WOOHOO!

Hooray! Some of our Room 11 poets have had their work published on Poetry Box, by Paula Green:

More success for our fab-tastic writers!

Congratulations to Bridget, Olivia A, Anna, Brooklyn and Keziah!

The Russley Writers' Walk

After many, many months of talking, thinking, organising and promoting the Russley Writers' Walk was opened today by Bill Nagelkerke and Jane Buxton at a special assembly. Just to give you all an idea of the journey we went on, here's it in a nutshell:

In term 1, I told Room 11 about the Wellington Writers’ Walk. The Wellington Writers’ Walk is a walk on Wellington’s waterfront where 23 sculptures display quotations from some New Zealand novelists, poets and playwrights. The walk promotes literacy to the people of Wellington and tourists and visitors to the capital.

The tamariki and I decided that we would hold our own writing competition. So, in Term 2 we decided to use the theme of ‘Life at Russley’ and ask people to write a poem, paragraph or story about our community. We created some posters that we displayed around the school using some cool quotes and of course, Gru’s Minions!

In Term 3 during the Pirate Story pandemonium (I love a bit of alliteration!) the competition ran. Initially we didn’t get to many people entering. So we decided to do some things to promote the Writers’ Walk. The tamariki, 

-   Jumped on the intercom twice a week
-  Wrote messages in chalk on the concrete around the school
 -  Popped into classes to talk about the Writers’ Walk

Then before the Term 3 holidays, Mrs. Koster, Mrs. Sellier and Mrs. McCreanor went through all of the entries. There were heaps, and they created a shortlist. Once the shortlisted was created, the pieces of writing were sent to local authors Bill Nagelkerke and Jane Buxton for judging. Then, they selected the winners. The winners were:

Ebony, Room 17

Emily, Room 17

Nathan, Room 17

Hollie, Room 15

Xavier, Room 11

Bridget, Room 11

Lucy, Room 11

Karim, Room 11

And the Team 1 & 2 Star Entry was…Michael Visser from Room 11

Izak, Room 5

Thomas, Room 6

Kara, Room 8

Mirette, Room 6

Monica, Room 3

Matilda, Room 3

Alisha, Room 3

Jayda, Room 3

And the Team 1 & 2 Star Entry was…Hannah Smith from Room 1

While all that was happening, Mr. Wilkin, Sacha’s dad, kindly offered to design the panels for the winning pieces of writing to be displayed on.

And finally, we held a special assembly. Check out the photos that Mrs. Koster took today. 

http://1drv.ms/1tiSVWu

Another plug from Paula Green

Hi all, 

We have another lovely write up on the Poetry Box blog about our wonderful Russley children.

Paula Green's Lastest Blog

The Hot Spot Poetry Tour

Have a look at the following link:

Paula Green's Blog Posting About Us


A great plug from the fabulous Paula Green!

It's been a loooonnggg time!

Hello and welcome back!! I can't believe that this is the last term of the year and that some of the class will be moving into Team 3. Last week was fantastic! Room 11 worked hard, had lots and lots of ideas, laughed often, smiled even more and should all be very pleased with a fine start to Term 4. Yesterday we had Athletics Day which was amazing. The fabulous Mrs. Koster was busy taking photos. Have a look at the link below:

http://1drv.ms/1zmthci

Also, Room 11 did such an amazing job at Tuesday night's Hot Spot Poetry Event with author, Paula Green. Thank you to all the whānau for you support with this. Especially to Michelle Andrews for 'making up' the Little Furry Cats. Check out some of the awesome photos that were taken:

http://1drv.ms/1sLLz0p

Today, Yash's whānau came into Room 11 to talk about Diwali and share some kai. If you're like me and know very little about Diwali, have a look below slides:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mr. Ish

Kia ora everyone...

Last week was pretty darn busy with Student-Led Conferences. It was wonderful to have such a great turnout of parents coming and sharing the learning with their kids. There is always a lot to celebrate and the support you can offer with their next step learning is so important. As I've stated previously, one of the greatest influences for children succeeding is ‘worthwhile feedback’ and the conferences allow the kids to get this feedback from me and you, and to know that they have the support of school and whānau.

