WHAT NOW??

Melissa Mitchell (Georgia's Mum) has organised a group of children from Kohara to go to the recording of  "What Now." on 03 July. She has another 12 places which she is opening up for any other Kohara kids that are interested. Please either telephone or email Melissa within the next two or three days  to grab a spot!
Melissa ph. 021329366
Email -MILLSMCD@yahoo.com

Week 5 (30 May - 3 June)

Talofa and welcome to Week 5!

Welcome
This week we welcome Khori to our class. We hope she enjoys being part of Kohara. If you see Khori and her family, please say hi and make them feel welcome.

Classroom Release
This week Room 19 have PE with Mr Lukes on Tuesday from 11-12.30pm.
Room 18 also have PE with Mr Lukes on Wednesday morning from 9-10.30am.

Matariki Show
This Thursday we are attending a performance called 'Little Eyes in the Sky' which links into the upcoming Matariki celebration. This Court Theatre group performed last year for us and they were absolutely fantastic! The cost for this will be billed to the end of term activity fees.

Library Day
Please return library books to the class containers before Friday's library session.

Kapa Haka
Junior Kapa Haka is on Friday.

Lunchtime Clubs
Sewing club is on Tuesday lunchtime 12.45 in the room off the library.
Chess Club is on Wednesday lunchtimes in R21 from 12.45.

Junho
This is Junho's last week in Kohara. It has been lovely to watch Junho interact with the children in Kohara in such a warm, kind manner and they have enjoyed working with him over the last few weeks. We would like to say a big thanks to Junho and wish him well for his future teaching career. Junho finishes with us on Friday.

PTA News
Chocolate boxes have now been issued and money can be returned each morning before school in Room 21. You are also able to return part boxes if you can't sell it all or get more boxes if you need. All money raised goes towards buying new reading books across the school so a great way to help fundraise.

Marathon Drinks Station
We are still urgently needing about 5 more helpers to assist with running a drinks station at the Chch Marathon this Sunday 5 June (from approximately 7am to 12 noon). If you can help please let Monique know asap.

Disco coming up in Week 8 - Friday 24th June.

Library Tomorrow

Remember your library books for tomorrow (Friday).

Teaching French by Shyla

I went to school and I went on the stage and I taught some french. I am learning music. I was scared and then I did it! I was happy and I smiled. Georgia taught everyone a song.

By Shyla

Sky Tower by Thomas

I was making a sky tower. First I got a bucket then I coloured the bucket in. Then I put the buckets on top of each other and it was really tall. Next I painted it black. Then I put the blue bit on the top for the pointy bit on the top. I got the idea because I've been to a real sky tower.

By Thomas

My Kitten By Connell

On Friday I got a kitten! We called her Kiko. She was sweet! It was a girl. It was a moggy which mean an ordinary cat. She likes walking on the window sill. I learnt that if she is playing leave her alone. Sometimes she tries to pick up the carpet. She has a new toy, it's a fishing rod toy. If you throw a ball on the ground SHE CHARGES at the ball and chases it. She does good skills. If you pat her a lot she purrs and purrs a lot. I love Kiko a lot. Her face looks sweet. She hangs out with me. She sometimes climbs the clothes dryer. Kiko isn't even 1 yet.

By Connell

Week 4 (23-27 May)

Goodness, Week 4 already! This term is positively speeding by!

Classroom Release
This week Room 18 have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Tuesday from 11-12.30pm.

Reading Returns Roster
Thank you to our helpers so far this term. The rest of this term's roster is looking rather empty so if you can please spare a few minutes just once a week to shelve some books, we'd really appreciate your help with this. It's also great if we can share the load over the term so the same parents aren't always doing it. We are more than happy to show you what to do so if you've never done it please just let us know and we'll talk you through it.

Pam Hook Staff Development
At Waimairi, we are so lucky to work with Pam Hook who comes down every term to work with the staff on SOLO taxonomy. A lot of what we do in the classroom is based on SOLO so it is always fabulous to work with Pam aligning our teaching practice with this. Mrs Campbell and Mrs O'Sullivan will be released for our time with Pam on Monday from 9-10.30am and then again as part of our Maths Inquiry group from 2-3pm. While we are attending our sessions Mr Joe Allert and Ms Kate Webster will be running our usual Kohara class programme.

