Room 29's Blog

Hall Blessing

2009-10-17T16:08:00.003+13:00

As the alarm went off at 5.00am in the morning, I was not sure I had even been asleep. I lay there for a few moments, and realised how dangerous this was, as the potential to accidentally fall back to sleep was more than likely. I bolted from the warmth of the duvet.

While I was dealing with getting myself out of bed, around Balmoral, hundreds of other people were doing the same thing. However I think there were a few parents who had to manage waking up some very groggy, tired children.

We stood in the court yard outside the auditorium. Dark clouds rolled overhead, but did not seem to be threatening rain (as promised by numerous meteorologists). A hushed murmur ran through the crowd. It is funny how a place like a school which is full of voices and people during the day, can take on such a different feel at 5.30 in the morning.

The kaumatua greeted us all , quickly followed by the call of the Karanga. "Haere mai, haere mai". Dayna stood calling to us to come, embraced by her family korowai, and the knowledge of her ancestors encouraging her on.

Whaea Tina led Tariel and Patricia through the building, following closely behind our kaumatuas, blessing this new building, and filling it with the warmth of people. We walked in their footsteps, running our hands over the walls of the building. We would now forever be a part of this building.

It is now our job to make this building more than a collection of walls and beams, we need to give this building heart.

For those of you who came to the blessing, I want to know how you felt about the ceremony, and the building.

Advertising

2009-09-28T23:32:00.004+13:00

How many of these logos do you identify immediately?
What makes them so recognisable?
Do you think if they were a different colour, you would still recognise them?
What other logos can you think of?

Impossible?

2009-08-08T18:07:00.003+12:00

Is anything truly impossible?

“Success is determined by those whom prove the impossible, possible.”

What do you think about this quote?
Do you agree with it, or disagree?
Can you think of some examples you could give to support your argument?
What do you think this quote has to do with innovation?

Once upon a time there was a class that was solving a maths problem. In the problem the children had to arrange the 15 balls on a pool table in a triangle, but the number in the middle, below the two other numbers had to be the difference between them.

At first the children tried enthusiastically to solve the problem. They were determined to not let this maths problem get the better of them. As the 50 minutes rolled by, the children's enthusiasm wained, and they thought the problem was impossible.

The children's teacher went to see the math 'magician' who gave her the problem. He assured her that it was able to be solved.

The teacher returned with the reassuring message, and lay down the challenge to the young students. If one of you solves it before me, you can have 10 minutes extra playtime.

The children spurred on by this challenge, and the prospect of beating their teacher, went home to think about it and talk to their parents.

One of the student's fathers ,was also a maths magician, and worked out the secret pattern to this problem in the blink of an eye. He encouraged his young son to persevere with the problem, but like all good teachers, would not tell his son the solution.

Through many a discussion and trial and error, the young boy finally succeeded. He came to school rejoicing his discovery, but once again like all good mathematicians, did not disclose the answer.

Finally the teacher allowed the boy to share some ideas which may help his fellow classmates solve the problem. Suddenly, like mushrooms, answers began to pop up all around the classroom.

The bells of celebration could be heard throughout the classroom. And from that moment on the children in this classroom knew that through trial and error, and perseverance, anything is possible, no matter how impossible it may seem at the start.

And they all lived happily ever after, until the next maths problem.

Place Value and Palindromes

2009-07-09T17:19:00.008+12:00

Through learning conversations in class, we have realised that not everyone understands place value. So here is a chance for you and your parents to work together on some place value and palindrome riddles, you could even come up with some of your own to post for others to try and work out.

The riddles below are courtesy of www.rhlschool.com . Thank you Bob for letting us post this on our blog. As with any published work, there is a copyright, and part of the process I had to go through, was ask the people at rhlschool, if I could use these riddles. Just to get you thinking a little more about this. Do you think copyrighting is a good idea?

Place Value and Palindrome Riddles

1. I am a three digit number. I am less than 500. I am greater than 200. All my digits are odd. If you take each of my three digits and add them together, they equal 5. What number am I?

2. I am a four digit number. I have a one in my thousands place, and a two in my hundreds place. I am a palindrome. (A palindrome reads the same, forwards and backwards. The words “pop” and “level” are palindromes. The numbers “747" and “842248" are palindromes.) What number am I?

