Mahana Piwakawaka

The A & P Show

2011-11-28T12:41:00.001+13:00

I went to the A&P show on Sunday. First Iwent on the big!!! ferris wheel. Next I went on the titanic bouncy castleslide. Then I bought 3 lucky dip bags. for six dollars. 4th I shot 3 balloons.with 3 darts. 5th I bought a slushy. with tiger blood , apple juice ,grape juice. My slushy tasted awful- not! It tasted delicious. I put lots andlots of tiger blood. I could mostly taste the tiger blood. The tiger bloodtasted yummy. I got a soccer ball thing and a whale thing. Ifelt awesome. Then we went home. The end.

BY CODY.

Pet day

2011-11-24T09:53:00.003+13:00

On Friday Mahana School had a pets day.
I rode my horse.
I saw dogs.
I saw a wallaby.
I felt happy.

by Immy

All Blacks Chocolate

2011-11-03T10:58:00.000+13:00

I went to my Nana's house for All Blacks chocolate. It has the All Blacks flag on it. My cousins played with me. It was yum.
by Heidi

Bunk Bed

2011-11-03T09:20:00.001+13:00

I have my own bunk bed and it is big. Only I sleep in it. I sleep on the bottom and the bottom is big.
I really like it.
Nobody sleeps in it. Only my brother sleeps in it. Sometimes he does not want to.
It is made of wood.
I like it very much.
by esther

Pirate

2011-09-22T14:02:00.000+12:00

My pirate has a ring and a bandana and 3 silver teeth. He is rough and tough and salty. He has a cool patch and an awesome belt. He has a blue eye and a black t shirt.
by Eva

Filthy Business

2011-09-15T13:30:00.001+12:00

My uncle does huge farts and he nearly blows the house open.
He always makes me laugh. Most of the time he's in the shed fixing bikes.
He throws his cat from one end of the lawn to the other.
He does crazy things on his motorbike and he's always doing something.
You find him eating pots of noodles.
by Bradley

I LIKE MY DRAGON

2011-09-15T10:23:00.000+12:00

My dragon has big spikes.
It has got a wiggly tail.
By Nika.

Dragon Fighting

2011-09-15T10:19:00.000+12:00

My dragonhas six heads. He has lines on his wings.
by Jayden

My Dad

2011-09-05T09:20:00.003+12:00

My dad has glasses. He has greenish eyes. He gives me hamburgers.

by Jarn

Candy monster

2011-08-22T10:07:00.003+12:00

Earthy likes lollies. He is a lolly monter. He eats lollies a lot. He has 4 goggly eyes.

by Zeta.

The Big Giant

2011-08-22T10:06:00.006+12:00

The giant has a gigantic nose and a little wee silver tooth hanging out of it mouth. The giant has a fawn jacket and a pair of parauri sandals and a beard, including muscles. He's very hairy. He's got a wee black circle on his nose.

by Cody

The Giant

2011-08-22T09:25:00.004+12:00

The giant has hairy armpits, a beard, brown and short hair, a big nose. The giant has muscles, sandals, spiky up hair.
by Amber

Making Plastic

2011-08-11T09:48:00.004+12:00

Yesterday I made plastic. We made it out of milk. I did it with Mr Neal. You got quarter of a jar of milk. You pour the milk in the pot . Then put the pot it on the stove. When it starts to steam, you take it off the stove. Then put 2 tbsp of vinegar in the pot. Then put a sieve over a jar. Then you've got plastic.

I Wonder!

2011-08-11T08:52:00.002+12:00

I wonder how we get day and night. the world spins around the sun. When the sun is on NZ it is day. When the sun isn't on NZ it is night.

Heidi's diamond poem

2011-07-12T16:50:00.002+12:00

Hi....Heidi saw all your lovely diamond poems on the blog, and has written one about the fireworks she saw on Independence Day

Firework
Loud Boom
Sparkling Dancing Moving
Crackers Sparklers Candles Bangers
Lighting Laughing Waving
Dark Pretty
Firework

My New School

2011-07-07T09:46:00.002+12:00

My new school is cool. I like it.

by Max.

