Pals leadership excellence #10

I did pals with Natalie. We made a simple obstacle course by making two small hurdles and getting some skipping ropes. The kids would jump over the obstacles then use the skipping ropes to do some skipping before running back to the end of the line.

The Care value I showed was Active Thinking by doing something quite different.

The leadership value I showed was goal focused by focusing on by goal which is to give people something to do at lunch by changing it to make it more interesting.

Blog Post Title : Te Reo, Term 4 2016.

This term we have been learning all about the Marae. We have learned that…….


The Marae is an important focal point for the community.
The Marea is a place where tradition and customs can be carried out.
The Marae is a place where people can express their values with dignity.
There are many kawa ( protocols) that prevail on the marae.
Marae kawa (protocols) can differ between maraes and iwi.




We have focussed on some key concepts when doing this learning.
These are listed and explained in the table below.


Concept
Definition -
give the meaning of these concepts in your own words.

Tikanga- The way you do things, customs, correct procedures.


Pōwhiri-It is the welcoming ceremony at the marae.


Tangata whenua-The local people the are connected to the marae.


Manuhiri-Vistiors that come to a marae.


Tūrangawaewae-Gives you home base that includes rights and obligations.


Whanaungatanga-Family connections and relationships.


Manaakitanga-Caring for other people as well as respecting elders.


Aroha-Love. It also can mean hospitality, generosity, caring for others and the process of giving.




See this video for an explanation of the roles and responsibilities of people on a marae.


Something I would like to learn more about the marae.
I would like to go to a marae and see what it is like.

Pals leadership Excellence #9

On Wednesday this week I did Pals. This week I did running races with Natalie. We had a lot of juniors participating. At the start we did regular races, we had to do several rows because there were more juniors. After they had all had at least one go we went on to do relays. We ended it with a race where every one ran.

The care value I showed was Active Thinking by putting the smaller children in a lane together and also by putting the faster people at the front in the last race.

The leadership value I showed was Integrity by putting trying to get the placings right and get people to have a go.

NZ Identity- Treaty of Waitangi

Something I found Interesting was that the English version was slightly different to the Maori version.
Another thing I would like to find out is why the British didn´t colonise some of the other islands.

NZ identity-WW1

NZ identity-Parliment

Parliament

This term we have been learning about Parliament. We have looked at the difference between government and parliament, NZ parliament, who is in government, how our government works and we compared democracy to dictatorship.

Three things that I learned are NZ parliament are:

• To get any seats in parliament a party has to get 5% of votes.
• National still has to listen to the other parties since they only got a bit over 50% of votes.
• That you get two votes at the general election, one for a party and one for your local MP.

Here is the link to my compare and contrast map explaining the difference between democracy and dictatorship.

Must do leadership Excellence #10

This week was the first week the weather was nice enough to do athletics training with the juniors outside. Since we missed the first week we did our first weeks lesson this week. My groups lesson was around running. The first thing we did with each group was do a warm up. This was a relay with star jumps at the end. The next thing was a relay where they collected beanbags, and finally we played exploder. This is where they lie down then when I say GO they run to the end and back.

The care value I showed was Community by saying well done to the winners.

The leadership value I showed was Integrity by making sure everyone knew the rules before we started.

Librarian leadership Excellence #10

This week on Friday first Sasha and I put books away. Secondly we had to cut out as many bookmarks as we could because it is book week soon. Luckily we only had to cut them roughly into strips to seperate the bookmarks from each other. Some of them were already coloured and some the kids will have to colour in themselves.

The care value I showed was Active Thinking by sorting the bookmarks into piles once I had cut them.

The leadership value I showed was Respect by letting other people help if they wanted.

Librarian leadership Excellence #9

Mrs Ward was away this week, so the library was closed, but she had emailed us to put the books away. I had put a few away, then someone else came in and said we weren't meant to be doing it after all.

The care value I showed was Respect by going out when we were told to.

The leadership value I showed was Resilience by still trying to do my duty.

Pals leadership Excellence #8

On Wednesday it was athletics so lunch time was shorter than usual. As a result we had to do Pals for the whole time. We were signed up for running races so that's what we did. At the start we only had four people racing, but as kids saw what we were doing some of them joined in. For once there were no arguments. We also did some relays to change it up.

The care value I showed was Excellence by judging the races as well as I could.

The leadership value I showed was Active Thinking by doing a relay in the middle so they didn't get bored.

