Litter Patrol

After the big wind last night we thought there wouldn't be too much rubbish around. Sadly we were mistaken. With a choice of seven (yes 7) rubbish bins in this small but lovely park we still managed to find a few bags worth of rubbish, from empty glass bottles, cans, milkshake cups, coffee cups and general waste, we were a bit appalled and very disappointed about people not respecting there environment. Or as the kids said "our" environment.

Job well done S4 children and one that we will continue to do over the weeks.

Slack-lining

What a great way to improve your balance and motivate you to try something different. I am looking for places around the school to set this up. Harry and I went for a look around the playground but didn't find many suitable places. We thought maybe we could set it up at the park, using some of the trees close to the AstroTurf. Will have a go on Friday and then maybe continue to use on fine days over the winter.

Dan at home having a go. His cousin who travels to Nepal to do trekking showed the kids how to do this a few weeks ago and they are now hooked, going out most evenings to try and improve their skills.

Bec showing that it can be a great fun activity - she fell off straight after this, but is determined to master the skills before her cousin comes home so she can show her how much she has improved.

Taking Risks and Sailing

An interesting few days with the opportunity to attend two days of sailing with Wha Team classes. Great to see so many children trying something new for the first time. Some nervous groups who very quickly came to grips with the difficulties of sailing a small dinghy and their enthusiasm to just keep trying. A great time had by almost all.

It was interesting to note however a small group - predominately boys - who did not or would not participate. Was this because they had a fear of failure in front of their peers, or were they genuinely afraid of the water? Observation showed that while one or two may have be more afraid of the water others simply were more afraid to fail and therefore missed out on an amazing learning opportunity and a chance to have fun with their peers. Next question - how do we fix this and change their mindset about failure and success?

Blogging in R2

More blogging around the school. Working on links and what to actually put on their blogs etc.

With support from Miss Avent, the Wha Team have made an axcellent attempt at making these old buildings look more appealing to the eye. They are also portraying a message about NZ and what it means to them. Well done guys, these look amazing.

Blogging in R3

Today it was the year 7 students turn to show their blogging skills and teach another group how to set up a blog, embed videos, add photos etc.

Happy Easter

Today in S5 we had fun making our little Easter chickens. Check them out.

Our Garden Harvest

Today Nga Rakau e Rua helped clean up the garden and got to harvest, potatoes, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, and silverbeet. We then 

taste tested a few cucumber and tomatoes before sending the class home with some of the produce.

How's does our garden grow?

Wow after 6 weeks we had a lot of weeding and harvesting to do. The garden has really taken off thanks to the work of a few dedicated young gardeners. It didn't seem to worry them that the carrots may have been a bit woody as they cheerfully munched away back at school. Each gardener happily took home some silverbeet, potatoes, carrots or cucumber to try. 

It was a pretty hot day but everyone really got into tidying the garden.

Welcome to 2016

Well it has been a hot start to the new term, with temperatures soaring to 32 today, although if felt much hotter in some places around the school - especially those classes without air conditioning in them. 

We all look forward to the day when we can be in the long awaited new classrooms. Apparently there is light at the end of the tunnel and work is hoped to begin in the not so distant future. Can't wait for this long awaited project to finally be completed.

Classes, teachers and students have hit the ground running and classroom programmes already in full swing. As a staff we have had two lots of professional development last week focussing on reading and writing. We have ongoing PD throughout the term on improving our reading outcomes using well researched methods to help our students better understand written text. Watch this space as in a few weeks I will add some videos of some of the great work happening around the school.

Finally, it is, as always, great to be back after the long summer break and see all the happy faces and begin working with the wonderful young people who come through our school. Here is to a happy and productive 2016.