Pakeke mai

We have been enjoying learning the waiata "pakeke mai" in Room 3. Here are the lyrics for you to practise at home (and don't forget the actions)!


Pakeke mai o matimati 
Pakeke mai o matimati
Waewae whiua ki te taha 
Waewae whiua ki te taha 
Takahuri takahuri ko wiriwiri
Takahuri takahuri ko wiriwiri
Kani kani to tinana 
Kani kani to tinana
Hei ha
Hei ha
Paki paki
Paki paki

Our thoughts about Birchwood School and Room 3 in Term 1 Week 9

Kia ora koutou! Today we had a look at our blog together and we each wrote a topical comment in our draft writing books for Miss Driver to post - so this is Miss Driver, reporting on Room 3's thoughts of the moment (as you can tell, we are very excited about the disco tonight!) ...

I am excited about the disco. Lucy M

I am at the disco with my friends and I am in my beach clothes and I am excited. Keanu

I like Paddy because I sleep with him. Che (Paddy is the puppy that lives in Room 3 and goes home on Fridays!)

I am going to the disco. I am wearing a black jacket. Brooklyn

I like the disco because it's after my bed time. I like the music. Ella

I am excited about the disco. Rosa

I am going to the disco with my mum and dad and my little sister. I am wearing a hat and a flower necklace, and I'll look pretty. I am going to dance with Keira and Lucy D and Immy. Nevaeh

I want to go to the disco. I hope Paddy is a puppy. I love discos and puppies. I am going to bring my princess. I want to dance with Miss Driver. Deanne

I like the big classroom and I like Paddy. Paddy is a puppy. He is so fluffy and he is so cute. He can even talk. He goes home with kids. I love Paddy. Ashleigh

I like having a turn with Paddy. Immy

I am at the disco with my friend Nissi. We had so much fun. Aliyah

I like Paddy. Nissi

I am at the disco with my Nana. Keira

I am at the disco and I am going to bring a baby doll. My mummy and my dad are going to go with me. Lucy D

Sammy is on the horse. Sam

Time lapse videos - growing up

To watch our time lapse "growth" videos, follow these two links ...

Girl growing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHb7Ig3yPgI&feature=related

Boy growing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LCkcaXzqtI&feature=related

We hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Term 1, Week 8 in Room 3

Thanks heaps to those families who attended our assembly last week. A big well done to all Room 3 students for standing up to share their work, and an extra congratulations to those who tackled their fears about public speaking and shared their ideas about our learning with the school!

Two big reminders for this week - please come to the Home and School disco this Thursday night (29 March) and don’t forget the Hawaiian theme (or your Hawaiian dance moves)! Secondly, remember to look your best for our school photos are on Friday morning (30 March). Also, learning folders and (for students with Term 1 or Term 3 birthdays) national standards reports will be going home this Friday.

We are working on kicking and dribbling a soccer ball in large ball skills this week (with an extra basketball visit on Tuesday!), and we will keep working on on our drawing skills with Mrs Jessop on Wednesday. We had a great time learning Chinese today with Mrs Pauline Chan (we are practising a song about two tigers - we may be able to remember some of the actions at home, but we are still revising the words ...). For our topic ‘change’ focus this week are looking at people and how they change as they grow and age (at the superficial level only!). We have two more short time lapse video clips to watch and some more processes to think about. Today we thought about how people grow and we have lots of ideas - on your birthday, when you eat your crusts, in your sleep, when you bounce really high on a trampoline ... We’re also hoping to create a “now” and “then” changes comparison chart on Thursday afternoon and it would be awesome if each student could please bring along a baby (or toddler) photo of themselvs to show and share (it will be returned home the same day although we will take colour copies to use in class). 

Library days!

Room 3 has a lot of fun at the library - we love library days! Don't forget to bring your library bag to school every Wednesday so that you can change it for a new book :) 

Board of Trustees BBQ and upcoming Home and School Disco

Just a further reminder that the Board of Trustees BBQ is on this Friday night from 5pm outside Seaview Block. Details were in the school newsletter which you can find on http://www.birchwood.school.nz/newsletters.php

It would be great to see you all there!!

This weekend would also be a great time to get your costume sorted for the Home and School disco next Thursday night (19 March). The theme is Hawaiian, so get along to the dollar shop or the op shop at the weekend and find some tropical treasures : ) Parents, you are our role models at these events and we learn from you how to have a great time - so please, practise that hula : )!!

Term 1, Week 8 in Room 3

This week in Room 3 we continue to work on throwing and catching for large ball skills (we are getting really good at checking our buddies' eyes and hand positions to see whether or not they are ready for our pass!). We will also keep working on our vivid and dye drawing skills with Mrs Jessop on Wednesday. 

For our topic ‘change’ focus this week we will be looking at sakura, japanese cherry blossom trees, and the ways in which they change through the seasons and why. We have another short video clip to watch, some more cycles to think about and some more reports to write, and we’ll be finger painting some very seasonal trees on Thursday this week. We would be very grateful if you could send along an old, named overshirt to keep our uniforms clean. If you have any spares there are always children without an art shirt who would be very grateful to borrow these. 

Please note also that this is our week to share in assembly and we’ll be talking about our Change topic and sharing our sakura trees. Assembly starts at 2.30pm on Friday if you would like to come and support us!

What season is it in these images of sakura trees? How do you know?






















We were fascinated watching blossom grow! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CthnG6oP-80

Here are some other flowering trees changing their appearance as the seasons pass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27511K2cTEg&feature=related

Counting to ten in te reo

Check out this awesome video link if you are unsure about how to pronounce your numbers : )
http://www.maorilanguage.net/phrase_drills/phrase_window.cfm?lessonid=41

Week Seven in Room 3

Hello Room 3 followers! 

This week in Room 3 we are practising our large ball passing skills and  continuing to practise our typing, our te reo greetings and phrases, and our sketching skills, not to mention our reading, writing and maths! We have also begun our inquiry topic, and are enjoying learning about the way changes in living things help them to respond to changes in their environment. Last week we looked at some clips of a variety of different kinds of change and brainstormed some of the topics we’d like to look at more closely. We were very interested in the life cycles of butterflies, as well as what is happening in the polar regions with the winter freezes and summer melts. So this week we’re going to focus in on the Woolly Bear Caterpillar (thanks, Mr Attenborough!) and its complicated life cycle as it copes with 14 years of seasonal change in the Arctic. We’ll start with a film clip, come up with some discussion questions, and aim to complete our first animal reports by the end of the week. Check out our time line and our kid pix posters!

We are also working really hard to learn our numbers to 10 in te reo maori - please help us to practise at home!

1 tahi
2 rua
3 toru
4 wha
5 rima
6 ono
7 whitu
8 waru
9 iwa
10 tekau