When Q came to visit Oscar

Q came home with Oscar to spend the weekend.Q came to watch Oscar have his swimming lesson.In the weekend they spent a nice time together on Oscar's bike and with our family pet Bebe.Q almost got bitten from Bebe! Ouch..

Q came home with WilliamJ

Q came home with William this weekend. We went out to dinner at Wagamama's on Friday night and we had lots of fun. On Saturday we went on a bike ride and played in the park and on Sunday Tom P. came for a play and Q enjoyed Connect 4 and skateboarding!
Later we went for a swim and had a nice early night as Q was very tired after a busy day!
Thanks for coming to stay with us Q, and we hope to see you again soon!

Q came home with Georgie for a very busy Halloween weekend.

First he went to Jellie park to watch Georgie have her swimming lesson. Then they went to Millie W's house for dinner and a Room 5 girls catch up before they went to the school halloween disco.

On Saturday they played in the tent in the back yard and on Sunday Q went trick or treating with Georgie and Charlie.

After all the weekend activities Q and Georgie were very tired so had a big sleep to get ready for school again on Monday

Annabelle and Q's photos

Q came home with Annabelle for her 6th birthday. He tried to unwrap her presents and eat her dinner. Q came for a walk through Hagley Park during Labour weekend and had fun on the log over the river. Annabelle threw Q onto the riverbank and then she fell into the river......lucky Q wasn't with her!!!!

Spines

Today we found out that:

There are 13 bones in a spine - Milly W

If it was one big bone in your spine it would not bend the same - Oscar

You have lots of small bones in your spine to help us bend - Thomas P

When you are a baby you have 300 bones in your body - Lily

Giraffes have the same amount of neck bones as we do - Bailey

In our spine we have little bones that help us bend and babies do not have any teeth- Will R

Babies have gaps between their skull bones when they are born - Will J

When you go numb its just your muscles going to sleep - Corrin

The bones in our spine are not joined together -Eric

Babies have more bones than adults - George

We got some people to bend over so we could feel the spine move - Milly S

If you put your fists together this is how bog your brain is - Mac

If the spinal column got injured at the bottom then you could not move your legs, but if it got injured at the top, then you could not move anything from the neck down - Ryan

Newsletter Week 2

Newsletter Week 2

Wow, what a busy first week back, with Fendalton Friends Commonwealth Games, a Junior Team trip to the Ngaio Marsh theatre and lots of amazing learning in our classrooms.

Blog Pages

Check out our blog page for events that have happened, the children’s feedback, news and information and much much more. This is a great place for you to see what has been happening at fendalton and our classrooms, and to add comments. Newsletters and information will be added here so please check it regularly. The class address is www.fendalton.school.nz/5. If you would like to log in and make a comment click sign in and use the username room5@fendalton.school.nz, Password: fosroom5. Our newsletters will go online here, so keep checking for lots of exciting news.

Commonwealth Games

This was a great success. The children had smiles on their faces all day and had a fantastic time. They all got to try something new and everyone gave it all a go, which was great to see. Thankyou to all the parents who came along to support their child. Results, information and pictures can be found on the school website.

Swimming

This term we will be visiting Wharenui for our class swimming lessons. The children will be grouped according to ability and will be taught skills depending on this level. This is a great opportunity for all children, even if they do lessons outside school, the classes with help to develop their swimming at all levels. The classes will be run by qualified instructors and will have lots of support and encouragement. Transport of the children will be confirmed later so please continue to check the newsletters.

Your child will need to bring swimming togs, towel, goggles and hat if needed every swimming session and these will ALL need to be named.

Swimming dates: AMEND FOR YOUR CLASS

Tuesday 26^th Oct – Friday 29^th Oct

Time: 2:00 – 2:30

Monday 1^st Nov - Tuesday 2^nd Nov

Time: 2:00 – 2:30

Thursday 4^th Nov – Friday 5^th Nov

Time: 2:00 – 2:30

Cathedral singing

This year we are lucky to be invited to sing in the Cathedral in the town centre. Children will travel with their classes to sing Christmas songs and donate a gift. Information about this, and asking for parent help on the busses with come home shortly. This is an amazing event, and a lovely way for the children to sing and celebrate the end of a year. If you are unable to help but would still like to come and hear the singing, you can go to the cathedral yourself.

