Developmental Time

For the rest of term 1, Rooms 20 and 21 are getting together on a Friday afternoon for some structured developmental time.

Today students got grouped into a mix of teacher led, and student run activities.  I took a group of 8 students from Room 21 to do some "Tinkering Thinking", allowing the students the opportunity to get "hands on" taking apart electronic equipment.  Today we started to take apart a computer printer. As well as helping with fine motor skills (using screwdrivers and pliers etc.) it allows students to see the "insides"and all the parts of equipment that they use in everyday life and how they are made.

Mrs Ye took a group of Room 20 students making playdough for use in our classrooms next week.

Other students worked in both rooms making creations out of Lego and Kinetics kits and drawing.

Students will rotate between the activities each week.  Here are some photos of the children in action.

Sports

As part of our swimming cross grouping the children spend the middle block on Wednesdays and Fridays rotating between swimming, sports and learning Te Reo Maori.

Today as part of our sports rotation we practised throwing, catching and kicking a variety of balls. We did chest push passes with a netball, side foot passes with a football, under arm throwing and catching with the hard smaller T-balls and side passes with a rugby ball.  Although many were scared at attempting to catch the T-balls, by the end of each session our success rate had grown.  Well done everyone.

Literacy Games

As part of our literacy time we have begun learning how to play some great games that Mrs Harwood kindly found for us.

On Thursday the Dolphin reading group had a turn at playing a game called "Chunk Stacker"  This involves making words from different tiles which have beginning chunks and end chunks of words on them.

Several times I was called upon to "referee" whether a word created was actually a real word or not, occasionally testing my own knowledge! This game is great for spelling skills and helping the children think about how words are made and sound.

Rihana, Annabella, Arlo, Jane and Lola playing Chunk Stacker

Some of the words created, with some great attempts at spelling.

Assembly Stars

Wow, I was so proud of all the children in Room 20 today and their amazing performance in assembly.  They sat so nicely on stage, and sang and performed the actions brilliantly.  You could see all the hard work they had put in practicing had paid off.

Well done to Paige and Julia who read their summer holiday recounts beautifully.

Congratulations to Jane and Isla on winning certificates this week.  Ka pai girls.


Here is a video of all the students singing Summer Holiday for those parents who were unable to make it along today, and a couple of photos of us all ready in assembly and some of the amazing writing and art work completed by the whole Kawau Team so far this term.

Thursday's Assembly

Just a quick reminder about our Assembly on Thursday.

Children are asked to bring in mufti shorts and t-shirt to perform in on the day.  Please click on the notices tab at the top of the page to read the notice which will come home on Tuesday!

Hot, hot, hot!

Wow it's been such a hot week here at school!  On Wednesday to help us stay cool, Rooms 20 and 21 went outside under the shade of the trees and Mrs Ye read a story.

We are lucky to be surrounded by trees and be able to feel the breeze in our classrooms. Where possible we will allow students outside the classroom to read or complete spelling activities so we keep cool and have variety with our learning.

All About Me

This week the students have created a Class Treaty, and are finishing off their "All About Me" banners.  Our classroom walls and windows are beginning to fill with work and I am enjoying reading about favourite foods, animals and what the children would like to be when they grow up.

Swimming

With such hot weather this week the children in Room 20 have been making the most of our sessions in the school pool.

After an initial session on Wednesday where the children were assessed, we spent Friday practicing our kicking and enjoying some free time to build confidence in the water.

We made use of noodles to help us float, rings to practice diving to the bottom of the pool and a few students tried out flippers to see how fast they could swim.

It's great to see them all enjoying their time in the water!

  

Maths is fun!

We have been having a busy week in Room 20 and we are only on day three of the school year.  We have created a Class Treaty, and have been getting to know each other through games and filling in special flags which are "All About Me" - these will soon be on display in the classroom.

We have started writing about our holiday experiences and will be sharing more of these when Team Kawau host the school assembly in Week 3.  We have also been busy practicing our song for assembly, "Summer Holiday" - it would be great if you could help the children learn the words!

This morning we began to learn some maths games and activities which the students will play and complete as part of our maths lessons.

I taught the students how to play "Card Heads" and "Maths Battleships" which are really good for basic facts addition practice.  We also learned what to do with the Pom Pom bags (alternatively titled "Karate Chop" maths) and how to complete the "Peg Challenge".  We have several more activities / games to learn all of which the students are able to play independently and which will help develop their basic fact recall speed.

The card games are really easy to play at home and are a fun way to encourage your children to practice maths away from school - why not ask them to teach you!

Arlo and Bede playing "Battleships"

Daniel, Noah and Kai playing "Card Heads"

Luis and Nicolo playing "Battleships" under Indie's watchful eye

Shelby and Julia playing "Battleships"

Rihana and Paige playing "Card Heads"

Lola, Jane and Mandon doing brilliantly at the Peg Challenge

Add the correct number of pegs to the card to show the answer to the sum

Tessa and Hazel ready to play "Battleships"

Our First Day Back At School

Welcome everyone to a new year at Torbay School.  We had a fun day in Room 20 getting to know each other and finding out about some of the exciting experiences we had during the holidays.

This afternoon the students were hard at work drawing pictures of themselves for our "Class Treaty" which will soon be appearing on one of our classroom walls.  I'm looking forward to seeing the walls becoming full with wonderful work over the rest of the term.

This week we are swimming on Wednesday and Friday mornings - please remember togs and a towel, or a note from home if you are unable to swim.  The swimming timetable will change a little over the next few weeks so please keep you eye out for notices on the classroom window / door, the home learning sheets for info, and also here on the class blog.

It was lovely to meet so many parents this morning and I look forward to getting to know you better  - remember the "Meet the Teacher" picnic is on Friday 12th February.

Here are some photos of the students busy with their drawing this afternoon.