Room 7 "Clock Out" for Term 4 Week 1

Welcome back! 

Fakaalofa lahi atu kia mutolu oti! Welcome back to our first week of home learning in the the last term of the year. We were online since Monday and officially started our home learning on Wednesday. We've managed to get 7 of our 12 students back online and I hope we're able to get more numbers after Labour Day weekend. 

I have enjoyed seeing my students after a two-week break and hearing what they've been up to. Given we're still at Alert Level 3, we are limited to where we can go. Students have mostly kept safe in their bubbles playing with their families. 

This term is also the last term for our Year 8 students Pita, Jairus and Sonny as they head off to high school next year. I look forward to making it a really memorable one for them! 

One thing we have all enjoyed is the social aspect being online gives us. Whanaungatanga, an ability to stay connected. 

Room 7's Blog Star of the Week 

Meet Pita! He has been a great advocate for sharing his learning online and displayed great enjoyment being reconnected with his classmates. Head over to his blog and see the amazing learning journey he has been on this week, as well as during the school holidays. Malo aupito, fakaaue lahi ma lou! 

Niue Language Week 

This week was Niue Language Week. I was proud to celebrate this with my students because I am from Niue. Each day this week we watched a different video about Niue island, culture and our favourite - food! After each video, I quizzed my students on their "niu" knowledge. We also had a couple of Kahoot! quizzes to keep things entertaining. 

The other task we worked on today was creating our own Niue posters, which were also featured on our school Facebook page. 

Reading: Maui by Andre Ngapo 

Our focus text was "Maui" by Andre Ngapo, a local story about a family who goes fishing to "recharge their batteries". Our learning intention was practising how to retrieve and use information in a text to support our thinking, opinions and ideas. This is our shared example; see also the greatness from Malachi and Renei. 

Writing and Cybersmart Challenge #25: Attributing Images 

This week's cybersmart challenge was a tricky one to complete but we definitely learned a few new tricks. It is important to attribute the work of any one else you use in your own learning, so that the original source is recognised. Failing to do so could look like you are claiming someone else's work as your own - that's not very fair, is it! 

Renei's Attributing Images Challenge

Hone's Attributing Images Challenge

Maths with Mrs Allan 

This is Malachi's learning for maths this week with Mrs Allan 

Room 7 "Clock Out" for Week 10 & Wall of Fame

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 

2021 Tuvalu Lanugage Week: Vaiaso o te Gana Tuvalu

This week we celebrated Tuvalu Language Week by watching a video by West Auckland Tuvalu Youth (2019) and applying our new knowledge in a Kahoot! quiz. 

We found that there Tuvalu had some similarities to our own pacific island homes. 

The comments below are some of our findings in the manner of traditional dress, language, dance and food. 

"Something I learned about Tuvalu and my own culture is"

The material the girls use to dance in is similar to Samoa - DJ 

Pita asked if Tuvalu is like Niue. I can confirm our islands look very similar, some phrases also. Niue sits higher out of the ocean than Tuvalu. 

Malachi asked what it means to migrate, which is when people move from one country to another. 

WATY says that their Tuvaluan "identity is seen through your actions, tau gagana, iloga, tuu mo aganuu (culture and tradition)". 

Room 7 "Clock Out" for Week 9

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. 

Week 9 Update: How Maui Slowed the Sun, Area and Perimeter of Rectangles and 30-second news

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. 

Cybersmart Challenge #23: Scams and Phishing

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 "Clock Out" Blog Post

Welcome to Room 7 "Clock Out" for Week 8. 

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 Friday PM animals meme on your slide. 

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! 

This is some of the learning my students did in one of their maths workshops with Mrs Allan earlier today. It is about factorising algebraic expressions. 

This is important to me because it says how willing some of my class are to push themselves to learn in maths. We haven't covered it in class but I'm glad to see them giving new and challenging mathematical ideas a crack. 

It is also important because it highlights what they're capable of when expanding or factorising algebraic equations. This lesson also taught me that my class still needs to learn their times tables, common multiples and factors. 

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori: Whakatauki

Whakataukī (proverbs) represent the wisdom guiding the Maori culture. 

They are commonly used as inspirations in speeches and also as gentle reminders spoken to each other in everyday life. They are poetic expressions of wise sayings which allude to symbols native to Aotearoa.

- The Te Reo Classroom - 

Kia ora whanau! The following example and instructions are one of this week's writing tasks, which also links very well to te wiki o te reo Maori and our own hauora. 

You have to select a whakatauki you resonate with, what it basically means and describe how you show this in your own life. What is a whakatauki you can relate to? 

What do you meme?

This task is a bit of fun we've been having online in Room 7. 
We've taken funny pictures of animals and turned them into memes. 
It's not an idea we originally came up with (it's from TikTok) but it's definitely one we're enjoying! 

Cybersmart Challenge #22: Empowerment

Empowerment is defined as the "authority or power given to someone to do something". 

This challenge advises students what they should do when they encounter comments on their blog posts, emails or documents which may not be positive, helpful and thoughtful; comments which could make us feel hurt or not safe. 

It is important that you do not reply to these messages. Take a screenshot, include the URL of your post or document and email these to your teacher. 

Room 7

What should you do when you receive comments which are not positive, helpful, thoughtful?  

What's something important that you learned from doing this challenge? 

Term 3 Week 7: Room 7's Home Learning

Room 7 30-Second News: Our news brought to you by the voice recordings of Room 7! Check for "Term 3 Week 7"

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?