More Fun at Ferrymead on PhotoPeach

Ferrymead on PhotoPeach

Ashley School Showcase

Wow - what a night!!!!!!!!The costumes looked great and the children throughout the school did a fantastic job. I was so proud of Room 4 and 5 for getting up on stage and dancing through the decades so well. There were so many nervous children backstage but when it came to showtime they got our there and strutted their stuff. Thank you so much to all of you for your help with costumes and makeup - the show wouldn't have been possible without your support.

Red Nose Day

Wow - what a fantastic effort the school council and Miss Mutch put in to making this day a success. Thank you also to all the parents who supported this day by buying noses, wristbands or cupcakes. The children have been very excited to be part of this day.

Tennis

On Fridays we are having tennis le

ssons. Unfortunately, on Friday, the weather wasn't great and so we had our lesson in the hall. Our coach is called Ian and he is from Canterbury Tennis.

Following the Olympics

In Room 4 we have been following the Olympics. We have learnt that the Olympics happen every four years and that you have to be the "best of the best" to get to the Olympics. We have been keeping track of how many medals New Zealand has with our medal wall. Today we are cross that the news people are saying that Valerie "lost the gold" and "only got a silver medal" because we think that she did a fantastic job. We think that getting a silver medal is a big achievement.

Equivalent Fractions

Today in class we have been looking at equivalent fractions. This is a very hard concept to understand and so we used pieces of pizza to show things like 1/2 is the same as 2/4 and 1/3 is the same as 2/6.

Swimming and Gymnastics

Welcome back to school and a very busy Term 3. I just wanted to remind you that swimming and gymnastics start tomorrow - Wednesday - and every Wednesday for the rest of the term. Thank you all for returning your permission slips. Fees for these sports will be charged on your activity fee. Could you please make sure that your child's gear is named and that they have a drink bottle and socks for gymnastics. You are welcome to come and watch at any time you want.

Science Alive Visits Us

Today we have had a visit from Julie and Chris at Science Alive as part of their Outreach Programme. Our focus was Electrofun. We learnt how to make a simple circuit, a series circuit using an LED light and a Parallel Circuit. We then had the chance to make our very own Night Light that the children get to take home. It was a very steep learning curve and the children can now recognise some of the symbols used for electricity and understand the necessary components of a circuit.

Fun In The Snow

Just a couple of pictures to show the children having fun in the snow at lunchtime on Friday. There would have been more photos - but I didn't want to get wet feet!!!! :-)

Well Done Janey!

What a great weekend Janey had at her sport. Player of the day for hockey and soccer in the same weekend!!!! Well done Janey.

Why is Wai (water) Important?

This week we had our once a term visit from Lesley Ottey who talks to us about the environment. This week her focus was on water. Did you know that 97% of the world's water is salt water, 2% is locked in the ice shelves and that only 1% is usable by us!!!! That certainly made us stop and have a think about how much we use. The photo of the green bottle depicts 97% salt water and 3% that is fresh. Lesley told us that the average shower uses 70 litres of water and baths 95 litres. The children learnt about the water cycle and we went outside to look at where the roots on a tree are that drink the water. A great lesson that made us really think about such a valuable resource.

Electricity

Next week we will be starting our Inquiry topic on electricity. Please help your children by talking about what you know and/or helping them look for information they can share.

Constable Ken and Road Safety

A couple of weeks ago, during Road Safety week, Constable Ken came to talk to us about keeping safe around roads. We learnt where to walk safely and how to cross the road. We also learnt about how important it is to wear a seatbelt. As a treat we got to sit in the police car and Constable Ken even turned on the sirens when Donovan was in there.

Cross Country

What a great day we had at the Cross Country last Wednesday up at the Marshall-Lee's place. It was so nice to be part of the Senior event. Thanks to Clare for all her work in organising this for us. Congratulations to all the children for completing the course - some of love to run.... others....not so much.

Working with Lego - Gears

In Room 4 we are working on the theme of "Change" and this term we are looking at it from a science perspective. We have started by looking at gears and pulleys. In the school we have some amazing Lego Dacta that are specialised kits to help us learn about gers, levers and pulleys. Gears and Levers on PhotoPeach

Making Waka

This week one of our reading groups and to read and follow the instructions on how to make a waka. We used flax sticks, wire and cardboard. It was hard to translate the instructions into practice. Thank you so much to Gary for cutting and shaping our flax sticks and to Pamela for patiently re-reading the instructions and helping with the wire.

