Welcome to Term 3

Kia Ora All,

It's been a great start to the term and I've thoroughly enjoyed being back in the classroom after an excellent break. This term we've got a Digital Technology focus. We're going to be looking at working with technology to create an opportunity for the students to share their learning and interests. Below is a video a small group of Room 2 students made today about what they've been up to in the garden.

Keith, Bodhi and Sanai ran an excellent football session with the class today. They started off with some skills and drills and finished with a game. Below are some videos and photos of the session. Thomas and Te Aroha were both awarded Player of the Day.

Here are some photos from last term of the BTB points auction and the home learning certificate presentation. Congratulations to Mitchell who did the most homework out of all the kids in the class and reached the rank of Major. Also congratulations to Dayananda, who learnt both the multiplication and division permutations of all his times tables.

Rock On,

Mr M

Inquiry

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks are formed from broken down bits of other rocks or even from the remains
of plants or animals. The little pieces collect in low-lying areas by lakes, oceans, and deserts.
They are then pressed into rock by the weight of the materials around them and on top of them.

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rocks are formed when sedimentary or igneous rocks are affected by great
temperatures and pressures. They do not melt, but the chemicals they contain may change
their crystal shapes. The name metamorphic comes from Greek words meaning “change
of shape.”If there is a serious amount of pressure or heat, these stones undergo
metamorphosis, harden and create new crystals! This happens over time, and isn’t instant.
That’s pretty interesting.

Examples of metamorphic rocks include anthracite, quartzite, marble, slate, granulite,
gneiss and schist.

Igneous Rocks
Igneous rocks are rocks that have formed by the cooling and hardening of molten lava or

magma. When magma comes out onto the surface of the Earth, it is called lava.
Lava cools down to form rocks such as tuff and basalt (extrusive rocks).
Also, the magma may slowly cool down to form rocks under the surface (intrusive rocks).
An example is granite.

Igneous rock is formed in two ways.

• Igneous rock formed from magma that has become solid inside the earth is called intrusive igneous rock. Intrusive igneous rock cools slowly because it is inside the earth. Examples of intrusive igneous rock types are gabbro, diorite, and granite.
• Igneous rock formed from lava that has become solid on the outside of the Earth is called extrusive igneous rock. This can happen because of the eruption of a volcano. Extrusive igneous rock cools quickly. Some extrusive igneous rock types are basalt, andesite, rhyolite, tuff, obsidian, and pumice.

Volcanos

There are three main types of volcano in New Zealand:

• cone volcanoes (like Mt Taranaki)
• caldera volcanoes (like Taupo)
• volcanic fields (like Rangitoto)

Here is a link to the GNS website with more information.

Earth's Crust

Final Week of Term 2!

Kia Ora All,

Welcome to the final week of term two! It's been a great term, albeit it shorter than expected at the start of the year. Here are a couple of things to be aware of.

• Every term I run a BTB points auction. Over the term the students build up a bank of BTB points awarded for good behaviour, outstanding manners, great sportspersonship, excellent work habits and superb effort in their learning. At the end of the term the students use their points to bid for items which have been donated to the auction. I've asked students to bring in small items they no longer want to donate to the auction e.g., old toys, stationary items, books etc. Anything small and inexpensive is fine. The more items donated, the more fun the auction is. At this point, the auction is scheduled for Friday. 
• The Room 2 class camp will be a city experience in Nelson this year (as was originally planned, but I’ve managed to re-book the camp post lockdown). We’ll be heading over the hill on Wednesday the 2nd of September and coming back on Friday the 4th - this is week 7 of Term 3. We’ll be staying at the Nelson City Top 10. Cooking will be done on site in the kitchens at the campground. The fundraising committee is covering half the cost of this camp, so the billed total will be $85 per child. I’ll send out a finalised itinerary closer to the time as well as requests for camp parent volunteers. But for now, just pop this date in your diary and feel free to let me know if you’re planning to come.
• Homework books / times tables cards etc on Monday please!

Rock On,

Mr M

Welcome to Week 8

Kia Ora All,

The mighty Room Two have continued to heroically soldier on through their learning odyssey. Last Friday, we started back with our geology inquiry topic, which was postponed due to lockdown, and began looking at volcanoes in Aotearoa. First we talked about the three main types of volcano found here. Then we looked at some examples, found them on Google Maps and marked them in on a map of NZ which was glued into our inquiry book. We've also been talking about volcano vocabulary. If you want to know what a pyroclastic flow is, feel free to ask someone from Room Two. 

• Parent tchr interviews are in the final week of term. If you haven't booked in yet, now is a good time to lock in a interview.
• The year 2 - 4 students will be going to the Mini Outdoor Adventure Programme at Whenua Iti Outdoor Education Centre in Lower Moutere on Thursday the 20th of August.
• On Friday, almost all the kids were tested on their times tables. Friday is tables day and Monday is spelling day. Please make sure tables cards and homework book is in your child's book bag and ready for school on Monday.
• I'm trying to get the students back into the rhythm of completing their set Maths Buddy tasks weekly. I set four tasks each week and aim to check every Sunday to see how students have got on. I'm going to have a Maths Buddy points chart to celebrate kids who finish all their tasks. Completing tasks is in no way related to maths ability as I set appropriate tasks for each group or individual as necessary. Only one student completed all their tasks last week so I've extended the tasks for a few days. Students have time in class to complete tasks. It's also a good homework task for those who are interested in adding some maths into their home learning programme.

Rock On,

Mr M

Week Seven Update

Kia Ora All,

Here's the week 7 update:

• Homework books on Monday please.
• Book bags on Monday please.
• Times Table flashcards on Monday please.
• Here are some pictures of students working on their writing and also a geography task last week.
• Enjoy the sunny arvo. 

Rock On,
Mr M

What's Coming Up?

Kia Ora All,

I hope everyone has had an excellent long weekend. We're heading into the third week back at school. I'm thoroughly looking forward to getting into it.

• Homework books / book bags / times table cards on Monday please.
• Friday is library day. 
• Times tables were checked on Friday. Students have time within class to work on them but it's also a perfect home learning task too. Working on times tables regularly in short bursts is the best idea.

Rock On,

Mr M

Below are some pictures of the students in action on Friday creating their abstract art masterpeices inspired by Russian artist Sonia Delaunay.

The First Week Back At School

Kia Ora All,

Room two has gotten off to a great start this term. We've been working on getting back into routine and the students have slotted in well. We're welcoming Oakie, Tessa and Jett who have moved into our class from Room 3, and farewelling Quinn, Finn and Que who have moved to Room One. In writing we're getting into persuasive texts. This week we've started planning and drafting a letter to Chris Hipkins about why schools need trees. In maths we've been working on open ended maths questions where the students get to 'play' with maths. Give this example problem a go: Two fifths of the students borrow books from the school library each day. How many kids might there be in the school and how many books did they borrow each day? We've also rounded out the week by starting a piece of abstract art inspired by Russian artist Sonia Delaunay. 

General Information

• I checked book bags on Friday and so far as I know everyone now has one. Please check with your child to make sure they've got their homework book and times table flashcards in their book bag ready for Monday.
• I'll endeavour to start homework for the term on Monday.
• We're doing a times table push at the moment. For home learning you could help your child memorise their flashcards and make links between multiplication and division. Check out this blog post if you're unclear about how the flashcards work and watch the video called Times Tables Practice.

Rock On,
Mr M