room12muritai

The Artwork of Wassily Kadinsky

2011-11-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

In Room 12 we have been studying some artwork by Wassily Kadinsky. He was a Russian born artist who lived from 1866 to 1944. We have just completed our first piece of work based on the 'Houses in Munich'. Below are some photos of our work. Our next piece will be 'Heavy Red'. Please visit Room 12 if you would like to have a closer look at our marvellous work.

WRITING - Razzing it up!

2011-08-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Check out how we made a a very simple sentence far more interesting...

‘The Cat Sat on the Mat’

The cat purred as it waltzed in to the house, across the room and flopped on to the blue and purple dyed sheepskin rug, gnawing at the edges.
By Amber and Kobe

The odour of sardines immediately filled the room as my fat tabby cat strolled towards the fire to rest and clean its matted fur.
By Emma and Anya

The black and white cat was sitting on a well-worn mat as it looked out the window to see Postman Pat wearing his official hat while patting another fat furry cat.
By Sam H and Sam S

After wandering aimlessly for what seemed like hours I finally spotted the stray fat tabby cat that was crouched hiding on an ancient mat, content as it nibbled gently on a mouse!
By Harry and Gabe

As I sat I looked adoringly across the living room at my beautifully cute, slightly chubby cat as she slept peacefully on its well-claimed stripy mat.
By Ella and Holly

Only the best for my prize winning kitten as it lay peacefully on its handmade luxurious mat after having dined from its antique French porcelain bowl.
By Hillary and Jessica

‘I Walked Down the Road’

I decided to bike down the road to the diary on my way to school.
By Sam S

To clear the devastating thoughts of today I took a long stroll down the old dusty road towards a dark and eerie alleyway, partially hidden by a rolling mist. As I approached I could hear calming jazz music being played in the distance as if it were coming from the blood red sunset that lay ahead.
By Harry

I strolled happily down the never-ending road looking forward to get …
By Amber

I swiftly moved across the tarmac covered road as I was on a mission to get to my favourite and delicious mouth-watering gelato shop.
By Oscar

I gracefully skipped in a cheerful fashion along the windy road, carefully avoiding the soft and sticky tar melted by the hot summers sun.
By Emma

I walked quickly down the winding road as if there was no tomorrow, wondering if he knows I have a bazooka hidden stealthily under my long winter coat.
By Mason

As I strolled down the road I was taking in all the scenery as if I was a famous artist, painting a terrific picture of the world.
By Hillary

Wearable Arts

2011-08-11T00:20:00.001-07:00

The past two weeks we have spent time reviewing past designs and collaboratively brainstorming ideas that would fit with this years four themes:
1. Stone/Ice Age
2. Medieval
3. The Industrial Revolution
4. Space Age

Creating a wearable artwork sounds easy in theory but in reality it can be incredibly daunting for some. I myself attempted to come up with an original design and found it very challenging, especially with letting go and taking risks. This understanding has helped a lot as the class and I have worked through the process of design, including how to add detail about key features of the artwork. It would be greatly appreciated if you at home can also help support your child through the design process by spending time to talk to them about their ideas, what resources will be needed, materials required and ideas for construction.

I have attached a copy of the timeline for this terms Wearable Arts. It includes what we are doing at school and where you could help at home.

To enlarge double click on image

Welcome Back

2011-08-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

Term 3 is now well under way!

It was lovely being back together as a class and hearing everyone's exciting recounts of what they got up to during the term break. It sounds like everyone was very spoilt!

The children have settled quickly back in to everyday school life and are currently working through the process of setting new learning goals for the term. These goals will be linked to the terms focus areas which include narrative writing, creative and critical thinking skills, wearable arts and numeracy (algebra and number knowledge). The goals will be published this week and a copy sent home for each child to share with mum and dad.

The big talking point for this term is undoubtedly the 'Wearable Arts Show', to be held in the last week of term. We have already began the process of:
1. Inspiring through evaluating past designs.
2. Learning about what makes a design a wearable work of art vs a recreation of a costume.
3. Exploring various techniques for creating artworks, i.e. Weaving.

Below is a slideshow of the children learning basic weaving skills.

Speeches

2011-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last week everyone in Room 12 presented a 3-5 minute speech about a topic of their choice. Both Mrs Velvin and I were very proud of all the children as they delivered their speeches with confidence and clarity. There was a wide range of topics including NZ Heroes, Headlice, Dyslexia, Fashion and peoples pets. Sam H's speech was very moving as he talked about his experience during the September earthquake in Christchurch. Well done Sam!

Each speech was judged on how well prepared they were, how they used their voice effectively, their level of organisation, audience engagement and overall presentation. At the end of each speech classmates fed back what they thought was great about the speech and some suggestions for what they could work on for next time.

Congratulations to the following who were selected to represent Room 12 at the Y5/6 team semi finals:
- Harry for his speech on Headlice
- Jessica for her speech on Dyslexia
- Gabby for her speech on New Zealand Heroes

All three did a fantastic job speaking in front of an audience of 100 students and teachers. We were all very proud of them. Special congratulations to Harry who is one of three Year 6 students selected to compete at next Wednesdays big grand final. Good luck Harry! We are all behind you.

Kapa Haka

2011-06-15T00:51:00.001-07:00

Today Mr Chadwick took Room 12 for their weekly Kapa Haka lesson. The girls learnt actions with the poi while the boys practiced the school haka. It was really nice watching how positively the children responded to the support from our senior student leaders. The senior students attend each week as part of the senior school leadership programme and do a fantastic job helping out. In the slideshow you can see Abby and Clara working with the girls on actions using the poi while Moss and Rupert can be seen helping the boy warriors grow in confidence as they perform the school haka.