Must do leadership Excellence #9

This Friday It was raining, some couldn't do the athletics program we had planned to do. Instead we had to do reading and writing with the juniors. However we still got to go outside and run a rotation of activities with the three junior classes. For running, there was a game of tricky tag, for jumping there was a relay course with stuff they had to jump over and for throwing there were hoops the juniors had to throw stuff into. I was helping with the throwing activity.

The care value I showed was community by supporting the kids in the throwing.

The leadership value was Active Thinking by challenging them by moving the hoop back.

Librarian leadership Excellence #8

This Friday I had librarian. First of all Sasha and I put away the books. I sat at the desk for the first part, then Sasha sat there for the second part. I had noticed a book when I was putting books away. Since it looked interesting I decided to get it out. Near the end of lunch we closed the library.

The care value I showed was Active Thinking by using some of my librarian time to get myself a book.

The leadership value I showed was Integity, by putting books back in the right places.

Must do leadership Excellence #8

This Friday Emma and I were teaching juniors. The first thing we did was set up, and for a change we sat on the floor in a circle on cushions. I think the table works better for juniors. Once the first group arrived (there were three in our first group) we introduced ourselves, and found out their names. We took them out to the junior playground so they could show us their favourite parts and what they would change. Then we went inside and they could choose whether to draw their designs or make them. We did this with three different groups.

The care value I showed was Excellence by trying to make it fun.

The leadership value I showed was Active Thinking, by changing the lesson so that kids who had already done one thing could do something else and continue what they had already started.

Koru Games

The activity I did was Volleyball.

Two highlights of the Koru games are getting the ball back over the net because when we started we wern't able to get the ball back over and beating Halswell the second time we versed them because the first time they beat us.

I am proud of coming 7th overall.

Next year I want to get better at doing rallies in volleyball because even though we have improved since we started, we can still get a lot better at rallies.

Maths-Deduce angles properties.

WALT: Deduce the angle properties of intersecting and parallel lines and the angle properties of polygons and apply these properties.

Click HERE for the problem solving question I solved.

Librarian leadership Excellence #7

This week the talent show was on, so I was by myself because Sasha wanted to go and watch it. There were a lot of books to put away so Mrs Ward helped me with some of them. It took about half the time to put away the books-I also returned any I found in the wrong places. After that I just did a couple of issues, although not many people came because the talent show was on. At the end I got to go and see the last act.

The care value I showed was Active thinking by putting books that people had put in the wrong place back in the right place.

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by doing it by myself.

Must do leadership Excellence #7

This week it was Emma and I's turn to plan. The new topic is redesigning the school, so we had to do something around that. First we need to introduce ourselves, find out their names, and introduce the topic. Then we are going to go out to the playground (if the weather is good) and talk about what they would like to change and what they would keep. Next we are going to let them make models of either a piece of furniture, or playground equipment. For the conclusion we will ask what they learnt.

The care value I showed was community by working with Emma to make this plan.

The leadership value I showed was Active Thinker by thinking about what would engage the juniors best.

Pals leadership Excellence #7

This week on Wednesday we went home at 1:00pm. Because of this lunch was from 12:10-12:30, a 20 minute lunch. Since Pals is on for half of lunch, we did pals for 10 minutes. We did a range of games, the main one was octopus, and heads down thumbs up. We didn't really have enough time, but I think they still enjoyed it. 

The care value I showed was Respect, by trying to make sure they enjoyed it, despite the lack of time.

The leadership value I showed was Resillence, by doing Pals even when there wasn't really enough time.

Care awards

CARE: My progress so far

The CARE award that I am working towards is: Silver 

The one area of CARE that I am doing best in is: Excellence  because: I am showing these values, and have got my small care award for this value.

The one area of CARE that I need to work harder in is: Respect because: I could do better in this value.

To show my leadership qualities I am a role model to others in the CARE values by doing/showing these leadership traits: Trustworthy, Integrity, Active Thinking,Resilient. 

On the CARE SOLO matrix below I am at this SOLO level: Relational because: I mostly use all the care values, but maybe not well enough to role model them to others.

Prestructural	Unistructural	Multistructural	Relational	Extended Abstract
I am not aware of the CARE values yet.	I know what the CARE values mean.  I need help to use them.	I can use the CARE values. I need reminding to use them.	I can use the CARE values independently.	I can use the CARE values independently. I can role model to others how to use the CARE values.

