Room 11

Teddy Bears' Picnic Photo Story

2012-02-10T16:16:00.000+13:00

Max took a lot of great photos today and I thought I would add them to the blog even though he has uploaded his favourite already.

Teddy bear picnic

2012-02-10T14:53:00.000+13:00

All dressed up for the Teddy bear picnic, face paint and all! By Max

Welcome to our class blog

2012-02-09T21:35:00.000+13:00

This is the place to check out what's been happening in our class. We are starting off with a photo challenge and a competition with the other classes in the Senior and Intermediate Learning Teams.
Our challenge is going to be to upload a photo each school day. A photo of us in action, something that has made us go wow or a photo that shows a concept or theme we are studying.
Starting the ball rolling ...

We are enjoying having our library back now that it is no longer being used as a classroom.

Lessons in Espanol

2011-11-03T17:54:00.000+13:00

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

2011-11-03T17:51:00.000+13:00

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

2011-09-21T20:56:00.001+12:00

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

2011-09-20T20:35:00.000+12:00

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

2011-09-20T20:25:00.001+12:00

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!

2011-09-08T18:19:00.001+12:00

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

Science Rocks

2011-09-08T18:11:00.001+12:00

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

2011-09-04T14:36:00.001+12:00

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

2011-09-04T13:35:00.001+12:00

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

2011-08-24T19:36:00.000+12:00

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

2011-07-06T13:00:00.000+12:00

It's going to be a Magical Mystery Tour

2011-07-06T10:25:00.000+12:00

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

2011-07-03T21:30:00.000+12:00

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!

2011-06-21T11:33:00.003+12:00

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

2011-05-27T20:24:00.001+12:00

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

2011-05-18T18:39:00.001+12:00

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

2011-05-16T17:24:00.001+12:00

2011 Hot Summer Tornament

2011-04-15T16:50:00.001+12:00

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

2011-04-15T16:47:00.002+12:00

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

2011-04-15T13:22:00.001+12:00

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 : )

Hee hee, back at last!! : )

2011-04-01T21:34:00.002+13:00

Finally camp has come and I'm sure you would love to see the photos!!!

Just getting started:)

That's a nice palm tree. What do you t

Here's some photos of.................. TRAMPING TUESDAY!!!

Water break!

Made it to the beach!!!


That's a big breaker!

How good a view is that????

The seals at Separation Point - our destination point

A refreshing swim at Anapai

What's Lauryn doing?

Intelligence

2011-03-15T20:17:00.001+13:00

We have been learning about intelligence. To think more deeply about intelligence we had to write down what we thought intelligence was. these are some of the things we came up with:

Intelligence and instinct can work together to create a reaction.
If something has a working brain it is intelligent.
Intelligence is the ability to know something, (only living things are intelligent).

Chloe's view through the view finder

2011-03-14T18:45:00.002+13:00

A Very Special Visitor

2011-03-11T15:28:00.001+13:00

On Friday 11 March, we were all set to get back into talking about fundraising for the Christchurch earthquake, Maia was going to tell us about a school in Lafayette, California, that is going to be raising funds for Christchurch too and next thing Taylor launched himself at this woman coming in throough the door of our class. Boy were we surprised. Then we found out that the woman was Sarah Cook, Taylor's mum .

Sarah is a fire fighter based at the Kilmore St Fire Station in Christchurch and has been in the thick of the rescue efforts. She came to our class because her son, Taylor, has joined our class while his mother has been so busy with here work and while his school has been closed. She wanted to thank us for looking after Taylor for her and so she gave us all an ice block.

She told us about how she was off duty when the earthquake struck and was able to go to Redcliff's School to pick up Taylor. Their home was undamaged and so was safe to be in. The person Sarah was most worried about once she had Taylor safe was his grandmother. She had been shopping at East Gate Mall and it had been badly hit. All was well with Sarah and Taylor's family.

When she went on duty later that night she was in the team that was helping at the CTV building. She said that the trauma for her was not the earthquake itself but the fact that they knew there were people trapped under the rubble but couldn't find them. She found it extremely hard to walk passed a husband who had been talking to his wife in the cellphone but she hadn't been rescued as the rescuers couldn't locate which part of the building she was in.

The subject eventually came around to hygiene and toilets. She told us that people were being very creative and inventive about building 'comfortable', private makeshift toilets.

Looters were discussed and we were all disgusted that people would steal from others - even worse that they were stealing things they did not need.

Travelling around Christchurch you see a lot of stickers on houses so Sarah told us what they meant.
Red stickers means a house is condemned
Yellow stickers mean limited access
Green sticker means fine, people can live in

It was great to hear Sarah's first hand report and to know that the fundraising we are going to be doing is a really worthwhile cause.

Mapua makes a splash!

2011-03-07T22:09:00.000+13:00

On the 21st of February, a hoard of children made for the Riwaka pool. Why? Because of the Mapua School's annual swimming sports!

Splashing and diving, the four houses competed for the highest amount of points. First up was the open, in which we had to compete in three different strokes.

Then was the backstroke, leaving most of the contestants shivering in the cloudy, cold morning. The breaststroke was also a great success, with diving, splashing and lots of fun! Thankfully, there were no injuries, Kurtis complained of a slightly bashed face! He accidentally got kicked in the face by another competitor.

Then it was the Butterfly demonstration with only a few people attempting to reach the other end. Three of the four made it; one of them didn't.

After that, the freestyle, with the racers diving in with a bang!(Literally!) Freestyle is the easiest stroke so almost everyone participated.The follow to freestyle was the little 'uns flutter board race! All the younger kids splashed their way to the end of the pool.

The final race was the teachers carry race. The rules? The teacher must remain on the chair. Rules broken? The teachers all started swimming! Although they did cling to the chair as well. Some very funny swimming techniques were demonstrated during that race!

As a perfect finish to a perfect day, the whole school dived in for 15 minutes of free time! "The only down side was that Red House won by over 200 points!" said Finlay.

At last, we returned to Mapua for the remaining hours of school!

Reported by Finlay,Tait and Nick

GET SET GO!!!

2011-03-07T22:04:00.000+13:00

On your marks, get set, go! They were off for the Mapua School Triathlon on Friday the 11th of February 2011. It was the first whole school event of the year. Everyone in the school that raced was competing in their year groups. Everyone had butterflies in their stomachs but were still eager to have a go at it!

The year groups were sweating while they were running and riding their bikes.As soon as they got into the pool they felt refreshed straight away.