ADDING AND SUBTRACTING

2011-06-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

Over the past few weeks the children of Room 12's maths class have been learning how to add and subtract with large numbers and today was our last lesson for this unit. They have been required to apply past knowledge on 'place value' as well as learn the processes required for solving difficult and complex number problems - in some cases up to 6 digit number problems! Today's task involved problem solving. They were required to:
1. identify what the problem was (adding or subtracting?)
2. how to set the problem out for working
3. solve the equation

Next week we begin a new unit of work on Geometry!

WHAT A FANTASTIC CLASS!

2011-05-31T20:26:00.000-07:00

Mr Hull certainly wasn't joking when he said this is a special class! The first week they have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome and they can't wait to do the same for Mrs Velvin tomorrow.

This week I have spent much of the time getting to know the children with particular interest in how they are tracking against their learning goals. They have already done so well this year and I look forward to sharing this with you later in the term with the up coming parent-teacher conferences. However if you ever wish to find out more about how your child is doing at school please feel free to contact me anytime. The best way is to email: skilton@muritai.school.nz

Below is a few photos taken today with the class creating their own Buzan Mindmap . I really enjoy integrating thinking skills strategies in to everyday learning and today the children were challenged to think creatively as they began drafting a mindmap detailing features an imaginary planet.

Water Polo and Flippa Ball.

2011-05-26T16:19:00.000-07:00

The season draw is out now for Flippa Ball, click Click here for the season draw.

Once on this page:
Under 'select sport' click 'primary waterpolo'.
Under 'select output type' click 'season draw' and then click 'go'.
Under select grade - click the grade your team is in and then click 'go'.

Muritai 1 are in the B grade.
Muritai 2 are in the c grade.

Farewell...

2011-05-25T19:05:00.001-07:00

I just want to take the opprotunity to thank everyone for a wonderful year.
I have a fantastic class and a wonderful group of parents who have been so very supportive and understanding about my decision to go on an overseas adventure.

I am truly going to miss Room 12 as they are a super class. Knowing that Mr Skilton and Mrs Velvin are taking the class is very reassuring, as I know they are both super teachers and will be adored by the students.

Good luck for the rest of the year Room 12! It has been a pleasure to be your teacher. I will keep in touch and let you know how I am going.

All the best,
Peter Hull

Water Polo and Flippa Ball information for managers.

2011-05-22T13:52:00.001-07:00

Hutt Water Polo School Leagues – please pass this info on to your coaches and managers:

Please check the draw on www.huttwaterpolo.org.nz as some changes have been made.

Player Registration forms are due by Tuesday, 24 May on the official form. Defaults will automatically be recorded against any individual team that has not electronically filed the attached player registration list in the official format after 24 May.

Player Eligibility:
· Entry into this competition is open to any individual primary, intermediate or secondary school comprising players who are full time students at the same school. An individual player can only be registered to play for one team.
· Players registered in a higher grade team cannot play down in a lower graded team. Players from a lower graded team can play up in a higher graded team to fill in if the Hutt Water Polo Club is advised prior to the game. Once a player has played up 3 times, they stay up.
A default will automatically be recorded against any team if a player plays for two teams, or a player plays up without us being advised before the game commences, or a player plays for a lower graded team. A deduction of two competition points will also occur for all defaults.
Default Fees apply for any defaults that are not advised to us within by 11 am on the preceding Tuesday.

Pool Entry Cost - Please ensure all your pupils are aware that they need to pay $2.00 cash to enter Naenae Pool. This needs to be in cash as we cannot accept pool concession tickets or Eftpos. Spectators and supporters – free entry

NO rash shirts, goggles, jewellery, wrist bands, watches, piercings etc are permitted to be worn in the water by any player

Caps – there is a supply of reversible hats in buckets poolside. White hats are always worn by the team named first in the draw. Please make sure that your players are ready to start play with their hats on at the scheduled time. We always strive to keep games running on time and ask that all players are ready in the water with caps on lined up against the goal line at the scheduled time.

An adult from each team is required to be sitting at the scoring table before each game commences. This applies to Secondary Schools games as well.

All players and coaches are to remain behind the 2 metre cones while a game is in progress. Substitutions can only be made from behind the 2 metre cone when players touch hands. Please refrain from talking to a referee during a game or obstructing the refs ability to walk freely poolside while officiating.

Defaults - We would appreciate early notification of defaults, but must receive an email direct to naenaecomp@huttwaterpolo.org.nz no later than 11 am on the preceding Tuesday. This enables us to inform the other team so pupils can be told before leaving school on Tuesday. Any default advised after 11 am on the preceding Tuesday, or not sent via the official communication channel as set out above, will incur a default charge of $50 per game payable by the School to Hutt Water Polo before competing in any further competitions games, as well as having a deduction of two competition points.

Pool Control - If your school’s team coordinator has any queries during a session, please discuss with official at the Pool Control table on the day.

Contact us: naenaecomp@huttwaterpolo.org.nz

Flippa Ball draw for Year 5 and 6 teams.

2011-05-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

God luck teams! Remember, the year 6 team has 2 games!

TGIF slideshow

2011-05-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Yummy Apple Sticker Promotion

2011-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

It is time for the Yummy Apple Sticker Promotion. This is where the school collects as many Yummy Apple stickers as we can. We have 2 terms to collect them. Once the promotion is over, we send in our stickers and in return we are sent sports equipment. Just how much sports equipment we get depends on the amount of stickers we collect - so get collecting!!!

Click here to go to the Yummy Fruit web site.

Carter Observatory Trip

2011-05-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Carter Observatory was super!
Here's how the day went...

On arrival we were greeted by John and Vicki. They told us the two activities we would do: a movie in the Planetarium with John and a lesson on phases of the moon, the sun and the earth and the relationships between the 3.

Firstly we went with Vicki. The session was very detailed and some of it was quite hard to understand, but we did learn a lot and it gave us some food for thought. Vicki was very knowledgeable!

We then got the opportunity to have a look around at the different exhibitions in the Observatory. We saw the huge (and quite old) telescope and had a look at some short clips about the planets, asteroids, the sun, the moon etc...