Nigel Latta’s programme this week was extremely topical as we explore the changing face of education. He talked about schools being like another dimension from when he went to school and that they were clearly focused on children acquiring the skills that are relevant to the real world... kids‘learning to learn’, and gaining deeper understanding from the process of inquiry and problem solving.

He talked about the tension with parents and some of the aspects that you may find confusing and have questioned yourself were raised and explained, such as national standards, ‘the strategy’ focus in mathematics, a looser format, children not sitting in rows and having their own desk, and learning outside of the classroom. However his final thoughts were that children were learning and enjoying the experience. And probably most importantly, the shifts in education are about preparing them for a world that we don't even know, as yet. You can view the programme on the following link: http://tvnz.co.nz/nigel-latta/s1- ep2-video-6037627 

READING TIP

Allow easy reading!
“There is way too much academic pressure for children
to improve their reading skills. In the world obsessed with test preparation many boys become negative and burnt out by reading requirements. Remember to give him plenty of opportunities to read for pleasure. We want our reading experience to be fun and easy.”
(Getting Boys to Read – Mike McQueen, p 69)


BOOK SUGGESTION

Raccoon Rampage – Andrew Cope. (7+)
The Hole-in the-Tree gang are the most daring raccoons in town. But when they carry out the biggest boldest heist of their lives,
they find a posse on their trail – and after their tails.
Will these cubs lose their cool on the run or have a wild time in the big bright city? 

Pirate Story preparation...

Here's a snap from our first of many sessions with Mr. Walker.

Kia ora whānau….

Welocome to term 3!

I really hope that you managed to keep warm and cosy through the holidays. The wonderful thing about term 3 is that while it is still very wintery and cold the days are gradually getting longer and spring is definitely approaching. The heavy rain has again made the field very muddy! 

It's Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Maori Language Week. The theme for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is 'Te Kupu o te Wiki', which translates as 'The World of the Week'. Under this theme we'll be doing that in Room 11 for everyday for the rest of the year. The reason for doing this is to help the tamariki build their Māori vocabulary. 

Also, it is with great pleasure I welcome Miss. Naomi Thrift. Miss. Thrift will be with us for five weeks and is a Trainee Teacher from the University of Canterbury. She will be taking full management of the class for the next three weeks. 

I'm looking forward to our Student-Led Conferences next week. If you haven't booked a slot yet, please contact the office. The purpose of these is for the tamariki to share their learning with you, share achievement information and, of course, set goals for the remainder of the year. Here's some questions to think about….

What are your thoughts about your child’s progress?

What areas are you particularly please with?

What areas of concern do you have? (if any!)

What other thingswould you like to discuss?

   

The partnership of students/teachers/parents is something we, as teachers, highly value for supporting learning. 

Week 1 Reading Tip
Create a reading photo wall!
“What better way for a boy to see himself as a reader than to literally see himself reading? Photos are a permanent reminder, and are great for his reading self-esteem. Displaying framed photos of him with books or magazines can make a great impact”.
(Getting Boys to Read – Mike McQueen, p 37)

Week 1 Book Suggestion
Mouse Bird Snake Wolf – David Almond (10+ Age range) (graphic novel) “Long ago, the gods created a wonderful world. It had mountains, seas,
astonishing beasts and people rather like us. Then the gods became lazy. They didn’t finish what they had started. Now they sit and nibble cake and take long naps in the clouds. Harry Sue and Little Ben decide to fill the empty spaces. They make a squeaky mousy thing a feathery flying thing, a slithery scaly thing. But they also dare to create ...the wolf?” 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Mr. Ish

Writing - Ormie the Pig

I was meaning to post this last term…better late than never!