Librarian leadership Excellence #6

I did librarian on Friday at lunchtime with Sasha. Firstly, we put books away. For a bit at the start we were the only ones in there, because Mrs Ward hadn't got back yet, so no one exept the librarians on duty were allowed in. About a quarter of the way through the book shelving, Mrs Ward got back, so everyone else came in. Once we had finished the shelves there were a few returns and issues to do, plus helping one person find a book. By this time it was one twenty, time to close the library.

The care value I showed was Respect by trying to help someone find a book.

The leadership value I showed was trustworthy, by making sure no one came in until they were allowed to.

Must do leadership Excellence #6

For the second half of this term we will be teaching the year ones about redesigning the school. We will also be teaching a different group of kids. So, this week we got to indroduse ourselves by doing a variety of activities with them. We each got two little buddy's. First we read books to them. Secondly we went out onto the playground to talk about what their favourite playground equipment is, and play on the playground. 

The care value I showed was Community by talking and interacting with my buddy's.

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by keeping them safe on he equipment.

Alex and Tracy's Manderin Counting 1-20

Pals leadership Excellence #6

Today I did Pals. We decided to run a game of football for Kakano. A couple of kids helped me set up the field, while Waresha & Tracy organised the teams. We had forgotten to get bibs so I ran back to get some. Overall the game went well. 

The care value I showed was Active Thinking by going back to get some bibs.

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by running the game for all the Kakano people to have the option to join in with.

I can recognise and understand a variety of grammatical constructionsand some rhetorical patterns

In this unit I have been learning about:

The parts of speech.

The types of nouns.

The types of sentences.

In this unit, the thing I found challenging was … understanding prepositions.

Something new I learnt was... The difference between commands and exclamations.

I can apply my knowledge of adverbial clauses and connectives to seehow ideas are linked in texts.

For reading I have been learning about adverbial clauses. I have found this learning easy because I understand what adverbial clauses are, so I could do the activities.

In this activity docs, I had to... Identify the adverbial clauses and also change the adverbial clauses.

Information report- water cycle

The water cycle is the process which recycles water and moves it from land, ocean and atmosphere. Another name for it is the hydrologic-cycle. There are four main steps in the cycle. These are Condensation, Precipitation, Runoff and Evaporation. The water cycle is a never ending cycle, which is good, as there are many uses for water, such as domestic, recreational and industrial, to name a few.

When the sun's energy is applied to water, water (that was previously a liquid in oceans, lakes and rivers) changes state and rises up into the atmosphere as a gas: Water vapour. The reason this happens is because the sun’s heat separates the waters molecules; they turn into gas. In some hot places, there is lots of water vapour in the air. This is called humidity. Usually snow melts before evaporating, however sometimes dry winds can suck up the moisture in snow or ice, which changes them directly into vapour. Once water vapour rises higher and begins to cool, it will form clouds;this is called condensation. 

When water vapour rises up the temperature gets colder, and it forms clouds which will eventually come down as precipitation. Water vapour-tiny droplets of water, condense on tiny particles of dust or dirt that rises up with the vapour. This forms clouds. Warm air rises, which is why water vapour is forced to rise. Although most clouds are made out of tiny water droplets, some high clouds are made out of ice particles. When clouds combine and become heavy, the water thickens to a liquid again, and you get Precipitation. Rain, hail, snow, all kinds of precipitation. On that note, it looks like it’s going to… It doesn’t matter, the sun just came out again. Once water returns to the ground, where does it go?

When water falls to the ground it either forms streams and river to flow to oceans and lakes, or sinks into the ground as groundwater. Snowmelt as another source of water in streams and rivers. Sometimes it can stay as a solid for months, before melting when temperatures rise which sometimes causes flooding. What is more, a large portion of the world's freshwater lies underground as groundwater. While it is underground water goes through aquifers: layers of soil, sand and rocks. This cleans the water. 

These steps move water and recycle the water. [People should take more care of it.] It is necessary to our survival.

Librarian leadership Excellence #5

I did librarian with Sasha on Friday. Once we had put the books away, we both did some issues and renewals. I am getting quite comfortable with doing issues and returns on the computer. 

The Care value I showed was Active Thinking, by doing the shelves quickly.

The leadership value I showed was Intergrity by putting any books I found in the wrong places back in the right places.

