Term 4 update

The school year is quickly nearing its end with year 7s soon to become the Year 8s at Broadgreen and our Year 8s nearing the step up to College.

The focus for this term is enterprise where students work towards creating and marketing a product or service for Market Day in week 8. This follows on from some of the great work the class produced during their Wolves Lair challenge last term.

Our literacy work complements this by focusing on advertising. We will look at how we are convinced to buy products and services and how we can use these tools to promote our own products in print, radio and television. We will also be looking at synthesising, evaluating and visualising during reading comprehension.

Mathematics this term looks at geometry and then algebra to finish the year. Students in Whakatu are streamed among the three teachers in our house.

Sport in term 4 is based mainly around athletics as we build to Athletics day on November 23. The interschool athletics day is on November 26. We will also complete fitness testing to compare against personal fitness scores from the first term.

The Christchurch South exchange goes ahead in week 6, there is a school disco in week 8 and the year finishes with a talent quest and assemblies in the last week.

There will also be a class/house outing later in the term to celebrate our year - time and event yet to be decided.

Wolves Lair

During term 3 Room 13 worked through a Wolves Lair challenge where they learned about creating a new product with the aim of getting investment in their business. If you have ever watched the programme Dragon's Den then it is a similar pitch we were looking for as a final product.

The students were challenged to create a product or service that could be sold during next year's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand when there will be a lot of extra tourists in the country.

There were some brilliant ideas featuring loads of Kiwiana including NZ t-shirts, coasters, calendar/diary, Kiwi goodie bag, Kiwiana clocks, collage, hand-made wallets, dice, sheep, wool, postcards and more.

The panel decided the idea that would most likely make money was a set of three shaped and iced gingerbread - a rugby player, a rugby ball and a William Webb Ellis Trophy - created by Kate, Kanya and Hien.

The panel thought the presentation that was most like one you could see in the business world was from James, with his graphs, explanation of how the investment would be spent, how much he expected to sell, and profit expected.

Mount Robert reflections

the Mount Robert trip was exhausting challanging and fun

BLAKE

MountRobert trip was exciting fun challenging

BAILEE.

The Mount Robert trip was Fun, Exciting and Tiring.

BEN.

THE MOUNT ROBERT TRIP WAS COOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

FlYNn

The Mount Robert trip was reeeeaallyy fun but challenging and hard :]

KiM :] LOL

The Mt Robert was not cool

Rhys :D

the mount robert trip was boring because of all the stops we had to make

REGGIE :)

the mount robert trip was hot and cold and funn

jack

Term 3 update for Room 13

This term is full of big events with the major one for our class the tramp up Mount Robert on August 23 This will help reinforce some of the learning from our Landforms work in term two with the landscape formed by faulting, folding and then glaciers. It will help keep up the team work and spirit in the class and maintain our fitness focus through the winter months. Parent help is required. See separate notice for complete details.

Of course this term also sees many in our class involved in the school production in week three. Winter tournament is in week four. Reports head home in between those events while 3-way conferences are in week five. The term finishes with a number of students from Broadgreen heading down State Highway 6 for the Christchurch South exchange.

Our term three topic is Forces where we look at everything that pushes and pulls us and the world around us. Every Thursday afternoon those students in Whakatu House not in Future Problem Solvers will be working through a unit called Wolves Lair, where students use their creativity and problem solving to create new products along the lines of the television programme Dragons Den. We will also be covering pubertal change and life education in health.

Reading in term three will see students learning to self question before, during and after reading and then we will move into inferencing.

The maths focus is proportions and ratios so understanding fractions and decimals and then how to compare, add, subtract, multiply and divide them.

Our writing and presenting this term should suit many intermediate students as we look at writing arguments and debating.

Speech master

Congratulations to Kate who represented Room 13 outstandingly well in the school speech competition. Her speech on turning the world chocolate earned her third place and made everyone desperately hungry for some chocolate.

Boulder Bank and Barnicoat walks

Term 2 has seen room 13 join the rest of Whakatu house in two serious days of walking as we build up to our Mount Robert walk on August 23.

The first walk was at the start of the Boulder Bank, which linked in with our studying of landforms this term and how the Boulder Bank was formed. We walked up above the eroding cliffs at Mackay's Bluff and also along the early part of the bank where the boulders have started moving on their journey, via longshore drift, towards Tahunanui Beach.

The walk up the Barnicoat from school proved a longer challenge with an added bonus of watching and helping paragliders at the top.

Term 2

We have a lot to cover in our 11 week term with the overall unit, Our World. In this topic we will look at the local landscapes and how they came to exist, as well as a sub-topic on environmental studies.

Our writing focus is explanation writing to go along with our topic.

The unit will also see several physical excursions during the term. In week four, May 12, we will be walking along Nelson’s unique natural landform, the Boulder Bank, in week seven, June 2, we will be walking up the Barnicoat and later in the term (or early in term 3 – date to be confirmed) we will be tramping up Mount Robert.

With this big day trip in mind, improving students’ fitness is also a focus this term. On Wednesday’s between 10.40 and 12.10 Whakatu house will be rotating through three different fitness programmes – a walking group, a jogging group and circuits in the hall.

The numeracy part of the maths programme is underway this term with students remaining in room 13 to work together in groups of their own ability. We will be starting work on the key building blocks of addition and subtraction.

Our reading programme will see students reading a lot of explanation writing to help their writing. Our focus for comprehension strategies will be on synthesising, predicting and summarising.

A smaller health unit will look at keeping ourselves safe.

Student-led conferences

In week six parents will have the opportunity to see what your students have been up to this year, where they’re at and areas they’re looking to work on during our student led three-way conferences.