Week 4 Term 3

Kia ora Whanau

Apologies for the lateness of the blog. It has been a busy time with the Disco on Friday and Parent Meeting Monday night.

I was fantastic to see so many parents that could make the meeting. If you were unable to attend there is a link to see the presentation below.

MLE (Modern Learning Environment) Presentation

Marlaina and I made our presentation - but unfortunately for those not in attendance there is little on the slides.



STAR OF THE WEEK

Leonora sparkling her way to STAR of the Week!

Congratulations to Leonora. What a fantastic Star you have been! I appreciate how you are so willing to help others. Leonora loves to learn and is always keen to support other learners.


PASTEL BLENDING

The Junior school teachers were excited to go on an art course this week and learn some new techniques and ideas for teaching art.  Anne was keen to share with Nīkau the tips and tricks for blending. 

These koru are looking great!

Week 3 Term 3

Kia ora Whanau


NZIFF

We had such a great day on Wednesday at the Film Festival "Shorts for Schools" showing. Ten short animated films from all over the world delighted, entertained and touched us (and in one or two cases lulled us to sleep). Thanks to the parent volunteers for helping this happen.
 

We're off! Aren't we so lucky to be this close to the Embassy!

First there! Probably because we didn't have to find a park.

 

Excited to see 10 short films!

You can see one of the popular animations on YouTube here:   Zebra

 and the trailer for Percival Pilts (NZ/Aus entry) here: Percival Pilts Trailer

We tried writing reviews of the films this week and are working on making posters of our favourites.


Kelly Sports (Mondays)

This week we moved on from balancing to dodging. This is an important skill in many games such as soccer, ripper, hockey etc.

 Here we are playing a dodging game. Hopefully you can see some participants rapidly changing direction.


Inquiry

The class performed many science experiments this week. We are honing our observational skills and asking questions about the things we notice.

This jar is full of water and Aryan is managing to tip it up with no water escaping using only a piece of cardboard!

Very motivated writers scribing messages in invisible ink (aka lemon juice).

Maths

This week in our numeracy time we have been trying out our MAD problem solving skills. MAD is the acronym we are using to remind us of some strategies we can use, such as:

M - Model it with materials e.g blocks, counters
A - Act it out
D - Draw it

It has been wonderful to see the students' confidence grow when working out word problems.



 Star of the Week

Elena shines in Nīkau.

This week Elena is our STAR STUDENT! Elena is so wonderful to work with. She listens to others and is consistently helpful. Thanks Elena for being such a keen learner.

Shape Shifters

Today in Maths we practised sorting shapes in a variety of different ways. 

 

 Sorting by colour.

Aren't we fast?

Sorting by thickness

Sorting by the number of sides the shape has.

Sorting by shape name.

You will notice circles, triangles, squares, oblongs/rectangles, trapeziums, hexagons and more!

 

Week 2 Term 3

Kia ora whanau!

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

This week was Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. We read many Māori legends of Māui and practiced responding to commands.

Tiro (mai)                Look (this way)
Huri mai                  Turn this way
Kōrero                     Speak
Whakarongo mai     Listen here
E tū                          Stand
E noho                     Sit
Kia tau                     Be still/Settle down
Taihoa                      Wait
Kia tere!                   Be quick
Kōrero Māori mai    Speak to me in Māori


Kelly Sports

We had our second session with our expert instructor on Monday. Thank you to those who have already paid the $11.60 to the office. The children have been enjoying playing games that develop their sense of balance. The first two sessions have been around stability and movement skills such as balance, rotation, landings. Next week we begin locomotor movement skills such as jumping, skipping, leaping, running, hopping, and dodging.

Casper showing how it's done.

Will he make it? Tom races for the line while balancing a cone.

Thinking like a Scientist (Inquiry)

We  have had a busy time predicting, observing and explaining in our inquiry time. This week we learned more about forces such as gravity and centrifugal force, chemical reactions, matter and all sorts of other things. I hope your children have been sharing with you some of the science experiments we have been conducting at school.

For Pānui this week, Carly brought in a rocket powered by a chemical reaction. We had great fun trying it out. Unfortunately, the anticipation was greater than the actual observed reaction. We certainly learned from the experience - not the least of which being "always read the instructions twice!"

Scientist Carly carefully measuring the baking soda.

Thanks to Carly for sharing her rocket with us!

Trip to the Film Festival

Not long until we go to the Embassy (5th August) to see the Shorts for Schools.

"This specially curated programme of short films showcases animation from across the world – Russia, Japan, France, Australia, UK, USA – and New Zealand. It’s a unique opportunity for students toaccess contemporary independent film and different cultures through a familiar medium. " - NZIFF Brochure.

Please pay $5 to the office to cover the costs. I am in need of one more parent helper to come along if any are available (from 9:30-11:30). Many thanks

Star of the Week

This week's star student is Casper. The children of Nikau appreciate Casper's sense of humour and  ability to cheer others up. Thanks for being helpful and sharing what you see with those "good science eyes".

Casper sparkles his way to being Star Student this week.

Updated Timetable

Click here for updated Term 3 timetable

Week 1 Term 3

Kia ora Whanau!

What a wonderful first week back at school. It was all go on Tuesday when we moved back into Nikau classroom and out of the hall. 

Nau mai, haere mai!

We were also very pleased to welcome three new students into Nikau. Greetings to Elena, Leonora, Sopho and their families. 

Leonora, Sopho & Elena mime something they did in the holidays.

Hei Tiki

We read about tiki and how they are special this week. We made some beautiful tiki. Unfortunately I (Anne) had a problem with the oven running on the hot side. After a few minutes in the oven I checked on the tiki and great plumes of smoke came out and set off the fire alarms. Well, we got the first fire drill of the term out the way!

Very proud tiki crafters!

Hei tiki (pre-toasting!)

Timetable

There are a couple of changes to the timetable. It is currently being updated. The main changes are around the time of assembly (Friday morning rather than afternoon at this stage) and PE time to allow for the Kelly Sport timetable.

Inquiry

This term we are excited about our science focus “How do I think like a scientist?” We plan to do lots of science experiments and hone our observational skills. We look forward to sharing our learning at the Junior School Open Day this term. The date for this open day is yet to be confirmed.

Trip 

 NZIFF: Movie  Shorts for School @ The Embassy

Nikau are off to the Embassy Theatre at 10am on the 5^th August. The cost for this is $5 per student payable at the school office. A ticket would normally cost $12, so this is a bargain! Please bring payment ASAP. Thank you.

  
 

Kelly Sport

Last term the year 1s & 2s benefited from participating in a well structured sports programme organised through Kelly Sports. Nikau, Manuka and Pohutukawa have booked this programme for Term 3 beginning this week.  The cost is $11.60 per child for 7 weeks. This works out at less than $2 per 45-minute session, with professional instructors. These will be every Monday morning. Please remind your child to dress appropriately for physical activity on this day.

Star Student

Congratulations Louie! Star Student for Week one. It was fantastic to hear the children sharing positive things they've noticed about Louie and offering encouragement.

Term 3

Kia ora whanau!

Here's hoping you've had a wonderful time together over the term break.

We will be starting on Monday in the hall but I am hopeful that we will be back into Nikau early in the week!

In other exciting news we welcome three more students into Nikau this term, bringing us up to 26. Nau mai, haere mai to Elena, Leonora, Sopho and their families.

Click below for updated timetables for Term 3:

Nikau Timetable Term 3

Pānui/News Timetable

Term 3 Overview

Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday!

Anne