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.

Thank you Mrs Lee!

Room 12 has been very lucky to have had Mrs Lee to help with their learning over the last two weeks. She always brought a cheerful smile and a helping hand. Room 12 has enjoyed listening to Mrs Lee read stories before school, guided reading with her and conferencing together during writing time. We wish Mrs Lee the very best for her continued studies in Early Childhood Care at the University of Auckland and also her new job. Take care and keep in touch Mrs Lee. We will miss you : ) Room 12 and Miss S.