3. I am a palindrome. I am >11 (greater than eleven) and <50 (less than 50). I am an odd number. What number am I?

4. I am also a palindrome. I am greater than the number of days in a year and less than the product of 19 and 20. What number am I?

5. I’m a seven digit number. Six of my digits are zeros. I am the greatest number possible with those characteristics. What number am I?

Scars

2009-06-20T15:57:00.008+12:00

Room 29 have done some amazing thinking, and had deep discussions about scars. What they are, where they are, why they are important, why they can be insignificant (unimportant), and ultimately what they mean to us.

When I wrote the writing unit for this topic, I was truly astounded by all the quotes, images and ideas I was able to tap into, to help the children of Hiringa syndicate get ideas to spring board their writing.

I came across a really interesting blog, called "one minute writer", and they even had a topic for one day being "scars". The subtitle of the blog says, "You have 1440 minutes in a day, use one of them to write". Well I think this is an interesting idea.

I would love you to accept the challenge and write on a topic for a minute. The topic I would like you to write about is 'shadows'. Let your imagination run wild, use descriptive language, show us;don't just tell us what you see, feel, smell, taste and smell.

You are all fabulous writers, and I look forward to reading your one minute shadow postings.

All you have to do is start the timer on the left of the page for 1 minute, and get writing about 'shadows'. When the timer 'tings', please stop writing.

I have written one to help get some ideas started. This was more difficult than I thought it would be. Have a go !!!

Camp

2009-06-01T13:19:00.004+12:00

A few weeks ago we had Bernard come into school, and share stories from cultures he identifies with. He shared stories in a variety of ways; maps and pictures, costumes, oral stories, songs, music and dances.

We were all completely entranced by what he said and did. However one thing that really made an impact on us, was his 'hoop dance', and how it is linked with a Native American Indian tribe, and how each hoop the dancer has, represents challenges the individual has faced.

Every day we face challenges, and these challenges certainly make us stronger people, and people who have a greater understanding of others.

What hoops do you feel you picked up during your time at camp?

Please remember there are to be no 'anonymous' comments. You must put your name.

Beyond Butterflies

2009-05-03T09:38:00.006+12:00

We talked about the following piece of writing by Patricia Grace, in Philosophy, on Friday.

It was interesting that people thought because they had read it previously, they knew what it meant, but I would hope through our discussion, people started to see the layers of thoughts and ideas behind this story.

Some ideas that came up were; that people have different perspectives, all animals should have equal rights on Earth, does man put his right above that of other species?, even though sharks are not popular with humans if they weren't there the ocean would be sick.

Please read this brilliantly simple story by Patricia Grace, and consider it carefully. You could present some new ideas to us, or elaborate on the ideas above.

Butterflies By Patricia Grace

The Grandmother plaited her granddaughter’s hair and then she said, “Get your lunch. Put it in your bag. Get your apple. You come straight back after school, straight home here. Listen to the teacher,” she said. “Do what she say.”

Her grandfather was out on the step. He walked down the path with her and out onto the footpath. He said to a neighbor, “Our granddaughter goes to school. She lives with us now.”

“She’s fine,” the neighbour said. “She’s terrific with her two plaits in her hair.”

“And clever,” the grandfather said. “Writes every day in her book.”

“She’s fine,” the neighbor said.

The grandfather waited with his granddaughter by the crossing and then he said, “Go to school. Listen to the teacher. Do what she say.”

When the granddaughter came home from school her grandfather was hoeing around the cabbages. Her grandmother was picking beans. They stopped their work.

“You bring your book home?” the grandmother asked. “Yes.”

“You write your story?” “Yes.”

“What’s your story?” “About the butterflies.” “Get your book then. Read your story.”

The granddaughter took her book from her schoolbag and opened it. “I killed all the butterflies,” she read. “This is me and this is all the butterflies.”

“And your teacher like your story, did she?” “I don’t know.” “What your teacher say?”

“She said butterflies are beautiful creatures. They hatch out and fly in the sun. The butterflies visit all the pretty flowers, she said. They lay their eggs and then they die. You don’t kill butterflies, that’s what she said.”