Must do leadership Excellence #5

Friday was our first day of teaching. Firstly we introduced ourselves and what we were teaching them. We also asked them their names. First we watched a video about Olympic sports. I didn't think it was very interesting, but they seemed to really enjoy it. After that we did some races outside, then colouring in. Since the first group had extra time, we also got tennis balls they can throw around. The second group did all the same stuff, exept we didn't have time to do throwing.

The Care value I showed was Active Thinking by changing our first lesson plan because we had extra time.

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by getting back inside in time.

Pals leadership Excellence #5

This week the field was closed again. We ran a game of octopus on half a court. It went well, and when there were arguments about if someone got tagged, they got settled by paper, scissors, rock.

The Care value I showed was Community, by trying to make sure everyone enjoyed it.

The leadership value I showed was Integrity by getting them to do paper, scissors, rock to make it fair.

Must do leadership Excellence #4

This week was the first week of teaching, but I was just planning a lesson for next week. I was with Emma. We planned our introduction, then I took screenshots of some colouring pages we wanted printed out. I also linked a video to the doc that was about Olympic sports.

The care value I showed was Community by working together with my partner.

The leadership value I showed was Active thinking by planning a good lesson.

Librarian leadership Excellence #4

This week the library was closed. At the start of lunch I went down to the library-but it was closed because Mrs Ward wasn't there.

The care value I showed was Respect  by respecting the people who told us the library was closed

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by still trying to do my duty.

Pals leadership Exellence #4

On Wednesday the field was closed, so we asked Mr Muller if we could run skipping. We got out some normal length, skipping ropes, as well as two long ones which we spun. At the end we had to pack up all the skipping ropes;they were really messy. 

 The care value I showed was Active thinking by still doing something even though the field was closed. 

The leadership value I showed was Integrity, by trying to make sure no one pushed in line.

Maths Measurment

WALT deduce and use formalae to find the perimeters and areas of polygons and the volumes of prisms.

WALT find the perimeters and areas of circles and composite shapes & the volumes of prisms and cylinders.

My next step is:find the perimeters and areas of circles and composite shapes & the volumes of prisms and cylinders.

Evaluating Authors Purpose

In reading we have been learning to make decisions about the usefulness of the text for the purpose, by using a variety of criteria to evaluate. 

We read a range of texts and  evaluated them against four key criteria. 

These were:

• Readability
• Accuracy
• Relevance
• Quality of information/ language. 

Here is a link to our modelling book. 

Here is my evidence to show that I am able to demonstrate this reading skill. 

Evaluating Authors Purpose:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F_0AMRo6svedqhQajcoXQCSSVJMW0HZggqtO8dQRFWA

Must do leadership Excellence #3

On Friday we had our first session of the next rotation:Buddy programme. Basically we do teaching sessions with the little kids around their Intergrated learning. This week we just talked to them and went outside on their playground. 

The care value I showed was Respect, by listening to them.

The leadership value I showed was Integrity by being patient.

Librarian leadership Excellence #3

Today I did Librarian. Sasha and I put the books away first, as usual. Since no one wanted a book out I quickly got a book out. (Being Magdalene). Then there were a few books to issue/return. At 1:25 we closed the library.

The care value I showed was Respect by respecting the books.

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by doing what I was supposed to.

Pal leadership excellence #3

On Wednesday I did pals. We did Kakano because now my group will be just doing Kakano activities. We did football because it is often quite popular. The game itself mostly went well, although there were some arguments about who would be in who's team and who got to kick the ball in.

The care value I showed was respect by solving the arguments so everyone was satisfied.

The leadership value I showed was integrity by being fair.

Must do leadership Excellence #2

On Friday we did the last Garden to Table session of the term. This week, although a few people got to do gardening, most of us were helping move furniture between Rm 14 and the music room. By the time we were finished all the furniture from Rm14 was in the music room and vice versa.

The Care value I showed was Active thinking by doing it even though it wasn't gardening.

The leadership value I showed was integrity by moving the new entrants furniture.

Librarian leadership Excellence #2

On Friday I did Librarian. First of all as usual we had to return the books to the shelves. Then we had to do any issues and renewals. This week I also got to have some practise doing reservations as some people wanted to reserve books.

The care value I showed was Active Thinking by doing reserves which I havn't done much.

The care value I showed was Trustworthy by doing it quickly so people could go.

