Be the Inspiration for the Olympics

Part of an inquiry task was to create a visual format to entice New Zealanders to get in behind the Olympics.
Rani created this video to inspire New Zealanders to back the Olympic team as well as  reflect the Olympic motto.
A simple theme but well displayed with a strong New Zealand feel to the background, Rani has certainly called attention to inspire people to support our athletes in Rio.

2016 HNI Year 8 Cross Country

Although our numbers were down due to the campylobacter virus, we still managed to field the numbers to participate in the annual race.  

We had been training for four weeks and watching our times closely while doing so.

There was a great deal of satisfaction when the racing was completed.  All over for another year!!!!

Soft Olympics in Maths - Statistics Style

Georgia is participating in the Long Blast, one of the Soft Olympic activities we carried out in maths this week.

 As part of celebrating the Olympics, we carried out some sporting activities in maths, in a rather different format.  We had a range of adapted sports that suited being in the classroom and could be carried out in teams.

We participated in, and recorded the distances for the:

• Discus    (throwing a sponge)
• Long Blast    (blowing a ping pong ball to see how far we could be it in one breath)
• Shot put    (throwing a cotton wool ball)
• Javelin    (throwing a toothpick)
• Long Thump   (how far you can flick a counter, Tiddly Winks style).

We recorded in whole metres and for some students, this was new learning.

We will be analysing our group and class results, using mean, mode, median and range.

The data will be graphed in various forms and compared between groups, as a statistical investigation.

An outcome of this will be to look at other Olympic sports which can be made into class activities for maths.

Lots of fun was had as well.  

Science In Action: Gravity and Friction

Another busy afternoon finding out about forces in our lives.

Classroom Display of Growth Mindset

These two displays are on windows alongside where many groups sit. The class are reminded often of the importance of Growth Mindset; some students have picked the idea up quickly and are applying it to their thinking.

The concept of 'mistake making' is encouraged and challenged.

The Class Logo of 'Mistakes are espected, inspected and respected' is also heard during lessons, especially during maths.

Students have been heard sharing the Growth Mindset ideas with others while they are working together.

The word 'Yet' is often used with a smile, albeit a knowing one.

Example of Maths: TIP Chart for Fractions

Leah has created this chart to show her understanding of six concepts related to fractions.

She has presented her thinking in the form of Term, Information, Picture.

TIP Chart for Fractions

Term	Information	Picture
Fraction	I went to a birthday and I ate 1/10 there was 9/10 left.
Denominator	Shows the number of parts in a whole.
Numerator	The numerator is the top number which tells how much or the cake is eaten.
Equivalent fraction	An Equivalent fraction is ( 1/2 2/4 4/8 )  are all equivalent fractions.
Improper fraction	A improper fraction is ( 13/4 ) so the numerator is bigger than the denominator.
Mixed fraction	A mixed fraction is ( 2 1/3 ).

Motivation to Write

Today we watched this trailer for the Olympics as motivation to write using action verbs as well as learning how adverbs can create more exciting writing.

Tomorrow, we will be developing adverbial phrases from the  words we have used today.

The video needed to be viewed quite a few times as the images and actions needed to be seen repeatedly, in order to create some  vibrant vocabulary.

Roll on the Olympics, for further gripping images in words.

Vibrant Vocabulary in Room 17 This Term

The focus in writing in early Term Three is on Vibrant Vocabulary.

We have started with a poem called 'Be Specific' where writers are encouraged to describe exactly what is seen, felt, experienced rather than using genre real terms.  The result of this has been some amazingly descriptive texts. They will feature on this blog as they are proof-read and produced. 

We have had to find out the definitions of some of the words in the classroom display, which is exactly what I have aimed at the students doing, in order to diversify their own vocabularies.

Weasel Words will exist no more in Room 17!!!

   Not in Room 17!

Change Makers Theme For Term Three

The key themes for this term is Change Makers: Grit, Guts and Genius.

We are looking at what makes a change makers, identifying some of them, both nationally and internationally. 

We will then be looking at what makes us change makers and the attributes that are needed to be one.

Room 17 students will be carrying out actions to make a a change a within their world.      

We are also looking at the impact change has had on people who are athletes going to the Olympics, both as paralympians and able bodied sports people.