Tuesday 17 December 2013

Young potters

  The children feel very proud of their achievements!
 
Ella - I feel pretty happy that we made them.
Saihaj - I think they are pretty cool.
Giselle - When I was making them I felt like I was in Ancient Egypt.
Gigi - They look so cool, they look like they are from Egypt.
Poppy - I'm gonna cry because they are so cool...
Farah - I had so much fun making them.  I want to make them again.
Solana - I really want to make another one because I love feeling the clay and seeing what I have created.
Charlie - I want to make as many as I can because they are amazing.
Anya - When I grow up now I want to be an Egyptian pot maker.
Mia-Rose - When I was making it I felt like I was in Ancient Egypt.
Harrison - I like it because I like the feel of the clay.
Milana - I like mine even if it is broken.
Jayden - I really want to make a lot of them when I grow up so I can give them to my family.

Latest new ancient Egyptian pottery


Here they are!  Our glazed coil pots are finished!  They are all waterproof and can be drunk out of or used as a lovely vase or for salad dressing....  Anything really!  They can go in the dishwasher but you might want to hand wash them to protect the handles. 

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Genie Stories Updated

We have updated our Genie Stories Flipsnack book so that each story now appears on each page as it should have done.  Please enjoy our stories and we would love to hear from you, letting us know what you think of our stories in the comments below.



Egyptian pottery...

Today we got our first terracotta pinch pots back.  They have been fired and are dry, hard and feel a little bit rough.  We are quite happy with them!

The coil pots we made have been glazed with a blue glaze to seal them and make them waterproof so they could be used as vases.  Hopefully the glaze will seal up any little gaps in the coils!



This is what the kiln shed looks like at Auckland Studio Potters where Ms Werder is glazing our pots.  Busy place!  Hopefully they will be glazed by Monday next week to hand out to children before the end of the year.

Thursday 21 November 2013

The biggest rose in the world...

We made a rose with all our class students.  Last week we went to the Rose Gardens and we were feeling inspired to make a rose out of our bodies.  Our fragrance was so lovely, a passing lady called Prim stopped and had a sniff.  She thought we smelt as good as the best smelling thing in the world!

Thursday 7 November 2013

Astronomy


Hi students!  Here is the website to access the astronomy information for you to read, study and learn at home.
All going well this will take you straight there!

Monday 21 October 2013

Tutankhamun's mask magnets

 
This is Tutankhamun's mask.  He was a young Egyptian pharoah who came to power when he was a little boy younger than us!  This mask was on his mummified body and is made of solid gold! 

 
Room 1 made our own masks modelled from Tutankhamun's golden one.  We made them out of a special clay called 'dukit' which goes hard when it is cooked.  They have been made into magnets to put on our fridges at home to remind us of the treasures from Ancient Egypt.

Monday 2 September 2013

Big Night Out Auction

Hello all

We have completed our art project!  Mr Ted and Leonard have helped out a lot with layout and cohesion, as well as my pottery tutor Chris, so thanks to them.

Here is the finished product, all going well many of you will come to bid on the piece on the night of the do.  If you can't make it, all art works will be available near the office during the week prior to the auction for viewing and bidding.

The symbols are: a tulip, a tree, a tadpole, a balloon, two koru, a bird, a rain drop, the moon, a stream and the ocean, Rangitoto, the silver fern, a smiley face, a tiki, a sunflower, two leaves, a rainbow, a diamond ring, a heart, a cat, a wave, a butterfly and a shooting star.  That is a lot of positive symbols in one place!

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Collective art for the art auction

We have made some lucky touchstones for our piece of art to auction at the Big Night Out, our major fundraiser this year.  All going well, the finished piece will look beautiful enough to adorn any wall!

Here is the back story:
When the train tracks were altered a couple of years ago at New Lynn, I went along to collect some of the clay they dug out. This clay was one and the same as used in Crown Lynn pottery, and the factory was on the site by the railway.