Pals leadership Exellence #2

On Wednesday my group did Pals. This week it was just Tracy and I doing it. We ran a game of small field football with Kakano. We set up the field with cones and split the players into two teams, with one team wearing bibs. The game went well, and one of the teams won by two points.

The Care value I showed was Community by getting them to take turns kicking the ball in.

The leadership value I showed was integrity by making sure everyone followed the rules.

Term 2 Te Reo reflection

Te Reo Reflection

Unistructural	Multistructural	Relational	Extended Abstract
I can say 1-5 words about celebrations in te Reo Maori.	With help, I can ask and answer several questions about celebrations, using te Reo Maori.	I can ask and answer several questions about celebrations,using Te Reo Maori.	I can ask and answer a range of questions about celebrations,using Te Reo Maori. I can teach others these questions and answers.

In Te Reo this term I have been learning about using vocabulary around food (Kai) and celebrations (Ngā hākari)

Here are some sentences, with english translation in brackets, that I can say confidently (list 3-4).

-He pai ki a koe ngā/te aporo?

 (Do you like apples.)

-He aha to mea pai, ki a koe kei to pāti?

 ( What do you like about your party?)

-He aha ō mātou pirangi? 

 (What do we need?)

Must do leadership Excellence #1

On Friday after morning tea I did Garden to Table with the new entrants. Most of us were working on digging the new path, although a few were working in the garden. I was working on the path. At the start my little buddies were helpful, but as we continued digging they begun to get bored. Soon two of them had got yogurt containers they were using as worm farms. The kids would quickly grab worms as I tried to dig. Soon it became hard to dig without accidently chopping their fingers off. We headed back onto the concrete to clean our shoes and play a quick game of sneak up granny.

The care value I showed was community by being carful with the shovel.

The leadership value I showed was active thinker by not accidently chopping any fingers.

Librarian leadership Excellence #1

On Friday at lunch I did my librarian duty. First, as usual we had to put the books away. After that was done, we did any issues/renewals and returns. When it was time to close the library we closed it, and made sure no one was still out in the cloak bay. When everyone had left we tidied the library.

The care value I showed was Respect by tidying the library at the end of lunch.

The leadership value I showed was Resillent by doing my duty even when there wasn't much to do.

Pals leadership Excellence #1

On Wednesday I did Pals. The field was closed so we did skipping on the court for Kakano. We got out all the normal sized ropes and put them on the court so people could grab them. A couple of kids

wanted to turn the long rope for other kids to jump in, so we gave them a rope and they did that. At the end the ropes were really messy, it took us a while to pack them up.

 

The care value I showed was Community by managing it so everyone got a turn.

The leadership value I showed was Trustworthy by showing up to it on time.

Student Led Conference Reflection

The things I enjoyed most about my SLC were:

Sharing my learning and explaining how the learning space works.

What went well and why?

I think the answering questions went well because I was able to answer all their questions.

What were the challenges you faced when preparing and presenting your SLC?

One problem was that during my SLC I kept noticing mistakes such as missing words and mistakes.

What changes would you make for next time and why?

Some changes I would make would be check for mistakes more thoroughly and not keep opening tabs I didn't need. 

Must do leadership Merit #5

I did garden to table today. We were in groups of three. My groups job was to rake and level out a triangle of dirt covered in weeds and rubbish. We had three kids to help us and for once they were actually quite helpful. We completed one wheelbarrow load, then we had nearly finished a second and we were on to levelling it out when we were told it was time to go inside. We packed up and got ready to wheel the wheel barrow back. We tried to wheel it and then we realised it was stuck. We tried to fix it but in the end it took all three of us to carry it back full of dirt.

The value I showed was Active Thinking by trying to fix it.

Visual Art

WALT: Apply knowledge about shapes and patterns derived from nature into an original artwork

For Visual Art the SOLO level I achieved was: Extended Abtsract because I used all the techniques and I used shapes derived from nature.

The techniques I used in my art work to achieve this level were: Glazing, Shading and Moving watercolours.

Here is a photo of my art work:

My next step in visual art is: To do better glazing because where I used it (the shell) is not very obvious and it is hard to tell it is glazing.

Must do leadership Merit #4

Today I did garden to table. This week my job was to dig over a garden bed. My partner was Holly-mae. We had 4 kids to do hardening with. First we all got gloves, and so of the kids needed help getting them on. We then got trowels and started. We had to show the little kids how to do it. Some of them just dug holes or something like that, so we showed them what to do: Dig and flip, dig and flip. We also found a couple of worms, and when that happened we dug a hole and put them back. 

