This is easy. Just remember to use this check every time you need to use this word.
Your = belonging to you
You're = you are
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Term 1, Week 10, Thursday 10th April
This is easy. Just remember to use this check every time you need to use this word.
Your = belonging to you
You're = you are
Sunday, April 6, 2014
2014, Week 9, 3rd April
The south of the North Island is south of the north of the South Island.
Think about it ....
(We discussed when to use capital letters for directions and locations, thanks to a question from Hannah.)
Use a capital letter when the north, south, east or west are part of the actual place name.
Use a lower case letter if you are describing the direction taken, or comparing different locations.
- Manurewa East is south of the North Shore.
- South Auckland in north of Palmerston North.
- We travelled west to reach the West Coast.
- Wanganui is on the west coast of the North Island.
- We visited many countries in South East Asia on our journey north to Europe.
We looked at some errors that had turned up in our previous weeks' blog writing and worked out what should have been written instead:
- Kinda meaning 'kind of' should only ever be used in direct speech.
"I'm kinda interested in going to the movies," said Caitlin.
- Otherwise, 'kind of' should always be used.
- Caitlin said that she was kind of interested in going to the movies.
- similarly, NEVER ever write:should of. It is ALWAYS
should have, could have, would have, must have
Correct Usage: whose / who's
- Who's is only ever used as a contraction of who is or who has.
- If who is or who has makes sense when you say is aloud - then use who's.
- Whose is the possessive form of who.
Check out some examples of whose / who's here - and take a short quiz test to check how well you understand the difference between these two words.
Grammar - more work on subjects and predicates
We looked at simple subjects and predicates and identified them in this worksheet.
We looked at how, in some sentences, the predicate could come before the subject - just to make the sentence sound more interesting and to add some variety in sentence beginnings. It is also a way of making our writing sound more poetic.
Language Features: onomatopoeia
We looked at some of the previous weeks' videos about onomatopoeia, and talked about ways onomatopoeia could be used to make sentences sound more interesting:
- The shells scrunched under her feet as she walked along the beach instead of The shells made a scrunching sound as she ....
- The shells crackled under her feet as she walked along the beach.
Think about it ....
(We discussed when to use capital letters for directions and locations, thanks to a question from Hannah.)
Use a capital letter when the north, south, east or west are part of the actual place name.
Use a lower case letter if you are describing the direction taken, or comparing different locations.
- Manurewa East is south of the North Shore.
- South Auckland in north of Palmerston North.
- We travelled west to reach the West Coast.
- Wanganui is on the west coast of the North Island.
- We visited many countries in South East Asia on our journey north to Europe.
We looked at some errors that had turned up in our previous weeks' blog writing and worked out what should have been written instead:
- Kinda meaning 'kind of' should only ever be used in direct speech.
"I'm kinda interested in going to the movies," said Caitlin.
- Otherwise, 'kind of' should always be used.
- Caitlin said that she was kind of interested in going to the movies.
- similarly, NEVER ever write:
should have, could have, would have, must have
Correct Usage: whose / who's
- Who's is only ever used as a contraction of who is or who has.
- If who is or who has makes sense when you say is aloud - then use who's.
- Whose is the possessive form of who.
Check out some examples of whose / who's here - and take a short quiz test to check how well you understand the difference between these two words.
Grammar - more work on subjects and predicates
We looked at simple subjects and predicates and identified them in this worksheet.
We looked at how, in some sentences, the predicate could come before the subject - just to make the sentence sound more interesting and to add some variety in sentence beginnings. It is also a way of making our writing sound more poetic.
Language Features: onomatopoeia
We looked at some of the previous weeks' videos about onomatopoeia, and talked about ways onomatopoeia could be used to make sentences sound more interesting:
- The shells scrunched under her feet as she walked along the beach instead of The shells made a scrunching sound as she ....
- The shells crackled under her feet as she walked along the beach.
Tongue Twister: Fresh flatfish flesh - Try saying that quickly three times without stumbling!
Thursday, March 27, 2014
2014, Term 1, Week 8
Today's lesson started with updating our individual blogs on Postach.io. Each week we write an individual blog diary entry. Some of the class are helping others to get set up and started. Today we had class members coming and going to Linguists Club and to get packs for the Sunrise Walk for the Hospice on Sunday, plus messages over the intercom, visitors, and Mrs Vincent's computer froze three times - so we didn't get as much finished as we had planned.
This week's tongue twister: sixty-six silky short-sleeved shirts. There were four winners who shared a chocolate prize.