It was good to hear everyone cheering the competitors on.

Thanks to all the parents for coming along.

Everyone had a blast and felt good that they had had a go at it!

Mapua's going under

2011-03-07T22:02:00.000+13:00

On the 22 of February the Mapua School swimming sports took place in Riwaka. It was very nerve wracking and the longer it took, the harder it got to stand still said Kinsey.
When it was our turn, Mr Taylor shouted out 11 year old girls it's your turn. We stood on the side of the pool and crawled into what we thought was going to be cold water but it wasn't what we thought - the pool was milky warm.

We're tight shut in our ready position, then we heard a big BANG!!!!!

We were off, water splashing into our faces, arms tired like a mouse would be after being chased by a

cat. Finally we reached the end when I noticed that Emma was already in front of me. Better luck next time.

After waiting nervously on the side, Mr Taylor looked at us in a way saying you're on.

We all stood up....get in the ready position ....and suddenly everyone started to dive in. So I quickly

dived in too, chasing after Lily and Emma. When I finished, to my surprise, Grace gave me a card that had the number 1 on it!

Splash

2011-03-07T21:57:00.000+13:00

On Tuesday 22nd of February the rain threatened to pour down on the Riwaka School pool as the first competitors dived in for the open race. The open race is the one where you have to swim one length of backstroke, one length of breaststroke and one of freestyle in that order. BANG!! Splash! The first group of the open were off. This was the beginning of a tense, exciting and fun swimming event.

First up was the heats for backstroke, then breaststroke, then freestyle. The finals were held after all age groups had swum the different strokes. Everybody was nervous but excited at the same time.

Swimming

2011-03-07T21:56:00.000+13:00

It was a hot summer's day - NOT!
It was wet, damp and drizzly. We loaded our gear into the cars and headed off to the Riwaka School pool for the Mapua School swimming sports. We all had mixed emotions about the event, On one hand we were excited and on the other hand we were nervous and cold waiting for our races to start.

The open was first, from years 5-8. Every now and then you would feel some cold water and every time you get butterflies in your stomach. The sound of kids cheering on their friends and siblings echoed through the air.

When it came to our races we were thinking, OMG can we do this? And guess what. We did it!
Tegan and I are in Red House so between us both we would have got a couple of points for Red House.

We both did the strokes breast stroke and freestyle.

The Earthquake

2011-03-07T21:47:00.000+13:00

Room 7 has four new students. They are from Christchurch and have come to Nelson because ...

On Tuesday 22 February 2011, Christchurch suffered a massive earthquake. Half of the CBD (central businesses district) got written off. My dad owns a restaurant. One of the staff member's mum got stuck in the CTV building.

I was in school starting social studies - and it happened. I dropped under my desk. I pulled my friend down with me. I was worried about my family and friends. At school our back field broke and lifted up and started spraying water everywhere. At home my house was destroyed. Unlivable, demolished and in ruins. One my dad's work men drove us up the day after the quake and we're staying with my granny in her cottage.

Suddenly the ground started shaking, everyone started running towards the middle of the field. The cliff started collapsing. Boulders were rolling down the cliff face and landing on houses. I was thinking about my family and friends would they be alright? When we looked around we saw that Redcliffs School was not going to be in business again for a long time. Although we were told we had to stay at school, we felt safe at school and were quite happy to be around our friends until my mum came to get me.

Mapua dives in!

2011-03-07T08:31:00.001+13:00

The morning butterflies were in our stomach as the bell rang. We shuffled into class with excitement and stress. Today, Tuesday the 22nd February 2011, we were going to have this year's annual swimming sports. We left the class and went to the court and waited for our drivers to pick us up to take us to swimming sports. We drove to Riwaka School where the swimming sports were held, and then the butterflies came back.

First, the open event where participants took part in a 3 length race. Backstroke, breaststroke then freestyle.

Second, the backstroke age events and then the best went into the Backstroke finals. Third, the backstroke and its finals.

Next, the butterfly demonstration where people showed their skills.

Then it was time for the freestyle and freestyle finals.

Next up were the relays where 5 teams (1 teacher team and 4 children's teams) took part in a 5 length race with their 5 contestants. The adults won that one.

The last event was the teacher carriers race where 4 students each held a leg of a chair with a teacher siting on it and raced down the pool.

Overall, everyone tried their best with Red House winning by over 200 points and then ending the day with a free swim. We all went home with huge smiles on our faces. :-)

Top Student Poll

2011-03-01T22:52:00.026+13:00

Focussed 14 (70%)

Aims for accuracy 2 (10%)

Organised 11 (55%)

Learns from mistakes 10 (50%

Confidence 1 (5%)

Relaxed (not stressed) 5 (25%)

Trustworthy 2 (10%)

Good time management 3 (15%)

A1 quality presentation; behavior 5 (25%)

Uses a range of techniques 3 (15%)

Active thinker 2 (10%)

Creative 3 (15%)

Tries their hardest/best 12 (60%)

Open to learning 4 (20%)

Respectful of own and others' work environment 1 (5%)

Enjoys learning 9 (45%)

Curious 2 (10%)

Talks when necessary 1 (5%)

Active listener 5 (25%)

Positive attitude 9 (45%)

Follows instructions 3 (15%)

Sharing or communicating ideas 1 (5%)

What do these results tell us?

Our results for our post for the ideal student learner showed that The top 7 qualities were: being focussed, trying your hardest and doing your best, being organised, learning from your mistakes, enjoy learning and having a positive attitude.

What do these results mean for us as a learner?

If we have all these qualities we will be a successful learner. If you are a successful learner you will do well in life.

Which of these qualities do we already posses?

I think most of the students in Room 7 learn from mistakes. I think this is because we make quite a few mistakes but we normally don't do them again. Sometimes we are focussed (we made this our first class goal) and we are getting better at it.

What do you need to improve?

We really need to work on our organisation skills (well at least I do). Getting organised is our class goal this week.

Splish Splosh!

2011-03-01T14:19:00.073+13:00

The 23rd of February, a beautiful day... not! It was a cool, rainy day. Anyway we left the school grounds - Maia, Vic and Grace - with Judith at the wheel. We raced to Riwaka School's pool for the Mapua 2011 swimming sports!!!

The first event was the Open race. The back stroke length came first - wow what a race;

next breast stroke with a close finish and last but not least the freestyle length that.

After all the races it was time for some fun. The teacher's chair race, when 1 teacher from each house sits on a chair and four students pull them through the pool, the first to the end wins some house points.

