Chinese Wall

This week, we learned a new game called 'Chinese Wall'.  It is a rather complicated game of team tag.  I'd explain the rules, but it would take up most of this page.  So instead, have a look at the video below and see if you can work out what the rules are.  Failing that, ask one of our girls!  :)

The Kahu Elections!

Last week, we went through the process of running an Election in our class.  The girls all received special 'Kids Voting' papers (they looked EXACTLY like the real thing) and got to cast their party vote and their candidate vote.  Some were on the Maori roll and some were on the General roll, so there were a few options to choose from.

Our issuing officers (Eva and Tamara) had a class list and crossed people's names off as they came up and collected their voting papers.  The girls had to fill out their voting paper in a private polling booth and then put their vote into the ballot box (where Tiara was on hand to help anyone who experienced any difficulty).  Once the voting process was complete, our returning officers (Jordan and Myra) tallied the party votes and the electorate votes for us.  Mr Dawson then put the results into an Excel spreadsheet, so we could see the percentages for each party and candidate.

It was a very worthwhile experience, especially as we had one voter who voted incorrectly (two party votes instead of one), and a couple of voters who wasted their voting power by voting for one of the extremely minor parties.  We had some very robust follow-up discussion around these issues.

Here are a few photos of the event, as well as the final results.  Looks like we're a left-leaning classroom!

Year 7-8 Careers Expo

Last Friday, we had a Careers Expo for our Year 7-8 students.  Our students heard from a wide variety of people and organisations about their chosen careers, including the Head Boy and Head Girl from James Cook High School, Mr Cressey (building), the Police, St John, Air New Zealand, MAIA and AUT.

It was an outstanding morning and really opened up the eyes of our students to the world of possibilities that is out there.  Thanks to Matua Des and the MAIA team for their awesome organisation!

Mt Ruapehu Trip

Last week, twenty Year 7-8 students went on a three-day trip to the Whakapapa Ski Field on Mt Ruapehu to see the snow.  We stayed at the Police Marae in Taumarunui and also found time to visit the Waitomo Caves, Tokaanu Hot Pools and Huka Falls.

It was a sensational trip and gave us the chance to get to know some of the other Year 7-8s at our school a bit more.

Elections

Today, we had a massive discussion about the upcoming General Elections.  In groups, we came up with answers to three important questions (see below).  We also discussed the parties involved in the NZ Elections, as well as how the elections actually work.  The MMP system is quite complicated!

Over the next few weeks, we will be delving deeper into the elections, looking at the different parties and how their policies might benefit (or not benefit) us.  Our topic will culminate with our very own in-class election, where the girls will all get to vote as if they were participating in a real election!  Stay tuned for updates.

Counties Cross Country 2014

Today, four of our Year 7-8 students participated in the Counties Cross Country, which was held at Te Hihi School in Hingaia.  To even get to this event, our runners had to qualify at the Central Counties Cross Country a couple of weeks ago.  Our results today were:

Esther - 30th, Year 8 Girls
Teesha - 33rd, Year 7 Girls
Jerome - 40th, Year 8 Boys
Mack - 41st, Year 8 Boys

These are fantastic results in what are highly competitive races (all Counties intermediate schools attend this event).  A massive congratulations to you all, you were superb ambassadors for our school.

Central Counties Cross Country

On Friday, a number of Clendon Park students (sadly, none from Kahu) took part in the Central Counties Sports Association Cross Country, which was held at Totara Park.  We had some great results, including both the Year 7 and Year 8 Boys finishing third in their teams events.

There were some fantastic individual performances as well, with all top ten finishers qualifying for the Counties Cross Country on the 2nd of September.  Our qualifiers were:

Mack (4th in Y8 Boys);
Jerome (5th in Y8 Boys);
Esther (8th in Y8 Girls);
Teesha (11th in Y7 girls - she actually finished in the top ten, but the person at the finish line mucked up.  Fortunately, she still gets to go to Counties);
Skyner (11th in Y7 boys - he gets to go to Counties, as one of the top ten is not eligible).

A big congratulations to all our runners and good luck to those going through to Counties!

