Lessons in Espanol

At the end of Term 3 Room 7 followed up on their talents and passions. One of the learning activities they chose was to prepare and share a Spanish flavoured meal. What a great way to learn more about the Spanish culture. Thanks MOTEC for letting us use your kitchen.

Netball workout

Maia and Tegan have put together an Animoto video of the Staff versus Students netball game prior to the Winter Tournament.  Check it out...

An extreme sporting cousin

James Davidson

My cousin James is 27 years old and very tall. He’s 6 foot 8 inches and lives in Wellington.

 He was in the water polo team for NZ and has played against many international teams. Unfortunately he injured his shoulder and had to retire recently.

I look up to him hugely. He is very persistent, determined and never gives up! He sets goals and achieves them. He’s very kind, caring and considerate.

He has had lots of concussions from hitting his head e.g. he’s knocked himself out mountain biking with his best friend Harry, he cracked his head open swinging off a rope at a pool and lots more playing water polo.

He comes down to Nelson every so often to stay with us. Usually we spend most of the time in the pool. He throws me in. It’s really fun! Since I was little I have always liked to ride around on his shoulders messing up his hair and pulling his cap over his eyes.

By Maia

Describing a wonderful mother

Fiona is fantastic at managing Samuel's football team, this is just one of the reasons I love my mum.
I love the holidays my mum takes us on, they are always awesome!
Outstanding at cooking, especially on camp (she always makes lasagna).
Never stops working, 'a tidy house is a happy mum.'  But wait, there's more I can tell you about my great and wonderful mum.
A person who will be there when you need her, no matter what happens.

Will always keep me busy, she always knows what's best for me.
Idol to me and my brothers.
Lots of people like her, she is the greatest mum around.
She is a very tough cookie, always beats me in arm wrestles.
Only person that keeps me clean - not that I enjoy it!
Never sleeps in (unless it is her birthday).

Using our descriptive writing skills to describe our fathers

James' Dad
My dad is a man you would think is shy and quiet. He is also very nice and amazing at sailing.

He sailed in the South Korea and Barcelona Olympic Games.  He also sailed in 3 America Cup challenges for Team New Zealand, Team Tag Heuer and Team Oracle. You can see his picture at the N.Z. Maritime Museum with Sir Peter Blake and the Steinlager Team when they won the Whitbread round the world race.

He is a master boat builder and good at making ropes. He also loves classic cars.

I love my dad and am very proud of him.


Chloe's Dad

My Dad is 35 years old and he is quite tall.  He helps me almost every time I need it and it makes me feel special in a way.  He used to help me with my maths because I used to struggle.  He taught me how to fish.

He also helps me with my homework on tough questions, with my netball training and with my projects too.

My dad loves to play rugby but his knee cap popped out three times when he was younger. He still plays rugby but just with his mates.

Another sport he likes to play is tennis which he plays almost everyday.

I love my dad because he always makes me try new things, he's really funny and he takes me to lots of new places.


Molly's Dad

My dad's name is Chris.  He is 42 and he has brown hair, brown eyes and he is quite short.  He is NOT a dwarf.

My dad is married to my step mum Pip and has four kids: me, Sylvie, Jimmy and John.  Jimmy and John are my half brothers.

He works as a soundie in movies, TV shows and documentaries.  He has worked on lots of films and TV shows including Tin Tin, The Wot Wots, Paradise Cafe, The Frighteners and The Lord of the Rings.  At the moment he is working on the Hobbit. My Dad lives in Wellington but travels quite a bit for work.  Usually he only travels around the North Island but sometimes he goes to other places and sometimes even to different countries!

Because Dad lives in Wellington, I don't see him every day.  I fly to Wellington twice a term and we stay with him for two weeks in the school holidays and half the Christmas holidays.

I love my dad and I know he loves me too.

Juggling is in!

If you didn't catch our act at Friday's assembly, here's some photos of us practicing our juggling skills.

Science Rocks

We have been heads down and going for it with our investigations that we hope will be chosen to go into the Cawthron Science and Technology Fair in two weeks time.

The Music Scene

We have a group of talented musicians and singers working on the skills required for playing in a band.  These skills are hard!  All of a sudden you need to be very precise with your timing to stay in sync (nothing worse than listening to a band where people are out of time), you need to listen to others and you need to practice hard so you do not let the group down.

This band and the Y8 one are practicing hard so that they can wow the crowds at Red Square on the 4th October.