The value I showed was Community by being patient with the new entrants.

Maths: reason with linear proportions.

National standard 1:

The answer is 100%

National standard 2:

National standard 3:

Must do leadership Merit #3

I did Garden to Table on Friday. I got to do cooking. We cooked spring onion and pumpkin fritters. I helped the little kids chop spring onions and grate pumpkins to put in the fritters while Lauren mixed the mixture. Once we had mixed it together I cooked most of the fritters while she cut them into pieces then she did the last batch and I helped the new entrants cut them. Once they were done we served them to a year two class and ate the leftovers ourselves.

The value I showed was Active thinking by swapping the jobs around.

Pals leadership merit #5

This week for Pals we were on Kauri. We played Capture the cones. It went alright. We set up a large playing area and placed 5 cones at each end. People started coming over and asking what we were playing and by the time we were ready to start we had enough people. The game was good and we also joined in. When the bell rung some people helped pack up.

The value I showed was Community by joining in with the game.

Must do leadership merit #2

On Friday I did the Garden to Table program. What we do in the program is we help the new entrants in the garden by doing some jobs we have been given. At the same time about 6 of us get to help the little kids to cook. I was in the garden, my partner was Sasha and our job was to plant bok-choy and surround the plants with pea straw. First we got the little kids to put on gloves, then we dug little holes to put the plants in and planted them. Finally we got pea straw from next to the glass house and spread it around the plants. By then we were done so we washed our hands and went back to our class for lunch.

The value I showed was empathy by helping a boy get some gloves on.

Pals leadership Merit #4

On Wenesday I did Pals. The field was closed so we did Pals with the other group in the hall. We went around and told people that Pals was on while the other group set up dodgeball in the hall. We played for about 10 mins then the bell rang so we packed up.

The value I showed was collaborate by working with the other group.

Librarian leadership merit #5

At lunch today I did librarian. I was on with Sasha. When I got there, there were lots of books to put away. It took a while. When that was done there wasn't much more to do so I sat at the front desk in case anyone wanted to get books out or return them. At about 1:25 we closed the library and I played King for five minutes before the bell rung.

The value I showed was be resilient by staying for my duty even when there wasn't much to do.

Must do leadership Merit #1

On Tuesday I went to technology. I am in science. We did robotics. For robotics we got to make a robot, then program it to do something. Tracy and I programmed ours to draw a picture. To do this we had to make a pen attachment. It took us a while to figure out how to attach it to our robot. Turns out we were trying to put it on the back. Oops.

The value I showed was be curious by finding out a new way to program robots.

Pals leadership Merit #3

Today I did Pals. Tracy, Warisha and I decided to run a game of football for Kakano. By the end we had about 30 boys playing football. The two teams were fairly even and the game went well. There were no issues. At the end we handed out pozis and some kids helped pack up. They got extra pozis.

 The value I showed was be resilient by at the start we didn't have very many people but I kept going and the game went well.

Pals Leadership Merit #2

I did Pals with Tracy and Waresha. We did Kakano and played Octpus on the field. The kids were really into it and mostly stayed the whole time. They took turns being 'in'. Near the end we joined in as well. 

The value I showed was collaborate by working with the others to make the game work.

My short story

For this piece of writing I have focussing on my vocabulary and punctuation. I have been learning to: - 

Use a large productive vocabulary across the curriculum (Year 9/10)

Use a wide range of punctuation appropriately and with increasing accuracy. (Year 9/10)

The pieces of my writing that are highlighted green are where I have shown my vocabulary and punctuation goal

My Story...

“Do I have to go?” I groan.

“How many times do I have to say it, you’re going.”replied Mum.

I groan again, “ But I hardly know him.” 

“If by ‘him’ you mean your uncle, then you do know him; you’ve seen him at family gatherings - and this will be a good chance to get to know him a bit better.”

“ Fine, but why tramping?” I ask.

“ Well, he was going anyway, and your father and I figured it would be good for you.”

“ Good for me!?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it.” Mum replies . “Now, you’d better go pack your bag- remember, whatever you pack you have to carry.”

I roll my eyes and stomp off to my room.

“Remember to leave room for food!” Mum yells down the hallway.

“Fine!” I shout back.”

