Library Surprise!

During our library visit last week, we got a lovely surprise when we saw Nicola park outside the library with some rather cute little pigs in the back of her car. We all got to have a turn popping out to have a look and most of us even gave them a scratch on the back which they loved.

One of our reading groups had an interesting connection as they have been reading a story called Charlotte's Web which is all about a pig named Wilbur. These pigs were called Calamity Jane and Annie Oakley!

Connecting with Kahukura

We were lucky enough to be able to visit Kahukura's Art Gallery on the last day of term to see the sculptures and art they have been working on over the term. We made lots of connections with our Kohara projects and have taken away lots of interesting and new techniques that we can now try.

Here are some of our favourite pieces we saw.

End of Term

A huge thank you to all our fabulous parents who have given up their time to help Kohara this term. We really appreciate your support.

We hope the children enjoy a wonderful term break and look forward to seeing them back after the holidays. School resumes on Monday 16 October.

Friday is Library Day

Remember to bring the library books so you can get some new ones issued for the holidays.

Spelling

On Thursday we enjoyed visiting Ara Atu to watch their drama, followed by Art and PE for Classroom Release and then went to tennis lessons at Waimairi Tennis Club. So no spelling testing. We will try and fit this in on Friday instead so if you haven't given Mrs O your spelling notebook, then you've got Friday to hand it in!

New spelling words will be issued to the children next term.

Friday is Loud Shirt Day!

Dust off your brightest and most colourful shirt for Friday to help celebrate Loud Shirt Day. Gold coin donation please to support those with hearing impairments.

Lauren's Beany Boo House

Check out the lucky beany boos who get to enjoy this fabulous house. They will never want to leave! Lauren has made a house, swimming pool and even a car - we guess even beany boo's have to go shopping sometime! This house has windows and doors that open, bunk beds, but we think our favourite part is the slides into the swimming pool! Well done Lauren - we can tell you have thought of so many interesting details for your house.

Bella's Art

This is Bella's first project by herself and she really enjoyed using pastels to create a masterpiece! We love the colours she has used and the frame finishes it off beautifully. It is now on the wall above the trophy cabinet so you can admire it when you pop in!

Louis the Musician

What an amazing performance at Monday Meet Up by Louis the musician! We loved listening to his beautiful piano playing and we can tell that he must put in lots of practice at home to get so good. It seems like practice is the key to getting really good at lots of things - music, sports, reading, maths, spelling, art, drama...

Thank you for sharing your music with us Louis. How neat that your big sister was also visiting from Papanui High to share her music with us as well. We bet she was really proud of you too.

Awatea's Hamster House

Awatea was inspired by Lucy who created a hamster house earlier this term. Awatea decided to have a go at making her own but first she sewed a toy hamster. When she created the house, Awatea had to do lots of measuring to make sure that everything was the right size. We were amazed by all the details Awatea has included. This lucky hamster not only has a house but also a garage with a car with a boot that opens. Inside the house there is a hamster wheel for exercise, a swing for fun, a fridge full of food, a shopping basket and so many other interesting ideas - ask Awatea to show you next time you are in Kohara.

Ka pai Awatea. You should be so proud of this.

Luca's Tiger

Luca is also enjoying using the fabric from Jen - this time she found this colourful fabric that had interesting designs on it which Luca thought would be perfect for her tiger's skin. Luca has been practising her careful sewing, keeping her stitches close to the edge so that she had lots of room to add her stuffing. Luckily this is a friendly tiger as Kohara love their animals!

Zora's Cushion

Zora is very kind. She showed manaakitanga when making this cushion because it is a special gift for her Aunty who has just had a new baby. What a thoughtful thing to make Zora! Kohara came up with lots of ideas about what Zora's Aunty might do with it - most of us agreed it would look fabulous in the baby's crib/cot.

Zora has been working hard on her sewing techniques and it looks very professional! Zora loved choosing her fabric from a big box of beautiful fabrics donated to us by Jen, Mylo's Mum. Just perfect for a new baby.

Ben and Jonty's Diorama

Lately we have had lots of children creating different types of dioramas. This is the one that Ben and Jonty created. It has a meteor that falls through a hole in the roof to crash down onto the dinosaur land and a pulley that moves objects across the sky. The dinosaurs have got lots of interesting things to roam around - you really need to come and take a closer look in Kohara and see it for yourself! Well done Ben and Jonty for all the time and perseverance you put into completing this detailed diorama. Quality work!

Alex and Lochie's Ship

Alex and Lochie teamed up to create this ship. There are some very cool details - our favourite was the ladder which the boys had made out of different kinds of sticks. They also had to use maths to measure it so it would fit. It works perfectly and now the sailors can climb up the ladder to reach the top of the masts to put the sails up. There are also smoke stacks which they compared to the ones you find on the side of a cab on a big truck, and a big deck to relax on. Inside is the captain's quarters. Great job Alex and Lochie - showing lots of thought and great teamwork.

Hinepau Performance

Wow, what an amazing performance we watched last week of the legend of Hinepau. We were amazed with how well we could understand a performance even though the whole show was spoken in Maori. We worked out that actions, props and facial expressions help to tell stories in drama. We also recognised quite a few Maori words that we knew from our Kapa Haka sessions with Matua Steve. At the end the actors translated the story for us.

Here are a couple of photos of the show for you to enjoy.

Archie's Drift Trike

Archie created this mini drift trike. It has 3 wheels which can turn just like a real one! It was tricky but Archie explored using blue tack at each end to stop the cotton reels falling off the sticks. Great problem solving Archie!

Shape Patterns with Anika and Ella

Kohara love our shapes! There are always new and interesting patterns being created like this fabulous symmetrical pattern that Ella and Anika made. Lots of oral language, maths and cooperation is involved when creating a shape pattern.

Can you work out where the girls would need to cut this pattern to make it symmetrical? They would need to use their fractions to find the half way line.

Angus, Cayden & Harry's Chalk Spray Paint

It's a lot of fun to mix up ingredient and watch the scientific reactions that occur. Angus, Harry and Cayden decided to have a go at making Chalk Spray Paint. It's a bit funny that it's called chalk spray but it actually doesn't have chalk in it!!

The boys were super organised at bringing along empty spray bottles. Then they had to mix warm water with a little bit of flour and add a tiny bit of paint. They made different colours and then the fun began... We decided it was best to test it outside!

We put lots of newspaper down and then had a go at creating some abstract art using the spray paint. We learned that abstract art is where the art doesn't make an actual picture but you can use your imagination. The boys shared their ideas about what they thought heart reminded them of and came up with the name FRECKLE for their collaborative artwork.

Their next step is to design a frame so we can put it on display in Kohara.

Art and Science!! We wonder what they might create next?

Loud Shirt Day on Friday

Have you located your brightest and craziest coloured top to wear on Friday for our Loud Shirt Day??  Can you top the shirt Mr Anderson was wearing at Monday Meet Up? We can't wait to see you all. Remember it's a gold coin donation for those with hearing impairments.

Congratulations Rosalie

A big congratulations to Rosalie who recently graduated from Rainbow Reading. Mrs Stoddart was so proud of how hard Rosalie worked and all the practise she put in to her reading. We have learnt that practising your reading is important for getting better and more fluent. We are always so proud of our Kohara kids when they graduate - ka pai Rosalie!!