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!

Wheels Day this Friday!

Don't forget to bring your 'wheels' on Friday.

Learning About Pollution

Today we had a special visitor, Helen Thomas, from Horizons Regional Council. She talked to us about what happens to our litter when it ends up in our environment.

Did you know, that all stormwater drains flow to the sea? So much of litter on the street ends up in gutters and into these drains - which end up in the ocean.

Helen took us on a 'river journey'. We started at the top of the mountain where the fresh, clean water flows down towards the sea. As we travelled past farms and towns, we saw more and more pollution added to the river.

  Helen got a bowl of clean water, and as we travelled down towards the ocean, some children added various types of pollution that rivers end up with.

Wheels Day Coming Up

Days Of The Week in Maori

Do you know the days of the week? Practise saying these at home!

Haka in the Garden

On Friday, Room 3 got stuck into our garden. We pulled out the old corn plants, and replanted our garden with winter vegies ... broccoli, cauliflower, and silver beet.

Just when we were nearly finished, Mr Ricketts's class showed up. While they waited for us to finish with our spades, the boys practised the haka.
Even the Room 2 boys joined in.

Look at all these fearsome warriors! Well done boys. You're really getting into it!

Awesome Rugby Boys!

Yesterday the Halcombe Blue Touch Rugby team received a terrific trophy for -
The Most Improved Team.

The Room 3 and 4 rugby boys are very proud of their achievement. Well done Mr Te Whatu (Josh's dad) for coaching the boys and helping them win this trophy.

Well done Jack, Connor, Josh, Logan, Tommy, Kai, Cameron, Blake and Regan for this super achievement!

Te Reo Kori Fun

Today, Room 3 buddied up with Room 5 (our buddy class).
The wonderful Room 5 boys and Mr Ricketts taught our boys how to do the haka.

Meanwhile, back in Room 3, the girls learnt a Poi waiata, and performed the actions.

At the end of our session, we showed off what we had learnt.

Don't forget, children. The words you need to practise are in your KIT book.
Teach your parents!

Thanks, Mr Ricketts for taking these photos

Rakau

Room 3 children are learning to use rakau (sticks)  in time to the rhythm and beat of waiata. (songs)

Some of us discovered were 'naturals' at it! Some of us ... well ... we're getting better with practice!

Here's some of us having lots of fun co-ordinating our moves ...

Did you know that many years ago, Maori used used stick games  to help them train in spear fighting, to prepare them for battle?

Welcome back

WELCOME BACK EVERYONE

Term 2 has arrived, along with the rain ...
And now that the weather's colder, the wonderful student council have organised some yummy treats for these colder days. Check this out ...

Holidays!

Where have all the Room 3 children gone?

They're OUTTA HERE!
After a full-on 12 week term, everyone shot off at 3.00pm on the dot.

HAVE A GREAT BREAK EVERYONE. See you in two weeks.

Tessellating Shapes

In Room 3, we are learning about tessellating shapes. We experimented tessellating two shapes together to create some 'snazzy' shapes. We had to make sure there were NO gaps.

Spots and Stripes Day

Today was Spots and Stripes day. The whole school crazily dressed up in anything stripey or spotty. Some of us looked like we had the chicken pox!

We started of the day with a parade. All of the classes danced around the netball court to show off our 'get up'.

At lunchtime, we hungrily gobbled up some sausages. Delicious!

Thanks to the student council for organising this fun day

Eating Celery

Spots and Stripes Day Coming Up!

The Minstrel Visit

Today was a lot of fun! Apart from the monkeys that escaped from the train outside Halcombe School (ask your children about that one!) - we had The Minstrel visit us.

He sang songs about the importance of ...
* wearing a lifejacket
* not taking fish that are too small (or too big) from the ocean
* not fishing in marine reserves

Thanks for the fun afternoon, Mr Minstel. We learnt lots!

Sketching Insects

Today some of us viewed insect body parts under a magnifying glass.
It was amazing to see the scales of a butterfly's wings close up.
Some of us studied a cicada's legs.

We had to sketch EXACTLY what we saw ...

Here are some of our sketches ...

Playing Tennis

Yesterday, we had our first tennis coaching session. Wilton got us to practise holding the tennis racket correctly and bounce a tennis ball on the ground.
It was tricky! The balls went everywhere to start with, but the more we practised, the better we got.

We had turns at hitting the ball over the net. For some of us, it was our first time ever holding a tennis racket!

We are looking forward to next week's session.

Produce from the garden

Today, just before home time, we had a special treat. Miss Jeynes took us outside under the tree, and we had freshly made sandwiches!

On our sandwiches we had ingredients that came from the class gardens ... cucumber, lettuce, beetroot AND boiled eggs (thanks to the chooks).

It's great to eat treats that we grow. Now we're just waiting for Room 3's corn to harvest.

What a nice way to end the day!

Buddy Class

On Friday afternoon, Room 5 (our Buddy class) taught us how to play Rounders.

It was good fun hitting the ball with the tennis racket. We had to run around the cones and stop at one before the pitcher called out "Stop!"
Some of us got out, but a lot of us made home runs.

Thanks Room 5 for working with us as a team.

Constable Cree Visit

Constable Cree came to visit Rooms 2 and 3 last week. She talked to us about the emergency services - FIRE, AMBULANCE and POLICE.
We practised using old cell phones to make a 111 call. We had to say our ful name, address and phone number.

We watched a DVD called Brian And Bobby. Poor Bobby (the dog) was lost in a mall and began to panic. But then he remembered what to do...
STAY CALM
GO AND ASK A SHOPKEEPER FOR HELP

We learnt about What Is An Emerency - and when we should OR shouldn't ring 111.

Thanks Constable Cree!

Dog Safety

Today Rooms 2 and 3 had a special visitor. Kelly Jordan came to visit us with her dog Phoenix.
She taught us some safety rules to remember when we are around dogs.

We learnt ...
* Never touch a stranger's dog. Always ask permission to pat a dog
* Don't touch a dog's head. They can be threatened. It's better to pat it's back or neck.
* If a dog growls at you - DON'T look it in the eye. DON'T turn your back on it.
    Turn sideways. Back slowly away.

Ask us at home for some other tips we learnt!

Thanks Kelly and Phoenix!

Fun With Our Buddy Class

Room 3 and Room 5 are buddies!
This is all of us playing and co-operating together in the pool...

We loved the obstacle course, and learnt how to play flipperball.

Thanks Room 5 for helping us in the pool!

Fun At Foxton Beach

Yesterday Room3, along with the junior classes went to Foxton Beach.
We listened to the lifeguards. They talked to us about how to be safe at the  beach.

We learnt what a rip is, and how to see one at the beach.

Here are some photos of our day ...

We had lots of fun playing 'seaweed' and 'Captain's coming'. We really enjoyed building sandcastles too. Some of ours were HUGE!

The best part was getting into the water and leaping over the waves. Thanks so much to all our wonderful parents and family who helped us keep safe in the water.

Keeping Ourselves Safe

In Room 3, we've been learning about how to be safe at the beach, and also, how to be safe on the road.

We practised stepping up to the edge of the road, then taking a step back (so we're not standing where cars will travel). Then we look to the RIGHT, then the LEFT, then RIGHT again before crossing.

Easy as!

Swimming

Room 3 children have been in the pool every day. We are learning lots of skills to help us be confident and safe in the water.

We are very lucky to have Mr Bramwell, a swimming coach, who comes in twice a week to help some of us extra help.

Here's a few pics of us in the pool ...

Juicies for sale!