What to wear?

It is only a week and a half till our Wearable Arts shows. The outfits coming in are quite amazing, the work and effort by many students is impressive.

It is also choreographing and practicing time. I am enjoying my group ‘Stoneage’ It has been a lot of fun so far, students have been wonderful.

Today Room 21 students began exploring a number of different topics of their choice. The topics were a range of problems that teenagers face like puberty and body image. We then went onto the laptops to begin our research on the topics we had chosen.

Our task was to create a pamphlet/brochure on the topic we were researching that included what it was, the problems you would face and tips that could help solve your problem.

Speeches 2011

So far in room 21 we have had an amazing number of well written speeches with excellent topics and great messages to get across to the yr 7 & 8 year group. With our speeches it is clear just how much time and effort has been put into them. So far a very impressive result of speeches.

There were speeches ranging from alcohol to the fear of public speaking, cigarettes and smoking, the dangers of drink driving to eating healthy as well as the hazards of sunbathing and men and woman's equal rights also things like Burqas.

A whale of a time!

After having spent 5 incredible weeks on holiday in some truly amazing locations I get to come back to this one. I was lucky enough to take an extended holiday travelling around Turkey, Croatia and Italy...And now I'm back!

A few of my travel snaps:

Maori Language Week

The theme for this years Maori Language Week is Manaakitanga which is a very important part of Māori custom and identity. At its core manaakitanga is about how we make people feel welcome when they are in our company, and how we give regard to and care for others when hosting visitors.

The capacity for Manaakitanga is in all of us and is something that as New Zealanders we do very well with our good old kiwi hospitality....so how do you show manaakitanga?

Wracking the ol' noggin

Today was Otago Problem Solving challenge day

The Otago Problem Challenge is a mathematics problem solving competition aimed at Intermediate School children. It is organised by members of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Otago.

Children participating in the competition attempted to answer five questions in 30 minutes. The questions get harder as you go. Question 1 being the easiest and 5 the hardest.

Here's question 4 from todays challenge.

Run rabbit run...

Today on a cold but sunny day the Year 5 -8 Muritai School Cross Country was held at Williams Park. After weeks of practicing it was great to finally get the opportunity to compete. The standard of participation was excellent, with everyone giving it their best effort.

Level 4 Inquiry Introduction

Introduction.

This term we have been focusing on Uno’s Garden’s a picture book by Graeme Base.

Uno's Garden is a rich story that delivers a powerful message through both its words and pictures. The diversity and detail of the illustrations tells a complex story that provides an excellent starting point for children to start considering their impact on their environment and how this can be positive.

The main theme of the book is sustainability. Sustainability is keeping things the same as they are, so if you cut down a tree you then plant a tree to replace it.

The big idea for this terms unit Uno’s Garden is "to understand the need to protect and preserve our local environment”.

For this inquiry I am going to explore eco housing concepts then design and explain an eco house of my own

Hopefully at the end of this inquiry I will have a better understanding of the different ways an eco-house can be environmentally friendly and how an eco-house can be constructed without the high cost.

Enviroschools leaders visit the Meridian Eco Bach(Batch)

On Tuesday a group of Enviroschools ambassadors headed into town to view the Meridian Light house Project. They received a tour from one of the leading architects for the project. They came back with heaps of notes as well as ideas for the up coming inquiry. They will be talking to the class about the eco home later in the week.

Young Leaders Day

On Monday the 23^rd of May a few of the year eights went on a trip across the water to Wellington for Young Leaders Day 2011. There were five inspiring speakers who talked to us about making smart choices, asking for help, saving the world, hopes and dreams, the x factor and being yourself and not someone else and lifes journeys. The speakers were:

• Pat Buckley

• Andrea Deelely

• Alison Shanks

• Dave Atkinson

• Jamie Fitzgerald

And they were all fantastic.

It was very encouraging and sets us up for years to come, we all enjoyed it so much we would love to go again.

Mr Bagnall tells a tale

On Wednesday the 11th of May a teacher called Mr Bagnall came into our class to talk about some animals that live in our native bush.

First of all he talked about Black Oyster Catchers which were not a protected bird when duck shooters used to practice shooting them.

The Kakapo were found at Stewarts Island by a deer hunter in 1962 and then reported to the Wild Life Center that he had sighted it, however they didn’t reply so he captured a Kakapo and pulled some of its feathers off to have proof. But still they didn’t reply. More and more people said they saw Kakapo on Stewarts island and they were beginning to get noticed.

He also talked about the North Island Robin and how Eastbourne wanted to have Robin in Butterfly Creek. But first the rat numbers had to go down by setting up traps every 50 meters because then they would get killed. Then they had to transfer the Robins from Kapiti Island to Butterfly Creek. To reduce their stress level they had to hire a chopper (helicopter) and land it by the bus garage at the back of Eastbourne. They got 40 Robins and each one had its own box with food in it and one by one they were released in Butterfly Creek.

~Martin and Drew

Uno's Garden

Today we were exploring the key themes found within Uno's Garden:
The students then worked in groups to further dissect a few of the the above themes and look at current examples, explaining the theme further and discussing why this is an important issue.

Uno's Garden

Uno’s Garden, By Graeme Base will provide the foundation for our Term Two unit of work

Overview / Storyline

Uno arrives in the forest on a beautiful day at the very beginning of spring and is greeted by a myriad of beautiful, lush plants and the most fantastic creatures he has ever seen. He likes it so much that he decides to stay there.

Uno's decision spells doom for the plants and the creatures of the forest, including the only completely ordinary Snortlepig.

But Uno is wise and sees the future of his children and their children if someone does not act to stem the consequences of civilisation. So he starts a special garden that does not have the vegetables and flowers of other gardens, but allows his children and grandchildren to have hope for their future.