Date: Thursday 16^th December 1:45 – 2:15

Upcoming events

Monday 25^th October – Labour Day (school closed)

Friday 29^th October - School Disco

Thursday 2^nd Dec - Run Jump Throw – Athletics Day.

This Weeks Reflection - Week 1

This week we have had a very exciting week back at school.

These are some of the things we have enjoyed

Millie W - " I enjoyed the puppet so because when the chicken got out of the cage, he bit the farmer on the bottom and he fell over."

Eric - " I liked the Commonwealth games day, because we got to do lots of things."

Lily - "I enjoyed the play, I like how the hens ran away" "I liked how the sheep locked the farmer in the cage. "

Millie S - " I liked it when we went on the bus ride to see the farm animals, because we thought the gate would not open."

Ben - "It was fun at Commonwealth games, because we got to play hockey and do running."

Corin - " I liked all the stuff that we learnt this week"

Mac - "I liked to have a challenge at the Commonwealth games."

Bella - "I liked it when the sheep's baby got eaten in the play"

Annabelle - " I liked it when the farmer wiggled his bottom at us"

This week we have been learning about:

- Inside our bodies, with Toby.

- About the Commonwealth Games

- we have learnt about our skeleton and why we have one.

- How to use hockey sticks and a ball

- We learnt with how to keep healthy - we did a brainstorm of what we know.

- If you didn't have bones in your body you would be flat like a beanbag

- I learnt how to throw in bowling

We also looked at using our goals in writing and lots of number work.

Term 4 reminders - What is happening next term.

Just a few reminders about next term.

Student-Led Conferences

As we have had to move the conferences a new booking sheet will go home at the start of term 4. These conferences will be held on November 17th.

Summer Uniform

The students start wearing their Summer school uniform at the beginning of term 4. Please remember that this is the start of our sun smart focus for the term. This means hats need to be worn and, ideally, sunscreen should be applied to skin in the mornings, (We have more if needed at school). By the end of week 2, all students MUST be in summer uniform and it is from then we enforce the no hat, no play rule. More information can be found on the school website.

You may wish your child to wear another hat to and from school.

Swimming

We will be attending Swimming lessons at Wharenui pools from 26th October - 5th November. More information to follow, please check newsletters and your child's homelearning books.

HomeLearning Books

Please remember to check your child's Homelearning/Communictaion book. I will reguarlly put information in here.

Upcoming events

Fendalton Friends Commonwealth Games Day -11am - 3pm (14th October)

Performance - The Farm at the end of the Road October 13th - Junior Classes to watch

Student -Led Conferences - November 17th and 18th

School Disco - 29th October

Team Beat

We were really lucky today to have a performance from TeamBeat. They were amazing African drummers, who sang songs, showed us instruments and talk about their country. We even got to have a go ourselves. Check out our pictures to see what an amazing time we had.

"I enjoyed them playing the drums" - Thomas P, Eric

"We got to play the drums on different beats" Millie S, Millie W, Georgette and Bella

" I liked that we could dance at the front"Lily

" I liked the singing" - William R

" I liked the dancing" Bella and Annabelle

" I liked the different rhythms you can make with it" - William J

" I liked when the teachers all danced at the front" - Corin,Annabelle, Connor and Lily

"I liked when we all played on the drums" - Oscar, Ryan, Joseph and Harry

" I liked the beat they did" - Bailey

" I liked at the start when they did the dance and they did the funny dancing when they turned around" - Corin, William

Returning to School

What a rollercoster of a week it has been, I hope that you are all safe and well, and that all your houses are OK. I hope that you and all your family are beginning to feel a little less shaken. My family are all safe and sound, and with no damage to our houses, just the odd crack in the ceiling and broken glasses etc. Most of my street is still in one piece, just a crack across the road.
We (the staff) are meeting tomorrow to discuss how we can support your children with their transition back to school and how we can help them feel as safe and happy as possible. Keep an eye on the school website too as there are some really useful tips to help with any anxious children.
Please let me know if you feel your child has been particularly upset by the recent events, so we can cater to their needs at school.
Keep safe
Kathryn Smith

When Q came to millie W house

When Q came to my house. There was an earthquake! we hid under the door frame and under the table. I wonder where you hided? I thought it was scarey. Did you think it was scarey?

