Badminton

Once a week we have been walking to Springvale Stadium to learn badminton skills.  First we all warm up by stretching our muscles so that we don't hurt ourselves.  Then we have a fun warm up game. Next we learn a skill which has been developing over the past 5 weeks.  Skills like how to use just the wrist to flick the shuttlecock over the net, to using long and short shots to try and get the shutttlecock on our opponents floor.  Every time we go we get better.

Gymnastics

Over the past 5 weeks we have been going to gymnastic lessons. Today we had Mass who is a gym coach from Denmark take us. We think he is amazing as he shows us lots of his skills like flips and backward somersaults! For warm up we did lots of strength activities with a buddy. Lots of fun and laughs. He taught us cartwheels today and some of us found them hard. We had races along the air track with each other and jumping into the pit at the end was fantastic.  At the end of the session we had free time on the equipment where we could show off our skills we have learnt.  We all wanted to stay longer and can't wait until our last session next week.

3D pens

We have been exploring our new 3D pens. From the knowledge we gained from our inquiry we were able to create a flower. Some of us have found this quite challenging as we are learning the correct techniques.

The Herb Farm

Ashhurst Herb farm was a great place to visit.  Jess explained to us about lots of herbs and what medical properties they each have. We followed instructions to make our own cream. It was lots of fun finding the correct ingredients and putting each into our containers. Some of us got cream all over us! But that didn't matter because they are all natural products. Our creams smelt lovely and when we were finished we got to name our cream too. Some of us walked around the gardens they have and we found lots of the plants we have been learning about.

Esplanade Playground

Lunch at the Esplanade was so much fun because we got to have a play on the playground too. We also went on a walk around the bush and we spotted lots of plants that we have been learning about.

Printing at Te Manawa

At school we have been learning printmaking during art so when we went to Te Manawa we had some knowledge on what to do.  We were taught three new techniques on how to print.  We used leaves for inspiration. Using paint we drew leaves, cut leaf shapes from cardboard and inked over the leaves to make prints for cards. We look forward to receiving our artwork in the post one day soon so we can share them with our family and friends.

Science at Te Manawa

"Can you make the popcorn dance?" Was our challenge from the scientist at Te Manawa.  We followed the instructions of the experiment working as a group of five.  As we added vinegar and baking soda to our water and popcorn we could not believe our eyes when the popcorn started to move up and down in the jar!  How was that happening?  We wrote down our observations like good scientists do and discussed them with the other groups.  We found out that when you mix an acid and a base like vinegar and baking soda it creates carbon dioxide.  As the popcorn floated with the carbon dioxide bubbles they moved up the water and when the bubbles popped at the top the popcorn then came back down.  We didn't realise how much science when into such a simple experiment.  We can be scientist everyday!

Planting for Te Reo Week

On Tuesday we recognised Te Reo Māori language week by planting native grasses behind the swimming pool. First Connor and James said our school ruruku. Next we all got to help plant a native grass and fill the hole with dirt and then we said māori ora to ourselves to help the plant grow big and strong. Mr Ohia finished our planting session by playing the guitar and we sang a song. We can't wait to see how they grow and what they will look like in years to come.

Gordons Bush

Our trip to Gordons bush was on Tuesday. We were lucky to have Awhina from the museum come with us.  She walked around the track with us talking about some of the native plants in the bush. She shared information about them and how you can use them as a medicine.  Awhina explained how traditionally Māori people use to use these plants for different things.  Also how they could heal wounds and help if you were feeling unwell.  Many people still use these methods and ideas today especially if you are stuck in the bush and need food and drink.

Tennis at Rutherford

This term we have been having tennis lessons with Gene.  We have been going to Rutherford and using their full size courts.  Some of us found it hard at first to hit the ball on such a big court but as we got use to them we were able to rally really well with a partner.  We have been building on the skills and techniques we learnt with Gene last term at school.