Finally, we went into the Planetarium with John. We sat in seats that made us lay back a bit so we could look at the huge dome shaped screen above us. We watched a movie about the effects that space has on astronauts, the training they had to go through and what types of things they did in space. It was a great movie!

Once we left we had lunch in the playground, a quick play and then back off to school.
A great day was had by all!
A special thanks to our parents who came along to support us.

Science week video clips!!

2011-05-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

It's been nation wide science week and at Muritai we have done some great experiments! Not all have been a success, but, after all, that's what science is all about; we learn a lot from failures.
Check out the video clips that follow - enjoy!

This clip rock(et)s!

2011-05-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Science week!

2011-05-04T19:35:00.001-07:00

Check out these awesome experiments!!

Welcome to Term 2...

2011-04-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Term 2!
The class is all ready and the walls look great for an awesome term!

Here are our topics for this term:
Inquiry - The solar system; our topic is called 'To infinity and beyond!'
Literacy - Our topic for writing is non-chronological reports. It is also our speech term which will be completed through homework and supported at school.
Sport - we will be focusing on cross country training and large ball skills.
Numeracy - We will start the term with addition/subtraction/multiplication/division

Some reminders:
- Slippers need to be in on day 1 please.
- We are off to the Carter Observatory on Monday of week 2.
- Homework will begin week 1.

See you all on Monday!!

School holiday viewing...

2011-04-16T01:59:00.000-07:00

Check out this amazing and VERY cute You Tube clip....

Click here to view clip

End of Term 1 already!

2011-04-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

It has been an 11 week term, and it has had camp in the middle of it along with swimming sports, trips, sporting events, touch rugby...
It has flown by too!
Thanks for a fantastic term - it really has been a great one.

A couple of exciting things and reminders about term 2...
- Sunhats go home and slippers come to school.
- Cross Country is in week 7 (Tuesday the 7th of June)
- Syndicate trip to the Carter Observatory on Monday of week 2 (9/5).
- Zone Soccer Tournament for year 5 and 6 students on the 24th of May.

Again, thanks for a great term. Have a safe and enjoyable 2 week break.

Kapa Haka

2011-04-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Each Wednesday, Rooms 12 and 15 have Kapa Haka with Mr Chadwick.
It is a great opportunity to learn and master new songs and haka's.
One thing that we have seen is the chance for the children to develop some leadership skills in this area. This is great as in Year 7 and 8 the students often perform at Powhiri's.

Check out this amazing recount...

2011-04-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

The Waterslide
By Curtis Shaffer
As I looked at the waterslide my mind was blank. I just stood there with my eyes wide open, speechless, shaking in the cold air.... My friend noticed me doing nothing and he came over and told me how cool the waterslide was. The more he talked about it the scarier it was to me.
Time passed and the next thing I heard was “NEXT”! I put my first foot on the damp and frosty, coldblooded metal rungs. I climbed slowly and after a while I noticed how far down I was. It looked like I was climbing a ladder to the moon. When I got to the top I heard someone say “lean forward and put your hands on your knees”! I felt the slide base and it was slimy and bleak. I looked down and I shook. It looked like I was going to slide down a piece of string!
I saw someone at the bottom getting their camera ready to take a picture of the historic moment. I took a deep breath and pushed off. The wind was slicing through my hair and pushing me back but before I knew it, SPLASH!

Buddies...

2011-04-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

Once a week, Room 12 and their buddy class (Room 2) meet up to have buddies.

This is a valuable time and a time to spend reading, doing art, playing a game, having a quiz, using the laptops or just having a chat.

On Friday the 8th of April we had the laptops. Using Comic Life, we created a page to compare our interests,and look at some of the interests that we share.

What was so great to see was Room 12 teaching Room 2 a new programme. Room 2 had never used Comic Life before.

Check out a sample of how fantastic the final product turned out!

Eddie Quansah - African Drummer

2011-04-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

Eddie Quansah visited Muritai School today for a performance. He was great!
Here's a little bit of info about Eddie...

Eddie Quansah, from Ghana, West Africa, is a master of both traditional drumming and trumpet. He achieved international acclaim in the 60‛s and 70‛s working with such legends as Jimmy Cliff, Toots and the Maytalls, Cat Stevens, Johnny Nash, Brian Ferry, the late Bob Marley and Osibisa.

The Performance

African rhythm and drumming are ancient musical forms from which much of today‛s music has evolved. In ‘African Rhythm‛ Eddie shares the language of the drum and explains the part that the many different drums play in African ceremonies and rituals.

Through drumming, chanting and singing, this is a highly participatory performance where students not only learn simple rhythm techniques but also have the opportunity to play and sing with Eddie himself accompanying them on the trumpet as they drum – a new and exciting addition to the show.

Holly and Oscar even got the opportunity to go up and try out some drumming!! Awesome!!

Touch Rugby Sum-Up for Term 1 2011.

2011-04-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

What a super Term it's been for touch rugby! All 5 teams played so well all season. I don't think we have had such great results in a long time.
Check out the results from the Finals Week.

Muritai Sharks won the Grand Final 4-3, so they finished in first place! Well done!!

Muritai Eagles lost the Grand Final (in extra time) 3-4 so they finished in second place. This team were stars, especially playing the Sharks (a year 6 team in the finals). Well done Eagles!!

Muritai Storm won the Grand Final 2-1, so they finished in first place! Super stuff Storm, you guys had a great season!

Muritai Flyers lost the Grand Final 3-5, so they finished in second place. Another great season from the Flyers!

Muritai Hurricanes won the play off for 3rd and 4th place 4-0, so they finish strongly in 3rd place. Great stuff Hurricanes!

A great season for all teams. I am looking forward to seeing you all back (and more players) for the Term 4 competition.

Room 12's Inquiry Homework Findings...

