Sports With Ryan And Vinnie

On Thursday we had our fortnightly sports session with Ryan. Today the focus was on hitting the ball into space and fielding co-operatively. It was loads of fun and with so much equipment it meant that everyone got lots of turns at all parts of the lesson. The children came back to class very excited.

More Measuring!!!

Today we went outside to measure up our pirate ships. We were given a brief of with length, mast height and the length of the plank. We split in to two groups and then had to work together to draw up our plans. It took a lot of participation, co-operation and contributing from all members in the group. At the end we had a good old fashioned pirate battle. It was loads of fun - and we also learnt the value of accurate measurements.

A Belated Welcome

On Monday Mrs Elsie Day started as a third year student teacher in Room 4. Already this week she has been hard at work getting to know the children and taking reading, maths and oral language lessons. Next week Elsie will be starting three weeks full control. During this time I will be taking small groups of children and working alongside Elsie.

Please come in and introduce yourself. Elsie is with us until the end of the term.

An update on van Gogh

Take a look at the works of art in progress. The children today were adding the vase and their choice of flowers. They relly have come a long way in a few short weeks. They are very proud of themselves and I am, in turn, are very proud of them.

Jack's Special Tomato

Jack found this very cool tomato and brought it in to share with us. He even added the eyes and mouth so it looked real.

van Gogh Paintings

This term our focus in art is painting. We started by learning some brush strokes and mixing colours and now we are painting pictures inspired by van Gogh. Last week we painted our version of "Starry, starry night" and this week we are painting flower pictures. van Gogh loved to paint flowers - in particular sunflowers. The children are learning to cover the whole page, to use different brush techniques in the same painting, to mix colours on the page and to paint a picture in stages and layers.

Red and Black Day

Take a look at us!! Well done everyone for getting right into the spirit of the day and dressing to support the Red Cross. The money raised will be much appreciated I am sure.

Measuring in Metres

This term in Strand Maths our focus is on measurement. This week we have been learning to measure in metres. We have learnt to estimate how long a metre is and then how to use a metre ruler to measure length. Once the children got started they wanted to measure everything they could - they even tried measuring the field!!

Year 3 testing

Today the Year 3 children had a standardised test for reading ( the STAR test). This means that the same test is given to all New Zealand children and so it gives some indication of where your child sits amongst their peers. However - what also needs to be remembered is that seeing as this is their first experience ever of a sit down paper test - some were very nervous and may not have tested to their full ability.

I have the results and are happy to discuss these with you if you call in and I have time.

I will also be testing all children's reading with a running record over the next week or two.

Year 3 children will also sit a listening PAT test in the next week or so.