Electricity and water with water pipes.

When we were coming back from a walk past deans bush, there was a broken water pipe. We didnt loose our water . We got our electricity back after lunch.

When my friends came to my house. Q got to be Claudia, he ate lots of food, he nearly ate all my doughnut.

Millie w loved having Q for the weekend.

Teddy Bears Picnic

Today was a very special day, we had some new visitors to Room 5. Today we had a Teddy Bears Picnic and all our favourite toys came along.

We had so much fun, we pretended that we were outside in the sun (as it was raining really) and listened to the birds in the trees. We all shared our lovely snacks that we had, and luckily no ones teddy ate too much. We all had lots of fun, and our bears had to have a little nap in our bags afterwards as they had eaten so much cake.

Click on the link to look at some of our pictures from the day.

Don't forget to keep looking at the blog to see what other adventures we have been having in class.

Eric's weekend with Q

Friday, 6th of August, was Eric's birthday. He's so exited when he came back home with Q. After enjoyed Mum-made birthday cake, Eric opened the gifts with Q.








Eric and Q went to the Air Force Museum.










They had a great weekend.

william R weekend with Q

William and Q watch the penguins

being feed, they eat herrings and

swallow them hole.

William and Q seek shelter in an

igloo from a -20 Antarctic storm

Q watches on as William

attempts a strike

William had a great

weekend with Q

Warren the Entomologist

We had a great time with Warren Chinn, an Entomologist. He came in and talked about spiders and answered our questions. He even brought in a (very) grumpy weka for us to look at!

spider

Spiders vomate on their food when their food is wrapped in their web.

amazing spider facts

Spiders vomit on their food before they eat it. Spiders live in different places, like in the garden

spiders

spidir live in differentplacces and some live under water and they can still breath.

Jumping spiders

Spiders can jump.

spiders

spids eat bird.

(Spiders eat birds.)

Spiders

I did not no that the spiders kiel the bug.

(I did not know that spiders kill the bugs.)

Spiders

spiders vomit on flies before they eat it.

the spiders

We lint that spiders vonet thiy food.

(I learnt that spiders vomit on their food)

spider

spiders can grow more legs back.

spider

spiders have fangs on head.

spiders

i lot that spiders  vomit on their food

i learnt that spiders grow their legs back

What i learnt about spiders

I learned htat spids kan grow nuw Ligs

(I learnt that spiders can grow new legs)

spiders

Sbidis vomit on there food be for they eat it.

(Spiders vomit on their food before they eat it)

Millie and Bellas work

spiders ets little ladibaz and fly

(Spiders eat little ladybugs and flies)

Spiders

they  vome  on the insect be  fom   they etn

(They vomit on the insect before they eat it.)

Spiders

I learnt that spiders eat flies. Why do spiders have 8 legs?

Spiders

Spidir can grow liges wen thay thal of grow back.

(Spiders can grow legs when they fall of and then they grow back.)

Spiders

Spider vomit on there food.
Some spiders can bite you.

SPIDERS

i lotere spiders vomit on fliyes d fol they ett the fliye

(I learned spiders vomit on flies before they eat the fly.)

Mac's weekend with Q

I was so happy when Q came to my house. I liked Q at my house. We did things together. I went to Macleans Is bike track with Q. At home we made pillow huts. Q jumped on my trampoline and climed in my tree hut. Good bye Q till next time.

Ben's Weekend with Q

Q came home with Ben on Friday night. They had a play and tea together then were off to bed.

On Saturday morning we all headed off to soccer. Q loved watching the game which the boys won 5-1. Ben, Harry and William all had a great game. When we got home Q had a play on the trampoline, and a game of snakes and ladders with Ben and Libby.

On Sunday Q came with us to visit a friend who had a new kitten. Q had a great play with Lote the kitten. Then we headed off to the beach for a play around the rocks and in the sand. Q felt quite at home out in the cold weather and near the sea. He didn't want to leave. Ben, Libby and Q had a quick nap in the car on the way home as it had been a busy weekend. Q and Ben finished the weekend watching Wild Vet on tv which had some of Q's cousin penguins on.

