The "How To" Project

This term, part of our learning in writing has been how to write instructions. One of our tasks was the "How To" project - we each had to select something that we could teach others how to do, write instructions and film a matching instructional video. Coming up on our blog you will see each of our instructional videos, with the written instructions to download if you want to try this things at home.
We hope you enjoy our writing!

Instructional Writing

Room 1 - this is the video to watch for your instructional writing task...enjoy!

Ice Skating and Swimming

 

This is the video that I made for assembly at the end of Term 3. I am very proud of it!

 

Poetry Anthology

On Wednesday a few weeks ago Mrs Weir started some poetry with us. We had to create a Poetry Anthology. You need 8 or more of your own poems and 5 collected poems. You need more than 12 poems, a contents page and a title page. Don’t rush because it takes a long time to finish. When you’re finished you bind it together then you are done.

What do you think of my anthology?

 

Our Class Dog Kennel

The steps on how to make the Mitre 10 Mega dog kennel.

 

1.  We got told that we were receiving a dog kennel to build and decorate from Mitre 10 Mega, for a competition.

2.  We thought of design ideas and planned the kennel.

3.  Fergus and Mrs Cassie constructed it so that we could get measurements and to see what it looked like.

4.  In groups we made our final plans and started drafting the stencils that we would use to paint the kennel.

5.  We deconstructed the kennel because we couldn’t fit it through the door and it would be easier to paint and spray paint.

6.  We made our stencils on cardboard and put them in place on the kennel.

7.  We spray painted, used vivid and painted the kennel.

        We then constructed it and sent it to the competition! We hope it sells for lots of money at Mitre 10 on Saturday!

 

 

Rain Gauge Update

Today we checked the rain gauge it had 25mm in it!

 

Marshmallow Maths

Today we were doing Marshmallow Maths, we were learning to read thermometers and estimate the temperature of water. We had to see what temperatures were the best for melting the marshmallows.

This is what you need...
Marshmallows,Water,Cups,Thermometer, a spoon and drinking chocolate.

What to do...
Fill your cup with water that is 75 to 40 degrees Celsius. Put in a tea spoon of drinking chocolate in and a Marshmallow. Wait until it has melted. You can time it and find all of the differences.
We found that the hottest water (75 degrees Celsisus) out of the Zip was the best for melted marshmallows.

It was a lot of fun and at the end we got a tasty treat!!!!

By Libby

The Rams

Dad, Mum and I had all the dogs we walked down the drive way and into the paddock that had 50 rams in it. The snow was up to dad's hips in some parts. And in other parts it was up to his knees. We were trying to look for the rams for dad because he thought he was missing them. As we walked further down the paddock in the bright white snow we found 30 of the rams. We knew there was still 20 more to find, so we walked up the hill and in the corner by the gate all snuggled up was the other ones. Then we looked around the hills and saw the deer playing in the snow. After that we walked back home and went sledding on the rubber boat 66. We tried my little sled but it just sank. We chose the rubber boat 66 because it had a flat bottom on it. We tried the little one because we thought it will slide well down the steep hill but it didn’t but it was still fun.

 

Cloud in a Jar

Today we wanted to make a cloud in a Jar. Impossible you say. Well it's not!

To make a cloud in a Jar you will need...

- A Jar

- Matches

- Warm Water

- An ice pack

- A piece of black paper 

We put about one third of a cup of warm water into the jar. Then we lit a match, blew it out and dropped it in the water. We then quickly covered the top of the jar with the icepack for two minutes. We could see the cloud start to form in the jar. Then we released the ice pack and the cloud came out. the top! 

It was a lot of fun making clouds in a jar.

 

Science fair 2013

Rata and the Waka

On Wednesday we had a whole school art day. In honour of Maori Language Week we decided to read a legend, Rata and the Waka, and create a huge art installation in our foyer to reflect our learning. We worked together to paper mache and paint a huge 3D tree trunk. Then we split into groups to make the insects - caterpillars, butterflies, dragonflies, beetles and ladybirds. Each insect used different craft materials. We also had to paint the backdrop of New Zealand bush. You should be able to spot totara, rata, flax, ferns and cabbage trees.

Today, we brought all our items together and during Discovery Time we installed our artwork. What do you think?

Minibeast Inquiry

Minibeast Inquiry

Discovery learning

Hi.  This is me with my picture of a tree in the cold windy snow. All I had to do is to get white paper,
white crayon and a black piece of paper. You get blue and pruple dye so you can see the white crayon.When
you are fininshed you get  a glue stick and glue the tree on the died paper and you are done. That is how I made mine.

 

Minibeast Inquiry

Minibeast Inquiry

Minibeast Inquiry

Minibeast Inquiry

Kakapo by Libby and Charlotte

Kakapo

 

Kakapo are the world’s biggest parrot and they live in New Zealand. There are only 120 left in the world so they are very rare.

Kakapo can’t fly so they eat juicy fruit off the forest floor. They eat fruit off Rimu trees.

Kakapo only have chicks when the Rimu tree fruits. The tree fruits only every two or three years. So this is a big problem.

