Self-Portraits with a twist

Mrs O showed us some portrait work by Austrian artist Friedensrich Hundertwasser.  We talked about his style and techniques that he used, namely the bold and simple designs, use of bright colours, distorted head shape, large eyes and interesting colour choices.

 

We then created our own self-portraits in the same style as  Friedensrich Hundertwasser.  Once our pencil outlines were complete, we drew over these with a vivid marker, then coloured in with either crayon or pastel.  Some of us were more traditional in our colour choices, whilst others were willing to take risks and emulate the colour choices of Hundertwasser.

 

Once they were finished we attached the Managing Self goal that we set for ourselves for Term 1.

 

The very best thing of all is that everybody thoroughly enjoyed creating these and we all felt a great deal of success.  Everyone wants to share theirs at the next presentation assembly.

 

Aren't they totally eye-catching!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Room 4 in uniform

Day one of the 2013 school year and don't we all look super-smart in our school uniforms!

And again... with our two teachers, Mrs O and Mrs May

Hamish and Paris model the new uniforms - very smart!

Waitahuna Swimming Carnival

 Today was the Junior Swimming Carnival at Waitahuna School and it was AWESOME!!!!!!

The students attending from Room 4 all did exceptionally well and we were very proud of them all.

Students competed in a number of events to showcase the swimming skills that they have been working on every afternoon since the start of term 1.

They swam widths of the pool in a streamline on their tummy and on their back. They swam widths with the flutter board.

 

 They retrieved objects off the bottom of the pool, and raced against each other with egg and spoon.

And they ended their session by swimming lengths of both freestyle and backstroke to show the cheering parents just what great swimmers they have become.

After all of the swimming was completed we had a lovely lunch with the Waitahuna children and enjoyed a sausage sizzle put on by the Waitahuna parents, and then we returned to school for an afternoon of work.

It was terrific day and all of the children can be VERY proud of themselves! Well done team!

Introducing Faiza.... Room 4's lifelong learner

In Room 4 we have been discovering what it means to be a 'Life-Long Learner'.

We have discussed that a life-long learner is someone who asks questions, listens, reads, seeks out new information and goes on to to do extra study or learning after they complete their high school years.

In order to be a life long learner we need to be motivated; keen to learn, set high standards, never give up, willing to try anything, lots of energy, excited about learning, has passion, quick to get started and wants to achieve their goals.

You also need to be confident; willing to do it, strive to excel, being brave, you know you can do it, feeling safe, giving it a go and feeling sure of yourself.

And another important quality is be be willing to contribute; having a go at things, sharing ideas, taking part, joining in and helping to make something successful.

All of these qualities are the characterisitics that make up a 'Life-Long Learner' - and this is the vision that our school has for each and every one of us. When we come in, while we are here and as we prepare to leave our teachers are here to guide us to becoming these people, so that when we leave we are ready to be Life-Long Learners and to continue our learning journey long after our school years.

We decided to create our own Life-Long Learner for Room 4 and she now hangs proudly on our classroom wall as a constant reminder of what our school wants for us, and how we can become successful.

We began our creation by drawing around our smallest class member 'Samara', who just happens to be a girl, and so, now our newwest class member is also a girl. Then everybody in the class had opportunities over the next two days to contribute to the collage of our student. We replicated our new school uniform as closely as we could so that she would reflect us perfectly.

We decided to name our student, but wanted her name to be something in keeping with her purpose, so we googled 'names that mean successful' and we got 95 names back to choose from. After a class vote we decided on 'Faiza' which is Arabic, meaning victorious and successful. 

When the collage was complete we added eyes, nose, mouth, hair, buttons and shoe laces to make her as real as possible, and then she was displayed proudly at the front of our classroom. 

Feel free to call in and see our newest class member for yourself - she is really cool!  

Kiwi Golf

Melanie Harper came back to school to help teach us some golf skills. She began by reminding us how to hold the club correctly. We all got to practise with flags first.

 

Melanie then got Jessica to demonstrate how to correctly hold the club and then swing through to hit the ball.  She even showed us the 'interlocking grip' used by the famous young NZ golfer Lydia Ko as well as the world famous Tiger Woods.  Some of us gave it a go today.

 

 

 Melanie then put is into small groups of three, one person setting up and hitting a large ball, while another person watched and collected the ball for their turn.

 

Next we were given a tennis ball, to try the same skill.  Then finally it was time for the golf balls.

Melanie was impressed with our skills. Way to go Room 4!!!!!  She also commented on how smart the students all looked in their school uniforms. 

Student of the week - Emma

Emma is our well-deserving student of the week for Room 4.  She has had a superb start to the school year and is showing great leadership as a Year 4 in our classroom.   Emma is another student who has taken on board the school vision (We develop lifelong learners who are confident, motivated and willing to contribute) and has been contributing fully to all classroom activities.

First student of the week for 2013

Huge congratulations to Hamish, Room 4's first student of the week for 2013.  Hamish has demonstrated our school vision this year by showing confidence in the pool and trying new things.  Way to go Hamish!  We are all very proud of you.