A busy week in Kea class!

This week we have enjoyed improving our swimming skills everyday. On the last day we practiced our survival skills by putting on lifejackets and falling out of boats!

We also went to the Suter Art Gallery to make Christmas decorations from clay.

The Middle Syndicate Celebrate Celebrations

Celebrations and Festivals are an ongoing part of life, where we say "thanks" for what we have or the milestones that have been passed. Each country, group and family have different celebrations but the connecting threads in these are: fun, sense of thankfulness and appreciation, connection with the traditions of past (in family, group, country), moments of reflection and importance. As part of our Celebrations and Festivals topic, the Middle Syndicate students have been rotating around Kereru, Kotuku and Kea classrooms each Thursday afternoon to learn about a new celebration. The students have decorated Calavera (sugar skulls) which are used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) and the Catholic holy day All Souls day. Students celebrated Guy Fawkes day by creating 'Fireworks in a Jar' and firework art. Candle holders called diva were made (yet to be decorated) to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu 'Festival of Lights'. The students really enjoyed spending time in other classrooms with a mix of children from across the syndicate. A big thank you to parents and grandparents who helped out in the classrooms!

Checking out the new Suter Art Gallery

We went to visit the new Suter Art Gallery. We saw the building where the original gallery was. We found out about Bishop Suter and his wife who built the original gallery so that all the people of Nelson could enjoy the paintings. We listened to the story about Nelson heroine Huria Matenga who helped save people who were shipwrecked at Whakapuaka while we were looking at a painting of Huria Matenga. We finished our visit by going on a scavenger hunt to look for paintings in all the different galleries.

New classroom!

During the holidays we took delivery of some bright and colourful furniture and got rid of our desks! We have created a spacious "modern learning environment". Call in and check it out!

A visit from Andrew Chinn

At the end of term three we enjoyed a visit from Australian singer /song writer Andrew Chinn. Andrew writes music especially for use with Children's Liturgy as well as some fun songs to sing any time! Andrew is a fun and enthusiastic performer who always inspires our children to sing and dance!

CONGRATULATIONS - FAMILY MATHS CHALLENGE !

Families took up the maths challenges about Eggs and Rabbits.

Here are the problems:

RABBITS

Mr Greenwill looked out on his Otago farm and saw rabbits everywhere.

“Why”, he said , “I reckon there are about 1280 rabbits in that paddock.

They’ve been doubling in number for the last 7 years.” So how many rabbits were in the paddock 7 years ago?

1280

640 after 1 yr

320 after 2 yr

160 after 3 yr

80 after 4 yr

40 after 5 yr

20 after 6 yr

10 after 7 yr

EGGING ON

Henrietta Fowler sells fresh organic eggs every

Saturday morning at the market.

One Saturday morning, she has only 1 egg left,

after serving 8 customers.

Her first customer buys half her eggs

Her second customer buys half the remaining eggs.

Her third customer buys half of what is left.

Her egg sales continue in this way until Egbert, her ninth customer, buys the last egg. No eggs are broken.

1. How many eggs did each customer buy?

2.     How many eggs did Henrietta start with? Show your working out.

1. Working Backwards.

9th customer 1

8th customer 2

7th customer 4

6th customer 8

5th customer 16

4th customer 32

3rd customer 64

2th customer 128

1st customer 256

2. Since the first customer bought half the original amount then we need to double 256 so it would be 512.

Congratulations to the McDonnell family for

getting both the questions correct and

showing how they solved it!

More Book Week Fun!

Hannah had the smallest book! 

and Bruno (180 years)and Alice (297 years)had the oldest books,

 





and Elijah, Bruno, Scarlet and Ben had the biggest books!

Kea Class Visited St Vincent de Paul

Kea class visited the Richmond St Vincent de Paul shop. 
We saw how the clothes and household items are sorted,  priced and prepared for sale.



 We were amazed at the variety of things for sale. There was jewellery,  clothes,  kitchenware, toys, bedding and furniture.





We were told how St Vincent de Paul has people coming into the shop asking for help. They are gently interviewed and asked how best St Vincent de Paul can help them. They help with school fees,  some power bills, petrol or things that will help families.



The men showed us how the van was used for picking up furniture and dropping it off to people who needed it.







Look at the extra supplies that St Vincent de Paul has for helping out people when they are in need. Toiletries, meat, tinned cans, spreads, cereals, bread and baking things are stored here.



St Vincent de Paul does mighty work. They are an example of how to carry on Jesus' work of serving and loving others. 
At present they are asking earnestly for donations to be brought to the shop. With roadworks in the driveway, not much has been dropped off lately. If you have anything to donate please take it there and use the entrance off the carpark at the back. THANKS!

Book Fair Week !

The senior roost is transformed into a kiwi country wonderland ! Come and see .... and buy a book for
a Christmas gift or for our school library.


There have been competitions this week. Bookmarks and colouring in activities have heads down and colours flying. There has also been a mystery object going around the classes for children to guess....
Here we are today at the Book Week Parade. What fun! Go Kiwis !

Dissecting a shark by Holly

On Monday Richard dissected a shark. First he dissected the shark by cutting the tummy open with the scissors. Next he opened the heart and the liver. He works as a Marine Biologist. Finally he cut the eyes open and we got to feel the eyes. They felt like a little slimy ball and it was losing the goo in its eyes.