Night and Day

2011-06-23T09:56:00.000+12:00

On Monday the Piwakawaka class went in to a dark room. Kath put black paper on the windows and doors but Kath had a torch with her. She had a picture of the world. The torch was the Sun. A group of us went around the sun and my group was the Earth. I liked spinning around the Sun.

by Amber

Diamond Poems

2011-06-23T09:39:00.004+12:00

We are learning to write diamond poems. They are in the shape of a diamond. The first line is something you can hold (a noun). The next line is describing words (adjectives). The third line is something that you can do (verbs). Then a line of nouns, a line of verbs, a line of adjectives and lastly a noun. Here are our diamond poems.
By Cody

Teddy

2011-06-20T16:25:00.002+12:00

Teddy

Brown, soft

Cuddly, playing, throwing

Clifton, the king’s chair, tea party, t shirt

Sitting, climbing, sleeping

Cuddly, floppy

Teddy

by Zeta

Bikes

2011-06-20T16:25:00.001+12:00

Bikes

Fun, fast

Sitting, braking, pedaling

Handlebars, bike, pedals, footpath

Riding, turning, free riding

Exciting, scary

Bikes

by Yaz

B

2011-06-20T16:24:00.001+12:00

Bike

Fun, fast

Braking, turning, steering

Wheel, chain, helmet, seat

Pedalling, free-wheeling, riding

Happy, exciting

Bike.

by Tiana

Bike

2011-06-20T16:23:00.002+12:00

Bike

Fast, fun

Sitting, steering, stopping,

Hills, wheels, chain, handlebars

Riding, braking, turning

Cold, exciting

Bike

by Max

Fishing

2011-06-20T16:23:00.001+12:00

Fishing

Black white

Hold, standing, waiting, pulling

Bait, lifejacket, rod, bucket

Winding, sitting, walking

Small, fun

Fishing

by Jock

Sushi

2011-06-20T16:22:00.001+12:00

Sushi

Happy, hungry

Ate, eating, munch

Seaweed, teriaki, carrots, cucumber

Rolling, holding, crunch

Chewy, ricey

Sushi

by Eva

Fishing

2011-06-20T16:20:00.000+12:00

Fishing

Happy, Hot

Sit, Stand, Wait

Rod, String, Grass, Water

Steer, Catching, Winding

Mad, Tired

Fishing

by Cody

Skateboard

2011-06-20T16:19:00.000+12:00

Skateboard

Shiny, happy

Skateboarding, riding, turning

Feet, helmet, wheel, hole

Wheeling, jumping, standing

Small, fast

Skateboard

by Amber

Fishing

2011-06-20T16:18:00.000+12:00

Fishing

Cool, fun

Catching,striking,winding

Fish, bat, hook, line

Catching, cooking, eating

Annoyed, tired

Fishing

by Bradley

Adventures at Mt Baker

2011-06-16T06:39:00.003+12:00

We went to the snowy mountn, my aunt came too. It wos snowy and cold and it wos fun. we skided on our bottoms!
By Heidi

Pepper

2011-06-13T08:17:00.002+12:00

I am going to get a new puppy. It is a girl. She likes playing with a stick. We will have fun. When we go on the motorbike she is going to go on the front in a chilly bin. We are getting her on Saturday. We picked Pepper cause Pepper has a bit of black around her face.
by Eva

The Stopping Demonstration

2011-06-10T09:10:00.003+12:00

Yesterday Mahana School went to the stopping demonstration. First we answered questions.

Then we saw a car crash into a pretend person. I felt happy.

by Jock

Zeta Picard

2011-03-22T09:09:00.003+13:00

My name is Zeta Picard. I am a 6 year old girl. My eyes are blue. I have white hair. I am taller than a metre ruler. I like swimming. I like bouncing on the trampoline. I like eating sushi. I am good at swimming. I want to get better at maths.

by Zeta

The Big Present

2011-03-22T09:08:00.003+13:00

At Christmas morning I woke up and hopped out of bed and went to the Christmas tree and I saw a big present under the tree and I unwrapped the big present. It was a brand new bike and it was a hard present and I like Christmas. I was happy as, and it was too heavy. I couldn't pick it up because I can't pick up bikes.

by Cody

Going Fishing

2011-03-21T09:00:00.003+13:00

In the weekend I went fishing. I caught heaps of kahawai. We caught some bream. Something broke my line and the line went BIZZZT.

by Bradley

The School Triathlon

2011-03-21T08:59:00.002+13:00

On Friday lots of people came to the triathlon.

