Scientific Drawing

This week as part of our literacy unit we have been learning how to sketch and annotate scientific drawings.  We selected a piece of a plant from the garden outside our classroom then followed the ABCDE method to create our drawings.  Once we had finished we had to use our research skills to identify the plant we had sketched and find the scientific name for the plant.  Here are some examples of our drawings.

Showcasing Lily

                                                     
This is Lily's infographic that she made using Canva. She wrote her 5 top tips for making a perfect blog post!  What was your favourite tip? Do you use these tips in your blog posts?

                                                     

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 9

Congratulations to Skylah and Lily who have been awarded our Totara 3 Key Com Certificates in assembly this week.  They are both extremely hard workers who focus in class to complete quality work.

Make sure you check out their blogs to see some examples of the quality work they have been producing.

Key com Awards Term 2 Week 8

Congratulations to Aimee and Liam who have been awarded Totara 3's key com certificates this week.  They are great role models who work steadily and contribute positively to our class discussions.

Make sure you check out their blogs to see examples of their quality work.

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 7

Congratulations to Junior and Gabby who have been awarded Totara 3's key com certificates this week.  They both work hard in class to complete all set tasks and show manaaki to their classmates.

Make sure you check out their blogs to see examples of their quality work.

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 6

Congratulations to George and Tyler who have been awarded Totara 3's key com certificates this week.  They have come back to school and shown enthusiasm and focus for our new learning theme of Ancient Egypt.

Make sure you check out their blogs to see examples of their quality work.

Mystery Theme Investigation

This week in Totara 3 we are going to be doing an integrated mini inquiry unit around Ancient Egypt. To start of the week the students had to work out what our theme was going to be by solving a series of mystery challenges in groups. Some of the activities were more challenging than they looked.  Here is what they had to do.

Challenge 1
The students were given an envelope with 3 pictures cut into puzzle pieces.  They had to sort the pieces and then build the pictures.  The pictures were a hippo, an unusual boat and a symbol. No one guessed our topic.

Challenge 2
The students were given some anagrams to solve.  Once they had unscrambled the words they had to find each of the words in a wordfind.

Challenge 3
This challenge was a maths problem solving challenge.  Each team had a runner who collected the questions and then brought the answers back for checking.  Each time the team got a question right they were rewarded with a letter.  The letters spelt out the word ancient.

Challenge 4
The students were given the outline of a country.  They had to use a world map to identify this country by its shape.  When they thought they knew the country they came and got the flag to research and confirm.

This was a great cooperative challenge to start the term and most teams were successful eventually at identifying our theme for this week.

Showcasing Angelina

Object writing 

For writing last week we are writing object poems. For the poem we had to pick a everyday object and describe it without using the word of what we are describing. So if you were describing a fork you wouldn't use the word fork. Can you guess what Angelina's object was?

Hard card covering the precious pages between, protecting them from any danger.

Thin whitish brown delicate pieces of a tree, hiding in between the covers like children hiding in their bed scared of the storm outside.

Black writing, telling the story, pulling you away from reality like a whirlpool in the middle of the ocean sucking a boat into it's centre.

Thick spine firmly holding the pieces together, without it, all that you have is a bunch of jumbled words upon a page.

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 5

Congratulations to Isy and Ellie who have been awarded our Totara 3 Key Com Certificates in assembly this week.  You are working so hard at home and I am very proud of you both.  Keep up the great work.  

Make sure you check out their blogs to see some examples of the quality work they have been producing.

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 4

Congratulations to Reuben and Kyah who have been awarded our Totara 3 Key Com Certificates in assembly this week.  They are great self managing learners who come to all of our google meets and ask great questions to make sure they understand the learning task.

Make sure you check out their blogs to see some examples of the quality work they have been producing.

Lockdown Learning : Antractic Photo Album by Gabby

Here is another piece of work from Gabby.  After reading a text about lif in Antarctica weh had to use our imagination to create a photographic journal of a visit to Antarctica.  We had to use photos and captions to share our ideas.  Here is Gabby's album. 

Check out more of her learning here.

https://gmsgabriellag7197.blogspot.com/

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 3

Congratulations to Millah and Charlotte who have been awarded our Totara 3 Key Com Certificates in assembly this week.  You are working so hard at home and I am very proud of you both.  Keep up the great work.  

Make sure you check out their blogs to see some examples of the quality work they have been producing.

Lockdown Learning: Movie Review by Billie-Jean

Billie Jean has been busy reviewing movies and books on her blog during the Lockdown.  Here is a review of the movie Anne with an E which is based on the book Anne of Green Gables.  Check out her blogs for more great suggestions on movies or books to keep you busy while you are at home. 

Her blog can be found here:

http://gmsbilliejeang1217.blogspot.com/

Lockdown Learning: My Happy Place by Nova W

WALT: Create a poem based on your happy place.

