Term 4: Welcome Back!

News Article: The Return of Ruapotaka School by J.Nevalagi 

Yesterday, primary students and teachers all over Auckland were finally allowed to return to school after their longest covid-enforced lockdown since 2020. Schools are allowed to open on a part-time basis. The rules for opening are decided by the individual school's leadership team and Board of Trustees. Ruapotaka School will be open from 10.00am to 2.00pm, Monday to Friday, to all students. This is allowed because they have a low number of students per class. 

School communities still need to do their best to follow the government's rules because Auckland is still at Alert Level 3. Rules such as social distancing, allocated spaces for play and frequent hand washing and sanitising are common practise. This is to minimise and limit everyone's possible exposure to covid. 

Most of the students who returned to Ruapotaka seemed to enjoy being reunited with their friends. The mood in classrooms and play areas was a mixture of excitement, happiness and a bit of lockdown fatigue. School lunches are still being provided by the New Zealand government. 

There are still some families yet to return. Home learning will continue for those students minus the regular online meetings. Teachers will stay in contact with those families and students. 

Ruapotaka's return was a wet one and drenched many latecomers on arrival to the school gates. This was not enough to wipe the smiles of many students who were just happy to see their teachers and classmates in person in such a long time. 

This piece was written TO INFORM (factual, formal, third-person) the AUDIENCE (Y7&8 students) in the CONTEXT of primary school students being allowed to return to school. I PRACTISED keeping third-person perspective (avoiding use of I, our, we), keeping key points in separate paraphs and using relevant detail for support. 

Description: The Great Return by J.Nevalagi 

Finally! We have returned to school. "It feels like I haven't been here for a year!" Malachi said with wonder in his voice. He was followed closely by Willie, Ocean and Renei. Our "full house" was completed when Hone turned up. I'm wearing a mask but it isn't big enough to hide the smile on my face. 

We're all buzzing. We haven't seen each other in such a long time. How long has it been since we were in the same room? The last thing I remember was saying "Good afternoon" to my class, expecting to see them the next day. Because of covid, that obviously didn't happen. 

It's only been a day but I'm already excited for what tomorrow brings. Spinning on the vortex, swinging in the swing and singing in the rain. THIS is how you celebrate being back with your friends. 

This piece was written TO DESCRIBE (emotive, informal, first-person, present tense) the AUDIENCE (Y7&8 students) in the CONTEXT of primary school students being allowed to return to school. I PRACTISED using long and short sentences, logical sequencing and capturing the mood of the moment. There's even a few language features in there. 

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YOUR TASK: DESCRIBE OR INFORM your readers of your return to school. Capture the facts and/or emotions of how you've felt coming back after such a long time. If you're happy, say so. Still nervous, you can say so too! Not feeling it? Of course you can write about. 

DESCRIPTIVE Sentence Starters 

Walking through the school gates yesterday felt like ... 

[Pick three emotions you felt the most] Laughter, joy, happiness, with a little bit of fatigue. 

I LOVED / DESPISED coming back to school. 

If I could use one word to describe coming back to school it would be ... 

Coming back to school is like ... 

Wow, what a day! 

Ugh, I'm sooo tired. Is it Wednesday already?! 

I arrived to the applause of my teacher and classmates. 

I wore my mask to protect myself and others from getting covid, however, it wasn't big enough to hide the smile on my face. 

The Best and Worst of Season 5 Lockdown

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! 

The BEST Parts about Season 5 Lockdown :) 

#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. 

The WORST Parts about Season 5 Lockdown :( 

#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?! 

#3: I couldn't go to Bunnings, which also meant there were no sausage sizzles. 

#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. 

Lastly, a reminder to the amazing students in Room 7 and at Ruapotaka School. I have enjoyed great being able to stay connected and teach you during home learning. Please make sure over the next couple of days that you are well-rested, have your uniform and materials ready for your return on  Wednesday 17 November, 10.00am - 2.00pm. 

Mutolu kia! Cheeeehuuuuuu!

Monday 15 November - Last Check In

AM: What am I grateful for? How am I feeling today? 

I am feeling calm and a little bit excited to be going back to school. I'm excited because it will be the first time since Term 3 Week 4 (or 3?) when I last saw my students. I remember the last couple days because my class were getting into some really good learning habits and routines. 

