Scarecrow Josh

Josh dressed up as a scarecrow.  Looking great.

Chiswick Park - Christmas Singing

Yesterday we went to Chiswick Park, Maxwells Line, and song a selection of christmas carols.  The children sounded amazing and the residents loved having us.

Welcome Mr Durkin

A big warm LC6 welcome to Mr Nic Durkin.  Mr Durkin will be in our class this week and next as our Student Teacher.  We will be learning all about Weight & Capacity and Procedural Writing while he is with us.  The fact that Mr Durkin turned up at school today with 30 shoe boxes also means we're in for some fun times.  What are they for?  What will be doing with them?  Watch this space!!

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"The Ten Waka" - Dragon Reading Group

The Dragon reading group (Jaime, Nia, Emma and Estah) read a book called "The Ten Waka".  It was about 2 children that made 10 Waka for Christmas presents for their family.  They made a special Waka for their Nana.  

Take a look at the Waka that they made.  They used twigs, paper and leaves.  They floated!!!

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Renwick Primary School Writing Blog

http://renwick278.blogspot.co.nz/

Read some of the writing from Renwick Primary School students.  Draft your feedback/comment in your Writing book.  Once you've edited your work hand it in so Mrs Kenyon can post your feedback/comment on the Blog.

Remember to keep your feedback sensible and positive.

Have fun!

School Lunches

http://www.3news.co.nz/Lunchbox-differences-in-decile-1-and-decile-10-schools/tabid/817/articleID/269617/Default.aspx

We watched a video clip about school lunches.  The first class had healthy food and most of them had their lunch.  In the other school some people didn't have any food.  Other people had junk food with no fruit.  Some of them didn't even have bags at school.  But the school provided a piece of fruit for the kids.  Some people had to starve.  It was very sad.  The first school was decile 10 and the other was decile 2.  It's a big difference.
By Emma Ellwood & Isabel


We saw a news team going to schools.  One class had 24 kids.  23 had breakfast, 24 had lunch and 22 had a piece of fruit.  The second school had 27 kids.  Only 21 had breakfast, 14 kids had lunch and none had fruits.  Some didn't have lunch or bags.  Crazy!
By Solomon & Jack


We watched a movie about children with no healthy food.  They had no fruit.  Some had a little bit to eat.  They got one piece of fruit from the teacher a day.  They weren't healthy.  It is disappointing they don't have healthy food,  It is sad they weren't learning properly.  They should get ore food and they looked really not and thirsty and hungry.
By Joshua Briggs

Department of Conservation

The SImply Magic Team visited Waitoetoe Park at the end of team 3 to plant native trees for Conservation Week.  The Department of Conservation has awarded them a $100 Mite 10 voucher to say thank you "for helping make New Zealand even more special".  The voucher will be put towards gardening equipment for the school garden. Well done Middles.

Chinese Speech Competition

Congratulations to Isabel Lu, LC6, for gaining first place in the Chinese Speech Competition in the holidays.

"Once again, I've been in the Chinese speech competition.  I'd been practising for so many weeks.  Everyday I had to practice it 2 times.  I haven't only got the speech to do, I also had a dance to do.  Finally the day had come.  I was very nervous. "

Milk in Schools

Mrs Kenyons parents Mr and Mrs Jones told us what it was like when they got milk in schools in the olden days.  They had their milk in glass bottles that were delivered to the gate of the school.  In the winter the milk kept cold but in the summer it use to heat up and didn't taste very nice.

Mr Jones visits with his pens

On Wednesday Mrs Kenyon's parents came in and showed us Mr Jones collection of pens.  We got to share them around and see lots of different kinds of pens like the dog pen.  We had to share them round in a circle and we got to have a look at them and touch them.  He had 170 pens to show us.  In his collection he has over 6000 pens.

Conservation Week

This week is Conservation Week so the Middles went down to Waitoetoe Park to plant some trees.  We were lucky enough to have the trees donated to us by the Kiwi Conservation Club.  We planted lots of NZ native tress - pittosporum (lemon wood), kahikatea (white pine) and griselinia.  Take a look at the photos of us getting muddy AND helping the environment.
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=new_set

Turbos Weekend

In the weekend LC6 went on the Turbos bendy bus.  It was fun.  It was croaked in the bendy bit.  In the bendy bit when the bus turned there was a big circle bit and it turned with us.

By Mary

On Sunday I went to see the Turbos rugby.  When I got there it was really cold but when it was half time my dad got me two hotdogs and to chips.  The Turbos won by 15 and North Harbor got 12.  The best part was seeing the Turbo Man.  He threw lollies but I didn’t get any because there were a lot of kids there and they got all of them.  So I went back to watch the game.  Some of the Turbos had a fight.

