Week 10 Term 3

Thank you to the parents who accompanied us on the koura farm trip last week. Weren't we lucky with the perfect day? Super hands on learning thanks to Francie and Ed Diver.

There will be a hard copy note come home asking how you would like the refund from the ski trip to be used. We were very lucky to not be charged for any parents skiing and there was no extra charge for the fun park. This note needs to be returned to Mrs Turnhout at the office. I did ask that no-one paid the $4 for the Koura Farm, so part of the refund will have already been used for this.

All go - just a few dates to put on the calendar for this week.

• Year 3 & 4 eisteddfod speeches will be heard on Monday and Tuesday - the information about this has already been posted. Names of those performing at the eisteddfod assembly will be in the newsletter and also on the blog.
• Athletics = Monday and Wednesday
• 5 - 7pm Wednesday = WOW night - all children are participating. Children's artwork will be on display
• Thursday afternoon 1.45pm Takiura Maori performance in the church with Alexandra Primary
• Friday 1:30 eisteddfod assembly

Have a wonderful holiday - take time to enjoy the spring weather and your families. Thinking of Jedi as he welcomes a new little one to his family. Enjoy time getting to know this wee treasure!

Bike Trip Emergency Vehicle

Weather forecast is looking good!  Is there anyone who would be available to provide the emergency back up vehicle for our return ride to school please?  No problems for a preschooler in the car. Ideally Mrs Stratford would like to head home after the activities at the koura farm.

Round the Clock Race

Hi all,

Once again we can enter some school teams in this race that starts at the Linger and Die at 4:45 on Friday.
We can only have 10 to a team, which will be mixed by Mrs Lyon. A minimum of 3 parents are needed for each team.
Please email either

• chrisbeilby@stgerards.school.nz or 
• carolyn carolynlyon@stgerards.school.nz 

Entries need to made on-line this year a couple of days before the event so get your name in quickly.

Term 3, Week 9

HI All,

Here's what's going on in Room 5 this week.

Skink Monitoring - we are continuing to monitor skink (and other) activity at the rail trail.  This week we will reset some ink tracking sheets and also set some pit fall traps to see if we can get some skinks to pop their wee bodies in for a snack.  We will check the traps daily and release any skinks found. We are hoping to get an idea of skink numbers in the area.   In class this week we will be working on our skink research projects to gain a deeper understanding of the species while we investigate their habitat.

Athletics:  This week we have athletics practice on Monday and Thursday afternoons from 2pm.  The children are allowed to wear their PE uniforms for this.

Eisteddfod speeches are due this week - preferably by Thursday.  I am happy for the odd speech to happen next Monday however we have to sort Mass for next week and also a few other finishing off projects so their may not be as much time available to us next week to sort these --- aim for Thursday please.

Friday - The Gathering.
TEACHERS ARE AWAY from school on this day.  If your child is in the Kapahaka group they are going to be welcoming those attending the Gathering.  They will need to be at The Cellar Door by 8:45am on this day.
There will be 3 relievers at school available to teach the children who are coming to school on this day.  If you have an alternative option for your children then it's fine if they do this instead of coming to school.  Please let us know what you intend your child/children to do on this day.

Have a great week,

Mrs Lyon

Show Time

Alexandra Musical Society celebrates 60 years this Blossom Festival. To mark this milestone Matt van den Yssell (director, talented performer and St Gerards ex-pupil) has created a celebration of songs and a few funny stories from musicals performed over the years. There are also several other very talented ex-pupils performing. I had a sneak peek today - don't miss out on many very polished musical numbers. Shows = Saturday evening, Sunday matinee, Monday & Tuesday evening.

Online tickets for our Blossom Festival 'Showtime' - Celebrating 60 years in Musical Theatre 