We had a great writing session on Wednesday (2 July). I played the tamariki a video of Ormie the Pig trying to get a cookie but stopped it just as Ormie was jumping out of the plane.  The tamariki had to then write the ending of the story.  Check out some of our great writing:

Ormie the Pig

By Hannah L

Ormie went to pull the string on the parachute but it dropped like a stiff rock. He went to step forward to see where it went, but he fell.

Ormie fell face first into the ground. He started to cry like he rain on a very rainy day. Like a little kid, he went to be very disappointed. The next day the cookies just dropped to the ground and Ormie started to eat them. All thanks to his little brother, Ormie Junior.

Ormie the Pig

By Olivia A

Ormie jumps out of the big, white green and blue place and pulls out his parachute. He is gliding down until he knocks into a magpie and looses his parachute. He is falling now and is about to fall on the roof of his house, but misses and falls face first onto the concrete! After that, he goes bowling into the house and gets his tricycle and crashes into the fridge. He gets some jumping shoes and jumps high, but can’t reach the cookies so he decides to go into the lounge. Later, his big brother, comes along and puts the cookies onto two  clean white plates and give one to Ormie.

Ormie the Pig

By Yash

Ormie quickly jumped out of the plane, but just missed the cookies. Then, he got a big black rope and swung it at the cookies, but he was the one that flew through the air – not the rope.

Next, he smashed into the cookeis and bit into one. He found out it was a chocolate chip cookie! He ate another and he even ate the jar. Poor Ormie.

Ormie the Pig

By Hannah McNally

Ormie skipped out of the huge white plane and soard through the clear blue sky. He fell through the grey roof, grabbed the cookie jar and flew gently to the ground. He held the cookie jar by the lid and it fell on his foot!

“Ouch!” Ormie yelled.

Now he was too angry at the cookie jar to eat the cookies. Ormie threw the cookies in the bin!

Ormie the Pig

By Anna

Ormie leaps out of the place and flapped his arms wildly, reaches for the parachute. But oh no! Where was his backpack?!?

Ormaie was falling, falling. He crashes through the roof and keeps falling.

Down, down

He crashed through the first and sectod floor and ends up in his basement.

No cookies.

He wants a rest but he is not going to rest until he gets his cookies.

He goes and gets his car and drives it straight into the fridge. The cookies fall down. He grabs a cookie and is just about to eat it when the jar falls down and gets stuck on his head!

Ormie the Pig

By Soverin

Ormie the silly pig jumps of the shiny white plane. Ormie lands on a caveman’s home, then the caveman gets mad and whacks him!

Then Ormie runs home with ice blades on him and falls into a prickle bush.

“The prickls are sore!”, says Ormie.

He decided to get cakes to eat instead

“I don’t actually like cookes”, says Ormie.

Ormie the Pig

By Vann

The stupid pig jumps out of the plane and crash lands into his pool. He goes to a cave to get a big caveman to smash down the big fridge. The jar then smashes.

The cookies were fake!

Then, the plane crashes into the house.

  

Ormie the Pig

By Harry

Ormie jumped out of the plane wanting to get the cookies. He fell right through the roof. Then, Ormie fell through the floor into a dark cave. Then a caveman found him so he banged him on the head!

When Ormie awoke, he ran for the fridge. Then a dragon came and blew flames on Ormie’s belly. Ormie ran to his swimming pool and cooled himself down.

Then Ormie realized that the dragon had eaten the cookies.

Ormie the Pig

By Lucy Cox

Ormie jumped out of the blue plane very carefully. He parachuted onto a pink and blue seagull. Then landed on top of his red brick roof.

He then got the seagull to fly him up to the top of the fridge to get the cookies for him.

Ormie ordered the seagull to come down with the cookies, but just before the seagull came down, Ormie slipped on a stick. He landed on his back.

Just then the seagull dropped the cookies on Ormie’s tummy. The jar started bouncing on Ormie’s tummy.  Ormie reached out and caught the jar and ate the cookies.

