Finally Friday!

Good afternoon,

And welcome to the Term 3 Holidays!

We had a bit of a busy morning this morning. Another assessment, this time the second half of the weather assessment that was done, what, 5 or 6 weeks back? Turns out I forgot to ask them some stuff that would allow them to get better marks, so I gave them that opportunity this morning. I was very pleased with the results.

After that it was outside for a quick run...


...and then back to work - if you can call something that didn't actually work very well at all work.

I grabbed hold of the NetBooks with the idea that the children could take snap shots of themselves with the web cam directly from Comic Life and then make some sort of message for home. Trouble is, only three or four of the 12 that we were using would actually open up the web cam from Comic Life...so...well...suffice it to say, 'twas not the best lesson on the planet!


During this afternoon's assembly a couple of Hoon Hay School Hip Hop teams came over the paddock to share a couple of routines with us. They were way cool!

And that's all there was.

Thanks for another great term, and have a fantastic holiday,

Mr Grant

Testing Thursday

Good afternoon,

Well, the children have had to some cerebral exercises this fine spring day.

First up, R2 Maths had their Time post test (which was as challenging as I thought it might have been - 'specially considering that I had extended them quite a ways beyond what the curriculum says they should have been learning - hours and half hours...), a couple re-did their argument post test, and R2 R.E. had their Church Post test. Which I can't seem to up load to share with you.

In between these events we also did some running...


...and after, we finished our Animals Inquiry. Horrah!



Tomorrow will kick off a visit from Father Bernard, and then we will start to wind down in preparation for the holidays. Yay!

CU tomorrow,

Mr Grant

Wednesday Movie Day

Good afternoon,

Thanks to Bronwyn (again) and Graham for helping out during Inquiry this afternoon. It was much appreciated.

Earlier in the day, we did some 200 meter training...


...and White Group shared today's text with us - The King's Parade. Well, most of it, anyway.


After lunch we went back to church to practice genuflecting in a most appropriate setting.


And that was our day.

Tomorrow we have got a couple of post tests. First up, a Time post test for R2 Maths (practice at home using this here, and add/subtract hours and quarter hours), and a R.E./Church post test for R2 R.E. (the 6 groups the children belong to, Parish and Fathers' names). Oh yes, and finishing up that Inquiry portfolio sheet.

All fun and games!

Bye for now,

Mr Grant

Skip-a-thon Tuesday

Good evening,

Sorry for the delay of this post, the server is down at school and I had to wait 'till Matthew shot through to cells before I could get on the 'net at home!

Well, for those of you who were not aware, we had our OLA Skip-a-thon this morning.


And a good time was had by all.

(Those sponsorship forms are due back later in the week. Though, perhaps it is better to consider them donation forms - we didn't actually keep track of how many jumps the children did during the event!)

After lunch, it was back outside, this time for some sprint practice, whole class style.




Tomorrow we'll start wrapping up our inquiry. So...if anyone's free at around 2ish...

CU tomorrow,

Mr Grant

Monday Moving

Good evening,

Just a quick update this afternoon.

Firstly, thank you Bronwyn, Kirsten and Sarah for helping out during Topic this afternoon. You were a great help.

Secondly, Sausage Sizzle - yep, we're having one tomorrow. $1.00 per sausage, I'll collect the money in the morning.

Thirdly, today. Well, it all happened so fast, that these are the only pictures [Treacy] got!

We started some sprint training this morning, with the main aim for today simply being staying in their own lanes!





Tomorrow we're also having the Great OLA Skip-a-thon. 11:00 to 12:30. I'm pretty sure parents are welcome to attend...

Bye for now,

Mr Grant

Newsletter for Term 3, Week 10

Good afternoon,

Here is the newsletter for Term 3, Week 10. The last week of Term 3. Where has the time gone?

In this newsletter I make reference to the children writing about their earthquake experiences. If you would like to read them, please click here. I tried to link them directly from the newsletter itself, but, for some reason, I couldn't.

Kind regards,

Nick Grant

Friday Mass Day

Good afternoon,

Well, off we went to Mass this morning...


...and a good time was had by all.

Prior to this, we had a touch a skipping...


...and after Mass, a touch of Buddy Reading with Room 4.




