Rhythm Interactive

Here is some more of the Rhythm Interactive.  We really loved doing this.

Kapa Haka

This is Robyn taking Kapa Haka. 

Calendars.

We have been expressing ourselves by making calendars.  We had a choice of  how we could do this.  We will have these calendars on display for you to come and see them. You can get a calendar made from our pictures.

Keely's Colour Poem

We are Expressing Ourselves by writing about what different colours mean to us. All our ideas were different even when we wrote about the same colours.

Ryan's Colour Poem

We are Expressing Ourselves by writing about what different colours mean to us. All our ideas were different even when we wrote about the same colours.

Newsletter Last of the Term

Newsletter
Room 6
September 24 2010




The end of the term and it certainly has been an interesting one. I hope by the time that we get back to school next term these after shocks have faded away. We have had a busy term. We completed our Inquiry on How Can I Make a Difference and what we have learnt I hope has made us realise how we can and have made a difference particularly at this time. We have learnt more about subtraction and addition. We have learnt how to write persuasively, another way that we can express ourselves. We continue to learn and relearn and remember what reading strategies we need to be using to understand and get more out of what we have read. In the holidays I will be planning more ways to learn.


Thank you to those who have or who will send food along for our end of term celebration. Thank you also to those who have donated food to the City Mission. Thank you to those who continue to support the children’s learning both at school and at home.


We say farewell to Lisa  who has been our student teacher. We wish her well not only with her teaching but also with her house which has had considerable damage. Lisa continued to come to school from her home which is without drinking water and sewerage. We thank her for her commitment and resilience.


Blog www.Room6atfreeville.blogspot.com


We continue to blog away. There’s lots there to look at. Please add a comment; it is accessible to anyone and everyone. Each comment comes to me before it can be published so there is no opportunity for comments that we don’t like.


Stuff at school.
After many issues I have told the children not to bring Mighty Beans, or Trading cards to school for the following reasons. They are too easy to loose. They are too easy for children to put in their pocket when they do not belong to them. They distract the children from their learning. Trading Skills need to be developed to a higher level and I do not have the time to resolve complicated trading issues. If the children bring things to school that are not needed for their learning they must take responsibility for them. It is very difficult to find rugby balls, tennis balls, cars and other objects that are taken into the playground to play with. When money is brought to school it is a very good idea to give it to me for safe keeping.


Don’t forget daylight saving which begins on Sunday, yes it will be darker in the mornings but lighter at night. Spring your clock forward by an hour on Sunday morning.


Have a good holiday. The children certainly deserve an extended break.

Tinika's Colour Poem

We are Expressing Ourselves by writing about what different colours mean to us. All our ideas were different even when we wrote about the same colours.

Caitlin's Yellow Poem

We are Expressing Ourselves by writing about what different colours mean to us.  All our ideas were different even when we wrote about the same colours.

Orange by Samara

To express ourselves we have been writing colour poems.  We all see colours in a different way and we can express ourselves differently.

Building

We built a ship, it was massive and cool.  Our group worked co-operatively together to make it. It was awesome. We had a good idea for it.

Colour Poems

We have been expressing ourselves by writing poems about different colours.  We expressed how  colours make us think of smell, taste, looks and hear.

Earthquake

We expressed our thoughts and ideas about earthquakes by drawing pictures.  Each picture is different and we all had different ideas about what happened.

Fractions

We like eating Mrs Bourkes banana cakes.  She makes them from some of the banana's that people forget to eat and leave in the classroom. Today the banana cake had chocolate in it.  We cut it up into fractions.  We had to make sure that everyone got a piece.  First we had to work out how many people there were in the classroom. We have 26 children, but 3 were away so that made 23 but we had 2 extra people so that made 25. We then decided that we had to cut the cake into 25ths.  So each  person got 1/25th of the cake.  It was yummy. It had chocolate icing on it.

Kapa Haka

We have been going to Whaea Robyn for Kapa Haka. I like doing it because it has got good actions, great songs, heaps of people do the songs. You dance. It makes me feel glad because you get energised. I can express myself through doing this. Thank you Whaea Robyn.
By Harlem

Inquiry

We wanted to find out what we know about how people express themselves.  We all did a Hyerles Thinking Map to help us think. Then we joined them together. Hyerles Thinking Maps support our cognitive skills that help us construct our own knowledge and use a higher level of thinking.  It helps us develop life long thinking skills. 

 

Rugby

I got this medal from the New Brighton Rugby Kia Kaha Club because I played rugby for New Brighton Yellow Under 8.  We won most of our games and lost about 4.  I play as a forward. I like tackling people.  My team was fantastic because we won lots. 

by Manaia

Loud Shirt Day

I am deaf.  I like being deaf because I have got two hearing aids, they are white and pink. It means that when you wear the FM I can hear people singing and talking.  When my hearing aids are not in I cannot really hear, I can hear quiet.  This makes me sad.  It is hard for me to make words properly.  I find it hard to listen to people in circle time. I like when Hayley comes here to help me learn more stuff.

Different people express themselves in different ways.  Some people who are deaf express themselves through sign language.  Hayley is showing us how you can do this.

Family of Facts

A family of facts like this 3+5 = 8 and 5 + 3 = 8 and 8 - 5 = 3  and 8 - 3 = 5 everything is in the first one that we do, they belong in the same family.

By Ryan

We are Expressing Ourselves when we do our maths by making a poster of a family of facts.

Newsletter 17 September

The week that was…






An interesting week. Most of the children have coped pretty well with the after effects of the big one. Staff here have as well, although like you quite a few are suffering from some sleep deprivation. I wonder if you can guess who the teacher was who not only has slept through all the after shocks, but also slept through the big one? We have been concentrating on our Inquiry and it has been really good because we are understanding how to communicate our thoughts, emotions and feelings. We have done this by writing and talking about the earthquake. I have put a lot of work on the blog and also have accessed another blog call www.Whenmyhomeshock.co.nz This website includes stories from children in the Canterbury area. I am slowly adding to this as well. I have also added some poems to The Press website and will add more when I have your signatures.


If you are finding that your family is suffering the effects of the earthquake, please let me know and I can suggest where you might go for some extra help and support. I keep on telling myself that every aftershock means that is one less that I have to experience!!!!


We have also been…


Learning about equivalent fractions and subtraction. We have been concentrating on synthesising all our learning strategies so that our reading has a special meaning for us. This all means that we are putting all the reading strategies together and making a personal connection from what we have read. An example of this is when we think about the story of the little boy who cried wolf. We want the children to understand that it is not such a good idea to lie as you might just get “eaten”. Today we are going to be thinking about all the people we need to be thankful too for having helped others during and after the earthquake.


Book Orders.
There is a special book sale. Can I please have those book orders in by the end of the term which is Friday week, 24 September.


Party Time


I thought that it might just be a good idea to have an end of term party on 24 September. To celebrate our survival, a good learning term and farewell Lisa our student teacher who will be leaving us.


Thank you to everyone who has or will contribute to our Loud Shirt Day, on today Friday.


Appeal.


I am going to put a box in the classroom for anyone who would like to donate some non perishable food to the City Mission. They have an appeal going at the moment, particularly to those very needy families who also have had to deal with earthquake issues. Canned food and pasta is great to donate but anything else is also appreciated.


Blog. www.room6atfreeville.blogspot.com


Please have a look. You should be able to access it even if you don’t have a goggle account or have not been granted access. Please add a comment. Click on the comment word underneath it. When it says Comment as click on the little arrow and a box will drop down. Click on anonymous It will then tell you what to do, sometimes you have to click twice, a box will come up with what you have written and it will ask you to write a word in a box. Then it should tell you that your comment will be published once it has been modified or verified. Please make sure that you sign your name straight after your comment. The children love seeing the comments that you write. I get an e-mail and it asks me if it should be published and of course I always put yes!!


Yes, I hope that you all manage to get some decent sleep at the weekend.

Acrostic Name Poem

Cheerful around the town
Adorable rush in the house
Improving in a flash
Tidy my room like a jet
Loyal to my friends and family
Interested in many things
Natural

By Catlin

Rhythm Interactive

I liked how we had to play the African drums because they were nice and sounded nice and they felt good in your hands.




By Callum

Earthquake

Earthquake

Emerges energetically
Afraid of the shaking
Rocking all night
Tragic in the air
Horrifying sights
Quake beginning
Unexpected event
Aftershocks keep rolling
Knowing things are wrong
Earthquake is here

By Sophie

Earthquake

Everyone was scared
Amber Rose got out of bed
Revolting it won't happen again
Terrible scared
Heavy aftershocks
Quick water at Nana and Poppas house
Unusable TV
Angry as house fell down
Kindly people looked after friends
Exciting earthquake we have

By Amber Rose

Earthquake

We have been learning about inferences, when we are doing our reading, and we like looking at the cartoons in the paper.  We have been looking at the ones about earthquakes and we know exactly what they mean because we can make connections with them and we have lots of prior knowledge about earthquakes. Making inferences helps us understand what we are reading. We also think that it is a good way for people to express themselves.

Earthquake

Milly wrote this at home soon after the earthquake.


Early Saturday morning we had an earthquake.  It woke up a lot of people.  Some people slept through the whole thing.  I got a huge fright and so did other people. I heard on One News that there has been about 300 aftershocks.  Some houses are badly damaged and homes are destroyed to pieces and pieces.  Hopefully people are not badly hurt.  The grounds are lifted and roads are cracked and power poles are falling. Some people are stuck at home but at least people can do other things like board games. Some streets have got water on the roads and roads are badly damaged.  One News is saying it will be over soon.  Cars have been covered in bricks.

By Milly 

Earthquake

Every earthquake electricty needed
Always aftershocks
Rattle rumble
Terrible terminate
Hard hit
Quick
Unexpectedly urgently use water
Aftershocks appear
Civil Defence helped the City Council
Kit needed
Electricty on

By Keely

Earthquake

Everything shaking
Amazing awesome cracks
Real earthquake not in my dreams
Terrifc my bed is tipping
Horrid shaking everywhere through town
Quake plates moving
Under table
Aftershock aftershakes
Kit civil defence
Earthquake

By Olivia

Earthquake

Earthquake
Liquefaction
Aftershock
Fault line
Civil Defence
Kit
Terror

By Luke C

Earthquake

Earth gets hit bad
After shocks are very little
Roughly attack is super strong
Tight is shaky but also breaks
Hits down very hard
Quake is what makes the shake
Unexpected earthquakes surprised
Attacks everyone hurts glass
Kit with lots of medical things
Earhquake very long than 10 seconds


By Ryan

Earthquake

Energetic, power
After shocks, afraid
Rumble I heard it in the distance
Train tracks bending
Houses, buildings getting demolished
Quake
Unable to get power
Afraid of the shaking
Keeping safe
Emergency

By Leon

Earthquake

Emergency busy
Aftershocks still hitting
Road came up and bumby
Terror everywhere in Christchurch
Hard earthquake
Quake damage houses
Unexpected earthquake
Aid kit people buying
Kats terrified running away
Electricy off

By Dathan

Earthquake

Emergency kit needed
Ambulances everywhere
Roads cracked and flooded
Terrifying noises
Hearing glass break
Quick to get out of bed
Upon my roof breaking bricks
Afterwards sand boils exploding from the ground
Keep at home to stay safe
Electricy gone out

By Caitlin

Earthquake

Earthquake happened
Aftershock still hitting
Roads bumby
Terror afraid
Humble rumbling
Quake earth shaked
Unexpected that was werid
Angry things broke
Kit to make you safe
Emergency kit heals you

By Liam

Rhythm Interactive

We went to Rhythm Interactive, I thought it was really cool and interesting.  I liked that somehow they got the West African Drums.  I liked doing the patterns on the drums. By Dathan

Rhythm Interactive

This morning we went to Rhythm Interacive.  I enjoyed learning it because I like to play instruments. I liked how Anton was signing.  He said some things at the end, but he did not talk when he was showing us how to use the drums. The skin on our drums was goat skin.  Anton's one had cow skin.  It was fun and I would like to do it again. It was one way of expressing ourselve

By Samara

Earthquakes

We have been learning more about earthquakes.  We have been thinking about all the words that describe earthquakes and how we feel about them. We have been expressing our ideas about earthquakes by writing about them.  Olivia tried to guess what the next earthquake would be.

Liquefaction

We did some liquefaction experiments to show what happens to the water and the sand when there is an earthquake.  During a quake the squeezing done by sesmic waves happens very quickly and the water does not have time to flow out of the way of the sand particles.  As the particles try to move closer together they push on the water which pusches the sand up.



I think it was really good because it showed what some of the people had been getting around the town. by Keely.

Earthquake

At 4.35am there was a 7.1 earthquake on 4th September.  I remember me and Dad were sleeping in Dads bed.  Mum was at work.  Dad just rolled over me and I said "Dad whats happening".  Dad said "Its an earthquake." I said "Oh".  So me and Dad watched as we heard the china stuff fall over.

I thought it was never going to stop.  But it did.  My Dad got up and said "We've got some damage."  So Dad got our battery running torch and radio.  Then there was an aftershock.  Dad quickly got the cell phone.  My two brothers called.  "Are you alright Dad?" they said.  Dad said "We've got no  power and no water."  I said to Dad I hope Mums OK.  We were lucky only a picture frame and a glass broke.

By Callum

Earthquake

In my opinion I think that earthquakes are scary becasue they move you around and it damages heaps of places.

I think that earthquakes are damaging our perfect place.

Another good point is that we should all be prepared for an earthquake.

Some people think that earthquakes will not happen here but we all know that they do.

Earthquakes can happen any old time.

By Milly

Earthquake

Friday 4 September 2010 4.36 am.  Suddenly my room starts shaking and crashing.  Mum yelled out "MANAIA"  I get out of bed.  Mum pulls me under the hallway door.  Dad runs down the hallway with Ruby.  We all sit on the bed.  I hug Patch, I feel him shaking.  Ruby is shaking too.  We sit there and wait for aftershocks.  Two days later we realise how bad it was.

By Manaia

Earthquake

I heard an earthquake at home.  So did my family and my cat. The house was moving. I felt scared.  I went in my Mum and Dads room.  The earthquake was scary.

By Amber Rose

Earthquake

As I felt the rumble and noise I yelled out to Mum.  I ran to her room as she had a lump in her arm.  The movement made her swing over and smack my head accidently. Why was my Dad hanging out the window.  My brother was saying "Get in the doorway."

We got together and Dad said loudly, "That is the biggest earthquake I have experienced in my life" We gathered up some candles and clothes so we would be a bit warmer.

We went outside and all this liquedfaction was coming up off the ground.  It was scary.  We went also to check on our neighbours to see if they were alright.  They said that they were getting the same liquefaction.

We went back inside and sat in the living room.  We sat in surprise.  Another aftershock has just happened.  Then we said this is really early and we need to get some sleep.  So we went back to sleep.  But this time Dad slept in Taylors double bed and I slept with Mum in Mum and Dads bed.

In the morning we got up and Mum went and got on the computer on stuff.co.nz and found out it was a 7.1 magnitude earthqauke.  Our auntie came over on her bike and came to see if we were alright.

My aunty stayed for a couple of days because she had no power or water.

By Keely

Cody

I hear glass breaking
I smell fire in my room.
I touch glass on my feet, it cuts my feet
I taste sweat
I feel sad.
My home is going to be demolished because it has cracks in it.
This is  my house.

By Cody

Earthquake

Darkness was surroundng me.  Suddenly I was out of bed.  The next day I woke up. I did know it was an earthquake and I was frighened.  My bed was shaking when I was in bed asleep. The next day I sat down.  I went under the table. The next day I woke up, no more earthquakes.

By Jessica

Earthquake

On Sunday morning I thought I felt the wind.shaking the house but I knew it was an earthquake.  I was very scared.  My Dad got the emergency light.  My house didn't break down.  I was lucky.  The next day I brought a torch.  I was great.

By Ed

Earthquake

In my opinion earthquakes could break anything.

I think that earthquakes break anything because they move.

Another good point is earthquakes shake things.

Some people think earthquakes break anything because they rub together.

I think eathquakes break anything because the plates underground move.

By Ryan

Earthquake

Earthquake


Darkness, nothing then everything.


I hear a roar, a rumbling, a stumbling of noise


I smell sweat, later I smell sewerage


I taste a sour taste, a taste of fear


I touch with my feet the glass on my floor


I feel afraid

Earthquakes

In my opinion earthquakes are something that could happen any where.


I think that earthquakes are just part of living here in New Zealand. We get a lot of earthquakes. Some we don’t even notice. Some are so deep they cause very little damage.


Another good point is that we should all be prepared for earthquakes. We should stand in doorways or under tables. We should have batteries for a transistor radio. We should have water in containers. We should have torches and candles so that we can get them in a hurry. We should also have canned food.


Some people think that earthquakes won’t happen here. But we know now that they do and they have. Also some people need to be better prepared for emergencies.


Earthquakes can happen any time. They can cause a lot of damage. We need to be able to look after ourselves in an emergency.

Earthquake Report

Things changed after this report was written.
Report.  Sunday 5 September




At 4.35am on 4 September 2010 Christchurch, New Zealand was rocked by at 7.1 earthquake. It lasted for 30 seconds. The epicentre was at Darfield a small rural community 31 k west of Christchurch. There have been many after shocks the highest being 5.4.


The earthquake has caused widespread devastation particularly in the centre of Christchurch. There are over 90 buildings that have been severely damaged. A number of historic homes have been badly hit. A lot of people had the chimneys in their houses fall down creating other damage.


The centre of the city has been cordoned off and there has been a curfew put in place at night. Some people have had to go to welfare centres as they have not been able to stay in their homes because they have been destroyed. Some people do not have water or power. All the schools have been closed for at least 2 days.




This earthquake will cost millions of dollars. Homes and building will have to be rebuilt. Some will have to be demolished. Roading and sewerage and water will have to be repaired. It will take many months before we are back to anything like it was before this quake.

Earthquake

I wake up in the moring
I think that something is different
I taste a sewage taste
I hear something rambling
I touch my feet
I smell a stinky smell

By Jayden