Uno's Garden is a rich story that delivers a powerful message through both its words and pictures. The diversity and detail of the illustrations tells a complex story that provides an excellent starting point for children to start considering their impact on their environment and how this can be positive.

Learning Intentions

Student will understand that:

• The living world is a large and beautiful thing with diverse climates and habitats, flora and fauna.
• Every living thing has a right to have its needs respected and protected.
• All living things depend on the environment around them for survival.
• All living things are interconnected and interdependent, and the balance can be delicate.
• Humans are ultimately responsible for the state of the environment and its protection for the future.
• Environments change over time and these changes can be caused by nature or humans.
• Changes, whether natural or artificial, can affect whole systems and the environment both for better and for worse.
• The environment can affect how we live and the things we do.
• Many spaces and species are threatened because of human impact on the environment.
• We all need to respect and take responsibility for the places in our community.
• We have a responsibility to care for and protect our environment for the future.
• Our beliefs and actions are intertwined with the society and culture in which we live.
• Different groups may have differing beliefs and values about the environment, which may cause conflict between these groups.
• Our natural resources, like water and clean air, are precious.
• There are international agencies that promote environmental protection.
• I can have both a positive and negative impact on the environment.
• Through knowledge and understanding, I can make responsible choices to meet my needs and still promote the protection of the environment.
• The beliefs I have and the actions I take can influence others.
• I may only be one child but I can make a difference.

Milo Cup Cricket

Today the year 7/8 boys went to Te Whiti Park and played a twenty20 match against Hutt Intermediate. While the Hutt team was stacked full of experienced players Muritai proudly played with a team of keen mixture of inexperienced and experienced players. After winning the toss on a wet wicket Muritai opted to bowl first and were able to pin the Hutt Intermediate batters to a score of 109. Coming into bat for the second innings Muritai started strongly with our openers hitting the ball well in all directions of the field. Sadly both openers fell to the same bowler, in the same over, to the same stroke. With both openers gone it was up to the middle order to put runs on the board. Sadly although there was some classic batting Muritai was unable to chase down Hutt Intermediates total.

Ki-o-rahi

Over the course of the last couple of weeks the students of room 21 have been learning and playing the traditional Maori sport Ki-o-rahi. The students have loved the teamwork and skills in playing this unique, fast paced game. Watch the video for how to play:

To be or not to be...

Today we headed to Wellesley to see the performance by a talented group of performers called "As you write it". Their performance was based on the works of Shakespeare but was entirely impromptu. After consultation with the audience they had to include:

Set – Dark ages Britain

The Hero – A Flying Hero

Theme – Finding Nemo

They were very clever. The show was extremely funny and enjoyed by everyone.

Te Papa Visit

Yesterday the Senior School visited Te Papa Museum. We went to the European Masters exhibit and studied all the art in preparation for Arts Week. We also went to Blood, Earth, Fire to learn about the history of New Zealand. Then we went to the Treaty of Waitangi and studied some of the history of that to help us with some of our inquiry. Lastly we went to the Brian Brake exhibit to see the whole purpose of his photos. Brian Brake is a New Zealander who is world-famous for his photos.

Rights Vs Responsibilities

Over the past few days room 21 has been exploring its rights and responsibilities at Muritai School. This ties into our current Inquiry of 'Words to Live By". My favourite (although not necessarily accurate) one was "that I have the right to do what I want"

Putting on a show

On Wednesday 4th November some of the students from the Year 7/8 Kapa Haka Roopu went to Days Bay Playcentre to perform to the adults and children. This was a great way for the group to relax after a number of high expectation performances. It also allowed the year 7/8 students to relax and form closer bonds with the community.

A whole lot of running, jumping and throwing

Athletics day information:

• It is Thursday (all day) 11th November with the following Monday (pp day) 15th November.
• It is different to previous years as it is to be held at the Petone Rec and not the Eastbourne Rec.
• We will kick start the first of 6 rotations at 9:45am and finish with relay events between 2-2:30pm.
• We are traveling by bus to and from.
  
• We’ll be returning to school at 2:45pm.

	1 LONG JUMP	2 DISCUS	3 SHOT PUT	4 SPRINTS	5 HIGH JUMP	6 VORTEX	7 FREE
9:30 – 9:40	Buses arrive, Teachers take students to assembly area directly in front of grandstand for debrief. Event leaders to lead groups to first event.
9:45 – 10:15	Year 3A (29)	Year 3B (30)	Year 4 (49)	Year 5 (42)	Year 6 (49)	Year 7 (48)	Year 8 (33)
10:15 – 10:45	Year 8 (33)	Year 3A (29)	Year 3B (30)	Year 4 (49)	Year 5 (42)	Year 6 (49)	Year 7 (48)
10:45 – 11:15	Year 7 (48)	Year 8 (33)	Year 3A (29)	Year 3B (30)	Year 4 (49)	Year 5 (42)	Year 6 (49)
11:15 – 11:45	Year 6 (49)	Year 7 (48)	Year 8 (33)	Year 3A (29)	Year 3B (30)	Year 4 (49)	Year 5 (42)
11:45 – 12:15	Year 5 (42)	Year 6 (49)	Year 7 (48)	Year 8 (33)	Year 3A (29)	Year 3B (30)	Year 4 (49)
Lunch break (12:15 – 12:30pm)
12:30 – 1:00	Year 4 (49)	Year 5 (42)	Year 6 (49)	Year 7 (48)	Year 8 (33)	Year 3A (29)	Year 3B (30)
1:00 – 1:30	Year 3B (30)	Year 4 (49)	Year 5 (42)	Year 6 (49)	Year 7 (48)	Year 8 (33)	Year 3A (29)
Small break as we pack up each individual event and organise relay teams
1:40 – 2:15	Class and House Relays