Last Assembly for Term 3

We are holding our last assembly for Term 3 tomorrow afternoon. We look forward to seeing our parents, families, and community there.

Weekly Wrap!

Reporters: Annabelle and Tyler
Photographer: Gianlucca

Report from Annabelle and Tyler to be posted very shortly...

Annabelle shares her knowledge about piglets with some students from Room 2.

Pigs in Our Classroom?! Piggity Wiggity Jiggity!

Bailie put the piglet over her shoulder for the camera. (Photographer: Gianlucca)

Tyrone is ready to pass the piglet! (Photographer: Gianlucca)

Gianlucca takes a break from behind the camera to hold one of the wriggling piglets!

We had a surprise visit from Annabelle's piglets today! There were 3 of them and they were all super cute! Mindy is their mother, and there are 8 other piglets (brothers and sisters of the 3 that visited today). That is 11 piglets in total!

Can you think of some famous pigs or piglets from books you have read or movies you have seen? Leave a comment to share what you know...

Conservation Week - Blogging with the Bugman!

Below are the questions we asked the Ruud 'Bugman' Klienpaste today. We hope to get some answers soon. Updated to add the answers we received from the Bugman. We did ask some more questions that you can check out on the blog.

Gianlucca and Ryan
How did you become the Bugman?
What is the funniest bug you have seen in your life?
How much honey do bees collect in a day?
What do grasshoppers eat?
What do slaters eat?
Where do you find lizards and skinks?

Lukaz and Caroline
What kind of bugs pollinate?
Are buttercups poisonous?

Answers from the Bugman:
Hi you two!
There are lots of bugs that carry out the noble art of pollination: flies, bees, wasps, beetles, moths, butterflies, but also birds and lizards etc etc.
I am not sure if buttercups are poisonous to us, humans. How would you find that out, Caroline and Lukaz?

Domonic and Tyrone
What do birds eat?
What do bats eat?
How can the bees take the pollen from the flowers?
What do Bees and baby bees eat?

Answers from the Bugman:
big questions, Tyrone and Domonic!
there are many different bird species and they all have their preferred diet: some eat fish, others squid, some eat buds and seeds, others eat insects… but a few special species eat nectar and honeydew.
Bats eat insects and nectar or plant materials; it depends on what species you are talking about.
Bees take pollen from the ends of the male flower parts (called stamen) and put them in their “pollen basket to fly home with them.
Baby bees eat a mixture of pollen and nectar
cheerio!

Tara and Tyler
Have you known anyone that has been bitten by a Tarantula?
Do you like Scorpions and Mosquitoes?
What is the most dangerous bug in the world?
What bug do you like the most?

Answers from the Bugman:
I have been bitten by tarantulas a few times – it hurts too!
I love scorpions; they are cool predators of the deserts. Don’t like mosquitoes very much at all, although I must say they are very clever at finding people, asleep in bed at night!
How – do you think they do that, Tara and Tyler?
The bug I like the most is the New Zealand weta: it is the coolest critter on the planet!

Meghana and Annabelle
1.What would happen if there were no bugs in the world?(Meghana)
2.Where are there beehives in New Zealand?(Annabelle)
3.How long can grass grow?(Meghana)
4.How many bugs have you seen before?(Annabelle)
5.Are there any more pollinators in the world than Geckos,Bugs,birds,bees,bats,beetles,tuis,housflies and the wind?(Meghana)
6.Where do grasshoppers live?(Annabelle)
7.How long do flowers take to grow back after they have been picked?(Meghana)
8.Are there any plants that eat things?(Annabelle)

Answers from the Bugman:
1)No bugs in the world? we would simply die within 6 months – end of story! (not end of planet, mind you – it will find other ways to live…
2) Beehives are everywhere in NZ; go online and find out who looks after bees.
3) Grass can grow as long as it wants. Some grasses grow to one meter high (tussocks) others no more than 3 centimeters tall
4) I have seen heas of bugs; thousands!
5) There are many more pollinators in the world: think of mice, rats, lizards, thrips, mites… etc etc
6) Usually in grass fields or patches of undergrowth… but they really don’t like much shade from trees
7) that depends on what tyoe of plant they are from
Oh Yes! how about pitcher plants and sundews; they are carnivorous plants that eat bugs; some of the bigger ones even eat rodents!