Wow what a day, all the racing kids really deserved their warm towels after that.

Splish, splosh, splash

2011-03-01T08:46:00.091+13:00

It was the 22nd of February and we were all looking forward to the day ahead. I was in my togs and ready to go. But there was one thing that I wasn't so pleased about - there was water falling from the sky. Guess what? It was raining. We ignored the rain, jumped into the cars and set off to Riwaka pool - after all we were going to get wet in the pool so a little rain was not going to be a problem.

We walked through the Riwaka School grounds, into the pool area and sat down. We waited for everyone to arrive and when Rooms 11, 7, 9 and 8 were all seated, our Principal, Mr Chalmers said, "Welcome to Mapua School's swimming sports."

"10 year old girls!" shouted Mr Taylor. Then we knew that it was our turn to go and do a length of backstroke.

The whistle blew and we jumped into the warm water.

"BANG!!!"went the gun, we were off. We were all rushing our way through the pool. The first to hit the end was Maisie, then Lauryn.

Next up was breaststroke. Mr T called out, "11 year old girls," and we stepped up to the mark. BANG!

Over all the day was awesome.

By Molly H and Lauryn C

Fun Try-athlon Time!

2011-02-28T10:07:00.104+13:00

Go!!!!!!!

Everyone was running as fast as they could.

As the sun was beating down on us with its fists of fury - 30 degrees C!

Everyone was running their hardest, puffing and panting!

Everyone was really getting tired but up next was the biking!

The bumpy track makes it impossible to not get exhausted trying.

Then there's the rewarding run to the swimming pool but sometimes even that can't cool you down.

Splash!!!
"One lap or five?"
How long does it take to complete the swimming race and make it to the finish line?

The Mapua Domain

2011-02-23T20:07:00.000+13:00

Mapua’s Absolutely Amazing Attraction

Do you want a place where you can play sports, ride bikes and have fun, well you are in luck! The Mapua Domain is Nelson's best park. It has a sports ground, a playground and a skate park. It might not be as big as Saxton or Neil Park but at Mapua you are in a safe and friendly environment, it is very sociable and everyone is willing to help out.

The Mapua Domain has brilliant sports equipment like tennis courts, cricket nets, a basket ball hoop, a full range of different sized soccer goals suitable for all ages. Then there is the actual field where you can do any thing from flying kites to racing remote control cars. It also has a small but enjoyable playground with swings, bars and slides so it is great for the younger ones too. Then there is the skate park, which has a concrete park and dirt jumps. The dirt jumps will test your nerve and courage while the skate park is suitable for all levels.

One of the best things about the Mapua Domain is that is in the center of the village so you are close to all the shops and other cool things in Mapua. It is also very easy to access, there are two car parks and a number of path ways to get in there.

Mapua Domain is a brilliant place to have fun, keep fit and hang out with friends. The Mapua Domain is a great place and you will have a fun filled time there.

The Mapua Fun /Extreme / Park!!!!!

2011-02-23T20:06:00.000+13:00

The wharf is a common fun place in Mapua. It has heaps of amazing things to do like swimming, going to the Aquarium, the bars and the restaurants that are provided.

Swimming is a good, fun way to cool off in the summer season. I recommend jumping off the wharf if you want an extra thrill. However, there are dangers if you are jumping off the wharf. Young swimmers should be supervised at all times. Young children should always wear something that floats such as a life jacket. It's really good fun.

There is also some slippery mud on the mud flats. You can have so much fun, like mud slides to mud fights but this is not recommend for younger kids you could get hurt if there is a stone in the mud that you are throwing then wash off by taking a dip in the water or jumping off the wharf .

Another fun place is Touch the Sea Aquarium. There are so many fish - and you can pat them. How cool is that? There sharks, sting rays, eels...

So if you want a fun amazing place, I recommend Mapua wharf.

Welcome back to 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-10T14:31:00.001+13:00

The first two weeks of 2011 have been really cool especially catching up with friends!
So far we have been learning about one another, cognitive (that funny word means thinking) organisers, Multiple Intelligences, learning styles, preferences and Habits of Mind. We are learning about these things because they help us to know about our brain - how it works and how we learn best.
Check out the blog ideas mind map that Grace, Kurtis and Elena came up with.

The photos below show us working hard.

End of year celebrations

2010-11-29T21:16:00.000+13:00

Welcome to the penultimate week of the 2010 academic year!

2010-11-28T20:29:00.002+13:00

Everyone enjoyed Pet Day on Wednesday. There was a lovely relaxed and happy atmosphere as everyone concentrated on preparing their entries for the various sections.

Waiting for the judges to do their thing was made more bearable because of the fun generated by the team games - gumboot throwing, tug-o-war, ball and spoon (we couldn't afford the eggs!), sack races, etc.

We are looking forward to our Responsibilities Assembly on Tuesday morning at 11 am and hope you can make it too.

Of course the highlight of the week ahead is the trip to the Aquatics Centre and Rabbit Island. Hope the weather stays as hot as it was this weekend. Students are encouraged to bring their togs every day from now on as the pool has been filled and we will go for a swim each day, weather permitting.

News and Home Tasks Term 4 Week 7

2010-11-22T06:54:00.000+13:00

Another great week coming up as we prepare for the final assemblies and the end of year school wide extra curricula activities. Check out our photos from the Whenua Iti challenge day.
Regards
Teressa

News and Home Tasks Term 4 Week 6

2010-11-15T15:13:00.000+13:00

Funny how everyone seemed to be a little tired to day... I wonder whether going hard out for athletics on Saturday is the reason?
Thanks for coming along and supporting your child. It was a fantastic family event.

We are all looking forward to the Red Carpet disco on Thursday night. Time for me to find some glad rags to wear...

Regards
Teressa

News and Home Tasks Term 4 Week 5

2010-11-07T23:52:00.000+13:00

Looking forward to another great week. Preparation for athletics on Saturday is the main focus for this week. Think of ways you could prepare yourself as part of your home learning - a run, throwing a ball at a target, ... what can you think of? Share your ideas with the class at roll call time.

News and Home Tasks Term 4 Week 4

2010-11-01T22:06:00.000+13:00

Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday. If you can't make it to the three way conferences, please make an appointment for another time.
Regards
Teressa

Report Writing

2010-10-27T13:37:00.000+13:00

Caves, Cliffs, It’s Kina Beach!

Are you looking for fun, adventure and a place to hang out?
Kina Beach is a beautiful place where families and friends can spend time together. It has room for your entire family to have fun with their friends or just enjoy the water and sun.

