Thursday 4 December 2014

Bee Swarm Stories

After the bee swarm experience we did lots of talking about what we had seen and learnt. We checked out information about bees and the way they go about their daily lives.
Marcel told us why the bees were swarming  - which was because of the cold weather they are hungry and want to make a new colony somewhere else.
Here are our lovely stories - 










by Max


Wednesday 3 December 2014

WDS Whole School Camp

Last week our whole school went to the local Waihola CYC camp for a two day, overnight camping experience. We enjoyed heaps of interesting, new experiences. The top favourite for Room One children was the flying fox! Other activities included the team challenge course, Geo caching, the assault course, rifle shooting, archery, sailing & canoeing. Not to mention new games such as Sardines & Meteors. Later at night some of the older children were treated to rabbit shooting & spotlighting. We had an action packed, awesome time. Thank you to PTA, parents & community for making our camp awesome!


Thumbs up Team. Check out our pyramid!

James fell into the crocodile pit.
 "Mark saved me," said James." Phew!"
Looking for clues during  Geo-caching using  G P S.

Helping each other to move along the pole.

The Day of the Bee Swarm

Yesterday we found out that there was a bee swarm opposite Charlie's house. Charlie's Mum helped to transport the school up to the spot to have a look.
What a sight... and just when we are asking questions and finding out all about bees. Only last Friday we had read a book called Nana's in the Plum Tree which was all about a bee swarm.
Six thousand bees are swarming on the  wooden post.

Marcel is looking for the Queen Bee. He found her!

Marcel is shaking the swarm into the bees' new home.
We were lucky to see a bee swarm

Thursday 20 November 2014

Trip to the Art Gallery and the Botanic Gardens.

Yesterday we went into Dunedin and visited one of our favourite places - the Dunedin Art Gallery. Our theme was minibeasts of course! John took us around the gallery to look at several pictures that could relate to minibeasts. For example, we looked at an artwork which was perfectly symmetrical & John compared it to the symmetry of butterflies. Another picture of  New Zealand bush on the West Coast was the perfect opportunity to talk about two annoying insects, the sand-fly & the mosquito.
After our Art Gallery tour we went into the classroom and created amazing minibeasts artworks. We worked very hard on these and we hope you enjoying viewing our art.

Ben, Jack G, Madeleine, & Jack M.

Ethan, Cooper, Charlie, & Max.

Michael, Dorothy, Evie & James.



After the Art Gallery we traveled down to the beautiful Botanic gardens where the weather gave us a big treat - it was beautifully warm and sunny! We had a picnic lunch , a play on the playground & then we went on a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt asked us to find all sorts of interesting things but the fun part was finding all the other interesting things that weren't on the list! Our group found  little trout in the stream and two big paradise ducks in the duck pond..All too soon it was time for us to pack up and head back to school. We felt like staying much longer!

Take a photograph of your favourite cacti.



Find a tree with interesting bark.



Find and name minibeasts that you spot in the pond.



Wednesday 19 November 2014

Trip to Earthlore

Secret agents reading the clues from the crime scene.
Last week WDS travelled down to Owaka to visit Gordon Thomson at Earthlore to learn about minibeasts. Gordon and Janine are very passionate about protecting insects and other minibeasts in our environment and have created a special haven for these creatures. We had some wonderful experiences, including a chance to be bug detectives and watching a special flea circus ( the world premiere!)We also planted a host plant and a food plant for the endangered NZ copper butterfly. We had a great day!
Come and join the spinning and weaving club...If you have 8 legs of course.

Gordon is showing us the clues at the crime scene.
This spider has a big egg sack.

We planted 2 plants in the Red Copper Butterfly Habitat with Gordon.

Friday 7 November 2014

Taieri Athletics Nov 4th

Taieri Athletics Day

Room One had a great morning at the Taieri Athletics despite the cool weather.

The vortex was fun and interesting and I saw a stronger thrower. He threw the vortex much further than anybody else. (Charlie)

I liked the vortex and I got into the finals. (Max)

The push throw event was cool and I almost got over the line and into the finals. (Cooper)

I liked to run in the short race. I moved my arms and legs really fast. I threw the vortex and tried my hardest. (Ben)

When I was in the Long Distance Race I passed lots of people. I liked getting the yellow beach flag. (Michael)

I loved the three leaps, especially holding the ball between my legs. (Ethan)

It was cold at the athletics and I had to go and huddle up on the tarpaulin in the shelter. (Dorothy)

Michael and I passed each other lots during the Long Distance Run. (James)

I threw the vortex further than anyone else in my heat. (Evie)

Here are the results for the Room 1 children.

5 year old boys Jack McKeay Vortex Throw (1st)
5 year old boys Jack McKeay  3 Leaps (3rd)
6 year old girls Madeleine Clarke 3 Leaps (3rd)
6 year old boys Jack Girvan 3 Leaps (2nd)
7 year old girls Amber McKeay  3 Leaps (3rd)





Charlie and Jack G wait to compete in the agility poles.

Monday 3 November 2014

Museum Trip

Hi Everyone,
We have been to visit the Museum and had a wonderful time revisiting our Term 2 Inventions Topic through an inventions workshop where we viewed exhibits through a treasure hunt challenge. In the afternoon we did a workshop on Mini beasts where we looked at all sorts of small & large creatures, observing features, parts of the body & how creatures have adapted to their habitats.

