HARRY'S HANGI EXPERIENCE.

I went to the hangi. It was fun. I liked the chicken the best. It was delicious. I didn't like the other one.
By Harry

THE HANGI

I went to a hangi. It was fun. I loved the hangi food. Everything was amazing. The most I loved was eating breakfast together.
By Matthew

Johnny's Artwork

Johnny has been a busy bee lately and every chance he gets he has been working away on this amazing artwork. He has finally finished and what an achievement - so much detail and quality drawing. It is now on display on our window in the Room 18 end of Kohara - have a closer look next time you are visiting.

Toy Hospital

Bolt and Squirtle are the luckiest toys ever!! Lately they have been having all kinds of mishaps as they adventure around with Kohara. Sometimes they even come to school with plasters on their tails or fins. Archie showed manaakitanga/caring by making a special toy hospital for Bolt and Squirtle for when they are not well. What a kind thing to do Archie. We think Bolt and Squirtle will enjoy having their own special hospital.

Luca's Beany Boo House

Luca created this multi level house for her beany boo toys. You'll notice the top part is smaller and not as deep - this part is for her little beany boo toys. The downstairs part is for her bigger beany boo. Luca found out she had to use maths to make sure she had made the areas the right measurement for her toys. Lots of thinking about sizes! Well done Luca.

Oli's Bey Blade Stadium

What do you do if you need a stadium to battle your bey blades in? You design and create your own of course! Check out Oli's stadium - he is all ready to do battle now.
3, 2, 1, let it rip...

Dustyn's House

Dustyn chose to improve his box construction skills and make another house project but this time he wanted to improve the details he added and put on a second storey. If you look at it carefully you will see it has a living room (lounge and kitchen) upstairs and downstairs is the bedroom with a very comfy bed. The kitchen even has yummy food in it. A perfect house for a special toy.

Louis and Archie's Hotel for Dogs

Louis and Archie spent a long time creating this very detailed Hotel for Dogs drawing on the whiteboard. It looks like a very cool place for dogs to go on holiday. In Kohara, the children love drawing and designing on the whiteboards - it's a good opportunity to work collaboratively and share ideas, whilst developing detailed drawings and fabulous oral language.

Lochie and Sam's Haunted House

Check out Lochie and Sam's haunted house. They showed great team work, working cooperatively to join their houses together and sharing ideas. What do you think might live in this haunted house???

Leon the Reader!

Congratulations Leon on graduating from Rainbow Reading. Mrs Stoddart was so proud of all the work you have put in to your reading. Well done Leon!

Catnip Toys

Gemma's mum Mel has started running small group workshops to make these very cute catnip toys for cats. Last week the first group of keen children had a go and were very proud of their achievements - cutting, sewing, stuffing and decorating. Gemma and her Mum made this gorgeous toy for Mrs O's cat Star which was so kind as Star doesn't have any of her own toys. At first she was a bit unsure of it, but with some encouragement she had a lot of fun with it.

Here is Star enjoying her new toy. Thanks Gemma and Mel!

Disco this Friday

Don't forget the PTA Disco is on this Friday 30 June at the new earlier time of 5.30pm for juniors. $2 entry. Glow products available for purchase.

Week 9 (26-30 June)

Welcome to Week 9 :)

Matariki Celebrations & Hangi
We look forward to welcoming you all to our special Matariki celebration this Wednesday 28 June. Children (and family) are to assemble at the very back of the field at 7.15am via the entrance on Westholme Street. Normal school uniform but please ensure children also have warm hats, gloves and jackets to keep them warm. You should have received a copy of the guide book which outlines the welcome ceremony in more detail. Staff and the kapa haka group will welcome you on to the school grounds, followed by a hongi (or handshake) at the conclusion.

Following this, you are welcome to join us for breakfast in Ara Atu (Room 14 & 15) but please bring a spoon and bowl for each person in your family in a plastic bag.

The children will then spend the morning with their Rakaia River group classes enjoying Matariki inspired activities.

Parents and whanau are welcome to join us again at 12.30pm to enjoy our hangi and delicious tasters from our international community. Children are still to bring their own lunch just in case they are hungry or not keen on the hangi food.

