Room 22 say THANK YOU to our swim coaches!

Dear Steve, Ana and Michael,

We would like to thank you for helping us to learn swimming skills. To show our appreciation we have written a Who Am I?

You need to use the clues to figure out which animal it is that swims just like us!

I can swim fast with my legs and they can go really deep because they are fat. I have two nostrils and I have a big body and a small tail.

Who am I?

I have a big shell and two claws and eight legs and a little body.

Who am I?

Room 13's Tiki Tour of New Zealand

Every Tuesday in Room 13 we take a special Tiki Tour around our beautiful country, Aotearoa New Zealand. In Term 3 we made it to all the major towns and cities in the North Island - Te Ika-a-Maui. Well this week we jumped on the Interislander ferry and crossed the Cook Strait to the South Island - Te Waipounamu. We docked the boat in Picton and…. Wow! What a beautiful place!

Here is some examples of our writing about our journey.

If you are looking for a quiet peaceful place, then Picton is the place for you! In Picton there are white boats and green hills where you can view all of the area. You can head out to the bay. Picton might be a fine place for you! You can go hiking in Picton and then go camping with a lantern. Picton is near water named the Cook Strait and Picton is at the top of the South Island. There is lots of boats there and they’re all white. The sun shines on the boats and the boats shine back to the sun. When the moon comes up you can go for a drive in the car and that would be a nice big treat. Then you can have a rest and go to sleep.

By Zayden, Year 3

If you are looking for an amazing place to go, then Picton is the place for you. Picton is at the top of the South Island. I took a boat to Picton. If you want to get there then you will have to go over the Cook Strait and the boat that you will go on is a ferry, this is called the Interislander ferry. You can park your car under the boat and they will put chains on the wheels so the car can’t move. The boat ride will take you about 2 and a half hours from Wellington. You can go fishing, bushwalking and mountain biking there. You will have the best adventure holiday! There might be dolphins, sea lions and seals. There is a fish farm in Picton. You will find a cafe there for when you feel hungry and thirsty. When I went fishing there I caught a snapper and a mullet.

By Amaziah, Year 4

Dear Zayden and Amaziah

I have really enjoyed my trip to Picton and would love to go to see the sites that you have mentioned.

I would like to fly down and I am wondering whether you could perhaps find out where I would fly to and how much it would cost me to go. I would like to go the day after school ends and stay there for three nights. I do hope you can help me as I am too busy to research this myself.

Eagerly awaiting your response.

Love Mrs Dunlop

Aotearoa New Zealand has so many amazing things to do and sights to see, I wonder where Room 13 will go next?

Room 21 says THANK YOU to our swim coaches!

We love Friday's because its when we go swimming!

Gzeal, Leon, Bernard, Tukia, TJ and Dimitry during Water Safety week.

We have learnt..

To kick with fast feet

To blow bubbles when my head is under water

To wear a life jacket when I go on a boat with my friends and family.

If we capsize, to huddle together to stay warm.

Forming a huddle to stay warm

Getting ready for our next instructions

Leilani having her life jacket checked.

Thank you to the John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation for including our school in your community swim programme! We are so thankful.

Room 14 says a big THANK YOU to our swim coaches

From Room 14

Dear Anna,

I am writing to say thank you for teaching me how to swim.  My favourite part of our swimming lessons was when you were showing me how to do a starfish.

You have been an amazing swimming instructor.

Love,

Naomi (Year 4)

When I grow up ...

When I grow up I would want to be an instructor just like Steve, Michael and Anna.  They know how to teach kids like us.  

They taught us two lessons.  Number one was listen with your ears.  The second lesson was to always make good choices.  If we did those two lessons well we got to play a game.

Thank you,

Ashton

Year 3

Dear Steve,

I am writing to say thank you for teaching us how to swim.

My favourite part of swimming lessons was pindrop and backdrop because I might want to be an instructor when I grow up or a famous surfer.

Thank you for teaching me about lifejackets because I can go fishing on a boat.

Thank you again,

Dylan

Year 4

Dear Michael,

I am writing to say thank you for teaching me the freestyle arms and the pindrop.

I love the freestyle arms because they help me swim.  I like the pindrop because I liked it when I held on to the lifejackets.

It will help me because I go to the Otahuhu Pools all the time with my family.

Thank you,

Saedeze

Year 3

When we got back to school, we showed our teacher our new swimming skills ...

 Have you seen better rocket arms than ours?

 Best huddle ever!

The pin drop

    

Tongan Language Week at Yendarra

Yendarra share in the GREETING Malo e lelei

Malo aupito! to our Tongan whanau for sharing your love of language and culture through song, clothing and food.