Kina Beach is fun, holds interesting things and is a great place to swim or have a picnic. There was once about 20 killer whales 100m off the low tide line, so you might be lucky and get to whale watch to add to the fun.

Kina Beach is a popular place and is attracting people looking for property. There was going to be a huge mansion built right in front of the beach. Until they received such a great amount of complaints that they were forced to stop building. If they had finished the house, the wonderful privacy of Kina would have been lost.

Many years ago, the cliffs of Kina crumbled away and created fun caves for children and revealed a few fossils for adults. Kina also holds other interesting things like colourful stones, interesting shaped wood and who knows what else!

One of the best things about Kina is...
IT’S COMPLETELY FREE!!! That’s right, a day at the beach, a picnic and a swim is completely free! I’ve heard on that one beach, it’s 80 Euros just to sit on the sand!

Tasman has been made a whole lot better because it has a fantastic beach to walk, run, sit, play, picnic, swim and relax on. Collecting things makes hours on end of fun. And is even more fun at home when you get artsy craftsy and create things out of them.

You will find the Kina Area when you turn of the main road from Nelson and follow the mud flats down Kina Beach Rd. When you come to a parking area, you can choose to stop there, or continue down the road until you find a n area on the beach that you like.

So if you’re looking for a place that’s open all year round,is cost free and is heaps of fun, then you’ve found one! Grab a bunch of friends or family and head down to Kina for a fun day on the beach. It doesn’t matter who you are or who you bring, Kina Beach and Cliffs are perfect for anyone and everyone!

Kelly Prosser

Mapua School

News and Home Tasks Term 4 Week 3

2010-10-25T22:46:00.005+13:00

A four day week packed full of goodies : ) Rock on Room 7 band on Tuesday! Photos will be posted on Wednesday - maybe a video...
See what the week ahead holds on the home tasks sheet and then check out the interactive activity above. What is the Science behind it? Add it to your portfolio if you think it is significant for your understandings of Forces. Don't forget to explain how it is significant.
Regards
Teressa

News and Home Tasks Term 4 Week 2

2010-10-17T22:08:00.000+13:00

A great week ahead - check out our news and tasks to extend our Habits of Mind and Key Competencies.
Regards
Teressa

It's back to school we go...

2010-10-10T22:19:00.000+13:00

Hi everyone, welcome to Term 4.
Hope you managed to squeeze in some fun times before the Spring break was over. It's always amazing how fast two weeks can go! Welcome back to our overseas trippers. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone as the Term progresses. Check out the News and activities sheet for info for the week ahead.
Cheers
Teressa

Isaac's Rap

2010-09-20T12:42:00.000+12:00

Get a Voki now!

News and Home Tasks Term 3 Week 10

2010-09-20T08:29:00.000+12:00

The last week of Term already! Check out our news and events.
Regards
Teressa

Talents in action

2010-09-17T14:51:00.002+12:00

On Friday each talent group shared the learning and outcomes of Term 3's learning for their particular talent. It was fantastic to hear and see what each group had been working on.

The music group performed a variety of pieces show casing their ability to sing and play a variety of instruments. The drama group entertained us with a number of skits and situations. The film crew talked us through the process they went through to produce their advertisement for a parent improvement formula - very clever. The technology group talked about how they learnt to use the different levels of Blooms thinking to help them create successful products and got everyone to help them select which trophy should be used for the Blog of the Week trophy. The website team are still busy working on the school website which will be unveiled and decided on next Term.

Check out grace's Animoto video of the groups in action.

Isaac and Owen rappin' n' rhymin'

2010-09-17T14:46:00.003+12:00

Year 7 band members jam with Easy Tigers

2010-09-15T20:33:00.000+12:00

Easy Tigers are a local Mapua Band. The members are Tracy Duncan as the singer, Tony Jemmett as the drummer, Kim Francis as the keyboardist and backup singer, David Francis as the base and Richard Thomas as the electric guitarist. It was great listening to them as they practiced for their next gig.

The penultimate week of Term 3. it's going to be a good one.

Max in france

2010-09-12T18:31:00.000+12:00

As soon as I got of the plane I realised that I was in for a hot time in Hong Kong. When my family got into the terminal we were directed to a taxi and were driven straight to our front door. When we got to the hotel I walked inside and felt the cool blast of air conditioning. It felt fantastic. I really don't like hot temperatures!

When we had checked into the hotel I plodded towards the lifts. The lifts were really beautiful. They had golden doors.  They took a while to come because the building had over 30 floors. When we were inside the lift I noticed that the 4th,14th and the 24 floor was missing from the building.  Apparently the Chinese people think that the number 4 is evil and it meant death. The 32nd floor was our floor and as soon as we got into our room I looked through the window and saw how high we were. The people down below looked like ants and the cars looked like toy cars.

Hong Kong was like this:

We saw lots of the old people pulling rubbish carts around the streets. I think this is because they didn't have any money to live so they had to do what they could to earn some. We also saw many people who were poor. We could tell by their clothes that were ripped and dirty.

There were lots of lit up signs, so it was very bright at night. There were loads of cars that always beeped their horns. It was very busy and densely populated. There were loads of people on the streets and it looked like most of the people lived in apartments. The apartments were tall and squashed together.   Most of the buildings were very crumbly. All the washing was hung up outside of the buildings. I thought that it wouldn't be very clean because of all the dust and dirt of the city.

There were lots of street markets that sold fish and fruit and vegetables. They also sold things like chicken feet and meat that was hanging outside with all the dust and heat.   We went to one street market  that sold lots of goldfish and angelfish. Chinese people think goldfish are lucky.

It was surprising that there were no flies because usually hot places have loads of flies. The other surprising thing is that there were not alot of birds. Maybe it is because all the buildings are so high and maybe because there is not alot of green trees.

Hong Kong was a really interesting place because the way of life seemed so difficult and different.

PJ Day - raising money to help with the earthquake recovery

2010-09-12T18:20:00.000+12:00

What a fantastic, fun filled day!

Here are some Photos of my Trip to Calgary

2010-09-12T03:40:00.000+12:00

They have finally arrived!

Part 1:

Part 2:

We will remember our trip forever!

Inter-school Speech Competition

2010-09-10T20:31:00.001+12:00

Second place in the Motueka Inter-school speech competitions is fantastic! We're proud of you James.