First running. Then biking. Next swimming. I tagged Heidi and she went to the swimming and I felt happy and my mum came too. I beat Bradley.

CORY

2010-12-08T09:46:00.004+13:00

Cory the penguin came yesterday to teach us about water safety.

2010-12-02T14:13:00.000+13:00

Damper Recipe

2010-12-02T13:24:00.002+13:00

1/2 cup self-raising flour

1tsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

pinch salt

water

Place dry ingredients (except plain flour) in a mug, then add enough water to mix to a stiff dough. Collect a long thick green stick. Flour the stick and hands with the plain flour. Roll dough into a strip, 2 cm wide, and wind around stick allowing space for swelling. Hold the stick so that the dough is over hot embers. Turn frequently, until you can remove the bread from the stick easily. Place butter in the center of the bread where the stick was. Enjoy eating!

2010-12-02T13:21:00.000+13:00

Junior Room Camp Day

2010-12-01T08:34:00.002+13:00

On the junior room camp day we cooked sausages.

Athletics Day

2010-11-16T08:46:00.004+13:00

I went to the Athletics Day. It was fun and when we got home I was tired.

Kapa Haka Fun Day by Bradley

2010-11-05T09:46:00.003+13:00

We went to Kapa Haka Fun Day. I got bored when I was in the crowd. It was fun on the stage. We sang Pa Mai and Tutira Mai. It was really really really fun!

Kapa Haka Fun Day by Athena

2010-11-05T09:05:00.002+13:00

We were performing at Kapa Haka fun day. I was crying before the performance. I didn't want to leave my mum. When I was on stage I was feeling much better.
by Athena

Pip's Gala Story

2010-10-27T09:49:00.004+13:00

At the Gala my Mum and Dad worked at the bar. I brought cola. I got some jelly. I got a 50c lolly mixture. I did the sand tray. It was cool. I got a toy dog. I called it Sploge. I got a sausage. I went on the bouncy castle. I got 1 free ride on the back of the gater. I got a spider web face paint. It was a fun day!

Gala

2010-10-27T09:47:00.002+13:00

I went to the gala on Saturday with my family. It was fun. My favorite thing was the bouncy castle. I played on it with my friends. After we got some lollies to eat they were very yummy. I liked the candy floss the most.

Millie's Blue Poem and Painting

2010-09-22T18:41:00.001+12:00

My Blue Poem

Blue sounds like a waterfall flowing.

Blue looks like the bright, bright sky.

Blue smells like the smelly sea.

Blue feels like blue silk.

Blue tastes like a delicious blueberry.

My Blue Poem

We had to make only a teeny bit of the background showing and with lots of pictures about what we wrote in our poem. In my picture I have got some blueberries, some sky, a flowing waterfall, spirally sea and some silk floating in the water. I put some spirals above the sea to make it look like it's smelly like yucky rotten fish. My picture is very blue. It has paint and pastel and we had to use black or white or both to make our pictures stand out.

Millie

Athena's Green Poem and Painting

2010-09-22T18:37:00.003+12:00

My Green Poem

Green looks like a kakariki.

Green tastes like lime gum.

Green sounds like frothy beer.

Green feels like green paint.

Green smells like trees fluttering in the breeze.

My Green Painting

I mixed blue and yellow to make green on my painting and there is a bit of yellow and a bit of blue and different shades of green on the background. I painted a bottle of beer, a mummy kakariki and and a baby kakariki, some lime gum and some green paint cans. We had to make paint strokes in the same direction.

Athena

Cody's Blue Poem and Painting

2010-09-22T18:32:00.001+12:00

My Blue Poem

Blue looks like a bluebird.

Blue smells like roses.

Blue feels like water.

Blue tastes like blueberry muffins.

Blue sounds like waves splashing.

My Blue Painting

On my painting I have a bluebird, sea waves splashing, some blueberry muffins, and a rose. We tried gold creative paint but it wouldn't shine properly so I put white over it.

Cody

Jock's Yellow Poem and Painting

2010-09-22T18:20:00.002+12:00

My Yellow Poem

Yellow sounds like bananas.

