Last El Presidentes for 2014!

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100 Word Challenge

The last 100 Word Challenge prompt was just 5 little words. Those students completing the 100WC had to include the words swimming, lifted, broken, green and cat in their writing somewhere. Unfortunately we missed the deadline for entering the competition this week but we still read them to the class and Josie and Grace were voted the winners. Levi got the teachers choice. Have a read of them and see if you can pick where they've put those 5 words!

I was walking beside the broken swimming pool. I saw a broken cat with green paint slashed on it's wooden back. "What happened to this place?" I shouted. "It's a crazy mess." It was like a tornado crashed right through it without a care and went right to the whole place and destroyed everything in it's path. This shouldn't be a swimming pool anymore, It's lifted it up diagonally. It's a total mess of destruction. On the news it said seven thousand, eight hundred and forty two lives were risked for their beloveds. This is a disaster. I better leave them be alone.

By Levi

There once was a green cat. Every morning he went swimming in a broken computer. I know this sounds weird. One day he lifted a pencil to see what was under it. Just incase. He went to plat golf with his friend duck. But he didn't because duck was in space. So he killed a snail. "Ahhhh!" said the snail. "Hi.I'm back!!" Duck came back. They finished the game. "Why did you kill the snail?" said duck. "I did not meant to," said cat. The duck died. I don't know how. Cat is dumb.

By Josie

Once upon a time there was a green swimming pool and I was thinking, 'how did that get green?' The next day my dad got me a cute, furry gremlin and you could not get them wet or feed them after midnight otherwise, dun dun dun....they turn into this. "Ahhhhh," I screamed. Then I lifted up the ugly green thing and chucked it in the microwave and it exploded. There was all green stuff on the microwave. Then my cat was running around like crazy. There was something broken from those ugly gremlins and my cat broke it even more. It was a disaster.

By Grace

Showing Movement

How can you show movement in a photo? We realised that if someone is actually moving in a photo it will be blurry! Last weeks #handsonhomework challenge was to take a photo showing movement. Can you guess what movement they are showing?

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Finding out about NZ coins and notes

It's NZ Money week this week and we've been finding out lots about our coins and notes. We worked in groups to research who was on each bank note and why they were there! We also learnt about what the images are on our coins and learnt a bit more about them.  Here are some facts we learnt.

Jordan - On the front of the 20c coin there is a carving of a Maori chief

Zachary - Sir Apriana Ngata played a significant role in the revival of maori people and culture. He's on the front of the $50 note

Hugh - I was wondering what was on the back of the $20 note and when I found it was the NZ falcon, I learnt it's one of NZ's biggest bird.

Yuna - Ernest, Lord Rutherford of Nelson is on the front of the $100 note and he was known as the father of atoms.

Layla - At first I thought it was a tiki on the front of the 10c coin but then I learnt it was a carved head called koruru

Jake B - A $1 coin has a kiwi and a silver fern. I didn't know there was a silver fern too

Eric - I've found out all the animals on the notes and coins

Joshua - A $2 coin has a big bird on it

Levi - Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953 became the first man to climb Mt Everest and to drive overland to the South Pole. He is on the $5 note

Olivia - A long, long time ago only men could vote and not ladies but Kate Shepard said it was not fair and she helped NZ become the first country to let everyone join the vote. She's on the front of the $10 note

Zoe - I learnt that Queen Elizabeth was on the back of every coin

Josie - I learnt that the Yellow-Eyed is the one of the rarest penguins in the world

Renee - On the 50c coin there is a big boat, Captain Cook was on it

Grace - The portrait of the Queen on the $20 note was taken at Government House

Jake S - I learnt the name of the bird on the $50 note. It's a Kokako

Dinosaur Home Learning

For our last week of Term 3, Room 17 had a special home learning challenge to complete. They were given a sheet with different types of activities to do, all about dinosaurs. Some students chose to make dinosaur cages, others made dinosaur food and designed new types of dinosaurs. It was great to see all the different creations!

El Presidentes Week 7 Term 3

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Hands-on Homework and Maths Week!

Last week was Maths week and we had great fun estimating how some of our teachers would get on with their lunchtime challenges. Two days in a row Josie guessed the exact time down to the second! That's pretty awesome estimating. We also had the Maths Wizard visit us on Friday and he asked us some tricky questions but they certainly weren't too tricky for the speedy students in Room 17. Our hands-on homework was to have fun with maths. Some students created games and we played Renee's game on Friday. Keep up the great math's work Room 17!

Josie's Story

Josie is such an amazing writer. She sent me this story that she wrote at home and she did a great job of reading it to the rest of the class. I wonder if someone could read her story and come up with an illustration to match?