Special message to James

2010-09-08T22:45:00.002+12:00

We think you are an awesome speaker James and we hope everything goes well for the speech competition Thursday night. You'll knock the socks off the judges with your knowledge and ability to communicate with clarity and precision.

We're Back in Montana

2010-09-08T14:47:00.000+12:00

Well everyone, we made it. We are back in Billings, Montana. We drove the full 10 hours all day today! Wow, that was a lot of hard work. When we were driving, we passed a hill/peak/mountain type thing that had a top as flat as, well as flat as a piece of thin paper.

Our vacation was a blast! I promise, I will post an "Animoto" video as soon as I have all our photos downloaded.

I miss all you guys!

Our Last Day (Heritage Park)

2010-09-07T12:22:00.001+12:00

Hi everyone. Well, today we visited the Heritage Park. (Which is a bit like Shantytown. It is a town "modeling" the old west.)

We drove there, very thrilled. When we arrived, there was a train sort of thing to drive us to the entrance of the park. When we arrived in the park, we got our gate admissions and we headed over to "Gasoline Alley." (Which is a museum with a whole bunch of old cars and gasoline pumps in it.)

We exited "Gasoline Alley" and walked up this path, which seemed to take a lifetime to walk up. When we got to the top of the hill we entered Heritage Park. We got train tickets and took the train to the other side of the park where we took a boat ride around this lake. And I have to say, the boat ride was very chilly but awesome. After we jumped off the boat, we headed to this train museum, which was this big shed full of trains and snowplows. Between the time that we exited the train museum and exited the park, we ate lunch at a fancy restaurant, saw a hysterical play, visited an old school house, visited a victorian house, had ice-cream, visited a candy shop, and rode some rides.

We got back to the hotel, swam, ate dinner, and-oh I see I have to go know.

Banff

2010-09-07T12:05:00.000+12:00

Today we woke up to yet another "Breakfast Fit for Kings." Then we hopped in the car to ride of to Banff for the day.

When we arrived in Banff, I discovered that it is a quite little town full of modern day shops and hotels. We kept driving down the street until we came to what looked like a castle! But then my Dad explained to us that it was a hotel (Fairmont Hotel), one of the finest in the World. We walked inside and it just took our breath away, literally. It was as grand as a castle and as medieval as Scotland. When we were finished exploring all the shops and restaurants and lobbies, we headed into the town of Banff to get some lunch.

We ate at Tommy's Neighborhood Pub. I had a Greek Burger. It was delectable!

After lunch, we headed off to do some shopping. (I think you can all picture me there.) Then after we went shopping, we went to Starbuck's. Because everyone knows that when you're on a shopping spree for the day, it just isn't complete without a visit to Starbuck's.

Then we got back in the car and drove up this highway and saw all of these breathtaking (and I mean stunning) mountains with snow on them. We arrived at Lake Louise where there was another Fairmont Hotel. We walked partly around Lake Louise, then headed back to our hotel because everyone was exhausted.

Have to go.

Week 8 Home Learning and News

2010-09-06T09:54:00.004+12:00

A very busy sporting time at present with dance exams, gymnastic championships, netball, etc. A good time to thank all of you for giving your time and energies to ensure that your children have these opportunities.
I hope those of you with family in Christchurch know that they are all safe although no doubt a little shaken by the experience - no pun intended.
I will be handing over the reins to Mrs Fish again on Wednesday and Thursday as I am attending an ICT seminar on Wednesday and am working with Mandy planning for Term 4.
Check out what we are up to this week on the newsletter and check out what Zarek and his family are up to in Calgary on the blog posts below.
Cheers
Teressa

Our First Full Day (The Zoo)

2010-09-05T15:19:00.001+12:00

Today we woke up and strolled on down to the breakfast buffet, and when we got down there, I took one glance at it and saw that it was a "Breakfast Fit for Kings." I stuffed my face with mouth-watering dishes like scrambled eggs, omelets, and cinnamon rolls.

After breakfast, we walked outside to the trams/trains and had so much trouble paying for our tickets because we didn't have any change. But then we realised (or rather I realised) that the people on the train didn't even ask to see our tickets, so it was kind of a waste of money.

When we arrived at the zoo, we rushed in to see the dinosaur exhibits. Once we were fully in the dinosuar "habitat", we noticed that we were going to be walking against fake rock that looked like a big canyon full of automated dinos. There were even some control panels to control the dinosaurs by pushing different buttons. (But of course, my siblings attacked the control panels.) We exited the dinosaur area and passed through the Canadian Wild Lands. I didn't find the Canadian animals' habitats very exciting because I see those animals all the time while my family drives around the countryside here. But there was one animal that did catch my eye, and that was the Wood Bison. The information panel said it was supposed to be the largest land mammal in North America, but I didn't believe it because I have seen some pretty fat cows around. We crossed the bridge to the other half of the zoo and had lunch at the Kitamba Cafe. Then we walked over to listen to a talk this zookeeper was giving about the zoo's gorillas and gorillas just in general. It started to rain, so we walked into this big indoor rainforest. I am so sorry but I cannot describe the beauty of the rainforest but I can tell you this; it was just the right temperature for a rainforest. When we walked out of there, we went into this indoor conservatory that had beatiful gardens and butterflies. (It was really amazing because the butterflies were just free to room the conservatory.) After that we went to see the hippos, porcupines, and giraffes, which were also indoor. Then we went to see the camels and the elephants. Everyone was starting to get a little tired, so we left the zoo with memories to remember.

We arrived back at the hotel, went swimming like yesterday, and had Domino's deliver our pizza to our room for dinner.

Well, got to go. It is getting late.

Arriving in Calgary (Like in a Dream)

2010-09-04T14:52:00.001+12:00

Today we made it into Calgary and boy is it huge! Our hotel (Sheraton Suites) is really nice and big.

We got here at a pretty descent time, so we went to the mall and had some lunch there at Subway. And then we walked about a mile and a half to the Telus Science Museum for Kids (which is kind of like Science Alive in Christchurch) and had a blast! And here is something really cool; on one of the labels on one of the activities there it said: Science Alive New Zealand's Science Centre. How cool is that!?There was a bed of nails where you lay down on this bed of (what looks like) plastic and a partner pushes this button and a whole bunch of nails come up and lift you up off the plastic. It feels really awesome! After that we went to the cafe there and got some smoothies. I got mango and the rest of my siblings got wild berry. I tried wild berry, but it tasted disgusting!