For this activity we had to make a poem based on our happy place. Here is Nova's fantastic poem.  Check out more of her learning on her blog here:

http://gmsnovaw7339.blogspot.com/

Lockdown Learning: My Special Place by Jake

Here is Jake's fantastic descriptive poem about his special place. It sounds like an amazing place to visit, don't you think? Check out more of Jake's work on his blog here:

http://gmsjakec2814.blogspot.com/

Plantation Island 

Plantation Island Looks like gold sandy beaches

Plantation Island Sounds like the waves brushing up on the beach

Plantation Island Tastes Like all you can eat buffet

Plantation Island Feels Like cool wet water

Plantation Island Smells Like big palm trees

Lockdown Learning: New Zealand, My Special Place by Hannah

I've lived in five different countries including the United States, China, Thailand, Cambodia, and New Zealand. But, by far my favourite so far is New Zealand. 

The reasons I love New Zealand are; It is beautiful, it's safe, and it feels like home.

I think NZ is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. I love how when it rains the sky is absolutely clear and there are no clouds. The ocean is bright blue and there are lots of fish. When ever I look up there are huge mountain that are snow capped.  

New Zealand also feels very safe, I can go for a bike ride without feeling scared or worried. My friends and I can go down the street and hangout at the park and play for hours without worrying. I love to go to the trail walk and pet all the dogs we see on the way. NZ is one of the safest places.

I love how New Zealand is like a home to me. Out of all the places I've been to, NZ feels most like home. I think this is because the majority of my life I have been in places that were not my language.  Now that I understand what everybody is saying around me, I feel more comfortable. 

Lockdown Learning: Homemade Henna Tattoos by Millah

During Lockdown Totara 3 have been challenged to post on their blog everyday. They were given a slide with suggestions they could use.  One of the ideas was to share a post teaching others a new skill.  Here are Millah's fantastic instructions on how to make homemade Henna tatoos.  Millah always takes her time to present her quality work in an eye catching way.  Check out more of Millah's work on her blog here:

http://gmsmillahb5185.blogspot.com/

Locdown Learning: My Special Place, Sunset by Angelina

My Special Place

For writing this week we had to write about our special place, a place where we were happy or calm.

Angelina wrote about the beach and here is her writing.

          

Sunset

I watch as the sun goes down, the red, yellow and orange colours of the sky disappearing as the night sky comes.  The red yellow and orange tones of the sky fading into the darkness of night. The big green leaves of the palm tree sway in the wind, like a dancer on stage. The deep blue waves slowly advancing in from the sea. The golden sand shines in the remaining sunlight.

As I walk, I feel the warm soft sand between my toes.  The fresh spring wind touches my face and is joined by the gentle splash of salt water spray, each time a wave crashes on the rocks. The last rays of the sun warm me.

I hear the waves as they crash down on the shore while the wind whispers  in my ear.  Above me echoes the squawk of seagulls as they glide above the ocean while behind me leaves rustle in the wind.

I feel so happy here, free like a bird soaring through white fluffy clouds. I can be relaxed here but also energised. I love this feeling. It is the best feeling in the world.

Angelina used fantastic descriptive language to create a picture in her reader's mind.  Check out more of her work on her blog here.

https://gmsangelinar5505.blogspot.com/

Lockdown Learning - Anzac Biscuits by Liam

Liam made anzac biscuts for his Anzac day project. Here is the story of making them and a picutre of his delicious looking final product. Well done Liam!

Anzac Day by Honor

Decorated House for Anzac Day by Angelina

Decorated house for Anzac day

Angelina decorated her house for Anzac day and here is how it turned out.

  What an amazing way to commemorate the soldiers who have                        fought for our country in years gone by.

Check out more of Angelina's great work on her blog here: https://gmsangelinar5505.blogspot.com/

Poppy Art - Lockdown Learning by Millah

This week we had to draw poppies on sumo paint.  We did this because it is Anzac Day today. We also had to add 'Lest we Forget' on it somewhere.

Millah really like doing this because she likes drawing and also it was great to make something as a sign of respect to the soldiers who put their life to risk for us.

Check out more of Millah's superb work on her blog here:

https://gmsmillahb5185.blogspot.com/

Anzac Poppy - Lockdown Learning by Reuben

Kia ora, this week one of our tasks was to create a poppy to remember Anzac Day. Reuben drew a poppy and here it is. You can see more of Reuben's work on his blog here.

https://gmsreubenp7469.blogspot.com/

Anzac Lantern - Lockdown Learning by Lily

                                        "Lest we Forget"

Today is Anzac Day, the day we commemorate all soldiers who have been killed in war and honor those who have served to protect our country.  Today we will be sharing some of our ANZAC work. Here is a beautiful lantern made by Lily. Check out more of Lily's amazing work on her blog here.

https://gmslilyg5240.blogspot.com/

Lockdown Learning - Describe a Special Place by Liam

My Special Place

I bounce onto the mud of my yard. 

I take a running start and bounce 

Then bounce higher and higher 

Surpassing my normal bounces 

Have you guessed? 

It's my trampoline.

