Last Post 2011

We have made it to the end of a very busy and challenging year. I have loved teaching and learning from the wonderful Room 3 children. They are all amazing!
The children took some photos of their friends - check out the video to the right.
A big THANK YOU to the parents and grandparents for all your support this year. I have appreciated all you have done to encourage your children and me through what has been an unusual year. Hopefully 2012 will be kinder to us all. I am overwhelmed by your generosity with all the lovely gifts and cards I received. Thank you so much.

We finished the year with a few 'congratulations':

Trinity, Erin, and Amelia have all been at school every day we have been open. Well done, girls, it's great to know that you are keen to be at school.

Three children will celebrate their 6th birthday during the holidays. Happy Birthday to: Joshua (18.12); Tahliya (23.12), and Samantha (09.01). We hope you enjoy being 6.






I finish by wishing you all a happy and Holy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. May you have a safe and relaxing holiday. I look forward to seeing you back at school on Monday 30 January 2012.

Haere ra.

Our Trip to the Christmas Grotto

Today Molly is 6. We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Molly.
We hope you enjoy being 6.






This morning the Junior Syndicate visited the Christmas Grotto at Spreydon Baptist Church. Room 3 went on the bendy bus with Rooms 4, 12, and 13. Ben's Dad, Macy's Mum, Trinity's Mum, and Won Jeong's Mum met us at the church and walked around with us. A big THANK YOU, parents, for your help. There were lots of amazing displays for us to look at. Here's some of our stories about this visit:

Today we went to the grotto. We went on a bendy bus. I got a sticker. My Dad came. By Ben


Today we went ti the Christmas grotto. We went on a bendy bus. We had little name tags with our names and a star for which group we were in. We also got a star sticker that's yellow.
We saw lots of things at the Christmas grotto. We saw real turtles inside and we saw trains. There was even a toy shop with toys coming out of a machine. Then a thing that said 'wrapping' and the toys came out wrapped in pretty wrapping paper. Then they went down a little edge. There were lots of toys at the Christmas grotto.
We went with Rooms 4, 12, and 13. By Paige

Today I went to the Christmas grotto. it was fun. i liked it because there were transformers. I went to the Christmas grotto in a bus. By Conor


Today Room 3 went to the Christmas grotto. I saw a water pool and the colour of the water pool is gold. My Mum came. My favourite part was the presents coming out of the machine. I saw Pinocchio and a turtle. The turtle is a baby. I saw many things. by Won Jeong

Today we went to the Christmas grotto. My favourite thing is seeing the turtles. We went on a bendy bus. Some mums and a dad helped. Macy's Mum, Won Jeong's Mum, Trinity's Mum, and Ben's Dad. Rooms 13, 4, and 12 went. My friend was in my group. She is Paige. I sat on the bus with Christian and Paige. When we went back I was sitting by Maya and Paige. It was fun. By Samantha

Term 4 Week 7 'Star of the Week' and other News

Today was our last Friday as Year 1s. How the year has flown!
Lots happened today:
*two Portacoms arrived early this morning - these will be our classrooms for 2012.
*two reading groups presented plays to our class, and one group also presented their play to Room 2 and Room 1.
*Benjamin had his last day in Room 3. He is moving to Auckland next week. We will miss Benjamin, and wish him and his family all the best in their new home.
*two people received 'Star of the Week' certificates.
*we reflected back on our year and some of us wrote about this.

First up:

Our  'Stars of the Week' are  Denver and Maya.

Both Denver and Maya have worked hard this week, always trying their best. They listen to instructions and follow them.

Thank you, Denver and Maya, it's great to have you in Room 3.

The Tui Reading Group presented the play: The Sky is Falling.

Alessandro played Cock Lock, Danny was Duck Luck, Maya was the Reader, Denver was Hen Len, Freya was Chick Lick, and Trinity was Fox Lox. 

They presented the play very well to Room 3 as well as to Room 2 and Room 1. Well done Tui Group!

The Kiwi Reading Group presented the play 'Don't Forget Grandma'. The characters were: Isla - Rosanna, Josh - George, Erin - Reader, Tahliya - Mum, and Christian - Grandma.

This was the first time this group had presented a play to the class. They all did a super job. Well done Kiwi Group!



