Merry Christmas

Holidays have well and truly started.  We've been free from school for over a week now.  I hope you're enjoying your break, doing plenty of fun things, enjoying the weather and being safe.  Merry Christmas and happy holidays to each of you!

Good Bye

Today is our last day together as a class in Room 15.

I will miss each of you.  I am thankful that I will still see Aysha - Blu, Taylor, Dilawar, Hamna, Nashanya, Jamal, Diya and Victoria. They will be going into Room 24 and 27 and their teachers will be Mr Pickett and the new teacher Mr Housewright.  I will be taking one of the year 5/6 digital classes.


Going to Room 24 with Mr Pickett
Taylor
Hamna
Jamal
Victoria

Going to Room 27 with Mr Housewright
Aysha - Blu
Dilawar
Nashanya
Diya

Going to Blockhouse Bay Intermediate

Riya
Shaun
Helen
Diya
Nazheef
Hamo
Calico
Tauheed
Zuhenna
Phillip
Sarah
Radhika
Sabah
Sania &
Owen

Going to Wesley Intermediate
Rose-Marie
Koloni
William

Rango is going to go to a school in Papatoetoe and Fardeen is going to go to Glenavon Primary.

In 2015, the year 5s based in Room 15 will be: Andrea, Anna, Hareem, Benson, Anoki, Syed, Ingrid, Layaan, Sara, Ethan, Dorian, Pooja, Mary - Shaye, Isaac and Leila Louise.  The year 6s will be : Kira, Hamish, James, Afaaf, Caleb, Adia, Ishita, Steven, Wynstan, Avara, Tania, Dorian, Karitiana, Raithe, and Jaedyn.

Next year if you would like to send me an email, my address is : kskipper@newwindsor.school.nz I hope to hear from you soon.   Be safe, take care of yourselves and be your best self.  I have loved being on your team.  Each of you have enriched my life, you've taught me many lessons and shared many nuggets of knowledge with me.  Thank you, I'll hold each of you in my heart.  

Happy Holidays

What are you planning on doing and what are you most looking forward to doing when school finishes?

I am most looking forward to spending a lot of time with my daughter.  I am planning on going to the bach.  I am hoping to go to my family's bach with whāea Griffa and her five daughters.  I am also hoping to see Mrs Tipelu and her children at the bach too.  I am also hoping to see my friends and their five sons there and I am also hoping to see my cousins and all of their children there too.  I am hoping to spend a lot of time at the bach this summer.  I really hope that the weather is nice.  But if it is not there are still a lot of things to do inside with everyone.  

Zuhenna Selfie Question of the Week

Have you ever been electrocuted?

No I have not because I'm very careful around power points

Hamo Question Selfie of the Week

What would you do if you were getting bullied?

I would probably just say leave me alone or if they're little kids I would just say I'm going to tell on you and walk somewhere a teacher is.

Sketching

Making the most of the lovely spring weather we headed outside to take a look at the spaces around us.  We sketched our view making the most of the different angles.  Our purpose was to draw the viewers eye in.

Helen's Selfie Question of the Week

Have you ever been a bully ? Why?

I have been a bully once , I bullied my brother because I thought my parents didn't love me any more because I am the middle child. I used to make fun of him and hide his toys , after a year I realized that I was wrong .

Te Waka

Te Waka

Room 15 have been honing our sgraffito skills preparing our paddles and then waves during our Kia Kaha unit.  It's taken awhile as we've had to wait for the paint to dry in between scratching.  Luckily we've had a lot of other interests to pursue. 

Our Paddles

Here are our paddles.  Each one is uniquely designed and crafted by one of us.  All of them different. But they all have something in common.   

Let's Go 

We are all headed in the same direction.  Each of us are different and unique.  None of us look the same but we are all going forward.

The Waves

Our waves help us forward.  Each of them say something which can propel us forward, a word to remind us about the kinds of qualities which help our team move forward - kindness, cooperation, self management . . . there are a lot of waves. 

Which quality helps you to be your best self? Which one helps you to help someone else be their best self.  As we move forward, let's go together.

Tauheed's Question of the Week Selfie

What is the special feature electrons and protons both have?

