Reading Buddies

Toughing It Out

Last Friday was the Tough Kid Challenge, held at Linton Army Camp. Lots of Room 3'ers'  signed up for the challenge.

We had a gorgeous day for it! For some of us, it was our first time - and a little bit scary! There were walls to climb over, an obstacle course to get through and a muddy pond to wade through. We came out the end, puffed, muddy but of course very, very proud of ourselves.

Here are some photos of our day ...

Puss In Boots - Pet Detective

Today all of our school watched a fantastic show performed by the Playhouse Theatre. It was ... Puss 'n' Boots - Pet Detective.

Three actors entertained us with a very amusing story of how Justin Baby Bear-ber (like Beiber) was supposedly kidnapped. But there was a twist!

We loved the funny songs and crazy antics of the characters.

Here are some photos of the performance:

Manawatu Turbo visit

Today all of the Halcombe School kids got a great surprise! The Manawatu Turbos came to visit us. We all piled excitedly into the hall to watch our local rugby team perform several challenges against some of us.

First of all some of them had to do a gutterball competition -  our Jack won that!
Then they had to do a hoola hoop challenge. Sophia in our class topped everyone!
Next it was a limbo challenge against room 7 kids. (We reckon our kids got lower)
Last of all, they did a 'wooden ski' challenge, where they had to walk on planks with perfect timing.
They definately won that challenge. They must be very good at working in a team!

Here are some photos of our fun afternoon:

DISCO!

Room 3 kids know how to have fun. And that's exactly what we did at last Friday's school disco!

Here are some photos of our fun night ...

Thanks Miss Simpson and the student council for organising this fun event

Hansel And Gretel Show

On Friday, the whole school went to see the show Hansel & Gretel, put on by the drama team.

"It was really hilarious. My favourite part was when the animals did their dance". (Jayden)
"I liked the part when the witch got pushed into the fire". (Brooke M)
"I liked it when Hansel kept saying "Shut up and be quiet". (Max)
"My favourite part was when Miss Jeynes came on because no one was expecting that". (Lucy)
"My favourite part was when the rabbit kept hitting the other animals on the head with the
bommyknocker". (Will).

Thanks to all the awesome kids in the drama team for learning your lines, and really getting into your characters. And a big thanks to Hannah in R6 for doing the sound!

I'm looking forward to next year's production.
Miss Jeynes

Disco this Friday

Black Day

Today was Black Day. Everyone dressed up in black to show their support for this weekend's All Black vs The Lions game.

GO THE MIGHTY ALL BLACKS!

Tsunami Talk

Today we had a special visitor. Julian Atkins came to talk to us about his job as the National Fingerprint Officer at Porirua Police College.
After the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, Julian was part of an international team who helped identify victims of the tragedy.

He told us about how tsunamis are caused, what happens to the the tide before a tsunami hits and  how our fingerprints are so unique. We talked about what we can do to be safe if a tsunami ever hit.

It was really interesting, and helped us with our understanding of our BIG QUESTION - What causes natural disasters and how we can be safe if one happens.

Ripper Rugby

Yesterday we had Ripper Rugby with Miss Simpson. It was SO much fun slipping and sliding in the mud!
We did relays and practised our passing, kicking and ball handling skills.
Next week we will be doing Netball.
We love doing our Winter Sport Rotation!

Baskeball Skills

Today Room 3 had their first session of  basketball with Miles Pearce from Palmerston North Basketball Association. He taught us some warm up games and we practised doing jump stops with our feet apart and hands ready to catch the ball.
We are looking forward to our next sessions every Tuesday for the next few weeks.
We need to remember to bring SPORTS SHOES every Tuesday and Wednesday.

Black Day

Wheels Day Fun

Wheels Fun

Today was WHEELS DAY!
We had so much fun whizzing around the school on wheels. Then we piled into the hall to get a spider (the drink - NOT the 8-legged creature)

Thanks so much to Miss Simpson and the student council for organising this fun event.

Here are some photos of us ..

Buddy Class

On Friday, we got together with our buddy class - Room 8.
We showed them how to perform a simple routine using rakau. It took a few practices, but most of them soon learnt the moves.

Then it was Room 8's turn to teach us something. A dance!

We enjoyed spending time with our little buddies, and have learnt their names. We're looking forward to our next buddy class session.