Further to our work on onomatapoeia last week, here's a few more video clips to help understand what is is and how it can be used:
Here's the sound effects alphabet in which a guy does the entire alphabet in sound effects.
Here's an entire story told in pictures and onomatopoeia.
We discussed some onomatopoeia words which could relate to sport:
The complete predicate includes all the words that tell what the subject does.
Example: Most children enjoy sport.
Punctuation - capital letters for proper nouns (30 seconds)
Always use a capital for God and any pronouns relating to God - He, His, Him
Use lower case g when referring to any unspecified god or goddess, such as: Greek gods, the god of thunder, the goddess Athena.
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| Mrs Vincent's favourite picture for this week. |
This week's tongue twister: sixty-six silky short-sleeved shirts. There were four winners who shared a chocolate prize.
Further to our work on onomatapoeia last week, here's a few more video clips to help understand what is is and how it can be used:
Here's the sound effects alphabet in which a guy does the entire alphabet in sound effects.
Here's an entire story told in pictures and onomatopoeia.
We discussed some onomatopoeia words which could relate to sport:
whack
boing
thwock
doing
thwonk
whoosh
zoom
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| Mrs Vincent's second favourite picture of the week. |
Our Speed-Skills lessons today were:
Correct Usage - there's and theirs (1 minute 50 seconds)
There's = there is or there has
- There's been a lot of interruptions today. (There has been a lot of interruptions today.)
- There's a fly in my drink. (There is a fly in my drink.)
Theirs = belonging to them
- The books are theirs. (The books belong to them.)
To check which word is correct, see if you can replace it with 'there is' or 'does something belong to them'.
Grammar - subject and predicate Part 1 (2 minutes)
Every sentence has two main parts - a subject and a predicate.
The complete subject includes all the words that tell what the sentence is about ; it is always includes a noun or a pronoun.The complete predicate includes all the words that tell what the subject does.
Example: Most children enjoy sport.
Punctuation - capital letters for proper nouns (30 seconds)
Always use a capital for God and any pronouns relating to God - He, His, Him
Use lower case g when referring to any unspecified god or goddess, such as: Greek gods, the god of thunder, the goddess Athena.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Term 1, Week 7, 20th March 2014
Today we covered:
Here's a way to reeally annoy your friends and family - and your teacher - by learning and practising onomatopoeiac words.
Here's a silly song about onomatopoeia.
And of course, no examples of onomatopoeia could be complete without Batman!
And who would have thought that animals sound so different in other languages.
And here's some onomatopoeia you may recognise from songs.
Correct usage: We learnt when to use did and done
- the short rule is: Never, ever use I done when you should be saying or writing I did.
- You can say I have done, I've done, I had done, I'd done, it was done, and so on.
Grammar: We continued to look at simple sentences and identified the subjects and the verbs, and then we had a go at punctuating simple sentences - with full stops rather than commas if the sentences looked too short ...
Grammar: We continued to look at simple sentences and identified the subjects and the verbs, and then we had a go at punctuating simple sentences - with full stops rather than commas if the sentences looked too short ...
Onomatopoeia Chart
Figurative Language: We looked at some examples of onomatopoeia. See below for some links to help you learn more about onomatopoeia.
Here's a way to reeally annoy your friends and family - and your teacher - by learning and practising onomatopoeiac words.
Here's a silly song about onomatopoeia.
And of course, no examples of onomatopoeia could be complete without Batman!
And who would have thought that animals sound so different in other languages.
And here's some onomatopoeia you may recognise from songs.
Tongue Twister: Today our tongue twister was Unique New
York and Eli won the competition - and a chocolate bar.
Punctuation: We revised capital letters for months of the year, days of the week and the titles of festivals and holidays, such as Christmas Day, Easter, Diwali, Anzac Day, and Auckland Anniversary Day. BUT the names of seasons do not have capital letters - even though we tend to see them use capitals incorrectly so often that it almost has become a new rule. So:
- In summer we have to wear hats at school.
- In winter we have the heaters going in the classrooms.
- Even though it's autumn, it is still quite hot during the day.
- Daffodils bloom in spring.
But, of course, if the season is included in a title, then it would have a capital letter.
Incidentally, we learnt that New Year's Day and New Year's Eve - and even just plain New Year's needs an apostrophe. (Because it's not a plural, it's the day - or eve - of the new year.
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| Mrs Vincent's Favourite Picture This Week |
Monday, March 17, 2014
Term 1, Week 6
Here's what we covered in English Skills last Thursday:
1. Things to learn from errors in our own writing:
(a) Only use "gonna" in direct speech, when using the exact words of the person speaking.
"I'm gonna go home now," said Jessica. But, Jessica said that was going to go home now."
