Ben's Maths

Ben posed a question about what was half of 5. He knew the answer was 2.5 because 2 and 2 made 4 and then there was 1 left over and half of that was .5 or a half.

Here are some more half problems that Ben solved. 

Working Bee - Sunday 17 May

Can you spare some time on Sunday morning, 17th May to help at the school working bee?
It starts at 9am and all help is most appreciated - you can also bring the kids along. Free BBQ at the end for all the helpers. This is our chance to have a good tidy up before winter - lots of different job to be done (raking leaves, weeding gardens, painting etc), so something for everyone! Feel free to bring along a rake, broom, wheelbarrow, gardening gloves or shovels.

Week 4 (11-15 May)

Birthdays
Happy birthday to Natalie, Isaac, Juhwan and Kathryn who all celebrate their 7th birthdays this week in Kohara!

Library
Library day is Friday - please ensure all library books are back at school before Friday in a named library bag. There are library containers for the children to put their library bags in at both ends of Kohara.

Poetry
Poetry folders - thank you to those families who have checked to see if their child has their poetry folder at school. Some appear to have gone missing - if your child can't find theirs, please can they bring along another clearfile folder to school to keep their poems in. We're having a bit of a blitz on poems being left in tote trays and not being put in folders!

Reading Roster
Tracy has put up the roster for returning reading books which can be found outside Kohara in the cloakroom area. We would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to volunteer to help us with this job. If you like you can email us with a week/day that might suit you (can be before or after school, any day Tuesday-Friday).

Thinking About Science
Mr Anderson has posed the question - does hot water freeze quicker than cold water? Talk about this with your child - how could you conduct a fair test to see if this is true? What does your child think they could do to investigate this? Mr Anderson is keen to hear more from the children about what they find out and why they think this might be. Lots of interesting discussion to be had around this!

Upcoming Mufti Day
Mufti Day next Wednesday. Wear red or blue colours and bring a gold coin donation - all proceeds go to support the people of Nepal.

Congratulations Lucia!

Congratulations Lucia - you have won a prize for entering a library competition last week during Book Week. How exciting, what do you think it might be?

Look what Lucia won!

Our Mums!

Happy Mothers Day to all the Kohara Mums. We hope you enjoyed a relaxing day on Sunday.

The children had a go at writing character descriptions about their Mums. We talked about similes and how they can help make our descriptions more interesting, a bit like painting a picture in your head! Here are a few of our stories for you to enjoy.

My Mum has brown hair like chocolate. My Mum is special because she does baking with me and she sometimes does my jobs for me but only sometimes. I like my Mum’s gentle cuddles before bed. I really love my Mum.

Keira

My Mum has black hair like the twinkling stars at night and she is tall like a giraffe She helps me bake and I love her warm kisses and hugs, that’s why I love her, and she has dark eyes like dark chocolate.

Honour

My Mum has brown hair like chocolate. My Mum is special because she reads me some of The Enchanted Wood at night. She has sparkling eyes and red lips. I love my Mum.

Lidia

My Mum has brown hair like brownies. My Mum’s eyes sparkle like the stars at night and my Mum’s smile sparkles. I really, really love my Mum.

Lucia

My Mum has brown eyes like chocolate. My Mum has black hair like the night sky. My Mum has a big smile.

Jackson

My Mum’s hair is blonde like gold and her eyes are blue like the river and her hugs are so soft and her kisses are sweet.

Eli

My Mum has blue eyes like the sea. She has brown hair like a tree. She gets angry a lot like a storm but I know that she loves me anyway. My Mum is the best because she lets me do what I want.

Sebastian

My Mum has hair as dark as space and I love her because she makes dinner because she loves me. She helps me when I need her.

Theo T.

My Mum is special because she is always friendly. My Mum cooks me the best meals. She has blue eyes like the sea and curly hair like noodles on a plate and the best thing I love about her is bed time stories.

Josie

My Mum is great because she fills me with love because she hugs me and kisses me too! My Mum’s eyes twinkle like the stars. My Mum teaches me how to be a good person. She plays games with me too.

Stella

READING BOOK ROSTER

READING BOOK ROSTER

The reading book roster is up on the parents notice board outside our classroom. We really appreciate the help in putting the books away and so do the children! It can be done anytime from Tuesday to Monday. Before school or after school. If your not sure where to go or what to do instructions are free!!!

We look forward to seeing your name up there.

Kind Regards 

Tracy and Monique

Week 3 (4-8 May)

Welcome to Week 3! This week is Book Week. As part of the learning activities this week the children will be attending 'A World Apart' performance on Friday afternoon. We look forward to seeing some books brought to life through drama. There will be no junior Kapa Haka this week due to the performance. If your child has a favourite picture book that they'd like to read, feel free to send it along during the week to share.