My Trip to Alaska by Hannah

We left Auckland and we had to sleep on the plane and then we arrived in Vancouver in Canada. First we went to Aunty Eileen and Uncle John’s house, we had tea and after that I went to bed. The next afternoon I met my cousin Eden and Zoe. Once we arrived in Alaska we got on the train we set off for the Royal Caribbean cruise, we had to have a seat pass. The seat pass tells you what room your in, like my room was 3610 and it's also a room key. The first day of the cruise we went for a walk around the cruise boat and we found the kids club. I went there every day and I met a new friend her name is Thea. Thea sat at the table across from us for tea. Once we arrived in Los Angeles the first thing we did was go to Disneyland and get our tickets. The next day we went to Disneyland and went on heaps of rides, my favourite was Splash Mountain. Later on in the week we went to Legoland. In Legoland everything was made out of Lego. We went on heaps of rides. The next day we went back to Disneyland and did some more rides. Then we went to the Lego shop and bought my very first Star Wars Lego set. The next day we went to the Cook Islands. In the Cook Islands we did Swimming, shopping and we went on the glass bottom boat and I learnt how to snorkel. After the Cook Islands we went home. It was a fantastic holiday and I will never forget it!

Mini Olympics at Saxton Stadium

On Monday 1 August, we entered 4 teams of Year 3/4 children into an inter-school Mini Olympics event, held at Saxton Stadium. The children were in teams representing some of the competing countries. Saint Paul's teams were: U.S.A., Indonesia, South Africa and Argentina. We had to march into the stadium just like the actual Olympic athletes. The events that were organized were great fun. They involved lots of fast running, ball skills and team-work. Some of our favourites were Weightlifting and Equestrian. Although we took part for the fun and friendship, it was a big surprise when the medals were presented in a ceremony at the end. Saint Paul's teams were placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd!

A trip to Wellington by Emily.

On Friday I went to Wellington it was the first time I had been on a plane for six years. We traveled with Jetstar, it was fun. When we arrived in Wellington airport it was huge! My sister, my mum, my dad and me went on the bus to the James Cook Hotel. We were on floor 15. The next day we meet up with my cousin Carys to go to Te Papa museum. After we had seen everything but the Gallipoli exhibition, we went there. When we got inside we saw fake but life- like people . You could see the sweat, the tears, the blood and even the hairs on the arms. There were stories about the war and you got to shoot a gun into a trench. When we were near the end we went through a trench and there was a short little movie and at the end there was a dead person, it was sad. Almost near the end we got to make a poppy and throw one in and you could go back and make another one and take it home. After we came out we went to a cafe and I had a caramel slice and a hot chocolate. After I had finished my hot chocolate and my caramel slice we went to get a souvenir. I got a dog and my sister got a penguin. I named my dog Spot because she has a spot on her tail and my sister named her penguin Eric. On the last night of being in Wellington we went to see the rugby it was Wales vs New Zealand the score was 36- 24. Dad said that it was a good game.

A visit from Stu Duval - NZ author of children's books

On Monday each of our three syndicates was entertained by Stu as he told some of his stories and showed us how to draw cartoons and illustrate stories we have written. He drew two pictures in chalk pastel and the syndicate that answered the most questions correctly about his story won the picture. Kea Class won! Good listening to the story! On Tuesday, Stu ran some writing workshops. He showed us how to generate ideas to write about and how to give stories the "wow" factor that makes people want to read the stories. One of his top tips was to have an ideas scrapbook. Every time time you see something that interests you, you should save that idea in your ideas scrapbook. Take a photo, draw a picture, cut the idea out of a magazine, write it down! His other top tip was to take an ordinary everyday object and ask yourself what are twenty things this could be? The middle syndicate turned a desk leg into a magic flute that could make people do whatever you wanted them to do! We all enjoyed and were inspired by Stu's visit.

A trip to Awaroa Beach By Ben

My little sister and I went to Awaroa Beach. I saw Dolphins jumping up in the air, one even jumped right up at the front of the boat! When we arrived at the beach I found a swing and a hut I went in it.After that I went to a restaurant on the beach and I ate fish and chips for lunch It was really tasty. When we were heading back I saw the Dolphins again doing Dolphin Dives. It. was really cool watching them jump up in the air. I enjoyed the trip.

On Tuesday I went to a Hockey  Tournament with Spencer Kate and Kiera. My team was Caleb Spencer Rayah Bianca Zac Madison  Ayla Holly and me. We won two games and drew two and lost two! So we couldn't go to the finals.

The other Saint Paul's team got into the final but they lost to Henley.

We were disappointed and sad but we all had fun.

By Ben 

A holiday in Thailand by Ronin

We went on a holiday to Thailand.

The Tiger Kingdom My best day was the Tiger Kingdom. I got to lie on the tigers there are only 3. I got to see the big and biggest tigers but I got to go inside the smallest tigers cage and I got to get a souvenir and it was a little tiger. The elephant riding On the other favourite day I got to ride an elephant and I got to feed the elephant after the ride. It eats the bananas with the skin on and its trunk was rough. We had to take our jandals off and I got to ride on its neck it was a bumpy ride After the ride I got to feed him and he grabbed my arm but I got free. Dinosaur golf We went to Dinosaur golf I saw a lot of dinosaurs and we played all night. We had some dinner I had a big coconut with ice cream and vegetables. I liked it and I drew with my sister and the score was 28 all.

The skating competition by Kate

On Sunday I did a skating competition. Artistic skaters from Christchurch came for the competition. When  I got there my best friend from skating Jemima's was there. My mum did my hair and Jemima's mum's sister did my makeup. In the competition there are three dances. I competed against one person her name is Hannah. Hannah did her dance first it was a great dance. After that she came out of the rink and the man upstairs in the sounds room called  me onto the rink . After I finished the competition the judge called my score out. After that I want to my mum She told me my score. I got just about the same score as Hannah. Then I had to go too the far end of the skating rink where  we got a medal. 

Cross Country Running Success!