Yellow smells like flowers.

Yellow looks like the sun.

Yellow sounds like chips.

My Yellow Painting

I've got a yellow birthday cake, a rabbit, a flower, and the sun. I made my painting with yellow paint and I accidentally made some orange too. I used brown pastel to show up my pictures.

Jock

The letter Z and Zucchini Chocolate Cake

2010-09-16T20:22:00.002+12:00

This week was Z week. Our favourite Z thing was Zucchini Chocolate Cake. We made it and this cake was so delicious that we would like to share the recipe!

Zucchini Chocolate Cake

125g butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 grated zucchini

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp baking powder

1 ¼ cup flour

tons of cocoa

Cream butter and sugar, mix in eggs then zucchini.
Dissolve baking soda in milk and add to butter and sugar mixture
Mix in sifted dry ingredients
Pour into greased tin and bake at 180degrees C for 45 mins.

A big thank you to the parents who helped with cooking this term: Sarah P, Nic, Sonya, Rebecca

Business Time- Junior Room Reflections after Market Day

2010-09-16T20:17:00.003+12:00

What went well:

Customers liked our products

Customers were happy with our prices

We sold things quickly

We made the most money out of the Junior Room businesses -

we made more products too

Next time we would:

Make more products

Have more time for making our products

Make only 1 pompom per animal

Use less detail on each item

Put up prices

Market Day Was Great!

2010-09-08T22:15:00.001+12:00

I was in the pompom animal factory. I bought my pompom giraffe animal, a klinko robot, a slushy, an ice block, some juice, a dream catcher, and a buzzy bee and a snail both made out of milk bottle tops. I played six-pin bowling twice because I wanted to win a ring but I didn’t win one. I swapped a chair with Natalie for a ring then swapped my ring with my sister’s ring. We made 115 Mahanas profit from our pompom animal stall. By Pip

I was in the dream catcher factory. I bought a pompom cat animal, an ice block, some popcorn and some juice. I couldn’t buy my dream catcher because it was sold quickly. I played six-pin bowling 13 times because my sister was helping and it was a lot of fun. We made 210 Mahanas profit on our dream catcher stall.

The best thing about the dream catcher factory was that they were very easy to make. Next time we would start earlier so we could make more and make them more expensive because we sold them so quickly. By Bradley

Market Day

2010-09-08T15:17:00.000+12:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Pompom Animals and Dream Catchers

2010-09-07T21:35:00.001+12:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Our trip to Richmond

2010-08-11T14:38:00.007+12:00

The term we are learning about money and how businesses work. We went to Richmond for our businesses. We learnt how the bank works. We bought things at the recycling centre. We went to the library to see the new books.

We went to the National Bank. There was a money weigher that weighed notes and coins. It showed how much money was on it. We saw the vault and the money was in locked boxes in the vault. There was also some foreign money. We saw security cameras in the bank. In the back room we could see all the screens showing all parts of the bank. The tellers have a special button they can press to lock the front inside door so people can't get into the bank.

We also went to the recycling centre. I found some little teddies so I can make a mobile. We bought some Chinese lanterns. My Mum and I found a big sheet of white plastic we can make signs from. We had a treasure hunt and we had to find some bags, a plastic cup, a fizzy drink bottle and something a plumber would use like pipes and sinks. We could see where all our recycling stuff went.

We went to the Richmond library which has just been reopened. We liked the books, the elevator upstairs, a special huge purple and green chair you could read books in, a special chair you could listen to music in from your ipod, the library map, the aligator in the playpen, the special check out desks that go shorter and taller, the Imaginarium where we could record ourselves singing, and a room with special books and maps.

For lunch we went to Washbourne Gardens. We played by the pond, climbed trees, fed the ducks, played soccer, and went in the greenhouse and saw plants. The greenhouse keeps plants warm when it's cold outside. There was a dark place with a waterfall that was scary and fun. There was an old house that used to be a jail.

It was a fun trip and we learnt a lot of things.

The Muddy Puddle poem and mixing paint

2010-06-18T21:24:00.003+12:00

Our poem is called The Muddy Puddle and is about sitting in a puddle of mud. Some of us love stamping in mud puddles. Mud is brown and we made brown for our poem book.