The grandmother and the grandfather were quiet for a long time, and their granddaughter, holding the book, stood quite still in the warm garden.

“Because you see,” the grandfather said, “your teacher, she buy all her cabbages from the supermarket and that’s why.”

Sustainability

2009-04-18T13:08:00.002+12:00

Sustainability, what does this word mean to you? If you don't know what this word means, ask some of your friends and family what they think this word means, and more importantly, what it means to them.

I decided to look at what dictionary.com defined sustainability as, check out this link to see all the definitions http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sustainability?qsrc=2888 .

I look forward to reading your comments.

Brian Falkner lectures

2009-03-30T13:43:00.003+13:00

Have you heard of Brian Falkner? Well... we have!

The Hiringa Syndicate at Balmoral School were lucky enough to have the one and only Brian Falkner in to talk to us about his books and teach us the basics of writing. We even had a little game of coke tasting along the way!

Homework Examples

2009-03-30T12:03:00.003+13:00

Here is a video clip made on Photostory 3. We made this from some photographs we took.

TURANGAWAEWAE (a place to stand)

2009-02-21T11:10:00.006+13:00

Hello and welcome to the first class posting for 2009. The idea with a blog is that it is an interactive learning tool, you get an opportunity to add your thoughts, ideas, opinions and knowledge from outside the classroom, and possibly, with in put from your parents.

When you use a blog there are guidelines, and anyone who chooses to post comments on 'Room 29's Blog', is promising to stick to the guidelines.

Blog Guidelines

• Only ever use your first name or a nickname when you are writing on this or other blogs.
• Never use any other student’s last name.
• Never post any personal information–such as your home phone number or home address.
• Never share any of your user names or passwords with anyone and never log in as another student
• Always tell your parents or teacher right away if you come across anything that makes you feel uncomfortable
• Remember the “grandma rule” that anything you put on the Internet could be read by your grandmother so only write things you could say to the nicest of grandmas.
• Be a good online citizen and never write or post anything that could hurt anyone else.
• Always tell an adult immediately if someone asks for your phone number or to meet you.
• Never make arrangements to meet anyone over the Internet without asking your parents.
• Make sure you publish only your own work. Don’t under any circumstances use other people’s work and call it your own.
• Make sure that you read over your writing before you post it to check the spelling and that it reads okay.
If you wish to change or add to these rules please post a comment with details of our reasons.

Our rich task focus this term is, Turangawaewae , which means 'a place to stand'. We all currently stand in Auckland, New Zealand. My questions to you are.. How or why have we all come to live (stand) here? How did your ancestors get here? Why did they come? What was happening in their country of origin when they left? How many generations of your family have been born here?

I look forward to reading your postings, and seeing the results to our poll.

which came first, the movie or the book?

2009-01-21T21:14:00.002+13:00

How often have you read a book, before you have seen the movie of the book?

I have always found it interesting, how few people have read the Harry Potter books, yet more often than not, a lot of people seem to have seen the movies.

Of course there are many other great books which have been the basis for a movie, both for children and adults.

Recently I saw the movie 'Holes', a television movie made from the book of the same name, by Loius Sachar. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but in saying that, I loved the book.

Do you think you are advantaged by reading the book before you see the movie? Or have you seen a movie then found out there was a book, and gone and read the book for yourself?

Which movies have you seen, and read the book before seeing it?

I look forward to reading your comments.

What Are You Reading?

2008-12-27T20:42:00.004+13:00

Hi everyone. I hope you have had a lovely holiday so far, and that you had a very Merry Christmas.

Here is my first posting for the holidays, with a recommended read for the week. I know a lot of you have discovered Des Hunt this year, if not, take the time to either read some of his work, or get someone to read it to you.

I have also added a new gadget on our blog, namely an endangered species of the day(which can be viewed at the bottom of the page). This year we have talked a lot about nature and our impact on it. Remember the fantastic ideas and thinking which came out of 'The Giving Tree' philosophy thinking community discussions.

Perhaps you could also consider using the blog as an online book club. A chance to discuss ideas about books, any questions you may have about the specific book on the blog or about the author.

