Here is a new reading site that people can go to read. This story is about 'Inanimate Alice' she is a young girl growing up in the first half of the 21st century, and her imaginary digital friend, Brad.
Over ten episodes, each a self contained story, we see Alice grow from an eight year old living with her parents in a remote region of Northern China to a talented mid-twenties animator and designer with the biggest games company in the world.
This term we will be doing procedural writing. That means we will be looking at writing texts that explain how to do things. This will help to clarify why authors write things the way they do and also how we should read that particular text in a certain way.
Soon everyone will have their own comic strips on their own blogs. So stay tuned!
This term we will be looking at music. We will look at traditional Maori instruments as well as modern day instruments. We will also look at how people are making music with people they have never met before. This all ties in with our Kia Kaha unit of being able to work co-operatively together. Click here and have a look at how it all works.
In Room L we are learning how to make Mosaics in Picassa. Picassa is a google program that allows you to store and manipulate photos. We have used Picassa to make mosaics of our class for the art component of our Kia Kaha Unit. We thought it would be a good thing to do so we are reminded of the people who we need to respect and care for. The children have written their personal goals for this term underneath their pictures. This is to remind them how they need to work constantly to make a safe learning environment. They will try and give regular updates and reflections about how they are reaching these goals. So go and look at the kids blogs and see how they are doing.
On Saturday I went to soccer with Jonny and he scored three goals! That was real fun. The final score was 5 - 1 goals to Jonnys team. On Monday Jonny went to soccer school for four days. When he came home he showed me his new cool t-shirt. During the hollidays Jonny's friend max came to stay and on another day Matthew and Conner came to play with us all. We all had lots of fun together.
On Tuesday night my wife, Christall, was on Maori Television. Her life and work was on display and she showed her appreciation of natural resources and the sustainability of harakeke. I'm sure that some of you may have seen the programme, but for those who missed it here it is. KETE ARONUI
Kia ora everyone just a notice to tell you that a travelling Minstrel is coming to school to entertain the children. We would like everyone to attend so please bring the money in quickly.
Time: 4th August, 9:15 - 10:15 Place: School Hall Cost: $3.00
Hello everyone I hope that you all have had a good break and are eagerly waiting to get back to school. We have an exciting term ahead of us. One of the things we will be looking at is making webcasts of our learning. If you look at the video above you will see an example of how you will be showing your learning to your parents.
This term we will be doing:
Theme: Kia Kaha / Fabric and Fibres Unit I.C.T: Blogs/Computer safety Writing: Procedural Reading: Procedural Maths: Multiplication/Division Handwriting: Slope/Ligatures Kapa Haka: Ka mate/Haere mai Art: Korowai/pake puakarimu (rain cape)
This term we will be hosting the school assembly. This will happen in week six of the school Calendar. We will be having learning conferences this term as well and it will be happening on the same week as our assembly.
On the last two days of the term we got some new computers for our classroom. Earlier in the term we were trialing the system to see if it met our ICT needs and we found out it did! So the wonderful members of our B.O.T got on board and purchased us new system and it works just great. Now Room L is even more excited about ICT we are really looking forward to this new term. Below is a power point of our system.
At Manchester Street School we value the members in our school by having a designated time to spend with each other. During this time we cover things that relate and are pertinent to the school ethos. Here we are getting to know one another's name and what we like do in our spare time. We feel that this time is precious because it builds a sense of 'whanau' amongst children of all ages.
Although it's a little late it still deserves a mention. Michael Jackson is one of the most influential artists of our time. He has changed the landscape of music in so many ways. Even with his troubled life he still emerged as an inspiration to many. I have enjoyed his music for decades and a few of my personal favourites are 'ABC' and 'Scream' to name a couple. But one of the best videos that I've ever seen is Smooth Criminal. But here is a video that keeps with the tone of our school called 'Earth Song'.
Here is one of the best songs from Michael Jackson's memorial service "Heal the World". This term we will learn this song and we might perform it for our assembly
Lyrics: Heal the World
(Verse 1)
There's a place in
Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need
To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow
(Pre Chorus)
There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...
(Chorus)
Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me
(Bridge)
And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow
(Verse 2)
We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares
(Pre Chorus)
We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...
(Chorus)
Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me
If you are interested in who the lead singer was who sang "Heal the World" her name is Judith Hill. She is possibly the latest sensation to arise from the ashes of a fallen star. There is an interview with her on Entertainment Tonight and this is the song she sang after the interview, "We are the World."
This term we have been reading the book "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen. It is a story about a young boy who gets stranded out in the Canadian bush when his plane goes down. We all were engrossed with the story and these are some of the comments that the kids made after it
Here is a vocabulary presentation of the book "Hatchet". Click here and see what are the key words in the story and what they mean.
Comments:
Caitlin: I didn't like how he left at the end because he left all the yummy food.
Blair: I was surprised at how long he lived in the wild.
Jonny: I can't believe that he changed as soon as he found the survival kit.
Shayla: I think the story was awesome.
Jamie: It was a very interesting book and I loved it.
Amanda: I was happy when he got saved.
Taine: He lived happily ever after.
Mitchell: I was surprised that he found the survival pack in the plane.
Thomas B: It was amazing how the hatchet saved his life.
Samantha: I like the part when he found the tail of the plane in the lake.
Floyd: I was surprise how he got the hatchet back from the bottom of the lake.
Sam: I was amazed at how he could make a fire with the hatchet.
We are looking for a new book to read for term 3. Do you have any suggestions??