Thanks Q for visiting our house this weekend.

Space Day

Space Day
Today we had our space day. It was an amazing way to finish our Inquiry on Space. We learnt lots of new and exciting things and got to be a real astronaut visiting space.
We started the day in astronaut training, where we discovered what it would be like to be a real astronaut. We tried lots of different activities astronauts would do to prepare themselves for space. We looked at what they eat, where there sleep, how fit they need to be and what it might be like to wear a space suit.  It was so amazing to see what need to do. 

In the afternoon we went to outer space, we got to visit lots of planets and learn about how unique they all are.......no 2 planets were the same. We visited Mars, Jupiter, Saturn to mention just a few. We were all very tired after our space trip so we came back to space ship 5 to debrief with Miss Smith. Below are some of the new things that we learnt.........

Ben - Mars has a pink sky around it
George - Saturn's ring is made of rock, gas and ice
Corin - Jupiter only has a tiny bit of rock but is mostly gas
Bailey - You be a spacemen you have to be able to balance.
Eric - Astronauts need to eat sticky food
Bella - they have drink in a bag instead of a bottle so it does not fly away
Lily - Jupiter has 60 moons
Mac - Jupiter does have a missing ring
Millie S - Saturn has hundreds of rings
George/Thomas P - Jupiter has 3 rings
Oscar - you need to eat dry food in space
Annabelle - Jupiter is made of clouds and gas
Millie W - Saturn is made of helium, like a balloon
William J - you can't stand on Jupiter

Things we enjoyed -
"i enjoyed making saturn"
"finding new facts about every single planet"
" I liked it when we made saturn, because you got to colour it in the yellow you wanted."
" Making play mercury"
"I enjoyed watching the videos to find out stuff - one of the planets can be hot and cold at the same time"
"I liked making saturn, because it is cool."

As we are now all experts, you can now talk to Team 5 about what they learnt and add it to the blog. 

George took Q to the snow in the weekend!

George went to Wanaka for the weekend but he got stuck in the snow on the way home!! Q was really excited though and felt right at home in all of the snow - he even wanted his picture taken....so we stopped and got out and took his photo and then we had to turn around because the road was closed and drive the long way home to Christchurch. Q was exhausted after that and he has been asleep ever since!

Thanks for coming on our holiday Q.

The adventures of Q and George K

Q came home to George's house for the long weekend. He was given a guided tour of George's bedroom and even had dinner with George. Tomorrow he is off to Chipmunks with Harry and George and then he is going on a long car ride to Wanaka for the Queens's birthday weekend. We have loved having Q at our house - he has beautiful manners and he eats all of his dinner!

Thanks for coming Q

From George K

Doing something in the weekend

i went te the hydrosllde in the weekende

(I went to the hydroslide in the weekend)

Moon

They're is no water on the moon and you have to wear a space suit.

Bella's Writing

The Dog had a really cool house they have really cool stuff in it. Hares because they have a cool pas i like te hares

moon

The moon has no graverty.

Moon

The moon has craters on it.

moon

the moon has crates and this no ire on moon

i went to the gondola and i went on the timeline .

Animals

I went to the zoo and i had lots of fun i saw lots of animals.

Dear GeorG what Have you been doing I What TV Love Thomas

the moon

the solar system is lots of planets there is no air on the moon

the puppy

A puppy was playing with a kitn but when the puppy was playing with the kitn she chased the kitn when then the puppy chaseta the kitten shegot scared so she went home and got under her covers.

the moon have craters.
The moon is made of old rock.

Army

I was in the uk . It was war. first I went in a army plane.. Then I went on the armyb boat .Then I went on the army tank.

the holiday

I went to castle golf in the holidays I had lots of fun.

Holiday

I went to my friends house for a sleepover and i camped out side all on my own we got to watch     a movie.

The war.

I am in a army plane . I the (rockets) .

bowling

Dear Miss smith I went too bowing and I got four goals. From Ryan.

Claudia's Writing

dear mum i wet to space wet my friend i am go to the moon from claudia

the moon

the rocs mak cratis .you have to wer a spas sot on the moon ,ther is no fod on the moon.

