Room 11 has energetically leapt into our connected curriculum in the past few weeks.
Our focus is on science and particularly on forces, including gravity, friction, air resistance and push/pull. Phew! Challenging stuff. Luckily, the force is strong with Room 11 and I'm sure they will meet their challenges head-on and persist enthusistically with all their learning.
Our rich task is based on sports and so we are eventually going to be looking at how forces come into play (get it?) in different sports. Then we will form research pods and each pod will be able to design a new sport or piece of games equipment to present to a panel, explaining how their sport/equipment makes use of forces. Wow! The opportunities are ENDLESS!
Game on Room 11!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Quiddage
Today we organised ourselves into our business groups for Quiddage, which will be an on-going financial literacy activity throughout the year. Each group is starting to think about the products or services they will provide and sell. Arts and crafts are popular as are food stalls, however, there are some rules that we discussed in class today.
Ideas must be original.
If you want to sell biscuits then you need to create unique and original flavours. Spinach and celery with chopped chives anyone???
Taxes apply.
Any product or service that requires New Zealand dollars will have a 60% tax on it's profits - so fnd ways to use recycled materials if possible.
Foods will have a sugar and fat tax of 90% of the profits if they contain sugar or fat in any quantities.
Some questions to think about before you begin making products are:
What sort of things do people like to buy?
Who will buy this? What will they pay for it?
How will I encourage more people to buy my products?
How will I package my products hygenically?
Is this quick and easy to make and will it sell for a fair price?
What is a fair price for my product?
How can I make my idea exciting and different so more people will come to look at my store?
The more out-of-the-box your ideas are the more likely it is that you will get lots of customers.
Remember... Quiddage products are made in your own time not school time. Have fun!
Ideas must be original.
If you want to sell biscuits then you need to create unique and original flavours. Spinach and celery with chopped chives anyone???
Taxes apply.
Any product or service that requires New Zealand dollars will have a 60% tax on it's profits - so fnd ways to use recycled materials if possible.
Foods will have a sugar and fat tax of 90% of the profits if they contain sugar or fat in any quantities.
Some questions to think about before you begin making products are:
What sort of things do people like to buy?
Who will buy this? What will they pay for it?
How will I encourage more people to buy my products?
How will I package my products hygenically?
Is this quick and easy to make and will it sell for a fair price?
What is a fair price for my product?
How can I make my idea exciting and different so more people will come to look at my store?
The more out-of-the-box your ideas are the more likely it is that you will get lots of customers.
Remember... Quiddage products are made in your own time not school time. Have fun!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Bicycle safety
This week we have had a visit from Constable Emily who has been teaching us about bicycle safety on the road to and from school. We have learnt about how to wear our helmet properly and how to signal correctly when on our bikes. Click on the picture to go to find out what the Land Transport NZ Road Code says about bicycles.
Today we also practised some very important bike skills and we realised that many of us were not quite as skilled and safe on the road as we need to be! Even our most confident cyclists in Room 11 recieved a bit of a shock when they realised they were a bit wobbly in some circumstances, like on bumpy roads, or in U-turns or when signalling 'STOP'.
One of the skills that many of the children in Room 11 struggled with, a vital skill for safety on the road, is cycling steadily with only one hand on the handle bars. Without this skill we cannot signal safely to vehicles behind us on the road and we run the risk of wobbling into the path of following traffic.
Another vital and difficult skill that needs plenty of practise is being able to continue cycling in a straight line while looking over our right shoulder to check the traffic behind us.
Constable Emily would urge us all to ensure that any children biking to school are familiar with the road rules and capable of balancing while only one hand is on the handlebars or when looking over their shoulder.
Today we also practised some very important bike skills and we realised that many of us were not quite as skilled and safe on the road as we need to be! Even our most confident cyclists in Room 11 recieved a bit of a shock when they realised they were a bit wobbly in some circumstances, like on bumpy roads, or in U-turns or when signalling 'STOP'.
One of the skills that many of the children in Room 11 struggled with, a vital skill for safety on the road, is cycling steadily with only one hand on the handle bars. Without this skill we cannot signal safely to vehicles behind us on the road and we run the risk of wobbling into the path of following traffic.
Another vital and difficult skill that needs plenty of practise is being able to continue cycling in a straight line while looking over our right shoulder to check the traffic behind us.
Constable Emily would urge us all to ensure that any children biking to school are familiar with the road rules and capable of balancing while only one hand is on the handlebars or when looking over their shoulder.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Homefun information
Wow! Week 1 over already! It's been a very busy week and I think that the students in Room 11 have coped remarkably well, especially those who are new to the Senior Skyscrapers team and are still finding out how we do things here.
I am really pleased to see most children staying on top of their homefun and getting their book signed off every night.