2011-04-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

We are currently looking at the Christchurch earthquake and how it has affected peoples lives. Many people are 'standing tall' and carrying on their lives; here are some of the inspirational stories we have found...

- A teenager who was shopping at Eastgate Mall saw a collapsed dairy and realised how destructive the earthquake was.
- A young girl was at school when the earthquake struck. Her and her friends were in the cloak bay. It was so frightening that the girls ran out of the building even though they knew it was not the correct thing to do. They saw many others doing the same thing - even the staff!
- A young boy was at his school swimming sports. He got bored so started off for a walk. When the quake struck he saw cracks appearing. He ran to the field where the school was to meet; once there, he looked for his little brother. A lot of damage was done to the school.
- A man was in the Cathedrial Square - he was with his parents who were visiting Christchurch. He was with his mum and dad when the earthquake struck. An unknown man helped his mother when she fell over and they made out out just as the Cathedrial came tumbling down.
- A seeing eye dog his mater by pulling him out of the rubble.
- Another seeing eye dog named Kiwi navigated his master to safety while the quake hit. Even though there was so much noise and panick around him, Kiwi stayed on task and got his master to safety.
- A man was sitting in the car about to drive away when the earthquake struck. Rubble hit his car and he felt the roof collapse in. He was able to be rescued by yelling 'help'. He was humbled by the amount of people who came to his rescue and saved him.
- A woman was in the school staffroom with some other staff when the quake hit. As it did she tried to help another woman in the kitchen as objects were falling on top of her. But she could not get up to help. After the quake, the woman went out to the field to where the rest of the school were. Everyone was safe. She was blown away by the spirit of the children and how supportive they were of each other.

Fabulous Nikau Palms

2011-04-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

Check out our amazing art work. They're not all up there (not far from it though) but they still look FAB!

The artist we used as inspiration was Graham Braddock. Our focus for the art was to use different lines, shading and colours.
We started by first experimenting by trying different lines and shading. We held our pencil in a variety of ways to see if that helped us to create a certain style.
we even got to use charcoal to find out what it was like to use - it got all over our hands! Even better, was the fact we used proper art pencils for our actual art work.

Once our lines we all done, we used vivid to create definite lines. We finally added water colour that we needed to mix to create different colours.

Check them out!!

Finals Week for Touch Rugby - 1st April!

2011-03-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! We have 4 out of 5 teams playing in the Grand Final! How amazing is that!?
Well done teams; good luck too!

Storm play EHS Kings field 3 at 4:30pm - GRAND FINAL

Sharks play Eagles field 1 at 5pm - GRAND FINAL (2 Muritai teams!!)

Flyers play Chilton Gold field 1 at 4:30pm - GRAND FINAL

Hurricanes play Randwick Flyers field 5 at 6pm - PLAYING FOR 3rd and 4th PLACE

Maths in Room 12

2011-03-27T14:21:00.000-07:00

Currently in Room 12's maths class we are just finishing up number work and going into statistics.
Shown in the pictures below is a very simple game (you can play at home) where the children are practicing their addition and multiplication skills.
For the game, you need 3 dice. You roll them, add 2 of the numbers together and then multiply the product by the number shown on the third dice.

Touch Rugby Round 5 Term 1 2011

2011-03-23T14:07:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Round 5!!

Eagles play Hutt Central Wildcats on field 1 at 4pm.
Hurricanes play Petone Pumas on field 1 at 5:30pm.
Storm play OLR Gold Coast on field 4 at 4:30pm.
Flyers play St Orans on field 6 at 5:30pm
Sharks have a bye this week.

Good luck to all teams!

forest lakes

2011-03-14T16:20:00.001-07:00

Photos of Masons friends.

2011-03-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

Forest lakes photos

2011-03-14T16:14:00.001-07:00

Camp 2011 By: Bridie Sheedy

2011-03-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Forest Lakes Camp 2011 by Maddison and Jessica

2011-03-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

R.I.P. Gabriel Barber

2011-03-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Camp Pic!

2011-03-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Wacky Water Slide - by Gabriella and Amber

2011-03-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Touch rugby - Term 1 2011 - Round 3

2011-03-06T19:16:00.001-08:00

The Muritai Storm play Korokoro Blasters on field 3 at 4:30pm
The Muritai Eagles play Waterloo Wildcats on field 1 at 4pm
The Muritai Sharks play Normandale 2 on field 7 at 4:30pm
The Muritai Hurricanes play SH Dragons on field 1 at 5:30pm
The Muritai Flyers have a game against a team in section 2 on field 5 at 5:30pm

Good luck!

Touch Rugby Draw - Week 2 Term 1 2011

2011-03-02T18:07:00.001-08:00

Good luck teams!

- Muritai Storm play Petone Pepi on field 4 at 4pm
- Muritai Hurricanes play Wilford Wolves on field 4 at 6pm
- Muritai Sharks play Waterloo Wildcats on field 5 at 5pm
- Muritai Eagles play Boulcott Speeders on field 2 at 4pm
- Muritai Flyers play St Orans Murray on field 5 at 6pm

Touch Rugby Draw for Week 1 - 2011

2011-02-22T19:22:00.001-08:00

Good luck teams!!

Muritai Storm play SH Tigers on field 8 at 4:15pm
Muritai Eagles play EHS Diamonds on field 1 at 3:45pm
Muritai Sharks play Boulcott Speeders on field 2 at 3:45pm
Muritai Flyers play SPP Cowboys on field 1 at 5:15pm
Muritai Hurricanes have a bye

Have fun!

Term 1 goals.

2011-02-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

Room 12 have set goals for the Term using a 'mind mapping' approach.
The children had to think about 3 things that they wanted to achieve this Term.
We discussed what might be appropriate goals, such as - improving their basic facts, or, getting into the Zone Swimming Sports Event later in the Term.
We also discussed SMART goals, and recapped on what these were (as they have been used previously)

S - specific
M - measurable
A - achievable
R - realistic
T - time-frame

The children also had to think about the things that would help them to achieve their goals - they might be - practicing their basic facts every night, etc.
Check one of them out...

