Mystery writers are revealed!

Room 15 has been busy creating original short stories with a mystery bent. We decided to present them as books, designing our own cover pages to compliment the text.

Next we will be sharing them with other Year 8 classes for an end of year reading program. Below is a photo of our current completed selection, check out individual blogs for the stories they contain...they are fantastic!

3D shape creation

We have been exploring how to recognise and identify 3 D shapes...a quick revisit to our kindy days, creating with play dough had us all producing a range of shapes and practicing some very 'transformer' type vocabulary- a favourite new words are 'tetrahedron' and 'polyhedron'. Try putting us on the spot!

Career's day experience

Careers Day 2015 on PhotoPeach We had a fantastic time exploring the career options that were shared with us on Thursday. Room 15 asked a lot of thoughtful questions and made a real effort to have a go at all the 'hands on' opportunities on offer. A very valuable experience that introduced a number of new possibilities for many students.

Do Cyclops' exist? Exploring the unexplained

WWE- Room 15 Wrestling

On a wet day earlier this week we had a PE session to develop our wrestling skills- following the kiwi wrestling program.
What a lot of fun. We learnt some new moves and certainly burnt off some extra wet weather energy!
Check some of our moves out below...

Where Art and Inquiry meet

Mrs Griffin has been taking Room 15 through an art journey. We were each given a numbered piece of A4 paper (some with painted lines, some without) and instructed to add colour (- it was actually a bit more specific than it sounds!)
Overtime the puzzle began to take shape...until..'Knowledge is a jigsaw' was revealed. This is a concept we have been discussing through inquiry this term.
What a colourful addition to Room 15!

Forensic's: Crime Scene Investigation @ HNI

Detective Constable Kate Hyde and Senior Constable Gavin Cross came in to give a presentation to Te Kanawa House this morning. We received an overview of what forensics are, before taking part in the process of a crime scene investigation. What a great way to spend the morning...we are now all geared up to learn more about forensic science over the next couple of weeks- exploring the unexplained.

School Athletics- GO TK

It was school athletics day today...and look at this-  a video posted by 3.15 pm! Thanks heaps Kayla and Milou who put this together this afternoon. An awesome day TK! ...I think I've lost my voice though!

Exploring the Unexplained: Space

What a fantastic visit to the Holt Planetarium yesterday...we have pieces to add to our 'knowledge is a jigsaw puzzle'- scroll through our padlet. Did come away appreciating just how small we are compared to the grand scale of the Universe!

Created with Padlet

Burger Cook's Enjoy!

Today the Food Tech group made and  then....ate their burger creations! What a great way to end the day!

Reading 'outside the box' winner

CONGRATULATIONS AMBER!!
Amber has completed the reading outside the box challenge set at the beginning of the year. 16 books read and reviewed- a massive achievement. Check out Amber's blog to find out the books she recommends, there is a very broad selection. 
There are a number of students so close to completing this challenge...I think the review writing is the real challenge, not so much the novel reading in many cases. Keep up the momentum, I am looking forward to even more successful completions in Term 4!
Well done Amber!!

Narrative writing

This coming term Room 15 will be working on constructing pieces of narrative text. We will be focusing on the structure of our writing, part of this will involve fine tuning our paragraphing techniques. I found this great Prezi that will be a helpful reference point for us all.

Advertising and 'cool'

We used this song by Macklemore, called 'Wings' in reading last week. Firstly we listened to the music and lyrics, recording impressions and key words or phrases that we could hear. We then studied the lyrics themselves, seeing if we could identify the authors purpose, the theme or message. This tied in really well with the discussions we've had this past week regarding the influence the media has on us as consumers and our ideas on what makes you 'cool'.

The Anatomy of Cool

As an extension of our inquiry focus this term 'Healthy Bodies, Strong Minds', we explored the role that the media plays in determining how we see ourselves and others. We discussed stereotypes, the concept of 'coolness' and the messages we receive via the media that influence our understanding of appearance, personality and gender roles.

