Week 6 Homework

Welcome to week 6!

 

If you are able please continue bringing in cans for the Auckland City Mission. 

The last day is this Friday, November the 18^th. 

Then we will send them off to city mission where they will then be gathered up in hampers and delivered to families in need over the holiday period. (Any questions check with Donald, Luke, Ferguson or your teacher)

 

Homework - Design a parcel that you would give someone to spread some holiday cheer (or just general cheer). What would you include and why? 

As it is a very expensive time of year, stick to a budget of $100.

You can:

- Draw your parcel and what it contains, create a slideshow, create a collage on paper. Of course you are welcome to get creative and present it in other ways!

- Research what you are putting in it and find out prices. 

- Complete a budget for the parcel with links or cutouts as evidence of the price you've found.

- Justify each item in the parcel. Who would appreciate it and why?

Reminder: Please bring your hats to schools- they need to be worn at morning tea and lunch. It is getting much hotter so also ensure you are wearing sunblock.

Good luck to all students participating in the APPA Choir on Tuesday evening.

Homework Week 3-4 Term 4!

Greetings Kahikateans! How do you say it? Kahikateians? Kahikateianos? 

Here is the homework for this week.

We have been looking at systems this year.

If a disaster such as an earthquake, fire or flood occurred would you be ready? This week have a talk at home and discuss your systems. 

What systems would be impacted in a natural disaster? What do you need to plan for?

What information do you need to know?

Create a map of your house and highlight the safest ways you could exit in case of a fire. Where would you meet as a family? Do you know your home address?

Keep reading. 

If you have read a good book that you think your peers may enjoy post a short review on Edmodo (don’t give away the ending).

Remember athletics is on Thursday (the 3^rd) and we will continue our training this week. You will need to wear appropriate footwear and bring you hat each day!

Kids for Kids link

Hey guys!

Kids for Kids is coming up fast! Here is the link for the folder where you can access the music + lyrics. 

Happy singing!

Miss Whitfield :)

Homework Week 6 - 7

It has been a busy few weeks in Te Ako Kahikatea with sports exchanges, our trip to the Stardome and the Speech competition. A big congratulations to our finalists: Finalists Micayla, Bianca, Ferguson, Jonathan, Danielle, Scarlett and Ojaswin. Ferguson will be representing Newmarket School at the Remuera Lions Speech Competition with his speech: 'Being Yourself'.





Coming up at school is the book week parade on Thursday 1st September where you can dress up as your favourite book character!

For homework this week:

As always you should be reading each night for at least 15 minutes and working on your basic facts.

Lets get your creative literacy juices flowing!

1. Follow this link to get a story starter: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/story-starters/writing-prompts/ . Write a short story (one paragraph) in the comments below.

2. Enjoy someones story? Add your own paragraph on to theirs or comment on their work telling them why!

3. Create a Diorama: For those of you who love arts and crafts, this activity is for you. Create a diorama of your favourite scene from your favourite book. Make sure you include a description of what is happening in the scene and why you consider it your favourite.

4. Did you favourite book end too soon? Wish there was more? Why not write it yourself! write your own version of 'what happens next' to the characters in a book of your choice. Present this as a document, comic strip, picture book or scratch animation.

Good luck!

APPA Choir Folder Update

Mrs Barry has asked me to update the folder for choir.

Please follow this link for the songs you need to be learning

APPA Choir

Thanks!

Homework: Term 3 Week 2 - 4

Welcome back to school and another exciting term!

We have dived in head first, starting with our trip to the film festival last week. We were lucky enough to be invited along to Shorts for Schools for the second year in a row which definitely did not disappoint. That brings us to our first homework task:

Movie Review

Choose your favourite short movie from our Film Festival trip and write a review for it. Check these links out for some handy tips:

http://www.studyzone.org/testprep/ela4/m/moviereviewl.cfm

http://www.spiritofbaraka.com/how-write-a-movie-review

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/writing-movie-reviews-lights-camera-publish

You can present this in a written format or as a filmed review.

