India and New Zealand

After learning all about different countries, we then compared them to New Zealand. We worked in pairs and small groups to look at the similarities and differences - and at what makes each country so special.

Here are some of our comparisons between New Zealand and India. Veronica joined our class around this time and wrote an amazing comparison between New Zealand and China. Enjoy! 

Maddox, Ayden and Luke

Prisha, Ivy, Anica

Ivan, Riyan

FRIENDSHIP

This week, our focus as a class has been friendship and what it means to be a good friend.
We wrote an acrostic poem together about what we thought being a friend meant.

Friendly, fun, fabulous

Respectful, reliable

Independence, inclusive

Excellence

Nice

Don’t hurt each other, don’t say mean things

Sharing, success, stand tall

Helpful

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.

Positive, polite, play together

We then practised cooperation and wrote about what it meant to be a friend in pairs. Here are some of our explanations about what friendship looks like, sounds like and feels like.

A friend is a person that wants to play with you. 

A friend looks like a person that is kind. 

A friend is a person that says nice words. 

A friend feels good and confident, friendly and nice. 

A friend is important because you need people to play with. 

Oliver and Anica

A friend is someone who is not a family member but is still important to you. A friend looks like not hurting each other and playing with people who are sad and alone. A friend sounds like not hurting each other's feelings and not saying rude things. It sounds like asking if they're ok and encouraging them. Being a friend feels like showing your friend that you care about them and taking good care of them when somebody is being mean. 

To have a friend you have to be a good friend too. 

Maddox and Petelo 

A friend is someone who is trustworthy and will stand up for you but they normally aren't in your family. A good friend looks like helping someone who is sad, inviting someone into your game and holding a friend's hand. Being a friend can sound like encouraging others, telling funny jokes and sometimes quietly giggling. Friendship feels like a flower blooming in the spring. It feels confident, respected and joyful. To be a good friend you need to show all of these things. 

Eve, Mika and Smrithi 

A friend is someone who is not in your family but you choose to hang out with and you think they're nice. A good friend looks like being kind and showing RICE (Respect, Independence, Cooperation and Excellence). A good friend sounds like someone who uses manners. A good friend shows respect when the other person talks. It feels like someone who listens to you and thinks you're a good person. 

It is important to have a friend so you won't be lonely. 

Will and Felix 

A friend is someone that is not in your family but is someone that is important to you. Friendship looks like being respectful to someone else's toys and not being lazy and making your friend tidy up for you. Being a friend sounds like  saying "are you okay?"when they are sad, being polite and not saying mean things. A friend feels like being respectful and trusting each other. It feels like not hurting other people's feelings. 

To have a good friend means you also have to be a good friend as well. 

Anne and Mone

Our Art!

This term we have done lots of art using nature and trees as our inspiration. Have a look at some of our masterpieces - and then come check out our gallery in our cloakroom. 

Cricket

For the last 4 weeks we have enjoyed taking cricket lessons.  Have a look at some of our thoughts!

Drum Inquiry

We have been able to choose our own drums this week and research them in our reading time. Have a look at some of the things we found out. 

Ayla’s Drum research:

Find a picture

What is its name?

This is a Bongo drum.

What are its special features?

This drum’s special feature is that it is an open pair.
It is like there are two drums in one.

Where does this drum come from?

This drum comes from Cuba.

When would this drum be used?

This drum would be used in festivals,
maybe in the moon festivals or food festivals.

___________________________________________________

Maddox’s Drum Research:

Find a picture

What is its name?

This drum is called a caixa.

What are its special features?

It is made of wood and metal or acrylic.

Where does this drum come from?

Caixa de guerra is a latin American snare drum.

When would this drum be used?

It is a very popular drum for bands, parades and rock concerts.

___________________________________________________

Breanna’s Drum Research:

Find a picture

What is its name?

This drum is a bendir.

What are its special features?

The bendir is quite similar to a tambourine. It is big and it looks like vase.

Where does this drum come from?

It comes from North Africa.

When would this drum be used?

This drum would be used in special Sufi ceremonies.

Swimming Inspiration

For the last few weeks we have been having swimming lessons with Skills4Life. We have 3 sessions a week and it is an important and exciting part of our curriculum. Because of this we have been using it as inspiration for a lot of our writing. We have written recounts, sense poems, learning logs etc. Enjoy some of our writing about our experiences in the pool!

For the last four weeks we have been taking swimming lessons from Skills for Life. Something I enjoyed was kicking, bubbling, arm circles and the rings. The kicking was splashy, the water went everywhere! The arm circles felt like a whirlpool.

When I first got in it was cold but then I got used to it, then it was warm. Then I got hiccups because I stayed in too long.

It was so fun !

- By Ivy

I see children playing in the pool.

I hear children shouting.

I feel the waves coming over me.

I taste the water, it tastes like salt.

I smell dirty water.

- by Sophia

It looks like prison gates as you walk in. 

It sounds quiet while you are under the water. 

The hot sun feels burning on my back. 

It tastes like disgusting chlorine on my tongue. 

The changing room smells like old pee. 

- By Maddox 

The water in the pool looks like blue jelly swimming in the water. 

In the pool it sounds like silly monkeys splashing in the water. 

It feels like bouncing on yummy jelly. 

It tastes like chilly water in the pool coming into our mouths. 

It smells like smelly togs. 

- By Ivan 

'Splish, Splash!'The pool was so cold! 

It was Wednesday the 7th of February and it in the Sunnybrae School pool. I went with Room 17 and Miss Roding and the swimming instructors. 

We lined up and did our arm strokes. That is how the swimming instructors put us into groups. We did bubble breathing, back stroke and other things that were so much fun. At the end we did the plastic rings. Our instructors threw the rings and we had to dive under to find them. After we hopped out and put on our towels , we went in the changing rooms to get dressed. Then we came out and went to morning tea. I had a great time with our swimming instructors. 

- By Breanna

Brr, it’s so cold in here! On Wednesday the 7 of February in the morning 10:30 am we did our first swimming lesson! There was Miss Roding, me, Room 17 and the instructors. We went to the school pool to go swimming so that we could learn how to swim. First  we lined up and went to the school swimming pool. Next we got changed and lined up on the side of the pool so that we could go and do our assessment . After we did our assessment we got into our groups and they taught us things like: arm circles, dive for rings and much more! When we left we got changed back into our school uniforms, and went back to class for morning tea. This was room 17s first swimming lesson.

- By Smrithi