(The rocks make craters. You have to wear a spacesuit on the moon. There is no food on the moon)

the moon

the moon has no wotr the moon has no er ther is no ales

Me and My Friends

me and my friends at the ball

Moons

the moon has craters and rocket lad on the moon

holiday

in the holiday we went in a caravan

my puppy

my puppy scratched and my puppy is called bebe

birthday

this weekend i went to bellas birthday at wonderland there was a princess and we played games

painting

i like ot paint with my dad and mum and holly and izzy we paint paintings

bubble

i am in a bullbe i can see army tanks shooting on the plane

kites

kites fly i the air they need wind to make them fly

chocolate

i like the chocolate because it is so yummy

miss smith

dear miss smith in the weekend i had my brothers party we had popcorn

A Letter

Dear Miss Smith i went to lolliepops when i got home i got a lolliepop love eric

what am i

i have no legs i slither

et

a et kw to pia nata

what am i

i have black spots and i have a yellow body. what am i

Kites

Kites fly in the air. They need wind to make them fly.

Harry's Writing

i amfiyh aalen

the patey

i   went  to    bellais   patey   and   i plad   wefe  milies

I am in a bubble

i can see army tanks shooting on the plane

mace

In the weekend I did bulding I built a mace I played whith it lots

What am I?

I eat egg i am slimy most of us are brown a snake. What am I?

vol

i went no a vol cano en it exploded on my fas ne i was dead

killing the monster

THE MONSTER WAS MY BEDI WOKGP I SOWTNE MOS I KLD THE MOS

The monster was under my bed. I killed the monster.

in the holiday kitere wif me caravan

Dear miss smith i went to lollipoops when i got home i got a lollipop.

i am at a party being a fairy

oscar`s writing

my puppy soafched and my puppy is called bebe

apache

i   am in an ah64ibapathe i fid the rocs.

I am an AH64 Longbow Apache helicopter.  I fire rockets

Millie S with Q the penguin 23.05.2010

I took Q to QE2 for a swim and then I took him pony riding at Waimakari Pony Trails and our pony was called Nipper.

Q loved it and so did I. Also we made a cake together for my brother Louis who had his first birthday on the same weekend.

I was very pleased to be able to take Q home for the weekend because I did quality work which is the goal for room 5.

Love Millie S.

Science Alive

Yesterday we went to Science Alive, we had lots of fun. We learnt lots of new information.

"the sun is a big a star" - Lily
"It takes a whole year for the Earth to go round the sun"- Connor and Corin
"It takes one day for the Earth to spin around" - Millie S
"The rocks come down onto the moon and make craters" - William R and Ryan
" The blue stars are the hottest" - William J and Ben
"There are different coloured stars" - Mac
" The stars are red, Yellow and blue" Millie W and George
"Pluto is not one of the special planets anymore" - Annabelle
" The moon has a hole because the planets smash" - Eric
"The Red stars are the coldest stars" - Ben
" Yellow stars are the middle temperature stars" - Corin

Adventures of Q

This weekend Q came home with me (Corin). We did some really exciting things with him. On Saturday he came and cheered st my hockey game in the morning and in the afternoon he went to a farm and met some other animals! He slept on the mantle piece so that Tosca couldn't chew him and when he woke up he read the birthday cards.
On Sunday he had a sleep in and he went to QE2. Q loves swimming!

Week 4 News

This week’s news.

Q
Every Friday our new classmate Q the penguin will be a visiting child in the class. If he comes to your house for an adventure, please log onto our blog page with your child and write what you have been up to. Click on the QUICK LABEL (Adventures of Q) on the left hand side. This will take you to the latest blogs.
When you add a comment please label it “adventures of Q”, this is a small box at the bottom of where you type. You can add photos, videos or a picture as well.

Science Alive
We are going to Science Alive on Thursday 20th May. If you require you child to be seated in a bumper seat, please bring this on Thursday. Thank you to all the parents who offered to take children.

Leave your child at the door day.
Thank your for all your support with this day, and it is something that I will continue each week. Please encourage your child to organise their own things in a morning, I know it is tempting to stand outside and pass all the things to them, but they will have a greater sense of achievement if they do it themselves. Thanks again for joining in on this, the children are so proud on a Wednesday, of being able to do it all on their own.

