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

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

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

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

My Swimming Fun

Fun in the pool

Happy in the water

I had so much fun at swimming.
I love playing games at the pool like counting to 3 and jumping off the side of the pool, playing "choo choo" with the noodles with Vicky and riding down the slide.

Water Play

WATER PLAY

At Maths time we filled a big tub with water and got some different sized containers and counted how many times we had to fill a small container of water to fill up the bucket. We guessed how many first and then had another guess about half way.

We had lots of fun in the sunshine at Mathstime.
When we were finished we both worked together to help empty the big tub. It was heavy.

By Ethan and Jack M

Taking turns

Ethan is waiting for Leila to finish her move, then it will be his turn.

My Bike Ride

 

This is my new board story. From Ethan. 

Ethan's jigsaw puzzle

Today I got to meet Ethan and Megan. Ethan is very good at jigsaw puzzles and he loves my computer.