FUN, FUN, FUN!

On Thursday we had lots of fun with Model 2A and our Japanese visitors. We made kiwi and lamb craft, tried origami and best of all we got to try lots of favourite New Zealand foods. This included Pineapple Lumps, Hokey Pokey Ice Cream, Kiwifruit and L&P. Miss Barnett even shared her Marmite with everyone. Hopefully she will get some more before July!

SPELLER OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to Kiri who was our Speller of the Week. Well done for spelling all your words correctly! It was our last week of spelling for Term 1 as next week our testing day (Friday) will be the start of our Easter holiday. Spelling will start again in Week 1 of Term 2.

MY CHOCOLATE RABBIT

We are learning a new Easter song to sing at assembly. If you would like to practise here is a movie to sing along with. Have fun!

FLY FREE!

On Friday M2B got to finally set our beautiful Monarch butterfly free to enjoy the great outdoors. It has been really exciting and interesting learning about these wonderful insects and watching them change from a tiny caterpillar into a butterfly. I wonder what our butterfly is up to now?

ALEXANDRIA HAS HER OWN BLOG!!!!

Alexandria is a very clever Year 3 in our class. She is very good at writing and using the computer. She is a big fan of our class blog leaves lots of comments on our posts.

During her Learning Commitment Interview earlier in the term we talked with Alexandria and her mother about her strengths. One of her goals this year is to share her wonderful writing with others through the class blog. We even talked about how she could have her own blog - as guess what - she has!!! It is called Adventures of Alexandria and is full of her stories and photos.

If you would like to see Alexandria's wonderful blog and leave her a comment go to this web address:


http://adventuresofalexa.blogspot.co.nz/

Well done Alexandria. We are so proud of you!

VISITORS FROM GIFU

Today we met the special visitors from our sister school Gifu Shotoku Gakuen Elementary School in Japan. Five students aged 9-12 years old are spending four fun-filled days in our classrooms experiencing daily life in a New Zealand classroom. We can't wait to do Jump Jam with them tomorrow!

KEEPING OURSELVES SAFE

At the moment we are busy taking part in the unit Knowing What to Do, which is part of the personal safety programme - Keeping Ourselves Safe.

So far we have been learning how to:
* say our name, address and phone number
* explain our feelings
* correctly name body parts
* say "no" to behaviour we do not like
* use the internet safely

Today Constable Jeanette Parcell talked to us about secrets. We learned that a good surprise is something that makes us feel good and that we enjoy. A bad secret is something that might hurt someone and makes you feel bad. Constable Parcell said that you need to tell an adult you trust if you have a bad secret.

SPELLER OF THE WEEK

Congratulations to Arissa who was this week's Speller of the Week! Well done Arissa on learning all your words. It was also great to see so many children in Model 2B in the draw this week. Keep up the great work.

REMINDER!

Don't forget that Friday is our library day. Remember to hunt out your books and bring them back each week.

OUR LUNCHTIME SURPRISE!

We had a great surprise at lunchtime today when our chrysalis started to hatch. Some of Model 2B were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, and got to see our beautiful butterfly emerge before our eyes! We had noticed this morning that the chrysalis had turned black and were wondering when it would hatch out. Lots of our friends from Model 2A also came to have a look.

WOW FLYNN!!!

Today Flynn brought a GIANT apple to school. He has heaps of really huge apples at home on his apple tree. Flynn likes to make apple pie with Mum.

ETHAN & LIAM'S SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Ethan and Liam have been working with Mrs Maw on some really cool science experiments and today we were lucky enough to get to see one of these experiments. It is called 'The Great Milk Experiment' and it is something you can try at home with your family.

Instructions:

1. Place 0.5cm of milk in a shallow dish or saucer.

2. Add 2-3 drops of food colouring to the milk.

3. Add 1 drop of dish washing liquid.

4. Watch and see what happens!

Ethan and Liam showed us how to do this and they used three different drops of colours - red, blue and yellow, in different areas on the saucer. It was really interesting to see the colours all swirl together creating awesome patterns when the detergent was added. Mrs Maw told us if you get a part that doesn't do much, you can add another drop of detergent and it will make it go crazy!!!!

I wonder...

* What do you think is happening?

* How do the colours move?

* Do you think the same thing would happen if you used a different liquid?

To find out the secret behind this experiment check out this website (scroll down to find 'The Big Milk Experiment') www.nzase.org.nz/primaryscience/archive.php. Thanks Ethan and Liam - we really enjoyed seeing your experiment!

MRS WISHY WASHY

Lately Model 2B have been reading stories about Mrs Wishy Washy. She gets really grumpy with the animals on her farm that keep getting into the mud. Luckily she likes washing... wishy washy, wishy washy... but just when she thinks they are all clean, those naughty animals get straight back into the mud!

We have been working on creating awesome art based on the stories using different drawing techniques and a variety of mediums. First we sketched the animals on Mrs Wishy Washy's farm using lots of detail and shading techniques. Then we used paper collage to create the mud that the animals like to jump and roll in, and then we used pastels to create interesting borders and background details. We think they look pretty cool - what do you think?