Looking forward to another busy week in Week 5

Kat

The Adventures of Q......

Have you seen Q? Can you tell us where you have spotted him and what adventures he has been having with you.

Click on the label to take to his latest adventure with the Deep Sea Divers of Team 5.

Watch this space to see where he will go next!

Cross Country

Team 5 took part in our first Cross Country and with great sucess. Everyone participated and finished the race with a smile which was great to see. Thank you to all the parents who came along to support our budding athlete and congratulation to all of Team 5 we had some fantastic results, including Millie White taking first place in the Year One girls race. I was so proud of all the class and looking forward to the next sporting event.

Check out all the Cross country photos below.

Cross Country

Cultural Festival

Wow, what a lovely day. Thank you to all the parents who came along to support us, it was so lovely to see so many people turn up.....and try and fit into the classroom. The children had so much fun, especially flying their kites and trying new foods. Come in and check out our writing to see what we liked best.

Here are some photos of the day.......

Cultural Festival

Show and Tell

This week we have introduced Show and Tell into our class. This is a time when we can share something special with our class. We practised our listening skills and also our questions. We have be talking about asking open ended questions, and what questions we could ask to get lots of information. When we answer questions we are trying to give fuller answers too. It has been very exciting.

This week Mac showed us his Camo binoculars, Claudia told us about the tricks she can do with her dog and Oscar taught us how to do his very difficult game.

We are looking forward to seeing more exciting things next week.

Show and Tell

Newsletter Week 1

Newsletter Week 1

Term 2
Welcome back to another exciting term for the Deep Sea Divers in Room 5. Last term we were getting to know our new class and classmates and everyone settled in well.
This term is another exciting term, filled with lots of new, interesting investigating and learning. As part of our Inquiry Lesson we are looking at Kites. We will be designing our own kites and making and flying them at our cultural festival. This is something that we are very excited about, and will probably need a little bit of help to create. In maths we are looking a shapes and movement, as well as continuing with our number work and basic facts.

Drop at the Door Day. Starting in Week 2 every Wednesday will be “drop your child at the door day.” On a Wednesday, please say goodbye to your child at the door and allow them to organise all their things for the day independently. This will help them to become more independent, learn to organise their things and begin to take responsibility. I will talk to the children about what they need to do and we will make a checklist as a class to help them with this process.

Cross-country
The cross-country event will take place on Tuesday 4th May and parents are invited to attend. The year 1 children will be running 2 laps of the field and need to wear their sports kit on this day. There will be a practise session before on Wednesday 28th April to get the children familiar with the course. They should bring their sports shoes to change into for this (but they must still wear their school shoes at school).

Learning Reports and Learning Conferences
Your child’s learning report will be sent home on Friday 30th April. This is a folder that shows your child current progression and the stage there are currently working at. The folder includes examples of your child work and also assessments of their work. Please look through this folder, as it not only shows what level your child is working at but also has some next steps for their learning.
There will be a whole school meeting on Thursday 29th April to explain the reports and give parents an opportunity to ask questions about them. It would certainly be worthwhile attending so that during the 10 minute conference you have with me the following week, time is not taken up with a similar explanation and instead we can discuss the more important questions you have about your child’s learning.
Don’t forget to sign up for a time slot on-line!

Learning Conferences
This is a 10-minute time where we will discuss your child’s learning and along with your child, we will set goals for their continuing learning and success. The Learning Conferences will take place on Tuesday 4th May and Thursday 6th May in week 3; please go online to book an appointment time. (it is recommended that you child comes along, but it is not compulsory. This way I can talk to them about their goals and next steps).

Home learning
Starting from next week I will be providing an optional home-learning task for your child to complete each week. It will be left in a box on the tote trays. Please ensure you collect it from the box with your child’s name on it, as they will be differentiated. This task can be done in the home learning book or on a piece of paper. I will change it each Monday and give children the opportunity to share their work with the class if they wish. This is NOT compulsory, and I ask that you still read every night with you child.