Above are our composite 'ideal' man and woman as they are predominately portrayed in the media! There were quite a few giggles during this task, but it did generate some lively discussion around body image and self esteem, as well as internal and external 'coolness'.

We also wrote a report describing  'Earthlings' as they appeared in magazines. There was much discussion around how realistic magazines are and how such a small section of global society is portrayed.Here is Eva's insightful report - Thanks for sharing Eva! 

Hello Fellow People

As I was wondering around the East side of our planet today, Discovering why the East side is forbidden, I stumbled across a large white tube looking thing, that is known as a space ship. Of Course with me being adventurous and determined to find out what on earth is going on. I climb aboard the tube and discover what these strange looking earthlings stay in. They have houses in these tubes so I went in and had a look at one of them. Sitting on a table was a whole stack of these magazine/ book looking things. I pick one up and start flicking through.

The earthlings planet is beautiful and so are the people, not one single person there is ugly they are all perfect from what I saw in the magazine. They all have beautiful smiles and are never not smiling, Their hair is never messy and they are all so nicely groomed. Their planet looks so magical, Not in one picture is it raining, the sun is out so they are all lounging around and sunbathing on the beach in bikinis and board shorts.

The scenery is amazing, they have these wonderful things called trees and they stick up tall out of the ground. They are all pale and tan, they aren't multi coloured like us. The feminine ones pack there face up with these chemicals that make them look outstanding. The masculine ones  all have muscly stomachs and forearms. They wear clothes that are colorful and really well fitted, they would never wear rags. Their homes are so big and stylish, every single house has a pool, a TV and a kitchen, they even have their own houses they don't have to share. They never stink because there is so many deodorants and chemical things you can put on your body to smell nice.

Humans all have so much money so everyone will be able to afford anything they want. In their houses they have these things called showers that shower water all over your body to clean yourself, no one has to wash up in the one river like we all have to. They even have these products to make there hair look stunning, Shampoo, conditioner, hair brushes, combs, hair spray, mousse, hair ties and even these cool little hair clips called bobby pins. They all have their very own hairdresser that does their hair every day. Life on Earth looks amazing, maybe we should ask to visit some time?

Love Rigfu

Mean, median and mode

We are spending the remainder of the term exploring statistics..this video might help as we learn to use Mean, Median, Mode and Range to make sense of data. It's very catchy!!

Real life challenges: Probability

LI: To apply our understanding of scales, charts and timetables to find possible outcomes/combinations.

We have been approached by the Havelock North Rugby Club to organise a round robin tournament for the six 7th grade teams that they have competing.

The six teams are called:

Anacondas

Bears

Cats

Dingos

Eagles

Falcons

The instructions we have been given are that;

• Each team plays each other team only once.
• There are two fields available for the games. North and South Fields.
• There is to be a half hour break for lunch to rest the referees.
• Each game is played for 30 minutes, with a 10 minute break between games.
• No team will play more than two consecutive games.
• Kick off is 9am.

Check out our individual blog posts- students used either tables, list diagrams or network diagrams to determine that there needed to be 15 games in total, before applying themselves to creating a timetable. We have a whole new appreciation for the people who organise round robins for our own sports events!

Mathletics at HNI

We all competed in a Year 8 Mathletics competition this morning- Lots of fantastic maths talk and collaboration and problem solving.

The 'reading outside the box' challenge is still going strong!

Curtis has just posted this review on his blog to build up his tally of texts read for his 'reading outside the box' challenge. This has been quietly buzzing along in the background of our in class reading program...I have a sneaking suspicion that there will be an announcement of a first challenge completer in the very near future. 

Check out individual student blogs for reviews, there are quite a few interesting and varied new books being recommended!

Book Review 

Maui And The Sun. Retold and Illustrated by Gavin Bishop

“Maui and the sun” is a children's book (originally written in Maori) about why the sun moves slowly, In this book it states that apparently the sun moved too fast and someone brave enough should try and slow it down.