Ormie the Pig

By Xavier

Ormie decided to be a sky diver. He jumped out of the big plane, but missed the cookies in the jar. He got suction cup shoes and climbed the fridge but Ormie got stuck on the fridge…

Ormie the Pig

By Michael

When Ormie jumped out of the plane his string got cut and then he tried to have a safe landing. But he didn’t!

Crash! Bang!

He bashed into the fridge. Then he gobbled the cookies and he felt guilty!

Ormie the Pig

By Danial

Ormie jumps out of the aeroplane and forgot to use his parachute and he lands on an eagle.

Ormie got sick, but he face planted on the ground. He got a stick and started climbing up the fridge.

Finally he got the cookies.

Ormie the Pig

By Nehemiah

Ormie tried to get the jar of cookies. He jumped but it didn’t work. He tried using a slingshot, but he was bad at aiming. He tried to push the fridge over, but bad luck, the fridge was too heavy. He tested his new plan. He pulled his parachute, but missed it and face planted. But Ormie got it finally.

He ate the whole jar without opening the lid. Now, what is he to do?

Ormie the Pig

By Hamish

Ormie somehow got in the white and green and blue plane. How that happened, doesn’t matter.

He jumped out, he was going to pull the cord, but he ate the cord because he was so hungry!

Ormie the Pig

By Anna

Ormie leaps out of the plane and flaps his arms wildly, reaches for the parachute. But where was his backpack?

Ormie was falling, falling! He crashes through the rough roof and keeps falling, down, down. He crashes through the 2^nd and 1^st floor and ends up in his basement. No cookies.

He wants a rest but he is not going to rest until he gets his cookies. He goes and gets his car and drives it straight into the fridge. The cookies fall down. He grabs a cookie and is just about to eat it when the jar falls down and gets stuck on his head

Ormie the Pig

By Keziah

Ormie was getting ready to jump out of the white plane. But back at his house the bomb that he used on the see-saw blew up the fridge. Remember what was on the fridge? The cookies!

The explosion sent the cookies up and up. Ormie dived out of the white plane. He saw the cookies and …he caught them. But just as Ormie was just over his house, he dropped the cookies.

Guess where they landed? They landed on the roof of his blue house. Now what?

Ormie the Pig

By Jessie

Ormie the Pig fell out of the big plane. His hat fell off too. So he tried to get it back.

He fell through the roof and landed in the cookie jar. He ate the cookies but was stuck in the jar. Ormie fell off the fridge and the jar cracked open.

Ormie got up and said, “Yum, yum”.

Ormie the Pig

By Tyler

Ormie is a very clumsy pig. So, he jumped out of the plane.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” screamed Ormie.

Ormie pulled the cord for the parachute. The parachute jumped off and Ormie was falling down. While falling, Ormie saw a seagull. They played checkers. Then Ormie fell through the roof like a ball of thunder. Ormie tried to grab the cookies. But he missed.

This time, he got a race car with 800hp. Ormied tied a rope to the fridge and pulledd. The cookies fell out. Ormie gobbled them up like a cheetah.

Ormie the Pig

By Brooklyn

Ormie the ferocious pig jumps out of the big plane. He pulls his parachute. It falls apart and he ends up in lots of pain. Ormie swings off a tight rope that didn’t work. He shoots himself out of a mighty canon and boy did it hurt!

He finally gets a ladder to get a cookie. He got one and man it was yummy!

Ormie the Pig

By Morgan

Ormied jumped out of the fast white plane and pulled the string to flap the parachute out. But it flew away and Ormie crashed through the ground.

Ormie the Pig

By Olivia F

Ormie drifted out of the huge plane. But he flew into his neighbours house. Guess whose house it was??? Harry Styles from 1D!

Ormie was flung down into the toilet, but suddenly he was a flying angel He flew up and grabbed the chocolate chip cookies. Then a horrid, terrible dragon ate the angel pig…

Ormie the Pig

By Karim

Ormie fell out of the plane. He fell down and down until – BOOM! Ormie crashed right through the roof and in front of the fridge. He gave up his cookie adventure.