Benjamin was presented with a certificate from his Reading Recovery Teacher. Congratulations, Benjamin.

The portacoms look good from the outside. We are looking forward to being in them next year. It is amazing what can be done these days! 

Our Reflections on 2011

I was having fun in the playground playing soccer and playing with my friends. I made good friends. When it was snowing I liked playing in the snow. Luke and Wil moved into another classroom. I like it because we are Year 1s. By Alessandro

This year I made a new friend because Annabel moved to another classroom. My new friend is Isla. We played all year together. We are BFFE that means we are best friends forever. I am serious that we are what I just said. By Macy

This year I had to move into two classrooms, Room 2 and Room 3. It was very tiring for me and for the other kids. Now we are all in the same class which is Room 3. We had to move, well, because we had to move. We were very busy in both classrooms. Now Mrs Kearns is in Room 2. We did a lot of work in Rooms 2 and 3 and of course it was triple star work. We had lots and lots and lots of fun there. By Rose

This year Room 3 had to move to Room 2 then in 20 weeks time we moved to Room 3 again. It was tiring. Then in three weeks’ time the builders came to make some classrooms. The children were more excited. By Freya

This year I liked playing on the playground. I used to play with Denver. We played lots of games. I like Denver because she is a good friend. We have been writing a lot. We have even been doing Fast Words. Sometimes Mrs Mahon comes in. By Erin

This year I made my new friend, Maya. We were friends for the whole year. We had some arguments but we were happy in the end and we are still best friends now. Can you believe it? We were friends from January to December. I hope we will be in the same class next year because I still want to be friends. By Amelia

This year it’s cool and shaky when everyone’s things changed, well sort of. I’m happy the year is almost over. By Lily

This year they have been doing building at school. I made a new friend called Macy and other friends called Molly and Denver. By Isla

Have a great weekend and remember our 'Picnic in the Park' on Monday evening.

Picnic in the Park

IMPORTANT NOTICE: 

Picnic in the Park postponed until Monday 12 December - 6:30pm in the school grounds.

Term 4 Week 7 Certificate and Stories

At today's school assembly Rose received a certificate for being the 
'Student of the Week'.

Rose is a great role model and always knows what she should be doing. 
She always does her best.

Congratulations, Rose, we are proud of you.

Here's some more of our stories:

Today I am playing cricket after Oscar. I love it. I play it at the grass. I hit good shots. I went in my Mum's black car. By Josh

Today I had a bleeding nose at news time. The teacher brought me down to the sick bay. My teacher didn't notice it. I got a new shirt. It is a little bit big. By Conor

On Saturday I went to my show. We had to dress up in our dancing costume. We had to wait in a straight line. Then we went out of our dressing room. We were in the wings then we went on the stage when our music came on. By Macy

Today I woke up late and I was really early for school which seems quite weird. I played for a long time but then the bell rang so I had to go inside. I like today, it's fun. I like every day at school because I learn a lot. I wish every day was a school day but we need to rest from school so the teachers can rest and because it's kind of a school rule. other people might not think that but I do. By Denver

Important notice:

Wednesday: Picnic in the Park. Please be at school by 6:15pm so we can start at 6:30pm. Bring your picnic and a blanket to sit on. Everyone in your family is welcome. This will be a fun evening with Christmas carols and skits by the Year 8s and the Year 3s. See you there.

Player of the Day and Stories

Yesterday Erin was named 'Player of the Day' for her Touch Rugby team.

Congratulations, Erin, you are a great player.





We are learning to include the 'who, what, when, where, and why' in our stories. Today we had to find a noun, then write an adjective relating to that noun.
Here's some more of our stories:

I went to the small park. I rode on my red bike. It was super fast. It had blue wheels too. I needed a helmet. I went on Saturday. By Christian.


Today I am going swimming. My grey Grandad is taking me. My sister is coming. My Mum is staying home. I like swimming. My Dad is staying home. By Ben

After school I cleaned the car with my Dad. First we put some water on then we put some soap on. It was my turn then it was Dad's turn. When it was Dad's turn I put some soap on my hands and I rubbed it on the car. I cleaned the car at home. I cleaned two cars. They were very dirty. After we cleaned the blue car we both had a water fight. By Maya


I went voting on my pink bike. My Dad took me there and my Mum took my brother. My Dad gave me a sticker and my Mum gave my brother a sticker too. Then we went home. Then we played and then we sat down. By Molly

At the weekend I went on my white scooter. I went fast. I had a safety hat. The wheels light up. I got it for my birthday. I like it. My birthday was in August. By Alessandro

Term 4 Week 6 Certificates

Today Room 3 lead the prayers at the School Assembly. The children who prayed were clear and confident and did very well. I am very proud of the way all the Room 3 children conducted themselves today.