Maori Language and Culture

We are learning to ask and answer the question “Where are you from?” in Maori and learn why one asks it.

No hea koe, (person's name)?
Where are you from, (person's name)?

We discovered that you ask where people are from for many different reasons in Maori culture:

- To find out if you are related;
- To find out about their canoe, river, and mountain;
- To make a link with the other person
- To make a link with their family;
- To establish a good relationship with that person;
- To find out where they grew up.

Voicethread: Conservation Week

Add your comments to our Conservation Week Voicethread using a webcam, your keyboard, images, or a microphone.

Conservation Week

Show New Zealand how much you love it! We will be integrating Maori, Social Sciences, and Science as we do an inquiry into Bees, Bugs, Birds, and Breakfast!

We are looking forward to blogging with Ruud(the Bugman)Kleinpaste and/or his colleagues on Wednesday. We have already started forming some questions that we will be asking him.

Check out the website link above for more information about Conservation Week this year. Below is a video we watched of Ruud Kleinpaste talking about pollination:



Bailie emailed us from home to share what Conservation Week means to her:
CONSERVATION WEEK IS A SPECIAL WEEK BECAUSE IT IS ALL ABOUT SAVING THE WORLD AND COMMUNITY. SO ROOM 1 WHICH IS MY CLASS, ARE GOING TO BE ASKING THE BUG MAN SOME QUESTIONS LIKE:
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THE BUG MAN?
THAT IS ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I AM GOING TO BE ASKING THE BUG MAN.

FROM BAILIE

Weekly Wrap!

Reporters: Cheymani and Tara
Photographer: Domonic

Weekly jokes:

Cheymani: Why don't you like playing cards in the jungle?
Because there are too many cheetahs!

Tara: What did the spider do inside the computer?
It made a web page!

Annabelle with her Spring story and picture

Christchurch Quake Map

Christchurch Quake Map
I was watching Campbell Live last night and there was a report about a man who has set up a Christchurch quake map website so we can see the most recent earthquakes in Christchurch. Just click on the link above.

Giraffes Can't Dance Performance at the Regent Theatre

Last night we presented our production of 'Giraffes Can't Dance'. Check out the amazing photographs below.

I am so proud of our whole school - you all put a lot of effort and work into the performance - well done! And a huge thanks goes to all of the parents and helpers who helped out with taking students to and from rehearsals, costumes and make-up - it is hugely appreciated.

Gerald was a tall giraffe whose neck was long and slim, but his knees were awfully bandy and his legs were rather thin. He was good at munching shoots of tree, but when he tried to run around he buckled at the knees.
The animals came together to do a Jungle Dance! Gerald felt sad because when it came to dancing he was really very bad.
The warthogs started waltzing!
The rhinos rock 'n' rolled!
The baboons swung together for a splendid Scottish Reel!
The chimps all did a Cha Cha with a very Latin feel!
And the lions did a Tango that was elegant and bold!
The cricket helped Gerald get his groove by finding the right music for him - 'Play that Funky Music!'
All the animals came together - they were so amazed with Gerald's new dance steps! "It's a miracle! We must be in a dream. Gerald's the best dancer that we've ever seen!".

Skype with B4 at Reefton Area School

At 9am we had a Skype chat with B4 at Reefton Area School. Their school is on the West Coast of the South Island. Check out the Google map below to see where their school is in comparison to our school.


View Larger Map

We got to ask them questions about what they are learning about, what they want to be when they grow up, their favourite books, and how big their school is.
From this experience we learnt things that we can use in future conversations with them and other classes:
- Asking questions
- Answering questions
- Communicating with others
- Gathering information
- Listening skills

We are looking forward to Skyping with B4 again soon.

First Day of Spring!

Mrs B brought in some daffodils from her garden for us to look at, touch, and smell. They remind us of what Spring is.

We are learning to use adjectives (describing words) to add interesting detail to our writing. We wrote about what we think of Spring: what we see, touch, smell, taste, hear, and feel.

Below are some photos of us during brainstorming and writing time:

Ryan and Mason feel the "silky, soft petals".

Annabelle and Bailie decide the "daffodils smell like perfume"

Lukaz uses one of the daffodils to describe what it looks like in his writing.