Easter colouring-in competition

Congratulations to Connie who was Room 4's winner of the Easter colouring-in competition run by the librarians.  Connie won a scrummy looking easter egg for her efforts.

Student of the Week - Alyssa

Alyssa is Room 4's student of the week - for outstanding progress in our maths measurement unit on length.  Fantastic learning Alyssa!  It's great to see students like you making the most of learning opportunities.

Old Guy Running - Quick Write

“Yay I’m coming first,” I say to myself. I run as fast as I can. There it goes. Click goes my shoulder. I can’t run. Another click. Then I get to the finish line and win. I did 200 metres. Some people are still on the first lap. - Paris

“I’m suffocating,” the man calls out breathlessly. I have done three laps, two more to go. I do not think I can even do half a lap. I start to slow down and … STOP. I can’t breathe!! The St Johns had already got me. - Lucie

I’m gonna win the race... oh no a guy speeds passed. The crowd goes wild! And then everybody passes me. I think in my head, “I won’t give up.” I crossed the finish line. Unfortunately I came last but I tried my best! - Emma

He was about to win the race but then a stick was in front of him and then BOOM he fell straight to the ground and face planted.

“Oh barnacles! I was so close,” the old man said. - Connie

Ding dong went the bell and I started to run. I watch as ten other competitors slowly pass me. I look back and see nobody behind me so I start to run faster but my old legs were too tired to carry all my weight to the finish line. One of the people watching stuck out their foot. I face planted the ground and blacked out. When I woke up I found myself lying on a hospital bed with a whole lot of people crowded around me and someone said I had come last in the 100m sprint. - Kate

1km per hour is my record, can I beat it? Probably not. I am in second place. Billions of blistering barnacles a runner flies past me like a gliding eagle … da, da, da..... - Toby

I am out of breath but I kept on running. I have to run 10km and I am coming in first place. I am only on my 6th lap and I am sweaty. I came in first place. Yay! Yay! Everyone cheers for me. Even though I am old I can still run. I ran every day for that. I made it to the finish line. - Lucy

I was at a triathlon and I saw an old man running for his life to get to the finish line. He looked like a shark or jaws was going to get him but he got to the finish line luckily and he looked happy. - Alesana

“Go, go Grandad! You can run faster than that. GO! I will buy you an ice-cream after you have run but you have to speed up a bit. Go-go Grandad! Yes, you are winning the race. YES! What a cool time Grandad.” - Jenaya

“OUCH! Why? Why? And why does this old guy have to wear me in the athletics race. And he’s running 100kms. WHAT?! I so wished I couldn’t be his best pair of shoes like my friends.

“3...2...1...Boop.”

Oh no, he’s running, he’s running. Ouch, ow, ouch and ow! Man Man a stone. Look where you’re going. Bang! Ouch you nearly knocked me out. I can see a line that says FINISH. Oh no, it’s just a mark that says you’ve finished 10km. OH NO! OUCH! - Jessica

“Run, run, run old man.”

“Stop yelling. Am I there yet? YES.”

“Congratulations sir you have run the 2 metre run. How do you feel?”

“Tired mate.” - Blake

Oh no I think I am going to collapse. Oh, and I did.

*****

All I could hear was ‘ow, ah, we, o, we, o.’

“Where am I?” the old man said faintly.

You collapsed said the St John lady... - Rubie

As an old man slipped me on his feet I do not want to run the 30m race. I’m so sore I can’t move but my master is forcing me to run further. We are in the lead. We are about to cross the finish line and we break the streamer and go to collect the trophy. Yeah! - Abby

“The old person is doing hurdles and he is coming first. I can’t believe it, a 91 year old person is coming first. This has to be a new record. Yay! He won. Oh, no he dropped to the ground.” - Hamish

When am I done? I’m in the 100 metres. Sweat is coming down my face. I am in the lead now. I only have two laps to go. The crowd is cheering for me, going

“Go Steve GO!”

One more lap to go. I’m still in the lead.