Here are a few photos from the day.

Prepping for the Home School Partnership Expo

Next Wednesday (27 August) sees the return of the annual Home School Partnership Expo.  This will take place in the hall and will run from 9am until 6pm (though I advise you to get there well before 6pm, as teachers start packing up around 5.45pm).

Kahu has been very busy over the last few days getting artwork and displays ready.  Our focus will be on two of the values from the Marautanga, related to our current careers topic.

We are very excited about being able to display our work for you all and hope to see as many whanau there as possible!

'The Cage' Skipping Challenge

With Jump Rope For Heart coming up next Friday, we thought we'd better sharpen up our skipping skills.  This morning we went out to practise 'The Cage', a routine that involves three long ropes, six turners, and a jumper.  The girls were all very keen to do well in this challenge, as there were hundreds of group points at stake.  Well done to our winning group, 'Rebels' - check out their awesome teamwork and skill!

Great Maths Starter

So, we did this maths starter on Friday.  It was meant to take ten minutes, but we spent about 40 minutes trying to work out all the answers!  It was a great, rich task that the whole class got involved in.  Can you work out how to get the answers?

Kapa Haka at Labtests

As part of Maori Language Week, we were invited to perform at Labtests in Mt Wellington.  This is the fourth year (I think) we have performed for them as part of their Maori Language Week celebrations.  We were welcomed with a powhiri, before we performed in typically awesome TWA fashion!  Check out our performance below.

(Thanks to Skyner from Kotuku, who was our cameraman today.)

Serenade the Contortionist

So today, some of the girls found interesting ways to spend their last day of term.  In the slideshow below, watch as Serenade manages to squeeze herself into the tiny space underneath our class library.  Introducing....Serenade the Contortionist!

Year 7-8 Electives Showcase

Yesterday, our Year 7-8 students presented a showcase of what they had been learning about in Electives this term.  There were some absolutely stunning performances - check them out below and remember to leave a comment!  :)

TWA Perform at Manurewa Marae!

Last night, TWA performed at Manurewa Marae - check out their sensational performance (from two different cameras)!  Kau mau te wehi, tamariki ma!

Electives - Final Practice

Today was our very final Electives practice before our big showcase on Wednesday. Have a listen and come along on Wednesday, 11.15am, to hear us perform live!
 

Kapa Haka: Te Atua

Here is the final version of the waiata we have been working on for the past few weeks.  It is fantastic to see the progression over these last few sessions!  Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Story of the Week

Our story of the week comes from Tamara, who has written about how much loom bands have annoyed her teacher.  Classic story, Tamara!

Wow their is a new popular thing at school want to know what it is yeah it is the crazy loom bands. Our teacher really hates them and he tells us nearly every day DONT WEAR THOSE ANNOYING BANDS AROUND YOUR WRIST OR ELSE I WILL TAKE THEM OF YOU and what does our class do….. yeah they still wear them and im like hahahha nek minute mine gets tackin of me and im like dammm it. Mr Dawson has a whole pile of them in his cupboard from people who do not obey his rules.TBH I am a really big fan of them and I wear  them nearly every single day. These bands are also really really really distracting and guess what….. you can make and do like 1 million or so things out of them. Its crazy because all of our class wears them and its so random. One of my class mates brang a whole packet of bands (not made) to school and out the door her bands went. I was like what a absoulute waste of money. He’s sooooooooooo Sad with a capital s because he can be nice and give them another chance but other times he just takes them of them and either tells them he’ll throw them out (in the bin) or we have to get a parent to come and get them. He specifically said that he will tell our parents the reason why he confiscated them.

Reading Strategies

Our Jennings reading group has been working on using a wide variety of strategies to help them work out unknown words.  After our session this afternoon, they wrote down and then recorded what they had learned. (Sorry, it's pretty quiet!)  Have a listen!

More Kapa Haka

Today, we learned some actions to the waiata Matua Richard taught us a couple of weeks ago.  We didn't quite get through the whole thing, but it's looking pretty good so far!

Kapa Haka

Today, we learnt a new waiata with Matua Richard. Check out our final rehearsal - not bad for just one session!