Welcome to Room 6's Blog...

We are one of the Year 3 & 4 classes at Russley School. We aim to work together well so that we can achieve success in everything we do. To help us be successful students we use the Russley Dispositions. They help us to train our brains to think successfully when we are faced with problems where the answer is not immediately known. On our Blog you will find photos, videos, up-coming events, notices and a range of other exciting information that we would love to share with you!



Friday, May 23, 2014

Plastic Bag Ice Cream

Miss Biergard has been teaching the tamariki about procedural texts. The tamariki have been learning how to recognise and write a procedural. As part of the this learning, they have been getting stuck into some cool science experiments. Today, we made ice cream. Have a look at the photos below:





















PLASTIC BAG ICE CREAM

Yes, it sounds dangerous and the potential for messes seems highly likely, but you’ll be surprised at the good, “clean” fun you’ll enjoy when you make ice cream. The key to success is to plan smart and follow the simple instructions. 
This recipe is enough for one person, so that each student can make their own.


Requirements

1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups crushed ice
4 tablespoons salt
2 smalll Zip-loc bags
1 large Zip-loc freezer bag
a hand towel or gloves to keep fingers from freezing as well!


Method

First, mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the small Zip-loc size bags. Seal tightly, allowing as little air to remain in the bag as possible. Too much air left inside may force the bag open during shaking. 

Next, place this bag inside the other Zip-loc  bag, again leaving as little air inside as possible and sealing well. By double-bagging, the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimised. 

Put the two bags inside the largesize bag and fill the bag with ice, then sprinkle salt on top. Again let all the air escape and seal the bag. 

Finally, wrap the bag in the towel or put your gloves on, and shake and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the cream mixture. Five to eight minutes is adequate time for the mixture to freeze into ice cream.

Tips
Freezer bags work best because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes, allowing the bags to leak. You can get away with using regular Zip-loc bags for the smaller sizes, because you are double-bagging. Especially if you plan to do this indoors, we strongly recommend using gallon size freezer bags.
What does the salt do?
Just like we use salt on icy roads in the winter, salt mixed with ice in this case also causes the ice to melt. When salt comes into contact with ice, the freezing point of the ice is lowered.
Who invented ice cream?
Legend has it that the Roman emperor, Nero, discovered ice cream. Runners brought snow from the mountains to make the first ice cream. In 1846, Nancy Johnson invented the hand-cranked ice cream churn and ice cream surged in popularity. Then, in 1904, ice cream cones were invented at the St. Louis World Exposition. An ice cream vendor ran out of dishes and improvised by rolling up some waffles to make cones.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Green Machine!


Our first unit of work this term is a Science unit called ‘Green Machine’. This will be taught in conjunction with the Christchurch City Council and involves a visit to the Botanic Gardens and the Canterbury Museum on the 6th of June.  Thank you to all of you who have indicated that you're able to come along for the day and assist!

On this outing, the children will investigate the meaning of a balanced ecosystem and understand why these key roles are so important to our lives as humans.  They will start by tuning their ears into native birds that visit the gardens before completing a sound map to log their data.  In class, Miss Biergard is teaching the children all about plants and how they are suited to their particular habitat. 

Photos of the tamariki's learning will be added to this page throughout the term. 

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to Term 2. 

The holidays are but a distant memory! It's been great to see the tamariki so enthusiastic about making gains in their learning. 


I'd like to  ‘officially’ welcome Miss Samantha Biergar our new trainee teacher from the University of Canterbury. She will be teaching in Room 11 over the next 6 weeks. Watch this space for more on Miss Biergard next week....

Each week, I'll be introducing a weekly book suggestion and a reading hint to get those reluctant readers to read! I hope you all find these useful.

Reading Tip:
Reading can be tiring and frustrating to the young reader, regular short periods of reading practice are better. (Boys and Books James Moloney) 


Book Suggestion: Jim's Letters by Glyn Harper
Between December 1914 and August 1915 Tom and Jim write letters to each other whenever they get a chance. Tom talks about life at home on the farm while Jim writes from Egypt and then from Gallipoli. 


Have a great weekend everyone.





Thursday, April 17, 2014

Cross Country Photos

Dear whanau, 
Here is a link to photos from the Cross Country. You can pass the link on, post it in your blog, or download individual photos. Thanks to the fabulous Mrs. Koster for the supply!

Photographs

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Kai ora whånau

With one week to go, I thought I'd celebrate the many events that have taken place this term:
  • Meet the Teacher
  • PAT testing
  • Pizza lunch
  • Swimming Sports
  • Kapa Haka
  • Awards Assemblies
  • Weta Man
  • ANZAC Day learning
  • Our Special Places
Here is some excellent writing done by Room 11 after last week:

Anzac Day means to remember
New Zealand
Zzzzzzz snoring keeps me awake in the trench
Anzac poppies
Clapping… war over!
        
By Hamish



ANZAC Day is a day where people remember the people from the war
New people had to join the war
Zap! Boom! Crash! Zap! Zap!
And a lot of people died in the war
Countries came to fight and a lot of them died

By Nehemiah



ANZAC people fought in the war
New Zealand and Australia
Zap! Pow! Kaboom! went the bombs
Army walked a lot
Cold people are going to warm themselves up

By Soverin



ANZAC means protect our country
New
Zealand
ANZAC memory - remember men – soldiers
Countries fought against each other

By Felipe


ANZAC Day is about the people that fought in the war
New Zealand fought too
Zoom! Bang! Smash!
All of the soldiers dug trenches
Cold soldiers sleep in the afternoon

By Michael



ANZAC day is cool
New Zealand and Australia
Zap! Pow! Boom!
Anzac medicals
Cleaning trenches

By Xavier



Anzac Day by Vann

guns                     planes
   trenches        helmets
      boots     scared
            poppies




He moana pukepuke e ekengia e te waka      

A choppy sea can be nagivated





Sunday, February 2, 2014

Welcome to 2014!


Welcome to Term 1 and to Room 11.   I hope you have all had a fantastic holiday and that everyone is refreshed, relaxed and ready to get stuck into learning.  As you'll be aware, this is my second year teaching at Russley.  Prior to coming here, I taught at Paparoa Street School, St. Albans School and Kaiapoi Borough School. 

I've had a great  holiday break with my wife and adorable kids, Flynn and Isla. Here's a wee snap of the two.




A huge passion of mine is surf life saving. I coach and sweep the North Beach Open Men's Crew. We're off to Waihi Beach this weekend to compete in the North Island Surf Boat Championships, then the New Zealand Surf Life Saving Championships in March.  If you'd like to have a look at some surf boat racing, click on the link below.




See you all on Monday!