We have used some of this special clay to showcase the symbols we like and think are important to make us feel happy.  We aim to bring good luck and cheer to the lucky bidder!

Here is what we have so far...

These are bisque fired and ready for glazing...

Here the touchstones are on the batt, glazed with a celadon glaze named 'ching pai'. 
It looks pink, but don't panic, it will be nearly clear once it is fired!
 
Once glazed, I will glue them to a woven flax backing and frame them.  If anyone has any expertise in this area, I would appreciate some assistance, otherwise it is a job for No more Nails...

How time flies! Parent help roster...

Hello everyone
I sent this note home yesterday, and Mahad asked if I had put it on the blog yet, so here it is!  All going well we can get some regular help to make our learning times more effective and enjoyable for all:
20 August 2013
Dear parents and caregivers
We have been working hard in Room 1 to develop our self-management skills, and complete our own levelled work independently.  This is quite tricky to do on our own, so we are hoping that some kind parents will be willing and able to support us in our learning. 
On the table below, the shaded areas are the times that would be most beneficial to our learning to have help.  The help would mostly be keeping our groups on task while Ms Werder is teaching small groups, with reminders and encouragement to keep on trying, and doing the right thing at the right time. 
If you are able to help at a set time, Ms Werder will set up a roster for parent help.  Please email her on gretchenw@parnell.school.nz  or send this back to school.
Thank you very much
Room 1 and Ms Werder.
 
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
9-10
writing
 
maths
 
maths
 
maths
 
maori, drama,
inquiry
10-11
reading
 
reading
 
reading
 
reading
 
poetry, publishing
11-11:30
Playtime
11:30-12:15
maths
writing
 
writing
 
writing
 
ict
12:15-1
phys ed
topic
library
topic
topic
1-1:45
Lunch
1:45-3
assembly (even) syndicate (odd)
science
buddies
spelling
art
 
developmental
Please add your name and time available, or if you are able to be contacted for special events.
Name ___________________ Contact_______________________
Time able to help:­__________________________________
Thanks!

Friday 2 August 2013

Ancient Egypt

The year 2 classes will be learning about Ancient Egyptians as the global aspect to the school's Taonga theme.

We have begun to use technology in order to learn more - we have a wealth of information around us if only we know how to access it!  Please find below a website from Manchester University.  We have used this in class today, and have had a good introduction to a number of exciting aspects of life in Ancient Egypt.  Have a go at home!


I hope it works!
Ms Werder

Friday 5 July 2013

dirty knees...

It is the season for mud and rain.  The kids in Room 1 love to run and play, however, the grounds are muddy...

So, what happens is that the children come in with filthy, little, smelly, muddy, dirty revolting knees.  Here is a picture of some knees on a not too dirty day but still pretty muddy:

We need to bring extra long pants to cover our shorts when we go out to play on the grass.  This is how we can respect our school envirnonment. 

Don't play on the grass with just your uniform shorts because when we touch things in our class they will get dirty.  We could get books dirty, the carpet will get muddy as well as our other furniture.  Our class will smell like mud, which is not very good. 

Thank  you for bringing extra pants!

Thursday 4 July 2013

Going bananas!

Hi everyone!  We are nearly at the end of Term 2, and we are working hard on maths and reading, and our written language has moved on in leaps and bounds.  Many children in the class are beginning to group ideas together and include more specific and interesting detail.  This is establishing the idea of paragraphing, which the children are familiar with through their reading.  Brilliant stuff, I am very impressed.

On the banana front, we have some dangling from our ceiling beam.  Giselle calls them "banana chandeliers", which is perfect!  There is a good harvest this year, with five good sized bunches - one of which is still growing.  A couple of years ago we had someone sneak in on the weekend and take them, so I didn't want to leave them all out for too long.  Mr Ted and Mrs Franklin-Smith cut them down for us. 
All going well they will ripen at the beginning of next term, and we can do some baking. Banana recipes, anyone?
 
We also have a great time with our buddy class, who are now coming on Wednesday afternoons.  Here are some photos of what they do after the spelling test is over...



