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.

Being Creative!

Today we were given a piece of harakeke.  We were told to be creative and make something out of it.  Some of us found it hard to think of something but as we looked at our harakeke and worked with it we soon came up with some great designs.  Like a flower, sword, headband, aeroplane, lightsaber, sword fish and even some boys were able to get some fibres out of the harakeke. Lots of us worked together, persisted to make something and showed akiaki and encouraged our class mates to finish a creation.

Scottish Dancing

We are enjoying learning Scottish dancing at Rutherford. They have a great dance studio we use and learn new dances.  Debbie Roxburgh has taught as two dances that we are beginning to remember well.

Harakeke Flowers

We were lucky to have Mrs Wilton-Scott come and teach us how to make a flower out of harakeke. We learnt the protocol of cutting the harakeke too. We had to weave it and then tie it into a flower shape.  We found it quite hard but most of us persevered to finish the weaving.  We look forward to giving them away as a gift.

Our Museum Trip

On Thursday we went to our local museum to learn about fibre.  We saw some tapa cloth and we got to create our own design that could be used on a tapa cloth.  We then had lunch in the sun and went for a walk to another place where we learnt about weaving with fibres and harakeke.  There we got to make our own loom and practiced weaving with a lot of different fibres.  We also got to strip some harakeke to see the fibres within the plant.

Amazing Bird Houses For Sale!

We have been working in partners together to make a wooden bird house.  We had lots of fun making these.  We are now painting them so they are ready to sell for $20.  Come and see us if you wish to purchase one.

Daniel Holiday Story

I went to a zoo and saw a kiwi. It was cool.

David Holiday Story

I saw kiwi in a dark place with Yoousn at the zoo. It was cool!

Akiaki

Today we went outside to practice working together with a buddy moving a ball without using our hands.  We had to use words of encouragement (akaikai) to our partner to achieve this.

Chippies Galore

For maths we have been focusing on statistics. We had a rich task to help Bluebird out. So we have been busy measuring chips and graphing them. It has been lots of fun. We even had some of our buddies join in.

Virginia Lake Trip

Finally, our trip to Virginia Lake was on!  We had to postpone it due to weather a few weeks a go. There was lots of chatting and singing on the bus with our buddy class Room 5 as we traveled to the lake.  With our buddy class we split into groups and walked around the lake doing a tally chart of the birds we could find, a scavenger hunt and also feeding the ducks.  They loved eating the bread and so did the other bird life.  After morning tea we separated into our classes and did our own activities. Our class did observational bird drawings with Miss Hulme in the bird aviary.  Next to the lake we were with Mrs Palmer writing a poem including all our senses.  At the winter gardens we completed a quiz where we had to find the answers hidden in the gardens with Mrs McGinniss.  Lunchtime was fun sitting with our buddies and we got to play on the playground, the stage and grass area.  For our last activities of the day we were back with our buddies.  We did bark rubbings, played duck, duck, goose and wondered around the bird aviary.  We had an amazing time doing all our usual school work but outside at the lake with our buddies.

Tennis

This week we had Gene come and teach us some skills we could use when playing tennis.  It was lots of fun.  Balls went flying!