Our amazing art...

2011-02-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Today for art we started creating some 'fabulous faces'.
The skills we were learning was blending colours and looking at different tones.
Firstly, Mr Hull took an individual photo of all the children in the class. Secondly they were printed off in black and white - check one of them out...

We then studied the different shades on our faces - light right through to dark. We realised that some of the changes in tone were very gradual.
Using white, yellow, orange, brown and black crayons we started to shade in these tones. The light tones were shaded white, the next increase in tone yellow and so on and so forth...
This is what we got up to...

Doesn't it look great! We will publish more pics as they are finished - just the dying to do on them now!

What a start!

2011-02-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

We've had a great start to the year in Room 12! Our class looks great with new carpet, new blinds, new children....

Some art work we have already up on the wall (and is looking great) is an 'all about me' activity.
The class took a photo of themselves using Photo Booth. While these were being printed the children had to think about the things that are important to them such as family, friends, sport etc. They then wrote these on some shapes, cut them out and pasted them (along with their photo) on some coloured paper. We put a border on them and put them up on the wall!

The finished products will be posted on the blog, but for the meantime, check out the photo's the children took of themselves...

The finished products up on the wall!

Swimming time-table change

2011-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

We have had a change of swimming time for weeks 2 and 3 of this term.
We will now be swimming on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday's.

Welcome to 2011!

2011-01-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome back!
I hope you have all had a fantastic holiday and are all ready for an exciting 2011!
Term 1 promises to be amazing!!
In Room 12 (and throughout the middle block) we have lovely new carpet and some great blinds making the class look super.

This is how the term is shaping up....
- Camp in week 6: 8/4 - 11/4 up to Forest Lakes
- Swimming begins in week 2. We will be swimming every day for the first few weeks as
we have some instructors helping us with our coaching.
- Touch rugby begins in week 3 for those wanting to play. (Please return any
uniforms!)
- Units of work are as follows:
- Mathematics - Place Value
- Inquiry - Camp prep and a unit called Peer Mediation
- Literacy - Poetry and then recount writing
- P.E - Swimming and then small ball skills

Reminders:
- Please remember sun hats on day 1
- Swimming togs on Monday of week 2

I am looking forward to seeing every one on Wednesday the 2nd of February.
Peter Hull

P.S - Check out this fun video clip - enjoy....

Video: Dobrodošla nazaj / T-Mobile / nenavadno presenečenje na letališču na GenSpot.com

Thanks for a great year!

2010-12-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you so much for an amazing year.
I have had such a wonderful class and so many helpful, kind and supportive parents - you have been awesome!

For those staying at Muritai next year - you will have an amazing time across the road in the senior school. You have worked hard and deserve a break - see you in the new year.

For those leaving Muritai - well done! We will miss you, but I know that you will do so well at your new school and what ever you take on in the future. You too deserve a break. Good luck for the future.

Again, thanks for the support and I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year.

Peter Hull

Touch Term 4 - Finals Week!

2010-12-07T15:39:00.001-08:00

Well done everyone on a very successful term of touch.
This week every team plays in a finals match. You might be playing for 1st and 2nd place or 3rd and 4th place.

Here are the games for this week:

Muritai Rockets have to default due to Mount Holdsworth and Abel Tasmin

Muritai Storm v SPP Eagles (for 1st and 2nd place) at 4pm on field 2

Muritai Eagles v OLR Panthers (for 1st and 2nd place) at 4:30pm on field 7

Muritai Vipers v Boulcott Highscorers (for 3rd and 4th place) at 4pm on field 8

Muritai Sharks v SH Spartans (for 1st and 2nd place) at 4:30pm on field 2

Muritai Flyers have to default due to Mount Holdsworth and Abel Tasmin

Muritai Bears v Freeheat Juniors (for 5th and 6th place) at 5:30pm on field 9

Muritai Hurricanes have to default due to Mount Holdsworth and Abel Tasmin

Tane's Inquiry

2010-12-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

Touch Rugby for Friday the 3rd of December

2010-11-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the draw for this week:

Muritai Bears v SH Electric Eels on field 10 at 5:30

Muritai Vipers v Muritai Eagles on field 8 at 4pm

Muritai Hurricanes v Petone Central on field 5 at 6pm

Muritai Rockets v Petone Central 2 on field 4 at 6pm

Muritai Flyers v SPP Sharks on field 2 at 5pm

Muritai Storm v Maungaraki Tornadoes on field 3 at 5pm

Muritai Sharks v Hutt Central Lionesses on field 4 at 4:30pm

Muritai Eagles v Muritai Vipers on field 8 at 4pm

Good luck to all teams!!

Results:
Vipers won 5-0
Eagles won 11-5
Sharks won 4-3
Storm won 5-1
Flyers lost 6-0
Rockets won 11-0
Hurricanes lost (to the Rockets) 11-0

Touch Rugby Draw for Friday 26/11

2010-11-24T16:22:00.000-08:00

This weeks draw:

Muritai Eagles v Normandale at 5pm on field 9

Muritai Vipers v a Year 5/6 team in a friendly match at 4:30pm on field 7

Muritai Bears have a bye this week

Muritai Sharks v Boulcott Giants at 4pm on field 5

Muritai Storm v Waterloo Firebirds at 4pm on field 2

Muritai Flers v SH Jetz at 5:30pm on field 6

Muritai Rockets v Muritai Hurricanes at 5:30pm on field 1

Last Week's Results:
Rockets won 6-4
Hurricanes won 7-2
Flyers lost 6-0
Storm won 6-0
Sharks won 8-1
Bears lost 4-3
Eagles won 8-1
Vipers had a 3-3 draw

Touch Results and Draw for Week 3

2010-11-16T00:35:00.000-08:00

Draw:
Storm v EHS Chasers field 6 at 4pm
Vipers v Korokoro Rockets field 7 at 5pm
Eagles v Korokoro Blasters field 9 at 5pm
Bears v Waterloo Hurricanes field 7 at 5:30pm
Sharks v Raphael Rangers field 4 at 4:30pm
Flyers v St Orans 1 field 4 at 6pm
Rockets v LOR Bulldogs field 2 at 5pm
Hurricanes v Wilford Wolves field 4 at 5:30pm
Good luck!