I like kakapo because they can camouflage.

By Charlotte and Libby

 

Lee Stream School 24 June 2013

Still quite a bit of snow.  I was wondering how we would get rid of that blue gum.

I can only imagine how deep the snow would have been two days ago. I think up to the join in the tennis court wire, or thereabouts.

Stuart's Day

Duane and Goldie came up to help us get the sheep out of the gullies. It was hard work trying to walk through the snow when it’s above your knees and your thighs. That was not the worst thing. The worst thing was the snow down your gum boot because it was cold. Also I got a chest cold. When we got home dad passed out on the sofa. This morning the snow is down by half and there is a good thaw happening.   




By Stuart Beattie

The June Snow of 2013 at Ben's House

Hi

 

This is what the snow is like around my place on day 3.

 

Thanks

 

Ben

Lee Stream Snow 21 June 2013

 

Now, that is what I call a snowfall!!

 

 

 

This photo was kindly forwarded to me from Jenny Nichol.  It is a picture of her grandson at their farm in the Lee Stream area.  Impressive and soooo deep!!  Hang on to that little fella. 

A snowy Day at the Ruxtons at Lee Stream.

 

Wednesday after school it started snowing. In the morning it was over our fence it was up to my hip. It is really cold and you wouldn't want to be out their all day. When our dog goes out he gets stuck, it is so deep he sinks and gets covered in snow.

 

 

 by JADE

Taieri E Day

Last week we went to Elm Grove School for the Taieri E-day. The first activity we did was photo shoots. The teachers put us all in groups. They gave us a pice of paper that had photos on it and a camera. We could also used props if needed. After that we had interval. After intervil we learned how to blabberrize. Blabberize is a internet programme and you can make mouths move.

Once we had finished that we did a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was our favourite activity.

The next activity we did was suppose to be educational games but instead they were blood splattering gun games.  Eventually we got kicked of them and we had to go and do something more educational. 

Last but not least the teachers showed us some of the photos we took at the start of the day. Then it was time to go home. On the way home we got an ice -cream and some lollies.

The thing we taught the others how to do was on a programme called popplet.

 Here is a link to popplet.

http://popplet.com/

Minibeasts at the Museum

Yesterday we went and investigated minibeasts at the Otago Museum. Our guide Charlie took us to Animal Attic and the insects section in one of the galleries where we worked in groups to answer questions that she posed to us, tried to reunite some lost minibeasts to their correct environment and looked at all the displays of amazing bugs! Do YOU know what has 8 legs and a stinger? Do YOU know what New Zealand's biggest beetle is? Ask one of us for the answer!
Then we visited Tropical World where we saw one of the world's biggest moths - the Atlas Moth, took a look at the huge tarantulas and became landing pads for many butterflies! What a great day!

Bees

Today we made a video explaining our questions and answers from our reading book about bees.
We wrote our questions in our reading book. We took photos of our favourite pages in the book.
Then we went into the staff room and recorded ourselves. We hope you enjoy our video!

Tablets

 

                                           
This is four  of our  students with the new androids.  They are fun in the class and I think they are cool.

                                             

Cat and Pigeon

In Room 1, we like to play "Cat and Pigeon" during fitness time. To play this game you need people and 2 less hoops than there are people. Spread the hoops evenly around the field or court that you are playing on. Put one person in each hoop (they are the "pigeons"), with the "cat" and "pigeon" on the sideline.
Say "go pigeon!", wait a few seconds, and then let the "cat" go. The "cat" chases the pigeon around the court, when the pigeon gets tired he jumps into someone's "nest" (hoop) and releases that pigeon. Then the "cat" chases the new "pigeon". If the "cat" catches the "pigeon", they instantly swap roles and the new "cat" chases the new "pigeon".
Run fast and have fun!

Discovery Time

Here we are in this photo with a dog that we made during discovery.

What is a snow day?

A typical snow day at our house is like a normal school day but we have snow on the ground. When this happens we wait for a phone call to see if our school is open or closed. If closed we stay at home and do snow work. Our teachers assign us work on our Wiki page. When we finish our snow work we get to play in the snow and do our normal daily chores like bringing in wood.   

By Ben

Inquiry Brainstorm

Today we made a class brainstorm of questions that we have about minibeasts. Each person selected (or created) a question to use as the basis of their minibeast inquiry then wrote/drew a plan for how they would find and present the answers to their question. Our journey has just started!

A Little About Me

                                             

Hi I’m Ben I’m nine years old. I go to Lee Stream School. I live on a farm with my dad, my mum and my two brothers.  My granddad and grandma live just around the road.  I have a dirt bike at home that I ride. It is a TTR 125.  Dad bought a Yamaha Rhino.  We use it a lot for farm work.  My dad and my granddad run Perendale sheep and beef on our farm. I play rugby for West taieri.  I play in a rugby team. Sometimes dad takes me hunting in our quarry.  I like driving the tractor and 4 wheel drive in the quarry because it is rough.  I like farming because you always have something to do. My dad has driven trucks from when he was younger.  He has driven stock trucks for Cooks and also Tuapeka.  So once he retired from driving he came to help on the farm.  So that is how we live on a farm now. I want to play rugby for tons of rugby teams when I am older.       