If you have any books you would like to recommend please write a comment about it, with a brief outline. I am looking forward to reading your comments.

Happy reading everyone

Frog Whistle Mine by Des Hunt

The story is set in Charleston‚ a gold−mining ghost town 30km south of Westport, in the South Island of New Zealand.

The main character of the story is Tony (a 12 year old boy). Tony lives and travels with his mother, they have tended not to live in one place for very long.

While in Charleston, Tony comes across some very unusual places and people. The mystery of this place slowly reveals its self, and leads to some very surprising events.

This is definitely an adventure story, and you will find it hard to put this book down.

Just a little reminder, that due to the blog issues we experienced, all comments are moderated and will not be displayed on the blog until comment is approved.

We get all we need from nature, why don't we return the favour?

2008-12-14T09:43:00.004+13:00

Through our final rich task, we talked a lot about how lucky we are. We also got into some great philosophical discussions based around Shel Silverstein's book, 'The Giving Tree'.

Our thinking community tended to focus on ideas like; not appreciating what we have got, always wanting more, taking more than we need. I loved the idea that we get everything we need from nature, yet as a species we don't give back to nature, and we really should. We also talked about the idea, that money doesn't make the world go round, but we tend to focus on money, rather than other aspects of success.

During our fundraising and through your numerous charities research, we found out just how lucky we are. We also found out that even though some people in our world have very little, they are very happy people, and are very grateful for what they have.

I would like you to reflect on the year and give appreciation to people or events which have happened. Perhaps you would like to consider this like an online virtues circle.

Fundraising for 'fun raising' around the World

2008-11-28T10:16:00.004+13:00

How far do you have to travel to go to your nearest hospital or doctor? Not far I bet!

Believe it or not, people in the Kharikohla Area, in Nepal, have to travel 2 or more days to get to a medical centre. If you have ever seen any photos of Nepal you know how steep the mountains can be, and what's more the mountains are well above sea level.

The medical centres rely on New Zealand volunteers to provide resources, time and expertise to help the people at the Kharikohla region. It is not just medical assistance that 'Band-aid Box' provides, it is also education and construction.

Could you imagine your life without school? Oh sure you might think that is what the holidays are all about, no school, but there is a lot that you probably would miss about school, if you weren't allowed to go.

School is something New Zealanders tend to take for granted. Often we forgot that school is where we meet friends (which may last a life time), play, learn skills which we will definitely need in the future.

All children should play, have a right to free education and everyone should be given the opportunity to live healthy, happy lives. Unfortunately not everyone does. But you can give them a helping hand.

On Friday the 5th of December, room 29 will be holding an in-school fundraiser, helping to 'raise the fun', for the people of the Kharikohla Area, of Nepal, by raising funds to donate to Band-aid Box. Room 29 will be having stalls, selling jolly jars and slushies (additive free), running loads of fun activities including hoop toss, swing ball, party games and an amazing race.

Children will exchange cash for Balmoral Bucks (available from outside room 29 on Monday and Tuesday mornings before school). There will also be a large container which any stationery donations of pencils or un-used exercise books can be put in.

Please help us, to help them.

Play; Is it a right or a privelege?

2008-10-14T16:40:00.002+13:00

What did you do today? I bet for many of you the first thing that pops into your head is, 'I went to school' or 'I played with my friends'. Can you imagine if you didn't have these as an option or a right?

Believe it or not there are thousands of children in the world who don't say these things. If someone asked them what they did today, their answer may well differ from yours. Can you imagine if the first thing that popped into your head was; 'I walked 15km to collect my family's water' or 'I worked 12 hours, for a bowl of rice' or ' I tried to get money from strangers to help my family'.

How much do our life experiences differ, and why do they differ? Is it the geography (where we were born)? Is it the government that runs the country? Is it the amount of money a family/country has? What else could it be that alters our lives so much?

So I ask you, is play something all children get to experience?

Whanaungatanga

2008-09-21T19:26:00.003+12:00

Have your say. Read the below quote and share your thoughts about what it means to you. Please consider how this relates to our rich task, Whanaungatanga, and 'How important am I in a community?'

