This Padlet was created to share our findings for the statement "The World's Biggest Problem". We are looking at this statement as part of our persuasive writing and reading. We discovered some very interesting facts about the world, especially some misconceptions people have about these problems. The website we used is called Gapminder. You should have a look for yourself!
Week 6 at Ruapotaka School was so much fun! Let me tell you about a couple of really good reasons why ...
Water Slide
If you didn't already know, Year 7&8 are in their own bubble. One of the cool things we got to do last week was use the hill by the lower building block for a water slide. Thanks to Mr Mike for making the slide out of long, large plastic sheets, and Mrs Borough for making it extra slippery! It was complete with a sprinkler at the top and large orange traffic cones to mark the course.
The water slide was a great end to a hardworking (and hot) week. I didn't go on the slide but it was still a lot of fun to watch the students zooming down with huge smiles on their faces. Some of them looked like the penguins on the movie, Happy Feet, with their "wings" reaching back towards their feet. Hone said "The best thing about the slide was getting soapy. This made it faster to go down the slide".
We're crossing our fingers in hope this week that we get to visit Wero Whitewater Park on Friday, where there will be even MORE water!
Bubble Baking
Before our wet and wild afternoon, the Y7&8 bubble spent their morning baking. Room 7 and I made a Lolly Cake from a Countdown Supermarket recipe. Ocean and I had never made this before but it I think it's fair to say we would do so again - it was so crunchy, sweet and delicious!
Lolly Cake doesn't require a lot of 'baking' effort. It's a rolled up mix of melted butter, condensed milk, crushed malt biscuits and chopped marshmallow Explorers. You take this magical heap and turn into a rolled log before covering in desiccated coconut. Let it cool in the fridge for a couple of hours before slicing into discs of crunchy, delectable greatness.
Malachi brought along his Apple Cake recipe and we were able to use the leftover apples in our fruit bowl to create a second cake - how lucky were we! While our Lolly Cake was setting, we got onto our second dish. Apple cake uses some of the most basic ingredients; cinnamon, apples and walnuts are the stars in this cake. I highly recommend a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream or soft butter and a cup of tea or milo.
Today was a success because I was able to contact most of the families in my class. I also did most of my chores and cleaned the house before the 9.30am call.
I am proud of myself because I had a very busy weekend driving to different shops for presents and food ingredients. I cooked a seafood chowder for the second time ever and a new potato salad recipe. Both dishes were delicious and eye-catching!
#5: Doing live cooking demonstrations with Room 7's Eggs on Toast and Pancake Stacks Friday.
#4: Being able to spend more time with loved ones and family members, even if it was mostly online.
#3: Enjoying "low n slow" bbq at Kohimarama beach for my birthday.
#2: Saving money because there were no takeaways at Level 4. I also didn't have to fill the car up as much!
#1: Sleeping in every day.
#5: My school holiday was spent at home because we weren't allowed to go anywhere!
#4: There were no takeaways at Level 4. How did we survive?!
#2: Whenever it rained for days on end, it was harder to leave the house and go for a walk.
#1: Missing school and my students; being unable to teach, laugh and joke with all of them in person.
"Eggs on Toast: Le Menu a la Room 7"
Malachi's Scrambled Eggs on Toast with Bacon and Mushrooms
Pita's Fried Eggs with Sirloin Steak, Sausages, Sliced Pork and Bread
Renei's Scrambled Eggs with Waffles
Willie's Eggs and Coco Rice
Mr N's Classic Scrambled Eggs
Room 7 did things a bit differently for our Friday morning check in. We cooked eggs on toast and shared brekky in our online meeting!
I made the classic scrambled eggs on toast with a side of spaghetti and fried bacon. I cooked my breakfast live and online with my class. Malachi and Renei shared their cooking live as well. Pita and Willie made their meal before the meeting.
Ms Erick from Room 6 joined us as a special guest with her can of whipped cream. We later had Mrs Hamilton join us. She missed the breakfast but is looking forward to the pics of our amazing meals.
I enjoyed Eggs on Toast morning because it was something different and I got to see what the cooking skills of my students is like. It felt almost like being a reality TV superstar from my own kitchen. I wonder if my students felt like that as well while they were cooking? Here's what some of them had to say about our meeting:
It was awesome. I liked seeing other people cook. - Malachi
Pita showed great patience to wait for everyone else while they were cooking because he cooked his eggs first. I also enjoyed watching other classmates cook.- Renei
I enjoyed that everyone had fun.- Pita
Our earlier 9am was a great way to start the weekend and end a working week. We've got a couple pieces of mahi left to do for the day and we'll be back to check out in the afternoon at 2.00pm.