Results from last week:
Eagles won 12-0
Vipers won 5-0
Bears lost 5-0
Sharks won 5-0
Flyers lost 2-1
Rockets won 10-2
Storm won 4-0
Hurricanes - no published result

Change of field for the Sharks

2010-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

The Sharks have a field change - now on field 9.
The game is a friendly against a year 3/4 team.

Touch update - Game for Hurricanes

2010-11-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

Originally the Hurricanes were down to have a bye, but now they can have a game!
So, here are the details..

Muritai Hurricanes v Petone Central on field 6 at 5:30pm.

Good luck!

Touch Draw for 12/11/2010 - Week 2 of the competition...

2010-11-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Muritai Vipers v Freeheat Juniors (in a friendly game) on field 10 at 5:30pm

Muritai Storm v SH Dragons on field 3 at 4pm

Muritai Eagles v Maungaraki Cyclones on field 9 at 4:30pm

Muritai Sharks v Korokoro Rangers on field 5 at 5pm

Muritai Bears v OLR Gold Coast on field 7 at 5:30pm

Muritai Flyers v HIS Hurricanes on field 4 at 5:30pm

Muritai Hurricanes have a bye this week.

Muritai Rockets v Wilford Wolves on field 5 at 6pm

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!

How about some results from round 1?

Muritai Vipers drew 4 all
Muritai Storm won 3 - 0
Muritai Eagles won 11 - 0 (WOW!!)
Muritai Sharks won 7 - 0
Muritai Bears lost 5 - 1
Muritai Flyers lost 3 - 0
Muritai Hurricanes lost 5 - 3
Muritai Rockets lost 3 - 2

Jared and Xavier's xtranormal movie

2010-11-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

David and Luke's xtranormal movie

2010-11-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

Touch Rugby Draw for Week 2 (5/11/10) Term 4

2010-11-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Muritai Vipers (Year 3 and 4 mixed) play OLR Storms at 4:30pm on field 7

Muritai Sharks (Year 5 mixed) play OLR Eels at 5pm on field 4

Muritai Storm (Year 6 boys) play SPP Eagles at 4pm on field 2

Muritai Bears (Year 3 and 4 boys) play Mini Blacks – Eastbourne at 5pm on field 7

Muritai Rockets (Year 7 and 8 mixed) play Petone Central at 5:30pm on field 1

Muritai Eagles (Year 3 and 4 mixed) play SH Lightning Bolt at 4pm on field 6

Muritai Flyers (Year 6, 7 and 8 girls) play HIS Panthers at 5:30 on field 3

Muritai Hurricanes (Year 7 and 8 mixed) play OLR Bulldogs at 5:30 on field 4

Touch Teams Term 4 2010

2010-10-30T23:13:00.001-07:00

Each week you will find the touch rugby draw on this blog. You will also find the draw on the Muritai Sports Blog.

Xtranormal activity!

2010-10-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

Our movies that we are creating on xtranormal.com are a lot of fun to make.

You may notice that on some of them they are a little hard to follow. This is because the students are still learning about the web site and how to overcome problems.
One of the problems that we have come across is this: when we type in a full stop or a comma etc, the characters will say them. For example, if we were to type in: 'good morning Room 12, it is very nice to see you today', the character's have been saying 'good morning Room 12 comma it is very nice to see you today dot'.
We think we may have solved the problem by putting a couple of spaces after the comma or full stop.
Stay tuned - we'll find out!

Check this cool xtranormal movie!

2010-10-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

NO TOUCH RUGBY TONIGHT

2010-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Touch rugby has been cancelled for tonight due to the weather.

Flynn and David's xtranormal movie!

2010-10-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

Our Calendar Art!

2010-10-27T18:29:00.001-07:00

Check out what's going on our calendar's this year!
Click on the image to view it larger.

Sample movie from xrtranormal.

2010-10-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Xtranormal

2010-10-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

As part of our inquiry on natural disasters, Room 12 are going to be creating movies to share their knowledge on how to keep safe before, during and after a natural disaster.
We will be using an animated movie website called xtranormal. This website allows you to create an animated movie with 1 or more characters. Check out the very short movie I created - very easy to do and lots of fun.

Touch Rugby Draw for Week 1 - 29/10

2010-10-26T19:09:00.001-07:00

Muritai Vipers (Year 3 and 4 mixed) play OLR Storms at 4:30pm on field 7
Muritai Sharks (Year 5 mixed) play OLR Eels at 5pm on field 4
Muritai Storm (Year 6 boys) play SPP Eagles at 4pm on field 2
Muritai Bears (Year 3 and 4 boys) play Mini Blacks – Eastbourne at 5pm on field 7
Muritai Rockets (Year 7 and 8 mixed) play Petone Central at 5:30pm on field 1
Muritai Eagles (Year 3 and 4 mixed) play SH Lightning Bolt at 4pm on field 6
Muritai Flyers (Year 6, 7 and 8 girls) play HIS Panthers at 5:30 on field 3
Muritai Hurricanes (Year 7 and 8 mixed) play OLR Bulldogs at 5:30 on field 4

Welcome to Term 4!!

2010-10-13T21:58:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Term 4 - a busy Term but a fun one with lots of athletics, swimming, EOTC week, calendars and more!

Room 12 have had a wonderful start to the Term and the students have come back refreshed and eager!

