Freeing the Skinks

Today we let the skinks go in the gully.  We watched them run into the sticks and dead leaves.  I think they are happy running away instead of staying in a little container.  I hope they find a nice home in the gully.

The Journey Of The Blue Watering Can

A broken, rusty watering can was discovered in the gully at school.  I showed the teacher and we tested it to see if it would work.  It leaked from the spout.  Then we took it to the Discovery Shed and we tried to fix it.  Then the teacher took the lid off and we tried again, but it was no use.  I said my Dad could fix it so I took it home.  Dad and I sanded the can so we could get the chipped paint off.  Then we used a panel beating tool to make it round again.  Then we spray painted it with a red undercoat.  We waited for it to dry, then we put a type of grey glue on the spout where it leaked.  Then we spray painted the watering can dark blue.  We waited for it to dry for about two weeks.  I brought it back to school to show my teacher. 

 She thought it was AMAZING!!!

  

Testing out our new and improved watering can. 

 

Watering plants in the class and the garden.

WOW!  What a great watering can!

Skinks

"I climbed up the tree by my Dad's shed because he said there were skinks up there.  I had a container  tied around my waist with a rope so I could climb down the tree after I caught the skinks.  I found one up the tree and the rest down on the black pallet next to the shed."

We looked on the internet and think this is a Copper skink. It is viviparous, that means it gives birth to live babies.  It is carnivorous which means it hunts animals. They live in forests and backyards.

All butterflies have hatched

The last of the butterflies hatched yesterday. It was amazing to see how black the chrysalises had become in one day.

 Of course two waited until we were at lunch and the last until we were out of the room again practising our assembly to hatch.

There were two more boys..

and a girl.

Kiwi Writing

We have been working on adding hooks to our writing.  A hook is an interesting start to our writing which will make the reader want to keep reading more.

 An amazing author whipped this piece of writing up today.  

Our Kiwi Art is here!

We have been learning a lot about our native bird the kiwi.  We have watched movie clips, read books and listened to stories about kiwi living near Mrs Pendergrast's farm in Otanewainuku.  One day Mrs Pendergrast even had a kiwi in her garage!  She got to hold onto it while the transmitter was changed on its leg.  It had very strong legs and wasn't too happy about being awake during the day.

As we looked at some kiwi pictures and thought about all the things we have learnt about the kiwi, we drew and coloured our own kiwi.  What do you think?

They were boys

The butterflies flew away at lunchtime after exercising their wings all morning. We managed to get a shot of them before they took off, can you see the black dot on near the bottom of the wings?  That shows it is a boy butterfly.

Look! Butterflies!

We came into class today and what did we see.... two of our butterflies have hatched. They are letting their wings dry.  We hope to see if they are a girl or a boy shortly. We will keep you posted.

 

Visiting Frog

Look at the colourful visitor who spent two days in our class.

He has now been returned to his natural habitat.

Monarch Caterpillars

Mrs Benge brought in a swan plant from home that had some caterpillars on it.  We watched them grow quickly.  One morning we came back to see two had already transformed into chrysalises.

We watched some of the other caterpillars attach themselves to the leaves and branches.  They hung there for a whole day. We hoped to see them transform but they were still hanging when we went home. Mrs Benge came back from a meeting to see one had just changed so she stayed and worked hoping to see the next one change.

Ready and waiting to turn
 into a chrysalis

The sneaky caterpillar waited
until Mrs Benge was busy...

Look at the shape changing

Nearly there...

This is what the caterpillars look like when they
change.  The skin peels off. The caterpillar moves
and wiggles alot when this happens.

Watch the caterpillar moving.

We hope to see our caterpillars hatch into beautiful butterflies soon.

                                     

       

Check Out Our Newest Kiwi Friends

Our fish friends are yet to be named.  A voting system is in place.

Discovery Learning

Kiwi have been having a great time starting the day by directing their own learning.  It is amazing to see the interactions and hear the discussions, there is such great learning happening.
Discovery Learning Week 2 on PhotoPeach

Discovery Shed Supplies

With so many amazing creations being worked on each day in our discovery shed, we need some support in keeping it stocked.  If you have a surplus of material, wool, wood, boxes, containers, nails, screws, any unwanted tools, craft material, cardboard, paper etc. we would greatly appreciate your donation.

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to Week Three!

We have been busy in Te Ruma o te Kiwi settling into our new classroom and learning new routines.  We have begun our reading programme and have tried our hand at writing.  Here is a sample of what we have been doing.  Can you guess who this person is?

We have all written clues and illustrated our work, so please feel free to pop in and take a look! 

 Even Mrs Pendergrast and Mrs Benge have their clues up!

Other things we have been enjoying are swimming, singing, sketching and discovery.

Introducing...Whetu and Marama

Our class toys this year are Kiwi...like us!  These two cuties are called Whetu and Marama.  Each week, two lucky children will be selected to look after Whetu or Marama for the weekend.  You can do all sorts of things with them.  You may like to take them on a bike ride with you, a visit to the park, a fishing trip or even to Granny's house for dinner.  Whetu and Marama really like to hang out with you, what ever you are up to.  You could take a few photos of your adventures together and share them with us all when you get back to school.  Whetu and Marama are looking forward to their sleep over at your place!

Tanya Benge

Kia Ora. This is my tenth year teaching. While I have taught up to year 6 the majority of my teaching has been in the junior school. My teaching interests are in math, nature sciences and music. I enjoy teaching phonics. I have been a reading recovery teacher and this has given me many skills when teaching reading and writing. I live in Mount Maunganui with my husband Jayson and three children. Joshua is 12, Zachary is 11 and Jessica is 8. The boys both attend Mount Intermediate while Jess is at Mount Primary. In my spare time I like to tinkle on the piano, tend to the fruit and vegetables in my garden, read, knit and watch my children play sport. I help out with adult education through Playcentre.  My preferred exercise is swimming. I will be endeavouring to spend one afternoon a week with my children. I am looking forward to being involved in your child’s Educational journey this year with you..

Demelza Pendergrast

I am very excited to be teaching in Te Ruma o te Kiwi this year!  My teaching experience is wide and varied, catering for all ages from Year 1-8. I have also taught the GATE (gifted and talented education) programme for a number of years in several schools, which adds to my repertoire of teaching skills.   My strengths and interests are in maths, science, visual art, drama, outdoor education and phys ed.   I have three delightful children who are currently attending Oropi School and we enjoy our rural lifestyle here in Oropi.  I enjoy spending my spare time with the family, camping, kayaking, hiking, biking and exploring our farm.  I am really excited about working with this fabulous group of children and look forward to sharing our learning journey with you.