After the science museum, we dragged ourselves back to the hotel and swam in the pool there for a while. The pool had a "super grande" sized water slide. We enjoyed piling ourselves into it all at once, (and believe me, that was no small task) and then all sliding out at once.

After we tired ourselves out from swimming for an hour and a half, we strolled over to The Old Spaghetti Factory for some delicious dinner. That restaurant has some pretty old antiques and stained glass windows to make us feel like we were eating in a restaurant in actual Italy. I ordered Chicken Pesto Alfredo spaghetti and it was so filling, I only ate half of it. But it was good. The tomatoes in it were the juiciest tomatoes I have ever laid eye (or tongue) on.

Anyway, got to go. It is already almost 9:00.

Halfway There

2010-09-03T16:37:00.000+12:00

Well, the first 5 hours of our drive was as smooth as polished rock. We left Billings at 2:00 p.m. and arrived in Lethbridge at about 9:15 p.m. In between those hours, we visited a gas station that was in the middle of nowhere and smelt like leather, stopped in the town of Great Falls and ate dinner at McDonald's, and spotted the planet Venus in the night sky. Right now we are in the city of Lethbridge, about 250 kilometres away from our destination of Calgary. I am so excited to arrive in Calgary tomorrow! Well I have to go to bed now.

See you later!

Getting Ready for Calgary

2010-09-02T07:27:00.000+12:00

Well Room 7, it's Zarek here again. And tomorrow me and my family head off to Calgary. I am so excited! I have been really busy with packing my clothes and stuff. We are going to go to the zoo and - oh, wait, I can't tell you, it's a surprise. Anyway, I have to get back to my home-schooling. I'll write to you tomorrow and tell you how the first half (5 hours) of the long drive (10 hours) went. See you.

News and Home Tasks Term 3 Week 7

2010-08-29T22:51:00.001+12:00

Hi everyone
Another great week last week. Lots happening with Technology challenge preparation, great raps being composed, baby sitting brochures, band practice, kapahaka practice, preparing for the Winter Tournament, .... never a dull moment here at school that's for sure.

I love it when we have a good debate in class. One of these was about whether the word vehicle has a long 'e' sound or short. I think it has a long 'e' sound, what do you think? Leave a comment to let us know.

Do take a look at the collaborative story at http://primarypad.com/mPGhLjiz8N James started the story and now the rest of the class are joining in and adding to it. It is worth visiting to read what they have written so far.

It was good to read Zarek's news. We are still hanging out to hear from Matheus and Alex. Come on guys, don't be shy. Hope you are both well and having a good time settling in to your new schools.

Cheers
Teressa

What a week Zarek has had!

2010-08-29T06:28:00.001+12:00

Hey Room 7! First of all, I miss all you guys! Now, let me tell you about the awesome week I have had here in America.

On Tuesday me and my family went to the Montana Fair. At the fair, I went on a whole bunch of spectacular rides. But my favourite ride was either the "Himalaya" or the "Starship 4000." On the "Himalaya", you get in a car and the car just keeps driving around and around until it is going fast enough to have vomit exploding from your mouth. And the "Starship 4000" is a doozy too. You load onto this spaceship looking room that spins so speedy fast, that when it is going its speediest, you get pressed up against these boards that go up and down according to the gravity level inside the ship. Pretty cool, huh?

Listen to this; my siblings and I started being home-schooled on Wednesday! Everyday, I start school with four pages of my work book. Then I move onto my writing, then my maths, then my science, until finally I get study time. It's kind of weird being home-schooled.

Also during the week ( I actually I just got back from it), me, my parents, and my brothers went to see The Beach Boys in concert at The Alberta Bair Theatre. They rocked the house with songs like Surfin' U.S.A. and Do It Again. I wore my T-shirt with palm trees on it because palm trees are usaully found on beaches where The Beach Boys are, right?

In about one week me and my family are going to go visit Calgary (that's a city in Canada). It is a 10 hour drive one way so, it is going to be along drive. But more about that next time.

This is Zarek signing off.

Collaborative story

2010-08-26T13:58:00.003+12:00

If you would like to help develop the story of our survival on a deserted island then head for to this collaborative writing website.

Copy and paste this url into your web browser: http://primarypad.com/mPGhLjiz8N

Rules:

Make sure it follows the previous writer's thread and develops in a logical, sequential way.

You may edit spelling and grammar of other writers.
You can add your ideas in amongst other people's ideas but you can't delete their work (unless to correct spelling or grammar).

This is to be a G-rated story.

Looking forward to reading the story as it unfolds.

White Wonderland

2010-08-24T18:13:00.002+12:00

On Thursday 19 August we went up to the white wonderland of Rainbow Ski Field. Mapua School's Year 5-8 students went up the mountain for a fantastic day in the snow.
The morning was boiling hot as the sun shone on the slopes, it was so hot that many adults and kids, not wanting to be fried in the sun, were stripping off their under layers.

Level 1-3 skiers and snow boarders started their lessons after going through the rental shed. We had lessons so that we could relearn the basics so that we were safe to go down the slopes in case we had forgotten how to keep control and stop quickly.

Level 1 and 2 began at the learner slope then went to the intermediate slope if they felt comfortable doing so. Level 3 started and finished on the intermediate slope, but if they were told they could and if they had the skills, they were able to go on the T-bar. After all the lessons we got the rest of the day to do what we wanted.

The only thing that was bad about the day was that the snow began to melt a bit on the intermediate slopes so some rocks were showing up, but apart from that the day was great! The day was so amazing and to make it even more perfect it began to snow lightly at the end of the day! It was very magical indeed.

News and Home Tasks Term 3 Week 6

2010-08-23T08:50:00.000+12:00

Another gorgeous weekend to get out and about in. I am loving being able to wear shoes that are pairs, get out on the bike and walking without the clumping sound!
Lots happening this week. Check out the news sheet for more info.

Cheers
Teressa

News and Home Tasks Term 3 Week 5

2010-08-15T22:52:00.001+12:00

What a great weekend. I hope you were able to get out and enjoy it with the family and friends.

Have managed to get your ski clothes organised? Remember that the weather can be changeable on the mountain so make sure you have layers of warm clothes and a suitable jacket to keep the wind and wetness out.

Check out the newsletter to find out about more about our learning activities for this week.

Regards
Teressa

Learning from mistakes

2010-08-12T20:51:00.000+12:00

Hi guys

Just want to say that in the holidays I made a big mistake and so I’m writing this so no one will make the same mistake.

I saw a pop up on our computer and it promised me something I really wanted. It promised a Iphone and asked me for my mobile number.