Here is a run-down on the topics for the Term:

Writing: We are focusing on narrative writing. We have already been looking into what makes a good story and the students have been brainstorming their ideas. Our next step is to read some narratives and create some success criteria.

Inquiry: We are focusing on natural disasters this Term and will be paying particular attention to the 'being prepared' aspect of the unit. The students have been sharing their knowledge on 5 natural disasters (the 5 which we will be focusing on) which are earthquakes, tsunamis, landslips, floods and volcanoes.

Physical Education: Athletics! A strength for so many of our students! We started our athletics unit on Tuesday and will be doing our rotations every Tuesday afternoon. If you have a certain strength in coaching athletics, come down to the school on Tuesday afternoons from 1:40pm!

Art: our art unit for this Term is photography. I have already shared this with the students and they are so excited about it! We begin our first lesson Friday. No cameras yet though!

Maths: We have started with revision for the first 3 weeks of Term. This is important as it revisits some important teaching and learning that was done earlier in the year. Keep practicing those basic facts!

Check out the class working hard. Already!!

Room 12's key note inquiry proposals!

2010-09-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

Check out our key note presentations on a new facility proposal in Eastbourne!
They might be a little hard to view - apologies there! If they go too fast, just pause them.
The children did an amazing job on putting these proposals together!
Enjoy!!

For more information as to why these proposals were completed, read further on in this blog and it will all become clear!

Caleb and Xavier!

2010-09-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Tane and Luke!

2010-09-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Martin and James!

2010-09-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Kia and Zara!

2010-09-30T13:42:00.000-07:00

Hailey and Daisy!

2010-09-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

David, Liam and Flynn.

2010-09-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Caela and Emily!

2010-09-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Ben and Elliott!

2010-09-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Jared, Caitlyn and Kahlia!

2010-09-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

The Amazing Production - What a Show!!

2010-09-21T00:57:00.000-07:00

What a show indeed!
If you were lucky enough to catch one of the 4 shows you'll agree that it was just amazing!
Check out some of the photo's - more to come.

Check out the awesome slide show of the production!

2010-09-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

Click here to follow the link to the slide show

Royal New Zealand Ballet

2010-09-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

The Royal New Zealand Ballet visited Muritai School today. They showed us some of what they do in the training classes and they also showed us some dances.
They were quite amazing and very talented dancers!
Check out some of the photos.

World Literacy Day!

2010-09-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today (September 8) is World Literacy Day.
In Room 12 we wrote a short story using our 'story starter spinning wheel'. Basically you spin the wheel and you get given a sentence.
When we spun, the arrow stopped on: 'It was quiet...too quiet. That could only mean...'
Now the class have 5 minutes to write a short story

Check out our 'Room 12 Work' blog to see some of the results - they're great!

Check out the class completing their inquiry!

2010-09-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

They're using math skills, reading skills, spelling skills, computer skills, communication skills, thinking skills, learning a new programme skills (well, all of their skills really!)

Room 12 have been putting together their proposals for creating a new Eastbourne community facitly based on the results of our survey.
They are now busy creating their proposals using 'keynote'.

Check out the pics of how busy they all are!!

The results are in!!

2010-09-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

While this chart gives the impression that a skate park is the most favoured option for a new facitlty in Eastbourne - it's the least favoured. The reason for that is because the community were asked to rank these facilitites from 1 (being most preferred) to 6 (being least preferred). So, a cinema is the most preferred option as voted by the community.
What other comments or conclusions can you find from this graph?

Room 12 Update!

2010-09-04T14:48:00.000-07:00

What a full-on time we are having with production looming and the end of Term 3 fast approaching.
Here's an update on what's been happening and what is coming up.

Maths:
We have now completed our unit on fractions and are entering a unit on statistics. We will not be cross-grouping for this as it fits in perfectly with analysing our results from the survey.

Literacy:
We are completing our unit on character descriptions (you can read some of them on 'Room 12's work' blog, and we will do our best to publish more onto this blog). Our next writing topic is short stories following a 'narrative' story-line.
Our reading programme will be heavily tied in with our inquiry as it is reading and analysing information.

Inquiry:
We are now analysing our results from the Eastbourne Facility Survey and are now putting together proposals using Keynote. These proposals will attempt to convince an audience on why we need this facility in the community. The students will be using some of the feedback and results from the survey to make their proposal stronger and accurate.

Sport:
We will be getting out for sport as much as we can and will be looking at large ball skills. It may be that it is part of our fitness programme.

Production:
We are full-on with production and now that it is only just over a week to our first show, we are 'all hands on deck' with prop-making and rehearsals. The show is looking amazing - be in quick to purchase your tickets.

What's coming up?
* Production - show 1 on Tuesday evening (14th of September)

* We have the New Zealand Ballet coming on Wednesday to perform - amazing!

* Week 9 (production week) will be very busy, so we will not give homework this week.

Hockey Postponed to Thurday.

2010-08-23T12:45:00.001-07:00

The year 6 Hockey Tournament has been postponed until Thursday.

Urgent Tackle Rugby Notice!!

2010-08-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

The year 5 and 6 tackle rugby tournament has now been postponed until Thursday.

Inquiry Speakers

2010-08-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

This week the Year 5 and 6 Team have had a couple of visitors to talk to us to assist us with our social inquiry process.

On Wednesday Nancy Barclay presented to us how she was involved in the process on widening the footpath between Windy Point and Days Bay. We learned that there was a lot of consultation needed with many different groups within the community.

On Thursday we had Derek and Ian visit us from the Eastbourne Community Board. They shared with us their plans to upgrade the village in Eastbourne.

We discovered that all these plans take a lot of time and cost a lot of money before they become reality.

Follow the link to Survey Monkey to complete the survey there.

2010-08-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Click here to take survey

Please complete our Eastbourne Facility Survey!