Lunchtime Clubs
Tuesday lunchtime - sewing club
Wednesday lunchtime - chess club
Great fun for all ages. Really neat to see so many Kohara children going along and having a go.

Kapa Haka
Our first session with Maaka on Friday was fabulous. Looking forward to our next junior school session this week on Friday at 10.20am.

Library
Please remember books for Library on Friday. Books can be returned to class any day leading up to Friday - just pop them in the class library containers. The children know where these are.

Singing with Ali
Last week we were very lucky to have Ali Harper (Thomas's Mum) come in and do some singing with us. The children really enjoyed it and it was rather special having Ali sing to us as well. We look forward to some more singing with Ali over the term.

Social Studies Inquiry
This term we are looking at Celebrations and what is the same across cultures when celebrating. If you have a particular cultural tradition in your family, please let us know as we'd love to learn more. It could be anything at all to do with birthdays, Christmas, New Year, weddings, funerals, Diwali, coming of age ceremonies etc. Feel free to email us or pop in and have a chat. It would be great to include traditions that Kohara families use to celebrate. Likewise we'd love to share any photos, pictures or special celebration objects from other countries.

Headlice
Headlice has been doing the rounds at school - keep checking for those pesky headlice!

PTA Marathon Help
We are urgently needing some more helpers for an upcoming PTA fundraiser which will provide the school with over $1300 of funds. All that's required is some willing helpers on Sunday 5 June (Queen's Birthday weekend) from 7am to approximately 12 noon helping run a water station at the Christchurch Marathon. If you or anyone you know can help out please let Mrs O'Sullivan know asap. Children aged 13 and up, friends or family are also able to volunteer with you.

Chocolate Fundraiser
Hopefully you have all returned your notices - chocolate boxes have now been ordered and will be issued this Friday to all those participating or to those who have not indicated otherwise. these should be sent home with the eldest in the family.

Have a wonderful week :)

Kapa Haka Change

Starting this week, Kapa Haka will change to a Friday morning instead of Thursdays. We also welcome back Maaka who is returning to work with the children. Due to the new timing of our sessions, morning tea on a Friday will also change to 10.45-11.10am for the whole school. Junior Kapa Haka will run from 10.20 - 10.45am.

Friends Who Love Drawing

Thomas and Leon spent a lot of time drawing this very detailed picture on the whiteboard. They worked cooperatively and added lots of details. It is an imaginary drawing where there are birthday cake fireworks and other creative surprises!

Travelling in Style

Look at these fabulously comfortable travel cushions. Just perfect for travelling a long way by car or even by plane. Amy and Sophie designed and made their own, hand sewing them and using stuffing to make them soft.

If only Mrs O and Mrs Campbell had an overseas holiday planned... We could have borrowed them. Wishful thinking!!

Don't fall asleep girls!

Our Mathematicians

Today Matthew, Noah, Harlen and Eddie had a go at a maths puzzle. They had to use 9 counters, 3 red, 3 blue and 3 yellow. They had to place them on the grid so that each colour only appeared once in each row and once in each column. They had to persevere and put their problem solving to the test! As they completed the grid they found that sometimes they had to swap counters around a little bit. They all managed to complete it and are now able to teach other Kohara children how to do it. Next time they are going to grow their brain by trying it with four colours on a 4x4 grid.

You could try this at home by drawing up a grid. You could use counters, game pieces, buttons or even bits of paper coloured in to make the counters. As long as you have three groups of three things the same it doesn't matter what you use. Leave us a comment if you have a go and let us know how you went. Did you have to think like a mathematician?

Mainland Soccer

We had a wonderful time getting stuck in to mini games of soccer, playing different teams of 4 in a rotation. Then we learnt about the frozen lake which was a good game to practise using the space and spreading out (so you didn't crash through the ice with too many players standing too close together during the game)! We were quite puffed by the end of it but it was lovely to see the resilience of the Kohara children growing through having a go.

Headlice Alert!

The dreaded headlice are back doing the rounds. Please take time to check your child's hair and treat if needed.