(b) When writing a story using an iPad or the computer, it is usually always correct to have the writing lined up against the left hand side margin - as in this page.
2. Correct Usage: The difference between allowed and aloud
(a) I am allowed to go to camp this year. (My parents will allow me to go.)Most of the time, this is the word we would be wanting to use in our writing.
(b) He worked out his maths strategy aloud so the teacher knew he understood how he got the answer. (If the meaning has anything to do with noise or being heard, then aloud is the word to use.)
3. Grammar:Simple Sentences
Here's a link to a video clip from The Masked Man, giving a very vivid version of alliteration using the letter V.
Here's some examples of alliteration in songs.
5. Oral Language: Tongue Twisters
Today our tongue twister was: Dust is a disc's worst enemy.
6. Punctuation: Capital Letters
7. Writing: This didn't get finished because we had a fire drill.
1. Things to learn from errors in our own writing:
(a) Only use "gonna" in direct speech, when using the exact words of the person speaking.
"I'm gonna go home now," said Jessica. But, Jessica said that was going to go home now."
(b) When writing a story using an iPad or the computer, it is usually always correct to have the writing lined up against the left hand side margin - as in this page.
2. Correct Usage: The difference between allowed and aloud
(a) I am allowed to go to camp this year. (My parents will allow me to go.)Most of the time, this is the word we would be wanting to use in our writing.
(b) He worked out his maths strategy aloud so the teacher knew he understood how he got the answer. (If the meaning has anything to do with noise or being heard, then aloud is the word to use.)
3. Grammar:Simple Sentences
A simple sentence can also be called an independent clause
It contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. A simple sentence can contain more than one subject (compound subject) or more than one verb (compound verb)
In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and verbs are in green.
(a) Some children walk to school in the morning.
(b) John and Andy play football after school.
(c) Jessica went to the shop and bought some bread.
These are all simple sentences. Sentence (b)has a compound subject, and sentence (c) has a compound verb.
4. Figurative Language: Alliteration
We are still looking at ways alliteration can be used in poems, songs, writing, and film.Here's a link to a video clip from The Masked Man, giving a very vivid version of alliteration using the letter V.
Here's some examples of alliteration in songs.
Today our tongue twister was: Dust is a disc's worst enemy.
6. Punctuation: Capital Letters
Capital Letters are also used for the titles of plays and musicals, paintings, tv programmes and movies and computer games
(a) A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, Wicked, Mama Mia
(b) Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
(c) Star Trek, Top Gear, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Despicable Me
(d) Minecraft, Angry Birds Rio Game Ultimate Edition
7. Writing: This didn't get finished because we had a fire drill.
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| Mrs Vincent's favourite picture for this week.
And we listened to the music of Johann Strauss II - and a German ballet version of the Tritsch Tratsch Polka.
|
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Term 1, Week 5, 6 March 2014
Today Olivia, Hannah and Kate are away playing cricket.
Last Saturday was the first of March, which is the official first day of autumn. It's still hot in the day, but it's getting cold in the mornings and at night. "The sun is lower in the morning", said Nathan, "and it is in my eyes when I ride my bike to school." (Mrs Vincent added, "Try driving a car with the sun in your eyes!" )
Last Friday was ice block day. We could order ice blocks and Magnums from in front of Huia 2. Magnums were $3, Calippos and chocolate Paddle Pops were $2.00, and lemonade ice blocs were $1.00. The queue went to the end of Poutama. "It would have been much shorter if people realised there were two lines," said Corey.
We are starting to get ready to prepare for our science fair which will be later in the year. We are also creating a can crusher to reduce the amount of space waste takes up. We are working on establishing our own blogs, and we have been learning about digital citizenship which means knowing about cyber safety. In reading, we have been learning to scan to locate key words to help us answer questions and understand what we are reading. We did a test on instructional writing to make the best ice cream sundae in the world. We had to instructions on how to do this, but we haven't made the ice cream sundae yet.
For homework we have a project called Ten Days to Make a Difference. We have to choose a local situation and we have to write a plan to work out how we can make a difference to this situation. Some of the things we are going to make a difference with are:
- pollution (Nathan by picking up rubbish around Manurewa)
- global warming (Matthew and Redhriane by using eco-friendly light bulbs and by not using as much electricity)
- saving power (Sean by turning off all the appliances in his house that aren't being used)
- recycling (Corey and Ronan by recycling paper, plastics and clothing not used at home)
- hole in the ozone (Adam by not using cans like Lynx)
Today we watched a video of an orchestra play Flight of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky Korsakov, a Russian composer (1844 - 1908). We also saw a few comedy versions of it and did a quiz on the new information we learnt.