 A very large stick insect! We know an insect has 6 legs. a head, thorax and abdomen.
We know spiders have 8 legs.a head and a body! Look at this monster!
We are listening to each other explain our amazing inventions!

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Welcome to Term 4

Hello everyone

Term 4 is shaping up to be a fun and busy one.
Please check our blog and feel free to comment and ask questions specific to the post.
We love to hear from you as the interaction is what brings the blog to life.
During our first week we created some beautiful "spring flower and mini-beast" art that was displayed at the Plant Fair.
These paintings were made using chalk for our very beginning sketch and then once we were satisfied with our back ground we drew over the chalk with black vivid.
We used only dye from this point on.
We all used the same green dye for our backgrounds but got to choose from red, pink, yellow or orange to colour our flowers.
In stages we added depth and texture, still using the same chosen  colour, but a bit more concentrated. Our final stage was to choose one other colour and add some interesting patterns to our flowers.
 Finally we added designs to our background in a deeper green and we got to place the mini beasts we made with black paper and pastels.
We think they look great.
What do you think?

James,Ethan, Dorothy & Ben

Max, Jack M & Madeleine

Charlie, Jack G, Evie &Michael.(Michael has not finished his yet)

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Thankyou

Hello Mrs Lunn and the children from Room 1 at Waihola District School
We are all happy to know that you are having lots of fun with some of our favourite toys. Matthew spent many hours building the train tracks-probably more than the rest of us but we all did enjoy that set. It used to be a good way to spend time together and with our friends and cousins too.
Mum said you have been also reading some of our special books too. 
It's great to hear that we are sharing some of our childhood memories through  our lovely mother and some dusty bits and bobs from our shed. 
From Rhiane, Logan, Matthew and Tom Copland 

Monday 1 September 2014

The Mystery Picture
What is this mysterious object from our classroom?
A lucky dip for the first three people to write it down on some paper a, bring it in to school and quietly show to Mrs Lunn!
The Little Lakesiders (The Four Year Old Club)
Left to Right:
Front: Michael,Evie, Dorothy, Beatrice James
Back:Ben, Charlie, Jack M
We have now had two, four year old club sessions and they are proving to be very rewarding for both the teacher and the children. The children are pictured here wearing their cat hats they made after reading all about Greedy Cat!

Monday 25 August 2014

Opening doors with Technology

On Friday, I  had the opportunity to work alongside Max, Cooper and Ethan  exploring a new app called Book Creator.
Our first step was to take a photo then add some written text.
We then added a recording of ourselves reading the text . Then, just for fun added a drawing. In this instance the drawing was unrelated as we were really just having  a play around with all of the options the app offered.
Then the book is stored in an online library."I Books" Ready to be enjoyed at any time.

We had a lot of fun learning how to use it and thought it would be nice to share our "book" on the blog.

The Children love their new book. and are excited to make more.

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Reading Rocks

Recently I invited parents to come in and read a story to the class.
Today Danique read 'The Best Loved Bear' to Room 1.
She brought along her best loved gorilla, George, that she has had since her childhood, and talked about how much he was loved by herself and now her own children.
After the story Danique made some funky bears with the children.
Our Teddy Bears.

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Royalty at Maths

For our maths warm up today we played a game called "Step Back."
We play it to practice our basic facts. The King and Queen of basic facts are the boy and girl winners of the game and are lucky enough to be awarded a royal medal for the rest of the day.
Today our King is Jack Girvan and our Queen is Amber McKeay.
They are proudly wearing their medals.
,

Taieri Schools Cross Country 2014

We are ready to race!


I thought the cross country was hard because there was a big puddle at the bottom of the hill. I slipped over in the mud.
 by James





I felt excited about running the Cross Country because I had practised a lot. I was glad it wasnt cancelled.

by Madeleine











I am finishing my Cross Country run with a big happy smile and with Mrs Lunn keeping me company. I enjoyed the Cross Country very much this year.

by Ethan













 I ran around the muddy track. I tried to run as fast as I could. It was a cold day.

by Evie
















I had fun at Cross Country . I finished my run and then I was allowed to have a nice hot sausage in bread with tomato sauce.
by Max

Thursday 7 August 2014

Date Scones.



Mrs Timm’s Date Scones Recipe – as requested by popular demand.
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon treacle
50ml milk
Cup of chopped dates
Melt treacle & sugar in milk – cool.  Rub butter into flour & spices.  Mix all together.  Bake on 200c about 12 minutes.

Friday 30 May 2014

The Taieri Music Festival


Up on the Stage 
At the Taieri Music Festival, we sang 'Colour my world'. We had to practise a lot but it was fun on the night because I heard a lot of new songs and some songs I already knew.
I liked standing on the stage because I felt tall. I really don't know why I thought I wouldn't like it. I surprised myself.
By Charlie


I got up on the stage and sang 'Colour my world' with my school.
There were lots of people and  lots of bright lights. I liked the music.
By Ethan

My favorite part of the Music Festival was when we all sang 'We built this city', because it was great hearing all the other schools singing and Waihola School were joining in. It sounded cool.
It made me feel happy.
 By Jack M

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Our Inventions Art Work

Our inventions
This is my robot invention and it catches squirrels.
I made it at the Art Gallery.
by  Max

I invented this animal attack machine. It will protect me from the hurtful animals.
by Jack M

My invention helps to make special food for the horse.
I made it at the Art Gallery.
by Evie

My invention was a speedy monster truck.I chose all my pieces and John glued them on with the hot glue gun.
John works at the Art Gallery.