The night goes too quickly. All too soon I’m standing at the front door, pack on my back, ready to hop into his land-rover. “Well, are you coming or not!” His sharp words cut through my head like knives, interrupting my gloomy thoughts. “Yes” I mutter, hopping in the back. The engine throbs into life and, almost without me realising it, we were pulling out the drive, along our street and out onto the main road heading out of town. The truck is silent. That is, until a dog barks. Just once, but it’s loud enough to draw my attention. Suddenly a chorus of barks booms from….the back of the car? 

“Wha….” 

“Oh, that’s probably Yip. He’s in the back. Banjo too.”

“Umm…okay?”

The drive continues in an awkward silence until, thankfully, we turn off onto a beaten gravel road. As the land rover trundles down the road, I hear whining from the back of the truck.

“So” I say, trying to start a conversation, “ You’ve just got the two dogs.”

“Yup.”

“What breed are they?”

“Border collies.”

“How much further.” I ask

The truck veers sharply before coming to a stop beside a parked Subaru.

“There’s your answer,” he says.

I heave my pack on my back, and jump out, then look around. We had parked in a clearing, with about enough room for 10 or 15 cars. Suddenly I sense motion behind me. While I was distracted, Uncle had let the dogs out. The other dog, presumably Yip, let out a volley of barks and bounded over to me. Suddenly I’m surrounded, as the two dogs sniff and jump all over me. “ Come on” calls Uncle Jay. The dogs race over to him, so I follow their lead and run over to him. “ Steady on, you’ve got the whole walk ahead of you.”

I sigh, slow down and start walking slightly behind him. 

I soon find out that Jay is quite a fast walker. After a few hundred metres the track begins to climb quite steeply. I slow, expecting Jay to do the same, but, to my surprise he powers on with the same power, perhaps even more than before. I jog to catch up. 

As we walk, I find myself just following his footsteps. I hardly notice when we enter a forest after what must have been only an hour and a half although it feels like a lot more than that. I slowly begin to fall behind. Suddenly a fog rolls in. I gasp, as I immediately return to my senses. Suddenly I realise that the track is no longer beneath my feet. As I spin around I have a sudden realisation;the dogs are gone. Since I fell behind, every few minutes one or both of the dogs have come whirling back up the trail, perhaps sent by their master, to check on me. They haven’t came for a while though. Strange. I backtrack my steps until I find the track. I huddle up in a ball to wait. 

The wind comes. Whistling over my body, freezing cold, like winter's greeting. I shiver. It takes a few moments until I realise what the wind means; the fog is clearing. As the wind rushes through it, the fog curls into strange shapes. It would have creeped me out, except for the fact that it meant the fog was leaving.

After I while, about 10 minutes the fog had practically cleared. I got to my feet and began to tread down the trail. 

I soon reach the hut. Both dogs come bounding over to me. I grin and head inside carefully shutting the door behind me, to keep the dogs out and the warmth in. “Hello,” says my uncle. “I almost thought you’d got lost.” 

“ I di…” I start to say, but it catches in my throat. “No,” I lie, “I guess I just walked slow.” He grunts, but seems convinced, so I ask: “Where do I sleep?”

He smirks and points to the floor. I groan.” Nah I’m kidding,” he says pointing to a door. I sigh, and go in.

It turns out that I have a good time, and more importantly, the rest of the school holidays goes as planned. 

Librarian leadership Merit #4

Date:13/5/16

Merit evidence for: Librarian.
Today I did my librarian duty. I put away some books. I also issued and returned some books. The learner value I showed was communicate. I showed this value by communicating with people respectfully.

I can describe the structure of a short story.

Something I have learned about the structure of short stories is: They are structured like novels but are much shorter so every thing happens faster.

After reading some short stories two things I will remember when I write my own short story are to be briefer than when writing a narrative and to make an interesting plot.

My Exposition

WALT follow the writing process to write an exposition.

This is my conclusion: 

Both Queen Elizabeth and Sir Peter Jackson are exceptional leaders; however overall I believe that Queen Elizabeth is the best leader. She has had many achievements as well as the ones I listed and has lead England and the commonwealth through many hard times. She is an amazing leader.