Who wrote Flight of the Bumblebee?
What was his nationality?
What changed the prince into a bumble bee?
Why was the prince changed into a bumblebee?
In English skills we learnt when to use I and me.
I is used when it is the subject of a verb.
Me, us, you, him, her, and they are all objects of sentences.
They are used when they are object of a verb or preposition.
Our tongue twister today was: Irish wrist watches and was won by Ebony again.
We also learnt that some words can be proper nouns when used as a title, but common nouns when used in other contexts, such as:
- Later this year Prince William will visit New Zealand.
- The magic swan turned the exiled prince into a bumble bee so he could fly over his country to see what was happening. (The story behind Flight of the Bumblebee).
- The first English person to visit New Zealand was Captain Cook.
- The house captains were announced at assembly last week.
- Some Maori chiefs did not think they needed a governor from England to make laws for them.
- Robert Fitzroy was the second governor of New Zealand after Governor William Hobson.
Last Saturday was the first of March, which is the official first day of autumn. It's still hot in the day, but it's getting cold in the mornings and at night. "The sun is lower in the morning", said Nathan, "and it is in my eyes when I ride my bike to school." (Mrs Vincent added, "Try driving a car with the sun in your eyes!" )
Last Friday was ice block day. We could order ice blocks and Magnums from in front of Huia 2. Magnums were $3, Calippos and chocolate Paddle Pops were $2.00, and lemonade ice blocs were $1.00. The queue went to the end of Poutama. "It would have been much shorter if people realised there were two lines," said Corey.
We are starting to get ready to prepare for our science fair which will be later in the year. We are also creating a can crusher to reduce the amount of space waste takes up. We are working on establishing our own blogs, and we have been learning about digital citizenship which means knowing about cyber safety. In reading, we have been learning to scan to locate key words to help us answer questions and understand what we are reading. We did a test on instructional writing to make the best ice cream sundae in the world. We had to instructions on how to do this, but we haven't made the ice cream sundae yet.
For homework we have a project called Ten Days to Make a Difference. We have to choose a local situation and we have to write a plan to work out how we can make a difference to this situation. Some of the things we are going to make a difference with are:
- pollution (Nathan by picking up rubbish around Manurewa)
- global warming (Matthew and Redhriane by using eco-friendly light bulbs and by not using as much electricity)
- saving power (Sean by turning off all the appliances in his house that aren't being used)
- recycling (Corey and Ronan by recycling paper, plastics and clothing not used at home)
- hole in the ozone (Adam by not using cans like Lynx)
Today we watched a video of an orchestra play Flight of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky Korsakov, a Russian composer (1844 - 1908). We also saw a few comedy versions of it and did a quiz on the new information we learnt.
Who wrote Flight of the Bumblebee?
What was his nationality?
What changed the prince into a bumble bee?
Why was the prince changed into a bumblebee?
In English skills we learnt when to use I and me.
I is used when it is the subject of a verb.
David and I went to school. (verb - went)Ronan and I shared our lunch. (verb - shared)I'm sorry that Breanna and I left your computer on the bus. (verb - left)We tried to find the way, but Jessica and I took the wrong path. (verb - took)
When in doubt, leave out the other person, and hear what it sounds like:
Me is the object of a sentence(David and) I went to school.(Ronan and) I shared ...(Breanna and) I left ...(Jessica and I) took ...
Me, us, you, him, her, and they are all objects of sentences.
They are used when they are object of a verb or preposition.
Aaron and Jonothan chased Caleb and me around the yard. (verb - chased)The teacher thanked Alisha and me for tidying her desk. (verb - thanked)John went to school with Jerry and me. (preposition - with)Jerry shared his his lunch with John and me. (preposition - with)Andrew lent his computer to Emma and me. (preposition - to)Sally gave directions to Susan and me. (preposition - to)
When in doubt, leave out the other person, and hear what it sounds like:
Mrs Vincent's favourite quote of the week:Aaron and Jonothan chased (Caleb and) me...The teacher thanked (Alisha and) me ...John went to school with (Jerry and) me.Jerry shared his his lunch with (John and) me.Andrew lent his computer to (Emma and) me.Sally gave directions to (Susan and) me.
 |
| Unsure of origin of this. |
Our tongue twister today was: Irish wrist watches and was won by Ebony again.
We also learnt that some words can be proper nouns when used as a title, but common nouns when used in other contexts, such as:
- Later this year Prince William will visit New Zealand.