“And Steve Wither comes first!!” And the crowd says,

“Steve you rock!” - Josie

As I was running I was getting closer and closer. When I got into where the crowd was i started running faster. I counted as I passed the people 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 WOW! I’m coming in first place. I cross the finish line. The crowd starts cheering. I have run 20 kilometres. - Alyssa

“Run Dad, run,” says a girl in the crowd. Stop running so hard on me. More than one thousand people ran over the top of me. Hurry up and finish the race. - Samara

I was running as fast as could then I got very nervous and scared by everybody because they were loud. So that is why I stopped. Then he was horrified by the people because they were loud and noisy. - Amber-Rose

I am winning the race but the other man is not far behind me! I am slowing down! because I am running out of energy! I am running passed the crowd. I won! - Ryan

Angry Man - Quick Write



As the man screwed up his face he shouted, “HEY! You don’t tell me what to do! I’ve got fists and I’m not afraid to use them.”

**********

“I’m glad you’re my friend again!” - Emma

My Grandpa turned angry because he has not been chosen to be the prime minister. He was not even voted for! He was so angry that he threw his glasses at the window and broke it. He had to get another pair of glasses and had to pay for the window. That, Grandma was not pleased with. - Abby

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that young man,” grumbled the old man. I tried to run but the old man hooked the end of his walking stick round my throat. I screamed for help but no words came out. I tried to walk backwards but the old man just tightened his grip on his walking stick and sadly that was the end of my life. I blacked out and fell to the ground. - Kate

The man is angry because someone was pointing their camera at him and he does not like that.

“Get that camera out of my face,” and he really did not sound happy. His finger pointed up like he was pointing at the sky. - Hamish

I am really mad and it is really hard to stop being angry . This man is being really silly. My face is very scrunched up because I said not to be silly and he doesn’t listen. He was being a bully. - Ryan

“Here’s your soup sir.” PUSH.

“Haha! You just got pushed by an 8 year old.”

“Grandad you might want to clean up your face because you’ve got got soup all over you like it’s orange mud.” - Blake

The man is so angry that his face was all screwed up. I tried to tell him to take me to the park but he just pointed his finger and said

“I don’t want to be told any stories. I just want to be all alone with nobody around me at all.” - Alyssa

I saw a man. He looked angry like an ogre.He was shouting

“You don’t do that!” He probably thought he was the Prime Minister. - Alesana

“Don’t you even dare say a word,” said the caring man as he raises his hand and clenches his fist. The people go silent with fright. The man says,

“That’s better.” - Lucie

“GRRRRR. you kids are not supposed to be out there.”

I am the principal. I am angry. My finger is sticking out like a stick. My teeth look like they are going to bite you.

“Just wait until I ring your Mum! I just can’t wait until you stop going out the gate at school! - Josie

“When are you going to talk?”

“You better take that back or else I’ll get angry.”

“What I have done is this. Next year at LAS you will have to wear a uniform because I am the principal.” - Paris

“And...ACTION!”

John, my Grandad, is performing an old angry man. My grandad has a grumpy look on his face.

“Hey John, we’ve got a problem because you’ve got to do that 12 times until the movie goes out.” - Connie

I stare at a man. His name is Dad. I point the longest finger. I’m wearing a mining hat, that must mean I’m an angry miner.The man that I’m pointing at is another miner. - Max

“Get out! Get out of my house! My trophies will break if you touch them.” The man was as angry as a hippo trying to protect its young. With his glasses on he looked even scarier. The man was angry because someone just broke one of his trophies. - Samara

His face is scrunched up. The mans eyes look very serious. One fist is clenched and he’s pointing the finger.

“It’s the law!” he shouts. He shouted so loud that it echoed around the court-yard. He stomped his feet. - Jessica

I am very grumpy and mad and I am angry because they pulled all of the toys out and did not put them back in the toy box and I am only telling them one more time.

“Put those toys away or else I will tell your Mum that she has to clean them up.” - Lucy

Decorating bikes for Technology

 This term the whole junior school have been working on a technology unit. We were posed the following problem:

"We have been asked to decorate our bikes to participate in the Community Country Fair, and would like to be a part of this, but we have no budget."