I think that this book is a great read and has magnificent illustrations. It is a book for any age and a great bedtime story if you're like four or something, but do read.
(If you like the pictures as much as Curtis did, Gavin Bishop is a well known New Zealand author and illustrator- He wrote the book "The House that Jack Built" which Room 15 read and discussed as part of our 'Treaty of Waitangi' inquiry focus.)

Entertained by JAZZ!

Today we had a special treat...entertainment by the 'Tauranga Boys' College Big Band'.

It was fantastic to see the instruments many of the class are learning to play through music tuition, being played with such style and enthusiasm. I am sure many students have new found drive to persist with their music!

Social Dancing has begun!

Our new PE focus for term 3 is Social Dancing. We had our first lesson today- recapping on our dancing etiquette and also on what moves we learnt last year. It's a bit like riding a bike- some pretty smooth moves on the dance floor!  

Class novel going strong

This term we are reading 'There's a boy in the girls bathroom' by Louis Sachar as our class shared novel.
It is proving to be a very popular read, with plenty of opportunities for class discussion and reflection. It is filled with many valuable lessons about school, people and believing in yourself. It is certainly is an easy book to make personal connections to. Keep an eye open for future reviews posted by students in Room 15!

Kei hea te tuna? waiata lyrics

This week we have learnt how to ask where something is..and answer using a position.

We used the well known waiata-"Kei hea te tuna? as a template to fashion our own original lyrics around- we've got the tune down pat now!

As an aside... we have learnt a lot about the reliability of google translate!

Thank you Joseph for sharing your creation: Check out individual blogs for more!

Kei hea te ārani?  Kei hea te ārani?

Kei runga i te rākau, Kei runga i te rākau

    

Kei hea te ārani?, Kei hea te ārani?  

Kei runga i te whenua, Kei runga i te whenua

Kei hea te ārani?, Kei hea te ārani?   

Kei roto i te roroi, Kei roto i te roroi

Kei hea te ārani?, Kei hea te ārani?

Kei roto i te toa, Kei roto i te toa

Kei hea te ārani?, Kei hea te ārani?

Kei roto i te whare, Kei roto i te whare

Kei hea te ārani?, Kei hea te ārani?

Kei roto i te puku, Kei roto i te puku

Sensational Science fair

Check out some of our awesome science fair projects. While the majority of the students in Room 15 shared their projects with the class, 16 students took the next step and transferred their presentation onto Science boards for school testing. Five of these have since been selected to progress onto the Hawkes Bay Science Fair next week. A fantastic effort by Room 15- You rock!!
Science fair entries on PhotoPeach

 

'Turning Japanese'

I was lucky enough to have a visitor in class for my Japanese elective this past week.

Midori Muramatsu came into class to show us the traditional kimono, with three lucky students being transformed.

She also taught us some moves in the art of traditional Japanese sword fighting. The students showed great restraint with no one walking away with contact marks but instead with a new understanding of the balance and precise movements needed to be a Samurai.

It was a wonderful treat for the class....Arigatou gozaimashita!

Room 15 Cross Country Athletes

The HNI School Cross country was on Friday....and Room 15 rocked it! 

It was fantastic watching the Te Kanawa blue coming down the home straight.

An awesome effort by all those who took part- Well done!

Passion project sharing has begun!

As part of our inquiry "healthy bodies, strong minds" we have been researching and exploring Passion projects. It is an opportunity to learn more about one another and take our interest in a topic we are passionate about, a step further by applying the inquiry process.

Kayla shared her passion with us all this morning...a combination of business and cooking/baking. She has really set the bar high for the rest of the class. After presenting her passion with a slide show, she demonstrated how to decorate a cupcake...with the whole class following her lead. There are definitely some newly discovered cake decorator extraordinaires!