2010-08-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

Inquiry

2010-08-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

In Inquiry at the moment we are discussing facilities in the community that exist and who they cater for. The groups of people in our community that we decided need catering for are:

*Children
*Adults
*Teenagers
*Senior Citizens
*Babies
*Families (includes all of the above)

For example, we discussed that the swimming pool is a facility that caters for families, and the school playground is a facility the caters mainly for children but also for teenagers.

We would like you to have a think about the range of facilities that exist in the Eastbourne Community and who they best cater for. Is there a gap? Ie: is there a group of people who are not being catered for?

2010-08-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

Check out the awesome simile and metaphor work we have been doing for our Character Description Writing Unit. For a 'real life' look, they are in the corridor outside Room 15.

Room 12 update

2010-08-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

What a full on few days it has been for us!

We had a fantastic trip on Friday to Downstage to watch a performance by Capital E called 'End Game'. We were given the opprotunity to offer some feedback on what we enjoyed about the show and what we thought could be improved. It was really interesting to listen to the very well thought out comments by the children.

Today we had a Netball Tournament that most of Room 12 were involved with. Although we did not win many games we did win the Fair Play award - check out the Sports Blog for a run down on the tournament - www.muritaisports.blogspot.com

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we are participating in the soccer tournament run by SportZone. It is here at school, everyone is involved and you are welcome to come along and watch the games.

Our inquiry is going really well and the children are so involved and finding out so much about the histroy of Eastbourne.
We have done some 'mini inquiry projects' on a community resource that either used to be in Eastbourne, or still is. These are very informative and the children enjoyed learning so much about the community - check out the photo's below.

Our Character descriptions are coming along nicely. The children have been writing Similies and Metaphors to make their writing stronger and more intersting. We are now choosing a person to write about and are brainstorming things we know about them.

The children are really enjoying Gymnastics and are always very eager to get along to the hall on Monday afternoons to learn their skills. So far no one can beat Zara to the top of the ropes. She is amazing!!

Check out 2 of our mini inquiries...

Click on the images to view larger.

Homework testing Week 2 and trip for Friday.

2010-07-28T12:44:00.000-07:00

As we are away on a school trip on Friday and will get not time to do our homework testing - homework will be due on Monday of week 3. We will also do our testing on Monday.

Our trip into town is also coming up on Friday (tomorrow). We are all looking forward to this; here are some thing we need to do and be prepared for...
* Enough lunch, including a drink bottle;
* Warm clothing as it may be cold in the city;
* Do not order Muritai Munchies as we will not be back in time to eat them;
* We will not be attending the school assembly on Friday as we are not planning to be back until about 2:30pm

It should be a great show - We are going to see a play called 'End Game', it is at Downstage.

What a great first week!

2010-07-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

We have had a great first week in Room 12.
It is good to be back and the children are looking forward to a fantastic term.

Here is how the week unfolded...

This week we started our character writing unit by discussing what a piece of character writing is. The children shared their ideas with each other. We then looked at 3 examples of character writing, all done by children of about the same age. From these we made some success criteria to guide us in our own writing. We also did an activity called 'show, don't tell'. This is a fun activity where the children had to take a sentence such as 'Mrs Twit was mad'. This sentence is telling the reader, but we want to show them. So, the children had to describe what Mrs Twit was doing, and through her body language and actions show the reader that Mrs Twit was angry. The word 'angry' and any words that mean the same as angry were not allowed to be used.

In mathematics we stayed in our own class and did some fun activities with geometry, such as drawing 3d shapes on isometric dot paper.

We kicked off our inquiry this week 'A taste of town planning' by completing a KWL (knowledge, wonder, Learned) chart on what we know and wonder about the history of Eastbourne. A lot of great conversation was had, and between the entire class we already have a load of knowledge (some of which we are not sure how accurate it is). We then looked at old photo's of Eastbourne adn compared them with how that area looks now. It was not always easy to tell where the area actually was! Our next step was to choose a resource that has been (or still is) in the community and find out a little about it using the internet. The children have found some amazing things out about the anti-submarine boom, the hotel that is now Wellesley College and the history of Muritai School.

Our Art has begun, but we have started with some collage work using our initials. It's messy work but fun! We also did a bit of talking about our school production!

What next week will bring...

We begin our gymnastics
We have a guest speake coming in on Tuesday to talk to us about Eastbourne's history
We have a trip on Friday to watch a show called 'End Game'

A great week to come!

Term 3 2010!!

2010-07-15T14:08:00.000-07:00

Welcome back!
I hope you all had a fantastic break and are ready for an action packed Term 3 - don't forget this year is a production year!

Here are the units of work we will be focusing on this term.
Our Key Competencies this term are: Managing Self and Relating to Others.

Mathematics - Geometry, Statistics and Fractions and Percentages
Inquiry - A taste of town planning - Looking into our community and seeing how Eastbourne meets the needs of the community. Looking at how Eastbourne has changed as the needs and wants have changed. What might come in the future?
Literacy - Character Descriptions
Physical Education - Gymnastics
Fitness - Jump Jam
Art - 3d constructions to go with our production focus

The end of Term 2!

2010-07-01T13:49:00.001-07:00

What a great term it has been. 11 weeks is longer than we are used to, but the children have been so focused and have worked hard!
I really enjoyed meeting with all of the parents and chat about the amazing work the children are doing in class.

As usual, near the end of the holidays I will publish what we have coming up in Term 3.
Until then, have a fantastic break!

Regional Cross Country

2010-06-28T13:10:00.001-07:00

The regional cross country is still on today.

The Year 5 and 6 speech finals.

2010-06-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

Our 6 speech finalists did an amazing job. Mr Bird and Mr Skilton had a tough job judging them but came up with the winners...

Our year 5 winner - Billy with his very informative speech on bats.

Our year 6 (and overall) winner - Ollie with his very clever and very funny speech on SNOT!

You can check all of the speeches out by following this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/studeven76/20100626?feat=directlink