Here is Mr N's recipe for Classic Scrambled Eggs on Toast:
Two eggs and a dash of milk, whipped in a bowl. A tablespoon or two of melted butter in the pan on medium-high heat. Once the butter bubbles, turn heat down to medium and add egg mix. Use a spatula to 'pull' the egg mix in from the sides. Go twice around the pan then gently break the mix through the middle. Repeat this process another 2-3 times. Be careful not to overcook your eggs or it'll turn into rubber! Take eggs off the heat when they're about 90% done. It helps to have your toast and other sides cooked first because your eggs are best served hot of the grill! Allow remaining egg mix to combine with the cooked parts, serve hot on toast with spaghetti and bacon, with a side of orange juice. Enjoy!
This week we're explaining what a hangi is and looks like. Our next goal is to go explain the steps followed to create a traditional hangi.
We'll put all the pieces together with some amazing pics and maybe even video - watch this space!
I personally LOVE hangi! It's one of the best meals I've ever eaten. The food always comes out smokey flavoured (smoked, not burnt!), moist and well seasoned. An aunty of mine used to make the best stuffing, it was so buttery and full of herbs.
What are your favourite hangi memories?
My End of Week Reflection
1) What was your win or most grateful moment this week?
I enjoyed having a shorter week with Monday off but it seemed like we had a lot more work to do online. I am still enjoying seeing my class, even though we would all rather be at school. I am grateful that I also saw my family last night, as I haven't seen them in person for a long time #lockdown
Today, we celebrated Freaky Friday because we will miss Halloween over the weekend. It will be different this year because we cannot go trick or treating. Big ups to Mrs Cardoza and her two scary masks and her bear-son Jayden, who turned up to our online meeting this morning.
2) What made this week challenging?
It has been really challenging for me to get out of bed this week. I've also got to prepare a quiz for my family tonight. If it goes well, I might play it with my students. It's Cludeo by Zoom!
3) What's a goal for next week?
I would really like to do some more fun and physical games and challenges with my class, something to keep them on their toes and entertained while learning something new.
Do YOU have any suggestions for us?
Reading - The Duel
This week we read The Duel: Inventors Awaken by Simon Cooke. We practised locating interesting vocabulary in the text and defining what it meant. We also used our ability to locate information to support our thinking.
R7 Blog Star of the Week: Ocean
This is Ocean. He is an amazing writer with a clever knack for describing the world around him. He used this week's writing task to create a Wordle about a made up character. The piece below is his description about Bobby, someone experiencing a challenging moment in time but with a glimmer of hope.
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| Source: Ocean |
Bobby glances out of his window turning more pale by the second. He watches as rubbish glides across the wet road and past the empty paths. Bobby turns towards his bed and wraps himself in his blanket. He looks depressed after what has happened today in his life. He's petrified and scared but determined to make it through the night. He might be able to slumber through the bright sunny day. His eyes start to close inch by inch, Bobby tries to stay up longer until his eyes close shut and he starts to sleep. He awakens in the morning ready to start the day.
It is good to have a positive view of ourselves because if you're happy, then you are more likely to push yourself to do things which are fun or can be challenging. Last week's Cybersmart challenge was a difficult one but we all learned something new and how to cope if things don't go your way. For example, we couldn't find the license details for all the images we wanted to use, so we did a generic attribution to the original source.
Something new I learned from doing this task is learning how to use Wordle and how to find vocabulary about myself.
The challenging part for me was adjusting the size of my name to make it stand out, then having to rearrange the words so they did not overlap and look messy.
Why don't you give it a go!
Today is Ruapotaka School's last day of the term as the teachers use the next two days to plan Term 4. It has been a pleasure once again to be teaching Room 7. My preference is that we were all back at school but "it is what it is".
Those who have been online have made the most of their learning opportunities as best as they could. If they weren't online, they were busy helping their families at home with cooking, chores and even just hanging out - all tasks which have been of utmost importance as we look after the well-being of ourselves and our families.
Big shout out to those of you turned up regularly to our online meetings, and I hope those of you who have been missing are doing well at this time and staying safe in your bubbles.
