A Special Visit

Today at at assembly we had some people from the board of trustees and the NEXT foundation. Rachel also visited. Mr Johnston, Rachel and Bill Kermode (the CEO of the NEXT foundation) got up on stage and talked about the Summer Learning Journey. Some students from PBS also got to talk including myself. We also got to watch a video staring one of our fellow students. The movie was about the Summer Learning Journey program. Here is a link to the video. 

Collaborative Christmas Challenge - Denmark

This week LS2 have been learning about Christmas traditions in different countries. My group decided to choose Denmark as our country to learn about. We created a DLO with information about how Denmark celebrate Christmas. Once we completed our DLO we created a screencastify.

Google Game

Today LS2 have been playing one of the google games. The point of the game is trying to get the rabbit to the carrot. You have to drag the correct arrows and put them in the tray. You also have to put the arrows in the correct order so that rabbit can get to the carrot.

Geometry

This week for maths we have been working on geometry activities. I have taken a screenshot of one of the activities I have completed. For this activity there were two sheets. One with the instructions and the other one to draw. We had to follow the dots link each one up until it says stop on the instruction sheet. After we finished drawing we coloured it in.

Tech Reflection

Every week on Friday the year seven and eight students Panmure Bridge School would go down to Tamaki College for Tech. This year we had three rotations. For the year eights our rotations were (in order) cooking, graphics and hard materials. At cooking we learnt how to make lots of different foods like pies, quiches and chocolate truffles. Our teacher was Mrs Heka. In this rotation we learnt how to follow instructions. At graphics we learnt how to make clocks. I made a basketball clock. Our teacher was Ms Ferguson. At hard materials our teach was Mr Grundy. At that rotation we learnt how to make stained glass windows. I decided that my design was a rocket. In this rotation I learnt how to cut glass and tin it.

Hazel's Visit - Summer Learning Journey

On Friday Hazel visited Panmure Bridge School to tell us about the Summer Learning Journey program that is held during the Christmas holidays. The program contains lots of activities. It starts on the 18th of December and ends on the 26th of January. The top three bloggers from each school will be given a prize. It is great that the year eights are still allowed to participate even though they are going to college next year. The Summer Learning Journey is great for students because when they come back to school they will improve their learning.

Police Helicopter Visit

Recently we had visit from a police helicopter and a police dog with it's handler. The whole school sit on the field waiting for the helicopter to land. I was really amazed when the helicopter landed because the wind from the helicopter was so powerful grass was flying everywhere. The officers who came out of the helicopter told us about their job and what they do. After the helicopter left we had some visits from a German Shepard. The German Shepard demonstrated how it uses its nose to help police officers.

Inter-School Athletics

Yesterday some students from Panmure bridge School went down to Lloyd Elsmore Park to participate in the inter-school athletics. The events I was participating in were 100 meter sprints, high jump and long jump. In the morning the boys were doing the track events and the girls were doing the field events. In my heat I came third. After that we had a break. My next event was long jump. I tried my best and managed to come first. The event after I participated in was high jump. We didn't get to finish it because most people had to do relays. I had a really great time and had a lot of fun.

Fire Station Summary

This is my summary about our time at the Panmure Fire Station. I worked with Jeremiah L, Zane and Harlem M. We first chose 20 important words then from those 20 words we chose the 6 most important words. We then wrote our 25 words summary including the 6 words in it.

Fire Station Trip

On Tuesday LS1 and LS2 went to the Panmure Fire Station. We learnt about Fire trucks and the different tools they have in it. The firefighters also demonstrated how they got someone out of a car if they are trapped inside of it. The tools they used were called spreaders and cutters. It was a really fun experience and enjoyed our time.

Why Your Teeth Should Stay Healthy

This week LS2 have been focusing on sharing a community message. Eric, Lyric and I created a prezi to show our learning. In our prezi we talked about why your teeth should stay healthy and what happens if you don't keep them healthy. Our targeted audience is Room 5.

Summarising DLO

Today Lyndon and I have completed our summarising DLO. For this activity we first read our book that we chose. Then we chose 20 important words from that book and wrote them down. We then chose the 6 most important word from the 20 words. After that we wrote a 25 word summary also including the 6 words we chose.