I found the answer to this question in The Shocking Truth about Electricity by Jennifer Swanson. 
Electrons have a negative charge and protons have a positive one.You've heard the saying opposites attract.Well, that especially applies to electrons. Their negative charge is attracted to the positive protons.And it's this attraction that makes electricity happen.  What do you think?

Studying electricity

A small group watches videos about electricity and uses them to gather information and then brainstorm what they've learnt.

APPA

November 4th at the Town Hall.  I was so proud to watch and listen to our choir and kapa haka perform.  Way to go!!!

Victoria, Zuhenna and Annika outside the Town Hall on Queen Street.

 Getting into place.

Kazana awaiting her cue to start the first night of the APPA festival.

Dislocated Elbows

On the weekend, Nashanya was playing on our playground and somehow fell and hurt herself.  Her elbow was dislocated and she spent most of the weekend in hospital getting looked after. As her elbow is still quite swollen the doctors haven't been able to find the fracture yet.  She's in a lot of pain, she's hurt her writing arm and might be away for the next two weeks.

Have you ever injured yourself?  What's the worst fall you've ever had?  If you see Nashanya please check on her.  I hope she gets better soon and that she's not in too much pain.  OUCH!

Auckland Primary Principals' Association 74th Auckland Primary Schools' Music Festival

November 4th, our choir and kapa haka groups will be performing at the Auckland Town Hall.  Our choir is part of the Auckland Primary Schools' choir and will be singing with all the other pupils from the choirs in our section.  Phillip, Tauheed, Shaun, Hamo, and Calico will be singing and Zuhenna and Victoria will be performing in our Kapa Haka group.  We can all be so proud of these students.  They've made a committment to the choir and the kapa haka groups, stuck by their word, worked hard and now are part of a show which I'm sure will be amazing.

The Auckland Town Hall is a historic building on Queen Street in downtown Auckland.  It was opened on 14 December 1911.  Our seven Room 15 people are performing there on stage doing something none of us have done before.  WOW! I am looking forward to seeing you all on the night and I feel so proud that you'll be up there singing and performing.  Tino pai.

Sabah's Selfie Question of the Week

How do bullies make you feel ?

It makes me feel sad.  It makes me feel isolated like I'm the only person who gets bullied.  I have been bullied by a lot of people at school, boys and girls but mostly girls.  One bully said "why are you so ugly?"  They make me think, "Am I ugly?"  I start to doubt myself.  I question everything.  Bullies make me feel really small like I mean nothing.

Bystander Revolution

What do you think about the idea of loving bullies?  Have you tried asking a bully if they are okay?

Check out this video.  What do you think?

Week 3 Question of the Week Selfie

Why can birds stand on power lines without being electrocuted?

What do you think?  I don't know the answer but I would like to find out.  Can you help me?

If I had a million dollars . . .

What would you do if you had a million dollars?  Buy some things, give some money away, go somewhere?  The options are numerous.  What would you do?

Buddy time with Room 14 is very important to us all.  Everyone in Room 15 has a buddy, some people in Room 14 have two buddies.  Even Miss Skipper has a buddy who she especially loves to visit with, Mrs Chester!  We are very lucky to work together.

Warming Up

 This week's session with Larissa opened up with a number of stretches. Zombie walks, high knees and leap frogs all helped to warm up the class before getting on to practising puts.

Rolling down the hill

Lots of fun things happen during morning tea and lunch time now that the weather is becoming more and more lovely.

What do you get up to during the breaks when you're playing outside?

Teeing Up

October 14th we met Coach Larissa from the First Tee of New Zealand who gave us our first golfing lesson.  This week's lesson was based on respect. It was a really cool lesson which helped everyone learn and establish the pattern needed for the correct putting stance. Weeks 1 - 8 golf continues.

Phillip's Selfie Question of the Week

Why do bullies mock other people?

I think that bullies mock people because they want to be funny but they really just hurt people's feelings.  Sometimes they find something that is different about you not the same as other people and then they make up jokes, pick on the difference and mock.  

They are trying to be funny but it's not nice.  Sometimes it's because they want to put down people.