We mixed yellow, blue and red paint to make brown for our poem. We made different browns. Some browns were reddish and some were blueish and some were quite orange. We kept adding the colours until we got the browns we liked.

Cross Country Running

2010-06-18T17:12:00.005+12:00

We did colouring and we played duck duck goose Cat and Mouse and rob the nest. We played in the playground. Cody, Aliyah, Athena

We played 1,2,3 next person. It was like a relay. Georgia

We played tug of war and it was fun because we kept winning. Eva

We were running. Jock We ran in our age groups separated into boys and girls. Georgia

We went under a net and jumped over a haystack and jumped over hurdles when we were running. It wasn't boring, it was fun. Athena, Riley, Kyla, Pip

Some senior Dovedale kids told us what to do in the games which was awesome. Meg

We could buy sausages for lunch. Some were yummy and delicious and some were burnt, but still tasted okay. Bradley, Jock, Cody, Pip

It was a cool and fun, and awesome, and fantastic day! Tristan, Alana, Millie, Cody, Pip, Natalie, Meg

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Poetry and Painting

2010-05-28T11:28:00.006+12:00

The poem is called The End. It's about when you are getting older until you are 6 years old. It says, "But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever. So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever." I'm six and I'm proud that I'm six. I used red and yellow for my number 6. By Pip

We cut out the number 6 or 5 depending on how old we are. We used blue and red and yellow and we mixed them together and made other colours. Then we painted the numbers with the colours. I made orange, green and purple and painted them on my number 6. By Riley

I mixed yellow and blue and made greeny blue. I mixed red and yellow and some more red and made reddish orange. I mixed reddish orange with yellow and made brown. Red, yellow and blue are called primary colours. The poem came from Christopher Robin and I liked it because I'm six and I really like being six because I help my Mummy and I can go with my friends to their house. By Athena

Cooking scrambled eggs!

2010-05-28T11:18:00.002+12:00

We cooked some scrambled eggs and toast today. Eggs start with the letter Ee and they tasted Excellent. Here are some photos of us eating our eggs and toast.

Tyreece is leaving

2010-04-28T10:00:00.012+12:00

I've enjoyed having Tyreece here because he's been very very nice.

Tyreece is leaving to go back to Napier. I am sad. He is really kind. He doesn't like missing people out in games.

I like him because he has been nice to me and he helps me.

Tyreece is my buddy. He is so so cool because he likes to play games with me and we race our cars up the slide. I will miss him.

I feel sad about Tyreece because he is leaving and because he is a nice friend. He has been playing with me. We play rugby and we scored ten times.

It's been nice having Tyreece here and I will miss him. He was a good friend to us and we like him being here.

I go to Napier because I want to and because I have to because I'm going to stay with my family. It's really fun in Mahana and I like this class.

We had a party to say goodbye to Tyreece and we took a funny photo of our class.

Kath is back full time

2010-04-28T09:42:00.005+12:00

I like Kath being my teacher because she's nice. We've been doing a lot of writing.

We've been doing a lot of singing with Kath playing the guitar. We're using the laptops for Mathletics and I feel good about that. We do fun stuff at reading like painting our favourite thing in the story that she reads us or the story that we read.

Cards for Mrs Townsend

2010-04-01T11:11:00.004+13:00

We have been making cards with our big buddies for Mrs Townsend because she is leaving. We are remembering all the things Mrs Townsend did with us in the Junior Room while Kath was away. We love reading with her, and all the art, and the music, and the games. We think she is kind, thoughtful, cool, helpful, and funny. She helped so much with the Production last year and the Masked Parade. We are sorry she is leaving and we will miss her.

Variety Bash

2010-03-20T19:01:00.003+13:00

Bradley: There was a fire truck and a car with a steel chainsaw on the top of it. And there was an old old ambulance. It was an old vintage one and it doesn’t look like the new ones.

Zeta: I saw the clown, he was squirting people with the water gun

Alana and Millie: They threw lollies everywhere. There was a lolly scramble and we got love heart badges.

Tristan: I got three lollies.

Meg: They gave out pens and badges and calendars.

Cody: There was a big water fight, they were squirting people with water guns.