By Cassidy

On Sunday the class went to a rugby game at the FMG Stadium to see the Turbos V North Harbor.  The best bits were having a hi-five with ITM Man and a handshake with Turbo Man.  It was so fun!! 

By Solomon

My favorite part of the weekend was going to the Turbos practice.  At the practice I saw a man with stitches just above his eyebrow.  That day I got about 13 signatures.  I also got two posters.  They were practicing so hard.

By Tahlia

On Saturday we went on the bendy bus.  It was fantastic to go in it for the first time ever.  We went to the FMG Stadium twice, Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday we went to meet all the Turbos and on Sunday they won against North Harbor.  I think it was the windiest day ever.  My favorite player is Nick Croswell because he never gives up at been a good captain and I like his boots.

By Jayden

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/organize/?start_tab=new_set

Milk in Schools Launch

Riverdale School hosted the "Milk in Schools" launch today.  It was wonderful for Riverdale as we got to see the Milk Tanker when it came to school.

More fun learning!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68331862@N04/sets/

Junior Turbos Bucket Heads

We are so pleased to tell everyone that we won the Property Brokers competition we entered.  We are officially Junior Bucket Heads.  We won a ticket for everyone in our class to next weeks Turbos game, and a ticket for a parent to come with us.  We also get a Turbos Flag and a bucket.

So, next Saturday 7th we can all come to school and get picked up by the Turbos bus and taken down to see their last practice.  We can bring a pen and something for the players to sign after they practice.  Then on Sunday we get to go to the game and all sit together.

We can't wait.  You should've heard the noise we made when Barry from Property Brokers and Nick Crosswell (the Turbos Captain) came to tell us we had won.  We are so excited.

Check out our photos from our bucket head decorating competition Nick did with us today.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.577093799003228.1073741843.102218953157384&type=1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68331862@N04/sets/

Swimming Survival at the Lido

We've had lots of fun learning to survive in the water this term.  We've worn life jackets, learnt to kick properly with flutter boards, jumped in the deep end for the first time and some of us have even got to have a turn in the row boat.  We're having such a good time.

Check out the photos of our learning.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68331862@N04/sets/

Fish Buying

Due to the death of one of our fish, Kamil, Callum, Maisie and Isabel went down to Animates Pet Shop with Mrs Kenyon today to buy some new fish for our tank.  We saw some guinea pigs and the turtles but weren't allowed to take them back to school.
Check out the photos of our adventure.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68331862@N04/sets/

Market Day Discovery Time

Today Middle Magic got to visit all the middle classes and 'create' products that might inspire them to make something fantastic for the Market Day in Term 4.  Students could make card, envelopes, bookmarks and paper caterpillar's with Mrs Kenyon.  Pet rocks, butterfly's or water creatures were available in Mrs Mercer's room.  Mrs Marychurch had a wonderful flower theme and Mrs Ruawai had a water/beach theme going on.
Students created products, looked at what might sell and why.  Many students realised that speed, quality and usefulness were really important when creating products.
Take a look a look at some of the products students made.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68331862@N04/sets/

Dr. Seuss

This term LC6 is going to read as many of the Dr. Seuss books we can find.  He wrote 60 of them and we have read 11.  We have a long way still to go.  To celebrate the 11 that we have read, we had a Dr. Seuss day today.  Mrs Kenyon set up rotations for us to go around.  We made Cat in the Hat hats and masks, drawings of Truffula Tress with pastels and "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish" art.  We also  had Mrs Arthur and her children come in to read us a Dr. Suess story "Oh, the places we'll go" and competed in a Dr. Suess quiz.  What an exciting day we've had.  Take a look at our photos.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/68331862@N04/sets/

Term 3 Swimming lessons

We love swimming so much we think we should be allowed to do lessons until the end of the term!

I think we should have swimming until the end of the term because it makes your legs and arms stronger. Swimming make you run faster and climb faster.  Swimming is awesome because you get to do fun stuff and play with your friends while learning new skills.  Swimming makes you healthy.  It is good for your body. That is why I think we should have swimming until the end of term.  By Tyler

I think we should take swimming for the rest of the term because it is a good sport.  You get stronger because you move your body a lot especially your arms and legs.  Lastly being able to swim is a really good thing because it can help you survive in deep and dangerous water.  That is why I think we should have swimming for the rest of the term.  By Joshua Briggs

I think we should take swimming lessons for the rest of the term because some people really like swimming. People really want to learn more things about swimming and lastly people want to know how to swim and that is why I think we should go swimming.  By Jaime

I think we should take swimming lessons for the rest of the term because firstly it helps us with our exercise and gets our arms moving.  Secondly its so fun we really enjoy it also the teachers are so helpful and nice.  Finally it  makes us get better and faster at our swimming skills.  That was my three reasons why we should do swimming lessons for the rest of the term.  By Mia

I think we should take swimming for the rest of the term.  Firstly so we can make our arms stronger.  Secondly if you crash in a boat in the deep sea so you can save yourself.  Lastly you will be able to tread water that is why I think we should do swimming for the rest of the term.  By Dylan Calder

Make an Avatar

http://www.buildyourwildself.com/
Follow this link to make your own Avatar.  
Then describe your Avatar for me.  
What does he/she look like?
What do they do all day?
Where do they live?