 We brainstormed a number of possible themes that we could use to decorate our bikes and then took some time to think about which theme we might choose for our own bike.

Some of the possible themes were;

• sparkles & tinsel
• nature or camouflage
• fantasy or mythical
• spooky or horror
• transport
• future
• animals
• colours

 We had to decide on our theme, and then we were grouped according to our theme choice. There we children from years 0-8 in each of the groups. We set off in our groups and began the planning stage of our work.

We began by drawing what we envisaged our completed bike to look like. We labelled parts of our our bike and began to create a list of the resources that we would need to source, recycle or borrow.

 We had some criteria that we had to meet with the design of our bike:

we had to

• decorate our bike with no budget
• source our own resources from home
• be able to ride our bike correctly and safely
• be able to restore our bike to its exact state prior to the decoration (so no permanent decorations could be used e.g. paint or vivid)

 We also had to consider the mechanics of our bike as we created our plan. It was important that we could still steer our bike correctly, that our brakes functioned correctly and that our chain, spokes etc were all able to work properly.

 When the planning stage was complete we all brought our bikes and resources along to school for the practical session of our unit.  

 We spent 1 and a half hours working away outside in the sunshine creating marvellously decorated bikes. Many of us discovered that our plans had to be changed instantly when we began to apply the resources to the bike. Many of our ideas needed to be modified in order to work well.

 Everybody worked within their theme groups which meant there were some opportunities to swap and share resources.

 It was a wonderful day, and exciting to see our junior and senior students working alongside each other on similar projects.

With everything cleaned up it was time for the students to put their completed creations on display.

 Abby created a wonderful dog, complete with ears, tails and paws.

 Rubie chose the theme of sparkles and tinsel..

  and so did Lucie.

  Max chose nature and camouflage...

  and so did Hamish.

  Josie also covered her bike in sparkles and tinsel...

  and so did Lanie...

  and so did Amber Rose.

  Emma chose to decorate her bike using the theme of Christmas.

  Connie covered her bike in colourful pom poms, stars and sparkles.

  Jenaya had stars, hearts and tinsel.

  Toby had created a dinosaur themed bike.

  Paris had used streamers, papers and pom poms, not to mention a fabulous basket filled with soft toys.

  Jessica had also used the Christmas theme to decorate her bike.

  Kate had created a 'my little pony' bike with matching helmet.

  Alyssa had used the theme of sparkles, tinsel, ribbons and balloons.

  Blake's bike was decorated using nature and camouflage...

  and so had Samara.

  Lucy used colours, sparkles and balloons to decorate her bike.

Venessa chose a theme of Christmas which included fairy lights.

Alesana used tin foil to decorate his bike as though it come from the future.

 Following the grand parade all of the bikes were parked up awaiting pick up.

Many of the students kept their bikes decorated and took it to the Lawrence Country Fair on the following Sunday. Eveyone who entered was given a drink bottle, a fizzy drink and an Easter egg. There were also overall prizes for each age group.

It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed being part of such a terrific technology unit.

Happy or Excited? - Quick Write

The little girls eyes are scrunched in a ball. She’s smiling that means she’s happy. Her hands are curled in a ball. Her shoulders are up because she is so happy. She can not stop smiling. - Lucy

Her eyes are as tight as she can possibly close them. She has a cheeky, happy, huge smile on her face. Her fists are clenched. Her shoulders are peeking up to the sky. She looks like she is going to fly. - Jessica

The little girls eyes were scrunched up, closed like she was making a wish. She had a gigantic smile that was a big as a melon with teeth as white as can be. Her little hands were put together and her shoulders were scrunched up to her head. She was so excited she couldn’t even talk. - Samara

Hey eyes are shut like a happy girl. Her smile is cheeky. Her hands are praying. Her shoulders are being up. She is so excited that she is going to explode. - Lanie

The little girls eyes are scrunched up. Her smile is so big you can see her teeth. The little girl’s scrunched up. Her shoulders are freezing. The little girl’s so excited she can’t stop smiling. - Paris