Three Little Pigs

2010-03-17T15:25:00.001+13:00

Expressive Hands

2010-03-17T13:53:00.003+13:00

We wanted to do friendly hands and not hurting hands. We are doing things about Caring and Contributing at school.

We first made starbursts. We made lots of layers of blue and then we got a white pastel and did lots of lines coming out and that made it smudge. We decorated the rest of our picture. Then we got two coloured pieces of paper and a white piece. Then we drew open and closed hands. It was hard because we looked at our hands and drew. We didn't draw around them. We cut them out and outlined them with vivid markers. Then we stuck them on our pictures. Our pictures look beautiful.

Swimming and diving

2010-03-04T20:30:00.002+13:00

We love swimming. Click on the video to see some of us doing teapot dives.

Clay Day

2010-03-04T13:57:00.003+13:00

Thomas's dad was mixing the clay. Millie and Pip were digging out the clay and putting it in a bucket. Tristan said, I dug the clay. Bradley was emptying the wheelbarrow with all the rocks. Lots of senior kids were building the walls of the eco hut. It was awesome and fun.

TESTING TESTING

2010-02-22T16:27:00.002+13:00

Testing testing - how do we put a movie on the blog?

Movement Games

2010-02-19T12:21:00.004+13:00

We really liked the games. Some of our favourite ones were Spot Tag, jumping over the disks and pulling the rope.

Applesauce

2010-02-19T12:00:00.003+13:00

We made applesauce. First we peeled the apples and some of us grated our fingers. The cores were taken out. Then we chopped the apples. We put the apples in the pot with some water and cinnamon and sugar. Then we boiled the apples until they got very soft. We stirred the apples. The applesauce smells good and it tastes sweet and feels gooey, mushy and delicious. Thanks to the Mums who helped us.

The School Picnic

2010-02-19T11:13:00.003+13:00

We went on a school picnic. We built big towers of stones with our buddies in the other classes and there was a competition for the tallest tower. Some towers fell down. We also went swimming in the river. We floated on a lilo and jumped off. We went in a canoe and jumped off the rocks into the river. Some of us went to Hot Rocks Island. The rocks were very hot. We had so much fun.

A visit from a hen

2009-12-16T12:27:00.006+13:00

Luca brought one of his hens to school. She was so tame and friendly. It was fun to have the hen in our classroom. Thank you Luca and your Mum.

Our school production - I Can Do Better Than That!

2009-12-11T14:52:00.003+13:00

Here are some of our comments about the school production and some photos from the HarryPotter, Barbie and the 12 Dancing Princesses and Hannah Montana scenes.

I felt excited. It was fun because it was night time but it was a little bit freaky.

I wanted to do it well for my team.

I was pleased there were so many people.

It was much more scary with so many people.

I liked the food.

It was funny when the Zombies said, “Run away” and then Orion (my brother) fell over and wriggled along the floor. I laughed and it made me proud.

The Zombies made their hair go wild.

We wore make up. Some people liked the Zombies' face paint.

Everybody was proud of each other at the end and our families were proud too.

More scenes from school production

2009-12-11T14:45:00.002+13:00

These scenes are from the Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars Thriller and the finale.

Planning and Rehearsing

2009-11-13T12:37:00.003+13:00

We are very busy planning and rehearsing for the school show next month.

Cinderella

2009-11-04T11:56:00.004+13:00

Cinderella lives in a house with her stepmother and her stepsisters. They are very mean to Cinderella. Then one day the prince sent a letter to their house and it said there was going to be a ball. Cinderella didn't have a beautiful dress so she couldn't go to the ball. When the stepsisters and step mother were gone Cinderella's fairy godmother came. She said fetch me a pumpkin and four mice and four lizards and a rat. She waved her wand and there was a coach and four horses and four footmen and a coachman. Then she waved her wand again and Cinderella's rags turned into a beautiful ball dress.

I like the pictures in this book and how the story ends. You'll have to read the whole book to find out how the story ends.

By Sarah

Cinderella by Barbara McClintock, Scholastic Press, 2005

Red Square Show

2009-10-28T12:16:00.007+13:00

The Red Square Show was good because we danced and we sang. We sang a Jump Jam song and my favourite dance was Kotahitanga. The whole school sang and danced at the Red Square in Nelson. Lots of people watched as well as our families and we thought we were the best!