Taniwha's with Mrs Paki

Mrs Paki helped LC6 create wonderful Taniwhas last week.

How Maui found his father and the magic jawbone

Emma Minshull completed this beautiful sun based on the book above. 

My Taniwha

My taniwha has colourful scales.  It is a man eating taniwha.  It has teeth so sharp and shiny it can almost blind its enemy.  But the worst part about him is he can be camouflaged to anything.  He has a really big scar on his face.  His best power is breathing flames from his mouth.  He has a big roar.   By Josh B

My terrible taniwha has a round head, spikey teeth and 6 pitch black legs.  His body moves like a slithering snake.  It looks like a terrifying monster.  His shiny, slippery scales are indigo.  The taniwha lives in the long grass.  He loves hiding in the long grass.  My taniwha goes roar when he sees a person.  There are lots of korus and stripes on his body.   By Isabel

My Taniwha is black with maori patterns over it.  It is a very terrifying taniwha.  It has a loud roar.  It is black, silver, orange, gold and brown.  It is a very big taniwha.  It is very evil.  It has sharp shiny claws and shiny teeth with blood dripping from them.  It has six legs and a very long tail.  By Jack Conley

Matariki

Today we celebrated Matariki (the maori new year) with our Buddy Class LC3.  We made kites and stars.

In late May, the constellation of stars known as Matariki rises approximately half an hour before the sun. Approaching the shortest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere, Matariki marks the time when the sun, drifting north, turns around when it reaches Matariki and starts moving south again. In Māori mythology Matariki and her six daughters assisted Ra (the sun) whose winter journey from the North left him weakened. Traditionally, a look-out was posted to watch for the rise of Matariki. 

Football in Schools

Our Football in Schools programme with Andrea is going really well.  We are all learning lots of ball skills and having fun playing against each other.

Pingao & Kakaho

Pingao was the daughter of Tangaroa the god of the ocean, and Kakaho (the stem of Toetoe) a son of Tane Mahuta, the god of the forest.

Day after day, Pingao would gaze longingly from the lapping waves as Toetoe’s beautiful white plumes blew in the wind and serenaded her from the shoreline. One day she rode the incoming tide as far as she could and clambered up the sand dunes. Unfortunately the sun was beating down and without the water of the ocean to sustain her she never made it to her lover’s side. 

As Tane Mahuta and Tangaroa were enemies, some say that Tane Mahuta made his son stick in the ground so he could move to help her, and that Tangaroa sent a wave to wash his daughter away.

Weavers now gather the golden leaves of Pingao and stitch them together with the stems of Kakaho to weave the beautiful patterned Tukutuku panels that can be found in the Wharenui (meeting house) to be honored and admired by the people and bound together for eternity.

 Toetoe                                                                          Pingao  

Patupaiarehe - the ghost like fairy

The Short Story

A quick, easy summary

Read the Full Story

In Māori traditions, patupaiarehe are fairy-like people who live in the forest or on the misty mountain tops. Sometimes they are called tūrehu or pakepakehā.

What did they look like?

Patupaiarehe had light skin and red or fair hair. They did not have tattoos. Some people said they were small, and others said they were a normal size. In Whanganui stories, patupaiarehe were giants.

Where were they found?

Patupaiarehe were seldom seen. They were thought to live in several places in the North Island, including in the Waikato, around Rotorua and in the Urewera mountains. They also lived in some places in the South Island.

What were they like?

Patupaiarehe were afraid of the light, and were only seen at twilight or in the mist. They wore mats and red flax clothes, and could sometimes be heard playing their flutes.

What happened when they met people?

Sometimes patupaiarehe would put people under a spell and steal them away. They made love to beautiful women, and some people thought their children were the redheads called urukehu. To keep them away, people would paint themselves with smelly mixtures, or cook food, because patupaiarehe hated the smell. Fire and light would also frighten them away.

Patupaiarehe sometimes taught people magical chants and other skills. They were good at fishing, and one chief spied on them to learn how to make nets.

Matangi and the Taniwhai

A man called Matangi was a famous hunter.  He came over to the Manawatu because he hears there were lots of birds that he could hunt.  He was supposed to go home afterwards but decided to stay.  He sent for his whanau to come and join him.

