Welcome to “Forces that Clash!” … Room 14 took on the ultimate elemental challenge, unleashing pure chaos as they split into Team Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. It was the raw heat of Fire versus the tidal wave of Water, the speed of Air versus the rock-solid strength of Earth.
Darlin hold my hand .. Nothing beats a “Force that Clashes!” Tune in now to find out which team wins!
Tēnā koutou! Room 14 had a superb time taking part in the Zespri Challenge this term! We learned that walking is more than just steps—it’s about getting healthier too!
We did face a couple of challenges we wanted to share:
Even with those hiccups, our confidence in sports and physical activity has been way up! Although we ran out of time to officially finish the Zespri Challenge, the learning continues!
We are so thankful for the opportunity and the great improvements Zespri helped us make. We are all going to keep walking and stay healthy! Check out our short trailer!
This term, Room 14 focused on “positive difference equals work.” We looked at types of emotions and the effects. A visit with Life Ed to understand how our brains can help make good decisions. We celebrated several language weeks, including Myanmar and Tongan language weeks, by creating unique, AI-generated storybooks. What a term!
A huge shout-out to everyone who always makes a positive difference! Tino Pai!
Timing can never be perfect, but as our Prefect Kōrero emphasises, “Just roll with it!”
We’ve just moved into our temporary new space, and we absolutely love it!
We love the smell of the fresh carpet and the newly painted walls. Our classes were amazing and so excited about shifting our furniture into our new learning environment. We’ve got a lot more wall space (though no staples allowed!), and the classrooms are ready for learning during the winter season. 
The temporary new classrooms are soundproof – I wonder if we could incorporate ‘singing’ as part of our literacy warm-up? (Just a thought!).
A huge thanks to Mr Jacobsen and the builders who made this happen. Mr J has been instrumental in getting this done – we love you, Mr J! Our original classroom is a ‘work in progress’ with the builders, so watch this space to see how we maximise our new learning areas!
Welcome back from the school holidays and as we reflect on Term 1, a significant concern across our nation is children’s school attendance. Research shows that student attendance directly reflects their learning and achievement. Last term, it was alarming to see that our whole school attendance for Term 1 was at 60%.
Why?
There are multiple reasons and complexities behind this question.
While there isn’t a straightforward answer, for those students who arrive at school each day, we are committed to optimising and maximising their learning & their well-being. We provide to empower our students by providing them a student voice and agency!
Our class goal is captured in our 3 P’s: Participation, Partnership, and Protection. This means showing up, getting involved, and working hard so you can be proud of your achievements!
These photos celebrate our Team 3 students who achieved 100% attendance – when one wins, we all win! Keep coming to school – Well done everybody!
Kia ora whānau!
Last term was absolutely packed with excitement, especially with our bi-annual “Fiafia night.” It was a massive success, bringing together our families and communities to watch our amazing performers dance and sing the night away. What a brilliant way to wrap up Term 1 – “Joy, Koakoa mai, koakoa atu.”
Welcome back to Term 2! As we head into autumn and winter, it’s starting to get a bit nippy out there! This term, our learners are setting their sights on “beyond the sky.” Make sure to check out our Team 3 school immersion assembly, which showcase our Team 3 inquiry. This ties in beautifully with Matariki Day and our Language Week celebrations.
Our learners will be diving into dictation this term. They’ll be listening to audio and using slides to help them write a couple of sentences about our topic. This will help frontload their knowledge about our inquiry topic. It’s been awesome to see how excited they are about learning about the Solar System, the stars (Matariki), and our seasons. One of our curious lear
ners even asked, “Miss, where is Pluto?” … hmmmm? Great questions, I wonder if anyone can help us?
Don’t miss our first dictation topic: “Phases of the Moon!” How does the moon impact our planet? Not only does it give us our superpower sleep, but it also affects our environment. Hmmm, interesting, eh?
Check out our class blogs to find out more! Nga Mihi Nui
Today we introduced the Pr1me Maths, and honestly? The class was buzzing! Everyone was super keen to dive in, but we took it slow, step-by-step
, to make sure everyone got it.
First, short-form dates at the top of the page. Then, we went through the example problem, so they’d be able to use it while working on the following questions independently. Essentially, we used manipulatives whilst building math vocabulary (incorporate maths talks). With our learners, they’re working on reading the questions independently and figuring out what they’re being asked to do mathematically—similar to DMIC
The Prime online platform reinforced the work we did with manipulatives and practice books. Our learners liked the aesthetic, challenges, and rewards.
To build our learners ‘digital fluency’ competency, today our class had its first Cybersmart Challenge, which focused on learning how to bookmark sites for easy access. We had a handful of students who have already mastered in this skill, while my newer students were still learning the terminology/language of using their Chromebooks. Good problem to grapple with.
It’ll be interesting to see how our students feel about using chromebooks, their level of proficiency and what are their goals with using their digital device? Hmmm .. watch this space!
A side note, most of the students said their parents don’t know how to ‘bookmark’ their favourite sites? Interesting? I wonder – if they don’t know how to bookmark, or don’t use the terminology ‘bookmark? If you’re at home, check out Manaiakalani Cybersmart Challenge – how many skills/terminology are you familiar with?
Check out a few of our developing digital Edubloggers posts about ‘Bookmarks’.
Click on this: Edublog post – book marks then click on their image and it’ll take you straight on their blog. Leave a positive comment on their blog.
Malo Room 14!
Our first Room 14 PENN movie! We’ve had a busy and exciting start to Term 1, and we haven’t been able to capture all our findings yet. Our school theme has been ‘Joy – koakoa mai, koakoa atu.’
Room 14 discovered joy in three key areas: knowing our identity and feeling connected to our community, our hobbies and interests, and engaging in learning, especially with digital devices.
A lot of our students shared in a verbal survey that family is a pivotal source of joy. One student even joked, ‘they can be a pain… lol!’ but ultimately, family is important.
Check out our Term 1 short PENN movie and see what brings Room 14 joy. What brings you joy?
#joy in the small things! #Happy blogging everyone!
#this song gives us joy vibes!
This is the first year that the Ministry has taken over the reins of our lunches. Due to high costs, they’re wanting to reduce the cost of lunches and ensure all the nutrients are right for our tamariki.
The last couple of years, we’ve had our free lunches catered by Colin and his team (Height’s Baker & Cafe, address: 3/114 Reeves Road, Pakuranga Heights – if you have time, check them out) and they went above and beyond with their selection of delectable lunches that would make your mouth water.
Our learners are adjusting to the new lunches. In the first week, we had hot lunches in aluminum foil containers that were too hot to handle.
I’m not sure how the new caterers handled the high demand for lunches in the beginning (teething stages), because our lunches were late. For the past couple of weeks, Pit has catered our lunches. Our learners appreciate the lunches, but we still miss the sushi, teriyaki chicken, fried pork rice, and fish/cheese burgers with their baking from Height’s. baker.
But here’s a picture of a delicious scone (the photo doesn’t do justice to its taste… lol!) baked by my wonderful Year 7 student, Iesha, back from her Tamaki College tech rotation. It was delicious, Iesha! I hope you get to bake some for your family too!
#Happy Living, everyone! #JoyInTheSmallThings