"We must all paddle in unison, if we want our waka to reach the shore"

Local History

2008-08-24T13:50:00.006+12:00

For our rich task this term we are looking at the community, and the sense of belonging to one. The belief of whanaungatanga is taking care of each other within a community, and that a community is only as strong as the individuals in it, who work to create a place where everyone if valued, honoured and respected.

We will be looking at our local community and the history of Maori in the Mt Eden area, specifically the history of Maungawhau and Maungakiekie. After we've collected information based on all the questions we have, we will be creating a museum display, for kids, by kids. We want to share all the amazing information we will find out about our community.

Please if you can help us with any information we would greatly appreciate it. Also take the time to check out the links and possibly even go to the museum, Huia Lodge or any other sources of information you know about.

Culture and Heritage

2008-07-30T11:51:00.003+12:00

As a class, room 29 will be visiting the Auckland Art Gallery on the 8th of August.

We have been looking at some events which happened in New Zealand during the 1980's such as the Springbok's tour, the Stock market Crash and Anti-Nuclear Testing in the Pacific Protests. In particular we became very interested in the anti-nuclear topic, and what happened to the Rainbow Warrior.

We also took the time to look at some news stand banners, and even came across some which dated back over 150 years.

The focus for these activities was to discuss how environmental and political issues can influence artists and the work they create.

We will now start looking at how cultural knowledge is passed through generations, via art. Of course this will include the meaning of the art work, and the specific techniques which may also be part of a culture.

Before we go to the gallery, we do have some research to do. I have included some website links to help you with this research. You will need to:
1. Look around the home, community and our school for different textures.
2. Research 1950's New Zealand e.g. what was happening, what did it look like, who was around etc.
3. Look at the Auckland Gallery forum for personal stories and photos from this time period.
4. Consider what you expect to find, learn, feel, see, experience, and hear at the gallery. Please make sure you include these thoughts in your postings.
5. Spend some time researching cartoons, specifically how faces are drawn, and have a go at drawing some faces in a cartoon style.
6. Find out about some of these artists, Arnold Manaaki Wilson, Katerina Mataira, Ralph Hotere, Selwyn Wilson and Muru Walters. Maybe consider who they are, where they come from, what there art is like, and how their art links with their culture. See what you can find.

I look forward to reading your postings, and I am really looking forward to our art gallery visit. I hope you are too.

More to Health than Physical Fitness

2008-06-23T17:39:00.004+12:00

Our poll showed some very interesting results, namely that; 27% of people did 1 hour or less of exercise a week, 22% did at least 2 hours exercise a week, 27% did 3 -5 hours of exercise a week, and a whopping 45% do 6 or more hours of exercise a week.

I do wonder if these results would be the norm for a year 5/6 class in New Zealand, as there is a lot of media coverage and advertising saying that people need to get more active.

What do you think, is room 29 more active than most classes in New Zealand? Do you think people have been honest with their poll information?

Of course there is more to fitness than exercise alone. You have to eat healthily too. This means 5 + servings a day of fruit and vegetable, a lean fat serving of protein, some grains or cereals, and of course 8 glasses of water a day.

One of our reading groups has been working on a book called 'Vote for Us'. They now have the task of creating a campaign to promote their 'food party'. The three choices in this book are , The People's Popular Potato Party, The Rice Republicans' Party and The World Wheat Congress Party.

Over the next week at school, the parties will be campaigning, and trying to win your vote. Choose wisely as this food group will be the governing body and new president of the Worldwide Food Federation (WFF). Look carefully at their manifesto, listen to what they have to say, ask some tricky questions.

Which food group do you think can feed the world for the next century?

Have a look at The People's Popular Potato Party blog in our buddies section. Will they get your vote?

Fussing about fitness

2008-06-04T17:46:00.003+12:00

According to our survey there is a fuss about fitness. From the people who answered our survey 80% of you said fitness was important, 16% of you said no it's not important and 30% of you said you were undecided if it was important.

There is a saying, 'put your money where your mouth is', which basically means don't just talk about something, actually do it. Since the majority of people who took part in our survey felt it was important, we would now like to know how many hours you spend doing exercise/fitness.