It cost me 34 dollars, which I didn’t know it was taking off my phone.

So I want you to learn from my mistake and don’t sign up for anything without your parent’s permission otherwise it will cost you a lot.

Thanks

Isaac Worsley

Birthday girl goes deep diving!!!

2010-08-11T21:39:00.002+12:00

Hey room 7 it's me again Lara and the 10th of August was my BIRTHDAY I got to go diving it was really cool. My diving instructer Malcolm was REALLY cool, he was really funny. I went diving at Rimba about 4 to 5 meters deep and learnt how all the hoses worked and how to stop your ears from hurting when you go down and all that stuff. And yes it is better than snorkeling.

It's not long until I come back home only five mre days.
See you then.Lara

Me with my tank on.

Me and Malcolm in the water.

ltlg

&l;>

Zarek's Trip to Yellowstone National Park

2010-08-09T13:29:00.002+12:00

Hey Room 7,

I just journeyed to Yellowstone National Park, the first and biggest National Park in the whole World!!! I saw some pretty awesome wildlife there like grizzly/black bears. I had a blast, considering we only stayed one night. (But a good one night!) We stayed in the little town of West Yellowstone. And I'll have to tell you this; the busy little town of West Yellowstone. In West Yellowstone they were having an "Old Fashioned Car Weekend" and we got to see some pretty old, old (but cool) cars. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of the cars. But we did get some pretty darn good photos taken on our trip.

Part 1:

Part 2:

News and Home Tasks Term 3 Week 4

2010-08-09T08:20:00.000+12:00

It is great to see our overseas students keeping in contact through the blog. Keep it up Zarek and Lara. (time for you to start Matheus - we need to have a virtual farewell party for you. Maybe we could organise a skype call. Get in touch and let us know how to reach you.)
We had a great week last week and one of the highlights was going with the first House group, Blue House, across to Tane’s Ark to take part in a planting and protection session on Friday. The weather was absolutely fabulous for a winter picnic and the students were really happy caring for the school’s environmental project.
We are looking forward to another busy week ahead with Takaka Sports exchange top of the highlights - go Mapua!

Regards
Teressa

A little Island Survival!!!

2010-08-06T18:00:00.000+12:00

Hey guys it's Lara reporting from Malaysia, we have clear blue skies and a 40 degrees climate nice and hot. Unlike New Zealand now I'm guessing it's about mid winter there.Well enough boaring talk lets talk about this A frame hut I made with Daniel it took us about 3 hours to build but it was worth it. We got the idea from this guy that made one a couple of days ago we think ours is much nicer though.

Well I've got to run so bye!

Me and my brothers under our A frame.

All of us hard at work.

Zarek, Reporting from America

2010-08-05T02:45:00.000+12:00

It's Zarek here reporting from America.

Hope you guys are enjoying yourselves in life.

I don't know about you, but it is sunny skies here in Montana. Boiling hot too. The other day, it was 103 degrees.

Speaking of degrees; I just went to a water park called Big Splash and I went down a 75-degree-angle water slide and my togs almost about ripped!

I just finished theatre camp a week ago. It was AWESOME!!! At camp we learnt how to dance to "Thriller"(by Michael Jackson). It was a really complicated dance. In addition to dancing, we learnt how to sing better and act better. We even learnt how to do yoga! And after two weeks of learning, we had to do a play. My play that I was in was "The Untold Story of Hansel and Gretel." And guess what; I got the main part out (Hansel) of 15 kids!

Anyway, enough about me. See you soon.

Zarek

Room 7 superb artistic maths

2010-08-04T09:15:00.000+12:00

Room 7 has been learning about transformations. We found out that these are part of Geometry and involves translation, rotation, reflection and enlargements. This has been our maths for the last couple of weeks. Mrs Hosie gave us a test to find out what we know about Geometry. Then she put us in groups and we learnt more about Rotational symmetry. We went onto a website which taught you lots of things about symmetry. If you want to go on and have a go, the link to the website is called Pacifica Patterns - Symmetry, it is on our class links to the right of our blog. After we learnt about transformations, we used our new knowledge to create new wrapping paper designs. We got asked to make wrapping paper since our art in the art exhibition was so good. First Mrs Hosie gave us an A3 piece of paper and then we made a koru design in our art books. Next we got to work tracing the koru design onto the piece of paper, translating, rotating, reflecting before we coloured them in and this is what they turned out like:

Back at Dad's resort!!!

2010-08-02T20:36:00.001+12:00

Hey room 7 It's me Lara and I've just left my cousins house and I'm back at Rimba my Dad's resort. I had so much fun, I went to the crocodile farm and saw a HUGE crocodile it was like five times bigger than me. Then we went to fly our kites at one of the most beautiful park I've been to, it was just like the one in Alice in Wonderland. When we all went home we watched three new movies Shrek 4, Karate Kid and Toy story 3. Well I've got to run I'll write to you soon.

Week 3 News

2010-08-01T22:44:00.002+12:00

EXTRA! EXTRA!
Not long to go now until our Snow Day. A notice will be coming home with amounts to be paid for our activities at the Rainbow ski field in Week 5 and this needs to be paid by the 13th August please.

Hope you are able to check out the websites on the link list as these give examples of the learning activities the students are taking part in to develop their understandings of various topics.
Try out this activity from the CSI Internet link
Can you tell which of these sites has true information and which does not? How do you know?

Google Gulp Drink
Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie

Leave a comment to let us know what you decided after viewing the two sites. I wonder whether you found out the same things that the students did?

Have a great week everyone.
Cheers
Mrs H

Lara's paintings

2010-07-28T20:45:00.000+12:00

Hola guys it's Lara here and I have been learning lots of cool things like playing a traditional malay toy called a Gasing. It's like a spinning top but instead of using your hand you use string. I learned how to
paint a cat because my aunty is a artist.
I also had a birthday party and got lots of presents from my auntes but my birthday isn't until the tenth of August it was so fun.

Well I've got to go to the crocodile farm now so I'll write to you soon
P.S sorry I can't show you any photos my aunties laptop is VERY slow.

Lara and cousins!!!

2010-07-26T22:11:00.000+12:00

Hey guys it's me again and I have left Dad's resort and have come to stay with my 4 cousins in Johor Bahru, . I guess your woundering what I've been up too, well the answer to that is simple SHOPPING!!! I'm just kidding. I've actually been to this really awesome midnight park and yes it's only open at midnight.
Sorry guys I've got to run I'll write to you soon.Lara

News and Home Tasks Term 3 Week 2

2010-07-26T10:10:00.001+12:00

Have a great week everyone.