Protecting our reputations: Cyber safety

One of our tasks this week was to explore the site "protect my rep" and then come up with one key point that, we as individuals felt was the most important thing to remember when we are online. Zethan, Mark and Flynn used the information they encountered to create this poster to inform others on what they need to always keep in the forefront of their minds when online.
Excellent advice boys!
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Applying Algebra

In maths so far this term we have been learning about expressions and formulae in algebra. This week we applied our learning to creating spreadsheets. Students were required to use formula to create their spreadsheets rather than manually entering their data. This was a challenge for many, but once we had completed a few, most were impressed with the convenience and ease that calculations and tables can be created. Early finishers also explored how tables of data can be transformed into informational graphs.
We used real life problems and dilemmas as a basis for our spreadsheet creations.
Here is an example of one Lucy created- she was solving the problem of which saving behaviour would be the most successful when analysed over a period of time, and if slight chances were made in individual saving choices, the impact this would have on achieving their personal targets.  .

week	bill	mandy
0	86	47
1	95	58
2	104	69
3	113	80
4	122	91
5	131	102
6	140	113
7	149	124
8	158	135
9	167	146
10	176	157
11	185	168
12	194	179
13	203	190
14		201

Team success

Finally the results from the Technology Challenge competition held on Tuesday have been announced. 

The task was to create a contraption that could suspend an object. Measurements were taken from the base of the 'tower' to the suspended chocolate bar, and the height from the floor. 

Lucas and Zethan worked really successfully as a team...thinking outside the square, to take home second place. Well done, an awesome result

And we've done it again!!

Room 15 has been awarded the Year 8 lunchtime sport trophy for taking out the Touch Rugby competition. Awesome effort from the class..it can be a struggle to field a team when there are so many things on at lunchtimes at HNI.

Next competition is handball...time for netballers to shine!

Technology Challenge afternoon

In order to select a team of fine Room 15 students for the school technology challenge, we held a technology challenge face off this afternoon. The challenge was to create a solution using a very limited array of resources..with a group of people who may or may not be thinking along the same lines.
I have used Flipagram to give a snapshot of our process!
Our final class team are: Liam, Lucas, Amy and Laura- Awesome team work!

He aha tenei? What is that?

With a focus on te wiki o te reo Maori, Room 15 has decided to share some of our recent learning. We have been learning how to ask what something is. It is trickier than it sounds because the placement of the object influences the vocabulary used to ask the question.
Anastacia and I had a go at sharing our learning using puppetpals. Thanks Anastacia for letting me share our creation on the class blog!

He aha tenei? (what is this..object being held by person asking the question)
He aha tena? (what is that...object being held by another person, of whom the question is being asked)
He aha tera? (what is that...the object is removed from both the person asking the question and the person answering)

Check out other examples on individual blogs...there are some really creative ones!

Matariki creations and explanations

We have been investigating what Matariki means to New Zealand Maori...and us. Discovering 10 facts and writing our opinion as to whether Queens Birthday celebrations should be replaced with a Maori New Year (Matariki) celebration. Check out individual blogs! Well done Maddie and Madison for your creative spin on Matariki.

Ki o Rahi fever has caught on in Room 15!

Buzz Bees- planting for Treemendous

With a photo to prove it! We braved the mud and chill this morning to plant a tree for the school Treemendous project. There were a number of distractions, worm hunting and analysis being a major draw card, along with digging experts within Room 15 coming to the fore as they commented on the techniques of classmates. A very entertaining break to our normal classroom program.

Art for Treemendous

It's finished...our art installation for the school Treemendous is complete.

Well done Milou, Noah, Niamh and Kayla- It looks fabulous! 

Innovation in industry

We visited Arataki Honey Ltd today as part of our inquiry into innovation, invention and creativity today. We learnt a great deal about the changes to the honey industry since the time of the Egyptians, when the commercial production of honey was first recorded. There have been a number of changes to the way honey is collected and processed to met the needs of commercial demand. From the hives themselves, to the equipment used to collect honey and care for bees and to the processing of honey for us..consumers. I think we now have an appreciation for the need for continuous innovation and creativity in industry to meet demands and needs. We also had time to explore and learn about the key component of honey production...Honey bees!! We headed back to school with a container of honey....all we could think about after all this honey talk!