Manaiakalani Film Festival 2017

Yesterday Panmure Bridge School went down to Hoyts Cinemas at Sylvia Park for the annual Manaiakalani Film Festival. There we got to watch movies created by other schools in the Manaiakalani cluster. This year celebrates the 10th year the Manaiakalani Film Festival has happened. My favourite film was called I've Got a Bad Feeling About This which created by LS1 from our school. Here is a link to the films from this year.

Link

Animal Adaption

This week we've been using our smart searching skills to find out how animals adapt to their environment. All of the students in LS2 had to choose an animal with the same letter at their first name. Since my name starts with "A", I decided to do the Arctic Fox. I used google presentation to create and share my learning. 

Staying Safe Around Fireworks

LS1 and LS2 have been learning about the story of Guy Fawkes. We then got into groups of four and have been asking questions to each other. Since Guy Fawkes day is coming up really soon, in our groups we have come up with three ways on how to stay safe from fireworks. 

My Explanation

How Children Learn At School

Children have lots of different way of learning. They are really curious. Learning is really important for children because it helps the gain knowledge. One way children learn is by asking questions. They also give feedback and ask for feed forward.

When they ask for feed forward they get learn new things which could help them in different areas of learning. Children often watch role models and copy what they do.

When children are unsure of what to do they either listen to others carefully or watch others do. They can also search it up on the internet.

When children reflect about their learning they can see where they have gone wrong and what they have to improve on. They take risks to learn new things and get a new experience.

Children have lots of different ways to learn at school. They are really curious. Learning is a really important part of a children's time at school because it helps the gain knowledge and helps them build confidence in learning.

For this task we were working in partners to write an explanation. I worked with Fatongia. We then showed another pair our explanation and they gave us feedback and feed forward. Our feedback wast that we have great ideas and our writing is well layed out. Our feed forward was that we should try not to repeat things.

Screencastify - Finding Fractions Of An Amount

Last week Mrs Grant came to LS2 to teach us how to create a screencastify. For this we firstly had to write our scripts and make sure we had all the tabs we needed open. Next we clicked on the screencastify extension and clicked record. I had to make sure I was speaking loud and clear. I then listened to my recording to see if it was good. I like using screencastify because it is a different way of showing my learning.

Inter-school Rugby Union

Today the Panmure Bridge rugby teams went down to Dunkirk Reserve to participate in the inter-school rugby competition. Our first game was against Glen Taylor. We tried our best but unfortunately they won. After that we had a bye. During that time we were working on spreading out and communicating with each other. Our second match was against Glenbrae. This was a really close game we tried really hard but they won 17 to 10. Our third game was against Glen Innes School. That was our closes game yet. Sadly we lost. The score was 10 to 12. Our last game was against Tamaki Primary. As soon as the game started they scored a try. Through out the whole game they were scoring tries but we didn't give up. We all had a really fun time.

PBS Blogging Challenge - Bonus Activity

 For this bonus activity the task was to a watch a YouTube clip about one Rainbow's End's rides (the Fearfall). Then I had to choose a ride to recommend to a friend and explain why. Then I have to explain what I would feel if I went on that ride.

PBS Blogging Journey - Day 1 Activity 2

For activity 2 the task was to find out the minimum height to ride the stratosphere and why I think there is a height restriction. There are two different modes of the ride, the very extreme and the less extreme. For the very extreme mode, the minimum height is 150 centimeters. For the less extreme mode the minimum height 130 centimeters. I that there are height restrictions because if you are to small or short there is a possibility that you will slip of your seat and fall which could badly hurt you or worse.

PBS Blogging Journey - Day 1 Activity 1

For this activity, I had to use google maps to locate Rainbow's end, find out how much it costs for a family pass and I had to find out how much it would cost for my family to go there. I found this activity harder than I thought.

Scale Drawings

In LS2 we have been focusing on scale drawings . We first had to choose an image that we were going to draw. I decided that I would like to draw the Milwaukee Bucks (a NBA team) logo. Next we had to make a grid on top of the picture. After that we would do the same thing but we had to make our drawing twice as big. The hardest part for me was drawing the grids because most of the time the squares weren't even.