http://tickets.alexmusical.co.nz/

Also available at the box office at Alexandra Community House

Four shows only so get in quickly 🎭🎟

Week 9 Term 3

Thank you Mr Eastwood for the amazing athletic markings - we could almost hold the olympics! Training for the athletics will start this week. Monday and Thursday. Next week Monday and Wednesday.  Please wear school sports uniform. Rotations and groupings for this are on the window of the PTA uniform shop. Please note the ages are as at 1-10-17.
Very proud of you all Room 3 - a super Wednesday mass with awesome singing. Extra special for you as Bishop Colin was the celebrant. Lovely to see parents come to celebrate with us too.
We hope you all enjoyed the connections cards for homework last week. Great to hear from Findlay's family that they really enjoyed this. This homework can very much be on-going
Koura Farm Trip: Thank you to everyone who has offered to accompany us on this trip. We will have enough parents, so please meet us at school at 10:45 on Tuesday. Mrs Laidlaw and myself will give you each a group of children to look after and discuss our risk management plan. We have roads and water, so we need to make sure that each adult is aware of the procedures. I'm not sure what the weather will do, so be prepared with a windproof/waterproof jacket to wear over your school sports uniform. On Tuesday morning bikes can be 'parked' on the grass outside the classroom. If there is any child who has health/medical needs not already on our school data base, please let me know.
Dance - Wednesday afternoon = Sports Uniform all week!
Friday 22nd - The Gathering: all teachers will be on a catholic education professional development day, held at The Cellar Door in Alexandra. Some relievers are being employed, but to confirm the number needed we need to know urgently whether your child will be at school on Friday. The Kapahaka group that practises with Mr Yeoman and myself will be performing at the opening of this event, and can either go home after this or be walked back to school.  We need a couple of parents to walk with the children please. Again, until we know who is returning to school and who will be going home, we are not sure how many parents will be required for this. Please email the school office asap.
WOW Night: Wednesday 27th September; 5 - 7pm. Rooms 3 & 4 will present kapahaka. Artwork for the PTA  silent auction will be displayed ready for bids. Retold books and children's work along with learning games will be in the classroom.
Thursday 28th: Maori culture performance 1:30pm
Eisteddfod Assembly: Friday 29th.
Fair: there is an exciting looking collection of bottles in Mrs Eastwood's office, thank you.  This week there is a box in the foyer for bathroom items from Room 3 to put in the hamper raffle. The PTA do such an amazing job supporting our school, this is a way we can involved with their efforts.
Speeches: need to be prepared this week ready for presentation next Monday and Tuesday. Wonderful to see that some people already have theirs sorted at home. Now is the time to ask for help if your child needs this.

Keep up your reading, spelling and maths activities at home.

Have a great week team.

Hi All

Lots of photos today!

 Room 3 have really enjoyed the great effort that has gone into these presentations.

A big thankyou from all of Room 3!

Everyone will be busy with preparing their speeches this week so we won't have any Morning Programme for the last two weeks of term.

We will do some Current Events as a class instead.

Enjoy the spring sunshine🌻

Sorting the Hamburger Structure

Puzzle Time

To begin our speech writing we put together a cut up speech. We were looking for the WOW opening! (the top of the hamburger), the solid ending that told us what the speech had been about (the bottom of the hamburger), then we had to sort the filling of the hamburger - the layers of facts, and try to get them into an order that sounded right. Lots of teamwork was needed for this job. Well done Room 3 on a super attempt at a difficult thinking task.

 Great teamwork and discussion

Yes, we have this sorted - well done girls!

Week 8 Term 3

This week is both Social Justice Week and Maori Language Week. Have another look at our days of the week clapping game in poetry books and polish up on the days of the week in Maori.
We welcome the Catholic Review team to the school this week. They will be in classrooms and about the school watching lessons and talking to children and teachers. Please make them feel welcome as we do so well with any visitors to our school.
Uniform: a reminder that either summer or winter uniform can be worn, but not a mixture of both. After a warm week it looks like a blast from Antarctica this week. Remember that colourful runners are not part of the regular school uniform.
Tuesday: Confirmation - 6pm in the church with Bishop Colin: please support our Year 4 students who are taking their next step in their faith journey.
Sports Uniform Wednesday and Friday: Dance with Mrs Chamberlain on Wednesday afternoon and the final gymnastics session on Friday. Last week Sharelle and I assessed the skills that have been taught over the last 8 weeks. So many people have gained confidence and skills in a range of physical activities. Forward and backward rolls are one area that some of us need to work on in the future.  Thank you Sharelle for your lessons along with the awesome warm up games.
Wednesday Parish Mass at 9am. This week it is our turn to take leadership roles at mass. Readings and prayers of the faithful came home on Friday, so that they could be practised. We hope you can join us as we meet together as God's family, and share His meal in the Eucharist.
Friday Assembly: 2:10 in the hall led by Room 5. We might get a wee look at their amazing ski trip.
Next Tuesday 19th September: Bike trip to Koura Farm - see separate post. This information will also come home as a hard copy on Monday.
Friday 22 September: The Gathering - a professional development day for teachers in catholic schools. School will be open on this day - please let Mrs Turnhout know if your child will be at school on this day. Our kapahaka group will be providing a welcome on this day, with children either returning to school or home after the welcome.

Homework

1. Reading
2. Spelling: Mixed words for the rest of the term as we revise the spelling patterns that we have worked on so far this year. Make sure that you look for the long vowel patterns in the words. This was an area we all still need to work on - identified in the spelling testing done on Monday.
3. Social Justice Week activity: a connection card 
4. Speeches: We made a start last week looking at the structure of a speech. Charlotte and Lily did an amazing job of reconstructing a cut up speech, finding the attention grabbing opening, putting some facts into a logical order, then finding the closing sentence. This week we will look at getting our information as well as writing exciting openings. Don't let this stop you from organising your speech at home.
5. Maths: websites for practice. How are you all going on Maths Buddy? Remember that this freebie is for us to trial what is available. You will be asked at the end of the year for your opinion on whether this should be funded in 2018.