This term we continue our focus on SYSTEMS as we look at SOLAR SYSTEMS.

For your homework this week, we would like you to think about the following scenario...

There is a world wide housing crisis. Too many humans, and not enough space. Scientists have recently discovered a vast amount of running water on Mars and are confident that humans will be able to exist on mars if they were to live in specific housing conditions. YOU have been entrusted to design a large structure that could house an entire community and allow them to live comfortably on Mars. If you are successful, many more of these structures will be built.

Things to consider:
- What do we use every day of our lives? eg: kitchens, bed, food...
- What would the design need to include to ensure humans can survive their safely?
- Will there be a school/places for adults to work?
- What will we do for entertainment?

Here are some sites where you can find more information
http://mars.nasa.gov/
http://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-planet-from-the-sun.html

You can present this any way you like! For example: Make a model, create a poster, use google draw...

Please remember to also do at least 15 minutes of reading each night and 15 minutes of basic facts practice!

Please Learn "Don't Stop Me Now" for the Leadership Assembly on Monday

"Don't Stop Me Now"

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!
I'm floating around in happiness
So don't stop me now don't stop me
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time

 I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go There's no stopping me
I'm burning through the sky yeah!

Two hundred degrees That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic kid out of you

Don't stop me now
I'm having such a good time I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time Just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (yes I'm having a good time)
I don't want to stop at all... yeah!

I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars On a collision course
I am a satellite I'm out of control
I am a superstar ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh oh oh oh oh explode

'm burning through the sky Yeah!
Two hundred degrees That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic kid out of you 

Don't stop me, Don't stop me, Don't stop me, Hey hey hey!
Don't stop me, Don't stop me, Ooh ooh ooh
Don't stop me, Don't stop me, Have a good time, good time
Don't stop me, Don't stop me,  Ooh ooh alright

Ooh I'm burning through the sky yeah!
Two hundred degrees That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic kid out of you

Don't stop me now
I'm having such a good time I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now If you wanna have a good time Just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (yes I'm having a good time)
I don't wanna stop at all

Homework due Friday 8th July- Leadership challenge

Greetings Kahikateaians! 

This week we are celebrating leadership in our school. Your homework for the next two weeks will be centered around this.

Leadership challenge!!!!!

Over the next two weeks, we, the Te Ako Kahikatea teachers, challenge you to these tasks. You can complete as many as you like. 

DOCUMENT your evidence anyway you like- think videos, photos, slides, note taking, poster presentation, slideshow, artwork- whatever you like! 

THE AIM is to find out a little more about what leadership is what what it means to lead. Choose from the activities below.

ACTIVITY 1: What is leadership? Discussion. Choose some family members who are willing to take part and have a conversation/interview them. Record their answers. Ask them these questions: 

• What does the word 'leader' mean to them? 
• What qualities do they think it takes to make a good leader?
• Who is a leader that they admire? Why?
• Who is a leader they dislike? Why? 

ACTIVITY TWO: Famous leader research. Choose someone to study who you admire or think of as a leader. They could be someone who helped lead a country, lead a change in something, was a leader in their line of expertise (artists, musicians, scientists). Create a poster to present the following information about them:

• Basic information: their name, where they are from, a little bit about them and their life
• What they were a leader in
• Why you think they are inspirational
• A quote or example of their leadership

ACTIVITY THREE: Being a leader at home. Think of something you could teach a family member or friend. Prepare a lesson and record your lesson plan. Teach the lesson and record the evidence. Some things to think about:

• How did the lesson go?
• Was it easy to be the leader and teach someone a new skill?
• What was difficult about the activity?
• What was fun or exciting about being the leader?

ACTIVITY FOUR: Mirror mirror on the wall- How could I change the world? Watch Kid Presidents video How to change the world. Have a think about some of these questions and create a presentation about it.

• Kid president says a lot of people don't think we can change the world. What sort of things might a leader do differently to these people?
• How do you think we could change the world (for the better)?
• Think about your strenghts- things you enjoy and/or are good at (or getting better at)? How could you use these to show leadership in your world?
• Dream big- if you could be a leader in anything, what would it be? When you're a grown up, what sorts of things could you do to make a difference in the world?