At assembly Won Jeong and Denver received certificates. Both have made great improvements in literacy, Won Jeong in Writing and Denver in reading.

Congratulations, girls, we are proud of you.

Won Jeong was 6 on Saturday so we sang 'Happy Birthday' to her today. We hope you enjoy being 6, Won Jeong.





Looking ahead to next week: Wednesday 7 December 6:30pm 'Picnic in the Park'. Everyone is invited to join us at school for a picnic, singing, and performances by Year 3 and Year 8 children. We will be singing the Christmas Carols we've been learning at our Syndicate singing sessions. Please put this date in your diary and plan to join us for this fun evening.

Term 4 Week 5 'Star of the Week'

Today we had two 'Stars of the Week' :  Isla and Conor.

Both Isla and Conor know how to listen to and follow instructions. They settle to work quickly and try their best to do 'Triple Star' work.

Thank you, Isla and Conor, it's great to have you in Room 3.

This week we completed our 'All About Arthur' poems and collage letters.

Arthur is an absolutely absurd ape who is lonely. Arthur visits different cities to find friends. We wrote our own poems following the same pattern as Eric Carle used to write about Arthur.

To illustrate our poem we used collage for the first letter of our name. Come into Room 3 to see our amazing art work and read our fantastic poems. (Here's a wee taster:)

In London Lily met a leopard.

She had a lollipop.

Her name was Laura. 

In Blenheim Ben met a bull.

He had a black baby bull.

His name was Bob.

In Wellington Won Jeong met a weta.

She had whiskers.

Her name was Whilemina.

In Mongolia Maya met a monkey.

She had melons.

Her name was Minny.

In Brazil Benjamin met a bird.

He had big buttons.

His name was Bill.

Looking ahead to next week:

Monday: School Assembly - Room 3 are leading the prayers. Please come and support your child. Assembly starts at 1:30pm in the church.
All school library books are due back so that our librarian can complete a stocktake.

Tuesday: Syndicate singing.

Touch Rugby 'Player of the Day'

Last night Trinity was named the 'Player of the Day' for her touch team. Congratulations, Trinity.

Principal's Award

Today Rose received a Principal's Award for the following story, which she wrote on her own:

On Saturday James's tooth came out. James told Mum and Dad. They were in their bedroom. I was so excited like James. Mum and Dad were too. His pointy tooth came out.
"He might need some braces," Mum said.
He needs braces because, well, he needs braces.
I love it when teeth come out. I've had two teeth out.
James's one didn't even bleed. It was a miracle. James has got lots of teeth out. I think 15 came out of his mouth. It was so exciting that James's tooth came out. I wish my tooth had come out on Sunday. Hee hee, ha, ha.
James's tooth is lost now. I don't know where it is. Mum and Dad don't know either. Oh well, if he's lost the tooth he's lost the tooth. It's none of my business because I didn't lose it, did I? James did.
It's really cool that James lost his tooth - the lost that means it came out of his mouth.


Well done, Rose, this is a great story.

Happy Birthday

This morning we sang 'Happy Birthday' to Josh and Erin. They both turned 6 during the weekend. We hope you both enjoy being 6.








Today we celebrated Christ the King Day. We had a liturgy in the church then shared lunchtime with some Year 5's and 6's. The Parent Council provided sausages and ice-blocks for our lunch. A big THANK YOU to the Parent Council for this treat.

Term 4 Week 4 'Star of the Week'

This week's 'Star of the Week’ is  Tahliya.

Tahliya works hard and tries to do her best. She can follow instructions and knows what to do.

Thank you, Tahliya, it's good to have you in Room 3.

Monday: Christ the King Day - liturgy, (free) sausage sizzle - thanks to the Parent Council, fun afternoon with the whole school; Room 3 class photo.