The little girl’s eyes are closed. Rubie’s smile looks like she has been up to something. Rubie’s hands are clenched. She is rubbing her fists together. Her shoulders are as high as I have ever seen them. - Rubie

The little girls eyes are shut with excitement. She has a really cheeky smile and scrunched up hands. It looks like she is going to punch. Her shoulders are peeping over like they’re a ghost. She is so excited. - Josie

A young two year old is so excited that her uncle and aunty are coming. There goes the doorbell. They’re here. Sydney starts to rub her fists together. Her hands look like she’s in a boxing fight. Her mum opens the door. In walks Aunty and Uncle. They have a big present that is about 1 metre long. Sydney runs to the door. She says, “What’s that Aunty?” “It’s for you.” Sydney starts opening it. It is a rocking horse. -  Lucie

A girls is jumping on a trampoline. Her face is happy. She looks like her face is going to explode. She is getting redder and redder by the second and now her her face is redder than a volcanic eruption in Auckland. Her hair blows against the wind like a jet plane fighter. Phew the missiles are going faster than ever! - Alesana

The little girls eyes are shut and scrunched up tight. I can see baby teeth poking out. The little girls fists were rubbing together. Her shoulders are up by her face. The little girls face was all scrunched up. - Alyssa

Her eyes are scrunched up with happiness. Her smile looks very big. Her hands are very tight. Her shoulders are very high to her ears. She will explode. - Amber Rose

Her eyes are tight shut and it looks nice. Her smile is really nice. Her hands are like she has scrunched up fists. - Ryan

The girls eyes are shut and scrunched up. her smile is wide open and all you can see is her teeth. Her hands are not hands they are fists. Her shoulders are in her head. She looks like she is laughing ‘cause someone is tickling her. - Hamish

The girls eyes look like two pieces of scrunched up paper. her smile is a cheeky mischievous smile with little teeth sticking out. She has hands clenched up as fists. Her shoulders are up with excitement. Do you know why she is excited? Well, because it was her birthday. - Abby

The little girls eyes are scrunched up. Her smile is a juicy huge smile. Her hands are like they are stuck together. Her shoulders are up high. She looks like a nice friendly little dog. - Emma



Beginning ukulele

This afternoon we began our adventure into learning to play the ukulele - a first not only for the students of Room 4, but Mrs O as well.  Mr Kimble came over to school and tuned the ukuleles for us all.  First we learnt how to hold our ukuleles close against our bodies and explored different strumming patterns. Then we learnt the finger positions for two chords - C and G7.  Thankfully Mrs Crawford joined us for our first session and played a beat pattern on the keyboard for us to play along with.  Finally we had a go at putting it all together to play the tune 'Row row row your boat'.  Some of us found it tricky to change chords - our fingers just didn't want to move fast enough!  But we know that with practise we will improve and all get much better. It was a really great effort by everybody for our first session together.

Abby and Alyssa play C

Ryan, Alesana and Hamish remember to hold their ukuleles upright  

Jenaya, Rubie and Kate enjoy the challenge of changing chords

Emma gets to grip with chords on her ukulele - Mrs O will have to remember to put
sticky dots to help her know where to place her fingers

Connie and Josie enjoy our music session

Lucie and Lucy - one right handed and one left handed player

Max concentrates while Amber-Rose demonstrates the C chord

The whole class jamming along together!

Student of the Week - Abby

The star of the week (or in fact any week so far this year) is Abby.  She always gives 100% effort in any learning situation, listening carefully to instructions and completing work to the best of her ability.  Tino pai rawe Abby - you are a terrific role model to everybody in Room 4.

Quick Write - Snowmobile

Our latest five minute quick writes.  Mrs O was only going to publish the very best on this blog but the Room 4 students made it just too hard to choose as there were sooooo many excellent descriptions with fantastic vocabulary choices made.  So here they all go......