2017 Panmure Bridge Production - Dancing Through The Decades

To celebrate the 60th birthday for Panmure Bridge School did a production. Each class had a decade that they had to dance from. In LS2 we have the 70's and 80's and our songs are Stayin Alive, I See Red and Footloose. I am in the Stayin Alive group. I think did really well and remembered all of our moves. I am also in the Senior Kapa Haka group. We performed three songs. We getting better and are learning to sing louder.

Princess Bride Character Introduction

In LS2 we have been doing a film study about the movie The Princess Bride. Once we watched the movie, I made a DLO about the character introductions that happen in the film. The character introductions are about the main characters who are Buttercup, Westley, Inigo, Fezzik, Vizzini and Prince Humperdink.

Kiwi Can

For Kiwi Can today, LS2 played three games: The objects game, hand soccer and 10 down. In the objects game, we had to use a hula hoop to act out different objects like a trashcan or a basketball hoop. For the second round, we had to use two pieces of paper to act out different objects like some tissues or a book. Hand soccer is basically soccer but instead of using your feet, you use your hands. 10 down is a game where you pass a ball to a teammate who taps the ball on the ground and passes it to another teammate. Once your team taps the ball on the ground 10 times, your team wins. The opposition has the same objective (Tap the ball on the ground 10 times). We all had a fun and amazing time.

Inter-School Cross Country

Yesterday the year 3-8 students who came first, second and third from the school cross country went down to Bailey Road for the inter-school cross country. Since I am a year eight, I had to do four laps. The other year eight boys who were with me were Te Wai and Daniel. We all did really well and all managed to come in the top ten.

Finding Out About Coalitions

Today in LS2 we were learning about coalitions and how they can affect the elections. A coalition is an alliance to form a government. In the New Zealand elections, Winston Peters who is the NZ First party leader decides if the National party or the Labour party win the election.

PBS Cross Country

Last Thursday Panmure Bridge went to Dunkirk Park to have our school cross country. Boys and girls went one at a time and everyone ran in their year groups except for the senior classes. I was in a race with year seven and eights. We had to run five laps of the course. In my race the top three year seven boys and the top three year eight boys would go to the inter-school cross country. I did really well and I managed to tie first with my friend Daniel.

Flowchart For Democracy In NZ

This flowchart is about democracy about NZ. We had to define the word democracy. We had to write in order the people that hold most power over NZ. I learnt that Democracy comes from Greece. I worked with Eric, CJ, Shannon, Fraidoon, Daniel and Oh hsen to complete this flowchart.

What Is A Prime Minister?

This week LS2 have been learning about the role of a Prime Minister. For this task we had to choose a former New Zealand Prime Minister and find out what he changed during his/her time as Prime Minister. We decided to pick David Lange. For this task I worked with Shannon, Oh Hsen, Eric, Daniel, Fraidoon and CJ.

Government Parties

This week LS2 have been learning about what an election is and the New Zealand political parties. On Saturday there will be an election to decide who will be the Prime Minister of New Zealand. For this task I worked with Eric, CJ, Daniel, Oh Hsen, Fraidoon and Shannon. We also had to find out who the leader is for each party. Here is the link to our DLO.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_BF2PcBIzstlgLNxDAsBi4ELhi7WgYflR7-_r6n2Zao/edit

Read An E-Book Day

Today is read an e-book day (18th September). Read an e-book is a day where we read books online which is modern story telling. LS2 have been using Tamaki College's Overdrive to read E-Books at school. There are lots of different books and genres. I am currently reading a book about U.S. Presidents. If you want to find out more about read an e-book you can click on this link. #eBookLove

Say It Tika

Today we watched a video called Say It Tika. The video includes a famous New Zealand person and he Temuera Morrison. He talks about about pronouncing Maori places in New Zealand correctly. We went to the say it tika site and pinned three places we thought people find trouble pronouncing.