AM: What are my goals today? 

My goals today are to contact ALL of my R7 students parents and confirm if they are coming back to school on Wednesday. School will be open to all students but our change in time is different. Hopefully I'll also have decided what I will be cooking for dinner. Any suggestions? 

Term 4 Week 4 "Clock Out"

What was your win for the week?

My win this week was Pancake Stack Friday.  DJ, Renei and I cooked our sweet goodies live in the class meeting, while Malachi cooked and served another pancake feast well beforehand. The creation below is mine - strawberry, banana and nutella crepe with whipped cream. I need to work on my plating skills though, because I my inner ingredients are hidden by that monster blob of cream. 

Greatest Learning Achievement? 

My greatest learning achievement was modeling writing instructions for how to cook a hangi. I also worked with the class on their reading skills of skimming, scanning and finding evidence to support their thinking. 

How do you feel about possibly going back to school next week on Wednesday? 

The government has announced that Auckland primary schools may return next week on Wednesday 17 November. Personally I am excited that we could be going back - we are waiting for the school principal to make an announcement. It would be great to be in the classroom, as well as outside if it is a sunny day. I hope the Year 8's get a chance to reconnect with their school before they leave for college. I'm a bit nervous, knowing covid is out there but I am prepared to do my part and stay safe if it helps others. Wash hands and sanitise frequently, maintain distance and stay safe. 

Term 4 Week 3 "Clock Out"

My most grateful moment this week was R7 Eggs on Toast. I enjoyed doing something different with my class to celebrate the end of the week. It was also good to see a more positive lift in spirits this week from my class. ALSO really great to hear from Krista by email. She is doing good working on her home learning pack and trying her best with Education Perfect. I hope the rest of my class are also taking care of themselves. 

I also enjoyed playing "sock-etball" on Monday with my class. That was a cool way to start the week! 

I'm on the look out for more Fun Friday tasks we can do, so if you've got any suggestions let us know. 

Online learning: This week I took part in a few more of Mrs Allan's maths sessions. The slide deck below shows what we've been working on. One really cool site we did today was Tran Towers on Transum. It is like an online escape room. I enjoyed seeing different students help each other out to solve the questions while trying to escape the dungeon. That or watching them "break into jail" then having to sit out for 30 seconds. Be warned, this game is highly addictive! 

Room 7 "Eggs on Toast"

"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! 

Cybersmart Trace and Copy 'Hot Dog'

Earlier this week, Mr Goodwin showed us how to do this task in one of our online meetings earlier this week. 

Attribution: Hot dog with mustard, Renee Comet. CC0 1.0. Sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hot_dog_with_mustard.png 

How to attribute an image: image title, author. License type. Sourced from [add URL]. 

This is my Google Drawing of a hot dog. In our Cybersmart lesson we learned to trace using Google Drawing tools. 

I created this masterpiece by using the Explorer tool in GDrawing to find an image of a 'hot dog'. The picture was randomly selected from a list of my favourite things. I traced the original image using the polyline tool. I "split" the image into main parts (e.g. bun, sausage, mustard) which made was easier to trace than one large object or outline. 

Something I found difficult was trying to draw Sasuke from Naruto but I kept messing up the hair.  The picture seemed easy to do but using a mousepad was really difficult for me. I reckon with a mouse, I could create some great pictures! That's no excuse no, you should see what one of my students has come up with - Pita recreated Naruto himself and he looks very authentic!  

Tracing our own images like this could be useful for trying to create and share, or to support, our own examples of learning. This term we are learning to attribute images, text and media we use; to make sure we acknowledge the help we may have used. 

Explanation "What is a hangi?"

The writing model below is my explanation for "What is a hangi?". For those of you who don't know, hangi is an age-old Maori tradition of cooking food in an underground oven. Room 7 has been requested by Mrs T and Room 3 to explain what a hangi is and how to make one. Unfortunately with this extended lockdown, they won't be able to make one at school BUT at least we can remind our junior school what they can look forward to for their next available meal. 

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? 

Term 4 Week 2 "Clock Out"

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. 

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.

Writing: My Wordle

 

This is a wordle about me and the BEST characteristics which make up my personality. I enjoyed making this wordle because it was a fun way to play with words and learn some new words about myself. 

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! 

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