After lunch, feel free to visit classes to see the Science learning for this term and then if you wish, you may take your child home since they will have been at school since 7.15am. However, if you are unable to, school is officially open for the afternoon. Please let Tracy or Monique know if you do take your child home as we need to record it for our afternoon roll.

We look forward to seeing you all on Wednesday if you can make it.

Checklist

• spoon & bowl for breakfast for each person  (in plastic bag)
• warm hat, gloves, jacket

Staffing

This Thursday we are both away at our Incredible Years professional development course so Jill Kelk and Tania Stott will be relieving in Kohara.

Reading

No reading on Wednesday due to our Matariki celebrations.

Papanui Library Visit

Kohara enjoyed a fabulous visit from Denise from the Papanui Library last week. She shared stories of Matariki and then did some gorgeous star art using wool to create beautiful stars on cardboard. Check these out next time you are in Kohara!

Science: Force

We have been continuing to have fun exploring forces using cars and ramps. We have been experimenting with different ramp surfaces to provide friction and have had some interesting results. On Friday we tested out the ramps using different size cars and it provoked lots of interesting science hypotheses, observations and wonderings.

What examples of forces can you find at home? We'd love you to send us a photo or an email with examples that you find at home. These could be pushing, pulling, gravity or friction forces.

Library Day Friday

Kapa Haka Tuesday

French Club Monday lunchtime

Craft club Tuesday lunchtime

Art club Thursday lunchtime

The library is also open at break times for children who wish to read, colour in or play chess.

Fire Drill

We will be practising our Fire Drill on Monday. Please ensure your child has a warm jacket at school.

Warm Weather Gear

We noticed last week when we spent time outside practising for our Matariki celebrations, that a number of our Kohara children did not have a jacket at school. We are often outside during the day and it is really important that children have warm gear to wear. This is particularly important if there was an emergency and we had to assemble outside for any length of time. Please ensure children have a named jacket at school every day.

Bon Voyage to Luca

We wish Luca and her family bon voyage as they travel to Rarotonga where they will be spending the next few months volunteering. We look forward to keeping in touch and hearing what life is like in Rarotonga. What a fabulous experience to be part of!

Enjoy your week - hopefully see you all on Wednesday :)

PIPPINS OR BROWNIES???

Sophie Coster is keen to join a Pippins/Brownies group in our area. Vanessa thought it would be nice if there was a friendly face for her. If your girl is a Pippin or Brownie can you let Monique or I know and we'll pass on the details to Vanessa and Sophie.
Many thanks.

Disco!!!

Friday 30th June is Disco night!!!
A new earlier time of 5.30-6.30pm for the juniors and 6.45-7.45pm for the seniors.
$2 entry with glow products also available to purchase.
Dust the dancing shoes off Kohara...

Swimming Lessons by Lauren

Swimming Lessons by Lauren

I was worried and I had bad thoughts in my head. I felt that I will drown. The water was too deep and I can't see through my goggles. My brother went first. It made me get brave because he got to the side. It was my turn and I was excited. I got to the half way then I did back stroke to the wall.

Week 8 (19-23 June)

Welcome to Week 8 :)

Classroom Release Time
Both Room 18 and Room 19 children have CRT on Tuesday afternoon - Room 18 have Art with Mrs McHaffie and Room 19 have PE with Mr Lukes.

Papanui Library Visiting
On Thursday afternoon, we welcome Denise Jack from the Papanui Library who is visiting Kohara to share stories and information about Matariki.

Spelling Challenge
How many words can you write that rhyme with 'in'? Have a go with your child to see how many words they can think of and spell - feel free to share with us via the blog (leave us a comment) or write them down and send them along to class. Hearing rhyming patterns is a great way to build reading and writing skills. You can develop this at home by reading lots of rhyming stories, listening to rhyming songs and poems, and talking about rhyming words. Dr Seuss books are great for this, and  the children love Mrs Campbell's box of Dr Seuss books at school.

PTA
A huge thank you to Anna (Oli's Mum for organising the PTA Big Build on Sunday. The team of helpers have made 6 fabulous outdoor picnic tables for our lunch areas which will be well used and appreciated by the children. A big thank you to everyone who helped out with this. Check out the photos on the Waimairi PTA Facebook page.