Positive Post It

This is how one high school student decided to deal with a bully at her school.  This could have ended tragically but Caitlyn chose a positive way in which to deal with her problem.

Question of the Week Selfie

What are the characteristics of those people who bully others?

I think that some bullies do not feel good about themselves or about things in their own lives.  Sometimes they feel really sad or frustrated or angry and then they lash out at other people.  Sometimes when we are sad we can't feel good about many things or about the other people who are in our lives.

What do you think?

My Future's So Bright

Take a minute to consider what you'd like to do in the future.  It might be nice to work in a shop but what would it take to own the shop?  Money is not everything but we all need to be able to afford the basic needs.  We all need to have somewhere to sleep, something to eat and it's always nice to have something meaningful to do with our lives.  How will you get what you want in your life?

Think and dream big.  Your future is limitless.

Maths

During maths, we use a tumble and on the tumble are a number of activities which we use to help with our maths learning.

We use a number of web based maths activities like the Papatoetoe Central Maths Quiz, Studyladder and Sum Dog.  We play a selection of maths games and use a variety of text to reinforce our learning objectives.

Think

What are all these people actually thinking about?  Find out in Term 4.

27 September until 12 October, we are on holiday.  What are you doing? Are you relaxing? Having fun? Sleeping in late? Studying and getting ready for term 4?

While you're on holiday I hope you're enoying time with your family, reading for fun and honing your basic facts skills.  Take a little time to prepare for term 4, it's our last term together and we have a lot left to achieve.  Year 6s, there are 20 of you.  You are 10 weeks away from being Year 7s and studying at an intermediate school.  That's super exciting! Are you ready? First, do you know where you're going?  Second, are you on track for success?

I'll miss you when you're gone but I look forward to seeing you fly.

Year 5s, there are 7 of you, you are now 10 weeks away from being the undisputed, champions of New Windsor.  Are you ready to step into your leadership positions? You'll have some big shoes to follow once our year 6s are gone.  I look forward to seeing each of you take your next step.

While I'm on holiday, I'm playing with Inez, sleeping in late, relaxing with my family and friends and celebrating my birthday.  I'm looking forward to hearing all about your breaks and finding out what you've been thinking about.  During this break I'll be thinking about more interesting learning experiences for us all and making a plan to achieve my new goals.

Royal Roar

What an amazing performance everyone! I'm so proud of you all.  You created your moves, practised hard and executed your dance so well! Besides doing a great job, I really liked the way you watched all the other classes, cheered on our buddies and gave compliments to other dancers.  Well done to you all! Tino pai! 

One Week To GO!

There is one week left of school.  As term 3 closes please remember to return all your library books and any other books, like journals or readers which belong back at school.

It's a good time to clean out your desk or take home any work you have which needs to go home.

Tick Tock ! September 26th is our last day of school. 

September 27 - October 12 - Enjoy your break.

I like to move it, move it . . .

We have two whole days left to perfect our class dance.  Some of you are looking especially good.  Some of you need a bit of polishing and some of you might need to rethink a few of your moves.  If you're stuck have a look at these videos.  They might help you develop a move, get on the beat or add that little extra pizazz you're searching for.  Good luck, show time is Wednesday morning.

The 'Compliment Chain' is slowly creeping to the carpet.

Our compliment chain is very, very s l o w l y reaching the floor!!! How exciting! How many do you think are on the chain now?  How many more do you think we need to get it to the ground?

Koloni and I were discussing the compliments the other day, we both think that he's received the most compliments this year.  Koloni asked me, "Why have I gotten the most compliments?"  Why do you think he's gotten the most compliments.  Owen thought that it was because his behaviour has changed a lot this year while other people had remained being their usual awesome selves.  Why do you think that Koloni has scored the most compliments so far?? Do you have any on the chain?

What's the best compliment you've ever received?  What compliment do you feel that you most deserve to hear about yourself?

Te Kupu o te Wiki

Each week we are learning a new Maori language word of the week or Te Kupu o te Wiki.  There are videos which have been produced with NZ Post which accompany each word of the week.  They are quite funny, sometimes a bit cheeky but very helpful when trying to learn the new words and to listen to the pronunciation. When you have the chance check them out.