"I look forward to not being in lockdown and I'm really hoping we get to do athletics next term. I'm also looking forward to seeing all of my friends again" - Malachi
"I look forward to stopping my classmates from saying '21' and getting them to say 'lua sefulu tasi' instead" - Pita
The learning example I have shared below is a writing task we did today to celebrate the end of our term 3 and the great things we have accomplished.
This is important to me because we should always celebrate our successes, no matter how big or small. This task was also a really good way to point out the people who have had a positive impact on our learning and achievement.
To the students in Room 7, enjoy the break and be safe in your bubbles. Be sure to capitalise and maintain the awesome progress you've made in home learning by making sure you at least revisit and practise some of the new skills you have attained during this term. Keep up your reading, writing and basic facts practise!
Kia manuia
Mr N
Welcome to the Room 7 "Clock Out" for Week 9
Use this time now to complete the following:
#1: Friday PM Learning Logs
#2: Create a new blog post sharing something amazing you have done this week
What are you sharing?
Why is this important to you?
Don't forget to add your digital learning object (see mine below)
#3: Have a crack at the memes from this week's planning doc.
If you've done all of the above, go leave some lovely comments on the blogs of our mates in Belfast School, Ruapotaka or otherwise.
Done that? Awesome! Go and find your "secret object" and get ready for Fun Friday!
What are you sharing?
The following examples are from Malachi, Renei and Hone and their writing and maths.
Why is this important to you?
These pieces are important to me because they have shown commitment and dedication to their learning.
For writing, Malachi improved his ability to add detail to his paragraphs. He also used interesting vocabulary.
Renei also improved her story-writing ability.
Hone did really well in a maths lesson online as showcased by the comments from Mrs Allan.
The following examples of high effort learning are courtesy of Malachi, Pita and Sonny. Click here to see some more of our "Quick shots of Learning" which happen throughout the week.
For maths today, Malachi, Sonny and I worked on finding the area and perimeter of rectangles. We worked together using Transum at Level 1.
We've also been kept up to date with R7's 30-second News.
Yesterday, we started our narrative writing by retelling of "How Maui Slowed the Sun". Our goals for writing included using narrative structure and adding relevant detail to our key ideas. This lesson was inspired by a Maori artist who uses sand and an illuminated lightboard to create uniquely interesting and Maori-inspired artwork to tell a story.
Here is my example for the latest Cybersmart Challenge, how to avoid scams and phishing.
According to CERT NZ, Phishing is a type of email scam. The sender pretends to be a trustworthy organisation — like a bank or government agency — in an attempt to get you to provide them with personal information, particularly financial details.
What did I learn? Scams and phishing can be harmful to internet users if we are not careful. Scammers try to gain your personal information either for monetary gain, or to steal your identity. These could be used to impersonate you both online and in person.
Why is this important to me? I wouldn't like it if my personal details were gained to be used either against me, or for someone to impersonate me.
Room 7 Maths Slide Deck: This week, my class have been learning about gradients and algebra with Mrs Allan. They were clever enough to also explain to me what exactly they had been doing. Check out the first couple of slides below.
Room 7 Reading Slide Deck: This week we practised identifying the meaning of words in the context given, and explored why "texting is better than talking". Would you agree?
Room 7 Writing Slide Deck: We went on a "Musical Adventure" this week, listening to different songs and identifying the different emotions, memories and feelings we associate with each song. It was a challenging one for my class because it wasn't what they usually listen to. Did you know, music we enjoy that is uplifting and enjoyable can help us when we're feeling down about things?
We have started this week on a very positive note with lots of quality learning happening. We were online in video meetings a lot more as a class with two check in sessions and two workshops for writing, reading and maths. One meeting merged very well into the next.
Whether we're at home or school, I'm trying to teach my students to use the following phrases while learning:
What am I learning?
Why am I learning this?
How do I know when I've learned this?
What were my success and challenges today?
In each of our literacy and numeracy classes, we will be starting our own records for learning by using Google Slides. Most of my students did not have their books with them on the last day we were at school so we've had to find another way to track our learning. The example slide decks below are my examples to students how they can track the progress, successes and goals of the learning during Level 4.
Writing: We have some very descriptive pieces about the takeaways we're missing written as 50-word stories.
Maths: This week, we are revisiting how to use our multdiv basic facts to find fractions of a set or number.