Week 3 (16-20 May)

Welcome to Week 3 :)

Football Skills
On Monday afternoon Mainland Football are running a soccer skills session with Kohara. Children will need suitable running shoes.

Classroom Release
Room 19 have PE with Mr Lukes on Tuesday this week.

Staffing
There are a few changes this week due to us both having staff development/meetings during the week and with Mrs Campbell being on leave from Wednesday to Friday. Ms Jill Kelk will be teaching in Kohara for Tracy on Wednesday and Thursday and Ms Tania Stott will be relieving on Friday. We will update you via the classroom whiteboard as to any other changes during the week!

Reading Roster
Thank you to our helpers who have added their names to our reading returns roster. If you can spare a few minutes during the term, we'd love a few more names to spread the load over the term. You can find the roster on the noticeboard just outside our classroom doors. Thank you to our helpers for the last two weeks - we really do appreciate your time.

Kapa Haka on Thursday.

Library day is Friday. Thank you to the children who are remembering their library books each week and their library bags.

PTA
All welcome to come along to the PTA's monthly meeting on Tuesday. We meet in the library at 7.30pm - and we always love seeing new faces!

Parent Evening - Nathan Mikaere Wallis
Grab your FREE tickets before the 19th May (after that date they go on sale to the public). Each family can have up to 2 free tickets to hear Nathan speak on Wednesday 25th May at 7.30pm in the school hall. If you would like tickets sent home via your child, just let the office know and they will arrange that for you, otherwise pop in to the office and grab yours.

Have a great week.

Parent Evening

We are very lucky to be hosting Nathan Mikaere Wallis on Wednesday 25th May (7.30pm) as the guest speaker for our Parent Information Evening. Nathan is a fabulous speaker, entertaining and thought provoking and has a vast knowledge on the neuro science behind children and their learning. I have been lucky enough to hear Nathan speak on several occasions and cannot recommend him highly enough.

At Waimairi, we are offering you the chance to hear him speak for FREE but tickets are strictly limited to 2 per family. If you are able to attend, please collect your tickets from the office asap or let the office know if you can't come in to collect them and they will post them out to you. Any remaining tickets will be sold to the public after the 19th May so be in quick to grab yours. We look forward to seeing you there.

Friday Reminders

Friday Reminders

Please have your library books at school to be returned. We have a number of children with quite overdue books and Sue in the library is really keen to have these returned asap.

Poetry day as well - please make sure these are returned to the green containers in Room 19.

Thanks - have a fabulous weekend :)

Taila's Fantail

Wow! Isn't Taila's fantail detailed! We love the way Taila used real feathers to create the tail and thought about different ways to make the wings. Taila worked really hard to make his stitching neat and close together so that when he turned it inside out there would be no gaps. We think it looks fantastic.

Edward's Holiday

I am going on a holiday. There is a hydroslide and a movie theatre and a pool.
By Edward

Patterns

This term we are focusing on how to make and continue repeating patterns. Noah, Baxter and Paddy all had a go at creating their own pattern. We started off with an easy pattern that repeated in 2s, but then tried a three and four repeating pattern. Paddy made a really tricky pattern and was really challenging himself. We wonder who else in Kohara can make a repeating pattern?

Maybe you could try one at home using things around the house. Here's one to start you off...

Knife, fork, spoon, knife, fork, spoon, knife ...

Sophie's Cat

Look at this gorgeous cat creation that Sophie made. We love the details that Sophie has added especially the whiskers. Sophie persevered over quite a few weeks to keep adding more details to produce a really high quality project.

Sophie's Cushion

How fabulous is Sophie's cushion! One side is decorated to use as a toy and the other side is plain to use as a cushion. What a great multi purpose project. Sophie worked so enthusiastically on her project and was really keen to improve her sewing technique.

PTA Chocolate Fundraiser Notice

Please return your family preference for our upcoming chocolate fundraiser to the school office by tomorrow (Thursday). Remember this is one of our major fundraisers, so your support is greatly appreciated.

Board Games and Puzzles

If any families have any unwanted board games, lego, small toy cars or jigsaw puzzles, we would love to add to our collection for wet day lunchtime activities. This beautiful weather won't last forever and it would be great to stock up our current range.

Sewing and Chess Clubs

Some fun lunchtime options for the children...