Tech

Today LS2 went to Tamaki College for tech. We had our new rotations and they are art, stained glass windows and cooking. The year eights are doing stained glass windows with Mr Grundy. We have started to draw our design and colour them in. Near the end of our session we spent a little time learning how to cut glass. I can't wait to see what my design will look like when I have finished it.

Tamaki College Overdrive

Today LS2 have been reading books on the Tamaki College Overdrive. There have been lots of new books that have been added on. I decided to read a book about U.S. Presidents. The Tamaki College Overdrive is useful and really easy to use.

2 Word Sentences DLO

For writing this week we have been learning about two word sentences. In a two word sentence there is a subject and a verb. We written some two word sentences on the board and then we had to choose three of them to make them into compound and complex sentences.

A Day At Tamaki College

Today the year eights from Panmure Bridge School stayed at Tamaki College for a day to experience what it would be like if we decide to go there. First we had technology as normal. We were doing stained glass windows with Mr Grundy. After that we had morning tea. Tamaki College was really kind and provided morning tea and lunch for us. Our first class was Maths and our teacher was Mr Jones. We played a game called Battleships. After that we headed off to Science where we did some cool experiments using static electricity. Our teachers were Mr Stoddard and Mr Singh. Then it was lunch time. We had Subway for lunch. Four of our students who showed the Tamaki College values got a $5 dollar tuck shop voucher. I got a voucher for showing Responsibility. Our next class was English and our teacher was Mr Stevenson. Their we had to look at some words carefully and memorise them. We then had to write them down on a document and find images of the words. Our last class was P.E. Our teacher was Mr Moyes. We played a game of Turbo Touch. I had a really fun day and I would like to give a really big thank you to everyone who looked after us at our time there.

Bullying Animation

Today in LS2 we have been talking about bullying. We did this because we are old enough to learn how to stick up for ourselves. If you see someone who is getting bullied, remember to help the victim or you will be as bad as the bully. If you are being bullied use your WITS. They are walk away, ignore, tell someone and stand up. I created this animation with Oh Hsen, Shannon and Daniel.

Capitalisation

In my writing group we have been learning how to use capital letters correctly. You are supposed to use capital letters at the beginning of a sentence, a name of a person, name of a place, acronyms and names of tv shows/movies.

Apostrophes

For writing this week we have been learning about apostrophes. Our first task was to complete the contractions. I found this task very easy, because I completed this activity really fast. When I completed this task I learnt that apostrophes are used in two different ways.

Tech - My Clock Design

This week at tech was our last session for our second rotation. Everyone has completed their clocks. The design that I chose for my clock was a basketball. I first had to finish painting my design and my side pieces. Then we glued our pieces together. Then Mrs Anderson and Ms Ferguson put the clock mechanisms inside.

Reciprocal Reading Evaluation DLO

For reading this week Fraidoon taught us how to do reciprocal reading. We were recorded having a learning conversation. The next day we watched the video to see what we did. I saw that I was on task and was working well with my group. I think that I need to work on asking more questions when I am unsure of something and to talk a little bit more.

Fraction DLO

For maths this week we have been learning how to divide fractions. We learnt a new strategy. It is called cross multiplication. We used this strategy to solve the maths word problems that we were working on. We then had to chose question A, B, C, D or E from problem 4.

Career/Job DLO

Recently LS2 have started learning about careers jobs. We did a quiz about jobs and careers and when we have completed it, it will have chosen some jobs they think we would be interested in. We then had to choose one of those jobs and make a DLO about it. I decided to chose an architect. Architects design different kinds of buildings.

Tech

At tech the year eights have been doing graphics with Ms Ferguson. Ms Ferguson wasn't here today so we had a reliever. Today instead of completing our clocks we were drawing some cool flowers stars and cubes only using circles. To make these patterns I needed a pencil, ruler and a compass. While I was doing this activity I learnt how to use a compass properly.

Women's Suffrage Sketchnote

For reading we have been learning about Kate Sheppard and the women's suffrage movement. The suffrage movement happened over one hundred years ago. In our sketchnote we have added in some definitions of words and have answered some questions. For this task I worked with Te Wai, Lyndon and Daniel. We all had to talk with each other about our learning so that everyone knows what we have been learning about.