Masked Parade

2009-10-28T11:55:00.005+13:00

We did heaps of dancing at the Masked Parade. We painted our faces blue. We were wearing hats around our heads. We were waving blue, purple, yellow, pink and silver streamers. It was a lot of fun because we were dancing and we got to put face paint on. There were lots of Mums and Dads helping.

Masked Parade

2009-10-28T11:32:00.002+13:00

Pip Meg 321

2009-09-22T14:50:00.001+12:00

It is really fun doing animation. We like it

Meg and Pip Make an Animation

2009-09-08T16:07:00.002+12:00

Check this out. They did all on their own!

Birthday Fun

2009-09-02T05:50:00.002+12:00

Last Thursday I turned 6!!!
I had a special tea party for me and my friends. we had pop-corn, pink lemonade, marshmallows, corn-dogs and cake.
Here are some pictures of my party...
I will be home in 2 weeks!!! I can't wait to see you all and be back at Mahana school.
I miss you. Love from Ella.

The Rocky Mtns - Canada

2009-08-20T11:10:00.003+12:00

Last week we went on a trip to Alberta, Canada. It was a loooong way to drive. We went to the Rockies. The scenery was very beautiful with lots of lakes, waterfalls and glaciers. We went to Banff and swam in the hot pools, and went on the gondola. We also went in a teepee and pretended to be wild indians. I liked Lake Louise, the lake was a lovely green colour from the rock flour.

I miss you, but soon I'll be home! Love Ella

Our Dinosaur pictures

2009-08-07T10:53:00.004+12:00

We have been painting pictures of dinosaurs. We looked at their skin and used different colours to show the bumps on their skin. The pictures are of T-Rex, long necked barosaurus and triceratops. The T-Rex ate other dinosaurs, the barosaurus ate leaves from the tops of trees and the triceratops could hurt a T-Rex with its horns.

What we have been learninjg

2009-08-07T10:51:00.000+12:00

In the Junior Room by Reilly & Cody

Maths: At maths time we are learning about doubles & pluses.

Art: In art we have been drawing dinosaurs.

Writing: In writing we have been writing about dinosaurs and our news.

Seattle Sights

2009-08-04T07:08:00.004+12:00

A few weeks ago we went to Seattle - it was lots of fun!

We went to the top of the "Space Needle" which is 520 feet tall - what a view!!! We were higher than the birds.

We also visited the Kids Museum where we learned all sorts of great things and had fun playing in a grown ups world - we did supermarket shopping, ran a restaraunt, performed a show, visited the 3 bears and went hiking!!

We also went to a carnival and rode on a carousel. It was all lit up and played music as it went around.

Ella's Tooth

2009-08-04T06:54:00.003+12:00

Last week my first tooth came out!!!!! I look like this. The tooth fairy found me in America and I got $5.00 US.

I have another wiggly tooth next-door to the gap, so maybe that will come out before I get home too.

Keeping Cool

2009-08-04T06:43:00.005+12:00

Hello everyone, We have just had a 'heatwave' here, it got to record breaking temps last week. During the days it was close to 40deg and at night it dropped to 27! We spent all week trying to keep cool, the beach, the creek, the water park, and even a mud-bath!!!
It sure was hot, but FUN too... I miss you all - Love Ella xx

Museum and fossils

2009-07-31T11:47:00.003+12:00

Half of the school at a time went to the museum to the dinosaur exhibition. We learnt how long a shark was. It was 16 metres compared to a dolphin which was 6 metres. They used to live in the sea around Nelson a very long time ago.

We went into a classroom and we we talked about fossils. Little particles filtered into bones and became rock. That is how fossils were made. We went for a tour around the exhibition. We learnt how long it took for people to get half of a crab out of a rock. It took them over 1000 hours!

Then we had lunch and after lunch we went looking for fossils in the hill behind Nelson. There was water there when stegosauruses lived. We found lots and lots of fossils up in the hill. They were shellfish. We took four of the fossils back to school. The teachers took pictures of us holding our fossils and I found lots of fossils.

It was very fun and we all enjoyed the day.

By Thomas

Welcome back for Term 3

2009-07-24T12:20:00.001+12:00

After all the excitement of the hangi and the cafe at the end of last term, we have all had a good rest and are fresh and full of beans, raring to go in term three!

