Elf Yourself at ICT

For our last ICT session we had Christmas fun!  After we showed Tania how clever we are at signing into the computer we created our own Elf movies.

We think it would be great to try this at home with our families.

Christmas Victorian Style - thanks Broadgreen House

On Tuesday Room 9 learned about how different Christmas was in Victorian times.  Queen Victoria started the idea of Advent, but the children didn't get chocolates.  Every day, leading up to Christmas there would be a different job for them to do.  We're glad we live in modern day times.

Their stockings were filled with fruit, coal, marbles, homemade presents like a slate board and sometimes, if the children were lucky, a penny coin. 

We did love the game Allie taught us and really enjoyed finding out about this era.  

During the holidays why not visit Broadgreen House - it only costs $2 per child.

Fun in the swimming pool for Room 9

The school pool is awesome, think the Room 9 students.  We have tried to make the most of the start of summer, fitting in a few swims already.

We were lucky on Friday to have time in the big pool with the rest of our Syndicate and some of our buddies from Room 1.  They showed us how to make a whirl pool. Wow, it was hard work trying to go the other way 'against' the current!!

Harold the Giraffe teaches us how to be healthy

Last week we visited Harold the giraffe and his high tech 'bus'.  We were learning all about food and nutrition and what we need to do to stay healthy.

We need a variety of food types from the food pyramid which has three sections.

Green for 'Go' means we can eat lots of these foods all of the time!

In this section we find fruit and vegetables. breads, cereal, rice and pasta.

Orange for 'slow down' means we can eat these foods some of the time!

In the middle of the pyramid we find milk, cheese and yoghurts, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, dried peas and beans.

Red for 'Stop" means we should eat a little of these foods and NOT all the time!

Thank you Harold and Ingrid from the Life Education Bus for teaching us this valuable lesson.

The Big Give comes to NCS

Thank you to everyone who contributed a gift to the Big Give charity.  More FM entertained us at lunch time and we were even spoilt by a special guest appearance from Elsa, the Frozen star!

There will be lots of happy children at Christmas time thanks to the generosity of NCS.

Friday was a lucky day for Room 9 as well.  To say thank you to the tamariki for making her feel so wecome, Alaula brought in some delicious cupcakes. Thank you Alaula.

Nelson College for Girls visit a success

On Wednesday the Pohutukawa Syndicate hosted 14 Nelson College for Girls Year 9 students.  They were carrying out an elective and were investigating what the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary does for native birds in the Nelson environment.

They prepared some games for our students to play which related to our pests and predators unit from last term.  Our students impressed them with their knowledge and thoroughly enjoyed playing the memory / matching game all about native birds and plants and then in contrast the pests, both animals and plants we are trying to eradicate.

The NCG students were hands-on when we all made bird feeders out of the recycled bottles we provided.  We hope to attract more native birds to Nelson Central School's trees when we put these finished feeders up in our trees.

Thank you Nelson College for Girls!!

Piano on Tour gave us a classical experience

Last week Room 9 walked the short distance to Old St John's church on Hardy Street to listen to a piano recital.  We were invited to attend a free concert by Piano on Tour and listen to Jean-Francios, a Nelson based musician, who travels the country sharing his knowledge.

We listened to many composers and how music tells a story without words or pictures.  The Grand Piano made a beautiful sound and we were careful not to touch it at the end as it costs the same as a house!!

Thank you Piano on Tour for allowing us to have this experience.  I know many of the students now want to learn the piano!

Happy Diwali - the Indian Festival of Light

In Room 9 we created Rangoli patterns to celebrate the Indian New Year.

Tracy, room 10's teacher, treated us to a visit wearing her special sari outfit.  

Public speaking was a breeze - celebrating our learning about pests and predators

We had three confident students in Room 9 present to the whole school at assembly on Monday.

Kaitlyn, Heidi and Zoe explained what we had learned last term when we made posters for our inquiry topic about pests and predators.  They also showed off the posters they had created.

The Room 9 students' posters gave a very clear message through pictures and words and we are hoping the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary will display laminated copies of our posters at their Visitor's Centre.  Here's a selection of our posters.

 Juno and Mina

 Casey

 Eva

 Taylah

 Ella

 Thorin

 Fin

 Jesse

 Lexxis

 Zoe

Heidi

Hot Shots Tennis a hit

Over the last two weeks Room 9 have enjoyed four sessions from Nelson Lawn Tennis Club with the experts, Andre and Ben.  We had lessons on the fore hand and back hand stroke as well as learning how to serve.  We certainly have good hand eye coordination among us.

Thank you Andre and Ben for your tuition.  We hope you will see some of Room 9's students at Nelson Lawn Tennis Club.

Tamariki Toa Kapa Haka wow us with their performance

Last Thursday we were excited to be treated to a dress rehearsal from Nelson Central School's very own Kapa Haka group - Tamariki Toa.  A big thank you to St Joseph's School for lending us their wonderful hall.

The students have practised so hard for the last few months and are certainly ready for their finale.  We wish them all the luck in the world at the National Competition in Palmerston North next week, but know they won't need it.

Tamariki Toa - you are amazing!  
Kia Kaha!  Ki Runga Rawa! 

