Playground Inquiry - Taking Action...

As part of Inquiry we have spent a lot of time exploring our playground and creating new games we can play (with and without equipment) during break times at school. We have had so much fun working together and thinking up exciting games.

During the last week of this term we decided it was time to Take Action. We had to think of ways we could be powerful to make improvements to our playground. 

To begin with, we had to spend some time discussing our ideas as a group. It was challenging trying to agree on one idea but we tried our best to collaborate and acknowledge everybody's ideas.

Once we had decided on a way we could improve the playground we got busy writing letters and emails, making posters and videos to advertise our ideas and creating things we could put into the playground.

Here are some awesome ways we thought we could improve our playground:

- Take more care of our lunchbox rubbish and pick up any rubbish that is lying around the school.

- Build an outdoor shelter from tents and plastic so we can play outside even if its raining.

- Create instructions for new games we have made up and put them up around school for others to play.

- Have more building "stuff" we can use outdoors to make huts, forts and obstacle courses with.

- Create a bike track around the school and on top grass for wheels Wednesday.

- Have some ramps we could put out for wheels Wednesday.

- Make feeding huts for birds to shelter in.

- Have an art gallery that children can draw in and put their artwork up in.

- Collect items that can help us make an outdoor music area.

Grow Your Mind Day with Susie and Gabrielle's Base Groups

Wow! What a fabulous day we had. Our base groups had the opportunity to participate in many workshops led by parents, student leaders and teachers.

First up during the morning block we certainly grew our minds and developed new skills as we took part in Poi making with Michelle, ukulele with Sophie and Vicky, soccer and coding with our senior leaders.





After morning tea we were super lucky to have Jenny and her awesome drumming crew teach us some African Dance moves. We also took part in a sketching workshop with Gabrielle and some of us got to sew some cool monsters with Jacqui and Ainslee.



In the afternoon our wonderful student leaders ran a gymnastics, dutch and violin workshops. We also had a chance to work with Dana, who ran a workshop around the importance of looking after native plants and Shaz took a workshop that taught us how to crochet.

 

A big thank you to all the people who helped make Grow Your Mind Day possible. We had the best day filled with lots of new learning, challenges and tonnes of FUN!

Fun things you can do at home during holidays ....

What?! Why do I have to do anything in the holidays ....

Wait, don't worry. Here are some fun things you can do online to stretch your brain while you rest your brain... (I hope this make sense!)


First up - many of you mentioned you want to learn typing. Here is a BBC site you can play and learn touch typing (type without looking at the keyboard) at the same time.
Click on the link

Second - Read some poem written by New Zealand children. These poems are collected from Paula Green the New Zealand poet. Have a read and let them inspire you!
Click the link






Third - another poetry website. Hey this time you get to make your own with some magnetic words. Yes, it is just like those on the fridge ...
Click the link 





Do you have some ideas of what you will do to stretch your brain?
Please let us know!

Have a safe and wonderful holiday Tautoru whanau!

Grow Your Mind Day

What a fantastic day. Scott and John's base groups joined forces and spent the day learning, challenging ourselves and sharing knowledge.

We had students leading workshops from google drawings, creating beats, basketball, and netball skills sessions.













We also had a number of parents join us to lead workshops. Students were able to try out sewing, gnocchi making, fitness, photography, and acting.

More play based learning

We had another great afternoon of exploration, sharing, construction and play.





The students have loved working together to create a cafe, an art gallery, a fort and many other fantastic creations.



We are getting faster at resetting the classroom. We make sure that all of the materials we have used are put back into their correct homes and ready for the next group to use.

Literacy Activities.

During literacy we have written lots of letters and made up some stories using the little objects in the surprise bag. We had fun practising our reading and writing.

Thanks for our new play equipment.

Look at the exciting games we have been able to play since we received our new play equipment.

Thank you very much! We put our "Creativity" to work this week!

An art gallery.

A Cafe.

A Tent.

A Castle.