Touch 'Player of the Day'

Several Room 3 children play Touch Rugby on Tuesday evenings.

Last night Conor was named the Player of the Day for the Nunweek Trylists Team and Christian was named Player of the Day for his Christ the King Team.

Congratulations, boys, we are proud of you.

Several weeks ago Lily and Erin were each named Player of the Day for their respective Christ the King Touch Teams.

Congratulations, girls, we are proud of you.

Happy Birthday and Stories

'Tis the season for birthdays.
Yesterday we sang 'Happy Birthday' Denver, who was 6 on Sunday.
We hope you enjoy being 6, Denver.





In Room 3 we love to write stories. We are good authors. Here's some of our stories. Please read them and let us know what you think.

On Sunday I went to Denver's birthday party. We saw: water hogs, a buffalo, and a giraffe. There were lots of animals. Denver had a Rapunzel cake. It was a beautiful cake. We had a sausage sizzle. Denver's Dad cooked the sausages. They were yummy. I really liked it. All of my friends were there. By Amelia

I went to the school and played handball. My cousin played too. I had fun with Jas. By Danny

On Saturday we went to The Enchanted Garden Early Learning Centre to get our family photos. I had to stand up behind my Mum, Dad, and sister. In another photo my sister had to lie on top of me. It hurt a lot. i had a photo on my own. I had to lie down. By Paige

Tonight I am going to touch. My sister is the coach. it is at a park. Lily and Rose are going too. I am excited. By Trinity

Yesterday my Mum finished Captain Underpants. We finished it because I wanted to. We finished it at my house. After Captain Underpants my Mum read Dog, Dog. By Joshua

Last Friday I went to the animal show. We saw a goat, a dog which looks after sheep, a horse, and a cow. i went to the merry-go-round and on the bouncy castle. I went to the animal show with my Mum and Dad. We went because my Dad bought us a ticket. By Maya


Today we are going to pippins. We are going to have fish and chips. We are going to the bike park. Isla and Annabel are coming too. Next Tuesday we are having a movie. It's going to be fantastic. I do not know wht movie we are going to have. By Macy

Term 4 Week 3 'Star of the Week'

We had an unexpected surprise today. Mr Hansen brought the Rugby World Cup to school. We were very excited to see the cup and have our photo taken beside it. Mr Bonisch made the most of this event as well. Thanks Miss Hansen for organising this visit.

This week's 'Star of the Week’ is  Conor.

Conor works hard and tries his best. He can listen to instructions and follow them.

Thank you, Conor, it's great to have you in Room 3.

I trust you will all enjoy a relaxing long weekend. Remember to keep up with the reading. I'll see you on Monday.

Term 4 Week 3 Certificates and Special Character Award

We had an exciting day today. Everyone wore mufti, except for me! I wore my daughter's Nelson College for Girls uniform, and earned a few strange looks. This mufti day was run by the Parent Council. The items you brought along to 'pay' for the mufti will be put into a Christmas Hamper Raffle. Thank you for supporting our wonderful Parent Council.

At the School Assembly Erin and Tahliya received certificates to recognise their focus and hard work in class.

Congratulations, Erin and Tahliya, we are proud of you

Congratulations to Macy who received the Special Character Award.

Macy is a kind and courteous friend. She has shown courage, resilience, and perseverance this year. Macy takes responsibility for her own learning and always does her best. She is Stepping Up for Success.

Macy is a reliable and trustworthy role model and we are blest to have her in Room 3. 

Term 4 Week 2 'Star of the Week' and News

The 'Star of the Week’ for Week 2 is Samantha.

Samantha works hard in class and always tries her best. Samantha listens to instructions and knows what to do. She is a super role model.

Thank you, Samantha, it's great to have you in Room 3.

Today we read Eric Carle's book Ten Little Rubber Ducks. We looked at his illustrations then created our own Little Duck pictures. We put and eye and a wing on each duck using collage and we painted a background. Then we glued on our ducks. Come in and check out our pictures.

Looking ahead to next week:
Monday: Mufti Day - please bring a gourmet jar eg: asparagus, salmon, olives; School Assembly; Library
Tuesday: Syndicate Assembly and singing; Parent afternoon tea, on the school paddock, for Cup Day
Friday: Show Day - no school
Children who have their news on Friday will be able to share their news on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend.