APPA music and lyrics

Calling all APPAers!

We have created a folder where you are able to view lyrics and music to practise with.

Follow the link to find the music.

Happy practising! 

Homework week 4-5. Due 3rd June.

The Human Body

The human body- a mysterious and wondrous thing! There are multitudes of systems working within the human body and each have a unique job to play to keep us functioning. 

Your homework- choose an internal organ which you have some interest in finding out about. If you're having a hard time choosing go here to have a look at some of the different ones. 

Once you've chosen, have a go at some of these tasks

- Find out all about your chosen organ. What is it's job? How does it do it's job? What other organs does it work with (what system is it a part of)? What would happen if that organ was damaged or didn't work properly? 

- Create a visual representation of your organ- NON digitally. This could mean a model, a sketch, a sculpture- get creative.

- Now find a way of presenting your research creatively- Google Slides, a cardboard poster, Google Draw, drawing it up, the choice is yours! 

This homework is due on Friday the 3rd of June. We can't wait to see it! 

Week Two homework

Welcome back, everyone! It has been a busy start to term, and we have lots of new learning ahead with our fantastic unit on the systems of the human body!

A reminder to all of you who might be wondering about homework. Homework is of course what you find here, on the blog. However, you should also be reading a book you enjoy and doing your basic facts EVERY NIGHT. There are lots of ways to do this- try reading a picture book to a younger brother or sister, reading aloud to your parents, or reading a chapter book to yourself. You can find basic facts all over the internet and phone apps, and you could even do it the good old fashioned way and write it down!

This weeks homework has a special focus- the Travelwise team have asked us to have a go at this Travelwise poster competition! 

There is a great prize for the winning school! Get creative, read through the poster attached and give it a go. Google Draw could be a great tool for this activity. Alternatively, go here to find all the information you need. 

Ask an adult at home to help you submit your poster online here

Good luck! 

TERM 2 Organisation

Te Ako Kahikatea has taken another big step towards the brave new world of 'Modern/Innovative Learning Environments'.
At the beginning of the year, students had a home class, but were grouped across the four classes for literacy and numeracy, returning to home classes in the afternoons for Social Sciences. This gave the four teachers a chance get to know all the students in the Ako, and was particularly beneficial for camp preparation and follow-up.

This term, we have moved into phase two of our programme. To streamline the process,  Rooms 1 and 1A will function as one class.  Rooms 2 and 3 will do the same. 

We have developed an orientation programme for the first two weeks where students  will develop the necessary skill sets and work habits required for succeeding in this new environment. This involves developing a robust work ethic as students will be working on individualised programmes based on learning goals they and their teachers have developed.


Students will attend guided learning sessions with their teachers designed to address their learning needs. There will be groups for literacy and numeracy, but we will not be cross grouping.

What will this look like in practice?
After students have identified their goals, they will select the guided learning sessions the teachers are running, and put them in their personal timetable - which is shared with the teacher. The teachers know who should be at each session, so will ensure that these students attend. However, it is important that students develop independence with this.
One teacher might be taking a maths group, while the other might be taking a writing group.  
This means that when they are not working with of the teachers, students will select from a range of learning tasks they need to complete for the week. So you would see some students working on maths problems, some doing reading tasks, others doing science etc. They will select from a menu of 'must dos' and 'can dos'. It will be up to each student to prioritise these tasks so that a)follow-up tasks are completed b) they do something they are particularly interested in.

Students are accountable for their progress through their required tasks through both their critical friend group, and both teachers. Each student has been assigned to a critical friend group. These groups meet every day or so and students must show what they had planned to do vs what they actually achieved. They must provide evidence of this in the form of a photograph, a document/slide etc. This information is collated in Hapara - the Google student management system we use.  Group members support each other with developing independence re prioritising and meeting task requirements on time.  