Sewing Club
This runs every Tuesday lunchtime in the room off the library and is run by our amazingly talented parent volunteers. The children have some choices around what they can make and those who attend are always so proud of the fabulous creations that they make. Any age is welcome at sewing club. It also makes a great wet day alternative over the winter months ahead.

Chess Club
This started today and will be running every Wednesday lunchtime from 12.45 onwards in Room 11. Mrs Hull is coordinating chess club this year and any age and ability are welcome to pop along and have a go or learn the basics. Great for developing strategic thinking!

Junior Choir
Unfortunately there are no plans to run a junior choir this year due to teacher commitments, but if this changes we will certainly let you know. If children are interested in singing lessons, these are available through school in either a one on one or small group basis. Fees vary depending on the lesson type. If you are interested you can enquire via Katie Lord in Pounamu (Room 7/8).

Teaching French by Georgia

Teaching French

I was learning a song at french club. It was only for Year 3 and more. One day Mrs O and Mrs Campbell  asked for me and Shyla to teach the class. On Wednesday we did all the french we knew. I explained that I had lived in France for a little while and I went to french club. Later Shyla taught me and the class some french.

My Holiday by Kingston

In the holidays I went water skiing. I kept falling out. I swam in the ocean. It was fun because I got to go under water. I saw a fish swimming in the ocean. I caught the fish and ate the fish for dinner. It was yum! To get the fish I used squid for bait. I caught the fish with a fishing rod.

By Kingston

Ollie's Soccer Ball

Ollie has really persevered to create this really cool indoor soccer ball. He designed it using the reverse side of the fabric to give the white colour. Then Ollie researched the pattern and used a hexagon template to trace around and for working out which ones needed to be coloured in black.

Next Ollie hand sewed the outside before adding the stuffing. It makes a great inside ball or could even be used for a cosy cushion. What a great effort Ollie. 

Leon the Scientist

Leon was interested in making a volcano so we looked online for some ideas. We found a great video that showed us how to make a volcano that had exploding lava.

Leon showed us which ingredients he needed and how to make it and we were super excited when the lava bubbled out just like a real erupting volcano! We found out that the baking soda reacts with the vinegar and that is what makes it react by bubbling everywhere!

This was a great activity for sequencing as there were lots of steps and different instructions for Leon to follow. We wonder who will be the next scientist to do an experiment?

Connell's Pet

We are loving all the unique pets that the children are creating. Who knew buckets could be so versatile! This is Connell's dog. We love the way he thought really hard about what details he could add to make it look more realistic. Check out the furry fabric he used for the body - it feels lovely to pat. Well done Connell, you put a lot of effort in to create this.

Jacob's Maze

Jacob was inspired by Isaac's maze that he created last term and decided to challenge himself to create his own. It's great creating games that others can play and we love the colourful details Jacob has added. Make sure you don't get stuck in a dead end!

Zara's Weaving

Zara has also been busy weaving in Kohara. It's quite tricky weaving in and out so you really have to show perseverance. Ka pai Zara, it looks fabulous.

Ruby the Baker

Ruby's latest project was to bake a special Mother's Day treat for her mum! We hope she enjoyed them. Ruby had to organise her ingredients and follow a recipe to make her delicious biscuits. They look scrumptious Ruby!

Week 2 (9-13 May)

Mothers Day
We hope all our Kohara Mums had a lovely relaxing day on Sunday and that you enjoyed some well earned downtime.

Welcome
This week we welcome Mr Junho Hwangbo to Kohara. Junho is a second year teacher trainee and he is joining us for the next four weeks. We enjoyed meeting Junho last week and look forward to working with him. We're sure he'd love it if you popped in to introduce yourself and say hello over the next week or so.

Reading
Remember that last weeks reading books should be returned to the grey container in R18 on Monday morning. Poetry folders should be returned to the green containers in R19, and reading folders should be put in tote trays before school each day :)

Classroom Release
This week Room 18 have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Tuesday 11-12.30.

Reading Book Returns
There is a new reading book returns roster up on the noticeboard outside Kohara. We would appreciate any volunteers who are able to help us to shelve reading books this term. If you're able to help, please add your name to the roster. Thanks to Mandy for kick starting our returns last week - it was much appreciated.

