea birds and marine life are killed every year by getting caught in plastic or eating it.

We put these facts into a pamplet and gave suggestions of how to re-use plastic bags.

Burger Day Comin Up

Dodge Ball

Today Room 3 and our buddy class (Room 5) got together to play a game of dodge ball.

It was great to see the older children passing the ball to the youger children on their team and 'going easy' on them when throwing the ball.

We're looking forward to our next buddy class session!

Soccer Fun

Today Room 3 children braved the cold, and pracised some soccer skills.

We dribbled the ball, stopped the ball with one foot, and practised kicking hard to get the ball in the goal.

We're looking forward to having a game soon!

A Special Day

Today we celebrated Jack's birthday. Jack turned 8 on Saturday. After singing "Happy Birthday" he showed us on his i-pad how his family sung the birthday song to him, and we watched him blow out his candles.

Jack was full of smiles. The only thing he didn't like was the lollipop Miss Jeynes gave him.
Sorry Jack!

For every birthday, we sing Happy Birthday in Maori, and count the years in Maori.

Here are the lines ...
Ra whanau kia koe
Ra whanau kia koe
Ra whanau kia ____________ (Jack)
Ra whanau kia koe

Tahi, rua, toru, wha, rima, ono, whitu, waru, iwa, tekau!
(In our class, we only get as far as 'iwa - 9')

Large Ball Skills

On Friday afternoon we practised some large ball skills: chest passes, bounce passes and lobbing.

Next week, we'll practice a bit more, and then get stuck into soccer skills.

Room 3's Class Trip to Palmerston North

Today our class met up with Cara and Manas from Horizons Regional Council at the Manawatu River. They talked to us about what causes pollution in rivers. It's not just litter!
Then we all pitched in, and picked up litter alongside the river walkway.

We were amazed at how much rubbish we found in the bushes!

Then (after a good long play at the Esplanade), we went to the Recycling Centre and learnt about how lots of everyday packaging can be recycled to be made into new items.

There were MOUNTAINS of compacted cardboard, plastic bottles, and even cars!

We had a terrific day and learnt lots.

REDUCE, RE-USE, RECYCLE!