All four classes will come together for our Discovery Friday programme each week. Here, teachers, students, and parents will provide workshops on areas of interest e.g. cooking, building, computer programming etc. Students will develop their own area of inquiry in the manner of Google's Genius Hour. Genius Hour Explained

If you have any questions about about your child's learning, please make a time to come and see us.
Warm regards,
Te Ako Kahikatea teachers.

Systems -    Macro

and                        Micro

Your assignment for the next TWO weeks is to find out about systems within systems.

Take a BIG system like the government of a country and look at the parts that go together to make it work e.g. laws (the legal system). What sort of laws are there? Who makes sure that laws are followed? What steps are in place to keep the law? What is the system if laws are broken?

If you would prefer, you could take just ONE system - like the legal system and explore it, or you can do several, or if you're REALLY keen,them ALL!

You can present your homework as an infographic 

How to create an infographic, a cartoon, photo story, a video, a diagram...any way that helps you understand and explain the systems.

SYSTEMS, SYSTEMS, SYSTEMS, SYSTEMS...

If you think about it, most of our daily lives are made up of systems of some sort.

Your task this week is to be a systems detective and uncover all the hidden - and not so hidden systems around you.

Notice EVERYTHING big or small.

You can:

• Make a list
• Create a slide show
• Make a 2 minute video
• Make an animation
• Create a mindmap

What is the most surprising system you have discovered? Why.

What is the most important system? Why do you think this?

Homework Due Friday Week 5 2016 

Our focus for this term is SYSTEMS.

If you think about it, systems are EVERYWHERE!

 

With your family, talk about what a system is. Then make a list of the systems you have in your household which make everything run smoothly e.g. a list of chores that need doing regularly.

Who decided on the systems?

Who makes sure the systems run properly?

What happens when the system breaks down or doesn't work?

Why is it important to have systems in a family?

Talk to your friends and compare the systems in your family with theirs. What are the DIFFERENCES and SIMILARITIES?

Why do you think there are similarities?

What about  the differences?

Present your research in a doc or slide and save it to your INQUIRY folder in Hapara. You can also present it NEATLY on a piece of paper.

Remember to read for 20 minutes per night (it REALLY makes a huge difference to your progress in reading.)

Basic facts and tables should be practised too - remember your goals from your report last year!

Camp Information for Parents

Thank you to all the parents who attended the Camp Meeting on Wednesday. If you were unable to make it, have a look through the presentation below for more information.

We can't wait to get started with a full on 2016 in Te Ako Kahikatea.

This will be where you come to locate important information, such as homework tasks, updates on school events and what we have been doing in class. 

Homework:

Each week students are expected to read for at least 20 minutes each night and practice their numeracy skills. Most weeks there will be an additional task for the students to complete that will help them with our in class programme. These will always support an aspect of our class programme, such as concept. These tasks can be presented through a shared document in Google Drive, as a comment on the blog post it relates to or on paper.

Here are some great websites to remember for literacy or numeracy practice at home:

Reading Eggs - http://app.readingeggs.com/login 

Dogonews - www.dogonews.com

Kiwi Kid News - http://kiwikidsnews.co.nz/

IXL Maths - https://nz.ixl.com/math/

Prototec Basic Facts - http://www.prototec.co.nz/maths.html

Coming up:

Our year 5/6 camp to Chosen Valley is coming up in week 3 (Wednesday 17th - Friday 19th February) - Please make sure you return your forms to your homeroom teacher as soon as possible. To ensure the camp programme runs smoothly, we would appreciate any parent helpers who are available. There is a parent camp meeting at 3.15 on Wednesday 3rd of February in room 1a. 

More information will follow once we have final numbers of students and helpers.

Swimming starts shortly after we get back in weeks 5 and 6. As usual we will walk down to the Olympic Pools in Newmarket. Please ensure you are bringing your togs and a towel each day. Swimming is a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Towards the end of the term our year 4's head off to Zoo camp. More information about this will be released closer to the time.

As always, if you have any questions don't hesitate to drop in to class or send your homeroom teacher an email.

- Te Ako Kahikatea Teachers