The PTA June meeting is on this Tuesday night (20th June) starting at the earlier time of 7pm in the school library. New faces always welcome - why not pop along and see the other great things they have in store! There is no pressure to join, you are welcome to come visit and see if it's for you.

Matariki Celebration & Hangi
Mark Wednesday 28 June in your diary as this is the day of our community hangi. Come along and join us from 7.30am, breakfast will be provided for the children (BYO spoon and bowl) and then the children will enjoy a morning of activities within their river groups. You are welcome to pop back at lunchtime to enjoy the hangi and tasty treats from our international families and then visit classes to share in our science learning from over the term. More details in the school newsletter and our school Facebook page. We look forward to seeing you there.

Winter Weather
With the arrival of winter, please ensure that your child has a warm jersey/sweatshirt at school and a jacket on those colder days. This is important in case of any emergencies where children may be assembled outside.

Bey Blades & Fidget Spinners
These are discouraged from being used in the classroom during our learning time. Children can bring them (at their own risk) to use before school and at break times. However, we take no responsibility for lost or misplaced toys or disputes! Our suggestion is that children keep them in their bags, zipped up, for use at playtimes only. Other toys are encouraged to be kept at home.

Circle Time
Kohara have recently begun having Circle Time on a Friday. This is a great opportunity for us to come together as a group and focus on social skills and strategies for helping children to work through any issues they are worried about. So far we have covered what to do when someone says something unkind, what to do if someone is bothering you by touching you in a way you don't like, and what to do if someone is using words you don't like (like rude words or swear words). Our puppet Tom role plays situations with the children and they are great at offering him advice and helping to share strategies. Circle Time is also a great way for us to practise our oral language and listening skills as well as cooperate in games. Ask your child what they love most about Circle Time as it's been very popular with the children.

Library 
How fabulous to hear from Fran our librarian that Kohara have the best class record for the number of books issued to us so far this year! Thank you for helping to remind your children to return their library books to Kohara during the week ready for our class visit on a Friday. We also celebrated several Kohara children who were winners in the recent library colouring in competition - ka pai Kohara! Great to see our children enjoying the library both with our class and also in their own time.

Have a great week :)

At the Doctors by Lucia

Here is another story about bravery...

At the Doctors
By Lucia

I felt scared and my heart was beating fast but my mum helped me at the doctors. My Mum is kind because she helps me. I did cry but I think next time I won't cry because I am older.

Me and the Whitetail by Khori

We have been inspired by the Court Theatre Show so we wrote about a time when we felt brave. This is Khori's story.

Me and the Whitetail
By Khori

I felt nervous and my hands were shaking. The spider came out of a hole. I got a plastic cup and a lid. When I got the plastic cup and a lid I made the spider go on the top of the lid then I got the cup and put the cup on the lid. I put it on the bench for a month and then Mum threw it out in May.

Court Theatre Performance

Wow the children were absolutely spellbound watching the Court Theatre's performance of Matatihi today. They loved watching the story of Maia and her journey to find the Pouakai bird and how she helped to teach the bird to be brave and learn to fly. There was wait (song), puppets and props, drums, and fabulous acting and storytelling. Click on the link below and get your child to tell you what is happening in each photo and what their favourite part was.

Matatihi: Maia's Journey of Bravery

Hannah's Elephant

Hannah has just finished creating this fabulous paper mache elephant. It is going to be part of a bigger project as Hannah is making the elephant to go at the entrance of a zoo project but it is so wonderful we wanted to share it now! Hannah used paper mache over a balloon to get the shape for the body and then used cardboard to make the head. She has also added a pipe cleaner tail and sticks for the tusks. Hannah used images of elephants on the computer to check the details that it needed. What a great job you have done Hannah - it looks just like a real one with all the details you have added. We can't wait to see the zoo when it is finished.

Freddy Graduates

We always love celebrating when our Kohara Kids graduate from Rainbow Reading with Mrs Stoddart. Well done Freddy - you have worked so hard on your reading and we are all very proud of the effort you have put in.

Jonty's Gorilla

Check out this very cool gorilla that Jonty made. He practised his hand sewing to sew around the edges before using stuffing to make it feel lovely and soft. He has added an eye to one side - that's because the gorilla is side on when you look at it! Sewing is a great project to practise perseverance as it takes time and effort to make the stitches small and close enough together so the stuffing doesn't fall out. We are loving the Kohara sewing collection... I wonder what will be sewed next in class...