I was skiing on the white, dusty snow.  It went all over me like a strong wave.  I could feel the snow tickling my throat like a tickly machine.  - Alesana

I am skidding around the corner.  I feel like I am going to fall off but I don’t.  I am only having fun.  All the snow is getting in the snowmobile because I am on the snowmobile. - Lanie

I zoom round a corner.  I do a little tiny teeny jump off the sloping berm.  Not a tiny jump, more of a ginormous jump. - Max

Aaaahhh I’m going around the corner.  I feel like I’m going to fall off.  I start leaning to a side.  I don’t want to fall but I got around.  – Paris

As I woosh around on the track in a race the trees are covered with snow  I am about to tip over and I face planted.  – Lucy

Snow flies out the back of my crawlers like a sandstorm in the Sahara.  This will be fun I think to myself.  After all  there’s no place like Canada.  - Toby

Rmmmm rmmmm.  I zoom around the snow field.  I go down tree hill which is the steepest, most coldest mountain.  1, 2, 3, go.  I zoom down like a rocketship, zip zippy.  I corner every tree but then I corner the last tree and there I fling out the snowmobile and face plant to the ground as the snowmobile rolls down the hill.  Oh oh…..  - Connie

I am zooming through the snow like I am on a surfboard or boogie board.  Then all of a sudden I crashed into a frozen icy tree.  Man I am not having another go.  Oh no here comes another snowmobile.  He closed up his eyes like snuggling into a tree like he was hiding.  - Jenaya

It’s like a winter wonderland outside this morning  There are icicles hanging from the roof tops!  Well I guess it’s time to go on a snowmobile.  VROOOM the engine roars like a lion.  Mt Everest was a good place to go snow mobiling.  OH, OH, OH, NO, NO, NO that’s NOT good.  I’m going to get told off by my mother.  I’ve crashed the mobile. OPPS!!  - Jessica

“Ahhhhh!” I say out loud as Toby turns me round the last corner of the race.  “Toby what did you do that for?” I scream out loud as the snow comes rushing to meet the side of my body.  Once we hit the ground Toby said “Well that wasn’t as bad as falling off my 16.2 h.h horse at home! – Kate

As I was turning the corner I did an enormous skid and nearly fell off except I held on tight and stayed on it.  Snow was swooping up behind me as I was turning.  – Alyssa

I am skidding around the corner and I am going to do a face plant in the snow.  Awww it really hurts but I must carry on.  There are lots of surrounding trees and they are hard to dodge.  Here comes another tree! – Ryan

Brrrmmmmm my snowmobile skidded around a corner and I just missed a tree.  Then I went skidding for miles. – Samara

It’s cold and windy at the starting gates but at least everyone is tucked up warm.  Now I look at my watch – 5 minutes before my heat.

****

The commentator calls out my heat.  I start to head over to the starting gate, feeling like an iceberg. – Lucie

I was riding so fast I couldn’t control myself.  The snow burst up at my face and I couldn’t believe that when I got snow on me.  I got colder and colder from the winds. – Amber-Rose

Wooosh!  I come around a corner and slam into the snow.  I quickly get back up and it feels like I am surfing on the water.  Snow is coming up the side flicking little flakes at me.  Trees are covered.  It looks like they are humungous flakes.  – Josie

As I jump onto my snowmobile I rev up my engine as I hear the crowd chanting.  I don’t realise that the person who always says go had said it.  I whizz around the corner.  The snow flicks onto my glasses and I can’t see!  I was surprised that I didn’t fall off like a man riding a bull!  It was even better when I came second! – Abby

“And they are off.”  I zoom around a corner.  I felt like I was surfing and a big wave crashed above me!!!! – Rubie

Vroom goes the engine on the snowmobile as it zooms around the corner.  Oh no!  He is stuck because he was going so fast that he dug into the snow.  Everyone overtook him but one person helped get him out.  As soon as he got out he was back on the track to win the race.  – Hamish

As I zoom around the corner the snow comes at my face like a wave.  Just as well I have a helmet on.  I could have crashed.  What a close one!  - Emma

After I’m done I’m going to have a hot chocolate because at the back the snow flicks up at me.  Like when you’re riding on your bike and the water flicks up at you.  – Blake