Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Glenbrae Heroes

This year Room 7 decided to create a narrative as our film festival movie. We had much discussion about what this should be about, but our script writers Luisa, Maara and Linda Kiki created a story that tied two ideas together; Superheroes and our school values.

In our movie, Respect Boy (Levi R) and Energiser Girl (Fusi) support Glenbrae students through a number of testing scenarios. They illustrate values such as encouragement, respect and perseverance. At the end of the film, we discover that anyone can become a superhero by displaying these values. This causes us to wonder whether Fusi and Levi are real superheroes after all... 


Thank you to all of Room 7 who played a part in the movie. Special thanks to Luisa, Maara, Linda Kiki, Chris, Sam, Moses, Dora, Hemi, Danny-Joe, Taki, Fusi and Levi R who put in several hours of work (some of which were spent outside in the wind) and re-shot some scenes multiple times.

Monday, 31 October 2016

Medtech Trip!

Today Room 7 traveled to the city to experience the Medtech exhibition in silo 6. This is an interactive exhibition that focuses on bio-engineering - focusing on how medicine and technology combine.

We were split up into groups of 6, we rotated around the silos to learn about different areas of the body and different areas of bio-engineering. Check out some of our favorite activities!
In this exhibition, we had to make music with different parts of our body. In this picture, Dora is holding a sensor that makes music as she moves her arm.

In a different area, the volunteers were showcasing an app that let you see inside the body (as long as you were wearing a particular t-shirt). There was also an opportunity to perform a virtual operation to remove an appendix in this room!

In another room the students were able to make slime using different chemicals.They also got to try to make a container that could hold kinetic sand - which wasn't as easy as it seemed!         
However, our favourite room was one where we got to use our bodies in different ways. We used our balance to play a computer game, measured the height of a jump while wearing weights and created art while cycling!
Using balance to steer in the game
Adding paint to the wheel
 
Our artwork


Thursday, 20 October 2016

Healthy Shared Lunch

Today we had a whole school shared lunch in the hall. Each class made a different healthy dish and we made enough for each child (and some whanau) to try a piece of each.




In Room 7, we turned our classroom into a kitchen in the morning and created around 100 sandwiches, which we cut up so that everyone could try at least half a sandwich each. These were a great hit with the students and completely ran out by the end of the shared lunch!

Well done to all of the students who put in a great effort to ensure that the sandwiches were finished in time.

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

The Haunting

This term all of the students in Room 7 are completing novel studies. To help us select chapter books to read, some of the students completed reviews of books that interested them. Check out Dallas' book review of The Haunting.
Book review of The Haunting by Margaret Mahy.
This book  is about a boy name Barney and he thinks that seeing ghost is normal for him. He started seeing ghost when he was a young boy and he thought that seeing ghost is like when you fall off a bike or fall on the ground and cry. My favourite part of The Haunting book was  when the boy Barney thought he was getting close to death. I like this book because it is scary and has a lot of details about the boy and what is happening in the book.  
I think someone that is interested and loves to read scary horror books would enjoy this book.  I think I would tell people that like horror to read this story.

I rated this book 5 out of 5 because when I started reading through the first chapter it was interesting and then when I got to the middle of the chapter it was explaining what was happening to the boy.


   

Monday, 17 October 2016

Room Seven Survivors

This week in writing  Miss Stones group have been writing survival stories. The students were able to think very deeply about their survival scenarios and each wrote a very different story.


Here is a snippet of Luisa's story "Shark Attack"


Bethany, fought for her life, struggling to get free from the monstrous sea creature. A destructive pain urged through Bethany’s body, red velvet liquid flowed through the seawater, disintegrating very quickly. She kicked violently and was set free, she was able to reach the surface of the sea, struggling to swim. There was no sight of the cold-blooded creature, but in that case there was also no feeling of her right arm. Bethany blared horrendously in pain and in disturbance attracting the creature towards her. She glared back as kilometres between the creature and her became metres. Kicking her pale feet urgently made her more visible to the creature, besides the amount of blood that was flowing continuously much like a mini waterfall.


Check out the opening of Courtney's story about Terrorism

It was barely dawn when Ben woke up to the sounds of heavy footsteps and loud thuds coming from the room below him. Ben didn't recognised the heavy footsteps and he knew his family wouldn't risk being so loud in the middle of the night of the fear of being caught by people they didn't want attention from. So using his wits he left the warmth of his blankets and crawled onto the cold wooden floor to the other side of the room where the door of his closet was. As he was about to hide in his closet Ben hesitated “I need to warn mum and dad” he thought to himself .  

Sam's story again was very different - he wrote about Naruto!

“OUCH?!?!” Naruto got a hard punch from Minato. “ What’d you do that for” Naruto said.“You did the Jutsu all wrong, you're supposed to use Rotation, Force and more Focus”. Naruto kept training hard so he could master the Jutsu called the Rasen-Shuriken. Naruto was so happy until the village was attacked by a strong group called THE AKATSUKI.  