- The magic swan turned the exiled prince into a bumble bee so he could fly over his country to see what was happening. (The story behind Flight of the Bumblebee).
- The first English person to visit New Zealand was Captain Cook.
- The house captains were announced at assembly last week.
- Some Maori chiefs did not think they needed a governor from England to make laws for them.
- Robert Fitzroy was the second governor of New Zealand after Governor William Hobson.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Week 4, 27th February
Today we learnt:
- the difference between it's and its
It's Thursday today and we have Mrs Vincent. (Flynn)
Its tail fell off. It is a cat. (Adam)
It's actually quite hard thinking of sentences to use the word its. (Mrs Vincent)
- proper nouns include people's names - including their initials and titles, and the names of countries, cities and place names - including specific geographical features.
JK Rowling
Harry Potter
Justin Bieber
Sir Edmund Hillary
Mr Fowler
Miss A Murphy
Mrs HK Vincent
Sweden, Spain, Syria, South Africa, Stewart Island
Manurewa, Manukau, Mount Maunganui, Milford Sound
We also learnt that some words don't need a capital unless they are part of a place name, for example:
I live near a river. I live near the Waikato River.
We went to the beach for a holiday. We went to Cook's Beach for a holiday.
The sea was very rough in the storm. The Tasman Sea was very rough in the storm.
They sailed across the ocean. They sailed across the Pacific Ocean.
We practised enunciation and speaking clearly, and had a tongue twister competition saying:
She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The winners were Ebony and Thomas, and their prize was one jelly bean each.
We talked about alliteration and made up some examples of alliteration we could use to describe features of our school:
- creamy crocodile cake (from last week)
- Hannah handed Sam her handy hammer in hard materials.
- graceful green grass
- hungry Huia 1
- screechy, singing cicadas
- clicking computer keyboards
- clouds skim and skid across the sky
- creepy crawly cockroaches
- scorching Sahara Desert (from Sean's story)
General News:
We have house captains for the year. From this class we have Nathan, house captain of Tawa, and Thomas is vice-captain of Kowhai. Flynn is vice-captain of Tawa.
We have had Kia o rahi trials, but we don;t know who has been selected yet. Kia o rahi is a big game of other games put together, such as netball, soccer, rugby, touch and basketball.
Ice block day is tomorrow. We buy ice creams and ice blocs from the GST (Gardens Support Team).
Water polo has started again. Nathan, Adam, David and Olivia from Huia 1 are in the team. We have played one game, and we won against Strathallan.
Rugby 7s have started, but the team is still being selected.
Yesterday we had parent teacher interviews.
We have new classrooms opening this week, so there will be a lot of changes happening.
We have new librarians; Ebony, Redhriane and Diya are librarians from Huia 1.
Mrs Vincent's favourite quote of the week so far.
(Observe the correct use of it's and the semicolon, too. )
Here is the link to Mrs Vincent's Music Classes blog, where you can follow some of the music we also get time to do on a Thursday afternoon as well.
- the difference between it's and its
It's Thursday today and we have Mrs Vincent. (Flynn)
Its tail fell off. It is a cat. (Adam)
It's actually quite hard thinking of sentences to use the word its. (Mrs Vincent)
- proper nouns include people's names - including their initials and titles, and the names of countries, cities and place names - including specific geographical features.
JK Rowling
Harry Potter
Justin Bieber
Sir Edmund Hillary
Mr Fowler
Miss A Murphy
Mrs HK Vincent
Sweden, Spain, Syria, South Africa, Stewart Island
Manurewa, Manukau, Mount Maunganui, Milford Sound
We also learnt that some words don't need a capital unless they are part of a place name, for example:
I live near a river. I live near the Waikato River.
We went to the beach for a holiday. We went to Cook's Beach for a holiday.
The sea was very rough in the storm. The Tasman Sea was very rough in the storm.
They sailed across the ocean. They sailed across the Pacific Ocean.
We practised enunciation and speaking clearly, and had a tongue twister competition saying:
She sells sea shells by the sea shore.
The winners were Ebony and Thomas, and their prize was one jelly bean each.
We talked about alliteration and made up some examples of alliteration we could use to describe features of our school:
- creamy crocodile cake (from last week)
- Hannah handed Sam her handy hammer in hard materials.
- graceful green grass
- hungry Huia 1
- screechy, singing cicadas
- clicking computer keyboards
- clouds skim and skid across the sky
- creepy crawly cockroaches
- scorching Sahara Desert (from Sean's story)
General News:
We have house captains for the year. From this class we have Nathan, house captain of Tawa, and Thomas is vice-captain of Kowhai. Flynn is vice-captain of Tawa.
