Week 8 Term 1

Hi there

I can't believe how quickly this term is flying by. The children have had a busy term, with many opportunities both in and out of the classroom. One such outdoor opportunity is the school cross country, coming up in week 10. I am encouraging the children to practise for the cross country in their free time, in support of the class fitness and practice sessions that are occurring daily.

Tomorrow Cat Kincaid, Paulette Newton and I are working with a group of children who are interested in becoming Jump Jam leaders in the school for this year. I was delighted with the number of children from room 9 who expressed an interest in this. The children who are selected will have lunch time practices, and will help to lead Jump Jam across the school, as a part of the fitness programme. There is also the possibility of competing in the Christchurch Jump Jam competition later in the year.

In the class we have been working hard on developing time management skills, and the children have made excellent progress in this. They are enjoying increasing opportunities to manage their own time, and they are working hard at completing tasks by the due date.

In our inquiry we are looking at the definition of a hero, and at the qualities that a hero must possess. Once this is completed the children will select a person, who has been labeled a hero, to study, to ascertain whether they believe this person is indeed a hero. I anticipate this research being completed by the end of the term, which will see the children ready to begin to look at their own impact on the world around them early in the second term.

Have a fantastic week!

Carolyn

Google Apps

Hi there

The children in Room 9 are trialling a new system called Google Apps.

Please ensure that if your child wants to use the system at home or outside of school, that they are supervised and that use is in line with our Digital Safety Agreement.

We are excited about this system as it will open up many learning opportunities for the children.

Carolyn and Rob Clarke

Home from Camp!

Hi there

I hope you have all had an enjoyable week, we certainly made the most of our time away on camp! The children were all very well behaved - they were respectful to the parents and instructors, and they gave every activity a go. I was very impressed with the level of team work and encouragement from the children, they supported people who were finding activities difficult, along with the people who pushed their limits and tried the very challenging options. We will be posting some reflections about camp on our blog (room9fos.blogspot.com), and we will post photos on both blogs. Some of the children may take some of the video footage and create a movie about camp, which we can then upload to youtube.

I really enjoyed camp this year, it was fantastic to get to know the children in a different environment, and to see how they responded to challenging activities. Thank you so much to all of the parents who came along, it was fantastic to work with such an enthusiastic and dedicated group of people!

:)
Carolyn

Meet the teacher notes

Camp Week!

Hi there

It's only 3 more sleeps until Rooms 9 and 22 head off to camp, and I for one am very excited! We have some exciting and challenging activities planned, and the children are sure to have a great time. We have sent home most of the information that you need, with another letter to follow tomorrow, as well as an information letter for parent helpers. If you have offered transport, but are not coming along on the camp we are not desperate for extra seats, so while you are welcome to take a car, and check out the camp site with your child, we do have enough transport with the parents who will be staying. Please let me know if you plan on coming along regardless.

The camp gear list went home last week, please let me know if you did not receive this.

I'm off to school now, to do some of the final jobs before we go - it is shaping up to be a fantastic trip away!

Carolyn