Hello!
My fabulous and simply amazing friend (Athena) and I have made a photography website and we have been working on it for ages.
Today we have launched our website! Here is the URL/Link.
Our Website

Bye for now,
Pip

Kōtuku Kids Loving the Library.

Love this photo of our kids engrossed in the books at the Richmond Library.

Basic Facts Practice

From the Maths Coach's Corner 

The debate rages over whether or not students should "memorize" their facts. 
We should really be discussing automaticity or fluency, not memorization. 

It is important that there is an understanding of the concepts behind math facts, rather than rote memorization. 

The fact is that students who are not fluent with the basic math facts are at a huge disadvantage with most other aspects of math.

So, LEARN the basic facts first. 

Then here are some practice websites to develop fluency.

Word Clouds

Use this Word Cloud website to create your own list of memories from camp.
Tips: if you want to join two words together, use the ~ symbol next to the 1. 
Eg. Bridge~Valley
If you want a word to be bigger than others, write it several times.
Eg. I typed sunshine three times in the example below.

Tutu with the options at the top of the screen to change colour, font, shape, layout. 
Upload it to your blog by using the 'File' button to save it as a jpeg.

Genius Hour in Kōtuku

Some of our class in action for Genius Hour today.

Making Music with Paul and Paul

Here is our audio clip of 'Animal Raucous' created by all the students of our class during a fabulous musical day with Paul and Paul.

Click here to listen to it.

Using QuickTime to Make a Screencast

Using Quicktime or Screencastify (on Chromebooks) is a way you can show your learning. Check out the example here.

REPORT WRITING

We've been learning how to write reports to INFORM people about our topic. We were allowed to choose our own topic about something we were interested in.

Each paragraph had to begin with a TOPIC SENTENCE.

TOPIC SENTENCE = TOPIC + MAIN POINT
Each paragraph had to have at least 3 sentences that added detail about the MAIN POINT. These could include explanations and examples.

Have a look at some of our work on our individual blogs. Please leave a comment too!

Planting Natives

Yesterday, 12 Kōtukuians helped Jan Heine from Upper Moutere plant natives along a creek on her property. She's doing this planting to beautify the area and to try to stop erosion along its banks. 

Jan also shared a bit of information about the history of the creek and its connection with Lake Rotoiti and the glaciers from thousands of years ago.

We got involved with this project as a fundraiser for Wellington Camp.

First Aid with St.Johns

Today Kathryn Halstead, a St.John paramedic taught us about how to give first aid in some different situations. Pressure bandaging, how to deal with nosebleeds, DRSABC and CPR. We all learned something useful, so thanks to St.John for this information.

Our Slideshows About Japan

We have been studying different aspects of Life in Japan and had to present a slideshow of our research. Here is Japanese Fashion by Millie and Nigella, and you can check out the rest of them on our blogs.

Bike Safety with Constable Tonkin

Last week Constable Tonkin came in to teach us about being safe on our bikes. Bike safety and helmet checks, as well as safe biking skills were all part of the programme.

Kids choose their working space...

Many of the kids choose to work in group situations whilst others prefer to work on their own. A mix of tables, floorspace, couches and beanbags seems to cater for all. We are looking forward to getting some floor cushions and other bits into the classroom soon.