We have had Kia o rahi trials, but we don;t know who has been selected yet. Kia o rahi is a big game of other games put together, such as netball, soccer, rugby, touch and basketball.
Ice block day is tomorrow. We buy ice creams and ice blocs from the GST (Gardens Support Team).
Water polo has started again. Nathan, Adam, David and Olivia from Huia 1 are in the team. We have played one game, and we won against Strathallan.
Rugby 7s have started, but the team is still being selected.
Yesterday we had parent teacher interviews.
We have new classrooms opening this week, so there will be a lot of changes happening.
We have new librarians; Ebony, Redhriane and Diya are librarians from Huia 1.
Mrs Vincent's favourite quote of the week so far.
(Observe the correct use of it's and the semicolon, too. )
Here is the link to Mrs Vincent's Music Classes blog, where you can follow some of the music we also get time to do on a Thursday afternoon as well.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Huia 1, 2014: Our First Thursday of the Year
Welcome back to the first blog for Huia, 2014.
Huia 1 is now Miss Murphy's classroom, but Mrs Vincent looks after us every Thursday afternoon while we work on our own writing skills writing our own blogs. We are working on developing and improving our writing skills, and part of this includes group writing a blog for Huia 1 each week. Well, that's the plan.
This year, there have been quite a few changes at The Gardens School and in the Intermediates.
Last year's Year 6s are now Year 7s and last year's Year 7s are now Year 8s. It feels good being a Year 8 because it's my last year and next year I move on to high school and it's one step closer to being an adult. (Adam)
I like doing Phat Friday* because there are subjects we haven't done before, such as Spanish, orchestra, guitar, jump jam, photography, physiology, building barbecue tables, cooking, kapa haka, Samoan, planning for special events, and ukulele lessons. (Olivia)
I am finding the work harder and longer, especially the writing and handwriting. (Flynn)
I am liking school a lot this year because the work is challenging, especially the maths because I am working faster. (Matthew)
I am enjoying all the new people in Year 7 because they are all so nice to me. (Sean)
We have Mr Fowler, Mrs Murray and Mrs Vincent in our class on Thursdays, and we are enjoying this because we have a variety of teachers' opinions and personalities. (Flynn)
I have learnt how how to take apart a weed-eater mower with Mr Fowler. I know you have to take the carburetor out first. (Nathan)
The field has changed because some of the old relocatable classrooms have been replaced by new ones, and there are also new toilets with the new classrooms. But there's not as much space to play on the fields now; however, there is more space behind the classrooms than you would think. (Corey)
The Year 7s have more sports than they had last year. (Flynn)
I like learning science and Spanish because it's a new opportunity. ( Olivia)
So far this year, I have met new people in my class, and I really enjoy Huia 1 because of all the people and teachers in my class and how colourful and inviting it is. (Hannah)
I learnt we have to be careful how hard NOT to kick a soccer ball when there are people around - but it wasn't me that kicked it. (Adam)
On Thursday afternoons with Mrs Vincent, we write a personal blog each, and we write a shared class blog. This is our first Thursday.
*phat means fantastic
Huia 1 is now Miss Murphy's classroom, but Mrs Vincent looks after us every Thursday afternoon while we work on our own writing skills writing our own blogs. We are working on developing and improving our writing skills, and part of this includes group writing a blog for Huia 1 each week. Well, that's the plan.
This year, there have been quite a few changes at The Gardens School and in the Intermediates.
Last year's Year 6s are now Year 7s and last year's Year 7s are now Year 8s. It feels good being a Year 8 because it's my last year and next year I move on to high school and it's one step closer to being an adult. (Adam)
I like doing Phat Friday* because there are subjects we haven't done before, such as Spanish, orchestra, guitar, jump jam, photography, physiology, building barbecue tables, cooking, kapa haka, Samoan, planning for special events, and ukulele lessons. (Olivia)
I am finding the work harder and longer, especially the writing and handwriting. (Flynn)
I am liking school a lot this year because the work is challenging, especially the maths because I am working faster. (Matthew)
I am enjoying all the new people in Year 7 because they are all so nice to me. (Sean)
We have Mr Fowler, Mrs Murray and Mrs Vincent in our class on Thursdays, and we are enjoying this because we have a variety of teachers' opinions and personalities. (Flynn)
I have learnt how how to take apart a weed-eater mower with Mr Fowler. I know you have to take the carburetor out first. (Nathan)
The field has changed because some of the old relocatable classrooms have been replaced by new ones, and there are also new toilets with the new classrooms. But there's not as much space to play on the fields now; however, there is more space behind the classrooms than you would think. (Corey)
The Year 7s have more sports than they had last year. (Flynn)
I like learning science and Spanish because it's a new opportunity. ( Olivia)
So far this year, I have met new people in my class, and I really enjoy Huia 1 because of all the people and teachers in my class and how colourful and inviting it is. (Hannah)
I learnt we have to be careful how hard NOT to kick a soccer ball when there are people around - but it wasn't me that kicked it. (Adam)
On Thursday afternoons with Mrs Vincent, we write a personal blog each, and we write a shared class blog. This is our first Thursday.
