Week 9, Term 2

Meet some of the Renwick 3 Stars of Week 9!

On Wednesday we celebrated Matariki with all our friends in the Kowhai Syndicate. We rotated around three classrooms to participate in various activities. In Renwick 3 we played Koruru (Knucklebones), in Room 13 we did poi dancing and rakau, in Room 11 we did printmaking. To finish off with we all sat and ate our lunch together.

This week in music we have been responding to loud and soft music with body movements!

Next week...
For the last week of term we are going to have a 'b' week. Our tricky words will be 'be' 'by' and 'big'. And it just happens to be Humphrey's birthday on Friday! We will have a special day for Humphrey with a few balloons and party games! All Teddy Bears are welcome!
During maths we will be looking at analog clocks to tell the time.
Have a happy week!

Week 8, Term 2

Meet some of the stars from Renwick 3 for Week 8!

This week we have been very vigilant in washing our hands before we eat, after toileting, sneezing, coughing etc. We did an activity to demonstrate just how quickly germs can spread.
Louis and Theo started off the exercise with yellow paint on their hands (germs). Neroli blew up a balloon which we passed around in a circle a couple of times. Before too long we all managed to have paint/germs on our hands! It was yukky!

During reading time we engage in a variety of literacy activities. Here are some photo's of us reading, writing, listening and having fun.

Next Week....
Our letters/sounds will be 'l', 'f' & 'th'. Our words will be, like,for,they,down.
During maths time we will start topic maths which is 'time'. This will include sequencing activities, days of the week & months of the year. This will last for the remainder of the term.
Next week is Matariki which is the celebration of the Maori new year. We will be having a special day of workshops on Wednesday. The children will rotate around 3 different activities. Unfortunately due to the Swine Flu situation we will not be having shared kai as originally planned.
Steph and I have had a wonderful week with the children and have particularly noticed how well they have been focussing on their learning. Well done to all and a big thank you for your support.
Have a happy week!

Week 7, Term 2

Here are some champions from Renwick 3 from Week 7.

This week in Renwick 3 we have introduced a programme called 'Star of the Day'. It is to reward children who demonstrate a positive attitude towards their learning and behaviour at school. This very prestigious title includes many privileges for the recipient, which include...

* Sitting in the grand chair for the day
* Being the leader if we are walking around the school
* Taking notices to the office
* Assisting the teacher with special jobs as required
* Taking home Humphrey for one night with his overnight bag and activities

When Humphrey comes home to your house for the night be sure to drown your child in praise as this is a great honour!

Next week ....

Our letters will be o/u or ch/sh. The words will be on & up or she & shout.
This is our last week of number for the term as for the last 2 weeks we will be working on topic maths which is 'time'. Our skip counting is going superbly well! Most of us have mastered counting to 100 in 10's and we are working on 5's now. We are also continuing to work on backward number sequence, that is, counting backwards from 20 and stating the number that comes before a given number.
For P.E. we have decided to push large ball skills into next term and bring forward skipping. This helps us to share resources with other syndicates as well as keep the children off the muddy grass!

Have a happy week!

Week 6, Term 2

As it was the letter 'm' we were learning about this week we thought it only fitting to make milkshakes with milk and milo!




This week we had our Annual School Cross Country. We ran like champions!
Here are some shots of us lining up before the race. Unfortunately there aren't too many photos of the actual race because Neroli was either running or cheering too much!!

As part of our Inquiry Learning we went to visit the Landfill and Transfer Station to see what happens to our rubbish and recycling.
When we were at the landfill we spotted lots of things that sadly could have gone to the Transfer Station. Can you see them in the photos?

At the Transfer Station we had so much fun! Our best part was playing with the toys and the sports equipment. We all had a turn sitting on the Land Waka which is a recycled 'bikes'.

Next Week....

Our letters will be 'd' and 'g' or 'y' and 'x'.
Our words will be come, go, your, there.
During maths time skip counting will be our class focus.
Now that the cross country is over we will be concentrating on our large ball skills.
We are really enjoying our time in drama with Jo. A special mention of Kyah and Tate who always give their 100% effort and show outstanding manners.
Our Inquiry topic of '10 Ways to Save the Planet' is coming to an end soon and Steph will embark on the next one before the end of term. It will have a health focus.
Have a happy and safe week!

Week 5, Term 2

Well here we are at the half way mark of this term. We have had a few winter illnesses that have taken the wind out of our sails...but not for long!
Next week we are soooooooooooo looking forward to our friend Karels return. He has been in The Netherlands for 4 weeks.

This week we were very proud of Ben who was player of the day in his soccer team.
Way to go Ben!





















Here are a few funny moments we have had this week.
Mischievious Moments in Renwick 3!

This week in Renwick 3 we received letters from 'George the Giant'. He was happy to see that we are trying our best to look after our earth.
Here we are opening them.
















Next week.....

We are all looking forward to a days rest on Monday for Queens Birthday Weekend.
Our letters will be 'r' and 'm' or 'oo'.
During maths time we are continuing to work on number identification.
Wednesday will be a big day for us. In the morning we are going to visit the Recycling Centre and in the afternoon we will be having our annual school cross country. The children will need suitable footwear and a 'big' lunch.
Just a wee note on reading.
For children who have just started school this term it is important to remember during this early reading stage we are focusing on pointing to each word as we read it,using the picture for 'clues' and identifying high frequency words such as, it, the, on, look, come etc. I do not always expect the children to read the book they bring home word perfect (although they would have read it at least 2-3 times before coming home).
If you feel your child is struggling here are some suggestions...
*Read the book to your child first and then ask them to read it
*You read a page then they read the next page
*Have lots of discussion about the picture/story..if you can, sneak any words into the conversation that you think they might struggle on in the text
*Ask them to find a word (make sure they know it first as we want to ensure success for them)
*And the most important of all is it needs to be fun and followed by praise, praise, praise! You will be surprised how well children respond to being told the are champion of the world!
If you have any concerns, please come and see me.

Have a happy and safe weekend.

Week 4, Term 2

This week we had a wonderful surprise in Renwick 3. We had an email from our friend Karel in The Netherlands.
We wanted to take a funny picture to send to him to make him smile! We are certain it would have worked.
















As part of 'Friday Funday' we decided to make paper darts. It was quite a hard task getting corners to corners and straight lines, however we were very fortunate to have Fiona here as parent help. We all managed to get our darts off the ground and what a lot of fun we had!

As part of our topic work we have read Jack and the Beanstalk. We also listened to another 'Giant' story on the listening post. We have planted some of Jack's seeds and are monitoring their growth closely! We are learning about seeds and growth. This is helping us to learn how to appreciate and look after our earth.

Next week...

Our letters will be 'e' and 'h' or 'ng' and 'v'. Our words will be here, and & all.
During maths time we have been working on ordering numbers. We will continue to work on number knowledge and identification.
For our inquiry topic we will be working on our questioning skills. Even at this young age we introduce the children how to construct a good question that will assist them in the inquiry process. This skill will ensure our children are able to become life long learners.

Have a happy and safe week!