Kate Sheppard DLO

For reading we have been learning about a really famous New Zealander. Her name is Kate Sheppard. She had a big impact on women rights. In our DLO we had to find out why she is famous, what she did, who she was and he personality qualities. I worked with Te Wai, Lyndon and Daniel. We had to do a lot of talking about our learning so everyone knew what to do.

Dance

In LS2 we have been practicing our dance moves for the school production that Zoe has taught us. The type of learning we were doing was called rewindable learning. We were split into three groups and each of them doing a different song. My group is doing Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees. The other two groups are doing I See Red and Footloose. Yesterday Mrs Anderson recorded us doing our dance moves. We then watched the video and tried to see what we could improve on. We found out that we had to be in time with each other and to go in the same direction.

Maths DLO

Today for maths Daniel and I worked together to complete a set of fraction word problems. After we solved all of them we had to chose one word problem to put in our DLO. We both found the fraction word problems quite easy.

Winter Learning Journey Participation and Awards

Today Rachel came to our school to give out certificates to the people who participated in the Winter Learning Journey over the holidays. It was really amazed to hear that there were more participating than last time. The people who managed to come first, second and third managed to win a prize. Daniel and Oh Hsen came first, I managed to tie second with Alex and Eric and Ofa came third. I would like to thank Rachel and her team for doing a fantastic job running this programme and I can't wait to participate in the next one.

Tech

For tech the year eights have been doing Graphic with Ms Ferguson. The past weeks we have been planning our design for our clocks. We had to draw it on paper first then get cut out using the laser cutter. After our designs got cut out we had to draw the out lines that are going to be on it. Then when we finished that we had to paint our designs. I decided to make a basketball clock.

Women's Suffrage Summary

In reading we have been looking at the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand which was led by Kate Sheppard over 100 years ago. Our task was to write a 25 word summary about what the suffrage movement was about. To finish this task my group and I had to work collaboratively, talk with each other and ask questions. We learnt that Kate Sheppard and the rest of the women that were apart of the suffrage movement had a huge impact on the way New Zealand is today.

Maths DLO

Today for maths I had to solve a maths word problem. There were three questions to the word problem. Once solved the word problem we had to create a DLO on the third question and how we solved it. I had to use my addition and multiplication skills.

Hyperbole

Today, I finished a writing task about hyperboles. We had to write our story about our unfortunate walk home. In our stories we had to add in five hyperboles. Hyperboles are extreme exaggerated statements which aren't meant to be taken seriously.

Ordering Fractions

Today for maths, we played a warm up game about ordering fractions. After that we did a test about ordering fractions. The test was a little bit harder than the warm up game. I managed to get all of the questions correct which was really good.

Why is it so important to keep oral story telling alive?

Today Daniel and I created a 25 word summary to answer the question: Why is it so important to keep oral story telling alive? For this task, we had to listen to some videos that gave answers to the question. The videos were spoken in Maori so we had to use subtitles. We had to work collaboratively with our partners to complete this task. Our summary had 26 words because it sounded better that way.

It’s important to teach younger generations about Maori storytelling to remember the past. It keeps the cultural and traditional stories alive so they won’t be forgotten.

Winter Learning Journey - Bonus Activity

For this activity I had to blog about my week.  In my summary I had to write what I learnt, what I liked and what I disliked. I learnt that people are doing their best to try and save whales. I have also learnt more about New Zealand than before. I liked how the theme was the great kiwi road trip and we got to learn about our country and culture. I didn't dislike anything. I was really shocked that we have invented quite a few things like the bungee jump.

Winter Learning Journey Day 7 Activity 2

For this activity I had to take a photo of myself doing something that I find relaxing. I  decided to take a photo of myself sleeping.

Winter Learning Journey - Day 7 Activity 1

For this activity I had to come up with three things I can do to make my neighbourhood look more beautiful.

1. Pick up rubbish even if it doesn't belong to you.

2. Get more rubbish bins.

3. Have daily times where you have to pick up rubbish around your neighborhood/house.

Winter Learning Journey - Bonus Activity

For this activity I had to watch three different videos of the All Blacks performing the haka before their match. I then had to order the videos from best (#1) to worst (3#). 

