Volleyball

 We have had a coach, Tausisi,  come to our school to teach us some volleyball skills. So far, we have learned about serving (underhand and overhand), receiving, setting and spiking the ball. 

We learned how to hold our hands and which part of our hand or arm we use for these skills. It hasn't been easy but it has been nice to see so many students showing persistence as they keep on trying even when it gets tricky. 

Next week we will be using a net and learning about blocking the ball (we have to jump up and use our arms for that)! 

Let us know in the comments if you have played volleyball before and share any tips you know that might help us.

Cybersmart update!

This term we have been lucky enough to have Phil from Ako Hiko join us on Thursday's in Mokoroa for cybersmart. We have been doing some awesome things, such as making fish, learning to be in the right place at the right time, and even competing in a google race! Below are some images of Ella's and Paora's slides explaining where we often go to on our chromebooks. 

Fish!!!!!!!

Kia ora koutou,

This week in Cybersmart we were practising our Google Drawing skills. We created these fish.

What do you think of Charlie and Alhamd's fish? What is your top tip for Google Drawing?

Sprouting Kumara

 Just before the school holidays, Mrs McLellan showed us how to sprout kumara in our online meeting. 

1. Poke 4 toothpicks into the side of a kumara and balance it in a jar or container. 

2. Add water to the jar so that the bottom of the kumara is covered with water. 

3. Place the jar in a sunny spot for a few weeks and wait for the roots and leaves to grow.

Just before we could come back to school in our bubbles, Mrs McLellan carefully pulled off the shoots (with their roots)  and put them in another jar to bring to school. Here's a video of her explaining how.

In the afternoon of Bubble 7's first day back at school, we went to our school garden to plant the kumara shoots. First we had to clear away lots of weeds and overgrown vegetables. We left some parsley, curly kale and a cabbage growing. We harvested a handful of tiny potatoes and a spring onion (which we gave to the two gardening group students in the senior block). 

   

 

  

On a sunny afternoon, it was hard, hot work with our masks on! We filled up the compost bin, and worked together to drag the rest of the weeds to top up Dave's compost bin by the pool too. We were visited by a chirpy piwakawaka and were surprised by a spider, as we disturbed its resting place. We'll try to identify it in our bubble class this coming week.

 

When the garden was cleared, we worked in pairs to plant the kumara shoots. We put the roots in a hole, laid the shoot sideways towards the east (where the sun rises) and covered part of the stems. This is supposed to help the plant make more roots and grow more kumara. Then we watered our plants and headed back to the classroom for a well-deserved rest! Our bodies were certainly feeling the effort and satisfaction that goes into providing healthy food. 

  

Blog Ponder: World Car Free Day

 

Today is World Car Free Day. It is a day set aside to highlight the environmental pollution made by cars and encourage people to consider (and try) other options for transport like walking, bus, train, cycling, scootering, and so on.  As well as environmental benefits, the day can encourage our physical wellbeing (for example, getting exercise) and give us experiences of other ways of travelling around our communities. You can learn more about the way this day started and is celebrated here.

While we have been in Alert Level 4, many of us have not used our cars as much - or at all! The requirement to stay local has meant more people have gone for a walk or bike ride, or only used their car for short trips. At the end of the first Level 4 lockdown in 2020, a science project to monitor carbon emissions (one type of pollution from cars) studied grass clippings collected by volunteers at regular times over 12 weeks. The results showed that, in some places, the emissions were 80% lower in Level 4 than in Level 1!

Today, think about the way a car is used in your family in ordinary life (when we can travel freely at other alert levels). Below are three examples of opinions about this topic. Can you think of habits or ways you could change easily to rely less on cars? Do you think World Car Free Day is an effective idea?

Example 1: "My mum drives me to school. Then she drives my big brother to his school. We need a car."

Example 2: "I can use my scooter to get to school every morning. It will take me the same amount of time since we won't get stuck in traffic."

Example 3: "We live 4 kilometres away. There's no way I could walk or cycle to school."

In the comments below, add your ideas or respectfully respond to one of these situations, saying whether or not you agree and why. 

Nature Frames

 Kia Ora Bloggers,

Level 4 lockdown in Auckland has meant we have had to get very creative. One of our activities has been to create these Nature Frames.  We created a frame from cardboard, then took our frames out into nature to create these wonderful photos.

Here are the instructions if you would like to have a go at this activity yourself.

Our creations are below.  We would love some positive, thoughtful and helpful feedback on what you notice and see.

    

Blog Ponder

 Last week was Maths Week.  We enjoyed working on the activities from the site.  We have also been reading and thinking about Maths.  The books that we have looked at have some type of Maths in them.  One of our Reading activities this week is our blog ponder.  Please add your answer to this question in the comments below. Remember to be thoughtful and to use punctuation in the right places.