An activity for Social Justice Week is to share a "little act of kindness" at home and reflect on how this makes us feel. Check the poetry books at the end of the week, as our poem is entitled "Kindness".

Koura Farm Visit - Tuesday 19th September

Rooms 7 and 3 Koura Farm Visit

Tuesday 19 September 2017

As part of this term’s inquiry, “What’s it like to be a Fish?” Room 7, and “What’s it like to be a ______?” Room 3, we are biking to the Diver’s Koura Farm on Waldron Road. (This is halfway between Chicago Street and the road to the airport.) There is a $4 charge per child (adults free) for the tour of the farm. This covers a 45 minute lesson of the farm with live crayfish to study and other activities to follow this. The children will also see the crayfish in their natural environment. If you are interested in having a look their website is: www.sweetkoura.co.nz

We will have an early playtime at 10:30 and leave on our bikes at 11am, returning to school by 2:45pm.  All children will wear their school sports uniform and trainers. They will also need:

• a bike - now is the time to check that tyres, brakes etc are all in good order

• a well fitted helmet
• rain jacket
• gumboots to put on at the farm
• a good sized packed lunch
• water bottle
• sunscreen & a school sunhat

Hi Viz jackets will be provided.

To allow us to confirm this trip we need about 10 parent helpers who can bike with us. Mrs Stratford will drive an emergency vehicle. Please let your child’s teacher know as soon as possible if you are available to help on this day. No preschoolers on this trip please.

Looking forward to this learning experience.

Neroli Laidlaw & Chris Beilby

Wednesday Afternoons = Dance

Late notice I know but for the next 3 Wednesday afternoons I will be on CRT release and Mrs Chamberlain will be teaching dance in Room 3. Sports uniforms on Wednesdays.

Morning Programme

Hi All

Well done to those who presented their Morning Programme on Friday especially after their big day up the mountain!

You all did really well!!

Thank you😊

Week 7 Term 3

What a wonderful day we all had at the Snow Farm.  So much learning, not just the skiing but also about how quickly the weather can change in mountain areas. Thank you Danny Knowles for also arranging for us to end the day with the husky dogs - we have so many people with a passion for animals.  Many thanks to all the parents who accompanied us on this day and took amazing care of the participants. It was very reassuring to know how well all the skiers were being supervised when Sam and I watched white out conditions come down on the field for a short time.
The planned Kapahaka trip to the Polyfest in Dunedin has been cancelled due to a variety of reasons. The Kapahaka group have several other local performances planned this year.
Gymnastics: Friday - please wear tracksuits. This is assessment week where Sharelle and I will be revisiting the skills taught, so appropriate clothing will be important.

Homework

1. Reading: remember to complete your reading log. With so many people absent on Friday, many logs were not at school, so I'll look at these on Friday at the end if this week.
2. Spelling: looking at the 'ou' spelling pattern again this week. We are learning to sample our words and as good readers look at what looks right. For example: now, nou both use a spelling pattern for the sound - 'sharp eyes' need to decide which one looks right. This week we will be retesting spelling to check how we are going with our tooling and sampling of long vowel spelling patterns.
3. Eisteddfod speeches: in class we will be learning how to write a speech and I am fine with children using this speech for their eisteddfod if they want. If you are helping your child with a speech at home it is a good idea to choose something that they are really passionate about and already know something about. This means that they are much more able to talk confidently. We will look at using the hamburger, when writing the speech. See separate post for the marking criteria.

Great to have spring weather to enjoy the outdoors. Please be sure to wear the correct uniform. Have a great week Room 3 team.

Speech Eisteddfod Assessment Criteria

Speeches Assessment Criteria

Time:  Year 3 = 1.5 minutes                   Year 4 = 2 minutes

Writing:

Write a speech using this structure:

*Introduction – Who? What? When? Why? How? Try an interesting question or comment to “grab” the audience’s attention.

*Paragraphs/Headings: Each paragraph will be about a different part of the topic. Show a clear sequence of ideas.

*Conclusion: Sum up your topic. Leave the audience with an interesting thought or message.

Presenting/Speaking:

·      Speak clearly so the audience can hear all that is said.

·      Use expression in your voice.

·      Pause for effect.

·      Use pictures or props to add interest.

·      Make eye contact with the audience.

Assessment	Developing (1)	Achieved (2)	Achieved to a high level (3)
Content Introduction “grabs” attention Clear structure (Opening/paragraphs/conclusion)
Clear sequence of ideas
Interesting vocabulary
Delivery/Expression Clear voice Good pace/used the full time Eye contact Stance/Props TOTAL =      / 25
	+ 1 mark for Plan

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