Thursday, 13 October 2016

Being Sunsmart at Glenbrae

Glenbrae school is a Sunsmart school. As part of being a Sunsmart school all students and teachers have to wear hats when they are outside in Term 1 and Term 4. Every class also has sun screen for students and teachers to apply before leaving the classroom.

Why is it important to be Sunsmart?


    Because skin cancers are the most common form of cancers in New Zealand.  The incidence of melanoma skin cancer is among the highest in the world. 
    Sunsmart students Mateaki, Taki and Hemi

    Sun exposure to the sun makes us vulnerable to skin cancer. The more we cover and stay in the shade the less chances we have of developing skin cancer.

    Hats and sunscreen before heading outside


    Tuesday, 11 October 2016

    The White Mouse

    This week Weka have been reading a book called The White Mouse by Leon Davidson. One of the create activities was to make a storyboard of the main characters journey through World War Two.

    Check out Alfred's storyboard below

    Wednesday, 24 August 2016

    Room 7 Warriors

    This afternoon the students in Room 7 have been working hard on their items for cultural festival tomorrow. 

    Not only have the students been practicing in their cultural groups, but we will also be performing two class items at tomorrow evening. 

    The boys have been practicing a Haka while the girls have created a dance. 
    We hope to see lots of whānau tomorrow to celebrate the students hard work with us!

    Tuesday, 9 August 2016

    Congratulations Bloggers!

    Every month in Room 7 we celebrate our top blogger. We have a blogger of the month wall where a picture of the winning blog is displayed.


    Last month, Linda Kiki and Luisa took part in the Winter Learning Journey, which involved blogging over the holidays. They also actively blogged during the term.




    Linda Kiki won second place for the Winter Learning Journey.




    As they both blogged 51 times in July, the girls won our blogger of the month. To celebrate, they recieved a prize each and Miss Stone created an infographic for them that displayed information about their blogs.

    Friday, 5 August 2016

    Cook Island Language Week!

    This week we have been celebrating Cook Islands Language Week.   This years theme is "Kia ariki au i toku tupuranga, ka ora uatu rai toku reo" or To embrace my heritage, my language lives on. 

    In Room 7, we split into groups and each studied a different island. We then used this knowledge to create a slide on  a shared slideshow.



    We then made a video with our Cook Island students, to show them sharing their language.


    Thursday, 28 July 2016

    Breakout!

    This Afternoon Room 7 took part in a 'Breakout'. This meant that the students had to solve a series of clues in order to unlock a number of locks that were attached to a treasure chest. This Breakout was maths themed and the students had to solve a number of maths problems using their place value knowledge.

    To start off, Miss Stone presented the students with a picture frame that contained a picture of a Pythagorean tree. Some of the students realised that their had to be something more to this picture, and found a secret note hidden inside.

    Hidden in the bookshelf was another clue, this time it was a quote by Pythagoras. Once the students worked out which word was missing from the quote they were able to remove the word lock.

    Some of the students were searching the classroom around this time and Jayden managed to find two keys under some of the chairs, while some of the girls found a smaller locked box in the cushions. Once they opened this box they found a maths problem and key inside.

    The students also found a series of cups that contained a clue. Once they placed the cups in order it spelled out a word which lead them to find another key.

    Another group of students found an ultraviolet light hidden in the bookshelf. They also found some 'blank' paper and realised that their was something written in invisible ink. This sheet was a key for the directional lock and the students solved a maths problem and converted it to the directions.

    This was the last lock to be opened before the students claimed their prize. They finished with ten minutes left on the clock which was a great time.


    Wednesday, 27 July 2016

    Room 7 Scientists

    This week Room 7 have taken part in a couple of Science experiments with twists: the scientific concept that we were told that we were experiencing was not what was really happening.




    On Tuesday we conducted an experiment called "Light vs Sound" where we blew up balloons filled with icing sugar and popped them to see if we would see the balloon explode before we heard it, as light travels faster than sound. However, when we are so close to an event like this, our brains cannot perceive the difference . Some of us where sure we heard the balloon first, while others were unsure. We were all interested to learn that the experiment was flawed.

    On Wednesday we tried to see sound.  We created mini drums out of glass jars with balloons stretched over the top of them. We then placed sugar granules on top of the balloon and hummed, trying to see if we could make the sugar vibrate.  The science book we have told us that the sugar would vibrate because of the sound we were making, but it asked us to hum quite close to the jar. Some of the students then realised that it was their breath that was causing the vibrations instead of sound. We then watched a video about how we could see sound, but the scientists performed this experiment on a much larger scale.

    Tuesday, 5 July 2016

    Karaoke!

    This afternoon the children in Room 7 split up into their houses and were asked to sing a song for the class. Each group came up with a different song from a different genre which made the performance really interesting.


    Rata performed a cheer-leading song (Petty). It was great to see that all of the students were included and played a part in the routine.
     

    Kowhai performed "We are Young" by Fun. They were very prepared as they had printed the lyrics and knew the song well.