*** Photos will follow after their performance on Thursday ***

Discovery Time

We really look forward to Discovery Time on a Friday in Room 9.  This is the time we show how well we relate to others, manage ourselves, be creative and show innovative thinking with our ideas.

The Key Competencies are an important part of our learning and the children in Room 9 can be proud of how these qualities have developed and improved during this year.  Keep it up!

Discovery Time - practising our Key Competencies on PhotoPeach

Make A Wish a hit

Room 9 really got behind the Student Council's fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation on Friday.  There were All Blacks, a turtle, superheroes, Tin Tin, a vet, princesses, devil cat and more!!  We are certainly making dreams come true.

Make a Wish ... Who would I be? on PhotoPeach

Measurement in Maths is fun

At the start of this term we have been learning all about measurement.  We have measured the length of each other, parts of our bodies, things around the classroom using string, 'robots' and rulers!

We know that the area of something is the space a flat surface takes up and we compared each other's "square" creatures by counting the squares to see which ones had the largest area.

On Friday our Discovery Time was focused on learning about volume - how much space a 3D shape occupies.  We compared the volume of different containers, having a guess which one held more water / cubes.

8 students thought green had the greatest volume, 4 students thought the yellow jar and 7 students believed the jars had the same volume.  There was a smidgen more liquid in the yellow jar, but we agreed that both jars, if filled to the top, would hold exactly the same.

Masked Parade Writing

This week we wrote recounts about our experience at the Masked Parade last Friday.  Here is a selection of students' writing for you to enjoy!

On Friday it was the Masked Parade and we were Oompa Loompas.  At the Masked Parade I saw a white horse and a cool ferris wheel.  We had to wait but we got yummy popcorn!  The Masked Parade was so interesting I could have exploded.  We bounded down the street.  It was colourful and super sparkly and shiny.  It was so loud.  The Nayland Primary School won.

Kaitlyn

The Masked Parade was after school.  It was at 4.10pm.  We marched and marched in time.  In town I gave people high fives.  It was great.  At the Masked Parade we sang ‘I Want Candy’, ‘Lollipop’ and an Oompa-Loompa song.  There was a ferris wheel and a merry go round.  I saw my mum and dad.  There was even a rodeo for spectators.

Matthew

On Friday the Masked Parade was on.  There were lots of things.  It was in town.  I saw Zara, George and James.  I had frozen yoghurt.  I went on the ball and the merry go round.  I was an Oompa-Loompa.  I had popcorn.  It was fun being an Oompa-Loompa.  I went on the dance stage.  I did the splits.  It was fun on the dance stage, too.

Tom

Last Friday it was the Masked Parade.  It was the first time in my life to be in it!  The theme was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  We were Oompa Loompas.  We sang “Oompa Loompa, doompadee dool.  We are the kids from Central School.  Oompa Loompa, doompadee deet.  Check out our costumes, don’t they look sweet.”  Then we bobbed down, then we popped up again and said, “Who’s got the Golden Ticket?”  The next song we sang was ‘I Want Candy’.  After that we sang ‘Lollipop, Lollipop. Oh Lollie Lollipop.’  We sang that three times. 

The crowds were cheering and everybody saw us.  After that we went to look at the ferris wheel.  It was very very very big.  We saw a merry go round.

Zoe

Te Pouahi Kapa Haka group is heading off to Nationals

Room 9 and Room 1 buddied up on Friday and walked to Stage One in Red Square at the top of Trafalgar Street to watch some NCS students perform.

Te Pouahi have been practicing for a long time and we know they are ready for the National Competition in Palmerston North next week.  We are being treated to a school sneak preview on Thursday and if you would like to see them 'in action' they will be putting on a dress rehearsal at Nelson College at 6.30pm.  Tickets cost $5 each for the evening performance and they ask that the children bring a gold coin koha to school on Thursday.  These funds will go towards the costs of their trip.

First week back was a busy one and it's our last term as Year 2s

Wow, the children will be tired this weekend!  It was a busy week to start off our final term.

On Monday we began the day with a whole school welcome for our new principal, Mrs Wells.  We welcomed our visitors to our school with a powhiri.  Mrs Wells brought some students from Tasman School to support her and we listened to whaikōrero (speeches) and waiata (songs) from both the manuhiri (visitors) and the tangata whenua (hosts).  

This week has also brought us Hot Shots Tennis in Schools.  We have had two of the four sessions with Andre and Ben and have learned how to hold the racket to do fore hand and back hand.  On Wednesday and Thursday of next week we will have the final two sessions.  Watch out for us at Wimbledon in a few years time!

After school on Wednesday some of the Room 9 students went along to the Cawthron Institute Science and Technology Fair awards ceremony.  Room 9 had been invited to attend and we won the Highly Commended Award for the Primary Schools age group for our Dinosaur Fossil Cases. 

 Great job, Room 9.

On Thursday we participated in the International ShakeOut Day of Action.  We know what to do if we find ourselves experiencing an earthquake.

The week reached its peak on Friday when we celebrated our hard work from last term and entered the Nelson Masked Parade to start off the 2015 Arts Festival.  There was a lot of waiting and walking but we performed wonderfully during the event and our behaviour was amazing!  Ka pai tamariki!  Kathryn was really proud of each and every one of you.