Production......What an Event!!

We did it .... it's taken me a week to recover....but we did it!! With the expertise of Mrs Penn, the Year 7 and 8 Production went off without a hitch (well, except for a certain person falling OFF the stage!) It was a great couple of nights, and the students performed brilliantly. We have had several comments from parents, emailed in, saying it was the BEST production they have seen - this is GREAT!!

We had too many highlights to mention them all, but for me, as a teacher, the highlight was seeing the beaming faces of our talented students as they came off the stage from their scenes. They were smiling and happy and excited. Their acting skills keep on improving, lines were added, ad lib, and the laughs got louder and more hearty from the crowd.

There are so many people to thank for helping with production - and I am sure we will forget some, but please, accept this as our thank you - from Room 6 to you all - THANKS!!! A special thank you to Mrs Karen Sinclair and Mrs Gail McElrea for helping me knit leg warmers - an essential part of the 1980s!!! Also to the lighting man and the stage builders - without you guys we'd have been lost! A special thanks to Mrs Penn for her coaching of lines and to my prop builders and painters - all of you, despite the mess you kept leaving me, did a GREAT job!!!

Here are some photographs of the night - ENJOY! We sure did (but I am glad it is only once every 2 years.....we are all exhausted!) All students have access to a range of photos from the night (thanks again Mrs Sinclair!), so are able to share these with you from their Google Drive.

Delusia and her Minions

Ethan staring as Rumpel

Caitlin "singing" to the trees

Jess as the cookie munching 'Red'

Sarah as 'Snow' with Shania as 'Delusia'

Prince Charming (Brooklin) with Delusia and Cindy (Latoya)

Too many stars to mention!

A lovely pair of Princesses!

Volunteer Army Complete Their Task

The Volunteer Army, Year 7 and 8 students, have completed their task with the help of the rest of the Rosebank School community. Our Year 7 and 8 students took on the challenge to gather goodies to put into Compassion Boxes, and then send these out to people in the community who might have fallen on hard times, or might just need a boost.

When we started this project we thought we would be able to make 6 or 7 boxes, however, with the generous support of our community, we were able to put together 15 boxes! These boxes contain lots of different items including toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hand lotion, tinned food, pasta and pasta sauce, snacks for lunch boxes and lots of other little bits and pieces. It was so good to see the enthusiasm of the students as they painted their boxes, sorted items to put in to it and then wrap the boxes.

With the help of Mr. McLaughlin, these boxes will be distributed to those people in the community who are struggling or who need a boost. We wish them well, and hope they enjoy the goodies and the thoughtfulness put into these boxes.

Volunteer Army - stand down!

A few of Room 6 with some of the boxes before wrapping

Some boxes waiting to go !

Maths with a Twist

Maths is not a lesson every child enjoys, so we decided to try something a little different to get a grasp on the concepts of area and perimeter, adding and subtraction of decimals, money and budgeting. The task was to design a tiny house, furnish it and make sure everything fits in. Students needed to ensure they had the basics; an oven and hot plates, bed, cupboards/storage and a bathroom.

I can honestly say I have a classroom full of great shoppers! Shouts of "Yes!!" were heard every time the students got to "shop" online and find a bargain. Parents should be excited at the skills these students have - they are great shoppers and fantastic bargain hunters!!!

With a home measuring 7m x 3.5m x 3.5m not a lot fitted in, so decisions had to be made about what to insist on and what to give up on. Budgeting skills were fine tuned and the results were great. At the end of the unit, I asked the students to fill in a survey to see how they enjoyed this project, and I'm pleased to say than more than 90% of students not only loved doing maths this way and wanted to do it again, but also said they felt like they learned more doing it this way - GREAT NEWS!!!

Oral Language - Science Experiments

For Oral Language this term, students have been performing a science experiment to the class. Each day we have a student who prepares and presents an experiment and then discusses the science behind the experiment. This week we one that stood out - it was well prepared, very well presented and left a lasting impression on many students. These experiments don't need to be complicated, the idea is to give the students something to talk about, to give them the chance to do something WHILE they are talking and as such, take their minds off the fact they are speaking in front of the class.

This particular experiment is Jess Sheppard's "Walking Water". Jess presented this very clearly to the class, and it was so vibrant and interesting, that I wanted to share it. Try it at home....it is easy to do.

Fill 3 of 5 glasses with water
Add different food colouring to those three glasses
Between those three glasses, place 2 empty glasses.
Using paper towels, folded and trimmed to fit, place one between Glass 1 and 2, 2 and 3, 3 and 4, 4 and 5.
Leave for as long as you can (ideally 1/2 day or overnight).

The results are amazing..all glasses should have the same level of water and the two empty glasses will be filled with coloured liquid. The colour will depend on what colour the two glasses either side of the empty glass were.

Our Class is Shrinking

This past week has seen two of our class members move away. We said farewell to Jade last Thursday, as he has moved away to Dunedin. I will really miss Jade's presence in the classroom and his quick wit. This Friday we bid farewell to Daniel Barber too! Daniel is heading a little further afield, across to the West Coast to Westport. Daniel is a really awesome student, and I will miss our early morning conversations and hearing about the latest book series Daniel is reading. Good luck to both of you boys, and keep up to date with our class via our blog!!!

And a fabulous finish to the Week!!!

Kutoa Project

A huge thank you to those parents who baked some amazingly delicious treats for our Bake Sale. I can now tell you that we raised $412.60 for our Compassion Project.

I am so proud of this class - their Assembly Presentation was amazing yesterday and they are truly showing a great deal of compassion and empathy towards others. They are beginning to understand the problems these children, who just want to play and be children, are facing.

Room 5 have signed on to the Kutoa Project for a four month period - keeping the spirit of caring and sharing going for the rest of the school year. We raised so much money that Mrs Penn's class (Room 6) are now joining us on their own Kutoa Project - so this is even more exciting. The remaining money will be put towards our Compassion Boxes, to help provide necessities to those in our local community who, though no fault of their own, could use a boost. These boxes will be our next project and more about those soon!

Once again, thanks to all those parents and students who baked, and to those Year 7 and 8 students who managed the crowds at our cake sale and to Mrs Reid for buying the most treats, and to all our school students who supported us - you have made a difference!!

Great start to the week

Busy week ahead, sorting out parts for our Year 7/8 Production and some Cross Country running. It all got a bit too much for one student, who I found, with a good book, having some quiet time! With the upcoming International Languages Week, maybe he is polishing up on his vocab!

Mid week Cross Country - the weather stayed fine for our Annual Cross Country run but it did get a little chilly! Great running Room 6! I am proud of you all!