Dustyn's Diorama

Dustyn worked really hard on his diorama. We love the details he included inside like a boat, sea, and volcanoes in the background. Dustyn was also inspired by Gemma's art sculpture which gave him the idea for the straw up the top. You can blow through it and that creates the wind which will help the boat sail. Great thinking Dustyn.

Gardening Fun

A big thank you to our wonderful PTA who have donated Kohara money to purchase things for gardening projects. We have brought some new spades and trowels, plants, seed containers, potting mix and hanging baskets. We have a great idea to make our walkway look beautiful by hanging our baskets along the walkway and we are going to ask Darren if he can put some nails in for us to hang them on.

We even had to use maths to work out what a quarter of our plants would be so that we could share them equally among the four baskets... we had 12 plants in each pack so we worked out that half of them would be 6. Then we halved that again to get 3 in each quarter.

Our next project is to plant some bean seeds that Lachie's mum has donated to us. We can't wait to watch our plants grow over the next few weeks.

Awatea, Isaac, Oli and Lucy

Vihaan, Fraya, Addison and Alex

Jack, Matthew, Rosalie and Bella

Siale-Maia, Luca, Luka and Harry (not pictured)

Bolt and Squirtle Have a Swimming Lesson

Today Bolt and Squirtle had their first swimming lesson for the season. Today was about showing the teachers what they could do in the pool. They were a bit nervous at first but they showed they were willing to have a go with a board and a noodle down the side of the pool.

Kohara also got to show off their swimming skills today - many of our children have had lessons since Term 1 and it was great to see everyone getting in and practising their skills. Bolt and Squirtle also enjoyed watching Kohara.

Our next swimming day is Friday.

Health & PE Learning

There has been lots of positive interactions with others during our junior Health and PE rotations. Sometimes it is hard to work with people you don't know but we are having fun getting to know new people while trying out new activities. Here is a few photos of some of our learning activities - poi,  elastics and rob the nest.

Oscar, Bella, Sophie, Vihaan and Lucy learning how to play elastics with their new friends.

Rosalie, Mylo and Zora learning poi.

 Taylor, Jack, David, Lucia, Ella, and Awatea showing teamwork in Rob the Nest.

Luca the Bag Designer

Gosh, we have some some fabulous sewing projects being created at the moment. Luca designed this wonderful bag with colourful details and it is just perfect for keeping her science things in it at home. We like how Luca had a purpose for her design and knew what she wanted to use it for. That helped her think about the size and shape of her bag. Luca said the hardest part was getting the handles sewed on because the straps were quite skinny. What a fabulous effort Luca - your sewing skills have grown so much over the year. Just look at what you are creating now!

Lucia and Anika's Flower Chains

Lucia found a craft idea she hadn't tried before in a library book. It involved making layers of tissue paper using glue to stick them together, before adding glitter on to the top layer. Lucia found she had to use a layer of glad wrap under the bottom layer so that it didn't stick to the table or the box lid she was making it in. Then Lucia made a flower template out of cardboard and used this to trace flower shapes. She cut them out and joined them onto wool to create a flower chain.

Next Lucia taught Anika how to make one. Teaching someone else how to do something is a great way to show extended abstract thinking (higher level thinking) as Lucia had to recount the instructions in sequence and explain each step in detail.

Now Lucia and Anika have a gorgeous decoration - it will brighten up any room! You can check them out in Kohara on the wall above our trophy cabinet.

Rosalie the Fashion Designer

Kohara's Next Top Model presents... Rosalie!

Look at this gorgeous skirt that Rosalie designed and sewed by herself. It fits beautifully and we love how Rosalie used her maths skills to measure the fit. Rosalie has added some lovely design details on the front to make it more interesting.

I wonder if Rosalie might open her own clothes shop one day in the future?

Ella the Clothes Designer

Here is Ella with her fashion designs modelled by Rosalie. Ella put a lot of thought into her clothing designs and had a clear idea about what she wanted to make. She had a few problems with getting the top to attach so we called on Jen (Mylo's mum) who is also a fashion designer! They worked together to add some special clasps which make getting it on and off much easier. Next Ella added a skirt.

Ella we are really proud of how you showed perseverance and enthusiasm even when it got tricky. You didn't give up and we admire you for that!

Zora, Hannah and Addison's Chalk Salt

Zora, Hannah and Addison tried out a new idea - making chalk salt. They were inspired to try it out from an idea they found in a library book.

First the girls had to bring a jar along and then they poured salt in a tray before rubbing different coloured chalk onto the salt. The rough texture of the salt rubbed the colour off the chalk and then the salt turned into different colours.

To make the rainbow effect, the girls did different layers of colours by pouring them into the jar carefully. They finished them off with ribbons to create interesting decorations for their bedrooms or even for a gift!

Bella's Diorama

Bella has been working hard on her diorama. Look carefully and you can see Bella wearing her beautiful tutu dancing on a stage. Bella has showed lots of perseverance and has thought of lots of details for the background. What a quality project Bella.