Treemendous makeover persuasive writing

We had a go at creating persuasive pieces of writing to convince others to help out at the huge school TREEMENDOUS makeover. Very convincing I think! Thanks Amber and Laura for sharing your efforts!

Dear Family

Do you want to feel that fulfilling sense of achievement? Do you want to help you child’s education and others in the future? Then we need you! Over the next 5 weekends you must help our Treemendous makeover come alive in a once in a lifetime opportunity. The process has been started but needs your help! Whether it’s for an hour in between those winter sports or the whole day, no matter how busy you are you can help!

Over Saturday and Sunday each weekend we will be planning, constructing and planting. But on Queens birthday you can have a relaxing break. Your hunger needs will be satisfied with morning/afternoon tea provided. This is a great experience for you to be part of in the community. Every time you walk past the treemendous site you can feel that you played a part in the spectacular transformation. Nobody minds how many weekends you come, you can even come to all of them! Planting Day will on the 6th of June and will be the conclusion of the Treemendous site.

We are looking forward to seeing you down at the “ditch” but soon no more. Thanks for your time. Just think about achieving the great accomplishment and feat. See you in the days of Treemendous construction.

Sincerely,

Laura and Amber

Innovations: Making a difference

In Room 15 we have been exploring the concept that innovation is an idea turned into a working solution that meets a real need. We identified a product currently in existence and went about either improving it, or in some cases, creating a completely new gadget. We needed to identify a target user group and meet a need. Wow- some interesting and creative ideas resulted! Check out Oscar, Zethan and Curtis's effort- Awesome effort!

Hockey skills

This week it was Amber and Amy turn to share their hockey skills in P.E. They did a fantastic job of showing their leadership skills as well. Well done girls: here are a few photos of our P.E lessons this week.

PE: Students take the lead

This term in Room 15, we are developing our large ball skills. This week Clay, Josh, Mark, Oscar.S and Flynn have been sharing their rugby skills- running a class skills session on Monday, followed by a Rippa Rugby game. See our developing passing and kicking skills in action!

Lunchtime sport champions!

Room 15 was awarded the sports shield for top Year 8 team in the non-stop cricket rotation...GO ROOM 15!!

"Over the fence" competition success

During term one many students in Room 15 entered a competition called the Top Outdoor Spot competition, The competition encouraged students to send in photos, drawings and descriptions of their favourite outdoor places...and guess what...we had some winners!! Check out the above: Lauren came third in the "best photo" category, while Laura came first in the 'best description' category. They are currently waiting in anticipation to receive their prizes!

Dulce et Decorum Est: Guided writing

What amazing pieces of writing produced in Room 15 today! 
We had a go at a guided writing exercise. 
Using the poem by Wilfred Owen, "Dulce et Decorum Est", we created our own original pieces of writing on the theme of World War One.
We are so proud of what we were able to produce. I've borrowed Lucy's effort to share on the class page..and to entice you to click the links to individual blogs.

A Soldiers Tale

My chest heaved as my legs trudged through the knee deep sludge, arms hanging off my mates shoulders as we walk.

For many months we walk, famished, completely drained of energy.

The flares of fiery shells burst behind us, heating our backs as we go further and further from the death disaster behind us. Safety, safety, chanting in our heads.

Sores on our feet, limping without boots.

A few crawl, too tired to stand, occasionally drooping to the ground, faces deep in mud, never resurfacing.

I walk with a heavy heart, not hearing or seeing anything, blocking memories and thoughts out, only focusing ahead, on the sinking sun along the horizon. An occasional thunk hits the ground behind us, no one cares.

A mustard colour flashes in front of my eyes, my mind only takes a second to register it. ‘GAS!’ I hoarsely try to whisper.

Mustering all the energy we have, we fumble our numb fingers around in our backpacks, searching for that all important mask. Most find them in time, taking deep breaths of the stale oxygen, relief flooding many faces.  

