Tonight!

Tonight we are going to the Lincoln hall for our final assembly and our parents will be there to watch us. We are singing songs and giving out shiny trophies to the people who have done well. They have won their events or come second or third and been good role models.

By Lachie.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays 6

Happy Holidays 6

Happy Holidays 5

Happy Holidays 4

Happy Holidays 3

Happy Holidays 2

Happy Holidays 1

Sunshine Online

With the summer holidays coming up, I know many of you will be thinking about a holiday pack of reading books to have at home, to make sure your 'little ray of sunshine' doesn't forget all the important skills they have learned this year. To help us out, Sunshine Books have offered a free trial to New Zealand parents and teachers to access their digital learning space at http://www.sunshineonline.co.nz where you can find lots of e-books and activities at just the right level to keep the kids on-track over the summer.
This login and password is valid until 28 January 2014:
Login: sunshine2013
Password: newzealand

To find out more about the phenomenon of 'summer slide' and why continuing to practice reading over the holidays is important - click this link.

Letters from Lower Hutt!

Earlier this week we received letters in the mail. They were from Room 3 at Dyer Street School in Lower Hutt (Wellington). The children there are learning about earthquakes and wanted to ask us some questions.

There are 24 children in Room 3 at Dyer Street and some of them even had the same names as us! They have two Ella's, and Isaac and a Mackenzie in their class too.
Here we are reading their letters:

Some of the questions they asked:
Does Christchurch have more earthquakes than Wellington? 
Does Christchurch have less earthquakes than Wellington? 
Do you have very big earthquakes?
What do you do in an earthquake?
How do earthquakes happen? 
Do we 'Drop, Cover and Hold' in an earthquake?
Why do people 'Drop, Cover and Hold'? 
Do you know about tectonic plates?
When do you know when earthquakes will happen? 
Did your classroom windows break?
Do you feel scared? 
Do dogs bark before earthquakes? 

From Arshaq, Isaac, Sio, Alex, Kane, Seth, Allison, Leah, Zane, Alyssa, Levi-Blue, Millie, Ashlee, Moses, Caleb, Mackenzie, Ella, Nyra, Ella, Rebecca, Fekita, Riley, Gabe and Ryan.

When we did some research to answer their questions we found out that Christchurch has had 12,800 earthquakes in the last 3 years! Here is a map that shows all of them:

We sent photos of us practising our 'Drop, Cover, Hold' too. We do this to keep ourselves safe. We can Drop, Cover, Hold' under a desk or in a doorway. We can also Drop and Cover like a turtle if we are in an open space, like the playing field, and there is nothing to hold on to.

We really liked receiving letters in the mail and tried to answer as many of their questions as we could.
Thank you for your letters Room 3 and good luck with your earthquake research! We hope you get our letters soon.
From Room 3 at Springston School.

Glorious Gardening!

On Wednesday we went to the Secret Garden with Room 6. It was fantastic. It was a beautiful day for pulling weeds, checking out the new 'bug hotel' and eating broad beans fresh from the pod!

Poetry Pride

Magnificent Molly entered her poems in a recent poetry competition (which it turned out wasn't open to individual entries). Her poems impressed judge Paula Green so much that she published them on her poetry blog "NZ Poetry Box". Check them out by clicking the link below!
Super proud of you Molly!

Pet Day

Room 3 Pet Day 2013 on PhotoPeach

Pirate Adventure Writing

One fine day on the ocean, Princess Pirate was kidnapped by Mr Googley-eyes from her pirate ship, the Kingdom. Princess Pirate was kind and beautiful and married to King Jolly. King Jolly had a chicken called Jet. Jet saw Mr Googley-eyes kidnap Princess Pirate so he flew after the jet-boat as fast as his fluffy wings could fly. Unfortunately the jet-boat was too fast for Jet and he lost sight of them. Jet looked around for a safe place to rest. He landed on an island with a cave. Inside the cave lived Batman!
Jet begged Batman to help him save Princess Pirate. He clucked and clucked and pecked at Batman's feet. To get away from Jet's sharp beak Batman got in his Bat-plane and flew away. Jet the chicken got in the Bat-plane too, because he thought Batman was helping him rescue the princess.
Batman flew over Mr Googley-eyes jet-boat. Jet the chicken jumped up and started flapping in Batman's face. Batman couldn't see. Batman accidentally pushed the button that released the escape ladder.
Princess Pirate could see Batman's plane from the jet-boat and thought he had dropped the ladder to rescue her. So, she kicked Mr Googley-eyes overboard and grabbed the ladder.
Batman was very grumpy with Jet the chicken and Princess Pirate catching a ride on his Bat-plane, so he took them back to the Kingdom and dropped them off. King Jolly was upset that Batman didn't stay for the party to celebrate his brave rescue of Princess Pirate, so sent Batman some chocolate cake in the mail.
Unfortunately, Batman was allergic to eggs.
By Keala, Isaac, Jed and Ollie.

Time for a laugh!

Q: Why did the cow cross the road?
A: To get to the moo-vies!