My Days at School

My Days at School

Hi. I’m Shannon. I am 8 years old. I go to Lee Stream School.  At

Lee stream we do fun things.  Like we do Math, Reading and also

Writing.  When it is maths we do little sheets with numbers going down a line.  Mr Wheeler teaches us as a group.  After that we have to do maths that he has taught us.  At school we do also do Mathletics.  When it is interval we go out to play.

 

On Fridays we do Discovery.  Discovery is when kids be more creative and make and do stuff they want to do.  At the end of the day we sometimes play a game and when the day is done we go home.

 

On Monday we do homework and spelling at school with Mr. Wheeler.   We are also we are learning to do a blog page on our Computers.  We are also learning about minibeasts, insects and spiders with Mr. Wheeler and learned about bees and ants with Mrs. Weir.  

 

At school we have a swimming pool.  It is sometimes too cold to swim in.  But when it is warm we have a lot of fun in there.

 

My favourite thing is to do is drawing and helping with my Dad.  

 

 

By Shannon

A Wet Netball Practice

Yesterday was netball practise. At netball practise it was really really wet.  When we were half way down they called and said netball was cancelled.   But we decided to keep going to netball anyway. When we got there they said, “netball was on!”  We warmed up in the hall.  After that we went outside to have a game. But as soon as Jor’jah said, “rain” it started pouring down with rain. So we went back inside but it was too slippery. We went back outside. After that netball was finally finished.   

Here’s a picture of the Steel. I like this team.

By Jade

 

Fonterra Milk Arrives

Yesterday all of the goods for the Fonterra Milk roll out arrived.  Yay. 

Two of our responsible girls are in charge of orgainsing the milk, milk rotation and milk distribution!

Here they are organising the first shipment of milk, which is in theory enough to last our school about a month.

The milk is UHT treated, which means it can keep for about 6 months in these containers out of a refrigerator.

The real challenege will be teaching the children how to fold the empty milk carton the way shown by the Fonterra Milk representative.


These photos are suppose to be on a photoflick, but the site appears to be having issues creating the actual flick. 

Using the Digital Microscope

Today we used a digital microscope to take a closer look at some of the minibeasts we have been bringing in to the classroom.
We used 10x, 60x and 200x magnifications to look at the very fine detail on our minibeasts.

Here is a fly at 10x magnification, with closeups of the wing at 60x and 200x magnification:

Libby took these pictures of a honeybee wing at 60x and 200x magnification:

We also looked at a live spider at 10x magnification - he moved around a lot and was really interesting so we kept him under the microscope and he kept us company on the big screen while we did our maths and reading! Everyone liked it when we could see all his eyes looking back at us!

Have you used a microscope before? Does looking at a spider close-up make you feel shivery?!

Mangrove Ant Display

Today we completed our learning about Australia's mangrove ant. We created a display of our reports with our scientific diagrams of the ant, then we made 3D ants out of egg cartons and pipe cleaners to really make our display POP!
What do you think?

The String Family

This term in music we are learning about instruments of the orchestra. This week we examined the string family, listening to the violin, viola, cello and double bass playing together and on their own. We all had a go at playing a viola, we thought some people made lovely sounds and others sounded like a creaky door! This was a video we watched of a very talented viola player - we love the mellow but rich sound of the viola.

Charlotte's Term Break

In the holidays I was riding my motorbike in front of dad and then I did a skid.  The mud flew out at dad.  After that dad was head to toe with mud!

The next day dad went away duck shooting in Balclutha.  

Today they are going to Te Anua to shoot dad's friend, Nigel's pond .

Also in the holidays mum and I went to Mosgiel New World and we saw Libby.   Mum and I bought milk, chocolate and body spray.

By Charlotte

Friday at Lee Stream

Today is a normal Friday at Lee Stream School.

We start off by marking our spelling and maths homework. When that is finished we do our handwriting. Today’s letter is Jj. When finished the year 7 and 8s do a personal project about an animal or person. When the rest of the class finish they go on mathletics.

At 10 to 10 the year 7 and 8s go to manual. Manual is when we go to Taieri School and learn about cooking, sewing and metal/wood work. 

After interval the rest of the school have discovery time. This is when they do creative learning using different materials and problem solving.

The year 7 and 8s get lunch at the Outram shop and return at lunch time. After lunch room1 play chess for about half an hour, then join up with the rest of the school and go to the library.  If we finish early we have a quick game to end the day.

I like Fridays because it is the end of the week and the days  learning is varied and kind of fun.

By Libby

A term break

It is Monday, first day back for term 2.  There is no snow on the hills, but there are a lot of duck ponds on the Taieri Plains. 

It never ceases to amaze me the number of small teething problems that seems to plague ICT tools first day back.  Password setting, password rememberings, and administration passwords needed for updates and downloads. 

The school grounds are looking good, the grass is green and everyone is now here.

Hopefully we have a child post today!.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new blog! We hope you enjoy browsing at all the amazing learning we get up to at Lee Stream School.