Friday 21 June 2013

Rain by Hone Tuwhare

Rain

I can hear you
making small holes
in the silence
rain

If I were deaf
the pores of my skin
would open to you
and shut

And I
should know you
by the lick of you
if I were blind

the something
special smell of you
when the sun cakes
the ground

the steady
drum-roll sound
you make
when the wind drops

But if I
should not hear
smell or feel or see
you

you would still
define me
disperse me
wash over me
rain

Hone Tuwhare

Seeds Time Lapse

Over the last two weeks we have been doing an experiment with seeds.  We planted four different types of seed and have been watching them grow.  We have been watering the seeds and taking a picture every 5 minutes so that we can see how the seeds grown using a method called time lapse.  You can see our video below:

Monday 17 June 2013

Our awesome Arataki visit


Wow!  Yippee, yay, yeehar!

On Tuesday, Room 1 travelled to Arataki because we wanted to learn about native plants.  We went on a bus, and we had a lot of parents come with us.  The weather was sunny but a bit cold when we left at about half past nine.  Read on to find out some of the things we did, saw and learned...
"Dab, dab, scratch, scratch, sniffff!"
We had to get little blue sponges and dabbed the sponges on some leaves and sniffed.  Some smelled stinky!  And some smelled like nothing, and some smelled good.
By Mahad, Caitlyn and Isabella.

.
We did sniffing potions, and they were strong.  Room one used up native things for it.  Some were not so yummy smells and some were.  The disgusting ones smelled like dogs droppings.   We put it in cups.  Some had seeds in them.
By Milana, Solana and Finn.


Simon found a weta and said it was a girl weta because it had a sharp thing at the back for laying eggs in soft trees.  He said to us that the daddy weta will come out of the hole first and see if it is safe, but if it isn't the daddy weta will kill the animal.  The weta's ear was on its elbow, and its legs were long.  It was orange and brown and white.
By Jared, Saihaj and Dreo.


We blind folded Gigi's mum.  We had to turn her around and make her touch a tree.  She had to feel it, and then when the blind fold was off, she had to find it again.
By Mia-Rose, Poppy and Will.

We had a class photo next to a concrete frame.  We took a photo so we can remember when we forget.  There was a tiny ice cream shop next to the frame.  There was wood around the bark.
By Charlie, Cooper and Giselle.

Canopy are the tall trees in the forest.  Sub canopy are the medium sized trees.  Shrubs are the small sized trees in the forest, and lastly the forest floor is on the ground.  It was pretty fun and easy to learn.  These are the things we learned at Arataki.
By Joanne and Anya.

The smallest tree turns into the tallest tree in New Zealand.  It's quite funny that that happens to the smallest tree.  It is called the Kahikatea.
By Farah, Jayden and Vincent.

At Arataki we got turns getting pulled up the hill on a nikau leaf.  After we got pulled up we got to help Simon pull it.  Then when everybody had a go he chucked it back into the bush.
By Gigi and Daniel.

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Don Binney paintings

Taonga is our theme for the year, and luckily for us we have many treasures around, just waiting for us to take notice of them!  We wanted to create canvas paintings in the style of Don Binney, who spent time growing up in Parnell.  We walked down to the end of St Stephens Ave, and looked over the beautiful Waitemata Harbour.  We chose our own viewpoint to sketch the land, sea and sky.  It was awkward carrying our canvases down the road, but Mrs Franklin-Smith came with us, which was helpful!

Once back in the class, we painted the sky and the sea, blending the colours on the canvas, and creating texture for the sea. 

 
 
When that was dry, we painted in the land. 


Finally, we drew our native birds with chalk, and then painted them into the landscape.  We had made careful observational drawings of these birds from photos, so most of them are easy to recognise.  Black lines with vivid completed the Don Binney look. 

The Arts Focus exhibition was amazing, with the work looking very professional indeed.  I am certain they will become a taonga for the children to keep.


Here are the artists and their work: