Ladybugs and beetles

Mrs Stone and some of the children created a sustainable game of "Ladybugs and beetles". They used some rocks and the top piece of a cable drum. This game is played just like naughts and crosses. The children are enjoying the challenge and Mrs Stone remains undefeated.  We have the game set up in the classroom and it is proving very popular.  So much so that we took it out into the playground for others to enjoy. The children are learning the importance of taking turns and also trying to make a line of three in a row.
If you are in school please come and visit Room 13 and perhaps you could challenge Mrs Stone to a game...

Magic wands

We read a story in class called "Winnie's magic wand".  This story generated a lot of discussions. The play revolved around magic wands and what super powers they each may have.  Some of the children created some magic wands using sticks they had collected.  We got out the glue guns and a variety of fabric, fluffy balls, googly eyes and coloured match sticks.  There were a lot of different models generated.  
Have you made a magic wand before? 
Perhaps this is something you could try at home too.... 

Collecting the eggs

The class were very excited today to go on a little adventure over to the hen house.  Once there, they each took turns to go inside and collect the eggs. Some of the children even got to pat a chook.  Lots of learning about where the eggs had come from and also about how we enter the hen house.  We had to walk quietly and use little voices so not to scare them. We counted 13 eggs in total and can not wait to use them to create something edible.
Have you been over to see the chooks yet? 

The chickens have arrived!!

Room 13 were very excited this morning to go over and meet the new school chickens.  Our job was to feed them some silverbeet. We were talking about their feet and also the comb on the top of their head.  
Do chickens have ears?  Do they have lips inside their beak? What about eyelids? Are they roosters?
Mrs Rova and Mrs Stone are going to have to learn a lot about chickens to be able to answer all these tricky questions.

Next time you are in school please come and see the new feathered friends.  A special thanks to all the business and family members who sponsored a chicken for the school.

Technology - Robotics

Today we went for a walk to see the Robotics session for Technology.  Our school holds technology on site and there are a variety of different activities to choose from.  The class got to watch them being built and also have a turn at controlling the ones that were built.  Lots of fun!! Especially the ones that shoot things out of them.  The class thought it was a little bit like lego but with little motors.

Pirate chest

On Friday Mrs Rova found a treasure map on her chair.

The class decided to follow the map around the school......

It led to the sandpit....

and there was a MASSIVE pirate treasure chest and it was full of loot and gold.

We took the chest back to the class and shared out the treasure.

A very exciting day had by all.

Perhaps you can make a treasure map at home and have a go at hiding a treasure?

Happy birthday Karlos

On Friday we celebrated Karlos birthday together as a class.  Karlos mum Stacy has been very unwell so we decided to have a class celebration.  We invited Karlos family to join us - Mum, Dad, Destany and Phoenix. The cake was a pirate and full of M&Ms.  YUMMMY

Mrs Rova would like to say a special thank you to all our class parents and whanau for the lovely food (and also the gifts - they were a highlight  for Karlos)  Certainly a nice reminder that we live in a very loving and caring community and your kindness was most appreciated.  Arohanui xxx

On that note - Mrs Rova has set up a special group on Facebook called 'SPS Care group'.  I have a variety of things in place for any family at our school who may be facing some hardships - dues to illness, bereavement etc 
If you are interested and would like to join this then please send Mrs Rova a request.  

Harold the Giraffe

Harold the Giraffe is visiting SPS for a few weeks.  Room 13 got to go inside the mobile classroom.  Harold showed us the special coloured lights.  Harold is a giraffe.  It was fun learning about our bodies and what we need to survive.  

Elise turns 5

We were a bit spoilt in Room 13 - when Elise started she bought in some yummy cupcakes to share with the class. Thanks Fiona they were delicious!

Live band..

Today we were very lucky to have George join us with his guitar. We have been using the stage a lot in our play so we held a live concert.  George played some great songs that we all knew and joined in with.  Was a lot of fun. We had some musical instruments and created some live music together.  
Perhaps you could try making some music together as a family over the weekend... 

Baked beans or spaghetti??

Room 13 children were collecting up Wattie's tins for the NZ wide iniative and this generated a lot of discussions.  One was around what our favourite between spaghetti and baked beans was?? 
Mrs Stone used this opportunity to introduce the class to tally charts and bar graphs.  The children had to vote by having a photo with the can they liked the best.  We printed these out to make a bar graph and then we discussed the most favourite option and the least favourite.  Because the children were so involved with this we opted to have a baked beans and spaghetti class party.  Mrs Stone and Mrs Rova bought in some baked beans and spaghetti.  

We opened, and heated these and also made a heap of toast.  Served nice and warm - this was a welcome treat.  We enjoyed sharing this with our visitors from Room 4.

Perhaps you can cook some at home together...

Book boats

The office ladies sent some boxes down to Room 13 that they thought we would find a use for... and that we did..... they had many different uses however the favourite for the morning was Book Boats... they enjoyed reading to themselves or a buddy sitting inside the boats.  However once the "Storm" arrived and the sea turned rocky they ditched the books and a fierce pirate battle ensued.  

Later that day we saw the boats turned into go-carts and they began racing each other around the grass track.  The boxes have been very popular and the variety of uses unlimited.

Have you got a box at home that could be used as something different?? Perhaps you could try putting a box out and see what it becomes .... 

Fresh water bugs

Special thanks to Bart Jansma for bringing in some fresh water bugs today.  They children loved observing and discussing what they were and how they moved.  They especially liked looking at the Mayfly as it had three tails. Another favourite was the tiny bug that lived inside a little stick.  

Perhaps you could find some fresh water bugs of your own to share with the class...

Taranaki Cricket Association visits

We had some players from the Taranaki Cricket Association visit the Junior syndicate.  They were teaching us some drills to enhance our throwing and catching skills.  To conclude the session they gave each of us a little bag filled with some goodies. They are offering a coaching skills session to the Stratford Community on a Friday night.  If you would like to sign up then head to the Cricket Club this Friday night.  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun.

Coach Mike

Here are some more action shots of another fantastic session with coach Mike.  Today we were focussing on relay games and working together as a team.  We had a lot of fun and are looking forward to next week already.