We took them out for a race - and to check they floated. They were awesome!!!!!

The Slytheirn Slug!!!

Check this out!! This is the slug that was in the paper at the weekend - he came to school today to visit us. At a stretch he got out to 16cm long. We decided to call him Bob for the day.

We learnt that he is not good to have in New Zealand because he eats so fast that he can destroy our plants. He is a tiger slug.

Y 3/4 Sports Spectacular

Last Wednesday Year 3 and 4 went to Southbrook Park for a fun day of sports. There were over 600 children there from many schools in North Canterbury. It was a fantastic day that was well organised and we got to try so many sports. There was even a tug of war - children verse teachers/parents.

Y3/4 Sports Spectacular on PhotoPeach

Easter Note Generator

Keeping Ourselves Safe- Feelings

This week we started our Keeping Ourselves Safe unit of work. Our focus today was on identifying feelings - happy, sad, proud, angry, confused.....

We talked to a buddy about times in our life when we have felt these ways.... and we also practised making faces to match the feeling.

Can you guess what feeling we are portraying?

Feelings on PhotoPeach

Our Pet For The Day

Once again Georgia has brought in something extra special to share. In the cage is her very elusive pet mouse that is six weeks old. It is a beautiful grey and white - unfortunately it did't want us to have a look - and hid out all day.

A Budding Star!

Last week we were lucky enough to hear Georgia pay her violin. What a talent in the making! I know what a hard instrument this is to master and we all thought she did a great job.

Popcorn Making Time

On Friday Harri brought in his popcorn machine for us to see. His Mum came along with all the ingredients and Harri made us some yummy popcorn to try. It was great to see Harri putting his sharing news into action - and we all thoroughly enjoyed the popcorn.

Thank you Harri.

Happy Birthday Riley

A few days age was Riley's 7th birthday. He kept it a secret from us at school.....but did bring his cool new helmet to school to show us. Check it out!!! Happy birthday Riley!

Thank You Jaya!!

Jaya has brought some tadpoles in to the class for us to have as class pets. She found them in a big water hole in the forest and she said there were "hundreds and hundreds of them". Jaya has been very organised and has brought them water and fish food - she even got them a rock so that when they turn into frogs they will have somewhere to sit.

The children love coming in each day and checking to see how long their back legs have got.

Thank you Jaya.

More Team Building Fun

This week we had to get a hoop around our group even when our hands were held together. We also had to get all our team across the swamp in the sack. It was lots of fun - and required a lot of talking and thinking as a team.

Team Building on PhotoPeach

Measuring in Metres

Measuring In Metres on PhotoPeach

Celebrating Creativity

Take at look at Celeste's amazing art work she created at home on a canvas.... such a talent.

Beach Education Follow Up

Just thought I would show you all what we made in class last week as a follow up to our trip to the Beach. The children each drew themselves in their favourite togs and then added other bits and pieces that we saw at the beach.

We are very proud of the result.

Team Building Fun! on PhotoPeach

NZ SIgn Language

The children in Room 4 have started learning sign language. Please use the link down the side in "Useful websites" if you would like to learn more..... (it has video and picture examples of the signs)

Fun At Waikuku Beach on PhotoPeach

Beach Education

What a fantastic day we had today at Waikuku Beach. We learnt so many things about being sunsmart, beach safety and the role of the lifeguard. We also had a lot of fun playing games on the beach. In the afternoon we got to go in the water - we learnt to boogie board, duck dive and played sea monsters.

I would like to say a huge thank you to all the parents who came and helped today - especially those who braved the water as this meant we were able to complete the water part of the programme. Thank you also for your help getting children dressed afterwards.

Working Together Day 1 on PhotoPeach

Welcome to 2012!!!!!!!

Welcome back to school. What a great day we have had. We took time this morning to organise our stationery and get the right books into the right piles - it's amazing how long that can take!!!

After play we had a quick spelling test and then read books from our browsing box. For the next two weeks the children will be bringing home browsing box books. This enables me time to establish routines and expectations for my reading programme. You may notice that the books your child has are at a slightly lower level than their instructional level at the end of last year. This is intentional - browsing boxes are set up to encourage independence and confidence.

Today we have also had a chance to explore the reading and maths shelves and have done some Jump Jam and some co-operative games.

I look forward to a fantastic year working with your children.