Click here for my exposition:

https://docs.google.com/a/oaklands.school.nz/document/d/11PpmyOGWuWSezIxOoOVafRPsplBMrMi7lrcmXQtKPdE/edit?usp=docslist_api

Music

I can describe the characteristics of music from songs of a different time and place

Over the past 7 weeks I have been learning to describe the characteristics of music from songs of a different time and place

I can describe these characteristics in a piece of music… 

Melody: Musical notes/sound in an agreeable succession or arrangement. (The bit that gets stuck in your head.)

Harmony:Musical notes or sounds played together at the same time. Major harmony-happy song, fast tempo. Minor harmony-sad song, slow tempo.

Rhythm:A repeated pattern of sounds or notes.

Timbre:The quality of a musical note, sound or tone.

Form: The type of composition or structure in a song. 

Here is an example of my learning. 

https://docs.google.com/a/oaklands.school.nz/document/d/1CI6UB3IGuleKGduKMfcPdFbXDwogD1jXU3Ih5NWoOrI/edit?usp=docslist_api

Statistical investigation

WALT plan and conduct surveys and experiments using the statistical inquiry cycle.

We did a investigation on classroom preferences.

Here are some photos of the results:

Term 1 Integrated Learning

We have been learning all about What makes a good leader.

 Here is a link to the Leadership modelling book. 

We identified that good leaders show 6 main character traits. These are integrity, trustworthy, motivational, active thinking, resilient and goal focused.

The leadership trait that I think I show the most is active thinker because if something doesn't work I try something else.

The leadership trait I would most like to develop is Motivational because I would like to motivate people more.

Something NEW I have learned about leadership is the leadership traits and what they mean.

The SOLO level that I reached during this unit of learning is extended abstract because in my exposition I evaluated the effectiveness of two leaders.

(see slide 2 of the leadership modelling book for this) 

My next step in learning about leadership is to apply everything that I have learned about leadership to my own leadership roles.

Librarian Leadership Merit #3

Date:11/4/16

Merit evidence for: Librarian.

I did my Librarian duty. I put away books and learnt where the graphic novels go. I also issued and returned some books. The learner trait I showed was Question because when I didn't know where a book went I asked.

Pals leadership Merit #1

Date:5/4/16

Merit evidence for: PALS

I did PALS. We did relays and running races using stilts. I showed the value interity by being patient with the little kids.

Librarian Leadership Merit #2

Date:4/4/16

Merit evidence for: Librarian.

Today I did my librarian duty. I put away some books and also helped someone find a book to read. It took a while to find a book they were interested in and hadn't read. I showed the leadership value trustworthy by turning up on time for my duty.

Argument Writing-Are devices taking over our lives

For writing we have been learning to write an argument using the writing process. The topic was “Are Devices Taking Over Our Lives”.

Something I did really well in my writing was using conjunctions.(in bold)

Here is a section of my writing that shows this.

Devices are taking over many people's lives. Kids don’t go outside much, people are often on their phones, and in addition some people are even developing health problems related to devices. Furthermore, mobile devices also provide a platform for bullies. 

PE-Striking and fielding

WALT: Apply Striking and Fielding activities in a range of sports and activities.

Link to modelling book on online zone.  

My Strengths

The striking strategies I was able to effectively demonstrate during the games we played were keeping my eye on the ball.

The throwing and catching strategies I was able to effectively demonstrate during the games we played were look at where you want the ball to go. Point where you want the ball to go.

My Next Steps

To improve my striking of a ball I need to stand side on because it will give me more power in my shot.

To Improve my catching and fielding I need to use soft hands because it will stop the ball bouncing out of my hands.

The game that I enjoyed the most was rounders because you get to do both throwing and catching and it is fun.

Authors purpose

WALT describe the author's purpose in relation to structure and language choices in a text and give relevant evidence (eg vocabulary used).

Here is my example

I can gather, evaluate, and synthesise information across a small range of texts

Evaluating Information Chart

This is a evaluating information chart about if NZ should change their flag. To make it we had to gather information about the topic and add it to the chart. Then we had to highlight whether it was common knowledge, personal opinion, statistics or expert opinion. Finally we had to write whether each argument was strong, weak or uncertain and give a reason for our choice. I think we went well.

Apply standard form, significant figures, rounding and decimal place value

The IXL I completed are G.1, L.8, B.4.

Librarian Leadership Merit #1

Date:29/2/16

Merit evidence for: Librarian.

Today I did my librarian duty. I issued and returned some books. I also put some books away and sorted books. I showed the learner quality Be self aware by concentrating on my job and learning new things about being a librarian.