This term offers lots of excitement and variety in the Junior Room. As well as our usual reading and maths programme, we kick off with a look at dinosaurs and the reasons for their extinction. This will involve a visit to the museum, a real live fossil hunt, and maybe even a fun fossil fossick at school to really get us into the spirit of scientific investigation. Later in the term we’ll be looking at creatures who are threatened with extinction today, thinking about what this means, and investigating if there’s anything we can do about it. We hope this might lead to a broader understanding of our own environment and how we have a responsibility of care towards the world around us.

In the last couple of weeks we will move on into more creative mode, as we want to make a splash at the Masked Parade this year. That’s a long way off yet, but the theme is along the lines of multiculturalism, one world and valuing each other.... We hope we’ve got a dynamic musical accompaniment sorted, and the rest will follow (ideas and support warmly welcomed).

Our Hangi pictures

2009-07-03T21:55:00.003+12:00

How to Make a Hangi

2009-07-03T10:25:00.004+12:00

At our Matariki celebration we had a hangi. This is how you make a hangi.

Ingredients: Wood, a hole, basket, dirt, rocks, sacks, vegetables, meat

Peel and cut up the vegetables. Cody

Light a bonfire and put the rocks or bricks on top. Sarah

Dig a hole as big as the basket. Millie-Rose

When the bricks are hot, put them in the hole. Josh

Put the meat in the basket. Amelia

Put the basket in the hole. Bradley

Put the vegetables in some sacks. Thomas

Put the sacks of vegetables on top. Pip

Take some wet sacks and lay them over the food. Luca

Cover the sacks with dirt. Make sure there are no holes so that the steam can’t escape. Kyla

Wait for a long time for the food to cook. Georgia

Uncover the food and get it out of the hole. Tristan

Eat it and enjoy! YUM YUM! Meg and Nathalie

Wildlife..

2009-06-23T09:48:00.002+12:00

This is a beaver - he was trapped in the pond by our house and frozen in a freezer so he could be used as coyote bait!!!

Beavers are pests for farmers because they dam up the irrigation ponds, so that's why they need to be caught. As you can see, they're pretty BIG. Notice how large their webbed back feet are, and they have a big flat tail like a paddle and long teeth. Their front legs are tiny.

We had fun looking at this and I drew it and wrote about it in my writing book. Love Ella.

Friends

2009-06-23T09:40:00.002+12:00

Hi everyone, Thank you for ALL the news you blogged me. I hope Athena's arm gets better fast. Sounds like you are all busy, and having fun.

Here are some of my American friends - Dana, Erika, Bryan, Emmy, Luke and Abby Jo - and Heidi and her doll too. We have lots of fun when we're together.

I am missing you all.

Love from Ella xxxx

We made Matariki Stars

2009-06-17T15:16:00.000+12:00

Our Jack and the Beanstalk Masks

2009-06-17T15:14:00.000+12:00

We are writing

2009-06-17T15:12:00.001+12:00

The Class News by Thomas Arthur Bailey

2009-06-17T14:48:00.001+12:00

Hi Ella, we have some laptops . This is Thomas talking and we have a big screen T.V. and now I do piano lessons. The class has changed around and on the 24th of June we are having Matariki and a hangi and it is going to be fun. Matariki is about the seven stars and we are going to have a feast. By Thomas Arthur Bailey.

You'll be back for my birthday, Ella

2009-06-17T14:46:00.001+12:00

We have a big screen we can do the blog on it. I like doing the blog. I was sick yesterday because I had a sore throat but I was O.K. I talked to my mum and she said you will be back in time for my birthday. By Pip

Athena's problem

2009-06-17T14:43:00.000+12:00

Athena broke her arm in the playground, it was on the tightrope. I didn’t see it happen. She probably cried. She missed two days, but she came back the next day. She has her arm in plaster. She has to write with her other arm. By Meg

Dogs and Leaves

2009-06-17T14:39:00.001+12:00

To Ella. We have been playing in the leaves and it is fun. Mrs Townsend brought three puppies to school. I brought them to the classes. They were five weeks old. Their names were Blackie and Reef. Reef is Mrs Scorrer’s dog. I don’t know what the other name is. By Luca