Classroom Release
Room 19 children will have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Monday afternoon and Room 18 children will have PE with Mr Lukes on Tuesday morning.

Entertainment Books
Help support the Waimairi PTA by purchasing an entertainment book - your child should have brought home an envelope with all the details on it. There is also a digital version you can purchase so you always have your discount vouchers on hand on your phone! Be sure to ask all your friends and family members if they'd like to order one as well - we receive a percentage of all sales back to the school. If you are interested in joining the PTA, the next meeting is on Tuesday 19th May at 7.30pm in the Library. It's a lovely way to meet other Waimairi parents and they have lots of really cool events coming up. I know they are always keen to welcome junior school parents on board. Talk to Mrs O if you'd like more details.

Term 1 End of Term Awards

Congratulations to our first Kohara award nominees who received a certificate from Mr Anderson at the end of last term. We are very proud of you all. It is great to see you all demonstrating our key competences of relating to others, self management, thinking, and participating and contributing.

Aaron's Snake

Ssssssss watch out for Aaron's slithery snake. Aaron created him out of an old sock, stuffed it and then added details. He even made something to keep it warm. Perfect for the autumn weather!

Lucia's Toy

Lucia made a fabulous job on her first sewing project in Kohara. Her stuffed toy is very soft and cuddly.

Odette's Dog

Look at Odette's dog! Isn't he delightful. Odette made him using paper mâché and then added loads of details. He has egg carton feet and and old skipping rope for his lead and we love the patterns she made for his fur. He's all ready for a walk in the park now!

Josie's Swan House

Josie created this fabulous house for her little swans. We loved the details. Look closely at the bath - it even has colour coded taps for the hot and cold water, and the hanging lampshade. Any swan would be very lucky to have a house like this!

Jackson's Binoculars

Jackson was keen to make a pair of binoculars so he could watch the birds in the trees. He has thought carefully about the features he needed and has used see through cellophane for the lenses and an old skipping rope for hanging them around his neck. Happy bird watching Jackson!

Addison's Halloween Hat

Addison is getting ready early for Halloween after being inspired by a costume she saw in a book. She learnt a new technique for making a simple newspaper hat and then decorated it with spiders!

Mariam's Bag

Mariam has created a very detailed bag. We love the way she has made each side different. I wonder what she will keep in her special bag?

Aaron's Dinosaur Zoo

Check out Aaron's dinosaur zoo. It has a place on the side for the meat to feed the T-Rex and new dinosaurs get made in the tower. It even has a tv show on the side. Aaron has thought of some really creative details. Ka pai Aaron.

Poetry Folders

PLEASE can all children make sure they have their poetry folders at school. These should come home every Friday with a new poem to share over the weekend and need to be returned to school on a Monday. We sometimes use the folders on other days during the week and it is hard for the children to take care of their work when they have to go home all scrunched up in a school bag. We also like to re-read other poems from time to time as well. Poetry folders should be stored in tote trays during the week.

Ka pai to those children who DO have their poetry folders at school each week - you are showing great self management and organisation!

Parent Information Evening

Welcome back to Term 1. We hope you had an enjoyable break with the children! Great to see them all back looking well rested and ready for this slightly longer 11 week term.

Parent Information Evening
This week on Thursday night (23rd April) we are lucky enough to have Pam Hook talking at our Parent Night which is being held in the hall at 7.30pm. This is a great opportunity to find out about how your children are using SOLO Taxonomy and how it relates to learning at all ages. It would be great to see lots of Kohara parents there - it is stuff we wish we had known about years ago!! It also underpins NCEA at high school so a good chance to ask any questions or just come along and learn what it all means. You can rsvp through the school website, call the office or just turn up! Hope to see you there.

Classroom Release
This term the children are swapping what they do during our classroom release time so Room 18 (Mrs Campbell) will have Mr Lukes for PE and Room 19 (Mrs O) will have Art with Mrs McHaffie. Our first session is Wednesday 11-12.30.

Library
Library day is Friday

Happy Holidays

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a happy Easter and a safe and hopefully relaxing term break. We look forward to seeing you all back at school on Monday 20 April.

Happy birthday to the Kohara children who will be celebrating turning 7 over the holidays - Lachie, Tahana, Nicolas, Brooklyn and Addison!

Kohara Visit

Tomorrow (Thursday 2 April) Kohara will be visiting Tahana's house in the afternoon to have a real life experience of being welcomed into someone's home. We are looking forward to Mel hosting us and having a chance to put our mihi, waiata and karakia into practice!