Guitar Lessons Cancelled

No guitar lessons this week (13 June).

A THINKING BALL

Isaac is wanting to run a workshop making 'thinking balls'. You will need 2 balloons and rice if you'd like to make one with Isaac. The workshops will be starting from Tuesday.

Week 7 (12-16 June)

Welcome to Week 7 :)

Court Theatre Performance
On Monday 12th we have the Court theatre visiting with their performance of Matatihi. Kohara will be attending at 9.30am following Monday Meet up. A reminder that a contribution of $5 will be added to school accounts for this.

PTA Cheese Roll orders
Orders for Cheese Rolls are due back this Friday to the office please with money.
If you need another order form please let us know :)

Science Inquiry
We are really enjoying our Inquiry into Forces and how things move. Awatea's Mum shared a really cool experiment looking at what force is being used when you let cars go down a ramp. We made all kinds of connections with the force of gravity. Their was lots of gathering data happening as we made a hypothesis, tested and changed variables, and observed to see the results. It was quite thought provoking and we had lots of wonderings. Follow the link in the previous blog post and have a go at home!

Maths
Numbers are everywhere! Next time you are enjoying your favourite picture book or library book, see how many maths connections you can make while you read it. You might find references to numbers, measuring, fractions, addition or subtraction, groups or sets, shapes or time...
It is really great when we can make maths links explicit to the children so they know that maths is indeed all around us!

Reading Book Returns
Thanks to our lovely Kohara helpers who have been shelving our reading books over the past few weeks. It is really appreciated. We still have a few gaps left on the roster for the last few weeks this term so if you can help, please add your name to the list (outside Kohara in the bag area).

Lost property
There has been quite a few jerseys, jackets, hats and gumboots left behind at school in recent weeks. Please check next time you are in - some of these we hang outside on the hooks as you come into Kohara. Gumboots are just inside the door.

Reading Books and Poetry Folders
A reminder that last weeks reading books should be returned to the grey container on a Monday morning and reading folders then put in tote trays. Poetry folders go back in the green containers down by Room 19's big whiteboard.

Kapa Haka Tuesday
Library Friday

Lunchtime Clubs
Monday - French Club 12.30pm with your lunch to He Tangata
Tuesday - Craft Club 12.45pm after eating lunch in R21
Thursday - Art Club 12.45pm after eating lunch in R21

Have a great week :)

Mel's Experiment

Below is the website for the science Mel did with Kohara.
Link to Mel's experiment


Try this at home with your Kohara kid and bring the data to school!!

Science Experiment with Mel.

Mel came to visit this morning and bought cars, wood of different heights and flat whiteboards. Kohara had to have a hypothesis. They tested three times to gather data on the distance the cars would travel off each ramp. Ask your Kohara kid what we found out.

Week 6 (6-9 June)

Welcome to Week 6 :)

Meet Up
Meet up on Tuesday this week.

Classroom Release Time
Room 18 have Art and Room 19 have PE on Tuesday afternoon following Kapa Haka.

Reading Returns Roster
We would love some volunteers to add their name to the roster for returning class reading books. This  job can be done anytime that suits during the week and involves putting the books away in our reading room. If you can help, please add your name to the list outside Kohara (in the bag area by the classroom door).

Poetry Folders
We have been having a big blitz on bringing our Poetry folders to school each week. Mrs Campbell kindly gave some children new clear files if they still couldn't find theirs at home. We often enjoy re-reading our poems from previous weeks so it makes our reading much easier when all the children have their folders at school.

PTA News
A huge thank you to our Kohara helpers (teachers and parents) who gave up their Sunday morning to help out with the PTA fundraiser at the Chch Marathon. The weather was awful but it didn't dampen our spirits - a neat way to build our sense of community at Waimairi and come together to support the children. Plus it was lovely to cheer on Johnny's dad Andrew as he raced past us at the 21km water station.

Next up is Cheese Rolls... order forms went home with the oldest in the family on Friday. Please see us if you didn't receive an order form or your child was away as we have some spare order forms.