Term 4 Week 2 Certificates

This week we did not have a whole School Assembly so two people received their certificates at today's Junior Assembly.

Congratulations to: Lily and Molly. 

Lily received her certificate for her positive attitude to all her work.

Molly received her certificate for writing a super recount about our swim week.

Well done, Lily and Molly, we are proud of you.

Principal's Awards

Yesterday four people received Principal's Awards for their writing.

Congratulations to: 

Won Jeong, Paige, Rose, and Will. 

Won Jeong and Will had their stories published on the blog last week.

Here's Paige's and Roses' stories:

Yesterday I went to The Groynes. There was a big bridge at The Groynes. There were lots of ducks and fish. I brought my skipping rope. I dropped it in the river so my Auntie went in and got it. It was cold for her I think. I went with my cousins, aunties, and Granny and Grandad. My sister and I played cricket with them. We went for a picnic. By Paige

On Saturday it was my brother's birthday. He invited two friends: Bede and Logan. Kieran is my brother. He went to the dairy and Jonny English and McDonalds. I think they had a great time. Kieran had a yummy cake. They went in the car to all those places. I was so jealous because of him. By Rose

Term 4 Week 1 'Star of the Week'

What a fantastic week we've had. We have lots to celebrate.
The children have settled back into school and have been focused in class. This morning they were awesome at mass and I am very proud of them. Thank you for getting them to school early.

The 'Star of the Week’ for Week 1 is Won Jeong.

Won Jeong listens and follows instructions, and always tries her best.
She is a super role model.

Thank you, Won Jeong, it's great to have you in Room 3.

 

Today Will turned 6. 

We sang 'Happy Birthday' and wished Will all the best.

We wrote some super stories this morning. Here's some of them:

Today is my news day. my news is a beautiful heart bag. My heart bag is from my Mum and Grandma. By Won Jeong

When I was asleep my Dad came to my room. He woke me up to open my presents. I got Lego. It is a fire engine. I liked it. By Will

Today Room 3 went to mass. We prayed at mass. The mums and dads clapped. Then we went in the tennis courts. We played 'Follow the Leader' because we had to get healthy and fit. We walked to mass. By Erin

On Tuesday I played touch rugby. I got a goal. Our team won. I got 'Player of the Day'. I got the Crunchie bar. It was yummy. Rose and Trinity play touch too. I love playing touch rugby. Why do I like playing? Just because it's good exercise. By Lily

This term we are looking at the way Eric Carle illustrates his books. We will be using collage to create our own pictures. Today we completed our first master piece - 'Flowers in a Vase'. Come into our room to see them - they are awesome.

We have budding actors in our class. The Ruru reading group presented the play: 'Mr Bear Squash-you-all-flat to Room 3 this morning and to Rooms 1 and 2 this afternoon. Well done Paige, Amelia, Rose, Lily and Macy - you are stars.

Have a relaxing weekend. See you all on Monday morning.

Our Holiday Stories

 Yesterday we wrote about our holidays and today we illustrated them. These are now on our classroom wall, so come in and read them. Here's a few to whet your appetite:

On the school holidays I went on holiday. It was a nice place. We went on Daddy's boat and Daddy went fishing. He caught two fish. We put them back in the water. I went in the car. We went over the mountain. By Erin

In the holidays I went to Port Levy with the dog and Rose. We got on the kayaks and we had a barbeque. We cooked sausages on the barbeque. By Isla


















I was in Hanmer Springs. I was there for Friday and Saturday and Sunday. I was in front of the garage. I was in the hot pools. By Conor

In the holidays it was my birthday. I went to Wharenui Pool in the car. There were a lot of girls and one boy. There was an inflatable. I had to create the party room with my Mum and Dad. We had yummy, yummy food made by Mum. I didn't want to invite my brothers but they still helped. I think all my friends loved my birthday party. It was great. It was fun. By Rose

In the holidays I went far away to a house. I had pizza for lunch and I watched the last rugby. I went fishing and I watched TV. I went to Shantytown with my Mum and my Dad and my baby. I went to play at the park and I ate chips. I took a photo. By Josh

On Saturday it was my birthday. I got a scooter. Erin and Rose came round. We played musical chairs. They stayed for tea. We went to the park. I got a chocolate cake. It was fun. By Trinity