Fun with Clay

On Thursday we had our first play with clay. We talked about where clay comes from and what we have to do to be able to work with it. We found out that it is much easier to work the clay when our hands are wet. Some people had their science minds switched on and were asking lots of questions about turning clay into a liquid and what happens once it has been fired. We experimented with the clay by pushing, pulling and twisting to see what happens.





















Next we made the surface of the moon and used the tools in our clay kits to add texture. After that we added moon men. Here are some very funky results.

Crumpet, the Cat

This week we have been reading Crumpet, the Cat for our big book. We have been working on reading together, looking carefully to make sure we are reading without mistakes, and using expression. We made a podcast of our reading.

Pirate Day I.T.

On pirate day last term we all had a go at using a green screen. Ms Dowd filmed us in front of the screen and then used her awesome I.T skills to put in some pirate backgrounds. This is exactly the same as what you see on the news every night when the weather comes on. Very clever! We also had a play with photo booth on the laptops. Here is the result of our work.

1000!!!!!!!!!

We have hit 1000 pageviews on our blog in just 1 term. It's great to know that people are having a look to see what's happening with the amazing children in Room 16. Our next target - 2000!!

Holiday Time

What a crazy term this has been. I think you are all ready for a break after the huge amount of learning and fun that we have cramed into our disrupted term! Here are a few reminders for the break:

1. Look at your goal setting sheets in your home/school books and work on your goals at home. See if you can find some fun ways to practise.

2. Write down everything you read for the Reading Crusade. You can register your reading at http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/readingcrusade/ or keep a record of your reading and I will register you next term.

3. Help out at home where ever you can.

Have a fantastic break, stay safe and enjoy your easter bunny treats.

End-of-Term Mini Concert

On the last day of school we performed a concert for Mrs Warren, Room 15 and some parents. We sang "Morning Town Ride" and "Mr Clickety-Cane". We also sang "A Whole New World". We have been practising this song for weeks to get it right, because there are parts in the song where the boys sing different lines than the girls, but at the same time. It's pretty tricky stuff!! We filmed our practise earlier in the day to put on the blog, but unfortunately they were accidently deleted from the camera. Woops! However, when it came down to the real performance the class sang 100 times better than the practise. You were absolutely fantastic. Mrs Warren thought that you were amazing. You even bought a tear to Jeannie's eye! It was a great way to finish the term. Here is a video of the song so you can sing along at home.

Year 2 Pirate Day

Ahoy there me hearties! To fit in with out pirate theme in class, the Year 2's had a Pirate Day on Thursday. The whole school came out to watch us parade around the turf in our fantastic pirate attire. During the morning our class moved around 4 fun pirate activities: pirate games, pirate crafts, pirate ICT and lastly a pirate treasure hunt!! Then we had a shared lunch with the other year 2 classes. It was an awesome way to finish off our pirate theme for the term.

Treasure Maps

Earlier this week we finished our treasure maps. To make these we first drew a compass and the shape of an island. Next we added details around the island, e.g. waves, sharks, a ship and rocks. The next step was to put in the detials on the island, e.g. mountains, rivers, beaches and forests. Finally we added an X for the treasure spot and drew a trail from the ship to the treasure. To make them look old we covered them with cold tea. They were heaps of fun to make.

A Balancing Act

Anton has been learning to balance around the playground. Last year he could shuffle his feet and needed somebody beside him to help him. Now he can zoom around the playground putting one foot in front of the other and correcting himself when he gets off balance. Check it out!

Monkey Antics

During fitness for the last two weeks we have been building up our upper-body strength and learning to climb the pole. Lots of people have been using their lunch times and play times to practise, practise practise. We have some very determined young people in our class. Well done to those who have managed to do it so far. The rest of us are going to keep practising next week.