The PTA have their next meeting on Tuesday 20th June at 7pm which is an earlier starting time for the winter meetings. We meet in the library at school and new faces are always welcome. We'd love to see you there.

Science
Today Isaac shared his science project with the class and we enjoyed watching Isaac's balloon rocket. The first few attempts weren't very successful but there was lots of great suggestions as the children shared their science thinking about how to improve it. Isaac thought to make sure that the balloon end wasn't pinched and when we adjusted some variables Isaac was able to launch the balloon from one chair across to the other (stay tuned for project photos coming soon!) We found out that the force of the air escaping the balloon helped to push the balloon rocket along. We are really enjoying finding out How Things Move.

Maths
Game of the Week - Number Skittles
Last week some of our mathematicians played Number Skittles. We stuck the numbers 1-6 on skittles and took turns at bowling the skittles with a ball. We found out we could use lots of maths with this game but our favourite part was adding up our score by adding the numbers up on the skittles that we bowled over. You could try this at home. you could use any empty bottles (milk bottles or water bottles) and write numbers on the front or stick a piece of paper with numbers on to them. Find a ball or even roll a scrunched up ball of newspaper at them and have fun adding up scores for your family. Make the numbers as high or as low as you like. We used numbers less than 6 but you could use teen numbers, multiples of 10 or even bigger 2 digit numbers! If you have a go at home, please email us a photo as we'd love to see your family enjoying maths together.

This is a great game for:
* adding numbers
* finding the highest and lowest numbers
* exploring odd and even numbers/scores
* ordering the numbers you bowl from smallest to highest
* using doubles and known facts to add the scores e.g. 2+1 = 3 and another 3 = 6 (double 3)
* finding out what is the biggest score you could possibly get

Lunchtime Clubs
Tuesday - Craft Club
Thursday - Art Club
No French Club this week due to Queen's Birthday.

Kapa Haka Tuesday
Library Day Friday 

Have a great week!

Vihaan and Archie - Baker Boys

Vihaan and Archie had both planned to do a baking project. One wanted to make chocolate cupcakes and one wanted to make banana cupcakes so... they compromised and made banana chocolate chip cupcakes! Vihaan and Archie had to use maths to measure their ingredients as well as follow the recipe in sequence. Vihaan enjoyed the final result but Archie wasn't so keen on the taste - luckily for his brother who got to enjoy them instead!

Lochie and Johnny Compare and Contrast

Lochie and Johnny both made ramps as their own projects. They tested them out and both worked but  the learning didn't stop there! They compared the materials and the angles and height of each ramp. There were similarities, both were made of wood. However, there were differences too. Johnny and Lochie noticed that when you jumped off Johnny's it bent slightly. Johnny said " it's a bit more flimsy".

Khori and Awatea's Sherbet Science

Khori and Awatea decided to make sherbet. They showed they could think like a scientist and use their senses to gather data and make careful observations about what the sherbet looked like, smelt like, and tasted like. They came up with some detailed observations like... it melted on your tongue, it tasted sweet and sour, it felt fizzy in your mouth and it felt bubbly.

Then they used their creative talents to make origami bags to put their sherbet in ready for eating!

Friday Library Day

Pack the books today - it's library day!

Well Done Kohara Musicians

Well done to our Kohara musicians who performed beautifully at the Music Hour on Wednesday night. Mrs O felt very proud seeing you all up on stage performing with enthusiasm and big smiles. Your parents also had very big smiles! It takes a lot of confidence to perform in front of a large audience and we all loved your singing and ukulele music. Ka pai!

Socks and Tights For Sale

COLUMBINE SOCKS & TIGHTS SALE

This Friday June 2, 8.15am outside the School Office!

The PTA has been donated a heap of adults and kids size Columbine socks and tights. They are brand new (still in packaging) and retail for up to $25.

We will be selling these as a PTA fundraiser for crazy prices of $2, $3, and $5 outside the school office on Friday morning.

Items for sale are:
Kids Under the Knee Socks & Tights (Navy)
Adults Under the Knee Socks (Black & Navy)
Adults Over the Knee Socks & Tights (Black)

Come along and grab a BARGAIN! Cash & Eftpos.
All proceeds go to Waimairi School via the PTA.