Maths as a creative communication tool

We often think of maths as equations with a result and problems to solve. There's lots of interesting discoveries to make when learning about how numbers work. But those equations also tell a story, in numbers and symbols, and one of the mathematical skills we need is to be able to explain the story of a number equation so that it 'makes sense' in the real world. 

For example: There are 45 kids in Tautoru and 2/3 are playing outside. How many kids are inside?

This week we investigated the question: How does this problem link to the real world? Some of us had a go at creating a story problem using fractions of numbers. We had to choose a fraction problem we knew and create a story around it. This means that we had to understand the problem really well so we could apply it to a real life problem.

 

Here are some of the stories that helped us make links between a fraction equation and the real world. 

Connecting through Kapa Haka

 This term's Learner Attribute is 'I am connected', and we are learning about all the different ways in which we can connect with others. Kapa haka gives us a wonderful opportunity to connect with our buddies in Autahi and also to Te Ao Māori- the Māori world, through waiata.

Kapa haka is a way to build Whakawhānaungatanga; those close relationships that make us whānau! We lean and practise waiata and then we can share the waiata with you, our bigger Worser Bay School whānau when you come to karakia in the morning or at assembly. 

Another aspect of kapa haka is building Leadership and supporting those around us who are still learning the words and actions. That is also building powerful connections within our learning community. It's a great way to embrace the challenge to sign and learn waiata because kapa haka is also lots of fun!

We are lucky to have matua Henare come to teach us each week, and we also enjoy practising in class. Here is a video of one of the waiata we are practising at the moment that you can use to practise at home if you'd like to join us when we sing.

Te Wā Mahi Tahi Beach Day

We are so lucky at Worser Bay school to be surrounded by a rich, naturally beautiful environment. We made the most of our surroundings on Monday by going to the beach for Te Wā Mahi Tahi. Tamariki discussed the mauri that the beach holds, and that when utilising beautiful natural resources, we need to make sure we leave them as we found them, for others to enjoy.

Our ākonga loved the opportunity to play at the beach, writing in the sand, testing out jumps and building their own creations. Students utilised their creativity, leadership and teamwork when playing together, while also remembering the launch for this week's Te Wā Mahi Tahi session, how to say no in a respectful way. Ask your tamariki about the reasons they give behind their decision to say no!

We hope you enjoy these pictures of our beach adventure.

My Bucket Your Bucket

These first few weeks of term 3, we have had a Positive Education focus on strengthening our relationships with others. Our discussions so far have been through the lens of our one school rule; respect. We respect ourselves, others and the environment. Alongside Autahi we have been learning how to respect others through the Character Strength of Kindness. We read the book, have you filled a bucket today? Which discusses how doing things for other people fills their buckets, while also filling our own! After this we went outside to experience and share how the things we have done for others have made both them and us feel good. Tamariki shared the kind things they have done for those around them, while pouring water into their own bucket, and a bucket representing their peers.

Ask your tamariki about the bucket filling story, and what ways they have filled the buckets of others by being kind this week!

Recharging our Learning Battery with Brain Breaks

 To help us be ready for learning, we are practising how to notice when we need to brain break to help boost our  Zest, Positive Emotions and focus. This week we used the Zones of Regulation to help us notice when we are away from the Green Zone which is the optimal learning zone. It can happen during the day, also our moods and needs can vary form day to day. It's important to develop strategies to help us get back into the Green Zone so we brainstormed some ideas that will help our brain have a quick recharging break of no more than 10 minutes. 

We made a bank of ideas that we can use during the day:

Some of these ideas are: climbing a tree, spending a few minutes at my favourite place in the school, going for quick run or kicking a ball, doing a quick drawing or having a drink of water or a quick snack.

Here we are practising our brain breaks to see if they can give a boost. Most of them were just what we needed to get some oxygen, positive emotions and help us to refocus on more learning! Do you have a brain break strategy that helps you to recharge?

Inquiry- The Power of Sound

 This term we will be investigating sound and music. Sound is a very interesting phenomena because it's invisible but we know it's there! What is sound? How do we hear sound? How do instruments make sound? These are some of the questions that will drive our inquiry this term.

We started our inquiry by collecting what we already about what we think we know about sound. After that we did a science experiment to test how sound travels through different materials. We tested what tapping sounds like when we hear it through the air and what tapping sounds like when we hear it through different materials, like a table. 

We are collecting the results of our experiments in charts.

Doing an experiment helped to prompt lots of new questions that we will look into over the coming weeks to expand our understanding of sound.

Investigating Symmetry

For maths this week we've enjoyed looking at wonderful maths patterns we can make that show different types of symmetry. We've used Creativity in different ways to make beautiful patterns that show how shapes repeat themselves and it has been lots of fun.

We made snow flakes to show reflection symmetry and looked at how shapes can have symmetry in them.

Some of us had a go at using reflection and rotational symmetry to create colourful patterns like flowers. We tried rotating patterns and reflecting them.

We created some symmetry art from our investigations