Please also comment on our blog about someone who inspires you, or has inspired you, to get into fitness. Please tell us who they are, what they do, and why you are inspired by them. Remember some of our best role models and heroes can be the people right infront of us.

What's the Fuss About Fitness?

2008-05-25T08:01:00.006+12:00

As part of our 'rich task' this term, the year sixes are looking at fitness, while the year fives are looking at the circulatory system and cardiovascular health.

The year sixes have the challenge of designing a training programme that will increase a particular aspect of fitness. We have had a lot of discussion about what fitness is, and during philosophy, we have argued and justified why we consider some 'things' are fit, unfit or if we are simply not sure. We still have a lot of research to do, and of course want to ensure that there is an element of fair testing, so that our results aren't skewed.

The year fives have heartily embraced the cardiovascular aspect of their study. Aside from the initial 'oh yucks', the year fives thoroughly enjoyed exploring hearts and being able to see ventricles, aortas, arteries, atriums and veins.

To help with our rich task, we would like you to take the poll and answer the question, 'Is fitness important to you?' If possible we would also like you to take the time to post a comment explaining your choice.

Philosophy

2008-04-02T20:50:00.004+13:00

In room 29 this term we have been looking at "Better by Design", as our rich task idea. We have also discussed the idea of convenience, and how this is impacting on our Earth.

Firstly we read the Lorax by Dr Seuss. This prompted a lot of discussion, and ideas. Next we asked questions about the book. We then went onto classifying the ideas into groups, and looked at some of the main themes and ideas running through our questions. Finally we looked back at all our themes and ideas to come up with a philosophical question.

We found coming up with a philosophical question quite difficult, as so many of the ideas prompted more and more thoughts.

Please consider the question we came up with. Really think about the question, and as in a 'thinking community', post your comments and ideas. I think it is really important to remember to read other postings and respond to them, as well as prompting new thoughts.

Here are a few guidelines to help with your philosophical thinking

Think back to the question.
Critically think about your own, and others statements.
Justify your comments with examples.
Ask for clarification if you don't understand what someone has said.
Give examples to support your statement.
Agree or disagree with statements made by others.

I am looking forward to see your philosophical postings, and discussions. In class, room 29 are fabulous philosophical thinkers, lets show everyone these great ideas and opinions.

PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION

Why do we want more than we need?

Welcome to Room 29's Blog

2008-03-19T17:01:00.000+13:00

Hi Room 29! Welcome to our class blog space for 2008.

This will be your first posting area and you will use this as a place to introduce yourselves.

Please read the class blogging rules and understand that our thoughts, ideas and information are available to be read from anywhere in our world.

Blog Guidelines
In working with this blog and each of our other webspaces all students need to ensure that they follow these important guidelines. They are designed to make sure that you enjoy these spaces.
• Only ever use your first name or a nickname when you are writing on this or other blogs or wikis
• Never use any other student’s last name
• Never post any personal information–such as your home phone number or home address on this or any other blog or wiki
• Never share any of you usernames or passwords with anyone and never log in as another student
• Always tell your parents or teacher right away if you come across anything that makes you feel uncomfortable
• Remember the “grandma rule” that anything you put on the internet could be read by your grandmother so only write things you could say to the nicest of grannies
• Be a good online citizen and never write or post anything that could hurt anyone else
• Always check with an adult if someone asks for your phone number or to meet you
• Never make arrangements to meet anyone over the internet without telling your parents
• Make sure you publish only your own work. Don’t under any circumstances use other people’s work and call it your own
• Make sure that you read over your writing before you post it to check the spelling and that it reads okay.
If you wish to change or add to these rules please post a comment with details of our reasons.

So, now it is time to write a brief introduction about yourself. Include these things:
* Your first name, and your year level.
* Some family information - for example who you live with - no names please.
* You may wish to name the area you live in. For example - Mt Albert, Sandringham, Mt Eden, Balmoral.
* If you have links to other countries tell us about them. Maybe you have lived in other countries?
* Some of your interests.
* Set yourself some big goals for 2008 - they can be class related, sport related or even outside of school. What is it that you really want to achieve this year? We can look at these and time line them!

I am really looking forward to our blogging journey and can’t wait to read your comments.
Let’s get blogging Room 29!!