*phat means fantastic
Friday, December 20, 2013
Huia 1 Miscellaneous from 2013 Part 1
Sometimes, we didn't get a blog written in time, and important events, photos and writing never got published in time. Now that it's the end of the year, and we have time to go back and check what was left out, we can publish a few miscellaneous bits and pieces.
Writing to Describe in Huia 1 in Term 2
Huia 1 have been learning to write descriptions based on
observations and research. We have looked at historical, scientific, and
biographic descriptions and decided to have a go at writing one based on our
own observations.
Mrs Vincent:
Mrs Vincent (Intermediatus vincenticus
kayii) is an endangered species of teacher, native to Huia 1, The Gardens
School.
Physical description:
Mrs Vincent tends to wear glasses
and has beady blue eyes that see everything – even at the back of the class.
She has short, greyish faded-blonde hair, and she is nearly always seen wearing
a set of class keys on a black lanyard around her neck. Their jangling is a warning that she is
nearby.
Habitat:
Mrs Vincent is a territorial
creature, found mainly in the Intermediate area of The Gardens School. She
tends to inhabit a corner of the Huia 1 classroom, in a nest of computer cords,
paperwork, books, and pens that don’t work. Also, she can amass in her nest used
whiteboard markers with the lids off, half-full coffee cups, half-empty coffee
cups, excuse notes for sports, and empty A4 plastic sleeves.
Food:
Mrs Vincent is known to eat
healthy food, such as banana sandwiches and home-made soup, but she can also
hoard secret supplies of chocolate or jelly beans for random distribution to
students who have achieved well. She has
been known to consume these supplies herself if there are no eligible
recipients.
Behaviour:
Mrs Vincent can usually be found
teaming up with other Intermediate teachers (Intermediatus friendlyi) to each teach groups of about 25 –
28 students (Intermidiatus fastasticii).
For Huia 1, this usually involves repetitive lessons in the correct tripod grip
of a pen; the correct use of capital letters, commas – including the Oxford
comma – and semicolons; the correct use of I or
me; and the etymology of interesting
words. She has a loud voice that can be heard across her entire territory. Although Mrs Vincent sounds very dangerous,
she can also be a very friendly and helpful teacher.
Conclusion:
It is important that this
creature is not hunted for fashionable clothing or accessories as Huia 1 students
have got used to her and are looking forward to being the recipients of further
jelly beans. This creature is rather fond of them, too.
|
||
The rare and endangered Intermediatus vencenticus kayii can be difficult to locate but is easily
identifiable by her distinctive greyish faded-blonde hair when contrasted
against the more youthful Intermediata .
|
Monday, December 16, 2013
End of Year Trip to Totara Park
There was nothing unlucky about Friday 13th for us.
All
the Intermediates went to Totara Park for the day. We played games,
relaxed, swam in the pool, talked to our friends, played ukuleles and
brought morning tea and other snacks to share with our friends. At
lunchtime, Mrs Konz brought us our sausages from the school sausage
sizzle.
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| Having fun just leaping and jumping. |
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| How do you get a tennis ball out of the tree? |
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| Bridget with a water pistol - and she's not afraid to use it. |
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| First swim of the season |
 |
| So many sausages to match to names |
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| Would you like tomato sauce with that? |
 | ||
|
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| Max demonstrating his soccer skills. |
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| While some were swimming, the magpies were checking out their bags. |
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| Ukulele time. |
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| Look who found us! Some of last year's Year 8s. |
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| Hanging out with friends. |
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| Girls versus the boys in tug of war. |
Welcome back pasat pupil Juliana who helped with the tug of war.  |
| Teachers relaxing. Tara, Lili and Bree.  |
Our Significant Memories
Mrs Fowler asked us to consider what was the best day at school for each of us. It got a bit hard trying to decide between so many of them, so we decided to write about any good day we have had at The Gardens School.
