Tech Highlights 2019

Tech at Matawai School - learning life skills
What an amazing year we have had in the Tech classes this year.

A huge thank you to Anne and Peter for passing on their invaluable skills and for their patience!

This year students have built stools, tool boxes, puzzles, dice and photo frames in the woodwork room.

In sewing, students have made aprons, hand sewn soft toys and have begun construction of a patchwork blanket.

An exciting year of cooking has seen students involved in the Master chef challenge in town, using seasonal produce grown around the school, learning basic cooking techniques as well as extending our palates with international cuisine.

My highlights from 2019

Reading in Space!

Today during Cybersmart we looked at a series of images and discussed whether they were real or fake.  What do you look for when you are deciding if the images are authentic or not?

We used our camera and remove background to create an 'impossible image' within a school context.

Student led plant workshops

Young leaders - Plant workshops

Last week five students attended a workshop on Titirangi, Kaiti Hill.  They learnt about traditional Maori uses for plants, Harakeke, the power of Kawakawa and also how to grow Kumara plants.

Today we were fortunate enough to have these students lead their own workshops, to pass on the knowledge and skills they acquired last week.

Sophia and Liana taught the students about the medicinal properties of Kawakawa and how to make Kawakawa cough syrup.  

Kaelyn, John and Hohepa passed on Tapahi Harakeke and Nga Ture (the rules and procedure involved with harvesting and working with Harakeke). 

Blake passed on his knowledge around the importance of Kumara to Maori.  With his guidance, we tried to recreate the Kumara 'hothouses' to grow our own Kumara plants by layering stones, lawn clippings, soil and sand.

It was fantastic to see these young leaders collaborate, pass on their knowledge and communicate so well with their fellow students.

Spud update

Look at our Spuds in the buckets!!

They are growing amazingly well.  We can't wait until the 7th December to unearth our potatoes and see how many we have grown.

Our aim is to then make a potato bug and bake Rewena bread...yum!!

What is Media?

Smart Media

Today during our Cybersmart lesson we had a fascinating look at media.  Media has changed so much over the years and never before has it been so portable and accessible.
Our task involved taking an action selfie showing yourself engaged with a form of media. We used the "Remove background' tool and  also placed a png photo frame around our work. I chose the newspaper as I still enjoy reading the newspaper in paper form along with my cup of tea.

Where am I? Holiday writing

I see...gnarly tree roots, like a complicated maze to navigate.
Windy, narrow paths, already marked with previous explorers and a flash of colour flying ahead.

I smell...the earthy, petrichor scent of damp soil, moss and decaying leaves.

I hear ...a flurry of native birds, beautiful song and the occasional  “Keep up Mum!”

I taste...cool sweet water, scoggin and muesli bars, nourishing my tired body.

I feel...jarring up my arms, a mixture of exhilaration and fear, bruises already developing
on my battered legs.

Where am I?

CCycling through the Redwoods, Rotorua

Cycling through the Redwoods, Rotorua, 14.10.19

Rugby World cup Tour

Today during Cybersmart we used Tour builder to create a virtual journey based around the Rugby World Cup.  We had to find our classroom on Google Earth as our starting point then select at least three different destinations from around the world.  Check out my google journey.  My next step is to add my dialogue using screen castify.

Rugby World Cup Animation

Animation Fun

Today during our Cybersmart learning we animated our rugby world cup emblems.

We leant how to duplicate slides using 'Control d'. I understand the need to move our animations a little at a time to create an effective flow of movement.  We did this by using our arrows to control movement as well as enlarging and decreasing the shape to create the illusion of movement towards us and away.

Next time I would try to be more creative with my story but it was great learning the steps to animate a set of slides.

SPUD IN A BUCKET

How BIG will our spuds grow?

Room 4 has entered the 'Spud in a bucket competition', the annual fundraiser for the Alzheimers foundation.  We have planted our two seed potatoes, one in a manure/soil combination and the second, in a soil/egg shell combo.  We will watch to see which grows the best!

We have until the 7th December to hopefully grow our prize winning potatoes...we will keep you posted!

Tairawhiti pronunciation

Dot-to-dot connections

In Room 4 we have been enjoying using a dot-to-dot connection reading tool.  Students work collaboratively to connect the dots between vocabulary from our text.  

We often try to make connections pre-reading, drawing on our prior knowledge, then we add to our sheet with a different colour once we have read the text, to see in a visual way, how we have built on our prior knowledge and extended our connections.

Here we are working in groups to discuss the local Harouta Waka story, shared by our visiting story tellers.

What can we remember?

What connections can we make between the language/words from our local story?

AIMS Games 2019

8.9.2019 AIMING HIGH AT THE AIMS GAMES

On Sunday three Room 4 students competed in the Cross Country event at the annual AIMS games in Tauranga.

Charlie, Liana and Blake gave 100% effort in their races, with over 200 students running in each race.  They did themselves and our school proud.

Charlie placed 43rd and Blake 74th in the year 7 boys.  Liana placed 71st in the year 7 girls.

Thanks to Carole Redpath, our fabulous coach and running mentor!

                                            Charlie, Blake and Liana

Carole and our runners checking out the course.

Rugby World Cup Emblem

During our Cybersmart work this week, Maranga and I worked collaboratively to create a unique emblem to represent Tonga at the up and coming Rugby World Cup.  We found a flower, flag and animal that represented Tonga, then merged all three together to 'group' as an emblem.
It was challenging to polyline around each section of the turtles body and make sure the space was fully connected.  I enjoyed learning how to 'group' the merged image together so it could be moved as one item.

