Mathematics

In Maths we are learning to build our number knowledge. We know that we are successful when we * Count forwards to 20 * Count backwards from 20 * Read numbers to 20 * Give the number before, after or between a given number to 20 * Recognise patterns to 5

Reading

In Reading we are learning to read independently. We know that we are successful when we * Point to each word as we read * Read the words we know * Get our mouth ready to sound out the word and use the picture to get clues * Talk about what happened in the story * Answer questions about the story

Visiting Mrs Yates

Congratulations to Isla and Liam who have been taking steps towards their goals in Writing.

All About Our School

Room 12 has been using the Inquiry process to learn about Sunnyhills School. Over the last 3 weeks, we have been going on orientation walks during fitness time and having discussions about the different people and places we visited. When we brainstormed our ideas back in class, we found out that we could name and talk about the different places including the: office, junior courtyard, boat playground, tree island, field sign, lunch room, hall, sandpit and junior playground. We discovered that we didn't know the names of people we might find around our school. We decided to find out the answer to the following question: Who are the people around our school? Room 12 visited the office on Week 3 Tuesday. On our way to the office, we saw Mr Leslie our school caretaker getting the field prepared. When we arrived at the office we saw Mrs Driver our school principal, Mrs Steel our deputy principal (Mrs Driver's helper), Mrs Anderson and Mrs Gibbens who are always busy making sure we are all here safely and notices go home to our parents. When we visited the library we met the lovely Mrs Jeans who gets the library organised and looks after all the ICT equipment in the school. Room 12 will continue to learn about the large number of people who are around our school that help us.

Visiting Mrs Steel

Congratulations to Caitlin and Caprice who have been taking steps towards their goals in Written Language.

Self Portraits- Take 2

We did our first lot of portraits when we first visited Room 12 at a pre entry visit or at the start of this year. It has taken us 4 weeks of real careful work, but now we have finally finished our second attempt at Visual Art-self portraits. We have been learning to use a range of different materials to complete a portrait of ourselves in our school uniforms. First we had to think about and choose the correct paint colour for our skin. Then we had to think about using the whole space. We held our paintbrushes like a pencil.

Then we added the colour of our uniform. Next we used paper to create our hair. Miss S showed us how to make curls using the scissors. Some of us had to work with Mrs Lee to add the brown colour to our hair because there was no brown paper. We used PVA to stick the paper on. It was very tricky and the glue stuck to our fingers!

Finally we worked with Miss S and Mrs Lee to add the parts of our face. We used pastel.... it was really tricky because it could smudge if we worked too fast! So we did our best because Miss S said that amazing artist's work takes a looooonnnnggg time!

Our portraits are not all the same, because we are special and unique individuals. We think that we are awesome artists. What do you think??

Visiting Auckland War Memorial Museum

Room 12 has been using the Inquiry process to investigate Stars of the Insect Community. First we brainstomed our ideas about what we thought insects were. Next we used different coloured Vivids to put our ideas into groups. The groups named the different places where our ideas lived or could be found or how our ideas moved. Some of the groups were: crawling, flying, hopping and swimming.

Room 12 had lots of different ideas about what insects were, but we still didn't know exactly what made an insect an insect. We were so lucky because Mrs Yates and Mrs Rinckes organised a trip for the whole Junior School to visit the Auckland War Memorial Musuem. We thought this would be a great place to find experts that could help us with our investigation.

Our experts showed us some insects. They talked about how insects protect themselves and also how they help our environment/place we live. We discovered that:* Insects have 6 legs * Insects have three parts to their bodies * The three parts are called head, thorax and abdomen. We also discovered that a spider is an arachnid, not an insect! Now that we can use our new knowledge to investigate different kinds of insects that we find in our environment. We were so lucky to have our wonderful parent helpers for the trip. A big thank you to: Mr Davis, Mrs Gerritsen, Ms Singh, Mrs Konesan, Mrs Sparey and Ms Bankers. We couldn't have done this trip safely without your help!

Today we wrote stories about our trip to Auckland War Memorial Museum. We hope you enjoy them! Geena:I saw a volcano. I am surprised because it is fun! Jason: I am at the museum. I liked the insects. Jujhar: I am in the volcano. Milana: I went to the museum. I am happy. Isla: I am looking at the treehouse. I am happy. Iris: I am going to the plane. Jacey: I went to the museum. I am happy I went to the museum. I went with Miss S. Liam: I am at the museum. I am happy. Bharun: I like the volcano. Indigo: I am watching the turtle. I am happy. Etienne: I like the giant lollipops. I liked it in the plane. Cassie: I am at the museum. I am happy because I saw a volcano. I am excited because the volcano is exploding! Spencer: I am in the treehouse. Caitlin: I went to the museum. At first I felt scared and then I didn't feel scared any more. I saw one elephant and we wanted to see the volcano. Miss S got confused and then she said we should have gone straight ahead. Isaac: I saw a dinosaur. Toia: I am looking at the treehouse. I am happy. Sonia: I am at the volcano. Caprice: I am happy because I like the volcano. It is fun.