Thanks to Countdown we've also got an awesome display of a range of Maori language words.  Tino pai!

Matarawa Cats

The construction has been moving along very slowly this term.  Some people have made progress sticking and painting.  Others are still making progress.  Here are some of the cats taking shape.  As you can see, we are still mastering the skills needed to paint.  Some of our cats are clearly recognisable as cats some might look a wee bit canine.  Some have eyes and some have none.  It will be interesting to see how they end up.  None of them are fully completed, this truly is a work in progress.

Royals vs. Roar

We are getting closer to our dance performance.  Are you ready? We had a great practise today and it's all starting to come together.  Have a listen to our song and practise your steps and get to know your cues.
The school perfomances take place on 24 September.

Being a Leader

What do you think makes a person a good leader?
This morning during circle time, people in Room 15 came up with quite a few ways in which people show great leadership.  Have a look at our movie and see if you agree with our ideas.  Are you a good leader?

The music from this clip is called Swing Vagabond by Quadro Nuevo.  I think it's lovely.  What instruments can you hear?  It makes me feel happy! What about you?

Dance Dance Dance

Our dance recital is fast approaching.  Please let yourself become creative and design your own dance move.  Think about high and low moves.  Angry or happy moves.  Fast and slow moves. Don't limit yourselves.

The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby

Check out Hamo's review of the book he received as a gift.  Have you ever received a book for your birthday? What's the best book you were ever given as a gift?

Look ahead . . . what are your next steps?

Where will you be going to school next?

We are now at week 8.  That means you have 12 weeks of school left before we finish for 2014 on December 16th. If you are a year 6, you should be seriously thinking about what your next steps are for your education. Where will you be going to school next year? As a New Windsor student you have many choices and options, you've just got to choose what will work best for you and your family.

As of today, it looks like thirteen of our year sixes are going to Blockhouse Bay Intermediate and three of our year sixes will be attending Wesley Intermediate.  There is mention of Mt Roskill Intermediate as well.  Where ever you decide to go, make sure you enrol now.  The more time your new school has the better it can prepare for your arrival.  If they don't know that you're coming, they can't properly welcome you.  Be proactive and MAKE A PLAN!

Rugby Book Review

Jamal read this book by Clive Gifford.  He thought it had a lot of tips and lessons to teach.  Check it out. 

Annoying Orange

Fardeen gave this book 5 out of 5.  Do you agree? Is the Annoying Orange interesting or funny?

Assembly

We had our assembly on Friday with our buddies Room 15. Our buddies performed 'The Rainbow Song' and we did Matarawa Cats by Rhondda Greig.

Geronimo Stilton

These reviews are all based on the books of Geronimo Stilton.  Have you read any of these books? Do you have a favourite book in the series?  If you haven't read any of these books, why haven't you?

Calendar Art Day

Today's challenge was to start and complete one piece of art.  These pieces may be used in a fundraising project.  The art work can be used not only for a calendar but it could be used for a card or a diary cover.

Being in Auckland, we are naturally affected by the amount of rain.  We get a lot of rain.  But, we are also lucky that our city is so pretty and that our view here at NWS is so awesome and as William says, the sky tower, "is the star of the show."

First we used white crayon to create the look of rain, then we took turns dyeing the papers grey. (Miss Skipper really likes the colour grey.) Then we had to let that dry most of the day.  After the dyeing was underway, we looked at famous city silhouettes.  We studied the Auckland skyline next.  Then we went outside to look at our view and to make sketches, to consider what we would and would not include and just the overall impression of the view.

Sketching the cityscape

Creating our view

 After sketching we came back inside and started cutting out shapes in newspaper.  Once we were satisfied with our shapes and sizes, we outlined our structures in sharpie.  Then we practised laying out all of our buildings trying to create perspective and a shape that was pleasing.  We also selected a quote based on creativity to add to our piece.  Next we fitted everything together and glued it all down.  Voila! Our finished work.  What do you think??

Some of our finished works

Hopefully, some of these will be made into a calendar for 2015.