PTA Chocolate Fundraiser Notice
The eldest child in your family should have taken home a notice last week about our upcoming PTA chocolate fundraiser. This is one of the PTA's main fundraisers for this year and your support would be appreciated. All profit this year is going towards purchasing new reading books across the school so a very worthwhile fundraiser to get behind. You have different options for helping this year - taking a box and selling Whittakers chocolate bars at $2 a bar, or you can make a donation for the amount of profit that selling a box would raise for the school ($25) or you can choose not to participate. You don't need to sell an entire box - part boxes can be returned later if you don't sell all of them. Let's see if we can beat our efforts in 2014 where we raised $9500!!!!
The notice indicating your preference needs to be returned to school by this THURSDAY 12 MAY.

Junior Kapa Haka - Thursday

Library Day - Friday

PTA Meeting

Advance notice that next week (Tuesday 17th May) is our next PTA meeting. The committee meet every third Tuesday of the month in the school library at 7.30pm. If you've ever considered joining, pop along - we would love to see you. A great way to meet other fabulous Waimairi parents and have a few laughs along the way. There's no pressure to take on any extra jobs - you only need commit as much or as little time as you can.

Connell's Bow and Arrow

Connell used box construction to create a bow and arrow. He then used his measuring skills to measure how far he could shoot the rubber bands. They went so far he had to join a tape measure and a metre ruler to measure the distance!

Lucy the Weaver

We were really impressed with Lucy's placemat she made by weaving and then laminating. Lucy was able to clearly explain the purpose for her placemat which was for her little brother to use when he is eating his dinner. Well done Lucy for creating something so useful.

Edward our Engineer!

Edward looked for detail on the block challenge (ferris wheel) and just looked what he created....it even spins!!!!

Fractions

At the moment Kohara are learning about fractions as part of our maths programme. This is a great topic to talk about with your child. We had an interesting discussion today about how many ways you can cut a piece of toast in half - we came up with 4 different ways!

Lunch boxes are a great place to look for fractions - how are your school sandwiches cut? Are they cut in half or in quarters? Or something different? Is each piece equal? We have learnt that fractions are about cutting or sharing things equally.

You might also like to talk about where you might see or hear the word half?
~ half time in a sports game
~ half price in a sale
~ sharing half with a friend
~ cutting things in half
~ half an hour / half past
~ half turn
~ half way
~ half a cup

Telling the time is another great way to explore fractions - quarter past, half past, and quarter to times. Baking and measuring are also other great avenues to introduce fractions.

We are also learning to recognise the symbols for 1/2 and 1/4.

Please feel free to leave us a comment on our fractions blog post and let us know where else you are using or finding fractions at home. We'd love to share your feedback with Kohara (remember your blog comments will only become visible to others once moderated by us).

Toys

A reminder please that toys should not be brought to school (unless children are sharing them for a special reason e.g. birthday). These are beginning to cause a distraction during our class learning time. We appreciate your support with this :)

Welcome Back to Term 2

We hope the children have enjoyed a fabulous holiday break and are well rested and ready for the start of Term 2. We are looking forward to hearing all about their holidays and seeing their smiley faces!

Classroom Release
This week Room 19 children have PE with Mr Lukes on Tuesday from 11-12.30pm.

Staff Professional Development
Mrs Campbell and Mrs O'Sullivan will both be out of the classroom on Thursday 5 May as part of our teacher inquiry group.

Kapa Haka
Junior Kapa Haka on Thursday.

Library
Please return library books to the class containers before Friday.

Reading
Please check that reading folders are put in tote trays (not left in school bags) every morning so that children are organised and ready when their group is called for reading. Poetry folders should also be returned to the green baskets at the start of each week.

Thank You
A really big thank you to all of those who joined our end of term learning celebration at the end of last term. We were delighted with the huge turnout in Kohara and the children really enjoyed having a real life audience to perform to and share their learning with. It was such a fabulous community day and we hoped you enjoyed it as much as we did!

Student Teacher
Next week we welcome Junho Hwangbo, a student teacher from the University of Canterbury who is joining us in Kohara for four weeks (9 May - 3 June).