CONGRATULATIONS NOVA

Congratulations to our Weetbix Kids Triathlete Nova who ran in a team and won a shiny gold medal on Sunday.

SPELLER OF THE WEEK

Well done to Faris who was this week's Speller of the Week! It was great to see lots of children in Model 2B getting 5/5 correct in their spelling. You have obviously been practising really hard so well done.

MOKAI (Pets)

This term we have been learning to name pets in Maori. We know that:

ngeru is cat
kuri is dog
hoiho is horse
honu is turtle
poaka is pig
rapeti is rabbit

We made a special book about Mokai to read in the classroom. Here are some of our pictures:

HARRY GOES TO RAROTONGA

Harry has had an exciting adventure on his first overseas holiday to Rarotonga with Naomi and her family. He went to Island Night and got to taste coconut milk. There was lots of singing and dancing at Island Night which Harry really liked. He went to Muri Beach and went kayaking and had great fun sunbathing on the beach. Harry made friends with two dogs and a black and white cat. Check out the movie of Harry in Rarotonga and be sure to leave him a message below.

HARRY GETS A NEW COLLAR

Leah's Grandma who lives in South Africa made Harry a beautiful new collar!

WHO IS THE MOUSE?

On Monday morning we found a strange note written on the whiteboard. It said:

"Hi M2B

I am the mouse that visited you're room and heard you children are good. There should be a note on your desk.

Sincerely Mouse"

We found notes on our table. We do not know who the mouse is and we are going to write to him/her to try and find out.

If you have any information about the identity of the mouse please contact Model 2B.

WELCOME TO DOMONIC

Welcome to Domonic who joined Model 2B today.

WHAT MAKES US STRONG?

In class we have been talking about what makes us strong. We know that strengths are things that EXCITE us, that we ENJOY and that we EXCEL at. The most popular strengths in our classroom are reading, swimming and being kind. Here are some pictures of our strengths.

SWIMMING


RUNNING


MATHS


SOCCER

AMAZING BUTTERFLIES

We have been working hard to create amazing butterfly artwork. Check it out!

PARENT INTERVIEWS

Don't forget that this week we have Parent Interviews coming up on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th of March. This is where we set our learning commitment goals for the year. If you haven't returned your interview notice please make sure you hand it in as soon as possible. We look forward to meeting with you all soon.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Lately lots of groups have started up at school and it is great to see so many of Model 2B students popping along to join up and find out more. We have lots of budding guitarists who are going to be learning guitar with Mr Galloway on Wednesday lunchtimes (all ages welcome), and quite a few Year 3 students who are learning drums with Mr Galloway on Tuesday lunchtimes (Year 3 and up).

Children who like building and constructing might like to check out the Construction club that runs on Monday lunchtimes (all ages) or the Be Native Group which is also on Mondays at lunchtime (see Nova's report on this below), or some of you might like to join the Asian Aotearoa group which also runs on Mondays at lunchtime - great if you are keen on learning more about other countries and cultures. If you'd like more information on any of these groups, feel free to talk to Miss B or Mrs O.

BE NATIVE GROUP

This week the Be Native Group started up at GSNS. Nova and Maia went along to check it out. Here is Nova's report on what it is all about.

The Be Native Group (BNG) is about looking after nature and picking up rubbish that people have left and also putting food garbage in the compost bin and tidying up everywhere. It's for Year 3 and up and if you want to go we meet on Mondays at lunchtime in Room 13 (if it's raining) or under the hall (if it's a sunny day).
By Nova

SWIMMING

On Wednesday at school we started swimming lessons. It was at the DNI pool. M2B went there with me. To get to swimming you go out the gate, then you go along the footpath, then go under the bridge, then you go across the road, past the pet shop, across another road, then you go past New World and then you are there! I love doing overarm because it's just like a silver arrow.
By Grayson

SWIMMING LESSONS

I like swimming and it makes me happy. I go everyday with Model 2B. On the 2nd of March we are not swimming because something is broken at the pool! I hope we go swimming on Monday. I learn to do things like 3 circles on a board, 3 circles without a board, hugging the board and lying down on your back, skulling, holding the board at the end of the board, and breathing in, putting your face in the water and out, and all over again until the end of the pool.
By Alexandria

SWIMMING FUN!

On Wednesday I went swimming at DNI pool. I walked to the pool. I went swimming to practise swimming. I love swimming! I learnt swimming on my back. I want to swim in the deep end.
By Liam

SWIMMING

On Wednesday we started swimming. We had to walk to swimming. It was fun. I can't go tomorrow because the pool is broken. I don't know how the pool got broken!

By Maia

HARRY'S HOLIDAY

Harry is super excited! Tomorrow he is heading off on holiday to Rarotonga with Naomi and her family. Here he is in his swimming togs with a few of his essential travel items - his sunscreen and ipod. It's his first plane ride so he's feeling a little bit nervous. I wonder if he will email Model 2B while he is away? Maybe we will have to wait until he comes back to find out what he gets up to. We can't wait to see his photos! Bon voyage Harry!