Q: What happens when a smurf and a cow cross the road?
A: Blue cheese!

Q: When Batman’s mum was calling him for dinner, what did she say? 
A: Din-ner din-ner din-ner din-ner, din-ner din-ner din-ner din-ner Batman!

Jokes shared with you by Tessa!

Our Seed Experiment!

Check out our science experiment movie on Springston Tube!

Dragonvale and Hayday apps reviews

This is Dragonvale. You buy dragons and breed them and buy them habitats. You can get air dragons, fire and blue fire dragons.
In Hayday there are pigs, cows, sheep, chickens, dogs, horses, cats and you get them houses. It is a farming game.
By Jed and Ollie.

Cricket

A man, called James, came to Springston School today and he taught us about cricket. First, he showed us how you catch. You make a basket with your hands and when you catch the ball in the basket, you close it and tuck it into your chest. We had throw the ball and then quickly touch the ground and clap before catching it again. James showed us how to how to hit the ball with the cricket bat. You use the flat side of the bat and hit it. By Isaac.

Thank You

Recently I received a lovely email informing me that a parent in Room 3 has nominated me as an 'Inspiring Teacher'! WOW! This really means a lot and I feel very proud to have made such a positive impression in my first year of full-time teaching.  You can read the nomination here. Each morning I look forward to seeing 23 smiling faces and know that there is going to be lots of fun, excitement, and energy as we go about our learning.
I would like to acknowledge that it is great to be part of the innovative and inspiring teaching team at Springston. It is the children and families of Room 3 make my day at 'work' fantastic - so thank you for helping me become an 'Inspiring Teacher' this year.

Red Sock Day

GO Emirates TEAM NEW ZEALAND!

School open Friday

Congratulations on your A+ Adaptability as we struggle with the challenge of no power. We have no indication as yet when power will be restored to school. We plan to open school on Friday provided the weather is fine, regardless of the lack of power.

Some things you need to know: The back gate to school via the field and Secret Garden are both locked and closed until further notice. This is a safety issue because of tree damage and it is likely that these gates will be locked for the rest of Term 3.

On Friday afternoon we are planning a fun event at the Domain for the children to welcome them back to school. We will be leaving for a picnic lunch and activities at 12pm and welcome you to join us. Subway will run as normal. Icy-slicy will be postponed until next Friday.

Please note that with the power being out, we have no phones, heating or alarm systems. We will leave it to your discretion as to whether you send your children to school. If the weather should turn cold or wet, these plans will need to be reviewed. The school will open unless you are advised that it is closed by school websites, Facebook and the More 92 FM radio station.

School closed again - Thursday 12th September

Good morning whānau

Due to now power, phone and alarms at Springston School we will be closed again today...

Thursday 12th September

Thanks

Springston Staff 

School closure Wednesday 11th September

Kia ora whānau

Due to the extreme weather and wind during the night, the power is off at school. We also have a few trees down and damage to school property.

School will be closed today - Wednesday 11th September

If you and your children are on school property, then please be aware that there are a number of fallen trees on the field and the bike track. These are roped off, but we ask you to supervise your children at all times outside of the school day 9-3pm to ensure everyones safety.

Thank you

Springston Staff

Grapevine!

Last week we found out all about grapevines from fantastic Robert Lindsay (local grape growing expert). 

Grape expert (and awesome dad) Rob Lindsay

We found out that grapes came into existence a long, long time ago. People who study the past (archaeologists) have found evidence of grapevines all over the world, especially in Europe. France is famous for growing grapes and making wine. There are different types of grapevines and they make different types of grapes – green, red, blue, purple and white – which can be eaten fresh, dried into raisins or used to make different varieties of juice and wine. Even the grape seed can be used to make oil. Grapevine is an amazing plant!

Grapevines drop all their leaves in autumn and grow new leaves again in the spring. Did you know you can eat grape leaves? We also found out that grapes are pollenated by the wind, not bees!

Tiny grape flowers

Grape flowers are plain and feathery and bees don’t even notice them. Eventually those tiny flowers swell into yummy grapes! Birds eat the grapes and take the seeds (in their stomachs) and poop them out. The bird poop makes good fertiliser for growing a new grapevine from the grape seed.

Vineyards are planted by taking cuttings from existing vines (not planting seeds). The cuttings come from budding one year-old wood (the new growth). When planted the buds below the soil turn in to roots and the ones above become the new vine. Tens of thousands of cuttings are used to make a new vineyard.

Grapevines aren’t strong enough to support themselves – they climb up trees or fences to reach the sunlight. The leaves grow out of each side of the vine, and little tendrils come out too, to hang on to the tree or fence that it is climbing.

Vineyard grapevines don’t fruit in the first year or the second year (or even the third year!) After fours years the vines are ready to fruit! Grapevines can live for hundreds of years. The French settlers who landed at Akaroa on Banks Peninsula brought cuttings from France and those vines are still growing and fruiting now!


Thank you so much Rob for teaching us all about grapevines!

Book Week Dress-Up Day

Room 3 is full of interesting characters!

Grass!