Breeze the Wind Fairy
There once was a tiny fariy with long white hair. She was very sad because a long long time ago an evil fairy took her magic crystal which made wind. Now all the days hot because there is no wind. One day she said "I am done. I am going get the magic back!" Meanwhile Professor Bo-bo the evil guy was making a trap to get Breeze! DUN-DUN-DUN! Breeze started to walk along the trees while whistling like the wind. As she put her foot on a pile of leaves she started to...FALL DOWN A HUGE TUNNEL! She landed on a little tiny block of itchy hay. As Breeze wandered around she saw she was in a big cage. When she peered out the rusty gray bars Breeze saw she was in a secret lab. Suddenly she spotted a tiny key on a table then she saw her...magic crystal! Breeze made the key fly to her. Breeze flew to the crystal and made a swirling small tornado that only got Mr. Bo-bo.

The End

Teach Me Tuesday Catch-Up!

At the end of Term 2, Mrs Smith was lucky enough to get to see some Teach Me Tuesday lessons.  I heard they were fabulous and a real range of skills were taught.  Jayden was teaching the class how to make windmills and Grace was developing some Silver Ferns for the future. I can't believe I missed out on donut making with Sienna and it sounded like Josh taught the class lots about his trips abroad. We also had Josie's TMT in Week 7. She was getting her scientist hat on and showing Room 17 what happened when you added dishwashing liquid and food colouring to milk.  Here's some snaps from all the lessons.

Popplet Challenge

It's time for another Digi Challenge.  This time we used Popplet to organise our ideas.  We had to invent something that would help us be sustainable in the future. The Room 17 students all did an AMAZING job but I could only pick 4 to share. Here are inventions from Eric, Zander, Hugh, Josie and Neive.  Can you spot Digi?

El Presidentes Week 7

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Sustainability at Home

Can you tell what action these students are taking to show sustainability?

El Presidentes Week 11

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Pick of the Bunch Writing - Week 8

Here's last week's Pick of the Bunch writing.  Another win for Josie!  Our experience last week was a really sweet one.

One misty morning Room 17 wondered what the teacher was rustling behind her back.  "What is that noise?" I whispered to my friend Neive.  Then the teacher showed us a packet of...lollipops!  The class bellowed in excitement.  The teacher picked us a buddy.  I was with Hugh.  We all found a seat in the classroom.  I was given an orange lollipop.  The teacher told us to stare at it.  I could hear my lollipop talking to me.  "Come on Josie, I really want to be eaten.  Please," it nagged.  "Well, I don't think so," I answered.  "Fine," it said back.  My mouth watered in hunger.  The wrapper crackled like fireworks in my sweaty hands.  The lollipop looked like a beautiful and yummy sunset.  "Come to the mat," Mrs B called.  I strolled to the mat.  "Ok, now hand the lollipops back because you will eat them tomorrow," said our teacher.  "NO!" bellowed the class.  "I'm just kidding.  Just eat them."

By Josie

5 Sentence Challenge #13 - Josie

I squeezed my mum's hand as I tip-toed in the pitch black tunnel.  Dribble, dribble, drop, went the prickly, stony ceiling spikes.  A rock was shaped like a puppy dogs cuddly face.  I stretched my tiny legs into a cold canoe and then I saw glow worms above me and my mother.  A man reached the oars and I snuggled my brave mummy until I spotted light that washed my shivers away.

By Josie

5SC - Josie's Entry Prompt #12

I'm putting my small feet in the freezing cold, soggy water.  I'm watching a boy play tug-o-war with a tiny boat.  I'm listening to a drip-drop waterfall pouring out of a pipe.  My dog is growling at two little ducks swimming in the blue, blue river.  The boiling hot sun gazes upon my thin neck.

Spelling Week 6

Our first Pick of the Bunch writing!

Each week we participate in a shared experience then write about it.  Today we went for a wander through the nature trail and wow, did we find a lot of interesting things.  Five students read their writing to the class and then we voted on our favourite.  Congratulations Josie for your super writing!

I heard the crunchy rocks every time I stepped.  Shivers crawled up my legs like a spider.  My friends found cicada shells and ladybugs.  I was as still as a statue because I spotted a wasp on a a leaf.  My heart boomed in fear - I hate bugs! The wind whistled in my ear.  My eyes twitched side to side. By Josie

Safe Walking

Today Room 17 had a walk around the neighbourhood with Constable Bluemel.  These are the things we learnt about how to cross the road and driveways safely.
- Look out for sneaky driveways (Yuna)
- Stop, look and listen (Layla)
- Listen for cars (Renee)
- Listen for garage doors opening (Zachary)
- Always look to see if there are cars or not (Grace)
- Don't dilly dally across the road (Josh)
- Look left and right and then cross (Josie)
- Listen out for engines starting (Hugh)
- Keep looking left and right as you cross (Zander)
- Walk on the side of the footpath that's closest to the houses (Olivia)
- Watching out for signs a car is about to move e.g. lights on (Scarlett)
- Don't walk on the grass closest to the road (Sienna)
- Stop, look, listen and think, then cross (Jordan)
- If you live on Kyle Rd you leave through the stairs by the junior playground and cross with the flags (Levi)
- If you live in Greenhithe or Fernbank you need to walk through the court gates (Eric)
- If you're walking up to Schnapper Rock you leave through the nature trail (Yuna)