And so ended Week 9. Only one week to go before, well, another couple of weeks off.

Next week will be our last week for our Animal Inquiry. We're up to finding answers to our big questions...and, well...umm...if anyone can spare some time from, say 2ish on Monday afternoon, it would be appreciated. Please!

Have a great weekend,

Mr Grant

Few Photos Thursday

Good afternoon,

Another rather busy day was had here in Room 2 today, so much so that I almost forgot to take any photos! Almost...



The R2 writers had their Persuasive Writing Assessment this morning. They did jolly well, too.

We also continued our Animals inquiry (such as it is - having that week off has really knobled the already short amount of time that we had for it!) where the children worked on their big questions that they would like to find out about their chosen animal next week.

To that end, you could really help at home. Discuss what their big questions are with your children, and then help them find some information that will help them answer the question. Please keep it pretty simple - there's not a lot of point in coming to school with reams and reams of information for them to sort through!


Tomorrow, of course, we have our J Team Mass. It kicks off at 11:15. It would be lovely to see you there.

Kind regards,

Mr Grant

Wednesday's Parish Visit

Good afternoon,

This afternoon, as part of our Church/Belonging R.E. unit, the Year 1s went over to OLA church to identify various bits and pieces.







(And at the same time, the rest of the school piled out in response to an aftershock! Mr A had to come to look for us!)

We then came back to look at the digital resource we use to teach R.E., and low and behold, we found this...


Which caused a bit of confusion, as I thought you crossed your body left to right when saying "and the Holy Spirit. Amen" (ending on your right shoulder). And it turns out, I was right. According to those in the know, it should be like this...


So I was wrong when I told the children that I was wrong! Sorry for the confusion!

Earlier in the day the R2 Jump Jam Team selected the jump jam they would like to jump jam to - The Coconut Song.


Now to start to polish the routine.

Bye for now,

Mr Grant

Oh, and one more thing. Tomorrow the Room 2 Writers (and Rooms 11 and 1 as well) will be doing a summative persuasive writing sample. That is, we're doing an argument writing test! They had their last chance to practice in class this morning, but do feel free to practice one last piece at home tonight. Remember, an argument has...

• A Title


• A Statement, with "I think"


• Some Reasons, with "Firstly" and "Secondly"


• and a Conclusion, with "In conclusion, I think"

Good luck!

The Yakadoos

Blue Reading Group read The Yakadoos for us...


(I'm trying out a work around for the fact that I've run out of room to store audio files. So I've made 'em video files instead!)

Mr Grant

Library Visit Tuesday

Good afternoon,

Another day gone, another one's on it's way tomorrow. Funny that...

But I digress.

This morning we had the Library Roadshow come along for a visit. I didn't know what to expect...it turned out to be a couple of people who were essentially promoting the library by reading a couple of stories. Using our children as props!





(Again, the compression of the file has left the quality a little bit to be desired, but, well...

And I had to take these photos - they were watching the above clip just before morning tea!)



As it happened, this was all subsequent to the first of the two earthquake drills that we had today, the second of which was during fitness.


After lunch it was outside again (after singing) for some P.E. - specifically, practicing getting into year group heats in preperation for the Athletics Sports day next Monday.


Our day ended with the final auditions and selection of the Room 2 Jump Jam team.


Now, to select some music to jam to...

Bye for now,

Mr Grant

Moving Monday

Good afternoon,

Well, things are back up and running here in Room 2. We started the day with an earthquake drill or two, and then we had an extended discussion of our earthquake experiences...


...before writing about them.

After morning tea we got back into our routines proper, with Red Group sharing today's reading text with us - The Ant and the Grasshoppers.


After lunch Room 2 R.E. talked a bit more about the groups we belong to.


The Year 1 children will have brought home their work to share with you (and finish!), as well as a homework activity sheet about their family - basically, who's in it! It is due back on Friday.

And then on to probably the most important part of the day - the auditions for the Room 2 Jump Jam Team! We whittled 18 down to 13, but, as we are only allowed 12, and to give Grace a chance to audition, we will be having another audition of these 14 later in the week.


We have got a library road show coming to school tomorrow morning, so that should be interesting. (It does mean we have no time for maths though, bother it!).