Space Craft

A day spent imagining, innovating and creating resulted in some pretty awesome space vehicles set against planetary back drops.



Hope you enjoyed the trip beyond Planet Earth.

Marble roll craze

We haven't added anything to our blog for ages!  Why?  Because we have been too busy doing stuff to get around to recording it here. But we are going to remedy that (hopefully) and get back into sharing what we are up to.
Sooo, first up...
Finlay started a bit of a marble roll craze when he rigged up some channels, tubes and tracks on the hessian board a couple of weeks ago. I was impressed with the triggered reaction where the marble on a string was triggered to hit and set another marble into action.  Cool work Finlay.

Tait set up a marble roll and added coloured paper embellishments to his.  And Jack turned part of his bedroom into a roller coaster for marbles.

Check out hte photos and videos below.

 Finlay's roller coaster for marbles

 Jack's bedroom becomes a marble's adventure playground.

Tait adds colour and interest to our classroom.

Hi to Jack and Finlay

It's going to be a Magical Mystery Tour

Everyone is flat out preparing for the Mapua School production, 'The Magical Mystery Tour'.

In Room 7 the desks have been pushed back, the exercise books are stacked away and the floor has been marked out as a stage. Our days are full of paper mache, material, feathers, beads and glitter as we recreate the Mexican legend, 'How Music was Fetched from Heaven'.

When we are not working on props, we work on perfecting our roles - staying focussed on what our character would be thinking, feeling and saying; using facial expressions, our voices and gestures to portray the character in a believable manner.

Unfortunately our dance teacher was unable to keep coming in to teach us so we have had to rework how we are going to end our scene - it's a bit rough at the moment but by the time we hit the stage we'll be fine...

We have put together some photos for you to see what we have been doing.

Some of that good old Rock'n'Roll

Our Mission was

Wednesday, Week 7, Term 2

1:30pm, Dance Teacher  of unknown intent enters the room

Warning!

She will order you to DANCE YOUR PANTS OFF

If you survive... you will be rewarded greatly!

Do you accept your mission?

Tuesday, Week 9, Term 2

Step front, click, ...

Mission Review

Step, turn, ...

Boys doing their thing

Room 7 really danced their pants off! First it started off with the dance teacher, Gemma, coming in through the door. She explained that her name was Gemma and then we started to listen and learn. Mrs Hosie explained that this was for the school's production and the song was going to be 'Gimme some of that good old Rock'n'Roll Music, by The Beatles.
We started off putting one foot in front of the other and stamping the front of our foot and clicking our fingers then it was a spin and clap. Then strike a pose for the boys and the girls did a shuffle up-and-down then the girls did their strike'a-pose and the boys did their thing.

It is going to look great - once we get all  the moves so they are in time with the music and we are in unison!!!!

Library - boring? No way!

Room 7 goes to the library once a week like every other class but it's not possible they have as much fun as us!
We always have so much fun, some people think going to the library is boring but they don't go with Room 7.



 

Stopping Demonstration

In an effort to lower or eliminate the death toll of children being hit by vehicles on the road, the Transport Department are running demonstrations to show just how lethal speed can be.  At present the statistics show that 17 children die each year as a result of being hit by a vehicle.  I wonder what the statistics are for children being hurt or maimed due to being hit by vehicles?

Tait put together this Animoto video of the stopping demonstration held in Iwa Street, Mapua.

Poetry In The Style Of Shel Silverstein

I cannot go to school today,

Said Little Jonny Ted McKay,

I feel sick, I'm constipated,

My brain power is over-rated!

I've been poisoned by a nuke,

And now I think I'm going to puke.

Down my leg-a cut, a gash,

Across my face, a big, red rash.

Inside my stomach are painful ails,

My head is full of big steel nails.

From last night, I'm completely drunk,

I think from school I'll do a bunk! 

I'm to tired to socialise,

A day off school, that will make me rise!
I've got a headache, now I feel dizzy,

One school day is just too busy.

From a fall I've a broken leg,

This injury's brought me down a peg!

I bumped my head, as I'm tall and lanky,

My Maths teacher is just so cranky.

My bladders like a leaking tap,

I can't go to school, I lost the map.

I've got cramp and a big black bruise,

Spots come up in ones and twos.

A wooden branch fell on my head,

It would be healthy to stay in bed!

I've gone green; I look like a frog,

I'm always trying to get to the bog.

My skin looks like lumpy custard,

My brain feels like a ton of mustard!