Regards

Teressa

Fun in the sun with Lara

2010-07-23T14:49:00.000+12:00

Hey Guys, it's Lara here! I am having a great time in Malaysia at my Dad's resort. It's 30 degrees here, much more hotter than New Zealand!! and there are heaps more sandflies here!

I've been snorkelling, walking, rock climbing and learning awesome card tricks!

We have seen lizards, a deer and heaps of fish like Nemo, stone fish and lots of sting rays, not to mention the huge parrot fish.

Soon I am going over to see my rellies in Johor Bahru.

Check out the photos I've taken during my holiday!

Hello every one

2010-07-22T00:57:00.000+12:00

I'm in Wales right know.I'll show you some photos from our trip so far.Guess were I've been.I've been to france and.......DISNEYLAND!!!

Welcome back!

2010-07-18T22:52:00.001+12:00

I agree with Kelly on her first point (see the post below) - just when you are really getting into the swing of holidays, they end!
But, not sure about the tiredness. Maybe you need to come to school to pep up and get re-energised?
I am looking forward to catching up with all the holiday goss this week.

If you would like to complete the Y chart on the computer, send me an email and I will send you the file.

Regards
Mrs H

The Holidays

2010-07-17T21:07:00.000+12:00

Hey Rm 7,

My holidays have been great! I've had heaps of time to chill out with family this week, and of course a lot of fun with friends at my "TWILIGHT" birthday party last week!

There is a few bad points about the holidays which are: 1. They have to end, and 2. They make you feel exhausted! As evidence of the tiredness I have included some pics of last night when I fell into a sound sleep on top of my dog, Sam.

See you in school,

Kelly

2010 Art Exhibition - reflections

2010-07-10T14:00:00.000+12:00

All the hype and excitement of the art exhibition is over - until the next one! Time now, to reflect on what we learnt from the process we went through to produce work that we were proud of.
We all selected the art work that we were most proud of - hard choice for most of us - and inserted it into our reflections document. Here is what Zarek had to say before he raced off to America.

Yay it's holiday time!!!

2010-07-02T12:26:00.001+12:00

Finally some time to ourselves. Room 7 (and all NZ students) are on holiday for the next two weeks. Even though it's the holidays, we're still hoping that Matheus, Owen (thanks for your first post Owen - hope you read our comment) and Lara will post on our blog to let us know what they are doing overseas.

Speech Reflections

2010-07-01T21:44:00.000+12:00

We have been thinking about all the different things we have learnt as we worked on our speeches. Kelly has used the fishbone organiser to note down her reflections.

Click here for full screen version

Mapua Magic on show

2010-07-01T18:45:00.000+12:00

Hi room 7!

2010-07-01T07:41:00.000+12:00

Hello everybody Its nice and warm over here in England. Right now Im staying at my Aunties house in Billingshurst with my cousins Jack and Hannah.We are really tired!!!We Have been to Wellington, Sydney, and Bangkok. In Sydney we went to Taronga Zoo. There were so many animals like a Komodo Dragon,Salt water croc, Red panda, Kodiac Bear, Snow lepored, Hippo, Girafe, Zebra and lots of other animals and insects.Hope you are all ok.(P.s. I will try and get some photos on soon.)

From Owen

2010 Art Exhibition

2010-06-30T10:24:00.002+12:00

The Mapua School Art Exhibition has been a big hit for Mapua School students, especially Room 7.

Room 7 is lucky to have had Maureen Ryan as our Art teacher and part time teacher when Mrs Hosie was travelling the world.
Maureen herself is an artist and has sold her art all around the world. Room 7 has had a great time with her and has printed or sketched some wonderful art.

We hope you enjoy our exhibition.
We will post more photos of the exhibition soon.

Happy blogging

Room 7

Homework Free Zone!

2010-06-28T21:03:00.001+12:00

After listening to a couple of speeches last week I have decided to listen to the appeal for no homework.
This term the class has given their best to ensure they are:

developing sound habits of mind
raising their achievement levels
becoming all they can ...

Their speeches have demonstrated their ability to communicate with clarity and precision; their art shows their ability to think flexibly and creatively to try new media and designs; their group work for the Island Survivor activities show they are able to work interdependently; they are learning new maths concepts through applying prior knowledge and building on it to solve everyday problems involving multiplication and division.

THESE STUDENTS DESERVE A BREAK!

I wish you all a very happy holiday chilling out with your families and friends for the next two weeks.

A special bon voyage to Owen and his family as they travel to Europe for the next five weeks. We are all looking forward to seeing your photos on the blog Owen.

Speaking of students overseas - Matheus, what are you up to? How about contacting us. We miss you.

Regards
Mrs H

The Room 7 whole school assembly on Friday was a success from the 'Gumboot' song to open through to the trip to Tane's Ark. I was very proud of the way they all stepped up to the mark and turned on a professional performance - it was enjoyed by all.

Ripper Rugby News

2010-06-22T08:11:00.014+12:00

On Tuesday 15 June, Year 5 and 6 in Rooms; 5, 9 and 7 went to the Motueka Ripper Rugby Tournament. The schools that we were competing against were; Riwaka, Parklands, Motueka South, Upper Moutere, Taperwera as well as the other Mapua teams. The Mapua teams were; The Legends , The Marcos and The Stingrays. The weather was cold but the teams got through it and didn't let their school down!

The Legends played 7 games and the other two played 6. Why did The Legends team play 7 games? Because they won all six games and they got into the finals. Unfortunately they lost the finals and came second in the pool of teams.

It was a fantastic day!

Cross Country Championships

2010-06-22T08:04:00.002+12:00

On Thursday the 11th June a bunch of Year 5, 6, 7 and 8's went to Rabbit Island to perform in an inter school cross country championship. There were about 12 schools competing for the top places and each school brought about 10 people so there was quite a lot of us there.

Mapua did really well. We got 3 firsts, 3 seconds and 1 third place, so over all we did really well and we won the over all event.

The people that did really well got to go to the regional championships in Nelson on the 21 June. Once again Mapua did really well coming third overall out of ...? schools. Go Mapua!

If you get a good placing in that event, you can represent Nelson (and Mapua School) in the inter regionals that are either held in Nelson, Christchurch or Wellington.

These events were great fun and a brilliant way to get active. Everyone had a ball and I can't wait till next year to compete in the 2011 championship.