A significantly memorable day at The Gardens School for me was:
- Mwaniki:when I scored a hat trick in soccer in a lunchtime game because it was my first hat trick
- Ramandeep: when I was in the choir that sang for the Manurewa RSA last year because we sang Christmas songs, and it was fun
- Vanshika: when I got an electric shock from the fence when I was doing orienteering at camp at Awhitu, because I thought Sarah B had punched me in the back
- Jamarl: when I started reading the Percy Jackson series of books because it opened a whole new world of entertainment and Greek mythology into my life
- Corbin: when I started reading more and more and more because I've never done so much reading before
- Jason - when I met Willie Apiata at camp, after doing the best project in the class about him
- Jason - when I fell in the mud and cow .... at cross country. I was going the wrong way and slipped
- Alexander (the Great) - when I got into Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology and history classics this year because it is so interesting how they lived back then
- Mason: learning about the history of the world wars because I find it really easy to learn about and it's really interesting to me
- Mason: reading and doing comprehension on Holes and Private Peaceful because I improved a lot in comprehension, and I can now understand themes of stories
- Cameron W: when we did our novel studies on Private Peaceful and Holes this year, and last year doing the Castaway novel because it helped me understand foreshadowing and parallels in stories
- Cameron W: doing Romeo and Juliet last year because it was my first Shakespeare play
Cameron W: learning about Vincent van Gogh because I learnt that some great people can have disabilities - like he had depression
- Cameron W: getting to know the other Year 8s at camp
- Brylee: when I came fourth in cross country because it was the closest I have ever come to first
- Brylee: when I discovered my comprehension in Private Peaceful and Holes
- Aaron: when I came first in cross country
- Joanna: doing the visual art project because it looks very creative and artistic
- Dominic: when I into the semi-finals for the speech competition
- Sheffy: watching Holes and Second Hand Lions because I discovered that I enjoyed coming-of-age stories
- Jupman: doing the kowhaiwhai patterns with Mrs Irwin because I enjoyed how it represented my family
- Aaron: when our soccer team came first in a tournament at the beginning of this year
Aaron: making it to Counties for athletics because I had never made it to interschool before
- Kylah: doing athletics and coming first in the relay team
- Tara: when I went on the water slide because I'd never been on one before - but slid over and fell on my face
- Sukhdev: when our cricket team won the Counties competition because it was the first time I had participated
- Li Li: when the Year 8s went to camp because the Year 7s watched movies and did lots of activities with different teachers
- Aiden: coming first in basketball
- Amber- Lee: dancing because I learnt how to do the right steps and how to cooperate with boys
A significantly memorable day at The Gardens School for me was:
- Mwaniki:when I scored a hat trick in soccer in a lunchtime game because it was my first hat trick
- Ramandeep: when I was in the choir that sang for the Manurewa RSA last year because we sang Christmas songs, and it was fun
- Vanshika: when I got an electric shock from the fence when I was doing orienteering at camp at Awhitu, because I thought Sarah B had punched me in the back
- Corbin: when I started reading more and more and more because I've never done so much reading before
- Jason - when I fell in the mud and cow .... at cross country. I was going the wrong way and slipped
- Alexander (the Great) - when I got into Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology and history classics this year because it is so interesting how they lived back then
- Mason: learning about the history of the world wars because I find it really easy to learn about and it's really interesting to me
- Cameron W: when we did our novel studies on Private Peaceful and Holes this year, and last year doing the Castaway novel because it helped me understand foreshadowing and parallels in stories
- Cameron W: doing Romeo and Juliet last year because it was my first Shakespeare play
Cameron W: learning about Vincent van Gogh because I learnt that some great people can have disabilities - like he had depression
- Cameron W: getting to know the other Year 8s at camp
- Brylee: when I came fourth in cross country because it was the closest I have ever come to first
- Brylee: when I discovered my comprehension in Private Peaceful and Holes
- Aaron: when I came first in cross country
- Joanna: doing the visual art project because it looks very creative and artistic
- Dominic: when I into the semi-finals for the speech competition
- Jupman: doing the kowhaiwhai patterns with Mrs Irwin because I enjoyed how it represented my family
- Aaron: when our soccer team came first in a tournament at the beginning of this year
Aaron: making it to Counties for athletics because I had never made it to interschool before
- Kylah: doing athletics and coming first in the relay team
- Tara: when I went on the water slide because I'd never been on one before - but slid over and fell on my face
- Sukhdev: when our cricket team won the Counties competition because it was the first time I had participated
- Li Li: when the Year 8s went to camp because the Year 7s watched movies and did lots of activities with different teachers
- Syvannah: when we went to the swimming carnival because I had never been to one before
- Aiden: coming first in basketball
- Amber- Lee: dancing because I learnt how to do the right steps and how to cooperate with boys
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