    Kauri performed "Light of mine" and had choreographed a few actions to support their singing.


    Nikau perform Lean and Dab and had quite an impressive dance routine!

    Our next step will be to move away from 'karaoke'. Instead the students will be singing without the support of the YouTube videos. We are really looking forward to hearing the learners sing!

    Monday, 4 July 2016

    Volcano Experiment

    This morning Pukeko and Kakapo reading groups created a volcano. The children have been learning about volcanoes over the past few weeks as part of their reading programme. Pukeko were learning about the science of volcanoes while Kakapo learnt about famous eruptions, such as Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii.



    To complete this unit, the children decided that they should create a volcanic eruption. They created the volcano out of clay with a small jar in the centre of it. They then placed baking soda, washing up liquid and vinegar into the jar to watch the volcano "erupt". This happened because the baking soda and vinegar released carbon dioxide as they reacted.


    Have a look at our video of our experiment below!

    Monday, 27 June 2016

    MasterChef: Glenbrae School


    Over the last week the children in the Pilkey and Dahl writing groups have been studying procedural writing.  After following instructions last week and reading some procedural texts, the children were given the challenge of creating their own healthy recipe for a baked potato that could be shared with children in the cluster.
    Our creation!

    Chef Fusi


    After a lesson researching and writing the recipes on Friday and at home during the weekend, the children spent their writing time creating them this morning.
    Check out our teamwork!



    The students had a wonderful time making these recipes, which all tasted absolutely delicious! The teachers were really impressed by the students ability to work together, to manage themselves and to clean up after they had finished.


    Stuffing the 'potacos'
                                                 

    Fusi and Mata creating Chickpota Cups

    Testing the product!

    Wednesday, 22 June 2016

    Fenchurch makeover


    Every Friday we go to Tamaki College for Technology. It is a great time to learn about technology and work on different projects. It is also a time to catch up and say hello to our past students who are now at college. 

    After Technology we would walk back to school with either Mr Nath, Mrs Tofa and Miss Atuahiva. Our normal route would be to walk along Taniwha Street, turn left at Fenchurch street and carry on walking until we see our school gates which is on Leybourne Circle. We would then cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and make our way into our school.



    Last Friday 17 June 2016, our normal route was changed because of the construction work on Fenchurch Street. Most of the houses which were on Fenchurch Street have been demolished and the street is now empty besides the fences the construction workers have put around the perimeter of the properties.


    When Mrs Tofa arrived at school she told us we could not walk along Fenchurch Street and we would have to find another route which will take us to school. We decided to walk through the Tamaki College building, walk pact the Recreational Centre, walk along the field and cross the reserve unto Leybourne Circle. A few students complained that their shoes would get wet but Mrs Tofa and the students at the front started the parade and everyone followed.

    Crossing through the Tamaki College building was interesting. We saw a lot of Tamaki students in their houses preparing a Haka for Matariki celebrations. A lot of students also said hello to us as well as some staff members like Taki's dad.



    We believe the new route is shorter than our usual way back to school. However, we will have to consider if it is a route we would like continue taking while Fenchurch Street is being re-built. 

    Tuesday, 21 June 2016

    Weathermen in Room 7

    This Morning in maths the students were completing a problem about temperature and negative integers.  This was the problem they had to solve:




    The children had to follow a series of clues to work out what the temperature was in different cities and suburbs around New Zealand.  They then created a Google MyMap to display this information, before creating a weather show to present their findings. Here are a couple of the videos that the students made, you will find more on their individual blogs.




    Monday, 20 June 2016

    Following Instructions

    Today in writing we have been learning about procedural writing or writing to instruct. This type of writing includes things like recipes, instructions, rules of a game and some science experiments.

    Miss Stone's writing groups read some different examples of procedural texts and then talked about the language features they contained. Then they had to follow some instructions to build different electrical circuits.

    Each group got a different kit with different instructions to follow. Some groups found that there instructions were very clear, while others had some that were quite complicated.  All of the students found the pictures very helpful.









    Now the students have some experience with  procedural writing, they will begin to write their own texts.

    Tuesday, 14 June 2016

    Auckland Live

    Yesterday on the 13th June, Room 7 and Room 9 went on a trip to Auckland Live. This was held at the Auckland Town Hall and Aotea Centre.


    After arriving at the Town Hall and being welcomed for the day,we engaged with our first session which was taken by Java Dance Company. They performed for 10 minutes before they took Room 7 and students from Clendon School for a dance workshop.


    The children used dance moves and body percussion to dance to different rhythms.


    After morning tea our students went to Aotea Centre for our second session which was with Te Rehia Theatre. We watched a snippet of one of their shows before getting into some theatre sports activities.







    We then went on to have lunch and our students enjoyed playing bullrush with pupils from other schools. After lunch we returned to the Aotea Centre where we  participated in our final activity - looking at dance through visual art using Mata Mata 2.0 in Limelight.

     

    We had a really wonderful day over all - the groups that we saw were awesome and we learnt a lot about the arts.

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