End of Term 3 2013

What a busy term we have had!  Nine exciting weeks have been full of Speeches, Hockey and Rippa Rugby Tasters, Cross country, Culture Evening ... as well as the usual Maths, Writing, Reading, Circle Time, Topic/Social Science, Handwriting, Spelling etc etc etc.  I have enjoyed the Identity and Culture unit it has allowed the opportunity to learn and show understanding within the class on the cultural backgrounds they have.  Speeches went really well (only 1 child did not present on their own in front of the class).  I think starting with their Mihi, then impromptu and 1 minute speeches helped prepare them.  I was really, really proud of Jerry.  He not only offered to go first, he also delivered a great speech that lasted nearly 3 minutes on his Chinese Culture!!!!  WAY TO GO !!!!. 

Term 3

Today Room 13 explored QR codes, thanks to Elysia sharing it at our syndicate meeting. The plan was for each child to up load their mihi video, then create a QR code to put on their blog to access it. Unfortunately the inter/intra net at school was on a go slow. In the end we made a QR code for our Vardon School website and uploaded it as a picture onto our blogs. The kids were really motivated and excited by this. Some asked if they could print out several QR codes that they had created. Their plan is to put the QR code for their blog, and their brothers or friends QR codes on the fridge at home. Then they can use Mum or Dads phone to access them quickly. Great idea! So we did that and I am looking forward to hearing how it went.

Term 3 2013

Term 3 in Room 13 sees the return of Matua Tim for a 6 week practicum, Class assembly in Week 2, Milk for Schools, Daffodil Day, Cross country, Social Science topic 'Our Many Cultures'- just to start with, and promises to be another exciting and busy term all squeezed into 9 weeks. A fellow teacher and I met for coffee in the holidays, which as anyone knows, meant quite a bit of "work talk". This inevitably included the usual reflection and comparison between teaching now and 20 or 30 years ago. The 'work load of a teacher today' was being discussed when my friend chuckled and said, "It's just like a laundry basket - never empty for long!" SO TRUE!!!! So we just need to FIND TIME TO: SORT IT, START IT, HANG OUT, LEAVE IT FOR A WHILE, CHECK IT, BRING IT ALL IN TOGETHER, ORGANISE IT AND PUT IT AWAY- ALWAYS REMEMBERING TO CHECK WHETHER IT NEEDS SPOT CLEANING, REPAIRS, THROWING OUT OR REPLACING WITH A NEW ONE! THEN START ALL OVER AGAIN TOMORROW. Sounds exactly like teaching.

Photo

">Here is my first photo peach. Karakariki Camp 2013 on PhotoPeach

Term 1 2013

What a busy start to the year! We have had a very full program including the usual beginning of the year testing, setting up routines, books etc. We have also been to Karakariki Christian Camp. We had an awesome camp with terrific weather, great parent helpers and well-behaved children. I am looking forward to using the new i pads and exploring the apps on them next week. We have been doing lots of post camp activities including thank you letters, brochures, art and writing.

Term 1 2013

Finally! What a busy term we have had in Room 13. We had awesome weather and wonderful camp for 3 nights and 4 days at Karakariki Christian Camp. The class is busy doing post camp work and have written poems, thankyou letters, made camp brochures, prioritised their favourite camp activity and are about to make 3D trioramas. After Easter the plan is to book time with the new ipads and use some of the amazing apps to produce camp related blog posts. Groups will start by working on power points, photo peach, glogster and whordle activities.

Reflection 4 December

Where do I start? I have struggled with making regular posts. Not only did the computer challenge me with issues, also I did not make it a habit to go on to my blog. It was great to get 4 netbooks in my room in Term 4. This added to the 2 extra desktops giving Room 13 a total of 8 computers to use. It has been great to give the children work to do on the computers, either as an individual or in pairs. This has allowed us to make more regular blog posts also. The children have enjoyed coming to school early and using the netbooks/ computers to play interactive topic games. I am looking forward to making more use of the interactive whiteboard, computers and netbooks in my room next year. It will be valuable to set up group stations, rotations and specific follow up activities.