Last nights chicken gave me Salmonella,

I'm about to lose what makes me a fella!

Nasty turquoise is the colour of my drool,

I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!!!

Whats that? Whats that you say?

You say today is...Saturday?!

G'bye, I'm going out to play!

By Finlay

Mad Hair Day

2011 Hot Summer Tornament

The Year 7 and 8 students have been practicing since Week 7 for the Summer Tournament of 2011. Volleyball, playball and Ultimate Frisbee were the games we played. We didn't win every game but we all had so much fun that it didn't matter. All together we had six Mapua teams. It was really great that we tried our hardest to be all we could be.

Crazy Camp by Molly

I stepped off the boat onto the the golden beach of Totaranui and nearly collapsed under the weight of my giant  one hundred kilo bag. At least  it felt like that. We walked up to the grass behind the information centre and sat down to have a snack. Then we had the killer walk up to the homestead. When we got up there we all had lunch in the hot summer sun. I had been looking forward to Room 7’s camp so much and we had finally got there.

We were sorting out our bunk room when Elena ran in, grabbed Kinsey’s drink bottle and ran out. I finished laying out my sleeping bag and ran out after her. Kinsey was sitting on the step with a flannel to her mouth. It had blood all over it. Her hand had a huge cut on it and her knees were grazed and looked sore. In a bag filled with ice was a tooth. An adult one and the longest one I had ever seen. Judith took Kinsey to the Golden Bay dentist where she met her dad. After having her tooth put back in, she went to Collingwood to stay at a friend’s house for the night.

It was Tuesday morning and everyone was sleeping peacefully when the parents and Mrs Hosie came running down the halls crashing pots and pans together!  There was a lot of sighing and groaning as we all ran out onto the front lawn. We had all been expecting a fire drill, just not at 6.45 in the morning! Outside it was still dark and everyone was half asleep and shivering. Mrs Hosie didn’t seem to notice, “look at that beautiful sunrise everyone!” she cried. We all looked. It was pretty but we were all too sleepy to care. We numbered off and then went to get dressed.

After breakfast we got ready go on the big walk to Separation Point. We were climbing over the rocks to Mutton Cove when Kinsey came running along the beach shouting ”Elena! Elena! Wait for me!” Elena spun around and started running the other way. I wondered where she was going. Then I saw Kinsey and I started running too. She told us she had run nearly the whole way. We were amazed. We were walking and talking when all of a sudden something
ran up swung its arms around Kinsey and knocked her in the mouth. She yelped and then collapsed in pain on the sand. We realized that something was Nic. When Kinsey was feeling better we kept walking.

On Thursday we were walking to Goat Bay and I was really excited.  It was only a half  an hour walk and quite flat so it was easy. When we got there a wave of excitement hit me.The waves were huge, easily higher than my head, the sand was golden and smooth and the rocks were great for climbing on. We had morning tea and then I went to help Kinsey set up the trust game. Then I went swimming with Elena In the massive waves. I stepped into the water and a wave hit me. A big, powerful, salty wave knocked me on to the sand covering me with water. I sat up to see the face of Elena about an inch away from mine and I burst out laughing. We went out deeper where the waves couldn’t get us. We were only meant to go out where we could touch the bottom but no one could see my feet so it didn’t matter.
We went back to camp and everyone had a shower and washed their hair.

On Friday we woke up to another fire drill. I stopped to put on my shoes so my feet wouldn’t get cold.  When we got outside Mrs Hosie told us it was Friday and that we needed to pack our bags and clean the homestead. I was amazed. Not because of the cleaning but because of the fact that it was Friday. I just couldn’t believe how fast camp had gone. It felt like just yesterday I had been comforting Elena when Kinsey had to go home. We had breakfast and went to pack our bags. Then we played games until it was time to catch the boat.

Wow that was an awesome camp. Over all my favourite day had to be Thursday a sleep in and a trip to Goat Bay, laying in the sun, swimming in the waves, and climbing on the rocks. What could be better?

A.N.Z.A.C day for room 7

Room Seven went to founders park for an awesome ANZAC experience : ) We went to learn about what ANZAC stands for and to think about those who lost their lives in the war.
People were specially dressed up for the occasion and it was like living in a different world set in World War 2 times. We got to take part in several different experiences such as an air raid and tasting the food. Although I didn't like the carrot fudge, I did like the experience!!!
You can see some very cool pictures of our day out if you click on the following link : )