Now, there was a Taniwha.  He had a red horn on his horn, sparkling blue scales and six legs.

As Matangi's whanau were coming over the hills the Taniwha ate 12 of them.

Matangi was so angry he picked 12 of his best warriors to help him fight the Taniwha.  They had spears, fir poi and nets made of flax.  They made a trap for the Taniwha.  They called him names and the Taniwha roared at them.  They fought for 12 hours.  Then, the Taniwha tripped on a stump.  Matangi and his warriors caught him with their net.  They killed him and buried him in a swamp.

Today the swamp is still there.  It has black water.  The swamp is said to be tapu (or sacred).

Matangi and his whanau lived happily ever after.

Crosscountry

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the crosscountry today.  The children have trained hard for the event and we had excellent class results.
A special mention to Akiva for her 1st place in 7 year old girls.
Other fantastic results were:
Emma Minshull - 2nd 7 yr girls
Tyler Bron - 2nd 7yr boys
Callum Mercer - 3rd 7yr boys

Joshua Valley

Once upon a time there was a mountain but it was no ordinary mountain.  It was a candy mountain.  That night it rumbled and grumbled.  In the morning it was going to erupt.  All the kids were happy.  They quickly raced outside.  Suddenly it erupted.  All the kids in Joshua Valley spent the whole day filling their mouths with candy.
By Joshua Briggs

Class Pet Number 4

Our new pets have arrived in LC6 and we are loving them.  We have 3 very funny little tropical fish and a big 'sucker' fish to clean the bottom of our tank.  They don't have names but feel free to suggest one.  
We take turns feeding the fish and are hoping they grow BIG very soon.

Pania of the Sea

Once there was a women called Pania.  She lived in the sea.  One day when Pania came out off the sea a man called Karitoki made her his wife.  Every morning Pania would go back to the sea to see her family and the sea people.  Every day when the sun went down Pania heard her husband singing so she came out of the sea to see him.  Karitoki didn't want Pania to go to the sea so he asked the Tohunga to help him.  The Tohunga made magic.  But, the magic did not work.  Pania was very sad because Karitoki had asked the Tonhunga to make magic so she would stay.  Pania dived into the sea and turned into stone.  She always stayed in the sea.
By Isabel Lu, LC6

Our Marae Writing

At the marae Mrs Mercer did the karanga and then we listened to a couple of speeches.  Then the boys did the haka and that was excellent.  Meanwhile, the girls were making pois and then the girls came outside and did a poi dance to the boys.  then the boys did the haka to the girls.  Finally we had a poroporaki or leaving ceremony.  By Jack

Mrs Mercer did the calling.  I thought they were talking in a secret language.  I thought I belonged there.  I saw new things and carvings.  I had lots of fun.  By Emma Ellwood


It's my first I've been to a marae!  We saw Mrs Mercer do a karanga.  I tried not to laugh at it.  We did a hongi.  I thought there would be more people to hongi at the marae.  Then a women talked about the pictures of the ancestors on the wall.  There were lots of kowhaiwhais on the wall.  Then women taught all the girls how to make and do poi.  It was very hard making them.  We saw the boys performing a haka.  Then the girls performed the poi.  I really like making the poi.  By Isabel


When we got to the Marae Mrs Mercer did the karanga.  Next we went into the marae and listened to a speech.  We have to hongi.  The boys went first and then the girls.  After the hongi Wiremu told us who the pictures on the wall were of.  In the marae there were kowhaiwhai patterns.  Before lunch the girls made poi and they learnt to do a waiata with the pois.  The boys learnt the haka.  The boys did the haka to the girls and the girls did the poi to the boys.  There was a tekoteko inside the meeting house on the ground.
By Emma Minshull

Poi

The boys Haka

Marae Visit - Thursday 16th May

The Middle Team visited the Marae yesterday (Thursday 16th May).  We had a fantastic time looking at the wharenui (meeting house), learning about Powhiri and we had to Hongi.  The girls learnt to make poi and the boys learnt a Haka.  We all had a wonderful day.

A special thank you to Mrs Peck and Mrs Mercer, Papa Jack and the parents that came with us (Tanya, Margie and Maryanne).

Grasshopper Tennis

We have loved playing tennis with Big John each Monday.  We're learning lots of tennis skills and playing lots of really fun games.

Mary's New Dog

It was fun to have a visit from Mary's new puppy before school this morning.  He is a black labrador crossed with a border collie.

Dandelions by Jayden & Tyler

Dandelions from Lynette Kenyon

Jets Basketball

The Jets basketball coach, Mike Kalavros, taught us how to 'dribble' the basketball.  We had some races.