Last week we found out all about grass (also known as lawn or turf or pasture) from the amazing Nigel Johnston (local grass growing expert).

Grass roots - literally!

We found out that grass doesn’t need soil to grow – it needs sun and water. The soil is good for cows to sit on though. Grass in lakes wouldn’t help the farmers very much. Farmers feed grass to animals because it is a cheap form of food (because it grows back!) One seed grows a hand-size clump of grass that can live for 1 or up to 10 years. Grass does have flowers – not big bright colourful ones – they look like little green and brown seed clumps. Grass ‘leaves’ are called tillers.

Rye grass

Rye grass is the most common form of grass grown in New Zealand soil. It is a very soft and juicy grass – just perfect for cows. Rye has red or purple colouring at the base of the leaves and has smaller roots, so it can only survive a few weeks without rain.

Cocksfoot grass

Cocksfoot grass is used for sheep and beef farms in hardier climates. It has a bigger root system and can survive a long time (3-4 months) without rain. It is much tougher.

Clover

Clover is the most important plant for NZ farmers. It has large round leaves that hold more digestable energy for cows and sheep. Clover roots spread out across the ground to make new plants without any seeds! Clover even makes its own fertilizer, which can be used by the other plants around it – it is a magical plant! Clover needs a lot of water because it has quite small roots. Clover has white flowers.

Nigel loves clover!

Worms keep the soil healthy for the grass. Grass grubs eat the roots of the grass and it can die. People should not eat grass – people don’t have the right kind of stomach to digest the fibre in grass and you would get a very sore tummy! 

Thank you Nigel for teaching us all about grass!

Nurture and Nourish

Last week we visited Riccarton Bush / Pūtaringamotu and the Botanical Gardens.
At Riccarton Bush, Ranger John guided us through and pointed out three types of trees; Totara, Mahoe and Kahikatea. Totara are very tall with papery bark, Kahikatea are tall with roots that look like piles of rope, and Mahoe is a small tree with leaves that have 'zig-zag' edges. We had morning tea in the bush and when we left John gave us a kahikatea sapling!
After playing at the Botanic Garden playground and some lunch, Katie and Brian taught us about three types of birds that live in the gardens; Korimako, Kererū and Pīwakawaka. We even learned to recognise their bird calls. Korimako says "plink-plink-plonk", Kererū says "kuu-kuu" and Pīwakawaka says "cheet-cheet-cheet".
Then we went searching for bugs in the garden. Afterwards we were blindfolded and had to make friends with a tree. We felt the leaves for shape and smoothness, we felt the trunk to find out how thick and tall our tree friend was, and we even smelled the leaves. After we took our blindfolds off, we could easily find our tree-friend!
Check out our photos of the day!
Room 3 Garden Field Trip 2013 on PhotoPeach

Springston School Library Blog: Scholastic Book Reviews

Did you know that the Navigators took all three top spots in last term's NZ Book Council book review competition? That's right! 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the 5-7 year old category. This is an amazing result and well done to everyone who entered - I am so proud of you!
Read what our favourite librarian, Mrs Winter, posted on the Library Blog below...

Springston School Library Blog: Scholastic Book Reviews: During Term 2 ten of our children wrote reviews that were entered in the NZ Book Council's competition. I was thrilled to learn in the ...

The Fish of Maui

At the end of last term we celebrated our Kiwiana learning with a Big Night Out! All the children at Springston School put together a show for our parents and community. Here is Brooke's story about the event..."Room three read The Fish of Maui. We drew pictures of costumes we could make inspired by the book. I decided to be a fish. Mary and I googled fish costumes and found one to use. We sewed colourful bits of material onto an old top. I am a rainbow trout."

Well done to everyone in Room 3 - you worked so hard on your costumes and I am so proud of you!

Romilly's Weet-Bix tin

Last term we were bringing objects from home to share as part of our inquiry into Kiwiana culture. 
Romilly brought her colourful Weet-Bix tin. Romilly even made herself a matching bowl by covering an ordinary bowl with lots of Kiwiana pictures!

Sanitarium's Weet-Bix was originally made in Australia back in the 1920's and was introduced to New Zealander's in 1928. It quickly became a popular breakfast cereal here in New Zealand. Sanitarium say that nothing can stop a Weet-Bix kid and encourage all Kiwi kids to get involved in their annual Try-athlons too.
Whether you have it with water, milk, fruit or yoghurt, almost every Kiwi kid agrees that a big bowl of breakfast is the best way to start the day! 
Thank you Romilly for sharing your Kiwiana with us!

Aria's Buzzy Bee

Last term we were bringing objects from home to share as part of our inquiry into Kiwiana culture. 
Aria brought her Buzzy Bee toy. This Buzzy Bee is very special because it belongs to Aria's grandma who has had it since she was a child.

Buzzy Bee is a wooden pull-along toy with rotating wings that make a distinctive 'click-click' noise. It was first made in New Zealand in the 1930's and many Kiwi kids have played with their own Buzzy Bee over the last 80 years. The Buzzy Bee company also made the colourful string doll Mary-Lou.

Thank you Aria for sharing your taonga with us!