Learning Tongan language this week has been a very ‘unique’ experience for our tamariki. We have learnt to appreciate each other’s cultures and experiences.  All classes had the opportunity to learn through pictures, video, stories, word charts, songs and live commentary from our Tongan teachers Mrs Tuikolovatu, Miss Tuli and our Tongan students.

When our Tongan whanau ‘dressed in their best’ we were all ‘star struck’ at how bright and beautiful everyone looked which caught the attention of so many compliments…

Your Tupenu makes you look neat, tidy and very tall…

You look amazing with bright colours…

The patterns weaved on your ta’ovala look awesome…

An impressive outfit must be made by some impressive family members…

If the week wasn’t already special Mrs Tuikolovatu and room 1 went visiting to share the Tongan love of song which made us all so very happy.

Our Flippers are on in Room 19

To the swim gym and Otara leisure centre whanau THANK YOU for the opportunity to participate in this year’s community swim programme.  The work that is done by SIR JOHN WALKER’S FIND YOUR FIELD OF DREAMS programme is appreciated by the many families and children who have learnt to swim, become confident with water and acquire water safe knowledge.

Adding to our memory bank are moments of success which we have written in the form of recounts. Here are some of these moments from our very own authors.

Every Friday we got changed into our swimming togs and came back and sat on the mat. We discussed our swimming rules and reviewed skills we have learnt while we waited for our class mates to get ready. When we were ready we formed our line outside and walked past the front office to get on to the bus. Author: Olive Tukutau

We had to sit down on the edge of the pool and put our legs in the water so we could see and hear the new safety tips before practising them in a whole class activity. Each of us had to watch Steven demonstrate a Pin-drop which is used when you need to exit a boat or platform quickly. Author: Shylah Williams

Ana was the first to greet our class and tell us which swimming team we were going to be in. Perez, Siope and Gloria were in my team and to start our lesson Ana asked us to grab a kick-board. We used our kick-board to float on top of the water and glide to one side of the pool. Author: Helu Poese-Mano

Finally it was time to play a short swimming competition after we finished freestyle.  Each of us had to touch the bottom of the pool and then make a hand-stand.  It was difficult to do but Steven announced the winner it was Shylah, congratulations! Author: Nora Leota

Your dedication and direction has put fire in our souls. You have inspired us to do the best to reach our swimming goals!

Safety with Electricity at Yendarra School

  On Wednesday 17th of September, Esther from Vector came to visit our school. She taught us some important lessons! Did you know that electricity can be very dangerous? It is really important that we understand how to be safe around electricity. 

Here are some ways to keep yourself and your family safe:

1. Never put electrical appliances near water.

2. If your toast gets stuck, unplug the toaster before you stick the knife in.

3. Do not fly kites near power lines.

4. Do not touch, kick or throw objects at power lines or transformers.

5. If power lines come down in a storm or because of a car accident, stay 6m away and ring the police on 111.

6. If people are trapped inside a car that has crashed into a power line, tell them to stay in the 

car and ring 111 for help. 

7. Don’t touch frayed electrical cords. If the plastic on the outside has worn away then the electricity can come out and give you a shock.

8. If there is an electrical fire, do not put water on it! Water is a conductor which means you could get electrocuted. You need to use a fire extinguisher. 

9. If someone is being electrocuted, do not touch them. Turn the power off at the main power switch and call 111 for the ambulance.

It was great to learn more about electricity. It is everywhere we go – our homes, our church, our school and the in the shops that we visit so it is important that we know how to keep safe.

It was really cool to see the kinds of safety gear that the linemen wear to work. Some kids even got to try it on!

Thank you so much Esther for your fun and informative show!

If you want to learn more about how to be safe around electricity you could visit 

www.vectorschools.co.nz

Dream BIG little MUSICIANS

Fa’afetai tele lava to Annie for the invitation to participate in a musical recording special on location to be launched in 2015.

To show our gratitude for the many opportunities to learn and grow in music we began rhyming and thinking poetically about the ‘gift of music’

Dear Music, I will never be able to thank you enough for always being there for me….

Music is pretty I listen to it with my tears, it comforts me….

Hip Hop Hippty pop

The birds sing a song, which makes me want to sing along…

Sitting in the sun, singing with friends is fun.

We have so many talented tamariki who are each sharing their talents to ‘brighten the paths of many’.  Performances at the secondary schools poly-fest, Palm rest home, 3rd Jam Bus mobile recording and Yendarra school haka powhiri’s and farewells have been a ‘show’ of our LITTLE but BIG musicians who are daring to set themselves apart musically.

So let them sing LOUDLY and PROUDLY!