Parents, please expect spelling, basic facts and reading homefun every week night. On occasions there may be extras as well, which will be noted in homefun diaries. I do expect the children to read for a minimum of 15 minutes each night. This does not have to be silent reading. It might be that they read YOU a bed time story instead, or even just share a book with you, taking turns to read and discuss the story. Any reading is good reading. By the end of the year this will be increased to half an hour and homefun will require more thought and effort, in preparation for year six or intermediate. The Murray Ball reading group has received their reading log, which needs to be glued into their homefun book and filled in and signed off each night. I am quite happy for children to read their own personal books at home for their reading log but if you would like me to send books home instead please let me know. The Barry Crump and Joy Cowley reading groups will be getting their reading logs next week.
I don't usually send homefun home on weekends, as many of you are quite busy enough with sports, etc, and I think you deserve a bit of a break!
As always, please let me know if the homefun arrangements do not suit you or feel free to ask me if you are concerned about anything.
My email is kbradshaw@riverdale.school.nz if you would like to send me a quick query,otherwise I am happy to catch up at school.
I have had a lovely week. I hope everyone else is feeling as comfortable and settled as I do. Have a nice weekend!
I am really pleased to see most children staying on top of their homefun and getting their book signed off every night.
Parents, please expect spelling, basic facts and reading homefun every week night. On occasions there may be extras as well, which will be noted in homefun diaries. I do expect the children to read for a minimum of 15 minutes each night. This does not have to be silent reading. It might be that they read YOU a bed time story instead, or even just share a book with you, taking turns to read and discuss the story. Any reading is good reading. By the end of the year this will be increased to half an hour and homefun will require more thought and effort, in preparation for year six or intermediate. The Murray Ball reading group has received their reading log, which needs to be glued into their homefun book and filled in and signed off each night. I am quite happy for children to read their own personal books at home for their reading log but if you would like me to send books home instead please let me know. The Barry Crump and Joy Cowley reading groups will be getting their reading logs next week.
I don't usually send homefun home on weekends, as many of you are quite busy enough with sports, etc, and I think you deserve a bit of a break!
As always, please let me know if the homefun arrangements do not suit you or feel free to ask me if you are concerned about anything.
My email is kbradshaw@riverdale.school.nz if you would like to send me a quick query,otherwise I am happy to catch up at school.
I have had a lovely week. I hope everyone else is feeling as comfortable and settled as I do. Have a nice weekend!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Welcome to Room 11
Happy New Year everybody!
Welcome back to school. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all and working and learning with you. As always, we have an exciting and busy year ahead of us. On this blog you will be able to see some of the exciting things we do in class, read important class notices and reminders, and even find links to helpful learning sites on the web. You can even have your own input into what we are doing by posting comments of your own.
This blog will include photos of students' best work and class events so, shortly, I will be sending home a form to confirm which children have permission to appear on our blog. This is a fabulous way for distant family members such as grandparents and cousins to share in your child's successes and exciting events like feild trips, camps and competitions.
Welcome back to school. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all and working and learning with you. As always, we have an exciting and busy year ahead of us. On this blog you will be able to see some of the exciting things we do in class, read important class notices and reminders, and even find links to helpful learning sites on the web. You can even have your own input into what we are doing by posting comments of your own.
This blog will include photos of students' best work and class events so, shortly, I will be sending home a form to confirm which children have permission to appear on our blog. This is a fabulous way for distant family members such as grandparents and cousins to share in your child's successes and exciting events like feild trips, camps and competitions.
Please try to check the blog regularly for homework reminders, class notices and celebrations. And your children will be thrilled, I'm sure, if you take the time to give them some positive feedback and encouragment as well.
Important reminders
Term one, of course, means lots of sunshine, heat and activity. Please remember to bring a wide-brimmed hat to school everyday otherwise you will miss out on playing outside.
The hot weather means you will dehydrate really fast so a named water bottle is a must!
Our swimming season starts straight away. Room 11's swimming days are Monday, Tuesday and Friday so bring your togs along then. Sunscreen is also highly recomended as there isn't much shade down at the pool.
At 10 am we will stop for Brain Break and everyone will have a chance to rehydrate themselves with water and keep their energy up with a healthy snack. Please ensure your snacks are healthy - chippies, sticky carbs and anything with chocolate in it will not be allowed at Brain Break time.
The hot weather means you will dehydrate really fast so a named water bottle is a must!
Our swimming season starts straight away. Room 11's swimming days are Monday, Tuesday and Friday so bring your togs along then. Sunscreen is also highly recomended as there isn't much shade down at the pool.
At 10 am we will stop for Brain Break and everyone will have a chance to rehydrate themselves with water and keep their energy up with a healthy snack. Please ensure your snacks are healthy - chippies, sticky carbs and anything with chocolate in it will not be allowed at Brain Break time.
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