#1. World Cup 2015 – All Blacks vs Argentina

#2. Rugby World Cup 2011- All Blacks vs France

#3. All Blacks vs South Africa 2016

Winter Learning Journey - Day 6 Activity 2

For this activity I had to write down any three events that is happening in the Matariki festival at the Te Papa museum.

1. Ukulele playing
2. Balloon sculpture making
3. There is plays to watch

Winter Learning Journey - Day 6 Activity 1

For this activity I had imagine that I have never been to New Zealand before and I was on the first waka (canoe) to arrive at Shag Point (one of five places in the South Island that Maori people settled. I then have to write a poem about what I would feel when I arrived.

Discovered new land that has never seen before,

I couldn't wait to get off my waka and explore.

As I went to go up and stand on the sand,

I had a wonderful view of this beautiful land.

I was so happy that we somewhere new to live,

we have this whole land to ourselves it is really massive.

Winter Learning Journey - Bonus Activity

For this activity I had to to say if I would like to cycle the Otago Rail trail one day. I say yes because it sound like loads of fun. Another reason is because I really like riding my bike. It will be a really good exercise for me since it is 150 km. 

Winter Learning Journey - Day 5 Activity 2

For this activity I had to research and learn about a famous New Zealander and create a DLO about him/her. In that DLO I had to write her/his (in my case his) name, why he was famous, where he was born and two interesting facts about him. I chose Neil Finn because I like the songs that he has written over the years.

Winter Learning Journey - Day 5 Activity 1

For this activity I have to pretend that I got lost in a forest all by myself. I have to write a short story (8-10 sentences) about what might happen next.

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining bright. I was enjoying the wonderful view of the beautiful forest when I realized that I have wandered off by myself. Desperately trying to find help. I started to call out. I was shouting as loud as a lions roar. Only having a bottle of water and an apple, it will be really hard to find some food and water. I couldn't go much further so I decided to have a nap. An hour later I was woken up from a strong noise not far away. I got up to find out what it was. It was the rest of my group looking for me and that was my most happiest moment of my life.

Winter Learning Journey - Bonus Activity

For this activity I had to form my opinion about people fishing in Farewell Spit. I think that we should ban people from fishing in Farewell Spit. Many Hector's dolphins are dying each year by getting caught by large fishing nets. They can fish somewhere else where they are not near the Hector's dolphins. Since Hector's dolphins are endangered they can possibly become extinct. 

Winter Learning Journey - Day 4 Activity 2

For this activity I had to watch to movie trailers of a movie called Whale Rider. After that I had to write a summary of the movie and rate it out of five. The movie is about a girl's twin brother who was going to become the next chief of their tribe but he dies at birth. Only men were allowed to become chiefs of their tribes but that custom was changed after the twin brother dies and the sister survives. I give this movie a four out of five because I'm curious to see what happens in the movie.

Winter Learning Journey - Day 4 Activity 1

For this activity, I had to read about a place called Farewell Spit. It was in the news recently where some whales accidentally swam into the spit and got stuck on the beach. They couldn’t swim back out to the sea because the water was to shallow. The local people tried their best to save them, but sadly many of them died. I have to describe what the local people did to try and save the whales. The locals did these things:

• Put cloths and towels on them.
• They grab their chilly bins, water bottles, cooking pots and mixing bowls to fill with water to keep the whales wet.
• Pour buckets of water on them.

Winter Learning Journey - Day 3 Activity 2

For this activity I had to read about how people in New Zealand are working to kill pests like possums. I need to form an opinion and give three reasons why I think that way. I think that New Zealanders are doing the right thing by getting rid of the pests because:

1. They are eating the eggs of other animals like the Kokako.

2. They have diseases that can spread to other animals.

3. The pests damage native trees.

Winter Learning Journey - Day 3 Activity 1

For this activity I had to decide which New Zealand native animal I would adopt. I decided to adopt a Kea. Kea's are parrots (a type of bird). They are known to be cheeky. Kea's are omnivores so that means that they can eat both plants and meat. Wild Kea's only exist in the South Island.