'Teacher reads' has been a real highlight in the Senior syndicate timetable. With the help of the children's suggestions, the teachers have chosen books of differing genres and read them throughout the term with Rooms 5 and 6. Whilst Mr Marston and Mrs Bailey read, the children follow comprehension tasks or art tasks relating to the book. The members of Rooms 5 and 6 have examples of their examples of work on their individual learning logs. At the end of the term, we have decided to show the movie versions of the book, an form comparisons about characters an events.
Room 6 have been looking at the overall Olympic picture. Was it really worth the NZ$19 Billion that the Rio government spent in hosting the Olympics?
The endless heroic stories of success, and overcoming adversity inspire generations around the world. However, for every success there is often multiple failures, careers on the line and the pressure and greed to attain glory.
The Olympic ideal, where do you stand?
The production has taken centre-stage this term (No pun intended!). Non-stop rehearsals, assembling props, choreographing props, make-up and choosing outfits, but the end is in sight. 32 members of the senior syndicate make up the 2 main casts for this years production of 'Sammy the Seagull'; a NZ hopeful at the Rio Olympics. Whilst the remaining members of the syndicate have opted into a pool, track or random events scene. All the children have worked incredibly hard to rehearse lines, prepare props and go over dance routines. Scripts, props and routines have been jointly prepared with children and teachers, so has been an outstanding team effort. The production begins on Wednesday 14th September, Thursday 15th September, Tuesday 20th September and Wednesday 21st September. All Senior children need to be at the Senior syndicate at 5:45pm to prepare costumes. They can be picked up at 8:15pm that evening. A huge thankyou goes out to all the parents in preparation of costumes, materials, time and supporting the teachers in making this years production a huge success.
Room 6 have been working passionately on their individual speeches over the last few weeks. Each individual has chosen a topic which interests them, and has the capacity to engage others. We have worked closely on structure, persuasive language, the impact of rhetorical questions and the pace and content of an effective speech. Steve Jobs, Martin Luther King, Donald Trump... everyone has their favourite speeches, but sometimes the body language, expression and eye contact can also have a greater impact on the audience. We have analysed successful speeches, and possibly the less successful speeches (Ivana Trump?!), and practiced ours intensely to perform to our peers. Following the presentation of everyone to their Room 6 classmates, Alex B and Jessica were sent through to the syndicate finals, following outstanding speeches on 'Animal testing is a necessity for our human existence' and 'Feminism: what we need to know'. Following a nerve-racking syndicate final, where both Alex and Jessica performed gallantly, the judges (Mr Mclean, Mrs Webb and Mr Matheson) decided to send Tomas Wall and Jessica Tuhua to the regional finals at Victory Primary school in the final week of the term. An outstanding effort, Room 6 will wish Jessica every success in the final!
HSS sent two competitive teams to the Trafalgar Football tournament. Milky blue skies and the sun-kissed turf of Neale Park was the venue for the inter-schools primary football tournament, involving 10 teams across the region. The HSS representatives did not disappoint.
Outstanding displays from HSS United and HSS Hawks placed them high in the group stage after 4 games, with both teams yet to concede a goal and still undefeated! The HSS Hawks were in fine form, only dropping points in a tense 0-0 tie with Central. A tense play-off game with Clifton Terrace ended 0-0, forcing the dreaded spot-kicks. Clifton Terrace narrowly victorious, winning 3-4 on penalties. The HSS United's strong momentum continued, winning every game and firing them into the competition final, having scored 12 and conceding 0. Unfortunately, HSS Hawks conceded their only goal of the tournament and lost in the final to a competitive St Josephs side.
As runners up, the HSS United team were rewarded with tickets to the Wellington Phoenix's game at Trafalgar park on September 24th. They will then have the privilege of being the ball boys and girls for Tasman United's inaugural game. If that wasn't enough, all the players picked up their own Wellington Phoenix scarves! Many had not played competitive football before, so was great to see so many positive performances and smiling faces. An outstanding representation of Hampden Street spirit, sportsmanship and tenacity in a competitive environment.
At the end of August, both year 5 and year 6 had marvellous days on the slopes of Rainbow, near St Arnaud. The weather was perfect; milky blue skies, with whispers of cloud cover and crisp white snow conditions. All the children attempted skiing lessons of mixed ability. The majority of children pushing themselves, to make some excellent progress. A big thankyou to all those parents that volunteered their services, as drivers and supporting the children in their learning. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day with no injuries to report; just some incredibly happy exhausted faces!
Room 6 have embraced the Olympic spirit by taking part in our own mini Olympic events. These have ranged from 'Blow-curling', 'Cup stacking', 'Bean bag shuttle runs' and 'Extreme chest pass'. We have been collecting the data to challenge our understanding of complex addition and subtraction sums. We worked in small groups of 3 and calculated the mean. This required adding the total and dividing by 3.To calculate the range we needed to subtract the highest by the lowest result. We then compared the data across the class and was able to gain a wider understanding of the range and presented our data appropriately.
The onset of the term 3 has brought about a real buzz with the Olympics. We are exploring the success stories, the examples of inspiration, hope and sportsmanship. A fantastic opportunity for the sporting elite to display their talents on a world stage. We have looked in detail at all the successes of Lisa Carrington, Usain Bolt and Valerie Adams, but with many heroes comes the villains. The cheats, the stories of greed, the acts of a cunning nature. Room 6 have explored the history of those that attempt to win at all costs. Lets hope this Rio games proves to be a 'clean' Olympics, unlike many that have gone before. The motorised bikes, the Spanish blind football team, the cheating fencer, the marathon runner that hopped in a taxi or the two athletes that stood up for their rights. All these stories have to read to be believed, so please have a look at our group slideshow, there's some very entertaining stories.
Tree planting at Piper's Reserve from Mr Skiperoo on Vimeo. The Grampians was the first visit of Term 3. The short walk up some steep hills, armed with a shovel, some saplings and a positive attitude. A few slips, lots of laughs and an incredibly good job done by all. Room 6 then took the long hike up towards Piper's Reserve to help in a tree-planting celebration. The class worked cooperatively and enthusiastically to plant over 100 saplings. The native trees were being planted to support the native birds and develop our local eco-system. We had a great day out, Tom and Devon unburying a few lost items and even meeting some intimidating 8-legged arachnids along the way!
The success of STEAMs days in term 2, meant the return of a further two action packed days during term 3. The much anticipated event, causes a real buzz of enthusiasm throughout the syndicate; children eagerly selecting their activities and then nervously awaiting the outcome, unsure whether their first-choice was available. On the morning of STEAMs days, the children excitedly pace the syndicate hoping for a glimpse of their forthcoming activities. Teachers rushing from cupboard to classroom to prepare last-minute resources in preparation for the intense, resource-heavy day. STEAMs (acronym for Science Technology Engineering Arts Maths and Social Sciences) is an extension day, for children to challenge themselves in a range of activities that might not be feasible during the regular school day.
Again, activities were diverse: Ice-cream making, murder mystery maths, first Aid, architecture, bridge building, robotic hands, photography, boxing, creative writing were all on the agenda, alongside many other inspiring and challenging activities. The children reporting very positive feedback, and a fun-packed day of curious questions and high-level thinking.