Shiva the YouTube Star

Sneha and Shiva have started their own youtube channel. Here is one of their videos for you to enjoy. If you want to watch more of Shiva then search 'Sneha and Shiva Show' on youtube and click on the links.

Click on the link below to watch Shiva with Santa.
Sneha and Shiva Show

Change of Reliever for Wednesday

On Wednesday we will now have Jill Kelk and Lynda Wilson relieving in Kohara.

Sunhats!!!!

Please ensure your child has a sunhat at school. We were outside for an hour and a half on Monday practising our junior athletics and a large number of Kohara children did not have a sunhat to wear. We are outside frequently throughout each day so please check your child has their hat at school to keep them sun safe.

Thanks also to those parents who have checked the cords on their child's sunhats and have cut off the straps of the ones without a quick release catch if needed. We appreciate your assistance with this :)

Wacky Hair Day on Friday

This Friday Ruby from Kahukura has organised for the school to have a Wacky Hair Day to help raise funds for children in Sudan. Children are encouraged to come to school with wacky hair and to bring a gold coin donation.

The senior students will also be running a dazzling hair station before school on Friday and will be available to help bedazzle your child's hair if needed!

Swimming on Tuesday

The weather was not the warmest for swimming on Monday (and not many of us had togs given that it was shot notice) so we are hoping the weather will be suitable for a swim on Tuesday.

Please send togs along even if the weather looks cooler as our swim is a bit later in the day.

Extra Monday Swimming Slot

We have managed to book an additional swimming time for Kohara on a Monday morning so if enough children have their togs on Monday (20th November) we will take them over for a swim.

That means our class swimming days will now be Monday, Tuesday and Friday each week 😀

Week 6 (20-24 November)

Welcome to Week 6 :)

Staffing
On Wednesday we are out of the classroom on release with the teachers from our River group. Jill Kelk and Julian Dent will be relieving in Kohara for the day.

Athletics Practices
The children will be having athletics practices on Monday and Wednesday this week - please ensure children have sunhats and suitable shoes for running and jumping.

Triathlon
Great to see all the participation slips coming back to school with so many Kohara children prepared to have a go. Please have slips back by Friday if your child wishes to take part.
All children must have a bike helmet on the day whether biking or scootering - please hunt these out between now and next week and make sure they are well named (along with the scooters and bikes too).

Swimming
Our class swimming days are Monday, Tuesdays and Fridays. Please ensure children have their togs on these days. If your child is unable to swim due to medical reasons, please let us know. Please also name all items of clothing - it is amazing how many uniforms get muddled during changing times! Monday is now an additional swimming time as we managed to book an extra time slot (this was not on the notice sent home last week).

Showtime Performance
The school will have the chance to watch the Showtime Performance on Friday afternoon.

Health & PE 
This week we have our Health & PE rotations on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

Homework
Our normal classroom programme will be changing slightly over the next few weeks to accommodate a number of other learning activities so please be aware that reading books may not be coming home every night. Please enjoy reading family favourites or library books instead.

Library
This is our last week for issuing library books.
All books are to be returned to school by Friday 1 December.

PTA Meeting
Our next PTA meeting is this Tuesday 21 November at 7.30pm in the library. If you're interested in finding out more about what we do, we'd love you to see you there.

PTA fundraiser
A reminder that orders for eco bags and dish cloths close this week on Wednesday 22 November.

Pool Keys
The pool is now open and for $75 (including a $20 bond) you can purchase a pool key to use over the summer season (through to April next year). This price includes 2  duties of putting the pool cover on at 8pm and checking the area has been left tidy - you can choose the dates that suit you. The pool is available for use after 4pm on school days and during the weekends and holidays.

Have a great week :)

Alex and Gemma's Edible Mice

Alex and Gemma found a fun recipe for making edible mice out of strawberries. They tweaked the recipe slightly to include things they loved to eat and the verdict was that they tasted delicious! They are now using their experience to write instructions so they will soon be able to share exactly how to make them...

Ale and Gemma have not done a project together before so this was a great chance to get to work with someone new (and practice interacting in a new setting which is also our Health & PE focus this term). There was lots of interesting discussions, including problem solving the best way to attach the tails and the ears. Alex and Gemma also had to follow instructions from the recipe and use maths to count out the right number of ingredients and pieces so that they had enough to make 4 mice each.

Kohara Musicians

Last Wednesday evening quite a few of our Kohara children were involved in the school Music Hour showcasing their musical talents with friends and family. A huge congratulations to Louis (piano), Ella and Bella (singing), Hannah, Khori, Shiva, Sam, and Luca (ukulele) - we thought you were all very brave getting up on stage in front of all those people. You all sounded fabulous.

Farewell Miss T

Update: Wednesday 15th is Miss T's last day with us (not Thursday this week) just in case you wanted to pop in and say goodbye and good luck at the end of the day.