Right, time to pack up and head home. Have a nice (and safe) evening,

Mr Grant

Oh, and in case you're wondering, we only felt a couple of decent after shakes at school, and then, 'twas only some of us! The most reliable indicator of any shaking going on is the data projector - and that's only if no one is jumping around outside!

Newsletter for Term 3, Week 9

Good afternoon,

Here is the newsletter for Term 3, Week 9.

I hope everyone is safe and well.

CU Monday,

Mr Grant

P.S. I have just heard that the Boys are fine and dandy!

School's Out 'Till Monday

Good afternoon,

This just in...

Early Childhood Education Centres and schools are closed until Monday the 13th of September. Please go the Ministry of Education website for further information. Call 0800 255 580 if you have any further queries about the website information.

Gives inspectors extra time to, well, inspect, but more urgently, it gives the council some extra time to sort out the water contamination issue.

So, I won’t see you until Monday.

God bless,

Mr Grant

Oh, and I have found a rather bent looking bolt that's holding the IWB to the wall, and for some reason the USB audio input is now no longer working. I've fixed a work-around though. Other than re-adjusting the projector, all seems well with Big Bro. 'Cept he doesn't have anyway of watching the children...yet...

The Aftermath and the Consequences

Good afternoon,

I'm just back from Room 2, and the damage is not as bad as first feared. Indeed, it's not bad at all.

A couple of things fell off the prayer table...


...a chair fell off a desk, and (gasp!) my guitar fell over!


But the IWB is fine and dandy.


Now for the consequences.

Room 2 will be closed for tomorrow and Tuesday, along with the rest of OLA School due to a recommendation from the Ministry of Health that all public buildings are to be kept closed until Wednesday.

(Not that school suffered any significant damage, but there you go...)

Bye for now, and CU on Wednesday,

Mr Grant

Shake Rattle and Roll

Good morning,

Well, that was a rude awakening. And not a little freaky.

I hope everyone is ok and has not suffered any major damage from this morning's earthquake.

And I hope the IWB is still on the wall!

God bless,

Mr Grant

Our Trip to Willowbank

Good afternoon,

Well, we had a fantastic visit to Willowbank this morning. The children were well behaved, were attentive to our guides, were keen to learn from them and were keen to share what they had learned. And thankfully, the rain held off 'till just before we left.

Thank you Bronwyn, Felicity, Jill and Treacy for your help today, I really appreciated your support.


Bye for now,

Room 2

Thursday's Thursday

Good afternoon,

Not too much to report really. We did some skipping...




...and wrote a card for the parents on the IWB...





('Twas a bit of a rushed activity. Sorry.)

...and some even decided that they want to try out for the Room 2 Jump Jam team.


Auditions will be on Monday. Possibly even tomorrow afternoon, though I'll have to get hold of a disk. Why auditions? Only 12 are allowed in a team, only one team per class. It's all for a Jump Jam Extravaganza that is being planned for Wednesday the 27th of October, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Gold coin entry.

Right, tomorrow.

Well, as near as I can figure it, we're going unless it's raining when we get to school. The children all got a wee notice on their way out this evening saying, and I quote...

Willowbank Trip

As we are out in the open all morning children will wear their sports uniform tomorrow with warm layers underneath, and a jacket if weather looks doubtful!!

They must bring

• Morning Tea and Lunch in a named plastic bag. (It will be easier for transporting)


• Gumboots if you have them


• Sports shoes to change into before getting back on the bus


• A plastic bag for muddy boots

Parent helpers please be at school by 9 am so that you can help get your group ready.

Regards,

The J Team

So it looks like I'd best get some groups sorted out then!

See you in the morning,

And pray for fine weather!

Mr Grant

Old School About New School

Good afternoon,

Things ticked along much as they often do today, so much so that I kinda forgot to take any photos! However...

This morning the Room 2 Writers were writing arguments about Interactive White Boards.


I was working with one Green Writing Group, Felicity was working with Blue Group, while Red Group had the choice of writing their arguments on the classroom computers (I really have to get those Macs talking to the server...) or writing on the white boards. And so, without any further review, here's some old school about new school...







As for tomorrow, well, I expect it'll be a little more of the same.

Bye,

Mr Grant