Up and coming events
Learning Reports, parent talk time – Thursday 28th April 7:00 – 8:00
Cross country – Tuesday 4th May
Cultural festival – Week 3 (more information to follow)


Blog
Please continue to check our class blog page, you will find information about what we have been doing in class, feedback from the children and other exciting things. The web address is http://fosteam5.blogspot.com/

Kat Smith

We are going to make some Kites.

We are designing kites to make. We have been learning about what kites do. Kites can be used for celebrating, having, fishing, scaring people, making bridges and surf boarding.

Today we also did the cross country run. We did some dynamic stretches. Dynamic means moving!

Newsletter Team 5 - Week 8

End of Term

It only seems like yesterday that it was day one and the beginning of a new year, and it’s already the end of the first term. Where has the time gone? We have had an exciting term with lots of new learning and exploring happening in our deep-sea diving classroom. We have been investigating many topics and I am sure you have heard about them every night from your child. We have had a fun filled, jam-packed term with the introduction of our inquiry into Cultures, Class Triathlon, Duathlon and lots, lots more. We have been producing amazing artwork with Alison and becoming scientists with Toby.

Next Term
From week one we have another full term including our continuing investigation into different cultures, our cultural festival, school cross-country and much more. I will be introducing some new systems into the classroom to help encourage your child’s independence and growing confidence.
We have a Teacher Conference next term, where we will be discussing your child’s progress and future goals; using the Learning Reports. Please don’t forget to go online a book an appointment time. There is a parent talk time arranged to introduce you to the Learning Reports and a great place for you to ask any questions you have.
Louise and Paulette will be running NE/Y1 parent talk times on a Friday again next term. Please check the noticeboard outside the classroom regularly for information.

Blog Page and Newsletter.
I will continue to send information and newsletters home in your child’s home learning/contact book, so please check these regularly. I will also be adding information on our Blog Page, including what we have been doing in class, this is a great place to see what we have been up to and also to let me know what you have been doing at home with your child. Please let me know if you cannot access this.

Holidays
Although this is the time relax and recover, it is also important for your child to retain knowledge they have learnt. Over the holiday you may like to continue reading with your child. Some great picture books can be found at the local library. I will add some links to our blog page, so please have a look at these if you would like some extra activities to keep them occupied over the holidays. I have also included some maths activities you could do to help keep their brains thinking. The most important thing is to have fun, relax and get ready for an exciting Term 2.

What have we been doing with Toby?

Over the last few weeks Toby and the class have been working on some really cool Science and ICT ideas. We started out by looking at how to use a digital camera - making sure we kept it safe - and then we took some photos. After we did this, we reflected upon the photos we took and tried to work out what made some of them interesting and some of them not so interesting.

In Science, we have been looking at how scientists complete experiments. We have been making predictions and then testing these ideas out. We used ice and explored the ideas of changing states from solid to liquid to gas.

Check out this really cool website about Science

The Duathlon

Today we had the pleasure of watching Bailey compete in the duathlon. He was a very eagar beaver and had been asking to compete in it for weeks. I was a little dubious, as he is only now just discovering his sporty side, lol so he still has a long way to go. After some talking we decided that it was good for his risk taking and encouraged him. We did 2 practices in the weekend running up to event, Bailey thought it was sooo fun to try. He even wanted his bike tyres fixed so that he was all ok to go. Today he was very excited, an eagar wee man very keen to go to school. The whole family went down to watch him after lunch for the duathlon. Finally it was his race, and he took off racing as fast as his leg would take him, he is not a strong runner but we were proud. He got tangled in the bikes as there were so many there but he was still smiling as he biked pass that is until he crashed off not far away from me. With some encouragement from the older boys from the sports council and some cuddles from dad, Bailey managed to get back on his bike and finish his lap. I really felt for him and it is true what they say that when you have kids it is like having a piece of your heart walking around outside your body, I would have done it for him if I could. I was extremely proud of him. Miss Smith walked 3/4 of the last lap with him, when the older boys again rallied around and then got him run/limping down the last straight. I was really amazed by the lovely supportive spirit behind everyone as they cheered him on. He was absolutely delighted to get over the finish line. What a wonderful achievement, what story to tell all the grandparents on the phone tonight. He is already talking about his next race even if he still can hardly walk on his ankle.
Shannon (Bailey's Mum)