The Power of Water!

This week we began our inquiry into the power of water!

We have spent a bit of time investigating water and recording our wonderings and opinions.

Click the link below to read some of our ideas on all the things that use water or need water to work..Water Uses 

You can add your ideas to this padlet too if you like. 

We also recorded our ideas about where we think water comes from.

Today we formed an opinion in response to this question: Does water ever run out? Once we had decided Yes or No and our reasons why we drew oursleves on a Human Continuum outside with chalk and explained to a buddy WHY we had put ourselves near Yes or No.

This video all about the Water Cycle helped us to understand how water is a renewable resource and that a lot of the water on our planet can be reused again.

Wind Power

Today we started our inquiry into the power of the wind.

Here are some of our first ideas about wind;

Trees sway in wind

The sun pushes the wind

Wind makes windmills turn and that generates energy

Yachts move in the wind

Wind can help birds fly

Paper planes need wind to fly

Wind can go in different directions

Big planes push wind backwards

Wind has energy

Wind can cause trouble

Wind blows things away

We then headed outside to fly our paper planes. We flew them from somewhere high, with different degrees of force, and also into the wind and with the wind.

Some of our initial questions about wind are;

Is wind made out of something? - Can we make wind?

Where does wind come from?

How does wind create energy?

How is wind created?

How fast can wind blow?

Does wind ever stop?

Can you weigh wind?

Sustainable Coastlines

On Tuesday Oliver and Katie from Sustainable Coastline charity visited us to talk about what is happening with all the plastic rubbish that ends up in the ocean. It is harming the sea creatures and the environment. We all agreed to spread the word about plastics and to try to stop using single use plastic so that we can enjoy the beach, and so can all the creatures who live there.

Soccer

Starting from Friday this term we are lucky to have three footballers from team Wellington come in to school to teach soccer skills.



The students started the sessions out with simple ball skills such as kicking and passing.



They finished each session with a quick game where they were able to develop their new skills, build on their team work and speed.

Power Inquiry - The power of nature

This term our inquiry is around the power of nature. We are looking into hydro, solar, and wind power.





This week we survived Wednesday without using any electricity in Tautoru. Luckily the weather was kind and the sun provided us with a well lit classroom!





The students worked in groups sharing their knowledge around electricity. We used a KWL sheet to organise our ideas. Students will select a a topic to investigate further over the next few weeks.

Money, Money, Money

Scott and Wanwan's maths groups have been learning about money.



The students have enjoyed discussing the benefits of money, how and when we use it, and what it allow us to do. The students shared that money can be used to sell and buy things, it can be borrowed and donated, it can be sorted and stacked, and that it is sometimes very rare!



We have started out learning about notes. We have shared the different ways we can make different dollar amounts. There has been a lot of great maths ideas and discussion.



Our next step is to set up a shop and purchase items and introduce change.

Diwali

This week we have been learning about Diwali. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights. It gets its name from the row of clay lamps that Indians light outside their homes. We talked about the things that happen at many celebrations and found out people who celebrate Diwali follow similar ideas. They have candles, lights, visit a temple, have a holiday, share food, listen to music, wear special clothes, let off fireworks, visit others and give presents. To welcome people to their homes, people create rangoli patterns outside their door to invite others in. We created some rangoli patterns of the lotus blossom outside school this week

Welcome to New Zealand Chinese Language Week!

This week in the New Zealand Chinese Language Week! Before we get start, I'm sure you want to know what is it all about! 

What is New Zealand Chinese Language Week?

New Zealand Chinese Language Week (NZCLW) is a Kiwi-driven initiative that aims to increase Chinese language learning in New Zealand. The initiative is the first of its kind in any Western country and emerged in the context of a rapidly strengthening relationship between New Zealand and China.

More information from the official website of New Zealand Chinese Language Week Click here

Here are some phrases we can start with to celebrate. 

There are also some posters around so you can practise at your own time! 

Have fun learning Mandarin!

Sleepover

Thursday night was the Sleepover for Year 3 and 4. It was an absolute blast. Children were having fun outside on a lovely spring evening, showing off their talent, sharing stories, having supper and most of all sleeping with their friends. Oh yeah:)

Eco House Minecraft Competition

We have found a Minecraft Competition that we want to enter. We thought that other students might want to enter as well. Nicola will send in the entries. Send entries to her by next Friday 29th September.  nstevenson@worserbay.school.nz

"How do you put ‘Eco’ into a Home?

So, what are we looking for in the perfect Eco-House? Some of the key elements will be:
Low environmental impact: How does it fit with the world around it? We want to see a minimal impact on the environment – both in construction and on-going use.
Sustainable: We want to see use of sustainable materials in the construction.
Energy-efficiency: How energy efficient in the house? Construct is so that it makes best use of renewable energy resources, for heating and lighting, etc."

Overall, you need to create us a building that’s friendly to the environment around it – and explain why you think it is."


This is Ollie's design


You can find out more at:
https://interfaceonline.co.nz/minecraft2017/

By Thomas, Lachlan, Hugo W and Alex B

International Dot Day

Friday 15th September was International Dot Day. This day is a celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration in response to the book "The Dot" by Peter H. Reynolds.

We spent our morning celebrating Dot Day in Tautoru, using our character strengths of creativity, curiosity and teamwork.

Have a look below to read the poem we shared together about a dot.

Then we got busy creating our own dot, adding patterns, shapes and all sort of designs to make it our own. We coloured it in with crayon, used sharpie to make parts stand out and then added some dye over the top. Each dot looked completely different and unique.

We added our dots together to create a large collaborative artwork which celebrates how creative all of us are. Pop by and admire our project.

Tuesday ...

Tuesday was a busy day in Tautoru. The children spent the day using their creativity to make different types of skeleton art. They also played some super fun and interactive maths games that explored the idea of probability and chance.

Come in and see our crazy skeletons, bending and twisting in all sorts of directions.

Here we are playing and recording the game "Rock Paper Scissors" to explore the idea of Probability and chance.

Fitness Frenzy!

This term our Inquiry has centered around the power of our bodies. We now understand heaps about what and how our body systems work and have shared lots of information on how we can keep our body and mind healthy. 

This week our challenge was to create a fitness routine that would strengthen our entire body! In our groups we came up with all sorts of exercises and routines to get our hearts pumping, our bodies moving and our muscles working! Some of the routines we came up with were made up of exercises specific to gymnastics, parkour, tennis and taekwondo.

As of late we have been focusing on the "celebration" part of the Inquiry cycle. We have become much more confident in finding different ways to share and celebrate our new knowledge. We have also been talking a lot about "Taking Action". These routines do just that!

Today we shared our routine to another group and used the rubrics/success criteria below to give each other feedback about each routine. We really enjoyed giving feedback to each other and agreed on our next steps.