Marae Visit

Today all the seniors walked down to Taumata O Te Ra Marae.
We have been learning about marae protocol and it was great to experience a real powhiri.
We had a chance to play various Maori games and we were shown around the wharenui. It was interesting learning how the carvings, the tukutuku panels and the kowhaiwhai pattern all tell a story about the history of the people of the marae.

Here are some photos of our day:

Thanks so much for having us!

Wheels Day Next Wednesday

Measuring Length and Width

We are just starting our Maths topic of Measurement.
Today we measured objects around our classroom using non-standards units of measurement.
We measured the length and width of desks using crayons, gluesticks, or even rubbers. We measureed length of windowsill and even the length of a paper clip!

We had to think of SENSIBLE things to measure these distances with.

It was fun working with our buddies. Tomorrow we will learn to measure length & width using centimetres and metres.

CRAZY DAY

Today is the last day of school for Term 1!  It was also CRAZY DAY - and everyone got very creative, dressing up in all sorts of weird costumes.

We had a parade in the hall to show our costumes to the other classes, then everyone had a bit of a boogie.

Here are some photos ...

Hockey Fun

Today rooms 3 and 4 were lucky to have some students from Feilding High School come and teach us some hockey skills.  We learnt how to hold a hockey stick, dribble a ball, and stop a ball.

It was a quick half hour session, but we learnt a lot in a short space of time!
Some of us are really keen to play Hockey now. Thanks Feilding High School.

Sprint Races

Today the whole school got together for sprints. The grass was still quite wet from all the rain we've had, but the sun was out, and we had lots of fun. (Especially sliding to a stop at the end!)

Here are some photos from today ...

Crazy Day Now Thursday

CRAZY DAY NEXT WEDNESDAY

Hunting Mosquitoes

Last week Room 3 kids had lots of fun observing the MILLIONS of mosquito larvae and pupae in the school swimming pool. We read a book about mosquitoes and this is what we learnt. ...

Did you know that mosquitoes lay their eggs on water in groups called RAFTS?

Mosquito larvae are also known as 'WRIGGLERS' because they wriggle through the water.

Mosquito pupae are called TUMBLERS. They breathe underwater through long tubes that poke up to the surface of the water. These are called TRUMPETS.

Do you know why mosquito bites are itchy?  The female pokes a long needle-like proboscis into your skin. Her saliva mixes with your blood. This caused a chemical reaction and make you itchy.

Did you know only the FEMALE mosquitoes bite?  And it's only the females that make that high whining sound.

Insects invade Room 3

There's an insect invasion happening in Room 3!  We are learning about insects and our class have been collecting creepy crawlies found alive (or dead).

We make sure we look after our live insects by feeding them and taking them home in the weekend so they're looked after.

"Insects have an exoskeleton which is a hard protective covering over it's body" - Jewel

"All insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts" - Maia

"The 3 main body parts are the head, thorax and abdomen" - Isabella L

"Most insects go through 4 stages of metamorphosis, - egg, larva, pupa, adult" - Brooke M

"Ticks aren't insects" - Shelby

"The wings and legs are attached to the thorax" - Brooke K


Here are some photos!

Gala!

We had SO much fun at the school gala on Saturday. There were heaps of cool things to buy, eat and do. We will be writing about our favourite parts of the day in class today.

Here are some photos ...

Shot Put

We are doing Athletics for PE until the end of term.  Today we practised shot put.

We are learning to PUSH the ball with a straight arm, not THROW like a tennis ball.

Here are some photos ...

Remember to bring shorts and a T-shirt to school every day. We are practising sprints, long jump, high jump, discus, and shot put.

Buddy Class

Room 3's buddy class is Room 8. Some of our children have been visiting our 'little buddies' to help them with their learning activities. Sometimes the children pop into our class to have a 'big buddy' listen to them read.

Last Friday, our buddy class taught us a couple of dances.

We are looking forward to doing more fun activities with our buddy class this year!

Senior Swimming Sports

Yesterday we had the Senior Swimming Sports at the Makino Pool. We were very lucky with the weather. It was warm and sunny and the water was just right.

It was very exciting for us Year 4's because it was our FIRST swimming sports event in the BIG pool!
Here are some photos of our afternoon ...

Spelling Buddies

Every Friday morning, we 'buddy up' with our Learning Buddy. We test each other on the list of words we've been practising at home and school.

We feel so PROUD when we get these words right.