STEM challenges with Room 2 and 4

On Friday's Room 2 and 4 will be doing STEM  challenges. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is a great way for the students to develop their problem solving skills and the key competencies (thinking, using language, relating to others, participating and contributing and managing self).

The first week we had to make a shelter to protect a tissue using a paper cup, rubber bands, cards, and sellotape. This week we had to move a toy car using a straw, sellotape, string and a balloon.
The students have found it challenging to problem solve and persisting when things don't go right. However they are getting better at persevering, working as a team and reflecting on what they did well and their next step.

We look forward to keeping you updated on further STEM activities. Do you have any great challenge ideas for the students?

Room 4's Guide To First Aid

In this recout you will hear about St Jonn coming to teach Room 4 how to save a person's life.
Paula from St Jonn first taught us what to do if a person was on the floor , unconscios and
there were no adults around . First you would check for danger. (eg, knives on the floor, oven
open, hot pans.) Next you would check for response. Put your hands gently on their shoulders
and shake them softly , then a bit more firm. If they do not respond they are unconscios.
To check if  they are breathing ,tilt their head back gently and put your ear to their mouth .
Then put your hand gently on their tummy . Do this for 10 seconds. If you hear them breathing
they are alright. (There are a  just  a  few more steps to do.)   Next put the arm closest to you away from you . Then grab the shoulder furtherest away from you and then bend the knee furtherest away
from you . Grab the kneecap with one hand and pull the person onto their side. If the person throws up it is ok . Call 1.1.1 ( and it will be ok.) It made me feel proud because I do St Jonn and they get to
learn first aid.          By Lily-Rose.

ANZAC Biscuits

Today we made ANZAC biscuits as a fun way to engage with our learning in reading. For the past two weeks we have been reading about ANZAC Day and World War One. We have been learning about how we remember the war with poppies and parades on ANZAC Day, what the causes of the war were and learning about the poetry that was written in response to the war.

It has been interesting learning about how we remember the war and the importance of knowing what happened in it. We have read articles, stories and watched videos to discover facts about New Zealand's involvement in the war and how we remember it. We have also made pic collages about Red Cross parcels and written letters to reflect our learning.

                

 

Bird feeders

Last Friday Miss Greer made some bird feeders with a group of Room 4 students who had been building nests in the domain. They were made from peanut butter, kremelta and bird seed. It was great to have some hands on fun, although the feeders were very messy to make!

 

 
     

Dazzling illustrated Dictionaries

Last Thursday Richard and David from Avonhead Rotary (who also help to fund Duffy books in our school) came to give Room 4 illustrated dictionaries. These will come in handy for our spelling, word work in reading and writing. The children are loving using these in class.

St Vincent de Paul

Today Olivia from St Vincent de Paul came into NBC. We learnt about how St Vincent de Paul is charity that focuses on feeding the poor and hungry, it helps people within the community. Since its beginning in 1880s in France, it has expanded to include helping the elderly, paying for petrol and bills and feeding people all around the world (they fed 550 people from Christchurch in January alone). We also learnt that the charity was set up by a student who believed his church was not doing enough to help those in the community.

Olivia came in to tell the students all about the St Vincent de Paul Lenten appeal to collect cans to give to those in need. The class learned about the importance of giving during lent (helps us to become more like Jesus), we practiced this in class, first by doing a compliment circle, then by making a mouse with a string tail. Each time a student gives to others (compliments, donating food, helping others) they can tie a knot in the string to keep track of their Lenten challenge.

The classes first challenge was to give a sweet to another person to practice giving to others during Lent. If you would like to know more about St Vincent de Paul you can visit their site https://www.svdpchch.co.nz/.

If you would like to know more about Lent and why it is a special time for the church, ask your children all about it and their Caritas learning.

Duffy Theatre

On Thursday 14th March Duffy Theatre came to NBC. This year the play was all about how it is important to work together to solve problems. Duffy had gone to stay with his cousin, who was playing video games, when he was sucked into the game. Duffy and his cousin then had to work together to solve the problems with their knowledge of words and coding to get out of the game. They ran into trouble with the dismantler (destroyed all the bricks) and the puzzler (rearranged the words they created to get new clues).

The students enjoyed the performance and asked some great questions such as what books the actors enjoyed reading and how long it took to practice the show? The boys in Room 4 were great at giving Duffy advice about how he should solve problems in the game and loved how the story focused on gaming. It was great to see that the solutions involved students reading and writing about how to solve the problems.