Do you think our emblem represents Tonga accurately?

Hand feeding eels

Long fin eel visit

On Tuesday afternoon, Room 4 had an adventure, visiting and feeding the long fin eels on the Hustlers property.  Students were able to get close enough to feed the eels, some by hand or off a stick or string line and two toes were even nibbled on!

It was an awesome end to our study of endangered species and our learning around the long fin eel.  To see them in their natural habitat and to be able to get so close, left the whole class buzzing.

Did you know you can tell the age of an eel in a similar way to ageing a tree? Examining their 'otolith' or ear bone would show a series of layers or rings that indicates their age. 

I wonder how old the 'enormous' eel was?

Friendship Factor - Attitudes programme

The friendship factor

The year 7-8 students had an amazing day visiting Waerenga-O-Kuri school and participating in the Attitudes programme with Tony O'Rourke.  He delivered important messages around what makes a good friend, tips on friendship and what does not work in friendship.  

Tony was hilarious and the students loved sharing stories and interacting with their peers.

Back at school, students worked on creating a digital image that portrayed a statement around friendship (both positive and negative) using dialogue, body language and facial expressions.

Look at the first picture.  How would it make you feel to be talked about in that way?

Maths quiz

This week in Room 4 we have been learning how to link slides in order to create a Maths quiz for our classmates.

The aim was to link the slides to either progress through the test as you solve the problems or go backwards to try the challenge again.

I enjoyed using 'Animate Gif' to find a moving animation to accompany each slide.  The biggest challenge was adding links to each slide to make the quiz progress accurately.

I am looking forward to sharing our Maths quizzes and challenging each other with a range of maths problems. How many problems you can solve?

Action Selfies

Today Room 4 were learning how to use the 'Remove Background' online tool by taking an Action Selfie of something we enjoy doing in our local environment.

We explored using the timer function on our cameras so we had time to get into our 'action pose'.

We removed the background and placed it on an appropriate background to show something we like to do in Matawai.

Children chose an assortment of hobbies they enjoy doing around the Matawai area.  Do you know where in New Zealand Matawai is?

Check out the class blogs to see Room 4 in action.

I tried this activity as well, trying to capture an action shot doing something I enjoy.  Can you see what it is?

Just Dance Fun

Welcome back to Term Three everybody.

This term our class has been introduced to 'Just Dance' on You Tube. We have selected two dances that we are going to try and perfect this term.  'Blue Man' is being used as our warm-up dance and we are trying the more challenging moves of 'Radical' with a partner.

At first many students felt embarrassed to get up and groove but now we have moved past feeling self-conscious, everybody is giving it their best shot and we are having so much fun....even Mrs Bennett.

Who would like to give it a try?

Matawai 'Masterchefs' 2019

Matawai Masterchefs

Congratulations to Kaelyn and Sophia on taking out the title of our Maara Kai challenge!

They will be representing our school with their winning dishes, Winter pesto Pasta with crunchy kale chips & Fruit crumble - all made with produce from our school garden.  Well done girls!

Check out some of the amazing food prepared by our young chefs!

Lunapic Fun

Today we were learning how to create our own images so we own them and can use them freely. 
Lunapic is an editing tool that has many special effects.

Check out Room 4's blogs from today with their slides.
They also use Remove Background for one of the slides.

Saving our Oceans, animations

On Monday we were lucky to have TONUI Collab visit our school and spend the afternoon with Room 4.  Our focus was the Ocean and issues effecting the health of our oceans and sea life.

Children used the app 'plotagon' to create their own animations, highlighting an issue effecting our ocean and sea life.  It was so much fun for the students to create their own animated characters and create a dialogue which highlighted their issue.

The discussions,  team work and level of engagement was exciting to see!
Check out a finished animation by Liana and Sophia!!

Young Ukers Concert

Last Friday we performed in Gisborne at the Young Ukers Concert at the War Memorial Theatre.

Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu

This week we start our Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu project.

This is where we blog with other schools in New Zealand.

We are still writing our online profile that are written in a Cybersmart way to share our personal, but not private information. We will put them on our blogs as we finish them.

Our partners are Pompallier Catholic School 

We are looking forward to sharing out learning and commenting on each other's blogs.

World War 1 silhouette art

Our World War 1 writing and art work up on the walls, looking amazing!

The most challenging aspect of the art work was creating a detailed stencil of a war image.  Many children chose an image that corresponded with their personal 'wonderings' and research.

Tech 2019

Last term our year 6 students began Tech for the first time.  They began their Tech journey with Anne Toohill in our sewing room.
The first challenge our year 6 students face, is gaining their 'Licence to sew'.  They must master a series of hand stitches and learn to sew on a button before they make a little toy.

Here we see Hayley with her completed bunny toy.

Our cooking students made delicious apple fritters last week.  Our aim is to connect with our school environment and use produce grown within our school.  This teaches our chefs about utilising seasonal produce.

Welcome

Welcome to Matawai School! Our Year 1-8 rural school is nestled at the entrance to the rugged Waioeka Gorge 70km inland from Gisborne. We may be remote but our school is part of a supportive and exciting agricultural community. Our unique location and extraordinary staff motivate children to extend and challenge themselves. For over a hundred years Matawai School has stood grandly over the township.

Welcome to room 4.

We have a mix of year 6-8 students.  

Nau mai, haere mai ki tēnei taonga

Welcome to Room 4's class blog.

We will be using this blog to share our learning.

Please follow our blog and comment on our learning, so that we can learn from you too.