Toby and Campbell are in "The Press".

Today Campbell and Toby had their pictures in "The Press". 

Japans earthquake.

This is a picture of Japan.

I have been watching the terrible things that are happening in Japan.  I hope you have not been seeing too many of the pictures as it has been very different from what happened here. It is a long way from us here in New Zealand. As a Globalist Freeville Flyer I feel so sad for the Japanese people and the tragedy after their earthquake and tsnamui.

A Poem

We like reading poetry in Room 6.  Each day we read different poems.  Our favourite is Fobba Wobba John and the Ning Nang Nong.  I saw a another interesting poem in the paper today.  It meant to me what it is like being a person who has lived in Christchurch for most of my life.  The prior knowledge I had is what we all now have.  I made a really good connection to it.

No Defeat

Roses are red, the Chalice is blue,
the cathedral has fallen, many buildings have too.
You can rattle our bones, you can rip streets apart
but you will never defeat our Red and Black hearts.
For we are Cantabrians and together we know,
We stand tall together, through anything we regrow

By Kiely Wallace, Brisbance

March 11

Another busy day at school.  Lots of changes and lots and lots of boxes. Some of our things are in funny places.

Our new class room.  It needs a bit of tidying up.

March 10



Your desks.



More boxes.



That teacher needs to tidy her desk.

More boxes.



More boxes.



More boxes.

 We have had a busy day today.  Our classroom looks a bit different.  All those learning things are in boxes.  There are a lot of boxes. Ms K should know that Mrs Bourke does not do photos. She just takes them.

Wednesday 9 March

Hannah took on 12 seconds to make this box.  She practised a lot.

We stopped for a cup of tea.

Elizabeth made sure all the books were safe from the library.





Have sofa will move.  I think there is a hard hat there too.



One empty Room 8.

Nicole had a precious cargo of smelly lunch boxes!!!

Paul had his hard hat on to do a bit of cross country driving.

Lots of stuff to be moved.

 
  We have had such a busy day getting ready for everyone to be back at school on the 21 March. Here are some photos of what we have been doing.

Room 8

Elizabeth had a bit of trouble getting into Room 8 so she got our her electric screw driver.  It worked really well.

Porta Loos

I really enjoyed this cartoon that was in "The Press" today.  Does it look like your porta loo? What connections can you make with this cartoon, and I think that you might have a bit of prior knowledge to help you understand it. If you click on the picture it will get bigger.

Tidy up in the Classrooms and library.

We had a busy day tidying up the classrooms. We tidied up the library and emptied out Room7.  Can you guess what book Paul is reading?  The man in the yellow vest is fixing up our water.

A Big Big Container

We had a really exciting day at school today. This huge container arrived all the way from Hastings. It had lots of good things in it for us.  Hastings Intermediate School had helped put it together.  It  was amazing and so kind of them to do this for us.  It would be really nice if you could go onto their blog and thank them for what you got. Look at the blog that I did yesterday and go to that link where you can add a comment.  It was great seeing so many people at school.  Here are some pictures of the what happened.

A big day tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Tuesday 8 March is going to be an exciting day for us at Freeville School.  A school in Hastings has sent down a whole lot of stuff to help us.  It is looking just fantastic.  I think that they could be really really caring Freeville Flyers if they went to school here.  They are also Globalists to think of us here in Christchurch and have really Motivated themselves to do something for us.  You might like to look at their school blog and add a special comment to it to show how much it means to you having people think about us here in Christchurch.  This is www.hastingsintermediate.school.nz/uncategorized/christchurch-appeal/.  If you cannot access it this way go to John's blog and copy the address and add a comment.  I am sure that it will mean a lot to them if you do. Actually I am sure that they are all xcellent learners too.

Mainly for those grown up people.

This caught my eye in the paper and I thought some of it sounded pretty good. Have a read it might just help a little.



Reactions to what has happened in the earthquake and afterwards are many.


Distress is a common reaction, it can last for days or weeks. Allowing enough time to heal physically and emotionally is important.


Some people want to talk about it, others do not, both are fine as long as that person has chosen their course of action.


There is a range of common symptoms - disturbed sleep, impaired concentration, worry, flashbacks and a disconnection from reality.


Reactions can be caused by what we read, see, hear smell or any movements of the earth.

Human contact and communication is the best treatment.

There is no right way to grieve for our losses and no right timeframe.

This is a psychological first aid (PFA).


Talking to others. It may help you feel less alone and more understood.


1. Defy the aftershocks and try to keep to regular sleep patterns.


2. Re-establish usual routines if and when possible.


3. Eat regularly and properly, if you can.


4. Keep physically active to reduce tension and anxiety.


5. Keep busy but also relax.


6. Still do the things you enjoy doing.


7. Don’t overwhelm yourself with media coverage ie watching everything about the quake on the TV - if you  have power.


8. Set yourself some realistic goals. Allow space to come to terms with the events of the past week or so.


9. Too much coffee, ie four to six cups a day will muck up your sleep.


10. Try not to increase your use of alcohol or any recreational drugs.

What most people are experiencing is a normal response to an extraordinary event. Most people will recover but it may take weeks or months. It is important to seek professional advice if things don’t improve. See your GP.

Helping and Caring

We have been out with the Civil Defence checking houses and people.  Stace is the building inspector from Rangiora and Kevin with the Salvation Army vest, has come down from Auckland to help us.

Saturday 5 March

Today I went to school to see what was happening. It looks a bit different.  Can you spot where each photo is?

It was good to see that Anare was there.  He is looking after our school at the moment.  Anare is in the yellow shirt.  There is also a picture of Callum getting some water. 

The earthquake.

Well it has certainly been an interesting week. The most important thing is that we are all safe and we you have in our thoughts and prayers. We are also thinking of  many other families at this sad time.

We will never be xcellent learners in Room 6,  ever again.  But we will still be xcellent learners in whatever classroom we will be in. I hope if you are learning in another classroom in some other part of New Zealand you are being xcellent learners and Freeville Flyers.  I know that you will be caring, communicating, critical thinkers, motivated, creative and globalists.  I am looking forward to hearing about all the things that you have been learning and doing.  For those not at another school I hope that you are being all these things at your homes and are especailly being caring towards one another.

Our lives will never be the same again.  But one thing for sure is that Freeville School and our community will still be a special place for us all.

These pictures are of Grant with the water and of the army in Palmers Road and of Lauren and her new kittens.

Kia kaha be strong and take special care of those you love and those who love you.