One man is not as lucky, stumbling around, clutching his throat, everyone watching in horror..

The gas encases us, burning our skin like acid. Reaching my hand out in front me, I only see the shadow of my hand waving slowly through the air. My comrades stumble, reaching out for a friend to hold as the thick green stench swirls around us.

I will never forget watching figure reaches out to me, his hand clasping my bare foot, his eyes pleading me to do something. He coughs, terrible hacking coughs that turn into to a fit as he still clings to me, I felt helpless, only watching him as the gas gets into his lungs, enveloping him.

You could never imagine what this felt like, grabbing his feet, dragging him atop a wagon, making some form of a sick stage, knowing as you watch that there is no cure other than death.

His eyes were popping out of his sockets now, mouth open, heaving with agony.

The figure still scrambles for air, the noise unimaginably disgusting as he hurls, his bile slowly turning a different colour, red. His body bumping up and down in the wagon as 2 men drag him over the hill.

Blood gushes out of his mouth filling up his lungs, no longer coughing, just lying there limply, letting the inevitable happen, waiting for his vile death to come.

If you had experienced what I felt, If you smelt, Heard, watched, what happened out there, you too would slowly shivel inside when people talk of war. It was never glorious to die for your country, it was agonising.

There is a saying: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori, and it translates roughly to "It is sweet and right to die for your country". It will never be sweet, therefore never right, just heroic and heart breaking.

ANZAC sculpture art

 

After completing a 'thing link' through which students shared their concepts of war, students were each given a matchbox (empty!). The instruction was to create a miniature sculpture which reflected a specific understanding of war from their research or prior knowledge, using both the interior and exterior of the matchbox. What resulted was a very interesting and clever array of different sculptures...which created a fair amount of additional discussion! Above are just a few images of the sculptures created in Room 15...each student should have their own shared on individual blogs-check them out!

ANZAC commemorations @ the Village Domain

This afternoon we all walked down to the Village Domain to be a part of a Havelock North School ANZAC day commemoration. It was a very special event to have been a part of. Each school from the Havelock North area presented a piece  related to the events of WW1 , 100 years on, that we had gathered to remember as a community.
HNI, in particular, Room 15 were very proud of Niamh and Eva, who represented us all with a poem reading. Niamh, Eva and Timothy were among a group from HNI who were then given the honour of laying the wreath at the Village cenotaph.

ANZAC Thinglink

We have begun inquiry in Term 2 by building on our understanding of ANZAC day. After exploring what knowledge we already had, we undertook some research to increase our understanding. In groups of three we put together a 'thinglink' as a way of presenting information that we felt was important. The 'Thinglink's' have been posted on individual blogs...check them out as instructions have been interpreted in a variety of ways. Below is the Thinglink created by Oscar.M, Geordie and Noah. Thanks for allowing me to share yours on the class blog boys- a wonderful effort! (Hover your cursor over the image to prompt the link cues)

Turangawaewae Timelines

To complete our Inquiry focus this term, students in Room 15 formed groups and created their own timelines of significant events since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, that they believe have had a hand in shaping New Zealand into what it is today. Each event selected had to be justified through an oral presentation to the class. It was very interesting comparing each groups ideas and understandings, in addition to discovering those events that were common across the groups. Students used their own judgement to decide which presentation tool was the best to share their information, there was a great selection. Thanks Maddie and group for sharing your wonderful effort on the class blog - check out more awesome creations on individual blogs.

Geometry: position and location

We've been learning to communicate and interpret locations and directions in maths this week. We applied our grid reference skills to a quick game of battleships today...maths can be fun!

Salute the Army

Today we had an opportunity to 'hang' with the army. It was really hard to wait until after lunch, especially once we had seen the very authentic army camp setup on the school field. We rotated in two groups looking at and having explained different aspects of Army life- vehicles, fitness training, arms, and routines. It also provided an opportunity for some great action photos!