I bounce and bounce, 

then I fall and hit my chin hard.

There is grass in my mouth. 

I take it out and call mom.

One of the tasks this week was to describe a special place.  Here is Liam's description of fun on the trampoline.  Check out more of his work on his blog.

http://gmsliamo3783.blogspot.com/

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 2

Congratulations to Angelina and Billie-Jean who were awarded our Key Com certificates during today's assembly.  They have both been working extremely hard at home. Keep it up!

Lockdown Learning List Poem by Gabby

This is a list poem about things that scare Gabby.   I think she included many original ideas, don't you?

Check out more of Gabby's work on her blog here:

https://gmsgabriellag7197.blogspot.com/

Lockdown Learning: Best Friend Description

My best friend!

Do you know what it feels like to have a real friend?
Well I do, she is my best friend.  Her name is Charlotte. We go to the same school and are lucky enough to be in the same class. We are both the same age and I was lucky enough to have meet her in 2019. Ever since that day we have been inseparable!
She is kind, caring, pretty, funny, cool, chill, talented, smart, friendly, gentle and she is an amazing singer! She always has my back and she is always there for me when I need her or if I just need some company!

For example, if her phone hasn't been taken away (yet), I will text her and she will reply within seconds! ME and Charlotte video call almost everyday and we talk for hours like yesterday we talked for 4 hours straight. It's been hard not seeing her face everyday but I know after lock down we will probably have sleepovers every weekend!

Check out more or Isy's work on her blog here.
https://gmsisabellem3924.blogspot.com/

Lockdown Learning: Hide and Seek by Brennan

One of our writing tasks during lockdown was to write about a game of hide and seek.  Here is Brennan's recount of a game of hide and seek.  Check out more of his work on his blog.

http://gmsbrennant2119.blogspot.com/

Lock Down Learning: Nova H - Eye-catching visual

W.A.L.T: Visualise and describe an experience by showing not telling 

This week one of our tasks was to create an eye catching visual using text and words to show not tell.  Nova did her one on skiing.  Great work Nova!  Check out more of her super work on her blog 

http://gmsnovah0109.blogspot.com/ 

Lockdown Learning: Antarctic Journey Album by Arielle

One of our learning tasks this week was to create a photo album about an imaginary trip to Antarctica after reading a text called Living on the Ice.  Here is Arielle's amazing album.  You can check out more of her learning on her blog here:

http://gmsariellep4699.blogspot.com/

Key Com Awards Term 2 Week 1

Here are our key com award winners from today's assembly.  Congratulations Honor and Jamaal, you have been fantastic learners this week! Keep it up.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Well week one of Covid 19 Lockdown and week one of the school holidays are over.  I hope you are all keeping safe and enjoying quality time with your family.  

I have been doing lots of cooking, daily walks with my dog and the odd tik tok with my children. I am also busy preparing for the new term and thinking about how our class time will look for the first couple of weeks.  It is going to be an interesting time for us all and I am looking forward to it.  

Below is a special message from Mrs O for you all.  Please share with your family.  Take care everyone.

Meet Kyah

Today we are introducing...

Kyah

Kyah is a Year 7 in T3 who enjoys reading and art.

Meet Jake

Today we are introducing...

Jake.

Jake is a Year 7 in T3 and is a keen rugby and cricket player.

Meet Harris

Today we are introducing...

Harris.

Harris is a Year 8 in T3 and is a keen skateboarder.

Meet Hannah

Today we are introducing...

Hannah.

Hannah is a Year 7 in T3 and here is her mihi.

Meet George

Today we are introducing...

George.

George is a Year 7 in Totara 3.  Make sure you check out his blog.  

Meet Ellie

Today the learner we are introducing to you is...

Ellie

Ellie is a Year 7 who loves horse riding.  Here is her mihi.

Meet Charlotte

The learner we are introducing today is...

Charlotte.

Here is Charlotte's visual mihi.

Meet Billie-Jean

Kia ora everyone.  The learner we are introducing today is...

Billie-Jean

She is a Year 8 and this is her visual mihi.

Meet Brennan

Today the learner we would like to intorduce to you is...

Brennan

Here is his visual mihi.

Meet Aimee

Today the learner we would like to introduce to you is...

Aimee

Here is Aimee's visual mihi so you can learn more about her.

Meet Angelina

Today the learner we would like to introduce to you is...

Angelina

This is my visual mihi, a mihi is introducing yourself in Maori. Here is mine -

Take a look at more of Angelina's work on her blog here

Meet Arielle

Today, the Totara 3 learner we would like to introduce to you is...

Arielle

        

Check out Arielle's blog here

Totara 3 Assembly Presentation Term 1

Welcome to 2020

Welcome to 2020 in Totara 3.  We are looking forward to sharing our learning journey for 2020 with you through this page.  

Over the next few weeks we will introduce each member of our class to you. Check out our individual blogs for more.  

We love to receive positive, thoughtful and helpful comments about our learning so please give us feedback too.